Author's Note: Oh my goodness, I can't believe I'm at 50 chapters of this story! I hope most of you are still following! I really didn't intend for it to be this long...sorry!
Chapter 50: Trust
"Slowly turn around and keep your hands where I can see them," the agent said as Mike's stomach churned. He slowly turned around and put his hands in the air. His mind raced; he didn't know what to do or say. A man in a suit stood there pointing a very deadly looking gun right at Mike's head. Next to him stood a very shocked looking woman in a nice skirt and blouse.
"Mike, what do we do?" Davy hissed.
"Just do what he says," Mike answered not knowing what else to do.
"What do you people think you're doing?" the agent asked.
"Nothing," Mike tried but knew it wasn't going to work.
"Nice try," the agent said and nodded his head toward the woman standing next to him. "Doc, why don't you check out what they stole?"
"It's medication," Peter said sounding frightened as the woman who Mike assumed was some kind of doctor, though she didn't look like she worked at the hospital, moved to look at the bag of medicine they'd stolen. "Please, we need it for our friend. If she doesn't get it, she'll die."
"They why didn't you bring her here?" the agent asked.
"It's complicated," Mike answered.
"They're right," the doctor said bringing the bag back to the agent. "These are some pretty heavy duty drugs. If someone needs these, they're in a lot of trouble."
"She's gonna die," Davy tried. "Please let us help her."
"You should have brought her here," the doctor said.
"We couldn't," Peter said.
"Guys, hush," Mike said fearing if they said much more, they'd expose themselves.
"Why?" the doctor asked.
"Because they're fugitives," the agent answered for them. Mike's heart stopped at the revelation the agent already knew who they were. "They couldn't bring her here without being found out and being arrested."
"Ok," Mike said after a moment of paralyzing fear, "yes, we are. Please, take me and let them go help our friend."
"That's really not how this works," the agent said. "I can't just let a fugitive go."
"Please," Peter said nearly crying now, "you can't take us back there."
"These are the escapees from that psychiatric hospital?" the doctor asked looking at them sympathetically. "They don't seem insane…"
"You can't just tell that by looking at them," the agent answered.
"I know that," she said. "But these are some pretty high powered drugs. And they really only took enough for one person. That says sanity to me. They know what they're doing."
"Why would the FBI so desperate to catch a few escaped psychos?" Davy tried.
"Because you murdered a man," the agent said.
"We didn't kill him," Mike said. "That man died because of us, but he died trying to protect us. I swear we didn't kill him. We had no reason to. He was helping us."
"We haven't killed anyone," Davy added.
"Well…" Peter started.
"Peter, hush!" Mike snapped.
"You did kill someone?" the doctor asked.
"Will you let me handle this?" the agent asked irritably.
"We had no choice," Mike answered for Peter. "He was holding a gun to my friend's head. I know you don't believe us, but we aren't a danger to anyone."
"Try me," the agent said.
"Mike, we need a cop on our side anyway," Peter pushed when Mike hesitated.
"Fine, but could you please lower your gun first?" Mike asked. "I promise we won't go anywhere."
"Either of you even so much as flinch and I will shoot you before you can take a step away from me," the agent said lowering his gun slightly but still held it ready.
"We aren't going anywhere," Mike said. "We aren't insane. We found out what that hospital was really doing and they took us to keep us from talking."
"What do you mean 'what it really is'?" the agent asked.
"It's not really a hospital," Mike said. "The doctor doesn't treat the patients, he experiments on them."
"Experiments how?" the doctor asked.
"He experiments with date rape drugs, fertility drugs, and then sells the babies he makes on the black market," Mike said trying to determine whether or not these two were buying his story.
"You can't be serious," the agent said.
"I am…" Mike said. The two seemed to be believing him, but he decided he might be believed more if he showed them proof. "I'm gonna show you something. I swear I'm not gonna run." The agent nodded and Mike lifted up his shirt enough to show them the scar on his chest.
"What is that?" the agent asked leaning in but not walking closer to Mike to look. The scar itself was small, so the doctor walked over to him and peered at it.
"It's an electrical burn of some kind," the doctor said. "Like you'd see on steer, but this seems deeper."
"It was a cattle prod," Mike said. "They increased the voltage on it."
"They electrocuted you?" the doctor asked baffled but turned back to the agent before Mike could answer. "If they electrocuted him, you can't send him back there. This is cruel. You don't treat patients that way."
"I know," the agent said relaxing his grip on the gun. "This just gets weirder and weirder."
"What do you mean?" Davy asked.
"I would have stopped you inside the hospital, but I wanted to wait to catch you in the act because I wanted something from you," the agent said.
"Like what?" Mike asked lowering his shirt back down.
"One of the women who reported you to the police for killing that priest was the wife of a fellow FBI agent," the agent answered. "He was killed in action and I investigated his murder. I couldn't prove it, but I know his daughter had something to do with it and I suspected that his wife did, too."
"Heather and Claire," Mike said. "They're part of all this. What did you want from us?"
"I wanted to see if you knew anything," the agent said. "I was planning on making a deal with you to lessen your charges…"
"You can't arrest them and send them back to that hospital," the doctor said. "For what it's worth, I believe them."
"I have to follow the law," the agent said clearly torn.
"Do you believe us?" Mike asked.
"It sounds crazy," the agent answered.
"I know it does, but do you believe it?" Mike asked again.
"I don't know," the agent answered.
"I can offer you more proof," Mike said. "We want them all arrested; to pay for what they did to us and the hundreds of other people they hurt. We know Heather had her father killed. If you let us go, we can give you that proof. But if you send us back there, you'll never get that proof and hundreds more innocent people are going to be tortured and even die. But I swear if our friend dies, I won't tell you a damn thing. At least let them go. Take me with you and let them go."
"Can you help the girl?" the agent asked the doctor after a moment's hesitation.
"I'm not that kind of doctor," she answered.
"No, but you know more medicine than anyone else here," the agent said.
"We can help her," Mike said. "Claire taught one of our friends how to help her. But you have to let us go."
"Alright, I'm following you," the agent said after thinking for a moment. "That way I can make sure you don't take off on me and to make sure that if you're lying to me I know where to find you to arrest you. So if you wanna tell me something, now's the time."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" the doctor asked. "They are technically stealing."
"I'll just say I lost them in the woods," the agent said. "Didn't see their faces."
"Isn't that illegal?" the doctor asked. "Won't you get in trouble?"
"Not if they don't find out," the agent answered. "And you said it yourself. If they're poking people with cattle prods, we can't send them back there. And I'd rather put people like that behind bars than people who steal medicine to save someone. After all, they didn't hurt anyone. Now are you boys sure you don't want to change your story?"
"No," Mike said thinking about the agent's proposal. He didn't want this agent knowing where they were hiding out, but they did need him on their side. He didn't really see any other option. But he was still skeptical. He was afraid this was a ploy to show him where Micky and the others were. And he wasn't sure he could really take that risk.
"Fine, then one of you come with me," the agent said. "The other two get in your van and we'll follow."
"Mike?" Davy asked quietly. "Can we trust him?"
"I don't see how we have a choice but to," Peter said.
"You two go in the van," Mike said. "I'll go with him. If anything happens or I don't meet up with you, I want you to run. Run as far and as fast as you can."
"We aren't gonna leave you behind, Mike," Peter said.
"Yes you will," Mike said. "You have to. Promise me, Pete. You'll take my son and the others and you'll keep them safe. Don't let them anywhere near him. You keep my son safe."
"I…" Peter started to argue, but Mike gave him the most serious look he'd ever given his friend and Peter sighed. "I promise." Mike nodded walked over to the agent.
"I think it's supposed to be me that doesn't trust you," he said.
"Once I tell you our story, you'll understand why I don't trust cops," Mike said following the agent to his vehicle parked nearby. The doctor followed them with the bag of medication and climbed into the front passenger seat. Mike climbed in behind the agent who drove. They didn't speak much on the ride over and they never lost sight of Peter and Davy. Mike's worry never abated either. He was so terrified that he was leading a trap directly to his friends.
When they finally arrived, the agent got out of the car and redrew his gun before following Peter and Davy into the cabin. The doctor and Mike walked in behind them. When he entered, he saw Micky sitting in the living room and even though he tried to hide it, Mike could tell he'd been crying. Not that Mike could really blame him.
"What's going on?" Micky asked looking at the two newcomers.
"Micky, they caught us," Mike said quickly, "but they believe us. Maybe. He said he wasn't going to arrest us if we help him."
"But we got the medicine," Peter said pointing at the bag the doctor was carrying. "Is she ok?"
"I...no," Micky said. "She doesn't even know who I am."
"What exactly is wrong with your friend?" the agent asked.
"She's sick," Mike said as Micky looked to Mike and silently asked if they could trust this man. "She's pregnant and in labor, but she's bleeding and doesn't know who we are."
"Labor delirium," the doctor mumbled.
"I've never heard of that," the agent said.
"It's really rare," the doctor answered. "As soon as she gives birth, she should go back to normal, though."
"You're a doctor…" Davy muttered.
"I said I'm not that kind of doctor," she answered.
"That's ok," Micky said. "We know how to help her. Rose does. She's upstairs with Willow. So why are you helping us?"
"Because he wants our help," Mike answered.
"With what?" Micky asked.
"With exactly what we want," Mike said. "He wants to put Heather away for killing Chucky. He thinks she had something to do with it, but can't prove it."
"Imagine that," Micky mumbled. Mike jumped a little when they heard Sarah scream from upstairs. Micky looked up at the door they knew Sarah was behind and then turned toward the doctor still holding the bag and staring at the room, too. "She needs that medicine."
"Doc, go ahead and get up there and give it to them," the agent said.
"Peter, Davy, go with her so Rose doesn't attack her," Micky said.
"Attack me?" the doctor asked hesitantly. "Why would she attack me?"
"Self defense," Micky answered. "She doesn't know who you are."
"That's no reason to attack me," the doctor whispered.
"Micky, are you sure you don't wanna come up?" Davy asked.
"I'll be up in a bit," Micky answered. "Just go." Davy was about to argue, but Peter once again showed he was smarter than everyone gave him credit for and understood why Micky didn't want to go up. He pushed Davy toward the stairs and whispered something none of them could hear.
"Rose," the agent said. "That's the cop."
"She was," Micky answered.
"And yet you still don't trust cops?" the agent asked eyeing Mike.
"We don't have a good history with them," Mike answered. "You, for instance, still haven't even told us your name and yet we're supposed to be inclined to help you."
"That's fair," the agent said. "Agent Sean Booth. Now, you boys wanna tell me just what's going on here?"
"We can't and aren't going to just tell you everything right off the bat," Micky said. "Not until we feel we can trust you."
"You all do realize that you're all fugitives wanted for murder, right?" Booth said. "I technically have to haul each and every one of you in. The only reason I'm not is because he promised me you can help me put a person who murdered a fellow agent behind bars. And to stop a mad doctor from performing experiments. Which I'm still not sure I entirely believe, by the way."
"We have to protect ourselves," Mike said. "I know what I told you about the hospital is hard to believe, but I have the scars to prove it. So do Micky and the others. But there's a lot more to this than the hospital or Heather. And it's because of that, we could easily get into trouble. The evidence we have to prove our story could easily be used against us."
"You're involved in this?" Booth asked.
"Yes and no," Micky said. "We aren't going into too much detail yet, but there's a reason we know where the evidence is for you. We didn't hurt anyone, but we kept quiet and were even forced to help bury the evidence."
"So what, you want immunity?" Booth asked. "I can't promise that."
"No," Mike said taking a deep breath. "We know that. But we still have to protect ourselves. We can't tell you everything until we know our friends are safe. Micky and I talked about this. If we have to go to jail, we're gonna make sure they are safe first."
