ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY

Jesse and Emma greeted the rest of the team in their newly rented office. After the trio had gotten the keys and the codes, they had all agreed that the accused criminals were due for a meeting with their lawyers.

Jesse and Rei set to work on setting up a mock code that would seem to work but would need a second code sent from one of their rings to unlock whatever door they were going to be coded to. According to new information Adam had ferreted out, they had to assume that the keys were what Duval needed to get the xeraxium he was ultimately after.

While they were taking care of the computer end of things Emma pulled Brennan and Shalimar aside. "So how is Rei holding up?"

Shalimar looked back to watch the younger feral for a moment while she ordered her thoughts. "Well, the last few days at the hotel she's definitely been better than she has been. No nightmares. Having something to directly focus on seems to help. As far as pulling her weight on the team goes, she's perfect. She just switches it on and off so well it's a little unnerving honestly. While we're working, she is confident and in control. Once we aren't, well I dunno really, it's just this underlying current of anxiety always running through her. I'd pass it off as her still worried about Taylor, but it's worse after we've had contact with Duval. He really has her freaked out. I think it would be wise to take her worry seriously on this. Something is definitely off."

Brennan mirrored her thoughts. Adam had found the right person to bring in on this mission without a doubt, and Duval was not to be trusted. "Any news from her FBI buddy?"

Emma shook her head as she answered the elemental. "No, nothing new. They still don't have enough information to take any action on any level of law enforcement. The guys we've gotten IDs on don't have so much as late library fees. They have all come up clean. Adam has been able to narrow it down to just a handful of potential targets though. He's hoping the code and key style will help him narrow it down even more."

Brennan checked the clock on the wall. "Well we are meeting with Duval in a few hours, maybe if he decides we passed his little test he'll let us in on the plan and we can end it before it has a chance to begin."

"We can only hope." Emma answered, sparing a glance at Rei. "The sooner this is done with the better."

Shalimar's eyes flashed from the back seat of the SUV as their escorts parked in the lot of the abandoned bar. There were more people here this time. Rei shifted in the seat beside her and Shal knew that she had picked up on the extra people as well. All three stepped out of the vehicle and were once again escorted to the entrance by the same two men from before. This time though even Brennan could feel the unease in the air as he took point entering the bar with Rei right behind him and Shal bringing up the rear.

As before, the door leading in was left open. There was an extra pair of men lingering by the doors to the kitchen along with the two flanking the table Duval was seated at. The two ferals clocked another three somewhere but couldn't pin down their locations, which only set the pair more on edge than they already were. Rei's sweaty palm gripped tighter on the handle of the satchel that held the items obtained earlier. She couldn't hide her unease as her eyes flitted around the room, and Duval picked up on it right away.

Her eyes settled on him as he chuckled. "You seem a little apprehensive this afternoon Miss Ericson. Did everything go well earlier today? I see you brought me something."

"Everything went well this morning." The red head tried to calm herself as she stepped forward so that her movement portrayed confidence. In reality, every muscle in her body was tense and her adrenaline was building toward fight or flight with every step closer to the table. Brennan and Shalimar stayed a few feet behind her but had her flanked on either side. Shalimar stayed facing Duval and his goons while Brennan had angled his body more toward the two new guys by the kitchen.

Rei placed the bag on the table and took a step back. "Really with all the information you already had prepared anyone could have acquired those. I'm not sure what it is you were trying to gauge by having us get them for you instead of just sending your own team." Her eyes darted around the room once more. Something was very wrong. There was a trace of a scent she had caught that was awfully familiar but was too faint to place. The younger feral had to consciously stop herself from flashing her eyes and extending her senses to pinpoint it.

Duval again laughed under his breath as he unzipped the satchel and pulled out the laptop, the disk, and the box containing the two security key blanks. "Right you are my dear." He paused his explanation for a moment and proceeded to open the laptop and insert the disc. "It was in fact a relatively easy assignment."

He stopped speaking a second time as the disc loaded and he turned his attention to the screen and opened the file. It took a few moments for him to finish looking through the lines of computer code, and to examine the key blanks. Satisfied, he shut off the computer and tucked everything back into the bag. He stood up as he handed the bag to the man on his left and closed the space between himself and Rei. "You see Miss Ericson; in most cases my auditions are to discover if the individuals I am interested in show a certain talent. In your case however I was already aware of your unique gifts."

Rei's heart was racing, and she could hear her teammates behind her nervously shifting their stances. Brennan had taken another small step toward the kitchen doors carefully watching the man who had been given the bag as he walked into the kitchen. As the doors swung back into the main room the air pushed the scent of the two men toward Mutant X.

Duval couldn't contain a smirk as both of the females immediately turned toward the kitchen and instinctively adopted stances that were defensive. "As you now see you are not the only feral I have come across recently."

Shalimar stayed focused on the two ferals by the kitchen doors, a low growl reverberating in her chest. Brennan had shifted his focus to the men at the entrance, and Rei's attention was back on Duval. "How did you know I was a feral?"

"That my dear is of minor importance at this moment, but I have been aware of you for quite some time. I wasn't sure if your new team members were new mutants or not but that was of little consequence to me for the job I wanted you for." Duval had begun striding back and forth in front of the team as he talked. "However, imagine my surprise when I was contacted shortly after our meeting the other day and informed that your two companions were both in fact new mutants, and two very powerful new mutants at that."

Rei jumped nervously and took a few more backward steps closer to Shal and Brennan when the man that had left with the bag reentered the room. Neither of the girls liked the tone with which Duval spoke, Shalimar wasn't sure where this was going but it was going downhill fast. The blond nudged Brennan with her foot as she adjusted her stance and activated the audio on her commlink unseen. Brennan didn't need to be told to be ready, he could feel the energy in the air almost as strongly as his feral teammates. They were in trouble.

Duval stopped pacing as his man rejoined him at his left. "Then Miss Ericson, imagine my absolute shock when I received information from that same concerned individual that your two new companions were in fact members of Mutant X."

In the next moment everything seemed to happen at once. Shalimar and Brennan immediately moved so that the trio were all back to back. Shalimar yelled to Jesse and Emma that they were going to need some help and that their cover had been blown. Two sets of feral eyes flashed and Brennan formed a tesla coil in his hand.

Duval seemed unphased and simply motioned to his men as he walked toward the kitchen to his ride waiting outside the back door. He addressed his men. "Alive and unharmed if possible gentleman, and don't let Mr. Collins burn the place down if you would."

With that said he was gone and his men moved forward. The two ferals that were by the kitchen effectively blocked that exit and their original escorts covered the front door, while the men who had been flanking their boss moved in front of the table effectively boxing the Mutant X team in.

They had all heard what Duval had said, and Shal knew this was going to be bad. She heard the redhead's breath catch and felt the fear rolling off her in waves at the mention of Taylor "Rei! Rei, you still with us?!"

Rei's heart stopped when Taylor's name came out of Duval's mouth in his instructions. Her entire body froze for a split second before she was able to take a shuddering step backward and ran into her two teammates. Panic immediately overtook her and her eyes flashed feral, even as her senses dulled. The only thing she could hear was a rushing sound and her vision blurred at the edges as she hyperventilated.

Brennan could feel the tremors that began to rack Rei's frame as she backed further into them. He cursed when she didn't answer Shalimar, but he couldn't take his focus off the two ferals in front of him that were now starting to cautiously creep forward. "Rei! Kid! You have to get it together or we aren't getting out of this!"

At that moment a voice they all recognized came from the front door as the man it belonged to walked in. "Oh I don't think you three are getting out of this this time. Raina I told you you weren't getting away from me."

Shalimar growled at the fire starter and the two additional ferals that entered behind him. They were outnumbered, and Shalimar prayed Taylor wouldn't be using his gifts with four ferals on his own team. She cursed as she felt Rei spin to face Taylor when he said her name. "Brennan" she called as she reflexively put herself between the younger feral and the Firestarter.

Brennan moved to Rei's back at Shalimar's call and added the other two guys to his watch. In that moment of silence, a whimper from the red head echoed in the room and then all hell broke loose.

All four enemy ferals launched the attack. Not being able to move from their newest teammate who was frozen in fear, Shalimar engaged the two ferals on her side while Brennan sent out two handfuls of electricity toward his opponents sending all four flying into the walls behind them. The elemental took that short moment and spun Rei around to face him. "Rei you need to snap out of it and help us protect you!" He shook her shoulders and finally saw her eyes start to focus on him. "Keep these guys off our backs while I help Shal!"

Slowly nodding Rei turned her attention to one of the ferals that was recovering from the shock Brennan had given him and was making it to his feet. Once he was up, he immediately went for Brennan's back as he turned to help Shalimar. Rei sprung into action and stopped him before he had the chance.

Shalimar was a whirlwind of fists and feet, knees and elbows. Even as she was outnumbered by the two larger male ferals they weren't keeping up. One fell as she caught him with her boot across the side of the head, and she gracefully leapt over an arc of electricity that slammed into the SUV driver as she began exchanging blows with the second feral.

The blond chanced a glance at her younger counterpart. She was holding her own even as one of the other men had also shaken off his shock and joined the fight. Before Shalimar could voice a warning, the second feral was on his feet and grabbed Rei from behind. The red head jabbed her elbow into his solar plexus with everything she had and his grip loosened but he didn't drop. His grip prevented her from avoiding a blow to her head from the first feral and she collapsed, out cold.

The angry snarl that came from Shalimar drew everyone's attention as she attacked more violently than before. In seconds she downed her opponent and was after the feral pair that had attacked Rei as Brennan fought with the rest of the men.

Brennan and Shalimar had turned the tables, when suddenly an explosion of fire tore across the room. It slammed into Shalimar as the other ferals scattered, sending her flying into the wall with bone crushing force. The older feral joined Rei in the black oblivion of unconsciousness. Brennan wasn't but a few seconds behind them, when in his distraction he felt a jab into his shoulder from behind. One of the men had injected him with something.

The two elementals locked glares, and Taylor smirked as Brennan slipped into the darkness of the sedative.

TBC...