Chapter Ten: Lost & Found
"Lee..." The voice sounded more than a million miles away perhaps from some other planet; it could be possible, hell, anything was possible now she had seen aliens, a real brain-like aliens tucked away inside the average body of a man..or was it..there was no way it could be a real man, afterall, how could it be with an alien inside it?
"Lee.." She felt light pressure on her arm; a touch to almost hurry her back to consciousness but all she could do was think about what Sacks had said, and more importantly, what he had shown her. Her inner monologue had a life of it's own and it was not going to give it up that easily - it weighed down her eyes and kept her in that state of compliance so all she could think about was the words which Sacks had said: You are the experiment.
In that second the horror rose over her once more: this man must have done something to her, made her think about those horrible images, perhaps it was a test to pave the way for something much worse? Even in her subdued state, she felt nauseous, and then there was the panic: the burning need to move.
"Leeanne.." The voice was louder now, another touch, a shake, more persistent this time "Come on Lee, please"
The weight on her eyelids was extreme but if only she could...and then...light, little slivers of light, she could see them now and see a man leaning right over her, he was blurry but he was definitely there.
"Mike.." Even her own voice sounded like it was underwater - just what had Sacks doped her with?
"Thank god" And then he was pulling her up to sitting, supporting her weight with his own. His features were becoming more in focus: it was definitely Doctor Mike Fallon alright - her boss and mentor: "I'm so sorry"
Wait. What? He was sorry?
He knew about all this. Of course he did.
She tried to push him away but her strength was lacking somewhat and instead she nearly toppled forwards off the bench. He kept a firm hold of her arm.
"Easy. Leeanne, I have to get you out of here and then please will you let me explain"
"Explain what? How you sold my soul to the devil"
She had to stop fighting, she didn't have the energy - but it really pained her to do it. This was a man she'd admired, trusted. And right now it was more than obvious that he'd bought her into this whole thing knowing what it was all about; not because of her experience, but because she was worth risking, because she could disappear and nobody would even notice.
"It's not what you think" He helped her down "I wasn't given an option"
"So why do this? Why help me?"
"I had to. I couldn't live with the guilt if it goes any further and knowing these people it will...you took, you see you took.."
"Took what?"
Arriving at the door, he used his photo ID barcode and thumb print to get them out into the corridor "This chemical, destroyed most of the subjects..but not you.."
Suddenly she became aware that her head hurt - really hurt; she rubbed her temple with her spare hand, the other one still gripping onto her boss, Doctor Mike Fallon, albeit reluctantly.
"Let's go" He led her out towards what appeared to be a stair well but there actually only three steps down to a sliding door and a lift hatch "This is for emergency use and as it's activated an alarm usually goes off, but I, disabled it so we will no need to worry about that"
One less thing to worry about then.
"I have my car waiting and we'll get you out of here"
And go where?
She didn't know whether she had said that aloud or just thought it? Either way, Fallon didn't answer. He bundled her out of the lift, paused for a second and then bundled her into the front seat of his car.
"I'd put your head down if I was you"
Leeanne did as instructed, still feeling the effects of whatever it was she had circulating in her blood stream, she felt drunk and was not in the market to make a protest of any sort. Whilst in her hunched position she found her mind wandering back over what Sacks had told her and more importantly what he'd shown her.
"I can't believe you knew" Her voice may have been muffled as she burried her head but he heard her she was quite sure of that "So, what is the truth?"
She saw his torso shift "Complicated" he began "You can sit up now, we're out"
Raising her body back up to regular height she finally clipped into her seat belt before eyeing Dr Fallon with suspicion "So..?"
"Truth? I'm not sure you would even want to know let alone comprehend it"
"Well, what about my home first off, can I go home?"
"No. But even if you could, it wouldn't be a wise move, you have to be somewhere with people, lots of people, somewhere safe"
"I don't understand why.. why me?" Her mind flashed back to the picture - the blood - the bodies and then the alien, packed tightly away inside...inside "It has to be some sort of joke, a test,..right?"
"Sadly no. Sacks worked this way from day one, even before he signed on the dotted line" She then realised the car had stopped moving - just how long had they been parked up? "He's a powerful man, the type you don't say no to" Her eyelids felt heavy again, she fought against their willingness to close and used her fingers to rub them "But it isn't just him, others want to get control but they need an army in order to do that which is where the trials came in..and now it's getting out of hand" He banged a fist on the steering wheel "Too many people have died"
The shot came from nowhere. Leeanne didn't even register what had happened until Fallon slumped forward, his head hitting the steering whell with a thud; then everything went into slow motion - the blood trickling from the back of his head, the hole in the seat and rearwindscreen. She frantically looked around from one window to the next, gasping for air: there was nobody with a gun but there was someone watching alright. Opening the door of the car she pushed it shut behind her and used the front end as a shield, keeping her head down, body small, her eyes scanning the people walking past, anxious to land on someone who looked like a shooter.
Te time seemed to last forever. Her heart was thumping in her head and chest, the pain beyond anything she had ever experienced. Nausea bubbled in her throat, she knew she was panicking now but seemed unable to stop it. Her phone. Her bag. Everything was back at TCRI. Having never faced this type of problem she had no clue what to do apart from get away from the car and get closer to people, try and get some sort of assistance hopefully a cop or something. She willed herself to move, the heavy effects of whatever Sacks had dosed her with having lifted enough so instead of feeling wobbly she could put one foot in front of the other in a straight line minus any support.
So she ran. Straight towards people straight towards the road and it was then that she came into full contact with Donatello's truck, hitting the bonnet of the vehicle before disappearing underneath.
(A few minutes earlier)
Donatello slid into his seat and started the engine - he had only been there for a couple of seconds before Michelangelo was on the phone again.
"Donnie, where are you? I thought you'd be home by now!"
"What are you, my mother? I'm on my way so expect me as soon as traffic allows, and Mikey, calm down"
"I can't! There are strange noises coming from Leo's room and Raph has left me on my own"
Donatello couldn't help but roll his eyes "It's fine Mikey...just end the call...I'm on my way!"
He was going to have stern words with Raphael when he got back to the lair - he knew how freaked out the youngest could get and under the current cirumstances should not have left him alone. So much for brotherly support.
The van soon became part of the traffic, luckily rush hour had ended so he could travel at a good speed and keep Michelangelo off his shell. This was one of three vehicles he'd rescued and 'done up' for their use. The garbage truck was great for them to use on longer patrols but when he had started working more closely with the cops he needed something smaller, more light weight, something just for himself, but she would also need to be large enough to have some space for anything salvageable that he spotted en route - and this would be night-time only - he figured New Yorkers may have something to say about a seven foot turtle lurking in the alleyways.
Donatello had definitely taken his time with this one and it showed, and the more time he'd spent with her the more interested Raphael had become so it would often be that the two of them would spend time tinkering in their make shift garage back at the lair. Just like when he was lifting weights Raphael thrived when something grabbed his interest. The moveable seat was his concept so entry and exit could be quick and easy through the back doors of the vehicle - the side doors were sealed for obvious reasons, but it was the window hollagram was something which Donatello was particularly proud of. From the inside it showed him everything he needed to see in order to get from 'a to b'. On the outside, to the viewing public, he was just a regular guy. A regular human guy. Hell, he loved this van. She was so smart. He'd called her Violet, would chat to her on and off and really felt like he knew her. Not that he'd tell the others that.
His phone rang loudly catching him unaware as a body appeared over the bonnet, hitting it with a thud, before fading out of sight. Shit.
"Mikey! For f...gods sake get off the line!" The youngest didn't even have the nerve to speak; it wasn't often that Donatello lost his cool. With the van at a halt Donatello used the external scanner to pick up an image of what he'd just knocked down. It was a girl. "Tell me there are signs of life?" The windscreen display showed that her vital signs were steady. And more importantly that she actually had vital signs. The sound of a fist on said windscreen made him jump.
"Hey! You've just run her over you idiot!"
"Thanks for that" replied Donatello to himself "I hadn't realised" He put the vehicle in reverse, checked the mirrors and moved slowly back.
"Hey, he's tryin' to get away, stop him!" It was the same loud voiced man that had bounced a hand on his windscreen. The people around him all looked at Donatello but thankfully not seeing the real article.
"Oh sugar nuts - Violet, call Casey"
Calling Casey. The trail of numbers beeped through and Jones picked up.
"Hey D, what's up?" He exited the lab at TCRI and stood by the door "I'm glad you called as I may need a favour"
"First me then you. I've just run over a girl and now there's a mob outside. Little help would be good...like now"
Donatello breathed out and looked at the screen again, using his finger to swipe over the details - this time he did not even flinch as angry man smacked a now flattened hand on Violet's bonnet - he was instead looking at the name under the picture which she had pulled up: Doctor Leeanne Miller.
"Casey. I think I've found your missing female"