Chapter Five - Revelations and Apocalypses
The young woman's screams were silenced as the drugs made their way through her system in a matter of seconds. Unconscious, she lay on the floor in the middle of the circle of men and women all staring at the one man whose name she had screamed last. As Eric pulled the needle from her arm and set it on the ground for a moment to check her pulse Shalimar reached out with her feral reflexes and snatched it away, carefully tucking it into her pocket. Reaching out Adam pushed Eric out of the way and examined her himself. Putting his fingers to her neck he felt a pulse beating string and sure. For a moment he closed his eyes against the fear of what might have happened, his mind imagining the worst.
"What happened?" Mixy cried. "Why is she unconscious?"
"She was overcome by the pain," Eric explained.
"We have to get her to the lab, I need to examine her," Adam interrupted.
"She's fine," Eric glared. "The headaches had a chance to get farther than before and it induces a sleepy state. Once she sleeps it off she'll be fine."
"Listen to me you little..."
"Adam!" Shalimar interrupted, pulling on his arm. "Give the man a chance, he is Eve's doctor after all. Besides your lab is occupied by that project you told us about a few days ago remember?" Hoping he remembered what she was talking about Shalimar smiled when the light dawned in his eyes and he nodded. "Why don't Jesse and Brennan stay here with Eve and Pete and then you, me, Mixy and Jackie can go back to the Sanctuary to get them acquainted with it?"
"All right," he conceded. "Brennan, you and Jesse stay here. We'll get the ladies set up at the Sanctuary first and then we'll come back for they guys," purposefully pointing at both Eric and Pete."
Nodding, both Brennan and Jesse understood what Adam wasn't saying. Take care of Emma. That was the real reason they were being left behind. Getting to his feet Adam stepped aside and let Pete pick her up from the floor to carry her to bed, Jesse following them while Brennan remained with Eric. Taking a deep breath to calm himself Adam forced a smile and motioned for the three women to precede him out of the office. Up to the roof and into the Double Helix they were in the air before either Mixy or Jackie had a chance to speak what was on their mind. Facing Adam it was Mixy who got her question out first.
"How do you know Eve?" she demanded.
Sitting back in his chair, Shalimar at the helm, Adam told them the story. "She is a member of Mutant X. When she fell from the parking ramp we assumed she was dead."
"I knew that one guy looked familiar!" Jackie cried. "Brennan, right? He was the one who was with her that day wasn't he?"
"Yes."
"Tell us about her," Mixy asked. Her mind kept replaying the scene from the office; the fear that had gripped her heart when she had heard the screams was still too fresh in her mind. "I'd like to know who my friend really is."
Starting at the very beginning of Emma's relationship with the team he told her everything that he deemed necessary. Leaving out quite a few details he gave them a character sketch of the woman they knew as Eve. As he told them he could see them nodding at certain parts, Eve and Emma not so different after all. It was in her nature to help people, to be kind and friendly, to love people. Staring at him, listening as he spoke about Eve, 'Emma' she reminded herself, Mixy began to realize one very important fact, something Adam hadn't mentioned yet she knew as well as she knew herself. "You love her don't you?"
Stopping, hands mid gesture, Adam stared at the feral sitting across from him. Dropping his hands into his lap he couldn't help but smile and shake his head. "Yeah, I do."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Moaning in her sleep she rolled over, hugging the pillow tightly in her arms, before resettling in the bed. Sitting in a chair across the room Jesse watched her sleeping and he couldn't stop the rage that boiled in his chest. Whatever that creep had done to her he would pay for it, Jesse would make sure of it. He could still remember the way it had felt; as though his heart had been ripped out when Brennan had told them what had happened to Emma. She was the closest thing he had to a little sister. Shalimar was his older 'sister', always playing the protector, but Emma... Emma was different. From the moment they had met he'd felt an insane urge to keep her safe, to protect her. She'd always seemed so innocent and naïve to him. Just like a little sister.
Running a frustrated hand through his hair Jesse stood and began to pace the small room. In the middle of his tenth lap Shalimar's voice rang out, cutting through the silence of the room. "Jesse?"
"I'm here, Shalimar. What's going on?"
"We're on our way back to the club. Adam found out what the drug is."
"Well what is it?"
"I'll tell you both when I get there," Adam chimed in. "How's Emma?"
"She's still sleeping."
"Not surprising. She should be up soon. While she's asleep I want you to find Brennan. Make sure Eric hasn't left and keep him away from any sort of communication device until we get there."
"You got it, Adam."
Breaking the comm link, with one last glance at the sleeping woman, Jesse left the room and headed down three flights of stairs to The Haven. Skipping the last few stairs Jesse landed on the floor and spun around to find Brennan and Eric. Locating Brennan in the water garden Jesse headed towards him. With whispered tones he conveyed what Adam had told him a few moments ago. Nodding Brennan pointed to another corner. Looking up he saw the wanted man sitting near the computer, typing in a program Jesse didn't recognize. "Hey Eric," he called out, walking towards the man. "I was hoping you and I could talk."
"Not interested."
"I'm not giving you a choice," Jesse countered. Standing behind the man Jesse put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him away from the computer. Shoving his hand away Eric glared at Jesse. Facing off with each other the two men were silent.
"Hey come on, guys," Brennan interfered. "Cool it. We don't need this right now."
"He started it," Eric glared, his eyes never leaving Jesse's.
"Oh real mature there buddy," Jesse sneered.
"Shut up Jesse," Brennan scowled at his friend. "Listen everybody just settle down and we'll get along fine."
"I have work to do," Eric said, turning back to the computer.
Glancing at each other, knowing they couldn't let him let back on the computer, Brennan shot out a small bolt of electricity and the computer went dead. Jumping away from the sparks Eric turned and faced Brennan. "You just made a big mistake pal," he ground out. Attacking Brennan the elemental barely had time to react, Eric's fist just missing his face. Back and forth they fought, Pete and Jesse trying to help Brennan and get Eric out of the way, until suddenly a low voltage bolt of electricity shocked all four of them. Crying out in shock they turned to see sparks snapping at the tips of Jackie's fingers.
"What the hell is going on down here?" Mixy asked, stepping off the last step. "The entire room is reeking of testosterone."
Glaring the four men separated from each other, Pete and Jesse between Brennan and Eric. Shooting a look at Pete Mixy crossed the room to check out the computer, sparks still flying from its screen, trying to get it back under control before she lost everything. Raising an eyebrow at his two guys Adam crossed the floor to them. "What happened?"
Shifting his feet Jesse dug is hands into his pockets. "Just talking," he mumbled.
Pressing a soft cloth to Eric's split lip Jackie glared at Jesse. "Talking was not what we just saw here," she scolded all four of the men.
Scowling Eric pulled away from Jackie's nursing. "I gotta get going. I have other patients to see."
"You're not going anywhere." All eyes turned to Adam as he stood, arms folded, face stony. Reaching into his pocket he removed a capped syringe and held it at eye level for Eric to see. "Why?"
"What are you doing with that?"
"Asking you a question, now answer it."
Staring at it, his face as stony as Adam's Eric remained silent.
"Eric? Adam?" Pete said, trying to figure out what had happening. "What's going on here?"
"This is the syringe that Eric used earlier. I did a chemical breakdown of what was inside and I want to know why. Why the hell were you giving this to her?"
"He told you," Jackie interrupted. "Eve gets headaches, it stops the pain."
His eyes never leaving Eric's Adam forced himself to stay calm. "Tell them what it really does." When the man refused to speak Adam told the group for him. "This syringe was filled with Ethelplorinide. Taken in the amounts that he's been giving it sections off a portion of the brain, denying access to it. When the barrier is broken or weakened it induces severe pain. Anytime she began to remember something the headaches would begin. Injecting her with this repaired the wall that stopped her from remembering her life before the injections began." Adam was furious, his fist clenching and unclenching by his side. "I've spoken with her about the first thing she remembered, the very first thing she could recall. All she could remember was waking up in the GSA. That can only mean one thing, Mr. Waverly."
Standing up straighter Eric leveled his gaze at the leader of Mutant X.
"What are you talking about, Adam?" Mixy asked. "What are you trying to say?"
"He's telling you the same thing I've suspected for a few days now."
There, at the bottom of the stairs, stood a sleepy young woman, her eyes blinking away the sleepiness as fast as she could. Her bare feet padding across the wooden floor she stood next to Adam, her eyes never leaving Eric's. Holding up her hand she held a small disk between her fingers. "For a few days now I've been trying to disprove the only reason I could think of but the truth is I couldn't. Every week, just after giving me that injection Eric made a call. He made it from his cell phone so that it would be almost untraceable but I found out the number he called and I called it myself. I bet you can imagine my surprise when I heard the voice on the other end, Eric." Putting the disk in Mixy's hands she moved forward to stand closer to the man she hated with every cell in her body.
"How could you?" she demanded. "How could you do that to all of us? To Jackie?" Lowering his eyes to meet hers they were as cold as the voice she had heard on the other end of the phone. "You son of a bitch."
"What's going on Eve?" Pete asked her, confused.
"Has anyone ever wondered why we lost so many shipments? Why the GSA always seemed to know where we were going to be before we even got there?" Her eyes never leaving Eric's she could feel everyone staring at her. "The bastard ratted us out. Eric is a GSA agent."
Silence fell over the group as her words sank in. Too shocked to speak Mixy and Pete could only stare at Eric while Mutant X closed their eyes, realizing how close everything had really come to being blown to pieces. "You're lying!" Jackie cried. "Eric is no GSA agent! He'd never do that!"
"Jackie, the number I called is a direct line to Mason Eckhart's office! He called it every week! Why would I lie about this?"
"No," she cried, "You're wrong!" Turning to face Eric she put a gentle hand on his arm. "Tell them, Eric, tell them how wrong they are!" With a small shift of his eyes Eric looked down at Jackie, her eyes pleading with him to prove them wrong. Seeing him look at her with such coldness Jackie could feel her heart breaking in two. "Oh my god..." she breathed, backing away from the man she loved. Tears coming to her eyes she turned and fled The Haven, her heart broken.
"You son of a bitch!" Pete yelled, landing a punch to his friend's face. Stalking across the room he took the stairs three at a time, racing after Jackie.
"Oh shit," Mixy whispered as she sank into a nearby chair.
As much as she wanted to help her friends who were in pain from Eric's betrayal Eve knew there was something even more important that needed to be taken care of. Turning she addressed Adam. "He hasn't checked in like he was supposed to so they're going to know something is wrong. If he's given them all the information he had then we are in big trouble. All of our contacts, on both sides of the borders, are gonna be in trouble. You have to help us get in contact with them before the GSA gets to them."
"How many people?" Adam asked, his wheels already turning as to how to help.
"About fifty," she said with a frustrated sigh. "We'll have to split up and take various directions. There are ten families across the border, three of them can disappear into the city, there are some safe houses they can use, but the others will need to be relocated. Now there're also four contacts here in our city that will need to be out somewhere safe, at least until we figure out what to do with them."
"All right, Jesse, Shalimar, I want you two to take care of the ones here in the city. Brennan you and..."
"No," Eve interrupted. "If one of us aren't there to give the signals then they'll assume you're the enemy. We'll have to split it evenly between our two teams. Jesse and Mixy can take care of the city contacts and the one that's just outside of the city. Brennan and Pete will head to the south, there're three families down there; Pete knows where they are. Shalimar and Jackie will go to the east while you and I head north. We all know where to find the families and which ones need relocating but I'll need your people to provide the actual places to take them."
Adam nodded. "Done. Brennan you'll use the safe house in Larch, Shalimar, you use The Peterson's over in Voxtin and Jesse you use the safe house on the corner of Elm and Orion. Keep your comm links open people, I don't want anything to go wrong on this, there are too many people depending on us."
"Is Jackie going to be up to this?" Shalimar asked.
Mixy nodded. "Her heart may be broken but she always puts the fight first. She'll do it."
Splitting ways, after locking Eric up in the storage room, the group got underway as fast as they could. Lives were depending on them.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Sitting at the helm of the Double Helix Adam entered in the co-ordinates of the third contact past the northern border. In the back he could feel her pacing the confines of the vehicle, her tension as thick as the weight over Adam's heart. Together they had gotten the first two contacts cleared out and to safety in one of the safe houses that Mutant X established. She was scared for them, fearful that the GSA would get to them before they did. These people, the contacts and their families, were very important to her.
Piloting the Double Helix Adam couldn't help but think back to the moment in the office when she had seen him, truly seen him as who he was to her. But now... he could see it in her eyes. She didn't remember him. When she had said his name just before succumbing to the injection he had seen the recognition, the love, in her eyes. But, thanks to that GSA bastard, it was gone and Adam would have to wait another week before he could attempt anything. If he were to try anything sooner than that it would kill her. But he would wait as long as it was needed.
"We're here," Adam called out as he landed in a field to the left of the farmhouse.
Opening the hatch they alighted from the plane and began to walk across the field. While still many yards away Adam saw her raise her hand and wave, a bright, relieved, smile filling her face. Looking to the house he saw a little girl smiling back in one of the windows and he smiled. It was obvious to him how much she cared for the little girl, Annie, as she had told him earlier. Even as the little child disappeared from view the hell of the GSA ensued. A loud boom filled that air as the window that had previously framed the little girl shattered with the heat of the explosion.
Knocked off their feet Adam and Eve were tossed back several yards from the force of the explosion. Recovering from the jolt Adam looked to Eve a few feet away and his heart stopped cold. Unmoving, she lay prone on the ground, burning ashes and cinder dropping all around. Crawling to her side, eyes wide with the fear that she'd been hurt, Adam cupped her face with his hand, fingers feeling for a pulse. The tensions leaving him when he found one Adam closed his eyes for a moment against the pain that had torn through his heart at the prospect of losing her all over again.
Still leaning over her Adam felt her begin to move, brow frowning in pain, a small moan escaping her lips. Blinking she opened her eyes and he saw the realization of what had just happened come creeping into them. With a strangled cry Eve scrambled to her feet and raced toward the burning farmhouse only to be pulled back into Adam's arms as a second explosion ripped through the air, knocking them both to the ground a second time. Staring at the burning house, sitting on the ground, Adams arms wrapped around her, Eve could swear she heard the screaming of little Annie and her mother Marta.
Holding her, preventing her from heading towards the burning house again, Adam's heart tore when he heard her screaming out to the little girl in the window, tears streaming from her eyes. When she realized that both were dead she sank back into his chest, falling silent, staring in shock at the flames and smoke that were rising in the air thirty yards away. Her entire body trembling, Adam held her close, needing to help her with the pain that he could see in her eyes. From the corner of his eye he saw the trio of cars getting closer as the seconds passed. Realizing that it was the GSA, and that they were closing in fast, Adam knew they had to get back to the Double Helix. Pulling Eve to her feet they ran towards the plane, getting in and taking off as fast as they could.
Crumpled in the co-pilots seat Eve curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, her mind replaying the scene of the little girl waving to her in the window. Her blue eyes, smiling little blue eyes that peered up at her with such innocence and friendship before they were engulfed in flames as the GSA destroyed the house the little girl had grown up in. The GSA were nothing more than monsters that had made Annie's life seem as worthless as a rag one could toss away without a second thought. The little girl Eve had cared for, as if she was here little sister, was dead. Fresh tears joined the old ones in careening down her face as she grieved for her friends, the only family she knew.
Setting a diversionary course back to the club Adam engaged the autopilot and turned to face Eve. Watching her, crying, he knelt before her, covering her hands with his and trying to see her eyes. Staring down at him, seeing the kindness in his eyes, Eve had moved before her brain could register her actions. Reaching out she dropped her arms around his shoulders, leaning against him as she wept. Sighing Adam held her tight, knowing that she was in pain, knowing he had to help her in whatever way he could. But the feel of her in his arms, the smell of her, it was too much to bear and not be able to have her know who he really was. Closing his eyes Adam tried to close off his heart as well.
"I'm sorry," she whispered from within his arms. "It's just..."
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Adam whispered back. "You loved them."
Nodding, "Yes," she breathed.
Adam was still holding her close when Jesse's voice rang out over the comm link. "Adam?"
Sighing, "Yes, Jesse?"
"We're all back at the club, are you and... um, are you guys done yet?"
"Yes, we're on our way back. We'll see you when we get there. Adam out."
Pulling herself from his arms, remembering that they were still too involved in a fight to take time out for personal thoughts and feelings, she wiped her tears and forced her heart to shut itself off. "We have to go back. They may attack the club once they find out we've gotten all of our contacts to safety." Looking out the view window she closed her eyes for a moment. "Almost all."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Down the stairs to The Haven Eve ignored everyone else in the room and stalked over to the storage room. Unlocking the door she stepped in and grabbed Eric, dragging him out to the main room. Pushing him to the floor she stood over him, his shirt bunched in her hand as she yanked him up closer to her face. "You listen to me and you listen up damn good. I want to know what Eckhart knows about us and I don't want you to skip a single detail, do you understand me? I'll know if you're lying so don't even try." Tossing him aside she took a few steps back and waited for him to begin speaking. With a small wave Adam stopped the questions he could see in everyone's eyes. Now wasn't the time for a recap of what was happening.
"Answer her," he ordered the young agent.
Moving his gaze from Eve to Adam and back Eric knew he was in real trouble. "He knows everything," he said. "The Club, the contacts, the procedure... Mr. Eckhart knows it all."
"And what's he going to do?"
"How the hell should I know?"
"Then take a wild guess!" she cried as she stepped towards him. "And it had better be a good one or so help me...!" grabbing his shirt once more.
"All right!" holding up his hands to stop her. "He'll come to the club when you're least likely to expect it. More than likely he'll come in force. He knows Mutant X is working with you so he'll send the best he's got and he'll send a lot of them. That's all I know, I swear!"
"You better hope so you little son of a bitch," she growled at him. Turning she stormed back to the stairs. "Lock him up and lets meet in the office upstairs," she called back to no one in particular before running up the stairs.
Watching her go they stood in silence for a moment. "Adam? What happened?"
With a pointed stare he motioned for Eric to get back into the closet. "When we got to the third contact there wasn't any time to get them to safety. The house exploded before we could get them out."
"Oh God," Mixy breathed as tears sprang to Jackie's eyes. Between the two women Pete closed his eyes and pulled the both of them close.
"Which one?"
Taking a deep breath Adam replied, "Annie and Marta."
"Shit," Pete breathed, tightening his hold on the two women. "No wonder she took it so hard. Eve took to Annie like an older sister."
"I know," Adam shook his head with a sigh. "We better go; we have to plan for the GSA's attack."
Climbing the stairs he heard them following behind after a moment and soon they had all relocated to the office on the third floor. Seated around the room they planned, back and forth, trying to decide what to do when the GSA attacked. It was inevitable that they would do come and the group of New Mutants refused to hide from the GSA. "They'll attack when their risk of exposure is minimal. They can't run the risk of too many people seeing them so more than likely they'll wait until we're closed."
"Great so that narrows it down to an eighteen hour window."
Glaring out the window Eve folded her arms. She could hear them tossing around ideas behind her but she was deaf to the words. Try as she mad she couldn't focus in on what they were saying, her mind replaying, over and over, the little blue eyes that would never peer down at her form the window again. She could still remember the way Annie had peered at her from behind Marta's legs when they had first met. After introducing herself Marta had pulled her daughter out into the forefront. Eve had gotten down on her knees and smiled at the shy little girl. Almost immediately the shyness left the girl and she pulled on Eve's hands to bring her up the stairs of the little farmhouse. Eve had gotten a tour of the little girl's room and from that moment on Annie had held a place in the very depth of Eve's heart.
"So then we're decided?"
Their conversation breaking back into her thoughts Eve turned around to face the group. "What did we decide on?" she asked softly.
Mixy met her eyes and knew she hadn't been listening as she had stared out the giant window. "We'll sleep in shifts. No more than three people sleeping at a time, the rest will cover the entrances and exits of the club. If they haven't come in a week then we'll re-think everything then." Eve nodded. "All right then. Why don't Eve, Adam and Jackie take the first sleep shift, the rest of us will sort out our positions."
Agreeing Eve looked to Jackie as she slipped out of the room. Sighing she followed her friend down the hall to their shared bedroom and opened the door to see Jackie curled up in her bed, pillow clenched in her arms, silent tears soaking it. Without a word, pushing her own pain to the side for now, Eve climbed into the bed with Jackie pulling her friend into her arms, stroking her hair as she wept for a heart that had been broken by a man she had thought she loved. It wasn't until several hours later, Jackie sound asleep, that Eve was able to slip away and collapse on her own bed. But sleep never came for the young woman.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
The young woman's screams were silenced as the drugs made their way through her system in a matter of seconds. Unconscious, she lay on the floor in the middle of the circle of men and women all staring at the one man whose name she had screamed last. As Eric pulled the needle from her arm and set it on the ground for a moment to check her pulse Shalimar reached out with her feral reflexes and snatched it away, carefully tucking it into her pocket. Reaching out Adam pushed Eric out of the way and examined her himself. Putting his fingers to her neck he felt a pulse beating string and sure. For a moment he closed his eyes against the fear of what might have happened, his mind imagining the worst.
"What happened?" Mixy cried. "Why is she unconscious?"
"She was overcome by the pain," Eric explained.
"We have to get her to the lab, I need to examine her," Adam interrupted.
"She's fine," Eric glared. "The headaches had a chance to get farther than before and it induces a sleepy state. Once she sleeps it off she'll be fine."
"Listen to me you little..."
"Adam!" Shalimar interrupted, pulling on his arm. "Give the man a chance, he is Eve's doctor after all. Besides your lab is occupied by that project you told us about a few days ago remember?" Hoping he remembered what she was talking about Shalimar smiled when the light dawned in his eyes and he nodded. "Why don't Jesse and Brennan stay here with Eve and Pete and then you, me, Mixy and Jackie can go back to the Sanctuary to get them acquainted with it?"
"All right," he conceded. "Brennan, you and Jesse stay here. We'll get the ladies set up at the Sanctuary first and then we'll come back for they guys," purposefully pointing at both Eric and Pete."
Nodding, both Brennan and Jesse understood what Adam wasn't saying. Take care of Emma. That was the real reason they were being left behind. Getting to his feet Adam stepped aside and let Pete pick her up from the floor to carry her to bed, Jesse following them while Brennan remained with Eric. Taking a deep breath to calm himself Adam forced a smile and motioned for the three women to precede him out of the office. Up to the roof and into the Double Helix they were in the air before either Mixy or Jackie had a chance to speak what was on their mind. Facing Adam it was Mixy who got her question out first.
"How do you know Eve?" she demanded.
Sitting back in his chair, Shalimar at the helm, Adam told them the story. "She is a member of Mutant X. When she fell from the parking ramp we assumed she was dead."
"I knew that one guy looked familiar!" Jackie cried. "Brennan, right? He was the one who was with her that day wasn't he?"
"Yes."
"Tell us about her," Mixy asked. Her mind kept replaying the scene from the office; the fear that had gripped her heart when she had heard the screams was still too fresh in her mind. "I'd like to know who my friend really is."
Starting at the very beginning of Emma's relationship with the team he told her everything that he deemed necessary. Leaving out quite a few details he gave them a character sketch of the woman they knew as Eve. As he told them he could see them nodding at certain parts, Eve and Emma not so different after all. It was in her nature to help people, to be kind and friendly, to love people. Staring at him, listening as he spoke about Eve, 'Emma' she reminded herself, Mixy began to realize one very important fact, something Adam hadn't mentioned yet she knew as well as she knew herself. "You love her don't you?"
Stopping, hands mid gesture, Adam stared at the feral sitting across from him. Dropping his hands into his lap he couldn't help but smile and shake his head. "Yeah, I do."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Moaning in her sleep she rolled over, hugging the pillow tightly in her arms, before resettling in the bed. Sitting in a chair across the room Jesse watched her sleeping and he couldn't stop the rage that boiled in his chest. Whatever that creep had done to her he would pay for it, Jesse would make sure of it. He could still remember the way it had felt; as though his heart had been ripped out when Brennan had told them what had happened to Emma. She was the closest thing he had to a little sister. Shalimar was his older 'sister', always playing the protector, but Emma... Emma was different. From the moment they had met he'd felt an insane urge to keep her safe, to protect her. She'd always seemed so innocent and naïve to him. Just like a little sister.
Running a frustrated hand through his hair Jesse stood and began to pace the small room. In the middle of his tenth lap Shalimar's voice rang out, cutting through the silence of the room. "Jesse?"
"I'm here, Shalimar. What's going on?"
"We're on our way back to the club. Adam found out what the drug is."
"Well what is it?"
"I'll tell you both when I get there," Adam chimed in. "How's Emma?"
"She's still sleeping."
"Not surprising. She should be up soon. While she's asleep I want you to find Brennan. Make sure Eric hasn't left and keep him away from any sort of communication device until we get there."
"You got it, Adam."
Breaking the comm link, with one last glance at the sleeping woman, Jesse left the room and headed down three flights of stairs to The Haven. Skipping the last few stairs Jesse landed on the floor and spun around to find Brennan and Eric. Locating Brennan in the water garden Jesse headed towards him. With whispered tones he conveyed what Adam had told him a few moments ago. Nodding Brennan pointed to another corner. Looking up he saw the wanted man sitting near the computer, typing in a program Jesse didn't recognize. "Hey Eric," he called out, walking towards the man. "I was hoping you and I could talk."
"Not interested."
"I'm not giving you a choice," Jesse countered. Standing behind the man Jesse put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him away from the computer. Shoving his hand away Eric glared at Jesse. Facing off with each other the two men were silent.
"Hey come on, guys," Brennan interfered. "Cool it. We don't need this right now."
"He started it," Eric glared, his eyes never leaving Jesse's.
"Oh real mature there buddy," Jesse sneered.
"Shut up Jesse," Brennan scowled at his friend. "Listen everybody just settle down and we'll get along fine."
"I have work to do," Eric said, turning back to the computer.
Glancing at each other, knowing they couldn't let him let back on the computer, Brennan shot out a small bolt of electricity and the computer went dead. Jumping away from the sparks Eric turned and faced Brennan. "You just made a big mistake pal," he ground out. Attacking Brennan the elemental barely had time to react, Eric's fist just missing his face. Back and forth they fought, Pete and Jesse trying to help Brennan and get Eric out of the way, until suddenly a low voltage bolt of electricity shocked all four of them. Crying out in shock they turned to see sparks snapping at the tips of Jackie's fingers.
"What the hell is going on down here?" Mixy asked, stepping off the last step. "The entire room is reeking of testosterone."
Glaring the four men separated from each other, Pete and Jesse between Brennan and Eric. Shooting a look at Pete Mixy crossed the room to check out the computer, sparks still flying from its screen, trying to get it back under control before she lost everything. Raising an eyebrow at his two guys Adam crossed the floor to them. "What happened?"
Shifting his feet Jesse dug is hands into his pockets. "Just talking," he mumbled.
Pressing a soft cloth to Eric's split lip Jackie glared at Jesse. "Talking was not what we just saw here," she scolded all four of the men.
Scowling Eric pulled away from Jackie's nursing. "I gotta get going. I have other patients to see."
"You're not going anywhere." All eyes turned to Adam as he stood, arms folded, face stony. Reaching into his pocket he removed a capped syringe and held it at eye level for Eric to see. "Why?"
"What are you doing with that?"
"Asking you a question, now answer it."
Staring at it, his face as stony as Adam's Eric remained silent.
"Eric? Adam?" Pete said, trying to figure out what had happening. "What's going on here?"
"This is the syringe that Eric used earlier. I did a chemical breakdown of what was inside and I want to know why. Why the hell were you giving this to her?"
"He told you," Jackie interrupted. "Eve gets headaches, it stops the pain."
His eyes never leaving Eric's Adam forced himself to stay calm. "Tell them what it really does." When the man refused to speak Adam told the group for him. "This syringe was filled with Ethelplorinide. Taken in the amounts that he's been giving it sections off a portion of the brain, denying access to it. When the barrier is broken or weakened it induces severe pain. Anytime she began to remember something the headaches would begin. Injecting her with this repaired the wall that stopped her from remembering her life before the injections began." Adam was furious, his fist clenching and unclenching by his side. "I've spoken with her about the first thing she remembered, the very first thing she could recall. All she could remember was waking up in the GSA. That can only mean one thing, Mr. Waverly."
Standing up straighter Eric leveled his gaze at the leader of Mutant X.
"What are you talking about, Adam?" Mixy asked. "What are you trying to say?"
"He's telling you the same thing I've suspected for a few days now."
There, at the bottom of the stairs, stood a sleepy young woman, her eyes blinking away the sleepiness as fast as she could. Her bare feet padding across the wooden floor she stood next to Adam, her eyes never leaving Eric's. Holding up her hand she held a small disk between her fingers. "For a few days now I've been trying to disprove the only reason I could think of but the truth is I couldn't. Every week, just after giving me that injection Eric made a call. He made it from his cell phone so that it would be almost untraceable but I found out the number he called and I called it myself. I bet you can imagine my surprise when I heard the voice on the other end, Eric." Putting the disk in Mixy's hands she moved forward to stand closer to the man she hated with every cell in her body.
"How could you?" she demanded. "How could you do that to all of us? To Jackie?" Lowering his eyes to meet hers they were as cold as the voice she had heard on the other end of the phone. "You son of a bitch."
"What's going on Eve?" Pete asked her, confused.
"Has anyone ever wondered why we lost so many shipments? Why the GSA always seemed to know where we were going to be before we even got there?" Her eyes never leaving Eric's she could feel everyone staring at her. "The bastard ratted us out. Eric is a GSA agent."
Silence fell over the group as her words sank in. Too shocked to speak Mixy and Pete could only stare at Eric while Mutant X closed their eyes, realizing how close everything had really come to being blown to pieces. "You're lying!" Jackie cried. "Eric is no GSA agent! He'd never do that!"
"Jackie, the number I called is a direct line to Mason Eckhart's office! He called it every week! Why would I lie about this?"
"No," she cried, "You're wrong!" Turning to face Eric she put a gentle hand on his arm. "Tell them, Eric, tell them how wrong they are!" With a small shift of his eyes Eric looked down at Jackie, her eyes pleading with him to prove them wrong. Seeing him look at her with such coldness Jackie could feel her heart breaking in two. "Oh my god..." she breathed, backing away from the man she loved. Tears coming to her eyes she turned and fled The Haven, her heart broken.
"You son of a bitch!" Pete yelled, landing a punch to his friend's face. Stalking across the room he took the stairs three at a time, racing after Jackie.
"Oh shit," Mixy whispered as she sank into a nearby chair.
As much as she wanted to help her friends who were in pain from Eric's betrayal Eve knew there was something even more important that needed to be taken care of. Turning she addressed Adam. "He hasn't checked in like he was supposed to so they're going to know something is wrong. If he's given them all the information he had then we are in big trouble. All of our contacts, on both sides of the borders, are gonna be in trouble. You have to help us get in contact with them before the GSA gets to them."
"How many people?" Adam asked, his wheels already turning as to how to help.
"About fifty," she said with a frustrated sigh. "We'll have to split up and take various directions. There are ten families across the border, three of them can disappear into the city, there are some safe houses they can use, but the others will need to be relocated. Now there're also four contacts here in our city that will need to be out somewhere safe, at least until we figure out what to do with them."
"All right, Jesse, Shalimar, I want you two to take care of the ones here in the city. Brennan you and..."
"No," Eve interrupted. "If one of us aren't there to give the signals then they'll assume you're the enemy. We'll have to split it evenly between our two teams. Jesse and Mixy can take care of the city contacts and the one that's just outside of the city. Brennan and Pete will head to the south, there're three families down there; Pete knows where they are. Shalimar and Jackie will go to the east while you and I head north. We all know where to find the families and which ones need relocating but I'll need your people to provide the actual places to take them."
Adam nodded. "Done. Brennan you'll use the safe house in Larch, Shalimar, you use The Peterson's over in Voxtin and Jesse you use the safe house on the corner of Elm and Orion. Keep your comm links open people, I don't want anything to go wrong on this, there are too many people depending on us."
"Is Jackie going to be up to this?" Shalimar asked.
Mixy nodded. "Her heart may be broken but she always puts the fight first. She'll do it."
Splitting ways, after locking Eric up in the storage room, the group got underway as fast as they could. Lives were depending on them.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Sitting at the helm of the Double Helix Adam entered in the co-ordinates of the third contact past the northern border. In the back he could feel her pacing the confines of the vehicle, her tension as thick as the weight over Adam's heart. Together they had gotten the first two contacts cleared out and to safety in one of the safe houses that Mutant X established. She was scared for them, fearful that the GSA would get to them before they did. These people, the contacts and their families, were very important to her.
Piloting the Double Helix Adam couldn't help but think back to the moment in the office when she had seen him, truly seen him as who he was to her. But now... he could see it in her eyes. She didn't remember him. When she had said his name just before succumbing to the injection he had seen the recognition, the love, in her eyes. But, thanks to that GSA bastard, it was gone and Adam would have to wait another week before he could attempt anything. If he were to try anything sooner than that it would kill her. But he would wait as long as it was needed.
"We're here," Adam called out as he landed in a field to the left of the farmhouse.
Opening the hatch they alighted from the plane and began to walk across the field. While still many yards away Adam saw her raise her hand and wave, a bright, relieved, smile filling her face. Looking to the house he saw a little girl smiling back in one of the windows and he smiled. It was obvious to him how much she cared for the little girl, Annie, as she had told him earlier. Even as the little child disappeared from view the hell of the GSA ensued. A loud boom filled that air as the window that had previously framed the little girl shattered with the heat of the explosion.
Knocked off their feet Adam and Eve were tossed back several yards from the force of the explosion. Recovering from the jolt Adam looked to Eve a few feet away and his heart stopped cold. Unmoving, she lay prone on the ground, burning ashes and cinder dropping all around. Crawling to her side, eyes wide with the fear that she'd been hurt, Adam cupped her face with his hand, fingers feeling for a pulse. The tensions leaving him when he found one Adam closed his eyes for a moment against the pain that had torn through his heart at the prospect of losing her all over again.
Still leaning over her Adam felt her begin to move, brow frowning in pain, a small moan escaping her lips. Blinking she opened her eyes and he saw the realization of what had just happened come creeping into them. With a strangled cry Eve scrambled to her feet and raced toward the burning farmhouse only to be pulled back into Adam's arms as a second explosion ripped through the air, knocking them both to the ground a second time. Staring at the burning house, sitting on the ground, Adams arms wrapped around her, Eve could swear she heard the screaming of little Annie and her mother Marta.
Holding her, preventing her from heading towards the burning house again, Adam's heart tore when he heard her screaming out to the little girl in the window, tears streaming from her eyes. When she realized that both were dead she sank back into his chest, falling silent, staring in shock at the flames and smoke that were rising in the air thirty yards away. Her entire body trembling, Adam held her close, needing to help her with the pain that he could see in her eyes. From the corner of his eye he saw the trio of cars getting closer as the seconds passed. Realizing that it was the GSA, and that they were closing in fast, Adam knew they had to get back to the Double Helix. Pulling Eve to her feet they ran towards the plane, getting in and taking off as fast as they could.
Crumpled in the co-pilots seat Eve curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, her mind replaying the scene of the little girl waving to her in the window. Her blue eyes, smiling little blue eyes that peered up at her with such innocence and friendship before they were engulfed in flames as the GSA destroyed the house the little girl had grown up in. The GSA were nothing more than monsters that had made Annie's life seem as worthless as a rag one could toss away without a second thought. The little girl Eve had cared for, as if she was here little sister, was dead. Fresh tears joined the old ones in careening down her face as she grieved for her friends, the only family she knew.
Setting a diversionary course back to the club Adam engaged the autopilot and turned to face Eve. Watching her, crying, he knelt before her, covering her hands with his and trying to see her eyes. Staring down at him, seeing the kindness in his eyes, Eve had moved before her brain could register her actions. Reaching out she dropped her arms around his shoulders, leaning against him as she wept. Sighing Adam held her tight, knowing that she was in pain, knowing he had to help her in whatever way he could. But the feel of her in his arms, the smell of her, it was too much to bear and not be able to have her know who he really was. Closing his eyes Adam tried to close off his heart as well.
"I'm sorry," she whispered from within his arms. "It's just..."
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Adam whispered back. "You loved them."
Nodding, "Yes," she breathed.
Adam was still holding her close when Jesse's voice rang out over the comm link. "Adam?"
Sighing, "Yes, Jesse?"
"We're all back at the club, are you and... um, are you guys done yet?"
"Yes, we're on our way back. We'll see you when we get there. Adam out."
Pulling herself from his arms, remembering that they were still too involved in a fight to take time out for personal thoughts and feelings, she wiped her tears and forced her heart to shut itself off. "We have to go back. They may attack the club once they find out we've gotten all of our contacts to safety." Looking out the view window she closed her eyes for a moment. "Almost all."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Down the stairs to The Haven Eve ignored everyone else in the room and stalked over to the storage room. Unlocking the door she stepped in and grabbed Eric, dragging him out to the main room. Pushing him to the floor she stood over him, his shirt bunched in her hand as she yanked him up closer to her face. "You listen to me and you listen up damn good. I want to know what Eckhart knows about us and I don't want you to skip a single detail, do you understand me? I'll know if you're lying so don't even try." Tossing him aside she took a few steps back and waited for him to begin speaking. With a small wave Adam stopped the questions he could see in everyone's eyes. Now wasn't the time for a recap of what was happening.
"Answer her," he ordered the young agent.
Moving his gaze from Eve to Adam and back Eric knew he was in real trouble. "He knows everything," he said. "The Club, the contacts, the procedure... Mr. Eckhart knows it all."
"And what's he going to do?"
"How the hell should I know?"
"Then take a wild guess!" she cried as she stepped towards him. "And it had better be a good one or so help me...!" grabbing his shirt once more.
"All right!" holding up his hands to stop her. "He'll come to the club when you're least likely to expect it. More than likely he'll come in force. He knows Mutant X is working with you so he'll send the best he's got and he'll send a lot of them. That's all I know, I swear!"
"You better hope so you little son of a bitch," she growled at him. Turning she stormed back to the stairs. "Lock him up and lets meet in the office upstairs," she called back to no one in particular before running up the stairs.
Watching her go they stood in silence for a moment. "Adam? What happened?"
With a pointed stare he motioned for Eric to get back into the closet. "When we got to the third contact there wasn't any time to get them to safety. The house exploded before we could get them out."
"Oh God," Mixy breathed as tears sprang to Jackie's eyes. Between the two women Pete closed his eyes and pulled the both of them close.
"Which one?"
Taking a deep breath Adam replied, "Annie and Marta."
"Shit," Pete breathed, tightening his hold on the two women. "No wonder she took it so hard. Eve took to Annie like an older sister."
"I know," Adam shook his head with a sigh. "We better go; we have to plan for the GSA's attack."
Climbing the stairs he heard them following behind after a moment and soon they had all relocated to the office on the third floor. Seated around the room they planned, back and forth, trying to decide what to do when the GSA attacked. It was inevitable that they would do come and the group of New Mutants refused to hide from the GSA. "They'll attack when their risk of exposure is minimal. They can't run the risk of too many people seeing them so more than likely they'll wait until we're closed."
"Great so that narrows it down to an eighteen hour window."
Glaring out the window Eve folded her arms. She could hear them tossing around ideas behind her but she was deaf to the words. Try as she mad she couldn't focus in on what they were saying, her mind replaying, over and over, the little blue eyes that would never peer down at her form the window again. She could still remember the way Annie had peered at her from behind Marta's legs when they had first met. After introducing herself Marta had pulled her daughter out into the forefront. Eve had gotten down on her knees and smiled at the shy little girl. Almost immediately the shyness left the girl and she pulled on Eve's hands to bring her up the stairs of the little farmhouse. Eve had gotten a tour of the little girl's room and from that moment on Annie had held a place in the very depth of Eve's heart.
"So then we're decided?"
Their conversation breaking back into her thoughts Eve turned around to face the group. "What did we decide on?" she asked softly.
Mixy met her eyes and knew she hadn't been listening as she had stared out the giant window. "We'll sleep in shifts. No more than three people sleeping at a time, the rest will cover the entrances and exits of the club. If they haven't come in a week then we'll re-think everything then." Eve nodded. "All right then. Why don't Eve, Adam and Jackie take the first sleep shift, the rest of us will sort out our positions."
Agreeing Eve looked to Jackie as she slipped out of the room. Sighing she followed her friend down the hall to their shared bedroom and opened the door to see Jackie curled up in her bed, pillow clenched in her arms, silent tears soaking it. Without a word, pushing her own pain to the side for now, Eve climbed into the bed with Jackie pulling her friend into her arms, stroking her hair as she wept for a heart that had been broken by a man she had thought she loved. It wasn't until several hours later, Jackie sound asleep, that Eve was able to slip away and collapse on her own bed. But sleep never came for the young woman.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X