Chapter Four: The Mercenary Project
Sliding down the wall to the floor, Ty leaned her head back in defeat. She had tried all the doors, but they were all dead ends. Two security cameras were in pieces on the floor, along with the rest of Ty's bullets and shells. She sat there and stared numbly at the wall across from her and waited. They would arrive soon enough.
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Walking down the hallway on SL-6, Mr. Lyle was at the head of a four-man group, all armed and ready to protect him. He had received word that someone had gotten caught between the barriers, though it had been impossible to see who it was because the cameras had suddenly gone black.
Each barrier opened as he neared it, and as the fourth one slid back, it revealed a female sitting against a wall amidst the debris of the security cameras. She looked up at him when he came into view, and her scowl deepened.
Lyle faltered in his step and looked at her in surprise. Trying unsuccessfully to suppress his laughter, he said, "You?"
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"Kyle, what is wrong with you?" Jarod demanded. His patience had long since worn thin, and he was becoming angry.
The two had found refuge in Blue Cove, and were in the basement of an unused warehouse. There were dusty tables and old couches that looked like they belonged at the bottom of a junkyard scattered about the vast room. It was the place he and Ty and staked out as a home base before they had ventured into the Centre.
Kyle had propped himself up against a couch and was glaring at his brother. Jarod had already tended to his wounds and had told him to get some rest, but he had vehemently refused.
"Don't you get it? We were all much better off when I was in there," Kyle told him angrily. "Do you know what they'll do to her?"
Jarod threw up his arms and whirled on him. "What are you talking about?" he asked in exasperation. "She doesn't have anything to do with them. They'll just lock her up somewhere and wait for us to rescue her."
Kyle laughed hollowly. "I wish. Those bastards have been looking for her a lot longer than they've been looking for you. Of course, no one's as important as you are, but they'll like her back none the less." The bitterness in his voice was mirrored in his features.
Jarod froze. "What? She – Why didn't she say anything?" he demanded, suddenly understanding his brother's behavior.
Kyle shrugged. "She hates talking about it." Looking at him desperately, he continued. "We have to get her out of there. You have no idea what they'll do to her if we don't."
Jarod met his gaze speechlessly, a worried expression commanding his features. Suddenly everything seemed a lot more complicated.
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"Who?" Miss Parker suddenly gave Broots her attention.
"Her name is Ty. She came in with Jarod, but got caught between the barriers." His voice grew more excited as he spoke. "As it turns out, she's an escapee from the Centre. I'm trying to figure out what her program was, but the files can only be accessed by the Triumvirate."
Her eyes narrowed. "I want those files, Broots. I don't care how you do it, but I want them. Now."
Broots sighed heavily. "Somehow I knew you were going to say that."
Watching him leave the room, Miss Parker shook her head. "Things never go the way they're supposed to around here," she muttered. "They always seem capable of getting weirder."
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Her breathing quickened as she was marched down the dark hallway. She had been blindfolded and was being held on either side by strong arms. This can't be happening, she thought. She had known what she was getting herself into the moment she had stepped onto Centre grounds, but now suddenly she wasn't so sure of herself. Last time she had heard, someone had taken her place in her program, so she had no idea what they would do with her now. It was impossible to even begin to understand the Triumvirate's way of thinking, so she quietly let herself be carried off to… well, she had no idea.
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The old warehouse was dark except for a faint light in one corner of the basement. Jarod sat at a table typing away at his laptop, trying furiously to make sense of things.
"What are you doing?" Kyle mumbled as he limped over, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Jarod didn't look up. "I'm trying to figure out what they plan to do with Ty, but all I can find is the fact that they have her again," he replied, his frustration clearly evident.
Kyle looked over his shoulder at the computer screen and frowned. "Well keep trying. Maybe they're not even sure yet."
Jarod shook his head as he continued to type. "I doubt it."
Kyle grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. Sighing, he stared at the floor. "I hope we can get her out of there before they do anything serious," he muttered.
Jarod glanced at his brother. "You really like her, don't you?"
Kyle shrugged and didn't lift his eyes from the floor. "She's my best friend – my only friend, really. We've been through a lot together and I owe it to her to get her out of there."
Jarod sighed. "We'll get her back, Kyle. Don't worry."
He just looked at him and shook his head.
_____
Walking down the hallway, Broots was as jumpy as ever. He had already almost dropped the papers from his shaky hands twice, and he cursed himself for feeling so nervous. Accessing the Triumvirate's private files wasn't exactly what he called a walk in the park, but he wouldn't share his thoughts with Miss Parker because he knew she would never understand or care.
When he spotted her leaving her office, he hurried over and shoved the papers into her hands. "I can't believe I just did that. Do you know what they'll do to me if they find out I was accessing files like these?" he blurted out.
"Broots, do I look like I care? Now what the hell is all this?" she demanded, not bothering to look at what the papers were about.
"Well, uh, where to start? Ty used to be a real big moneymaker while she was here – only second to Jarod, in fact. She was part of a program called the Mercenary Project. There were three of them originally, and they all did jobs for whoever would pay. Usually stuff like assassinations, kidnappings – anything that dealt with destruction. Their number fell to one, Ty, after one was transferred and another was killed. She was prized by the Triumvirate because of her dependability and accuracy, but she began to fight authority. She escaped seven years ago, can you believe that?"
Miss Parker frowned. "What happened to the project when she left?"
"The entire thing was put on hold while they looked for her. But about three and a half years ago, a new mercenary filled her spot. All information about what the project's been doing since then isn't in the file database anywhere. I couldn't even find out who the new mercenary is." Broots took a deep breath and waited for Miss Parker to respond.
She glanced down at the papers in her hands and thought for a moment. "Did you find out what they plan to do with her now?"
He shook his head. "Wasn't in there anywhere."
"Alright, well, keep your eyes open. If anything else comes up, I want to be informed," she told him.
"Well, you might wanna talk to Mr. Lyle then, because it seems that he's overseeing everything that happens to her so far," he said quietly.
She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then I guess I'll have to see what Baby Brother has to say."
_____
Ty grunted as she was shoved into a chair. "Is that really necessary?" she demanded.
"You can take off your blindfold now," a taunting voice told her.
She carefully took it off and squinted in the bright light. She was in the center of a white room. To her left was a table that was cluttered with objects, though they were obscured from her sight by a white cloth. Against the wall before her, a screen had been pulled down – one used to project film. The entire room smelled stiflingly like rubbing alcohol, and it made her eyes water.
Ty glanced at everything cautiously, and finally rested her eyes on Mr. Lyle, who was standing to her right. "What?" she asked calmly. "No welcoming party?"
He smiled slightly. "I'm afraid there isn't time for one. Though the Triumvirate was very pleased to hear of your… valiant return," he replied mockingly.
She rolled her eyes and glanced warily at the covered table. Lyle nodded to someone behind her and suddenly her arms were forced against the arms of the chair and strapped into place. Her ankles were next. She did a halfhearted struggle, but knew it was no good. There was no way she was getting out of this one.
Lyle walked over to the table and grinned at her. "The wonderful Dr. Gilmer will get you back into the swing of things. I mean, you've been gone for so long."
A man in a white coat stepped into her line of vision, and Lyle pulled off the cover from the table. It was covered with syringes.
Dr. Gilmer approached the table and began examining them. "Let's see if we can't bring the old Ty back."