Devil's Silver #6- Wicked Game Part 3
By Carol M.
See first parts for disclaimer and notes. Thanks for all the feedback guys! You have no idea how good it makes me feel! Enjoy!
Claire sat at the laptop in the silver room, trying desperately to communicate with someone on the outside, but every time she tried to send an email or any kind of message, it was erased. The door of the room slid open. Claire immediately jumped out of her chair and backed up towards the wall.
A man dressed in an expensive looking suit walked towards her, smiling. "Don't be afraid, Miss Spencer. If we wanted to hurt you, we would have done it already," he said calmly.
"Why should I believe you?" she asked coldly. "Where the hell am I? Why am I here?"
The man smiled. "Well miss, they don't tell me much, I'm just the hired help. I'll let my boss explain everything to you," he said as he walked to the door and opened it. He leaned outside and said "Sir."
The man walked back into the room, followed by Garrett Stark, who was holding an envelope. Claire's eyes widened in horror. "You. You did this," Claire asked, fire leaking out of her tone.
Stark looked at her and smiled coldly.
"What do you want?" she asked softly.
Stark cleared his throat. "Well Miss Spencer, Claire, may I call you, Claire? Well, we at Chrysalis are known for our innovative technology. Naturally that would require that we compete with all of our enemies. We have developed our own quicksilver gland," he said with pride.
Claire shook her head with disgust.
"But unfortunately, our developers are not as brilliant as Kevin Fawkes," Stark continued. "We have a few problems with it. I figured that with your close-up knowledge of the quicksilver gland, you could help us work out the problems and then help with the installation of it into one of our people," he said.
Claire laughed. "Why would you think I would help you?"
"Because, I can kill Darien Fawkes anytime I want to," he said.
Claire was dying on the inside, but she tried to keep a cool facade. "Why would I care about Darien Fawkes?" she asked casually.
Stark opened the envelope he had been holding and took out a picture, handing it to Claire. She took the picture and saw that it was of her and Darien kissing tenderly in the park.
"Because Claire, you are in love with him," Stark said smugly. "Now if you cooperate with us, then I promise you, Fawkes will not be harmed. But if you even think about double crossing us or trying to contact your people, then he will be killed," said Stark firmly.
Claire looked up at him, tears starting to well. "Don't you think that as soon as the Agency finds out about this, they would take you down?" she asked.
"Oh, that's not going to be a problem," Stark said quickly. "The Agency thinks your dead."
Stark pulled out another picture and handed it to her. It showed a casket, with her picture on a stand sitting next to it. She could make out Darien and Bobby, both with tears streaming down their faces.
Claire started towards Stark. Stark put his hands up and pushed her away. "Now, now Claire. I won't tolerate this kind of behavior."
Claire, in shock, walked towards the bed, sitting down. "How did you do it?" she asked quietly.
"After we jumped you, we blew up your house. Put a cadaver in it and paid off the coroner to tell the Agency that your dental records matched. You have no idea how easy it is to make someone disappear," said Stark.
Tears started to fall from Claire's eyes.
"If you need a little incentive, I'm sure I can arrange some kind of accident for Fawkes that will cause him lots of pain and suffering. But you wouldn't want that now, would you, Claire," asked Stark.
Claire shook her head. "No, don't hurt him," she said with desperation.
"Well Claire, that's up to you. You do what we want and Fawkes will not be harmed. Do we have a deal?" asked Stark.
Claire slowly nodded.
Stark smiled. "Good. Well I'll let you get settled in here then," he said as he and his lackey left the room.
Claire curled up on the bed and started to cry, wanting so bad to get in touch with Darien and tell him that she alive.
Darien, Bobby, Alex, and the Official sat around a table in the Agency, looking through evidence pictures of Claire's blown up house.
"So it was a bomb," said Bobby, to the Official.
The Official nodded. "Yep. Our guys said it was attached to the front door. As soon as she opened it, it blew."
Darien's stomach did a small back flip when he thought of Claire's final moments.
"So back to the bomb. Anyone we know?" asked Bobby.
The Official shook his head. "No, no, it was an ordinary bomb, nothing fancy. No identifying marks of any kind."
Darien laughed out loud. They all turned their heads and looked at him. "Why are we even having this discussion. I mean we know who did it," said Darien.
Bobby eyed Darien. "Okay, big shot, who did it?" he asked Darien.
"Hello...Arnaud! He's pissed cause he's in jail, so he decided to kill Claire to get revenge."
Alex chimed in. "Yeah, but Fawkes, he's in jail. He couldn't exactly walk out, put a bomb in her house and then walk back in."
Darien shook his head. "Of course he didn't put the bomb in there himself, he had one of his boyfriends do it."
"Yeah, but this all happened the day he was arrested. I don't think even Arnaud could work that fast," said Bobby with doubt.
"Whatever, believe me, don't believe me. But I know Arnaud had something to do with this," said Darien firmly.
Darien stood up from his chair and walked to the Official. "I want to go see Arnaud," Darien said.
The Official shook his head. "Nope, nope, out of the question. You'd probably go in there and kill him. Hobbes and Monroe will go instead."
Darien bent down and looked the Official in the eyes. "I need to do this, sir. I promise I won't damage him, at least not beyond repair."
The Official saw the look in Darien's eye. He knew no matter what he said, Darien would go see Arnaud.
"All right, you can go on one condition, Hobbes and Monroe go in there with you. And if you start to mess with him, Hobbes has permission to drag you off of him and throw you out of the cell. Is that clear?" asked the Official.
Darien nodded. "Yes, sir."
Darien looked at Bobby and Alex. "Let's go guys."
"Wait, Fawkes, there is a little matter of your shot," said the Official.
"Shot?" asked Darien with surprise. He had completely forgotten about counteragent and QSM the past few days. "Who's going to give it to me?"
"Your new Keeper," said the Official slowly. He handed Darien a file. Darien took the file and started looking through it, seeing a picture of an attractive looking red head with short hair.
"Kara Vore, biochemist. Specialist in brain chemistry. Formerly employed at JPL and the DOD" said Darien as he looked through the file. "Got a new one awfully fast, didn't you Fatman. A little too convenient I would say," said Darien coldly.
The Official shook his head. "Nope. She's been a standby for about a year now. I had to plan for every little contingency, have a backup if something ever happened to Claire. She's been debriefed on everything she needs to know. She's already made a batch of counteragent for you," said the Official.
"Well she sounds very efficient," said Darien sarcastically.
"You took very well to your last Keeper. Maybe this one will be more of the same," said the Official with a grin.
Darien gave him a sharp look. "Not likely."
"Bobby, Alex, can I have some time with Fawkes," said the Official.
"Yes, sir," said both Bobby and Alex. "Meet you in the van in about 20 minutes, okay Fawkesy?" said Bobby.
Darien nodded. "Yeah," he said absently.
He looked at the Official. "So what's up?" he asked with curiosity.
"Two things," said the Official. "There is the matter of a dog."
Darien gave him a strange look. "Dog?"
"Claire's dog. Neighbor found him wandering around a few days ago. Gave him to the police. I figured maybe you would want him," said the Official.
Darien slowly started to nod. "Yeah, I would," he said with a sad smile.
"Good, he's in lab 3, chewing everything up," said the Official. "The sooner that little monster is out of here, the happier I'll be."
"What was the other thing?" asked Darien.
The Official walked to his desk, opening a drawer and taking out a small book. He held it out to Darien. He saw the word Diary etched across it
Darien looked up at the Official. "What is this?" he asked.
"I found that in Claire's desk in the Keep. I went through it yesterday to remove any classified documents," said the Official. "This is not a classified document, well at least not in many senses of the word. It's all about you," he said as he handed the diary to Darien. "I only read the first couple of sentences and skimmed the rest. I think she would have wanted you to have it."
Darien took the diary and softly caressed the top of it. "Thank you, sir," he said softly.
The Official patted him on the back. "Now, I want you to go to the Keep and get a shot and meet your new Keeper," said the Official.
Darien nodded. "Yes, sir," he said as he started to walk towards the door. He turned around slightly, holding the diary in the air. "Thanks again for this," he said with sincerity.
The Official nodded and Darien walked out the door.
He could see her red hair hidden partially by the chair as he entered the Keep. She turned around quickly at the sound of the door. "Mister Fawkes," she said with a smile as she stood up, extending her hand.
Darien walked over to her and shook her hand.
"Kara Vore, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry it was under these circumstances," she said with a look of sympathy.
Darien nodded. He looked around the Keep. "Well it looks like you didn't waste any time redecorating the place," he said sarcastically.
All the furniture had been moved around and a new computer sat in the middle of the room.
Kara smiled. "I'm just trying to get comfortable, that's all."
Darien looked at her strangely for a second. "Have we met before?"
Kara gave him a look of surprise. "I don't think so. Maybe you've seen me around the Agency before. Charlie has me come in every couple of months and do a few jobs for him."
"Ah," said Darien. He pointed to the counteragent chair. "Look, I really need to get going. Can I get my shot?" he asked as he stepped closer to the chair and sat down.
Kara nodded. "Sure," she said as she walked over to the refrigerator and took out a vial of counteragent. She got the needle, filled it with counteragent and then walked over to Darien. She pulled out an alcohol swipe. "This might sting a bit," she said.
Darien rolled his eyes. "You know, I have had these shots before. I know the drill," he said.
She ignored the comment and injected him with the counteragent, causing Darien to wince hard. Claire was definitely much better at giving him the shots.
Kara threw the needle into the medical waste container.
Darien got out of the chair and headed for the door.
"Mr. Fawkes, I'm going to need to schedule a few tests for you," said Kara.
Darien turned around. "Why?" he asked with irritation.
"Because I need to get better acquainted with the gland. I want to see how certain parts of your brain respond to the gland, so I can get a better idea of how it works, maybe even find a way to take it out," she said.
"If there was a way to take the gland out, Claire would have already done it," said Darien defensively.
"With all due respect, Mr. Fawkes, Miss Spencer was not the end all of medical research. There were certain things she may have missed or might not have known about," said Kara.
"Not likely," said Darien as he turned around and walked out the door.
Darien, Bobby and Alex all signed the visitor log at the prison where Arnaud and his brother were being kept. Arnaud and Huiclos were going to trial in about a month. They had both been denied bail because of an extreme flight risk.
Since Arnaud was still invisible, he had been placed in a special cell equipped with thermal, so he wouldn't be able to escape. All of the prison guards were issued thermal glasses, in case Arnaud decided to break out. Not that it really mattered, because he continued to wear his latex body. Thank god for small things, thought Darien as he followed Alex and Bobby into the visitor's room.
Darien, Bobby and Alex stood in the room for a few minutes in awkward silence, waiting for Arnaud to show up. Finally, a guard opened the door and walked a handcuffed Arnaud towards the chair at the table.
The guard looked up at the trio. "Ten minutes," he said as he walked out the door.
Arnaud looked up at the three of them and smiled. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Arnaud asked with a smile.
Darien sat in the chair across from Arnaud, trying to stay calm. "Why did you do it?" he asked Arnaud softly.
Arnaud gave him a look of confusion. "Do what? Buy guns? Well my business requires heavy..."
"Why did you kill her, you sick bastard," yelled Darien.
"Who?" asked Arnaud with confusion.
"Claire. You put a bomb in her house and killed her. I want to know why. Why wouldn't you kill me instead?" asked Darien, who was barely able to control his emotions.
Arnaud sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. "So someone killed your Keeper," said Arnaud. "I'm sorry, Fawkes, I know how much you cared for her," he said with sympathy.
Darien shook his head angrily. "No, no don't give me that. You killed her, just like you killed Kevin. Don't play me with this sympathy act," yelled Darien.
Arnaud smiled. "Believe what you want, Fawkes. I didn't kill her. What possible motive would I have? Your Keeper could have been very useful to me, why would I kill her? I never kill people whose help I might need," said Arnaud coolly.
Alex stepped towards Darien and put a hand on his shoulder. "I think we should go, Fawkes. This isn't getting anywhere."
Darien slapped her hand away. "No, no we're not going anywhere."
"Fawkes, Monroe is right. Have you ever know De Phon here to deny a crime. He likes to admit when he's done something. Sicko gets off on it," said Bobby.
Arnaud looked at Darien. "I'm sure you have many other enemies besides me, Fawkes," said Arnaud, planting a seed in Darien's mind. " Surely, someone else would want her dead."
Bobby nodded. "Exactly. What about chrysalis?"
Arnaud gave Bobby a sharp look. "Chrysalis?"
"What, you heard of them?" asked Darien.
Arnaud rolled his eyes. "Of course I've heard of them. I'm a terrorist, they're terrorists. I know all my enemies," he responded.
"Do you have any information on them?" asked Alex. "A place to start?"
"Now, why would my enemy give me any useful information? If I knew a place to start, they wouldn't be my enemy anymore, they would be gone," said Arnaud.
"Come on, Fawkes," said Bobby as he reached for his arm. "Let's go find the wacko cocoon head."
Darien leaned in towards Arnaud. "I don't trust you, Arnie. If I find out you had anything to do with this, I will kill you," said Darien with venom. He got out of the chair and walked out of the room.
Bobby looked at Arnaud. "If my partner's right, then I will be in line right behind him to take you down, my friend."
Bobby and Alex both stepped out the room.
Arnaud sat in the room alone for a few seconds, congratulating himself on a job well done.
TBC