~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 9
"Kid, take a break." Hobbes grabbed Alyx by the shoulder and refused to let go until she actually
stopped. "The trap is set. Five minutes won't matter."
With a sigh Alyx let herself sink down into the snow, like Claire and Darien had done minutes
before, their breath steaming about them. "I just want this to work, Bobby."
"We all do, Alyx, but wearing yourself out to get it done won't do any good." Claire had watched
her work with a single-mindedness that worried her. Though she had kept the use of her abilities to
a minimum -- she had cut a few corners by using them, but hadn't been blatant about it.
Darien chuckled. "She just wants to get back and tell off the Fat Man." Not that he didn't as well,
but he knew the Official might actually listen to her. Her threats often were anything but empty.
"Good luck. Arguing with him and his pet Eberts rarely gets me anywhere," Hobbes admitted a bit
ruefully.
"Talk? Oh no, this goes way beyond talking. After this, I'm going to arrange a week of paid medical
leave for all of us. This is bullshit. Tells us it's a vacation and sets us up as hunters' stew."
Alyx just managed to keep her voice in control. "I wouldn't be nearly as pissed if he'd told us the
truth." She pushed herself back to her feet and shivered. "I'll get this started."
They had been working all night to set up traps along the route they were going to use to get out
of here. The rules had been very specific; they could not go back to the lodge until the nine am
deadline had passed, and once morning arrived the hunt would be in full swing again. Now it was
just a matter of luring each of the teams they planned to eliminate into one of the traps. There
had been no way to set up enough to catch all of them, but every team they distracted or outright
stopped meant one less hunter to catch them.
Alyx hefted the bow and swung the quiver over her back. They had eliminated one of the stolen
backpacks entirely, and the other contained very little at this point. Mainly just the remaining
food and drink, along with some odds and ends they hadn't used.
"Alyx." Darien had gotten to his feet and moved over to her. When she turned and looked at him, he
changed his mind about what he was going to say. He had been about to explain that this was just
something the Official did, one of his ways of getting more work out of him and Hobbes that avoided
the bitching and complaints
beforehand. Complaining after didn't do much good, since the job was already done. He realized,
though, that he had become complacent about such things, that he expected them, that he was
accepting them as normal, and he shouldn't. It wasn't that long ago he'd have been as pissed as she
was, but now... now he just sighed and did it. He wondered when that had happened.
"You're right." He turned slightly to look at Hobbes. "Tricking us into this was not one of the
'Fish's smarter ideas, but we're here, and I seriously doubt he knew about this part."
"Fawkes, he knew the risks and thought we could handle it." Hobbes wasn't sure why he was
defending the Official, but the look on their faces boded ill if... no, when they returned to San
Diego. "We've dealt with tougher situations."
"Oh, really, when was the last time we had eighty or so terrorists trying to kill us all at once
with little or no way to defend ourselves, hmmmm?" Darien snapped back. Being treated like crap was
commonplace at the Agency, but he was realizing that this was across the line.
"Enough!" Claire shouted. "We're here now. Deal with it."
Alyx turned to face Claire. "Not surprised you're not too upset, but then again, you knew about
this, unlike the rest of us. When did he start prepping you about the weapons? Six weeks?"
Claire was so surprised by the question, she actually answered. "Three months, but it's been in the
works for a lot longer." Claire didn't like the looks on any of their faces. "He didn't get the
tentative invite 'til three months ago. This has taken over a year of planning to pull off." She
stopped, realizing every statement was just digging that hole even deeper. "Ah, crap," she muttered.
"He's had this in the works for a year?" Hobbes heard the anger creeping into his voice and took a
moment to calm down. It wasn't her fault after all.
Amazingly enough, it was Darien who was the voice of reason. "Don't shoot the messenger, Hobbes.
Claire did her job." Claire actually looked thankful he had come to her rescue. "Though I still
don't like being set up."
"Darien, if I had known you knew nothing about this, I would have argued against it. I assumed you
had been briefed weeks ago, just as I was." She shook her head. "You all need a break, and I will
back Alyx on the medical leave when we get back."
For several minutes there was an uneasy silence between them, and then Hobbes cleared his throat.
"Later on this, folks, first we have to get our asses out of this situation in one piece." He
pointed through the trees. "Lead the way, kid. Let's get this bit of turnabout started."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time dawn arrived, they had eliminated, or at least
distracted, four teams along their route. Those had been the easy ones, though, and now the other
teams were waking up and would begin to actively hunt them. It was a good bet that they would know
they'd be heading back towards the Lodge. They had to go that way since that was how the game was
run. They were heading towards their next target when one of the hounds found one of their victims
and spread the word. Within minutes, the hunters had ceased to be separate teams who were competing
against each other to catch the prey, and it had become a concerted effort by everyone to capture
them. The 'hinds', however, didn't change their plan. The next two groups they were going after
were still separated from each other and could still be led to their respective traps.
"Okay kid, are they still in place?" Hobbes asked when they stopped for a moment.
Alyx took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Opening her shields, she unconsciously flinched as the
now awake and irritated minds were thrust into hers. Darien set a hand on her shoulder to hold her
steady as she swayed. They were all getting a bit weary and still had several hours to get through
before they had the slightest hope of resting.
"Ummm, they're still in place and will be for a bit yet. They are awake." She snapped her shields
shut and shook her head to clear it. She hated doing that, but it was the only real option right
now. She sagged back against Darien, shivering. "The plan should still work."
"Good. Fawkes, you're with me. We'll meet at the next checkpoint," Hobbes said to them.
Darien tipped Alyx's face up to look at her; they were all tired, but she was looking downright
exhausted at this point. There were a half dozen things he was tempted to say, but didn't. "Be
careful."
Alyx grinned and batted his hand away. "Me? We'll do just fine. Won't we Claire?"
"They'll never know what hit them," Claire confirmed. For all that she was unused to this kind of
work, she was enjoying it to a degree. It was a refreshing change from staring at slides or
computer models down in the Keep.
She and Alyx moved off into the windblown snow, heading for their target. It took them about ten
minutes to reach the perimeter of the camp. The fools still had not set up any guards, even though
they knew some of the other 'hounds' had been taken out of the game. Instead, they were stumbling
around, making coffee, and
half-heartedly packing up the tents and other gear. One of them made his way into the trees not far
from where they were, obviously intent on dealing with a call of nature.
Alyx grinned and pointed towards the gentleman. Claire nodded. Alyx moved from tree to tree until
she was behind the guy. She waited until he was done and had turned around before stepping out from
behind the trees.
"Well, hello there," Alyx said in a soft voice.
The guy looked startled for a moment and then recognized her. "Hey, come 'ere." He lunged for her,
but tripped as she held his feet in place with her mind.
*Claire, I'm on my way.* Alyx turned from the guy, who was
spluttering in the snow, and ran for the campsite with him several yards behind her. She tore
through the camp, heading out to where she would meet up with Claire, towards the first of the
booby traps they had set up. At least one of them was fairly quick on the uptake; an arrow impacted
a tree at chest level as she passed it. These guys were aiming to kill.
She caught up with Claire, who was waiting just beyond the subtle markings on the ground that they
had left for themselves. The men were so intent on following Alyx that they didn't notice the care
she took with her steps to meet with Claire, but as soon as she was with her, Alyx spun about to
watch.
"Alyx, you all right?" Claire noted Alyx was flushed again.
"All right?" she said between pants, waving teasingly at the guys as they came straight at them.
One was trying to shout into his radio as he ran, so Alyx reached out with her mind and jammed it.
Then they hit the trap. "I'm just great Keep."
With a yelp and then screams of pain, two of their pursuers went down on the deadfall rigged
beneath the layer of snow. Claire, for one instant, tried to go to the sounds of pain, but Alyx
restrained her. Part of her wanted to rush to their aid as well, but she knew they didn't dare.
Another arrow that she casually deflected away spurred them to move on.
Running, they headed for trap number two with the remaining guys hot on their heels. A few more
arrows flew by them, but without the accuracy that was necessary to do any harm. *You ready for
this Claire?* Alyx asked her as they approached the next trap and turned to face the bad guys.
"Ladies, I would suggest you stop running. It'll go much easier on you." The guy was tall and
dark-haired, and wore a nasty smile that told Alyx more than enough. After what she and Claire had
managed to do to them, this guy wanted more than to just catch them. They only needed to be brought
in alive -- he could have all the fun he wanted first.
"Easy?" Alyx asked is a sly voice. "Who wants it to be easy?"
Both guys came for them then; Alyx slipped her hand into Claire's and gave it a squeeze. Claire was
counting to herself. They had to be in just the right spot for this to work. "Now," she hissed under
her breath.
Alyx let the quicksilver flow over both of them, even as they dropped to the ground. Alyx triggered
the trap, and the pine branch the four of them had carefully bent back and secured was let loose and
flung itself around -- over Alyx and Claire -- to smash into the chests of both men. The impact sent
them crashing back into the snow. When neither of them got up after a couple of minutes, Alyx
stopped the flow of quicksilver and let it flake away as she moved to check on them. Claire knelt
down to examine them quickly. One was simply unconscious and would probably wake up in a few
minutes. The other, however, was wheezing in a way that suggested that he'd been seriously hurt.
"Alyx, he might have a punctured lung," Claire said to her and watched as Alyx paled slightly.
"Crap," she muttered. "And broken ankles back at the deadfall." She pulled the radio out of the
guy's pocket and adjusted the frequency until she heard a particular voice wafting out. "Good
morning, this would be the 'hind.' I suggest you come get Franklin's team before they all die of
their injuries."
For several minutes there was nothing but incoherent shouts. Then a single voice was heard. "Their
location."
"Map grid C-3, lower left corner. I would recommend haste, one might have a punctured lung." Alyx
tossed the radio back towards the men, leaving it on so that those coming could triangulate on the
signal if necessary. "We need to go, Claire." Alyx's voice was tight.
Claire nodded, and together they moved off at a fast walk to the rendezvous point. She decided to
speak up, to try and help. "It's not your fault. There was no way to know that would happen."
"I know. It's just difficult for me to do things like... like that to people," Alyx admitted. It
was odd; in some ways, she enjoyed the new things she was learning, the new disciplines, the new
ways of thinking, but implementing them? That was the problem. She was slowly reconciling herself
to the fact that she would have to use what she was being taught. That she was indeed capable of
doing great degrees of harm with mind, body, and words. That at times she might be forced to choose
one life over another. But she still didn't like it and it left her feeling cold inside.
"Alyx, if it ever gets easy for you, then I'll worry," Claire said in honesty. She had read the
reports on what had happened when Alyx had no control, before she'd been trained. About the time
they had run the one and only test to try and increase her power, and about the resultant damage
she had caused. Luckily, large portions of that had been blocked from her mind. According to the
notes she'd received, some of Alyx's memories had been completely blocked off, and Claire couldn't
disagree with the wisdom of that. If Alyx learned the truth about some things right now, it would
probably destroy her. That was last thing Claire wanted to see happen.
They stopped under the tree to wait for the guys to join them, surprised they weren't there yet.
They themselves were overdue. After about ten minutes, during which Alyx began to shiver
uncontrollably yet again, both became seriously worried.
"Alyx?" Claire turned to her, trying to keep her voice neutral.
"On it." Alyx closed her eyes and reached out, looking for the familiar minds of Hobbes and Darien.
She found Hobbes first, very nearby and full of pain. She pushed away from the tree at a dead run
with Claire right behind her. They found Hobbes just a dozen yards away, leaning against a tree and
panting for breath. One arm was covered in blood from the biceps down, due to the arrow protruding
through his arm. They rushed to his side and got him to sit.
"Bobby..." Claire failed to keep the worry out of her voice as she examined his wound.
"They got Fawkes." He looked up at Alyx. "They had thermals and caught him."
"Come on, Fawkes. We've got work to do." Hobbes took off in the direction of the camp they were
planning on breaking up. Theirs was actually a bit closer than the camp the girls were heading for.
He and Fawkes should make the checkpoint well before they did.
"I'm not sure I like splitting up," Darien said, not for the first time. This was not what the Keep
usually spent her time doing, and Alyx... He let that thought trail off. Alyx was more than capable
of taking care of both herself and Claire if there was a problem. For all that he knew she could
do, he still felt an undeniable urge to protect her that was at least partially caused by how young
she looked. He really didn't want to think too hard about the other reasons, especially after their
discussion two nights ago.
"Fawkes, you could have said something when we planned this," Hobbes commented as he led the way
through the trees. Okay, so the situation wasn't the best one they had ever been in, but it wasn't
that bad, and so far they were ahead of the game. A few more to take out after these mooks and they
could head back to the Lodge.
"I did, but you all overruled me." Darien shook his head and ducked under a snow-covered branch.
"Something is really bothering Alyx, lately."
"You mean besides you?" Hobbes said, with a touch of humor.
"Gee, thanks." Darien knew he was joking, mostly, but it still bothered him. "Yeah, besides me."
"I know. We talked about it." Hobbes put his finger to his lips to remind Darien to keep his voice
down. Without the kid with them, they couldn't communicate in silence. "I think she'll be okay."
Darien was only partially surprised. Except for the 'getting
involved' thing, Hobbes had taken the time recently to really work with Alyx. Instead of just
giving orders, he often asked both their opinions on whatever plans had been made. It had taken
Bobby almost a year to become that easy around Darien, but just a few months with Alyx, and the
difference had to be the training she was being given. Hobbes was still senior, but he now tended
to treat the two of them more as equals instead of relegating her to the sub-basement of the
partnership. And some days, Darien felt like he was being left behind.
Hobbes crouched down behind some brush and waved for Darien to do so as well. "Time for the
see-through routine." They suspected this group was in on the tracker deal and wanted to handle
them a bit differently. They only had one booby trap set up for them, and wanted to take out two of
them here before luring the others away.
Darien reached out to set a hand on Hobbes' shoulder and, after a moment to gather himself, let the
quicksilver flow over both of them. As soon as they were gone, they split up to come into the camp
from opposite sides. So it was with a great deal of surprise that Hobbes found himself with an
arrow sticking through his arm and pinning him to a tree.
"Well, I would never have believed it. I'd heard the rumors, but..." The gentleman who had shot him
lifted the thermal goggles off his eyes and whistled. "Amazing."
"Fawkes, they have thermals." Hobbes shouted even as the quicksilver finally flaked off of him.
"Oh, he knows," the guy said, as Darien's unconscious body was brought into sight. "And we found
your little trap. Cute."
Hobbes growled and yanked hard enough to free his arm from the tree. He ignored the pain that
threatened to put him to his knees and readied himself to charge at the guy. He was stopped when,
at some signal he didn't catch, the ones holding Fawkes began to beat him. "I would suggest you
cooperate."
Hobbes held his place for a second, and then took off. The only way to help Fawkes was to get to
the kid and the Keep. It wasn't likely they'd kill him. He hoped. For a moment his motion slowed,
and he had to fight with himself over returning and attempting what would be a futile rescue
attempt. Would the kid and Claire let them go and try to make the lodge? He considered for a moment
as he leaned against a tree. He could feel the blood running down his arm, soaking through the
layers of clothing to drip off the end of his gloved hand and onto the snow below. No, they would
try and rescue the both of them, and probably fail in the process. He had to get to them.
He forced himself to move, to ignore the dizziness that had begun to sneak its way in past his
defenses. The injury wasn't that bad, but it must have hit an artery or something 'cause it was
bleeding like crazy. He was really hoping no one had decided to follow him. He wasn't wasting any
time trying to hide his trail and was simply taking the most direct route to the agreed checkpoint.
Nearly there, he found himself fighting the dipping and spinning world and held himself upright with
the nearest tree. Now would be a perfect time for the kid to poke herself into his head.
That's when Alyx and Claire showed up and lowered him gently down into the snow. He managed to get
out the bare minimum of what had happened before they hushed him.
"Hobbesy, this is gonna hurt," Alyx said quietly.
"Just do it, kid." Hobbes just wanted it over with at this point. He knew damn well it was going
to hurt.
Alyx quicksilvered her hand and set it over the feathered half of the shaft that was sticking out
the front of his arm, watching as it frosted over. She glanced over at Claire. "Hold him still."
Claire held his arm firmly and nodded when she was ready. Alyx grasped the shaft near his arm with
one hand and the feathered end with the other. With a quick motion, she snapped the shaft, then
drew it out of his arm and flung the pieces away. The blood flow increased by a surprising amount.
"Alyx..."
"Yeah, I know." She quicksilvered her hands and, after steeling herself to the pain she knew she
was going to feel, set one on either side of his arm, sealing the wounds and stopping the bleeding
for now. "Bobby, you need to tell us where Darien is."
Hobbes had bitten his lip bloody when she'd snapped the arrow shaft, and then nearly did it again
when she'd frosted his damn arm. Neither experience was one he wanted to repeat. "Kid, they have
him and they were expecting us. They found our little trap." He tried to push himself to his feet
only to be held in place by Claire.
"Relax for a minute, Bobby." She could see the worry in his eyes, the concern for his partner, for
Darien. Of all of them, Claire might be the only one to realize exactly how deeply Bobby cared for
his partner, the lengths he would go to for him. The risks he'd take to protect them.
"Bobby, we'll get him back," Alyx said quietly. "I promise." Closing her eyes, she reached for
Darien, to find anger, pain, and despair. "He's alive, but hurt. You said they found the trap?"
Hobbes nodded. "Okay, think you can get there and make sure it's still set?"
He pushed himself to his feet and this time Claire didn't argue. "What you got in mind, kid?"
"Claire will draw a couple away with a little help from me, and I'll get Darien." Alyx was staring
off into the distance.
"Kid, are you sure?" Hobbes didn't want her to be forced into a situation that she wasn't ready
for.
"I'm sure, Bobby." She gave him a weak smile. "We get out of this together. Watch the arm."
Hobbes shook his head and then looked at Claire, whose lips were pressed tightly together. "Alyx,
they shouldn't hurt him, maybe we should just wait. Head back to the Lodge. They'll bring him in
once the deadline has passed." She didn't make this suggestion lightly -- she was as worried as
they -- but she had to be the practical one. The devil's advocate.
"Keep, they knew we were coming. Do you really think they're just gonna feed him and coddle him
until it's time to head back?" Maybe she really didn't realize how dangerous the situation was.
Hell, they had no guarantee that they'd survive even if they made it back. It was entirely possible
that the ones running this show would kill them as soon as they showed up.
"Claire, they are most likely going to try and find out who he really is, who we are," Alyx added
in a soft voice. "He's already hurt; I don't want to see him suffer more."
"All right," Claire said in defeat. How could she argue with that? It was her job to keep him
healthy and sane. Now was not the time to back away, even if it had gotten a lot more dangerous.
"What do you need me to do?"
Darien came to with a feeling of dread. His side was on fire and he could feel the blood soaking
through, not only his shirts, but into the pants he wore. His shoulders screamed at him as he tried
to shift and get more comfortable. His hands were tied together over his head and a thin nylon cord
reached up and over a branch of the tree. His feet were just barely touching the ground. He
gingerly put his full weight down onto the balls of his feet and was able to relieve the pressure
on his shoulders by a small amount. His ears were ringing, and it took him a moment to remember
what had happened.
He'd circled around the camp, intending to make his way in and take out a couple of them before
they figured out anyone was there, only to have a soft voice speak behind him. "Interesting, if
futile." Then there had been pain. Like when Alyx had zapped him, only worse, driving him to his
knees. Then the slam of...something...into the side of his face, before he fell into the welcome
darkness.
He was beginning to wish he hadn't woken up.
"Well, Mr. Harding, you're finally awake." The voice was full of nasty humor. "Or would you prefer
to use your real name?"
Darien opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at the gentleman before him. "Real name? Thought
Harding was my real name. My mom's gonna be real upset about that."
"Cute." The man casually punched Darien in the ribs, just above the knife wound, causing him to
groan in pain. His legs collapsed, which nearly dislocated his shoulders. "Shall we try again? Your
real name."
Darien shuddered and wondered where the hell Hobbes was. "Harding," he got out through clenched
teeth. "Gary Harding."
The guy lashed out again, this time harder; causing Darien to try and double over. He grunted as
the pain washed across him, sending bright white streamers of false light shooting behind his eyes.
"Your Boss ran, just like a good hind should. You are alone, and I will get the information I want
from you."
"Bets?" an anger-filled voice snarled from nearby.
Darien managed to focus in time to see one of the other men suddenly fly backwards for no apparent
reason, his hands going to his shoulder once on the ground. Seconds later, an arrow appeared as the
quicksilver coating it flaked off. Thermals were snapped into place as they began to look for the
shooter of the arrow.
"Find them!" was shouted by the guy in front of Darien. "How unusual, they're attempting a rescue."
Off to one side an accented, "Hello boys," was heard as Claire suddenly appeared. With a shout, two
of the men went after her, leaving Darien alone with his torturer.
Claire ran as fast as she dared, as fast as she could in the heavy snow, making sure they stayed
close enough to follow her. This had to go just right -- they only had one chance. "Come on, come
on," she muttered under her breath. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw they were closer than she
liked, but right next to each other like she needed them to be. She ignored their shouts to stop
and put on an extra burst of speed as she reached her goal.
"Now!" she shouted as she dove to the ground and slid several feet through the snow. As a
precaution, she covered her head in her hands. She heard the creaking of the ropes -- they'd swiped
them from one of the hounds -- and seconds later the solid thud and quickly cut off screams as the
log they'd rigged hit the men solidly in the chests.
"It's clear, Claire," Hobbes said, coming out from behind the tree where he had triggered the trap.
He looked over at the guys, who were sleeping the sleep of the unconscious. He watched as Claire
lifted her head and then got to her feet and moved to check on the men.
"They'll live," she announced.
"More than they deserve," Hobbes muttered. "Let's go." With Claire beside him, they headed back to
the camp, where hopefully Alyx had freed Darien.
"I know you're still there." He moved closer to Darien and slid his thermal goggles down over his
eyes. "Come on out and make it easier on yourself."
"Easier? Why would I want to make it easier?" Alyx let fly with another quicksilvered arrow, which
brushed past his arm.
"You missed." He turned to watch where the projectile had come from and was not surprised to see a
figure move from behind one tree to another nearby.
"Hmmm, yes I did. Guess I'll have to try again." She knew he could see her, wanted him to focus on
her, to forget that Darien hung limply behind him.
But he hadn't forgotten. Backing up, he pulled out a rather
impressive knife and stepped to the side of Darien; the knife coming up to press against his
stomach.
Darien swallowed hard as the pain and fear combined to push his heart rate to an even higher level.
On this occasion, he couldn't have stopped it even if he wanted to and the quicksilver came quickly.
The guy saw this and uttered a surprised, "What the..." before he found himself unable to breathe.
Alyx stepped out from behind the tree and let the quicksilver fall from her. She reached out with
her mind, grabbed him by the neck, and squeezed. The guy's eyes widened at her sudden appearance
and the knife he held fell to the snow at Darien's feet as the darkness closed in.
"Al... Alyx." Darien got out past the pain. "Don't." He could see the anger, the rage on her face
and in her eyes, and he knew what she wanted to do, would do if he didn't stop her.
She couldn't see him, but she could feel what was going on in his mind. He truly didn't want her to
take this step, truly thought it was unnecessary, truly felt she was so much more than the ruthless
killer the Official seemed intent on turning her into. She found herself caught for a moment. It
would be so simple to kill this bastard, save the world the trouble of having to deal with him
until either fate or old age took notice of him and set him on his way. She closed her eyes,
remembering, reminding herself of why she hated the use of force. Forced herself to look at who she
used to be and why she'd chosen the path she had. To remember the little she recalled from the
destruction of the lab and what she had chosen to do after. To die rather than use her abilities
again. To never hurt anyone again. To never allow herself to be hurt again. To never be afraid
again.
Things had changed since making those vows. She had learned to care again -- perhaps more than she
should -- and had used her abilities to hurt, but not randomly. She had used them to help far more
than she had ever hurt, and if a few had been injured in the process, they were always those that
were deserving of it. And the innocents she'd helped by standing between them and danger, by using
those abilities to do what she'd always done. To defend. To protect. At this realization, something
inside her loosened, something she'd been holding tight for long weeks now, something that had been
causing her far more pain than any she had inflicted on those around her.
She opened her eyes, amazed that only seconds had passed as she fought with herself and finally
found that balance point within. Oh, there were still issues she would have to deal with, but for
the time being she'd found a path to follow that she could live with. Releasing her victim so that
he fell gasping into the snow, she stepped forward. "I would suggest you run. You are the hound no
more."
The guy believed her. Still trying to suck in air, he forced himself to his feet and staggered away
from the camp.
Alyx reached down to pick up the knife he'd dropped and, controlling it with her mind, cut the rope
holding Darien upright. He collapsed, his legs unable to hold him, but Alyx caught him, going to her
knees when his weight landed fully upon her. "Can you drop the quicksilver, please?" Even through
the heavy clothes, she could feel the cold, and frost was quickly spreading across her shoulders
towards her bare neck.
Darien groaned as his hands came down around her neck, still tied together. "Ummm, maybe?" His
heart was still pounding along and, with the pain each small movement created, he found it
difficult to calm himself.
*Easy,* she whispered in his mind. *You're safe.* She did her best to calm him, to reassure him,
until finally the quicksilver dropped away. *Ah, Dare. I'm sorry.* She could feel the pain he was
in. The dull ache from being hit in the face. The burning, fiery pain that was his side. The sharp
pain that was building in the back of his head. Carefully, she shifted them so that he was lying in
the snow and she was able to slip out of his arms. Once again reaching for the knife that he'd been
threatened with, she cut the ropes binding his hands, easing the last of the discomfort it had been
causing. She took his right hand and pushed up his sleeve to check the monitor and found it with
three remaining green. They had used the last of the counteragent earlier during the raids they'd
made on the other camps.
And she knew he feared the quicksilver madness the way she feared herself.
He opened his eyes to look at her. "Sorry, what for?" He was pleased to see a sense of calm that
had been missing from her for many weeks now.
"Not important." Breaking eye contact, she lifted the layers of clothing to look at the wound on
his side. "Roll, please." He did with a groan. Everything was soaked with blood and she pulled out
her butterfly knife and cut the jerry-rigged bandage away. It was serving no purpose at this point,
and she needed to examine how much damage was done. "Crap," she muttered. It had been split open
yet again, along the same section that his fall had done damage to. There were also the obvious red
marks that would blossom into glorious bruises within a day or two. They had beaten him to try and
get him to talk; she'd arrived in time to see one punch thrown, but it was now obvious that it was
only one of many.
"Get it over with, Alyx. It can't hurt much worse than it already does." He set one hand on her leg
as she kneeled next to him and she took a moment to squeeze his hand before doing what was
necessary. The pain of her quicksilvering the wound shut was not nearly as bad as he had expected.
He already hurt far too much as it was to notice. His right cheek was numb at this point, which
probably meant it was quite swollen. His shoulders were slowly beginning to feel like they were
back where they belonged again, and his side... He didn't want to think about it. He was afraid he
had a couple of cracked ribs to go with the bruises and blood.
When he could speak again he asked, "Claire and Hobbes?"
Alyx's eyes unfocused for a second. "Fine. On their way here." She helped him sit up and then ran
a gentle hand over his swollen cheek bone. "You're a mess."
"Yeah, well, guess it was my turn." Then he noticed. "Your hands aren't cold."
"Hmmm, you're right." She stood up and helped him to his feet, but he couldn't quite support
himself or stand upright without having his ribs bellow their discomfort at him. "I've got you."
Darien managed a hoarse chuckle. "Right, you've got me. I must be nearly twice your weight."
Wrapping her arm firmly about his back, she got him moving. "I hadn't noticed." True enough. He
needed help, that was all that mattered, and she would do whatever was needed to provide him that
help. Whether it was to carry him or just get those in their way out of it. "Whatever you need."
Her words surprised him. Most days she seemed to be a step away from the rest of them and didn't
seem to want to try to come closer. Though the revelations over the last few days had changed his
mind. Now it seemed she stayed on the outside because she didn't want to interfere, didn't want to
force her way into the friendships and relationships that had already been established before she
was brought in. She was almost like that one kid in high school -- every high school had one --
the kid who hung around the edges of the groups, hoping to get invited to participate in the fun
that he saw them enjoying. Everyone knew him, would say 'hi' and maybe even consider him a friend,
but he was never part of the group. Alyx, however, was staying outside by choice and he wondered
what had taken him so long to see it. "Careful, I may take you up on that." His voice was soft.
Alyx felt the gentle wave of emotions wash over and through her. His meaning was complex, but
clear. She chose to laugh it off, to make the context less serious than he meant it. "Needs. Not
wants, silly."
"Sometimes they're the same thing," Darien responded, not allowing her to pass it off. She wouldn't
be pushing him away so hard without a good reason; he just wished she felt comfortable enough with
him to tell him why. Lying with her in that cave, he'd realized he'd rather have her nearby, in
whatever manner, than have her go to another partner and be able to see her only on rare occasions.
He liked the easy friendship that was developing between them, the working relationship that was
turning out to be as good as the one he and Hobbes shared.
Because of their shared ability, they'd discovered a common mindset when on a job. With the
addition of her other talents, the three of them were swiftly becoming a well-oiled team. They
often didn't even need to speak and just knew what to do. All these weeks of
near-constant work had had some beneficial effect, in that even Hobbes was far more comfortable
around her. Her abilities still set his paranoia off regularly, but he was dealing with it and not
taking it out on her. Darien wanted no part of her leaving their little team.
Alyx stopped, holding him tighter, and turned slightly to look at him. "I know."
Claire and Hobbes came into view then and rushed to their sides. Claire put Darien's other arm
around her shoulders to help support him. Bobby was holding his arm stiffly; Claire had scrounged
some cloth from somewhere and wrapped it up tightly. "How'd we do, kid?"
Alyx shrugged. "Darien's hurt pretty bad and needs a shot. They kept at him till he quicksilvered
in defense. He had trouble dropping it."
"And we're out of counteragent," Hobbes said with a sigh.
"Everything is going just the same as always."
That earned a pained chuckle from Darien. "Are we done yet? Can we go home?" Claire and Alyx got
him moving again, even though all he wanted to do was lie down and moan, or demand some really good
painkillers and escape reality for a while.
"Soon," Alyx said. "Bobby, we're out of options and still have a couple of hours to kill."
Hobbes nodded. "What are you thinking?"
"We sneak these two as close as possible, and then you and I lead the remaining hounds a merry
chase away from them. As soon as the deadline has arrived, they sneak into the Lodge and we make a
run for it as well," Alyx answered. Darien immediately began to protest. She silenced him. "Dare,
if necessary, you can quicksilver both of you to get in. We have counteragent in the room, as well
as the medical gear."
Claire looked around Darien to see Alyx. "He's too close to madness to quicksilver."
Alyx shook her head. "The guys running this show may have plans for us. If we have to, we'll turn
Darien's evil id on them." She felt Darien stiffen and sensed the fear that coursed through him.
"Dare, on this occasion it's a weapon that we may need."
"Fawkes, she's right. I doubt she likes the idea any more than you." He saw the pained look in her
eyes and knew that much was true anyway. "It's a last resort only."
Grudgingly, Darien nodded. "I'll do what's needed, for all of us."
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