Full Circle
By Harris, Mitch, Shaine, and Shatterclaw. Individual rating:
R.
James Harris shook his head as Mitch passed. Bunch of suicidal maniacs...he'd better not wind up like the girl...
There was a rumble of thunder, and large, thick drops of rain began to fall. Damn. He took one last puff off of the cigarette and then flicked it away, stepping inside.
The base was empty; most were away preparing for the Antarctica mission. Mitch was somewhere around, though Jim didn't particularly want him for company, and he thought Shaine was still inside. The rest - even Belladonna - had left early.
Having nothing better to do, Jim headed for the rec room. Inside, Shaine was sprawled out on the couch. Some sort of food in a foil wrapper lay upon her stomach, and she was staring mindlessly at the television. It was an old rerun of Star Trek: Ghidorah - the one where Shatterclaw and Yeoman Cast-No-Shadow defused Kyria's plot to destroy the ship and make off with McLaughlin's android.
He looked at the screen with disgust. "I remember that episode...did it ever suck!"
"Hey! I will have you know that any episode with Cast-No-Shadow in it is perfect!" Her tone grew reverent. "And Shatterclaw rocks."
She looked at him sideways. "But then I suppose you're a Blackfire fan, huh?"
"No, I'm an old Trekkie...this shit is just disgusting! Magic? Prophecy? Androids around every corner? Huh!"
Shaine rolled her eyes. "I take it from that last one that you don't like Mariner either?"
"Older than that..."
"Geez, I ought to get you together with my ex, then...he says that Star Trek died the day Data got married..."
"No, Star Trek went to hell with the coming of Voyager. This...this shit is just wrong..."
"Well of course Braga was a smeghead, but these new writers know what they're doing." She gave him a sideways grin. "Y'know, I used to work for Metacreations-Paramount..."
"Yeah, uh-huh, keep telling yourself that...I'll stick with my old collection, thank you."
"I met the Captain Calhoun Boomer once," she added wistfully.
Harris shook his head, then walked over to the television. "Dammit, this needs to go!"
"Hey!" Shaine vaulted off of the couch.
Jim turned. "Is there a problem...?"
"All right, Mister Bloodbath and Beyond, we've got to get one thing straight here."
"And what's that?"
"I was here first, and I am watching Star Trek. If you don't like that, you can go elsewhere."
He smiled slightly, stepping past her and taking a seat on the couch.
"Thank you." She sat back down, stretching out as well as she could without touching him, and took a large bite of her cold pizza.
Jim took two objects from his coat: one appeared to be a DVD box and the other was his Desert Eagle. Shaine raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
He aimed the loaded gun at the TV. "Let's get something straight: we're both here to relax. You can either put this DVD in, or the television gets it. Either way, I'm not watching another minute of that loser on the tube...hell, I should pull the trigger now just for the idea that I'd be ridding the world of the misery of seeing that fop..."
A low growl sounded in Shaine's throat at the very idea that such a thing could be suggested, but she then grabbed the remote and switched it over to input from the DVD player.
"Fine. But I'm watching Blade Runner later and I don't want any arguments on that."
Jim smiled slightly. "That's all right with me..."
"Good."
"I think you might like this one, though."
"Inner Light...TNG...yeah, I've seen it. Pretty good for an episode with no appreciable part for Data."
"Yeah, I thought you might've...but if we're watching reruns, this is it."
Shaine arched her back so that she could reach beyond her head and grab the bag of Jelly Bellys on the end table. Sliding back into a more comfortable position, she saw that Jim still had his gun trained on the screen, and was trying to hand her the box.
"Ohhh, no. Your DVD, you get up."
He sighed. "All right. Play it or the TV dies."
She shoved some jelly beans in her mouth and got up. "We gotta get something better worked out here. I'm not Suzie Housewife, you know."
The DVD started playing. "Thank you." Jim reholstered his gun.
"Dear gods...politeness!" She blinked in mock surprise. "Bitte."
"Bitte?"
"You're welcome," she translated, overenunciating.
"Oh."
Shaine sat down again, her arms crossed. Minutes later, a door slammed. She jumped, then relaxed once she heard the heavy footsteps of another person in the Nest. She began to gather up the jelly beans she'd spilled, then reverently intoned, "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt," shoving the entire handful in her mouth at once.
Jim watched her, smiling slightly, then turned back to the screen.
One of the ravens flew into the room, landing just above and to the left of Shaine's shoulder. It stared at both of them with glassy eyes, then looked at Shaine and tried to grab the jelly beans.
"Hey!" Shaine pulled the bag away, closing it tightly. "Those things cost four bucks a pound! Get yer own!"
"Caw!" It flapped its wings.
Jim looked over with a dark expression on his face. He pulled his DE back out, aiming at it... "Damn it, what do I have to do to get peace and quiet around here?" Big gun, big bird mess...heh...
"Quit it, Morrigan!" Shaine's head came up suddenly as she realized what he was about to do. "Hey, hey! You are not going to shoot my bird!"
"And why not?"
Morrigan looked at Jim curiously, then hop-stepped closer to Shaine.
"Caw, caw!"
"I won't let him hurt you," she said resolutely, then reluctantly surrendered a few jelly beans.
Jim sighed, bringing the clip out of his gun and reaching into his coat pocket for a fully loaded one. Aiming it at the bird's head he fired three shots, all of them loud as hell - but only blanks.
Shaine yelped in surprise and began swearing in German as the bird flapped around the room, cawing its head off.
"All right. There are four shots left; one is live. Get the bird out of here...or we find out if it can handle the next three..."
"What do I look like, an animal trainer? I can't exactly tell it what to do!"
"Well, then...time for some roulette."
The bird landed on the pool table, stumbling and flapping its wings. Shaine winced and threw herself at Jim, trying to deflect his aim.
Oh, hell...what am I doing? He's probably going to shoot me for this!
The bird flapped out of the room. Jim turned without thinking, grabbing her shirt collar and pulling her to the floor. She brought her arms up feebly to try to bat him away, but it was useless.
He aimed the gun at her head.
"Aigh!" she gasped. "...Is that your answer to everything? Just shoot it?"
"Yes." He fired the last four shots at her, then let go in disgust.
Jim got to his feet and walked to the pool table as she lay there gasping. Saved by stupidity..."Never take anybody's word about whether a gun is loaded..."
He put the gun away. "Are you looking for death? Is that it?"
"I'm looking for an answer. If death is it, then yes."
He sighed. "You know, we can keep this game up as long as you want..."
She looked away suddenly and went back to the couch. Picking up her things, she began to walk out.
"Wait. Come here."
She turned around, then dumped her things back onto the table and slowly walked toward him.
"All right. Here's the deal." He reached behind his back, pulling out a silenced SOCOM and handing it to her. "We can either end this nonsense, or you can kill me. Your choice. I've had enough of this."
Shaine desperately wanted to just leave and keep going until she forgot all of it, but at the same time she couldn't take her eyes off of him. The gun hung feebly from her right hand where he had mistakenly placed it.
She set it down on the pool table. "Du darfst mein Bestrafer sein, ja?" You're my jailer, huh?
She stared at him determinedly, then turned back toward the door. "Stop I want an actual response."
She turned again as if slapped.
"That gun's too heavy for me. And yes, I know you didn't understand what I said...maybe next time we can meet each other halfway?"
He stepped closer to her, slightly confused. "Halfway?"
"As in, something a bit more...understanding? Please and thank you? That was a start..."
"All right then. No more games.
"Now, then... There has to be something you want to say to my face. I think it's better to let it out now."
"There'll be polar bears in the Black Forest before I translate for you. Learn German, though, and maybe I'll repeat myself..."
A softer note crept into her voice. "Just for you..."
He smiled slightly. "Just for me, eh?"
She smiled back. "Most men I don't give a second chance."
"I see..."
"And we're on what...three or four, now?"
"More like five."
"Well, who's counting?"
"Then why me?"
She shrugged. "If I knew that, I'd probably be on my way to a shrink to get it fixed, ja? Last time a man came at me like that, I let him have it backhanded...left marks from my rings on his cheek. Had to hurt."
"That would not have been in your best interest."
She held up her right hand; there was only the emerald-and-gold ring her mother had worn. She never took that one off. "I would have been gentle." She looked almost amused.
Jim placed a hand on his Desert Eagle again. "This wouldn't have been, when I backhanded you back..."
She smiled. "Then I guess it's a good thing I have some sense of restraint."
"Exactly. Mess with a snake long enough and you get bitten..."
A look of bewilderment appeared on Shaine's face. She blinked. "Wh...what? You knew that I--"
"That you what?"
She turned pale. Me and my big mouth...must've been a coincedence; he doesn't know...
"I..."
"That you what? Tell me!"
I can't tell him...what do I do? She turned around, lifting her shirt a bit so that he could see her tattoo. Jim stared at the image, a snake biting its own tail, and took her by the arm. He turned her around, a glimmer of compassion in his eyes. She was trembling. "What's wrong?"
She could only look up at him, finally truly frightened. I can't tell him about what I said...can't tell him what the tattoo means...hell, it's lucky he doesn't seem to know any more about X-Files than he does about German... She shook her head.
"No, please tell me."
At a loss for words, she let her mouth open slightly. Her lower lip trembled as if she were unable to speak. "I..."
She swallowed nervously. "Not even my parents knew about this," she began. "To suddenly have someone guess at it..it's so odd... And I've had enough surprises to last a lifetime, these past few weeks!"
"That's nothing to be afraid of."
"And normal people don't exactly take well to getting jerked around like this.
"First him, now this..." she muttered.
"Well, no one ever said any of us were normal."
She laughed bitterly at that. Jim realized he was still holding Shaine's arm, and let go. She pulled back quickly. "So. May I leave now?"
"Do you want to leave?"
There was an odd look in her eyes. She shook her head.
"I'm not stopping you..."
"This is going to sound cheesy but I don't want to be left alone... Hate being left alone..."
Jim walked to the couch and sat down again. "Well, I'm not leaving. I came here to relax, and eventually I will."
Shaine found her CD player among the items on the table, put on the headphones and started it up. From the loud thumps emitted, it could have been practically any rap album ever made. Walking over to a chair, she sat down and closed her eyes.
Jim watched her. He shook his head. I have no idea what to think of you... He grabbed the remote.
The television came on first, and there was a lag before the DVD would start. It was the news, and they were showing shots of a house with one wall missing. The reporter mentioned a familiar name: Erik Kohl...
Jim hit Shaine with a pillow to get her attention. She looked up. "What now, Harris?"
Noticing what was on the screen, she tore her headphones off. "Did they get him?" she asked, as casually as if she were inquiring about the four day forecast.
"Hasn't said yet."
Another shot of the reporter, this time she was talking to Erik. He smiled darkly, repeating the same lines he'd used on Mitch not too long before.
There was a brown-haired woman in the background, her green eyes full of concern.
"OHMYGAWD!"
Shaine shook her head in disbelief. "No..."
"He's the one you want dead, right?"
"That was my mother," she gasped.
"Huh? Your mom?"
"She's dead!"
"Who was your mom?"
"No, it's impossible! That's just impossible! She's been dead for three years!" She brought one fist up near her chin, resting it on her other arm, and closed her eyes.
Jim walked over to Shaine, kneeling next to her. "Hey...who was your mom?"
Shaine clenched and unclenched the fist, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "She can't be there," she whispered.
Jim sighed and took her by the arm, trying to get her attention. Shaine made a halfhearted attempt to wrench her arm away, but failed. She started to cry.
"Hey, snap out of it! You all right?"
"That woman in the background...that was my mother..."
He shook her arm. "Snap out of it. What do you mean that was your mother?"
The slamming of a door cut off her response. Saki stormed past the rec room but didn't slow down or acknowledge their presence. Jim walked to the doorway and looked down the hall at her; Shaine followed hesitantly.
Coming from the same direction was Crimson.
"Hello? Anyone home?"
"You're back..."
"I had a great trip," Crimson told him.
"I'll bet."
Mitch, hearing the voices, followed Crimson into the rec room. The Ravens' leader had a duffel bag over one shoulder and wore his leather business trenchcoat. "Did I miss anything?"
Jim shook his head.
"That bad, Harris?"
"Someone tried to kill my uncle and we've got to go back and finish the job," Shaine said breathlessly, her words beginning to run together. "He has my mother there!"
"Do you know who tried to kill him? And do you know it really is your mother?"
"How the hell should I know! I just saw her on the news...but it can't be real; she died three years ago."
Mitch noticed that her eyes were red and the skin around them puffy and tear-stained. "Are you all right, Shaine?"
"Am I all right? What fucking planet have you been on?"
She's acting like a child. I don't know what her problem is...but then I've never understood those rollercoaster emotions of hers...
"Most likely it's some sort of trick...but if it is her, Shaine, we'll make sure she's safe."
"If it's her I don't want to have anything to do with her."
"Cool your jets. What's your problem?"
She glared at Mitch. "Just stay out of this, labcoat."
"Mitch, is anyone else in the Nest right now?"
"Yeah, Saki's in the danger room." He stopped. "But I have to talk to you about something...
"It's about Saki..."
"Shaine, can you handle going out now?"
"Yeah. Sure."
"Harris, you and Shaine get suited up. We'll meet you there."
Once the other two had left, Crimson led Mitch down the hall and stopped outside the command room. "Okay. What's going on with Saki?"
"The ADP are looking for her."
"For what?"
"It's a mess!"
"Okay, wait. Start at the beginning...what exactly happened?"
"Erik Kohl has a Boomer double of himself."
Crimson nodded. "That's normal for Genom higher-ups."
"Saki was seen leaving his house after it exploded with the doppelganger inside, already killed by someone with a sword. And it gets worse."
"Is it a proof-positive ID? Can they place a face with the name?"
"Kohl never mentioned her name, but he described her pretty well and accused her of killing a Replicant double of Shaine."
"He's accused Saki of murder?"
"No real evidence but his word."
"His word...okay..."
"So he says she killed the double of him and a Replicant of Shaine."
"A what?"
"A Replicant. They're a new subclass of Boomer with human organs and a half-human brain. Are you familiar with them?"
"Yes, I know that Genom was working on that type, but they're illegal. The government put a stop to it because they were using genetic material from dead bodies and aborted fetuses...rather gruesome even when they did obtain permission from a next-of-kin. Rumor has it they even went so far as cloning without permission. None were ever registered from Chicago or other parts of Illinois."
"Well, I've got one back in the lab with a small EMP burn on the back of the neck and it looks like Shaine."
"So Saki killed this Boomer... And he had at least three Replicants, his own double and then the two of her and her mother... the twisted bastard... Okay, Mitch, I think I see what's going on. What else?"
"Part of the house was blown up by a grenade planted by the Erik double's body."
Crimson shook his head. "Figures. Saki has a habit of slightly overreacting to things."
"I'm sorry, Crim. I barely know her."
"She finds out that Kohl outdid her plan to off him by having this Boomer lookalike... She's pissed and needs to make sure the site is clean, so she uses a thermite grenade gotten from the black market - you can check the casing fragments; they're going to be traceable to a vendor in the undercity..."
Mitch frowned. "Something tells me there is more than meets the eye with Erik Kohl..."
"Pesos to dollars you're right. You'll most likely find the house's surveillance tapes are gone."
"What would you say if I told you that I think Mr. Kohl is not entirely human?"
"Saki was very good at her old life," Crimson mused, his eyes focused on nothing. Then he heard Mitch's question. "It wouldn't come as a complete surprise. There have been rumors of Genom turning their top people into Boomers so they're more easily controlled. But do you have proof that he's not all human?" Crimson cut himself off. "Or not human in the dictionary sense...no one working for Genom can be called truly human in the first place..."
"It's just a hunch. He passed a lie detector test with no help at all. I know he was lying and my partner adjusted the polygraph while I watched. How could a human do that?"
"There are a few ways. Meditation, many of the Middle Eastern arts...some form of strict mind control...
"Or he believes he is telling the truth.
"But I agree; he was lying to your face."
"The thing was set to catch even the slightest change in pupil dilation."
"Then he had another way of getting around it." Crimson shook his head. "We'll talk about it later. Let's suit up."
///
"We're taking the Raven Wing 3," Crimson said as he strode into the hangar.
Over a private link, he added, "I know how you feel, Shaine. Understand that, for your own good, you should be staying here."
"Do you think I could stay here? There's no way in hell I'm not going with you."
"I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt... Don't do anything foolish."
Crimson walked up the jet's ramp, Mitch and Shaine following and Jim entering last. The door closed behind Jim and the jet took off.
Jim, sitting behind Mitch, looked at the back of the ADP officer's head. Such a good shot...a pity to waste the opportunity. Ah well.
Seven of the artificial ravens sat on a cagelike perch. "We'll use the birds for recon," Crimson said, "Then go in with cloaks on. The first mission is to find Kathy, determine whether she is human or Boomer. Then we find Mr. Kohl. Any other person or Boomer will be handled with caution, avoided if possible. They will be killed only if they try to stop us. Hugo, if we're not out of the house in ten minutes, cut loose and level it."
"Sure, Boss. Been nice working with ya. T minus five to target..."
Crimson pulled a lever and the back door of the Wing opened. The birds flew out, cawing raucously as they went.
He looked at Jim. "Time to fly."
It was a short drop to ground level, and the Ravens could already see a view of the house in their heads-up display.
"There are eight possible Boomers in the house, including the target. Erik does not seem to be there, or he is in a room with no windows. The eight Boomers are giving off near-human heat readings so be warned."
A ninth Boomer came onto the screen, walking around the house. She had just come in from the garden.
"Well...looks like we have nine Replicants. Harris, your job is to find Erik if he's here."
Jim cloaked and silently flew toward the house.
"How do you want to do this, Crim?" Mitch asked.
"Plain and simple. You and Shaine find this Kathy and bring her back no matter what kind of readings you get from her."
"No problem! Ready, Freefall?"
The Ravens made their way down to the ground and Jim circled around to the screen door in the back, which had been left open by the ninth Replicant. Shaine began peering into the windows.
The house was large for one person - one human person - with small bushes and a few shade trees outside. There were two floors, with most of the large windows on the ground floor. Jim began systematically searching each room, careful not to get too close to any of the Replicants.
Passing beneath an open window, Shaine heard two women talking.
"Oh, you'll get your turn," Kathy said.
"That's what I'm hoping!" The second one laughed.
Shaine stopped, listening intently.
"But none of the others has lasted more than four months!" She sounded puzzled.
"Freefall, you ready?" Mitch repeated.
"I've been ready."
"Cool it! We've got work to do."
"Get over here; I think I hear her." Shaine gritted her teeth. Get a clue, labcoat...no matter how many buddies you lost to Genom, you don't know what it's like to be Kohl.
Hitting her jet verniers, she flew up to the window. Mitch soon followed. "That's her."
Mitch activated a voice link to Crimson. "We have two females in a second story room; one is our target."
"Freefall, can you take her from the house without alerting the others?"
"If we could separate her from the other one..." The second Boomer was short and blonde, looked almost like Stevie Nicks. Shaine didn't recognize her. Probably a Replicant, probably pretty damned clever...wonder how we could get her out of the room without spooking the other away too...
Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft report of Mitch's stun gun. The two Boomers slumped down in their chairs, unconscious.
"Huh? I thought we weren't supposed to let them know we're here!"
"You have any better ideas?"
"Well, it's not like he's not going to have some clue who did this..." She broke the window and flew through; it was a tight fit but not too difficult.
Shaine scanned the Boomers. "Both Replicants." Lifting Kathy first, she passed them through the window to Mitch and then climbed back out. Then she took Kathy back. "Let's get her back to the Wing."
"We've got Kathy."
"Understood," Crimson said. He kicked open the front door, letting the ravens into the house.
"Erik's not here," Jim said.
"Acknowledged, Harris. Meet us back at the Wing." The three Ravens at the front of their house hit their jet verniers.
Once back in the Wing, they strapped Kathy and the second Replicant into their seats. Before long, the ravens had returned, carrying small objects pilfered from the house.
Among the objects were a few gun shell casings and a miniature EMP gun.
"What?" Mitch yelped. "Let me see that gun!"
"Easy, Mitch. We'll look it over at the base, then turn it over to the ADP if it'd be of any use to them."
"One step closer..."
Crimson looked at Kathy, then the blonde. "It may take many more steps to nail him...
"Hugo?"
"Yeah, Boss?"
"Isn't there a lake nearby?"
"Yeah, Boss, not too far. Why?"
"Scan it. Let's see if our dear friend has left us any surprises, hm?"
"If I have to take him apart one piece at a time," Mitch muttered, "So be it!"
Shaine shivered. "Don't talk about him like he's a Boomer...you're creeping me out."
"So you want to pick his bones clean, Mitch?" Crimson grinned and walked over to a workstation.
"I'm a forensic scientist. What do you expect?"
"Has the ADP dredged the lake yet?"
"No, that and the woods are scheduled for tomorrow. I'll copy the report for you after we get back from Antarctica."
"Well, then...check the lake."
"Right!"
Both men worked at the console for a few moments, then Crimson frowned. "There seems to be a large concentration of bodies down there...any guesses as to what kind?
"Hugo, best speed back to the base...I want to question Miss Kathy."
The pilot's black hardsuit just nodded.