Author:
Catherder
Disclaimer:
Dark Angel is owned by Charles Eglee, James Cameron, and Fox. I claim no rights
to these characters, alas, although I like to play with them.
Summary
: Continuation of "Encounter." Renfro
grabs Logan for experimentation and Lydecker has to deal with the consequences.
Spoilers/Timeframe: Between Pollo Loco and Hit a Sistah Back
Rated:
PG for language
A/N:
This is in response to the reviewers who asked me to continue the story. Great
thanks to a fan for reviewing and making excellent suggestions. Reviews are
appreciated.
Encounter, Chapter Two
A week later, Logan was back at Fremont Market. As he made the rounds of the booths and stalls, he kept a lookout for the blonde woman who had so annoyed him the week before, but she was nowhere around. It was just as well, he thought. He wasn't up to dealing with her again.
He
made his purchases and wheeled back to his car. As he was getting in, a man
rushed by and bumped his arm in his hurry to pass by. The last thing Logan
remembered, he was folding the wheelchair to stow it in the back of the car.
Then a black hole came up and swallowed him.
He
didn't see the man who had bumped his arm circle back, lift him out of the car,
and transfer him to an ambulance. He didn't see the other man rifle his pockets
and the glove compartment for identification, or put his wheelchair into the
ambulance. He wasn't aware of them driving him to a remote military facility
and reporting to the blonde woman whom he had been trying to avoid.
***********************************
When
he awoke, he found himself in an austere room, in a bed, wearing a hospital
gown. His head hurt like hell and he couldn't get his bearings. He seemed to be
hooked up to some kind of monitor. He shook his head to try and clear it, which
made it hurt even more, then looked around. He appeared to be in a hospital
room, although he didn't think it was in Metro Medical. His wheelchair was next
to the bed and his wallet and glasses were on the nightstand.
A
woman in a white lab coat walked briskly into the room. She identified herself
as a nurse.
"Ah,
Mr. Cale, you're awake. How are you feeling?" She took his wrist to check his
pulse.
"Like
I've been hit upside the head with a 2 X 4. Where am I? What happened?" Logan
responded groggily.
"You're
at a private medical facility. You blacked out at Fremont Market. The ambulance
brought you here. We're running some tests right now to find out what caused
the blackout."
"Have
you notified Sam Carr at Metro Medical? He's my doctor. Neurosurgeon."
"We'll
contact him shortly. You just relax, Mr. Cale. You're in good hands. Get some
sleep." Just as briskly, she walked out of his room. He leaned back against the
pillows. Sleep sounded like a good idea.
*************
Dr. Elizabeth Renfro reviewed her notes to the Committee with a
self-satisfied smile on her face. ______________________________________________________________________________
Subject's
Name: Logan Cale
Age:
31 Height:
6'2" Weight: 180
Address:
Fogle Towers, PH1, Seattle Washington
Occupation:
Freelance Journalist
Father:
deceased Mother: deceased
Siblings:
N/A
Spouse's
Name: N/A
The
subject presented with a gunshot wound at the T8 level, causing paralysis below
the 8th thoracic vertebrae. Although the injury is nearly a year
old, dating from April 2019, the subject has obviously undergone extensive
physical therapy, resulting in excellent muscle tone and neurological response
above the point of injury and fair to good muscle tone and neurological
response below the point of injury. Because of this, I feel that he is a good candidate for Manticore's
nanotechnology experiment currently in progress.
______________________________________________________________________________
"We
have reached the stage where we must progress beyond animal testing and
concentrate on human trials," Renfro stated to the Committee. "A suitable
candidate has been located and is currently residing at the facility. With your
approval, we can begin immediately."
She
hadn't been so excited about an experiment since the early days of the X7s.
Lydecker's tests with rats had been encouraging, but rats were one thing and
humans were another. Nanotechnology had advanced so much since the early days
of the century, when it was contemplated solely for diagnostic purposes. Well,
they'd been using it for diagnostics for more than a decade now, and had used
it to administer medication and treatment for years. But she and Lydecker had
envisioned using nanotechnology for self-healing purposes – to give the X
series warriors the ability to seal up their own wounds, regenerate tissue and
nerves. That ability, coupled with the unique properties of their blood, would
render them nearly invincible. The ultimate soldiers, stronger and smarter than
the rest, and nearly unkillable. She nearly salivated at the thought.
Of
course the Committee approved. They always did. She had them in the palm of her
hand and they did what she told them. What she didn't tell them was that the
nanotechnology was still unstable; that the encouraging results had come at the
expense of hundreds of dead lab rats – and that the encouraging results were just that – encouraging, but nothing
more. A lot more needed to be done and she was pushing Lydecker to take it to
the next stage. His reluctance was infuriating. Perhaps if she gave him a real,
live human subject to play with, he wouldn't be so reluctant.
And what a subject she had found him! A fine physical specimen with the perfect injury. A man who'd had the financial resources and time to keep himself in good shape; who had no living family to worry about his whereabouts or attempt to track him down; who lived alone except for his physical therapist. What more could Lydecker ask for?
