Out of Time Part 3
By Carol M.
See first part for disclaimers and such
Small spoiler for Catevari in this one.
Note: You know, just when you think you've run out of plot bunnies, another one comes and hands you a carrot. You're going to be hearing a lot more from me. I guess all of us fan fic writers are sort of I-man cheerleaders, tiding all of us over until we see the last eps on scifi and the new eps on another network (which I firmly believe will happen!) So as my high school cheerleading friends would say, Go I-man Go! On with the story…
Darien sat in the passenger's seat of Golda with his head pressed against the window in sick misery, his mind occupied with anything but the passing scenery before his eyes. He hadn't said a word since he and Hobbes had left the Agency to go check out the manufacturing companies.
Bobby looked over at Darien with concern. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked out of the blue.
"You're getting cheap in your old age there, Hobbesy. It's gonna cost you a least ten dollars," said Darien, not bothering to move his head.
Bobby rolled his eyes. "Quit trying to deflect from what's going on," he said with enough anger to cause Darien to turn his head and look at Bobby. "Tell me what you're thinking," said Bobby a few seconds later in a much gentler tone.
Darien leaned back against the window, only this time he was facing Bobby. "You ever think about dying, Hobbes?" he asked.
Bobby nodded. "Is this line of work, death is a constant companion, my friend. It comes with the territory."
Darien nodded. "Are you afraid to die?" he asked softly.
Bobby shrugged. "I guess. Don't get me wrong, I would gladly go down in a blazing glory if it would save my country or a friend. But the basic idea of dying is pretty scary stuff."
"Yeah, no kidding," said Darien as he shifted slightly. "You know, when that bank robber had that gun to my face, I thought it was all over. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move, I couldn't think. It was like he had stolen the life out of my last moments."
"Having a gun stuck in your face is very traumatic experience Fawkes. Still gives me the willies from time to time, even now," said Bobby with sympathy.
Darien nodded in understanding. "I guess I've realized something since that whole thing happened. I want to live my life, whether it be with the gland or not. I know I complain constantly about how much my life sucks, but it's my life, you know. I think I would rather live it with the gland and the QSM and all that crap then not live it all."
"Fawkes, listen to me, man. You're not going to die. Not now. I won't let that happen, okay. You mean too much to Claire, the Official and I," said Bobby.
"Yeah, all I am to the Official is a human receptacle," said Darien harshly.
Bobby shook his head. "That's not true and you know it, okay. That man looks at you like a son. He cares about you, Fawkes. No matter how much you want to deny it, you know it's true."
"Yeah, okay," said Darien, shaking his head. "Look, you mind if we change the subject to happier topics, like oh, I don't know, what are we going to do if we find something?"
"We're going to do like we always do and take the bastards down, my friend," said Bobby with a smile.
Darien chuckled. "That's sounding pretty good to me right about now," he said.
"I thought you might say that," said Bobby as he pulled the van into the parking lot for Morty's Manufacturing Inc. "Anything coming back to you?"
Darien shook his head as he took in the large building. "Not a thing."
"Well, let's go check it out anyway," said Bobby as he stepped out of the van. Darien got out of the van and followed his partner.
********
An hour later
"This is just a wild goose chase, Hobbes," said Darien in frustration. They had checked out the first two addresses on the list and had come up with nothing.
"It's not a wild goose chase, it's just a process of elimination. Have a little faith, partner," said Bobby as he drove onto a deserted road near the outskirts of Miramar.
"Sorry, but all my faith dried up a long time ago," said Darien. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, feeling nauseous and achy in his stomach. An intense headache was forming behind his eyes and all the remembering he had been trying to do was not helping any. He was about to fall into a light sleep when the van rolled over a series of huge potholes.
Darien's eyes were instantly open. "Hobbes, Hobbes," he said quickly.
"What? Spit it out," said Bobby anxiously as the van rolled over another pothole.
"Bumps, I remember lots of bumps in the road. I don't think I was completely conscious, but I remember getting bounced around in whatever kind of vehicle they put me in," said Darien.
"Well it looks like we're on the right track, then, pal," said Bobby as he pulled the van in the direction of a large building with a sign reading Deppo Manufacturing Inc.
He abruptly stopped the van and shut it off.
"What?" asked Darien in confusion.
Bobby ignored him and pulled out a pair of binoculars from the back of the van. He put his eyes up to the binoculars and looked towards the building.
"Hobbes, what's going on?" asked Darien impatiently.
Bobby handed the binoculars to Darien. "See for yourself, buddy," said Bobby.
Darien put his eyes to the binoculars and saw armed guards standing in front of the building, checking cars as they went through a security gate. "Um Hobbes, what would a manufacturing company be doing with armed guards?"
"Exactly," said Bobby. "I think we're dealing with a little more than tennis balls or plastic bottles here, my friend."
"Let's take a closer look, shall we," said Darien as he opened the door and stepped out of the van. Bobby did the same and the pair started to walk towards the security gate. "Okay, so I'm thinking I should quicksilver and get a look inside."
Bobby shook his head. "Fawkes, you heard the Keep. The more quicksilver you use the less time she has to find a cure for your little illness."
"You can say I told you so later," said Darien as he sped up his heartbeat and let the quicksilver flow over his skin. He ignored the pain and nausea that accompanied the cold sensation. "I'll be back in five," said Darien.
"Fawkes, this is stupid. You're going to get yourself killed," said Bobby, but Darien was already in a fast jog towards the security gate, determined to find out who had taken him and why, even if it ended up killing him.
He effortlessly got through the gate and quickly sprinted towards the main building. He entered a side door and made his way down one of the halls. What he saw was anything but a manufacturing company. Every corridor was filled with labs. The other rooms contained vast amounts of guns and other artillery.
He was about to enter one of the larger labs, when the overwhelming need to vomit filled his senses. He quickly turned around and ran towards the exit.
Bobby was waiting impatiently outside, checking his watch every two seconds. Darien had been in the building for approximately four minutes and Bobby hoped that his partner would wise up and get the hell out of there. He nearly fell to the ground when an invisible body slumped against him.
"Fawkes," he yelled in a panic.
Darien reappeared a moment later and fell to the ground, dry heaving his guts out. His face was sweaty and pale, and his eyes shined with fever. "I think I used a little too much," rasped Darien as the dry heaving spell passed. He hugged his arms to his sides where it felt like his stomach had indeed exploded inside his body.
"Damn it, Fawkes, why did you do that?" asked Bobby as he ran a hand over Darien's shoulder.
Darien took a deep breath and looked at Bobby. "Because who ever did this wants me dead. They wouldn't have brought me back to the Keep if there was any possibility that Claire would find a cure. It's up to me to find an antidote," he whispered weakly.
"Wrong, partner, it's up to us. Bobby Hobbes doesn't bail on his partner, especially when he's practically tossing his cookies on my shoes," said Bobby.
"That's good to know," slurred Darien as his eyes started to roll back in his head.
"Come on, Fawkes, I'm taking you back to the Keep," said Bobby as he lifted his partner off the ground and slung him over his back in a fireman's carry. By the time Bobby got back to the van with his partner, Darien was completely unconscious
*****
When Darien awoke several hours, it was to the loud voices of Claire and Bobby. "Wuz goin' on?" he mumbled, still half asleep.
Claire and Bobby were instantly at his side.
"How are you feeling, Fawkesy?" asked Bobby.
"Like crap, but other than that I'm fine," replied Darien.
Claire cleared her throat loudly in anger. Darien looked over at her and raised her eyebrows. "What did I do?" asked Darien.
"You cut your time by two days, that's what you did!" said Claire angrily. "How do you expect me to come up with an antidote when you take away the time for me to do it!"
"You're not going to find an antidote and you know it, Claire. Why would somebody shoot me up with death juice and then bring me back here so you can fix it. It's not going to happen, Claire," murmured Darien.
Claire sighed. "Darien I…"
"No, listen, Deppo Manufacturing, that's where I was taken. While I was snooping around in there, I saw several small labs and a few rooms filled to the brim with weapons. I'm thinking we're dealing with someone familiar here," urged Darien.
"Like I don't know, maybe Chrysalis?" said Bobby.
"See, that's why they pay you the big bucks, my friend," said Darien with a smile.
"Yeah, tell that to the boss," said Bobby. "Eberts checked out this so-called Deppo Manufacturing. Guess who the owner is?"
"Jared Stark," answered Darien.
"Give the man a prize," said Bobby. "We tried to contact him, but he's no where to be found."
"How convenient," said Darien.
"Right. So here's what I'm going to do. Me and Golda are going to stake out the place and see if we can't come up with a solution to your current situation," said Bobby.
"Sounds like a plan to me, let's go," said Darien as he struggled to get out of the chair.
"Nope, not this time Fawkes," said Bobby as he held Darien to the chair. "You're going to stay here tonight and rest. Bright and early tomorrow, you can come out and play with the big boys, but not a second sooner."
"Hobbes…"
"No arguments," said Bobby as he started for the door. "I'll see you kids in the morning," said Bobby as he walked out the door.
Claire regarded Darien with a small smile and rubbed his arm. "You aren't looking too good," she said as she noted his pale face and pain-filled eyes.
"Yeah well, I'm not really feeling too good," said Darien softly.
"I know," she said as she ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to finish up a few tests and then we'll move you to lab three, okay," she said softly.
"Kay," he whispered. A stared at her intensely for several seconds. "Hey Claire, you know I have complete confidence in you and trust you with my life, right?" he asked.
Claire smiled. "I know."
"I just don't think you're meant to find a cure for this thing. It just seems too easy," said Darien.
"Well maybe I'll surprise them. I've almost figured out all the compounds of the toxin. Once that's done, I can start sequencing chemicals for an antitoxin," she said as she stepped over to her microscope.
"Claire," said Darien.
Claire looked over at him. "Yeah, Darien."
"Thanks for trying," he said.
"Well call me, crazy, but I kind of like having you around," said Claire with a smile.
"I think you already used that line on me once before, Keep," said Darien with his own smile.
"Well, it's the best line I got," replied Claire as she looked back at her microscope.
Several minutes later, Darien was almost asleep when a large crash and a scream startled him awake. He looked over at Claire in a panic. "What's wrong?" he asked her.
Claire was breathing in short, panicky gasps and tears were flowing down her cheeks.
With a superhuman effort, Darien picked his body off the counteragent chair and walked to Claire. "What's wrong, Claire, what happened?" he asked her.
She looked at him with haunted eyes. "I am so sorry, Darien," she said softly.
Darien looked at her in shock. "Why?"
"I caused all this, I did this to you. You're going to die because of me!" she cried out.
TBC
