DS #9 A Life for a Life (3/?)

By Carol M.

See prologue for details.

This part and the rest of this story contain vague references to the Sept 11th attacks. No offense intended with the content. Next part probably out by Wed at the latest. Once Christmas is done, I will start posting everyday again. Enjoy this part, kiddies and have a happy holiday!

Bobby regained consciousness with the realization that something was wrong, very wrong. When he had to pry his head from Golda's steering wheel, he knew that things had definitely taken a turn for the worse.

"Agent Hobbes, are you all right?" came a voice from the driver's side window. He looked up to see the blurry form of Agent Parker leaning through the window, trying to discern if Bobby was still in the land of the living.

Bobby wiped his eyes and then nodded. He glanced over at the seat next to him and saw Alex slowly stirring from her own drug-induced slumber. "What happened?" she mumbled as she struggled to open her eyes.

A terrifying thought went through Bobby's mind at that moment. He quickly opened the door, smashing into Agent Parker in the process, and took off running towards Darien's apartment building.

As he ran through the foyer and up the stairs, a thousand worries flashed through his mind. Was Darien safe? Was he hurt? Was Claire all right? And most terrifying of all, were either of them dead?

His body broke out into a cold sweat as he made his way up the final flight of stairs to Darien's apartment. He eyed the door, not sure if he really wanted to go through it and see what horrors might be waiting for him on the other side. In the end, loyalty and love for his two best friends made him cautiously enter the apartment, his gun drawn and his feet working in quiet careful footsteps. It was pitch black in the small loft and Bobby had trouble determining if there was anything to be seen in the apartment.

He pulled a small pen light from his pocket and shined it around the room, waiting to see bloodstains and body parts strewn across the cheap shag carpet that seemed so fitting for his thrift-loving partner. "Fawkes? Claire? Anybody in here?" he yelled, wanting an answer so bad he could taste it.

He heard a small whimper in response and the sound nearly made him pass out in relief. "Claire?" he asked in a voice that suspiciously sounded like it was only seconds away from becoming a sob.

His flashlight moved to the bed and his breath hitched in his throat when he saw the ample rise of a woman's stomach. "Claire!" he yelled as he ran to the bed.

He shined the light in her eyes and realized that she was flinching away from it. "Claire, Claire," said Bobby as he checked her pulse and then tenderly rubbed his hand through her hair.

"Bobby?" she said a few seconds later as her eyes worked their way open into tiny slits.

"Yeah, Claire it's me," he said softly. "Are you okay?"

She closed her eyes, grimacing for a second and then opened them back up. "I'm okay, I think they gassed me with…" Realization hit her face and she sat up so fast Bobby would never actually be able to recall the movement. "Darien, they got Darien," she said as she put a hand to her face and her eyes started to sparkle with tears. "They…they just took him. One minute everything was fine and the next all the lights were out and men with guns were coming in. Oh god, Bobby, they took Darien, they took him!" shouted Claire in a hysterical tone.

Bobby pulled her into a tight embrace, thankful that at least she was still there. "Shhh, Claire, it's okay, it's okay, we'll find him, we'll find him, don't worry."

Claire's sniffles started to die down against Bobby's chest. "Thanks, Bobby," she murmured softly.

At that moment, Alex burst through the door. "Is everyone okay?" she asked eagerly.

"They got Fawkes," said Bobby grimly.

"Oh no," said Alex in a defeated tone. "McClellan."

"McClellan?" asked Claire curiously as she wiped at her tears.

"It's a long story. Right now, we need to get you to the Agency," said Bobby as he helped her out of bed.

Claire gave him a silent nod and let him lead her out of the apartment with Alex in tow.

**

Darien fought himself awake with a feeling of absolute horror in his stomach. His eyes opened wide in a panic as he realized he was in some sort of sterile looking room with white walls, white floors, white ceilings and a white bed. A white bed that he was strapped into with white restraints. The only thing that didn't quite match the room was Darien himself, who was dressed in his illustrated pajama top and blue pajama pants.

His first instinct was to quicksilver the restraints, which he wasted no time in doing. What he wasn't counting on was the violent shock of electricity that ran through his body as the first bead of quicksilver hit the material. He screamed in surprise and lay back against his bed, pain running through his whole body.

"I wouldn't do that again if I was you," offered a voice that seemed to be coming from the ceiling.

"Yeah well, you're not giving me many options here," panted Darien in a shaky voice.

A steel door opened and a tall, older man walked in, giving Darien a wide smile. Darien brought his head up to take a closer look at the man, giving him a curious look. "You're that guy," said Darien in confusion.

"That guy?" asked Royce, slightly amused.

"That guy in the Official's office," said Darien as he lay his head back down on the bed. "I saw you this afternoon," he breathed.

"Oh yes, I am that guy. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Royce McClellan, and I am your temporary boss," he said as he stepped closer to the bed and stood over Darien.

"Well as much as I hate to admit it, I prefer my old boss. At least he didn't keep me strapped to a bed. Well…not often anyway," said Darien sarcastically.

"How interesting," said Royce in bored tone. "I know about your little gift, son."

"Oh and what gift would that be? My ability to block out any and all bureau speak?" said Darien.

"Oh son, you can try to get away from this, but you will fail miserably. Your boss made sure of that," he said.

"What the hell does the Official have to do with this?" Darien gave a small start of realization. "Wait a minute, did you make some kind of deal with him?" asked Darien, flashing his trademark puppy dog eyes.

"I wish I had. But unfortunately your boss does not see that big picture like I do, so he refused. That left me little choice but to take matters into my own hands," said Royce.

"So you kidnapped me," said Darien.

"Well, I wouldn't call it kidnapping, I would call it a temporary sabbatical from the outside world," said Royce with a pleasant smile.

"What do you want?" asked Darien in a cold tone.

"You'll find out soon enough. For now, I'll let you get used to your accommodations," said Royce as he stuck his hands in his pockets and headed for the door.

"You won't get away with this, man! They'll find me, you can bet your entire prescription of Viagra on that!" shouted Darien.

"Doubtful," said Royce with a smirk as he walked out of the room.

Darien struggled wildly against the restraints in frustration, but realized it was useless. Instead he retreated deep into his mind, using biofeedback to try and calm himself down.

**

"I want to know what the hell is going on!" yelled Bobby as he bashed through the door to the Official's office, Claire entering right behind him. "Who took Fawkes and why?"

"Don't you dare speak to me like that, Bobby! I'm your superior and you will treat me with respect!" yelled the Official in a venomous tone.

Claire sat down in a chair and gave the Official a heart-wrenching glance. "What did they do with my husband?"

The Official sighed and closed his eyes for a second, trying unsuccessfully to convince himself that this was all a nightmare. When he opened his eyes and saw his co-workers staring back expectantly at him, he knew that this was really happening. "Royce McClellan."

"Yeah, we know that already. What's he doing with Fawkes?" asked Bobby with anger as he stepped closer to the desk.

"Who's Royce McClellan?" asked Claire softly.

"Royce McClellan was my partner. First partner I ever had actually. I was young and green, and he showed me the ropes," said the Official.

"Yeah well by the way you reacted when he came in this afternoon, I would say ropes aren't the only thing he showed you," said Bobby.

"You're right," said the Official in a slightly shaky voice. "I met Royce the first day I started working at the CIA. Royce and I went to meet one of his informants who was a little too jumpy for my taste. I pulled my gun, but the guy grabbed me instead and put a gun to my head, ready to kill to me. Royce blew him away and saved my life. I owed him," said the Official.

"So what favor did this great partner want from you, chief?" asked Bobby.

"As you know, Royce is the head of a small and ruthless sect of the CIA that takes care of domestic terrorist problems. Ever since the attacks, Royce has been under a tremendous amount of pressure to stop terrorists in their tracks. He came to me to ask if he could borrow Darien for a little while," said the Official.

"What do he want him for?" asked Bobby.

The Official gave a weary sigh. "He wanted Darien to assassinate several targets that have been identified as threats to the safety of the United States," said the Official.

"No, no, no! Darien wouldn't do that!" cried Claire. "He couldn't hurt a fly."

"The Darien we know and love wouldn't do it, but a QSM Darien would have no qualms," replied the Official. "Royce knows everything about Darien, including the invisibility and the quicksilver madness."

"So this Royce guy is going to use Darien against himself, is that what you're saying?" asked Bobby angrily. "How could you let that happen to him, sir? Fawkes is our friend and our co-worker. Why would you put him through this?"

The Official slammed a hand against his desk. "I didn't! Why do you think I wanted him watched, huh? I never dreamed Royce would make a move so soon."

"We cannot let this happen to Darien," said Claire in a scared tone. "Look, putting all personal relationships aside, this could destroy Darien. What if he actually kills someone or even comes close? It will haunt him for the rest of his life, possibly even cause a permanent state of depression or psychosis. Darien is not the type of person that can handle killing someone, even if it's for the greater good of the country."

Bobby nodded in agreement. "Keep's right, chief. You and I both know it takes a special breed of man to take out another person in cold blood for the good of one's nation. Now QSM Darien might be that guy, but our beloved Fawkesy isn't. This will kill him and you know it."

"One small problem, Bobby," said the Official grimly. "There's nothing I can do to stop this."

"Don't give me that crap, chief! You got connections high up, you can get him out of this!" said Bobby with desperation.

"I wish I could, but I can't. Royce is a close personal friend of the president and holds more power than even I do. He's untouchable and so is his organization. Besides which, the location of his Agency is code ultra-violet top secret. I, nor anyone else at this Agency, has access that high," said the Official.

"So you're just gonna let him sit, let him rot? Is that what your saying here, chief?" asked Bobby incredulously.

"I don't have much of a choice, Bobby," said the Official remorsefully.

Bobby took his badge out his jacket and threw it on the Official's desk. "I quit. I'll find Fawkes on my own," he said. He gave Claire a reassuring look and then walked out of the office, slamming the door harshly behind him.

TBC