Bobby awakened with a start, sitting straight up in bed and letting out a loud yell. He'd just had the most terrible nightmare, except it wasn't a nightmare. It was real. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Had he really done all those horrible things? What was wrong with him? Kevin ran up to him, as did Darien. Bobby looked up at Kevin accusingly. "Do you have any clue what happened to me back there?"
Kevin nodded. "I'm afraid we've discovered a side effect."
Bobby gave Kevin a sarcastic glare. "No kidding."
**********
Kevin ran a hand through his hair and sat down beside Darien. "He's angry at me," he said quietly. There was no need to say who 'he' was.
Darien glared at Kevin. "Well, of course he's angry! I would be too, if I was in his situation."
"Well, it's not my fault! This problem didn't come up before with any of the other test subjects. Maybe the quicksilver was reacting strangely with some of his medication, or..."
Darien gave Kevin a meaningful look. "Or maybe this happened on purpose." Kevin gave Darien an outraged look, and Darien hastened to correct himself. "No, no, I don't mean YOU did it on purpose! But didn't you find it at all suspicious that this De Thiel guy came up with that counteragent so quickly?"
"Not really, no."
"I'm telling you, something about that guy just doesn't add up." With that Darien stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Kevin still sitting with a bewildered look on his face.
***********
Bobby snuck after Arnaud, trying to keep from sight, then quicksilvered and followed Arnaud into a room with a large computer system inside. However, as soon as Bobby walked into the room Arnaud pulled a fire extinguisher off of the wall and sprayed it toward the door, instantly revealing Bobby's form. Bobby reappeared, looking slightly dismayed. Arnaud smiled nastily. "If you're going to follow me around, you should at least be a little more discreet about it. But then, you don't seem very inclined toward subtlety. In fact, you seem downright nosy."
Hobbes leaned against a computer databank "I prefer to think of myself as being openly suspicious."
"Paranoia isn't exactly what I'd call an endearing trait."
Hobbes smirked. "Yeah, but I've found it works pretty well for me so far."
"Maybe so, but I believe I have the upper hand." Arnaud pulled a gun from beneath his lab coat. The smirk on Bobby's face disappeared immediately. "Now, kindly step over there," Arnaud said, gesturing toward a corner of the room with the gun. Bobby reluctantly walked over to the area Arnaud had indicated. "Turn around." Bobby did as he was told, a bitter grimace on his face. Arnaud promptly smashed the butt of his gun against Bobby's head and Bobby fell to the floor, unconscious. Arnaud walked over to the computer terminal, placed his gun beside it, and started to download all the information on the quicksilver gland into a small data cube.
Several minutes later, just as Arnaud was finishing downloading the data, Bobby began to stir. Seeing what Arnaud was doing, he pulled himself to his feet and charged at Arnaud, letting out a loud yell. Arnaud whirled around and reached for his gun, but before he could pick it up Bobby slammed him against the computer terminal and picked up the gun himself. "Now who's got the upper hand, huh?"
Arnaud hurriedly stuck the data cube in his mouth and swallowed it. Bobby frowned and was about to yell at Arnaud when a security guard ran into the room. Aw crap, Bobby thought, Arnaud must have hit a silent alarm button of some kind. The security guard's eyes widened at the sight before him, and he drew his gun, yelling, "Freeze! Drop the gun!" Bobby did as he was told, muttering obscenities under his breath. Arnaud smiled arrogantly as the security guard grabbed Bobby and slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.
**********
Darien watched through a one-way mirror as Bobby paced angrily across the padded room on the other side, firmly strapped in a straightjacket. He had been ranting for the better part of an hour about how Arnaud had set him up, until Kevin had finally turned off the speaker. Darien shook his head sadly and turned to Kevin. "Do we have to keep him locked up like this?"
Kevin nodded gravely. "I don't see any other option at this point. The man is completely insane."
Darien turned back toward the one-way mirror, looking thoughtfully at Bobby. "Maybe he's not as crazy as you might think." He placed his walkie-talkie on the equipment near the mirror, then turned and walked out of the room, heading down the hall toward the door to the padded room. He motioned to the guard standing in front of the door. "Let me in."
The guard looked at him disbelievingly. "But sir-"
Darien gave the guard a stern glare. "I said let me in."
The man sighed. "Yes, sir." He turned around and reluctantly opened the door.
Just before Darien walked through the door he looked back at the guard. "One more thing. Don't call me sir." Then he walked through the door and into the blinding white glare of the padded room.
Bobby was sitting down with his back to the door. He turned around as Darien walked into the room, giving him a melancholy look. "Well, here I am again. Locked up in the nuthouse. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, wouldn't you?"
Darien leaned against one of the walls. "Well, I sure wouldn't want to have to get used to it."
Bobby gave Darien a pleading look. "Look, I know what I saw. I'm not crazy."
"I want to believe you. But those guys are the people you've gotta convince." Darien gestured toward the one-way mirror.
Bobby nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I know." He leaned his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. "I've been trying to tell them, but they won't listen."
Darien walked over and sat down beside Bobby, lowering his voice a bit. "Do you have any way of proving that you're innocent? Can you prove that it was Arnaud that assaulted you instead of the other way around?"
Bobby gave Darien a sarcastic look. "Well, you could check the bump on my head. Or you could wait for Arnaud to have his next bowel movement."
Darien glared at Bobby. "Look, I'm serious here. I need some tangible proof, and I need it now!" He sighed, running a hand over his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. These past couple of days have been rough."
Bobby laughed bitterly. "No kidding."
An uneasy silence filled the room for a minute, until finally Darien spoke. "I really do believe you. About Arnaud, I mean. I've had my eye on that guy ever since he came on staff. But Kevin thinks he's the best thing since... since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon."
Bobby rolled his eyes. "Oh man, your brother's falling for the old 'I love Arnaud' scam! It's one of the oldest cons in the book, I've pulled it off a million times."
"The only problem with your story is, if Arnaud was going to smuggle data out of the complex, how could he get it out? I mean, I've had this place swarming with security ever since the project started."
Bobby sighed. "I've been wondering that too." His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't had anything to eat since sometime the day before, and he glanced over at Darien. "Hey, when's breakfast? I'm starving."
Darien glanced down at his watch. "Well, it's nine o'clock. Someone should be coming to feed you any minute now." He gave Bobby an apologetic look. "I've gotta go now. The job awaits." Bobby nodded, and Darien pulled himself to his feet and walked over to the door. However, just before he reached it, there was a loud explosion out in the hall, and blood splattered up on the window to the door. At the same time, the glass to the one-way mirror shattered, flying inward and pelting both Darien and Bobby with tiny shards.
Darien pulled himself up from where he'd fallen on the floor and looked through the small window in the door to the padded room. He paled a little. "Aw crap." He turned back to Bobby. "We've got to get you out of here now."
"What?" Bobby asked curiously, but Darien didn't answer the question. Instead he pulled Bobby to his feet and started unbuckling the straightjacket. As soon as Bobby was free he sprinted for the large opening in the wall that used to be the one-way mirror. He climbed through the opening, being careful not to cut himself on the glass. Darien followed, peeking cautiously into the observation room. Bobby was the only person in the room; Kevin was nowhere in sight.
Bobby rushed out in the hall and began running toward the exit, but slowed to a halt as he saw the remains of the guard who had been standing outside the padded room. His head had been blown off, and blood and pieces of flesh spattered the walls. Bobby stared at the dead guard for a moment, trying to keep from retching. Darien walked up behind Bobby, looking down at the body of the guard. He didn't look very comfortable with the sight either.
"I think it was the walkie-talkies," Darien said quietly. "I left mine right in front of the one-way mirror."
Bobby shook his head. "It's a good thing, too. If you'd had it with you..."
Darien held up a hand for silence. "Don't say it; I do not want that mental image in my head right now." He glanced around the corridor. "We've got to get out of here. Whoever did this, they're probably after you."
"Not me, just this thing in my head." Bobby laughed bitterly. "You know, I used to dream about being able to turn invisible. Not anymore."
Darien drew his gun out of the holster he'd kept concealed under his jacket. "Shut up and follow me." He glanced around a corner in the corridor, holding his gun at the ready. He didn't see anyone, so he signaled to Bobby that it was safe. The two of them rounded the corner and continued walking down the corridor.
Bobby shook his head. "It's just like the old days, huh?"
Darien gave Bobby an irritated glare. "Hardly."
Just then they reached another corner in the hallway. Darien glanced around for a split second, then pulled back, holding up his hand to indicate that Bobby should stay put. Then he lunged around the corner, aiming his gun directly at the person on the other side- and came face to face with a very startled Kevin. Darien heaved a sigh of relief and lowered his gun. "Hey Hobbes, you can come out. It's just Kevin." Bobby peeked around the corner, then stepped out into view.
Kevin ran up to the two of them, gasping for breath. "It's Arnaud," he said breathlessly, "He's the one who did this. You were right. You were both right." He looked over at Bobby. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."
Bobby shook his head. "We don't have time for apologies, we've got to get out of here now!"
Kevin motioned to Darien and Bobby. "Follow me." He led them down a side corridor, and then down several small hallways. The three of them skidded to a halt as several men armed with machine guns stepped into view. They immediately ducked into the nearest doorway for cover.
Bobby gasped for breath, doing his very best to keep his fear in check. He glanced over at Darien. "I hope you've got a plan, 'cause otherwise we're dead."
Darien glared at Bobby. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"
Kevin glanced frantically at Darien. "Well, think faster!"
Darien fired his gun out of the doorway in the general direction of the terrorists, then pulled himself back in the doorway and glanced at Bobby. "Okay, here's what we do. As soon as I reload my gun, you guys run back down the hall. I'll distract these creeps."
Bobby shook his head and yelled over the sound of the gunfire, "That's not much of a plan."
Darien fired off a couple more rounds at the terrorists and yelled, "Well, it's the best one I could come up with in thirty seconds!" He ducked back in the hallway to reload his gun. As soon as that was accomplished, he charged out into the hall, shooting wildly in the direction of the terrorists. He rolled and dodged for all he was worth, but within seconds one of the terrorists managed to shoot him in the leg. He fell to the ground, crying out in pain.
The terrorists stopped firing and walked up to him, holding their guns at the ready. Darien dropped his gun and pushed it away, fully expecting the men to shoot him anyway. However, before they had a chance to do anything, two of the terrorists' heads were smashed together by an unseen force. The other terrorists looked at the first two in confusion, and Darien took the opportunity to trip one of them with his good leg. Kevin charged out of the doorway he'd been hiding inside, brandishing a food tray. He bashed it onto the nearest terrorist as hard as he could. Within seconds, all the terrorists were lying moaning on the ground.
Bobby appeared in front of Darien and he and Kevin set to work dragging the terrorists into a nearby room and tying them up with wires, phone cords, and anything else that was available. Then the two of them walked back to where Darien was lying. Bobby leaned down, helping Darien up. Kevin picked up a machine gun that one of the guards had dropped, brandishing it awkwardly. Darien glared at Bobby and Kevin. "I thought I told you two to run for it."
Kevin turned to Darien, still trying to find a comfortable way to hold the gun. "Come on, did you really think we'd leave you here to die?"
Darien tried to keep a scowl on his face, but after a moment he broke down, giving Kevin a smile. "No, but it would've been smarter."
Kevin returned the smile. "Maybe I'm not as smart as you thought."
Bobby looked at the way Kevin was wielding the gun and shook his head. "Here, gimme that. I'm not your brother's keeper." He grabbed the gun and Kevin took Darien's arm. Bobby seemed much more at ease with the gun than Kevin had been, although he didn't look particularly happy about it. He started walking off down the corridor, motioning for Darien and Kevin to follow him. "Let's get out of here."
**********
Bobby stepped through a door at the back of the farmhouse and into the daylight, looking around for any of Arnaud's men. He didn't see any, but he pulled the machine gun up to a firing position, just in case. Kevin walked out of the door, helping Darien to walk as well. They ran up to Darien's car, which was parked nearby. Just as they reached it, Arnaud and several of his henchmen came into view. Bobby fired off a few shots in their direction, while Kevin helped Darien into the back seat and slipped into the driver's seat.
Kevin turned around, looking back at Darien. "Keys!" Darien pulled them out of his pocket and tossed them up to Kevin. Kevin stuck the keys in the ignition and started up the car.
Bobby tried to fire off a few more shots in Arnaud's direction, but nothing happened when he pulled the trigger. He turned frantically back to Darien and Kevin. "Aw crap, I'm out!"
Darien yelled, "Just get in the car!" Bobby dropped the gun, yanked open the door, and ducked into the passenger's seat. Before he'd even finished closing his car door Kevin was driving away. Arnaud's men fired several shots at Darien's car as it drove off, but most of them missed. Arnaud watched angrily as Darien, Kevin, and Bobby drove out of sight.
**********
"So, where are we going?" Bobby asked, looking over at Kevin.
"How should I know?" Kevin yelled hysterically, "I'm just driving!"
Darien sat up a little, wincing at the pain it caused his leg. "Well, wherever we go, there'd better be a doctor, or at least a good first aid kit."
Just then, Bobby felt the strange itchy sensation echo through his mind. It rapidly escalated into a fierce throbbing. He grabbed the back of his neck, hissing in pain. The pain passed after a moment, but he could still feel the itching in the back of his mind. He looked back at Darien. "We definitely need a doctor." He thought for a moment, and then smiled. "And I know just where to go."
