Kevin pulled Darien's car to a stop outside a small, neatly kept house. He looked over at Bobby. "This the place?"
Bobby nodded. "This is the place." He opened his car door, climbed out, and walked up to the door of the house. He stopped once he reached the porch, taking a moment to mentally prepare himself for what would inevitably happen. Then he reached up and knocked loudly on the door. "Just a minute!" A feminine voice called from inside the house. A few seconds later the door swung open, and Bobby came face to face with someone he hadn't seen in nearly six years.
"Vivian!" Bobby said, forcing a big smile on his face. Vivian took one look at him and tried to slam the door shut. Bobby stuck his foot between the door and the doorjamb. He instantly regretted it, though; Vivian had tried to slam that door closed pretty hard. "Vivian..." he said again, but this time it came out as more of a moan. Vivian responded by slamming the door against his foot again. Bobby could barely keep himself from swearing. "Look, Viv, we need to talk."
Vivian opened the door and stepped outside, her hands on her hips. "Talk about what? We haven't talked for six years!"
"Hey, that restraining order wasn't my idea."
"But it's still active. Now get out of here before I call the cops." Bobby didn't move. Vivian scowled at him. "You know I will."
"Look, Viv, this isn't about me. See that guy in the car over there?" Bobby pointed at Darien. "He's been shot in the leg."
"By who? You?"
Bobby sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I can't tell you what happened, I think it's classified or some junk like that, but he really needs a doctor, and you're the only one I can trust right now."
"Why can't you just go to the hospital?"
"I already told you, it's classified! Now, you don't have to help me, but will you help him?"
Vivian sighed. "Fine, get him inside."
**********
Vivian pulled a box out of her closet and started laying out her first aid equipment. Bobby watched her longingly. It had been a long time since he'd seen her, but she was just as beautiful as he'd remembered. However, she was also just as stubborn as he'd remembered too, he thought reluctantly.
Vivian pulled a roll of bandages out of the box. Darien started to squirm on the couch where he'd been seated. Vivian shot him a mild glare. "Hold still. I don't want you bleeding all over my living room." Darien stopped moving. Vivian came closer and examined the bullet wound. "Well, the bleeding stopped anyway, that much you can be thankful of. And the bullet went all the way through; that's good too."
Darien hissed as she started bandaging his leg. "Yeah well, it still feels real crappy."
"That's to be expected." A couple of minutes later Vivian was finished. "Okay, I'm done for now. I'd suggest that you have someone look at that in a hospital as soon as possible, where they can really take care of it. I can't do much else for you here."
Darien nodded. Vivian turned to Bobby. "So. Now you can leave."
Bobby shook his head. "Umm, not quite yet."
Vivian gave Bobby a suspicious look. "What do you mean?"
Bobby sighed. "Viv, we might need somewhere to hide for a few days."
Vivian's expression darkened. "Why?"
Bobby rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, it's a long story..."
**********
"This is preposterous!" Vivian exclaimed, giving Bobby, Darien, and Kevin disbelieving looks.
Bobby leaned forward. "But it's true."
Vivian pointed angrily at Kevin. "You're asking me to believe that he stuck some sort of gland in your head?"
Bobby nodded. "Yes."
"It's not possible, Bobby."
Kevin stood up. "Actually, it is."
Vivian crossed her arms. "You got any proof?"
Kevin shook his head reluctantly. "Not at present."
Vivian gave Bobby a triumphant look. "Then why should I believe you?"
Bobby gave Vivian his sweetest, most innocent look. "Come on Viv, would I ever lie to you?" He realized what he'd just said and held up a hand. "Don't answer that. The point is, we're all in a lot of trouble here. I need you to get Kevin here access to your hospital's operating room or something so he can get this thing out of my head."
Kevin squirmed in his seat, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Well, actually... I don't think I can get the gland out of your head just yet."
Bobby whirled around. "What?"
"Well, the side effects that Arnaud added have brought on some complications. I'm not really sure we can take it out. At least, not without killing you."
Bobby groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "This just keeps getting better and better..."
Vivian gave Bobby a curious look. "Just what is this gland supposed to do anyway?"
Kevin hurriedly said, "That's classified."
Vivian rolled her eyes. "Of course it is."
Bobby was thinking hard. He had to find some way to make Vivian believe he was telling the truth. But he could only think of one way. "All right, I'll prove to you that I've got this thing in my head. But you can't tell anyone about what you're about to see- well, not see, actually."
Kevin gave Bobby a horrified look. "Don't you dare!"
Darien had been silent up until this point, merely observing the conversation. But now he felt the need to join the conversation. He put a hand on Kevin's shoulder and said, "Let him show her."
Kevin looked over at Darien. "But..."
Darien shook his head gently. "Just let him show her." Kevin thought for a moment, and then nodded reluctantly. Bobby closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to quicksilver. After a moment he opened one eye, looking around the room. His vision was normal. He closed his eyes and tried again, but nothing happened. When he opened them Vivian had a smug smile on his face.
Bobby growled a little and said, "I haven't quite got control of it yet, all right?"
Kevin smiled a little. "So, would it work better if I came after you with a scalpel?"
Bobby glared at him. "Just shut up." He turned around and started walking out of the room. However, before he got to the door he felt a stabbing pain in the back of his head. He fell to the ground, clutching the back of his neck.
Vivian ran up to him worriedly. "Bobby, you okay?"
Bobby looked back up at her, his eyes bloodshot. "Oh, I'm great." Vivian paled a little when she saw his eyes, and took several steps backward. Darien tried to pull himself to his feet, but only managed to cause himself more pain.
Kevin took one look at Bobby and began to back up as well. "Oh no, not again..."
Bobby pulled himself to his feet and lunged at Vivian in one fluid motion. Vivian jumped out of the way, screaming, "Stop it, Bobby!"
Bobby seemed to realize what he was doing for a moment. "Gotta get out of here, gotta get out..." He ran out of the room, holding his hands to his head.
Vivian started to run after him, but Kevin grabbed her arm. "Wait!"
Vivian struggled against his grasp. "But he needs help-"
Kevin kept a tight grip on her. "There's nothing you can do for him right now. Just wait." Vivian stopped struggling. After a few minutes Bobby slowly walked back into the room. His eyes were normal, but he looked tired and his right hand was bloody.
Vivian looked at Bobby and shook her head. "I hope that wasn't what you were trying to show me."
Bobby shook his head fervently. "Of course not! I'd never do anything to hurt you. Not on purpose, anyway." He paused for a moment, glancing down at his bloody hand. "Umm, you might want to think about getting yourself a new mirror for your bedroom. The old one isn't in very good shape right now."
Vivian walked closer to Bobby, a worried frown on her face. "Bobby, what happened to you? I mean, you were just..."
Bobby frowned. "I was nuts, I know."
Vivian shook her head. "That was not natural." She paused for a moment, and then looked back up at Bobby. "All right. I believe you. I'll let you stay here for a couple of days." She held up a hand. "But no longer than that. I don't want you going crazy like that on me again."
Darien pushed himself into a slightly more upright position on the couch. "Hey guys, we need to make a plan or something. I mean, it's not gonna be much longer before Hobbes here goes off again."
Kevin pulled a chair up and sat down next to Darien. "We need the counteragent."
Bobby looked over at Kevin in confusion. "Well, can't you just go to a lab somewhere and make some up?"
Kevin shook his head. "It's not that simple. The counteragent is very complex. Arnaud is the only one who knew the formula. Well," he amended, "We did put the formula in the main computer at the lab. But the computer was destroyed, so he's still the only one who has it."
Darien nodded. "So we need to find Arnaud." Suddenly someone knocked very loudly on the front door. Vivian walked out of the room to answer it. However, as soon as she opened the door, several men with guns stormed into the room.
Bobby began to back away. "I think he just found us." His heart began pounding in his chest and he began to quicksilver, but before he had completely disappeared someone shot a tranquilizer dart into his chest. Bobby fell to the ground, barely conscious. Vivian, unable to see clearly, thought he'd been shot with a bullet. She cried out and, started to run towards him, but one of the men shot her in the back. She was dead before she hit the floor.
Bobby looked at her dead form with glassy eyes. "Vivian..." he said sadly, but before he could say anymore the tranquilizer took full effect and he sank into oblivion.
**********
Bobby woke up slowly, his head pounding. He groaned; he was getting really tired of waking up unpleasantly so often. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was strapped, shirtless, onto a medical table. He closed his eyes and let out a loud moan. Things couldn't get much worse, he thought. Then a door opened and Arnaud walked through the door. Then again, Bobby amended, maybe they could.
Arnaud walked up beside the medical table that Bobby was lying on, smiled, and said, "Hello, Hobbes. Glad to see you're awake."
Bobby glared at Arnaud with utter hatred. "De Theil. I'm gonna kill you, you sick bastard, just like you killed Vivian!"
Arnaud sighed. "I didn't kill her, one of my men did, against my orders, I might add. He has paid for his mistake. And by the way, my name's not De Theil. It's De Föhn."
Bobby frowned, puzzled by the strange sounding name. "The Phone?"
Arnaud rolled his eyes. "No, De Föhn. Can't you get anything right?"
Bobby started to glare at Arnaud again. "I don't care what your name is, I still hate you. Now what did you do with the others?"
"I would think that in your current predicament you'd be more concerned with what I'm going to do to you."
Bobby thought for a moment. "You know, you've got a point there. What are you going to do with me?"
Arnaud picked up a scalpel from a nearby medical tray and looked over at Bobby nonchalantly. "I've got some tests to perform, and then I'm going to take the gland out. Of course, that will probably kill you, but that doesn't really matter to me."
"Of course not. Killing's a way of life for you."
Arnaud gave Bobby a slightly offended look. "Oh, come now, that was a little uncalled for. I don't kill everyone I meet, just the people who get in my way." Just then two men wearing lab coats walked in. Arnaud glanced at his watch. "Ah, gentlemen, right on time." He pulled a surgical mask onto his face and turned to Bobby. "Let's begin now, shall we?"
**********
Darien lay on the bed in his cell- it wasn't exactly a prison cell, but it was a cell, nonetheless- and stared at the walls. If his leg didn't hurt whenever he moved it, he would have been pacing the room. He hated being locked up, and he hated it when he didn't know what was going on. Right now he was getting very stir-crazy.
Just then, a door at the far end of the room opened and Kevin stepped in. Darien pushed himself up on his elbows, looking at his brother in surprise. "Kevin, what are you doing here? And how did Arnaud find us, anyway?"
Kevin squirmed a bit, looking rather uncomfortable. "Well, when we implanted the gland we also inserted a tracking device into it as a precautionary measure in case Hobbes tried to escape. As far as I can tell, Arnaud probably tracked the signal."
Darien rolled his eyes. "That's just great."
Kevin looked down at Darien, his expression very sad. "Darien, we've got a problem. Arnaud has threatened to kill you unless I help him replicate the gland."
Darien wasn't particularly surprised at this turn of events. "You didn't agree to help him, did you?" Kevin said nothing, a guilty expression appearing on his face. Darien sighed. "Oh crap, you did."
"Well, what else was I supposed to do?"
"You should've let him kill me. I don't want you saving my life if it means helping that Swiss-miss mother!"
Kevin gave Darien a shocked look. "I saved your life!"
Darien looked up at Kevin, a pained expression on his face. "No you didn't, Kev. As soon as Arnaud's got his gland, he's gonna kill me, and you, and anyone else who could expose him."
Kevin paled as he realized that Darien was telling the truth. "Oh God..."
Darien nodded. "Oh yeah. You should have just let him kill me. Either way, I'm dead."
Kevin shook his head. "We've got to get out of here."
Darien let out a bitter laugh. "How?"
Kevin looked around the room, then back at Darien. "I don't know. But I'm going to find a way to get us out of here."
Darien laid back down on his bed and sighed. "Yeah well, you'd better figure it out soon, 'cause we probably don't have much time left."
