Sacrifices (2/?)
By Carol M.
See prologue for details
Hold on, kiddies, it's about to get pretty intense! Enjoy it!
Trey looked around the room, eyeing his hostages with a wicked gleam in his eye. His gaze turned to the desks and tables, which were taking up the majority of space in the small office. He nodded towards two of his men. "Get these out of here," he said, pointing at the bulky furniture.
The men complied to his respect and began hauling out the furniture, carelessly tossing it out in the hall. When the room was cleared, Trey exhaled dramatically. "Much better. Now I have room to think," he said.
He glanced at his men, who were all standing in the doorway. "Matthews, Hart, Vore, Jones…stay in here. Cohen, Ryker…patrol the halls. Robinson and Keifer, go downstairs and keep watch." The men quickly scattered to their ordered positions. As Keifer walked out the door, he handed Trey a black case.
As Matthews, Hart, Vore and Jones each situated themselves in various corners of the office, Bobby glanced at Alex and shook his head slightly. They both knew there wasn't going to be an easy way out of this one.
Trey grabbed a chair and set it in the middle of the room, setting the black case underneath it. He plopped down in the chair and began peering around the room. His gaze slowly traveled from the Official, who was sitting where his desk used to be, all the way over to Darien, who was sitting near the side door of the office.
The Official also looked around the room, eyeing the guards and noticing the look of complete ruthlessness on all their faces. He concluded, like Bobby, that this was going to get bad. Very bad. He cleared his throat and looked up at Trey. "What you think you're going to get, you're not. I would suggest not wasting your time and ours with this ridiculous charade, son."
Trey smiled widely. "That's pretty much what I expected from you, Charlie. Total denial. Don't be ashamed. It's a totally respectable reaction for a person like you when confronted with a person like me. One problem though, the camera doesn't lie," he said as he pointed to the camera in the upper right corner of the room.
The Official clenched his jaw, but didn't respond.
Darien snorted. "I'm sorry, but I thought the camera was supposed to add ten pounds, not tell the truth," he said sarcastically.
Trey got out of his chair and stepped to Darien, backhanding him harshly across the face.
Bobby winced and Claire cried out, but Alex, Eberts and the Official remained silent.
Darien winced as he experimentally wiggled his lip and spit out a few droplets of blood on the floor.
"Your boss might tolerate that kind of lip, but I won't," said Trey in a menacing tone.
Darien glanced up at Trey and smiled pleasantly. "Yes, sir. It won't happen again, sir," he said in a sickeningly sweet voice.
Bobby gave Darien a sharp look. "Knock it off, Fawkes," he whispered through clenched teeth.
Trey glanced at Bobby and then looked back at Darien. "Your partner is a very wise man, Mr. Fawkes."
Darien tilted his head to the side. "Yeah well, what can I say? This is my first hostage situation," he replied.
Trey stepped to Darien and put a gun to his head, which caused Darien to flinch and squeeze his eyes shut. "You keep it up and this will be your last."
Eberts let out a small yelp, while Claire and Bobby stared helplessly over at Darien. Alex busied herself staring at the floor, trying to block out what was happening.
The Official watched all of this and cleared his throat, trying to divert the attention off of Darien. "How is it that you were able to watch us, Mr…" he trailed off and looked at Trey for an answer.
"Thornton," said Trey as he stepped away from Darien, taking the gun away from his head. Darien visibly relaxed into his chair, sharing a look of relief with Bobby.
"Trey Thornton," Trey continued. "Of course you understand that's just an alias."
The Official nodded. "Of course."
Trey pointed to the camera in the corner of the office once again. "See that's the thing about
government contractors. They're greedy. Throw a little money their way and they'll do just about anything, including giving up the job to someone like me. You let us in here and you didn't even know it. Let me hook up the cameras and splice into them for a little home viewing. The things I learned about all of you…I could write a best selling novel," snickered Trey.
The Official grumbled and shared a look of chagrin with Eberts.
Bobby looked at Trey, clearing his throat loudly. "Uh…Mr. Thornton, you still haven't told us what you want. I've got a self defense seminar at three, and I would hate to miss it."
Trey grinned. "Oh that's easy." He walked over to the Fish & Game seal behind the Official and quickly removed it, revealing the safe. Then he took out his gun and fired one shot at the safe, effectively cracking it open. He pulled out the silver box and looked at the Official. "Really should find a better hiding place for this, Charlie. I must've seen you take this thing in and out of the safe at least ten times," said Trey.
The Official clenched his eyes shut in anger and then reopened them, giving Trey a murderous glare.
Trey ignored him and held up the box. "You asked what I want, Mr. Hobbes? I want the code to open this box."
Bobby and Alex both tried to act nonchalant, while Darien and Claire exchanged confused looks. Eberts looked over at the Official with his eyebrows raised.
The Official shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "What makes you think we know the code? What makes you think the Federal government would trust us with such an important piece of intelligence?" asked the Official.
"Because it's your job to protect it. Standard protocol in this instance would call for the head of the organization to know the code along with at least one back up in case of your untimely demise." Trey began pacing the room. "Now I asked myself, who would know the code besides you, sir?" Trey looked expectantly at the Official.
The Official shrugged his shoulders and stared straight ahead, trying to ignore Trey.
Trey continued on. "You could have given it to your desk jockey here," he said, pointing at Eberts.
Eberts gave him a nervous frown.
"But I doubt this guy could keep a surprise party secret, let alone a piece of intelligence as classified as this code," said Trey. He walked over to Claire, who was giving Trey an icy glare. "You might have given it to the doctor here. The Keep, Keepie, Keeper, whatever it is you ladies and gentlemen like to call her. She seems strong, intelligent," Trey reached a hand out and ran it through Claire's hair," perfectly capable of keeping a secret," he continued.
Bobby started to struggle wildly in his chair, while Darien gave an audible gasp of horror.
Trey went on. "But of course, what would be the point? I'm sure your cheapskate boss wouldn't have spent the money to have a doctor trained to withstand standard interrogation and torture techniques. And by the look on your face, I would hazard a guess that you have no idea what's in that box."
Claire looked straight ahead and didn't reply.
Satisfied, Trey walked away from Claire and stepped in front of Darien. "Now you I've been struggling with. The Invisible Man himself. I must say, the first time I saw you quicksilver in the Keep, it nearly took my breath away," said Trey, slightly awestruck.
Darien smirked. "Glad I could entertain you, I'm here all week. You might want to call ahead and get tickets though because my shows almost always sell out."
Trey nodded. "See that's your giveaway; that junior high wit you're so fond of using. You're nothing more than a glorified quarterback for this Agency and you know it. You're a civilian who got lucky. I don't think your boss would be willing to give the code to his most valuable player and take the chance that someone would somehow break you," said Trey. He gave Darien a sharp up and down glance. "Something tells me that you would've broken very easily," said Trey as he stepped away from Darien.
Darien rolled his eyes as Trey stepped between Bobby and Alex. "Which brings me to you two," he said, glancing down at the agents. "Both highly trained field operatives with experience in a multitude of arenas and agencies. Patriotic, loyal, strong. You're the perfect trustworthy employees. Inoculated against any and all interrogation techniques. Willing to go to the grave for your country," said Trey. He looked them both in the eyes. "It's one of you. Or maybe both of you."
Alex smiled at Trey. "Wow, did you figure that out all by yourself?" she asked in a sweet tone.
Bobby nudged her slightly.
Trey returned the smile. "Why as a matter of fact I did, Miss Monroe. It seems to put you, Mr. Hobbes and your boss at a bit of a disadvantage, don't you think?"
Alex shook her head and looked at the floor.
Trey stepped back into the middle of the room and sighed. "What do you say we make this real easy? One of you give me the code now, and we'll all be on our merry way."
An eerie silence pervaded the room. Darien glanced at Claire, who gave him a helpless look. His gaze turned to Eberts, who was looking just as clueless as Claire. He moved his eye to Bobby and Alex, who were both projecting a similar lack of emotion. Finally, he looked at the Official, who was staring at Trey with daggers in his eyes.
Trey was looking around the room as well and after several minutes of silence, he sat back down in his chair. "Well, I guess I should take that as a no."
Darien shared an awkward glance with the Official and then looked at Trey with a look of curiosity on his face. "What exactly is in the box?" he asked.
Trey palmed the box back and forth in his hands. "The name of every U.S. government intelligence mission and every undercover agent working around the world today."
"Oh, is that all?" said Darien nonchalantly. "See, I'm thinking that none of my fellow co-workers are going to give you what you want here, my friend. Maybe you should get your buddies and get the hell out of here before the Marines storm in and bust your ass," he said in a smug tone.
Trey smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much Mr. Fawkes. I planned for every possible contingency, including a couple of tight-lipped government employees," said Trey. He reached under the chair and pulled out the black case. He set in on the chair and opened it, revealing the vials of purple liquid. He pulled out one of the vials and held it up in the air. "It's almost pretty, isn't it?" He pulled a syringe out of the case and filled it with the purple substance. "Ever hear of EL6?" he asked.
Bobby and Alex both winced. The Official shared a look of concern with Eberts and Claire.
Trey saw their faces and nodded. "I thought so."
Darien, who was looking totally clueless, spoke up. "Um excuse me, someone want to clue me in here?"
Bobby looked in Darien's direction. "It's a torture drug, Fawkes. Causes intense pain and then death. Ten vials and you're a memory, my friend," answered Bobby grimly.
Trey picked up the case and flashed it around the room. "Well, what a coincidence. I just happen to have ten vials right here. " He set the box back down on the chair.
"Oh goody," said Darien.
Trey held up the syringe and began looking around the room. "Now, who to use this on?" A thoughtful expression spread across his features. "Maybe the boss man here," said Trey as he walked over to the Official.
Darien, who had been intently watching Trey, shifted his gaze to the other terrorists in the corners of the room. When he realized none of them were watching him, he nonchalantly let a small trickle of quicksilver drift from his wrist onto the handcuffs that bound him to the chair. If he could get the cuffs cold enough, he might be able to snap them off his wrist. He glanced over at Bobby and motioned to the cuffs with his eyes. Bobby nodded his head slightly. Darien shifted his gaze to Trey, who was holding the needle filled with EL6 dangerously close to the Official's neck.
The Official was too busy trying to keep calm to notice the subtle exchange between Darien and Bobby. "You're making a big mistake, Thornton. I'll die before I give you that code," said the Official. He visibly shuddered as he felt the needle rub against his skin. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"I know," said Trey as he quickly moved the needle away from the Official's neck. The Official sagged in relief against the chair. Trey took a few steps to the left and put the needle near Eberts' neck, faking a stabbing motion. Eberts' head shot back, a huge grimace on his face. Trey grinned in amusement and moved on. He stepped over to Alex and rapidly placed the needle against her neck. Alex inhaled sharply and winced. "How many shots do you think it would take for her to break?" asked Trey in a threatening tone.
"Enough, Thornton," said Bobby menacingly.
Trey pulled the needle away from Alex's neck and shifted it to Bobby's neck.
Darien watched all of this as the quicksilver slowly broke apart the bonds of the handcuffs. A couple more seconds and he would be free. He gazed frantically over at his partner who was desperately trying to keep his cool.
"What about you, tough guy? Are you willing to die?" asked Trey as he pushed the needle firmly against Bobby's neck.
Bobby winced. "You're damn right I am, my friend," he answered in a harsh tone.
The needle was quickly retracted from his neck. Trey stepped over to Claire and carefully inserted the needle completely into her neck. "I think the good doctor will do. I'm sure know of you want to see her suffer needlessly," said Trey.
Claire's face clenched in fear and her eyes welled up with tears.
Bobby started struggling wildly with his handcuffs. "Don't hurt her, you bastard," he screamed.
"That's all up to you," said Trey as his finger moved to push down the plunger.
"No!" yelled Darien as he finally broke free of his handcuffs and dived at Trey. Trey saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and swiftly pulled the needle out of Claire's neck. When Darien crashed into him, he stabbed the needle into Darien's neck and pushed down the plunger.
"Fawkes!" yelled Bobby.
"Darien!" cried Claire.
Both Darien and Trey went crashing to the floor in a tangled heap of arms and legs. Trey's men all dashed forward with their guns aimed at Darien.
"No!" said Trey firmly, putting his hands in the air to stop the men from firing. He reached at the needle still sticking out of Darien's neck and pulled it out, causing a thin trail of blood to trickle from the puncture mark. "Not exactly what I had planned, but I think things will work out just fine," said Trey as he stood up from the floor.
Darien sat up and rubbed his arms, trying to get rid of an annoying tingling sensation that seemed to be effecting his whole body. When he felt the pain in his neck and realized that he had been injected, he gave Trey a look of horror. "Aw crap," he said in a panic as his skin started to burn like crazy.
"Darien," said Claire in a comforting tone.
"You're going to pay for this you son of a bitch!" yelled Bobby as he watched shivers start to wrack the body of his partner.
"It can all end right now, folks. You give me the code and Fawkes here just has a few minor boo boos," said Trey. "Any takers?"
The room was completely silent as Bobby, Alex and the Official exchanged fear-filled looks.
Darien took a deep breath and then screamed as the pain on his skin suddenly intensified. His body fell back to the floor in a pain-filled heap. "Claire, what's happening?" he whimpered in a scared tone.
"It'll be okay, Darien, I promise," she said in the most comforting tone possible. She glanced at Bobby, Alex and the Official, who were all busy staring at their feet.
Trey bent down next to Darien. "What's happening, Mr. Fawkes, is the first stage of the serum. It makes the skin on your body feel as if it's being burnt off when in reality it's not. This is only the beginning."
"Oh god," moaned Darien as he rested his head against the floor and tried to relax.
"Hey, look on the bright side. It'll let you see just how much your friends and co-workers really care about you," said Trey. He glanced at the others. "Isn't that right, boys and girls?"
"You're going to die, my friend," said Bobby.
"Not today," said Trey coolly as he got up and sat back down in his chair.
TBC