Building 24………

  Brennan slowly felt himself coming around. His mind was a haze and he couldn't remember where he was. His whole body hurt and he could tell that he was bound to a table. He tried to open his eyes but found it hard. He heard a voice calling out to him and it took him a moment to focus enough to understand what he was saying.

  "Wakey, wakey Mr. Mulwray." Mr. Lyle spoke in a sing song voice. "It's time to get back to the questioning."

  Brennan felt Mr. Lyle slap him on the face a couple of times until he was able to force his eyes open. The light in the room hurt his eyes for a few seconds before they adjusted. Mr. Lyle's smiling face looked down at him.

  "I thought we'd try something new seeing as the electric shock and the injections haven't worked and we have so little time before you are transferred to Genomex." Mr. Lyle pressed a button on a hand held device and the table that Brennan was lying on began to rearrange itself into a chair. When the chair had arranged itself so Brennan was now sitting, Mr. Lyle fetched a flame thrower from the floor where it had been lying against the side of the trolley's holding the electro shock equipment. "I know you're not a feral so I doubt the fear response will be as great for you but believe me this'll hurt like hell."

  Mr. Lyle turned the flame thrower on and allowed the flame to be directed slowly towards Brennan until it was a few inches away from his left arm. Close enough so he could feel the heat but not close enough that there was much pain. It seemed to be another of the guys Psychological things like the squeaky trolley earlier, and as before it was working. Brennan tried to prepare himself for the pain but he knew it was useless. Once when he was younger Brennan had been trapped in a burning building. He had received burns on his arms and chest before the fire department had arrived and put the fire out. The pain he had felt then was only marginal to what he would fell now, he knew it. After all before the flames had just nicked his skin, this time he knew that they were going to do more than that.

  "Shall we begin?" Mr. Lyle asked, as if Brennan really had a choice in the matter. Brennan would have punched him if his arms hadn't been bound to the chair. Slowly Mr. Lyle brought the flame closer to Brennan's arm, until the flame was almost touching it. Brennan tried to hold the screams back but the pain was too great. He cried out, angrily once before biting down hard on his lips until he could taste blood in his mouth. He didn't want to give Mr. Lyle the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

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Outside Building 24………

  Jesse and Emma stood outside the grey building watching the front entrance. There were two guards standing outside the building while they could make out at least five in the lobby.

  "Shal, we're going in." Jesse spoke softly into his com-link ring. He and Emma started to make their way towards the building trying to act casual, not wanting to raise an alarm prematurely.

  "Jesse." Shalimar's voice came over his com-link; luckily they weren't close enough for the guards to hear. "I set the Computer on the Double Helix to download Adam's disk into their system at exactly 6:05. We'll have about 10 minutes until their security systems start working again. You and Emma just distract the guards so they won't get in my way while I look for Brennan."

  Of course she'd already told them this before they split up but Jesse didn't remind her. The last thing he wanted was to argue with Shalimar when she was already as angry as hell. Emma glanced at her watch and showed the time to Jesse. It was 6:04.

  "Show time." Emma said softly as she walked ahead of Jesse until she was only a few feet away from the two guards who stood outside the doors to the building. She smiled at them, and then forming the picture of the guards sleeping peacefully, she sent it out to each of them in turn. She watched satisfied as both guards collapsed to the floor, asleep.

  "Remind me to call you if I ever have trouble sleeping." Jesse said as he came up behind her to admire her work. He glanced through the glass door in front of them and observed as the guards inside seemed to be hunched around the security desk, arguing amongst themselves. "Looks like Adam's disk is working. Shall we?" Jesse asked holding his hand out for Emma to take. When she did they both headed into the building. None of the guards seemed to notice their entrance, they were to busy trying to figure out what was wrong with their computer systems.

  "Hey guys." Jesse called out loudly to catch the guard's attention, which he did.  One of the guards glared at Jesse and signaled to the four guards around him to deal with them.

  As one guard came towards Jesse, he gave him a hard kick to the face, surprising the guard who stumbled backwards. Another guard tried to take a swing at him but Jesse massed out before the guard connected with his chest. There was a crack indicating that something had been broken, and the guard fell to the floor clutching his arm to his chest. The first guard returned this time more cautious. They exchanged blows for a few moments before Jesse was able to get the upper hand with a hard punch to the ribs followed up with a kick in the face when he was bent over.

  While this was going on the other two guards tried to grab Emma. She dodged one agent's outstretched hands as she punched the other in the face. The first guard grabbed her from behind, trying to pin her arms to her side. Emma brought her foot down on the guy's foot, digging her heel into him. When him grip slackened she pulled her arms away and shoved her left elbow into his chest. She then grabbed one of his arms as he tried to regain his breath, and twisting it behind his back she shoved him into the other agent who had recovered from the punch to the face. They both fell to the floor, hard.

  "Are you having fun?" Jesse called to Emma as he came up behind her. She nodded as she kicked one of the agents on the floor in the head as he tried to rise. "Good, because we've got more company." Jesse pointed to the other end of the lobby where 7 more agents had just appeared, some carrying tasers. As he and Emma prepared themselves for the fight ahead he wondered if Shalimar was having as much fun as they were and if she had found Brennan yet.

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  Inside Building 24………

  Shalimar walked quietly down the stairs, not wanting to be heard as she made her way to Level 2, wondering why Level 2 was below ground. She had entered the building easily through an open window round back. From there she had headed through the building trying to remember as best she could the layout of the place. She had been lucky in finding stairs that were actually labeled, telling her where Level 2 was. She had met a few agents and research staff as she made her way through the building but none of them had slowed her down to much.

  As she exited the stairs on Level 2 she was immediately struck by the noise of a cry of pain which she recognized as Brennan's. Making her way hurriedly in the direction the cry had come from she wondered angrily what they were doing to him and how long they'd live once she got her hands on them.