Disclaimers in the first part. Yada, yada, yada.
Warning... cliffhanger ahead... *hands out more rope*
Gone Fishing 8/9
"Michael, you're supposed to be in bed. Say goodnight to Darien, please."
Darien looked behind him and saw Heather standing there with tears in her eyes. Michael did what he was told and went inside. She stared at Darien for awhile before he broke the silence.
"How long where you standing there?"
"Long enough to hear what Michael told you." Heather replied.
"Would you like to explain to me why he was asking me about Chrysalis?"
They moved where it would be dark, where they could have some privacy. "Darien, I never meant for you to get hurt. I didn't know that Stark hated you so much."
"They sent you here? How did they know I was going to be here?"
"I don't know that part of it. Richard doesn't know about my deal with Chrysalis. He's not involved, just the kids."
"Heather, what are you telling me? That the kids were tweaked like the others?"
"Yes, Michael too, I haven't started his training, Ann is supposed to do that, she's of age now. Can you help me get out of this?"
"What about Richard, he should know. As far as Ann goes, I think she likes the idea, she may run to Stark and tell them."
"I know she will. She was the one given the information about coming here."
"What else do you know about me?" Darien had hoped that she didn't know about the gland.
"Nothing, and I don't know how much Ann knows. She's the agent, not me."
"I'll see what my Agency can do for you, but for right now, don't let them know that we had this talk."
Heather gave Darien a hug and she went inside; she was confronted by Ann, "So, how did it go?"
"Great, he bought the whole thing. He knows about Richard not being in the organization too. Right now, he thinks it's just you."
"Nice job, Mom. What do we do about the boys?"
"We'll just have to play that one by ear, don't worry honey, they'll come around."
~*~
Darien went inside and met Hobbes' stare, "Okay, so, you were right, Ann does work for Chrysalis. That whole family is Chrysalis, except for Richard and Heather."
"Nope, sorry partner, don't buy that line of crud. Heather is Chrysalis too, my friend."
"Hobbes, you are a piece of work, you know that? Why would Heather be Chrysalis? What about Richard? Does he even know?"
"What's with the thousand questions there, Fawkes? How should I know, I'm just calling them as I see `em." Hobbes tossed Darien a can of beer, popped his open, and sat down.
"I'll tell you what, my friend, this whole thing has got me so confused, I can't think straight. Okay, we know that Ann is Chrysalis, Arnaud was here and someone, maybe Chrysalis, is after Bigfoot. Does Chrysalis want a gland of their own? Aw, crapwe need to find that Bigfoot. I'm sure someone got it, I do remember that much."
Darien and Hobbes heard a knock at the door, Darien was about to get up but Hobbes said, "I'll get it. You enjoy your beer there pal."
Hobbes opened the door to see Steven standing there, "Is Darien here?"
"Fawkes, it's for you." Hobbes said walking back over to the recliner he was sitting in moments before.
Darien stood up and walked to the door, "Hey Steven, what's up? Would you like to come in?" Darien looked at Hobbes for some answers, but Hobbes just shrugged letting him know he knew nothing other than what Darien had told him.
"No, do you think we can go somewhere safer and talk?"
"Safer?"
"Yeah," Steven replied not giving Darien a full answer like he wanted.
"Sure, let me grab a jacket," Darien replied. He stepped all the way in the cabin and set down his can of beer. He put on his tan leather jacket that he loved so much and walked out the door, following Steven toward the back patio. "What's up?"
"You work for the Agency, right?"
Darien just looked at him, thinking how to answer. But if it was true and Steven was Chrysalis he already knew who the Agency was anyway. "Yeah, I do. Why?"
"Have you heard of Chrysalis?"
Darien was starting to wonder what on earth was up. There was no way Steven was just going to spill the beans about what was going on. There had to be a catch. "I've heard of them."
"I thought so. You see, my family kind of got mixed up in something. My dad doesn't know, but my mom made a deal with them. When Ann was born she had a problem with her heart. Mom couldn't afford an operation and she wouldn't give in. Ann was in the hospital dying when they approached Mom. They told her that they could save Ann, that they had some kind of technology that would not only fix the hole in her heart, but make her smarter and faster. They said she'd excel in her life greatly. Mom didn't ask what they wanted in return. They only told her that they would collect later.
"Then Mom got pregnant with me; Chrysalis came back and reminded her she owed them. She tried to run, but they said they'd kill Ann. Mom was so scared that she obeyed. She let them inject things in my genes. They made it so I wouldn't age after I reached 30. So I would look young forever. Kind of like a this-day-and-age fountain of youth. They did the same with Michael."
"Does your dad know?"
"No, he has no idea. He just sells medical supplies. Thinks life is grand and that we are the perfect family."
"Once again, Steven, why are you telling me this?"
"Because, I never had a choice, no one ever asked me if this is what I wanted. They didn't give me a choice so I won't give them one. Mom and Ann want me to help train Michael, they said he needs a father figure in his training, and since Dad knows nothing about it, it should be me."
"And you don't want to do that?" Darien asked.
"No, I don't want him to go through what I had to. I want him to have a say in it. I told you because I know you can do something about it."
"What can I do Steven? I don't understand what you want me to do. You want me to arrest your family or something?"
"No, I want you to free the Bigfoot they stole."
"Really, Chrysalis has a Bigfoot? Why would you want me to free him?"
"Because, they shouldn't have it, no one should. Look, I overheard Ann talking to someone about moving the Bigfoot tonight, under the cover of darkness. I know this is hard for you to believe me, but I'm telling you the truth."
"Look, kid, just give me the details and then I want you to lay low. Don't let them know that you talked to me. This is dangerous for you. I've seen what they do to those who double cross them." Darien patted him on the back and Steven went to his cabin.
Darien watched as Steven went inside and then he went inside his own cabin.
"What did the kid want?" Hobbes was waiting at the door like a parent waiting for their child to come home.
"Geez, Hobbes, all you need is an apron and a wooden spoon." Darien grabbed his beer and sat down. "You know what I'm thinking here, that this is a set up, my friend."
"Now you're thinking like Bobby Hobbes."
"Steven told me where Chrysalis has Bigfoot. I think we should check it out. The kid sounds sincere, but man, I just don't know." Darien took a huge gulp of his beer.
"Well, let's check it out then, see what we come up with. If the kid is on the level, which I don't know, then we'll free Wendy."
"Wendy?" Darien said in that bewilderment tone.
"Yeah, you know like free Willy, except it's a Wendigo, Wendy?"
"Hobbes, you're scaring me."
"Yeah, my friend, at least I don't knock over phone booths when a certain person is making a phone call all because of a doughnut."
"You've got a point there." Darien held up his beer to salute Hobbes. "When do we roll?"
"As soon as you're done with that, my friend," Hobbes pointed to Darien's beer.
Darien finished it off and put the can in the trash, "It's time for Operation Free Wendy."
Darien quicksilvered both of them and they made their way into the woods. Darien stopped the flow when they figured they were far enough away from the campsite. As far as Ann would know, they were still inside their cabin. The element of surprise, they hoped, was on their side.
They followed Steven's instructions and were able to find the camp. They saw a huge tent and figured that's where Bigfoot was.
"Okay, Kemo Sabe, what do we do now?"
"Now we wait." Hobbes replied.
"Wait for what? The thing to come out to us?"
"No Fawkesy, but we can't just storm in there. We need the element of surprise. How long have you been an Agent now anyway? I thought you would have learned that it takes patience." Hobbes watched as two guards with guns circled the perimeter. As soon as they started on their next pass he looked at Darien. "Okay I-Man, do your thing."
Darien rolled his eyes at the name Hobbes had called him and thought about not quicksilvering him and going alone just to teach him a lesson, but then decided against it when he realized he was unarmed and Hobbes had a gun. He placed his hand on Hobbes' shoulder and let the quicksilver flow.
They walked into the camp, making as little noise as possible as they went. Darien and Hobbes ended up outside of the tent; the guards were still walking around the perimeter. They entered the tent and Darien saw ropes tying a Bigfoot down. A visible Bigfoot. Its fur was a whitish brown color. Actually, it reminded Darien of an overgrown Pavlov.
"Fawkes, can you see that thing?"
"I guess it can cut off the flow."
"Yeah, I guess so. But why?"
The Bigfoot made a noise and almost like it had realized people were in there it went invisible. Darien looked from Hobbes to the Bigfoot back to Hobbes. "It might not have felt intimidated, well, not until we came in of course."
"Might not have felt intimidated? Fawkes, the thing is tied down with nowhere to go."
"Hey Hobbes, you didn't bring a knife by chance did you?"
Hobbes pulled out a hunting knife, Darien stood there like he was waiting for Hobbes to hand it to him. "I'm the one cutting the ropes. I don't think I can trust you with a sharp object."
"What is the supposed to mean?" Darien asked, a little offended. Hobbes only pointed in the direction of Darien's wrist. He looked at it then back at Hobbes. "Good point."
~*~
Steven walked back into the cabin his family was staying in -he had been outside getting some air- and sat down on the couch. Michael was across from him. "How are you doing, little guy?"
Michael looked at his brother and smiled. He had a cute pair of blue pajamas on that their father had given him for his eighth birthday. It seemed so weird for Michael to be so young but always so intelligent. Steven wanted nothing to do with tainting his little brother.
"I'm watching cartoons," Michael replied as Ann came in the room. She looked at the scene before her and smiled. An idea of how to take care of the problem came to mind.
"Steven, we need to talk."
"So talk," he replied, not moving.
"I need you to start the training tomorrow. Stark said that he wanted the training started as soon as possible. He is coming down tonight to oversee the moving of our prize possession. He wants to make sure nothing goes wrong. But he also wants to make sure you are capable of teaching a future member of Chrysalis."
Steven tried not to smile at the thought of Stark coming into the camp and the tent being empty. Actually, what would work out better would be Stark coming as the two Agents were leaving and Stark getting killed in the crossfire. Ann didn't seem to notice the smile. "Why does he have to be trained so soon? Can't we wait another few months, or at least till he is nine?"
Ann stated to raise her voice but quickly lowered it in case her father was to come back. She didn't want Richard to know what was going on with his family. "Why do you always do this? It has to be done while he is still young. We have already waited too long. He should have started his training years ago! But you keep coming up with excuse after another."
By this time Michael was watching the two of them and had forgotten about the cartoons. He was young, and he was not stupid, they were fighting about him.
"Ann, listen to me. We should let him have a say in it."
"There is no say, there is just doing. We owe Chrysalis our very lives!"
"No, Ann, you owe Chrysalis your very life. Not me, I never asked for this. I'm not going to train him." Steven really hoped that Darien and Hobbes got the Bigfoot free. He was throwing everything away right now if they didn't. Maybe they could take his little brother away, give him some kind of protection. If everything went well they would owe him.
"I am not going to talk about this right now. I have things to do. Stark needs my help with the shipment." Ann turned around to walk out the door but her brother stopped her.
"What?"
"You heard me, Stark needs me there."
"Ann, you can't!"
She just looked at him, not knowing what to say. After a second it hit her like a strong wind. "What did you do, Steven?"
He released his grip on her arm, "I didn't do anything. I just don't think you should go."
She looked in his eyes and she could tell he was lying to her. No matter how often they fought or no matter what had happened he always cared for her safety. She looked across the room at Michael, as soon as their eyes met his drifted back to the TV. She pulled out her gun and walked to Michael, placing the barrel on the boy's temple.
"What are you doing, Ann!?!" Steven said, coming toward her and their little brother.
"Call it an insurance policy. You tell me what is going on and I won't blow his brains out."
Steven looked at his little brother; he actually seemed pretty calm except for the tears that were escaping the corners of his eyes. "You wouldn't!"
"Why not, you seem to love him more then everyone else in this family. All you have to do is tell me. I'll let him live."
"Ann, Chrysalis needs him. Please put down the gun. Kill me, I don't care. Just leave Michael alone."
"He's expendable Steven, haven't you gotten it yet? It's you that they want. That's why they want you to train him! They want your loyalty! Those idiots! You would rather see Stark dead then work for him!" Realization flashed across her face. She hadn't heard a thing from the cabin next door in about an hour. Sure, the TV was on making noise, but there were no human voices. "Where are Fawkes and Hobbes?" After not getting an answer she pulled back the hammer on her gun. "You have five seconds to tell me, 5...4...3..."
TBC...