Part X
One smart cookie, Margo Kaufman, once said, "The only thing worse than a man you can't control is a man you can." The real trick is how you achieve said control. 'Cause unless you do it just right, you can find yourself being the one controlled.
"Fawkes, I'm telling you, this is stupid. She's just going to end up getting herself in deeper shit than she's already in." Bobby turned a quick left, following the tracker signal on the pad mounted in the dashboard before him. Alyx had allowed a tracker to be placed on her car as a precaution. "The Chief is going to string me up by my thumbs over this."
"Ah, so it's not her you're worried about, it's your ass," Darien said with more than a little sarcasm from the rear of the van. It was still simpler to secure him in the wheelchair than to play musical seats, even if he had gotten the hang of it over the last week or so.
"Fawkes, don't start with me," Bobby snapped at him. "It's been one fricking thing after another this last week, and none of it good. You think I'm in a bad mood, but the kid is worse, and you haven't been helping matters any." He hadn't meant to say that last bit to Fawkes, not now anyway, but it was out. He waited for the explosion.
"Well, my week hasn't been all that much fun either," Darien grouched in a low voice. That was putting it mildly; some of the stuff the Keeper had him doing had been more than a little painful.
"Yeah, well, maybe it would have been easier on all of us if you hadn't shut us out." Bobby didn't shout, though part of him wanted to. Yeah, Fawkes had let one of them stop by for a few hours at night, but never more than that, and his days were spent down in the Keep doing whatever it was Claire had him doing. Bobby knew it wasn't necessary, but he would have liked to have Fawkes helping on their manhunt, if only for the comic relief. The kid was easy to work with, but she was not Fawkes, and her mood had deteriorated over the last few days of their investigation.
"I have my reasons, Bobby. And I'm here now, ain't I?" Darien was not about to explain why he had done things this way, not yet. Not until he was sure.
Bobby relaxed a bit. "Yeah, I guess you are. Look, I know the kid wants to do this alone, but I'm gonna follow her in, just in case. Think you can, you know, do the cellophane thing to me?"
Darien shook his head, wondering why Bobby thought he had to ask. Things hadn't changed that much in the last couple of weeks, had they? "Sure, but what if they end up walking into some full scale lab, or something similar? Your sudden appearance may make things a bit awkward."
"'Cause they've stopped, and it looks like nothing of the sort. In fact, I think the building's abandoned." Bobby looked over the place as they drove by it. Alyx's car was parked down the street from the building where he'd just seen the Humvee pull into the underground-parking garage. Bobby kept going and circled around, to park on a cross street where the building was in view. The location would also allow a reasonably quick escape if necessary. They were just a few blocks from the Gaslamp District, right in the middle of downtown. It was kinda scary to realize that the SWRB had a location in amongst so many innocents.
Climbing in back, he freed Fawkes' chair and dug out the headsets, setting one in place about his ear. This was bit of a role reversal. It was usually Fawkes who did the recon. "You can handle this, right?"
"Hobbes, unless I need to use my feet, I think I'll manage," Darien sniped, but Bobby didn't hold it against him. Doing things this way was more than a little weird.
Alyx was suddenly in their heads. *I'm following him in. I'll stay in contact.*
Both men could still 'feel' her, but she was not relaying any information directly; it was just that light contact they had both grown used to and found very useful when working together. Bobby had to admit he'd gotten a bit spoiled working with her, even if he wasn't always completely comfortable with her. Hell, there were even times when Fawkes still triggered his wiggy-meter.
They watched as Alyx made her way into the parking garage. They knew she'd purposely chosen to remain visible, since the SWRB apparently didn't know about that particular talent of hers and she saw no reason to tip them off to it. Who knew what they might do if they did know. They might try to harvest a gland that didn't exist, thinking that perhaps Kevin Fawkes or the Agency had created a second one. That would not be a good thing.
Once she was out of sight, Bobby slid open the door to the van and looked over at Fawkes, who nodded and rolled closer. Setting one hand on Bobby's arm, the quicksilver flowed and quickly covered him.
"Make it quick, Hobbes," Darien reminded him needlessly.
"I know, Fawkes." Bobby's voice came over the headset Darien was wearing tinged with humor. He was already a good distance from the van.
* * *
The Director parked the Humvee and prepared for this meeting. As soon as she had gone after him at the Agency, he'd known she'd try and follow him, to confront him and get this situation resolved one way or another. Once he had figured out she was the one infiltrating the systems of various facilities, he had known this was inevitable. This was why he'd made a point of going to the Agency alone. He preferred not having to frighten the Official to get his way in this matter. So he made himself seem less than he was, to lure her into an action he could take advantage of. The real trick of it would be to make sure it went his way and not hers.
Getting out, he walked away from the protection of the vehicle and headed towards the elevator and stairs off to one side. There were some crates and other items here and there in the garage. This facility was one they had recently decided to close, and some less-important items were still awaiting disbursement to other facilities, which is why it was a perfect place for this. There would be no one to disturb them.
He paused a good dozen yards from the stairwell, somehow knowing she was already there. "Miss Silver, is there something you wish to speak to me about?"
"Perhaps," Alyx said quietly from behind him. "Though I was under the impression you wanted something from me."
He turned about slowly to face her. Even knowing what she looked like from pictures and their earlier meeting, he was still surprised. She had a presence that was unmistakable and undeniable. It was also immediately obvious that, no matter what she looked like, she was no child. His intelligence had failed utterly, in his opinion, in not discovering this. "I have been requesting your services for a simple matter." When she said nothing, simply waited for him to continue, he began to wonder if perhaps his intelligence was mistaken about other things. "There is information I need from a former...employee of mine. It's not much, just a formula for a project we're working on."
"And you think I can get it for you? Do I look like an interrogator?" Alyx shook her head and laughed derisively.
"Of course not. I know about your ability. You are a fairly talented telepath. I simply want you to pull the information from his mind." He watched as she laughed harder.
"You really are a fool. I have to wonder how you cause such fear in everyone else, when you have no idea who or what is standing before you." Her attitude was one of complete indifference; he truly didn't seem to frighten her, though he was quite sure she knew more than enough about his agency to realize what he could and would do to fulfill their charter.
"You're quite right. I don't know exactly what I'm dealing with, but I can be certain I will enjoy finding out."
Bobby had followed Alyx inside and hidden behind one of the stacks of crates before the quicksilver flaked off. He watched the confrontation between the two. It was possible that the kid knew he was here, but the SWRB guy should have no idea. The kid was bluffing the guy real well. He still had just enough contact with her that her emotions were leaking through. Yeah, she was pissed off, and had enough confidence in her abilities and knowledge to come to some sort of arrangement; underneath, though, she was scared, and she should be. When Bobby heard the guy's plan, he knew the kid would never agree, no matter who it was, or what the subject. She would want no part of having yet another person's memories -- their whole life -- stuffed into her mind. She had enough trouble dealing with the ones already stuffed in there without adding to them. Hell, some days she had enough trouble dealing with her own memories.
Bobby didn't like the turn the conversation had taken. He peeked through a gap in the crates in time to see the man fire something at Alyx. He got a mental yelp from her, and then a shout of pure anger that Fawkes was sure to have heard over the headset.
"Hobbes?" Right on cue, Darien's voice was in his ear.
"Hold your position," Bobby sub-vocalized and got an acknowledgment from Fawkes. *Kid?* Bobby figured what the hell. It was worth a try. If she were still paying attention, she'd hear him.
*No worries. If it's a tranq, it's one I've adapted to. I'm.... fine* Her voice got... fuzzy was the only word he could think of to explain it. Almost like there was some sort of outside interference, like static almost.
*Kid?* Instead of a mental response, there was a surge of emotion -- mainly fear, though there was a hint of anger -- and then nothing. "Crap," he muttered and stepped out from behind the crates in time to see the kid sway and stumble.
"What have you done?" she screamed at him.
"What your Official could not, obviously." He looked from the angry woman to the man he recognized as Agent Hobbes, who had stepped out from behind a pile of crates with a gun drawn. He wasn't all that surprised that she hadn't come alone, even if it had been her intention to do so. He was careful to do nothing that would set off Hobbes; the cold, controlled look of pure rage on his face told him that the man would not hesitate to shoot him if given the opportunity and an excuse.
Bobby sidled next to Alyx, not taking his eyes off the guy for a second. "Kid?"
Alyx flinched away, but didn't make it far as she stumbled again and just barely kept herself from falling to the concrete floor. She closed her eyes and shook her head like she was trying to clear it. When she opened them, he was shocked by the look of total panic in them. "Bobby? It's gone."
"Huh? Kid, what are you talking about?" Bobby set a hand on her arm, still keeping one eye on the bastard who'd done this to her, whatever the hell it was.
"I can't feel anything. It's gone." She was near hysteria at this point, and that's when he recognized the look in her eyes. When she'd come back from Cabo that first time, when they'd had her doped up on inhibitors and had learned the hard way that cutting off her extra senses made her go a bit nuts. Losing them could and would send her into full-blown panic attacks. They'd solved the problem by easing up on the drugs and allowing her to 'feel' a minimum amount, just not enough to use her abilities. They also suspected that, since she was a little nuts already, trying to put her mind back together, it actually helped and kept her from panicking too badly about the loss.
He stepped between her and the SWRB mook, intending to protect her at any cost. Another wave of disorientation must have hit her then, for she sat down heavily, her hands going to her head as she whimpered in terror and pain. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing I can't correct." He slowly withdrew a case from his jacket and showed them the contents. It was a syringe containing an opaque liquid. "This will counteract the effects. Temporarily."
"Fool," Bobby snarled. "All you've managed to do is drive her towards insanity."
"Then perhaps we should cooperate and get her the help she needs." He used the cool voice that had worked so many times before to throw off his enemies, which led them to believe that he could be tricked or persuaded. "Before the damage to her mind is irreversible."
"I don't think so," was growled from behind him. He never had a chance to turn. Something cold impacted the back of his head, knocking him into darkness.
Bobby just stared at the empty air where the voice had come from. A moment later, Fawkes appeared, wielding the bat that had been living in the van for weeks now. Just a few steps behind him, the wheelchair also appeared as the quicksilver flaked away.
"D... D.... Dare?" Alyx stuttered out, staring at the figure... standing just a few feet away.
"Surprise," Darien said, looking from the unconscious man at his feet to Alyx, who was looking more than a little confused. It was nice to hear her call him that again, it had been too long since he'd heard that nickname come from her lips. "I was gonna surprise you in a few more days, but this seemed to be a better occasion."
"No shit, my friend. Nice to see you standing there." Bobby holstered his gun and moved over to the SWRB guy, checking to see if he was even alive. Once he determined the guy would live, he dug out his handcuffs and, wrenching the guy's arms back none too gently, secured him. He then picked up the case he'd been holding and verified that the syringe within was undamaged. He wasn't sure what the stuff was, or what Alyx had been hit with, but figured the Keeper would want to check it out, and do whatever it was she did with all that fancy equipment down in the Keep.
Darien had moved over to Alyx with slow, but fairly steady steps, and lowered himself into a crouch next to her. He was still a bit unsteady, but could do this without too much trouble. "Alyx?"
She blinked at him in confusion, as if she was unsure who he was. She reached out one shaky hand to touch his cheek, her fingers just brushing across his cheekbone and jaw line. "You walked?"
He was about to answer her when her eyes unfocused, the pupils expanding and contracting unexpectedly, and she whimpered, her hand falling away. "Bobby, go get the van. We need to get her out of here."
"Good idea." Bobby handed over his gun. "Shoot him in the leg if he causes trouble," Bobby said, nodding at the SWRB bastard who looked like he might be about to wake up.
"Gladly," Darien snarled, shifting so that he could watch the son of a bitch and still help Alyx -- as much as he could, considering he had no idea what was going on.
Bobby nodded and took off at a run.
"Alyx." Darien stayed calm. He'd heard what she'd said and knew she'd need something to focus on, some input coming in to help deal with the loss of her other senses. Her head swung about and she succeeded on focusing on him for the moment. He set one hand over hers, making contact with her, hoping he was helping and not causing more problems. The last time, touch had helped the most in reorienting her, but then she'd had something to feel with. She'd simply been at a loss as to who she was. When she groaned, her eyes rolling up, he just managed to keep her from smacking the back of her skull into the floor. "What the hell?" he muttered.
There was the sound of movement and Darien looked to see the SWRB guy trying to sit up.
The Director looked from Agent Fawkes to the woman who lay uncomfortably on the floor next to him. He had a healthy respect for the weapon so causally aimed at him and he knew that he'd better be very, very careful or Fawkes would find a reason to shoot him, and not to kill. "It looks like the secondary drug is taking effect."
"Huh?" Darien let the sound escape, he was so caught off guard.
"Oh, just a little something we came up with after the failed experiments with your brother's work. It truly is amazing how many new things we can come up with, even with the failures." He looked Darien in the eye. "Though he did finally succeed with you, didn't he?"
"That's debatable," Darien growled. "Now, what did you do to her?" The gun was lifted and aimed with a deliberate calmness. Guns were still not his favorite weapon, but both Bobby and Alyx had made certain he was comfortable and could handle one when situations dictated the necessity. For this guy, he'd gladly make an exception when it came to pulling the trigger.
"Nothing much. It enhances the normal senses, though it does have this annoying tendency to drive those we've used it on into a sort of sensory overload and either into madness or a coma." He shook his head. "Given that she is a telepath, I thought perhaps she might be able to process the extra information with more success than a normal human."
Darien felt a burning rage steal over him and he came damn near to pulling the trigger. "Thrice-be-damned fool. She already 'is' hypersensitive." Darien forced himself to his feet, far steadier than he should have been. Perhaps it was the anger giving him the strength he needed. He cocked the hammer of the gun and set the muzzle against the bastard's temple. "You stole one set of her senses and have screwed with the others. How long do you think she'll stay sane?"
"You want her sane -- to live. Let me go. I have the counter to both, but she'll never see them unless I get what I want." The Director showed no fear, even if he was feeling more than a bit concerned, but he knew that his words would have the effect he wanted. There was very little chance that Fawkes would actually pull the trigger once he knew that he held the only way to help her.
Darien didn't care, wasn't the least bit impressed. This guy was just like Arnaud, only he had the government's approval to pull his little scam. Dead, he would never bother them again. And, if nothing else, he trusted Claire to solve just about any problem. Decision made, he began to pull the trigger when Alyx spoke.
"Don't, Dare. Please." He could barely hear her.
With a snarl, Darien shifted his hold on the gun and hit Mr. Smug across the face, sending him back to nappy-land. Ignoring him, Darien moved back to Alyx's side. She was shivering and sweating at the same time. It took less than a second for him to figure out something was seriously wrong. She was sitting with her knees pulled tightly to her chest, staring at him without really seeing him. "Alyx..."
She moaned and her hands came up to cover her ears. His voice had been soft, and yet she had reacted like he'd shouted at her. He squatted down in front of her, unsure what to do to help. Setting a hand gently on her forearm he watched as she bit her lip and closed her eyes. "Easy," he whispered quite sure she would hear him. "Tell me what's wrong."
It took a couple of tries, but she finally got the words out. "Everything. I can hear your heart pounding, your touch hurts, my clothes hurt. I can't focus, too bright, too damn close." She swallowed hard. "I can taste the air, smell everything, including your fear, your anger. It... It's too much."
"Oh, crap." Darien pulled her in close, hoping that his presence would help. She didn't fight him, even as she shuddered and moaned her discomfort to him and the world at large. Without her other senses, her ability to feel everything about her, her mind must be a mass of confusion. Too much information from one source; too little from another.
Bobby pulled up in the van then. Alyx squealed and tried to get away, the sound obviously overwhelming her shaky hold. Her hypersensitivity was something she'd gotten used to, but it wasn't something she could completely control, and now it had been kicked up to a point where it was hurting her.
Opening the rear door, Bobby took one look at the unconscious and bleeding bad guy and guessed that he'd woken up and opened his mouth, pissing off Fawkes in the process. "Fawkes?"
"Bring the black bag," Darien said to him. Then to Alyx, "We'll get you to the Keep." When Bobby handed him the bag, he opened it and pulled out a vial and a syringe. Not the N.E., which she also kept in that bag, but the sedative she'd started keeping around just in case she went off the deep end and tried to take over the world again -- her choice of words and not his. She'd made him practice this as a precaution. Setting up a half dose -- he wanted her relaxed, but not completely out of it -- he injected it into the muscle of her upper arm. She yelped at the pain the needle entering her flesh caused, but within seconds had gone limp in his hold. She still shivered in reaction to whatever the drug was doing to her inside, but she was no longer fighting a war with herself. With Bobby's help -- actually, Bobby had to do most of the work, as carrying something as heavy as Alyx was not yet something he was up to -- they got her into the back of the van. Once there, she curled up and tried to hide from the world. Then they manhandled the Director into the van and tied him up more securely. Grabbing the bat and wheelchair, they got in themselves and headed back to the Agency.
Darien sat on the floor, with Alyx's head in his lap, his fingers tracing the outline of her face in hopes of keeping her calm. Every now and again, she would open her eyes and try to focus on the world about her, but there wasn't much for her to see. Just the dark gray wall that divided the front of the van from the rear. Bobby had kept the door open so that they could talk.
"How's she doing Fawkes?" Bobby had gone into protective mode. He was also in a bit of shock over the fact that, not only had Fawkes walked, but also he had kept them from knowing about it. Claire hadn't even told him, and it had to have been at Fawkes' request because she knew he'd been worried about his partner and friend.
"I have no idea, Bobby," Darien answered. "She's alive. That's the only thing I can say for sure." Alyx's color had gone from pale to white as she fought the drugs coursing through her system. He'd had enough experience down in the Keep, dealing with various injuries of his own and others, to easily take her pulse. That's when he discovered just how sensitive she had become. The gentle pressure of his fingers on her wrist was enough to leave noticeable red marks that bordered on bruises. "Ah, hell," he mumbled, not knowing what else to do.
When they pulled up in front of the Agency building, they were met by a baker's dozen of agents who took the guy tied up in the back into custody. Bobby followed them, once he'd taken a moment to verify that Darien and Claire, who had also been waiting, could handle Alyx well enough. Bobby had some major explaining to do, to the Official especially if this guy was a high up in the SWRB hierarchy as he thought he was.
"Darien, what happened to her?" Claire asked as they shifted Alyx to the gurney Claire had brought with her.
Darien got the wheel chair out of the van and lowered himself into it. His legs were feeling the strain of his recent activities and were reminding him exactly how much it could hurt to put himself back together. "Exactly? I have no idea. He shot her with some drug. She's lost her extra senses and had her hypersensitivity cranked up." He rolled along behind as Claire got them moving down to the Keep as swiftly as she could. He pulled out the hard case containing the syringe the guy had been waving about. Once in the Keep, he handed it to Claire. "He said that would temporarily counter the effects of the first drug."
"All right." She took the case and set it on one of the lab benches. "Now, what did you give her to calm her?"
Darien had to think for a moment to remember what it was called. "A half dose of the K-5 sedative. She needed it."
Claire nodded. "Good, I know the effects of that one." She turned away from him and moved to set up the various monitors that she would need to figure out what was going on with Alyx. Once everything was they way she wanted and Alyx was nearly buried in a forest of wires, she retrieved a vial from one of the cabinets and filled a syringe. Moving to Alyx she first gathered several test tubes of blood for testing and then injected the counter for the sedative.
Alyx moaned in her stupor and rolled onto her side to huddle in a ball of confusion and pain. Claire looked up at Darien, who pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the crutches he'd been using during the day recently. With a critical eye, she watched him walk over to the table.
"How are you doing?" Claire asked.
"Not bad, a little tired and sore." Darien trusted his legs to hold him as he ran gentle fingers across the back of Alyx's hand. "I'll manage. What about her?" He nodded towards the shivering woman on the gurney between them, who was slowly returning to a full consciousness that she wanted no part of.
Claire held up the test tubes of blood. "That's what I'm hoping to find out." She walked to the centrifuge, slid the test tubes into place and turned it on. While she waited she looked over the monitors and frowned.
Darien had hung out enough in the early days to know what was normal and what wasn't for Alyx, and even he could tell everything was way off. Her pulse and blood pressure were far higher than normal -- understandable given the circumstances, but not very healthy. The brain wave monitor was almost flat in comparison to its normal arcs and spikes. Claire was also running an EEG, the paper spitting out and piling up on the floor. She didn't look any happier about those readings. "Well, Claire, what's going on?"
"I wish I knew," she muttered, mostly to herself. "I have to run some more tests before I'll know anything. Just try and keep her calm." She moved away, this time picking up the syringe that Darien had brought with him, obviously intent on finding out just what the hell it was.
Alyx opened her eyes and blinked blearily up at him. "Wha's hap'nen?"
Darien started; he hadn't expected her to wake up at all. "Claire is trying to figure out what he did to you." He fought the urge to hold her, to touch her any more than what he was already doing. He could see the already deep purple bruise from where Claire had drawn the blood and the swiftly darkening area from the other injection.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked bitterly.
"I wasn't ready to. I...I'm not sure I can explain it." Or he wasn't willing to yet. "It's not important now."
"Liar," she snapped, which turned out to be a mistake. Her hands came up to cover her ears, her own voice more than she could bear at the moment. This apparently triggered a full collapse of whatever control she'd managed to achieve, and she began to tear off all the electrodes and other items Claire had stuck to her.
"Alyx, stop it." Darien grabbed her wrists to try and hold her still, only to find himself shoved violently away. He ended up on the floor, with his ass in more pain than he'd known in ages. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but it sure as hell wasn't comfortable. Alyx had completely lost it, scrambling off the gurney and backing up against the wall of metal coolers, looking more than a little wild-eyed. With a groan, Darien got to his feet, ignoring the crutches that had fallen to the floor along with him. He made his way over to her, dream images flashing through his mind.
She was huddled with her hands over her ears and eyes tightly shut, rocking back and forth. She was mumbling something that he couldn't quite hear. He was getting tired of this up and down crap, and his legs were not very happy with him at the moment. When he tried to crouch down next to her, his legs gave out and he ended up sitting harder than he intended to, leaving his tailbone aching worse than before. "Shit," he groaned, as his back spasmed along with his legs. When it had finally passed, he shifted closer to Alyx and drew her into an embrace. At first she struggled to get away, but at his soothing words she soon calmed a bit and leaned into his hold. "Easy. It's all right. Try and focus on one thing."
She shook and moaned. "It hurts. Everything hurts."
"I know," he said into her hair. He knew she was talking about more than her current problems. "I'm sorry."
She released a shaky breath and buried her face against his chest, seemingly trying to hide from everything else. That's when Claire came back in carrying a printout.
"Darien?" she called out when she couldn't immediately find him.
"Here," he replied softly and waited till Claire came into view. "She's not doing too good." He didn't like the controlled look on Claire's face, and he felt his heart sinking even before she spoke. She was standing beside the iron support post, her head outlined by the purple lights behind her.
When she spoke, he knew exactly what she would say. "I can't fix this."
He closed his eyes, wondering what other good news would be coming.