Author's Note: Megara, the story is definitely about A/E and J/S. Any
feelings you may detect between the others are purely brotherly/sisterly,
as you'll see now. Sorry if I confused you!
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Chapter 12
"Jesse?" yelled Shal into her comring. "Jesse, answer me goddamit!"
"He's probably busy, or something," finished Brennan lamely in an attempt to alleviate her worries. Over the comlink, they heard a zapping sound and a yelp and they both broke into a run.
"What's happened to him?" Shal asked breathlessly they she pelted towards his last location. Emma's voice was heard talking to Adam over an open link.
"Adam, where is he now?"
"He's at the corner of the street you're in now, Emma," came the reply.
"He's not there," Emma called back. As Shalimar and Brennan met up with Emma, they could see that he was obviously not in the vicinity.
"I'm still getting a signal that he's right there, Emma," Adam replied again, frustrated that he could do no more than that. Brennan saw something shining in the dirt and bent over to pick it up. He held it up speechlessly for the others to see.
"We've found his comring," Emma said softly as she moved closer to Shalimar. She knew her friend must be filled with fear for him.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Jesse opened his eyes blearily. He had lost all track of time. He felt the knowledge of his situation creep over him like lead. It was pretty obvious that after all their attempts, the GSA had got to Rhian first and now, he found himself tied to a chair in the middle of a cold, empty cell. This wasn't going to be a problem for him though - all he had to do was phase through the ropes.
As he held his breath and tried phasing, he felt an excruciating pain running through his body, and he toppled over onto the floor, still tied to the chair.
"Maybe that'll teach you," came a voice from the door. He looked up to see male face peering in through the bars. He heard the bolts sliding back and the door creaking open. A strong pair of hands lifted him up under his arms and untied his hands, only to replace the ropes again once he was free from the chair. He was pushed roughly towards the open door.
"C'mon," the guard said briskly. "Mr Eckhart wants to see you." Jesse thought better than to protest. He knew Eckhart could make life very difficult, so he decided to bide his time.
As he was pushed through another door, he heard the two women's voices bouncing around the room.
"So it's up to you now," he heard the woman called Liz say. She shot him a glance of pure hatred as she walked out past him, leaving Rhian and the guard with him.
Rhian approached him cautiously, but he could see her eyes were also shooting daggers at him.
"Are you OK?" he asked her, in the hope that she would see he wasn't the bad guy.
"You're a fine one to ask," she spat at him. "You work for Adam, don't you? Don't try to deny it."
"I do," he agreed.
"How can you work for such a despicable man?" she continued.
"He's a good person. He helped me when I needed him, and now I help him help others."
"Help them onto the dissection table," she hissed at him. "How do you justify that to yourself? That man is pure evil."
"We were trying to help you. Eckhart would use you and then stick you into a stasis pod once you had outlived your usefulness."
"I've spoken to Mr. Eckhart, and he's told me all about you and Adam, and Mutant X. He's warned me about you all, and how you would lie to me. I was lucky he got to me before you and your band of lunatics did."
"So now what has he got you doing?" he asked, trying to find a way to show her Eckhart wasn't all he seemed.
"I'm supposed to kill you," she answered him coldly. "Then your body will be sent back to Adam, to show him he can't keep doing that to new mutants."
"You've really been caught up in Eckhart's web of lies, haven't you?" he said, frustrated.
Her hand flew through the air, hitting his face and scratching it as it passed. "Shut up," she screamed. He could feel the warm droplets of blood trickling down his face as he raised his head to look back at her.
"So you're going to kill me," he asked softly as he formulated a plan in his head. "What are you waiting for?"
She looked at him unflinchingly, not speaking.
"When's the last time you killed someone?" he asked gently after a long silence.
"No more than a week," she answered boldly.
"And was that in cold blood?" he continued. She stared at him silently. "Or was it out of a necessity to eat?" She turned her face away from her, still refusing to reply. "Have you ever killed someone whilst not under the influence of your feral side?"
"Who says I'm going to kill you whilst I'm in human form?" she asked him coldly as she turned to face him, showing her yellow feral eyes.
"That's enough," a languorous male voice called from the door. Eckhart entered the room, nodding at Rhian approvingly.
"I'm impressed, Ms James. You've done well in proving yourself. You may leave now. I think I'd like to keep him alive just a short while longer." Rhian stared at him, digesting what he had said. "Don't worry, you shall have your chance to get your teeth into him soon," he reassured as he waved her away.
As she left, Eckhart turned back to Jesse. "Isn't she something?" he asked him. "Quite a find, I'd say."
"She'll see through you sooner or later," said Jesse.
"I fear that for you, later may be too late," he drawled. "And by that time, she'll have fulfilled her uses."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Back at Sanctuary, Adam was desperately trying to find evidence as to where Jesse had been taken, as Emma and Brennan consoled an agitated Shalimar.
"Shal, we're always finding ourselves in tough situations. This is nothing new and Jesse can look after himself," Brennan told her.
"It's different this time," Shal replied, numb from the worry. "He wasn't even supposed to be there."
"Adam is working hard to find him. Don't worry Shal," Emma said, trying to calm her down. There was no reply as the feral stared into space. Emma could feel the anxiety in Shal's head, pulling her down into the current of despair. She projected a warm, calm image into her friend's mind as she spoke again. "Shall I go make you a mug of camomile tea?"
There was no response except for the slight rocking motion that she had initiated a while ago, so with a last concerned look towards Brennan, she got up and made her way to the kitchen.
As she passed the lab, she saw Adam typing furiously, and searching the screen intently. She knew he was as upset as any of them about Jesse's disappearance, but if he continued working as hard as he did, he was going to burn himself out.
She entered quietly, putting her hands gently on his shoulders. "Adam, you're going to wear yourself out like that."
Adam didn't turn, but continued with his work. "I've got to do something Emma. I can't just leave him there."
"No one's suggesting you do that, but you have to take it a little easier. At least delegate some of the work." He shook his head.
"This is my job, you all do enough out there." As she rubbed his shoulders, trying to smooth away some of the tension, he finally stopped his incessant typing and turned to face her. She brushed his hair away, stroking his face.
"It's not just me, Adam. We all want you to stop working yourself into the ground."
"Bad time to try and stop me," he replied with a small smile. "Jesse needs my help. There must be something out there, some clue, some file tucked away somewhere." He paused as she kissed him on the forehead tenderly. "I just can't stop thinking how I would be feeling if it were you who had gone missing," he admitted in a whisper.
"I know," she whispered in return. "It's something we all have to deal with, but we can't let the fear take over." He stood as she spoke and put his arms around her waist.
"I can't begin to imagine how Shalimar's feeling, but I have to try and help her too. I can only hope that we get him back safely."
"We will," she replied gently as their lips met for a kiss. "I know you'll find something. You always do."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
It's Jesse's turn to get hurt this time, leave poor Brennan alone!
As always, continue to R&R :o)
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Chapter 12
"Jesse?" yelled Shal into her comring. "Jesse, answer me goddamit!"
"He's probably busy, or something," finished Brennan lamely in an attempt to alleviate her worries. Over the comlink, they heard a zapping sound and a yelp and they both broke into a run.
"What's happened to him?" Shal asked breathlessly they she pelted towards his last location. Emma's voice was heard talking to Adam over an open link.
"Adam, where is he now?"
"He's at the corner of the street you're in now, Emma," came the reply.
"He's not there," Emma called back. As Shalimar and Brennan met up with Emma, they could see that he was obviously not in the vicinity.
"I'm still getting a signal that he's right there, Emma," Adam replied again, frustrated that he could do no more than that. Brennan saw something shining in the dirt and bent over to pick it up. He held it up speechlessly for the others to see.
"We've found his comring," Emma said softly as she moved closer to Shalimar. She knew her friend must be filled with fear for him.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Jesse opened his eyes blearily. He had lost all track of time. He felt the knowledge of his situation creep over him like lead. It was pretty obvious that after all their attempts, the GSA had got to Rhian first and now, he found himself tied to a chair in the middle of a cold, empty cell. This wasn't going to be a problem for him though - all he had to do was phase through the ropes.
As he held his breath and tried phasing, he felt an excruciating pain running through his body, and he toppled over onto the floor, still tied to the chair.
"Maybe that'll teach you," came a voice from the door. He looked up to see male face peering in through the bars. He heard the bolts sliding back and the door creaking open. A strong pair of hands lifted him up under his arms and untied his hands, only to replace the ropes again once he was free from the chair. He was pushed roughly towards the open door.
"C'mon," the guard said briskly. "Mr Eckhart wants to see you." Jesse thought better than to protest. He knew Eckhart could make life very difficult, so he decided to bide his time.
As he was pushed through another door, he heard the two women's voices bouncing around the room.
"So it's up to you now," he heard the woman called Liz say. She shot him a glance of pure hatred as she walked out past him, leaving Rhian and the guard with him.
Rhian approached him cautiously, but he could see her eyes were also shooting daggers at him.
"Are you OK?" he asked her, in the hope that she would see he wasn't the bad guy.
"You're a fine one to ask," she spat at him. "You work for Adam, don't you? Don't try to deny it."
"I do," he agreed.
"How can you work for such a despicable man?" she continued.
"He's a good person. He helped me when I needed him, and now I help him help others."
"Help them onto the dissection table," she hissed at him. "How do you justify that to yourself? That man is pure evil."
"We were trying to help you. Eckhart would use you and then stick you into a stasis pod once you had outlived your usefulness."
"I've spoken to Mr. Eckhart, and he's told me all about you and Adam, and Mutant X. He's warned me about you all, and how you would lie to me. I was lucky he got to me before you and your band of lunatics did."
"So now what has he got you doing?" he asked, trying to find a way to show her Eckhart wasn't all he seemed.
"I'm supposed to kill you," she answered him coldly. "Then your body will be sent back to Adam, to show him he can't keep doing that to new mutants."
"You've really been caught up in Eckhart's web of lies, haven't you?" he said, frustrated.
Her hand flew through the air, hitting his face and scratching it as it passed. "Shut up," she screamed. He could feel the warm droplets of blood trickling down his face as he raised his head to look back at her.
"So you're going to kill me," he asked softly as he formulated a plan in his head. "What are you waiting for?"
She looked at him unflinchingly, not speaking.
"When's the last time you killed someone?" he asked gently after a long silence.
"No more than a week," she answered boldly.
"And was that in cold blood?" he continued. She stared at him silently. "Or was it out of a necessity to eat?" She turned her face away from her, still refusing to reply. "Have you ever killed someone whilst not under the influence of your feral side?"
"Who says I'm going to kill you whilst I'm in human form?" she asked him coldly as she turned to face him, showing her yellow feral eyes.
"That's enough," a languorous male voice called from the door. Eckhart entered the room, nodding at Rhian approvingly.
"I'm impressed, Ms James. You've done well in proving yourself. You may leave now. I think I'd like to keep him alive just a short while longer." Rhian stared at him, digesting what he had said. "Don't worry, you shall have your chance to get your teeth into him soon," he reassured as he waved her away.
As she left, Eckhart turned back to Jesse. "Isn't she something?" he asked him. "Quite a find, I'd say."
"She'll see through you sooner or later," said Jesse.
"I fear that for you, later may be too late," he drawled. "And by that time, she'll have fulfilled her uses."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Back at Sanctuary, Adam was desperately trying to find evidence as to where Jesse had been taken, as Emma and Brennan consoled an agitated Shalimar.
"Shal, we're always finding ourselves in tough situations. This is nothing new and Jesse can look after himself," Brennan told her.
"It's different this time," Shal replied, numb from the worry. "He wasn't even supposed to be there."
"Adam is working hard to find him. Don't worry Shal," Emma said, trying to calm her down. There was no reply as the feral stared into space. Emma could feel the anxiety in Shal's head, pulling her down into the current of despair. She projected a warm, calm image into her friend's mind as she spoke again. "Shall I go make you a mug of camomile tea?"
There was no response except for the slight rocking motion that she had initiated a while ago, so with a last concerned look towards Brennan, she got up and made her way to the kitchen.
As she passed the lab, she saw Adam typing furiously, and searching the screen intently. She knew he was as upset as any of them about Jesse's disappearance, but if he continued working as hard as he did, he was going to burn himself out.
She entered quietly, putting her hands gently on his shoulders. "Adam, you're going to wear yourself out like that."
Adam didn't turn, but continued with his work. "I've got to do something Emma. I can't just leave him there."
"No one's suggesting you do that, but you have to take it a little easier. At least delegate some of the work." He shook his head.
"This is my job, you all do enough out there." As she rubbed his shoulders, trying to smooth away some of the tension, he finally stopped his incessant typing and turned to face her. She brushed his hair away, stroking his face.
"It's not just me, Adam. We all want you to stop working yourself into the ground."
"Bad time to try and stop me," he replied with a small smile. "Jesse needs my help. There must be something out there, some clue, some file tucked away somewhere." He paused as she kissed him on the forehead tenderly. "I just can't stop thinking how I would be feeling if it were you who had gone missing," he admitted in a whisper.
"I know," she whispered in return. "It's something we all have to deal with, but we can't let the fear take over." He stood as she spoke and put his arms around her waist.
"I can't begin to imagine how Shalimar's feeling, but I have to try and help her too. I can only hope that we get him back safely."
"We will," she replied gently as their lips met for a kiss. "I know you'll find something. You always do."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
It's Jesse's turn to get hurt this time, leave poor Brennan alone!
As always, continue to R&R :o)
