A/N 1: Ideas for fic and character development, questions, plotbunnies, suggestions, flames, character pictures, ficlets, corrections, additions, comments, and everything in between can be mailed to hack_heaven@usa.net.

A/N 2: Ageless: *shrugs* If they can't find anything on Kyle, they'll make something up. They're the military; they can get away with that.

SilentPegasus: Well, since it's not an entirely legal thing the military has going on, I don't think we have to worry about citizenship...*smirk*

Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

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Chapter Sixty-Three: The Price for Freedom

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It was maybe two hours later when the door to the cell unlocked again, tearing the four mutants out of their musings. Surprisingly, the cell had been all but silent since their captors had left - once the initial adrenaline rush had faded, the after effects of the drug had returned with renewed strength, making them feel nothing short of miserable. The drug was clearly different from the one used by the police - even now, their headaches still lingered, joined by an unpleasant grogginess.

The door opened and half a dozen soldiers stepped into the large cell, this time without Sanders.

"Get up," one of them, apparently the leader, ordered curtly, and motioned towards the door.

Suzuka glared at him, but much to Kyle's relief she didn't reply, but merely got on her feet like her three cellmates and reluctantly followed the soldiers out of the door. They continued down a depressingly gray hallway, and try as he might, Kyle could find no hints as to where this place was - this hallway could be any military installation on the continent. His eyes came to rest on Blade for a moment, and the man's calmness only added to Kyle's uncertainty - Blade was planning something, he had to be, and Kyle could only pray that the other had enough common sense not to do something that would get them all killed. No, he didn't like the current situation at all, but he liked the thought of death even less.

They continued down another hallway, then followed the soldiers into a large room. The place looked like a briefing room of some kind, with large screens on the walls, and a table in the middle of the room. In one of the chairs, Sanders watched their arrival impassively, then motioned towards four seats.

"Please, sit down," he said, the words civilized but his expression showing nothing but an almost careless indifference towards the four.

The door was shut behind them, and the four exchanged a brief look before sitting down. They were all aware of the presence of the soldiers behind them, but none of them let their tenseness show - Sanders might have the upper hand, but none of them were willing to show any weakness in front of these people.

One of the screens came alive, a video flickering across it, and was then joined by several other, some with videos, others with unmoving photographs. All of them showed the same thing - a man in his late forties, his observant blue eyes watching the world beneath light brown hair tinted with gray. One of the video showed more details - the expensive clothes, the dark-clad guards that constantly surrounded him, watching the crowd suspiciously.

"Senator Benjamin Ross," Sanders began, motioning towards the screens with a wave of his hand. "I'm sure you recognize him - pro-mutant activists are so rare these days, especially among high profile politicians." He smiled faintly, then continued. "The good senator is giving a speech in Houston, Texas in five days, despite the fact that he has already received several death-threats. Remarkable, isn't it?"

Blade sent him a vaguely annoyed look, tired of the games. "Get to the point," he demanded, his calmness starting to fade away. He wasn't a patient man by nature, and being the involuntary guest of the military didn't help on it, either.

Sanders arched an eyebrow, looking vaguely amused. "All right," he replied, shrugging slightly. "Either the senator dies, or you do. It's really very simple."

The man's almost careless reply took all of them by surprise, but it didn't take long for the obvious problems with the deal to register. Ever the professional, Blade was the first to voice what they all thought.

"You don't need four people to put a bullet in someone's head," he pointed out, the suspiciousness in his voice echoed by the look in his eyes. "Any one of your uniformed pets here could handle that."

Kyle shook his head, his mind catching up with the words as well. "He's right - why would you go through all this trouble just to kill one man?" he added. "What's the real deal?"

Sanders' eyes narrowed, a faint annoyance starting to show.

"At the moment, the details do not concern you," he dismissed coldly. "The only thing that matters right now is whether or not you agree to cooperate. If you cooperate, you are free to leave afterwards - all of you. If you refuse, you will be killed."

"You can't do this!" Suzuka protest angrily. So far she'd listened silently, using the opportunity to get a good look at the humans and the room they were in, but the careless dismissal of their lives was something she refused to let pass. "We won't let you blackmail us like this!"

Sanders arched an eyebrow, turning his attention to the girl. "Blackmail? I prefer to look at it as a favor - if we hadn't stepped in, you would have been killed during that little stunt of yours in the internment camp," he pointed out. "We saved your lives, meaning that they belong to us. Now we're giving you the chance to repay that favor and get your freedom back...it doesn't sound like a bad deal to me."

"We won't help you kill an innocent man," Suzuka objected. "I don't know what you think, but not all of us are psychotic killers!"

"Quite frankly, mutant, I don't care," Sanders replied calmly. "I'm giving you the chance to cooperate of your own free will. If you refuse, I assure you that we will find a way to change your mind." He let his hand rest on a small stack of files on the table, fingers tapping lightly on the paper. "You have an interesting history, Suzuka. Born in Japan, left for the States to participate in a martial arts tournament...and you're still wanted for attempted murder in Baltimore."

A thoughtful look crossed Sanders' face, and his fingers stopped their restless tapping for a moment. "Once we've broken you, I think we'll send you back to Baltimore. The widely publicized trial of a wanted mutant...months of public humiliation. Given the circumstances, you will probably get twenty-five to life," he mused, almost to himself, before his eyes found Suzuka again. "I'm sure you would enjoy every minute of that," he said, the faintest hint of a smirk crossing his lips.

"You don't scare me," Suzuka replied, still defiant, but this time a touch of uncertainty was visible in her gray eyes.

Sanders stood up, picking up the files as he did so. "I'm not trying to scare you - I'm telling you the facts," he corrected. "You four are in a bad situation. Kyle Sanderson...for a mutant you're remarkably clean, but there's still this one incident in Scotland," he said, his eyes coming to rest on Kyle.

"I had nothing to do with that!" Kyle objected. "I was fifteen yours old!"

Sanders arched an eyebrow. "But given the current circumstances, who are the human jury most likely to believe - their fellow humans, or one, lonely mutant?" Kyle didn't reply, and Sanders turned his attention to Jordane instead. "Jordane Rush, wanted for the murder of a human four years ago." At Jordane's surprised expression, he continued. "Yes, we know about that little 'accident', despite the efforts your partner here went through to keep you safe. Cold-blooded murder...you're probably facing the death penalty for that." Sanders turned his attention to the last of the four, smirking slightly as he did so. "And Blade Heron...there isn't a single government on the North American continent who wouldn't have you executed in a heartbeat."

Sanders slowly walked down the floor, then back again, giving the mutants a chance to realize just how bad their situation was.

"But I'm offering you a deal...I just want one man to go away, and you'll be free. One life to save four...that sounds pretty fair to me," he explained, deliberately making his voice as calm and reasonable as he could.

"How do we know you'll keep *your* part of the deal?" Jordane objected. "For all we know, you'll shoot us the moment the job is done."

Sanders shrugged. "You'll just have to trust me, because you don't have a choice." He paused for a moment, watching the four. "Do we have a deal?"

"No!" In one, fluent movement Suzuka got on her feet, staring defiantly at Sanders. "You can't do this - we won't be your obedient, little killers!"

Fearing for her safety, Kyle started to get up, reaching out to put a calming hand on Suzuka's arm, but he was fragments of a second too slow - Blade had gotten the same idea, and his methods were nowhere near as gentle as Kyle's.

Before Suzuka could react, Blade had reached out and captured her lower arm in a wise-like grip, and Suzuka felt a sharp pain shoot up her arm. She tried to tear her arm loose of his grip, but the only result was more pain as Blade tightened his grip, using the almost unnatural physical strength that very few people knew he possessed. For a moment Suzuka could *hear* the bones shift beneath his hand, feel every vibration as they tried to resist the harsh pressure that had been put on them, then Blade loosed his grip slightly, allowing Suzuka's arm a brief moment of rest.

Sanders arched an eyebrow, unaffected by the brief fight for control. "Well?"

Blade let go of Suzuka, and the girl sent him a hateful look, but sat down again. He let his eyes rest on her for a few more seconds, before turning his attention to Sanders. For a long moment the only sound was an almost deafening silence, then Blade slowly nodded.

"Yes...we have a deal."

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