Collateral Damage: Chapter 5

See Prologue for disclaimer and other story notes.

Past Pains and Present Sins

~*~

A short time later, Adam found his team lounging in the sitting area, obviously trying to make things feel as normal as possible. He called to them, waiting while they made their way to him. Without much preamble, he launched into his story.

"In the early days of the project we didn't have a good grasp on the scope of what we had done. We had patients with mutations that were out of control and very unstable. We didn't know how to deal with it. At some point it was decided that someone should be brought in to try to fix what we screwed up." He turned to the screen, bringing up an image. A younger version of the image he'd been conversing with earlier appeared. "Dr. Shannon Keets."

"That's not Fiona," Shalimar offered, having seen the video surveillance.

"No. I expect she was just working for Shannon." He watched them exchange looks and knew they had taken note of the first name usage.

"Is this our mystery caller then?" Brennan asked. At Jesse's questioning look he added, "Adam got a call earlier telling us where to find you."

"Yes, it was her."

"So she's behind all of this?" Brennan was angry, and Adam really couldn't blame him. But he didn't yet understand the whole picture.

"Let me explain the history." He paused until Brennan calmed and nodded for him to go on. "She was trying to invent a substance, a drug essentially, to repress the mutations."

Shalimar asked, "Like what Richard was doing with Genomex? Trying to make us normal?"

"Not exactly. It's similar, but Shannon was only trying to suppress the abilities, not eliminate them. If it had worked, the subdermal governors would have been obsolete."

"But it didn't."

"No."

"It seems to be working now," Jesse threw in, speaking up for the first time. "That is the point to this conversation, right? This is what she injected me with?"

"Yes. But…let me go back. It did work, much like Richard's serum worked. It did what it was supposed to do, suppressing the mutant power. It was very promising initially. Shannon was even confident enough that she injected another patient shortly after she saw the positive effects in the trial subject."

"And the catch was…" Emma prompted.

"It suppressed more than just the mutant abilities. Immune system, neural functioning…the list goes on. Within the first 2 hours of injection it was actually an expected side effect; that's what you saw earlier at the hotel, Brennan. On a minor level it provoked confusion and disorientation. Then things cleared up and the subject seemed fine, with no strange powers to be seen."

"That's what we're seeing now." Shalimar looked at him grimly, anticipating what came next. "And what happens later?" she asked with trepidation.

He hesitated, looking not at her but at Jesse. When he finally spoke his voice was quiet. "The subject seemed fine until about 12 hours later. Then we started to see the 'side effects' coming back. They increased tenfold…by the 24 hour mark that mutant was in a coma. Two hours later he was dead."

He watched the shock register in Jesse's blue eyes then forced himself to look away to the rest of the team. Emma was the only one to speak, saying softly, "Adam?"

It was a plea he couldn't answer. He knew they were already drawing the inevitable conclusion. Instead he continued the story softly. "Shannon was desperate to continue her research. But the last thing Genomex wanted was another incident; they yanked the funding and told us to find another way. Shannon couldn't take no for an answer and her behavior became more and more erratic…when she got out of control, they fired her. I hadn't seen her since."

Jesse found his voice and spoke up again, the stress evident in his tone. "Until she decided out of the blue to come and kill me?"

Brennan was closest, and Adam was grateful when the elemental reached to place a comforting hand on Jesse's shoulder. But Brennan's expression was hard, his jaw clenched and eyes deadly serious.

Adam forced himself to keep speaking. "Before we panic, she has developed an antidote."

Realization dawned in Shalimar's eyes, along with a deadly glint that rivaled Brennan's. "She wants something from you."

"Yes."

"Surely you can make the antidote yourself," Emma spoke up.

Adam shook his head. "I probably would find it eventually, but not with the time crunch. And especially not without a sample of the drug in its pure form. Shannon knew exactly what she was doing; exactly when to inject him and when to call us. We only have about 18 hours at the most and we need to spend it getting what she wants in exchange for the antidote."

"What exactly is that?"

He turned, pulling up another image. This time it was a little girl, brown hair pulled up in pigtails and dimples showing in both cheeks as she smiled for the camera. "Tamara Keets," he said simply. "Her daughter."

They all stared a moment, processing, then Shalimar asked, "She wants us to kidnap her daughter? Is this some custody thing?"

"No. I almost wish it was. I told you Shannon had injected another subject," He nodded to the picture.

"She injected her daughter with this stuff?" Jesse's voice was slightly stunned.

Emma added, "What kind of mother injects her own daughter with a new drug before she knows it's safe?"

"Tamara was—is—an elemental. Fire, to be more precise. Her power was out of her control and we were having a lot of trouble controlling her body temperature. Plus, she tended to set fire to random things or people around her," he paused, and sighed. "Have you ever tried telling a parent that you can't save their child? She was dying. It was within Shannon's ability to do something about it."

"So she did," Emma finished for him softly. "She didn't realize she would be killing her herself."

Adam could usually depend on his telempath to be sympathetic. He felt that too, because he'd been there. He'd watched it. But the others seemed to be having a bit more trouble with it. "So, the girl's dead?" Brennan asked bluntly.

"Not exactly. We knew we had a limited amount of time, so we induced a coma and put her into cryogenic suspension. She was never woken, because there was never a cure."

"She's been stuck in a pod all these years?" For Jesse, that sounded like a fate worse than death.

Adam was quick to reassure, "Well it hasn't been that long for her. She'll still be this seven-year-old girl."

"So we go get the pod and take her to Mommy. Doesn't sound so tough. Is she in the old Genomex facility?" Brennan was ready to go right then and there. Adam resisted the urge to chide him for his typical impetuousness, knowing that it came from worry for a friend.

"No," he answered. "She was moved to a different lab. That's the problem. While she's in a barely monitored section, this lab is still in use by a different government organization."

"Great," Emma said.

Shalimar threw her a smile. "But we've never let that stop us before."

"Of course not," Adam continued. "We just need a plan."

~*~

Across town, Gina Phillips smiled her thanks to the bartender before draining the shot glass in one long gulp. Not very ladylike, but she made up for it by tossing her long blond hair over one shoulder. She didn't miss the appreciative looks aimed her way, but she did ignore them. Late afternoon was creeping closer, but it was still a bit early for drinks and she seriously doubted she wanted to know any of the men who were populating this place at this hour. As for her, well, she figured that since she'd had to be sober and just sip at the drinks the night before, she deserved a little indulgence now.

She tapped her manicured nails impatiently. After a few minutes she felt someone sit beside her, but she did not turn. She waited for him to speak.

He did not disappoint. "You have what I want?"

She simply cast him a sidelong glance. "I will. The question is whether or not you're willing to pay for what you want."

One brisk nod. "I have the money we agreed upon. Not with me, of course."

"Of course not," she responded in kind. "But you will bring it. I'll need until tomorrow afternoon. Meet me at the old factory down by the docks."

"There will be no complications." It was a statement, not a question.

She bristled. "Not unless you complicate things. Don't screw with me, Frank. You're not the only game in town. I know at least one guy who's currently dying to get his hands on this."

~*~

If there was one thing Jesse hated, it was feeling helpless. And there was nothing more helpless than sitting around, watching your friends prepare for a mission, and being told you had to stay behind while you waited to die.

He stood near the Helix, trying to stay out of the way as the others bustled about. He wanted to go. Adam had said no, on no uncertain terms.

That hadn't stopped him the last time of course, but Jesse had a suspicion that Adam would lockdown Sanctuary this time if he had to. He knew the older man was just looking out for him. And if he did start to experience those "side-effect" symptoms Adam had been talking about again, he knew he didn't want to be anyplace high when it happened.

Still, he just felt so…helpless.

"Jesse?"

He jumped slightly. Emma stood in front of him, concerned eyes staring into his. He mentally shook himself out of his reverie and attempted to put on a brave face, complete with phony smile. "I'm fine, Emma."

Her eyes said she knew better, but she didn't speak. Instead she just took a step closer and wrapped him in an embrace. He blinked quickly to clear his suddenly blurry vision.

When she pulled back her eyes were a bit watery as well. But she returned that brave, phony smile, then squeezed his arm before she turned to board the Helix.

Jesse was still watching her go when he abruptly found his arms full again, the force of this hug almost knocking him backwards. He caught her with only a slight stumble. This time the surprise-provoked smile was real, though it was hidden in the long blonde hair. "Take it easy, Shal. I'm fragile, remember?" he joked.

Only she didn't seem to take it that way. The embrace loosened a bit and she stroked his hair tenderly. "You're gonna be fine, Jess. We'll take care of it."

"I know," he said simply. "I know." He let her hold him for a few moments, needing the closeness.

When she stepped back, she stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his forehead. "Bye Jess," she said softly, then turned to go.

"Bye, Shal," he whispered to her retreating back.

This time when he turned back, he watched Brennan approach. "You gonna tell me goodbye too?" Jesse asked with a touch of sarcasm that would have had more effect had his voice not wavered.

Brennan gave him a small smile. "Well I was planning to spare you the kiss, but—"

"No, no, that's all right," Jesse hastened to reassure him, smiling as well.

Brennan clapped him on the shoulder instead. "We are gonna fix this, Jess," he said seriously.

"Yeah." He knew it wasn't very convincing, but it was the best he could do. Brennan stared at him a moment longer, then pulled him into a quick, hard embrace. He released him after a second and turned to go without a word. Jesse bit his lip. Brennan had always said he was bad with good-byes. "Brennan?"

His friend turned back. "Yeah?"

Jesse moved a few steps closer and took a deep breath before launching in. "Brennan, whatever happens…I need to know that you'll take care of them."

An unmistakable flash of pain crossed Brennan's face. "Jess…"

"Promise me."

Brennan swallowed hard. "You know I will."

Jesse nodded, eyes drifting to the ground. He looked up again when Brennan grasped his chin. "I'm gonna take care of you, too." The elemental said in all seriousness.

"I know you'll try your hardest," Jesse responded.

Brennan started to speak again, but Adam's voice cut him off. "Brennan, you really need to get moving." It was full of apology; Adam hated breaking up what could be their last good-byes.

But it was much less likely that that would be the case if Brennan did as he was told. Jesse gave him a gentle push towards the Helix. "Go."

With one last glance backward, he went. Jesse watched them close the door, then moved away so they could take off. He watched them go.

Then he went back to Adam. To wait.

~*~

To be continued

Author's Note: Sorry about the late posting, guys. It's called end-of-the-semester rush. I hope to still have the next part up this Friday, but if I miss it for some reason I promise it will be here as soon as possible. Thanks!