Collateral Damage: Chapter 8

See Prologue for disclaimer and other story notes.

Weakening

~*~

Gina gazed at her "partner" in crime who was currently fidgeting beside the lab table. When he inadvertently hit a vial and sent it tumbling, she was grateful for the feral reflexes that allowed her to step in and catch it. She didn't wish to find out the hard way if it contained something deadly. As she set it carefully back in its place, James stepped away from the equipment to fidget in a more appropriate place.

She took a deep breath to calm her temper before turning back to him. "James, is there a problem?" she asked, voice saccharine.

"I just don't know about this, Gina."

She kept her expression as neutral as possible, though she wanted to knock some sense into him. The boy took entirely too much cajoling for her tastes. "Why all the doubt, Honey? We've been over this."

"It just—" he began, then glanced around before lowering his voice. "It doesn't feel right, okay? This is serious stuff to be handing over to some foreign—"

"He isn't foreign," she interrupted, then wondered why she had. The kid didn't need to know the details. "Look, this isn't some evil plot to destroy everyone. All you need to think about is the great financial opportunities in front of us. Don't panic on me now."

He still seemed shaky. She couldn't have him revealing something in his nervousness. If she didn't need him…

But she did. And because she did, she would have to take the time to calm him down.

She moved closer, far into his personal space. He finally stopped fidgeting and went still, watching her with those innocent, naïve eyes. She brought a hand up to trace his chin, leaning even closer. "You wouldn't want to disappoint me, would you?"

"N-no," he stammered. "Of course not."

And soon she could see the doubts begin to roll away, or at least to the background, replaced by the desire she was instilling.

"Good boy," she whispered, then pressed her lips to his.

~*~

Moving slowly and deliberately, Brennan bent to place Tamara on the floor. It took a few precious seconds to pry her arms from around his neck, but he didn't have the luxury of time to reassure her. He simply pulled her behind him as he slowly stood again. "Guys, can't we all just be civil about this? Nobody wants any trouble." As he spoke, he felt the little girl's arms latch onto his waist.

The guard who had spoken before simply restated his order. "Put your hands up and get down on your knees."

The one beside him added, "Send the girl over here."

"Well, I can't do that," Brennan responded conversationally. "I guess you'll have to settle for the hands-up thing."

And he did raise his hands. It was necessary to create the amount of electricity that shortly crackled between them. He was gratified to see the guns waver as their eyes widened in shock.

Behind him, he felt Shalimar move. Or perhaps 'pounce' was a better word. He didn't need to look to know that she and Emma could handle the guys on their end.

He waited to see what his guys would do. Ordinarily he probably wouldn't have been so patient, but he was quite conscious of the young eyes mesmerized by his every move. Something told him that blasting people—even the bad guys—wasn't good role-modeling. Still, when the first of them got over the surprise and steadied his gun to fire, Brennan didn't hesitate. He sent him flying into two of his friends, effectively taking down over half of his opposition. Then he turned to face the two remaining guards. Spotting the raised barrels, he instinctively sent them crashing into the nearby wall.

At that point he spun to check on the girls—and almost tripped over Tamara. He regained his balance in time to see Shalimar deliver a well-placed kick to the head of the last standing guard. He wasn't standing for long. As she and Emma moved back towards him, Brennan looked down into Tamara's impossibly huge eyes. "You're like me," she said with wonder.

He couldn't help the slight smile that broke his face. "Yeah, kid. We're like you." He bent to scoop her up again, knowing that the girls had overheard as they exchanged a smile as well.

"We'd better keep moving," Shalimar pointed out.

Brennan agreed. One problem—this place was turning out to be quite the maze. After their hurried movements earlier, he was a little unclear on where the heck they were. "Adam?" he called softly.

There was a lengthy pause before the reply. "I'm here, Brennan. What's going on?"

"We've got her, but we had a couple of complications. They're taken care of, but we could use a little direction."

Tamara was looking at him curiously, obviously wondering who he was talking to. But she still felt the need to announce; "We're lost."

Adam overheard and chuckled softly. "Let's see if we can't fix that, all right?" A few computer clicks, and then he was giving directions again. They set off.

As they walked, Emma asked softly, "Adam, how's Jesse?"

Another pause, then, "He's sleeping now."

They exchanged glances, not very encouraged by that answer. But they didn't pursue it; instead they all instinctively increased their pace.

When they reached a point near the back loading dock, Brennan told Adam that they could take it from there. They ended the communication and set off out of the building, senses on high alert.

~*~

Jesse awoke alone. That in and of itself was not all that unusual. However, he had a distinct feeling that he hadn't been alone when he fell asleep. He had felt safe and secure. That was absent now.

He looked around blearily, trying to get his bearings. He was on a couch, that much was clear. But beyond that…he could see computer stations nearby, and something about the scene felt vaguely familiar. But it was as if a fog had set upon his mind. He didn't know where he was.

Shortly, he heard a voice nearby. Again it was familiar but…he just couldn't identify it. He sat up too quickly and the room promptly spun. Not to be deterred, he still tried to stand, confused and determined to defend himself if need be. Unfortunately, his body wouldn't cooperate. Up and down meshed and contorted until he came into hard contact with what could only be the floor. He gasped slightly at the impact, then heard another gasp echo his own.

"Jesse!" Hurried footsteps, then a face appeared above his own. "What's wrong? Are you dizzy? Do you hurt anywhere?"

He ignored the questions, too occupied with studying the older man.

The lack of answers didn't seem to please him. "Jesse, are you with me here?" When he still didn't respond, a hand came up to smack him lightly on the cheek. He flinched away almost before any contact was made. The man looked surprised and slightly hurt, but there was a glimmer of understanding in his face. Grim understanding.

Still he pressed, "I need you to talk to me, Jesse. It's okay, you're safe. I just need you to tell me what's going on."

He shook his head at first. Then he finally croaked softly "confused…" His voice sounded foreign.

The man was looking into his eyes. A moment later, Jesse started as a voice abruptly came out of nowhere.

"Adam, we're in the Helix. We'll be back at Sanctuary ASAP."

He knew that voice, too. But he didn't bother trying to place it as he latched onto the name. Adam. This was Adam. He could trust Adam.

Right?

He allowed himself to be pulled upright. He tried to shove back the intense fear that went along with the confusion, but it just refused to be caged. He felt something wet trickling down his face. The man—Adam—reached to wipe his cheek. He almost flinched again at the contact, but the touch was gentle and caring. Almost fatherly.

For some reason that made his chest feel tighter. He heard the sobs begin, but it was as if they came from someplace far away. He watched through blurred eyes as concern flooded Adam's features. He then heard him speak, though it wasn't addressed to him this time.

"Brennan…hurry."

~*~

To be continued