"I've got something to show you."
Adrian Geiger stared out at the sun over the green mountains and wondered what he was going to do now. Below him, further down on the slope, the new training camp was going passably well. His new recruits... few, but strong and willing to work, were teaching each other the various tricks they had learned in their individual lives. They were also practicing the way he had taught them, increasing their strength, their range, stretching their minds to the limits of their potential. It was a little heartening to see them at work, but not much. They were good... but they weren't his family.
Hawk. Hawk was still an ache in his heart, a pain worse than the phantom bullet that had pierced his lung. Lincoln had been a thug, and although he had been useful he had also been more violent that Geiger really wanted, but Hawk... he had loved the man. And Addison had killed him. Zach... Geiger's fists clenched at the thought, but relaxed again as he calmed down. He wasn't sure what to think of Zach's actions. The professor had probably just been doing what he thought was right. But he had gotten the camp killed, no matter how inadvertently, by freeing the FBI agent. He had to have freed her; he had shown up in her company.
Tristen.
Geiger looked down, fighting tears, fighting rage. He didn't know where she was or what she was up to, and the thought terrified him.
"Adrian?"
"I heard you..." Geiger took a deep breath. "I'm coming."
-
-
-
"I've been monitoring the news like you told me, for weird events, things that might be caused by... people like us." Kathryn looked over her shoulder at Geiger, an eager puppy looking for approval from her master. Something in his face must have shown it because she turned back to the monitors, fingers flying over the keyboard as images scrolled past almost too fast to follow. "I've isolated several incidents in Orange County, California. I think that's where this person or group of people is hiding.. near or around there."
Geiger nodded slowly. It felt right... and somehow... "There. Hold that."
She hit a button, the news image froze on a picture of several people who had been gathered around the scene of a particularly nasty train accident. "What?"
He reached forward and touched the screen, as though by brushing his fingers across it he could caress the hair of the young blond woman who was watching the accident. His lips moved but no words came out.
Kathryn watched him nervously. "Geiger?"
"It's all right." He stepped back from the monitors, his face settling back into his usual stony countenance. "Do you have any other footage of the accidents?"
She nodded. "Right here." Images began to flicker on the screen again, scrolling by faster than he could pick up. That had been one of the hidden advantages about Kathryn; she was almost preternaturally good at collecting and disseminating information. He had fixed her up with a high-powered computer, a digital feed, and a lot of equipment, and hidden her out on their semi-permanent base camp. It would be difficult to move, but the added security of having someone with their finger so firmly on the pulse of the world was worth it.
"Hey, she's at all of the sites... look, there she is again." Geiger allowed himself a small smile. Of course she was. Of course she would be. But she was out of control, full of rage at his death. Or at least she thought he was dead. She had to be controlled, to be calmed before she turned into another Lincoln. She would be worse than Lincoln, even.
"We need to find her. Is there any footage of her being interviewed..." the thought occurred to him. "Or anything where we could find out her name, or where she's staying?"
"I can find out. You want to stick around and watch?"
"No..." his shoulders hunched slightly, and he turned around to leave. "No. Just find me that information."
"Yes, boss..."
Kathryn sighed as Geiger left, turning back to her monitors and screens, typing out a flurry of commands to the computers again. She wondered just what that girl was supposed to be doing, or what her connection to their leader was supposed to be. She'd never seen him as animated as he'd been when he'd seen her face on the screen... ex-lover? Ex-wife? Protégé? Well, just as long as he didn't plan on packing up the whole camp and going across six, eight states to California.
But that didn't mean she wouldn't be filled with a burning need to know who or what he would be bringing back.
-
-
-
Adrian Geiger stood at the threshold and waited, heart in his throat, for the courage to raise fist to wood and knock. After a year... and what a hellish year it had been... after the circumstances that had parted them, what could he say to her? She didn't know anything of what had happened, except that he had supposedly died. She must also have heard of Hawk's death, of the death of everyone in the previous camp. Had she formed her own little cadre around herself, or was she accomplishing all her work solo, now?
Geiger took a deep breath, trying to pull himself together. He hadn't seen her in over a year, and they had once been so close... what would he find when she opened the door? She was in there... he could sense her. The way, he realized belatedly, that she could probably sense him. Oh dear.
The door unlatched, opened a creak. Blonde hair and a blue eye the mirror of his own (or how he used to be, he thought wryly, self-consciously touching his graying hair) peeked out at him.
"Adrian?"
Her voice renewed all the old pain, constricting his chest, making it hard to breathe let alone talk. He just nodded.
"It's really you?"
"You know it's me," he said softly. She would. They had always been able to sense each other, communicate through a limited telepathy that was more impressions and feelings than actual words.
"What happened?"
Geiger looked down. "He's dead. I killed him... Addison's dead. They're still hunting us, but..." What could he say to her? They were still being hunted, and nothing had really changed. The only thing he had effected was to get their most rabid pursuer off of their backs. And yet... "We've got a new camp. In the Smokies."
"Still recruiting?"
"Yeah."
Pause. "Still fighting?"
He looked down. "We've ... been working on their skills. Getting them ready."
The door opened a little wider, and he could now see her sweet face framed by the gold-blonde hair he had loved so much. She had cut it so far that she was almost shorn. He had to reach out and touch it to make sure she was still there. She let him.
"You can't stop fighting. They'll never let us go."
He nodded. "I know. I just..." Deep breath. It had all been for this. "I wanted to find you first."
She smiled, and it was like the sun breaking through the clouds on a day of interminable rain. He picked her up and pulled her out-of-doors, spinning her around, both of them laughing with delight. "It'll be all right," she said, whether for his comfort or for hers, it was hard to tell. "It'll be okay. We're all together again, it'll be okay."
And it would.
Adrian Geiger stared out at the sun over the green mountains and wondered what he was going to do now. Below him, further down on the slope, the new training camp was going passably well. His new recruits... few, but strong and willing to work, were teaching each other the various tricks they had learned in their individual lives. They were also practicing the way he had taught them, increasing their strength, their range, stretching their minds to the limits of their potential. It was a little heartening to see them at work, but not much. They were good... but they weren't his family.
Hawk. Hawk was still an ache in his heart, a pain worse than the phantom bullet that had pierced his lung. Lincoln had been a thug, and although he had been useful he had also been more violent that Geiger really wanted, but Hawk... he had loved the man. And Addison had killed him. Zach... Geiger's fists clenched at the thought, but relaxed again as he calmed down. He wasn't sure what to think of Zach's actions. The professor had probably just been doing what he thought was right. But he had gotten the camp killed, no matter how inadvertently, by freeing the FBI agent. He had to have freed her; he had shown up in her company.
Tristen.
Geiger looked down, fighting tears, fighting rage. He didn't know where she was or what she was up to, and the thought terrified him.
"Adrian?"
"I heard you..." Geiger took a deep breath. "I'm coming."
-
-
-
"I've been monitoring the news like you told me, for weird events, things that might be caused by... people like us." Kathryn looked over her shoulder at Geiger, an eager puppy looking for approval from her master. Something in his face must have shown it because she turned back to the monitors, fingers flying over the keyboard as images scrolled past almost too fast to follow. "I've isolated several incidents in Orange County, California. I think that's where this person or group of people is hiding.. near or around there."
Geiger nodded slowly. It felt right... and somehow... "There. Hold that."
She hit a button, the news image froze on a picture of several people who had been gathered around the scene of a particularly nasty train accident. "What?"
He reached forward and touched the screen, as though by brushing his fingers across it he could caress the hair of the young blond woman who was watching the accident. His lips moved but no words came out.
Kathryn watched him nervously. "Geiger?"
"It's all right." He stepped back from the monitors, his face settling back into his usual stony countenance. "Do you have any other footage of the accidents?"
She nodded. "Right here." Images began to flicker on the screen again, scrolling by faster than he could pick up. That had been one of the hidden advantages about Kathryn; she was almost preternaturally good at collecting and disseminating information. He had fixed her up with a high-powered computer, a digital feed, and a lot of equipment, and hidden her out on their semi-permanent base camp. It would be difficult to move, but the added security of having someone with their finger so firmly on the pulse of the world was worth it.
"Hey, she's at all of the sites... look, there she is again." Geiger allowed himself a small smile. Of course she was. Of course she would be. But she was out of control, full of rage at his death. Or at least she thought he was dead. She had to be controlled, to be calmed before she turned into another Lincoln. She would be worse than Lincoln, even.
"We need to find her. Is there any footage of her being interviewed..." the thought occurred to him. "Or anything where we could find out her name, or where she's staying?"
"I can find out. You want to stick around and watch?"
"No..." his shoulders hunched slightly, and he turned around to leave. "No. Just find me that information."
"Yes, boss..."
Kathryn sighed as Geiger left, turning back to her monitors and screens, typing out a flurry of commands to the computers again. She wondered just what that girl was supposed to be doing, or what her connection to their leader was supposed to be. She'd never seen him as animated as he'd been when he'd seen her face on the screen... ex-lover? Ex-wife? Protégé? Well, just as long as he didn't plan on packing up the whole camp and going across six, eight states to California.
But that didn't mean she wouldn't be filled with a burning need to know who or what he would be bringing back.
-
-
-
Adrian Geiger stood at the threshold and waited, heart in his throat, for the courage to raise fist to wood and knock. After a year... and what a hellish year it had been... after the circumstances that had parted them, what could he say to her? She didn't know anything of what had happened, except that he had supposedly died. She must also have heard of Hawk's death, of the death of everyone in the previous camp. Had she formed her own little cadre around herself, or was she accomplishing all her work solo, now?
Geiger took a deep breath, trying to pull himself together. He hadn't seen her in over a year, and they had once been so close... what would he find when she opened the door? She was in there... he could sense her. The way, he realized belatedly, that she could probably sense him. Oh dear.
The door unlatched, opened a creak. Blonde hair and a blue eye the mirror of his own (or how he used to be, he thought wryly, self-consciously touching his graying hair) peeked out at him.
"Adrian?"
Her voice renewed all the old pain, constricting his chest, making it hard to breathe let alone talk. He just nodded.
"It's really you?"
"You know it's me," he said softly. She would. They had always been able to sense each other, communicate through a limited telepathy that was more impressions and feelings than actual words.
"What happened?"
Geiger looked down. "He's dead. I killed him... Addison's dead. They're still hunting us, but..." What could he say to her? They were still being hunted, and nothing had really changed. The only thing he had effected was to get their most rabid pursuer off of their backs. And yet... "We've got a new camp. In the Smokies."
"Still recruiting?"
"Yeah."
Pause. "Still fighting?"
He looked down. "We've ... been working on their skills. Getting them ready."
The door opened a little wider, and he could now see her sweet face framed by the gold-blonde hair he had loved so much. She had cut it so far that she was almost shorn. He had to reach out and touch it to make sure she was still there. She let him.
"You can't stop fighting. They'll never let us go."
He nodded. "I know. I just..." Deep breath. It had all been for this. "I wanted to find you first."
She smiled, and it was like the sun breaking through the clouds on a day of interminable rain. He picked her up and pulled her out-of-doors, spinning her around, both of them laughing with delight. "It'll be all right," she said, whether for his comfort or for hers, it was hard to tell. "It'll be okay. We're all together again, it'll be okay."
And it would.