A/N: There is some bad language in this part.
Chapter 5
Claire explained what had happened a few days ago to Tom, Sloan and Walter when they arrived back at the Agency. Tom had never heard of anything like that happening. Claire had stated that she ran the DNA test to see if somehow Darien had started to evolve again, but to everyone's relief, that turned out to be negative.
"I was fine when I went into the warehouse. Before I killed two of the dominants, that's when I wigged out. It was like quicksilver madness, but I had it under control. I stayed like that until after I left Lewis' mansion."
Tom raised a brow, "You saw Lewis in that condition and you didn't kill him?"
"I wanted too, but Hobbes' life was in danger." Darien stated.
"You didn't want to kill Hobbes?" Tom asked.
"That's what is so weird; this isn't like before. I wanted to kill, just not Hobbes. When I killed those two dominants, it was easy, like no effort at all. The thing is, Tom, I didn't care that they were dominants."
Tom looked over at Sloan who was dismayed at what Darien was saying. They had thought that Darien had control over his instincts, but it appeared that something else is happening. Dominants normally did not attack each other; it was a silent code among them that was necessary for survival, at least for now. "Darien, would you be willing to repeat that again so Sloan and Claire could examine you?"
"You sure it's safe?" Darien asked concerned for the safety of the women.
"You didn't want to kill Hobbes, so I'm guessing that the same will hold true for Sloan and Claire. Besides, I'll be here."
"I'm not so sure I want to do that again. Lewis had said that I was turning into the perfect killing machine…" Darien was interrupted by a shout from Hobbes.
"That's it…a perfect killing machine…a Great White shark…that's what you reminded of, my friend. Your eyes had that cold death look in 'em, like in 'Jaws'." Hobbes looked at everyone around the room, "Well, he did, and it was freaky, gave me goose bumps."
"Wonder why this is happening now and didn't earlier?" Sloan thought for a moment. "Darien, what do you remember when Lewis had you?"
"Uhmm, nothing more than what I told you already," Darien stated.
Tom walked around a bit as he concentrated. He turned his attention back to Darien, "Did Lewis inject you with anything?"
Darien looked down at the floor, "Not that I remember. Why?"
"There's a drug that Lewis uses on his Chameleons. It's like a mind control drug. I've seen him use it and I'm sure he used it on me. I think we should assume that he used it on Darien as well," Tom said as he looked at Claire and Sloan.
"Like the dominant serum, this drug may have reacted to the counteragent residue or the gland itself. Maybe the properties in the quicksilver," Claire said thinking out loud. "But when Darien took Ed to Lewis, his eyes were normal. Maybe the drug wasn't in his system long enough for the reaction to happen or maybe Lewis gave him another injection later."
"So, what you're saying is that every time I get angry I'm gonna turn into 'Bruce' because of some drug Lewis gave me?" Darien turned his away, "I really hate this gland."
The door to the Keep opened and Ray walked in. Tom glanced in his direction and nodded his greeting. Ray stood next to Darien.
"What did you find?" Sloan asked.
"Nothing. Agent Monroe snuck inside and hacked into one of the computers, it seems that Chrysalis were just as concerned as we were. They had memos going back and forth about trying to find a way to protect themselves," Ray said.
Walter shook his head, "Well, until we know more about the blood samples, I'd say this is a natural virus. When Ed gets back we'll have him do extensive tests on the samples we collected. I don't see this going away in the near future. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Walter turned and walked out of the Keep.
Ray looked around and his cop instincts told him something was wrong, "Okay, now is someone going to tell me what's going on here?"
"He's good." Darien said.
"I didn't become a detective for L.A.P.D. sitting behind a desk," Ray retorted.
"We're not sure yet actually. Darien may have had some reaction while investigating dominants. I've run tests and everything appears to be normal…normal for Darien anyway." Claire scratched the back of her head in confusion. She still had no idea what had happened to Darien.
"Did you call Ed?" Ray asked.
"Yes, but he can't do anything to help of course," Claire stated in a tired and frustrated voice.
Ray sighed. "This just keeps getting better all the time. Well, I have a few reports to fill out." Ray patted Darien on his back, "These are smart people here, I've seen them come up with some pretty amazing stuff. They'll find the answer for you."
Darien nodded as Ray left. "How is Ed anyway?" Darien asked.
"Oh, he's fine. He sounded tired." Claire missed him and it showed in her voice.
Sloan smiled, "They probably have him jumping. Ed hasn't been in a class room setting in a long time."
"He did mention that when he gets back, he wants to look over the test results," Claire stated and then turned her attention to Darien, "You can go home if you want. There's nothing more I can do."
Darien let out a long cleansing sigh, "Okay," he got up and stopped, he turned to face Claire, "Thanks, you know for trying to figure this out."
A look of sympathy etched across Claire's face, "We'll find the answer."
"I know," Darien said as he balled his left hand into a fist and tapped Claire's shoulder, "I trust you." Darien turned and left with Hobbes right behind him.
Claire gazed down at the floor, her eyes welling up with tears. Sloan put her hand on Claire's shoulders, "What's wrong?"
Claire wiped her face with her bare hands, "I don't know actually, it's like I felt this weight on me all of a sudden." She looked at Sloan, "I don't know if I'll ever find an answer to this one."
"Why don't we have a look at the test results? A fresh pair of eyes might help." Sloan said with a smile. Tom watched as the two scientists went over the test results again.
~*~
Arnaud stood over an unconscious Ed. He had just gone over the latest scans and was happy to see that the gland was intertwining itself with Ed's central nervous system. So far, it appeared that the implantation process was a success. Ed's body had not rejected the gland and his vitals were very strong. He would keep Ed in a medically induced coma for two and a half weeks. After that, he would pull Ed out of the coma and start to revive the scientist turned lab rat.
Arnaud looked at the voice digitizer he held in his hand. It had come in use one more time. He had fooled Darien into believing that his brother Kevin was still alive and now it worked again. But unlike with Darien when he lost information about the gland, he had learned something very interesting about his nemesis. Darien was no longer part of the human species. He had become one of those dominants he had heard about on the news. The joining of the Agency and the group that Ed belonged to was starting to make sense to him now. If Darien was ever going to be human, he would need Ed's help. Now he understood why Ed was so determined to learn about the mutation that the cure for quicksilver madness caused. If Ed was going to be successful in reconverting Darien, the gland would need to be fixed.
Arnaud couldn't wait for Ed to wake up. He wanted to know more, but he knew he couldn't press Claire for too much information. She would certainly become suspicious. The knowledge he needed might be in the laptop that Ed carried with him. Arnaud turned to one of the doctors standing nearby, "I want hourly updates on his condition."
The doctor nodded and Arnaud smiled at Ed, "Looks like we have a lot to talk about when you wake up, Dr. Tate." Arnaud left the room and went to his office. The first thing he did when he sat down at is desk was to call the Lady. He wouldn't tell her that he had inserted the gland in Ed, after all that wasn't part of the deal. He changed the deal to make sure that her part of the bargain was fulfilled. If she wanted counteragent for Ed, then she would have to give him what he asked for.
He put Ed's laptop on his desk and smiled, "Now, what can you tell me?"
~*~
Nearly three weeks had passed and Claire and Sloan were not any closer to discovering what had happened to Darien that day. At least the good news was Darien had not had a repeat episode. Darcy had returned a week earlier and Darien was happy again. When she returned, they had started to make plans for their wedding ceremony.
Since they both had been human at one time, they decided on doing a joint ceremony. Half human and half dominant, Darcy would wear a wedding dress, Darien would be in a tux and they would exchange vows and rings. But Tom would conduct the ceremony in the tradition of his people. It would be a small wedding, nothing over the top. Darien and Darcy wanted to keep things simple.
Darcy had asked Claire to be her maid of honor. Claire had enthusiastically said 'yes' and the two had gone off looking at gowns.
Darien looked at Hobbes, "Look, I know what tradition says to do to the groom, but man, no strip joints. All I need is for Darcy to find out and she'll 'Bobbit' me. "
"No my, disappearing friend, no strip joints. I have clear orders from the Fat Man, nothing that will endanger the project, and that means nothing that will cause premature invisibility."
"Oh yeah, how could I forget about that," Darien rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, I have your bachelor party under control," Hobbes said.
Darien shot Hobbes a worried glance, "I'm in trouble."
The two men walked down the hall and into the Official's office for a briefing.
~*~
Strange sensations he felt, like nothing he felt before. He had heard voices at first, voices saying things like 'good luck' and 'lets get started.' Then the sensation of something down his throat, but that didn't last long, the sensation was gone and he was back in the abyss. But now a sound penetrated this odd dream world.
*beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep…*
That annoying sound was back. He had heard it off an on as he drifted to and from the abyss, but what was it?
"Dr. Tate."
'Huh? Who is that?' Ed thought to himself.
"Wake up, Dr. Tate."
'I'm trying.'
"Open your eyes."
'I can't.' Ed understood where he was, in that place between sleep and awake. Where you are awake but you can't open your eyes. 'What do they call that? Think, Ed, you know. Oh wait, stage one, like the time you dozed off…'
"Dr. Tate."
'…in front of your computer…'
"Open your eyes, Dr. Tate."
'…but you knew you were still at work.'
"I thought he was starting to wake up finally."
*beep-beep, beep-beep…*
"I think we can finally take this off."
*beep-beep, beep…beep…beep*
The sound slowly disappeared when it occurred to Ed what it was. 'A heart monitor…oh shit…I'm having a heart attack…I'm dying.'
Ed's eyes fluttered opened. He let out a soft moan and tried to move but every muscle ached.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a voice speak softly, "Don't try to move, Dr. Tate, I'll get Arnaud."
"Arnaud?" Ed said hoarsely. Then he remembered being taken from the airport and drugged shortly after, "What happened?" Ed tried to shallow. His throat was very dry and not to mention sore.
"Try not to talk. I'll get you some ice chips."
Ed watched through blurry vision as the man in white put down a chart and went to the intercom. "Mr. de Fehrn, Dr. Tate is finally awake and is asking questions," the man looked at Ed and smiled. He went over to a table and got a cup of ice chips ready.
Ed again tried to speak, "What happened to me?" He saw all the medical equipment in the room and knew he was hooked up to various monitors. The most intriguing thing he saw in the room was a digital MRI image on the screen. Ed stared at it for a moment and was about to ask a question when the door opened.
"Glad to see you finally woke up, Dr. Tate." Arnaud said with a smile. He grabbed the chart and looked at the recent notes. Arnaud looked at the other man, "Dr. Braun, did you tell him anything?"
"No, I left that privilege up to you," Dr. Braun walked over to Ed with the cup of ice and proceeded to put a spoonful in Ed's mouth.
Ed closed his eyes and groaned softly as the coolness of the ice chips coated his sore throat.
"Feels better doesn't it? It'll take some time but your voice will back to normal soon. Intubation tubes can wreak havoc on vocal cords." The doctor held up another spoonful to Ed's mouth.
Ed's brow creased with confusion, "Intubation, why?" Ed tried to hold his arm up to block the doctor's hand, but it ached from lack of use. Ed closed his eyes trying to mentally brush away the cobwebs in his mind. His eyes flew opened and he glared at Arnaud. He remembered. The intubation tube is what he felt down his throat; he must have started to come out of sedation.
"The procedure was successful; the gland is now in your head, Dr. Tate. You've been in a medically induced coma for almost three weeks. We just brought you out of the coma four days ago. You've been in and out of consciousness for the past two days." Arnaud said.
Ed tried to sit up, but every muscle ached, "What? Three weeks?" Ed said in shock. "You put it in me?" His voice was raspy from unused vocal cords.
"You really didn't think I was going to waste time with a monkey. Time is of the importance here," Arnaud said smugly as he walked around to the other side of the bed. "This gland, like Fawkes', has a mutation. Like the other gland, it releases a toxin into your bloodstream. This time however, you should crave the counteragent more than Darien did. See, I remember how Darien took off and went quicksilver mad. He didn't even attempt to go back to the agency for counteragent. That wasn't supposed to happen. Like a good junkie, he was supposed to return to his pusher where he could get his fix. Then eventually he built up immunity to the counteragent. I hope to have that problem resolved," Arnaud leaned down and looked into Ed's fearful eyes.
Arnaud straightened up and walked around the bed again, he kept his hand on the bed rail, "The symptoms of quicksilver madness are reflected by you. The quicksilver in the brain tissues will cause your epinephrine/norepinephrine levels to rise. This of course will cause the higher cortical functions to degrade."
"Violent behavior, suicidal tendencies, impaired judgment, paranoia…I already know all about quicksilver madness." Ed hissed though his words sounded broken up.
Arnaud smiled, "Your level of education will make this easier for me to explain. You see, after I learned that Fawkes had built up a resistance to the counteragent, I had to come up with a new improved mutation."
"Arnuad," Ed said hoarsely, "even a junkie needs more and more of the narcotic at some point. The body builds up a resistance to the point that even the smallest amount has no effect." Ed swallowed painfully; his face contorted from the discomfort. He glared at Arnaud heatedly. "That's what happened in Darien's case. My body will build up a resistance it's just a matter of when. Will I require more counteragent? What long term effect will it have on my system?" Ed grimaced again, his throat was sore and he was barely able to get his long tirade out.
"This is why you're the perfect test subject. Those are questions that you will help me solve and I'm sure there are others."
"You put this in my head and you don't even know what the long term effects are?" Ed's voice was fading. Soon he would be unable to speak. He was surprised that his voice lasted this long.
"That's why they call it an experiment, Dr. Tate. You run your experiments on lab monkeys. I'm running my experiment on you." Arnaud leaned down to Ed again, "Now you'll have to stay and help me to save you from yourself."
"I suppose you have counteragent?" Ed asked.
"Dr. Tate, of course I do." Arnaud straightened up and walked towards the door, "Oh and if your thinking of escaping, let me tell you, the counteragent used for Fawkes will not work on you." Arnaud turned to the doctor, "Get him ready to start the tests as soon as possible."
Ed watched as Arnaud left, "Son of a…" Ed stopped himself and glared at the doctor, "You're a doctor, how could you let him do this?" Ed's voice was just barely audible.
"All in the name of science and not to mention a nice retirement," the doctor started to remove the various sensors and tubes from Ed.
"I've seen how Arnaud retires people, you should have thought twice about this," Ed said and turned his head away. He still felt very weak and he immediately thought of Claire. He closed his eyes and tried to picture her in his mind, right now, she was his link to hope.
~*~
During the week, Ed had been in rehab to get use of his muscles again. Eventually he was able to work with weights and he pushed himself hard. If he was ever going to escape, he would need to build up his strength. He didn't care about Arnaud's warning; he would have to risk it. He started to plan on how to escape with the countergent and get back to the Agency.
When Arnaud felt that Ed was ready to proceed with the experiment, he had Ed escorted to a room by two men. He wore sweat pants, sneakers, t-shirt and a sweat shirt over it. There were a couple of chairs in the middle of the room. Ed sat down and looked around. The room for the most part looked like an exam room, lab equipment sat on top of tables that were around the room, chairs, and monitors. Ed noticed that besides he and the two guards, there were other people that wore lab coats in the room. Ed sighed despondently, "Now I know how my monkeys feel."
Arnaud entered the room and smiled, "I see that you're ready, good. Shall we get started?"
Ed just smiled awkwardly at Arnaud; his hands rubbed his legs nervously.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Arnaud said.
"Yeah, is that what you said to Darien?" Ed hissed.
Arnaud chuckled, "Darien is not important to me, only the gland. But you however, are important."
"Funny way of showing it," Ed turned his head away from Arnaud. He didn't know that someone came up from behind him. A sudden loud noise took Ed by surprise. He jumped from his seat with a shout, "What the…oh…oh…" His heart started pound. That's when he felt something start to trickle down his face, then his arms. He looked at his hands and saw the silvery liquid leaking from his skin. "My God," he exclaimed. His heart was pounding faster and harder. He thought for a moment that his heart would explode from his chest like the 'Alien' creature. The room went from color to chrome vision.
Arnaud smiled as Ed was instantly covered in a silvery blanket then disappeared, "Bravo, Dr. Tate!" he exclaimed with delight. The lab techs in the room clapped their hands.
"How the hell do I shut it off?" The annoyed disembodied voice said.
"Sit down and I'll tell you how to turn it on and off." Arnaud heard the chair squeak, "Splendid."
"Well, at least that part works." Ed stated angrily. Now he hoped that the DNA splicing he did on the gland worked.
"Yes, now we know that the quicksilver flows from the gland. Now to shut it off, it's all about biofeedback."
"Right, I read that." Ed used his breathing technique he uses to calm himself before heading out to surf. It was sort of a ritual with him and most surfers. Before surfing, some would meditate to prepare their minds, body and soul. Ed found out quickly that it worked with stopping the flow of quicksilver as well. In just a few short moments, quicksilver flaked off. He looked at his hands and then felt his face. "Okay, I seem to be back," he glared at Arnaud, "What's next?"
"You have to learn how to turn it on without involuntary stimulation." Arnaud leaned forward in his chair, "But first, tell me about Fawkes."
A quizzical look was on Ed's face, "Not sure what you mean?"
"Come now, I know all about Darien, he's a dominant. How has that affected the gland in his head?"
"Wait, how did you know?" Ed asked sharply.
Arnaud smiled, "I have my ways. Now, answer my question."
Ed stared at Arnaud and saw the two guards coming near him. He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, Darien's a dominant. A few months back he was captured by a dominant," he looked at Arnaud, "You two would probably get along…no forget that…you two have such large egos that neither of you would fit in a room at the same time," Ed said sarcastically. He waited for Arnaud to draw his gun and was surprised he didn't do it. Arnaud only smiled smugly at Ed. He continued, "As I was saying, this dominant mistook Darien for me. He injected Darien with a genome therapy to turn humans into dominants."
"So, how did that affect the gland?" Arnaud asked.
"Not really sure yet," Ed leaned forward in his chair, "but I do know that it stopped the new toxin producing cells from degrading Darien's sensory pathways. He won't be confined to a wheelchair anytime soon either."
"Pity, I had hoped to see the effects of my cure." Arnaud leaned back in his chair. "I suppose you and Claire have tried to figure out a way to return Fawkes back to his miserable human form?"
"There is a way, but unless we fix the gland, he will stay as he is," Ed leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms.
Arnaud grinned at Ed, "So, Darien moved up on the evolutionary line, how intriguing."
Ed didn't say a word; he just simply nodded and smiled.
~*~
For days Ed practiced biofeedback techniques. He had become proficient with the gland, able to quicksilver objects and only parts of his body. While learning the finer points of invisibility, Ed also spent a great deal of time in front of lab equipment running various tests on the new gland now in his head. He tried to remember as much information as he could; he had been planning an escape, but waited for the right moment. Unfortunately, that moment hadn't come yet.
Arnaud came in and studied Ed, "How are you feeling today, Dr. Tate?"
Ed had been feeling a little agitated since lunch time, but didn't know why, until now. "I'm doing well, under the circumstances." Ed lied. He had on and off again headaches for a couple of hours and they were progressively getting worse. Nothing that he couldn't handle at the moment, but somehow he knew that was going to change.
Arnaud checked his watch, "You should be nearing stage one madness right about now."
"You bastard," Ed hissed.
Arnaud smiled, "Just as I thought."
"You are going to give me counteragent?"
"Of course I will, but not just yet. You see that is also part of the experiment. I need to see if the gland functions completely and that includes quicksilver madness."
"You are one sick son of a…" Ed was cut off by piercing pain in his head. He cried out and fell to the floor taking some lab equipment with him. He had injured himself countless times surfing, but this was something he had never experienced before. The pain shot through him like someone stuck a red hot poker in the back of his head. His vision turned white as wave after wave of pain came upon him. He glared at Arnaud, "Make it stop."
Arnaud got up and stood over Ed, "Not very pleasant is it?" Arnaud motioned for the guards to come forward. "For now, Dr. Tate, you will be kept in a room where you won't harm anyone and I'll be able to monitor the stages as you experience them."
The guards hooked their arms under Ed and lifted him off the floor. They went out of the room and started down the hall when Ed had another seizure. He collapsed in their arms. They tried to hold him up, but he thrashed around too much. The pain subsided and Ed took his chance. It was risky but he had to try something and he knew that getting to the counteragent was out of the question. He would have to trust Claire and the others to help him.
Ed stomped on one foot and then kicked the guard on the side of his knee. The first guard bent over and Ed swung the second guard around and smashed him into the first one. Ed moved so fast that the two guards had no time to react.
The quicksilver coated Ed as he ran down the hall. He had to find an exit and fast. Ed ran until another rush of pain stopped him. He grasped the back of his neck and let out a moan while using the wall for support. After a few tense moments the pain went away, but not completely. "Damn, this hurts," Ed said miserably to himself as he willed his legs to move again. Ed was sure the alarm would sound at any moment or he would hear the footsteps of the guards hot on his heels. Knowing that Arnaud's guards would have thermals, he tried to shut off the flow of quicksilver, but couldn't. His heart was racing too fast. All the adrenaline pumping into this system would keep the quicksilver flowing. This wasn't good.
Arnaud's phone rang as he prepared the counteragent. "What? Set the security cameras to thermal and find him!" Arnaud slammed his phone down on the table, "Idiots!" As he stormed out of his private lab, "This isn't supposed to happen yet."
'Maybe I should turn myself in, get the shot and try again,' Ed thought to himself. 'What are you nuts, you won't get a second chance and you know it,' he saw a door and ran towards it, "Can't believe I'm arguing with myself." He reached the door, "Okay, Tate, its do or die now." He turned his head and heard voices coming down the hall. He heard one of the voices say that he was spotted on the thermal imaging. Ed looked around and saw the camera, "Damn."
He pushed the door opened and sprinted out into the open. He made it to a line of trees before dropping to the ground in pain. He held his head in his hands to keep his head from exploding. But now he was starting to feel something else inside his head, a presence, someone or something was trying to take over his mind. Before the pain could subside men came out and yelled for Ed to stop.
Ed looked at them and grunted. He forced himself to his feet and took off running behind the trees. He heard the shots, but didn't look back. He made it out to the driveway and found a few cars. He took off his lab coat, wrapped his arm in it and smashed the window. Using the lab coat again to brush off any glass from the seat, he sat down and turned the wheel sharply to the right with all his strength to unlock the wheel. He shifted over to the passenger side and kicked at the plastic covering under the steering wheel. The plastic fell off but not before another sharp pain pierced through his head. He gasped and panted for air as he clutched his head.
They were coming for him and Arnaud was with them. Ed could hear his distinct shouts. His time was short and he had to move faster. He shifted back over to the driver's seat and took the wires in his hand. He found the loose one and touched it to the other three. The car started. Ed released the loose wire and put the car in gear. He laughed and sped off just as Arnaud and his men turned the corner.
Ed looked in the rear view mirror and smiled, "Well, what do you know, that did work." Now the next step was for him to calm down. It was bad enough that there was no key in the ignition and the plastic cover was off, but he was driving the car invisible. Ed chuckled to himself as he thought of how he would explain that to a cop or he could always keep silent and let the cop think no one was there.
A guard raised his gun to fire. Arnaud pushed his gun down, "What are you doing you idiot? If you fire and hit the gas tank, I will lose the gland." He looked in the direction that Ed went, "Besides, he did exactly what I hoped he would do, just not this soon." Arnaud walked back into his house and the guards looked at each other bewildered.
When Ed felt that he wasn't being followed, he pulled the car over and stopped behind shrubs to conceal him. He put his hands on his lap and tried to calm down. But with quicksilver madness lingering close by, it wasn't easy. Finally, after a couple of tries and a few bouts of pain, the quicksilver shed from his body. Ed for the first time got a clear glance at madness when he looked in the rear view mirror and saw his eyes streaked with red, "Oh God!" Ed felt his heart speeding up again. "Oh shit! Not now!" He looked around and closed his eyes again. He summoned up every bit of strength and pushed the demon back. His heart slowed and he peered into the mirror again. His eyes were back to normal.
"Okay, now just stay calm," Ed looked around for any road signs, "Okay, calm…just stay calm…where the hell am I?" Ed said irritated. He hit the steering wheel and then searched the car for a map, there was none. "Just my damn luck," He got out of the car and ran his hand through his hair as he walked towards the road, "I have no frickin' idea where I'm at." Ed grabbed his head as another wave of pain hit him. He fell to the desert floor on his knees. As the pain subsided he grabbed a bunch of dirt in his hand and tossed it into the wind, "Damn you, Arnaud!" He slowly rose to his feet and got back in the car. He pulled out and headed down the road again away from Arnaud. He needed to find a phone booth or someone to tell him where he was.
Ed passed a road sign; he was on Lyons Valley Road and headed west. He was just a short distance from Indian Springs. He saw a gas station and pulled over.
Ed found a phone booth. He picked up the receiver and paused, "No, I can't, he has the phone bugged, and he'll trace it back here. I have to get to the Agency." Panic stricken, he ran from the phone booth. He went inside the gas station and went up to the counter; he hoped his eyes weren't red.
The cashier looked at him suspiciously, "Can I help you?"
"I'm lost, uhmm…can you tell me how to get to San Diego?" Ed said trying to stay calm.
"Sure mister, you're about 27 minutes away."
Ed nearly dropped to the floor. He had been thirty minutes away from San Diego the whole time. He put his hands on the counter to steady himself.
"You okay?" The man asked.
"Yeah, just didn't realize how close I was." Ed said.
"Well, just follow Indian Springs Drive to Campo Road and make a left. That'll take you to CA-94 West. You'll stay on that for about ten miles. When you reach 30th Street, take that exit to Broadway and go to the right and stay on that for about two miles and it'll take you straight into San Diego." The man looked at Ed oddly for a moment, "Mister, you don't look too well, you sure you want to drive?"
"I have to get to San Diego," Ed said fighting back the madness.
"Well, alright then, do you want me to write the directions down?" The man still wasn't sure what was going on with the stranger.
Ed shook his head, "No, thanks, I can remember." Ed turned on his heels and went to the car. At least no cops were around to see him stagger to his car like a drunk. He got back inside the car; he glanced back and saw that a couple of people were looking at him. Ed smiled and waved, "Please don't call the cops." He pulled out and started his trip back to San Diego. Would he make it in time before the demon took over? He knew what awaited him back at the Agency if he didn't, the white padded room.
But a strange urge started in him, a craving. Ed peered in the rear view mirror, a voice spoke to him from deep within, "Go back, you know what you want, he's got it."
Ed wiped his face with his hand and shook his head, "No, you won't win, I won't go back. I can fight this. I must get to Claire."
"You can't fight me. I'm coming."
Ed stared at the road in front of him, "Concentrate, stay focused, don't listen to strange voices in your head, and stop arguing with yourself."
At the Agency things were pretty quiet. Darien was in the Keep as Claire ran more tests. Sloan did research in her lab. Tom talked with Walter and Hobbes did some paper work. No one suspected that an out of control freight train headed straight towards them.
TBC…
Chapter 5
Claire explained what had happened a few days ago to Tom, Sloan and Walter when they arrived back at the Agency. Tom had never heard of anything like that happening. Claire had stated that she ran the DNA test to see if somehow Darien had started to evolve again, but to everyone's relief, that turned out to be negative.
"I was fine when I went into the warehouse. Before I killed two of the dominants, that's when I wigged out. It was like quicksilver madness, but I had it under control. I stayed like that until after I left Lewis' mansion."
Tom raised a brow, "You saw Lewis in that condition and you didn't kill him?"
"I wanted too, but Hobbes' life was in danger." Darien stated.
"You didn't want to kill Hobbes?" Tom asked.
"That's what is so weird; this isn't like before. I wanted to kill, just not Hobbes. When I killed those two dominants, it was easy, like no effort at all. The thing is, Tom, I didn't care that they were dominants."
Tom looked over at Sloan who was dismayed at what Darien was saying. They had thought that Darien had control over his instincts, but it appeared that something else is happening. Dominants normally did not attack each other; it was a silent code among them that was necessary for survival, at least for now. "Darien, would you be willing to repeat that again so Sloan and Claire could examine you?"
"You sure it's safe?" Darien asked concerned for the safety of the women.
"You didn't want to kill Hobbes, so I'm guessing that the same will hold true for Sloan and Claire. Besides, I'll be here."
"I'm not so sure I want to do that again. Lewis had said that I was turning into the perfect killing machine…" Darien was interrupted by a shout from Hobbes.
"That's it…a perfect killing machine…a Great White shark…that's what you reminded of, my friend. Your eyes had that cold death look in 'em, like in 'Jaws'." Hobbes looked at everyone around the room, "Well, he did, and it was freaky, gave me goose bumps."
"Wonder why this is happening now and didn't earlier?" Sloan thought for a moment. "Darien, what do you remember when Lewis had you?"
"Uhmm, nothing more than what I told you already," Darien stated.
Tom walked around a bit as he concentrated. He turned his attention back to Darien, "Did Lewis inject you with anything?"
Darien looked down at the floor, "Not that I remember. Why?"
"There's a drug that Lewis uses on his Chameleons. It's like a mind control drug. I've seen him use it and I'm sure he used it on me. I think we should assume that he used it on Darien as well," Tom said as he looked at Claire and Sloan.
"Like the dominant serum, this drug may have reacted to the counteragent residue or the gland itself. Maybe the properties in the quicksilver," Claire said thinking out loud. "But when Darien took Ed to Lewis, his eyes were normal. Maybe the drug wasn't in his system long enough for the reaction to happen or maybe Lewis gave him another injection later."
"So, what you're saying is that every time I get angry I'm gonna turn into 'Bruce' because of some drug Lewis gave me?" Darien turned his away, "I really hate this gland."
The door to the Keep opened and Ray walked in. Tom glanced in his direction and nodded his greeting. Ray stood next to Darien.
"What did you find?" Sloan asked.
"Nothing. Agent Monroe snuck inside and hacked into one of the computers, it seems that Chrysalis were just as concerned as we were. They had memos going back and forth about trying to find a way to protect themselves," Ray said.
Walter shook his head, "Well, until we know more about the blood samples, I'd say this is a natural virus. When Ed gets back we'll have him do extensive tests on the samples we collected. I don't see this going away in the near future. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Walter turned and walked out of the Keep.
Ray looked around and his cop instincts told him something was wrong, "Okay, now is someone going to tell me what's going on here?"
"He's good." Darien said.
"I didn't become a detective for L.A.P.D. sitting behind a desk," Ray retorted.
"We're not sure yet actually. Darien may have had some reaction while investigating dominants. I've run tests and everything appears to be normal…normal for Darien anyway." Claire scratched the back of her head in confusion. She still had no idea what had happened to Darien.
"Did you call Ed?" Ray asked.
"Yes, but he can't do anything to help of course," Claire stated in a tired and frustrated voice.
Ray sighed. "This just keeps getting better all the time. Well, I have a few reports to fill out." Ray patted Darien on his back, "These are smart people here, I've seen them come up with some pretty amazing stuff. They'll find the answer for you."
Darien nodded as Ray left. "How is Ed anyway?" Darien asked.
"Oh, he's fine. He sounded tired." Claire missed him and it showed in her voice.
Sloan smiled, "They probably have him jumping. Ed hasn't been in a class room setting in a long time."
"He did mention that when he gets back, he wants to look over the test results," Claire stated and then turned her attention to Darien, "You can go home if you want. There's nothing more I can do."
Darien let out a long cleansing sigh, "Okay," he got up and stopped, he turned to face Claire, "Thanks, you know for trying to figure this out."
A look of sympathy etched across Claire's face, "We'll find the answer."
"I know," Darien said as he balled his left hand into a fist and tapped Claire's shoulder, "I trust you." Darien turned and left with Hobbes right behind him.
Claire gazed down at the floor, her eyes welling up with tears. Sloan put her hand on Claire's shoulders, "What's wrong?"
Claire wiped her face with her bare hands, "I don't know actually, it's like I felt this weight on me all of a sudden." She looked at Sloan, "I don't know if I'll ever find an answer to this one."
"Why don't we have a look at the test results? A fresh pair of eyes might help." Sloan said with a smile. Tom watched as the two scientists went over the test results again.
~*~
Arnaud stood over an unconscious Ed. He had just gone over the latest scans and was happy to see that the gland was intertwining itself with Ed's central nervous system. So far, it appeared that the implantation process was a success. Ed's body had not rejected the gland and his vitals were very strong. He would keep Ed in a medically induced coma for two and a half weeks. After that, he would pull Ed out of the coma and start to revive the scientist turned lab rat.
Arnaud looked at the voice digitizer he held in his hand. It had come in use one more time. He had fooled Darien into believing that his brother Kevin was still alive and now it worked again. But unlike with Darien when he lost information about the gland, he had learned something very interesting about his nemesis. Darien was no longer part of the human species. He had become one of those dominants he had heard about on the news. The joining of the Agency and the group that Ed belonged to was starting to make sense to him now. If Darien was ever going to be human, he would need Ed's help. Now he understood why Ed was so determined to learn about the mutation that the cure for quicksilver madness caused. If Ed was going to be successful in reconverting Darien, the gland would need to be fixed.
Arnaud couldn't wait for Ed to wake up. He wanted to know more, but he knew he couldn't press Claire for too much information. She would certainly become suspicious. The knowledge he needed might be in the laptop that Ed carried with him. Arnaud turned to one of the doctors standing nearby, "I want hourly updates on his condition."
The doctor nodded and Arnaud smiled at Ed, "Looks like we have a lot to talk about when you wake up, Dr. Tate." Arnaud left the room and went to his office. The first thing he did when he sat down at is desk was to call the Lady. He wouldn't tell her that he had inserted the gland in Ed, after all that wasn't part of the deal. He changed the deal to make sure that her part of the bargain was fulfilled. If she wanted counteragent for Ed, then she would have to give him what he asked for.
He put Ed's laptop on his desk and smiled, "Now, what can you tell me?"
~*~
Nearly three weeks had passed and Claire and Sloan were not any closer to discovering what had happened to Darien that day. At least the good news was Darien had not had a repeat episode. Darcy had returned a week earlier and Darien was happy again. When she returned, they had started to make plans for their wedding ceremony.
Since they both had been human at one time, they decided on doing a joint ceremony. Half human and half dominant, Darcy would wear a wedding dress, Darien would be in a tux and they would exchange vows and rings. But Tom would conduct the ceremony in the tradition of his people. It would be a small wedding, nothing over the top. Darien and Darcy wanted to keep things simple.
Darcy had asked Claire to be her maid of honor. Claire had enthusiastically said 'yes' and the two had gone off looking at gowns.
Darien looked at Hobbes, "Look, I know what tradition says to do to the groom, but man, no strip joints. All I need is for Darcy to find out and she'll 'Bobbit' me. "
"No my, disappearing friend, no strip joints. I have clear orders from the Fat Man, nothing that will endanger the project, and that means nothing that will cause premature invisibility."
"Oh yeah, how could I forget about that," Darien rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, I have your bachelor party under control," Hobbes said.
Darien shot Hobbes a worried glance, "I'm in trouble."
The two men walked down the hall and into the Official's office for a briefing.
~*~
Strange sensations he felt, like nothing he felt before. He had heard voices at first, voices saying things like 'good luck' and 'lets get started.' Then the sensation of something down his throat, but that didn't last long, the sensation was gone and he was back in the abyss. But now a sound penetrated this odd dream world.
*beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep…*
That annoying sound was back. He had heard it off an on as he drifted to and from the abyss, but what was it?
"Dr. Tate."
'Huh? Who is that?' Ed thought to himself.
"Wake up, Dr. Tate."
'I'm trying.'
"Open your eyes."
'I can't.' Ed understood where he was, in that place between sleep and awake. Where you are awake but you can't open your eyes. 'What do they call that? Think, Ed, you know. Oh wait, stage one, like the time you dozed off…'
"Dr. Tate."
'…in front of your computer…'
"Open your eyes, Dr. Tate."
'…but you knew you were still at work.'
"I thought he was starting to wake up finally."
*beep-beep, beep-beep…*
"I think we can finally take this off."
*beep-beep, beep…beep…beep*
The sound slowly disappeared when it occurred to Ed what it was. 'A heart monitor…oh shit…I'm having a heart attack…I'm dying.'
Ed's eyes fluttered opened. He let out a soft moan and tried to move but every muscle ached.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a voice speak softly, "Don't try to move, Dr. Tate, I'll get Arnaud."
"Arnaud?" Ed said hoarsely. Then he remembered being taken from the airport and drugged shortly after, "What happened?" Ed tried to shallow. His throat was very dry and not to mention sore.
"Try not to talk. I'll get you some ice chips."
Ed watched through blurry vision as the man in white put down a chart and went to the intercom. "Mr. de Fehrn, Dr. Tate is finally awake and is asking questions," the man looked at Ed and smiled. He went over to a table and got a cup of ice chips ready.
Ed again tried to speak, "What happened to me?" He saw all the medical equipment in the room and knew he was hooked up to various monitors. The most intriguing thing he saw in the room was a digital MRI image on the screen. Ed stared at it for a moment and was about to ask a question when the door opened.
"Glad to see you finally woke up, Dr. Tate." Arnaud said with a smile. He grabbed the chart and looked at the recent notes. Arnaud looked at the other man, "Dr. Braun, did you tell him anything?"
"No, I left that privilege up to you," Dr. Braun walked over to Ed with the cup of ice and proceeded to put a spoonful in Ed's mouth.
Ed closed his eyes and groaned softly as the coolness of the ice chips coated his sore throat.
"Feels better doesn't it? It'll take some time but your voice will back to normal soon. Intubation tubes can wreak havoc on vocal cords." The doctor held up another spoonful to Ed's mouth.
Ed's brow creased with confusion, "Intubation, why?" Ed tried to hold his arm up to block the doctor's hand, but it ached from lack of use. Ed closed his eyes trying to mentally brush away the cobwebs in his mind. His eyes flew opened and he glared at Arnaud. He remembered. The intubation tube is what he felt down his throat; he must have started to come out of sedation.
"The procedure was successful; the gland is now in your head, Dr. Tate. You've been in a medically induced coma for almost three weeks. We just brought you out of the coma four days ago. You've been in and out of consciousness for the past two days." Arnaud said.
Ed tried to sit up, but every muscle ached, "What? Three weeks?" Ed said in shock. "You put it in me?" His voice was raspy from unused vocal cords.
"You really didn't think I was going to waste time with a monkey. Time is of the importance here," Arnaud said smugly as he walked around to the other side of the bed. "This gland, like Fawkes', has a mutation. Like the other gland, it releases a toxin into your bloodstream. This time however, you should crave the counteragent more than Darien did. See, I remember how Darien took off and went quicksilver mad. He didn't even attempt to go back to the agency for counteragent. That wasn't supposed to happen. Like a good junkie, he was supposed to return to his pusher where he could get his fix. Then eventually he built up immunity to the counteragent. I hope to have that problem resolved," Arnaud leaned down and looked into Ed's fearful eyes.
Arnaud straightened up and walked around the bed again, he kept his hand on the bed rail, "The symptoms of quicksilver madness are reflected by you. The quicksilver in the brain tissues will cause your epinephrine/norepinephrine levels to rise. This of course will cause the higher cortical functions to degrade."
"Violent behavior, suicidal tendencies, impaired judgment, paranoia…I already know all about quicksilver madness." Ed hissed though his words sounded broken up.
Arnaud smiled, "Your level of education will make this easier for me to explain. You see, after I learned that Fawkes had built up a resistance to the counteragent, I had to come up with a new improved mutation."
"Arnuad," Ed said hoarsely, "even a junkie needs more and more of the narcotic at some point. The body builds up a resistance to the point that even the smallest amount has no effect." Ed swallowed painfully; his face contorted from the discomfort. He glared at Arnaud heatedly. "That's what happened in Darien's case. My body will build up a resistance it's just a matter of when. Will I require more counteragent? What long term effect will it have on my system?" Ed grimaced again, his throat was sore and he was barely able to get his long tirade out.
"This is why you're the perfect test subject. Those are questions that you will help me solve and I'm sure there are others."
"You put this in my head and you don't even know what the long term effects are?" Ed's voice was fading. Soon he would be unable to speak. He was surprised that his voice lasted this long.
"That's why they call it an experiment, Dr. Tate. You run your experiments on lab monkeys. I'm running my experiment on you." Arnaud leaned down to Ed again, "Now you'll have to stay and help me to save you from yourself."
"I suppose you have counteragent?" Ed asked.
"Dr. Tate, of course I do." Arnaud straightened up and walked towards the door, "Oh and if your thinking of escaping, let me tell you, the counteragent used for Fawkes will not work on you." Arnaud turned to the doctor, "Get him ready to start the tests as soon as possible."
Ed watched as Arnaud left, "Son of a…" Ed stopped himself and glared at the doctor, "You're a doctor, how could you let him do this?" Ed's voice was just barely audible.
"All in the name of science and not to mention a nice retirement," the doctor started to remove the various sensors and tubes from Ed.
"I've seen how Arnaud retires people, you should have thought twice about this," Ed said and turned his head away. He still felt very weak and he immediately thought of Claire. He closed his eyes and tried to picture her in his mind, right now, she was his link to hope.
~*~
During the week, Ed had been in rehab to get use of his muscles again. Eventually he was able to work with weights and he pushed himself hard. If he was ever going to escape, he would need to build up his strength. He didn't care about Arnaud's warning; he would have to risk it. He started to plan on how to escape with the countergent and get back to the Agency.
When Arnaud felt that Ed was ready to proceed with the experiment, he had Ed escorted to a room by two men. He wore sweat pants, sneakers, t-shirt and a sweat shirt over it. There were a couple of chairs in the middle of the room. Ed sat down and looked around. The room for the most part looked like an exam room, lab equipment sat on top of tables that were around the room, chairs, and monitors. Ed noticed that besides he and the two guards, there were other people that wore lab coats in the room. Ed sighed despondently, "Now I know how my monkeys feel."
Arnaud entered the room and smiled, "I see that you're ready, good. Shall we get started?"
Ed just smiled awkwardly at Arnaud; his hands rubbed his legs nervously.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Arnaud said.
"Yeah, is that what you said to Darien?" Ed hissed.
Arnaud chuckled, "Darien is not important to me, only the gland. But you however, are important."
"Funny way of showing it," Ed turned his head away from Arnaud. He didn't know that someone came up from behind him. A sudden loud noise took Ed by surprise. He jumped from his seat with a shout, "What the…oh…oh…" His heart started pound. That's when he felt something start to trickle down his face, then his arms. He looked at his hands and saw the silvery liquid leaking from his skin. "My God," he exclaimed. His heart was pounding faster and harder. He thought for a moment that his heart would explode from his chest like the 'Alien' creature. The room went from color to chrome vision.
Arnaud smiled as Ed was instantly covered in a silvery blanket then disappeared, "Bravo, Dr. Tate!" he exclaimed with delight. The lab techs in the room clapped their hands.
"How the hell do I shut it off?" The annoyed disembodied voice said.
"Sit down and I'll tell you how to turn it on and off." Arnaud heard the chair squeak, "Splendid."
"Well, at least that part works." Ed stated angrily. Now he hoped that the DNA splicing he did on the gland worked.
"Yes, now we know that the quicksilver flows from the gland. Now to shut it off, it's all about biofeedback."
"Right, I read that." Ed used his breathing technique he uses to calm himself before heading out to surf. It was sort of a ritual with him and most surfers. Before surfing, some would meditate to prepare their minds, body and soul. Ed found out quickly that it worked with stopping the flow of quicksilver as well. In just a few short moments, quicksilver flaked off. He looked at his hands and then felt his face. "Okay, I seem to be back," he glared at Arnaud, "What's next?"
"You have to learn how to turn it on without involuntary stimulation." Arnaud leaned forward in his chair, "But first, tell me about Fawkes."
A quizzical look was on Ed's face, "Not sure what you mean?"
"Come now, I know all about Darien, he's a dominant. How has that affected the gland in his head?"
"Wait, how did you know?" Ed asked sharply.
Arnaud smiled, "I have my ways. Now, answer my question."
Ed stared at Arnaud and saw the two guards coming near him. He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, Darien's a dominant. A few months back he was captured by a dominant," he looked at Arnaud, "You two would probably get along…no forget that…you two have such large egos that neither of you would fit in a room at the same time," Ed said sarcastically. He waited for Arnaud to draw his gun and was surprised he didn't do it. Arnaud only smiled smugly at Ed. He continued, "As I was saying, this dominant mistook Darien for me. He injected Darien with a genome therapy to turn humans into dominants."
"So, how did that affect the gland?" Arnaud asked.
"Not really sure yet," Ed leaned forward in his chair, "but I do know that it stopped the new toxin producing cells from degrading Darien's sensory pathways. He won't be confined to a wheelchair anytime soon either."
"Pity, I had hoped to see the effects of my cure." Arnaud leaned back in his chair. "I suppose you and Claire have tried to figure out a way to return Fawkes back to his miserable human form?"
"There is a way, but unless we fix the gland, he will stay as he is," Ed leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms.
Arnaud grinned at Ed, "So, Darien moved up on the evolutionary line, how intriguing."
Ed didn't say a word; he just simply nodded and smiled.
~*~
For days Ed practiced biofeedback techniques. He had become proficient with the gland, able to quicksilver objects and only parts of his body. While learning the finer points of invisibility, Ed also spent a great deal of time in front of lab equipment running various tests on the new gland now in his head. He tried to remember as much information as he could; he had been planning an escape, but waited for the right moment. Unfortunately, that moment hadn't come yet.
Arnaud came in and studied Ed, "How are you feeling today, Dr. Tate?"
Ed had been feeling a little agitated since lunch time, but didn't know why, until now. "I'm doing well, under the circumstances." Ed lied. He had on and off again headaches for a couple of hours and they were progressively getting worse. Nothing that he couldn't handle at the moment, but somehow he knew that was going to change.
Arnaud checked his watch, "You should be nearing stage one madness right about now."
"You bastard," Ed hissed.
Arnaud smiled, "Just as I thought."
"You are going to give me counteragent?"
"Of course I will, but not just yet. You see that is also part of the experiment. I need to see if the gland functions completely and that includes quicksilver madness."
"You are one sick son of a…" Ed was cut off by piercing pain in his head. He cried out and fell to the floor taking some lab equipment with him. He had injured himself countless times surfing, but this was something he had never experienced before. The pain shot through him like someone stuck a red hot poker in the back of his head. His vision turned white as wave after wave of pain came upon him. He glared at Arnaud, "Make it stop."
Arnaud got up and stood over Ed, "Not very pleasant is it?" Arnaud motioned for the guards to come forward. "For now, Dr. Tate, you will be kept in a room where you won't harm anyone and I'll be able to monitor the stages as you experience them."
The guards hooked their arms under Ed and lifted him off the floor. They went out of the room and started down the hall when Ed had another seizure. He collapsed in their arms. They tried to hold him up, but he thrashed around too much. The pain subsided and Ed took his chance. It was risky but he had to try something and he knew that getting to the counteragent was out of the question. He would have to trust Claire and the others to help him.
Ed stomped on one foot and then kicked the guard on the side of his knee. The first guard bent over and Ed swung the second guard around and smashed him into the first one. Ed moved so fast that the two guards had no time to react.
The quicksilver coated Ed as he ran down the hall. He had to find an exit and fast. Ed ran until another rush of pain stopped him. He grasped the back of his neck and let out a moan while using the wall for support. After a few tense moments the pain went away, but not completely. "Damn, this hurts," Ed said miserably to himself as he willed his legs to move again. Ed was sure the alarm would sound at any moment or he would hear the footsteps of the guards hot on his heels. Knowing that Arnaud's guards would have thermals, he tried to shut off the flow of quicksilver, but couldn't. His heart was racing too fast. All the adrenaline pumping into this system would keep the quicksilver flowing. This wasn't good.
Arnaud's phone rang as he prepared the counteragent. "What? Set the security cameras to thermal and find him!" Arnaud slammed his phone down on the table, "Idiots!" As he stormed out of his private lab, "This isn't supposed to happen yet."
'Maybe I should turn myself in, get the shot and try again,' Ed thought to himself. 'What are you nuts, you won't get a second chance and you know it,' he saw a door and ran towards it, "Can't believe I'm arguing with myself." He reached the door, "Okay, Tate, its do or die now." He turned his head and heard voices coming down the hall. He heard one of the voices say that he was spotted on the thermal imaging. Ed looked around and saw the camera, "Damn."
He pushed the door opened and sprinted out into the open. He made it to a line of trees before dropping to the ground in pain. He held his head in his hands to keep his head from exploding. But now he was starting to feel something else inside his head, a presence, someone or something was trying to take over his mind. Before the pain could subside men came out and yelled for Ed to stop.
Ed looked at them and grunted. He forced himself to his feet and took off running behind the trees. He heard the shots, but didn't look back. He made it out to the driveway and found a few cars. He took off his lab coat, wrapped his arm in it and smashed the window. Using the lab coat again to brush off any glass from the seat, he sat down and turned the wheel sharply to the right with all his strength to unlock the wheel. He shifted over to the passenger side and kicked at the plastic covering under the steering wheel. The plastic fell off but not before another sharp pain pierced through his head. He gasped and panted for air as he clutched his head.
They were coming for him and Arnaud was with them. Ed could hear his distinct shouts. His time was short and he had to move faster. He shifted back over to the driver's seat and took the wires in his hand. He found the loose one and touched it to the other three. The car started. Ed released the loose wire and put the car in gear. He laughed and sped off just as Arnaud and his men turned the corner.
Ed looked in the rear view mirror and smiled, "Well, what do you know, that did work." Now the next step was for him to calm down. It was bad enough that there was no key in the ignition and the plastic cover was off, but he was driving the car invisible. Ed chuckled to himself as he thought of how he would explain that to a cop or he could always keep silent and let the cop think no one was there.
A guard raised his gun to fire. Arnaud pushed his gun down, "What are you doing you idiot? If you fire and hit the gas tank, I will lose the gland." He looked in the direction that Ed went, "Besides, he did exactly what I hoped he would do, just not this soon." Arnaud walked back into his house and the guards looked at each other bewildered.
When Ed felt that he wasn't being followed, he pulled the car over and stopped behind shrubs to conceal him. He put his hands on his lap and tried to calm down. But with quicksilver madness lingering close by, it wasn't easy. Finally, after a couple of tries and a few bouts of pain, the quicksilver shed from his body. Ed for the first time got a clear glance at madness when he looked in the rear view mirror and saw his eyes streaked with red, "Oh God!" Ed felt his heart speeding up again. "Oh shit! Not now!" He looked around and closed his eyes again. He summoned up every bit of strength and pushed the demon back. His heart slowed and he peered into the mirror again. His eyes were back to normal.
"Okay, now just stay calm," Ed looked around for any road signs, "Okay, calm…just stay calm…where the hell am I?" Ed said irritated. He hit the steering wheel and then searched the car for a map, there was none. "Just my damn luck," He got out of the car and ran his hand through his hair as he walked towards the road, "I have no frickin' idea where I'm at." Ed grabbed his head as another wave of pain hit him. He fell to the desert floor on his knees. As the pain subsided he grabbed a bunch of dirt in his hand and tossed it into the wind, "Damn you, Arnaud!" He slowly rose to his feet and got back in the car. He pulled out and headed down the road again away from Arnaud. He needed to find a phone booth or someone to tell him where he was.
Ed passed a road sign; he was on Lyons Valley Road and headed west. He was just a short distance from Indian Springs. He saw a gas station and pulled over.
Ed found a phone booth. He picked up the receiver and paused, "No, I can't, he has the phone bugged, and he'll trace it back here. I have to get to the Agency." Panic stricken, he ran from the phone booth. He went inside the gas station and went up to the counter; he hoped his eyes weren't red.
The cashier looked at him suspiciously, "Can I help you?"
"I'm lost, uhmm…can you tell me how to get to San Diego?" Ed said trying to stay calm.
"Sure mister, you're about 27 minutes away."
Ed nearly dropped to the floor. He had been thirty minutes away from San Diego the whole time. He put his hands on the counter to steady himself.
"You okay?" The man asked.
"Yeah, just didn't realize how close I was." Ed said.
"Well, just follow Indian Springs Drive to Campo Road and make a left. That'll take you to CA-94 West. You'll stay on that for about ten miles. When you reach 30th Street, take that exit to Broadway and go to the right and stay on that for about two miles and it'll take you straight into San Diego." The man looked at Ed oddly for a moment, "Mister, you don't look too well, you sure you want to drive?"
"I have to get to San Diego," Ed said fighting back the madness.
"Well, alright then, do you want me to write the directions down?" The man still wasn't sure what was going on with the stranger.
Ed shook his head, "No, thanks, I can remember." Ed turned on his heels and went to the car. At least no cops were around to see him stagger to his car like a drunk. He got back inside the car; he glanced back and saw that a couple of people were looking at him. Ed smiled and waved, "Please don't call the cops." He pulled out and started his trip back to San Diego. Would he make it in time before the demon took over? He knew what awaited him back at the Agency if he didn't, the white padded room.
But a strange urge started in him, a craving. Ed peered in the rear view mirror, a voice spoke to him from deep within, "Go back, you know what you want, he's got it."
Ed wiped his face with his hand and shook his head, "No, you won't win, I won't go back. I can fight this. I must get to Claire."
"You can't fight me. I'm coming."
Ed stared at the road in front of him, "Concentrate, stay focused, don't listen to strange voices in your head, and stop arguing with yourself."
At the Agency things were pretty quiet. Darien was in the Keep as Claire ran more tests. Sloan did research in her lab. Tom talked with Walter and Hobbes did some paper work. No one suspected that an out of control freight train headed straight towards them.
TBC…