Chapter 14
"My name is Edward Tate
They call me Double D
I'm the coolest scientist
That you never did see
The man made me invisible
Now I be mis'rable
You mess with my board
and I'm bound to get physical
Now I worked in a lab
Surfed the ocean waves
didn't have a girlfriend
and led a lonely life
Then the Swiss Miss Mutha
Said that we could help each other
But he tricked the geek surfer
and put him under the knife
A hole in my head
A gland in my brain
A needle in my vein
Or I go insane
That's the curse of quicksilva
The stuff that bends light
I get closer to madness
The more I step outta sight"
"Sweetheart, what are you doing?"
Ed turned around quickly and saw Claire, red immediately changed the color of his complexion, "Oh, I uhmm…" he put his hand on top of his head and the other on his towel clad hip, he looked around as he quickly tried to come up with an excuse, "I uhhmm…" he looked at Claire defeated, "you saw that didn't you?"
"I heard it too," she smiled as she approached him, "Did you make that up yourself?"
Ed was still blushing, "No, actually Darien did. It's from an old rap he made up about himself. The night he was here he changed some of the words around to fit yours truly."
Claire laughed, "So that's what you guys did on the porch besides drink. And did Darien say that he danced around in a towel while singing?"
"That I don't know," he took Claire into his arms, "It was a spur of the moment thing."
"Well, it was quite funny," she kissed him, "I'm going to go wash up and get ready and I don't think what you're wearing is acceptable in a restaurant."
Ed smiled and watched Claire go into the bathroom. He walked over to the closet and pulled out his suit. This was a special night and it required for him to look his best.
Claire came down the stairs and found Ed over by the CD player, "Okay, hon, I'm ready."
Ed turned around and nearly jumped out of his pants, "Whoa! You look great!"
Claire blushed and ran her hand over her black dress, "You like it?"
"Like it?" He walked over to her, "Claire, you look absolutely stunning."
"Thank you, I've only worn this dress once and it was to a casino…long story." She pushed herself away from Ed to be arms length so she can get a good look at him. She smiled, "Still need help with the tie don't you?"
Ed rolled his eyes, "What can I say."
Claire helped him the tie and fixed his coat, "I think we're ready."
"Mmmm…not yet, we still have time." He put his hand out, "May I have this dance." He pushed the button and Frank Sinatra's 'Fly Me to the Moon' started to play. Claire smiled, "Of course, a lady would be foolish to turn down a dance with a handsome gentleman." They danced around the room, twirling, holding each other tight, kissing and at the end of the song, Ed dipped her and kissed her again softly on her lips.
He lifted her up and she ran her hand across her forehead, "Phew…you didn't tell me you could dance."
"My mom taught me," he paused, "Guess I was the only man in the house that she wanted to dance with. She once told me that dad wasn't much of a dancer so she wanted to make sure I knew how. It came in handy after all." Ed picked up her coat and put it on her, and then he held his arm out for her to take it, "Ready?"
She took hold of his arm, "Yes." They kissed again and headed out the door.
As they walked to Claire's SUV, they didn't notice the black van parked across the street. Ed opened the door for Claire and then he got in the driver's side. The SUV pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street. One of the men inside the van talked on the phone, "No, she was with him…okay." He hung up and looked at the other men with him, "We wait until morning."
Claire gazed around the restaurant, "What are you going to do now?"
"Well, Sloan was finishing up on the samples, but so far they all match. It goes to Tom and Ray next once Walter decides what to do. I'm sure he'll ask the Official for assistance," Ed said as he took a sip of his wine.
"Does it scare you?" Claire asked.
"To know that a Lynch wanna-be is out there, yeah it's scary as hell."
Claire sighed; she looked at Ed and smiled, "Did you ever think your life would take such a drastic turn?"
Ed chuckled, "No, I didn't. I mean, we did this sort of thing before for the L.A.P.D. and even worked on some FBI cases, but like I said earlier, they were old cases. Like someone that's been missing for years and someone finds their remains, and that's when we're usually called in. Well, they call me since I did most of the forensic end of anthropology. Sloan is more like the behavioral or social anthropologist, so she's like the equivalent of an FBI profiler."
"What did Walter do?"
"You know, I'm not sure, I never really saw him do one specific job in the lab before Ann was killed. He did a lot of paper work though. I think back on that now and I'm not sure why he was there," Ed shrugged his shoulders and their dinner was brought to them. They changed topics while they ate and after they had dessert, they went for a walk in nearby Balboa Park. While there a little girl kept staring at Ed. It had started to make him feel uncomfortable but finally she came up to him.
"Ralph? You look different tonight."
Claire covered her mouth, "Oh no," then she started to giggle.
Ed looked at the little girl oddly, "I'm sorry, but that's not my name, are you looking for someone?"
Jessica Semplar thought for sure she was looking at Ralph, her one time invisible friend, "Oh, it's just that you remind me of someone I knew. His hair was different though, stuck straight up. I'm sorry."
Ed watched the little girl run off to go back to her mom. He turned his confused gaze to Claire who was laughing at this point. "Mind telling me what all that was about?"
"Sorry, hon, but looks like an old case of Darien's mistook you for an invisible friend," Claire took his arm and started to explain the case to Ed.
After listening, Ed smiled, "That's an interesting case, glad she's okay." They walked around some more.
Once home, Ed picked Claire up and carried her upstairs. "I thought that we were going to wait because of the counteragent," Claire said as she ran her hand through his hair.
"I can't, babe, you look so beautiful tonight," Ed said as he put her down. He pulled her in close and turned her around. He unzipped her dress and pushed the straps off her shoulders. He kissed her neck then moved down to her shoulders as he pushed the dress to the floor. Claire let out a moan of pleasure before they were covered in the silvery liquid.
~*~
The following morning, Ed sat down at the breakfast table and picked up his "Nature" magazine that he had received in the mail the day before. He had worked a long day yesterday and he was just too tired to go through his mail.
Claire had left early and she left the magazine for him on the table knowing that he would rather read that than the morning paper. The cover of the magazine caught his eye.
'African Origins: Ethiopian fossils are the earliest Homo Sapiens'
Ed's eyes lit up and he quickly turned the pages. What he read would change his life…again. He slowly put his cup down and thought for a moment out loud.
"Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were two different species, we didn't evolve from Neanderthals after all, but our origins are in Africa. These early homo sapiens left Africa and traveled to Europe and Asia. It would have taken thousands of years for skin pigmentation, eye and hair color to change after they adapted to the new climates..."
Ed froze.
"My God…dominants didn't evolve…they were…created?"
In a house across the street, someone picked up the phone and dialed quickly, "He's alone…okay…we're on it."
Ed quickly put the magazine in his briefcase, grabbed his keys and bolted for the door. His heart was racing and he fumbled his keys as he tried to lock the front door, "Damn!" he bent down and picked up his keys with a shaky hand. He mumbled to himself, "It's a cover-up the whole damn thing is a cover-up and we were used to tell a lie."
Ed finally got his fingers to work and he locked his door. He ran as fast as he could to his van. He tried desperately to find the right key. He paused and closed his eyes; he could feel a trickle of quicksilver running down his cheeks, "Okay, calm down…that's it…focus…do not go invisible, it would not look cool driving down the street."
Ed felt his heart slowing down and he reopened his eyes. His head did a double take as he saw a black van with dark windows pull up and three men jump out dressed like commandos.
"Oh crap, maybe it is a good time to go invisible," Ed said as he ran to the front of his van and towards his house. The quicksilver started to flow and cover him in a silvery blanket. He started to run towards the street in the opposite direction of the three men.
"Put on thermals!" One of the men shouted.
"Damn!" Ed exclaimed to himself as he tried to run faster. He could hear their footfalls just behind him and that's when he heard the all too familiar popping sound of a dart gun. The sting in his left leg made him fall to the ground. The dart had impacted on the back of his thigh. Ed gripped his leg and tried to stand up, but his leg went numb and he stumbled to the ground again. The quicksilver flaked off and he saw the three men hovering over him with guns drawn. "I give up," Ed said just before darkness over took him.
~*~
Darien and Hobbes walked into their office after the morning briefing, Darien tossed the folder onto his desk and put his feet up on the edge. Hobbes glared at his partner's feet and then at him. Darien shook his legs like he was nervous about something.
"What'd you thinkin' about?"
"This case, I mean, why can't the FBI handle it?" Darien asked.
"Cause you, my friend, are one of them and they figure you have a better chance of catching this guy," Hobbes said as he sat down.
"All this is doing is adding fuel to Senator Allen's bill," Darien looked at Hobbes with a hint of uncertainty creased across his brow.
"Just a bunch of hot air, Fawkes, don't let it worry ya," Hobbes said.
Darien sat up straight in his chair, "Hobbes, it does worry me, not just for me, Darcy and the baby, but this whole world. We both know that dominants are not going to sit by and let this happen. This will start a war that no one will win." Darien was about to continue when his phone rang.
"Saved by the bell," Hobbes retorted.
"Fawkes here…oh hey, Ray, what up man?" Darien listened intently and then his expression turned to shock.
Hobbes sat up, "Whoa, Fawkes, what's wrong?"
Darien stared at Hobbes, "Yeah, we'll be there, thanks." Darien still staring, hung up the phone.
"Fawkes, what's wrong? This guy struck again?"
"No…it's Ed…he's dead." Darien just blurted it out, no emotion behind it, he just sat there staring off at nothing in particular.
Hobbes sat silent for a few moments that formed like a thick blanket in the room and then he spoke, "What happened?"
Darien looked Hobbes like his whole world had crumbled down around him, "Ray is at the scene now and he wants us to come by. His uhmm…his uhmm…van…uhmm…went off a cliff."
Hobbes closed his eyes and ran his hands over his face, "Oh God," he paused for a moment, "I'm sorry, Fawkes. Do you want me to tell Claire?"
Darien stood up, "No, I'll…I'll tell her." Darien slowly got up and left.
Claire paced around the Keep with her cell phone in her hand, she hit the redial and nothing. She looked at her watch again and called home, still nothing. Claire was worried now, Ed was late, very late and he wasn't answering his cell phone. She decided to see if Darien was still around to ask him to go looking for Ed when the door to the Keep slid open. Darien slowly walked in. Claire took in his expression and immediately knew, "No, not Ed…please tell me he's okay."
Darien looked at her and took a hard swallow, "You better sit down."
"He's fine right?" Claire asked concerned as she slowly sat down, her stomach already in knots, "Please, tell me."
"There was an accident…" Darien said.
"No…no…please, God, no!" Claire said as she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Claire", Darien moved closer to her and embraced her. He felt her start to shake. "I'm so sorry."
"No, it can't be…I just saw him…this morning…no…no…I won't…" Claire started to sob.
"Claire, they found his van…" Darien paused, not wanting to continue, he could feel Claire's emotion and it added to his own grief, "Claire, they found his van at the bottom of a cliff."
"Oh my God!" Claire exclaimed in a sorrowful howl.
Darien held her tight. The door swung open and Hobbes walked in. He knew immediately that Darien had told her. Claire looked up to see him standing there. She stood up, "I bet you're happy about this!" Claire said and she stormed from the Keep. She didn't know where she was going, but she needed to get away, away from the Agency and everyone associated with it.
Hobbes started to go after here, "Claire!" He felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at Darien. "I'm not what she said, happy. I may not have liked it, but I did accept it and I would never have wished anything like this to happen."
"I know, give her time, she'll come around. I'll have Sloan find her."
"How are you holding up?" Hobbes asked.
"I don't know, Hobbes, I guess I'm in shock," Darien said as he walked out of the Keep.
"You think it was an accident?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm going to the scene," Darien said.
"Dominants?"
"Yeah, that's my first guess," Darien paused and leaned up against the wall, "It's not fair!!! It's just not fair!!! I'm supposed to protect him!!"
Hobbes put his hand on his shoulder, "That's it partner, just let it out."
"Damn them! I'll get them for this!!!" Darien buried his head in his hands. He looked at Hobbes again, but with determination, "I'm gonna find out, Hobbes, I swear if it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna find out who killed Ed."
"Come on, we won't find out by standing here. You sure you want to go to the scene of the accident?"
Darien shook his head, "Yeah, I'm sure." Anger had replaced mourning. Hobbes heard it in his voice. Hobbes stared at Darien for a moment; he had seen that look before. Darien was near that fine line of losing control. Hobbes had hoped that he wouldn't end up on the receiving end of the anger that was welling up inside of Darien. He suddenly felt pity for the one who committed the crime. He watched as Darien squared his shoulders and walked down the hall like a man on mission.
~*~
The sun rose high over the desert heating the ground to the point that you could fry eggs on the rocks. Even the desert dwellers stayed out the heat. Through the heat mirage stood a government facility. A high electrified fence surrounded the desert camouflaged buildings. Soldiers in military dress kept watch and some had specially trained guard dogs walking the perimeter with their handlers.
From the air it would have seemed to be nothing more than another military base in the desert used for special training. But appearances can be deceiving.
One of the buildings housed an underground entrance. If someone was to just casually walk in it would be unnoticed. This building was used as a garage for the larger desert trucks and other vehicles. This day it was empty as a large military truck drove to the huge doors. They opened and the driver waited. Then as if he said the magic words, the floor opened up to reveal a ramp descending deep below the desert. The truck slowly made its way down the ramp and the floor closed up again. Soldiers moved various trucks and equipment to cover the area.
There was a group of people waiting at the bottom. Some were dressed in lab coats, others were in military uniforms and the rest were in civilians clothes. One of the soldiers got out of the truck and went up the Lady.
She smiled, "I hear things went well?"
"Yes, the operation was a success. They won't suspect a thing, ma'am."
"Good and the flight, any complications?" The Lady walked with the group and the soldier to the back of the truck.
"None, ma'am, he slept the whole time. He'll have no idea where he is," the soldier said as he opened the door. The Lady peered inside the truck and saw the sleeping form on a stretcher. She looked at one of the soldier sitting, "Put him in the O.R.," she said and motioned the group to follow her.
"Will we have the information soon?" one of the doctors asked.
"Yes, my inside man should be sending them to us, encrypted of course. He should be joining us tomorrow; after all, he's not needed anymore. In the mean time, I think you're going to be impressed with Dr. Tate and his ability."
"Will he cooperate once he wakes up?"
"We don't need him to be awake. There are ways to get the gland working. We'll ask him some questions and then run tests immediately. I want him to go into quicksilver madness so we can run some tests and see for ourselves what the effects are. After that, we'll put him in his new room as our permanent guest."
"You intend on keeping him alive?"
"Yes, for now. I just may have to thank Arnaud for this little mutation. Dr. Tate won't want to go through the pain too often. He'll do anything to prevent that."
"You're going to force him to work for us?"
"Yes, that is my intention."
~*~
Sloan cried and Tom held her. This was different than with his brother. He didn't even know he had brothers until the Lynch clone had killed one, he didn't grieve then, but now he did. He knew Ed and they had become friends after a long bumpy road. Ed was like a big brother to Sloan even though he knew Ed wanted more than that. That morning when Ed had come to Sloan's apartment, he read it in Ed's face, the look of surprise and then the protective glare that a big brother would have over his little sister.
Tom knew at that point that Ed was a good friend and maybe more. Tom thought back to that day in the warehouse when he and Ed were alone having dinner. It was their first real discussion about Sloan.
Tom watched Ed eat and he needed to clear the air with him if they were ever going to work together as a team. The distrust will only get in their way. They were alone, so Tom took advantage and started the conversation on what he knew they should talk about. "I never intended to come between you and Sloan," Tom said staring at Ed.
Ed looked up and gazed at Tom, "What are your intentions?"
"What do you mean?"
"With Sloan. I mean, you know, it's not that uh, she and I are an item. We're....not. But you know, I can definitely see there's something happening between you two. And, she's the best friend I have," Ed said looking at Tom sternly. Ed was letting Tom know that he better not hurt her in anyway.
"She's lucky to have a friend like you," Tom nodded.
"Yeah, uh, but is she lucky to have a friend like you?" Ed glared at Tom.
It was Tom's turn to return the glare, "I would never hurt Sloan."
Ed partly smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I guess you proved that."
Tom nodded and said, "So have you." Tom watched Ed eat with a smile on his face. Maybe someday, Ed would become his friend as well.
Tom kissed the top of Sloan's head, "Ed really cared about you."
Sloan looked up at Tom with teary eyes, "I know."
Tom shook his head, "I think more than you know or even realized. He was very protective of you."
Sloan smiled and could only nod in agreement. In the early days of her discovery, she had mistreated Ed by lying to him about Tom and then in Mexico when she brushed him off. But that hadn't stopped him from remaining friends with her.
They had been through so much together and now Tom understood what it meant to mourn. He had lost a friend and he felt the emptiness inside, for the first time in his life, he understood what it was like to lose someone he cared about.
Darien came into the lab with Hobbes trailing behind him. "Guess you heard?" Darien said sadly.
"Yes, Ray had called Walter and he told us. Walter is with the Official now," Sloan said as she got up and hugged Darien, then Hobbes. "Are you okay…" Sloan paused, "Stupid question, this is never okay."
Darien shook his head, "Not a stupid question, it's just in a time like this we don't know what to say. But I need a favor from you, Sloan."
"What is it?" Sloan asked and Tom stood up.
"Claire took off and I think she may have gone home, Hobbes and I are going to the scene of the…" Darien paused, "I was wondering if you could keep Claire company?"
Sloan looked back at Tom, "Sure, Darien, I'll do that. I'll have Tom drive me over."
"Okay, and Tom, after you do that can you join us?" Darien asked.
"Yes," Tom answered as he stood to his feet. As they walked out, Tom took a quick glance at the empty office. He remembered when his brother had been killed; he felt nothing because there was no connection. But with Ed's death, he did feel something. Sadness.
~*~
Bright. Too bright. Ed squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to block out the painful glare of the bright light. It was a quick flash in one eye and then the other. He moaned and flayed his hands in a desperate attempt to push the evil invading light beast away.
"Well, you're awake, good. How are you feeling now?"
Ed let out a groan, "Like I got hit by a truck. What…where am I?" Ed felt his head with his hand, he had a horrible headache. His eyes grew big, "My God!" He checked his tattoo, three segments were red. He sighed in relief.
Tara smiled, "No, Dr. Tate, you're not close to quicksilver madness."
Ed looked at the person talking to him. On first glance she was pretty, light brown hair that was tied up in a stylish bun and blue eyes. She wore a lab coat and stuffed the light pen in her pocket. "Who are you and what…how? Ah man, I feel like crap."
"I'll give you something for the headache. That's from the sedative that was given to you." She folded her arms, "I also did minor surgery on you."
"What? What did you do?"
"I just had a look at the gland and took a tissue sample. You're fine and the gland is fine."
"You drilled a hole in my head?" Ed asked in an angry tone.
"Don't worry, it's very small. I just inserted a small tube with a camera attached to it. I had a good look at the gland, very impressive work. I then took a small tissue sample and here you are." Tara took notes.
"And where exactly is here and who are you people?" Ed said as he was given water from a nurse.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. But I can tell you my name is Dr. Tara Marsh. The tissue sample I took was very small, barely noticeable. There was no hemorrhage or leakage of quicksilver. We're still monitoring you even right now." Tara signaled to the nurse that she wanted to be alone with Ed. The nurse smiled and walked away.
Ed watched with uncertainty. "Okay, so who are you? I mean, are you some kind of scientist?"
"Yes, I am. That's all I'm permitted to tell you."
"Whoever has me is going to harvest the gland aren't they?" Ed asked fearfully.
Tara paused, "I can't answer that."
Ed looked away, "Then I guess we have nothing else to discuss, leave me alone now, please."
Tara looked at him helplessly, she was about to say something and thought it best just to do what he asked. She got up and went to the door and turned to look at him, she sensed the emotions coming from him, fear and sorrow…deep sorrow. She frowned and left the room.
As she walked down the hall to give her report she started to feel something inside. She stopped and realized what she was feeling, 'Pity?' she thought to herself, 'This can't be happening to me, I must not pity this human, especially this one.'
Ed started to feel groggy. 'Oh no,' he looked at the cup of water, 'I've been drugged,' he tried to get up but ended up slipping off the bed and onto the floor. He tried to push himself back up, but the drug overpowered him and he slipped into darkness…again.
~*~
Ed woke up some time later and looked around through blurred vision. He could make out that he was in some sort of exam room. He also couldn't move and noticed that he was cold. He looked at himself as his vision cleared slowly. He was strapped down to a metal table that resembled what he would use for an autopsy, 'Oh this can't be good,' he thought to himself as he tested the straps. They were tight. He wanted to see what would happen if he tried to quicksilver them, but there were too many people around and he noticed a camera aimed straight at him. 'At least they put scrub pants on me or else they would have some view,' he smirked to himself.
He sighed and studied his surroundings some more. There were monitors hooked up to him and this gave him a very uneasy feeling. People in lab coats were busy at various medical equipment and looking at print outs, some lab techs were even in a small group discussion over some interesting imaging on the monitor.
"Hey, uh…where am I?" Ed asked as he saw someone walk by.
No answer.
Ed let out a sigh, "Terrific, Tate, always managing to get your self in some sort of trouble."
The door opened and a group of people walked in. One of them spoke up, "Hello, Dr. Tate." The lady said.
Ed recognized the voice and hate welled up inside of him, "You! What the hell is this about?"
The Lady stood next to Ed, "You're going to be our guest for a very long time."
Ed paused, the words sank in. "They'll look for me."
"Not for a dead man they won't."
"What?" Ed said shocked. He understood completely what Walter's superior was capable of. She had the means to pull anything off, including faking his death. "You wouldn't."
"Already done, I'm sorry, Dr. Tate, but to them, you're dead."
Ed's heart sank.
TBC…
"My name is Edward Tate
They call me Double D
I'm the coolest scientist
That you never did see
The man made me invisible
Now I be mis'rable
You mess with my board
and I'm bound to get physical
Now I worked in a lab
Surfed the ocean waves
didn't have a girlfriend
and led a lonely life
Then the Swiss Miss Mutha
Said that we could help each other
But he tricked the geek surfer
and put him under the knife
A hole in my head
A gland in my brain
A needle in my vein
Or I go insane
That's the curse of quicksilva
The stuff that bends light
I get closer to madness
The more I step outta sight"
"Sweetheart, what are you doing?"
Ed turned around quickly and saw Claire, red immediately changed the color of his complexion, "Oh, I uhmm…" he put his hand on top of his head and the other on his towel clad hip, he looked around as he quickly tried to come up with an excuse, "I uhhmm…" he looked at Claire defeated, "you saw that didn't you?"
"I heard it too," she smiled as she approached him, "Did you make that up yourself?"
Ed was still blushing, "No, actually Darien did. It's from an old rap he made up about himself. The night he was here he changed some of the words around to fit yours truly."
Claire laughed, "So that's what you guys did on the porch besides drink. And did Darien say that he danced around in a towel while singing?"
"That I don't know," he took Claire into his arms, "It was a spur of the moment thing."
"Well, it was quite funny," she kissed him, "I'm going to go wash up and get ready and I don't think what you're wearing is acceptable in a restaurant."
Ed smiled and watched Claire go into the bathroom. He walked over to the closet and pulled out his suit. This was a special night and it required for him to look his best.
Claire came down the stairs and found Ed over by the CD player, "Okay, hon, I'm ready."
Ed turned around and nearly jumped out of his pants, "Whoa! You look great!"
Claire blushed and ran her hand over her black dress, "You like it?"
"Like it?" He walked over to her, "Claire, you look absolutely stunning."
"Thank you, I've only worn this dress once and it was to a casino…long story." She pushed herself away from Ed to be arms length so she can get a good look at him. She smiled, "Still need help with the tie don't you?"
Ed rolled his eyes, "What can I say."
Claire helped him the tie and fixed his coat, "I think we're ready."
"Mmmm…not yet, we still have time." He put his hand out, "May I have this dance." He pushed the button and Frank Sinatra's 'Fly Me to the Moon' started to play. Claire smiled, "Of course, a lady would be foolish to turn down a dance with a handsome gentleman." They danced around the room, twirling, holding each other tight, kissing and at the end of the song, Ed dipped her and kissed her again softly on her lips.
He lifted her up and she ran her hand across her forehead, "Phew…you didn't tell me you could dance."
"My mom taught me," he paused, "Guess I was the only man in the house that she wanted to dance with. She once told me that dad wasn't much of a dancer so she wanted to make sure I knew how. It came in handy after all." Ed picked up her coat and put it on her, and then he held his arm out for her to take it, "Ready?"
She took hold of his arm, "Yes." They kissed again and headed out the door.
As they walked to Claire's SUV, they didn't notice the black van parked across the street. Ed opened the door for Claire and then he got in the driver's side. The SUV pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street. One of the men inside the van talked on the phone, "No, she was with him…okay." He hung up and looked at the other men with him, "We wait until morning."
Claire gazed around the restaurant, "What are you going to do now?"
"Well, Sloan was finishing up on the samples, but so far they all match. It goes to Tom and Ray next once Walter decides what to do. I'm sure he'll ask the Official for assistance," Ed said as he took a sip of his wine.
"Does it scare you?" Claire asked.
"To know that a Lynch wanna-be is out there, yeah it's scary as hell."
Claire sighed; she looked at Ed and smiled, "Did you ever think your life would take such a drastic turn?"
Ed chuckled, "No, I didn't. I mean, we did this sort of thing before for the L.A.P.D. and even worked on some FBI cases, but like I said earlier, they were old cases. Like someone that's been missing for years and someone finds their remains, and that's when we're usually called in. Well, they call me since I did most of the forensic end of anthropology. Sloan is more like the behavioral or social anthropologist, so she's like the equivalent of an FBI profiler."
"What did Walter do?"
"You know, I'm not sure, I never really saw him do one specific job in the lab before Ann was killed. He did a lot of paper work though. I think back on that now and I'm not sure why he was there," Ed shrugged his shoulders and their dinner was brought to them. They changed topics while they ate and after they had dessert, they went for a walk in nearby Balboa Park. While there a little girl kept staring at Ed. It had started to make him feel uncomfortable but finally she came up to him.
"Ralph? You look different tonight."
Claire covered her mouth, "Oh no," then she started to giggle.
Ed looked at the little girl oddly, "I'm sorry, but that's not my name, are you looking for someone?"
Jessica Semplar thought for sure she was looking at Ralph, her one time invisible friend, "Oh, it's just that you remind me of someone I knew. His hair was different though, stuck straight up. I'm sorry."
Ed watched the little girl run off to go back to her mom. He turned his confused gaze to Claire who was laughing at this point. "Mind telling me what all that was about?"
"Sorry, hon, but looks like an old case of Darien's mistook you for an invisible friend," Claire took his arm and started to explain the case to Ed.
After listening, Ed smiled, "That's an interesting case, glad she's okay." They walked around some more.
Once home, Ed picked Claire up and carried her upstairs. "I thought that we were going to wait because of the counteragent," Claire said as she ran her hand through his hair.
"I can't, babe, you look so beautiful tonight," Ed said as he put her down. He pulled her in close and turned her around. He unzipped her dress and pushed the straps off her shoulders. He kissed her neck then moved down to her shoulders as he pushed the dress to the floor. Claire let out a moan of pleasure before they were covered in the silvery liquid.
~*~
The following morning, Ed sat down at the breakfast table and picked up his "Nature" magazine that he had received in the mail the day before. He had worked a long day yesterday and he was just too tired to go through his mail.
Claire had left early and she left the magazine for him on the table knowing that he would rather read that than the morning paper. The cover of the magazine caught his eye.
'African Origins: Ethiopian fossils are the earliest Homo Sapiens'
Ed's eyes lit up and he quickly turned the pages. What he read would change his life…again. He slowly put his cup down and thought for a moment out loud.
"Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were two different species, we didn't evolve from Neanderthals after all, but our origins are in Africa. These early homo sapiens left Africa and traveled to Europe and Asia. It would have taken thousands of years for skin pigmentation, eye and hair color to change after they adapted to the new climates..."
Ed froze.
"My God…dominants didn't evolve…they were…created?"
In a house across the street, someone picked up the phone and dialed quickly, "He's alone…okay…we're on it."
Ed quickly put the magazine in his briefcase, grabbed his keys and bolted for the door. His heart was racing and he fumbled his keys as he tried to lock the front door, "Damn!" he bent down and picked up his keys with a shaky hand. He mumbled to himself, "It's a cover-up the whole damn thing is a cover-up and we were used to tell a lie."
Ed finally got his fingers to work and he locked his door. He ran as fast as he could to his van. He tried desperately to find the right key. He paused and closed his eyes; he could feel a trickle of quicksilver running down his cheeks, "Okay, calm down…that's it…focus…do not go invisible, it would not look cool driving down the street."
Ed felt his heart slowing down and he reopened his eyes. His head did a double take as he saw a black van with dark windows pull up and three men jump out dressed like commandos.
"Oh crap, maybe it is a good time to go invisible," Ed said as he ran to the front of his van and towards his house. The quicksilver started to flow and cover him in a silvery blanket. He started to run towards the street in the opposite direction of the three men.
"Put on thermals!" One of the men shouted.
"Damn!" Ed exclaimed to himself as he tried to run faster. He could hear their footfalls just behind him and that's when he heard the all too familiar popping sound of a dart gun. The sting in his left leg made him fall to the ground. The dart had impacted on the back of his thigh. Ed gripped his leg and tried to stand up, but his leg went numb and he stumbled to the ground again. The quicksilver flaked off and he saw the three men hovering over him with guns drawn. "I give up," Ed said just before darkness over took him.
~*~
Darien and Hobbes walked into their office after the morning briefing, Darien tossed the folder onto his desk and put his feet up on the edge. Hobbes glared at his partner's feet and then at him. Darien shook his legs like he was nervous about something.
"What'd you thinkin' about?"
"This case, I mean, why can't the FBI handle it?" Darien asked.
"Cause you, my friend, are one of them and they figure you have a better chance of catching this guy," Hobbes said as he sat down.
"All this is doing is adding fuel to Senator Allen's bill," Darien looked at Hobbes with a hint of uncertainty creased across his brow.
"Just a bunch of hot air, Fawkes, don't let it worry ya," Hobbes said.
Darien sat up straight in his chair, "Hobbes, it does worry me, not just for me, Darcy and the baby, but this whole world. We both know that dominants are not going to sit by and let this happen. This will start a war that no one will win." Darien was about to continue when his phone rang.
"Saved by the bell," Hobbes retorted.
"Fawkes here…oh hey, Ray, what up man?" Darien listened intently and then his expression turned to shock.
Hobbes sat up, "Whoa, Fawkes, what's wrong?"
Darien stared at Hobbes, "Yeah, we'll be there, thanks." Darien still staring, hung up the phone.
"Fawkes, what's wrong? This guy struck again?"
"No…it's Ed…he's dead." Darien just blurted it out, no emotion behind it, he just sat there staring off at nothing in particular.
Hobbes sat silent for a few moments that formed like a thick blanket in the room and then he spoke, "What happened?"
Darien looked Hobbes like his whole world had crumbled down around him, "Ray is at the scene now and he wants us to come by. His uhmm…his uhmm…van…uhmm…went off a cliff."
Hobbes closed his eyes and ran his hands over his face, "Oh God," he paused for a moment, "I'm sorry, Fawkes. Do you want me to tell Claire?"
Darien stood up, "No, I'll…I'll tell her." Darien slowly got up and left.
Claire paced around the Keep with her cell phone in her hand, she hit the redial and nothing. She looked at her watch again and called home, still nothing. Claire was worried now, Ed was late, very late and he wasn't answering his cell phone. She decided to see if Darien was still around to ask him to go looking for Ed when the door to the Keep slid open. Darien slowly walked in. Claire took in his expression and immediately knew, "No, not Ed…please tell me he's okay."
Darien looked at her and took a hard swallow, "You better sit down."
"He's fine right?" Claire asked concerned as she slowly sat down, her stomach already in knots, "Please, tell me."
"There was an accident…" Darien said.
"No…no…please, God, no!" Claire said as she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Claire", Darien moved closer to her and embraced her. He felt her start to shake. "I'm so sorry."
"No, it can't be…I just saw him…this morning…no…no…I won't…" Claire started to sob.
"Claire, they found his van…" Darien paused, not wanting to continue, he could feel Claire's emotion and it added to his own grief, "Claire, they found his van at the bottom of a cliff."
"Oh my God!" Claire exclaimed in a sorrowful howl.
Darien held her tight. The door swung open and Hobbes walked in. He knew immediately that Darien had told her. Claire looked up to see him standing there. She stood up, "I bet you're happy about this!" Claire said and she stormed from the Keep. She didn't know where she was going, but she needed to get away, away from the Agency and everyone associated with it.
Hobbes started to go after here, "Claire!" He felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at Darien. "I'm not what she said, happy. I may not have liked it, but I did accept it and I would never have wished anything like this to happen."
"I know, give her time, she'll come around. I'll have Sloan find her."
"How are you holding up?" Hobbes asked.
"I don't know, Hobbes, I guess I'm in shock," Darien said as he walked out of the Keep.
"You think it was an accident?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm going to the scene," Darien said.
"Dominants?"
"Yeah, that's my first guess," Darien paused and leaned up against the wall, "It's not fair!!! It's just not fair!!! I'm supposed to protect him!!"
Hobbes put his hand on his shoulder, "That's it partner, just let it out."
"Damn them! I'll get them for this!!!" Darien buried his head in his hands. He looked at Hobbes again, but with determination, "I'm gonna find out, Hobbes, I swear if it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna find out who killed Ed."
"Come on, we won't find out by standing here. You sure you want to go to the scene of the accident?"
Darien shook his head, "Yeah, I'm sure." Anger had replaced mourning. Hobbes heard it in his voice. Hobbes stared at Darien for a moment; he had seen that look before. Darien was near that fine line of losing control. Hobbes had hoped that he wouldn't end up on the receiving end of the anger that was welling up inside of Darien. He suddenly felt pity for the one who committed the crime. He watched as Darien squared his shoulders and walked down the hall like a man on mission.
~*~
The sun rose high over the desert heating the ground to the point that you could fry eggs on the rocks. Even the desert dwellers stayed out the heat. Through the heat mirage stood a government facility. A high electrified fence surrounded the desert camouflaged buildings. Soldiers in military dress kept watch and some had specially trained guard dogs walking the perimeter with their handlers.
From the air it would have seemed to be nothing more than another military base in the desert used for special training. But appearances can be deceiving.
One of the buildings housed an underground entrance. If someone was to just casually walk in it would be unnoticed. This building was used as a garage for the larger desert trucks and other vehicles. This day it was empty as a large military truck drove to the huge doors. They opened and the driver waited. Then as if he said the magic words, the floor opened up to reveal a ramp descending deep below the desert. The truck slowly made its way down the ramp and the floor closed up again. Soldiers moved various trucks and equipment to cover the area.
There was a group of people waiting at the bottom. Some were dressed in lab coats, others were in military uniforms and the rest were in civilians clothes. One of the soldiers got out of the truck and went up the Lady.
She smiled, "I hear things went well?"
"Yes, the operation was a success. They won't suspect a thing, ma'am."
"Good and the flight, any complications?" The Lady walked with the group and the soldier to the back of the truck.
"None, ma'am, he slept the whole time. He'll have no idea where he is," the soldier said as he opened the door. The Lady peered inside the truck and saw the sleeping form on a stretcher. She looked at one of the soldier sitting, "Put him in the O.R.," she said and motioned the group to follow her.
"Will we have the information soon?" one of the doctors asked.
"Yes, my inside man should be sending them to us, encrypted of course. He should be joining us tomorrow; after all, he's not needed anymore. In the mean time, I think you're going to be impressed with Dr. Tate and his ability."
"Will he cooperate once he wakes up?"
"We don't need him to be awake. There are ways to get the gland working. We'll ask him some questions and then run tests immediately. I want him to go into quicksilver madness so we can run some tests and see for ourselves what the effects are. After that, we'll put him in his new room as our permanent guest."
"You intend on keeping him alive?"
"Yes, for now. I just may have to thank Arnaud for this little mutation. Dr. Tate won't want to go through the pain too often. He'll do anything to prevent that."
"You're going to force him to work for us?"
"Yes, that is my intention."
~*~
Sloan cried and Tom held her. This was different than with his brother. He didn't even know he had brothers until the Lynch clone had killed one, he didn't grieve then, but now he did. He knew Ed and they had become friends after a long bumpy road. Ed was like a big brother to Sloan even though he knew Ed wanted more than that. That morning when Ed had come to Sloan's apartment, he read it in Ed's face, the look of surprise and then the protective glare that a big brother would have over his little sister.
Tom knew at that point that Ed was a good friend and maybe more. Tom thought back to that day in the warehouse when he and Ed were alone having dinner. It was their first real discussion about Sloan.
Tom watched Ed eat and he needed to clear the air with him if they were ever going to work together as a team. The distrust will only get in their way. They were alone, so Tom took advantage and started the conversation on what he knew they should talk about. "I never intended to come between you and Sloan," Tom said staring at Ed.
Ed looked up and gazed at Tom, "What are your intentions?"
"What do you mean?"
"With Sloan. I mean, you know, it's not that uh, she and I are an item. We're....not. But you know, I can definitely see there's something happening between you two. And, she's the best friend I have," Ed said looking at Tom sternly. Ed was letting Tom know that he better not hurt her in anyway.
"She's lucky to have a friend like you," Tom nodded.
"Yeah, uh, but is she lucky to have a friend like you?" Ed glared at Tom.
It was Tom's turn to return the glare, "I would never hurt Sloan."
Ed partly smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I guess you proved that."
Tom nodded and said, "So have you." Tom watched Ed eat with a smile on his face. Maybe someday, Ed would become his friend as well.
Tom kissed the top of Sloan's head, "Ed really cared about you."
Sloan looked up at Tom with teary eyes, "I know."
Tom shook his head, "I think more than you know or even realized. He was very protective of you."
Sloan smiled and could only nod in agreement. In the early days of her discovery, she had mistreated Ed by lying to him about Tom and then in Mexico when she brushed him off. But that hadn't stopped him from remaining friends with her.
They had been through so much together and now Tom understood what it meant to mourn. He had lost a friend and he felt the emptiness inside, for the first time in his life, he understood what it was like to lose someone he cared about.
Darien came into the lab with Hobbes trailing behind him. "Guess you heard?" Darien said sadly.
"Yes, Ray had called Walter and he told us. Walter is with the Official now," Sloan said as she got up and hugged Darien, then Hobbes. "Are you okay…" Sloan paused, "Stupid question, this is never okay."
Darien shook his head, "Not a stupid question, it's just in a time like this we don't know what to say. But I need a favor from you, Sloan."
"What is it?" Sloan asked and Tom stood up.
"Claire took off and I think she may have gone home, Hobbes and I are going to the scene of the…" Darien paused, "I was wondering if you could keep Claire company?"
Sloan looked back at Tom, "Sure, Darien, I'll do that. I'll have Tom drive me over."
"Okay, and Tom, after you do that can you join us?" Darien asked.
"Yes," Tom answered as he stood to his feet. As they walked out, Tom took a quick glance at the empty office. He remembered when his brother had been killed; he felt nothing because there was no connection. But with Ed's death, he did feel something. Sadness.
~*~
Bright. Too bright. Ed squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to block out the painful glare of the bright light. It was a quick flash in one eye and then the other. He moaned and flayed his hands in a desperate attempt to push the evil invading light beast away.
"Well, you're awake, good. How are you feeling now?"
Ed let out a groan, "Like I got hit by a truck. What…where am I?" Ed felt his head with his hand, he had a horrible headache. His eyes grew big, "My God!" He checked his tattoo, three segments were red. He sighed in relief.
Tara smiled, "No, Dr. Tate, you're not close to quicksilver madness."
Ed looked at the person talking to him. On first glance she was pretty, light brown hair that was tied up in a stylish bun and blue eyes. She wore a lab coat and stuffed the light pen in her pocket. "Who are you and what…how? Ah man, I feel like crap."
"I'll give you something for the headache. That's from the sedative that was given to you." She folded her arms, "I also did minor surgery on you."
"What? What did you do?"
"I just had a look at the gland and took a tissue sample. You're fine and the gland is fine."
"You drilled a hole in my head?" Ed asked in an angry tone.
"Don't worry, it's very small. I just inserted a small tube with a camera attached to it. I had a good look at the gland, very impressive work. I then took a small tissue sample and here you are." Tara took notes.
"And where exactly is here and who are you people?" Ed said as he was given water from a nurse.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. But I can tell you my name is Dr. Tara Marsh. The tissue sample I took was very small, barely noticeable. There was no hemorrhage or leakage of quicksilver. We're still monitoring you even right now." Tara signaled to the nurse that she wanted to be alone with Ed. The nurse smiled and walked away.
Ed watched with uncertainty. "Okay, so who are you? I mean, are you some kind of scientist?"
"Yes, I am. That's all I'm permitted to tell you."
"Whoever has me is going to harvest the gland aren't they?" Ed asked fearfully.
Tara paused, "I can't answer that."
Ed looked away, "Then I guess we have nothing else to discuss, leave me alone now, please."
Tara looked at him helplessly, she was about to say something and thought it best just to do what he asked. She got up and went to the door and turned to look at him, she sensed the emotions coming from him, fear and sorrow…deep sorrow. She frowned and left the room.
As she walked down the hall to give her report she started to feel something inside. She stopped and realized what she was feeling, 'Pity?' she thought to herself, 'This can't be happening to me, I must not pity this human, especially this one.'
Ed started to feel groggy. 'Oh no,' he looked at the cup of water, 'I've been drugged,' he tried to get up but ended up slipping off the bed and onto the floor. He tried to push himself back up, but the drug overpowered him and he slipped into darkness…again.
~*~
Ed woke up some time later and looked around through blurred vision. He could make out that he was in some sort of exam room. He also couldn't move and noticed that he was cold. He looked at himself as his vision cleared slowly. He was strapped down to a metal table that resembled what he would use for an autopsy, 'Oh this can't be good,' he thought to himself as he tested the straps. They were tight. He wanted to see what would happen if he tried to quicksilver them, but there were too many people around and he noticed a camera aimed straight at him. 'At least they put scrub pants on me or else they would have some view,' he smirked to himself.
He sighed and studied his surroundings some more. There were monitors hooked up to him and this gave him a very uneasy feeling. People in lab coats were busy at various medical equipment and looking at print outs, some lab techs were even in a small group discussion over some interesting imaging on the monitor.
"Hey, uh…where am I?" Ed asked as he saw someone walk by.
No answer.
Ed let out a sigh, "Terrific, Tate, always managing to get your self in some sort of trouble."
The door opened and a group of people walked in. One of them spoke up, "Hello, Dr. Tate." The lady said.
Ed recognized the voice and hate welled up inside of him, "You! What the hell is this about?"
The Lady stood next to Ed, "You're going to be our guest for a very long time."
Ed paused, the words sank in. "They'll look for me."
"Not for a dead man they won't."
"What?" Ed said shocked. He understood completely what Walter's superior was capable of. She had the means to pull anything off, including faking his death. "You wouldn't."
"Already done, I'm sorry, Dr. Tate, but to them, you're dead."
Ed's heart sank.
TBC…