Chapter 15
Claire sat on the porch watching the waves roll in. Pavlov sat next to her, looking at her sadly. She looked down at him and studied his eyes, "You know something's wrong don't you?"
Pavlov sat up and lifted a paw in the air. Claire picked him up and held him like she was holding a child. Tears welled up in her eyes, "He's not coming home." She rocked back and forth.
After a few moments she walked down to the shoreline and stood there. How quickly things change. She thought back to yesterday when Ed was in that ocean, surfing and trying to work out his new role life and now…it was nothing more than a memory. She shook her head, "I can't…" she turned around and headed for the house when she noticed the shed, she stared at it for a few moments and ran back inside the house. Claire grabbed her keys and went to the shed.
Claire stood there, not sure if she should open it or not, but decided to do it anyway. She opened the door and walked in. It was like time froze for her. Ed had been so happy that now he actually had a place to store his boards and work on them. Some days he would spend hours in there, taking off the old wax, and putting on new wax. Claire walked towards the boards leaning up against the wall. She touched the one he had used yesterday and her other hand shot immediately to her mouth. The sadness rushing up like an exploding volcano, she held the board and cried. Her hands touched the board as she tried to feel any part of him still left on it. She shook her head, "No, please…let this be a dream…please, not Ed…I just got him back…"
"Claire?"
She whipped her head around and saw Sloan at the door. She wiped off her tears with her hands, "Sloan, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," her voice was shaky as she tried to talk in between the sobs.
Sloan walked in and looked around, "I'm sorry, Claire." She rushed to Claire, the two women embraced and cried. "I…I…"
"Why, Sloan…why?..." Claire asked as she broke away from Sloan and held the board again.
"I'm asking the same thing," Sloan said as she wiped her tears away.
"He used this yesterday, you know. This was his favorite…" Claire looked at it, "I'm going to keep it, in fact, I'm going to bring it into the house." Claire tucked the board under her arm and walked outside. She locked the door and the two of them went back into the house. Claire leaned the board up against the wall.
"Claire, why don't you come back to the Agency, everyone is there and they're worried about you," Sloan said.
Claire turned around, tears streaming down her face, "NO! I don't ever want to go back there again. I'm turning in my resignation and the Official can have…" she paused, she couldn't get the words out, 'Ed's keeper be Darien's new keeper', she choked on those words as they left her mouth.
Sloan looked down at the floor, "Please, Claire, don't…"
"You don't understand, I can't go back there because every time I look into Darien's face…I'll…I'll see Ed. That's why I can't go back! I don't want to see Darien ever again!" Claire fell to her knees, "Ed…Ed…" her body shook as she repeated his name over and over.
Sloan sat down with her on the floor, "We'll stay here then." Sloan had managed to get Claire to the couch and a short time later, she had fallen asleep from all the emotional exertion.
~*~
Darien and Hobbes met Ray and Walter at the scene of the accident. The burnt out remains of the van lay on it's side and was still covered in the yellow plastic. Pieces of the van lay strewn around the area. Things like hub caps, a door believed to have been on the passenger side was blown off on impact, shattered glass, other unrecognizable parts of the van and items from inside the van as well including Ed's cell phone. Walter was talking with some men in black suits and was clearly giving them orders. Darien had thought to himself that any minute now they would pull out neuralizers and start zapping all the police officers and the curious onlookers.
Ray walked up to Darien, "I'm sorry, Fawkes. I know how much he meant to you, to all of us."
"Thanks, and I'm sorry too. You knew him longer and this must be even harder on you." Darien looked back at the van. "Did you uh…see him?"
Ray looked down at the ground, "Yeah, I did. And it will stick in my mind for the rest of my life."
Darien took a deep breath. "So, what did you find out?"
"Well, for one thing, there are no skid marks from the van. So we can rule out him being run off the road. The van exploded on impact. I've talked to witnesses and they saw nothing, just the van coming over the side. Right now, the locals see it as an accident or a suicide."
"Nah, I don't believe that," Darien said as he watched the flat bed tow truck pull up in front of the van. He turned his body so his back was to the van.
Ray glanced at Hobbes and they turned away also. "I'm with you on this, Fawkes. This was no accident or suicide," Ray said.
"I have a question though," Hobbes said.
Darien and Ray turned their attention to Hobbes. He looked at the both of them, "What was Ed doing out this way anyway? This road would have taken him north of the agency."
"That was my first thought. Maybe he was meeting someone that we didn't know about." Ray added.
Darien looked at Hobbes, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I don't know, you're the one with the direct dial up to my mind, my friend." Hobbes studied Darien for a moment, "Wait, you're thinking Arnaud is still alive and had something to do with this?"
"Could be, I mean either Ed was meeting Arnaud here or he was driven here by someone to make it look like an accident. He could have been knocked out and then put in the driver's seat and the van pushed over the edge." Darien said. His hands were still stuffed in his pockets and he watched the sea gulls in the sky. Life goes on.
"That's a possibility and for now, I'd say let's keep that between us," Ray commented.
Ed's Keeper came up to them. He had a horrified look on his face. "I…uh…"
"What's wrong?" Hobbes asked and then he shot a quick glance at Darien.
"I think the gland is gone," the Keeper said he slowly looked around the three men.
Darien's face showed anger. Ray looked confused, "How do you know?"
"I was examining the remains and it looks like there's a uhmm…hole in the back of his head. I'll know for sure when I do an autopsy."
Darien started to breath heavily now. Hobbes took out his gun to make sure it was loaded. Darien put his hand on top of the gun to stop Hobbes, "This is my job, Hobbes. That Swiss miss mutha has gone too far."
The Keeper put his hand on Darien's arm. Darien looked at it and then glared at the Keeper. He quickly took his hand away, "Look, I'm not even sure yet that the man in that van is even Dr. Tate. I have a sample here for a DNA comparison. Let me do that first and make sure it's him before you go seeking revenge."
Darien watched as the men worked to load the remains of the van on the truck. He glared back at the Keeper, "Okay, I'll wait. But in the mean time, I'm still going to look for Arnaud. He'll run again and I'm not about to let him get away this time, especially since he's already hurt."
"Fair enough," replied the Keeper.
"Aren't they even going to remove Ed from the van?" Darien asked with a hint of infuriation in his voice.
The Keeper looked back at the van being prepared to be lifted on the tow truck, then he turned his gaze back to Darien, "No, the explosion on impact caused Dr. Tate to be…" he stopped and decided not to mention the true condition of Ed's body, "…we're going to do that somewhere else and then transport the body…"
"Not a body, damn it…that's Ed, you understand me!?!" Darien said angrily as he pushed his finger into the Keeper's chest and then stormed off.
Hobbes walked up to the Keeper and patted him on the shoulder. Hobbes didn't say a word but merely nodded and walked off to chase his partner down. Tom showed up just in time to see Darien storm off.
Darien stood by the shoreline with his hands in his pockets. Hobbes walked up behind him, "How you holding up, kid?"
Darien shook his head from side to side as she looked down at the ground, "I don't get it Hobbes, I just don't get it."
"Get what?"
"I'm not so sure it was Arnaud, I mean there were those other people there at his house, maybe they had something to do with it," Darien looked straight out over the ocean.
"Maybe were supposed to think it was Arnaud so we would go after him and finish him off, if he's still alive. It would throw us off the trail of those who are responsible," Hobbes said. "Come on, let's go back to the Agency and see what we can find."
Tom watched as Darien and Hobbes left. He continued his conversation with Ray and then met up with Walter.
~*~
"You ruined my life!" Ed said bitterly. If he could jump off the table and strangle the woman he would. 'Claire…oh God…Claire,' he could see her in his mind. He closed his eyes and concentrated on sending her a message that he was alive.
"Don't be so dramatic, Dr. Tate, it's not like you," the Lady walked over to the other side of the table.
Ed's eyes snapped opened, "Dramatic…you bitch! How the hell do you think I'm supposed to respond? With a smile and say 'thank you'? You used us to cover up the government's biggest blunder and now you've taken me away from the woman I love! Damn you!" Ed's eyes shot open wide in surprise because he just let the cat out of bag, 'Oh way to go, Tate, wrong time to let it slip,' he mentally slapped himself.
The Lady glared at Ed, "What did you just say?"
"I uhh…" Ed closed his eyes. "Damn," he was in no position to lie and he knew that other people in the room heard his outburst.
The Lady leaned down and glared at Ed, "Tell me about your discovery."
"It's only a hypothesis, I have no proof," Ed reiterated. "But I get the distinct impression that I wasn't that far off the mark." Ed looked around at the curious faces and sighed, "Alright, look, I read the article in 'Nature' magazine about the homo sapien skulls they found in Ethiopia. They're dated to be older than the known Neanderthals in Europe. It would appear that we didn't evolve from Neanderthals, but actually from these early humans that bare a striking resemblance to modern humans. These Ethiopian humans migrated to Europe, their stronger DNA of course helped in wiping out the lesser Neanderthals, natural selection sort of thing. Now, it took thousand of years for the skin pigmentation, eye and hair color to change to match the various climates in Europe."
The group listened to Ed intently as he continued to talk, "We know for that the dominants came from Southern Mexico. Not even a generation has passed from the new species, yet the dominants have all sorts of hair, eye, and skin color. If they started in Mexico, they should all resemble the indigenous people from that region. As you know, they don't. The people that came from the surrounding village are indigenous to that region. The only other explanation is that they were created, by man, an experiment that went terribly wrong. So, technically speaking, they did evolve, just not from a natural course like we believed. We humans have been responsible for the extinctions of hundreds of species and we nearly caused the extinctions of other species. Now it looks like we are responsible for the evolution of man." Ed stared at the Lady for a moment and then spoke, "Now, are you going to tell me how it happened?"
"I'm sorry, Dr. Tate, but that is a question I can not answer."
Ed frowned, "It figures, more bureaucratic red tape. You've been nothing but a thorn in our side since we got involved with the whole dominant issue."
"I don't care, Dr. Tate. But you do realize that since you're close to the answer I can't very well let you go. If it got out it would be an embarrassment for the government. And I know you want to serve your country."
Ed paused for a moment, "The genome therapy…you want me to continue my research so that you can *fix* the mistake."
The Lady scoffed at Ed's remark, "Dr. Tate, you have no intention on perfecting the serum except to help Agent Fawkes. Your serum has been perfected already and a way to deliver it is in motion. So, this isn't about your research."
Ed stared off, "Perfected?" He remembered that the information had been on his laptop the night it was taken from Sloan's apartment. He glared at her, "What do you mean a way to deliver the serum is in motion? You can't be serious even after all this time? There are dominants who want peace don't you realize that?"
The Lady looked around and turned her attention back to Ed, "Peace? Not a chance, they can't be trusted and you of all people should know that."
Ed sneered at her, "You're the one who can't be trusted."
"I'm doing what I have to do to preserve the human race, Dr. Tate. Meanwhile, you're a traitor to your species. You're friends with them and you've helped them in the past. I had such high hopes for you. When Walter called me and told me about your plan for the serum I had thought that you, unlike Walter, had seen the big picture. But, I'm willing to forget all that because now there's something else I want you to do for us."
"I really don't believe you. You kidnap me, fake my death, you have me strapped down to a table and now you want me to do you a favor? Lady you are one messed up haole." Ed looked at the other people standing around him. Their eyes were locked on him like he was a magician at a kids' magic show.
"Disappear for us, Dr. Tate." The woman's voice was cold and emotionless.
Ed looked around and turned his attention to the Lady, "What?"
"One way or another, Dr. Tate, you will help us. So, please make this easier on yourself."
Ed watched as a table was rolled up beside him with some ominous looking devices on it. "What are going to do to me?" Ed asked nervously.
A scientist walked up to Ed, "Research, Dr. Tate, and you're it. I want to know how that gland works."
~*~
Darien and Hobbes went back to the Agency. Darien had phoned Darcy and told her what happened, she was very distraught and decided to go over and see Claire. Darien plopped down on his chair and leaned his head back. He thought back to that first time he and Ed saw each other. He was in that clean room at the military base and Ed was on the other side of the window. "You know, Hobbes, I wish I had a camera the first time Ed and I saw each other, the look on his face was priceless," Darien paused, "I guess I have a whole new set of memories to hold onto."
"Look, Fawkes, we don't have to do this now, we can wait," Hobbes said as he sat down across from Darien.
Darien shook his head, "Nah, I want to find out who ever did this. I haven't been able to get revenge for Kevin, but I sure as hell am not gonna sit around and let someone get away with this."
"Let's get started then." Hobbes turned on his computer and went to work.
~*~
Ed woke up and looked around, the last thing he remembered was the pain. His arms were still immobile and so were his legs. He had hoped that maybe he was dreaming, "So, this is real." His head hurt, in fact his whole body hurt. He knew they weren't done or else he would've been released by now. He glanced around and inspected the room he was in. There was a large window and he knew what that was for. So that he couldn't see the really important big wigs staring at him like a prized King Kong. There was medical equipment all around and a chair that didn't look comfortable at all. He wondered if that was meant for him or someone else. It would keep him immobile particularly his head. 'It's for me,' he resigned himself to that fact.
He could see the tests being analyzed on the monitors and the printers spat out papers of those results. Someone was definitely doing a thorough research, but how thorough would they get? Ed decided that he had nothing to lose after all and tried to quicksilver the restraints but it was no use. They knew ahead of time and were well prepared. Another thing that Ed noticed was that he was still hooked up to machines that beeped and took internal pictures. Electrodes were mainly on his head, but his chest was adorned with them also. Of course, they wouldn't want their lab rat to suddenly have a heart attack.
"You're awake, good, now we can start the next phase of our tests," the voice behind him said.
Ed couldn't stretch to see who it was, "What are you doing to me?" At that moment a shot of pain raced from the back of his head. All he could do was arch his back and moan. The monitors around him sounded alarms and people in lab coats came over to watch. They talked and pointed at Ed and didn't even try to comfort him. He was just an experiment and he was something new for them to study.
They were fascinated by the first signs of quicksilver madness. They quickly studied the printouts of Ed's response to the sudden pain. Ed looked at them pleading with his eyes through the pain until it ended. Someone had turned his wrist around, removed the restraint and then reattached it. Ed heard him speak words he hoped he really didn't hear, "Eight are red, how fascinating and what an ingenious device."
"I'm going to need counteragent," Ed said as his voice quivered. His whole body ached even worse then before now.
"I'm afraid we can't do that, at least not now, we're going to conduct some more tests while you go through the stages of quicksilver madness," the voice behind him said.
Ed looked around and fear gripped him, "No, don't this to me!" He shouted at the man behind him.
"Sorry, Dr. Tate, but it's all in the name of science."
A bite block was forced into Ed's mouth and strapped to his head. He breathed heavily through his nostrils as he glared at the scientist, "This is so that you'll have something to bite down on and plus your moans won't disturb our work."
Ed's face showed the state of rage he was in and a muffled curse was all he could get out. Ed tried to shake the block out of his mouth, but the strap was too tight. He struggled in the restraints but could not break free.
The scientist shook his head, "Now, now, Dr. Tate, you can struggle all you want, but you won't break free of those restraints. You can try quicksilvering them, but that won't work either, only bring you closer to madness." The scientist walked away.
It's a good thing Ed was gagged or else the whole room would have been filled with the myriad of curses that tried to flow from his mouth. In his younger days, it would have meant a one-way ticket to the bathroom and a bar of soap for a gag. Ed was known for his quick outbursts of fury and today was no different. However, with the onset of quicksilver madness, his temper was as hot as molten lava fresh out of a volcano.
She gazed at the human lying on the table in bewilderment from across the room. These humans didn't show compassion for one of their own, they went against everything that she was taught. Just by their actions, she would have mistaken them for dominants. The sudden onslaught of pain took her attention away from the printouts in her hands. She had heard about the one who could turn invisible; her father had told her about it and now there was another.
The human moaned, but his sounds were muffled. She could sense the pain he was in but also the fear that held him and would not let him go. She was curious to learn about this quicksilver madness, to study how it happens and how to cure it.
"Don't do this to me!" Was the look written all over the man's face, but no one cared and no one paid attention. The scientists in the room worked around him as if he wasn't even there. What did he do to deserve this kind of treatment? He had after all come up with the genogenesis serum, discovered the dominants gene altering ticks and stopped Copeland, wasn't he on their side?
There were also other emotions coming from him. They puzzled her at first. Along with the fear, there was anger, an anger that was as volatile as any angry dominant. It was as if he was fighting with himself, trying to keep something inside…trying to stay in control.
~*~
Everyone sat and waited in Walter's office. Several boxes of Kleenex lay empty around the room. Sloan and Darcy had managed to talk Claire into going back to the Agency to be with everyone. Claire was reluctant at first, but she understood that she couldn't fault Darien for looking like Ed. Sloan had used the old 'Do you think that's what Ed would want?' routine and it worked. They waited for Ed's Keeper to come in with the DNA results. It had been hours since he started running tests and they were getting inpatient. Even though they all suspected what the outcome would be anyway. The van was his and since he hadn't shown up for work yet or had contacted anyone, it was pretty much accepted that Ed was the one in the van.
Tom sat with Sloan in his arms. She sat motionless and hadn't cried for a while now. She missed Ed already and desperately tried to remember what they had shared during their friendship. The good times as well as the bad and they had a few.
Tom was taught that if dominants felt pity and compassion that that would be their downfall. He didn't see it that way. He saw it as being true to himself. Pity and compassion drove him to protect his friends. Tom thought of the night that he and Ed found themselves in a situation that would either break or make their friendship. It was a night that they would have to work together if they were going to get out alive.
Four years earlier.
A small plane zipped through the night time sky. The moon was full and not a single cloud blocked the stars. It had been almost a year since the night Tom was taken and Ed nearly overdosed on the sedative. Tom was nursed back to health with Ed's help. But even after that, the two men had not become friends like Tom had hoped.
Ed still had some issues with Tom, mainly trust. Ed knew that it was dominants that saved him. He had spent four long months living with dominants in many areas. But those were dominants that were not trained under Lewis to be Chameleons. That's what blocked Ed from completely being able to trust Tom. He saw Tom as a Chameleon, a trained killer, someone who could blend in and go for the kill; after all he was sent to kill Sloan in the first place. He couldn't get himself past that level that Sloan had reached long ago.
Now, Ed found himself sitting on a small airplane going God knows where with Tom. Walter had sent the two men on a mission for the first time since he joined Tom and Sloan on their trip to Mexico. Ed sat with his arms folded as he looked out at the sky. He missed the lab, he missed his surfboard and most of all he missed Sloan.
From the corner of his eye he saw Tom slowly rise from his seat. Tom turned his head and looked at Ed sternly.
"What is it?" Ed asked.
"Get your head down," Tom said with no emotion as he made his way to the front of the plane.
"What?" Ed called out. "Put my head down?" he quizzically asked himself looking around. Everything appeared to be normal. He looked up again and saw Tom talking with the pilots. Ed stood up, "Tom, what's going on?" Ed didn't have to wait for an answer.
The plane suddenly made a sharp turn and nose dived before leveling off. Ed desperately tried to balance himself, but to no avail. He ended up falling over seats and hit the floor hard. Tom had seen him thrashing about trying to keep his balance. He yelled out to Ed, "Stay down!"
Ed looked at Tom disgustedly from the floor, "No problem." He spoke softly as he performed a mental exam on himself. "Possibly a cracked rib or two or three," then he yelled out, "What the heck is going on?"
"We're being chased," Tom said.
"Again!?! Who is it this time?" Ed asked very annoyed.
"Dominants." Tom replied.
"Why am I not surprised," Ed said with his fists balled up.
"Hang on!" The pilot yelled out as the plane nose dived and turned.
Ed held on to the seats so he wouldn't fly around the cabin again. "I can't believe this. I'm gonna die on an airplane with Tom." The thought didn't please him.
What happened next was unexpected. Bullets started to riddle the cabin. Ed covered his head, "What the!?!"
"There shooting at us!" Tom yelled.
"No kidding," Ed said to himself. "Can't we get away from them?"
"Ed, brace yourself, we're going down!" Tom yelled.
"My God!" Tom's words sunk in and Ed immediately thought of his mother. Would he ever she her again? He turned his body around so his feet were forward and he was on his back. He braced himself with his feet and held on to the seat with his hands. He could clearly look out the cockpit window.
The plane shook violently as it headed towards the ground. Ed squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for a quick death. The wings of the plane hit the tree tops and broke off bit by bit.
"God, I know I'm an anthropologist and study evolution, but please don't hold that against me," Ed prayed. He had grown up going with his mother to the local Episcopalian Church every Sunday. When he told her that he was going to study evolution she had frowned on the idea, but deep down inside she knew that God would use even that to touch the heart of her son. After the thought of his mother, another image leapt into his mind.
*He and Sloan were in his van as he drove them to Arrowhead. Sloan had wanted to show something to Ed, the cave that Tom had showed her the night before.
"I really appreciate you coming all the way out here with me."
"No problem," Ed said in an aggravated tone. "Actually, I like Arrowhead. I've done quite a bit of climbing out here."
"So have I."
"You mean the mud I saw on your shoes back at the lab?" Ed looked at Sloan as he drove. Sloan nodded.
"Ok, look, I've gotten you this far. Now it's your turn. Will you tell me what we're doing here?" Ed didn't like the way Sloan was keeping this secret from him. He trusted her, but why was she finding it hard to trust to him?
"I have to show you something. If...we can find it. I'm not really sure what it means. Or even what it really is. But...it scares me."
"So why didn't you tell me?" Ed asked concerned. Something was scaring her.
"I'm telling you now."
Ed, a little irritated now, snapped back, "No you're not."
Sloan couldn't bring herself to tell him about Tom, not yet anyway. "I just...look I just really need you to roll with me on this one. To take a leap of faith, okay?"
"How come I'm always the one taking the leap of faith?" Ed said as he looked away from Sloan.*
Ed opened his eyes and saw that the plane was about to hit the ground, "Leap of faith…I'm taking a leap of faith!!!!" Ed called out as the plane hit the ground and skidded before it broke apart.
Tom had found Ed a few feet away from the plane wreckage. Apparently he had been thrown when the plane broke apart as it skidded across the rocky terrain. He checked Ed for any injuries. When Ed didn't groan or show any other obvious signs of pain or injury he carried him into the forest for cover. He found the first aid kit and some other items that might be useful. There was nothing Tom could do for the pilots, they had died on impact.
Tom needed Ed to wake up so they could get moving. The dominants were sure to know of their location and would be racing to get to them. Tom wasn't in the mood to deal with dominants right now, he needed to take care of Ed and get them both to safety. He suspected that Lewis was behind all this and didn't want him to get his hands on Ed.
A presence coming down the hall shook Tom from his memory. He stared at Darien and Darcy, they knew who was coming down the hall as well and they knew the answer already.
The Keeper walked in and closed the door. All eyes were on him. He let out a big sigh, "The DNA of the victim matches Dr. Tate's, I'm sorry." There was silence in the room. Everyone just stared at one another in shock.
Hobbes broke the silence, "What else did you find out?"
"Well, if it helps, he was dead already when the van went off the cliff."
Sloan and Claire started crying again, more out of relief than anything. Ray spoke up next, "Looks like we're looking at murder. Anything else you can tell me?"
"The gland was harvested and I suspect that's what killed him. I'm sorry to have to say this but…who ever took the gland took the part of Dr. Tate's brain that it was attached to." The Keeper looked down at the floor.
Darien stood up and paced around the room heatedly. Claire and Sloan cried even harder. Hobbes held Claire tight, his own anger welling up inside of him. Ray turned away; he had seen many things as a detective but nothing like this.
"Why? Why would someone do that?" Sloan asked.
"Someone was desperate to get the gland and was in a hurry to get it," Walter said sadly. He didn't want to think about what Ed's last moments might have been like.
"Just to let you know, that Ed didn't feel a thing, I found residue of an anesthetic in his system. I doubt if he knew."
"No, he knew what was about to happen, trust me." Darien remembered when Arnaud nearly operated on him. He remembered looking up into Arnaud's eyes when the gas mask was put on him. Ed must have gone through the same thing.
Sloan shook her head and turned to cry on Tom's shoulder.
"I wasn't there to protect him," Darien said. Darcy put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. She could feel the anger in him and she was worried that he wouldn't be able to control himself.
"It wasn't your fault, Darien. Please don't blame yourself," Darcy said through tears.
"I'm going to rip someone's brain out and stuff it down their throat!!" Darien yelled and stormed out. Darcy, without saying a word, went out after him.
"Dr. Attwood, I hate to ask this, but what do I do with Ed's body?"
Walter sat stunned; he didn't think he would ever hear those words. He didn't say anything. He just sat there. Just a short time ago he was ordered to harvest the gland if counteragent wasn't found; he prayed that he didn't have to go that far. But now, he felt as if he had done the procedure himself.
"Dr. Attwood?"
"What? Oh, I'm sorry…uhmm…I should call his mother first and let her decide that. In the mean time, I guess the city morgue will do for now. If you all would excuse me." He had called her in the morning to let her know that Ed may have been in an accident, but they weren't sure. He had told her that he would call her later to let her know.
Everyone got up very slowly and walked out. No one said a word, they were too busy crying or were just too stunned.
Walter dialed the number, it rang a few times and then a woman's voice picked up. "Hello, Ms. Morgan, this is Dr. Walter Attwood again…I'm sorry that I have to be the one to tell you, but it was Ed, I'm sorry, Ms. Morgan, I'm very sorry…"
On the other end of the phone, Walter heard a mother's wail.
"My baby!!! Not my baby!!!"
~*~
Ed's Keeper was in his office cleaning it out when Walter walked in. He looked up, "Oh Walter, I thought I'd just go ahead and start packing up. I don't think I'm needed here anymore."
"I'm afraid so, but as much as I hate to do this I could use you now," Walter put his hands in his pockets.
"I can't replace Ed, besides I don't think the others would appreciate you replacing him so fast. No, I think it's best if I leave. I was brought here because of the gland and now well, you know." The Keeper put his books in the box. He handed Walter a disk, "For what it's worth, here is the information I gathered in my research on the gland and what Claire had done. Maybe she can use it to help Darien."
Walter looked at the disk and sighed heavily, "Thanks, but you will need to keep all of this a secret?"
"Yes, I'm sworn to secrecy. I'm a doctor, Walter, doctor/patient confidentiality, remember?" The Keeper put out his hand, "Thanks, Walter. I'm sorry it had to work out this way. Dr. Tate was a good man and a damn good scientist."
Walter shook his hand, "That he was." Walter watched as the Keeper left. He twirled the disk in his hand and walked out.
TBC…
Claire sat on the porch watching the waves roll in. Pavlov sat next to her, looking at her sadly. She looked down at him and studied his eyes, "You know something's wrong don't you?"
Pavlov sat up and lifted a paw in the air. Claire picked him up and held him like she was holding a child. Tears welled up in her eyes, "He's not coming home." She rocked back and forth.
After a few moments she walked down to the shoreline and stood there. How quickly things change. She thought back to yesterday when Ed was in that ocean, surfing and trying to work out his new role life and now…it was nothing more than a memory. She shook her head, "I can't…" she turned around and headed for the house when she noticed the shed, she stared at it for a few moments and ran back inside the house. Claire grabbed her keys and went to the shed.
Claire stood there, not sure if she should open it or not, but decided to do it anyway. She opened the door and walked in. It was like time froze for her. Ed had been so happy that now he actually had a place to store his boards and work on them. Some days he would spend hours in there, taking off the old wax, and putting on new wax. Claire walked towards the boards leaning up against the wall. She touched the one he had used yesterday and her other hand shot immediately to her mouth. The sadness rushing up like an exploding volcano, she held the board and cried. Her hands touched the board as she tried to feel any part of him still left on it. She shook her head, "No, please…let this be a dream…please, not Ed…I just got him back…"
"Claire?"
She whipped her head around and saw Sloan at the door. She wiped off her tears with her hands, "Sloan, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," her voice was shaky as she tried to talk in between the sobs.
Sloan walked in and looked around, "I'm sorry, Claire." She rushed to Claire, the two women embraced and cried. "I…I…"
"Why, Sloan…why?..." Claire asked as she broke away from Sloan and held the board again.
"I'm asking the same thing," Sloan said as she wiped her tears away.
"He used this yesterday, you know. This was his favorite…" Claire looked at it, "I'm going to keep it, in fact, I'm going to bring it into the house." Claire tucked the board under her arm and walked outside. She locked the door and the two of them went back into the house. Claire leaned the board up against the wall.
"Claire, why don't you come back to the Agency, everyone is there and they're worried about you," Sloan said.
Claire turned around, tears streaming down her face, "NO! I don't ever want to go back there again. I'm turning in my resignation and the Official can have…" she paused, she couldn't get the words out, 'Ed's keeper be Darien's new keeper', she choked on those words as they left her mouth.
Sloan looked down at the floor, "Please, Claire, don't…"
"You don't understand, I can't go back there because every time I look into Darien's face…I'll…I'll see Ed. That's why I can't go back! I don't want to see Darien ever again!" Claire fell to her knees, "Ed…Ed…" her body shook as she repeated his name over and over.
Sloan sat down with her on the floor, "We'll stay here then." Sloan had managed to get Claire to the couch and a short time later, she had fallen asleep from all the emotional exertion.
~*~
Darien and Hobbes met Ray and Walter at the scene of the accident. The burnt out remains of the van lay on it's side and was still covered in the yellow plastic. Pieces of the van lay strewn around the area. Things like hub caps, a door believed to have been on the passenger side was blown off on impact, shattered glass, other unrecognizable parts of the van and items from inside the van as well including Ed's cell phone. Walter was talking with some men in black suits and was clearly giving them orders. Darien had thought to himself that any minute now they would pull out neuralizers and start zapping all the police officers and the curious onlookers.
Ray walked up to Darien, "I'm sorry, Fawkes. I know how much he meant to you, to all of us."
"Thanks, and I'm sorry too. You knew him longer and this must be even harder on you." Darien looked back at the van. "Did you uh…see him?"
Ray looked down at the ground, "Yeah, I did. And it will stick in my mind for the rest of my life."
Darien took a deep breath. "So, what did you find out?"
"Well, for one thing, there are no skid marks from the van. So we can rule out him being run off the road. The van exploded on impact. I've talked to witnesses and they saw nothing, just the van coming over the side. Right now, the locals see it as an accident or a suicide."
"Nah, I don't believe that," Darien said as he watched the flat bed tow truck pull up in front of the van. He turned his body so his back was to the van.
Ray glanced at Hobbes and they turned away also. "I'm with you on this, Fawkes. This was no accident or suicide," Ray said.
"I have a question though," Hobbes said.
Darien and Ray turned their attention to Hobbes. He looked at the both of them, "What was Ed doing out this way anyway? This road would have taken him north of the agency."
"That was my first thought. Maybe he was meeting someone that we didn't know about." Ray added.
Darien looked at Hobbes, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I don't know, you're the one with the direct dial up to my mind, my friend." Hobbes studied Darien for a moment, "Wait, you're thinking Arnaud is still alive and had something to do with this?"
"Could be, I mean either Ed was meeting Arnaud here or he was driven here by someone to make it look like an accident. He could have been knocked out and then put in the driver's seat and the van pushed over the edge." Darien said. His hands were still stuffed in his pockets and he watched the sea gulls in the sky. Life goes on.
"That's a possibility and for now, I'd say let's keep that between us," Ray commented.
Ed's Keeper came up to them. He had a horrified look on his face. "I…uh…"
"What's wrong?" Hobbes asked and then he shot a quick glance at Darien.
"I think the gland is gone," the Keeper said he slowly looked around the three men.
Darien's face showed anger. Ray looked confused, "How do you know?"
"I was examining the remains and it looks like there's a uhmm…hole in the back of his head. I'll know for sure when I do an autopsy."
Darien started to breath heavily now. Hobbes took out his gun to make sure it was loaded. Darien put his hand on top of the gun to stop Hobbes, "This is my job, Hobbes. That Swiss miss mutha has gone too far."
The Keeper put his hand on Darien's arm. Darien looked at it and then glared at the Keeper. He quickly took his hand away, "Look, I'm not even sure yet that the man in that van is even Dr. Tate. I have a sample here for a DNA comparison. Let me do that first and make sure it's him before you go seeking revenge."
Darien watched as the men worked to load the remains of the van on the truck. He glared back at the Keeper, "Okay, I'll wait. But in the mean time, I'm still going to look for Arnaud. He'll run again and I'm not about to let him get away this time, especially since he's already hurt."
"Fair enough," replied the Keeper.
"Aren't they even going to remove Ed from the van?" Darien asked with a hint of infuriation in his voice.
The Keeper looked back at the van being prepared to be lifted on the tow truck, then he turned his gaze back to Darien, "No, the explosion on impact caused Dr. Tate to be…" he stopped and decided not to mention the true condition of Ed's body, "…we're going to do that somewhere else and then transport the body…"
"Not a body, damn it…that's Ed, you understand me!?!" Darien said angrily as he pushed his finger into the Keeper's chest and then stormed off.
Hobbes walked up to the Keeper and patted him on the shoulder. Hobbes didn't say a word but merely nodded and walked off to chase his partner down. Tom showed up just in time to see Darien storm off.
Darien stood by the shoreline with his hands in his pockets. Hobbes walked up behind him, "How you holding up, kid?"
Darien shook his head from side to side as she looked down at the ground, "I don't get it Hobbes, I just don't get it."
"Get what?"
"I'm not so sure it was Arnaud, I mean there were those other people there at his house, maybe they had something to do with it," Darien looked straight out over the ocean.
"Maybe were supposed to think it was Arnaud so we would go after him and finish him off, if he's still alive. It would throw us off the trail of those who are responsible," Hobbes said. "Come on, let's go back to the Agency and see what we can find."
Tom watched as Darien and Hobbes left. He continued his conversation with Ray and then met up with Walter.
~*~
"You ruined my life!" Ed said bitterly. If he could jump off the table and strangle the woman he would. 'Claire…oh God…Claire,' he could see her in his mind. He closed his eyes and concentrated on sending her a message that he was alive.
"Don't be so dramatic, Dr. Tate, it's not like you," the Lady walked over to the other side of the table.
Ed's eyes snapped opened, "Dramatic…you bitch! How the hell do you think I'm supposed to respond? With a smile and say 'thank you'? You used us to cover up the government's biggest blunder and now you've taken me away from the woman I love! Damn you!" Ed's eyes shot open wide in surprise because he just let the cat out of bag, 'Oh way to go, Tate, wrong time to let it slip,' he mentally slapped himself.
The Lady glared at Ed, "What did you just say?"
"I uhh…" Ed closed his eyes. "Damn," he was in no position to lie and he knew that other people in the room heard his outburst.
The Lady leaned down and glared at Ed, "Tell me about your discovery."
"It's only a hypothesis, I have no proof," Ed reiterated. "But I get the distinct impression that I wasn't that far off the mark." Ed looked around at the curious faces and sighed, "Alright, look, I read the article in 'Nature' magazine about the homo sapien skulls they found in Ethiopia. They're dated to be older than the known Neanderthals in Europe. It would appear that we didn't evolve from Neanderthals, but actually from these early humans that bare a striking resemblance to modern humans. These Ethiopian humans migrated to Europe, their stronger DNA of course helped in wiping out the lesser Neanderthals, natural selection sort of thing. Now, it took thousand of years for the skin pigmentation, eye and hair color to change to match the various climates in Europe."
The group listened to Ed intently as he continued to talk, "We know for that the dominants came from Southern Mexico. Not even a generation has passed from the new species, yet the dominants have all sorts of hair, eye, and skin color. If they started in Mexico, they should all resemble the indigenous people from that region. As you know, they don't. The people that came from the surrounding village are indigenous to that region. The only other explanation is that they were created, by man, an experiment that went terribly wrong. So, technically speaking, they did evolve, just not from a natural course like we believed. We humans have been responsible for the extinctions of hundreds of species and we nearly caused the extinctions of other species. Now it looks like we are responsible for the evolution of man." Ed stared at the Lady for a moment and then spoke, "Now, are you going to tell me how it happened?"
"I'm sorry, Dr. Tate, but that is a question I can not answer."
Ed frowned, "It figures, more bureaucratic red tape. You've been nothing but a thorn in our side since we got involved with the whole dominant issue."
"I don't care, Dr. Tate. But you do realize that since you're close to the answer I can't very well let you go. If it got out it would be an embarrassment for the government. And I know you want to serve your country."
Ed paused for a moment, "The genome therapy…you want me to continue my research so that you can *fix* the mistake."
The Lady scoffed at Ed's remark, "Dr. Tate, you have no intention on perfecting the serum except to help Agent Fawkes. Your serum has been perfected already and a way to deliver it is in motion. So, this isn't about your research."
Ed stared off, "Perfected?" He remembered that the information had been on his laptop the night it was taken from Sloan's apartment. He glared at her, "What do you mean a way to deliver the serum is in motion? You can't be serious even after all this time? There are dominants who want peace don't you realize that?"
The Lady looked around and turned her attention back to Ed, "Peace? Not a chance, they can't be trusted and you of all people should know that."
Ed sneered at her, "You're the one who can't be trusted."
"I'm doing what I have to do to preserve the human race, Dr. Tate. Meanwhile, you're a traitor to your species. You're friends with them and you've helped them in the past. I had such high hopes for you. When Walter called me and told me about your plan for the serum I had thought that you, unlike Walter, had seen the big picture. But, I'm willing to forget all that because now there's something else I want you to do for us."
"I really don't believe you. You kidnap me, fake my death, you have me strapped down to a table and now you want me to do you a favor? Lady you are one messed up haole." Ed looked at the other people standing around him. Their eyes were locked on him like he was a magician at a kids' magic show.
"Disappear for us, Dr. Tate." The woman's voice was cold and emotionless.
Ed looked around and turned his attention to the Lady, "What?"
"One way or another, Dr. Tate, you will help us. So, please make this easier on yourself."
Ed watched as a table was rolled up beside him with some ominous looking devices on it. "What are going to do to me?" Ed asked nervously.
A scientist walked up to Ed, "Research, Dr. Tate, and you're it. I want to know how that gland works."
~*~
Darien and Hobbes went back to the Agency. Darien had phoned Darcy and told her what happened, she was very distraught and decided to go over and see Claire. Darien plopped down on his chair and leaned his head back. He thought back to that first time he and Ed saw each other. He was in that clean room at the military base and Ed was on the other side of the window. "You know, Hobbes, I wish I had a camera the first time Ed and I saw each other, the look on his face was priceless," Darien paused, "I guess I have a whole new set of memories to hold onto."
"Look, Fawkes, we don't have to do this now, we can wait," Hobbes said as he sat down across from Darien.
Darien shook his head, "Nah, I want to find out who ever did this. I haven't been able to get revenge for Kevin, but I sure as hell am not gonna sit around and let someone get away with this."
"Let's get started then." Hobbes turned on his computer and went to work.
~*~
Ed woke up and looked around, the last thing he remembered was the pain. His arms were still immobile and so were his legs. He had hoped that maybe he was dreaming, "So, this is real." His head hurt, in fact his whole body hurt. He knew they weren't done or else he would've been released by now. He glanced around and inspected the room he was in. There was a large window and he knew what that was for. So that he couldn't see the really important big wigs staring at him like a prized King Kong. There was medical equipment all around and a chair that didn't look comfortable at all. He wondered if that was meant for him or someone else. It would keep him immobile particularly his head. 'It's for me,' he resigned himself to that fact.
He could see the tests being analyzed on the monitors and the printers spat out papers of those results. Someone was definitely doing a thorough research, but how thorough would they get? Ed decided that he had nothing to lose after all and tried to quicksilver the restraints but it was no use. They knew ahead of time and were well prepared. Another thing that Ed noticed was that he was still hooked up to machines that beeped and took internal pictures. Electrodes were mainly on his head, but his chest was adorned with them also. Of course, they wouldn't want their lab rat to suddenly have a heart attack.
"You're awake, good, now we can start the next phase of our tests," the voice behind him said.
Ed couldn't stretch to see who it was, "What are you doing to me?" At that moment a shot of pain raced from the back of his head. All he could do was arch his back and moan. The monitors around him sounded alarms and people in lab coats came over to watch. They talked and pointed at Ed and didn't even try to comfort him. He was just an experiment and he was something new for them to study.
They were fascinated by the first signs of quicksilver madness. They quickly studied the printouts of Ed's response to the sudden pain. Ed looked at them pleading with his eyes through the pain until it ended. Someone had turned his wrist around, removed the restraint and then reattached it. Ed heard him speak words he hoped he really didn't hear, "Eight are red, how fascinating and what an ingenious device."
"I'm going to need counteragent," Ed said as his voice quivered. His whole body ached even worse then before now.
"I'm afraid we can't do that, at least not now, we're going to conduct some more tests while you go through the stages of quicksilver madness," the voice behind him said.
Ed looked around and fear gripped him, "No, don't this to me!" He shouted at the man behind him.
"Sorry, Dr. Tate, but it's all in the name of science."
A bite block was forced into Ed's mouth and strapped to his head. He breathed heavily through his nostrils as he glared at the scientist, "This is so that you'll have something to bite down on and plus your moans won't disturb our work."
Ed's face showed the state of rage he was in and a muffled curse was all he could get out. Ed tried to shake the block out of his mouth, but the strap was too tight. He struggled in the restraints but could not break free.
The scientist shook his head, "Now, now, Dr. Tate, you can struggle all you want, but you won't break free of those restraints. You can try quicksilvering them, but that won't work either, only bring you closer to madness." The scientist walked away.
It's a good thing Ed was gagged or else the whole room would have been filled with the myriad of curses that tried to flow from his mouth. In his younger days, it would have meant a one-way ticket to the bathroom and a bar of soap for a gag. Ed was known for his quick outbursts of fury and today was no different. However, with the onset of quicksilver madness, his temper was as hot as molten lava fresh out of a volcano.
She gazed at the human lying on the table in bewilderment from across the room. These humans didn't show compassion for one of their own, they went against everything that she was taught. Just by their actions, she would have mistaken them for dominants. The sudden onslaught of pain took her attention away from the printouts in her hands. She had heard about the one who could turn invisible; her father had told her about it and now there was another.
The human moaned, but his sounds were muffled. She could sense the pain he was in but also the fear that held him and would not let him go. She was curious to learn about this quicksilver madness, to study how it happens and how to cure it.
"Don't do this to me!" Was the look written all over the man's face, but no one cared and no one paid attention. The scientists in the room worked around him as if he wasn't even there. What did he do to deserve this kind of treatment? He had after all come up with the genogenesis serum, discovered the dominants gene altering ticks and stopped Copeland, wasn't he on their side?
There were also other emotions coming from him. They puzzled her at first. Along with the fear, there was anger, an anger that was as volatile as any angry dominant. It was as if he was fighting with himself, trying to keep something inside…trying to stay in control.
~*~
Everyone sat and waited in Walter's office. Several boxes of Kleenex lay empty around the room. Sloan and Darcy had managed to talk Claire into going back to the Agency to be with everyone. Claire was reluctant at first, but she understood that she couldn't fault Darien for looking like Ed. Sloan had used the old 'Do you think that's what Ed would want?' routine and it worked. They waited for Ed's Keeper to come in with the DNA results. It had been hours since he started running tests and they were getting inpatient. Even though they all suspected what the outcome would be anyway. The van was his and since he hadn't shown up for work yet or had contacted anyone, it was pretty much accepted that Ed was the one in the van.
Tom sat with Sloan in his arms. She sat motionless and hadn't cried for a while now. She missed Ed already and desperately tried to remember what they had shared during their friendship. The good times as well as the bad and they had a few.
Tom was taught that if dominants felt pity and compassion that that would be their downfall. He didn't see it that way. He saw it as being true to himself. Pity and compassion drove him to protect his friends. Tom thought of the night that he and Ed found themselves in a situation that would either break or make their friendship. It was a night that they would have to work together if they were going to get out alive.
Four years earlier.
A small plane zipped through the night time sky. The moon was full and not a single cloud blocked the stars. It had been almost a year since the night Tom was taken and Ed nearly overdosed on the sedative. Tom was nursed back to health with Ed's help. But even after that, the two men had not become friends like Tom had hoped.
Ed still had some issues with Tom, mainly trust. Ed knew that it was dominants that saved him. He had spent four long months living with dominants in many areas. But those were dominants that were not trained under Lewis to be Chameleons. That's what blocked Ed from completely being able to trust Tom. He saw Tom as a Chameleon, a trained killer, someone who could blend in and go for the kill; after all he was sent to kill Sloan in the first place. He couldn't get himself past that level that Sloan had reached long ago.
Now, Ed found himself sitting on a small airplane going God knows where with Tom. Walter had sent the two men on a mission for the first time since he joined Tom and Sloan on their trip to Mexico. Ed sat with his arms folded as he looked out at the sky. He missed the lab, he missed his surfboard and most of all he missed Sloan.
From the corner of his eye he saw Tom slowly rise from his seat. Tom turned his head and looked at Ed sternly.
"What is it?" Ed asked.
"Get your head down," Tom said with no emotion as he made his way to the front of the plane.
"What?" Ed called out. "Put my head down?" he quizzically asked himself looking around. Everything appeared to be normal. He looked up again and saw Tom talking with the pilots. Ed stood up, "Tom, what's going on?" Ed didn't have to wait for an answer.
The plane suddenly made a sharp turn and nose dived before leveling off. Ed desperately tried to balance himself, but to no avail. He ended up falling over seats and hit the floor hard. Tom had seen him thrashing about trying to keep his balance. He yelled out to Ed, "Stay down!"
Ed looked at Tom disgustedly from the floor, "No problem." He spoke softly as he performed a mental exam on himself. "Possibly a cracked rib or two or three," then he yelled out, "What the heck is going on?"
"We're being chased," Tom said.
"Again!?! Who is it this time?" Ed asked very annoyed.
"Dominants." Tom replied.
"Why am I not surprised," Ed said with his fists balled up.
"Hang on!" The pilot yelled out as the plane nose dived and turned.
Ed held on to the seats so he wouldn't fly around the cabin again. "I can't believe this. I'm gonna die on an airplane with Tom." The thought didn't please him.
What happened next was unexpected. Bullets started to riddle the cabin. Ed covered his head, "What the!?!"
"There shooting at us!" Tom yelled.
"No kidding," Ed said to himself. "Can't we get away from them?"
"Ed, brace yourself, we're going down!" Tom yelled.
"My God!" Tom's words sunk in and Ed immediately thought of his mother. Would he ever she her again? He turned his body around so his feet were forward and he was on his back. He braced himself with his feet and held on to the seat with his hands. He could clearly look out the cockpit window.
The plane shook violently as it headed towards the ground. Ed squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for a quick death. The wings of the plane hit the tree tops and broke off bit by bit.
"God, I know I'm an anthropologist and study evolution, but please don't hold that against me," Ed prayed. He had grown up going with his mother to the local Episcopalian Church every Sunday. When he told her that he was going to study evolution she had frowned on the idea, but deep down inside she knew that God would use even that to touch the heart of her son. After the thought of his mother, another image leapt into his mind.
*He and Sloan were in his van as he drove them to Arrowhead. Sloan had wanted to show something to Ed, the cave that Tom had showed her the night before.
"I really appreciate you coming all the way out here with me."
"No problem," Ed said in an aggravated tone. "Actually, I like Arrowhead. I've done quite a bit of climbing out here."
"So have I."
"You mean the mud I saw on your shoes back at the lab?" Ed looked at Sloan as he drove. Sloan nodded.
"Ok, look, I've gotten you this far. Now it's your turn. Will you tell me what we're doing here?" Ed didn't like the way Sloan was keeping this secret from him. He trusted her, but why was she finding it hard to trust to him?
"I have to show you something. If...we can find it. I'm not really sure what it means. Or even what it really is. But...it scares me."
"So why didn't you tell me?" Ed asked concerned. Something was scaring her.
"I'm telling you now."
Ed, a little irritated now, snapped back, "No you're not."
Sloan couldn't bring herself to tell him about Tom, not yet anyway. "I just...look I just really need you to roll with me on this one. To take a leap of faith, okay?"
"How come I'm always the one taking the leap of faith?" Ed said as he looked away from Sloan.*
Ed opened his eyes and saw that the plane was about to hit the ground, "Leap of faith…I'm taking a leap of faith!!!!" Ed called out as the plane hit the ground and skidded before it broke apart.
Tom had found Ed a few feet away from the plane wreckage. Apparently he had been thrown when the plane broke apart as it skidded across the rocky terrain. He checked Ed for any injuries. When Ed didn't groan or show any other obvious signs of pain or injury he carried him into the forest for cover. He found the first aid kit and some other items that might be useful. There was nothing Tom could do for the pilots, they had died on impact.
Tom needed Ed to wake up so they could get moving. The dominants were sure to know of their location and would be racing to get to them. Tom wasn't in the mood to deal with dominants right now, he needed to take care of Ed and get them both to safety. He suspected that Lewis was behind all this and didn't want him to get his hands on Ed.
A presence coming down the hall shook Tom from his memory. He stared at Darien and Darcy, they knew who was coming down the hall as well and they knew the answer already.
The Keeper walked in and closed the door. All eyes were on him. He let out a big sigh, "The DNA of the victim matches Dr. Tate's, I'm sorry." There was silence in the room. Everyone just stared at one another in shock.
Hobbes broke the silence, "What else did you find out?"
"Well, if it helps, he was dead already when the van went off the cliff."
Sloan and Claire started crying again, more out of relief than anything. Ray spoke up next, "Looks like we're looking at murder. Anything else you can tell me?"
"The gland was harvested and I suspect that's what killed him. I'm sorry to have to say this but…who ever took the gland took the part of Dr. Tate's brain that it was attached to." The Keeper looked down at the floor.
Darien stood up and paced around the room heatedly. Claire and Sloan cried even harder. Hobbes held Claire tight, his own anger welling up inside of him. Ray turned away; he had seen many things as a detective but nothing like this.
"Why? Why would someone do that?" Sloan asked.
"Someone was desperate to get the gland and was in a hurry to get it," Walter said sadly. He didn't want to think about what Ed's last moments might have been like.
"Just to let you know, that Ed didn't feel a thing, I found residue of an anesthetic in his system. I doubt if he knew."
"No, he knew what was about to happen, trust me." Darien remembered when Arnaud nearly operated on him. He remembered looking up into Arnaud's eyes when the gas mask was put on him. Ed must have gone through the same thing.
Sloan shook her head and turned to cry on Tom's shoulder.
"I wasn't there to protect him," Darien said. Darcy put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. She could feel the anger in him and she was worried that he wouldn't be able to control himself.
"It wasn't your fault, Darien. Please don't blame yourself," Darcy said through tears.
"I'm going to rip someone's brain out and stuff it down their throat!!" Darien yelled and stormed out. Darcy, without saying a word, went out after him.
"Dr. Attwood, I hate to ask this, but what do I do with Ed's body?"
Walter sat stunned; he didn't think he would ever hear those words. He didn't say anything. He just sat there. Just a short time ago he was ordered to harvest the gland if counteragent wasn't found; he prayed that he didn't have to go that far. But now, he felt as if he had done the procedure himself.
"Dr. Attwood?"
"What? Oh, I'm sorry…uhmm…I should call his mother first and let her decide that. In the mean time, I guess the city morgue will do for now. If you all would excuse me." He had called her in the morning to let her know that Ed may have been in an accident, but they weren't sure. He had told her that he would call her later to let her know.
Everyone got up very slowly and walked out. No one said a word, they were too busy crying or were just too stunned.
Walter dialed the number, it rang a few times and then a woman's voice picked up. "Hello, Ms. Morgan, this is Dr. Walter Attwood again…I'm sorry that I have to be the one to tell you, but it was Ed, I'm sorry, Ms. Morgan, I'm very sorry…"
On the other end of the phone, Walter heard a mother's wail.
"My baby!!! Not my baby!!!"
~*~
Ed's Keeper was in his office cleaning it out when Walter walked in. He looked up, "Oh Walter, I thought I'd just go ahead and start packing up. I don't think I'm needed here anymore."
"I'm afraid so, but as much as I hate to do this I could use you now," Walter put his hands in his pockets.
"I can't replace Ed, besides I don't think the others would appreciate you replacing him so fast. No, I think it's best if I leave. I was brought here because of the gland and now well, you know." The Keeper put his books in the box. He handed Walter a disk, "For what it's worth, here is the information I gathered in my research on the gland and what Claire had done. Maybe she can use it to help Darien."
Walter looked at the disk and sighed heavily, "Thanks, but you will need to keep all of this a secret?"
"Yes, I'm sworn to secrecy. I'm a doctor, Walter, doctor/patient confidentiality, remember?" The Keeper put out his hand, "Thanks, Walter. I'm sorry it had to work out this way. Dr. Tate was a good man and a damn good scientist."
Walter shook his hand, "That he was." Walter watched as the Keeper left. He twirled the disk in his hand and walked out.
TBC…