Chapter 16
Hobbes and Claire had found Darien and Darcy in Ed's office. Darien had been sitting there nearly catatonic. Darcy had to slap him on his face just to get him to snap out of it. Darien didn't even remember walking into the lab or sitting at Ed's desk.
"Look buddy, I want to take Claire home. Tom and Sloan have agreed to stay the night so she won't be alone," Hobbes said. He looked over at Claire, she looked horrible and it broke his heart to see her like that. It also made him feel bad that he harbored such ill feelings towards her relationship with Ed. Clearly she had been happy and Ed was the source of that. He wished now that he gotten to know Ed a little bit more.
Darien looked up at him, "I'm surprised you don't want to spend the night."
"Darien G. Fawkes!" Darcy snapped angrily.
"Fawkes, that hurts," Hobbes frowned at Darien's harsh words. "You think I'm glad that Ed is dead and now I can move in on Claire? I'm surprised you think of me that way. You think that I'm happy about this? No, my friend, I'm angry, I want to ring that Swiss miss mutha's neck or whoever for that matter for what he did to Ed! It was callous and heartless."
Darien looked at Hobbes for a long tense moment. His facial expression changed and the tension diminished, "Heartless is a synonym for callous."
"Oh…" Hobbes looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, Fawkes, I really am."
Darien sighed, "I'm sorry too, Hobbes, I shouldn't have said that."
"Understandable, you're angry." Hobbes looked at Claire who didn't seem to notice the conversation between the two men. "We better take her home," Hobbes turned to look at Fawkes again. Darien shook his head in agreement.
They helped Claire to her feet. "Come on, Claire, lets take you home," Hobbes said.
"Oh…okay." Claire said as if she had no idea what was going on.
~*~
The doctor took out the bite block, "I need you to answer some questions for me."
"Give me counteragent and I'll see what I can do," Ed glared at him. He glanced around quickly and then back at the scientist standing beside him.
"Well, I can't do that." He sat down next to Ed and eyed him cautiously.
"Then I guess I won't answer any questions, so you can just continue with your distorted version of science and watch me suffer," Ed said bitterly.
"This will help you."
Ed glared at him, "And how the hell is this supposed to help me?"
He looked at Ed, "You should know that by now?"
"You know, it's not nice to answer a question with a question?" Ed gritted his teeth and moaned as another wave of pain coursed through his head. The restraints kept him from moving around too much. The headaches were becoming more intense and he knew he was close. But how far would they let him go. When the pain subsided, Ed looked fiercely at the scientist, "Give me the damn counteragent."
"Again, as I stated before, I can't do that."
"And you call yourself a doctor, what about the damn oath you took? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Ed hissed.
"Yes, it does, and that's what I'm doing. We want to try and cure you and we can't do that until we have all the information we need about the gland. And that includes during the stages of quicksilver madness. Sorry, Dr. Tate, but you're going to have to go through this. Open, Dr. Tate," the scientist said as he held the bite block, "According to the red streaks in your eyes and the tattoo on your wrist, you're about to go into stage three and we need to start the tests again."
With defiance in his voice and in his eyes, Ed answered, "Make me!"
The scientist sighed, "Very well, I have expected this behavior from you at this point," he looked up and snapped his fingers twice. A very large guard walked over to assist the scientist. In the end, the bite block was in Ed's mouth and muffled the curses emanating from him. The scientist smiled and waited for stage 3.
~*~
Tom had let Pavlov out when they got to the house. He had used the extra keys that Ed had made for them. Even Darien had keys to the house. With everything that had been going on lately, Ed wanted to make sure they had easy access into the house just in case.
Sloan sat on the couch in an eerie silence. She looked around and saw a little bit of Ed and Claire in the décor. Claire was more traditional and Ed leaned more towards the Polynesian style. Sloan smiled remembering how they compromised on their tastes. It reminded her of that show on Home and Garden Television, 'Designing for the Sexes'. Except that Ed and Claire didn't disagree as much as some of those couples.
She thought back to the time when she and Walter had finally met up with Ed and Mark. She was happy to see that Ed had survived, but that didn't keep Walter from chewing out Ed about scientific protocol. Walter had four months to think about how he was going to blast Ed for what he did. That was the one and only time Walter had been that angry with him. She remembered how Ed had stood there with his head lowered. The entire time they spent inside one of the trucks, Ed sat there in the corner with his knees up to his chest and his face buried in his arms. He had taken the whole situation and placed it on his shoulders, it was his fault they had to flee for four months, it was his fault that Tom was taken and his fault that the notes on his serum where now in the wrong hands. Sloan had tried to talk to him, but he didn't want to. He would ask Sloan politely to leave him alone. She knew being stuck in the tiny compartment in the truck wasn't easy on him because of his slight claustrophobia. It was only a matter of time before it all got to him and it did. He finally broke down.
Sloan had forgotten about that memory and wondered why of all times it came back to her and then she realized her original thought was on the décor. She smiled as she remembered the time when Tom had been nursed back to health and they had all told him about their travels. Ed had told Tom how he wanted to pick up some things in Tahiti, Hawaii and even some Aborigine things from Australia when he and Mark were on the run. Mark recounted that he was upset with Ed when he kept insisting on stopping to get information to order online as they made their way back to the States. Mark just couldn't understand this human desire for 'souvenirs'. Ed knew that he couldn't carry the stuff with him or risk having it sent to his mother's house. Plus he didn't exactly have the money either and activity on his bank account would only give him away.
Sloan smiled as she tried to imagine how aggravated the two men had been with each other. If there was ever a time when co-existence was tested, it was with those two.
Ed and Mark had both reenacted their confrontation for Tom and the others. "If the dominants and your government don't kill you first, then I'll do it myself!" Mark had said to Ed. The two men were toe to toe and both nearly the same height.
"I just may inject you with the genome therapy myself!" Ed retorted.
Everyone had laughed when they were done and Tom had remarked that he was surprised that Mark had stayed with Ed as long as he did. It was a good experience for Mark as well as Ed. Now they both had a better understanding of the two species.
Tom walked in with Pavlov, "Sloan?"
Startled, Sloan turned her head, "Oh, Tom…" She saw something dangling from Pavlov's mouth. "Oh my God," Sloan covered her mouth. Pavlov had found the necklace that she had given Ed to replace the one that Arnaud had cut off.
Tom sat down next her, "I'm sorry, I thought that…I think we should give it to Claire."
Sloan shook her head, "Yes, I think she would like that. Where did you find it?"
"Pavlov found it out front," Tom motioned with his hand the direction of where the necklace was found.
Sloan followed his hand and thought for a moment. "But Ed parked his van in the opposite direction. You think he tried to run?"
Tom looked at her, "Possible, yes, he may have put up a fight and the necklace came off during the struggle."
Sloan turned to face the ocean. In her mind the scene played out. She saw Ed running and then being caught, struggling to break free, the necklace popping off and falling to the ground.
"Sloan?" Tom said her name with concern.
"I was just thinking of how Ed might have fought. He must have felt so helpless…Poor Ed," Sloan looked at Tom and leaned on his shoulder.
"Ed was a very brave human; I'm sure he put up a good fight."
At Toms' words, Sloan cried.
~*~
When Ed's Keeper returned home, his cell phone rang. He put his things down and grabbed for his phone. He saw who was calling; he rolled his eyes, "Yes."
"How did it go?"
"It went as planned. They believe that Dr. Tate is dead and that Arnaud may have had something to do with it. Also the body will be cremated as requested by Dr. Tate's mother. Dr. Attwood had a hand in that without me even getting involved. So, you won't have to worry about any suspicious minds requesting a DNA from the body itself."
"Good work, doctor. What about Agent Fawkes?"
"He was too upset to realize that anything was going on. Guess those drama classes paid off."
"When will you be leaving?"
He pulled another disk out of his briefcase and stared at it, "I'm already packed and ready to go. Oh and I do have all the information you wanted. How is he doing?"
"He's performing his tricks for us."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," he hung up and put the phone away. He thought back to everyone and how they reacted. He felt bad for doing what he did, but this was what he was hired to do. Knowing that this his time would be short, he didn't really bring anything with him. He quickly packed his car and got in. He sat there for a few moments and then said, "Forgive me for putting you all through this hell; I know you won't understand why I did it. I'm sorry, especially for Ed's family and for you, Claire." With that said, he headed for Nevada.
~*~
Darcy helped Claire into the house. She just walked in and sat down on the couch. Pavlov scampered up to her and wagged his tail. He then ran to the door and waited. Darien walked in and looked down at the furry dog sadly. Pavlov sniffed him and then turned his attention back to the door. Darien bent down and picked him up and carried him to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry pal," Darien gave Pavlov a treat and he refused it. Darien frowned, "You know something's not right don't you?" Darien put him down and he ran to sit at the front door again. After a few moments he laid down with his face towards the door.
Tom walked up to Darien and handed him the necklace. Darien stared at it in his hands. "What you got there, partner?" Hobbes asked as he walked up to him. Darien looked towards the living room. Hobbes put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, Sloan and Darcy are with her."
Darien nodded. "It's Ed's necklace," Darien replied as he looked down at his hand.
"Where'd you find it?" Hobbes asked.
"Pavlov found it out front," Tom said. "He found it over in that direction. Ed's van was parked over here. I'm guessing that Ed tried to get away."
Hobbes shook his head, "Hmmm…could be. Ed would not have left it if it had fallen off while bending over to pick up the paper. It must have fallen off during a struggle." Hobbes thought for a moment and then he glanced over at Claire, "She looks bad."
Darien glanced over at Claire; he opened up to read her emotions and her mind. "She's in denial. Her mind is telling her that Ed is still alive. She's expecting him to walk through the door any moment." He walked towards her and sat down on the couch next to her. She didn't even move she just stared at nothing in particular.
Sloan was holding her hand, "She's in shock, Darien."
Darien shook his head and then held up the necklace, "Claire, who does this belong to?"
"Oh that's Ed's." She took it in her hand, "I better put it somewhere safe. It'll just break his heart if he loses it." She got up and went up stairs.
Darien and Sloan watched her walk up the stairs slowly. Hobbes and Tom gave each other quick glances of concern. Claire was not about to let him go.
"I better go up with her," Sloan said as she got up. She felt Darien grab her hand. She looked at him with watery eyes.
"Just go along with what ever she says," Darien looked at Sloan. She understood and headed upstairs.
Darcy got up, "I'll go make some coffee."
Tom and Hobbes joined Darien on the couch. Tom saw that Pavlov hadn't moved from the front door. "Curious, I've been observing the dog and he seems to know that something isn't right."
Darien tilted his head to see Pavlov clearer, his tail swaying back and forth slowly on the floor. It seemed that he was waiting for Ed as well. "Yeah, he knows."
"What? Your powers turned you into Dr. Doolittle too?" Hobbes asked.
Darien rolled his eyes, "No, Hobbes, dogs can sense things too. When someone is sick, in danger or when someone is missing."
"I know that, I just thought that you were like reading the dog's mind too or something."
"Different electrical impulses," Tom added.
"Yeah, whatever." Hobbes retorted. "You both freak me out sometimes. I can never tell with youse guys." He looked around and pulled the white candle out of his pocket. He placed it next to a picture of Ed that Claire had taken. It was a surfing picture, but to Hobbes it'll do for what he wanted to do. He lit the candle and recited Psalm 23. Tom and Darien watched with curiosity. When Hobbes was done he looked at the two men, "Uhmm…normally we do that if the deceased is in the room, but I think God will accept it."
Darien went up to him and patted him on his shoulder, "It's the intention that counts."
Hobbes looked at Darien, "I'm sorry for being mean to him. Do you think he forgives me?"
"Yeah, I do, just by you doing this," Darien replied.
~*~
Sloan walked into the bedroom and saw Claire getting laundry out. She frowned and then remembered Darien's words. "Can I help you with that, Claire?"
Claire turned her head and smiled, "I don't think Ed would like it if you saw his underwear."
Sloan half heartedly smiled. She wanted to say that she had seen him in his boxers before, but decided not to push the issue.
Claire looked at her watch, "Hmmm…Ed is real late. He must be…" Claire stopped and looked down at the blue scrub shirt in her hands.
"Claire, are you okay?" Sloan walked towards her.
"He's not late is he? And he's not at work either?" Claire's eyes became watery and her face flushed. She looked at Sloan, "He's not coming home is he?"
Sloan took a hard swallow, "Claire, I'm so sorry."
Claire rushed over to Sloan and collapsed in her arms. They both fell to the floor and started crying. Claire held on to the shirt tightly in her hands, "Why? Why did he have to leave me?"
"Just let it out," Sloan said as she cried.
Tom took a deep breath. He felt like something that was apart of him was torn away. Maybe that's what grief feels like for humans too. Like something being ripped away from your heart.
Tom's memory went back to that night in the Lassen National Forrest.
"Tom, I can't…I need to rest," Ed said in between gasps for air.
"No, Ed, we have to keep moving." Tom grabbed Ed by his arm and flung it over his shoulder.
Ed grunted, his ribs hurt, his leg hurt, his arm hurt, his head hurt and well frankly, everything hurt. "Just leave me. I'm only slowing you down," Ed said as he willed his body to pass out.
"No, I won't leave you. I promised Sloan that I would take care of you," Tom pushed on through the thick brush. He didn't know how long they had been on the run. A couple of hour's maybe. Ed was getting weaker and soon they would have to rest. Tom needed Ed to help him get them out of the forest. Ed's experience in climbing and hiking will be useful. Tom of course, had the survival instincts, he could hunt for food if need be. But without Ed's knowledge of woods, he would be lost. His Chameleon training didn't cover outdoor survival techniques. If there was ever a time when they needed to trust one another it was now. Tom knew that if they didn't work together, they would be caught by Lewis' men.
Tom found a nice comfortable spot. He set Ed down easily and a moan escaped Ed's mouth. Ed was running a fever.
"Ed, you're running a fever, tell me what to do," Tom said as he gripped Ed's shoulders.
"I uhmm…need some medication. Where's that first aid kit?"
Tom searched his pockets and pulled out the things he took. He couldn't carry the box and Ed at the same time. He found some Tylenol. "Ed, all that was in there was Tylenol," Tom opened the cap and poured out two pills. He put them in Ed's hand.
"Figures, are they regular or extra strength?" Ed looked at the small white pills.
"Regular strength," Tom replied.
"Give me one more," Ed said as he put his hand out.
"Are you sure?" Tom took one more pill out.
"Hey, I am a doctor; I know what I'm doing. Don't worry; three of these are 25 milligrams short of two extra strength caplets." Ed dried swallowed the pills. "Okay, now I need water and lots of it to keep from getting dehydrated."
"What about the fever?" Tom asked as he looked around for something to put the water in.
"I might have an infection and my body is simply trying to fight it. What I need now is rest and water." Ed leaned his head back.
"I don't have anything to put the water in," Tom said.
"Hmm…that would be a problem and of course sterilizing it. Okay, look for some water that doesn't have any dead animals or bones around it. When you find it come back for me and take me to it. I'll drink from it myself and risk it."
"Ed, how do I find my way back?"
Ed slowly raised his head, "You've got to be kidding me? Your people carved a pillar from the night sky and you're telling me that you can't follow the stars?" Ed flared his arms in an aggravated way, "Look, forget it, just take me with you and we'll look for the water together."
Tom helped Ed up to his feet. He didn't have the heart to tell him that he knew, he just didn't want to leave Ed behind. He knew that Ed would fight him on it and he decided to avoid it all together by playing dumb.
As they walked, Ed mumbled, "How in the world did you find Sloan and me in the woods that night?"
"I sensed the both of you." Tom replied with a smile on his face.
Tom was startled from his memory when someone knocked on the door. He heard Darien say that it was Walter. He watched Darien get up to answer the door. Hobbes looked at Tom oddly. "Yes, Hobbes?" Tom said.
"Oh nothing, it just looked like you zoned out there for a moment," Hobbes answered.
Tom thought for a moment trying to remember what 'zoned out' meant. Hanging around humans all these years was interesting. Sloan had her way of saying things, then Ed with the surfer language that would come out every now and then, Ray with his own interesting style of speech, it was a wonder that humans could communicate with each other at all.
"I was just thinking about Ed," Tom said as he stood to greet Walter.
Hobbes shook his head that he understood. Walter came in and took his coat off. He set it on the chair and sat down. "How are Sloan and Claire holding up?" He asked.
"They're upstairs. Claire was in denial earlier, but I think she came out of it. We thought it best to leave them alone for a while. You know, the whole girl talk thing," Darien said as she sat back down.
"Well, I spoke with Ms. Morgan, Ed's mom."
"Oh, how is she doing?" Hobbes asked.
"As far as I know, her neighbor is with her now. She took it very hard of course," Walter said folding his hands on his lap.
"What else did you tell her?" Tom asked.
"I didn't tell her that he was murdered. Just that it was an accident. I did tell her that he's unrecognizable and asked her what she wanted to do. She said to cremate him and send his ashes up to Laguna Beach. St. Mary's Episcopal Church has a columbarium so his ashes can be interned there. She doesn't want his ashes spread out over the ocean and since Ed never really made actual plans or discussed this issue with anyone, we should go along with the wishes of his mother."
Claire and Sloan came down the stairs. The men stood up. Walter hugged Claire and then Sloan. Everyone sat back down again.
"Oh I'm so rude, would anyone like anything to drink?" Claire asked.
Darien hopped up and put up his hands, "No, Claire, you sit, heal, that's a good girl. Darcy is taking care of it and I better go help her if I know what's good for me."
Hobbes stood up, "As tradition dictates at a time like this, I will go out and get us some food."
"Oh yeah, Hobbes, that sounds great," Darien shouted from the kitchen."
Hobbes rolled his eyes, "You would say that, your stomach is the bottomless pit." Tom and Sloan smiled.
"Oh and Hobbes, you might want to open the door for Ray, Gracie and Matt," Darien added.
"You're a freakin' walkin' security camera, my friend, you know that?" Hobbes said as he walked towards the front door. He opened it up and greeted Ray and Gracie. "Hey, Ray, Gracie and Matt, come on in. I was just going out to get some food, but I see I don't have to."
Hobbes stepped out of the way and let Ray and his family in. "Hi, Hobbes," Gracie gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek. Matt followed his parents carrying some flowers. He looked very sad and it was obvious that he had been crying. Matt was a young man now at the age of fourteen and having been pulled from school for his own protection, he had very few friends. Ed helped fill that void in his life. He was like a big brother to Matt, they played basketball together, Ed helped him with some of his homework and even taught him how to surf. When his mother had told him about Ed, he had taken it badly like someone had driven a knife into his heart and twisted it.
Darien came out of the kitchen faster then a bolt of lightning to help Ray and Gracie with the food, "Wow, this smells good!"
"Figured you would be the first to jump in and help," Gracie said as she tapped Darien on his stomach.
Claire got up to help out too but Gracie sat her right back down again, "You sit, this is what we do. WE take care of you. Don't worry, I can find my way around any kitchen."
"Better listen to her, Claire," Ray said as he gave Claire a hug. "How are you holding up?"
"So-so," she looked over and spotted a picture of her and Ed together. Her eyes welled up again, "I'm going to miss him so much, Ray."
Gracie heard the cracking in Claire's voice and came over to her. The two women held onto each other and Gracie supported her with words of comfort. Sloan took the fresh cut flowers and put them in a vase.
"Hobbes, are you still going out?" Darien asked.
"If you need me to," Hobbes answered.
"Yeah, we could use some other things." Darien proceeded to give Hobbes a list of things to get at the store.
"Better save me a plate!" Hobbes yelled back to the group huddled around the kitchen bar.
"There's plenty of food, Hobbes, my wife cooks for an army," Ray answered.
~*~
She watched Ed through the one way mirror. This was a well thought out plan and everything was falling into place even though Ed was never meant to have the gland implanted. She had carefully orchestrated Ed's kidnapping by Arnaud, once Ed had helped Arnaud with the gland, Arnaud was supposed to release Ed or at least allow him to escape. Then his death would follow a couple of days later. Arrangements had been made and certain people were going to be in place to fake the DNA and dental records, but when she found out that Ed had the gland that part changed. Knowing full well that the Agency would never allow the local M.E.'s office to do the autopsy, she sent in Dr. Asante Rhodes to be Ed's Keeper. He would get the DNA sample from Ed during his initial exam and use that in the fake autopsy. It had all worked out and everyone believed that Ed was dead. Even Darien was oblivious to the lie and that pleased her the most, she had outsmarted a dominant who possessed abilities like no other.
She had even been able to retrieve information from Arnaud's computer during the raid and she held up a syringe of counteragent, she smiled as she watched Ed struggle through the early stages of quicksilver madness. The one thing they needed was how to fix the mutation and that was the one bit of information not retrieved. The only one who knew was Arnaud and he was probably dead by now. But that didn't matter; she had some of the top scientist in different fields working on the cure. They were able to perfect the genogenesis serum and they would find the answer for this mystery as well.
She had wanted the gland harvested earlier by Walter, but actually it had turned out for the best. Now they could study the mutation and its effects. If it had been extracted from Ed, this would not have been possible. They now have a better chance of figuring out the mutation while it's still inside him.
The Lady motioned to one of the scientists observing with her. He walked up to her, "Yes."
"I want you to give this to Dr. Alvarez, tell him that once Dr. Tate is in stage three he's to give the counteragent to him."
The scientist looked at her oddly, "I thought you wanted him to go through all the stages?"
"I do, just not so quickly. This is not the full dose and it's diluted."
The scientist smiled, "Hmmm…that's good. It'll give us more time to study and collect data. I'll give him the message right away."
The Lady watched as the man left. A man in a military uniform walked up to her, "What was all that about?"
She turned to face him, "Dr. Tate is smart, very smart. Even the dominants want him. He still maybe of some to us. The diluted counteragent should bring him back to either stage one or stage two, and the process will start all over again."
"So, you're trying to break him, force him to work with us by using the madness as a bribe."
"Yes. Dr. Alvarez does want him to go all the way to stage five so his research can be complete." She noticed the worried look on the General's face, "Don't worry, we have counteragent for that. Dr. Tate is probably the smartest geneticist out there, after what we'll put him through, he'll have an incentive to find the cure or else we'll just keep him going like this until he does accept our offer."
"And when he does find the cure, what then?"
"Then we let him go into permanent stage five, if there is one."
"From the reports I read, won't he be dangerous at that stage?"
"Yes, he'll be dangerous, but to whom is the question you should be asking."
The General smiled, "You're going to train him to be an assassin."
The Lady smiled back, "If they can train Chameleons, why can't we and as far as blending in, he'd be perfect. We will have an army of invisible agents and an invisible assassin with no thought of killing what so ever. The dominants won't stand a chance against us. Dr. Tate will be used to take out top level dominants and you are well aware of what that will do to any army."
The General watched Ed struggle through another wave of pain, the image of Ed taking out the High Council in one bloody massacre brought a smile to his face. He turned to face the Lady, "Do what you have to do, you have my full support on this project."
The Lady smiled, "Thank you, General." She watched as the General walked out. She turned her attention back to Ed so she could continue to watch him.
Ed opened his eyes after the pain had left, suddenly he felt the fear go away quickly. He glared at the scientist standing before him. Dr. Alvarez raised the syringe and Ed's crimson eyes lit up.
Dr. Alvarez smiled, "You want this don't you?"
Ed shook his head in response. He wanted it and he wanted it bad, more so than the first time. By now he had received four shots of counteragent and his body craved it like never before. He stared at it like a kid in a candy store about to get his favorite piece of confection. Ed struggled in the restraints to break free so he could grab the syringe out of the scientist's hand and inject himself with what he craved.
Dr. Alvarez smiled, "Here you go," he said as he injected Ed with the counteragent. He watched as the young scientist turned lab rat relaxed and then passed out. He untied the strap and watched as only three segments went from red to green. He smiled victoriously and restrained Ed's wrist again. He took the bite block out of Ed's mouth and waited.
Ed suddenly jolted awake and looked around, something wasn't right. He glared at Dr. Alvarez, "What did you do?"
"I gave you diluted counteragent, Dr. Tate, we need to do more research during the early stages of quicksilver madness."
"DAMN YOU!" Ed yelled out furiously.
"Would you like some water?" Dr. Alvarez said completely ignoring Ed's outburst.
"Yes," Ed said defeated. He could feel the voice knocking at the back door of his mind again. A nurse brought over a sport bottle with some water in it. She tilted it and Ed opened his mouth. She squeezed in a generous amount and he drank it down in one gulp. She repeated this a few times until Ed said he had enough. Before Ed could say another word, the bite block was quickly shoved back in again.
Dr. Alvarez turned to his assistant, "Prepare another batch of the diluted counteragent for Dr. Tate. I'd like to run some more tests later."
Ed shook his head violently and cursed as best he could. He struggled to break free. Hands were on him immediately to restrain him. He glared up at Dr. Alvarez.
"Be careful, Dr. Tate, you're going to hurt yourself if you continue to fight the restraints like this. They will leave a mark."
'I'm gonna leave a mark on you, you son of a bitch!' Ed's words may have been muffled, but his thought was clearly written on his face. Dr. Alvarez backed away slightly and then walked away.
Ed looked around with worry on his face, 'Somebody help me,' he pleaded with his eyes.
The Lady observed Ed from the room, she half smiled in triumph, 'Everything is going as planned.'
TBC…
Hobbes and Claire had found Darien and Darcy in Ed's office. Darien had been sitting there nearly catatonic. Darcy had to slap him on his face just to get him to snap out of it. Darien didn't even remember walking into the lab or sitting at Ed's desk.
"Look buddy, I want to take Claire home. Tom and Sloan have agreed to stay the night so she won't be alone," Hobbes said. He looked over at Claire, she looked horrible and it broke his heart to see her like that. It also made him feel bad that he harbored such ill feelings towards her relationship with Ed. Clearly she had been happy and Ed was the source of that. He wished now that he gotten to know Ed a little bit more.
Darien looked up at him, "I'm surprised you don't want to spend the night."
"Darien G. Fawkes!" Darcy snapped angrily.
"Fawkes, that hurts," Hobbes frowned at Darien's harsh words. "You think I'm glad that Ed is dead and now I can move in on Claire? I'm surprised you think of me that way. You think that I'm happy about this? No, my friend, I'm angry, I want to ring that Swiss miss mutha's neck or whoever for that matter for what he did to Ed! It was callous and heartless."
Darien looked at Hobbes for a long tense moment. His facial expression changed and the tension diminished, "Heartless is a synonym for callous."
"Oh…" Hobbes looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, Fawkes, I really am."
Darien sighed, "I'm sorry too, Hobbes, I shouldn't have said that."
"Understandable, you're angry." Hobbes looked at Claire who didn't seem to notice the conversation between the two men. "We better take her home," Hobbes turned to look at Fawkes again. Darien shook his head in agreement.
They helped Claire to her feet. "Come on, Claire, lets take you home," Hobbes said.
"Oh…okay." Claire said as if she had no idea what was going on.
~*~
The doctor took out the bite block, "I need you to answer some questions for me."
"Give me counteragent and I'll see what I can do," Ed glared at him. He glanced around quickly and then back at the scientist standing beside him.
"Well, I can't do that." He sat down next to Ed and eyed him cautiously.
"Then I guess I won't answer any questions, so you can just continue with your distorted version of science and watch me suffer," Ed said bitterly.
"This will help you."
Ed glared at him, "And how the hell is this supposed to help me?"
He looked at Ed, "You should know that by now?"
"You know, it's not nice to answer a question with a question?" Ed gritted his teeth and moaned as another wave of pain coursed through his head. The restraints kept him from moving around too much. The headaches were becoming more intense and he knew he was close. But how far would they let him go. When the pain subsided, Ed looked fiercely at the scientist, "Give me the damn counteragent."
"Again, as I stated before, I can't do that."
"And you call yourself a doctor, what about the damn oath you took? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Ed hissed.
"Yes, it does, and that's what I'm doing. We want to try and cure you and we can't do that until we have all the information we need about the gland. And that includes during the stages of quicksilver madness. Sorry, Dr. Tate, but you're going to have to go through this. Open, Dr. Tate," the scientist said as he held the bite block, "According to the red streaks in your eyes and the tattoo on your wrist, you're about to go into stage three and we need to start the tests again."
With defiance in his voice and in his eyes, Ed answered, "Make me!"
The scientist sighed, "Very well, I have expected this behavior from you at this point," he looked up and snapped his fingers twice. A very large guard walked over to assist the scientist. In the end, the bite block was in Ed's mouth and muffled the curses emanating from him. The scientist smiled and waited for stage 3.
~*~
Tom had let Pavlov out when they got to the house. He had used the extra keys that Ed had made for them. Even Darien had keys to the house. With everything that had been going on lately, Ed wanted to make sure they had easy access into the house just in case.
Sloan sat on the couch in an eerie silence. She looked around and saw a little bit of Ed and Claire in the décor. Claire was more traditional and Ed leaned more towards the Polynesian style. Sloan smiled remembering how they compromised on their tastes. It reminded her of that show on Home and Garden Television, 'Designing for the Sexes'. Except that Ed and Claire didn't disagree as much as some of those couples.
She thought back to the time when she and Walter had finally met up with Ed and Mark. She was happy to see that Ed had survived, but that didn't keep Walter from chewing out Ed about scientific protocol. Walter had four months to think about how he was going to blast Ed for what he did. That was the one and only time Walter had been that angry with him. She remembered how Ed had stood there with his head lowered. The entire time they spent inside one of the trucks, Ed sat there in the corner with his knees up to his chest and his face buried in his arms. He had taken the whole situation and placed it on his shoulders, it was his fault they had to flee for four months, it was his fault that Tom was taken and his fault that the notes on his serum where now in the wrong hands. Sloan had tried to talk to him, but he didn't want to. He would ask Sloan politely to leave him alone. She knew being stuck in the tiny compartment in the truck wasn't easy on him because of his slight claustrophobia. It was only a matter of time before it all got to him and it did. He finally broke down.
Sloan had forgotten about that memory and wondered why of all times it came back to her and then she realized her original thought was on the décor. She smiled as she remembered the time when Tom had been nursed back to health and they had all told him about their travels. Ed had told Tom how he wanted to pick up some things in Tahiti, Hawaii and even some Aborigine things from Australia when he and Mark were on the run. Mark recounted that he was upset with Ed when he kept insisting on stopping to get information to order online as they made their way back to the States. Mark just couldn't understand this human desire for 'souvenirs'. Ed knew that he couldn't carry the stuff with him or risk having it sent to his mother's house. Plus he didn't exactly have the money either and activity on his bank account would only give him away.
Sloan smiled as she tried to imagine how aggravated the two men had been with each other. If there was ever a time when co-existence was tested, it was with those two.
Ed and Mark had both reenacted their confrontation for Tom and the others. "If the dominants and your government don't kill you first, then I'll do it myself!" Mark had said to Ed. The two men were toe to toe and both nearly the same height.
"I just may inject you with the genome therapy myself!" Ed retorted.
Everyone had laughed when they were done and Tom had remarked that he was surprised that Mark had stayed with Ed as long as he did. It was a good experience for Mark as well as Ed. Now they both had a better understanding of the two species.
Tom walked in with Pavlov, "Sloan?"
Startled, Sloan turned her head, "Oh, Tom…" She saw something dangling from Pavlov's mouth. "Oh my God," Sloan covered her mouth. Pavlov had found the necklace that she had given Ed to replace the one that Arnaud had cut off.
Tom sat down next her, "I'm sorry, I thought that…I think we should give it to Claire."
Sloan shook her head, "Yes, I think she would like that. Where did you find it?"
"Pavlov found it out front," Tom motioned with his hand the direction of where the necklace was found.
Sloan followed his hand and thought for a moment. "But Ed parked his van in the opposite direction. You think he tried to run?"
Tom looked at her, "Possible, yes, he may have put up a fight and the necklace came off during the struggle."
Sloan turned to face the ocean. In her mind the scene played out. She saw Ed running and then being caught, struggling to break free, the necklace popping off and falling to the ground.
"Sloan?" Tom said her name with concern.
"I was just thinking of how Ed might have fought. He must have felt so helpless…Poor Ed," Sloan looked at Tom and leaned on his shoulder.
"Ed was a very brave human; I'm sure he put up a good fight."
At Toms' words, Sloan cried.
~*~
When Ed's Keeper returned home, his cell phone rang. He put his things down and grabbed for his phone. He saw who was calling; he rolled his eyes, "Yes."
"How did it go?"
"It went as planned. They believe that Dr. Tate is dead and that Arnaud may have had something to do with it. Also the body will be cremated as requested by Dr. Tate's mother. Dr. Attwood had a hand in that without me even getting involved. So, you won't have to worry about any suspicious minds requesting a DNA from the body itself."
"Good work, doctor. What about Agent Fawkes?"
"He was too upset to realize that anything was going on. Guess those drama classes paid off."
"When will you be leaving?"
He pulled another disk out of his briefcase and stared at it, "I'm already packed and ready to go. Oh and I do have all the information you wanted. How is he doing?"
"He's performing his tricks for us."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," he hung up and put the phone away. He thought back to everyone and how they reacted. He felt bad for doing what he did, but this was what he was hired to do. Knowing that this his time would be short, he didn't really bring anything with him. He quickly packed his car and got in. He sat there for a few moments and then said, "Forgive me for putting you all through this hell; I know you won't understand why I did it. I'm sorry, especially for Ed's family and for you, Claire." With that said, he headed for Nevada.
~*~
Darcy helped Claire into the house. She just walked in and sat down on the couch. Pavlov scampered up to her and wagged his tail. He then ran to the door and waited. Darien walked in and looked down at the furry dog sadly. Pavlov sniffed him and then turned his attention back to the door. Darien bent down and picked him up and carried him to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry pal," Darien gave Pavlov a treat and he refused it. Darien frowned, "You know something's not right don't you?" Darien put him down and he ran to sit at the front door again. After a few moments he laid down with his face towards the door.
Tom walked up to Darien and handed him the necklace. Darien stared at it in his hands. "What you got there, partner?" Hobbes asked as he walked up to him. Darien looked towards the living room. Hobbes put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, Sloan and Darcy are with her."
Darien nodded. "It's Ed's necklace," Darien replied as he looked down at his hand.
"Where'd you find it?" Hobbes asked.
"Pavlov found it out front," Tom said. "He found it over in that direction. Ed's van was parked over here. I'm guessing that Ed tried to get away."
Hobbes shook his head, "Hmmm…could be. Ed would not have left it if it had fallen off while bending over to pick up the paper. It must have fallen off during a struggle." Hobbes thought for a moment and then he glanced over at Claire, "She looks bad."
Darien glanced over at Claire; he opened up to read her emotions and her mind. "She's in denial. Her mind is telling her that Ed is still alive. She's expecting him to walk through the door any moment." He walked towards her and sat down on the couch next to her. She didn't even move she just stared at nothing in particular.
Sloan was holding her hand, "She's in shock, Darien."
Darien shook his head and then held up the necklace, "Claire, who does this belong to?"
"Oh that's Ed's." She took it in her hand, "I better put it somewhere safe. It'll just break his heart if he loses it." She got up and went up stairs.
Darien and Sloan watched her walk up the stairs slowly. Hobbes and Tom gave each other quick glances of concern. Claire was not about to let him go.
"I better go up with her," Sloan said as she got up. She felt Darien grab her hand. She looked at him with watery eyes.
"Just go along with what ever she says," Darien looked at Sloan. She understood and headed upstairs.
Darcy got up, "I'll go make some coffee."
Tom and Hobbes joined Darien on the couch. Tom saw that Pavlov hadn't moved from the front door. "Curious, I've been observing the dog and he seems to know that something isn't right."
Darien tilted his head to see Pavlov clearer, his tail swaying back and forth slowly on the floor. It seemed that he was waiting for Ed as well. "Yeah, he knows."
"What? Your powers turned you into Dr. Doolittle too?" Hobbes asked.
Darien rolled his eyes, "No, Hobbes, dogs can sense things too. When someone is sick, in danger or when someone is missing."
"I know that, I just thought that you were like reading the dog's mind too or something."
"Different electrical impulses," Tom added.
"Yeah, whatever." Hobbes retorted. "You both freak me out sometimes. I can never tell with youse guys." He looked around and pulled the white candle out of his pocket. He placed it next to a picture of Ed that Claire had taken. It was a surfing picture, but to Hobbes it'll do for what he wanted to do. He lit the candle and recited Psalm 23. Tom and Darien watched with curiosity. When Hobbes was done he looked at the two men, "Uhmm…normally we do that if the deceased is in the room, but I think God will accept it."
Darien went up to him and patted him on his shoulder, "It's the intention that counts."
Hobbes looked at Darien, "I'm sorry for being mean to him. Do you think he forgives me?"
"Yeah, I do, just by you doing this," Darien replied.
~*~
Sloan walked into the bedroom and saw Claire getting laundry out. She frowned and then remembered Darien's words. "Can I help you with that, Claire?"
Claire turned her head and smiled, "I don't think Ed would like it if you saw his underwear."
Sloan half heartedly smiled. She wanted to say that she had seen him in his boxers before, but decided not to push the issue.
Claire looked at her watch, "Hmmm…Ed is real late. He must be…" Claire stopped and looked down at the blue scrub shirt in her hands.
"Claire, are you okay?" Sloan walked towards her.
"He's not late is he? And he's not at work either?" Claire's eyes became watery and her face flushed. She looked at Sloan, "He's not coming home is he?"
Sloan took a hard swallow, "Claire, I'm so sorry."
Claire rushed over to Sloan and collapsed in her arms. They both fell to the floor and started crying. Claire held on to the shirt tightly in her hands, "Why? Why did he have to leave me?"
"Just let it out," Sloan said as she cried.
Tom took a deep breath. He felt like something that was apart of him was torn away. Maybe that's what grief feels like for humans too. Like something being ripped away from your heart.
Tom's memory went back to that night in the Lassen National Forrest.
"Tom, I can't…I need to rest," Ed said in between gasps for air.
"No, Ed, we have to keep moving." Tom grabbed Ed by his arm and flung it over his shoulder.
Ed grunted, his ribs hurt, his leg hurt, his arm hurt, his head hurt and well frankly, everything hurt. "Just leave me. I'm only slowing you down," Ed said as he willed his body to pass out.
"No, I won't leave you. I promised Sloan that I would take care of you," Tom pushed on through the thick brush. He didn't know how long they had been on the run. A couple of hour's maybe. Ed was getting weaker and soon they would have to rest. Tom needed Ed to help him get them out of the forest. Ed's experience in climbing and hiking will be useful. Tom of course, had the survival instincts, he could hunt for food if need be. But without Ed's knowledge of woods, he would be lost. His Chameleon training didn't cover outdoor survival techniques. If there was ever a time when they needed to trust one another it was now. Tom knew that if they didn't work together, they would be caught by Lewis' men.
Tom found a nice comfortable spot. He set Ed down easily and a moan escaped Ed's mouth. Ed was running a fever.
"Ed, you're running a fever, tell me what to do," Tom said as he gripped Ed's shoulders.
"I uhmm…need some medication. Where's that first aid kit?"
Tom searched his pockets and pulled out the things he took. He couldn't carry the box and Ed at the same time. He found some Tylenol. "Ed, all that was in there was Tylenol," Tom opened the cap and poured out two pills. He put them in Ed's hand.
"Figures, are they regular or extra strength?" Ed looked at the small white pills.
"Regular strength," Tom replied.
"Give me one more," Ed said as he put his hand out.
"Are you sure?" Tom took one more pill out.
"Hey, I am a doctor; I know what I'm doing. Don't worry; three of these are 25 milligrams short of two extra strength caplets." Ed dried swallowed the pills. "Okay, now I need water and lots of it to keep from getting dehydrated."
"What about the fever?" Tom asked as he looked around for something to put the water in.
"I might have an infection and my body is simply trying to fight it. What I need now is rest and water." Ed leaned his head back.
"I don't have anything to put the water in," Tom said.
"Hmm…that would be a problem and of course sterilizing it. Okay, look for some water that doesn't have any dead animals or bones around it. When you find it come back for me and take me to it. I'll drink from it myself and risk it."
"Ed, how do I find my way back?"
Ed slowly raised his head, "You've got to be kidding me? Your people carved a pillar from the night sky and you're telling me that you can't follow the stars?" Ed flared his arms in an aggravated way, "Look, forget it, just take me with you and we'll look for the water together."
Tom helped Ed up to his feet. He didn't have the heart to tell him that he knew, he just didn't want to leave Ed behind. He knew that Ed would fight him on it and he decided to avoid it all together by playing dumb.
As they walked, Ed mumbled, "How in the world did you find Sloan and me in the woods that night?"
"I sensed the both of you." Tom replied with a smile on his face.
Tom was startled from his memory when someone knocked on the door. He heard Darien say that it was Walter. He watched Darien get up to answer the door. Hobbes looked at Tom oddly. "Yes, Hobbes?" Tom said.
"Oh nothing, it just looked like you zoned out there for a moment," Hobbes answered.
Tom thought for a moment trying to remember what 'zoned out' meant. Hanging around humans all these years was interesting. Sloan had her way of saying things, then Ed with the surfer language that would come out every now and then, Ray with his own interesting style of speech, it was a wonder that humans could communicate with each other at all.
"I was just thinking about Ed," Tom said as he stood to greet Walter.
Hobbes shook his head that he understood. Walter came in and took his coat off. He set it on the chair and sat down. "How are Sloan and Claire holding up?" He asked.
"They're upstairs. Claire was in denial earlier, but I think she came out of it. We thought it best to leave them alone for a while. You know, the whole girl talk thing," Darien said as she sat back down.
"Well, I spoke with Ms. Morgan, Ed's mom."
"Oh, how is she doing?" Hobbes asked.
"As far as I know, her neighbor is with her now. She took it very hard of course," Walter said folding his hands on his lap.
"What else did you tell her?" Tom asked.
"I didn't tell her that he was murdered. Just that it was an accident. I did tell her that he's unrecognizable and asked her what she wanted to do. She said to cremate him and send his ashes up to Laguna Beach. St. Mary's Episcopal Church has a columbarium so his ashes can be interned there. She doesn't want his ashes spread out over the ocean and since Ed never really made actual plans or discussed this issue with anyone, we should go along with the wishes of his mother."
Claire and Sloan came down the stairs. The men stood up. Walter hugged Claire and then Sloan. Everyone sat back down again.
"Oh I'm so rude, would anyone like anything to drink?" Claire asked.
Darien hopped up and put up his hands, "No, Claire, you sit, heal, that's a good girl. Darcy is taking care of it and I better go help her if I know what's good for me."
Hobbes stood up, "As tradition dictates at a time like this, I will go out and get us some food."
"Oh yeah, Hobbes, that sounds great," Darien shouted from the kitchen."
Hobbes rolled his eyes, "You would say that, your stomach is the bottomless pit." Tom and Sloan smiled.
"Oh and Hobbes, you might want to open the door for Ray, Gracie and Matt," Darien added.
"You're a freakin' walkin' security camera, my friend, you know that?" Hobbes said as he walked towards the front door. He opened it up and greeted Ray and Gracie. "Hey, Ray, Gracie and Matt, come on in. I was just going out to get some food, but I see I don't have to."
Hobbes stepped out of the way and let Ray and his family in. "Hi, Hobbes," Gracie gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek. Matt followed his parents carrying some flowers. He looked very sad and it was obvious that he had been crying. Matt was a young man now at the age of fourteen and having been pulled from school for his own protection, he had very few friends. Ed helped fill that void in his life. He was like a big brother to Matt, they played basketball together, Ed helped him with some of his homework and even taught him how to surf. When his mother had told him about Ed, he had taken it badly like someone had driven a knife into his heart and twisted it.
Darien came out of the kitchen faster then a bolt of lightning to help Ray and Gracie with the food, "Wow, this smells good!"
"Figured you would be the first to jump in and help," Gracie said as she tapped Darien on his stomach.
Claire got up to help out too but Gracie sat her right back down again, "You sit, this is what we do. WE take care of you. Don't worry, I can find my way around any kitchen."
"Better listen to her, Claire," Ray said as he gave Claire a hug. "How are you holding up?"
"So-so," she looked over and spotted a picture of her and Ed together. Her eyes welled up again, "I'm going to miss him so much, Ray."
Gracie heard the cracking in Claire's voice and came over to her. The two women held onto each other and Gracie supported her with words of comfort. Sloan took the fresh cut flowers and put them in a vase.
"Hobbes, are you still going out?" Darien asked.
"If you need me to," Hobbes answered.
"Yeah, we could use some other things." Darien proceeded to give Hobbes a list of things to get at the store.
"Better save me a plate!" Hobbes yelled back to the group huddled around the kitchen bar.
"There's plenty of food, Hobbes, my wife cooks for an army," Ray answered.
~*~
She watched Ed through the one way mirror. This was a well thought out plan and everything was falling into place even though Ed was never meant to have the gland implanted. She had carefully orchestrated Ed's kidnapping by Arnaud, once Ed had helped Arnaud with the gland, Arnaud was supposed to release Ed or at least allow him to escape. Then his death would follow a couple of days later. Arrangements had been made and certain people were going to be in place to fake the DNA and dental records, but when she found out that Ed had the gland that part changed. Knowing full well that the Agency would never allow the local M.E.'s office to do the autopsy, she sent in Dr. Asante Rhodes to be Ed's Keeper. He would get the DNA sample from Ed during his initial exam and use that in the fake autopsy. It had all worked out and everyone believed that Ed was dead. Even Darien was oblivious to the lie and that pleased her the most, she had outsmarted a dominant who possessed abilities like no other.
She had even been able to retrieve information from Arnaud's computer during the raid and she held up a syringe of counteragent, she smiled as she watched Ed struggle through the early stages of quicksilver madness. The one thing they needed was how to fix the mutation and that was the one bit of information not retrieved. The only one who knew was Arnaud and he was probably dead by now. But that didn't matter; she had some of the top scientist in different fields working on the cure. They were able to perfect the genogenesis serum and they would find the answer for this mystery as well.
She had wanted the gland harvested earlier by Walter, but actually it had turned out for the best. Now they could study the mutation and its effects. If it had been extracted from Ed, this would not have been possible. They now have a better chance of figuring out the mutation while it's still inside him.
The Lady motioned to one of the scientists observing with her. He walked up to her, "Yes."
"I want you to give this to Dr. Alvarez, tell him that once Dr. Tate is in stage three he's to give the counteragent to him."
The scientist looked at her oddly, "I thought you wanted him to go through all the stages?"
"I do, just not so quickly. This is not the full dose and it's diluted."
The scientist smiled, "Hmmm…that's good. It'll give us more time to study and collect data. I'll give him the message right away."
The Lady watched as the man left. A man in a military uniform walked up to her, "What was all that about?"
She turned to face him, "Dr. Tate is smart, very smart. Even the dominants want him. He still maybe of some to us. The diluted counteragent should bring him back to either stage one or stage two, and the process will start all over again."
"So, you're trying to break him, force him to work with us by using the madness as a bribe."
"Yes. Dr. Alvarez does want him to go all the way to stage five so his research can be complete." She noticed the worried look on the General's face, "Don't worry, we have counteragent for that. Dr. Tate is probably the smartest geneticist out there, after what we'll put him through, he'll have an incentive to find the cure or else we'll just keep him going like this until he does accept our offer."
"And when he does find the cure, what then?"
"Then we let him go into permanent stage five, if there is one."
"From the reports I read, won't he be dangerous at that stage?"
"Yes, he'll be dangerous, but to whom is the question you should be asking."
The General smiled, "You're going to train him to be an assassin."
The Lady smiled back, "If they can train Chameleons, why can't we and as far as blending in, he'd be perfect. We will have an army of invisible agents and an invisible assassin with no thought of killing what so ever. The dominants won't stand a chance against us. Dr. Tate will be used to take out top level dominants and you are well aware of what that will do to any army."
The General watched Ed struggle through another wave of pain, the image of Ed taking out the High Council in one bloody massacre brought a smile to his face. He turned to face the Lady, "Do what you have to do, you have my full support on this project."
The Lady smiled, "Thank you, General." She watched as the General walked out. She turned her attention back to Ed so she could continue to watch him.
Ed opened his eyes after the pain had left, suddenly he felt the fear go away quickly. He glared at the scientist standing before him. Dr. Alvarez raised the syringe and Ed's crimson eyes lit up.
Dr. Alvarez smiled, "You want this don't you?"
Ed shook his head in response. He wanted it and he wanted it bad, more so than the first time. By now he had received four shots of counteragent and his body craved it like never before. He stared at it like a kid in a candy store about to get his favorite piece of confection. Ed struggled in the restraints to break free so he could grab the syringe out of the scientist's hand and inject himself with what he craved.
Dr. Alvarez smiled, "Here you go," he said as he injected Ed with the counteragent. He watched as the young scientist turned lab rat relaxed and then passed out. He untied the strap and watched as only three segments went from red to green. He smiled victoriously and restrained Ed's wrist again. He took the bite block out of Ed's mouth and waited.
Ed suddenly jolted awake and looked around, something wasn't right. He glared at Dr. Alvarez, "What did you do?"
"I gave you diluted counteragent, Dr. Tate, we need to do more research during the early stages of quicksilver madness."
"DAMN YOU!" Ed yelled out furiously.
"Would you like some water?" Dr. Alvarez said completely ignoring Ed's outburst.
"Yes," Ed said defeated. He could feel the voice knocking at the back door of his mind again. A nurse brought over a sport bottle with some water in it. She tilted it and Ed opened his mouth. She squeezed in a generous amount and he drank it down in one gulp. She repeated this a few times until Ed said he had enough. Before Ed could say another word, the bite block was quickly shoved back in again.
Dr. Alvarez turned to his assistant, "Prepare another batch of the diluted counteragent for Dr. Tate. I'd like to run some more tests later."
Ed shook his head violently and cursed as best he could. He struggled to break free. Hands were on him immediately to restrain him. He glared up at Dr. Alvarez.
"Be careful, Dr. Tate, you're going to hurt yourself if you continue to fight the restraints like this. They will leave a mark."
'I'm gonna leave a mark on you, you son of a bitch!' Ed's words may have been muffled, but his thought was clearly written on his face. Dr. Alvarez backed away slightly and then walked away.
Ed looked around with worry on his face, 'Somebody help me,' he pleaded with his eyes.
The Lady observed Ed from the room, she half smiled in triumph, 'Everything is going as planned.'
TBC…