Chapter 21
Sloan sat on the porch as she watched the waves roll in. She watched as people walked up and down the beach. Some were couples who giggled and ran from the surf as it came in. Sloan half smiled at the game that everyone played. Let the waves chase you and then you chase the waves. Others jogged or walked their dogs while others played in the surf. All these things were the reason why Ed decided to get the beach house in the first place. Besides the lab, the beach is where he spent most of his off time. This was always a dream of Ed's, to have the ocean as his backyard. She was glad that he had the chance to fulfill a dream. Now with Tom having to go into hiding, there were things that they wanted to do and didn't. Life is too short to let things slip away. Sloan wiped a tear from her eye as the seagulls squawked over head as they glided on the wind in search of food. She missed Tom and didn't know if she would ever see him again. Then she thought of Claire and felt guilty about her own feelings.
She heard footsteps behind her and quickly turned her head. "Oh, hi, Claire. How are you feeling?"
Claire forced a smile and looked down at the cup of tea she was holding in her hands. She walked out onto the porch and sat down next to Sloan. "So-so, I miss him so much," she took a sip of her tea. "They say that time heals, but now I'm not so sure. I never thought that I could love anybody as much as I loved Ed," Claire looked at Sloan, "I knew him for such a short time, this must very hard on you."
Sloan nodded, "I was just sitting here thinking of how many conversations we had about how our lives had taken such a sudden turn. That night I had said to Ed what I found would change his life and he said, 'I like my life'. I just never imagined how much of a change it would be. Walter had eventually sent the other lab people to different parts of the University because now our work was top secret or something like that. We no longer helped the FBI on cases, we didn't do research for grants that we were awarded. It all changed. Our work literally became a fight for survival," Sloan looked at Claire.
"I know what you mean. That same feeling happened to me when I was assigned to the I-Man project…my life had taken this sudden turn…" Claire's voice trailed off and she stared out at the ocean.
Sloan looked at her with concern, "What's wrong?"
"Darien…I'm worried about him, about Darcy, Tom, Mark…all of us. I just can't believe that this has happened," Claire shook her head despondently.
Sloan looked down at her hands, "The strange thing is, is that years ago this would have been welcome news, but now I believe it's the wrong thing to do. So much has changed in the last five years that I really thought we were making strides towards peace." Sloan paused and then smiled, "You know it was Ed who came up with the name for the new species."
"Really? He didn't tell me that. How did that happen?" Claire looked at Sloan.
"This was right before a press conference. Walter was going over the points he wanted to make about the new species, what we learned about the little boy Kevin, the Spanish Flu, cloning…all the things we had found out about them. Well, as Walter went down the list Ed blurted out, 'Boy, talk about establishing dominance.' I remember we all looked at him and he saw the expression on our faces and he was like: 'What?'" Sloan mimicked Ed so perfectly with her facial expression and body language that Claire couldn't keep herself from giggling. "That was it; Walter announced that the new species was now known as Homo-Dominant. Ed said that I should be the one to name them since I originally discovered them, but I told him that I wouldn't be able to come up with any name better then that one." Sloan paused for a moment and then continued, "You know, Ed hated all the press and the notoriety that the lab was getting in news. There were times I knew he would give anything to have it all go away and for things to go back to the way they were."
Claire shook her head in agreement, "Darien was the same way in the beginning. There were times when he wished that he had never said 'yes' to Kevin's offer. Prison he understood, he knew what to expect and how to face it. But not with the gland and the madness that always waited for him in the shadows. Not to mention the uncertainty of me ever finding a way to get the gland out. He hated…" Claire forced a smile as she rethought her choice of words, "…hates being on a leash. He wasn't in control at the time, but with the cure, he's better…a little better."
Sloan chuckled, "Ed and Darien are…were so much alike. I mean, when I saw them come to work that day and they both had on those plaid pants, I nearly died from laughter. Do you think they planned that?"
"No, I couldn't believe that Ed had a pair of pants similar to Darien's and they both had on red shirts, well, Ed wore that pull-over sweater…" Claire paused and then giggled, "It was funny wasn't it?" Claire thought back to that day and how Hobbes had reacted by throwing his arms in the air and complaining that they both lacked fashion sense. Tom was certain at that point that they were twins separated at birth regardless of Ed's findings. "You think Darien would like to have those pants?"
Sloan smiled, "I know it's hard, especially now to even think about going through his things and packing them up to give away. But, I would not have a hard time getting rid of those pants." Sloan and Claire both laughed. "I just can't believe he still had them. I remember one time he wore them when he and Walter set a trap for Tom."
"Wait, what?…" Claire had to stop laughing so she could hear this story, "Walter and Ed set a trap for Tom?"
"It's a long story but yeah, Walter hooked up something to his door to electrocute Tom. He set the voltage according to something that Ed had found out about the dominants. Lewis had regained control over Tom and we knew that he would come to the lab to kill all of us. So, Walter and Ed set the trap and it worked. Tom was knocked out and I was able to bring him back. Lewis was later captured and well, sometime later he escaped."
"Interesting story," Claire said as she took a sip from her tea. "You want to hear about the time I went quicksilver mad?"
"Yeah," Sloan turned to gaze at the beach, it was a typical sunny day in San Diego, "Let's go for a walk and we can share stories."
Claire thought for a moment, "Sounds good."
The Official and Walter both sat at their respective desks. Each checked their watches. Each knew what was happening and what it could mean. The lives of their employees and their own jobs could be lost in a futile attempt to find the truth. The Official let out a sigh and Eberts looked at him glumly. Walter tried his best to keep busy by doing paper work in a vain attempt to keep his mind off of it. Ray sat at home with a glass of scotch in his hand and Gracie looked at him with concern. Ray hadn't told her what was happening only that something was going down that could get his friends killed or thrown in prison. He didn't want to tell her that evidence seemed to point that Ed could still be alive, he didn't want to get Gracie's hopes up and then have them crashing down if they failed.
Hobbes drove the van through the second gate without incident. He parked the van and sent a message to Walter that they were in position.
Walter nearly jumped when his phone announced he had a message. He looked at it hurriedly and let out a huge sigh of relief when he recognized the prearranged message. They had made it safely on the base. His part of the plan was to call the Lady so that Hobbes could triangulate the signal and get a lock on her position. If she was on the base, he would find her easily within 50 yards. He notified Eberts that he was ready and left his office.
He took the long walk to Charlie's office as a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind. His career and possibly his life were in the hands of four men and one woman hundreds of miles away. He had asked Ray to leave; if this mission was going to fail he didn't want Ray anywhere near the Agency today. Gracie needed her husband and Matt needed his father. Walter had told Ray that if they got caught, he would deny that Ray had any involvement and was innocent.
Walter walked in and found Eberts ready to start. He glanced hopeful at Charlie, "Well, you staying or leaving?"
The Official grunted deeply in his throat. He remembered how Darien and Hobbes had helped him long ago when he lost his job. It was time to return the favor, "I may not always show it, but I support my men during their missions. I'm staying."
Walter nodded his head in approval and looked at Eberts, "Okay, let's get started." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number. Eberts traced the frequency and sent it to Hobbes location.
"Okay, so how is this supposed to work?" Darien asked as he watched Hobbes.
"Eberts is going to send me the frequency that Walter's phone is on. I'll be able to trace his call so I'll be able to triangulate her position," Hobbes put on the head set and waited for Eberts signal. "Okay, he's calling her. Cell phones work on a duplex system, another words they have two frequencies, one for each phone. Walkie talkies are half-duplex, one frequency only and that's why you can't talk at the same time, you have to wait for the other person to finish. Even if the Lady doesn't answer, I can still pick up on her frequency that's being sent."
"And how is that?" Mark asked.
"All I need is for her phone voice mail system to come on, it still sends out a signal from her phone." Hobbes shot Darien a quick glance, "That's how Monroe and I found you that day."
"She'll answer, she always does," Tom said with certainty.
"And you know this because?" Darien asked looking at Tom quizzically.
"I know her." Tom had answered Darien with a raised brow.
Hobbes held up his hand, "Whoa, got it!"
Everyone quickly bent down to listen to Hobbes. "Well, where is she?" Darien asked.
"Hold on don't rush the genius at work here. I need to triangulate her position now…and…she's…to our west about 35 yards."
Darien clapped his hands together, "Good job, Hobbes."
Hobbes looked up at Tom, "Okay, I need you to drive and I'll tell where to go." Tom nodded and jumped in the driver's seat and followed Hobbes directions.
His heart pounded so hard in his chest as he ran he thought it would burst from his chest. It reminded him of that line in 'Moby Dick': If his chest had been a canon he would have burst his hot heart's shell upon it. But in this case, he felt more like the whale than Ahab. He was the one being hunted and not the hunter, or was he both. The prey and the hunter all rolled into one bottomless pit of madness. He ran to hide from the monster that chased him, basically he was running from himself. He knew that it was no-win situation.
An endless eerie maze was his cell now. With each turn he hoped to see the light that would mean escape from this nightmare. At times he saw himself in his own perspective and at other moments, he swore he could see through the eyes of the creature. He knew it was all just a dream and that when his body woke; it would be the eyes of the creature he looked through. But he had to try, try to regain some sense of control during that very first moment of awareness after waking up. Now he wished he had taken Psycology.
He kept running around corners trying to find that break in the wall. Trying to escape that maze like a lab rat…lab rat…that's what he was now, a lab rat running from a psychopathic lab rat, the monster that they let him become. He stopped running, it was useless anyway, he could run for all eternity and still he would get caught. So this is hell. The psycho always knew where he was because he was also that psycho. How do you escape from yourself? "If mild mannered Clark Kent could defeat the evil Superman, then why can't I? Where's kryptonite when you need it or in my case, counteragent?" Ed, the Sane Ed leaned up against the wall and slowly sank to the floor, "Why did they do this to me?"
"Because I'm better than you, bro."
Ed looked up into the monster's eyes, red sclera and silver irises that glowed in the darkness of the shadows. The face was still his, but at the same time, it wasn't. It was the face of a stranger that stared back at him with deadly intent.
"You can't kill me, you do realize that," Ed said to Psycho Ed…Psycho Ed…suddenly he could hear the theme from "Psycho" playing, but he paid no attention to it. He watched as Psycho Ed paced back and forth in front of him with the look of a cat who had cornered a mouse.
Ed's dream perspective changed and he found himself staring at Sane Ed on the floor, "I don't really need you and I'm pretty sure I can kill you. Having your good natured conscious around is not in my plan. This is who you are now and there's nothing you can do about it." He lunged for his prey and got pleasure from the beautiful screams that came from Sane Ed. "Can you taste blood in your dreams?" Pyscho Ed mused as he punched Sane Ed.
Ed woke up and felt wetness on his lips. His tongue darted out and ran slowly along his bottom lip, blood. How did he get a bloody lip? He smiled, he had punched Sane Ed in his dream, but his hands were still handcuffed. Maybe he just bit his lip while dreaming. Ed looked up at the ceiling, "I'm the one in control and boy, am I going to have some fun." Ed's menacing laughter filled his room. He would kill the people who tortured him and then he would escape, but first he needed to bring down the security system. 'Tara…oh yeah, Tara, I'll use her to escape, then I'll play with her and decide whether or not to kill her. It will all depend on how well she likes to play my games,' Ed thought to himself as he rolled over to make his plans.
Tom had parked the van in front of looked like a warehouse or a garage for large vehicles. Darien had gone in alone a few minutes ago to assess the situation. He had put on the knit cap with a little turtle on the front he had worn on a mission one time. Darcy had commented on how cute it was and the men had rolled their eyes. Hobbes had said that the little turtle was actually a camera and they would be able to see what Darien sees. He had also worn an ear piece with a microphone so he could stay in constant communication.
Once they all had an idea of what they were up against, then Hobbes and Tom would follow to give Darien back up. Mark and Darcy had learned how to operate the surveillance equipment while on the long road trip and were ready to go when Hobbes and Tom went in.
Hobbes watched anxiously as Darien made his way through the building and had come upon a hidden elevator. Hobbes had warned him to be careful and watched the monitor as Darien walked into the elevator.
"This is like 'Independence Day' here, Hobbes," Darien retorted.
"Yeah, well, just keep your eyes open," Hobbes answered back.
The door opened and Darien cautiously stepped into the open area. Some guards turned to see who had come down the elevator but they didn't see anyone. "Must be checking the elevator," one guard retorted.
Darien walked past them. He spent nearly thirty minutes checking one area and found nothing. He tried to go through a set of double doors but they were locked. There was a control box off the right side, "I got a feeling what we're looking for is in here."
"How is he going to get in there?" Darcy asked.
"You heard of skeleton keys?" Hobbes watched as Darcy nodded, "We've got skeleton cards. Seems like Walter's agency has better toys then we do, watch."
Darien pulled out a card and shook the quicksilver off of it. He gently slipped it in and waited. "What's he doing?" Mark asked as Hobbes started a program for the card that Darien used.
"Ah, this is one of those toys that no one is supposed to know exists. It has a small chip inside that will go through and find us a registered ID with the proper authorization code. Once it does, the doors will open."
Darien heard the sound of the buzzer and then the doors unlocked. He grabbed the card, quicksilvered it and put it back in his pocket. This particular area did not have as many people, very few to be exact. For ten minutes all Darien saw were just a few guards.
Darien turned a corner and stopped. He looked around. "Fawkes, what is it?" Hobbes asked.
"I sense a human, but…" Darien's voice trailed off.
"But what?" Hobbes asked as he looked at Tom apprehensively.
"I'm not sure, hang on, I'm gonna check it out."
"Fawkes, don't do anything stupid."
Darien walked slowly down the hall, he had sensed a human presence that he thought he recognized, but it wasn't the same. He stopped at the door with the mechanical lock, he sensed some other humans coming and quickly stepped aside, "Someone's coming, just hold on, I think I found something here."
Hobbes shot Tom a hopeful look. Everyone became silent as they took in a deep breath.
Darien went inside the room next door so they wouldn't feel the temperature change. He looked around and saw a large window; he was in an observation room. "Now where have I seen this before?" Through the window he saw a man lying on the bed with his back to the door. He was wearing dark blue scrubs and socks. The door opened and he saw a couple of guards enter the room. One of the men put down a tray on the floor next to the mattress. He then walked over and with his boot he shook the man, "Wake up, time for dinner."
The man didn't respond he just rolled over and smiled. He sat up on the mattress with his knees up. There was a chain wrapped around his waist that connected to two sets of cuffs, around his wrists and another long chain that connected to the cuffs on his ankles. He was also wearing dark swimming goggles.
Darien stepped back. "Ed!?!" The invisibility hid the stunned look on his face. Ed was alive and now he was in chains like some criminal in a maximum prison. Darien didn't need to see in color to understand why they had taken such drastic steps with Ed. Darien could sense it. Ed was in stage five madness. He started to fill with rage when he sensed someone just outside the door. He turned in the direction of the door, it was a dominant.
"Oh my God, Ed is alive," Darcy exclaimed when she saw his image on the monitor. Tom's posture straightened as he saw his friend. Mark took in a deep breath and then let out slowly. "What have they done to him?" Darcy asked.
"My guess, he's quicksilver nutso." Hobbes stated.
"Well, he's not in stage four. What stage could he be in if they have him secured like that?" Tom asked.
"Stage five, see…" Hobbes pointed to the screen, "His eyes are covered. If it's anything like Fawkes' they're probably silver."
"Silver?" Mark asked as he looked at the screen. He wondered what state Ed was in if they were taking such drastic precautions.
"How is Darien going to get him out of there like that and did you bring counteragent for Ed?" Darcy asked.
Hobbes looked at her and shook his head, "No, we didn't get counteragent for stage five. Start praying that they have some." Hobbes sent Eberts an update.
Tara was outside when she picked up the electrical impulses of a dominant male. She furrowed her brow in confusion, 'Since when did another dominant join us?' she thought to herself as she walked in Ed's room and looked towards the observation room. Darien sensed her and turned on the speaker so he could hear what was being said.
One of the guards looked at her oddly, "Everything okay, doctor?"
"Oh, uhmm…yes, I'm fine, just in heavy thought," she said. "Before you let him eat I need to take some blood," she said as she walked over to Ed and kneeled down next to him. "Okay, Dr. Tate, you know the routine," she said as GI Joe released his wrist. She turned his wrist. She removed the bandage around his wrist and took a quick glance at this tattoo. From what she could tell there were five segments silver. He was halfway.
Ed glanced at her, "Five more to go and then the party really starts doesn't it?"
"Oh crap," Hobbes said in reaction to what he heard Ed say.
"What is it?" Darcy asked.
"If he goes permanent, there's no turning him back," Hobbes said dolefully as he ran his hands over his face.
Eberts looked at his screen in shock. "What is it, Eberts?" The Official asked with concern.
"It's from Agent Hobbes, they're inside and Agent Fawkes has located Dr. Tate…" Eberts looked at the two men, "…alive." Walter and Charlie gazed at each other stunned.
"What do you mean?" Tara rubbed the injection site with alcohol.
"They're just waiting for me to go permanent so they would have a legitimate excuse to harvest the gland. But the big question is, do I go permanently insane or not? The ultimate 'To be or not to be?' isn't it?" Ed watched as the needle went into his arm and his blood filled up the three vials, "Do I get a lollipop or something else to lick?" Ed winked at Tara.
She smiled at him and put a band aid on his arm, "You're all set. Enjoy your dinner."
"Only if I had company like you, sweetheart, and not these 'posers'," Ed said as he glared at the two guards.
Hobbes shook his head, "No, Ed, do not go there, my friend."
"'Posers'?" Mark asked.
"'Poser' is surf slang for someone who dresses the part. You know, someone who dresses like a surfer but really isn't. Basically Ed was saying that they're not real soldiers," Hobbes said as he went back to listening through Darien's earpiece.
The two men stood guard over Ed and they weren't the only ones watching him. Two other guards were in the security room watching him on the monitor. They had come to ignore his insults and just let him be, for now. But the one Ed called GI Joe couldn't wait to get permission to teach him some manners.
Tara decided to check in the observation room to introduce herself. The dominant inside was sure to know about her as well. She opened the door and gazed around quickly but didn't see anyone. 'Odd, I know there's someone…Darien?' She said in her mind.
'You say anything and you'll be dead before you know it.'
The warning echoed in her mind. It was Darien Fawkes, the one that her father told her about. "Just keep quiet and follow me. I know who you are and what you can do, so just read my mind." Tara left the room with Darien following her.
'I won't bother with details on how you know about me, but I do want to know about Ed.'
'Okay, first off my name is Tara Marsh. How I got here I'll explain later, but right now, we've got to get Ed counteragent before his tattoo turns all silver.'
'So he will go permanent?' Darien asked.
'Yes, he will and then they will train him to be an assassin. In fact, his training has already started, he just doesn't know it yet. They also extracted quicksilver from him, something to do with back packs.' She felt a cold hand grip her arm tightly.
'What back packs?' Darien asked angrily.
She continued to walk and tried to look as if nothing was happening, 'Look I don't know exactly, I just overheard Ms. Welsh talking about it with Dr. Alvarez, they're still testing the back packs.'
'Who are Ms. Welsh and Dr. Alvarez?'
'Ms. Welsh is the one better known as the Lady.'
'Ah…so that's the bitch's name,' Darien said with hatred. 'So, you do have stage five counteragent for Ed.'
'Yes, we got it from the information that was taken from Arnaud's computer.'
Darien thought back to the shoot out at Arnaud's place. 'So those were government agents that day at Arnie's place.'
'I don't know anything about that.' Tara walked into the lab, 'Okay, look, I can't talk for a few minutes, so just hold tight and stay with me.' She put the marked vials down and called one of the lab techs to come over. "Here are the newest samples, do all the workup and have it brought to my office. I'll be back in about two hours."
"Yes, ma'am." The tech took the vials and went to work on them.
Darien looked around the lab. He saw the table with the straps, the chair and other pieces of equipment. His anger started to rise again as he thought of what these people put Ed through. He had to fight back the sudden urge to pick up a chair and smash the place. The sound of Tara's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Hey, Fawkes, what's going on? What is the chick saying?" Hobbes asked.
Darien tried to find a quiet place so he could talk. "I'll tell you in a sec…just hold on."
"Great," Hobbes looked at Tom, Mark and Darcy, "How come none of you have ESP?"
Tom, Darcy and Mark shrugged their shoulders. Hobbes shot them a glare and went back to his job.
'Okay, let's go.' Tara walked out of the lab and headed for the ladies room. She sensed that no one else was in there and she walked into one of the larger stalls, 'Okay, let me see you.'
'I'm not sure that's a good idea.'
"There are no cameras in here, only in our rooms, hallways and the labs," she waited a few minutes and saw a man appear in a burst of silvery flakes. Her eyes widened and she put her hand up to his cheek, "Wow, incredible, the resemblance."
"Well, that's how I became a dominant, a case of mistaken identity. The serum I got was meant for Ed. With that explanation aside now …who the hell are you?"
Tara thought for a moment, she knew that lying to him would be pointless and if she wanted him to trust her, she would tell him everything. She exhaled deeply and said, "My father is Lewis."
Back in the van, Hobbes, Tom, Darcy and Mark stared at one another. "Be careful, Fawkes," Hobbes replied.
Darien glared at her, his eyes immediately turned black. He grabbed her throat, "What do you want with Ed?"
She gasped at the sudden change in eye color, it caught her completely off guard and his hand was around her neck before she could react, "I'm not here for Ed. I didn't know he had a gland until they brought him in." She felt the grip become tighter around her throat. "Please, I want to help, Ed."
Darien stared at her and he felt that she was telling the truth. He let her go, "Why?"
She rubbed her neck, "Because I'm starting to believe that the co-existence movement is right."
"I have a hard time believing that a daughter of Lewis would want to help a human let alone believe in co-existence. Tell me, what are you doing here if it wasn't for Ed?"
"I was sent here to spy on the humans, to find out what they were planning. We know that the genogenesis therapy that Ed was developing has been perfected by the human scientists. My father wanted me to find out how far along they were in finding a delivery system for it. I was supposed to find out all I could and also assassinate the woman."
Darien cocked his head to one side, "Okay, I'll go along with that last part, yeah, in fact I may even help you. What else?"
"I know that Ed was never supposed to have the gland implanted in his head. Ed was only supposed to get close enough to the gland to help in developing a new gland prototype. She was behind it all; she's the one that set Ed up from the very beginning."
Tom looked at Hobbes, "You guys were right."
"I told the fat man and Fawkes that this would turn out bad," Hobbes commented as he listened and watched.
Darien looked at Tara, "Go on."
"The plan had always been to fake Ed's death even if he didn't have the gland implanted. She had ordered Dr. Attwood to harvest the gland but you brought back the counteragent in time. She was furious, but then she decided to go ahead with her original plan. Ed was brought here for testing and will eventually be trained. I think his first target is my father or the High Council."
"What does all this have to do with you?" Darien asked her.
"I'm a scientist, Darien, my field of expertise is cloning."
Darien stood hypnotized. "She does want to clone the gland like Chrysalis did," he stated in disbelief.
"Yes, they either want to have an invisible army or mass produce quicksilver." Darien's glare cut her off. "What is it?"
He approached her again, "Lewis had wanted to clone my gland."
"No, you don't think that I would take Ed out of here and turn him over to my father?"
"You got that right, sister, that's exactly what I'm thinking. What an opportunity for you, you kill the Lady, destroy any work done on Ed's research. Then who drops into your lap, Ed Tate with his very own gland that you can clone yourself," Darien said to her accusingly.
"I'm telling you the truth and you of all people should know that," she looked at him, "I have no intentions on letting my father know about Ed, but I can't let them go through with the genogenesis therapy." She put her hand on his, "You have to trust me on this if you want to get Ed out alive."
"Do you have a plan?" Darien looked at her.
"Now that you're here, yes, follow me," she walked out of the bathroom with Darien right behind her, the silver coating covering him as he left the bathroom.
Tara showed him where the ammunitions closet was located. "The next shift change is at 16 hundred hours…"
"What is that in regular time?"
She turned to look at the direction the disembodied voice came from, "You don't know?"
"No."
"It means four o'clock."
"Oh."
"Make mental note to self: Teach Fawkes military time," Hobbes said out loud to no one in particular. Tom chuckled.
"Look, talk to me in my mind okay?"
'So, what's your plan?'
'We need to destroy the main computers and the security room. Can you set charges?'
Darien rolled his eyes, 'Yes, I can set charges.'
'Good, all the equipment you'll need is in there.'
'Wait, they have explosives in there?'
'Yes, just in case they need to do a quick evacuation, nothing gets left behind. While you set the charges, I'm going to download all that I can from the main computers. Okay, follow me,' Tara turned down a hall.
Darien looked around, the walls were concrete and the underground building resembled a bunker of some kind. 'Some set up here,' Darien noted.
'I don't know how you were able to get in, but getting out won't be easy. Ed is under surveillance 24/7 by cameras. If he quicksilvers in his room or where ever he might be, alarms go off and the cameras will switch to thermal imaging. The temperature gauges are only activated in his immediate location. I'm just glad you didn't walk into his room, or else we would not be having this conversation.'
'So that's why we need to take out the security room, to prevent the thermal imaging, smart move.'
'Exactly, with the chaos of the explosions, we might be able to slip Ed out, but it'll be tricky.'
'We'll get him out, count on it,' Darien said as he followed Tara down the hall.
She had showed him where the security room and the main computers were. After that, she went back to her computer and started to get to work on downloading the information. She had inserted a disk to run a program to keep the main computer busy. She hoped that Darien was doing well with setting the charges. She had five more minutes left when she realized she needed to find the counteragent. Tara leaped from her chair and went to the medicine cabinet containing the counteragent. She punched in the combination and opened the door. Knowing that they were watching her, she held up another vial and turned so that only her right side was visible. With her left hand, she placed the vial of counteragent in her pocket. She closed the door and walked away. All she needed now was to get a syringe and she was ready.
Tara moved about the lab without anyone noticing anything unusual. Being a trained Chameleon made that part easy. She sat back down at her desk and acted as if she was running some kind of test with the vial that she took. Her download was complete and she removed the disk. She had used several disks and kept them together. With all the tests they ran on Ed and what they put him through to get this information she wasn't about to let it all be in vain. She knew it was valuable and knew that Ed could use it to either help him find a way to get it out and or to cure the madness. She checked her watch again. It was time.
Ed was about to push his empty dinner plate away from him when an explosion rocked the walls. Ed made his move. In one quick move he grabbed the cattle prod and pushed it up against the kidney of GI Joe sending a jolt of searing pain through his body. The second guard barely had time to react as Ed hit him in the solar plexus area and then over his head with the baton. He fell to the floor in a heap and didn't move. Ed didn't hear any alarms yet and he knew there wasn't much time. He searched the guard and found the keys. The chains were off and Ed picked up the baton. GI Joe started to come around. Ed removed the goggles and glared at him, "Hey, Joe, it's time to put out that fire."
Ed shocked him with the cattle prod repeatedly until he was nearly unconscious. Ed took the gun belt and strapped it around his own waist. With one hand Ed lifted the dazed soldier by his shirt and held up the cattle prod over his head, "Good night," the cattle prod came down on the head of GI Joe. Ed smiled as blood leaked from the man's head and coated the floor, "One down, two to go." All he needed to do now was to figure out how to get out of the room. As he approached the door, he heard another explosion. The lights flickered and went out. The emergency generator came on but he heard the door unlock, he smiled, "The security system must be down, just what the doctor ordered," he pushed the door opened, quicksilvered and ran out of the room.
TBC….
Sloan sat on the porch as she watched the waves roll in. She watched as people walked up and down the beach. Some were couples who giggled and ran from the surf as it came in. Sloan half smiled at the game that everyone played. Let the waves chase you and then you chase the waves. Others jogged or walked their dogs while others played in the surf. All these things were the reason why Ed decided to get the beach house in the first place. Besides the lab, the beach is where he spent most of his off time. This was always a dream of Ed's, to have the ocean as his backyard. She was glad that he had the chance to fulfill a dream. Now with Tom having to go into hiding, there were things that they wanted to do and didn't. Life is too short to let things slip away. Sloan wiped a tear from her eye as the seagulls squawked over head as they glided on the wind in search of food. She missed Tom and didn't know if she would ever see him again. Then she thought of Claire and felt guilty about her own feelings.
She heard footsteps behind her and quickly turned her head. "Oh, hi, Claire. How are you feeling?"
Claire forced a smile and looked down at the cup of tea she was holding in her hands. She walked out onto the porch and sat down next to Sloan. "So-so, I miss him so much," she took a sip of her tea. "They say that time heals, but now I'm not so sure. I never thought that I could love anybody as much as I loved Ed," Claire looked at Sloan, "I knew him for such a short time, this must very hard on you."
Sloan nodded, "I was just sitting here thinking of how many conversations we had about how our lives had taken such a sudden turn. That night I had said to Ed what I found would change his life and he said, 'I like my life'. I just never imagined how much of a change it would be. Walter had eventually sent the other lab people to different parts of the University because now our work was top secret or something like that. We no longer helped the FBI on cases, we didn't do research for grants that we were awarded. It all changed. Our work literally became a fight for survival," Sloan looked at Claire.
"I know what you mean. That same feeling happened to me when I was assigned to the I-Man project…my life had taken this sudden turn…" Claire's voice trailed off and she stared out at the ocean.
Sloan looked at her with concern, "What's wrong?"
"Darien…I'm worried about him, about Darcy, Tom, Mark…all of us. I just can't believe that this has happened," Claire shook her head despondently.
Sloan looked down at her hands, "The strange thing is, is that years ago this would have been welcome news, but now I believe it's the wrong thing to do. So much has changed in the last five years that I really thought we were making strides towards peace." Sloan paused and then smiled, "You know it was Ed who came up with the name for the new species."
"Really? He didn't tell me that. How did that happen?" Claire looked at Sloan.
"This was right before a press conference. Walter was going over the points he wanted to make about the new species, what we learned about the little boy Kevin, the Spanish Flu, cloning…all the things we had found out about them. Well, as Walter went down the list Ed blurted out, 'Boy, talk about establishing dominance.' I remember we all looked at him and he saw the expression on our faces and he was like: 'What?'" Sloan mimicked Ed so perfectly with her facial expression and body language that Claire couldn't keep herself from giggling. "That was it; Walter announced that the new species was now known as Homo-Dominant. Ed said that I should be the one to name them since I originally discovered them, but I told him that I wouldn't be able to come up with any name better then that one." Sloan paused for a moment and then continued, "You know, Ed hated all the press and the notoriety that the lab was getting in news. There were times I knew he would give anything to have it all go away and for things to go back to the way they were."
Claire shook her head in agreement, "Darien was the same way in the beginning. There were times when he wished that he had never said 'yes' to Kevin's offer. Prison he understood, he knew what to expect and how to face it. But not with the gland and the madness that always waited for him in the shadows. Not to mention the uncertainty of me ever finding a way to get the gland out. He hated…" Claire forced a smile as she rethought her choice of words, "…hates being on a leash. He wasn't in control at the time, but with the cure, he's better…a little better."
Sloan chuckled, "Ed and Darien are…were so much alike. I mean, when I saw them come to work that day and they both had on those plaid pants, I nearly died from laughter. Do you think they planned that?"
"No, I couldn't believe that Ed had a pair of pants similar to Darien's and they both had on red shirts, well, Ed wore that pull-over sweater…" Claire paused and then giggled, "It was funny wasn't it?" Claire thought back to that day and how Hobbes had reacted by throwing his arms in the air and complaining that they both lacked fashion sense. Tom was certain at that point that they were twins separated at birth regardless of Ed's findings. "You think Darien would like to have those pants?"
Sloan smiled, "I know it's hard, especially now to even think about going through his things and packing them up to give away. But, I would not have a hard time getting rid of those pants." Sloan and Claire both laughed. "I just can't believe he still had them. I remember one time he wore them when he and Walter set a trap for Tom."
"Wait, what?…" Claire had to stop laughing so she could hear this story, "Walter and Ed set a trap for Tom?"
"It's a long story but yeah, Walter hooked up something to his door to electrocute Tom. He set the voltage according to something that Ed had found out about the dominants. Lewis had regained control over Tom and we knew that he would come to the lab to kill all of us. So, Walter and Ed set the trap and it worked. Tom was knocked out and I was able to bring him back. Lewis was later captured and well, sometime later he escaped."
"Interesting story," Claire said as she took a sip from her tea. "You want to hear about the time I went quicksilver mad?"
"Yeah," Sloan turned to gaze at the beach, it was a typical sunny day in San Diego, "Let's go for a walk and we can share stories."
Claire thought for a moment, "Sounds good."
The Official and Walter both sat at their respective desks. Each checked their watches. Each knew what was happening and what it could mean. The lives of their employees and their own jobs could be lost in a futile attempt to find the truth. The Official let out a sigh and Eberts looked at him glumly. Walter tried his best to keep busy by doing paper work in a vain attempt to keep his mind off of it. Ray sat at home with a glass of scotch in his hand and Gracie looked at him with concern. Ray hadn't told her what was happening only that something was going down that could get his friends killed or thrown in prison. He didn't want to tell her that evidence seemed to point that Ed could still be alive, he didn't want to get Gracie's hopes up and then have them crashing down if they failed.
Hobbes drove the van through the second gate without incident. He parked the van and sent a message to Walter that they were in position.
Walter nearly jumped when his phone announced he had a message. He looked at it hurriedly and let out a huge sigh of relief when he recognized the prearranged message. They had made it safely on the base. His part of the plan was to call the Lady so that Hobbes could triangulate the signal and get a lock on her position. If she was on the base, he would find her easily within 50 yards. He notified Eberts that he was ready and left his office.
He took the long walk to Charlie's office as a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind. His career and possibly his life were in the hands of four men and one woman hundreds of miles away. He had asked Ray to leave; if this mission was going to fail he didn't want Ray anywhere near the Agency today. Gracie needed her husband and Matt needed his father. Walter had told Ray that if they got caught, he would deny that Ray had any involvement and was innocent.
Walter walked in and found Eberts ready to start. He glanced hopeful at Charlie, "Well, you staying or leaving?"
The Official grunted deeply in his throat. He remembered how Darien and Hobbes had helped him long ago when he lost his job. It was time to return the favor, "I may not always show it, but I support my men during their missions. I'm staying."
Walter nodded his head in approval and looked at Eberts, "Okay, let's get started." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number. Eberts traced the frequency and sent it to Hobbes location.
"Okay, so how is this supposed to work?" Darien asked as he watched Hobbes.
"Eberts is going to send me the frequency that Walter's phone is on. I'll be able to trace his call so I'll be able to triangulate her position," Hobbes put on the head set and waited for Eberts signal. "Okay, he's calling her. Cell phones work on a duplex system, another words they have two frequencies, one for each phone. Walkie talkies are half-duplex, one frequency only and that's why you can't talk at the same time, you have to wait for the other person to finish. Even if the Lady doesn't answer, I can still pick up on her frequency that's being sent."
"And how is that?" Mark asked.
"All I need is for her phone voice mail system to come on, it still sends out a signal from her phone." Hobbes shot Darien a quick glance, "That's how Monroe and I found you that day."
"She'll answer, she always does," Tom said with certainty.
"And you know this because?" Darien asked looking at Tom quizzically.
"I know her." Tom had answered Darien with a raised brow.
Hobbes held up his hand, "Whoa, got it!"
Everyone quickly bent down to listen to Hobbes. "Well, where is she?" Darien asked.
"Hold on don't rush the genius at work here. I need to triangulate her position now…and…she's…to our west about 35 yards."
Darien clapped his hands together, "Good job, Hobbes."
Hobbes looked up at Tom, "Okay, I need you to drive and I'll tell where to go." Tom nodded and jumped in the driver's seat and followed Hobbes directions.
His heart pounded so hard in his chest as he ran he thought it would burst from his chest. It reminded him of that line in 'Moby Dick': If his chest had been a canon he would have burst his hot heart's shell upon it. But in this case, he felt more like the whale than Ahab. He was the one being hunted and not the hunter, or was he both. The prey and the hunter all rolled into one bottomless pit of madness. He ran to hide from the monster that chased him, basically he was running from himself. He knew that it was no-win situation.
An endless eerie maze was his cell now. With each turn he hoped to see the light that would mean escape from this nightmare. At times he saw himself in his own perspective and at other moments, he swore he could see through the eyes of the creature. He knew it was all just a dream and that when his body woke; it would be the eyes of the creature he looked through. But he had to try, try to regain some sense of control during that very first moment of awareness after waking up. Now he wished he had taken Psycology.
He kept running around corners trying to find that break in the wall. Trying to escape that maze like a lab rat…lab rat…that's what he was now, a lab rat running from a psychopathic lab rat, the monster that they let him become. He stopped running, it was useless anyway, he could run for all eternity and still he would get caught. So this is hell. The psycho always knew where he was because he was also that psycho. How do you escape from yourself? "If mild mannered Clark Kent could defeat the evil Superman, then why can't I? Where's kryptonite when you need it or in my case, counteragent?" Ed, the Sane Ed leaned up against the wall and slowly sank to the floor, "Why did they do this to me?"
"Because I'm better than you, bro."
Ed looked up into the monster's eyes, red sclera and silver irises that glowed in the darkness of the shadows. The face was still his, but at the same time, it wasn't. It was the face of a stranger that stared back at him with deadly intent.
"You can't kill me, you do realize that," Ed said to Psycho Ed…Psycho Ed…suddenly he could hear the theme from "Psycho" playing, but he paid no attention to it. He watched as Psycho Ed paced back and forth in front of him with the look of a cat who had cornered a mouse.
Ed's dream perspective changed and he found himself staring at Sane Ed on the floor, "I don't really need you and I'm pretty sure I can kill you. Having your good natured conscious around is not in my plan. This is who you are now and there's nothing you can do about it." He lunged for his prey and got pleasure from the beautiful screams that came from Sane Ed. "Can you taste blood in your dreams?" Pyscho Ed mused as he punched Sane Ed.
Ed woke up and felt wetness on his lips. His tongue darted out and ran slowly along his bottom lip, blood. How did he get a bloody lip? He smiled, he had punched Sane Ed in his dream, but his hands were still handcuffed. Maybe he just bit his lip while dreaming. Ed looked up at the ceiling, "I'm the one in control and boy, am I going to have some fun." Ed's menacing laughter filled his room. He would kill the people who tortured him and then he would escape, but first he needed to bring down the security system. 'Tara…oh yeah, Tara, I'll use her to escape, then I'll play with her and decide whether or not to kill her. It will all depend on how well she likes to play my games,' Ed thought to himself as he rolled over to make his plans.
Tom had parked the van in front of looked like a warehouse or a garage for large vehicles. Darien had gone in alone a few minutes ago to assess the situation. He had put on the knit cap with a little turtle on the front he had worn on a mission one time. Darcy had commented on how cute it was and the men had rolled their eyes. Hobbes had said that the little turtle was actually a camera and they would be able to see what Darien sees. He had also worn an ear piece with a microphone so he could stay in constant communication.
Once they all had an idea of what they were up against, then Hobbes and Tom would follow to give Darien back up. Mark and Darcy had learned how to operate the surveillance equipment while on the long road trip and were ready to go when Hobbes and Tom went in.
Hobbes watched anxiously as Darien made his way through the building and had come upon a hidden elevator. Hobbes had warned him to be careful and watched the monitor as Darien walked into the elevator.
"This is like 'Independence Day' here, Hobbes," Darien retorted.
"Yeah, well, just keep your eyes open," Hobbes answered back.
The door opened and Darien cautiously stepped into the open area. Some guards turned to see who had come down the elevator but they didn't see anyone. "Must be checking the elevator," one guard retorted.
Darien walked past them. He spent nearly thirty minutes checking one area and found nothing. He tried to go through a set of double doors but they were locked. There was a control box off the right side, "I got a feeling what we're looking for is in here."
"How is he going to get in there?" Darcy asked.
"You heard of skeleton keys?" Hobbes watched as Darcy nodded, "We've got skeleton cards. Seems like Walter's agency has better toys then we do, watch."
Darien pulled out a card and shook the quicksilver off of it. He gently slipped it in and waited. "What's he doing?" Mark asked as Hobbes started a program for the card that Darien used.
"Ah, this is one of those toys that no one is supposed to know exists. It has a small chip inside that will go through and find us a registered ID with the proper authorization code. Once it does, the doors will open."
Darien heard the sound of the buzzer and then the doors unlocked. He grabbed the card, quicksilvered it and put it back in his pocket. This particular area did not have as many people, very few to be exact. For ten minutes all Darien saw were just a few guards.
Darien turned a corner and stopped. He looked around. "Fawkes, what is it?" Hobbes asked.
"I sense a human, but…" Darien's voice trailed off.
"But what?" Hobbes asked as he looked at Tom apprehensively.
"I'm not sure, hang on, I'm gonna check it out."
"Fawkes, don't do anything stupid."
Darien walked slowly down the hall, he had sensed a human presence that he thought he recognized, but it wasn't the same. He stopped at the door with the mechanical lock, he sensed some other humans coming and quickly stepped aside, "Someone's coming, just hold on, I think I found something here."
Hobbes shot Tom a hopeful look. Everyone became silent as they took in a deep breath.
Darien went inside the room next door so they wouldn't feel the temperature change. He looked around and saw a large window; he was in an observation room. "Now where have I seen this before?" Through the window he saw a man lying on the bed with his back to the door. He was wearing dark blue scrubs and socks. The door opened and he saw a couple of guards enter the room. One of the men put down a tray on the floor next to the mattress. He then walked over and with his boot he shook the man, "Wake up, time for dinner."
The man didn't respond he just rolled over and smiled. He sat up on the mattress with his knees up. There was a chain wrapped around his waist that connected to two sets of cuffs, around his wrists and another long chain that connected to the cuffs on his ankles. He was also wearing dark swimming goggles.
Darien stepped back. "Ed!?!" The invisibility hid the stunned look on his face. Ed was alive and now he was in chains like some criminal in a maximum prison. Darien didn't need to see in color to understand why they had taken such drastic steps with Ed. Darien could sense it. Ed was in stage five madness. He started to fill with rage when he sensed someone just outside the door. He turned in the direction of the door, it was a dominant.
"Oh my God, Ed is alive," Darcy exclaimed when she saw his image on the monitor. Tom's posture straightened as he saw his friend. Mark took in a deep breath and then let out slowly. "What have they done to him?" Darcy asked.
"My guess, he's quicksilver nutso." Hobbes stated.
"Well, he's not in stage four. What stage could he be in if they have him secured like that?" Tom asked.
"Stage five, see…" Hobbes pointed to the screen, "His eyes are covered. If it's anything like Fawkes' they're probably silver."
"Silver?" Mark asked as he looked at the screen. He wondered what state Ed was in if they were taking such drastic precautions.
"How is Darien going to get him out of there like that and did you bring counteragent for Ed?" Darcy asked.
Hobbes looked at her and shook his head, "No, we didn't get counteragent for stage five. Start praying that they have some." Hobbes sent Eberts an update.
Tara was outside when she picked up the electrical impulses of a dominant male. She furrowed her brow in confusion, 'Since when did another dominant join us?' she thought to herself as she walked in Ed's room and looked towards the observation room. Darien sensed her and turned on the speaker so he could hear what was being said.
One of the guards looked at her oddly, "Everything okay, doctor?"
"Oh, uhmm…yes, I'm fine, just in heavy thought," she said. "Before you let him eat I need to take some blood," she said as she walked over to Ed and kneeled down next to him. "Okay, Dr. Tate, you know the routine," she said as GI Joe released his wrist. She turned his wrist. She removed the bandage around his wrist and took a quick glance at this tattoo. From what she could tell there were five segments silver. He was halfway.
Ed glanced at her, "Five more to go and then the party really starts doesn't it?"
"Oh crap," Hobbes said in reaction to what he heard Ed say.
"What is it?" Darcy asked.
"If he goes permanent, there's no turning him back," Hobbes said dolefully as he ran his hands over his face.
Eberts looked at his screen in shock. "What is it, Eberts?" The Official asked with concern.
"It's from Agent Hobbes, they're inside and Agent Fawkes has located Dr. Tate…" Eberts looked at the two men, "…alive." Walter and Charlie gazed at each other stunned.
"What do you mean?" Tara rubbed the injection site with alcohol.
"They're just waiting for me to go permanent so they would have a legitimate excuse to harvest the gland. But the big question is, do I go permanently insane or not? The ultimate 'To be or not to be?' isn't it?" Ed watched as the needle went into his arm and his blood filled up the three vials, "Do I get a lollipop or something else to lick?" Ed winked at Tara.
She smiled at him and put a band aid on his arm, "You're all set. Enjoy your dinner."
"Only if I had company like you, sweetheart, and not these 'posers'," Ed said as he glared at the two guards.
Hobbes shook his head, "No, Ed, do not go there, my friend."
"'Posers'?" Mark asked.
"'Poser' is surf slang for someone who dresses the part. You know, someone who dresses like a surfer but really isn't. Basically Ed was saying that they're not real soldiers," Hobbes said as he went back to listening through Darien's earpiece.
The two men stood guard over Ed and they weren't the only ones watching him. Two other guards were in the security room watching him on the monitor. They had come to ignore his insults and just let him be, for now. But the one Ed called GI Joe couldn't wait to get permission to teach him some manners.
Tara decided to check in the observation room to introduce herself. The dominant inside was sure to know about her as well. She opened the door and gazed around quickly but didn't see anyone. 'Odd, I know there's someone…Darien?' She said in her mind.
'You say anything and you'll be dead before you know it.'
The warning echoed in her mind. It was Darien Fawkes, the one that her father told her about. "Just keep quiet and follow me. I know who you are and what you can do, so just read my mind." Tara left the room with Darien following her.
'I won't bother with details on how you know about me, but I do want to know about Ed.'
'Okay, first off my name is Tara Marsh. How I got here I'll explain later, but right now, we've got to get Ed counteragent before his tattoo turns all silver.'
'So he will go permanent?' Darien asked.
'Yes, he will and then they will train him to be an assassin. In fact, his training has already started, he just doesn't know it yet. They also extracted quicksilver from him, something to do with back packs.' She felt a cold hand grip her arm tightly.
'What back packs?' Darien asked angrily.
She continued to walk and tried to look as if nothing was happening, 'Look I don't know exactly, I just overheard Ms. Welsh talking about it with Dr. Alvarez, they're still testing the back packs.'
'Who are Ms. Welsh and Dr. Alvarez?'
'Ms. Welsh is the one better known as the Lady.'
'Ah…so that's the bitch's name,' Darien said with hatred. 'So, you do have stage five counteragent for Ed.'
'Yes, we got it from the information that was taken from Arnaud's computer.'
Darien thought back to the shoot out at Arnaud's place. 'So those were government agents that day at Arnie's place.'
'I don't know anything about that.' Tara walked into the lab, 'Okay, look, I can't talk for a few minutes, so just hold tight and stay with me.' She put the marked vials down and called one of the lab techs to come over. "Here are the newest samples, do all the workup and have it brought to my office. I'll be back in about two hours."
"Yes, ma'am." The tech took the vials and went to work on them.
Darien looked around the lab. He saw the table with the straps, the chair and other pieces of equipment. His anger started to rise again as he thought of what these people put Ed through. He had to fight back the sudden urge to pick up a chair and smash the place. The sound of Tara's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Hey, Fawkes, what's going on? What is the chick saying?" Hobbes asked.
Darien tried to find a quiet place so he could talk. "I'll tell you in a sec…just hold on."
"Great," Hobbes looked at Tom, Mark and Darcy, "How come none of you have ESP?"
Tom, Darcy and Mark shrugged their shoulders. Hobbes shot them a glare and went back to his job.
'Okay, let's go.' Tara walked out of the lab and headed for the ladies room. She sensed that no one else was in there and she walked into one of the larger stalls, 'Okay, let me see you.'
'I'm not sure that's a good idea.'
"There are no cameras in here, only in our rooms, hallways and the labs," she waited a few minutes and saw a man appear in a burst of silvery flakes. Her eyes widened and she put her hand up to his cheek, "Wow, incredible, the resemblance."
"Well, that's how I became a dominant, a case of mistaken identity. The serum I got was meant for Ed. With that explanation aside now …who the hell are you?"
Tara thought for a moment, she knew that lying to him would be pointless and if she wanted him to trust her, she would tell him everything. She exhaled deeply and said, "My father is Lewis."
Back in the van, Hobbes, Tom, Darcy and Mark stared at one another. "Be careful, Fawkes," Hobbes replied.
Darien glared at her, his eyes immediately turned black. He grabbed her throat, "What do you want with Ed?"
She gasped at the sudden change in eye color, it caught her completely off guard and his hand was around her neck before she could react, "I'm not here for Ed. I didn't know he had a gland until they brought him in." She felt the grip become tighter around her throat. "Please, I want to help, Ed."
Darien stared at her and he felt that she was telling the truth. He let her go, "Why?"
She rubbed her neck, "Because I'm starting to believe that the co-existence movement is right."
"I have a hard time believing that a daughter of Lewis would want to help a human let alone believe in co-existence. Tell me, what are you doing here if it wasn't for Ed?"
"I was sent here to spy on the humans, to find out what they were planning. We know that the genogenesis therapy that Ed was developing has been perfected by the human scientists. My father wanted me to find out how far along they were in finding a delivery system for it. I was supposed to find out all I could and also assassinate the woman."
Darien cocked his head to one side, "Okay, I'll go along with that last part, yeah, in fact I may even help you. What else?"
"I know that Ed was never supposed to have the gland implanted in his head. Ed was only supposed to get close enough to the gland to help in developing a new gland prototype. She was behind it all; she's the one that set Ed up from the very beginning."
Tom looked at Hobbes, "You guys were right."
"I told the fat man and Fawkes that this would turn out bad," Hobbes commented as he listened and watched.
Darien looked at Tara, "Go on."
"The plan had always been to fake Ed's death even if he didn't have the gland implanted. She had ordered Dr. Attwood to harvest the gland but you brought back the counteragent in time. She was furious, but then she decided to go ahead with her original plan. Ed was brought here for testing and will eventually be trained. I think his first target is my father or the High Council."
"What does all this have to do with you?" Darien asked her.
"I'm a scientist, Darien, my field of expertise is cloning."
Darien stood hypnotized. "She does want to clone the gland like Chrysalis did," he stated in disbelief.
"Yes, they either want to have an invisible army or mass produce quicksilver." Darien's glare cut her off. "What is it?"
He approached her again, "Lewis had wanted to clone my gland."
"No, you don't think that I would take Ed out of here and turn him over to my father?"
"You got that right, sister, that's exactly what I'm thinking. What an opportunity for you, you kill the Lady, destroy any work done on Ed's research. Then who drops into your lap, Ed Tate with his very own gland that you can clone yourself," Darien said to her accusingly.
"I'm telling you the truth and you of all people should know that," she looked at him, "I have no intentions on letting my father know about Ed, but I can't let them go through with the genogenesis therapy." She put her hand on his, "You have to trust me on this if you want to get Ed out alive."
"Do you have a plan?" Darien looked at her.
"Now that you're here, yes, follow me," she walked out of the bathroom with Darien right behind her, the silver coating covering him as he left the bathroom.
Tara showed him where the ammunitions closet was located. "The next shift change is at 16 hundred hours…"
"What is that in regular time?"
She turned to look at the direction the disembodied voice came from, "You don't know?"
"No."
"It means four o'clock."
"Oh."
"Make mental note to self: Teach Fawkes military time," Hobbes said out loud to no one in particular. Tom chuckled.
"Look, talk to me in my mind okay?"
'So, what's your plan?'
'We need to destroy the main computers and the security room. Can you set charges?'
Darien rolled his eyes, 'Yes, I can set charges.'
'Good, all the equipment you'll need is in there.'
'Wait, they have explosives in there?'
'Yes, just in case they need to do a quick evacuation, nothing gets left behind. While you set the charges, I'm going to download all that I can from the main computers. Okay, follow me,' Tara turned down a hall.
Darien looked around, the walls were concrete and the underground building resembled a bunker of some kind. 'Some set up here,' Darien noted.
'I don't know how you were able to get in, but getting out won't be easy. Ed is under surveillance 24/7 by cameras. If he quicksilvers in his room or where ever he might be, alarms go off and the cameras will switch to thermal imaging. The temperature gauges are only activated in his immediate location. I'm just glad you didn't walk into his room, or else we would not be having this conversation.'
'So that's why we need to take out the security room, to prevent the thermal imaging, smart move.'
'Exactly, with the chaos of the explosions, we might be able to slip Ed out, but it'll be tricky.'
'We'll get him out, count on it,' Darien said as he followed Tara down the hall.
She had showed him where the security room and the main computers were. After that, she went back to her computer and started to get to work on downloading the information. She had inserted a disk to run a program to keep the main computer busy. She hoped that Darien was doing well with setting the charges. She had five more minutes left when she realized she needed to find the counteragent. Tara leaped from her chair and went to the medicine cabinet containing the counteragent. She punched in the combination and opened the door. Knowing that they were watching her, she held up another vial and turned so that only her right side was visible. With her left hand, she placed the vial of counteragent in her pocket. She closed the door and walked away. All she needed now was to get a syringe and she was ready.
Tara moved about the lab without anyone noticing anything unusual. Being a trained Chameleon made that part easy. She sat back down at her desk and acted as if she was running some kind of test with the vial that she took. Her download was complete and she removed the disk. She had used several disks and kept them together. With all the tests they ran on Ed and what they put him through to get this information she wasn't about to let it all be in vain. She knew it was valuable and knew that Ed could use it to either help him find a way to get it out and or to cure the madness. She checked her watch again. It was time.
Ed was about to push his empty dinner plate away from him when an explosion rocked the walls. Ed made his move. In one quick move he grabbed the cattle prod and pushed it up against the kidney of GI Joe sending a jolt of searing pain through his body. The second guard barely had time to react as Ed hit him in the solar plexus area and then over his head with the baton. He fell to the floor in a heap and didn't move. Ed didn't hear any alarms yet and he knew there wasn't much time. He searched the guard and found the keys. The chains were off and Ed picked up the baton. GI Joe started to come around. Ed removed the goggles and glared at him, "Hey, Joe, it's time to put out that fire."
Ed shocked him with the cattle prod repeatedly until he was nearly unconscious. Ed took the gun belt and strapped it around his own waist. With one hand Ed lifted the dazed soldier by his shirt and held up the cattle prod over his head, "Good night," the cattle prod came down on the head of GI Joe. Ed smiled as blood leaked from the man's head and coated the floor, "One down, two to go." All he needed to do now was to figure out how to get out of the room. As he approached the door, he heard another explosion. The lights flickered and went out. The emergency generator came on but he heard the door unlock, he smiled, "The security system must be down, just what the doctor ordered," he pushed the door opened, quicksilvered and ran out of the room.
TBC….