TITLE: Mercury
AUTHOR: Vicinity
SUMMARY: The idea of redemption leads Yves - and Jimmy - into the heart of something more dangerous than she could have imagined. Formerly titled "The Immortality Solution."
RATING:
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, not mine.
SPOILERS: Takes place after "Jump the Shark." Makes reference to another one of my stories, "Madrigal."
AUTHOR's NOTES:
*****************************************************************************
She waits in the shadows of the small car as one by one employees filter out of the small, nondescript building. The car is small, cramped even, but she is aware of his presence next to her only peripherally. Her thoughts are on what she will do, what she will look for, what she will find. She is not sure what she would like to find, really, because she wonders if an attempt at hope would be better than simple knowledge. She thinks that perhaps she is being overly fatalistic, and so she tries to think about precise movements rather than what they would symbolize. An elaborate dance, each step chosen carefully though unknown to the dancer before . . .
He touches her shoulder and she jumps slightly. "Ready?" she asks to mask her break in composure. She does not want to let him see that she is afraid, that in part she is afraid of herself. He would fear her, then, and she does not want that. She could watch him recoil in hate, she thinks, but not fear. She thinks that if he were to fear her, she would truly have lost all she wanted. His pure humanity, his innocence, to be repelled by acknowledgment of her . . .
They open opposite doors and she straightens her dark jacket. She knows that she will not pass close inspection, because she did not take the time, did not have the materials, and she also knows that she is taking a great risk in assuming that the man, Matthew, did not notify anyone of his actions, but she sees no other way. Nothing immediate. She wonders again if perhaps she is developing some sort of urge, some sort of subconscious desire to die.
He watches her walk away, and then she hears the car door close behind her. She convinced him that she needs to do this alone, and now she stands in front of the glass doors, dressed in a demure suit and clenching her fingers nervously. Without a final thought - not wanting to allow herself any regrets - she opens one of the doors and strides determinedly inside.
The lobby is cool and sterile and it takes almost no effort to walk past the security desk down to the bank of elevators at the end of the hallway. The walls are plain, undecorated, and she wishes she knew what kind of security is place, other than the obvious guards. There is nothing she can do about it now, and so she continues resolutely down to the small office marked "208 - Welhsey" on the building map.
The door is not locked, to her surprise, and she thinks that the room will have been cleaned, sanitized. She waits a moment in dreadful silence for what she thinks will be inevitable, but when no security forces appear, she allows herself to look around the space for something other than an immediate threat.
A computer terminal sits on the gray faux marble desk, monitor facing away from her. The office has been done in shades of gray, she realizes, and wonders if it was a favorite of color of Welhsey's or if it was just a corporate design. The only other discernable object in the room is a small screen mounted on the right side of the desk. It is dark, and she wonders if it was once a security camera.
She sits gingerly on the matte gray chair, switching on the computer. After several moments of practiced improvisation, she manages to pull up a list of files, surprisingly still present, though in their presence supportive of Matthew keeping his actions secret. She selects the most recently opened file, a video, not sure of what to expect. A documentary of a recent discovery, a threat, or something more frivolous and personal?
Welhsey's office appears onscreen, and from the apparent position, the video was taken from the screen next to the desk. She watches it without reacting as the digital Welhsey stands to greet a dark-haired man, and she realizes that he looks familiar because he is Anarchist17 - Matthew.
AUTHOR: Vicinity
SUMMARY: The idea of redemption leads Yves - and Jimmy - into the heart of something more dangerous than she could have imagined. Formerly titled "The Immortality Solution."
RATING:
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, not mine.
SPOILERS: Takes place after "Jump the Shark." Makes reference to another one of my stories, "Madrigal."
AUTHOR's NOTES:
*****************************************************************************
She waits in the shadows of the small car as one by one employees filter out of the small, nondescript building. The car is small, cramped even, but she is aware of his presence next to her only peripherally. Her thoughts are on what she will do, what she will look for, what she will find. She is not sure what she would like to find, really, because she wonders if an attempt at hope would be better than simple knowledge. She thinks that perhaps she is being overly fatalistic, and so she tries to think about precise movements rather than what they would symbolize. An elaborate dance, each step chosen carefully though unknown to the dancer before . . .
He touches her shoulder and she jumps slightly. "Ready?" she asks to mask her break in composure. She does not want to let him see that she is afraid, that in part she is afraid of herself. He would fear her, then, and she does not want that. She could watch him recoil in hate, she thinks, but not fear. She thinks that if he were to fear her, she would truly have lost all she wanted. His pure humanity, his innocence, to be repelled by acknowledgment of her . . .
They open opposite doors and she straightens her dark jacket. She knows that she will not pass close inspection, because she did not take the time, did not have the materials, and she also knows that she is taking a great risk in assuming that the man, Matthew, did not notify anyone of his actions, but she sees no other way. Nothing immediate. She wonders again if perhaps she is developing some sort of urge, some sort of subconscious desire to die.
He watches her walk away, and then she hears the car door close behind her. She convinced him that she needs to do this alone, and now she stands in front of the glass doors, dressed in a demure suit and clenching her fingers nervously. Without a final thought - not wanting to allow herself any regrets - she opens one of the doors and strides determinedly inside.
The lobby is cool and sterile and it takes almost no effort to walk past the security desk down to the bank of elevators at the end of the hallway. The walls are plain, undecorated, and she wishes she knew what kind of security is place, other than the obvious guards. There is nothing she can do about it now, and so she continues resolutely down to the small office marked "208 - Welhsey" on the building map.
The door is not locked, to her surprise, and she thinks that the room will have been cleaned, sanitized. She waits a moment in dreadful silence for what she thinks will be inevitable, but when no security forces appear, she allows herself to look around the space for something other than an immediate threat.
A computer terminal sits on the gray faux marble desk, monitor facing away from her. The office has been done in shades of gray, she realizes, and wonders if it was a favorite of color of Welhsey's or if it was just a corporate design. The only other discernable object in the room is a small screen mounted on the right side of the desk. It is dark, and she wonders if it was once a security camera.
She sits gingerly on the matte gray chair, switching on the computer. After several moments of practiced improvisation, she manages to pull up a list of files, surprisingly still present, though in their presence supportive of Matthew keeping his actions secret. She selects the most recently opened file, a video, not sure of what to expect. A documentary of a recent discovery, a threat, or something more frivolous and personal?
Welhsey's office appears onscreen, and from the apparent position, the video was taken from the screen next to the desk. She watches it without reacting as the digital Welhsey stands to greet a dark-haired man, and she realizes that he looks familiar because he is Anarchist17 - Matthew.