Chapter 7: Bargaining & Trickery
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adam spent his precious few moments untied pacing the floor in the Genomex lab. What did Eckhart mean when he'd made that wierd crack about bringing another human lab rat into the world? And that the child named Hope wasn't his- how could that be? 'I remember that affair with Aurora, but I never heard about...' he thought before it dawned on him.
'He was saying that... there was a child? But how could that be? She never told me about the child- or was it that she had been forced into silence?' Then, in that very moment, he realized that Eckhart was using him as bait to capture whoever Hope was and then, after a few hours together, they would both die. And it would happen regardless of whether or not his friends bargained with the madman.
He knew also that time was running out, and if he were to be rescued, it would have to be as soon as possible. If Hope were staying at Sanctuary, the danger would be great, but not as great as it would be if she had stayed. 'If she does attempt to rescue me,' Adam thought, 'the only way to succeed at it would be if she could trick him, and I doubt that she could, even though she's lived here such a long time.' Hearing footsteps aproaching the lab, he knew that his minutes of freedom from the chair had ended for the day and, knowing his situation was probably hopeless, he sat down to wait to be retied.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back at Sanctuary, a mother and her daughter were together in the kitchen, bonding over some drinks. "So it's official? You and Darien are together?" Aurora asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
Blushing as she swallowed some orange spice tea, Hope said, "Yes, Mother- he finally asked, but I think I sort of prompted him into it. He overheard me talking to Shalimar the first night I was here, after I had had a nightmare about trying to rescue Adam. She had thought that Darien and I were dating, so I had to explain that we were only friends until he asked me to be his girlfriend. I told her that I was content with how things were until then, and when he told me that he overheard that and that he was glad that I hadn't made the first move, I was astonished. Personally, I'm glad that I didn't make the first move, too. Who knows what would have- or would not have- happened if I had?"
"Well, then, I'm very ecstatic for you both- I had always wondered when it would occur, but I decided to allow Fate or Destiny, whichever one exists, to work things out." the older woman said, proud of her daughter's wise decision.
Just then, Jesse came running in. "Hope, Eckhart is confering with everyone by way of another holograph message, and no one else knows what to do."
Looking first at her mother, the girl asked, "Would you mind staying here until it is over, Mother? I don't want you to be put at risk." When the woman nodded, she looked at her friend and, with eyes that held wisdom and a strength she had not known existed in her, said, "Let me handle this. I have a plan that might just work- it isn't fully formed, but I might be able to buy time for everyone. Eckhart wants me, anyway, so there's no use in putting others in danger."
Jesse agreed and the two of them ran into the control center. Sure enough, there was the madman's hologram in the middle of the room, three of the four others standing in a tense triangle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where is the girl, mutants?" he demanded. "I know you are hiding her with you, so there is no use in trying to conceal it any more! Shall I kill your leader now, or are you going to cooperate with me?"
"What do you want with me, Eckhart?"
The red-haired figure that had just entered the room was flashing anger in her blue eyes, as the hologram replied in fake kindness, "Is that any way to greet your father, Hopie dear?"
"My father? Or the captor of my father?" she replied.
"So you know. How did you discover it?"
"Before Mother died, she left me a note that explained everything to me, such as how you betrayed her into marrying you, how she and my biological father met, when she married you, and, most importantly, when I was born. So I know the truth, Eckhart- there's no use in hiding the facts now, is there?" She then reverted back to the main question. "Again I ask you- what do you want with me?"
"I will tell you, but first, my dear, look into the eyes of your biological father." He said sarcastically, moving out of the way so Hope could see the man who gave her life.
There, restricted to a chair, sat a man who looked very worried and a bit frightened. Slowly, cautiously, the girl aproached the hologram before her and whispered, "So you're the man who helped me live!" The man looked up and, after a moment of searching each other's eyes, she saw something she'd never seen before in Eckhart's- a real father's compassion and love. She smiled softly and said, "If I can help you, Adam, then I shall. If not, then we shall die together." She saw a glimmer show in his eyes, a gesture that, in itself, told her he understood her secret motive.
Then, standing up and facing the man who had been her captor and was now holding Adam prisoner, she said calmly, "All right, Eckhart- I'll make you a deal. If you will release Adam to the safety of his friends at Sanctuary, I will take his place at the Vampire machine."
The scientist snorted mockingly. "A girl like you would do that? How can I know for certain that you are a trustworthy person, hmm?"
"And how will I be able to know that you aren't using my biological father as bait?" Her face was expressing her knowledge about the creep's plan. "So the question isn't, 'Can that person be trusted?'; the truth is, Eckhart, neither of us has any choice but to trust the other. Isn't that right?" Then, with total resolve, Hope said, "Now this is the last time I offer it: If you will release Adam to the safety of his friends at Sanctuary, I will take his place at the Vampire machine. Agreed?"
Her newfound enemy thought that she didn't know what she was getting into; her newfound friends prayed that she did.
With a false aura of acceptance on his face, the enemy said, "Very well, then. You have fourty-eight hours to prepare for this exchange-- no more, no less. Is that understood, young lady?"
Despite the temptation to laugh at him, knowing that the man was putting on a facade, she convincingly said, "Perfectly. Until then." At that moment, the holograph disappeared and the four other mutants with Hope looked at her fearfully. Fully aware of this, the red-head laughed aloud and said, "Sucker!"
"What do you mean, Hope? You just bargained with someone who isn't worth the trouble in the first place!" Shalimar squeaked her confusion.
"Who says that I was bargaining with Eckhart?" The younger girl looked at her blonde friend with a mischeivious twinkle in her eye and smile. "More than likely, Shal, he tried to trick me into doing that anyway, so I'm turning the tables on him. You see, his plan is probably to get me to try and rescue Adam with everyone's help and kill all of you, but hook me up to the Vampire at the same time it is hooked up to Adam. He knows about you, Brennan, Jesse, and Lexa, but he doesn't know about Darien and I, and he still thinks Mother is dead. I'm getting everyone involved, so there's no need to worry." The last part of the reply was directed at Shalimar, the one who had asked her to quit worrying in the first place.
"Involved in what?" Another voice rang out. It was Darien, who had just gotten through with his jog on one of the treadmills.
"I've got a plan that might help get Adam back, and I'm going to need everyone's help."
"Uh-oh!"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adam spent his precious few moments untied pacing the floor in the Genomex lab. What did Eckhart mean when he'd made that wierd crack about bringing another human lab rat into the world? And that the child named Hope wasn't his- how could that be? 'I remember that affair with Aurora, but I never heard about...' he thought before it dawned on him.
'He was saying that... there was a child? But how could that be? She never told me about the child- or was it that she had been forced into silence?' Then, in that very moment, he realized that Eckhart was using him as bait to capture whoever Hope was and then, after a few hours together, they would both die. And it would happen regardless of whether or not his friends bargained with the madman.
He knew also that time was running out, and if he were to be rescued, it would have to be as soon as possible. If Hope were staying at Sanctuary, the danger would be great, but not as great as it would be if she had stayed. 'If she does attempt to rescue me,' Adam thought, 'the only way to succeed at it would be if she could trick him, and I doubt that she could, even though she's lived here such a long time.' Hearing footsteps aproaching the lab, he knew that his minutes of freedom from the chair had ended for the day and, knowing his situation was probably hopeless, he sat down to wait to be retied.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back at Sanctuary, a mother and her daughter were together in the kitchen, bonding over some drinks. "So it's official? You and Darien are together?" Aurora asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
Blushing as she swallowed some orange spice tea, Hope said, "Yes, Mother- he finally asked, but I think I sort of prompted him into it. He overheard me talking to Shalimar the first night I was here, after I had had a nightmare about trying to rescue Adam. She had thought that Darien and I were dating, so I had to explain that we were only friends until he asked me to be his girlfriend. I told her that I was content with how things were until then, and when he told me that he overheard that and that he was glad that I hadn't made the first move, I was astonished. Personally, I'm glad that I didn't make the first move, too. Who knows what would have- or would not have- happened if I had?"
"Well, then, I'm very ecstatic for you both- I had always wondered when it would occur, but I decided to allow Fate or Destiny, whichever one exists, to work things out." the older woman said, proud of her daughter's wise decision.
Just then, Jesse came running in. "Hope, Eckhart is confering with everyone by way of another holograph message, and no one else knows what to do."
Looking first at her mother, the girl asked, "Would you mind staying here until it is over, Mother? I don't want you to be put at risk." When the woman nodded, she looked at her friend and, with eyes that held wisdom and a strength she had not known existed in her, said, "Let me handle this. I have a plan that might just work- it isn't fully formed, but I might be able to buy time for everyone. Eckhart wants me, anyway, so there's no use in putting others in danger."
Jesse agreed and the two of them ran into the control center. Sure enough, there was the madman's hologram in the middle of the room, three of the four others standing in a tense triangle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where is the girl, mutants?" he demanded. "I know you are hiding her with you, so there is no use in trying to conceal it any more! Shall I kill your leader now, or are you going to cooperate with me?"
"What do you want with me, Eckhart?"
The red-haired figure that had just entered the room was flashing anger in her blue eyes, as the hologram replied in fake kindness, "Is that any way to greet your father, Hopie dear?"
"My father? Or the captor of my father?" she replied.
"So you know. How did you discover it?"
"Before Mother died, she left me a note that explained everything to me, such as how you betrayed her into marrying you, how she and my biological father met, when she married you, and, most importantly, when I was born. So I know the truth, Eckhart- there's no use in hiding the facts now, is there?" She then reverted back to the main question. "Again I ask you- what do you want with me?"
"I will tell you, but first, my dear, look into the eyes of your biological father." He said sarcastically, moving out of the way so Hope could see the man who gave her life.
There, restricted to a chair, sat a man who looked very worried and a bit frightened. Slowly, cautiously, the girl aproached the hologram before her and whispered, "So you're the man who helped me live!" The man looked up and, after a moment of searching each other's eyes, she saw something she'd never seen before in Eckhart's- a real father's compassion and love. She smiled softly and said, "If I can help you, Adam, then I shall. If not, then we shall die together." She saw a glimmer show in his eyes, a gesture that, in itself, told her he understood her secret motive.
Then, standing up and facing the man who had been her captor and was now holding Adam prisoner, she said calmly, "All right, Eckhart- I'll make you a deal. If you will release Adam to the safety of his friends at Sanctuary, I will take his place at the Vampire machine."
The scientist snorted mockingly. "A girl like you would do that? How can I know for certain that you are a trustworthy person, hmm?"
"And how will I be able to know that you aren't using my biological father as bait?" Her face was expressing her knowledge about the creep's plan. "So the question isn't, 'Can that person be trusted?'; the truth is, Eckhart, neither of us has any choice but to trust the other. Isn't that right?" Then, with total resolve, Hope said, "Now this is the last time I offer it: If you will release Adam to the safety of his friends at Sanctuary, I will take his place at the Vampire machine. Agreed?"
Her newfound enemy thought that she didn't know what she was getting into; her newfound friends prayed that she did.
With a false aura of acceptance on his face, the enemy said, "Very well, then. You have fourty-eight hours to prepare for this exchange-- no more, no less. Is that understood, young lady?"
Despite the temptation to laugh at him, knowing that the man was putting on a facade, she convincingly said, "Perfectly. Until then." At that moment, the holograph disappeared and the four other mutants with Hope looked at her fearfully. Fully aware of this, the red-head laughed aloud and said, "Sucker!"
"What do you mean, Hope? You just bargained with someone who isn't worth the trouble in the first place!" Shalimar squeaked her confusion.
"Who says that I was bargaining with Eckhart?" The younger girl looked at her blonde friend with a mischeivious twinkle in her eye and smile. "More than likely, Shal, he tried to trick me into doing that anyway, so I'm turning the tables on him. You see, his plan is probably to get me to try and rescue Adam with everyone's help and kill all of you, but hook me up to the Vampire at the same time it is hooked up to Adam. He knows about you, Brennan, Jesse, and Lexa, but he doesn't know about Darien and I, and he still thinks Mother is dead. I'm getting everyone involved, so there's no need to worry." The last part of the reply was directed at Shalimar, the one who had asked her to quit worrying in the first place.
"Involved in what?" Another voice rang out. It was Darien, who had just gotten through with his jog on one of the treadmills.
"I've got a plan that might help get Adam back, and I'm going to need everyone's help."
"Uh-oh!"
