Title: anything and everything
Author: sue
Rating: PG
Show: DA
Genre: Angst/Romance/Adventure
Type: WiP
Summary: under the chaos of a failed mission, somehow Logan had managed to do the impossible- infect Max with the deadly virus. Now, it's up to Alec to stop her from plunging into the bottomless crater of death. And he would do anything.. and everything to make sure of that.
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this chapter was betaed by the lovely Evonness and Mel. Thank you guys!!
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Chapter 7- The Price for Survival.
Alec opened the door and strode into the huge lab without making a sound. His hand fingered the vial of Max's blood in his jacket nervously. This was it, the answer he was looking for, the end of treacherous and torturing rainbow.
But one thing was for sure, he didn't know what would be waiting for him on the other side: a pot of gold or nothing, absolutely nothing at all.
His hand clenched the vial tightly, so tight it was on the verge of being broken before he forced himself not to dwell on the negative thoughts. But it was getting harder as he was no closer to the cure than he was a couple of hours ago.
Realizing what he was doing, he relaxed his grip on the vial, then almost reverently ran a finger across the glass, warm from Max's blood.
He turned his attention to the busy scientist. The doctor was still engrossed in his work, still had no idea that he had company.
Alec stopped right beside the man and glanced through the notes strewn untidily across the table. He ran through them quickly but every single thing was absorbed into his keen mind where he processed them and within seconds knew what the doctor was working on: Dr Fowler was refining his award winning enzyme so that it would adapt automatically to different types of DNA's.
Alec felt his brows inch upward at that. My my, someone was very ambitious, wasn't he?
A universal medicine.
If it worked like it was supposed to, every single disease on the planet could be cured with one medicine – everything from the common cold to cancer. Feeling a little awed, he skimmed through the doctor's research and came to the conclusion that it would be a very long time before the super enzyme would materialize, let alone worked in its full capability.
So, right now the world would have to continue relying on standard medicine.
Although he had in a sense stolen the doctor's research, the man in question was still oblivious to his presence. Maybe that was the real reason he refused to have other people here. Alec almost laughed out aloud despite the threat of impending death hanging over his head, but he quenched that urge before drawing Fowler's attention.
'You look pretty busy, Dr Fowler. Why don't you take a little rest and maybe… I don't know, study a little DNA retro virus for me. See if you could whip up some sort of cure,' Alec said, relaxed and composed, looking like he had all the time in the world and was just stopping by for a chat.
The startled man whirled around, in shock as he stared at the stranger in front of him. 'You're not supposed to be here. Who are you? What are you doing here?'
Alec ignored the rapid questions as he gently fingered the vial. 'You're very interested in viruses, aren't you doc? What if I gave you a chance to study a new breed of virus? A DNA targeted virus, something you won't come across easily. At least not while you're buried here...'
Fowler was looking at him skeptically but there was no hiding the sparks of interest that were starting to light up his eyes.
'Virus targeted to certain DNA? No such thing exists, young man,' he said, a bit angry as he frowned at the unwanted intruder. 'I should know, I'm the expert here.'
'Really? Then I applaud your modesty, but you're wrong on both counts. It exists all right, and maybe it'll come as a shock to you but you're not the only one who's obsessed with viruses, you know,' Alec replied as he shook his head with wonder at the mad scientist's naiveté and ignorance about how politics ruled everything, even research.
Especially research that would benefit only certain parties, like secret government agencies, for example.
'I don't believe you. You should leave before I call security,' Fowler said harshly, his hand hovering above the telephone to stress his warning.
'Didn't your mother ever teach you it's rude to call people liars?' Alec countered, looking wounded at the doctor's not so excited reply.
And I never lie, he thought to himself, not if I can manipulate the situation just as easily.
'And me being such considerate person that I've brought a sample for you to take a peek at,' he continued while taking out the precious vial and holding it out towards the doctor.
Fowler took the vial and spent several interminable seconds looking doubtfully at it, uncertain what to do with it.
'Go and study it for god's sake,' snapped Alec, a little impatient with the doctor's lack of action and very much pressed for time.
His watch told him he had less than 22 hours to come up with the cure, 21 hours 54 minutes and 27 seconds to be exact.
Fowler stared silently for a few more seconds before turning around and starting to gather everything he'd need. He worked silently and efficiently as he put out samples of blood for the computer to analyze. After leaving the computer to do its work, he turned to his microscope.
The minutes ticked slowly by as the doctor continued his work.
Alec tried to hide his agitation as Fowler just stood there, not moving a muscle as he stared at the screen.
I need distraction, Alec thought. He knew he couldn't divert Fowler's attention now; the guy needed to pay attention to what he was doing if he was to find the cure.
Alec looked around the huge lab, trying to pass the time by naming every machine in the room, as if he were reciting straight from the catalogue. Then he named every single thing with the most ridiculous name he could think of, just to pass the time.
But nothing could keep his mind off the fact that Max only had 21 hours 39 minutes and 15 seconds to live.
He shuffled from one foot to the other as his eyes desperately roamed the place. After awhile he started tapping his feet impatiently and glancing at his watch every few seconds. When it read 21:27:58, he was ready to bash his head or, even better, Fowler's head into the wall.
Before he could, though, the latter turned unexpectedly and caught the raw emotion in Alec's eyes. Fowler hesitated for a second, taken aback by what he'd seen and not totally understanding what it meant.
Alec retreated as usual behind his ever-present wall rapidly after he'd realized he had the doctor's attention on him. But somehow he was a tad too late – Fowler had seen what he wasn't supposed to see.
Fowler put aside the bewildering observation and let the excitement of a new discovery take over him as he exclaimed, 'You are right! It is a virus targeted to a certain DNA. Where did you get it?'
'Forget about its origin. Can you make the cure?' he asked quickly, fearful the answer would be negative.
'I can't say anything for sure,' the doctor said, a bit uncertain as he frowned heavily. 'But it's highly possible. I need time to study it, though. I'll get back to you in a month or two.' With a small smile in his face and excitement in his eyes, he turned, ready to get back to work.
Alec stiffened at the last sentence. He didn't have a month or two for goodness sake! He didn't even have a day!
'No, make sure it's ready in 10 hours,' he almost snarled, his deep voice hard as steel. The flintiness crept rapidly into his eyes.
'What? 10 hours? That's impossible!' Fowler shouted as he glared angrily at Alec.
'Make sure it's ready in 10 hours and you get to name the price,' Alec said calmly, his former fury completely hidden, unperturbed by the angry outburst.
That calmed Fowler down immediately. Everyone who knew him had assumed that his research was the love of his life, considering that he had never been married and rarely left the lab. One thing they didn't know was that next to his beloved research, he loved money, lots and lots of it. No one had any idea that he had quite a lot of it stashed away in several accounts with the Swiss Bank. His boss here at CDC would probably never have thought that his star scientist had more savings than him and the rest of the board of directors put together.
Fowler stared silently, his eyes narrowed with suspicion as his agile mind started to calculate, assess and analyze the circumstances and the man in front of him. [I'm going to suggest that you stay in Alec's head rather than switching to Fowler's POV here.] Alec noted the gleeful grin that was struggling to surface as the doctor decided on a number; he realized his earlier spark of desperation had told Fowler he was desperate enough for the cure to agree to any price he asked.
'What about half a million? Does the cure means that much to you?' asked Fowler, obviously trying to gauge just how far should he push Alec.
'Wait a second. No, that doesn't sound right. I think I'd prefer a round figure. One million dollars, that's my price and it's not negotiable. Take it or leave it.'
Alec was struggling very hard with his emotions. Silently he cursed himself on his minor slip-up. Because of it, the price of Max's survival had escalated to a million bucks. How in the name of god would he find a million dollars in the next ten hours?
As he stewed on that, he knew that money was not the issue, it came and went easily. What had set him off was the feeling that he had been used – and he had been used. Fowler had somehow saw how desperately he wanted the cure, and like a shark that had scented blood, he'd gone for the kill.
Right now Max's very existence hung in a very delicate and fragile string. The only thing to stop it from snapping apart was what he would do to bring home one million dollars.
He took one long deep breath and willed himself to calm down. Getting angry with the good doctor would only do more harm than good – he could refuse to make the cure and that was something Alec would not let to happen.
'Okay, one million dollars it is. But, the cure will be ready to use by the time I get here,' Alec said, the fury in his eyes a complete contrast to his agreeable tone.
'With the money, of course,' Fowler added, grinning with pleasure.
'But of course,' said Alec as he turned and walked out of the lab.
to be continued..