Title: anything and everything
Author: sue
Rating: PG13
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.
***
A/N- oops, I am so sorry about the long gap between my last update. When was the last time I post a new chapter for this story? Hmm.. when was it again? That long huh? heheheh And if it makes you feel better, I feel really bad about leaving you with that ominous looking ending. But what can I do? I just love the sort of ending that's bound to drive the readers crazy ;)
A/N 2- well, right now I am technically in a murderous mood. My notebook's battery has decided to pick today to be totally useless and I won't be able to get a new one until 1) the store can get their hand for that particular model and 2) I can scrape enough money to buy it.
Since option 2 will be somewhat impossible in my present financial state, it will be quite long before I have the use of my beloved notebook *sniff* To make it easier to understand, I won't be updating for awhile. Not until I get that damn thing to work. See, I'm actually cursing my laptop and I won't ever ever do that under usual circumstances.
This, my dears will be the last of me you'll see for awhile. And I have so much stuff all planned out, just waiting to be written *sigh* I guess that has to wait.
A/N 3- And if for some reason you're still reading this idiotic rambling of mine, this chapter was beta-ed by Alexis. Without her, there won't be a new chapter, so I would like to say a whole lot of thank yous to her. Thanks sweetie!
And yeah to you too, you great person you :D For reading and also for spending time to tell me what you think of this story *winks* It really makes my days better, trust me.
***
Chapter 19- A Life was Saved, but What About the Other?
Outside the speeding car, the heavy and dark blanket of night was hovering over the blurry trees and ground. Tiny faraway specks of stars were twinkling faintly on the dark horizon, bravely taunting the oppressing darkness with their bright lights. And for now, they won. The inky sky of midnight was their playground, shared together with the gleaming moon. Jointly, they ruled the night skies, enticing the mortals underneath with their insatiable beauty.
But the relaxing scenario outside wasn't reciprocated inside the small confined space of the car.
Detective Sung ran his sweating palm over his dark pants, biting on his lower lip as the speedometer kept ascending. His now dry hand gripped the tattered leather hard, leaving deep imprints on the steering wheel.
'You need to calm down, Detective,' a feminine voice spoke, 'or you'll just crash this car or something and then where would we be?'
His slightly slanted eyes turned to his companion and he sighed, 'You're right doctor.' His foot eased from the gas pedal slightly and he tried to loosen his stiff muscles.
'Can you please tell me why you decided to bring me along for this little ride... in the middle of the night too?' she asked suddenly and Sung heaved a heavy sigh.
'Like I told you earlier, Logan needs us.'
His abrupt answer resulted in her arching her dark eyebrows at him. 'Yeah, I got that when you barged into my office, barked 'Come on, Logan needs you!', and hauled me in this speeding car to god-knows-where. I think I deserve to know more, don't you agree?'
As the silent detective continued to keep his mouth shut, Dr Shankar stiffened in her chair before wrapping her slim hands over her chest. 'Don't you?' she added, narrowing her eyes for good measure at her unrelenting escort.
Again, his eyes flitted to hers and he almost grinned at her exasperated expression. 'You know what, Doctor,' he said slowly, 'I think you'd make a great cop.'
Seeing the bewilderment shining from her eyes at the sudden change of topic, he chuckled and added, 'But you need to polish your interrogation skills a little bit more. It will help immensely if you can try to be a little bit more... hmm what was the word again? Oh yeah, intimidating.'
'Are you making fun of me?' she huffed, pushing her body sideways to face him.
'No, no, of course not,' he answered with an innocent look. 'I have no idea how you come to that conclusion.'
Dr Shankar greatly resisted the urge to sulk; after all, she needed to remain clear headed to think this through. And it would be totally unprofessional for her to succumb to such childish emotion. But for some unforeseen reason, this man beside her had unknowingly managed to pry loose that half-forgotten response from her.
But for now, she chose a nonchalant shrug as her answ. 'If I know what we're up against, it might tip the scale to our side. Favorably enough to save a life. I mean, that's why I'm here, right? You need medical back up. If I know what to expect, that would be best.'
Without taking his attention from the road, he replied, 'But I don't think you have any problem working at the ER, what with all those unpredictable cases that just burst through the door. One after the other. Why should this be any different?' Detective Sung knew he was being somewhat unfair to her, but somehow he was a bit reluctant to spill the beans just yet. So to speak.
'Goddammit!' she glared angrily at him, 'Are you going to tell me or not?'
Again, he sighed before running his hand through his tousled black hair.
'What has Logan gotten himself into this time?' Her precise question managed to wrench a half hidden cringe from the detective.
'What do you mean this time?' Sung hedged, 'Don't tell me he's done this before?'
'Well, if I know what he's done this time, I should be able to give you a better answer,' she said with a straight face.
'You're a sly one, don't you know that?' he answered with a quick glance, 'And to think that Logan described you once as a sweet natured girl with a soft heart.'
Shankar burst out laughing, 'You have to be kidding. He said that? God, he's more delusional than I thought.' Seeing his baffled look, she realized what she had said and her dusky cheeks reddened, 'I mean, I am kind and considerate to my patients, and I can be cheery, when I'm not at the end of a long and event filled 48 hours on-call, which during that time frame I only got like four hours of sleep.'
'If you say so, Doctor. Who am I to argue?' Sung just grinned at her still blushing face.
'That would be wise,' she said and quickly diverted his attention from her blunder. 'And you were saying? What kind of trouble are we rescuing him from now?'
The detective was silent for a few more seconds before he finally spoke, 'He sent me a voice message. I had left my cell phone behind at my desk and I just gotten his message. He said that he's going to meet someone so he had to cancel our appointment.' He paused for a while before adding hesitantly, 'Logan wanted my help with some Eyes Only cases and well… I had agreed to help him. We were supposed to meet today but he called to call off our meeting to meet this FBI agent. He said he'd call back after that to set up another date with me but he never did. And that worries me.'
'FBI agent?' Shankar perks up, 'Please tell me his name is not White.'
'You're good,' he remarked with a sidelong glance. 'Lucky guess?'
'Oh boy,' she whispered, 'then he is in trouble. Do you know where he is?'
'Logan? Yeah,' he nodded, 'From what I could gleam from his message, he said that he's meeting this White at his parents' country retreat. That's where we're going right now. But, just to let you know, he sounded very excited over the phone.'
The young doctor closed her eyes, massaging her temple with her long fingers. 'And that just makes it worse. An excited Logan is more accident prone that his usual depressed self. Why on earth did he agree to meet White in the first place? He knew how that agent is after Max, this must've been some kind of trap. It has to.'
'I know,' Sung agreed with a nod, 'but at least now he has enough sense to let someone else know about his whereabouts.'
'Don't tell me he's there alone?' she asked suddenly, turning her frightened eyes to him.
'As I understood it, yes.'
'Great.' She shook her head and leaned back against the harsh material of her seat. 'After knowing him all these years, he still manages to amaze me with his inability to think before he acts. Hello! White equals trouble. Doesn't he ever learn?'
'Apparently not.'
'Wait, wait! If Logan's meeting White, then there's the possibility that the two of them are still going to be there when we get to his parents' place.' Shankar surged from her slumped position and stared wide eyed at the man next to her. 'What are we going to do then?'
'I've thought of that,' he tried to reassure the panicking young woman, 'I have a few ideas but let's just wait to see what fate has in store for us, okay?'
'Yeah, no reason to work yourself into a frenzy. I should've known better,' she sighed and averted her face from his gaze.
'You're doing great, doctor. Cool and composed. As I said, you'd make a great cop,' he winked at her and a hint of a smile hovered over her lips.
'Thank you,' she said softly.
'No problem. And we're here.'
'We are?' She stared at her surrounding with an disbelieving look, 'His parent have a place right in the middle of the wilderness?'
'Not really,' Sung opened his door and stepped outside. After a few moment of hesitation, Shankar followed suit. 'If White is still there, I don't think it would be wise to announce our arrival just yet. We'll walk for the rest of the way.'
She took a dubious look at the wild looking undergrowth before her gaze skidded to her feet. Her tired feet that were encased in a pair of comfortable shoes.
Her last pair that was comfy enough to wear to work.
'You are soo going buy me a new pair, Logan,' she grumbled under her breath and took the first step.
Some time later.
'So, what do we do now?' she whispered, looking around with alert eyes.
Beside her, the detective brought a finger to his lips and slowly took out his gun from his hip holster. Shankar's eyes widened at the gleaming black metal but Sung was already busy scanning the place for upcoming danger. His sharp eyes ran through the area with a systematic thoroughness that was drilled into him.
'I believe there's no one here,' he said after spending a few minutes casing the place, his eyes still raking the perimeter around the house.
'Are you sure?' she replied, craning her neck over his shoulder, 'Not even the crooked agent?'
'Wait here,' he said in response and quickly and silently, he sprinted towards the nearest wall and plastered himself against the hard surface, still looking for signs of unfriendly visitors. He moved slowly to the front, his back still in contact with the wall at all times. After satisfied that they were indeed alone, he beckoned to the waiting doctor to follow him.
'There's no sign of White,' he said without waiting for her impending question. His brow creased into a heavy frown and he kept glancing around with a worried look.
'What about Logan?' she whispered back. Her hand clutched her first aid box securely as her gaze kept skidding everywhere. The hair at the back of her neck rose and she shuddered. 'What was that?' she asked sharply, clutching the box tighter in her preoccupation.
Instantly Sung pushed her to the wall as he brought his gun up, readying himself in case they were about to be attacked. He strained his ears to spot any tell tale noise and then he heard it too.
As if from far away, the sound fluttered faintly towards them.
A moan.
'Someone's hurt,' Shankar said worriedly.
'I think it's coming from the house,' Sung motioned towards the dark front door and together, they walked slowly towards the closed door.
With one hand, he opened the door while his gun was in the other and noted unconsciously that it didn't creak. Good, surprise is a very good ally at times like this.
They both stood still for a few more minutes, waiting for their eyes to be accustomed to the enveloping darkness. After they could tell apart the furniture from the rest of the stuff, they took a couple of hesitant steps inside.
Visions of a crouching White, ready to pounce upon their unknowing selves, were not the best of motivations to keep walking but somehow they managed to skulk through the empty house. They stopped moving when they heard another whispered moan coming not far from where they were standing. Unknowingly, Shankar grabbed Sung's hand tightly and continued to look around with wide eyes.
'I think it's coming from over... there,' she whispered and gestured to their left.
Sung nodded and started walking slowly towards the source of the sound, one light step at a time. Closely behind, the doctor followed in his wake, her eyes darting around with unhidden weariness.
Gradually, the blurry object started to take shape and both of them couldn't manage to hide the gasps that burst out from their lips after they finally realized what they were seeing.
'Oh my god!' Shankar blurted loudly, forgetting to keep her silence, 'Logan are you okay?'
The man in question wasn't able to answer; his almost blank eyes were looking up at them unseeingly. Quickly, she tried to find his pulse; her heart had almost stopped in his almost vegetative state. After finding what she had been looking for, she started a complete search as she tried to locate the source of his wound but he appeared to have none apart from a few minor puncture holes.
Nothing life threatening about that. Biting her lips in fear, she continued her appraisal. And when she came to his neck, she moaned at the sight of the large gleaming needle, sticking securely from the back of his nape.
Reassured that he was indeed still breathing, she turned to Sung and said desperately, 'Hold him. I need to pull this out first.'
'Pull what?' he asked but he already had his hand around Logan's flaccid body. After he caught sight of the thin shaft of metal, he winced, 'God! Are you sure about this? Maybe we should take him to the hospital first.'
'No!' she shook her head hard, 'I know what this is and it needs to be taken out now or he won't make it. Hold his head.'
Without another word Sung cradled Logan's head securely and Shankar took a firm grip on the protruding needle and with a sharp tug, she pulled it out.
Instantly, Logan's half closed eyes snapped opened and he screamed shrilly before slumping again, panting hard as his blue eyes glazed over.
'Now is the part where we rush him to the nearest hospital,' Shankar said gravely and without another word, they ran towards their car, Logan's uncooperative body between them.
Above them, the stars continued to blink lazily, unperturbed by the horror that had just taken place.
*
The same stars were peeping into one particular room, showering their dancing lights into the otherwise dark space. Between the dark and the darting lights, a pair of wide watchful hazel eyes was staring unseeingly ahead. His body, still lying on the bed, was stiff as a board, but his muscles were already quivering, ready at a moment's notice to spring into action.
He breathed slowly as he tried to find the reason he was awake in the first place. Alec caught sight of the still sleeping Max and he slowed his breathing. There was no reason to wake her up, after all she need all the rest she could get.
As the dark feeling continued to tug at his instincts, one word stormed over his mind and he nearly shuddered.
White.
And for some reason unknown to him Alec knew without a doubt; he's coming here.
That Familiar was on his way.
Instinctively, his rigid body stiffened even more and slowly, gently he untangled his body from her smaller frame. With his heart thudding swiftly in his chest, he pulled away from her inviting warmth, even though his subconscious was telling the total opposite. He hardened his resolve and broke their contact completely as his instincts started to kick into high gear, screaming bloody danger. Even then, his darkened eyes softened as she turned in her sleep, unconsciously seeking for his absent body and he couldn't help himself from leaning down and pressing a heartfelt kiss to her brow. Instantly she settled down and drifted back to a deep slumber.
Alec forced himself to turn away and quickly he started getting dressed. He threw the hospital gown to one side before shrugging into his dark jeans and sweater. After he was done dressing, again he turned to stare at her, noting her peaceful expression and his lips quirked into a smile. A second later, he tore his gaze away and started towards the door.
He had managed to take a few steps before he stopped. Hesitantly, he turned to her and then he made his mind up. With a few long purposeful strides, he closed the gap between them. Alec held out a trembling hand to caress the soft satiny skin of her cheek as he whispered gently, 'I won't let him hurt you again, Max, never again.'
His eyes fluttered closed as she turned her head slightly and nuzzled against his hand, still fast asleep. Alec sighed, savoring the feeling and he knew that there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep her safe. He lowered his head slowly and with infinite gentleness, he kissed her soft lips lightly, his hand still framing her face.
As his lips touched hers, a vision of her glaring angrily at him appeared before his very eyes.
'What the hell do you think you're doing, Alec?' she demanded; one hand was fisted at her hip, the classic pissed-off-Max stance. But in the midst of anger, his heart grew warm as he spied the love and concern that were shining from her lively eyes.
'White is here. What else would that mean?' he answered with a small grin.
'And you're going alone?' she asked with narrowed eyes.
'Do you see anyone else in this room, Maxie?' he replied, gesturing at the empty room.
'Me! What about me? I can take him any time of the day and you know it. You can't do this on your own, Alec,' she whispered desperately and her fear shot through his thick shield and he almost bowed under her teary gaze.
'You're not strong enough, Max,' he sighed, 'Don't get me wrong sweetie, but you've been through hell today and I don't think kicking White's ass is good for your health, at least for today. And I seriously doubt that I can convince him to take a rain check on this one.'
Then he watched her intently, knowing very well that she was not going to accept his decision that easily. As she opened her mouth to argue her case, he grinned and wagged a finger. Talk about predictability.
'No, Max, this is a non-negotiable issue. You're staying here and that's it.'
'What about you?' She took a different route. 'You've been through hell, I know you did so don't bother denying it. Alec, please,' she lifted her tear filled eyes and Alec could feel something move within him, 'Don't do this.'
'I have to, Max,' he shook his head, 'Take the enemy out first. That's what we've been taught to do, remember?'
'Then let me help you!' She clutched his hand and bit her trembling lips as the feeling that she was going to lose him hovered lower. 'You don't have to do this alone. You're not alone anymore, Alec.'
'I know that, Max, but I can't,' he answered wearily, 'I can't risk it if I lost you. You know what a monster White is. He won't play fair.'
'Then what about me? I just found you for god's sake, I can't risk losing you either.' Her throat constricted painfully as she stared into his clear hazel eyes.
'You won't, Max, I can promise that you'll be stuck with me for a while.' Lightly he placed his hands by her face and Max lifted her own, intertwining hers tightly over his warm fingers. She turned her face into the warmth of his palm before gently she brought his hand down and kissed their tightly joined hands.
'I'm always all right, remember that, Max,' he whispered as he took her hand in both of his and brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles and rejoicing in the soft feel of her skin.
'And you've promised that we're gonna get busy soon,' he reminded her with a cheeky grin and Max managed to laugh, even though a lone tear was sliding down her cheek.
With unbound tenderness, he wiped her tears away before adding softly, whispering enticingly into her ears, 'And there's no way in hell I'm going to let you wriggle your way out of that.'
'Definitely,' she answered, her voice hoarse from suppressed tears but she was trying hard to maintain her wobbly smile, 'I'm gonna hold you to that too. So, make damn sure you're back in one piece or I'm so gonna kick your ass, mister.'
'That's my girl,' Alec grinned with pleasure, 'Just rest, okay? This won't take long.'
Max snorted and swatted his shoulder, 'Darn male ego.'
'Hey!' he glowered, 'I'm speaking from hard core fact, missy, not just some wishful thinking.'
'Oh yeah, that's why you were five seconds away from having your head blown right off your shoulders,' she reminded him with a sly grin.
'That was an unforeseen circumstance,' he rushed to clarify the matter, ignoring her laughter filled eyes, 'and I seriously doubt it will happen again.'
'Yeah, you better make sure of that. And Alec, don't let that annoyingly freaky Familiar kick that pretty ass of yours okay? That's my job,' she smiled sweetly as he smirked. 'And hell, I hate to share anything of mine, especially with someone who wants nothing more than to kill me.'
'Absolutely, my love. I know how obsessed you are with that part of my anatomy and I shall guard it accordingly.'
Seeing his knowing wink, Max felt her eyes well up again but bravely she kept the smile in place. 'See that you do.' She put her small hands on the hard line of his jaw, spreading her long graceful fingers to smooth his sharp features. Then, without breaking eye contact, she lifted herself on her toes and whispered gently, her eyes fiercely locked with his, 'Be safe and I don't want to hear any argument about that. And no, I don't care if you think that line is corny as hell, this is one of my non-negotiable issues. One more thing, I love you Alec. Remember that.'
His eyes glinted warmly and then his full lips turned into an undeniably sexy smile, 'Those words are already deeply engraved into my heart, Maxie. I don't think forgetting them would even be possible.'
She laughed before punching his chest lightly, 'Charmer.'
Slowly he lifted his lips away from hers, staring intently at his sleeping spitfire. Alec blinked for a few seconds before shaking his head in wonder.
I have no idea what just happened, those drugs must've been more lethal than I thought... Hallucinating? Day dream? Or a figment of my overworked imagination? I mean, there's no way she would let me go as easy as that. This is Max we're talking about. Oh yeah, ditto on the overworked imagination part then. But I'll just take it as a good thing.
A good omen.
And now, I have to finish this. One way or another, it will end today.
Despite his heavy heart, he turned decisively around and started towards the door. At the doorway, he turned again and let his eyes wander for what seemed like the last time over her sleeping form. A few seconds later, the door was closed and he disappeared from view.
As he stood in front of the closed door, he looked around him, noticing the empty hallway. He stopped for a while, giving time for his thudding heart to slow down. Alec tried to calm his erratic breathing but it had looked like he was almost out of breath, judging by the way he was gasping for air. He leaned against the wall for a second, willing for it to pass and gradually, he judged himself competent enough to continue with the mission at hand.
His eyes flicked around for a few more seconds as he made his mind up. And then, as if guided by some invisible string, he started walking. Taking what seemed like randomly selected hallways. But deep down, he knew exactly where to head and he moved quickly, unwilling to waste any time.
He stopped after he came to a shabby looking door; the paint had peeled off in some places, scratches were adorning the dark piece of wood with its abrasive art but none of those mattered to him.
Alec took one deep breath and then he just pushed the door open, stepping over the boundary to the other side.
To face the enemy.
*
The lone occupant inside the gleaming car hummed a slight tune as he drove his car to his final destination. His sharp looking eyes glanced without interest at his surroundings, noting the almost non-existent traffic. The car purred smoothly, eating the miles without trouble, taking the driver closer to his two unwary victims.
A few moments later, his lips turned up as he smiled with satisfaction, looking up at the brightly lit hospital. In the dark depth of his usually blank and hard eyes, something stirred within its self-imposed prison.
Excitement.
Anticipation.
Those stupid ordinaries were right on one thing after all.
Revenge was too damn sweet.
As it always did recently, his thoughts turned to his missing son. And for a second, he let his heart mourn as a father would for the loss of his own child. He recalled the young boy's trusting eyes as he looked at his father, wiling to face death in his young age because his father had reassured him that nothing bad will happen.
He had never seen such complete, total trust like that and he doubted that he ever will again.
Ray, his cold heart cracked, you just wait my son. I'll save you.
The fire that had started to flame was extinguished a second later and his eyes turned into shards of cold ice. As for you, 452, his taut jaw muscles leapt as his anger increased, let's just say that after I'm done with you, you're going to wish that I had tossed you to hell instead.
He was shoved suddenly from his reverie as a dark SUV pulled to a stop beside his car. Quickly, he pushed his raging emotions away; thrust them out of sight in preparation to meet the aloof and proud warriors.
Then he exited his car before walking towards the stationary vehicle. He watched without a word as one by one, the four Phalanx emerged, already bundled up in their body armor.
'Fe'nos Tol,' he greeted them and from their end came a jumbled of blunt replies. 'The two transgenics are in there. My plan is, we just storm in and take the two of them before they have any chance to retaliate.'
'No,' the one at the front spoke suddenly. White spied a pair of icy cold eyes and then the thin lips parted as he added, 'I doubt that storming the place is the best idea. We have studied the layout of this facility.' White had to force himself to calm down as the speaking Phalanx's comment jabbed furiously at his ego, 'and we have agreed that we'll wait till the last moment to show ourselves. That means, we'll sneak our way from the bottom floor to their room.'
Knowing that he was undoubtedly outnumbered, the dark haired familiar knew when to accept defeat with grace. He still had other chances to show those pure breeds who were better at this.
'As you wish,' he said without malice, even though deep down he was straining himself from killing them on the spot.
'Of course you'll bow to the greater mind,' the tough looking familiar whisked his weapons easily and strode off towards the basement parking lot. Without another word, the three remaining warriors followed in his wake.
White gritted his teeth, his eyes flaming in anger but he took a few calming breaths before he marched behind the four pure breeds.
The five of them moved silently, their dark clothing the perfect camouflage as it hid them from view. They moved towards the far door and suddenly they stopped dead in their tracks. All of them stiffened and slowly, they straightened themselves, shooting murderous glares at the dark unmoving shadow.
'Is this my warm welcome?' a voice drawled and from within the dark murky lights, someone emerged. 'And here I thought that you guys were sociable.'
'Great to see you too, 494,' White spoke, pushing himself from behind the wall of the muscular fighters to face the waiting X5.
*
'Nice place you have here Dr Carr,' Fowler remarked, looking around the small office with interest.
'It's small but that's the best the hospital could do.' Carr lifted his head from the mountain of papers and gestured at the unoccupied chairs, 'Make yourself comfortable, I just need to find those dammed papers. I know they're here... somewhere.'
'Don't worry, take your time, Doctor,' Fowler shrugged the excuse away with a wave of his hand. 'Some time away from my lab now seems like a very good idea.'
'Our labs here must have been tiny compared to yours huh?' Carr said conversationally, still burrowed under his files.
'Yes, you could say that,' the old scientist nodded, wiping his thick glasses before studying a few loose papers that were scattered on the chair. 'If you don't mind, can I see this for a while?'
Carr turned and saw the papers that were in the old man's hand. 'Help yourself, Doctor. They're just old research of mine.' He paused as he stared at his disheveled office, 'I need to find some time to tidy this place up but free time is not a luxury I have lately.'
But the older doctor didn't reply and Carr saw that he was totally immersed in the papers he was studying. Carr just shrugged and went back to his futile search.
'Oh my,' the old man suddenly spoke, lifting his gleaming eyes towards Carr's surprised ones, 'this is some interesting work you have here. Why didn't you finish it and have it published?'
A pleased smile broke over Carr's tired face, 'Do you think so?' At the old man's vigorous nod, the smile widened, 'I meant to but I just couldn't find the time.'
'Such a waste,' Fowler shook his head sadly, fingering the handwritten papers with his steady hand, 'I know great research when I see it, and this is exactly that.'
Before Dr Carr could say anything else, the door was pushed open urgently and a man with tousled blond hair popped his head in, 'Oh, Dr Carr, you're here!' he sighed tiredly, 'I've been looking for you everywhere.'
'What is it Martin?' Carr asked instantly, 'Is anything wrong?'
'Umm would you mind if I talk to you in private, Doctor?' he asked tentatively and Fowler took the hint.
'I think I'll have a glass of water, I'll see you in a bit Dr Carr.'
After the door was closed behind the stout old man, Carr noticed that Martin had a thin file that was clutched tightly in one hand.
'Remember those blood samples you sent to me for analyzing?' the lab technician started quickly.
'Yes, what have you found?'
'At first, everything seemed to be well. His white cell count had started to rise, no apparent side effect that could be observed but somehow I kept studying the samples and now...'
'What is it?' Carr said, his worry started to mount.
'Take a look for yourself,' the flustered young man held out the half crumpled file for Carr's inspection and stood waiting, unsure of what to do next.
Carr's heartbeat accelerated as he kept staring at the numbers but he forced himself to stay calm for the sake of the young man in front of him. 'Thanks Martin. I'll keep an eye on him.'
'No problem, Doctor.' Now reassured, he walked out of the small office with a lighter heart.
'Is anything wrong?' Fowler asked as he strode into the room, the eyes behind the glasses staring intently at his companion.
'This is Alec's most recent lab result. The technician just gave this to m.' Carr flipped the pages hurriedly and finally he found the one he was looking for. 'Look here,' his finger pointed at the printed paper and Fowler's eyes went as wide as a saucer as he studied the results.
'But that's not humanly possible!' he stared unblinkingly at the figures, 'his adrenaline level is so high... I've never seen anything like this, but... but no one could produce that much hormone at one time. If his body produces more adrenaline...' Fowler shuddered, unable to continue.
'I know, but then, he's not technically human so...' Carr rubbed his tense neck slowly, 'The combination of the drugs or maybe the high dose we've given him must've interacted somehow and triggered this sudden burst of adrenaline. That's the only explanation I can think of right now. Or his own accelerated metabolism might have some hand in this, I have no idea what really happened. There might be a hundred reasons, a thousand factors that brought this on but I couldn't predict this would ever happen because I've never done this before.'
'Will he be able to handle this?' Fowler asked worriedly, 'You did mention that you were worried about his heart earlier.'
'Yeah, I was afraid that his heart can't take the stress anymore and simply... stop. Out of sheer exhaustion. But, if he stays in bed and takes it easy as he's suppose to, I don't think he's in any real trouble,' Carr answered slowly, still struggling to figure things out. 'His heart will beat more rapidly, he'll take quicker breaths so I guess he will be stronger and faster than usual, you know that's what adrenaline always does anyway. But since right now I think that he'll be as asleep as he was fifteen minutes ago, I don't think that'll matter much. Hopefully, when he does wake up, everything will be back to normal. We'll just have to wait for his raging hormones to run its course. I'll check on the two of them in a second.'
'Yes, I agree to that,' the bespectacled scientist nodded his agreement. 'Time heals most of our wounds and sleep is as good a rest as any. It rejuvenates the soul.'
Carr concurred. 'That's true but,' he paused and his eyes turned dark in worry, 'I shudder to think what would happen if he defies our order to stay put.'
'Then all of our hard work will be in vain,' Fowler replied bluntly.
That thought really alarmed Carr but Fowler wasn't finished yet, 'But at this very moment, I don't think he can even pry his eyes open, however much he wants to. So, I don't think he'll be on his feet just yet. And now, if you don't mind, can I ask something about that research of yours?'
*
'Check it out,' the waiting X5 drawled in amusement, 'the freaky agent returns. What's the special occasion, White? You missed me too much so you decided to drop by for a visit?' Alec asked cheerily, but the glint in his eyes was anything but that.
The Familiar took a few steps closer, 'You could say that. I haven't squished any annoying bugs lately and naturally, I remembered that you're available for that.'
'Man, you sure have serious thrill issues.' Alec shook his head and from his temple a solitary streak of sweat slid slowly down to his jaw. Inside the dark sweater, his heart continued to pound furiously as his revved up blood surged through his body.
'You know, 494, you don't look too good,' White remarked with a knowing look. 'Why don't you just surrender now before we actually do some bodily harm to your body. You might live longer that way.'
'Keep telling yourself that and this fight will end faster than you can say screw-all-familiars.' Alec paused as he looked thoughtfully at the men surrounding him, 'Or maybe even before you manage to open your mouth to actually say that.'
He ignored their look of pure undiluted hatred and continued, 'Ahh and you have some bodyguards I see.' Alec tipped his head at the fully armored warriors around White. 'I feel so honored,' he said sincerely, 'cause that means you need additional help to take me down.'
'Keep dreaming, transgenic filth,' the Familiar snorted in disdain. 'I just need a quick, clean retrieval. You have that tendency to mess everything up, if I remember correctly.'
'It's not gonna be quick and clean this time, fellas,' he smiled, straightening his body in a quick fluid movement. 'I'm in the mood for some mess, preferably your guts on this dirty floor. So, bring it on.'
White clenched his teeth in anger and he nodded at one of the warriors. 'Finish him off,' he ordered abruptly, 'but take your time. I want him to feel every wave of pain we're giving him.'
The Phalanx grinned menacingly, flexing his hard muscles and they rippled underneath his armor.
Alec arched his brow and shrugged his lean shoulders. 'Is that the best you can do?' He blurred forward, and the fight began.
to be continued..