Chapter 8

Darien looked up in shock as Tabitha beat him in pool, for the third time. "I do believe you owe me that drink now," she said with a victorious grin.

Darien slowly stood to his full height from the bar stool he had been keeping warm. "A bet's a bet." He walked over to the bar and ordered a beer for her and for him. Tom continued to study the emotions of the killer, he was hard to sense. He walked over to Darien as if he was going to buy a drink. "Think it's her?" Tom asked.

"Maybe…or an accomplice." Darien paid for the beers.

"Be careful," Tom said as he turned to walk away.

Darien took the beers and walked back to where Tabitha was sitting. She had sat down at a booth at the far end of the bar. She smiled when Darien sat down across from her. "Does your wife know that you come here and buy drinks for other women?"

"Yeah…well, I mean, she knows that I come here, but I wouldn't be a gentleman if I didn't settle on the bet," Darien noted as he took a sip from his beer.

"I should have betted on something else then," she said replied with a smirk.

"I wouldn't have gone beyond the drink. I made a vow and I plan on keeping it."

"She must be one helluva woman."

Darien let out a long breath, "That she is."

They played one more round of pool and Darien won this time. After he drank the spoils of his victory, he and Tabitha talked for awhile. Later they decided it was time to leave. Darien walked her outside. The killer followed and Tom kept a safe distance. When they reached her car two tires were flat. She threw her arms up in the air in disgust, "I can't believe it!"

"Oh crap…two…" Darien looked around, he knew the dominant was close by. This was certainly starting to look like a trap. After a few moments of running ideas through his head, he decided to go along with it and use himself as the bait. If she is an accomplice then they could catch them both. "Hey, let me give you a ride home and then tomorrow you can call a tow truck or something."

Tabitha glanced at him with a gleam in her eye. "Really, oh that would be great. You really are a gentleman…you are one of a kind."

Darien looked off to the side and said under his breath as he led her to his car, "You have no idea."

Tom noticed that the killer got in his car. It was a good thing that he suggested they go in separate cars, that way no one would see them arrive together. Tom got inside his car and followed the dominant but stayed far enough away. He didn't like this one bit, but he also knew that Darien was aware of it also.

The plane flew over the Atlantic on the way back to San Diego. Since it was just them and the crew and not a jumbo jet loaded with luggage and people, they would make it back in less time. Ed and Hobbes decided to pass the time away by going over what they found and tried to piece it all together.

Ed had gotten the water samples he needed plus a few more bits of information from Allen Stewart's office. "The three of them are all in this together. Allen Stewart is obviously putting something in the water at the plant itself, probably after it's gone through the filtering and testing. Henry Clement is probably making sure that no one discovers the extra additive and is covering it up somehow. Then we've got Dr. Ian MacKay who is overseeing the results." Ed stated as he sat on the chair across from Hobbes.

"The Three Amigos," Hobbes retorted.

"Yeah…only they're not trying to save a village from El Guapo…they're working for El Guapo."

"And they're all enjoying a nice little kickback in return for being traitors."

"Well, now that we know or at least suspect something, that may all end."

"Well, what ever they get they deserve," Hobbes stated leaning back on the chair.

Ed yawned and stretched out his arms, "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

Hobbes nodded, "You did a lot back there, held it together when you had to. You deserve some sleep. I'll keep an eye on things." He watched as Ed put the back of the chair down and closed his eyes. At the moment, Hobbes wasn't very trustful of people including the crew flying the plane. He needed to protect Ed and not just because he was the not-so-proud owner of a quicksilver gland but because Ed was on the front lines of their fight for survival.

Darien drove as he kept looking into his rear view mirror. He was being followed and it wasn't Tom. Tabitha looked over at him. Lewis had warned her about him. That he was different even from the dominants born from mixed parents. They didn't know a lot about Darien and that made him even more dangerous. She had to keep her thoughts simple and off the mission. Lewis worked long and hard with her, almost to the point of brainwashing her.

Darien had looked into her mind earlier and found that she was different. He met her gaze. She blinked a few times and looked out at the dark road ahead, "Look, I know you're not human, I knew when I first saw you and I'm sure you know the same about me."

"Yeah, hey, but it's cool, you don't seem like the others," Darien said trying to start a conversation.

"Others? You mean…"

"The ones that want a war," Darien stated calmly.

"You know that sounds strange from someone who masks themselves like a Chameleon. Are you like the Gestapo or the KGB, you know, a part of some secret police force?"

"They have that?" Darien inquired in an astounded tone as he drove.

"Not sure. But I wouldn't be surprised. Why were you masking yourself?"

Darien glanced at her. He didn't completely trust her, at least not yet. "I'm…"

The car suddenly jerked forward interrupting Darien. "What the…" He glanced in his rear view mirror and saw the dominant they had been watching at the bar. "Oh crap…"

Tabitha turned her head and fear filled her. Darien looked at her surprised. That emotion was not what he'd expected. "Do you know him?" He asked her as he pressed on the gas.

"Yes…" The car jerked forward again.

"Damn! Okay, hold on!" Darien said. "C'mon ol' girl, I know you've got something left in ya," he said as he pushed his old blue car to its limit. The dominant caught up to them and forced Darien's car into a fish-tail spin. The blue car spun around and off the road. The car came to a stop facing the direction it had just come from. Darien looked at Tabitha, "Wait here."

"But Darien," she exclaimed grabbing a hold of his arm.

Darien looked down at her hand and then back to her concerned face, "I'm not human…remember." Darien got of the car and approached the dominant. "What do you think you're doing?"

The dominant got out of his car and glanced at Darien. "You're not human."

"So you noticed." Darien became aware that Tom wasn't too far away. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge. "I'm a Federal Agent, and guess what? You're under arrest."

The dominant smiled and it reminded Darien of the same cockiness that Lynch projected. "You'd arrest one of your own?"

Darien sauntered towards him, "Yeah, when you kill innocent people."

"Innocent? You call humans innocent? They're just as guilty and you know that. Look at their history, they kill what they don't understand or anyone that's different from them. You even work with them. Do they know who you are?" The dominant approached Darien.

"Yeah, they do." Darien lunged for the dominant and they tussled on the ground. Tom pulled his car off the road and hopped out. Tabitha recognized him and smiled.

Tom looked at the two on the ground and then back to her, "Stay in the car!" Tom took out his gun and aimed it at the dominant. "Stop! FBI!"

Tabitha took her own gun from her purse, leaned out the window and shot Tom. The sound of the shot distracted Darien. He saw Tom fall to the ground, "Tom!" The dominant he was fighting laid a right across Darien's jaw and sent him rolling down the embankment. Tabitha got out of the car with a syringe in her hand and quickly ran down to Darien. She found him dazed and inserted the needle into his neck. Before Darien could react, the contents flowed into his system. He grabbed her but his vision became blurry. He let go and his head fell back to the ground. Tabitha rose to her feet and grinned at him, "You're not so invincible after all."

"What did you do?" Darien asked half groggy.

"You'll find out. Oh and don't worry about Tom, it was only a dart. We don't want either of you dead."

"Who's 'we'?" Darien asked as he struggled to get to his feet.

"I'm sure you know. See you soon and then maybe we can get to know each other more intimately," Tabitha turned and headed to the car with the other dominant. They drove off as Tabitha called Lewis.

Darien made it back up the embankment and saw Tom lying on the ground. He staggered to him and tried to wake him up, but he didn't move. Darien dragged him to his car and pulled him inside to rest on the back seat. Darien sat behind the wheel and reached for his phone. He needed to call Claire for help, but his phone rang before he could even use the speed dial. He really couldn't see the number but answered it anyway.

"Fawkes." He answered sounding half drunk.

"Darien, good to hear your voice again. Listen, we shall reign in the kingdom of man."

Darien's eyes opened wide. He turned and looked at Tom, "What do I do?"

"Open your glove compartment…"

Darien leaned over and opened it up. "I see a syringe."

"Good, take it out and give that to Tom so that he can come back to us too." Lewis waited for Darien to come back to let him know that he had given Tom the injection. After about five minutes Darien picked up his phone. "Okay, it's done."

"Good. Tom will be asleep for a long time from the tranquilizer. Now, I need for you to take care of Sloan Parker and the others, but bring Ed Tate to me."

Darien hung up and held up the syringe, it was still full. He didn't give it to Tom, he had another idea instead. He smiled mischievously as he drove off leaving Tom behind tied up in the trunk of his own car, "Lewis, who in the hell do you think you're kidding?"

It had been a long trip back home and it was now late in the day on Saturday. The two men had just spent nearly a whole day on the jet and they didn't want to see another one for a very long time. Hobbes had headed home after dropping Ed off at the Agency. His car was still there since Hobbes drove them both to the airport. Ed wanted to get the samples prepared and ready for testing before he went home. He walked through the back door and headed up to his office.

He walked into the lab and found that the equipment was still on. "Odd," Ed thought out loud. He looked in Sloan's office and her things were still there. "Hmm…" He didn't know what to think. He shrugged it off and took off his coat. He hung it on the coat rack and put on his lab coat. Before leaving his office he decided to call Claire again. He had tried at the airport but there was no answer and the same with her cell phone. He tried again and got the same result. "Okay, did I step into the Langoliers zone or something? Sloan's stuff is here, the equipment is on…Where is Sloan?" Just as he spoke his phone rang. He picked it up cautiously.

"Dr. Tate."

"Oh, hey, Ed. Wasn't sure if you were back or not."

"Darien? Have you seen Claire?"

"Yeah, she's down here in the Keep…I sorta got injured and well, she came in to fix me."

Ed smiled, "How come that doesn't surprise me. I'll be down in a minute."

"She would have called you herself but her hands are sort of tied up at the moment."

"No problem, just tell her I'm here."

"Yeah, sure thing, bro."

Ed hung up the phone and shook his head. Darien meanwhile sauntered over to where Claire really was tied up, he bent his knees to be at eye level with her. "Hubby's comin' down soon and then we can finally get this party started."

Claire shook her head in protest. Darien laughed, "Don't worry, Keepie, I don't plan on killing him, just want to take him up an offer he gave me one time. Of course, getting him to stage five will take some effort, but I'm sure I can persuade him."

After a few minutes, Ed walked into the Keep not knowing what was about to happen. He looked around and didn't see anybody, "Huh, that's weird. Claire? Darien?" He stepped in a little more and heard muffled grunts. "My God…what happened here?" Ed saw that Claire, Sloan and Tara were tied to chairs. He started to rush over when he felt strong hands on him pulling backwards, "What the…" Ed was tossed through Claire's glass partition before he could even finish his question.

The women watched in horror as Ed fell limply to the floor in a pile of broken glass. Claire struggled in her restraints as tears fell down her face. This couldn't be happening and the worst thing was Darien was doing this.

Darien leaned forward to take a good look at his handy work, "It's about time you got back in town. I've waited almost the whole day for you. Not my idea of spending my weekend." Darien grabbed Ed's feet and pulled him from the glass.

Ed moaned as Darien dragged him across the floor leaving a trail of blood from his cuts. Tara struggled to get free but Darien tied her ropes extra tight. Sloan watched helpless. Darien dropped Ed right at Claire's feet. She glanced at Darien with terrified eyes. Darien chuckled menacingly, "Ah…what's the matter Keepie? Don't like seeing your hubby roughed up. Well, you won't like what I'm about to do to him."

Claire shook her head and her pleas were muffled. Darien reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe given to him by Tabitha. A malicious smile spread across his face as he bent down next to Ed. "Time for you to join me, bro," Darien said as he plunged the needle into Ed's neck and pushed down on the plunger. Claire and Sloan both tried to yell out Ed's name, but the gag muted their cries.

Ed groaned when he felt the needle penetrate his skin. He tried to move but he was still dazed. He didn't know what was happening until it was too late. The cool liquid rushed through his veins and he knew what ever Darien had given would soon take effect. Sloan started to cry. Darien stood up and placed the used syringe on the table. Claire kept her eyes on Ed. She was scared. No one knew what Darien had given him, the worst thought was that it was the conversion serum.

Ed began to moan as the drug took effect. He tried to roll over but only managed to put pressure on his hands. Darien smiled, "Watch this, this is really going to be special…or at least I hope it will."

Claire looked back down at Ed who began to cry out in pain. He curled up in a ball and screamed. Sloan looked at Ed and then at Darien. Darien was smiling and eating the popcorn Claire had made just a few moments before this nightmare started.

Ed could feel his head about ready to explode. Even the headaches for quicksilver couldn't compare to what he was feeling. Bright piercing white light invaded his vision. Even his ears felt like they would pop. It dawned on him that he could hear someone screaming. He recognized the voice as his own but it sounded so distant like he was in a tunnel calling out to himself from the other end. Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. He panted, trying to catch his breath. Then he heard a voice…Darien's voice.

"Now that's something I didn't expect." Darien knew of course, could sense the change in Ed.

Ed rested for a moment, he felt different, not dominant different, but something else. Darien bent down and helped the raged scientist to his feet. The women didn't know what happened to Ed. Darien smiled, "Welcome back, bro."

"What happened?" Ed said wearily.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. You'll get your bearings in a moment. Why don't you turn around and say 'hi' to your wife," Darien grinned. He couldn't wait to see Claire's reaction.

Ed turned around and smiled, "Hey, babe."

Claire screamed. But she wasn't the only one; Sloan had let out a muted scream of her own. Claire shook her head back and forth as ruby colored eyes with silver irises stared back at her.

Darien put his arm around Ed and grinned at Claire, "Don't you just love the look? I do." He patted Ed's shoulder, "C'mon, bro, we need to get out of here before the Calvary shows up."

"Speaking of the Calvary, where's Tom?" Ed asked.

Darien smiled, "He's in his car tied up somewhere."

Ed chuckled and then turned to fumble around in one of the drawers. "I've got to do something first…ah…there you are," he pulled out a small container wrapped in a blue towel. Claire watched him suspiciously. He unwrapped the top layer of the box and then retrieved a pair of surgical gloves. He glanced at Darien, "Can't be too careful, you know." He reached and pulled out a scalpel and held it up so the light would reflect onto Claire's face. Ed smiled at her and bent down close to her making sure that she could see the scalpel. "I can't have you tracking me down, sweetheart, now can I?" He kissed her gently.

Ed turned to Darien, "Get that iodine and put some of it on a gauze, then clean my wrist with it."

Darien knew what Ed was going to do and he could nearly smell the blood now. He did as Ed instructed. Ed laid his wrist on a towel and began to cut into his own wrist. He made a small hole and barely flinched. Claire couldn't believe what Ed was doing; he was removing his own monitor. Sloan turned her gaze away; she couldn't stand to see Ed like this. It didn't take Ed long until he was holding up the monitor at the end of a hemostat. Ed quickly stitched up his wrist and took some medication that he placed in his pocket. "Don't need an infection setting in…I can deal with the pain, in fact, I rather like it."

Ed walked over to Claire and ran his hand across her wet cheeks from crying. "Wish we had more time, babe," he bent down and cupped her breast, "But I've got a world to conquer. Maybe another time." He turned to Darien, "Let me get some supplies to clean myself up in the car."

Ed didn't waste anytime; he had grabbed some more medical supplies to tend to his cuts. Both Darien and Ed ran from the Keep leaving, Claire, Sloan and Tara helpless.

Once outside, Darien put his hand on Ed's shoulder, "Don't clean yourself up yet, I've got an idea." Darien turned and smiled at Ed.

"Okay, what's this plan of yours," Ed asked.

"You'll see. Do you have your climbing rope in your car?"

"Yeah,"

"Get it."

Ed reached into the back of his new car and handed Darien the rope. "Okay, I'm gonna tie you up, but loosely. I'll put you in the trunk of my car but don't worry, you'll like where we're going."

"You're not setting me up are you?" Ed asked suspiciously.

"I brought you back so why would I set you up? No…this is part of the plan to get inside. But I will promise you, we're going to have some fun," Darien smiled at Ed.

Ed shook his head, "Okay, I trust you. But you better not double cross me."

"You're my bro, we're about to have the world as our playground. I'm taking you up on the offer you made to me, remember?"

"Yeah, I do." Ed stuck his hands out and Darien began to tie him up.

"We've got a few things to take care of first, and then we can be on our way to wine, women and fortune." He helped Ed into the trunk and tied up his legs. "Don't worry, this is only for effect. Just relax and enjoy the ride to the ultimate freedom."

Ed wondered where they were going and by the way Darien was talking, it must be somewhere they were least expected and would have the most fun. He smiled in anticipation as the trunk closed.

TBC…