AN: Thank you all for the reviews! I got twice as many for Chapter 28 as I did for other chapters! I was surprised that people were surprised that Noah was the CoS. I thought I had given it away. Anyway, here's the next chapter…I'm working on the ending now…my guess is that the story will be about 33 chapters.

Chapter 29

Adam was surprised that they didn't seem more shocked to find that Jesse's father was Chief of Security for the Dominion facility.

"Damn," was all Shalimar said.

Adam shot her a questioning look.

"Noah's actually how we found you, and we knew he worked for the dummy corporation, but we didn't know he was that high up in the organization."

"Well, I'm sure that if Jesse was captured, Noah will be notified. Probably as a matter of procedure. He knows that Jesse has friends, and that he wouldn't have come alone."

"Damn," Lexa said. They'll institute an all out search then. We've got to get to him before that happens, before they do anything to him."

"Noah wouldn't kill him, would he?" Brennan asked.

"I wouldn't count on it. Jesse's already 'dead,' remember?" Lexa said angrily. "Katie, do you have a fix on Jesse's position?"

Katie's voice crackled over their comrings. "Twenty feet down, sixty feet southwest of your position. Is there anything I can do?"

"Run a thermal scan. Let us know how many people are left in the building." Lexa cut off the connection. Then she looked to Adam.

He knew what she wanted. "That's the location of Security Command. They've caught him. Why don't you guys go? I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes."

Lexa and Shalimar were already heading for the door. When she heard Adam's words, Shalimar stopped and glared at Adam. "What? Adam, it's not like we're leaving for a party. We've got to get out of this building. You've got to come with us, now. We might not have another chance."

"Just give me ten minutes. I need to download some of this research."

"Adam!"

"Please, Shalimar. This is my life's work. It would take me 20 years to discover this kind of stuff. There's no way I have it memorized."

Shalimar sighed in disbelief. "Adam! What's more important to you! Jeez." Her voice was bitter. "Fine. Lexa and I will go find Jesse. Brennan, you stay here with Adam. You've got five minutes. They we're leaving. I don't care if Brennan has to electrocute you and drag you out."

Jesse saw the punch coming, but there was nothing he could do about it. He waited, then winced when the fist hit his rib cage for the third time. This time, though, he could feel a rib crack. That's not a problem. As soon as this governor is deactivated, it'll take 10 seconds for me to heal that. Jesse comforted himself with the thought.

"I'll ask you again. Who do you work for?"

Jesse traced his tongue over his split lip. This will be another two seconds. So far, he was up to one minute 45 seconds for repairs. As much as he could, he looked his captors in the eye. "If you really think that I'm going to tell you that, you're deluded."

The man who had thrown the punch – the second guard that he had attacked – drew back. He pointed to the other person in the room, another 'interrogator.' "Okay, then. We'll just have see how much more you can stand. John." He indicated for the other man to go ahead.

John stepped forward with a taser. Jesse laughed to himself. The instrument was designed to give the subject an electrical shock. They had already used it, and Jesse could see that John was turning the dial to increase the intensity. What he found so funny, however, was the fact that none of those settings carried any more electricity than Brennan did. All those shocks that Brennan had given him, 'accidental' or not, had given him somewhat of an immunity to the ones he was receiving now. As it was applied, the electrical shock was uncomfortable, but bearable. He'd have to thank Brennan later.

The two men began to grow frustrated that they couldn't seem to shake or break Jesse. This was another thing for which Jesse was grateful. Frustration led to incompetence. It would give the others more time to get out. Jesse's amusement at the flustered guards ceased when he heard talking outside the door. John looked up. "Ah. The Chief's here. He'll take care of this guy."

The door opened and he could hear the Chief of Security enter the room. Turning his head to look at him proved to be a bit of a problem, as his forehead was strapped to the high-backed chair in which he had been restrained. He had to wait until the man was standing directly in front of him. When Jesse finally did see the man, he couldn't help the words that came out of his mouth. "Well I'll be damned. If it isn't dear old dad."

Brennan paced the room. He didn't like this. They should be moving. He felt like he was standing right out in the open, waiting for the enemy to shoot him dead. "What the hell are you doing, Adam, that takes so long?"

"Patience Brennan. This is a big file. It will take awhile for it to download."

"Why don't you just send it to Sanctuary's mainframe? Wouldn't it go faster that way?"

"It would be traceable. Besides, Sanctuary's been destroyed. It'll take forever to rebuild the system and databases."

"What are you talking about? There was a backup for the mainframe. Jesse had it hooked up almost a week ago."

Adam, who had been pacing as well, waiting for the information to download, stopped and looked up. "Really?"

Brennan gave an exasperated sigh. "Really, really. He said you did it."

"No. All that information has to be split up in order to hide it on other servers and satellites. I never managed to split up the systems and keep the appropriate links. I guess Jesse found a way and did it while I was gone."

"Yeah, lot of things happened while you were gone. Did you even try to escape this place? It looks like you've got a cushy little set-up here. Decided to play nice with your captors, eh? A little Stockholm syndrome?"

"Brennan. I don't want to be here. But security's pretty tight, and I figured I might as well get some work done."

"Your 'work' is helping the Dominion, Adam! It's helping the people who are trying to kill us! And security's not tight. We had no problems getting in."

"Getting in isn't the problem, getting out is the problem. And my work isn't that simple. It's complicated. It's about saving the human race, about curing all disease!"

"And what about the work you do on the way? About the people you meet? Are they just mistakes? Is that what we are to you Adam? Mistakes?"

"Of course not! It's just… You wouldn't understand."

"What? What wouldn't I understand? Try me, Adam. I can be a pretty understanding guy."

"I was engineered, Brennan! My entire life, everything was engineered. This work feels like it's the only thing that's mine."

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean, 'is that all?' This is a big deal. My parents, everything, everyone I met. It was all engineered."

Brennan chuckled. "Adam, jeez. So what? I'm genetically engineered. There are thousands more just like us, including Shal and Jesse and Lexa. It's not that big a deal anymore. And don't gripe about not having real parents. You had parents who were there and cared for you. None of us even had that. You've got friends, too. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here. Plus, everything was designed so that you could do what you love to do! So give up the martyr act."

"That's just it, Brennan. Everything was designed so I could do what I loved, and what I loved was exactly what the Creator loved. I'm a clone of him."

"Yeah, I got that when I saw his face and it looked just like yours. But Adam, remember that little thing about nature versus nurture? You're a scientist. You should know this! Genes, even genetically engineered ones, don't dictate who you are! If that were the case, I'd be in jail like my old man. And Jesse would be a heartless son of a bitch who'd sell his kid for money. But we're not like that. You're not like the Creator. You're not some guy who holes up in a dark room, searching for perfection that doesn't exist! At least, not the Adam I knew. I'm not sure what you've been doing this past year."

Brennan's tirade had stunned Adam into silence. The beep of the computer as it finished downloading a file echoed in the room, startling him out of his silence. Reaching out, he withdrew the disc. He stared at it for a moment, then handed it to Brennan. Brennan shot him a questioning look before slipping it into his back pocket. Adam shot him a determined smile. "You're right. I guess I got so wrapped up in the genetics that I forgot about the human side. Forget the rest. Let's get out of here."

Brennan gave him a doubtful look, but then smiled. "All right. Let's go."

The two men jogged quickly toward the door, and through the hallway. But as they reached the door, they had to stop when the lights suddenly blinked out, the building shook and the sound of an explosion echoed through the building.