Manipulation
by Time Guardian
Chapter 8 - Cold Betrayal
He ran.
Shivering with cold, he ran along the dark metal corridors, twisting
and turning along with every bend.
There just had to be a chance for escape. The alternative was
unthinkable.
He turned the final bend that led to freedom, and that's when he ran
into trouble.
Terror and revulsion threatened to overwhelm him, as hands grabbed at
him, pushing and holding him to the ground. Voices came from all around,
threatening to drown him in a sea of noise.
"Hold him down!"
"This is the third time he's evaded his normal medicine schedule."
"That won't affect the process will it?"
The needle prick came soon after. He wiggled, squirmed and screamed
for many minutes until his perception grew hazy. His reasons for wanting
freedom were slowly slipping from his mind.
He struggled to hold onto his identity...the only thing he had left.
Ever since they had brought him here, forcing him through physical
stuff that Race wouldn't even make him do, he held onto the last piece of info
that made him who he was.
"I am Jonny Quest- I am-"
The voices surrounded him again.
"You are who we say you are."
"You are an assassin for Dr. Zin."
"You will follow orders."
Jonny's voice sounded distant and mechanical, even to himself.
"I will follow orders."
"NOOOO!!!"
He sat up straight in bed, sweat dripping heavily off of his brow.
The nightmares were coming regularly since he took this mission, but
the most frustrating thing was that he could barely remember them once he
woke up. At the same time, he could barely remember his early days with Zin
and the training he went through. Every time he tried, he hit upon a painful
haze inside his head that threatened to pound his head into oblivion.
He checked the watch on his arm.
-8:15-Damn, I'm gonna be late for school.-
He jumped out of bed. Grabbing at a pair of black jeans and t-shirt he had
laid across the chair, he quickly dressed and scrubbed his face at the sink.
There was a job to do, and he didn't want to let his father down. He almost
called him in a panic yesterday when he discovered his laptop missing from his
bag at school, but was afraid that his father would take this news as a failure
and punish him.
He couldn't fail...not after all the work and training that he was put through.
Quickly, he put on his shoes, and then checked his backpack. From what he had gathered
through his interview with the principal yesterday, the school's security procedures
were minimal at best.
Before he went to sleep last night, he chose his weapons carefully. Packed in-between
his science and English textbooks were a dagger in a sheath and a pistol with a scope
and silencer.
The lecture would be the last class of the day. Plenty of time to psych himself
up and prepare.
He zipped up his backpack and rushed out of the door.
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Race went in to the living room to check on Dr. Quest when he heard the
familiar opening of Moonlight Sonata emanate from the cell phone on his belt.
He unclipped the phone and quickly answered it. "Bannon here."
"Dad, he's on campus."
"Are you sure?"
"One hundred percent. I saw him going into his English class."
"Good girl. when it comes time for the lecture I want you to take a position
off to the side of the auditorium and watch the people going in. We will set
you up with one of Dr. Quest's micro-communicators so we can keep in touch. I
have a feeling Jonny may sneak in, but it can't hurt to try for a little warning."
"Ok, Dad."
"And promise me, no matter what happens, you will not leave that spot."
"Da-"
"This is going to be dangerous, Jessie. We don't need to give Jonny any chances
to take any hostages. Until we can determine the extent of his brainwashing, we
are going to have to treat him as an enemy. Understood?"
He could hear the frustration in his daughter's voice. "I got it, Dad. I better go
or I am going to be late for class."
When he heard her hang up the phone, Race closed his cell phone and clipped it
back on his belt.
Race found Dr. Quest sitting in the corner of the living room, reading what looked
like a large medical text. He looked up at him in anticipation. "Well?"
Race sighed. "Jessie spotted him. Look, Benton, are you sure we are ready for this?
I mean he could very well mow us down where we stand before we even get within
spitting distance of him."
"I have a plan that should buy us enough time to get close. Hadji is gathering the
computer equipment that we need, and we should be able to leave soon."
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The man stepped into an awaiting private jet, and took a seat in the passenger
area. Strapping in, he flicked a speaker switch beside his seat.
"Take off immediately and head for Maine."
"Yes Sir."
He flicked the switch back off, and settled back. By his calculations, he would
arrive just before Jonny finishes his task. Then they both could-
The cell phone in his pocket buzzed harshly against his skin. Taking it out, he
quickly pressed the talk button.
"Hello?"
Dr. Zin's angry voice grated against his ears. "I do not like being kept in the dark.
I have checked up on our young friend and have found the signal from the laptop we
gave him is coming from the Quest compound."
The man expelled an uneven breath. Pressing a few buttons on his phone, he activated
a GPS tracker. After a few moments and some calculations, he verified what Dr. Zin
already knew.
He nervously put the phone back to his ear. "Sir- Dr. Zin, I am in the air right
now and heading towards Maine. It should be an hour or two, tops. I will take care
of this."
"I know you will, because as your final mission for me, I want you to kill them both."
He felt time stop for precious moments before he finally replied. "Yes sir."
He hit the talk button to quickly sever the connection, then put the phone back in his
pocket.
A brief moment of regret came to him at the thought of killing Jonny. He put in a lot
of work and time putting the lad through intensive training. He even entertained thoughts
of taking the boy along with him once the mission was over. However, if he wanted to
be free from Dr. Zin's influence, he would have to follow orders one last time.
From the holster at his side, he drew out his weapon and checked it over thoroughly.
When the time came, he would be ready.
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It was finally time for the lecture.
He had managed to sneak into the auditorium along with a group of students, keeping
his head low and avoiding eye contact. Yesterday, he tried everything to get official
permission, expressing every interest in science that he could, but the principal
flatly refused, telling him the lecture was planned weeks in advance, and was
already at capacity.
If anyone asked, he was simply here to retrieve his backpack that he left here
during gym - which he had.
The auditorium was dark, almost pitch black. He noticed Dr. Quest already hard at
work on the auditorium floor, explaining and displaying figures on a screen behind him.
He stayed low and near the top row of seats, crawling until he reached the far wall.
Feeling behind the last seat on that row, he dragged out his backpack and quietly
unzipped it.
After securing the dagger at his side, he took out the pistol, and attached the scope
and silencer. He knew once he took his shot, there would be chaos enough to secure his
escape.
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Race crouched near the bottom row of seats, using heat sensitive goggles that Dr.
Quest gave him. He was able to see many faint blue/green heat signatures from the
students that had been here for class an hour ago, but so far nothing else.
Dr. Quest had ensured that the students that had signed up for the lecture were
safely routed to a classroom, so there was no danger of hostages. Hadji was
managing a computer hookup and the lighting controls for the auditorium. Race hadn't
heard anything from Jessie, which meant that either Jonny didn't come or-
He suddenly heard a whistling sound, then a cry of pain.
Race whispered harshly into a micro-communicator clipped to his shirt.
"Benton! Are you all right?"
He heard a low groan in reply. "I'm ok, just got nicked on the arm from a gunshot.
Look near the top row of seats, it came down from there."
Race turned his gaze upward to where Dr. Quest indicated. Sure enough, there was
a hot spot, about the right size for a human being.
-There!-
He shouted into his communicator. "Hadji!! Lights!"
The auditorium lights blazed to life as Race quickly pocketed the goggles and
rushed to where he had spotted the heat signature.
Nothing. Not a trace. He looked all around him before calling Jessie.
"Jess, has anyone gone out of the main auditorium doors in the last few min-"
Race didn't get to finish his sentence.
Jonny came at him from behind with a flying tackle that caused the two of them
to tumble a few rows down. Race landed hard against the one of the seats and went
down. Dazed, he didn't have time to react to Jonny swinging the butt of a pistol
down hard against his head.
Pain clouded Race's senses as his vision blurred then faded to black.
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Dr. Quest crouched low behind the projection screen. From what he could tell, the
bullet had only struck a glancing blow off his arm, but it was bleeding badly.
He quickly tore a strip from the bottom of his shirt and bound his arm as the
micro-communicator clipped to his shirt blared to life.
"Dad?? Dr. Quest?? Can anyone hear me?"
He spoke quickly and quietly. "Jessie, keep your position. we've got things taken
care of."
"but-"
"You promised your father Jessie," he hissed into the communicator, "Stay
there."
Dr. Quest stole a quick glance from behind the screen, and saw Jonny bring down
a gun against Race's head.
-I've got to do something.-
Grabbing for a tranquilizer gun he had hidden near the screen, he stuffed it into
his pants pocket and stepped from behind the screen.
"Don't hurt him!"
Jonny turned and stared at him. "If you don't want him hurt you will come to me
with your hands in the air."
Dr. Quest did as he was told, stepping carefully towards him.
-I have to keep him talking.-
"Jonny...son. Please, you have to remember."
Jonny whipped the gun up and pointed it at him. "Why are calling me that? You don't
know me."
"But I do," he replied, advancing closer, "you are my son, my flesh and blood-"
He thought he saw pain on Jonny's face, but it disappeared quickly under a mask of
anger.
"You are not my father."
Dr. Quest stopped within mere inches of Jonny. He lowered his hands slowly, and
went for the tranquilizer gun in his pocket.
"Oh no you don't!"
Jonny leapt at him and they both went down.
Dr. Quest was amazed at the power Jonny possessed. It took all of his strength to
keep him at arms length.
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His frustration was building. He was so close to finishing his mission, and
yet Dr. Quest was putting up a strong struggle.
Dropping his pistol, he managed to twist the Doctor's arm, making him cry out in pain
and drop his weapon. By twisting and pulling around, he managed to hook an arm around
Dr. Quest's neck and squeezed. The strength training he went through came in handy.
He felt Dr. Quest struggle in his grasp for many moments. Maintaining a tight hold of
the Doctor's neck, he brought out the dagger from the sheath at his side.
"Time to finish the job."
A sound of footsteps interrupted his train of thought. Whipping his head up in surprise
and recognition, he recognized the man who walked into the auditorium.
"Father? What are you doing here?"
His "father" replied with an icy coldness.
"I'm very disappointed in you, Jonny."
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Dr. Quest could only stare at the surreal scene in shock and anger.
"You bastard. How could you?"
Phil Corbin pulled out a gun and aimed it at him. "Don't look so surprised, Dr.
Quest. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out sooner from the laptop you had
stolen from him."
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Many apologies. Medical problems and a root canal (ouch) delyaed this chapter.
Part two of this battle is coming soon. Sleep I need.
Till later,
Time Guardian