Chapter 4
Where was Claire?
Darien couldn't remember how he'd got back to his quarters or how long he'd been there, just a fragmented recollection of voices and of firm hands carrying him, and then for a while….nothing.
Now as he lay on his bed waiting, he knew with an agonizing certainty that they'd done something to him. The headache that still lingered testimony to the fact that he'd been sedated, even if he hadn't been able to tell from the yellowish bruising on his forearm where the needles had gone in. The back of his neck was sore too, and that's what terrified him the most, as that meant they'd probably messed with the gland. Tentative probing with shaky fingers had found the puncture wound to confirm his fears.
He'd been lured into a false sense of security by the bastards he knew that now, and he cursed himself for dropping his guard so easily. The new living accommodation, the easing up on personal security all the supposed 'rewards' for his co-operation had just been a means to an end, probably to keep him settled while their scientists perfected whatever nasty he now had in his head.
He was also deeply concerned about his Keeper. He couldn't recall exactly how long it had been since he'd last seen her, a few hours, a couple of days? Time had very little meaning when you had no sunrise or sunset as a point of reference. He mulled over the fact that he'd always taken the passing of day and night and even the seasons for granted, but being locked away 24/7 certainly gave a man time to reflect.
When the door clicked open Darien gazed up to see Ella Craven, leaning casually in the doorway. She arched an eyebrow appreciatively, letting her eyes roam over his long frame stretched out on the bed, until he pushed himself upright and then rose to face her. "Don't get up on my account. I was just appreciating the view."
The woman took a few steps into the room and he instinctively backed up until his legs touched the edge of the bed and he could go no further.
Ella's hand reached out to trace a route with her fingers from his cheek, down over his neck and then to the well defined pectoral muscles underneath his t-shirt, her hand rested there for a moment before continuing down over his taut stomach muscles, her gaze holding his the entire time. Only when her fingers snaked beneath the waist band of his pants did he react, catching her wrist and batting it to one side. Cold anger flared in her eyes, only to be replaced an instant later by the usual sardonic smirk.
"Darien honey, you really must learn to relax, or how are we ever going to become friends?"
Sartori and one of the security team stepped into the room behind her.
"Mr. Spelling wants to see you my sweet." She gestured towards the open doorway, and a slight hesitation had Sartori grabbing his shoulder and shoving him roughly out into the corridor. Darien's temper snapped at that moment and he rounded on the larger man facing him down, his eyes blazing with a burning rage he hadn't felt since the pre-cure days of QSM.
"Keep your freakin' dirty hands off me you son of a bitch!"
There wasn't much that Sartori really feared, but for the briefest of moments a flicker of uncertainty touched his heavy features, which he quickly checked and replaced with a slow mocking grin.
"The kid's finally grown some balls, huh!" Taking a threatening step towards Darien his huge hands already clenched into tight fists; the younger man standing his ground in readiness. Ella placed herself between the two. Her back to Darien, a firm palm in the center of Sartori's chest.
"Bruno. This is not the time." The big man tried to steady his breathing, staring from Ella and then over her shoulder to where Fawkes now stood with the guard's automatic pressed into his neck. He'd like nothing more than to get hold of the smartass and beat the living crap out of him, but he knew she was right. His time was coming though and then Darien Fawkes would get a lesson he'd never forget.
Ella stared intently into Sartori's eyes seeing the tension ease. She touched his cheek quickly before turning to the guard covering Darien with his weapon.
"Bring him along now. We're already late".
Jonas Spelling was the first person Darien saw as he was pushed into the briefing room.
The Director of the DoD sat at the conference table a folder in front of him, with Dr. Wesley Carter on his left.
Darien was forced down into the chair next to Carter; Sartori and the guard taking up position immediately behind while Ella moved to her usual place to Spelling's right.
"Where's Claire? And what the hell have you bastards done to me?" He cast an accusatory glance in Carter's direction, but the Doctor just stared ahead refusing to meet his gaze.
Spelling allowed himself a half smile as he pushed the folder across the table to Darien, who chose to ignore it just as he thought he would. Events over the last 24hrs couldn't have gone better; all that was left now was for this unique asset to be reigned in once and for all.
"Dr. Keeply has decided to take some time out."
"That's a pile of crap,"" Darien spat back at the man. "She wouldn't go without telling me. If you've hurt her…."
"Now why would we want to hurt an important and valued member of our team…not quite as valuable as you, but I can assure you she's in perfectly good health. She's asked to be relieved of her 'keeper' duties to concentrate on research, which as you know was always her particular field of expertise. I believe she's en route to San Diego even as we speak," Spelling let his words trail off, pleased to see the first hint of uncertainty in the younger man's eyes. Good, he wanted him off guard.
"As for you Darien, all we've done is to put a little something into your head to ensure you behave yourself and to protect our investment. We can't have you putting old loyalties before new now can we?"
At a signal Dr. Carter passed something over the table to Ella Craven, which looked like a small digital watch. The woman picked it up and studied it for a moment with a slow smile of anticipation spreading across her face, before shifting her gaze slowly to meet Darien's; his internal alarms bells began jangling big time.
"There's no time like the present. I think a little demonstration might be in order." Spelling indicated to Ella who was already snapping the trigger device to her left wrist. She nodded, pushed the seat out from under her and stood.
Almost in reflex, Darien got to his feet a second or two behind her, not altogether surprised when no rough hands were there to sit him back down forcibly. Sartori and the guard had backed off, probably on an unspoken order from Spelling or Ella.
"Uh, guys, it's okay. No demonstration necess…..SHIT!"
White hot, searing agony is the only way he could describe the sudden, intense explosion in his head that overwhelmed him like nothing he had ever experienced before. He thought the painful onset of quicksilver madness had been his worst nightmare but this, this was excruciating. Almost without realizing he dropped heavily to his knees grabbing both sides of his head in desperation, an anguished cry leaving him before he could stop it.
Some part of his subconscious shouted at him to remember the breathing techniques that Claire had helped him perfect to get through the QSM migraines, but for the moment he couldn't think straight while IT pulsated in his head, each wave bringing forth a new torment. Through pain drenched eyes he could see them all staring down at him watching with barely concealed excitement.. Then the misery intensified as another wave sent the pain surging down his spine and into the muscles and nerve endings in his arms and legs, and he rolled onto his side on the floor.
"Please…stop," he managed. His body arching as yet another agonizing spasm took hold.
"That's enough," Carter snapped at Ella. Despite his initial eagerness to see if his nano-bug actually worked once implanted, something within him was now repelled by this man's suffering.
Spelling looked from Carter to Craven, before finally gesturing to the woman to stop.
For the briefest moment he thought Ella might actually disobey him, knowing all too well the pleasure she elicited from pain, particularly other peoples pain. Then with a smile she depressed one of the small buttons on the side of the device and Darien let out a long, gasping sob, staying on the floor as his body trembled involuntarily.
"Well, that was…..interesting!" Ella found it hard to contain her excitement as her eyes found Sartori's across the room. The big man nodded back at her, understanding immediately. No words were necessary between the two companions.
Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.
Even though the pain had ebbed away, Darien's system needed time to recover from the 'after shock', and he wondered how in hell he was going to get his body to obey him when even getting up off the damn floor was proving a near impossibility. After a second attempt to pull himself to his feet ended without success Sartori's large hand suddenly appeared in front of him, and he surprised even himself when he reached out allowing the man to help him up the rest of the way, swaying on unsteady legs before dropping heavily down into a chair.
Spelling waited for Darien to regain some composure before continuing.
"Now perhaps you realize that your position at the DoD is permanent and non-negotiable. Any acts of defiance or bad behavior on your part will be punished Darien. It's time to forget the past and to look ahead to your future with us." He studied him intently.
"I'm actually surprised that you would still feel any loyalty towards the Agency and Dr. Keeply in particular, considering she's been lying to you for such a long time."
Running a trembling hand over his face and eyes to clear the tiny beads of sweat, Darien lifted his gaze to stare at Spelling across the table, wishing he had the strength to make it over there and wipe the look of false concern off the bastards face. Instead he opened his mouth and walked straight into Spelling's carefully bated trap, as anticipated
"What do you mean? Claire would never lie to me. Not now."
Spelling stood and came around the table. "So if that's the case why did she keep up the pretence of looking for a way to harvest the gland safely, when she's known for some considerable time that it's now an impossibility?"
Darien stared up at the older man, real confusion in his dark eyes.
"But, that, that's not true, she didn't…."
Holding up a hand to quiet his newest recruit Spelling settled himself against the table at his side.
"We all know that the only reason you were implanted with the gland in the first place is because your brother Kevin was desperate to get you out of prison, and desperate men do desperate things. Even so, he would never have gone ahead with the procedure had he not been confident he could remove it without harming you, though that was obviously before he knew about Dr. De Thiel's creative little mutation and eventual betrayal.
"By the time you used Kevin's memory RNA to bring him back it was already too late, the gland had begun to develop and integrate within your cerebral cortex. Kevin couldn't face telling you the truth, that you'd never be free of it, so he chose the easiest way out by spinning you the whole 'it's made you a better man' line."
"NO. " Darien started to rise angrily, but in an instant those hands were back to restrain him.
Spelling continued ignoring the little interruption as if it were of no real significance.
"And do you know the reason why Dr. Keeply and The Agency were all perfectly happy to go along with your brother's deception Darien? Because he also discovered that transplanting the gland to another host isn't a viable option any more either. Without you it can't function, it will die. You've unwittingly become a more effective receptacle than they could ever have hoped for."
He waited for the words to sink in and even though Darien refused to make eye contact with him, Spelling had his full attention and he knew it. Opening the file on the table he tapped the first page of the large bound document within, fingering the edge before sliding it a little closer to Darien.
"It's all here, " he gently cajoled. "Dr. Keeply's data also makes for very interesting reading. Dr. Carter has been studying all of the research for some considerable time now, I'm sure he would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have."
The doctor nodded soberly.
Darien was completely numb not knowing what was real any more; not caring, but knowing that he should, really. Spellings next words cut into him like a knife and for the first time in a very long time he felt truly lost.
""She lied to keep you Darien, they all did. " Spelling paused momentarily to carefully calculate the moment for his decisive strike.
"She even lied to you about Agent Hobbes. The messages from him, news on his 'supposed' recovery." His tone adopting what he felt was just the right degree of empathy . "I suppose she did it to spare you the anguish." With that he slid a separate sheet of paper towards Darien. "This is a specialist's report on your partner's condition, confirming fears that his injuries have led to a permanent vegetative state."
Shaking his head not wanting to believe this man, even though his feverish and confused mind was telling him otherwise, Darien stood and backed away from the table.
"That's a pile of crap, " he tried vainly "You're just trying to manipulate me but it won't work, not this time."
"Believe what you will Darien."
"Then why go to the trouble of putting this, this thing in my head? If everything you say is true then to hell with the Agency, I don't owe them a damn thing."
"A temporary measure, your Handler will only use it as a last resort." Spelling put what was intended as a reassuring hand on Darien's shoulder.
A heavy silence filled the room, until Spelling calculated the prime moment to reel in the I-Man once and for all.
"I'll make you a deal. You co-operate, follow orders to the letter, obey your Handler without question and in time we'll move you out of this facility. New home, new identity, new life, you can even chose your assignments, no pressure from us."
What the hell. Bobby was gone and Claire had left him anyway, just walked out without even a goodbye and with her the last tenuous strands of his old life in San Diego.
The belief that his partner would never give up on him had been the main reason he'd managed to keep it together and not completely lose hope during these long weeks of enforced confinement. If Bobby wasn't out there then he really had nothing left, nowhere else to go.
After a long moment Darien lifted his lifeless gaze to Spelling and nodded slowly, knowing that this simple act meant he was effectively turning his back on everything he'd come to love…and trust.
He did make one promise to himself though; that first chance he got he would put as much distance between himself and government service as possible. He'd been lied to used and manipulated one time too many. For now though he had no choice but to bide his time and play their game.
TBC
