A/N: I don't really know why I wrote this. I guess I just wanted to expand on a bit of "Mommy's Bosses" that I found intriguing. (Not to mention just take a break from "Casualty".) Hope you enjoy it! And don't forget to leave a review.
Lockpick
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he'd find out what he had about NTAC. A month ago, he wouldn't have even thought them capable of such betrayal. Couldn't they see that the 4400 were human beings, just like everyone else?
He could, now. It was, after all, only promycin that made them unique. That was all. But he was one-up on NTAC, it seemed, being able to see them as people. Not that that meant he liked the idea of the 4400 Center any more than he had before.
The Center. He laughed to himself at the thought of the place and their beloved keys. Even if they did have the key to "unlocking the 4400 in you" – a possibility he found ridiculous, at best – well, he'd found a way to pick the lock.
He fiddled with a syringe, which held some of the same antidote that had helped to save the 4400s. Twirled it around in his hands thoughtfully. Hesitated for only a moment. And drained the solution into his arm.
With a feeling of accomplishment and anticipation, Kevin Burkhoff sat back to wait.
A/N: While I'm making (minor) edits to the story, I thought I'd acknowledge my reviewers.
Fletty: Thanks. The encouragement is appreciated.
Raidein: I considered that, but decided not to. Thanks for the nice review, anyway. I promise I will do my best to stop being my own worst critic.
Nirin Tani: You have valid points, and (as I agree with you) I've edited the story to reflect them. Yes, I was trying to drag out that metaphor just a little longer, and I probably shouldn't have. However, in my defense, when I was writing this story, I discovered that (according to MS Word and the dictionary) "lockpick" is not a word. So, I went around asking people what you pick a lock with – and everyone, without fail, said "a bobbypin". So I assumed, especially within the context of the story, that the fact that I was using that particular definition would be somewhat obvious. But with thatbeing not as clear as I thought it was — not to mention a rather abrupt change in sentence structure, I've noticed – I decided to get rid of it. Thanks for the constructive criticism, and the compliment.