Author: scarypuffringo
Author's note: Hi there people!!!
Again I wanna thank you all for reviewing this story. I live of your comments and there is no lie in that. I wanna also thank to the ones that are reading it but not replaying. I sort of do that a lot. I read most of your fics but don't reply very often. It's not that I don't want to. It's just that I always read your fics when I'm not online. I print them, so Ic can read them when I'm home. (Not having a computer sucks...)
Okay... Thank you again, and if you wanna talk to me about any ideas you have on this story, in how I can make it better, don't hesitate in sending me a message. (sweetwbangel@nestcape.net) .
I gotta go now and I really hope you like this one too.
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Chapter Four
"Adam!!!" Jesse got out, his astonished eyes staring at the man standing right in front of him. The man he thought of as a father, the man he believed was dead. "But... ... I don't understand."
"Hello, Jesse!" Adam spoke with a slight smile plastered on his face. He began to walk in Jesse's direction and reached out his hand to touch him.
"Don't come any closer." Jesse pulled back, his face was covered with pain and confusion. "Just don't."
Adam sighed and nodded. "I... ... I understand."
After Adam's words the silence dragged in its suspense; neither of them saying a word. Jesse sunk on the corner as if he was trapped while he looked at floor, trying to bring his senses back. Adam only silenced himself in respect Jesse's confusion. "We thought you were dead." The young male stammered then shyly brought his eyes up to Adam's.
"I'm sorry."
" 'I'm sorry' ? That's all you have to say?" Finally Jesse inquired in a stern voice. Adam attempted to say something in his defense but the boy didn't even let him begin. "Do you have any idea of what we've been through for these past few months?"
"Jesse, believe me. I know you have all the rights to be mad at me. But-" Adam wanted to make him stop talking and let him know the real reason he was there. But it was useless because Jesse just kept on attacking him.
"The hell yeah, I have all the rights to be mad at you. When we needed you the most you just walked away, out of our lives without looking back. Do you even know that Emma is dead?" Jesse angrily shouted at him then paused, waiting for an answer.
Adam took the opportunity to talk as Jesse still glared at him. "Yes, I'm well aware of Emma's condition. And I wish I had enough time to explain everything to you, Jess. But unfortunately, time is something we do not have."
"What are you talking about?"
Adam pulled up a chair and ordered. "Sit." Jesse's angry look was slowly turning into confusion again. "Sit down!" Adam ordered one more time, fearing he didn't have much time to explain to Jesse what caused him to reveal the truth. Jesse cringed at Adam's yelling and did what he was told to. "I'm sure you're questioning yourself why I brought you here." Adam's voice had lowered its tone. Jesse quietly nodded and listened a little more. "I'm here because I need your help."
Frowning his forehead, Jesse couldn't help but retort a question in reply. "You need my help? With what?"
Adam firmly stared into Jesse's eyes, reassuring him that what he was about to reveal was incredibly serious. "You're not crazy, Jess." His statement didn't help much. It only increased the mess inside Jesse's head.
"What? I don't know what you're talking about. Adam, you're not making much sense out of yourself. What do you mean, I'm not..." Jesse stopped his frenetic babbling and all of the sudden the pieces of the puzzle slowly started to fit all together. Flashbacks of his break down popped up in his mind. Adam could not be talking about that, could he? Jesse looked up at Adam again, his eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.
By the look in Jesse's eyes Adam could tell he, now, knew what all of that was about. "That's right, Jesse. She's alive. Emma is alive." Those words hit Jesse like a thousand stones.
"But... I mean... How this is possible? I saw her that day... I saw the paramedics... I... I..." Jesse confusedly remembered. "I... "
Adam checked the time and saw he had to leave in less than fifteen minutes. "Jesse, listen to me." Adam placed his hands on Jesse's shoulders, the urgency in his tone forced Jesse to step out of the fog of shock he was in. "Emma is alive and she needs your help. She is in a facility hidden in the woods. It's related to Genomex. I need you to help me to her get out of there."
"How she ended up there?" Jesse asked. Adam swallowed the feeling of regret then ashamedly responded.
"I took her there."
Jesse's eyes widened in surprise to hear that. "So it's true? You really are working with Eckhart?"
"Yes and no."
"How could you?'' The anger rushed into Jesse's essence again but Adam stopped him from getting angrier.
"Jess, I told you. We do not have time for this." Adam let go of him and went to the window to see if everything was normal outside. "I didn't tell you any of you but Emma's mutation was out of control. I didn't know what else to do. So when Shalimar's father came into the scene I-"
"Wait a minute. You're telling the whole explosion at Naxcon was a set up? That it was all a lie?" Jesse figured what had really happened that day.
Adam nodded and went back explaining. "Yes. I needed to find a way to get Emma out of the Sanctuary and that was the only I could do it. How would I explain that I needed to take Emma to Eckhart because he was probably the only one that could keep her alive?" Jesse saw honesty in Adam's eyes when those words were spoken. "Her mutation is stable now. The agreement was, I helped Eckhart and he let me treat Emma at Genomex then after I was done with him and her, he was supposed to let her out but ... Well, we know Eckhart..."
"He's not keeping his part of the deal." Again Jesse figured everything.
Adam went and took a suitcase from underneath the couch. He handed it to Jesse. "Everything you need to know is in this suitcase. Just follow every step of the plan. Don't let Shalimar, Brennan or Lexa suspect anything."
"You know Lexa is back?"
"Yes. It's a long story. But I can tell you something, Jesse. Lexa is not who you think she is." Adam walked to the door and signaled to the four men outside. The same ones that drove Jesse there. "I know what I'm doing is not fair to you but I don't have any other choice. She called for you, Jess. Emma's life is in your hands now." With those final words Adam hugged him and the four the men led him back to the car. Again they covered his face with a black hook but didn't tie him this time. They got into the car and drove off. Adam left right after them... ... ...
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At Sanctuary Shalimar and Brennan had searched everywhere for Jesse. They called everybody they knew, wen to every place Jesse used to go but they found nothing. Now all they did was wait for him to come back. Lexa, secretly reported this to Eckhart then put on some act and waited for Jesse as well.
"Where me might be, Brennan?" Shalimar wondered, not really concentrating in what she was doing.
"I wish I knew, Shal." Brennan jolted checking the time again. "It's been over thirteen hours." Brennan said then realized something about Shalimar. She was on the verge of tears. Her face was completely covered with despair. Brennan went to her and softly held her in his arms.
"What if he's not coming back?" The words almost choked in her throat when she said them.
"Sorry to ruin your parade, Shal. But Jesse just came back." Lexa announced in a choking manner as she stood on Shalimar's doorway.
"Where is he?" Shalimar anxiously asked.
"He just went to his room." The brunette gave them the last piece of information she had on Jesse. Shalimar jumped up from her chair and rushed out of her room. Brennan followed her but was stopped by Lexa's hand.
Holding his arm Lexa looked into his eyes, giving him her sexiest smile. Brennan was weak when it came down to the opposite sex but it was his friend that was in trouble now. Nothing Lexa would try to get his head out if wouldn't work. "I gotta go see Jesse." Brennan blazed out of there, leaving her behind.
"Oh, thank God you're okay!" Shalimar snorted in relief, throwing herself in Jesse's arms.
Jesse gave her one of his famous smiles and kidded a little. "Hey, who died?"
"Don't kid with me Jesse! I was dying here. I thought you were going to..." Shalimar realized in time what she was going to say and stopped herself. "I thought you were... You were..."
"That I was gonna do something stupid?" He gave her an innocent smile, saying what she was embarrassed to say.
"No. I... I..." Shalimar felt bad for fearing he could lost that much control. "I was just worried. I mean, you left your comlink here. What was I supposed to think?"
"That's right, pal." Brennan's strong voice filled Jesse's room. He looked at the doorway and Brennan walked in. They greeted each other with a hug and Brennan spoke again. "Where were you?"
"Nowhere... Anywhere..." Jesse vaguely replied. "I needed to get out of here. I needed some time to think. So I just drove, not really going anywhere in particular... ... ... I needed to clear my head. That's all."
"Well, next time you wanna clear your head. Don't forget to lave a note. Okay?'' Shalimar said behind a full grin. Jesse shook his head in agreement. "So, how are you feeling now?"
"Much better. You two don't have to worry about me anymore. Everything is gonna be fine from now on." Jesse assured them and Lexa invaded the scene.
"Hey, don't forget about me. I was worried too." She stated as she stepped into his room. Right then Jesse felt the urge to tell her to get out of his room and that she didn't have to worry about him because they were not friends. But Adam's few words on her made him not to. Instead, Jesse just smiled his best smile and thanked her for her concern. "I'm glad to hear that you're okay now."
"Me too." Brennan lightly tapped on Jesse's back.
"Well, I'm glad to be better too."
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Two weeks after Jesse's and Adam's secret encounter had passed. During those days Jesse got everything he needed to proceed Adam's plan. None of the other three suspected anything. They were just happy because everything had come back to normal. But they did not know that everything would change that night... ... ...
"Bren!! Brennan!!" Jesse called as he stood outside Brennan's door. After a few seconds the door opened, revealing a Brennan wrapped up in a towel. Jesse looked down and couldn't help but joke. "It's hard to talk to you in towel, Brennan. It gives me chills just to imagine..."
"Hey!! Stop looking at me like that or I'll sue for sexual harassment." Brennan joked back and they both laughed at it. "What do you want, man."
"Nothing really. I just wanted to... Well..." Jesse didn't say much after that. He pulled Brennan into a hug then pulled away. Brennan watched him in confusion. "I just wanted to say that you're like a brother to me. That's all... I'm gonna let you get change. Good night."
Jesse turned away to leave but Brennan's voice caught him in the way. "Wait! What's going on, Jess. Is something wrong?"
Jesse thoughtfully grinned at him. "No. Nothing wrong... Good night."
"Good night." Brennan said back and just watched him slog out then into his room. A weird feeling slowly come over Brennan as he heard Jesse's door slam. It was something he could not describe, like he was predicting something bad was about to happen. Without giving himself much credit, Brennan shrugged that thought off and went back into his room.
Later that night Shalimar went to check on Jesse. Despite that everything looked normal, she couldn't help but still worry about him. She had no idea that she had saved him the trouble to come up with some lame excuse to go talk to her in the middle of the night. "Hey!" She widely smile as she pushed his door opened.
"Hey!" Jesse smiled in reply. Closing his book he asked her. "What you want, mom?"
"To see if everything is okay with you."
"I'm fine. Thanks. But I was practically sleeping when you came in." Jesse was doing his best not to let show what he was really feeling inside; the pain he secretly held.
"Sorry for that." Shalimar felt like apologizing even though she knew he was not sleeping at all. She shook her head and excused herself.
"Shal, wait!"
"What, Jess?" She asked turning back.
Jesse kicked the covers down, stood up and went in her direction. He tenderly hugged her. Shalimar felt something in the pit of her stomach and it was not a pleasant feeling. She him tightly until he began to let go of her. "I just wanted to thank you... ... for everything." Shalimar silently nodded and forced a smiled at him. Right then she was sure that her concerns about him were right. Jesse was hiding something from her, from all of them. "Good night." He said, dismissing her.
"Good night." She barely managed to reply then reluctantly closed his door. Shalimar went to her feeling something was definitely off with the scene that had just happened between her and Jesse. Forcing herself to believe it was all her imagination, she put on her sweat pants and white tank top, then slid under the cover, praying to God she would be able to sleep after that... ... ...
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Jesse waited until he was sure everybody was definitely sleeping. He changed as quickly as he could, grabbed three black backpacks and his laptop. Before he left the Sanctuary, Jesse tip-toed to Shalimar's and Brennan's rooms, their doors were closed. Jesse phased in and took a good at each one of them, after that he grabbed his keys and exited the place.
Jesse made the tires of his car sing along the road as he sped up. Adam had given to him the exact location of Eckhart's lab. Jesse was supposed to be there at three in the morning. Adam had signed him in as a new lab technician, the one who was going to watch Emma with a new mutant security guard during the rest of the night. He got to the lab on time. He parked his car, put a white coat on, stepped out of the car, walked to the elevator then whispered to himself. "Show time!!"
The elevator took him to she sixth floor under the ground. He tried to look as he belonged to the place. He stopped someone who was passing by and asked for an information. "Excuse. I'm new here and I'm looking for room 4G. Do you know where it is?"
"Sure." A young blond woman said and indicated him the right way.
Jesse smiled. "Thank you." He headed to room 4G. When he got there his *partner* was already there waiting for, the other two watchers were waiting for him. "You the new guys, right?" The real technician stated in passing and Jesse nodded.
"Yeah. I'm Josh. Josh Anderson." Jesse extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you. This is Jacob and Alex. Alex is the one who's working with you. Oh! And I'm Peter. I wish I could stay but I gotta go home. My body needs to sleep." After the introduction Peter and Jacob left Alex and Jesse in the room. Actually, they were outside the room. Emma's pot was well locked behind a door made of iron.
The new mutant looked at Jesse, he had frowns on his face. "Here. You need to enter your code."
"Oh! I almost forgot." Jesse dialed the number and for a minute feared for his own security but Adam did a pretty good job in the lab's computer. His code was accepted. "So, what kind of special power do you have?" Jesse asked.
Alex scowled at him. "I'm a feral. That means... Mess with me, you're a dead man."
Jesse faked fear. "Oooo! Chill out, pal. I'm just trying to do my job here." Adam told Jesse that only the mutant with him had the code to open the door. Since Jesse did not need keys to get into places, he was trying to come up with something to get that guy leave for, at least, fifteen minutes. Jesse wandered his eyes around the place and he touched his stomach. It was like a bulb shone above his head; an idea had popped up to his mind. Jesse pressed his left hand against his stomach, this time he made a face of pain.
"Is everything okay with you?" Alex cast a glimpse at Jesse's way and saw him whimpering.
Jesse continued with the acting. "Yeah, man. It's just my stomach. I'm starved. My girlfriend and I were supposed to have dinner but we had this stupid fight. She didn't want me to take this job. But how could I say no to an opportunity like this."
"How did you get in here?" Alex's face sort of smoothed a little as the two of them made small conversation.
"My teacher came to me and said that he had the perfect job for me. He said that it was about time for me use my brain for a greater cause. And now... ... ... here I am." Jesse never thought he could lie that well; in fact, he was enjoying it. He put his hand on his stomach again. "Hugh... Man, I hate this. My stomach is killing me. I did not have lunch today and I couldn't eat because my girl didn't gimme the chance to. Do you know where I can get some food around here?"
Alex stepped closer to Jesse, he seemed less alert than minutes before. It was like he had no suspicious about Jesse anymore. "I know where the cafeteria is."
"A place like this has a cafeteria?" Jesse asked making a funny face as if in a mocking manner.
Alex laughed and said. "We need to eat too."
"How about you and I go and get some snack?" Jesse tapped on Alex's shoulder. The mutant's face showed him that he didn't like the idea. Jesse looked through the small window in the door then stated. "Oh, come on! It's not like whoever is in there is going to come out for a stroll if we escape for two minutes."
Alex laughed again. "Alright!!! You go. At least one of us should stay here. The cafeteria is-"
"Mmmm, Alex, don't even waste your time in explaining me how I get there. I was walking around circles for almost half hour until I finally found this 4G thing. Why don't you do me a favor? You go, get us food and I watch our sleeping beauty here. Can you do that?" Jesse was unbelievable believable. Alex fought against it for like a minute or then he agreed. "Sweet!!!"
"What you want?"
Smiling widely Jesse jolted. "Pizza, any pizza, as long as it has tons of cheese." Alex nodded in reply and Jesse added, to make it even more believable. "Oh! And a soda too. Maybe a muffing?!!" He waited until the man disappeared in the hall. Jesse walked back in and stated to himself. "I never thought ferals were so easy to fool." His statement brought his thought back Shalimar at the Sanctuary. That was one feral he could never entirely fool. "Go figures."
Jesse faced the door and took a deep breath. He needed to prepare himself for what he was going to face. Closing his eyes, he searched for strength within then phased into the locked room. The first thing he saw was Emma's pot. He walked over to it and saw her face. He felt something he could not describe at that minute he saw her again. It was something strong and somewhat bittersweet. He felt like crying; he knew that for sure.
Jesse knew he didn't have much time so he rushed and entered the code Adam had given to him. Seconds later the pot began to open. Jesse shrugged off the white coat and quickly wrapped it around Emma's body. She was wearing a very thick leotard. It was something so extremely thick and tight to her body that it most looked like her skin. Jesse held her in his arms. He knew he had to rush out of there; he needed to warm Emma's body and bring her core temperature back to normal; she was as cold as a dead body. Jesse walked with her in his arms and just before he phased both of them out there, he remembered the surveillance cameras, but he was already on his way out so he didn't care.
Once they were outside, Jesse had to run. When Alex came back there was no sign of Jesse. He didn't understand so he glanced towards where the pot was. His face went pale when he saw that the pot was opened. He grabbed his radio and warned the security. Then rushed out of there as well. But by the time everybody was searching the lab for Jesse and Emma, he was already, up at the garage exiting the place. Two security men got there before he had the chance to drive off. They placed themselves in front of the and pointed their guns at it. Jesse paid no mind and just sped up, going over them. Each of them swayed to one side, and barely escaped from being hit by Jesse's car. And when the others came, Jesse was long gone... ... ...
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Morning came, Shalimar, Brennan and Lexa were waiting for Jesse to come down for break fast. "Where is he?" Brennan asked knowing Jesse, in his normal state of mind would never skip a meal.
Shalimar had this worried look on her face. It was like she knew something was wrong. She hurried out, going up to Jesse's room. Brennan and Lexa exchanged confused looks and just sat there for a few more minutes until Brennan remembered how suspiciously Jesse was acting on him the night before. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed before running up too. Lexa followed him.
Brennan reached Jesse's room first and found Shalimar crying. She had a paper and Jesse's comlik in her hands. "What happened?" Lexa inquired as she saw that scene.
"Jesse is gone." Shalimar lowly reported.
"What?" Brennan didn't grasp the information right away. "What you're talking about?"
"It says right here, Brennan." Shalimar displayed the paper to him. Brennan took it from her hands and read it... ...
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'Shal, Bren,
I know this is going to sound crazy but being at the Sanctuary is driving me insane. Things are not the same. I'm not the same. I can't tell you what's really going on because I don't really know what's wrong with me. All I know is that I can't stay another minute here. I need to go away. I need some time to myself... To get things figured out.
I'm sorry. I know you're hurt, Shalimar and that you're mad at me, Brennan, for leaving without saying goodbye. But it was the only way I could leave.
Don't come looking for me. Please, don't do that. I give you my word that you'll hear from me again. But not now or in any time soon.
Again, I'm so sorry, guys.
I love you, Shal. And Brennan, I couldn't ask for a better friend than you. I'll miss you both.
Jesse
P.S Tell Lexa I said goodbye.'
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Brennan let out a breath he did not know he had been holding then Shalimar snuggled into his chest and cried as he held. Lexa barely managed to hear Shalimar's words. "Jesse's gone... forever."
TBC
Author's note: Hi there people!!!
Again I wanna thank you all for reviewing this story. I live of your comments and there is no lie in that. I wanna also thank to the ones that are reading it but not replaying. I sort of do that a lot. I read most of your fics but don't reply very often. It's not that I don't want to. It's just that I always read your fics when I'm not online. I print them, so Ic can read them when I'm home. (Not having a computer sucks...)
Okay... Thank you again, and if you wanna talk to me about any ideas you have on this story, in how I can make it better, don't hesitate in sending me a message. (sweetwbangel@nestcape.net) .
I gotta go now and I really hope you like this one too.
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Chapter Four
"Adam!!!" Jesse got out, his astonished eyes staring at the man standing right in front of him. The man he thought of as a father, the man he believed was dead. "But... ... I don't understand."
"Hello, Jesse!" Adam spoke with a slight smile plastered on his face. He began to walk in Jesse's direction and reached out his hand to touch him.
"Don't come any closer." Jesse pulled back, his face was covered with pain and confusion. "Just don't."
Adam sighed and nodded. "I... ... I understand."
After Adam's words the silence dragged in its suspense; neither of them saying a word. Jesse sunk on the corner as if he was trapped while he looked at floor, trying to bring his senses back. Adam only silenced himself in respect Jesse's confusion. "We thought you were dead." The young male stammered then shyly brought his eyes up to Adam's.
"I'm sorry."
" 'I'm sorry' ? That's all you have to say?" Finally Jesse inquired in a stern voice. Adam attempted to say something in his defense but the boy didn't even let him begin. "Do you have any idea of what we've been through for these past few months?"
"Jesse, believe me. I know you have all the rights to be mad at me. But-" Adam wanted to make him stop talking and let him know the real reason he was there. But it was useless because Jesse just kept on attacking him.
"The hell yeah, I have all the rights to be mad at you. When we needed you the most you just walked away, out of our lives without looking back. Do you even know that Emma is dead?" Jesse angrily shouted at him then paused, waiting for an answer.
Adam took the opportunity to talk as Jesse still glared at him. "Yes, I'm well aware of Emma's condition. And I wish I had enough time to explain everything to you, Jess. But unfortunately, time is something we do not have."
"What are you talking about?"
Adam pulled up a chair and ordered. "Sit." Jesse's angry look was slowly turning into confusion again. "Sit down!" Adam ordered one more time, fearing he didn't have much time to explain to Jesse what caused him to reveal the truth. Jesse cringed at Adam's yelling and did what he was told to. "I'm sure you're questioning yourself why I brought you here." Adam's voice had lowered its tone. Jesse quietly nodded and listened a little more. "I'm here because I need your help."
Frowning his forehead, Jesse couldn't help but retort a question in reply. "You need my help? With what?"
Adam firmly stared into Jesse's eyes, reassuring him that what he was about to reveal was incredibly serious. "You're not crazy, Jess." His statement didn't help much. It only increased the mess inside Jesse's head.
"What? I don't know what you're talking about. Adam, you're not making much sense out of yourself. What do you mean, I'm not..." Jesse stopped his frenetic babbling and all of the sudden the pieces of the puzzle slowly started to fit all together. Flashbacks of his break down popped up in his mind. Adam could not be talking about that, could he? Jesse looked up at Adam again, his eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.
By the look in Jesse's eyes Adam could tell he, now, knew what all of that was about. "That's right, Jesse. She's alive. Emma is alive." Those words hit Jesse like a thousand stones.
"But... I mean... How this is possible? I saw her that day... I saw the paramedics... I... I..." Jesse confusedly remembered. "I... "
Adam checked the time and saw he had to leave in less than fifteen minutes. "Jesse, listen to me." Adam placed his hands on Jesse's shoulders, the urgency in his tone forced Jesse to step out of the fog of shock he was in. "Emma is alive and she needs your help. She is in a facility hidden in the woods. It's related to Genomex. I need you to help me to her get out of there."
"How she ended up there?" Jesse asked. Adam swallowed the feeling of regret then ashamedly responded.
"I took her there."
Jesse's eyes widened in surprise to hear that. "So it's true? You really are working with Eckhart?"
"Yes and no."
"How could you?'' The anger rushed into Jesse's essence again but Adam stopped him from getting angrier.
"Jess, I told you. We do not have time for this." Adam let go of him and went to the window to see if everything was normal outside. "I didn't tell you any of you but Emma's mutation was out of control. I didn't know what else to do. So when Shalimar's father came into the scene I-"
"Wait a minute. You're telling the whole explosion at Naxcon was a set up? That it was all a lie?" Jesse figured what had really happened that day.
Adam nodded and went back explaining. "Yes. I needed to find a way to get Emma out of the Sanctuary and that was the only I could do it. How would I explain that I needed to take Emma to Eckhart because he was probably the only one that could keep her alive?" Jesse saw honesty in Adam's eyes when those words were spoken. "Her mutation is stable now. The agreement was, I helped Eckhart and he let me treat Emma at Genomex then after I was done with him and her, he was supposed to let her out but ... Well, we know Eckhart..."
"He's not keeping his part of the deal." Again Jesse figured everything.
Adam went and took a suitcase from underneath the couch. He handed it to Jesse. "Everything you need to know is in this suitcase. Just follow every step of the plan. Don't let Shalimar, Brennan or Lexa suspect anything."
"You know Lexa is back?"
"Yes. It's a long story. But I can tell you something, Jesse. Lexa is not who you think she is." Adam walked to the door and signaled to the four men outside. The same ones that drove Jesse there. "I know what I'm doing is not fair to you but I don't have any other choice. She called for you, Jess. Emma's life is in your hands now." With those final words Adam hugged him and the four the men led him back to the car. Again they covered his face with a black hook but didn't tie him this time. They got into the car and drove off. Adam left right after them... ... ...
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At Sanctuary Shalimar and Brennan had searched everywhere for Jesse. They called everybody they knew, wen to every place Jesse used to go but they found nothing. Now all they did was wait for him to come back. Lexa, secretly reported this to Eckhart then put on some act and waited for Jesse as well.
"Where me might be, Brennan?" Shalimar wondered, not really concentrating in what she was doing.
"I wish I knew, Shal." Brennan jolted checking the time again. "It's been over thirteen hours." Brennan said then realized something about Shalimar. She was on the verge of tears. Her face was completely covered with despair. Brennan went to her and softly held her in his arms.
"What if he's not coming back?" The words almost choked in her throat when she said them.
"Sorry to ruin your parade, Shal. But Jesse just came back." Lexa announced in a choking manner as she stood on Shalimar's doorway.
"Where is he?" Shalimar anxiously asked.
"He just went to his room." The brunette gave them the last piece of information she had on Jesse. Shalimar jumped up from her chair and rushed out of her room. Brennan followed her but was stopped by Lexa's hand.
Holding his arm Lexa looked into his eyes, giving him her sexiest smile. Brennan was weak when it came down to the opposite sex but it was his friend that was in trouble now. Nothing Lexa would try to get his head out if wouldn't work. "I gotta go see Jesse." Brennan blazed out of there, leaving her behind.
"Oh, thank God you're okay!" Shalimar snorted in relief, throwing herself in Jesse's arms.
Jesse gave her one of his famous smiles and kidded a little. "Hey, who died?"
"Don't kid with me Jesse! I was dying here. I thought you were going to..." Shalimar realized in time what she was going to say and stopped herself. "I thought you were... You were..."
"That I was gonna do something stupid?" He gave her an innocent smile, saying what she was embarrassed to say.
"No. I... I..." Shalimar felt bad for fearing he could lost that much control. "I was just worried. I mean, you left your comlink here. What was I supposed to think?"
"That's right, pal." Brennan's strong voice filled Jesse's room. He looked at the doorway and Brennan walked in. They greeted each other with a hug and Brennan spoke again. "Where were you?"
"Nowhere... Anywhere..." Jesse vaguely replied. "I needed to get out of here. I needed some time to think. So I just drove, not really going anywhere in particular... ... ... I needed to clear my head. That's all."
"Well, next time you wanna clear your head. Don't forget to lave a note. Okay?'' Shalimar said behind a full grin. Jesse shook his head in agreement. "So, how are you feeling now?"
"Much better. You two don't have to worry about me anymore. Everything is gonna be fine from now on." Jesse assured them and Lexa invaded the scene.
"Hey, don't forget about me. I was worried too." She stated as she stepped into his room. Right then Jesse felt the urge to tell her to get out of his room and that she didn't have to worry about him because they were not friends. But Adam's few words on her made him not to. Instead, Jesse just smiled his best smile and thanked her for her concern. "I'm glad to hear that you're okay now."
"Me too." Brennan lightly tapped on Jesse's back.
"Well, I'm glad to be better too."
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*
Two weeks after Jesse's and Adam's secret encounter had passed. During those days Jesse got everything he needed to proceed Adam's plan. None of the other three suspected anything. They were just happy because everything had come back to normal. But they did not know that everything would change that night... ... ...
"Bren!! Brennan!!" Jesse called as he stood outside Brennan's door. After a few seconds the door opened, revealing a Brennan wrapped up in a towel. Jesse looked down and couldn't help but joke. "It's hard to talk to you in towel, Brennan. It gives me chills just to imagine..."
"Hey!! Stop looking at me like that or I'll sue for sexual harassment." Brennan joked back and they both laughed at it. "What do you want, man."
"Nothing really. I just wanted to... Well..." Jesse didn't say much after that. He pulled Brennan into a hug then pulled away. Brennan watched him in confusion. "I just wanted to say that you're like a brother to me. That's all... I'm gonna let you get change. Good night."
Jesse turned away to leave but Brennan's voice caught him in the way. "Wait! What's going on, Jess. Is something wrong?"
Jesse thoughtfully grinned at him. "No. Nothing wrong... Good night."
"Good night." Brennan said back and just watched him slog out then into his room. A weird feeling slowly come over Brennan as he heard Jesse's door slam. It was something he could not describe, like he was predicting something bad was about to happen. Without giving himself much credit, Brennan shrugged that thought off and went back into his room.
Later that night Shalimar went to check on Jesse. Despite that everything looked normal, she couldn't help but still worry about him. She had no idea that she had saved him the trouble to come up with some lame excuse to go talk to her in the middle of the night. "Hey!" She widely smile as she pushed his door opened.
"Hey!" Jesse smiled in reply. Closing his book he asked her. "What you want, mom?"
"To see if everything is okay with you."
"I'm fine. Thanks. But I was practically sleeping when you came in." Jesse was doing his best not to let show what he was really feeling inside; the pain he secretly held.
"Sorry for that." Shalimar felt like apologizing even though she knew he was not sleeping at all. She shook her head and excused herself.
"Shal, wait!"
"What, Jess?" She asked turning back.
Jesse kicked the covers down, stood up and went in her direction. He tenderly hugged her. Shalimar felt something in the pit of her stomach and it was not a pleasant feeling. She him tightly until he began to let go of her. "I just wanted to thank you... ... for everything." Shalimar silently nodded and forced a smiled at him. Right then she was sure that her concerns about him were right. Jesse was hiding something from her, from all of them. "Good night." He said, dismissing her.
"Good night." She barely managed to reply then reluctantly closed his door. Shalimar went to her feeling something was definitely off with the scene that had just happened between her and Jesse. Forcing herself to believe it was all her imagination, she put on her sweat pants and white tank top, then slid under the cover, praying to God she would be able to sleep after that... ... ...
*
*
*
Jesse waited until he was sure everybody was definitely sleeping. He changed as quickly as he could, grabbed three black backpacks and his laptop. Before he left the Sanctuary, Jesse tip-toed to Shalimar's and Brennan's rooms, their doors were closed. Jesse phased in and took a good at each one of them, after that he grabbed his keys and exited the place.
Jesse made the tires of his car sing along the road as he sped up. Adam had given to him the exact location of Eckhart's lab. Jesse was supposed to be there at three in the morning. Adam had signed him in as a new lab technician, the one who was going to watch Emma with a new mutant security guard during the rest of the night. He got to the lab on time. He parked his car, put a white coat on, stepped out of the car, walked to the elevator then whispered to himself. "Show time!!"
The elevator took him to she sixth floor under the ground. He tried to look as he belonged to the place. He stopped someone who was passing by and asked for an information. "Excuse. I'm new here and I'm looking for room 4G. Do you know where it is?"
"Sure." A young blond woman said and indicated him the right way.
Jesse smiled. "Thank you." He headed to room 4G. When he got there his *partner* was already there waiting for, the other two watchers were waiting for him. "You the new guys, right?" The real technician stated in passing and Jesse nodded.
"Yeah. I'm Josh. Josh Anderson." Jesse extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you. This is Jacob and Alex. Alex is the one who's working with you. Oh! And I'm Peter. I wish I could stay but I gotta go home. My body needs to sleep." After the introduction Peter and Jacob left Alex and Jesse in the room. Actually, they were outside the room. Emma's pot was well locked behind a door made of iron.
The new mutant looked at Jesse, he had frowns on his face. "Here. You need to enter your code."
"Oh! I almost forgot." Jesse dialed the number and for a minute feared for his own security but Adam did a pretty good job in the lab's computer. His code was accepted. "So, what kind of special power do you have?" Jesse asked.
Alex scowled at him. "I'm a feral. That means... Mess with me, you're a dead man."
Jesse faked fear. "Oooo! Chill out, pal. I'm just trying to do my job here." Adam told Jesse that only the mutant with him had the code to open the door. Since Jesse did not need keys to get into places, he was trying to come up with something to get that guy leave for, at least, fifteen minutes. Jesse wandered his eyes around the place and he touched his stomach. It was like a bulb shone above his head; an idea had popped up to his mind. Jesse pressed his left hand against his stomach, this time he made a face of pain.
"Is everything okay with you?" Alex cast a glimpse at Jesse's way and saw him whimpering.
Jesse continued with the acting. "Yeah, man. It's just my stomach. I'm starved. My girlfriend and I were supposed to have dinner but we had this stupid fight. She didn't want me to take this job. But how could I say no to an opportunity like this."
"How did you get in here?" Alex's face sort of smoothed a little as the two of them made small conversation.
"My teacher came to me and said that he had the perfect job for me. He said that it was about time for me use my brain for a greater cause. And now... ... ... here I am." Jesse never thought he could lie that well; in fact, he was enjoying it. He put his hand on his stomach again. "Hugh... Man, I hate this. My stomach is killing me. I did not have lunch today and I couldn't eat because my girl didn't gimme the chance to. Do you know where I can get some food around here?"
Alex stepped closer to Jesse, he seemed less alert than minutes before. It was like he had no suspicious about Jesse anymore. "I know where the cafeteria is."
"A place like this has a cafeteria?" Jesse asked making a funny face as if in a mocking manner.
Alex laughed and said. "We need to eat too."
"How about you and I go and get some snack?" Jesse tapped on Alex's shoulder. The mutant's face showed him that he didn't like the idea. Jesse looked through the small window in the door then stated. "Oh, come on! It's not like whoever is in there is going to come out for a stroll if we escape for two minutes."
Alex laughed again. "Alright!!! You go. At least one of us should stay here. The cafeteria is-"
"Mmmm, Alex, don't even waste your time in explaining me how I get there. I was walking around circles for almost half hour until I finally found this 4G thing. Why don't you do me a favor? You go, get us food and I watch our sleeping beauty here. Can you do that?" Jesse was unbelievable believable. Alex fought against it for like a minute or then he agreed. "Sweet!!!"
"What you want?"
Smiling widely Jesse jolted. "Pizza, any pizza, as long as it has tons of cheese." Alex nodded in reply and Jesse added, to make it even more believable. "Oh! And a soda too. Maybe a muffing?!!" He waited until the man disappeared in the hall. Jesse walked back in and stated to himself. "I never thought ferals were so easy to fool." His statement brought his thought back Shalimar at the Sanctuary. That was one feral he could never entirely fool. "Go figures."
Jesse faced the door and took a deep breath. He needed to prepare himself for what he was going to face. Closing his eyes, he searched for strength within then phased into the locked room. The first thing he saw was Emma's pot. He walked over to it and saw her face. He felt something he could not describe at that minute he saw her again. It was something strong and somewhat bittersweet. He felt like crying; he knew that for sure.
Jesse knew he didn't have much time so he rushed and entered the code Adam had given to him. Seconds later the pot began to open. Jesse shrugged off the white coat and quickly wrapped it around Emma's body. She was wearing a very thick leotard. It was something so extremely thick and tight to her body that it most looked like her skin. Jesse held her in his arms. He knew he had to rush out of there; he needed to warm Emma's body and bring her core temperature back to normal; she was as cold as a dead body. Jesse walked with her in his arms and just before he phased both of them out there, he remembered the surveillance cameras, but he was already on his way out so he didn't care.
Once they were outside, Jesse had to run. When Alex came back there was no sign of Jesse. He didn't understand so he glanced towards where the pot was. His face went pale when he saw that the pot was opened. He grabbed his radio and warned the security. Then rushed out of there as well. But by the time everybody was searching the lab for Jesse and Emma, he was already, up at the garage exiting the place. Two security men got there before he had the chance to drive off. They placed themselves in front of the and pointed their guns at it. Jesse paid no mind and just sped up, going over them. Each of them swayed to one side, and barely escaped from being hit by Jesse's car. And when the others came, Jesse was long gone... ... ...
*
*
*
Morning came, Shalimar, Brennan and Lexa were waiting for Jesse to come down for break fast. "Where is he?" Brennan asked knowing Jesse, in his normal state of mind would never skip a meal.
Shalimar had this worried look on her face. It was like she knew something was wrong. She hurried out, going up to Jesse's room. Brennan and Lexa exchanged confused looks and just sat there for a few more minutes until Brennan remembered how suspiciously Jesse was acting on him the night before. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed before running up too. Lexa followed him.
Brennan reached Jesse's room first and found Shalimar crying. She had a paper and Jesse's comlik in her hands. "What happened?" Lexa inquired as she saw that scene.
"Jesse is gone." Shalimar lowly reported.
"What?" Brennan didn't grasp the information right away. "What you're talking about?"
"It says right here, Brennan." Shalimar displayed the paper to him. Brennan took it from her hands and read it... ...
*
'Shal, Bren,
I know this is going to sound crazy but being at the Sanctuary is driving me insane. Things are not the same. I'm not the same. I can't tell you what's really going on because I don't really know what's wrong with me. All I know is that I can't stay another minute here. I need to go away. I need some time to myself... To get things figured out.
I'm sorry. I know you're hurt, Shalimar and that you're mad at me, Brennan, for leaving without saying goodbye. But it was the only way I could leave.
Don't come looking for me. Please, don't do that. I give you my word that you'll hear from me again. But not now or in any time soon.
Again, I'm so sorry, guys.
I love you, Shal. And Brennan, I couldn't ask for a better friend than you. I'll miss you both.
Jesse
P.S Tell Lexa I said goodbye.'
*
Brennan let out a breath he did not know he had been holding then Shalimar snuggled into his chest and cried as he held. Lexa barely managed to hear Shalimar's words. "Jesse's gone... forever."
TBC