Sonny was reading over the numbers he had been given by Corsos doctor. For now, they tried to cool him as much as they could. But the antidote would be a problem. Only Doctor Crawen had that, and Doctor Crawen was not someone Sonny felt it would be wise to strike a deal with.
He was not sure if Duke Maddox knew anything about this, chances was that he didnt. Doctor Crawen, from what he knew now, seemed to have been Bleylocks man. And antidotes to various poisons, was usually Corsos area of expertise. Wich made it even worse that he was the one in need of it. Normally, the pirates would resort to strong herbs, as conventional medicine all too often had proved to be hazardous for them. But Corso wasnt the only one that could prepare an antidote, he was just the only one that knew his herbs well enough to go the hollostic route. All too often, the pirates forgot about Sonnys past as a scientist and a professor, until he made a new gadget or product for them, to remind them of said past. And it seemed, this time Sonny would need to use his medical knowledge to create something to help Corso.
Sonny had studied the composition of the poison closely, after the doctor had sent it to him. It was strong, no doubt about that. But in his mind, a formula for something strong enough to even the odds, and to help Corso bounce back, was taking form. Sonny used the notepad next to his bed, to make some calculations. Bennett and Artie had almost held their breaths while he did this. Corsos life depended on Sonny getting this right the first time. Sonny seemed to double check his calculations often, clearly, he was well aware of the pressure. After some time, he looked at them with a smile.
"You can both breathe now. I figured the numbers and the formula out. Now,I need to get some particular items brought to me,to make it. Bennett, you will be in charge of doing the mixing for me, since I am still bedridden. Artie, you are on guard duty. Help Callie if she needs it, though I doubt that will be necessary. Have Stevens bring you these items from the infirmary in the Black Manta" Sonny said and wrote down a list of things he would need.
Artie agreed to go get them.
Bennett looked at Corso. He was twisting, and still sweating a lot. The fever seemed to ravage his body.
"Hang in there Corso, help is on the way".
Doctor Crawen checked his storage of poisons. If he could only find Corso Takashi, or a way to hack his cybernetic eye, he could get eyes on them, and on Blackbones.
The pirates were protective of him, to the point of being obsessive. It was a tug of war between them. The poison spread on the knife blade that graced Corsos abdomen, was laden with nano technology. It was beyond Technoids understanding, none of their people had the skills to stop this. And for the ones that had a contract on Sonny, being trained to their spesifications, he felt the pressure to find him. He knew, Sonnys status as a professor sat him in a league above his. There was the chance Sonny would find the nano bacterias he had made, and counter it. But to do so, Sonny would need access to spesific information. His men would need to hack into databases that was inaccessible to them normally. And they would have to do it, undetected. He was going to make sure this didnt happen. Doctor Crawen pulled out a memory stick. If you had to play cat and mouse to earn your living, it was always an advantage to be one step ahead of his oposer. As he inserted the content and transfered the virus that would allow him full control, he grinned. Acting as a pirate, desperate to save a life, would eventually become Sonny Blackbones ultimate defeat, and as a bonus, all of his closest pirates would be dealt with too, all thanks to his genius master plan.
Callie had spent hours, getting the material Sonny had provided her with, together into a mandated report. They would use video segments, where Sonny would use a special pirate program, to obscure the background, so no one would know where he hid, where he would answer questions, and provide evidence for his claims. Aaron would come over and collect the material when it was done, to put it in safe keeping until it was time to use it.
As she finished the last part, she stretched. She knew the pirates was tending to Corso, he had been in and out of fever and nightmares for days now, while they waited for Sonnys antidote to be prepared. Sonny, being injured himself, had demanded Corso stay next to him, where he could keep an eye on him. Callie had slept on the sofa. Corso was clearly very dear to Sonny, and it seemed Sonny was not trusting himself fully to be the best one to treat his friend, but as wanted men, they really didnt have any other options. The short walk out of bed, had upset Sonnys wound some, causing Bennett to sternly demand Sonny stayed put, the only time he was allowed up, was to go to the toilet.
Callie sent the material to Aaron, and was about to log out, when she saw an incoming message. The sender was unknown. How odd. She considered opening it, when she felt a hand grab her gently by the wrist.
"Wait Callie, something about that email seems odd. Let me use this pirate program to check for spyware before you open it. Remember, Technoid knows you did the mandated welfare check on Sonny. They are desperate to keep him from talking now, as he could litterally push the entire organisation off the cliff. They will try everything, and I mean everything, to find out if you know where he is located. They dont care if you get caught in the line of fire, as long as they can get their hands on him" Artie explained.
Callie smiled. Good thing the pirates were so vigilant. She let Artie do his thing. After a little while, he nodded, it was safe. Callie sat down, and opened it.
It was about Doctor Crawen, and his nano technology studies. Callie started to read, to find out, this doctor had a skillset that could easily put her friends, the pirates, in real danger.
The mix was ready. Now, they could only hope it was the right mix. Sonny put on a pair or gloves, before he removed the bandages on Corsos abdomen to apply it. His own wound didnt bother him that much. Gently, Sonny dipped two fingers in the salve, and gently rubbed around the edges of the wound. Corso was still unconscious, but his body winced at the touch. Sonny double checked to make sure the wound was not infected. All seemed and felt fine. As soon as he was done, he nodded to Bennett whom re dressed the wound carefully.
"Now, its up to him" Sonny said, as he laid down on his good side, looking over at Corso.
Bennett nodded.
"Come on Corso, you are too stubborn to let this take you out" he said.
Sonny nodded.
"Lets hope I got this right, if not,I am not sure what has to be done to save him" Sonny said.
For Sonny to sound this insecure, was very unusual. That made Bennett look him over. And he came to realise just what it was. Sonny, their fearless leader, was having a moment of genuine doubt in his own skills. And he had no backup plan ready. Bennett looked at him.
"He will be fine Sonny, I have full confidence in your skills. Remember, those skills are part of the reason you are wanted for five million standard units. A sum never promised for anyone else. You have no reason to doubt yourself or your skills" Bennett said.
Sonny gave him a small, but tired smile. Bennett nodded. It seemed Sonny had snapped out of it. Bennett left the room, to let them sleep.
Sonny was looking at Corso, he seemed so pale where he lay. Not at all like his strong and resourceful body guard and right hand. Corso could overcome everything. This, was nothing. He had survived worse. His breathing was calm though, a good sign compared to the last days. Sonny was about to slip into sleep when something made him wake up. What was it? Nothing in the room, since his sixth sense did not alert him. But something was still off. Sonnys eyes searched, even the darkest corners, for what could be the danger. Nothing.
"Snap out of it, your senses are playing tricks on you" he muttered to himself.
"Are you sure about that Blackbones?" sounded an almost indistinguishable whisper.
Sonny sat up, and tore off his heart monitor before it could alert Artie and Bennett. Something was wrong, and yet, he could not detect who had spoken. It was just him and Corso in the room.
"You cant see me Blackbones, but I got eyes on you. As soon as I know where you are hiding, we are coming for you" the voice taunted.
Sonny moved towards the edge of the bed. The wound still stung, but he didnt much care. Someone was watching him, him and Corso. And that left the possibility that their hideout could be exposed. And as the pirates leader, this was on him. He was the one they wanted. And he was the one with the power to fix this.
"Why dont you show yourself,coward?" he hissed. His eyes still searched the room, looking for any sign of a hidden bug or something else, that would allow this voice to stop. First of all, he had to locate where the voice came from. And that proved harder than expected. Sonny pushed himself off the bed, suppressing a groan as it pulled the stitches of his wound, and for a way to hide while he searched the room. He had been bedridden for a while, so putting weight on his legs felt a bit unusual, but he mananged.
"Somethings never change do they Blackbones? You still have not learned to obey orders. We need to get that out of you before delivery to your new employers. But rest assured, it will be a quick and painless process, we wouldnt want to cause any hurt to that incredible brain of yours" the voice said.
"Not gonna happen. I always survive and you wont get to brain wash me." Sonny hissed, moving towards the shadows to conceal himself.
"Then, I guess your friend dont meant too much to you after all. Here, I thought the pirates cared for each other, or are there special rules to you as their leader?" The voice continued.
Sonny started to look for clues to where the voice originated from. And he felt cold when he realised where the source of origin was.
Corso! Even if he himself was unconscious, Sonny noticed a tiny blink on the top of his cybernetic eye. A hidden camera function. And that meant, whomever was behind the voice he heard, knew how Corsos cybernetic eye was constructed, and most likely had access to its computer components. That limited the number of adversaries considerably. Sonny could only think of one person behind this. Doctor Crawen. The man that fitted Corso with this component, the grazing of Corsos abdomen was not random at all. The only way he could get control over the functions of Corsos eye, was through remotely accessing it. That suggested nano technology involved. He should have seen it coming. Mentally, Sonny kicked himself for not checking this sooner. If he had, he could have countered it. Now, he had to find a way out of this mess, not just for his own sake, but Corsos as well.
"How about a deal Blackbones? Is the safety of whom is offering you shelter enough to make a deal? Or perhaps Corsos life? I got plenty of ways to track you down. And Maddox cant save you from this either. A lot of people vested time and money in you, and your education, and its time they receive something back for their investment. So here is the deal" the voice said and delivered a chilling line of instructions.
Sonny noted it down, in ancient shiloh. If he had to sacrifice himself for them, they needed to know whom to go after once Corso was well enough. Maybe it would be too late to save him from what sounded like a preplanned destiny for him, but it would save others. In the long run, this was the right thing to do. They had his statements, Callie had made sure of that, along with Aaron. And they had the evidence. Sonny clenched his fist when he thought of how Bleylock had set him up with this. He could have ran forever, but in the end, he would end up right back where he started.
"So, do we have a deal or not?" the voice asked.
Sonny sighed.
"Show me signs that Corso will be fine, over the next two weeks, and I will agree. I will need the time to heal enough to meet you at a place of your choosing, to turn myself over" he sighed.
The light in Corsos cybernetic flickered.
"Then Blackbones, you just agreed to sacrifice yourself for your friends. A noble choice. Your friends will be grateful. But tell them, or try to spring a trap on me, and I wont be kind to you when we meet. And we will meet, either willingly or forced." the voice stated before it went silent.
Sonny rolled over on his back.
He had his back towards the wall it seemed. With Nano technology involved, he faced obstacles he was not trained in. This was Clamps area of expertise, not his. And he could not involve Clamp. He would be watched. That thought alone was uncomfortable as hell. And to top it all off, the clock was ticking. Two short weeks. He had to send a message, to replace Corsos cybernetic eye with the replacement he had made, and have his men check the current model. And he absolutely needed the antidote, to make sure Corso would survive.
Sonny felt like his mind was racing as he tried to come up with a battle plan for this mess. He had to communicate in writing, ancient shiloh, and make sure Doctor Crawen didnt catch him redhanded. To pretend that all was fine...that was the tricky part. Artie and Bennett, and Corso knew him too well. Any changes in his behaviour, even the slightest, would be enough to tip them off. He had to protect them all. Sonny knew what had to happen, he didnt like it, but this wasnt about his comfort zone, it was about others, and their freedom, if a pirate could even claim to have such a thing. As painful as it was, Sonny faced the harsh reality. Unless a miracle occured, and Corso recovered in record time, wich he suspected would not be the case, He would trade himself in, for Corsos life, and his mens continued safety. With that thought, Sonny laid an arm around Corso, as if this would somehow help him regain balance.
"I will save you Corso, even if it means the end of my life and freedom as I know it" he whispered, hiding his face to Corsos chest.
Not good. Sonny just litterally made a deal with the devil, to save the ones he loves. Will he pull this off, and will Corso recover in time to stop him. And if not, will Technoid have won the ultimate victory and Sonny be sent of to a fate unknown. Time alone will tell.