Determinant

by FinnsKeeper

"In every moment of choice, you create a new destiny." One small change can have a big effect. A Jamie/Mitch rewrite of the entire series. Chapters 28-38 loaded 9/15.

39. Welcome to the Terra Dome - Public Enemy

Determinant: a gene or other factor that determines the character and development of a cell or group of cells in an organism.

Chapter 39: Welcome to the Terra Dome - Public Enemy

The gang is reunited by an emerging threat, but secrets and deception threaten to tear them apart from within.

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It was an odd sort of homecoming, like returning to an old haunt decades later. Mitch had no idea how to articulate where they were going, but as he drove them away from the plane and into the wilderness of northwest Yucatan he could easily navigate the dirt roads as though he'd been there a million times. He'd take a turn before his brain could register it, following some sort of instinct that was buried deep in his subconscious. He was acutely reminded of the tiny drive still sitting snugly in his head, his own ticking time bomb. Maybe wherever they were going would give him some clues as to when it was put in. If he knew that, he could estimate how much time he had left. He might even be able to figure out how to get it out of him.

"Where are we going?" Logan bounced around in the back with Clem, though his daughter had prudently opted for wearing her seatbelt. Mitch absently wondered if he could hit the next bump just right and send Logan's head into the roof of the truck. The thought made him smile.

"What's so funny?" Jamie asked from the passenger seat.

"Nothing," he dismissed her question with a shake of his head, raising his chin to address the man in the back. "And I have no idea. I'll know it when we get there."

Logan mumbled something that was drowned out by the road noise, and Mitch aimed for the very next pothole. He was rewarded with a dull thud and a sharp curse from the back seat, and he snickered.

"Behave," Jamie whispered, though she was fighting her own smile as Logan rubbed his head. "Do you know if we're close?"

"I think so," Mitch glanced around as if searching for landmarks, but the entire region looked as foreign as the language. Still, something in his head told him they were close, and he pressed the brakes a little harder than necessary as they took one more turn.

"Where did you learn to drive?" Logan snapped as he righted himself from the sharp turn.

"Been hibernating for almost ten years," Mitch offered by way of explanation. "I'm a bit rusty." He wasn't, but seeing Logan again less than a day after being reunited with his family had set his back up. The fact that the man had just sort of added himself to their little band had really upset him, but the very worst part was Jamie's reaction. She had agreed with him. Mitch wasn't jealous - he knew Jamie harbored almost as much resentment toward the man as he did - but it did irk him that the sneaky bastard was back among them, even if he was bringing the fire power. Three high powered rifles were stowed safely in the back, along with a few handguns. If the hybrid problem was as bad as Jamie had said it was, Mitch would be glad for the extra protection.

They rolled over a rocky hill and Mitch came to a stop beside a grove of trees. About twenty meters away sat a small hut with rotting eaves and boarded windows. Everything that had been driving him forward told him this was the place the drive had been put in his head, and the doctor in him grimaced at the obviously unsanitary conditions. It was a good thing he'd been in a healing tank; there was no way he'd gotten out of that surgery infection-free.

"This the place?" Clem asked even as she unbuckled and opened the door. The others followed suit, Jamie and Logan going for the weapons as Mitch reached back into the truck and grabbed a lollipop from the bag in the center console. He unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth as the others came around the truck looking like they were about to go hunt the Predator.

"Yup," Mitch said around the candy, "let's go."

The inside of the hut looked worse than the outside. Furniture was upturned, curtains had been torn from the windows, and everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. No one had been here in a long while. There was a smaller room off the main area, and Mitch had to glance away from the dried brown splotches on the wooden floor that were almost certainly his own blood. Jamie and Clem were exploring the front of the house, so Mitch just slid the curtain over the opening and turned away.

"In here," Logan called, and in a few seconds they were all gathered around what looked like a very weird looking record player. Mitch guessed from the others' expressions that it wasn't just some new tech that he had missed out on.

"What is it?"

"No idea," Mitch leaned down to peer at it. "But don't touch it until we do know." There was something familiar about it, but the more he stared at it the more confused he became. The answer was just beyond his grasp, and the harder he struggled to grab it the further out of reach it got.

"Are there any more in the house?" Logan asked Jamie.

"Don't know," she asked. "We didn't really get to look around. Come on, Clem." The girls set off again with Logan on their heels, leaving Mitch to his thoughts. It was frustrating, knowing that the answers were locked somewhere in his brain but he was unable to access them. He hated not knowing, doubly so because his family was once again right in the middle of it.

He heard feet shuffling somewhere off to his left, assumed it was Logan circling back, and ignored it. It wasn't until a different voice called his name that he turned.

"Mitch?"

"Jackson." This day is getting weirder and weirder, Mitch thought as Jackson crept closer.

"You're alive?" Jackson's surprised tone was matched by his expression, slack jaw and wide eyes.

"Uh, yeah." Mitch was still reeling from the fact that Jackson was even standing there. How did he know about this place? His mind tried to calculate the odds of their lives intersecting like this again without any coordination whatsoever, but Jackson surged forward and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"How are you even here right now?"

"No idea," Mitch answered honestly. Jackson stepped back and frowned. "I mean, I know this place, but I've never been here before. And now you're here…"

"Jackson!" Jamie came from nowhere and launched herself at Jackson, wrapping her arms around him wildly. "Oh my God, you're okay. You're here." She hugged him fiercely for a few more seconds, then stepped back and promptly slapped him. Hard.

"Jamie!" Mitch reached forward and grabbed her arm, hauling her away from Jackson. He told himself it was in case Jackson reacted, but based on her body language and Jackson's it was more likely protecting Jackson from a second round of her wrath. Whatever he'd done, Jamie was livid about it.

"You're a bastard, you know that!" She wasn't trying to get at him, but every muscle in her body was tensed for a fight.

For his part, Jackson just looked contrite. "Listen, Jamie -"

"No," she shook her head and Mitch could hear a quiver in her voice. She was crying, and that surprised him more than Jackson's sudden appearance. "Not right now." She took a breath and turned away from Jackson. "We didn't find any other devices," she told the others, obviously not willing to explain her rather volatile reaction despite the confusion Mitch knew was on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Logan asked Jackson, casting his eye back to the man standing guard at the door. He was broad shouldered and dark skinned, his sharp eyes surveying the scene. "And who is this?"

"Uh, this is Harren," Jackson introduced. "He was with me in Portland. This disc," he gestured to the strange device on the table, "it's exactly like the one the woman we're hunting left behind at our camp."

A thousand more questions popped into Mitch's head, but Jackson's phone rang before he could voice them.

"Hello?" Everyone watched Jackson intently, especially after his expression hardened. "Listen to me," he hissed. "I am going to find you and I am going to stop you." There were a few more seconds of silence, then the device on the table beeped and began spinning.

Clem took a hesitant step back. "And that thing just started moving."

The machine whirred to life, and Mitch winced as a high pitch whine began to emanate from it. It grew louder and louder until they were all covering their ears.

"Hey!" Jackson shouted over the noise. "We gotta get out of here!"

Mitch turned to usher Clem and Jamie toward the door, but Jamie wasn't looking at him. Her gaze was stuck over his shoulder, her face slack in fearful surprise.

"Guys," she said, her voice barely discernible over the device. Mitch turned with the others to see a flock of giant vulture-like creatures swooping toward the hut.

"Abigail's bringing the hybrids here to our location," Jackson explained.

Mitch stared at the large beasts, his scientific mind cataloguing biomorphic traits and anatomy even as his heart was pounding in fear. The last he knew, the only hybrids that existed were the wolfish ones that had taken him out on Pangaea. If hybrids could fly, there was no telling how much devastation they could bring upon the world.

"I think they're about to move under us," Jackson called.

"Under us?" Mitch barely got his question out before one of the birds folded its wings and dove toward the ground. It bored a hole straight through the earth, sending a tremor through the ground as it burrowed beneath.

"And then what?" Jamie asked.

Mitch whirled around, his eyes falling on the still-spinning device. "This must be what's drawing the hybrids," he reasoned. He reached out to grab it, to find a switch or power source of some kind, but a jolt of electricity arced up and zapped his fingers. "Ah! I'm just gonna assume there's no off switch."

Something slammed into the wall near where Jamie and Clem were huddled next to a window. Both women shrieked and shied back. Another tremor shook the floorboards and the whole house creaked in protest.

Clem glanced up at the ceiling as though she expected it to fall in on them at any moment. "Well that can't be good."

"Is anyone else freaked out about the fact that they're flying?" Jamie cried. Despite the obvious terror he heard in her voice, Mitch felt a bit better. He wasn't that far out of the loop it seemed.

"That's not all they do," Jackson said.

But Mitch was done debating the finer points of hybrid abilities. "How about let's go?"

Everyone seemed to agree. Harren was still standing at the door, though he'd brought his large rifle up to bear as the threat of hybrids loomed. Mitch beckoned for Jamie and Clem to get away from the window, and the moment they did one of the creatures came crashing through. Glass shattered everywhere but the frame held, and Mitch seized Clem's hand and hauled her the remaining distance toward the door. Logan and Jackson took up the rear as more hybrids followed their companions into the structural weak points of the house.

"Chopper out back!" Harren shouted, pointing toward the rear of the hut.

Hybrid shrieks and human screams mingled as the creatures tried to snap at the retreating people. Logan opened fire at the nearest one while Jackson aimed at another that was trying to scramble through the broken window. Mitch turned and shoved Jamie and Clem toward Harren, who was already at the back door.

They stopped on the porch and assessed the situation, and by silent consent formed a single file line with Harren in the front and Logan in the back. Mitch was suddenly grateful for the firepower they'd brought, and he gladly accepted the handgun Jamie offered. They set off from the porch at a brisk jog, and Mitch found himself sandwiched between Jackson and Clem for the run.

"So," he called up to Jackson, "what brings you boys south of the border?"

Jackson was keeping his eyes up toward the sky as he answered, ready to shoot down any hybrids that came their way. "We're tracking a woman who bombed my refugee camp in Portland. But more importantly, where the hell you been?"

Harren had stopped by a small group of trees, and the six of them huddled under them for a moment to regroup. Mitch thought about the last day and tried to sum it up as best he could. "Hibernated in a healing tank. Rescued by fake daughter. Almost shot real daughter. Found an evil Shepherd device in my skull. Brain surgery with a farm animal. Freaky new memories brought me here." He was well aware he wasn't speaking in complete sentences and attributed it to the drive in his head coupled with the adrenaline in his system.

"Oh really?" Jackson was smiling now. "That's it? And for us, that's a Tuesday."

Mitch appreciated the attempt at levity as they ran for their lives. It just didn't seem right to treat the moment with any seriousness, what with the giant flying, burrowing vultures trying to tear their faces off.

Harren led them up a small hill to where a blue and white helicopter sat ready to go. Before they could get close, the ground began to shake and the chopper began to sink into a giant hole that had suddenly appeared under it.

Harren spoke for the first time, his tone clipped and precise like a man who had spent his life in the military, but with a hint of a southern drawl. "Sarge is not gonna be happy."

"Plan B," Jamie said from the back of the group. "Let's get to the truck."

Mitch didn't fancy another run across hybrid territory, but the creatures didn't seem to be following them. The device in the hut seemed to be drawing them in, like a…

The word escaped him, and it was frustrating to know that his favorite thing about himself - his intelligence - was being compromised by a piece of alien tech. If he couldn't even articulate small words, how the hell would he be of any use to the team? Worse yet, he had no idea how much longer he had until the biodrive just killed him. There was a very real possibility they could be in the middle of something and he'd just drop dead. Robin hadn't really explained how the others had died, but if Mitch knew the Shepherds as well as he thought he did, it was probably not going to be pleasant. He would very likely draw his last breath in the presence of his family, have to see their grief and horror in his last moments. It broke his heart to think about, but he'd never been one of those people to sugar coat things or ignore them just because they were unpleasant. The truth hurt, his mother used to tell him, but it was better than not knowing.

He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't realize they made it to the truck until Jamie was throwing open doors. He scrambled into the back, sandwiched with his daughter between Logan and Jackson. Harren took the passenger seat as Jamie started the engine, and they all held onto whatever they could grab as she slammed the gas pedal and sped away from the hut.

Luckily the plane's tablet included a GPS tracking system, because Mitch had no idea where they were. She dug it out of a cargo pocket with one hand and thrust it at Harren, barking orders on how to turn it on and find the plane. Mitch admired her cool head, though he could see the white of her knuckles as she gripped the steering wheel too tightly. They ate up the distance to the tarmac in half the time it took them to get to the hut, and more than once Jamie had to overcorrect as they skidded around a corner.

"Look out!" Clem pointed out the side window as one of the vulture hybrids came screeching in. Jamie slammed on the brakes and the hybrid crashed into the ground right in front of them. She switched just as quickly back to the gas, gunning it and slamming the truck's full weight into the creature's body. Mitch winced as a spray of dark blood spattered one side of the windshield.

"One down," Jackson joked.

"How many more to go?" Jamie answered, her eyes glued firmly to the road.

"That is the question, isn't it? We're actually not sure."

"We?" This time her eyes did move, and the accusation in them made Jackson cringe.

"I've been in contact with Abe," he admitted. "He's been working on this new hybrid problem with me."

"You've been talking to Abe?" she sneered. "Funny how he never once mentioned it to me."

"I told him not to." Jackson was a braver man than Mitch was, that was for sure. Mitch wasn't sure he could withstand the harsh interrogation Jamie was giving without apologizing for something. Though he still wasn't sure what Jackson had to apologize for. There was so much he had missed, and apparently his wife and one of his best friends had gone through a rough patch. So rough, he mused, that they were obviously not in contact with the other. It actually sounded like Jackson was in hiding for some reason.

Jamie hadn't replied to Jackson's confession, though Mitch couldn't tell if it was because she was concentrating on the road or if she was just that mad at him. He tried to catch her eye in the rearview mirror, but she was staunchly refusing to look in the backseat. Whatever had happened, it had obviously been bad. He knew he'd find out eventually; Jamie would likely fill him in just as soon as they were out of danger.

Jamie drove the truck up the ramp into the plane a little faster than necessary. She screeched to a halt and threw it into park as the others scrambled out.

"Home sweet plane," Jackson said, his tone even and bright. He was apparently going to try to ignore the elephant in the vehicle bay, at least for the time being. Mitch smiled at the metaphor, remembering a time not so long ago (from his perspective at least) when that phrase was a larger cause for alarm than usual.

"Looks like we snagged a passenger," Clem drawled, her upper lip curling in disgust. The vulture hybrid Jamie had hit hadn't bounced off the grill, but had tangled in it gruesomely. Mitch secretly rejoiced at the serendipitous gift; if he could get it to the lab he might be able to gain some clue as to its origin.

Jamie was already tapping away on the tablet. "We're wheels up in five."

Logan made some snide comment about learning curves and stolen tech, but Mitch wasn't paying attention. Something was bugging him, telling him that they'd gotten away too easily. Whoever they were dealing with, they were smart enough to create new hybrids, as well as tech to summon them at will. No way someone like that lets a truck full of the only people who could probably stop them get away. A deep rumble like thunder rolled over the area, but there were no dark clouds in the sky. Mitch let his gaze wander past the jungle around them to the large mountain looming in the background. Something about the surface of the mountain looked off, and Mitch peered closer.

"Uh, guys?" He heard their chatter stop as they all turned toward him. "We might want to speed up that take off time."

Almost on cue, the entire side of the mountain exploded in a shower of dirt, rock and lava. Mitch took a step back reflexively at the sight. The nearest active volcano was hundreds of miles away, unless something had changed in ten years. All of the tectonic activity caused by the hybrids' burrowing must have triggered some sort of dormant magma pocket or…

"Mitch!" Jamie called, her tone suggesting she'd been trying to get his attention for some time. He shook his head and retreated up the steps as Logan closed the ramp. The engines rumbled and they began moving, a jolting movement that sent most of them into the bulkheads.

"Strap in!" Jackson led the way to the jump seats, fastening the harness like he hadn't been gone for ten years. Mitch fell into his seat just as the plane left the runway, his fingers fumbling for the buckle. No one said a word as outside the newly formed volcano kept spewing lava angrily and the sky was darkened. Mitch hoped they gained enough altitude before the engines choked on the ash. Jamie was still clutching the tablet, her eyes glued to the screen in search of any anomalies. But nothing happened, and gradually the light outside the windows grew brighter as they climbed above the danger zone. A few minutes later they leveled out and everyone sighed in relief.

"That was fun," Clem remarked as she unbuckled. "Is that what it was like for you guys back then?"

"More or less," Jamie confirmed. "The volcano thing is new, though. And insane." She stood up and stowed her harness as the others did the same.

Jackson was closest to the door, and they all followed him as he spoke. "Which new insane thing would you like to start with? The, uh, new hybrid species or exploding volcanoes?"

"Do we know the new hybrids caused the volcano to explode?" Jamie asked.

"I seem to remember a sloth that could make earthquakes happen," Mitch added. "That ringing a bell with anybody?" He knew he was being peevish, but he hated being out of the loop. Over the last ten years his friends had gained new skills that made him feel like he was useless, and he hated feeling useless.

Jackson pulled a small flat device from his pocket and inserted it into the side of one of the screens. It must have given him some sort of control over the screen, because when he pulled out his phone (at least Mitch thought it was a phone) he tapped something and slid it toward the monitor. A woman's face suddenly appeared, a headshot that looked like a driver's license photo. Her curly hair was dark and fell around her shoulders, framing an angular face. She was smiling a little, though the joy in it didn't really reach her dark eyes.

"So this is who we're looking for," Jackson began. "Her name is Abigail Westbrook and so far tracking her down has been -"

"I know her," Logan interrupted. "She's a Shepherd."

Jackson cleared his throat as though that information made him uncomfortable. "Right, well," he pulled a small odd-shaped piece of metal from his pocket, "she used this disc to operate the device back in the cabin."

Mitch reached out and took it from his hands, turning it over and over as though it held a clue as to its nature. "Whatever it is, it attracted those hybrids like a…" And once again the word escaped him. "A…"

Jackson looked at him oddly and plucked the disc from him. "Like a beacon," he finished.

"Right," Mitch sighed. "That."

"Yeah, so one more disc means one more beacon. The more beacons she activates, the more the hybrids will spread."

"But no one's even seen a flying hybrid," Jamie said. "Where are they spreading from?"

Knowing their luck, Mitch guessed the answer to that was going be weird. He said so.

Jackson smiled humorlessly and tapped his phone to bring up a map on the larger screen. "So this is the previous hybrid population density on the West Coast." There were small pockets of red on the far edges of the coast, and smaller dots scattered throughout the western states. "Here's what happened after she activated the beacon." Like a plague out of control, the red dots grew and spread to encompass almost all of the landmass from the Rockies westward. "Fortunately, it's inside the hybrid zone. Now Abe said these things can reproduce asexually from a single drop of blood -" Mitch glanced up sharply at that, "-which means exponential growth once they get to a new area." The implications were staggering, and Mitch caught Jamie's eye as Jackson explained what would happen if beacons were activated beyond the Barrier. It did not bode well for the US. Or, Mitch added as Jackson expanded his map, the world.

Clem was the first to break the tense silence. "How long till Hybri-geddon?"

Jackson swallowed and tapped his phone to turn it all off. "Based on our calculations? 90 days."

"So we have 90 days to find this Abigail Westbrook, destroy her beacons and beat back the hybrid invasion," Jamie summarized. The others looked bemused at her flippant tone, and Mitch stifled a broader smile as she spoke. "Well at least it won't be a boring summer."

Logan cleared his throat loudly, and all eyes turned to him. "We also have to find someone else," he said authoritatively. His pointed look at Jamie didn't escape anyone's notice and she squirmed.

"Right," she sighed. "Brittany Mason."

"Who is Brittany Mason?" Jackson asked.

"She's someone wanted by Reiden," Jamie answered without looked directly at him. "Apparently she stole something from them, something Reiden doesn't want anyone to know about. The IADG wants to find her and bring her in for her protection, and they've asked us to take care of it."

"Why us?"

"Does that matter?" Jamie snapped back. "We need to find her before Reiden does."

Mitch jumped in before Jackson could say something else to irritate her further. "Thwarting Reiden and stopping an apocalypse. Feels like old times." He'd hoped to ease the tension and get at least a chuckle from his friends, but whatever had happened between Jamie and Jackson had been enough to sever whatever camaraderie they'd once had. Jackson moved to follow her as Clem, Logan and Harren went back to the vehicle bay to handle their dead hybrid. Mitch debated going with them - he wanted to study the creature more - but something told him to check on his friends. His brain wasn't being very nice to him lately, but his instincts hadn't steered him wrong yet.

They were in the kitchen, Jamie silently making a sandwich as Jackson leaned against the island with a bottle of water. Graveyards were more lively than this, and Mitch bit back the urge to tell a joke. He walked around to Jamie, who was violently slathering mayonnaise on a helpless piece of bread. He laid his hand over hers to stop her, and when she glanced up at him her eyes were filled with tears. He recognized her attempt to distract herself from her emotions, and he knew the man behind them was the cause. He tucked her against his side and turned, gesturing with his head for Jackson to follow.

The lounge wasn't an option any more, but there was still a small sitting space above the lab. It was here he deposited Jamie on the sofa as Jackson sank down in a chair opposite her. Mitch fetched two bottles of water from the mini fridge, handing one to Jamie before unscrewing the lid on his own. He took a seat next to her, giving her a modicum of space but remaining close enough that he could reach for her if she needed him.

After a few more moments, Mitch took a deep breath. "What happened?"

There was no doubt what he meant. Jackson shifted a bit in his seat and glanced at Jamie to see if she wanted to answer first. Her eyes were still down in her lap where her fingers were turning the bottle over and over.

Finally the other man sighed. "I left," he began. "After you...disappeared," he gestured vaguely with his free hand, "I went to L.A. to help Jamie with the search. When she went back to Louisiana, I did, too. We kept looking, but as time went on it was obvious we wouldn't find you. Whoever took you made sure you'd never be found."

Mitch felt Jamie's fingers clamp around his hand, and he shifted his grip to interlace their fingers. She was holding on so tightly her knuckles were white, and he ran his thumb over her skin in a soothing gesture as Jackson continued.

"I stuck around because I didn't want to leave them alone," Jackson continued. "Your mom, Clem, Jamie… Then we got word that the Shepherd Hunters wanted me. A regular life wasn't an option for me anymore."

"Yeah, I guess that happens when you're the son of the guy who created worldwide sterility." Mitch glossed over the fact that Jackson had apparently lived "a regular life" with his family for some time, choosing to unpack that later. "So you moved out to the middle of hybrid country?"

"I had to get away," Jackson shrugged. "Plus, people out there need help. You know? Someone's gotta clean up the Shepherd mess. May as well be me."

"We needed you." Jamie's voice was soft, quiet in a way that disturbed Mitch. She wasn't a timid person by nature, but whatever had transpired between her and Jackson after his disappearance had an affect on her. A small voice in the back of his mind wanted to know just how what "a regular life" entailed and how close Jackson had gotten to his family. Another louder voice told him he was being foolish, but the intrusive thought was still rattling around in there.

"Jamie," Jackson shifted again, this time toward her. He leaned his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. "I couldn't put all of you in danger. You know that. I had to leave."

"You think I'm mad you left?" Suddenly Jamie was back, her eyes snapping up to Jackson's angrily. "I'm not angry that you felt like you had to leave. What pissed me off, Jackson -" she enunciated her words clearly, and Mitch was glad he wasn't sitting in the other man's shoes right now "-is the fact that you snuck out in the middle of the night with little more than a note goodbye. A damn note! And then I had to explain to Clem and Dianne what had happened. I had to watch both of them lose someone else they cared about. Do you know what that did to Clem?"

"I left because of them," Jackson returned just as hotly. "What would have happened if the Hunters had come looking for me? Do you think they would have cared about her, or you, or Dianne if it meant taking me out? They're fanatics, Jamie, and they don't care about collateral damage."

Jamie stood abruptly, sliding her hand from Mitch's as she brought herself up to her full height. "I know! I'm the one who had to infiltrate their damn organization to throw them off your trail. I had to scrub you from every database and send them on wild goose chases. I spent every night worrying about you, wondering if they'd caught up with you and killed you in your sleep!"

Jackson rose as well, his temper and tone matching Jamie's. "I had nightmares, too, Jamie! I used to worry that they would find you or Abe and Dariela and use you to get to me. I cut myself off from everyone hoping they would leave you alone."

"No one asked you to do that!" Jamie actually took a step toward Jackson and Mitch was afraid she was going to hit him. He stood up quickly, but before he could reach her she surged forward. Mitch braced for the impact, but instead of throwing a punch, she threw her arms around Jackson's neck and hugged him so tightly that Jackson let out a rather undignified squeak of surprise. It took him half a heartbeat to hug her back, his arms banding around her back as she cried into his shoulder. He caught Mitch's eye over her shoulder, his own eyes damp as well. Mitch gave him a sympathetic smile and walked away, glad that they finally seemed to be on the mend.

Jackson found him a few minutes later in the kitchen. He grabbed an apple from the basket on the island and settled against the stool. Mitch finished his sandwich and wiped his hands on his jeans.

"Everything sorted?"

Jackson glanced up curiously, as though he'd expected a different response. "Uh, getting there, yeah. She's...Jamie went to the bar. Said she needed a drink."

"Can't say I blame her." Mitch deposited his plate in the sink and turned to lean against it. "Listen, Jackson, I can tell you think that I'm mad or upset to hear that you played house with my family when I left -"

Jackson's spine went rigid as he jerked up. "It wasn't like that, Mitch, we weren't -"

"I know, I know," Mitch continued, shoving that thought forcefully from the front of his mind. He didn't believe it, not really, but Jackson's rather visceral reaction told him all he needed to know. "And I'm grateful that you were there...to look after them." Mitch pushed away from the counter and came around to stand next to Jackson. "How much did Jamie tell you?''

Jackson looked down at the apple in his hand and turned it over a couple of times. "She...she didn't really say anything," he said finally. "I apologized for leaving and she apologized for yelling. We hugged again, then she walked away."

"Hmm." Mitch debated on how much to tell him, but considering the request he was about to make it was only fair that he hear it all. "Let's have a seat. This'll take a while."

He detailed everything from the moment he woke up in the tank, including Jamie's odd partnership with Mansdale and the biodrive. Jackson actually laughed when he heard about the impromptu brain surgery, and Mitch had to wait for him to recover before continuing. He finished with the odd memories that had taken him to Mexico.

"And you know the rest."

"That's…" Jackson let out a humorless chuckle. "That's one hell of a story."

"Probably the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me, and that's saying something," Mitch agreed. "But I didn't tell you all of that so we could have a little pity party. I told you because that drive in my head? We looked up the schematics and history for it. Apparently everyone who has had it put in has died three months later."

"What?" Jackson jumped up from his chair. "Then why the hell is it still in your head, Mitch?"

"Because if I take it out, it'll cause total amnesia. I'll forget everything."

"But you'll be alive," Jackson countered. "That's a hell of a lot better than the alternative."

"No, it's not. My memories make me who I am, Jackson. If I lose them, I won't be me anymore. I'll be this Mitch-shaped shell with nothing inside. I won't be a scientist, or Clem's dad, or Jamie's husband. I won't be me." He enunciated the last three words to get his point across. "Now, I have no idea when this thing was put in, or if my time in the tank counts against the three months. So in reality I could go at any moment."

Jackson swore softly. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Mitch stood to look him in the eye, "I want you to promise me that when I go, you'll be there for Jamie and Clem. For good this time, Oz. I want to know someone's looking out for them."

Jackson looked stricken, but to his credit he just swallowed thickly and nodded once. "Okay," his voice was strained, as though his throat was too tight. "If you...I'll make sure they're okay. But I'm not gonna have to," he rushed on, "because you're gonna be fine. We're going to figure this out."

Mitch laughed quietly. "I said the same thing to Jamie yesterday to keep her from having a panic attack at the news. But somehow, hearing you say it, I actually believe it."

"Why is that?"

"Because if there's one thing I learned about our crazy summer adventures it's that you're one lucky son of a bitch, and the universe apparently likes you. If you say we'll figure it out, then we will."

He left Jackson to his own devices and went in search of Jamie. He started at the bar, but it was as empty as the glass Jamie had left in the sink. He sniffed it to see how bad it was. Gin, and something citrusy. At least she wasn't shooting vodka straight. He poured a finger of scotch into a glass and downed it, enjoying the warmth that trailed down his chest as it settled in his belly. He grabbed a second glass and poured two more fingers of scotch in each, adding ice this time, and set off in search of his wife.

She was sitting cross legged on her (their?) bed, her fingers tapping wildly on the screen of a thin tablet he guessed was her personal one. She looked up when he slid the door back with his foot, her frown of concentration lifting slightly at the sight of him. She accepted the drink he offered silently, and when he settled on the bed she scooted over to sit next to him. He almost told her about his talk with Jackson, but thought better of it. She would be upset to hear he was making plans in the event of his death, and she'd been upset enough today. So he fell back on what he was good at.

"Hey, you wanna come play vet assistant with me? I gotta crack open that vulture hybrid thing and see what's up."

"You go ahead," she said. "I'm gonna stay here and see if I can track down Brittany Mason."

Mitch had forgotten about the other part of their mission. "Any luck?"

"Not really," Jamie sighed. "She's a junior at Syracuse, or at least she was until she disappeared. Apparently she and a few of her friends took a trip to NYC. After that, there's only two posts on social media. One of them was about her feeling sick after a three day bender, and the other was one of those stupid 'What's Your Spirit Animal' posts. Then nothing."

"Anyone report her missing?"

"No, that's the odd thing," Jamie angled the screen so he could see it. "It's like she dropped off the face of the planet, and no one noticed."

"Or she's in hiding and they know where she is." He kissed her temple softly and took her empty glass. "I'll be in the lab. You should come. If I'm lucky, I might get to spatter hybrid guts on Logan."

That made her laugh, and he smiled in relief. "I'll be there in a bit. Go have fun."

Logan was, sadly, nowhere to be found. Jackson volunteered to help him out, though Mitch thought the offer had more to do with Jackson keeping an eye on him than finding out anything about this new species of hybrid. Still, when they snapped on gloves and began to delve into the mangled body he felt better. This was what he was trained for - veterinary pathology. Finding out the whys and what fors was his bread and butter, and it was a panacea to his battered soul to finally be back to something he was good at.

It took him a few minutes to acclimate to the advanced tech, but with Jackson's help he began analyzing the outer structure as Jackson tried to get rid of the viscera that they didn't need.

"So you've been saving people from raving monsters, Jamie's been writing her books. What about Abe and Dariela?"

"They live in Michigan," Jackson said without looking up from his work. "Isaac is almost ten now, and judging from the photos I get he's gonna be tall like his dad."

"Abe with a kid," Mitch whistled. "It's still weird to think about. Oh," he added after a second, "how did his school thing go?"

"Great. He got his doctorate about six years ago on some fast track program the government started. They were short on experts, so they took all the help they could get."

"And made them experts," Mitch finished sourly. It wasn't that he didn't think Abe was smart enough, but remembering his own academic slog and the years and years of classes, field work and papers he'd had to do, it wasn't too far off to say he was a little miffed. Deciding that brooding on it would get him nowhere, he turned his attention back to the hybrid's cranial structure.

"How the hell did these things cause a volcano to erupt?" he mumbled. "Biology of this hybrid is nuts." He zoomed in on the small hole at the side of its head. "Look at the size of that ear canal. It's incredibly similar to marsupalia that use echolocation."

Jackson looked up at the screen. "Abe was onto something with that unique hybrid frequency. They're using it to communicate."

Mitch grabbed a transparent screen attached to a manipulating arm and positioned it over the open body cavity of the hybrid. Immediately the screen came on, bringing up various types of scans it could perform as well as basic physical information of the specimen. Mitch tapped a few controls curiously, though most of the symbols looked completely foreign to him. "So if we can reverse engineer the frequency," he thought out loud, "maybe we can find one of those beacons. Track down Abigail, right?"

"Stop Abigail, we stop the hybrid spread," Jackson agreed.

"That thing is really cool," he murmured as he turned away and snapped off his gloves. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed by his lack of knowledge and, while it was clear what he needed to do, his pride was still stinging too much for him to come right out and say it. "Um, Abe is a sex doctor? Which is gross enough, but why is he studying hybrids?"

"He's not a sex doctor," Jackson explained. "He's a reproductive endocrinologist. He thinks that hybrids are the key to solving the world's sterility."

"Yeah, there's a lot going on. And seeing as I've had to learn the biology of an entirely new species on the fly, my obvious time away from current technology, oh, and the fact that Abigail could strike at any moment, I feel like it might a good time to bring -"

Jackson fought a smile. "That's a lot of words to say you need Abe's help."

Mitch was glad his friend was able to anticipate his request, but he still balked at the idea. "I'm gonna need a little grace period," he said quietly. "I'm post-tank Mitch." Not to mention I'm dying. He didn't add that last part, knowing that Jackson likely hadn't forgotten. He clapped his hands together and pushed away from the exam table. "Let's go to Michigan, find a sex doctor."

They all grabbed some sleep on the short flight. Well, everyone except Jamie. She was still searching for Brittany Mason shaped bread crumbs. He remembered her words from earlier, about how she'd erased Jackson from the Shepherd databases. She'd obviously done more than just write books in the last few years, and Mitch felt another twang of irritation at the reminder that the world had spun on without him. He mumbled a quick "nothing" when Jamie asked what was wrong, rolling to his side to get a few hours' sleep.

They landed in Michigan amidst little fanfare, and Jackson led the procession to the vehicle bay. He slammed the button that would lower the ramp, not even waiting for it to lower as he raced down the stairs and to the edge.

Abe's face came into view first, his dark eyes searching the moment he could see into the plane. They fell on Jackson first, then beyond him to Mitch. His face split into a grin just as the ramp descended enough for Dariela to see.

"Abe!" Jackson surged forward before the ramp was all the way down, throwing his arms around his friend eagerly.

"It is good to see you, rafiki," Abe returned the hug just as fiercely before letting him go to Dariela and repeat the greeting.

Mitch watched the reunion anxiously, and Jamie grabbed his hand to keep it from fidgeting against his side. He had no reason to suspect his friends would be anything except elated to see him, but he'd been gone nine years and a lot had changed in that time. They might as well be strangers to him now.

"There he is!" Dariela's voice was closer than Mitch had expected. He'd been so lost in his own thoughts he hadn't seen them coming up the ramp and into the plane. Dariela was on him before he could blink twice, and he lurched back as her slight but solid frame embraced him heartily. He hugged her back, both surprised at her enthusiasm and relieved by it. "Our very own Mr. Spock," she continued brightly, pulling away to get a good look at him. "Like in part two, when he dies and then part three -"

"Yeah," Mitch laughed. "I get the reference."

She sobered but kept her smile. "How are you feeling?"

In keeping with her rather odd greeting, he held up his free hand in a Vulcan salute. "Prospering. Still working on the 'live long' part."

Abe burst through, pushing Dariela aside gently to envelope Mitch in a bear hug. "Still the same Mitch," he laughed. "Where have you been?"

"That is a long story," Mitch wheezed, fighting for air beneath Abe's strong grip.

Finally Abe released his strong grip, turning his attention to the women standing next to Mitch. "Jamie! It has been too long." He hugged her as well, though not quite as fiercely.

"It has," Jamie agreed as she returned the hug. "I don't think I've seen you since Isaac's kindergarten graduation. He's, what, ten now?"

"Almost," Dariela smiled, though Mitch noticed it didn't quite reach her eyes. Abe squirmed, too.

"What's up?" Mitch asked.

"N-nothing," Dariela laughed, and there was a hint of nervousness to it now. But now that he was looking for it, Mitch could see the undercurrent of tension in his two friends. Abe held himself a little too rigidly, and Dariela's hands were tapping nervously against her sides. He could almost attribute their behavior to new quirks picked up in his absence, but the others seemed to notice them as well.

"Abe," Jackson laid a hand on his friend's arm. "What's going on?"

"Where's Isaac?" Jamie added, looking around for the boy.

That seemed to break whatever resolve Dariela had, and the happy facade she'd been sporting collapsed. She fell against Abe with a dry sob, and he opened his arms to accept her. He bent his head to whisper something to her, and at her nod he looked up at them with a solemn expression.

"We should talk."

They ended up in the bar, gathering around the counter as Mitch mixed drinks. When everyone had a glass, he came around with his own Jack and Coke and took up position between Clem and Jamie. Abe and Dariela stared at each other for a moment as if debating silently where to start. Finally, Abe took a breath and began.

"Have you been watching the news the last few days?"

If anyone was surprised by the question, they didn't show it. Instead, Jackson just shook his head. "It's been a bit crazy around here."

"Well, Reiden has launched a new program they're calling their 'youth rejuvenation program.' They say it was designed to help solve the sterility problem."

"They kidnapped Isaac!" Dariela interrupted hotly. Her revelation was met with a chorus of shocked exclamation. When it died down, Abe continued.

"All of the children that were born after the gas dropped were targeted," he said. "Or at least that's what we guess from what we've figured out. They showed up at our door to speak to us about the program, but it was a diversion. Another team snuck in the back door and took our son. I followed them to a military facility, but I was unable to get to the people who stole him away." His voice grew more somber as he spoke, the low rumble full of dark promise.

Mitch wondered what might have happened to those people if Abe had managed to get a hold of them. He remembered Abe as a pacifist by nature, unwilling to inflict harm unless it was absolutely necessary. But the way he spoke about his son's abduction and the perpetrators, Mitch had no doubt he would have torn them apart to get to Isaac. He glanced over at Clem briefly, understanding the sentiment wholeheartedly.

"Where is this facility?" Jamie asked.

"A few miles from Ann Arbor," Abe said. "But they've no doubt moved him and the other children by now."

"And you said Reiden is responsible?"

"Yes," Dariela was barely holding it together. "The men showed us a video recording of Leanne Ducovny praising the program. She started talking about sacrifices that needed to be made. By the time we realized what she was saying, Isaac was gone."

"We'll help you get him back," Jackson promised. The others echoed the sentiment quickly. Both Abe and Dariela smiled through now-watery eyes, thanking them in quiet voices as their hands drifted toward each other.

Jamie let out a curse that made Mitch's eyebrows raise. "Reiden is going to pay for this. They're done tearing families apart." Jamie's voice trembled slightly as she spoke, and Mitch doubted he was the only one who heard the malice in her words. She was beyond anger, beyond outrage, and Mitch was suddenly very afraid. This wasn't the reckless obsession she'd displayed during those first few days or even the dark depression she'd fallen into after Canada. This was hatred, pure and unconditional, and every fiber of her being promised violence. She looked ready to commit murder, and he was surprised to feel a thrum of want pulse through him at the sight.

"What going on?"

Six heads turned toward the door to stare at the intruder. Logan stared back expectantly, his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame.

"Logan," Abe intoned flatly in greeting.

"Abe," Logan returned. "Dariela." She inclined her head but didn't say anything. "What are you doing here?"

Mitch cleared his throat, suddenly very sure that he didn't want Logan in on their little moment. "I asked for Abe's help with the hybrids since he's been researching them for nine years and I've been stuck in a tank. You got a problem with that?"

Logan uncrossed his arms and held up his hands. "Whoa, no. I was just curious. It's been a while."

Mitch thought he heard Dariela mutter something along the lines of, "Not long enough," and he agreed silently. Aloud, he said, "We were just on our way to the lab. Wanna help with the dissection?"

"I'm good, thanks." He turned on his heel and marched away, leaving them alone once more.

"What's he doing here?" Dariela asked once he was gone.

"It's a long story," Mitch told her. "But needless to say he's footing the gas bill for this flying fortress, so we have to play nice."

"Then I suppose we should get to the lab," Abe said. "Perhaps helping you with your problem will help me keep my mind off of…everything."

"While you do that, Jamie, Clem and I will look for a way to get to Isaac," Jackson offered.

"Thank you, rafiki."

With their tasks set they separated, Abe and Mitch to the lab, the others to the lounge turned war room. Abe's step was heavy as they trudged down the stairs, though once in the lab he seemed to perk up a little. Mitch watched as he fussed over the new hybrid species, his enthusiasm catching.

"We thought we could use the new hybrid frequency against Abigail," Mitch explained. "Like reversing a trace."

"Yes," Abe nodded thoughtfully. "That could work. Hold on." He searched the lab for something, muttering to himself the whole time. When he returned, he held two small circular devices in his hand. They looked like high tech cufflinks, if a bit wider, and it hit Mitch like a truck that he didn't know what they were.

"Digital signal enhancers," Abe said quickly, taking Mitch and Jackson's plan and running with it. "When I was studying the hybrid egg, I recorded a series of frequencies emitted by it. I should be able to attach these enhancers to this hybrid's vocal chords to replicate the call." He placed them side by side into the throat of the dead hybrid. "Now, if I'm correct, this should feed the signal I recorded from the hybrid egg through the subject's larynx, synthesizing a sort of outgoing call. Once it bounces back we should - theoretically - get the location of the next beacon." He turned the system on as Mitch observed, feeling very much out of his depth. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed, especially given that they were standing in his lab. Abe relayed the signal from the computer to his handheld screen as an odd echoing beep began pinging rhythmically. "It may take a while to get an answer." The beep changed tone, adding a short warble at the end, and Abe frowned. "This hybrid frequency is unlike anything I have seen."

Mitch looked back at the dead hybrid and searched for something to add. Science was his world, a place he felt in control and at ease. Having Abe here directing things felt a little like a coup, and he felt the urge to say anything to reassert his dominance in the field.

"So," he said, "we could be looking at a highly evolved form of communication, similar to how octopuses use their changing colors as mating signals."

Abe lowered his screen and grimaced apologetically. "It's recently been proven that their changes in color are actually a complex language."

Mitch felt a little piece of his world fall out from beneath him. He'd forgotten how quickly scientific discoveries could change the truths of the world. He'd always been in the thick of it, reading new advances and keeping up with the changes, so it had always seemed so gradual. With how fast the world had been changing before he'd disappeared, it shouldn't have been a surprise to learn that a lot of things he'd come to know about the world had been tested and redefined.

"Right," he recovered quickly. "Even better. But it could also be similar to the groupthink of honey bee colonies."

Mitch swallowed a growl as Abe hesitated. "The prevailing theory now is that bees use myriad odors as communication." He sounded sympathetic, like he understood Mitch's frustration, but he couldn't. There was no way for Abe to know just how important science was to him. It was more than a profession, it was who he was. It wasn't so much that there were new theories and thoughts out there - that came hand in hand with being a scientist. It was the fact that he had missed it all. He'd woken up in a tank nine years later, which for the ever-changing scientific community was an eternity. Anger met helplessness and came out of his throat in a guttural growl.

"Did the entire scientific world just implode while I was gone?" he ranted. "I mean, the big ones are still around, right? Second law of thermodynamics?"

This time Abe was almost smiling when he answered. "It's more like second guideline now."

Mitch couldn't tell if the other man was joking or not, and decided for the sake of his sanity that he was. "Theory of relativity?"

"Still a theory," Abe confirmed with a chuckle. "Relatively."

"That was cute," Mitch rolled his eyes. "What about gravity? Gravity still a thing?"

"Define 'thing.'" Now he was joking, and Mitch turned for the stairs with a long suffering sigh.

"Shut up." He was two steps up when he turned his head to add, "I'm going to get a drink. I know that's still a thing."

He passed by the war room on his way to the kitchen. Dariela and Clem were pouring over maps, Jackson was reviewing media footage of Reiden press releases, and Jamie was sitting at the far end with two separate computers typing impossibly fast on both in turn. He popped his head in and cleared his throat.

"How are things going up here?"

"Slow," Jackson paused the video and sighed. "So far we've come up with a few places they could be keeping the kids, but really it's all just guess work. How about you two?"

"Abe's reversing the hybrid frequency to pinpoint where the beacon is. I'm feeling useless. Anyone want anything from the kitchen?"

"We're good," Dariela answered curtly. Jamie didn't look up from her work but waved her hand as if to say no. Jackson was the only one who responded favorably, and he accompanied Mitch to the kitchen.

"You're not useless," Jackson said after a few moments of silence. "You're still catching up. Give it time."

"I feel like a kindergartner who's been let loose in a college biology lab, but sure." Mitch unscrewed the cap from the water bottle a took a long swig. The cold liquid felt good on his throat, and he swallowed slowly to savor the sensation.

Jackson grabbed a second bottle from the fridge. "I'm gonna go check on Abe," he said. "You coming?"

"Yeah, in a minute."

By the time he made it down there, Jackson, Logan and Abe were mid-discussion about hybrid anatomy. Abe asked Mitch to do a necropsy and he jumped at the chance to sharpen his skills on a new species. He didn't care if Abe's request was probably unnecessary, or even coming from a place of pity. He needed to do something, and digging through mutant vulture intestines seemed like as good a thing as any.

He was wrist deep in the musculature when he discovered something interesting. "Well, that's fun." He peered closer at the screen to make sure he was seeing it correctly. "This guy has supracoracoideus muscles that look just like the ones in hummingbirds."

"Well that makes sense," Jackson said from his stool on the other side of the table. "For flight."

"Yeah, but look," Mitch peeled back a small layer as the screen zoomed in. "He's got an entirely extra set. Now, these things expand and contract at super high speeds, but they're totally unnecessary for flight."

"Wait a minute," Abe leaned in toward the monitor for a moment, then glanced at the hybrid. "You said these new hybrids were diving under the ground in Mexico, correct?" Mitch nodded along with Jackson, already starting to follow where Abe was going. "What what if they used these new muscles underground, en masse?"

"If there were enough of them, compound vibrations could potentially cause massive acoustic fluidization, which would trigger volcanic eruptions - which did trigger a volcanic eruption." Mitch felt a little better as he rambled, finally feeling back in his element.

And then Jackson popped his balloon. "And Abigail can summon them at will."

An alarm blared from somewhere off to the left and Abe jumped up to check it. "We found the beacon." He tapped the display and held up the portable screen as the others gathered around him.

"It's moving," Logan pointed at the small red blip making its way along the east coast. "She must be transporting it."

Mitch followed the blip's trajectory with his eyes, but Jackson got there first. "Abigail's headed to New York City."

"I know a guy there," Logan said as he dug his phone from a pocket. "I'll alert the department. They'll get barricades set up in a ten-mile radius around the city."

"The Barrier's been protecting the east coast," Abe pointed out. "There are people on this side of it that haven't even seen a hybrid before!"

Mitch just shrugged. "Yeah, well, if these things fly over it they're gonna see a whole lot of them. As they get eaten."

Jackson looked almost frantic as he glanced from the monitor to his friends. "If the hybrids get into the city, the east coast could fall in days. We have to go there."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that." Mitch didn't particularly care for this plan, but he was right. Flying vulture hybrids in a city of eight million people? There was no way that ended well. They needed to get to New York, find Abigail and stop her before she activated that beacon.

Jackson went with Logan to track down his team and Harren while Abe retreated upstairs to fill Dariela in on the plan. Mitch stared down at the corpse on his table, wrinkled his nose in disgust and went in search of Jamie.

He found her in their room nursing what looked like a Tom Collins. She'd very much been a hard liquor kind of girl before his little nap, but that explained the citrus and gin smell he'd gotten in the bar earlier.

"Hey," he greeted quietly. She was in deep concentration, her eyes flicking from a laptop to her tablet and back again at lightning speed, and didn't even glance up when he entered. She'd found something then. He settled next to her on the bed and stretched out, lacing his hands behind his head as she poured over whatever secrets she'd uncovered. His eyes closed slowly, lulled by her steady breathing and the gentle hum of the air recycling system.

He must have dozed off, because when he opened his eyes again it was darker and they were airborne. Jamie was still in bed next to him, though her devices had been switched off and she was curled on her side sleeping. He rolled over to face her, careful not to wake her up with his movements. She'd aged well, he noted, admiring the gentle slope of her cheek and her smooth skin. Her hair was still red, though not quite as vibrant as it had been. Instead it was a little lighter, as though she'd gotten a lot of sun over the last few years, though he suspected the change was artificial. Jamie burned like a tomato if she was out in the sun for any real length of time.

He lifted a hand to trace her jaw with one finger, just a feather light touch, but it was enough to rouse her. She blinked heavily in the darkness, squinting a little to see what had woken her. When she saw him she smiled, though it was cut short by a large yawn. She glanced at the bedside clock, its bright blue numbers illuminating the space around it.

"Still early," she noted.

"You didn't wake me." There was no hint of accusation in his tone, but she looked guilty anyway.

"You looked tired. You didn't even move when I went to set the course for New York."

"When are we landing?"

"We've only been in the air for about thirty minutes," she said. "So probably another hour? Maybe seventy minutes max."

"Good." She seemed confused by his answer, but the moment he leaned forward and captured her lips with his she caught on.

It had been too long. He knew that intellectually, though according to his own internal timeline he'd only been away from her for a few days. But for Jamie it had been a lifetime, and her movements were almost frenzied as she undressed him. More than once he had to pull away, stilling her fingers in his hands as he whispered quiet reassurances. Finally she seemed to settle, and he took a few long moments to reacquaint himself with her body. He was happy to note that he'd lost none of the skill he'd so carefully cultivated when it came to worshipping her, and more than once he'd winced as her cry came louder than he'd anticipated.

They cut it close. Mitch was searching for his pants when the plane began its descent. Jamie checked the control tablet and made a few adjustments one handed as she pulled her shoes on. Once they were both dressed and presentable, Jamie led them out of the room into the hallway.

"That was fun," Mitch quipped. He felt better, lighter than he had since he came out of the tank. Jamie, too, seemed to be carrying herself a bit straighter, and he didn't miss the small upturn of her lips that signified she was content for the moment.

"There you two are," Jackson came around the corner. "We're landing soon." He stopped and stared at them for a few seconds, then his face split in a grin. "Do I want to know what you've been up to."

Mitch opened his mouth to make a smart remark, but Jamie interrupted him. "We were just on our way to the jump seats," she said, ignoring Jackson's knowing smile. She muttered something as she passed him, though Mitch didn't quite catch it. Jackson did, though, because he smartly schooled his features and followed her toward the center of the plane.

The others were already buckled in, and Logan glanced up from his phone as Mitch, Jamie and Jackson took their seats. "My guy in the NYPD says they've started putting up barricades."

"Not sure how much help that'll be," Mitch scoffed, "what with these hybrids being able to fly and all."

"What about the National Guard?" Dariela asked.

Logan shook his head. "Not enough notice."

"He's right," Harren added from his seat at the end of the row. "It would take at least a day for the Guard to be deployed."

"Well, we don't have a day," Jackson answered. "So it looks like the calvary is us."

"What else is new?" Jamie finished buckling and sank back in the seat, her eyes closing as a particularly steep drop made them all gasp in surprise. Mitch glanced at Clem to make sure she was okay, then grabbed Jamie's hand. She squeezed back like a vice but Mitch didn't care.

They landed shortly after, and as everyone scrambled out of their jump seats, Jackson grabbed Mitch and pulled him off to the side.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Mitch glanced around for a place to talk privately and settled on the war room.

Jackson closed the door behind him and turned to lean his back against it, then hesitated. Whatever it was, Jackson was worried about Mitch's reaction. "It's about Jamie."

That caught him off guard. "What about her?"

"Frankly, I'm concerned. After you left, she spent almost a year looking for you. You know how focused she gets when something matters to her. Everything else fell away. All that mattered was finding you."

Mitch just raised his eyebrows in question. "I'm not sure how that's a bad thing?"

"It's this whole thing with Reiden," Jackson sighed. "We both know how much she hates them, but her reaction to the news about Isaac was...disturbing. And then this hyper-obsessive need to find Brittany Mason. She's falling down a very scary hole, and I'm afraid if she goes much farther we won't be able to get her back." Jackson's expression was so gravely serious that Mitch had to laugh.

"Yeah, on one hand it's dark and terrible," Mitch said lightly. "But on the other hand she's not wrong. Reiden has been getting away with murder - quite literally, I might add - for decades. Plus, this whole vigilante thing kind of works for me."

"Mitch, this is not a joke. We have to keep an eye on her."

"Okay," Mitch held his hands out placatingly. "I will."

The door opened, or at least it tried to. Jackson jumped away as Abe came through, flanked by everyone else. Even Logan's team was present, though they hung out in the hall as the others gathered around the table.

"My guys will stay with the plane," Logan said. "We have no idea what Abigail is up to, and if she knows we're here she might try to sabotage our best mode of keeping up with her."

Abe nodded his agreement. "Jackson and I will stay behind as well to figure out a way to dampen or stop the beacon signal once you find it."

"Too many people will draw attention," Jamie added. "I think we should limit the search team."

"You'll need back up once you find Abigail," Jackson countered. "She's dangerous."

Mitch caught the glare Jamie shot Jackson and interrupted before she could say something unpleasant. "We also need to find out where they're keeping Isaac. Reiden headquarters is here in New York. Might be the best place to start."

"There are hundreds of protestors outside their building," Logan said. "You're not getting in."

"Don't have to get in physically. Just need access to their computer files. You've got a whiz kid on your payroll." Mitch looked through the open door to Robin, who just smiled back. "You up for it?"

Robin's smile turned wicked. "Hacking into a global corporation and digging up secrets? Always."

Dariela sat up a bit straighter in her seat. "If Isaac's here in the city, I'm not leaving without him."

"Okay," Jackson held up hands to regain some semblance of control over the conversation. "Logan's team minus Robin will guard the plane. Mitch, Logan and Jamie can go after Abigail. Clem and I will stay here with Abe to help with the beacon. Dariela, Harren and Robin can look for Isaac. Good?"

Everyone mumbled agreement and stood to prepare for their respective missions. Mitch was secretly glad Jackson had taken the lead. Those few months where Mitch had been in charge had been his least favorite, save for a few sweet moments with Jamie, and he was grateful he didn't have to worry about leading everyone on top of dealing with his own crazy mess. Jackson was better suited to corralling people; Mitch was content to spend his days in the lab and his nights with his wife.

"Here, take this." Abe dug into his pocket and handed Mitch something as they left the war room and made their way toward the rear of the plane. It was the size of a phone, but the entire screen portion was transparent. He recognized the display as a copy of the one in the lab. "Use this to track the beacon. I've had luck blocking the hybrid signal before, but this beacon is a whole different beast." They descended the stairs to the lab and stopped in front of Jackson.

"Okay, so we're gonna work on a solution here and we'll talk you through it once you find the beacon."

"In the meantime," Abe said, shoving an armful of things at Mitch, "use these things for signal dampening." Mitch looked down at the assortment of items blankly. "Wrap it in tinfoil," Abe explained, "and use the copper wire -"

"Yeah, I got it," Mitch cut him off sharply. Who did Abe think he was talking to? Mitch had rigged up a genetic lab in a hotel room with coconuts and a coffee pot. He'd built an oscillating booster out of an old computer and a speaker in a hovel in Rio. Hell, he'd performed brain surgery with velcro, a car battery and a pig. He knew Abe meant well, but Mitch couldn't help but feel a little patronized. "Make it all electric-y."

"Let's roll!" Logan called from the vehicle bay.

Mitch glared in his general direction, then glanced at Jackson wryly. "Hypothetically, how upset would anyone be if Logan gets eaten by a hybrid?"

"Go," Jackson pushed him gently toward the back. "We'll be in touch."

Mitch grumbled, shifted his armful of MacGuyvering goods and made his way toward the cars. Jamie was already behind the wheel of the SUV, and Mitch shouldered past Logan to take the passenger seat. He shoved all of the signal dampening items into the bag Abe had provided and set it at his feet in order to focus on the tracker.

Jamie barely waited for Logan to close his door before she revved the engine and backed them rather quickly down the ramp and onto the runway. Thankfully Logan had gotten them permission to use a private IADG airport close the city, so it only took a few minutes for them to be surrounded by New York traffic. Still, Jamie kept her speed up and weaved in and out, forcing Mitch and Logan to hang on to the handles for dear life.

"Slow down, Jamie," Logan sounded sick in the backseat, but Mitch couldn't take any joy from it. He was too busy trying to focus on the screen in his hands as they bobbed back and forth.

"Left up here," he pointed. Jamie slowed just enough not to put them on two wheels around the corner and slammed the gas again. "Easy."

She ignored him. "Are we close?"

"Uh, yeah," he adjusted his glasses and squinted a bit more. "She's just on the other side of this park thing."

Jamie slammed the brakes and threw it into park as they scrambled out. Mitch took point and led them down some concrete steps into a small recreational area. Abigail was definitely nearby, probably in one of the buildings up ahead.

"That thing's pretty slick," Logan commented dryly. "Dr. Abe just whipped it up in a matter of minutes. You must be impressed."

Mitch bristled. "Well, it's not that amazing." Truthfully, he was impressed. Mitch could have probably come up something like it given time, but Abe's technical skills had definitely improved over the last decade. Still, Logan was poking at a sore spot and he didn't bother hiding his irritation.

"You jealous of somebody out-sciencing you?" Jamie asked.

"No," Mitch denied immediately. Then, because she looked unconvinced, he shrugged. "Well, maybe. Anyway, he's got a ten year jump on me." He glanced down as the tracker beeped loudly. "This way."

Abigail was definitely in a building. A large corporate sector stretched out ahead of them, and the tiny red blip that was the beacon was nestled firmly in the block. Mitch wasn't really paying attention to where they were or which buildings they were passing. He kept his eyes on the screen, only looking up to cross the street and dodge pedestrians. An odd noise began to creep up over the regular cacophony of the city, and as they grew closer to the beacon Mitch recognized the rhythmic cadence of chanting. Mitch strained his ears to try to make it out, but it was still just a muffled din. He wondered idly who could possibly protesting in the middle of the day on a...

Uh oh...

They stopped just beyond a large crowd of people holding signs and shouting obscenities at no one in particular. Mitch craned his neck and blinked against the bright sun to make out the large corporate sign that crowned the skyscraper, hoping that he was wrong. He wasn't.

Reiden Global. Abigail was inside with the beacon, and now he had an entirely different problem on his hands. Jamie was still as stone beside him, her back stiff and her eyes blazing. The Jamie of old would have probably joined the protestors - hell, she'd probably organized something similar long ago. But she was older now, far more jaded and far more dangerous. Jackson's words came back to him unbidden, and he reluctantly felt himself agreeing with the sentiment. He would need to keep an eye on her.

"Abigail's setting off a beacon in Reiden Tower?" Logan asked. "What does she want with Reiden?"

"I don't know," Mitch kept Jamie in her peripheral vision as he surveyed the entrance. The protestors had been cordoned off about fifty feet from the door. Men and women in nice suits came and went, and though a few cast wary glances at the mob most of them ignored the vitriol being spit at them. New York's finest were dotted around the scene, standing guard at entrances or trying to corral the crowd if they surged forward too much. "We need to find a way past the cops. Anybody got a plan for that?"

"Logan!" A strong tenor rang out above the cries of the protestors, and Logan turned around with a wide grin.

"Hey, Jeeves. How ya been?"

The man that approached was of a similar build to Logan, though his hair was dirty blonde and almost touched his ears. He was wearing dark jeans and a maroon shirt under a black leather jacket. He looked every inch the casual New Yorker, save for the shoulder holster peeking from beneath his jacket and the gold shield on his belt.

"Good, good," Jeeves responded, accepting Logan's hearty handshake quickly. "Thanks for the heads up. Is it really that bad?"

"It's worse," Logan said. "These are my associates, Jamie Campbell and Mitch Morgan. Guys, this is Gregg Westerfield. We go way back."

"Good old days," Gregg laughed.

Mitch held up one finger in question. "Uh, Jeeves?"

"Gregg was our driver," Logan explained. "Sort of an in joke."

"Not sort of," Mitch heard Jamie mumble. Then, in a louder voice, she asked, "Can he get us in?"

"We need in the building, Gregg. We're following a person of interest and we have good reason to believe she's already inside."

Gregg shook his head. "Everyone is checked before they get past these barriers," he explained. "No one's gone past who isn't law enforcement or Reiden personnel."

"She fooled everyone, got into a refugee camp in Portland and planted an explosive," Jamie said hotly. "You can bet she already thought of that. She's inside."

"Gregg," Logan added earnestly. "We don't have time for official channels, okay? If she does what she's here to do, then you're gonna have a whole lot bigger problem than a group of angry protestors."

"Like 'giant angry vulture' bigger," Mitch elaborated. "Trust us. We need to get to her fast."

Gregg weighed his choices for a split second, then sighed. "Alright," he turned toward the door, his body language an unspoken invitation for them to follow. When they hit the first checkpoint, he pulled his jacket back to reveal the shield on his belt.

"Detective," the cop greeted stiffly, his eyes firmly on the newcomers.

"They're consultants," Gregg explained. "They're part of my sweeping team. They're good."

The cop just nodded, shifting his gaze back to the crowd and effectively dismissing them. Gregg opened the door and stepped into the lobby with them, though he went no further.

"Good luck." He sketched a salute by tapping two fingers to his brow. "Let me know how it goes."

"Trust us," Mitch laughed wryly, "if it doesn't go well, you're gonna know."

"Thanks Jeeves," Logan held out his hand for Gregg to shake. "I'll call you later."

"Guys, we have to go now," Jamie said urgently. "Abigail's loose in this building somewhere."

Mitch looked down at his scanner, hoping it would help him, but her blip was relatively still just a few micrometers from their own. He mumbled something about a zoom function as Logan pushed them toward the stairwell.

"We need to split up," he said. "If you find Abigail, do not engage. Call for backup with these." He handed each of them an ear piece that fight snugly inside the ear canal. Mitch glanced at Jamie in question, but she just shrugged and put hers in. He did too, working the lobe back and forth until it was comfortable.

"I'll take the upper floors," Jamie said, her voice echoing oddly in his ear. She made her way back to the lobby, presumably to head for the elevators. Mitch watched her go as a small knot of worry settled in his gut. He wanted to follow her, but there was simply too much ground to cover.

"I'll take the basement and lobby," Logan said. "I can lock it down if she tries to escape. You go up the stairs and see if she's coming down."

"Right." Mitch shoved through the heavy door that led to the stairwell and began climbing. At each level he stopped and poked his head through the door to the hallway just in case, but Abigail was never there. He checked his tracker one more time, surprised to find his blue dot almost on top of the red one. A shuffle overhead startled him, and he looked up in time to see a blur of dark blue bolting up the stairs.

"Logan, I've got her!" he shouted as he gave chase, hoping his ear piece was working. "Southwest staircase, going up."

They went up several floors, Abigail always just ahead of him. He was beginning to get winded, and he didn't know how long he could keep up the chase. He hoped Jamie or Logan would come from above and cut her off.

As he rounded one more handrail and started up the next set of stairs, he saw Abigail stop and level a gun over the rail of the upper landing. He froze and held his hands out, hoping she wouldn't just shoot him.

"Mitch." Abigail sounded almost surprised, but it was her familiarity that threw him.

Mitch gulped for air, and he could feel his heart pounding away in his chest. "How do you know my name?"

"That's the least of the things I know," she said cryptically. She shifted again, and Mitch realized she was still holding the beacon. She laid it on top of the railing and thumbed open the latch.

Mitch knew he needed to stop her - or at least stall her until back up arrived. "Before you do that, let's talk this out."

She pressed a button and something whirred inside. Mitch felt his stomach drop as Abigail smiled. "You're bound by the edicts of the old order, but I'm going beyond. Beyond the constraints of this planet, beyond the regime of humanity, beyond the concept of life as you understand it. I'm going to create a new world, and I'm bringing my hybrids with me."

If he'd been expecting a big villain speech, that hadn't been it. She sounded less angry and way more crazy than he'd anticipated. "So you're like an evil queen from a cartoon movie."

"You have a choice, Mitch. Between the old, dead way and the beyond. It's time to make it." She hoisted the beacon over the rail and, before he could stop her, she dropped it.

"No!" Mitch watched helplessly as the suitcase dropped fourteen floors to the bottom of the stairwell below. He heard her footfalls as she scrambled up and onto the next level. Mitch made his decision easily.

"Logan, she activated the device," he shouted as he turned and began running down the stairs after the beacon. "She's on the fifteenth floor. You can still catch her."

He heard Logan barking at someone to lock the building down, but he ignored it. He had to get to that beacon and dampen the signal before New York City was swarmed with angry hybrids. Thousands would die if he didn't stop that signal.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Jackson, only mildly disturbed when he heard the ringing through his ear piece. Of course they would have connected everything. Mitch spared a second to marvel at another technological advance, but he shoved that thought away as Jackson picked up.

"Alright Jackson, I'm ready for you." He reached the beacon and knelt down, pulling the latches back to open the case.

"Okay," Jackson's voice was steady in his ear, "So you're gonna need to find some electrical tape and then a whole lot of lemon juice."

Mitch had no idea how to even respond to that. Thankfully, he was saved from any sort of comeback by his scanner beeping rather insistently in his pocket. He pulled it out and tried to decipher what it was trying to tell him. When he did, he felt his worry bloom into full panic.

"Guys? Either this thing is broken or there's a swarm of hybrids heading for us."

"I pulled up the schematics for the building," Abe said hurriedly. "There is a drone repair station on the sixth floor. It should have enough for you to work with."

Mitch slammed the lid of the case closed and locked it, scooping up the beacon and standing in the same motion. He found the strength to run up six more flights of stairs and burst through the door to the corridor with more force than was necessary. The door bounced violently off the wall, but Mitch was already halfway down the hall.

He found the drone room with help from Abe, and he set the still-whirring beacon down on a work table as he searched for anything that he could use. Jackson had already relayed messages to Logan and Jamie, and as Mitch searched the shelves Logan burst through the door.

"We need to leave," he huffed. Something large and heavy banged against the door, and Logan struggled to tip a heavy shelf over to keep it out.

"Little busy!" Mitch called over his shoulder. He'd found tape, but there was nothing that resembled lemon juice anywhere he could see. The beast outside squawked angrily as it tried to get at them again, and Mitch was suddenly very aware that Logan had come in alone. "Where's Jamie? Abigail?"

"Lost 'em both," Logan said.

"Well you better get back out there and find them. We're not leaving without Jamie." Never again.

Logan turned to press his back against the shelves, as though his slight weight would be enough to keep the mad hybrid out. "Hybrids have overrun the building! We need to leave now."

Mitch glanced at the roll of tape in his hands. "Well, we're gonna need a whole lot of lemon juice or a whole new plan." The entire shelving unit shifted as something large slammed against the door. Logan stumbled away from the force of the blow. "Guess that means a new plan."

Out of the corner of his eye, Mitch saw Logan draw his gun and walk toward the box. Instinct had him ducking away behind the metal table as Logan fired several shots into the obviously impervious case. Bullets ricocheted around the room, and Mitch heard one whiz by his head.

"Are you crazy?" he shouted at the younger man.

Logan shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

"Was it?" Mitch wanted to throttle him, but there wasn't time. Plus, in a few minutes they'd be torn to shreds by mutant vulture talons anyway. Seemed a waste to expend the energy.

But Logan seemed oddly unconcerned about their impending death. Instead, he tucked his sidearm back into its holster and smiled. "I have another idea."

As ideas went, it wasn't an awful one. Mitch was actually sort of impressed (though he'd never actually say the words to Logan's face). As he strapped the beacon to the drone, Logan figured out how the controls worked.

"What do you think," he said over his shoulder, "middle of the Atlantic?"

"Yeah, let's see if these turkeys can swim." Mitch just wanted them gone so he could go find Jamie and get out of here. He hoped she'd found somewhere safe to hide, or had gotten out of the building before the hybrids had invaded.

The garage door on the far wall rolled up as the drone powered up. It struggled for a moment with the extra weight, but soon enough it was zipping out of the opening and into the New York City skyline. Immediately the raucous outside stopped, and the hybrids began to follow the beacon.

"It's actually working." Mitch didn't mean to sound so surprised, but Logan just smirked.

"Yeah, you're welcome."

"I'm not thanking you," Mitch scowled. "You almost shot me."

"I did not." Logan reached down for the battered shelves and, with Mitch's help, managed to lift them away from the door. The hallway just outside had been trashed. There were score marks in the walls from giant talons, and the carpet was littered with gross, blackish feathers. There were a few dents and craters where it looked like the hybrids had tried digging through the floor. Thankfully their little wing vibration trick only seemed to work on actual earth.

"We need to find Jamie and get out of here," Mitch said. Logan agreed with a sharp nod of his head and led the way to the elevators. They emerged on the ground floor amidst a throng of EMTs, business executives and police officers. Assuming Jamie had already made it outside, Mitch gestured for Logan to cut a path to the door. They made it halfway when a voice called out.

"Logan!" It was Gregg Westerfield. He looked...well, he looked pissed.

Logan seemed to sense it as well, because as his friend neared he squared up and held out his hands. "Whoa, what's going on?"

"You played me, that's what's going on." Gregg swept the edges of his jacket back to reveal his sidearm and badge. Mitch finally noticed the two burly officers flanking him. "I need you two to come with me."

"Gregg, what's this about?" Logan asked again. "Have you seen Jamie?"

Gregg sneered and raised his chin. It was the only warning they got. The two officers surged forward and grabbed each of them, disarming Logan and confiscating Mitch's tracker. "We've seen her," Gregg said finally. "We just arrested her for murder."