Determinant: a gene or other factor that determines the character and development of a cell or group of cells in an organism.
Chapter 47: West Side Story - Something's Coming
The team makes their final approach toward the Barrier as reports of hybrid attacks continue to pour in. Mitch has to decide if he can forgive Jamie for her hurtful words or if their argument will tear them apart.
Her footsteps faded, but the echo of her words still rang in his ears. Mitch's stomach rolled with sickening disbelief as he staggered to the bed and sank down. His eyes slammed closed, as though they alone could physically stop the swell of sorrow that threatened to overwhelm him. His lungs expanded painfully with his next breath as he willed himself not to give in to the urge to cry.
He didn't used to be this hysterical. Not even Allison's betrayal had elicited this much emotion from him. Though, if he was being honest with himself, what he felt for Allison paled in comparison to the depth of his love for Jamie. Only she had ever been able to pull this kind of reaction from him, and he'd known from the beginning that it was a double-edged sword. That kind of devotion brought with it the ability to utterly destroy him, and he'd trusted her like no other, so sure that she would never hurt him so deeply.
Damn her.
Anger soon replaced his shock and he clenched his jaw tightly as his lips curled into a snarl. How dare she! She'd known about Clem almost from the very beginning of their relationship, and she knew about all of the guilt and self-loathing he carried with him every moment of his life. He had failed as a father for a full decade, and that failure had festered inside him until that fateful day when - on Jamie's prompting, no less - he'd reached out and tried to mend the gap between him and his daughter. That it had worked was more surprising to Mitch than it had been to Jamie, who could sympathize well with the little girl pining for her absent father. Things had progressed from there, and when Clem had come to live with them after the death of her mother and step-father, Mitch had been overjoyed at the opportunity to prove to her (and to himself) that he was a good father.
And then fate had ripped their happiness apart again. It never failed, it seemed. Every time something seemed to be going right, every time there was just a little bit of light, the darkness swooped back in and smothered their dreams. It wasn't his fault that he'd been taken, and for Jamie to use that even in the heat of the moment was wrong. It was -
"Dad?"
Mitch opened his eyes and turned toward the still open door where Clem stood looking rather uneasy. He guessed she'd heard at least a bit of their argument and had come to investigate. She shuffled inside and slid the door closed behind her but made no other move to get closer. Mitch realized that he probably looked furious right now and made an effort to soften his features to keep from scaring her.
"Clem," he whispered hoarsely. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Clem, you okay?"
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing." She took a few more steps and sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "Why are you and Jamie fighting?"
He opened his mouth to reassure her that they weren't fighting, just having a rather loud disagreement, but then he realized she wasn't a little kid anymore. She was a grown woman with far too much wisdom to buy the kind of lies that parents often tell their children to keep them from worrying.
"People argue sometimes," he told her instead. "It's…" He had been about to say nothing, but that would be a lie. It was far from nothing, and he could still feel the anger at Jamie's words bubbling inside, waiting for the moment to burst free.
"What were you arguing about?"
Mitch could tell from the way her eyes didn't quite meet his that she already knew. She just needed confirmation. "You," he admitted finally. "I wanted you and Jamie to go back to Louisiana once we reached the Barrier. She disagreed."
"You want to send us away?"
"It's not safe at the Barrier right now. And the only thing that matters to me is your safety. So yes, I was going to send you away. Except Jamie refused to go and is instead sending you with Max."
"And if I refuse to go?"
Mitch was quickly reaching the limit of his patience. "Clem, you have to go. If anything happens to you or that baby, all of humanity will die. I know you want to stay and help, but you have to think about more than just yourself now."
But Clem was quick with her rebuttal. "I've been thinking about more than just myself from the moment you and Jamie told me about the baby. I know it's dangerous, but as far as I'm concerned, the Barrier is the safest place in the country right now." She shifted slightly and laid her hand on his back, her touch feather light but reassuring nonetheless. "It's held back the hybrids this long; there's no reason to think it won't stand up against an attack."
"So no one cares what I want?" Mitch knew that was unfair, but he couldn't help it.
"Of course we do, but ultimately I am the only one who gets to decide what I do." Mitch wanted to argue, but he could tell by the familiar set of her jaw that there would be no convincing her. Not right now, anyway. "Now," she went on after a few seconds of silence, "what happened with Jamie?"
Mitch shook his head and turned away from her. Talking to Jamie about it was one thing, but there was no way he felt put together enough to have this conversation with his daughter. Clem seemed to sense his reluctance and sighed.
"I heard the last bit," she admitted. "And while I have no idea what might have possessed her to say...that, I can guess what led up to it." Mitch felt his heart pounding in his chest and his throat tightened like a vice, rendering him unable to speak. "Grandma always used to say I was an 'old soul,' that I was far wiser than my years. Usually it was when Jamie got mad at me for trying to join in on whatever discussions she, Jackson and Grandma were having. It used to make me so mad, but now I realize Jamie was just trying to protect me from growing up too fast, from learning about how horrible the world really was.
"After you disappeared, I was angry. Not at you, or even Jamie, but at the universe I guess. It wasn't fair. But I took that out on Jamie because it was the easy thing to do. She spent a whole year looking for you, exhausting every resource, and she was gone a lot. But in the end she gave up the search to focus on raising me, because she knew that's what you would want." Mitch listened with rapt attention, hanging on every word, eager for even just this small glimpse of her life.
Clem sniffed and he realized with a start that she was nearly crying. He shifted a bit to wrap an arm around her, and she leaned against him easily. "It didn't really hit me until a few days ago, but I never really told her how much she meant to me. I never called her Mom. I don't know, I guess it felt like a betrayal of sorts. But I didn't realize Jamie had spent almost a decade thinking she wasn't a good enough parent for me, that she was just some sort of consolation prize after mom and Justin died and you disappeared. But she's as much my family as you are, and I regret not telling her that sooner."
Mitch rubbed her back gently to even out her shaky breaths. He was intimately familiar with the feeling of inadequacy Clem had described. He'd felt it pretty much her entire childhood, especially after they'd gotten custody of Clem and taken her to Louisiana with them. Jamie had done a tremendous job navigating his insecurities while simultaneously taking on the role of step-mom to a preteen, and Clem's admission made him realize he'd probably not told her that as often as he should have. It also made her outburst more understandable, though it didn't take the sting out of her words.
"Dad, you're gonna be okay, right? I mean…" she pulled away from his shoulder and sighed. "You can be mad at her for now, but in the end I know you two love each other. And I know Jamie didn't really mean what she said, and she probably feels really bad right now. And -"
"Clem." He reached out and placed a finger over her lips to get her to stop rambling. It was an endearing quality that she likely picked up from Jamie, who was also prone to bouts of babbling when she was nervous. "We'll be okay. It's just...I never expected to hear that from her. And I know she's probably beating herself up over it right now, but that doesn't mean it still didn't hurt or that I'm not still upset that she said it." He took a deep breath of his own and held it for a beat before letting it out in a swift sigh. "Just give me some time. Once we've both calmed down a bit I'll go talk to her."
That answer seemed to appease Clem, who bounced up from the bed and kissed his cheek. Just before she reached the door he called for her, and she turned with a smile.
"Will you please at least think about going with Max to Louisiana? It will be easier for me to focus on the hybrid problem if I don't have to also worry about you, and as long as you don't go near any major cities you shouldn't run into any trouble."
Clem nodded. "I'll think about it."
Mitch waited until she was gone before sighing in relief. It wasn't a flat no, and Clem was smart. She would realize the sense in his request soon enough. If not, he might have to resort to enlisting Max's help to convince her. But at least she was considering it, and it was one of his problems solved.
That left him free to face the rather large ball of anger still churning away in his gut. Distanced by a few moments of calm and a distracting conversation with Clem, he was able to replay their argument with a bit more detachment. Like he'd told Clem, Jamie's outburst was a bit more understandable, albeit still completely cruel. But without the instinctive outrage that had accompanied the incredulous shock that she'd actually said it, Mitch finally saw the horror mirrored on her own face as she retreated. She'd immediately apologized, though in his rage-fueled haze he hadn't really heard her. He'd just dismissed her, coldly demanding her removal rather than entertaining the idea of forgiveness. But it ultimately came down to that one question.
Could he forgive her?
He knew the answer to that before the thought finished forming. Of course he could. She hadn't meant it, and while he was still upset that she had used his own failures against him he also knew that no rebuke he could come up with would rival what she was likely putting herself through right now. That thought alone spurred him to his feet and out into the hallway in search of her. He loved her too much to let her beat herself up too badly, no matter how much that tiny little voice in his head told him she deserved it. He silenced the voice harshly and focused all of his efforts on finding her.
It took longer than he'd estimated. He checked all of their usual hangouts - the bar, the kitchen, the cockpit, even the lounge-turned-war-room. Nothing. He searched the lab, the cargo area and even checked inside the truck in the loading bay, but he didn't find her. For one brief, ridiculous moment he thought about checking the parachute locker, but then thought better of it. They were probably still over the Pacific Ocean right now and six plus miles in the air.
He finally found her in the conference room above the lab, drawn to the closed door by the sound of her muffled sobs. He slid the door back, unsurprised to find the room pitch black save for the small shafts of light filtering through the small round windows on the far wall. She was tucked into the far corner behind the table with her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around her legs. He couldn't see her face buried in the crook of her elbows, but he watched the hitch of her shoulders as she took in gulping breaths between sobs.
She didn't look up when he approached or when he crouched in front of her, but as he slid his hands over her elbows and grasped her arms gently she tensed. Slowly she lifted her head, and even in the dark room he could make out her red-rimmed eyes and puffy cheeks. Time froze for a moment as their eyes spoke what neither of them could seem to say. Mitch relaxed his hold on her arms and shifted his weight from his feet to knees in preparation. The moment he held his arms out she surged forward and crashed into him, muttering rapid apologies that he shushed with a slow breath between his teeth.
"It's okay. It's alright," he whispered over and over into her hair, pressing kisses to punctuate his words. She clung to him tightly, her good arm banded like a vice around his ribcage while the other clutched at the collar of his shirt. Mitch let one hand cradle her head against his shoulder while the other ran a circuit from one shoulder to the other, then down to her back and up again. He kept his ministrations going as she settled, her remorseful sobs growing quiet until all he could hear was her relaxed breathing. He could feel her sagging against him and knew he needed to get her back to bed before she fell asleep.
"Jamie?"
"Hmm?"
He gently pried her away from him and pushed her back. He ran a hand over her cheek lovingly, using the motion to tuck her wild hair behind her ear. "Come on." Mitch winced as he stood, lamenting his youthful days of climbing in and out of zoo habitats with no problems. Now his knees protested being forced to support his weight on a hard surface for too long, and as he helped Jamie to stand he felt a twinge in his back that hadn't been there before.
Now on their feet, Jamie seemed to be unable to meet his eyes. Her hair fell over her cheeks again as she stared at the floor, shuffling uneasily despite the tight grip she kept on his hand. "I'm sorry," she murmured again. Then, summoning the courage he loved so much, she took a breath and stood just a little taller. Her chin raised and her eyes met his, bloodshot and bright from crying but still just as expressive. "I don't know what came over me, and I shouldn't have said it. I know how much you love Clem, and if you had any say at all in the matter you would have been there every second of the day. You're a wonderful father and she's lucky to have you."
Mitch let a beat of thoughtful silence pass before he answered. "She's lucky to have you, too. Jamie, there isn't anyone else on the planet I'd want raising Clem. You're a great mom, and I know Clem knows that, too."
Jamie sniffed wetly, and Mitch tucked her under his arm as he turned toward the door. "Now," he continued, "I might need your help convincing her to actually leave once we land in Colorado. Seems she might have inherited your stubbornness." He winced at the elbow she jabbed playfully into his side, but he was happy the see the ghost of a smile gracing her features again.
He laid with her as she slept, taking the time to memorize every inch of her just in case. Life had a bad habit of ripping them apart during crises, and the hybrid situation was the worst they'd ever faced. In the event some terrible happened, he wanted to be able to recall even the smallest detail about her. She slept through his scrutiny, even when his fingers roamed her skin that wasn't covered by blankets and clothes. He checked her bandages to make sure she hadn't pulled any more stitches, but they looked clean on the outside. A fresh wave of guilt threatened to rise up, but he stomped it back down. He wasn't responsible for what Duncan did, and dwelling on it would only serve to drive another wedge between them.
Jamie hummed in her sleep - a deep, throaty sound that was almost a moan - and Mitch froze. Then he smiled. He applied a bit more pressure with his fingers, running them up from her wrist to her shoulder before slipping his hand beneath the covers to lay across her stomach. She shifted, and when her lips parted slightly with a sigh he caught it in a kiss. His lips barely brushed hers, careful to keep it light in case she still needed to rest, but the moment she woke she tugged him closer to deepen the kiss. He could sense her need in her touch, but Mitch kept the pace slow. He wanted to savor this moment forever. Just in case.
"Mitch." Her quiet whine made him chuckle, but he didn't answer her tactile request for more. Instead he shifted to brace his weight on his hands, placing one on her other side to give himself better access to her. He placed several kisses across her face, her brow, her chin and enjoyed the way she squirmed beneath him, trying to increase the amount of contact between their bodies. But he kept his body away, only touching her with his lips as he trailed a series of kisses down to her neck.
He could feel her heart pounding as his lips closed over the pulse point just under her jaw. Her ragged breaths were as loud as thunder in his ears and he could feel her right hand scrabbling for purchase in his shirt in an effort to get him closer. But she wasn't strong enough with just one arm, and Mitch laughed as she gave up and slid her fingers into his hair to scrape along his scalp. He bit back a moan of his own at the sensation and continued lavishing her heated skin with feather light kisses. He skimmed his way across her collarbone, taking a moment to taste the sweat accumulating at the base of her throat before moving to the other side of her neck.
She was nearly writhing beneath him now and he marveled that he could wreck her so completely with just a few kisses. He teased her a bit longer, but soon his own need became to too much for him to control. He tried to take him time undressing them both, but the urgency in Jamie's eyes spurred him to move just a little quicker. By the time he joined her beneath the covers they were both ready and eager, and the unpleasantness of the morning was washed away by their twin cries of passion.
Mitch jolted away some time later, his body sprawled across the bed haphazardly. Jamie was curled against his side, undisturbed by the arm and leg that were pinning her to the bed. Mitch had collapsed rather ungracefully after a rather energetic round three, though he'd managed to keep most of his body weight from crushing her. He'd heard her laugh in his ear just before he succumbed to sleep, though judging from his memory of her sweat-soaked and thoroughly sated she had probably fell asleep just after him.
He closed his eyes again, fully intent on grabbing at least a few more minutes of sleep, when the intercom on the wall crackled to life.
"We're landing soon," Jackson's voice announced. "Everybody buckle up."
Mitch groaned and rolled away from Jamie, who frowned in her sleep at the loss of his warmth. Slowly her eyes blinked open, and when she met his gaze a slow smile spread across her face.
"Morning."
"I have no idea, actually," he returned. It took some effort, but he managed to push himself up enough to lean over and kiss her. She returned it hungrily and Mitch had to forcibly push himself away before he dove back in for round four, landing plane be damned.
"We have to get dressed," he told her. "We're landing."
Jamie's answering groan turned into a hiss of pain as she rolled onto her bad arm. Mitch helped her to sit up and held her until her muscles relaxed. At his request, she directed him to her drawer of clean clothes, and he helped her get dressed before sliding on his old jeans and a fresh shirt. The plane tipped slightly in preparation for their approach, and Mitch knew this would be the last time they were alone for a while. Just before Jamie grabbed the door handle he laid a hand on her shoulder and turned her around.
"Mitch, what -?"
He swallowed her question with another kiss, this one firm and sure. He let himself linger for a few seconds longer before resting his forehead against hers intimately. "I love you."
She smiled as her hands came up to frame his face. "I love you, too."
He pulled away from her to stare deeply into her eyes. "No sacrifices, no getting lost for months, no kidnappings." He was joking, mostly, but there was an underlying panic in his tone that Jamie picked up on immediately.
"Promise." She sealed it with one last kiss before grabbing his hand and sliding the door open.
The others were already buckled in, and as they approached there was an undercurrent of tension that seemed to dissipate the moment they arrived. Mitch guessed Clem wasn't the only one aware of their fight. As Jamie sat down and buckled, Mitch saw his father lean over and whisper something to her that made her smile and roll her eyes playfully. Mitch waited for the jolt of jealousy to hit him, but it never did. Max's demeanor and energy were unlike anything Mitch had seen before. For a moment he was confused, then it hit him. Max was treating her like family - like a daughter. The revelation startled him, but he didn't have time to analyze it.
Jamie accepted the plane's tablet from Jackson once she was settled, and Mitch felt the plane dropping gradually as they descended. For several long moments there was silence among them. Then it was broken.
"Oh no."
Jamie's quiet whisper was enough to draw everyone's attention. Mitch tried to peer over her shoulder to see what was going on, but the readout on the screen meant nothing to him. She tapped a few more controls, each one a bit more vigorously than the last. Then she looked up frantically.
"I can't get the landing gear down."
"What?" Clem squirmed in her seat, her movement hindered by the belt across her lap. "What do you mean?"
"The landing gear won't deploy," Jamie repeated. "I can't get it to go down."
"Can we land the plane without it?" Max asked.
"We can," Abe confirmed, "but it won't be pleasant."
With Abe's prior piloting experience, Jamie gladly relinquished the control tablet to him. He manipulated the flight controls for a moment and Mitch felt the plane level out. Abe glanced up at the others calmly.
"We'll have to descended much more gradually. I'll plot a circular landing path. Someone should alert the IADG that we'll be coming in hot."
Jackson unbuckled immediately and dashed to the radio in the lab. Mitch could hear his voice drifting down the hall, though his actual words were too muffled to make out. When he returned he looked somber, buckling back into his seat with a frown.
"Dariela says they're clearing as much space on the runway as they can."
Abe shook his head. "Landing on concrete would be bad," he said. "We'll need to try to put down on the grass to cushion the plane."
Mitch leaned over to Jamie and licked his lips. "Maybe I should have added 'no plane crashes' to that list earlier, huh?"
She laughed, though it didn't quite convince. Her hand moved from her lap to his, her fingers grasping at his palm. He let her intertwine their fingers but kept them on his lap, using his other hand to reach out for Clem, who was bouncing worriedly in her seat.
"Dad, are we gonna be okay?"
"We'll be fine," Mitch told her. "Abe's a good pilot." At least he was twelve years ago. He wisely kept that last bit to himself. But Abe looked confident, and when Mitch caught his eye he nodded slightly.
It was a tense half hour as Abe carefully maneuvered the plane in a lazy circle around the Barrier. Each time they descended a bit more Mitch felt both Jamie and Clem's hands clench in fear. Max had tried to take everyone's mind off of their predicament by regaling them with stories of his expeditions, but it was clear after a few moments that no one was really paying attention.
"We're about a thousand feet from the ground," Abe told them. "I've slowed us down as much as I can, but it's going to be rough. Brace yourselves." He held the tablet in both hands, his tight grip the only indication of his nervousness. "Eight hundred feet..seven hundred...six..."
Mitch closed his eyes around two, willing himself to maintain his grip on both Clem and Jamie no matter what. Abe's voice trailed off into a beat of silence, then the entire plane bounced violently and Clem screamed.
It was over fairly quickly, but Mitch was sure he'd never get the sound of his daughter's terrified cries out of his ears. She was sobbing next to him as they slowed to a stop, and the moment he thought it was safe he unbuckled both himself and his daughter and pulled her into his arms.
"It's alright, it's over. We're okay, Clem." He held her tightly, only relaxing it enough to let Jamie join their group hug when she came up behind them. They stayed locked in an embrace until Jackson came up behind them and cleared his throat.
"We need to get to the Barrier."
"About that." Abe's expression looked like a cross between terror and embarrassment. "We may have overshot the landing."
Mitch stepped away from his girls and turned toward Abe. "Overshot? By how much?"
"Where are we?" Jamie added.
Abe's sigh was near silent. "We're on the wrong side of the Barrier, in the hybrid zone."
Jackson cursed quietly. "We can't stay here. We have to get this deadman's switch to the command center."
"The truck won't hold all of us," Clem pointed out.
"No," Mitch answered, "but we can make two trips."
"The moment we lower that bay door the plane is gonna be swarmed with hybrids," Jamie argued.
"We can fortify it," Harren said. "Make it difficult for them to breach further than the lab. The ones who stay behind can barricade themselves up on the top floor with every weapon we have. Once the first team reaches the Barrier, they can send a tac team with enough firepower to get the others."
Tessa shook her head. "Jackson and I lived here for years. There are simply too many hybrids," she said. "There's no way anyone would survive that kind of assault for long, much less that a team could take out enough of them to extract the remaining people."
Max interjected with a simple solution. "So we cram everyone into the truck. It'll be uncomfortable, but it won't be for long. How far away from the Barrier are we, Abe?"
"Two thousand meters, give or take," Abe answered. "I agree with Max. Let's just get to the Barrier as quickly as possible."
He turned toward the door and almost ran into Logan coming through from the hall. "Bad news. The hard landing broke the rear axle on the truck. It's not going anywhere."
Jackson groaned. "So much for Plan A."
Mitch just looked at him wryly. "When does our Plan A ever actually work?"
Jackson's mouth twisted up in a humorless smile. "Good point. Alright, then what's Plan B?"
"Sit here and wait for Dariela to send a team for us?" Jackson turned to Abe in question.
"I will call her," Abe fished his phone from his pocket, "but they will have to contend with an unknown number of hybrids. They might not be willing to risk it."
"Can they send a chopper?" Mitch suggested. "We might be able to distract the hybrids long enough for them to get Clem out of here."
"No!" Clem reached out and clamped a hand over his arm. "I'm not leaving you behind."
"Clem," Abe stepped forward, his tone regretful but firm, "Mitch is right. You and the baby are the most important people in the world right now. Your survival is imperative if the human race is to recover." Then, to Mitch, he added, "I will ask her."
As he left to make the call, Clem turned to Mitch with a defiant look. "Dad!"
"Clem, I'm not arguing with you on this." He shot a look over her shoulder to Jamie and pleaded with her to help him.
"Sweetie," Jamie stepped up, "your dad's right. We'll be fine until a team can get to us. If we do it right, we won't even have to lower the bay doors. We can get you out through the upper hatch. Then the rest of us can wait here until the chopper comes back."
Mitch nodded. "We need to make a list prioritizing who goes. They'll have three or four seats max."
"Yes?"
Mitch frowned at his father and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Not you."
"You should be on that list," Jamie pressed forward, her eyes intent on Mitch. "If anyone can figure out how to shut those beacons down it's you."
He winced. "Because I built them?"
"No," Jamie huffed, "because you're the smartest person I know. And you've dealt with a beacon before."
"I'm not sure attaching it to a drone and sending it out over the Atlantic is gonna work this time."
Jamie ignored his retort. "Abe should go, too. He's been instrumental in crafting the cure for sterility and taking care of Clem and the baby."
Clem opened her mouth to argue, but Abe returned with a grim expression. "Dariela is sending their chopper to us, but there are only three extra seats. They are not taking chances and loading it to bear with weapons and personnel."
"So what?" Logan shrugged. "We draw straws or something?"
Mitch didn't bother trying to hide his exasperation. "No, Leonard, we don't."
Jamie jumped in before he lost his temper. "Clem, Abe and Mitch are going," she told him firmly. "The rest of us will stay here and hunker down until the chopper returns."
"They'll have to make two more trips," Max said. "We'll need to figure out who goes and who stays for the next round, too."
But Logan wasn't happy with that answer. "So you just made that decision without consulting anyone else?" He stepped forward as though he could physically impose his will, but Jackson moved into his path and brought him up short.
"Clem is priority one," he said directly. "Mitch has the best chance of stopping the beacons and Abe is the one who will craft the cure. You got a reason why we should consider you more important than any of them?" There was a tense moment where Mitch though Logan would actually take a swing at Jackson, but then he sniffed and backed down. Jackson nodded once and turned toward the group.
"Max is right, we need to decide who goes in round two."
But Harren had an answer already. "The ones who are more vulnerable in the event of a breach. Jamie and Max for sure. We'll need a third."
Tessa checked the magazine on her weapon, then slammed it into place with a loud click. "Jackson and I have been fighting hybrids for years." she said. "Logan should go."
"Okay," Jackson agreed, "that's settled." He pulled the small device from his pocket and handed it to Mitch. "This is it. Get that to the command center and figure out how to stop this." Mitch took the switch from Jackson and nodded solemnly. He tried to think of something clever to say, but Jackson just clapped him on the shoulder and turned to his team. "Let's go grab what we can from the weapons locker."
He left with Tessa and Harren to do their thing while Logan disappeared to sulk. Mitch ignored him in favor of tending to his family.
"You two be careful," he told Jamie and Max. "No heroics, alright. Just stay safe until the chopper comes back for you." He was surprised to find himself worried for both of them. He glanced at his father briefly and returned the hesitant smile Max gave him.
"We'll be okay." Jamie sounded so sure, and Mitch let her optimism seep into that part of his mind that was already running through worst case scenarios.
"Incoming!" Abe announced. "We need to get to the roof."
"Let's go." Mitch held onto his family for the long trek up to the hatch located just above the kitchen. The small ladder that led to the crawlspace was hidden behind a wall panel, and by the time they made it up there Abe had it open and ready. The deafening thump thump of helicopter blades floated down the shaft.
"Clem first," Abe shouted. "Then Mitch. I'll be right behind you."
Mitch let Clem go so she could hug Jamie tightly. They shared a hushed conversation that Mitch couldn't hear over the sound of the chopper, but both of them were smiling when they parted. Jamie kissed Clem's head briefly then handed her off to Max. As Clem said goodbye to her grandfather, Mitch pulled Jamie to him.
"The chopper is coming right back," he told her. "Don't go far."
"I won't," she promised. She rose to her toes to kiss him soundly, and he returned it with gusto. "Be careful," she whispered as they parted. "You have the deadman's switch?"
Mitch nodded and patted his pocket. "I have it." Abe cleared his throat pointedly and Mitch knew their time was up. "Alright, Clem. Up you go." Clem disappeared up the ladder slowly, only looking back over her shoulder once. Mitch held onto Jamie's hand the entire time, dreading the moment he would have to follow.
Abe kept his eyes up, tracking the progress of Clem's retrieval. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, he nodded and dropped his eyes to the rest of them. "Mitch. Your turn."
Mitch gave Jamie one last kiss, then surprised everyone by reaching out to hug his father. "Keep her safe, Max."
"I will." His father patted him on the back. "See you soon."
Mitch nodded as he stepped away then turned to the ladder. He knew looking back at her would make it harder to leave, but he couldn't help it. She was sporting a slight smile, as though this was an everyday occurrence and they weren't about to be overrun by hybrids. But he could see the fear she was doing her best to hide.
"I love you," he told her, raising his voice to be heard above the noise.
"I love you, too," she replied easily. "Now go."
Abe's gentle push punctuated her words, and Mitch finally climbed the ladder. The harness was already dangling within reach, and as he stepped up onto the top of the plane he grabbed it and slid it over his body. He was so focused on not slipping that he didn't have time to look around until he was being lifted up to the chopper. Once he finally cast his eyes around at their surroundings, his heart stopped.
The plane was surrounded by razorbacks. They were snarling and snapping in Mitch's direction, angry that they couldn't reach him. There were at least fifty of them, and as he looked out further he could see them pouring from several gaps in the tree line. Some of them were trying to attack the plane itself, but they were too small to do any real damage. Mitch was thankful for small favors, at least. The others would stay safe until the chopper could return.
As soon as he could reach the edge of the chopper he reached up and climbed in. The four IADG soldiers that surrounded him helped him out of the harness and sent it back down for Abe. Clem was already buckled into one of the seats near the back, so Mitch moved over and took the one next to her. It was deafening inside and he couldn't hear her words when she spoke, though he could tell from her expression what she wanted. He raised one arm and settled it over her shoulders, kissing her head to comfort her as she pressed into his chest with a sob.
A few minutes later Abe was next to them and one of the soldiers made a hand motion that must have meant something to rest of the team. In almost the same instant the door closed they surged away from the plane and toward the Barrier. The flight was short - it felt like seconds, really - and Mitch grimaced as they set down on the helipad roughly. They were shuffled out onto the tarmac and Mitch pulled Clem off to the side as Abe dashed out to embrace Dariela.
The chopper took off the moment they were clear and Mitch could feel his heart pounding in time with the thump of the blades. Only a few more minutes, he told himself, and then Jamie would be safe. Dariela tried to get them to follow her inside, but Mitch refused to leave until the chopper came back with the rest of his family.
He could hear the helicopter as it flew away, and he kept his ears trained on the noise until it faded into the bustle going on around them. An older man emerged from one of the heavy steel doors set into the Barrier, and Mitch watched everyone stumble to get out of his way as he barreled toward them.
"Henry Garrison," he introduced himself gruffly, sticking one hand out toward Mitch.
He took it and held on for a few seconds. "Mitch Morgan. This is my daughter, Clementine."
"Yes," Garrison looked them over with a critical eye. "Do you have the deadman's switch?"
Mitch dug into his pocket and produced the tiny device. "Right here."
"Okay, let's get you inside. We need to find a way to stop these beacons."
"As soon as my wife and father are here," Mitch answered, making sure there was no hint of waver in his tone.
"Mr. Morgan, I don't th-"
"Doctor."
Garrison pressed his lips together tightly. "Doctor Morgan, we simply don't have the time. They will be here soon. We need to get that information inside."
"Then here." He shoved the switch at Garrison, forcing the man to take it. "Have at it. I'm not doing anything until my family is safe."
Garrison stared him down for a long moment, then sighed. He turned to hand the device to a passing soldier. "Get this inside to Lieutenant Kenyatta and start decoding the data. Doctor Morgan will be along in a moment."
"Yes, sir." The soldier took off at a jog toward the door as Garrison turned back toward him.
"The moment they land I expect you in the command center." He walked away without waiting for an answer.
"He seems like a fun guy," Clem commented, and Mitch smiled. "But he's sort of right, isn't he? Shouldn't you be working on the beacons?"
"It'll take them a few minutes to get everything ready anyway. By the time Jamie and Max get here they should have it downloaded." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself, rather than her, but Clem nodded anyway.
The atmosphere on the tarmac shifted suddenly, and the general bustle of soldiers became an ordered frenzy as a siren sounded somewhere in the distance. Mitch reached out and snagged a young man as he bolted by them.
"What's going on?"
"Hybrid attack," he barked, wrenching his arm from Mitch's grasp to continue on to his station. Around them, the pounding of boots on concrete became a cacophony as soldiers rushed to answer the threat.
"Beta Team on me!"
"Fall in!"
"Eyes up!"
Mitch followed the last command and gasped as a familiar shape soared overhead, followed shortly by a dozen more. Clem cried out in alarm at the sight of the vulture hybrids and gripped his arm tightly. One of the unit commanders came up to them and start pushing them toward the door.
"Get inside! Now!"
The shrieks of the hybrids drowned out the siren, but none of them swooped down to attack. They seemed to be fixated on something in the distance.
"The plane," Mitch murmured. "They're going for the plane."
He gripped Clem's hand tightly and made a beeline for the large concrete wall that separated them from the hybrid zone. There was a service ladder going all the way to the top and he skipped the first two rungs in his haste to climb.
"Clem, get inside!" he shouted over his shoulder.
"But -"
"Now!"
He waited only long enough to make sure she made it indoors before scaling the long distance to the top. He scrambled up and dodged a trio of heavily armed men shouting at each other. Mitch found a relatively sheltered spot that let him peer out over the landscape. He could see the plane in the distance, as well as the helicopter hovering overhead. The hybrids were making straight for them, and it was likely they had no idea.
"Sir, you can't be up here!"
Mitch turned to the young airman and shrugged off the insistent tug. "Can't you shoot them down?"
"Not without risking hitting the chopper. You should get inside!"
"I'm not -"
Both of them ducked instinctively as gunshots pierced the air. The soldiers in the chopper had spotted the hybrids and had opened fire. All around him Mitch saw the IADG soldiers on the wall taking cover, and the man he was with shoved him against the concrete parapet. The shots continued, punctuated with the enraged screams of the hybrids as they attacked their prey.
Mitch chanced a glance over the wall and immediately wished he hadn't. The helicopter was being swarmed despite the efforts of the soldiers inside. If any of those hybrids hit the propellers, the aircraft would crash into the ground and kill anyone inside. Mitch felt helpless as he watched, unable to even see clearly if Jamie and his father had made it out of the plane.
Then, like a bullet out of a gun, the helicopter shot forward. They were aiming for the Barrier, hoping to at least make it close enough to even the odds. Mitch heard someone shout orders from further down, and the man next to him surged to his feet and left him alone as he manned his station. Mitch knew he should get out of the way, that he should go inside and check on the status of the download, but he couldn't move. All he could do was watch the helicopter as it careened closer, its speed almost wild as it tried to outpace the beasts chasing it.
Then it was over them and that same someone from before gave the order. "Fire!"
Mitch clapped his hands over his ears as the squad on top of the wall let loose a furious assault on the flock of hybrids. Most went down under a hail of bullets, and the few that managed to get close enough to swoop down were met with more gunfire. Still, Mitch saw a few men fall under the assault and their pain-filled screams echoed in his ears. He glanced back to check on the helicopter. They had made it to the pad and were making a rather hasty landing. Mitch crawled to the ladder, careful to keep his head down, and hurried down it. More than once he missed a rung and winced as the metal bit into his shins, but he kept moving. When he was safely on the ground he took off at a run.
Max was already out, though his back was to Mitch as he reached back to help Jamie down. There was a large welt on her face that didn't look too bad, but knowing that she'd been injured in the attack made Mitch's heart leap into his throat.
"Jamie!" He was on her in just a few more steps, wrapping her tight in his arms even as the soldiers in the chopper tried to push them away.
"Logan," she mumbled against his neck. "Logan fell."
Mitch held her tighter, offering her comfort. He had never really liked the guy, but Jamie had - in the end at least - considered him a colleague, if not a friend. He breathed his condolences into her hair as he followed Max to the large steel door where Clementine had gone.
Shut away from the chaos outside, the silence inside was almost deafening. Mitch looked around at the bland concrete hallway and wondered where to go next.
"This way, Doctor Morgan." One of the soldiers had followed them inside and now took the lead as they wound their way through a series of corridors and staircases until they reached a large room filled with computer banks. Every wall was covered in screens, each displaying something of value to the throng of people within. In the center stood Garrison, his sharp tone relaying orders as they coordinated the fight raging on outside.
Clem stood with Dariela and Abe in the corner, but at the sight of them she bolted over and clung to Jamie. Mitch let his wife go and turned to Max.
"What happened?"
"Jamie and I were already in the chopper when the alarm sounded. They were lifting Logan up, but it was too late. One of those vulture things attacked, and the soldiers threatened to cut the line. Jamie refused to let them and tried to reach down to grab his hand. He was just too far away."
"Her face?"
"The second hybrid had better aim," Max grimaced. "It hit the line and it snapped. The recoil hit her cheek."
"I would have fallen out if Max hadn't grabbed me," Jamie cut in. "He saved my life."
"People," Garrison's commanding voice interrupted their reunion, "we have work to do! Doctor Morgan, if you please." He indicated a workstation near the back of the room where several screens were already parsing through data at a rapid rate.
Mitch slid into the rolling chair with a heavy sigh. His was a daunting task and he had no clue where to even begin. A hand fell on his shoulder and he glanced up at Jamie's encouraging smile. Just behind her Max stood holding Clem, and though their eyes were still bright with the fear of the horde of hybrids at their gates there was something else that gave Mitch hope. They believed in him.
Turning back to his screens, Mitch took his first look at the data from the deadman's switch. At first it seemed like gibberish, but the more he stared the more he found patterns that seemed to lead him on. With a final sigh he slid the keyboard closer.
"Time to save the world."