LJP- I'm tricky like that. Look for more surprises in the next chapter.

CHAPTER 56

HIDDEN DARKNESS

November 29, 2010

8:28pm

Scotland, Carthis

Bed and Breakfast

"Keep going Allen," Alex instructed Allen. She knew that there had to be more behind Allen's tale. Alex also knew that she would not like it.

"Once your clones are born, Parker will have his doctors speed up their aging. In five years they will, and I quote, 'have the mentality and physical appearance of an eighteen year old.' Keegan was -is- to be their Jake, their leader."

"Parker's going to turn them into assassins isn't he? Make them to be what we were suppose to be?" Alex asked.

"No he won't," Jeremiah spoke. "We can't allow for him to do this."

"Jer what are you saying?" Adam questioned.

"Mission has changed. Allen you said that Parker hasn't found the surrogates yet." Jeremiah said.

"That's correct. He could of had them a few weeks ago but Parker wanted for his doctors to do some last minute alterations to the embryos," Allen replied.

"Good, because were going to burn that lab to the ground. I won't let them do it again," Jeremiah promised.

"I also regret to inform you that it's not just the Black Files genetic samples the Centre had stored away, but Phoenix's as well. Both sets of Phoenix. I don't know if you are aware of this but Jamie and Jeffery were created for William and Alyssa. From the four of them will come children of the ultimate breeding. And it's already started. The women carrying William and Jamie's son and Alyssa and Jeffery's daughter are close to term," Allen said.

"H-how is this... how could," Alex stuttered.

"The surrogates are seven and a half months along. And I have noticed that the babies in your family have the habit of being born almost a month premature. If you want to not only destroy the Centre lab, rescue your brother and your unborn niece and nephew as well we have roughly two weeks to do it all in," Allen told Alex.

"This is insane. This is beyond insane. It's like friggin Dark Angel meets some wacked out soap opera meets, friggin' clone wars. And your like Whistler or Doyle coming to us with some message from the powers that be, and giving us out mission to save our family," Adam ranted.

"Doyle and Whistler were Irish. I'm English so I guess that'd make me more like some one from the Watchers council. And if I must be compared to someone from the Watchers council could it be Giles, at the very least Wesley but not season three of Buffy, Wesley, more like season five of Angel Wesley, before Fred dies," Allen said.

And despite everything that Adam and Alex had learned over the past hour they began to laugh. Here was this boy who dropped the biggest bombshell imaginable on them and then he asks to be compared to characters from two cult t.v. shows

"Apparently I said something that struck the two of you funny," Allen spoke not sure why the two children were in hysterics.

"It's just...you watch Buffy and Angel," Alex said between laughter, tears were streaming down her face.

"I believe that this is called shock," Steve said softly looking at the two children with concern. Angelo too was worried about the children, it was a great deal to take in, even he was having a hard time dealing with it.

"Katie, Adam enough," Jeremiah whispered to them. He placed a hand on either one of them and changeling Alex's empathic abilities, Jeremiah forced the two to deal with what was at hand. It was ability Jeremiah had little experience, and one Alex herself rarely used. She, Aaron and Andros did not like forcing feeling upon other people, to them it was a violation of the mind. Jeremiah did not like forcing feelings upon Alex or Adam, but knew he had little choice. Time was running out.

"Oh God," Alex moaned her laughter subsiding, and reality once again sinking in. "Jer what are we going to do?"

"The best we can for now. We need to get our hands on floor plans of the Centre. Since we won't need to go to the monastery any longer that put's Steve back in the game, but Adam out."

"What!" Adam yelled out raged he would not be going along for the mission.

"Adam it's too dangerous. It was different when we would just be facing a bunch of monks. But now were going up against sweepers. Something you have no training in. I won't risk you getting killed," Jeremiah said sternly.

"I'm not some little defenseless boy any more Jeremiah. I have my own power as well now," Adam retorted.

"It doesn't matter Adam I will not risk you losing your life over this. It is dangerous. You have no idea just how dangerous it is. This isn't like the movies okay. These people kill kids. They will kill you or even worse. I will not let you live the life that Alex and I did. Like Jake and Rachael did. Like your father did," Jeremiah said.

"Don't bring my father into this. He's dead! Dead because of the Centre. Because of Lyle and Raines and Parker. Hell because of your Dad, Jeremiah. His sick little experiment, Alex, got out and killed my father, and for what? So that he could be the best pretender. No that wasn't it. My Dad is dead because he was Uncle Jarod's friend. So I guess in away both that psychotic bastard Alex, Uncle Jarod and your father, Lyle are responsible for my father's death!" Adam yelled.

Never before in his life had Jeremiah ever wanted to strike one of his cousins, his sisters or brother. But Adam was truly pushing all the wrong buttons. All Jeremiah knew that if it hadn't been for all of the years he spent learning to keep his anger in check he would have physically hurt Adam. As it was Jeremiah had hurt too many people he loved as it was. The day out on the river...No he wasn't going to think about that.

Instead of physically lashing out at his younger cousin, Jeremiah settled on the next best thing he knew would hurt Adam. Words.

"Don't you ever refer to Lyle as my father," Jeremiah said calmly. "In case you haven't noticed Adam Edward Russell, my last name is Grey, not Parker, not Bowman, but Grey. And if you want to throw some childish temper tantrum over how life is unfair because your father was killed and somehow that all has to do with the fact that I want to protect you then maybe you better go home. I have no need for such childishness. Peter needs to be rescued, I'm about to be cloned, and Will and Jaime and Alley and Jeff are about to be parents. I don't have time to deal with your psychological issues, I've got plenty of my own."

At that point of Jeremiah's speech, Adam would have preferred that Jeremiah had just hit him at least yell or scream. But no Jeremiah just stood there calmly talking to Adam, as though they were discussing the weather.

"Jer, I'm-," Adam began only to find himself cut off by Jeremiah.

"I'm not done Adam. I understand the anger you feel. You lost not only a father but a mother. But you are not the only person in our family who has had a shitty childhood. I'm not going to tell you to get over it but I am going to command you to let go of it for now. It's not important. I love you Adam, your like my little brother. But I swear that if you ever, ever utter such words again I will hit you and depending on my temper that day I may just do more than just hit you once," Jeremiah warned.

His warning sent a chill down Adam spine. It was a side of Jeremiah Adam had never seen before and it was a side of Jeremiah, Adam never hoped to see again. It made Adam realize that Jeremiah, the rest of the Black Files and Will, Alley, Jaime and Jeff, were not just the people they were at home. They had a darkness hidden deep inside of them. It also gave Adam a glimpse of what had been unleashed that day on the river.

"Do you understand me, Adam?" Jeremiah asked.

"Yes, sir," Adam replied. He understood not to cross Jeremiah ever again and so much more. He finally understood what it meant to be a child of the Centre. Adam understood that he himself had never been one, and prayed that he would never be. He didn't want for that type of darkness to exist with inside of him.

"Good. Now we need to get a hold of those floor plans," Jeremiah spoke getting back to business. Steve and the others let out a sigh of relief realizing that nothing more was going to happen. That what ever had taken place between Jeremiah and Adam was over. There were now other things to focus on, things of much more importance.

November 30, 2010

2:06pm

Charlottesville, Virginia

Russell Family Home

It was raining outside, Keegan looked out the window of his room with amazement. Hehad never seen rain before.

"You know there's a better way to enjoy rain," Amy spoke from her bed

"How?" Keegan asked.

"Well it's not thundering and it's not lighting, which means it's the perfect rain to play in. Come on lets go," Amy commanded and with that the three boys followed Amy out of the house and into the rain.

Maddie was the first to notice that the children were not in their room, she pushed away the panic and worry and set out to find her brother and cousins. She just so happened to look out of the window to see Keegan, Jason, Jack and Amy running in the front yard, laughing, and playing, throwing mud at one another.

Shaking her head, Maddie rounded up Mike, Greg, Lissa, Aaron and Andros. The quintet set out to bring the four children inside.

"You little mud monsters better get in this house before you catch cold," Aaron spoke from the porch. He then found himself being splattered with four mud balls. Amy and the boys collapsed to the ground in a fit of laughter.

"Oh so you think that's funny huh?" Aaron asked The four children unable to talk between their giggles managed to nod their heads. "Oh okay then." Aaron replied nonchalantly he then ran of the porch and began to chase after the four little ones. Andros and the others soon joined Aaron in on the chase and an all out mud battle soon waged.

Covered from head to toe in mud, and soaked down to their underwear the nine children entered the house.

"My God some one get a camera," Marc spoke from the couch, staring up a the dirty forms in disbelief. "This would make the perfect blackmail photo."

"Marc could you stop plotting ways to destroy what little pride we have left and get us some towels?" Mike asked as he tried to wipe away some of the mud from his face without much success.

"Yeah one second," Marc replied and made his way to the stairs, he then paused on the bottom stair as though he forgot something. "Hey Aunt Morgan! You have to come see this!" Marc bellowed up the stairs.

The eldest set of muddy children let out a string of curses, knowing that Morgan would not be pleased with the sight of nine muddy children tracking filth through her house. They were right. Morgan fussed at the children for close to ten minutes, scolding them for tracking in mud, and being so wet that they were bound to catch colds. Warning the children that if the did catch colds then don't come moaning to her because it wasn't her fault that they decided to play out in the rain when it was fifty degrees outside.

The children all nodded their heads not wanting to speak knowing that it might just set Morgan off on another rant and the children then set off up stairs to clean up. Halfway to his room Keegan let out a sneeze and the other kids began to laugh.

"I'm not going to catch a cold am I?" Keegan asked Mike.

"Don't worry Key, Mom will take care of you, and Will and Alley will make some chicken soup if you get sick," Mike reassured his brother and with that the children went their separate ways to shower.

As he showered Aaron couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. He knew that it wasn't Alex she was safe for now. Aaron would know if she was hurting or upset. It took Aaron close to ten minutes to realized that it was his inner-sense causing his distress. He hadn't really been listening to it every since they had gotten the boys back. And now it was as if the voices had realized Aaron had been ignoring them and they were growing louder. Aaron opened himself up to the voices and was assaulted with loud screaming, and not the murmurs that he normally heard. Aaron fell to his knees, pressing his hands to his temples as if to muffle the sounds.

"I hear you now, please quite down, your too loud," Aaron whispered to the voices. Almost instantly they did, and Aaron let out a sigh of relief. He focused himself to try and hear what the voices had to say. He could only make out snatches of some words. But the few words he made out were enough to concern him.

sick...shadow...cain...kill...hurt...able...gone...pete...danger...john...phoenix

Up Next: Alex, Jeremiah, Allen, Angelo, and Steve make their way to the New Centre to rescue the people they love and to destroy the genetics lab. Back at home Jack has the flu...or does he.

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