DISCLAIMER: I don't own House. But I do watch it religiously.
First off, thanks to all the people who reviewed! I'll try to hand out more personal thank yous once I get the next chapter out, because you all deserve one and... because I want to. But for now, because I'm tired and don't have a lot of time: THANK YOU TO ALL (even you readers who don't review, hint hint)! Ok, on with the chapter...
Q is for Quarantine
Chapter Nine: Interlude
A few hours later; House has been thrown in a secluded cell after being caught for harassing a guard and causing him substantial damage with his stick. He is not in a good mood, and has already had blood extracted for testing – against his will. So, chapter nine begins…
House sat in the white barren room, with nothing but his cane and misery for company, staring at the dull cleanliness surrounding him with glazed-over eyes. If he were a more feeling man, perhaps his thoughts would have been along the lines of, I'm stuck in a cell with nothing to do and nothing to see… this must be what a mental person feels like when they get locked up in here by a psychiatrist; gosh, now I understand how they feel… But no, House was not an emotional man – more arrogant, and most of the time, unfeeling – so his thoughts, instead, ran as, Crap, I'm stuck in a cell with no ducklings to torture, no Jimmy to annoy and no Cuddy to disrespect… I feel so sorry for ME…
The door clicked and slid open, but House's eyes didn't focus when Walker sauntered into his cell. Under the harsh fluorescent lighting, the Englishman had suddenly lost his dark, roguish charm, once charismatic eyes hooded and shoulders hunched. He stalked purposefully up to the diagnostician, who was still ignoring him, but was also secretly thinking in his head, I'm stuck in a cell with nothing but my cane and misery for company, no ducklings to torture, no Jimmy to annoy and no Cuddy to disrespect, and my greatest enemy has just walked through the door… I feel so sorry for HIM…
"Greg," the CDC Director tried to get his attention. "We need to talk."
"Yes, that's generally what human beings do, you know, to communicate. We talk." House abruptly started to twirl his stick, making Walker have to step slightly away from him to avoid being hit on the nose.
"Oh, sorry, let me rephrase; I need to talk and you need to listen," he said, starting to pace around the table House was sitting on, like a vulture does a dead carcass. "First things first – preliminary tests have proven you negative for Ebola, so far." Walker paused as if House had just received the best news of his lifetime.
"If you want a gushing response, you're gonna have to wait for a long time," said House, after the pause. Like forever, since we all know it's NOT EBOLA!
"Secondly," Walker carried on, unfazed, "I want to know where your associates, Doctors Cameron and Chase, have gone. It is vital that they do not wonder into highly infectious areas of the hospital, because they may unwillingly be bringing the disease upon themselves-"
"You mean, like Foreman and Stacey," said House, flashing his first glare at Walker since the British man had – stupidly – entered his domain. "Though 'unwillingly' is a key word in that sentence. Tell me, have you murdered them yet, or are they stuck in cells like mine and left to die of boredom instead? Hmm, I guess it doesn't matter, because they'll end up dead either way."
Walker's eyes glittered with unconcealed malice and enjoyment. He grinned, now, all traces of his former charming self gone, his feral smile transforming him into the creature that House had always remembered him to be. Not a man, not even an animal. A creature.
"I heard you refused to divulge any information to James," Walker said, with a hauntingly relishing tone. "And yes, I'm sorry to report that both Doctor Foreman and Mrs Warner have been infected with a life-threatening virus. However, they are still alive… and suffering as the disease tears down their body's defences. Can you imagine blood spurting from under your fingernails, gushing through your throat, leaking through the oral cavity and your vision turning red, because blood vessels have popped around your eyes? Can you imagine your insides turning into a mass of pulp as each organ bleeds out -?"
"No need to get graphic, Matt," House interrupted Walker. He had swallowed his shock at the fact that Walker had actually infected Stacey and Foreman, and quickly covered up with a cool façade. "I've seen grosser things in my life; take you for example."
"I was just informing you on what's happening to your employee and girlfriend. Hmm, love interest, eh, Greg? I always thought you were incapable of any emotional thought," smirked Walker.
"And I always thought you were incapable of anything decent since what you did in med school," said House, referring to The Incident for the first time since it had happened, all those years ago. The memory of it made his skin crawl, and he immediately regretted bringing it up. Walker also seemed to share his feelings; his smirk dropped off his face and was replaced by a faltering look of insecurity. House felt a niggling sense of satisfaction at this, but that was quickly overridden by a burning flare of anger – anger that had been left to stew for all those years since he left med school. But House didn't let Walker see this; no, Walker didn't deserve his anger – he deserved nothing.
"Doctor Foreman and Mrs Warner will die in the next few days if you do not comply with my wishes," Walker told House coldly, changing the subject swiftly. "But first of all, you'll tell me where Doctors Chase and Cameron are hiding."
"Would it sound childish if I said, 'up your ass and round the corner'?" House said, blue eyes chillingly icy to match Walker's tone of voice.
"Greg!" Walker boomed, "This is not the time to joke; serious punishments could come your way if you do not answer my questions!"
House rolled his eyes. "Nothing's more punishing than being in your presence, Matt."
"Dammit, Greg, just answer me!"
"Bite me."
Walker cursed and ran his hands through his ragged hair in frustration, taking deep gulping breaths to calm himself. "What can I give you to make you reconsider sharing information with the CDC?" he asked, quietly, evidently more controlled. House saw through this softer approach as a different way of interrogation and manipulation; another insult to his intelligence.
"Anything?" he said, as if genuinely considering the offer. Walker nodded, trying not to look too eager.
"Anything," the Englishman repeated, waiting for House to reply.
"How about your head on a stick?" said House, eyebrow cocked, "I hear Cuddy's an avid collector."
Walker's fingers flexed like they had to be restrained from wrapping themselves around House's neck. "Well, she can collect all the heads she likes once this quarantine is over. The hospital's going to be overrun with dead corpses, and they'll be dead because of you."
House yawned, not impressed. "That's the thing I don't get; how's it gonna be my fault, when it's the CDC who screwed up? You gonna practice that trick you pulled in med school over here?" A second referral to The Incident stoked the fires in Walker's eyes once more, and set House's stomach clenching with disgust. He realised then, that he had never disliked anyone more, not Vogler, not Cuddy, heck, not even Chase. Hate was a strong word, but it didn't even begin to cover House's feelings towards Walker.
"It will be your fault because you know what disease is at work here, and you won't tell us!" yelled Walker, a bead of sweat trickling down his brow.
"Indeedy I do," said House, since he had absolutely no idea. This brought his attention back to Chase and Cameron, and where they were now. They'd better have those files, he thought whilst thinking of smart comments to make against Walker.
"We've read the diagnoses you put up on the walls in testing room five," said Walker, testily. "None of the diseases you listed are transmittable by air, and since none of the other patients infected were not in contact with Cosgrove's body fluids, the disease has to be airborne."
"Unless they were all accidentally injected with the disease in the first place," said House pointedly. "What, were they all rude to you, too? They didn't tell you what you wanted to hear, so you jabbed them with a deadly virus, is that it?"
"No, I just reserved that treatment for your co-workers," Walker shrugged. "Or for you, if you don't cooperate with me."
"Oooh, I'm so scared," said House, waving his hands about mockingly. "Crazy doctor with an Über virus that's out to get me. Whoooo…" He said the last bit in an imitation of a ghost, flapping his arms at Walker wildly. He bashed his stick at the Englishman a bit (accidentally-on-purpose, of course) but he didn't care so much; Walker needed all the bashing he could get.
The CDC Director slapped House's cane away angrily. "Ok, let's make another deal, then. How about -"
"What is it with you and your deals, huh, Matt?" House said shrewdly, "Even that pizza delivery down the road makes less deals than you – and their pizzas suck."
"How about I let you have-" began Walker.
"An order of two eleven inch pizzas to get a third free," said House thoughtfully, "Yeah, I think that was the deal…By the way, I like pepperoni… and definitely no anchovies. Perhaps a side order of-"
"- all the information on the patients that were infected and-"
"- spicy chicken wings, to go with -"
"- the research facilities; all be open to you and your team, so you can study -"
"- a big tub of Ben and Jerry's – oh, could you get me some of those cheesy-bread things that they recently started selling for -"
"- the diseases that have broken out in the hospital – money no object, even if it's -"
"- half price; but that's still very -"
"- expensive."
Both House and Walker ended on the same note and stared at each other for a long moment before looking away in disdain. Well, House stuck a finger in his mouth and pretended to gag, but Walker just kept to the disdainful look.
"If you had listened to me," said Walker tightly, "you might have found the deal to your liking."
"Well, I suppose it beats a soggy crust and mouldy cheese," House sighed dramatically. "All the research facilities, huh? And all the information on the patients? Wow, you must really be desperate for someone to solve the case."
A triumphant light was shining in Walker's eyes at the sound of House's approval of his offer. He ignored the jibe at his apparent 'desperation.' "So you'll do it, then?"
"What, pass up a chance to prove that you suck?" snickered House, "Of course. But I need my team."
"If this is about infecting Doctor Foreman, that was all part of the previous deal-"
"You mean, blackmail."
"Whatever. Just think, the quicker you find out what the disease is, the quicker we can administrate a cure to save him," said Walker.
House rolled his eyes. "If you think I accepted this 'deal' of yours just to save Foreman, then you are very much mistaken – I really couldn't care about Doctor Blackpoleon Blackapart. Nah, I'm just doing it to prove you suck and I rock."
Walker shook his head and made to leave. He had gotten what he had come for, and was keen to avoid any more open confrontations about The Incident. He skirted around House, but the diagnostician was quick to stick out his cane, barring Walker across the chest with it and stopping him from going any further. Walker sighed.
"What is it, Greg?"
"I want a team to assist me," House demanded again. "And not those brainless wonders you call doctors - I don't want any of your staff; and since Foreman's indisposed, then I want Cameron and Chase to help me out."
Walker frowned. "But they've gone missing, and you're the only one that knows where to find them."
House hit him with the stick. "Don't pull any crap on me," he said, a bit more forcefully. "You know exactly where they are. I want you to get them to me, without any infectious diseases and without any limbs or useful body parts missing."
"Fine!" Walker snapped, knowing that his façade was useless. "How did you know I knew?"
House shrugged, a smug smile plastered across his face. "I didn't. Your reaction kinda said it all, though."
Walker growled and whipped out a cell phone. He speed dialled a number, just as House pointed at a 'The use of cellular phones is not prohibited within the confines of the hospital' sign, but the CDC Director ignored him.
James picked up on the other line. "Sir?"
Walker glanced at House quickly before speaking; the diagnostician sent him a look that said, Take your time, really… "Well, I want you to do something for me."
"Yes, Sir?"
"I think it's time for two doctors to be let out of the elevator."
Meanwhile, in the elevator…
A.N. …Dun dun dun! Haha, I'm so evil – that's a pretty big cliffy. Just thought I'd post the Interlude (even though it was a bit boring)so that there'd be less of a wait for the next chapter (plus, this chapter explains a bit about what's going on – it's a sort of link). As for Chase and Cameron… well, you'll just have to see!
PLEASE REVIEW, whether constructive advice or just general feedback; I'd love to hear from all my readers… otherwise, I refuse to update! Lol.
Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed!
Daygoner