"Orphans Beloved: "Halloween: The Night She Came Home…"
Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved bits in my Buffyverse stories, these are fragments and short bits, some longer…Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later.
Disclaimer: No copywrite infringement intended…
(Note: Might keep this one going, we'll see. Anyway…It seems there was yet another "problem" child in the clone mix…)
Part V…
Dyad Institute, present day…
Where a frustrated Angie DeAngelis eyed the two men confronting each other…Beth's old boyfriend, Paul Dierden, clearly not the gym-buffed suit they'd taken him for, judging by the colorful outfit and rank…And the force under his command…And her own partner…In name at least, if not actions…Art Bell, who clearly had carried, was yet carrying a torch for his former partner, burning at his heart, particularly in range of Paul. The two apparently united both in their quest for justice for the late Beth and in keeping the whole thing from one DeAngelis.
"Guys, I'm not one to belly-ache on the subject, but this is starting to smack of rampant sexism." She frowned at Art's look. "Art, one more pat on the head and 'You don't wanna go there, Angie' and I'll start shooting up the place and see if that gets me some answers."
"Officer, I'm sorry…" Paul began… "But…"
Alarms throughout the building…Cries…Lights flickering…
"Emergency evacuation required!" the building loudspeakers blared. "Containment breech on Sub-sub-sub level, building C!" Sirens going off…Lights flashing…
"Lets go!" Paul cried to his troopers…Backing into the elevator…
"Not without us…" Art insisted. Stopping in his attempt to enter as the soldiers pulled up their rifles and pointed. He doing likewise with his gun, Angie following suit.
"No, Officer…" Paul insisted. " Art…" calmly pleading tone. "Lets not make this a bloodbath. You're outgunned. Now, step away from the door."
"Angie, put it down…" Art sighed, lowering gun and stepping back. "I know there's no point in asking you not to follow us. But don't…" Paul noted, sternly. The doors closing…
"Jesus…" Art rubbed left side of his forehead.
"Art?" Angie, spreading hands… "What the hell…? Dierden's military?"
"I didn't know myself he still was…"
"Ok…And…?" she eyed him.
"Officer!" a frightened group of Dyaders, led by several senior researchers… "We've got to get out of the building, at once! It's an emergency…You've got to evacuate us!"
"Yeah…" DeAngelis sighed, grimly. "We get that…"
….
"Keep calm, people!" Nealon at Rachel's head, carefully engaged in removing the pencil and examining the wound, called to his nervous staff. The two policemen sent in by Art eyeing the group, uncertain.
"You can evacuate the nonessential personnel…You and you!" Nealon pointed to two very grateful team members. "And you'd better get the guard out…The rest of us must tend to Ms. Duncan or she won't make it!"
Slight exaggeration on my part though, he eyed the wound…It is serious.
"We should get out of here…" one of the two relieved members urged the police…
"What's going on?" one of the policemen eyed Nealon, who shrugged.
"It's some sort of containment breech on the biohazard levels. Some of your more infantile colleagues must have been fool enough to shut down the main power or otherwise compromise the system." He frowned. "I have to proceed with this surgery, will you do your jobs and get these people out…?"
"All right, come on…" one of the policemen urged the two team members. "Help us get him…" he indicated the wounded security guard… "On the gurney there and lets go. We'll be back or send help, doctor." He called to Nealon who nodded.
"You two can go soon as I've got the bleeding stopped…" he hissed to the nurse and Dr. Reynolds. They nervously eyeing him as the police, pushing the gurney with guard loaded on, groaning, led the others out.
"All right, the object is removed…Gauze!" he called…The nurse hurrying…
"There, I think we've contained it…No penetration of the brain…" he eyed the scanned real-time image of Rachel's head displayed.
"What do we have in containment?" Reynolds, anxiously…
"If I could tell you, I'd have to shoot you." Nealon, grimly. "Go! While you can. I'll see to Ms. Duncan now." He pointed to the door. The two hurrying out…
Cannot get good help these days…Where's the dedication? He sighed, watching them…
Practice of medicine's just gone right into the toilet. Everyone wants to do the research, no one gives a damn about patient care. Well…He turned back to Rachel…
At least now we're free of encumbrances…Although it's a pity we put her fully under, he eyed the unconscious Rachel…She might have told me everything.
At least, everything Aldous Leekie told her…
"All right…Everything's set, Rachel. We're going now…" he told her, gently. "You'll be fine."
You know, despite the rather hideous wound…She's very pretty when she's asleep, he eyed her, pushing gurney out the opposite door from the one the staff had fled.
…..
"Any idea how the power was cut off down here?" Colonel Dierden addressed one of the teams sweeping the sub-basement level, prior to its proceeding to the sub-sub- and eventually the final goal of the sub-sub-sub-basement where the members of the unfortunate Unit 2 had likely met their unfortunate demise. Even more likely so, given that Unit 3 having completed its own sweep of the said sub-sub-basement had not been heard from following its own descent to Level Sub-sub-sub-basement.
"Not yet, sir." The leader of the three-person team shook her head. "But the Dyad staff we encountered confirms that the power below Level 1 is on a separate generator, for safety."
"Oh? And what down here needs that extra level of safety?" Dierden eyed the woman.
"They didn't know, sir. Most had no idea anything special was down here. This is the oldest section of the complex, sir."
"Anyone with better knowledge of his or her workplace? You did say 'most', implying…"
"One who appears to be of the senior staff, sir…A Miss Niehaus…We found her on the main floor, leaving her lab."
"Cosima Niehaus?"
"Yes, sir."
Well, not the reunion I was hopin' for…But…Paul thought.