The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
…
"When were you going to inform me of this development?" the raspy voice of Mr. Raines caused Lyle's heart to skip a beat and adrenaline to flood his system.
"Once I had confirmed that they were indeed together. No point until then," Lyle explained, keeping his cool. His statement was true enough, there was little point in chasing after a maybe, and no one had confirmed her physical presence with Jarod.
Raines threw a file down on Lyle's desk, causing it to spill its contents across the polished surface. He reached out to pick up one of the photos frowning when he realized what it showed. A screencap of a video conference call, in the image were both Jarod and the girl. "Damn," Lyle muttered. "My people on the ground were unable to confirm they were together due to the weather that moved in."
"Perhaps you should have had your people take a more proactive role in the monitoring of her."
Lyle shook his head. "Too risky. We are not yet fully apprised of her psi abilities. I did not want to risk her becoming aware of our observation." He tipped his head eyes narrowing. "I seem to recall that is what the Triumvirate requested. Observe and record."
Raines wheezed his displeasure. "Their mandate does not include the two of them meeting face to face. This changes things."
Lyle tapped a finger on the desktop. With Mr. Parker gone, Raines had been placed in charge of the Tower, and while Lyle may not have liked it, he knew which side his bread was buttered on, and if he wanted to keep his head... literally, he'd have to toe the line. What Raines wanted, Raines got. "I'll make arrangements to have her brought in."
"Bring both of them in," Raines ordered. "Make certain she is undamaged."
"Of course. I'll have a team ready to leave within the hour."
"A team you will be leading. I expect you to personally see to it that she is secured for transport to The Centre."
Lyle swallowed hard, but nodded. "As you wish. Any specific instructions aside from undamaged?"
Raines wheezed out a laugh. "I would recommend using the strongest tranquillizers you can find. She is reportedly highly resistant to sedation."
Lyle nodded, not about to argue, especially since Raines was making it quite clear he had been keeping up to date on any and all information on the girl. "We'll be prepared."
Raines shook his head and turned away, the wheels of his oxygen tank squeaking on the smooth floor. "You better be, you have no idea what she is capable of."
Lyle sat still until the doors had shut, the sound of Raines departure having faded in the distance, then he picked up his phone, his nonexistent thumb aching as he dialed. It was looking to be a long night.
…
Mountain High Resort
Northern Rockies, Montana
…
Fawkes looked like utter shit. When the storm had worsened, knocking out power to more cabins, they had given up their borrowed sofas to a family from Kentucky and returned to their cabin where they'd built a roaring fire and camped out using the mattress from the sofa bed to rest on. The wood, food and coffee supplied by the resort staff more than enough to get them through the night.
Fawkes had tossed and turned all frickin' night, mumbling and muttering in his sleep, which of course meant Hobbes hadn't slept as well, wondering if everything was okay with his partner. He'd checked the monitor a couple times, but it remained the same with only one red segment, the toxin build-up minimal at best... supposedly. And that meant the new inhibitor was working like it should. Claire had tested it nine ways to Sunday before using it on Fawkes, made certain there were no conflicts with the old one or the Counteragent, but as he had been informed many times, simulations could tell them a lot, but live testing would always be the only definitive answer. But it would also be dangerous. Unexpected results possible at any moment. So he watched his partner, waiting for that other shoe to drop. Fawkes' brother had begun the research, Claire and Alyx had finished it months ago, but both had been very cautious before injecting Fawkes with it. In fact, Hobbes seemed to recall a discussion about trying it before the kid had left on that last job, with her asking the Keep to wait for her return, but she'd gone ahead and allowed Fawkes to decide and he had chosen to try it, hoping that he'd be granted just a few more minutes of freedom from insanity.
Hobbes, after his friend's deteriorating behavior the last several hours, had serious concerns that the inhibitor had not worked as intended. He stoked the fire, encouraging it to produce more heat. The night hadn't been too bad, but he would prefer not spending more than one like it. Plus, they still had a mission to complete. He could only hope Goodrowe hadn't taken his ire out on Hurst and his family when he was unable to complete his sale as scheduled.
He also hoped Alyx and Jarod had made it through the night all right. Last they'd heard Jarod had been injured, they had no idea how bad. He turned on his cell phone - he'd kept it off to conserve the battery as they had limited resources to recharge till power had been fully restored. As expected he still had no signal, which meant no messages missed. Which meant... he had no idea if they were okay.
Darien groaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Mornin'," he mumbled as he spotted Hobbes beside him.
"You okay?"
"Not so much," Darien answered, pushing himself to his feet and stumbling towards the bathroom.
Hobbes went to the thermos of coffee the hotel had supplied and poured a cup, which he handed to Darien when he returned. Caffeine would be necessary before he'd be even vaguely amenable to a rational discussion.
"Thanks," Darien muttered around a mouthful. It was probably lukewarm by this time, but he clearly didn't care. He walked to the door and opened it, losing the little warmth that had been so carefully hoarded by Hobbes. "What time is it?"
"Early, just after eight. Storm's supposed to be letting up by noon," Hobbes told him, getting up to join him at the door. The snowfall was fluffy flakes now, not the wind driven pellets of the previous afternoon. "Lobby still has power and is providing food free for all the guests."
"Cool," Darien responded, sounding distracted. "Have we... have you heard from Alyx?"
"Not yet, but it's early and they were higher up in the mountains, the snowfall was probably heavier there." Hobbes had to admit the scene before them was quite beautiful, but he'd much prefer not being trapped in it. "She's fine, Darien. Cell connection died at our end, not hers."
"And that's supposed to make me feel more confident about the situation," Darien snarked, turning about and heading back towards the fireplace and the only source of warmth.
Hobbes shut the door and followed. "Fawkes, you live in the back of her head, can't you feel if she's all right?"
Darien sat cross-legged on the mattress, sipping at the coffee. "I... I hadn't thought of that. Gimme a minute and I'll give it a go."
Hobbes nodded and went back to tending the fire, tossing on a couple more logs to replace the heat that had gone out the door while they'd been standing there admiring the winter wonderland. He glanced over his shoulder to see Fawkes leaning back against the sofa, eyes closed, head tipped slightly to one side in a way that eerily reminding him of the kid. After a few minutes where the only sound was the crackling of the new flames, he smiled, stress that had been hunching his shoulders melting away like the snow on his feet.
"She's good. Cold, but good," Darien said, eyes coming open. "Snow's still coming down so they're stuck until it lets up."
"Smart girl," Hobbes said with a nod. "Better they stay in place than kill themselves trying to get back down the mountain."
"She agrees with you. Jarod took a bullet to the shoulder, which she removed, but is doing fine." Darien frowned a bit at that, but Hobbes had no idea why. "She'll try to call us at noon. If the lines are still down she'll..." He laughed softly, "She'll poke me in the head to make contact."
"Good plan. We'll turn our phones on at five of and off at five after if we haven't heard anything."
"They'll rendezvous with us here, hopefully by this evening," Darien said as he blinked back to full awareness. He rubbed his forehead. "Urf, headache."
"Well, you ain't exactly used to the long distance thing, guess it's to be expected." Hobbes set the poker aside. "You hungry?"
Darien nodded. "Think they'll have bacon and eggs?"
Hobbes grinned, his partner's appetite never failing no matter what the situation. "Here's hoping."
…
The trip down the mountain had not been fun in any way, shape or form. The so-called road had been buried, but with judicious use of her powers, Alyx had driven the Jeep down with comparatively little trouble. Jarod had been tempted to have her drive back to the Hurst's estate to check on the family, but she had nixed the idea citing the need to reconnect with her partners and... to be away from him for a while. Yes, they needed to do some recon to figure out how Goodrowe's plans had changed, but even he could tell she was in emotional overload, her entire reality twisted and distorted in the last twenty-four hours. She needed peace and, sadly, he knew she would not be getting any.
They pulled into the resort, much to the amazement of the staff given the fact that the roads in the area had not yet been plowed, and drove right on by, heading for their cabins. Power had been restored just after ten a.m. according to Fawkes, which meant they could shower and change without freezing vital parts of their anatomy off.
Jarod had left a pile of one hundred dollars bills for the owner of the cabin, as repayment for the use, which had made Alyx smile, as she had planned to do something similar. She had seemed oddly uneasy this morning, the few hours of sleep they had caught in the wee hours of the morning not as revitalizing as hoped for either of them. They'd both been plagued with dreams and come daylight neither had been willing to discuss them.
She'd parked in front of his cabin, insisting the walk to hers was just what she needed, so she'd grabbed her gear and done just that. Leaving him alone, wanting to ask a million questions she surely had no answers to. They'd talked for hours, but failed to resolve anything of value. She still suffered from a severe case of disbelief. Everything made sense, everything fell into place perfectly and explained so much about why she was so very different, but she still failed to comprehend the truth of it all. And she needed to. She needed to understand that once this job was done her life would never be the same and her best chance at survival would be to follow in his footsteps and run.
They met up at the conference room a couple hours later to plan their next move. Alyx started by grabbing a pen and piece of paper and proceeded to draw the Hurst house including all the power and security systems to share with the entire class. Jarod had to admit, if only to himself, he was impressed, there was little she had missed, and she'd never gotten closer than one hundred yards of the house. And that had only been one side of the house.
"So what's our next move?" Hobbes tossed out as he looked over the drawing. "They'll be on alert after your last visit."
Alyx nodded. "I know, and there's no point in moving on the family if Goodrowe is still on the loose." She crossed her arms over her chest and paced around the table. "I'll head to the warehouse and plant some real bugs so that we'll have a head's up for when they are moving the guns."
"The roads haven't been cleared yet," Hobbes pointed out.
"And?" Alyx said, clearly not bothered by the thought of rough driving and given her skill getting them down the mountain, she would have minimal trouble getting down to the outskirts of Eureka where the warehouse was located. "We've got the good gear in the SUV, I can be back in a few hours at most. We need real intel, and sitting outside on the street would be damn obvious right now."
"Not alone," Darien stated at a near-growl.
"Darien, I'm a big girl-"
"Not alone," Jarod stated flatly. "Darien has been inside already, he can show you the optimal locations to leave the bugs."
Darien looked startled at those words, as if he had expected Jarod to back Alyx, or perhaps volunteer to go with her. Jarod suspected there was jealousy involved, but now was not the time to explain the surprising and unexpected relationship between them.
"Wish we could do the same at the house," Hobbes stated, looking from one man to another with a quizzical expression on his face.
"Not a chance." Alyx set both hands on the table and leaned on them. "We'll just have to hope the weather delayed Goodrowe's plans, much as they did ours." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "We've got a couple hours of daylight left, we best make use of them."
Darien walked over to her and set a hand on her shoulder. "You sure about this?"
She smiled up at him. "It'll be like old times, bub."
"Been a while, hasn't it?"
She nodded. "Too long." She turned to Bobby. "How many of the good bugs do we have on hand?"
Hobbes thought for a moment. "Three. Think that'll give you the coverage you want?"
Alyx shrugged. "It'll have to," she said.
Jarod stayed in the background as they worked efficiently to verify the gear worked and then packed it to go. Less than thirty minutes later Fawkes and Alyx had left, heading for town. Once alone Hobbes turned to Jarod, taking his measure in detail for the first time since they'd met.
"So what happened?" Hobbes finally asked.
Jarod shrugged. "Goodrowe had patrols out further than we expected and they got behind us while we were checking the security. I got shot while we made our exit."
"And exactly how did you make your exit?" Hobbes pressed, plainly looking for some particular piece of information.
"If you are concerned that I will tell my superiors about your partner's... gifts, you needn't worry, I know when to keep my mouth shut."
Hobbes sighed and scrubbed his face with one hand. "How much did she give away?"
Jarod managed a dry chuckle. "Let's just say my computer worked the entire time."
"Typical," Hobbes grumbled with a shake of his head. "She's Top Secret, my friend, and our boss intends to keep her that way."
Jarod knew better than to argue. "And I have no intention of telling anyone. Now that said, she's in danger. There are people out there who will come after her."
Hobbes snorted. "Tell me something I don't know."
"We talked... a lot. I know there are several... agencies after her. I want to help."
Hobbes pondered the words for several minutes, his loyalties, both to her and his boss being tested, but it was obvious when he came to a decision. "What do you want to know?"
"Tell me what you can about her husband and this agency he worked for."
…
Alyx pulled up a couple blocks down from the warehouse. They would be going in on foot as the SUV stood out on the almost empty streets. Most had not been plowed, but Alyx had made her own version, much like the one from that snow vacation they'd taken back in those first few months of their association. She'd left the engine running, not being a fan of the cold any more than he was, while she double-checked the gear. They hadn't talked much on the ride over, his mind stuck on the familiarity he'd witnessed between her and Jarod.
Granted when she'd staggered back into the cabin around two p.m. she'd walked straight to him and he had willingly wrapped his arms about her. Her need for him coming across loud and clear, and he'd been more than happy to accommodate her... until she refused to tell him why she felt so upset. He had, of course, chosen to assume the worst. That she and Jarod had... he pushed it aside, they had a job to do and lucky for her that meant the personal got shoved to the rear of the proverbial boat until it had been completed. There were times, this being one of them, when he hated that they had to put their personal life second to... to everything else. And that meant some days the personal came tenth or lower on the life list, which really sucked.
He got it. Really, he did, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He sighed and rubbed his hand, the tingling back through his palm and up toward his elbow. It didn't really hurt, just felt weird and didn't restrict his movement at all, which was good he supposed.
"You okay?" she asked meekly, as if she knew his mood wasn't the greatest at the moment.
"Fine and dandy," he told her. "Do we have a game plan?"
"Yep. You are lead. You know the location of the office and the guns, those will be the primary targets."
He blinked twice. She wanted him to lead? Since when? "Should probably grab the mike I left behind while we're here. Just in case. How many bugs do we have?"
"Three," she told him, reaching into the back for the case. "And they're set to work wirelessly, we'll be able to pick them up back at the resort once I set up the repeater."
Darien frowned, slightly. "How big is it?"
She held up the four by six by one device. "Needs direct power?"
"Yep. I'm thinking catwalk, splice into a power cable."
Darien nodded. "Yeah, that should work." He pondered for a few moments, going over what he had seen in there his last visit. "Can you use it to pick up the video they have installed?"
She grinned. "That I can." She tapped him on the nose. "Always the smarty-pants."
…
Alyx sat back with her stocking feet up on the coffee table, her laptop on her thighs, hacking her way into the wireless camera system at the Hurst warehouse. "I wish I'd thought to bring Destiny along," she groused mostly at herself.
"Kid?" Hobbes questioned. They'd decided to move all the data to their cabin, freeing up the conference room for the resort staff, who were using it for storage after some minor damage to a couple of the cabins. He actually preferred it, especially now that they had bugs set up, let them do their work in private without ords stumbling in on them. It did mean they had to make their own coffee, but with the kid along that wasn't much of a sacrifice.
"If I had it I could dial right into the Hurst's home system and have eyes in there."
"Destiny?" Jarod asked, plainly curious.
"Program the kid wrote that allows us to view or take over security and surveillance pretty much anywhere," Hobbes explained and Jarod looked suitably impressed.
"And you wrote that?" Jarod asked with a grin.
"But of course," she said with a nod. A few taps later and, "I'm in, we now have audio and video in the warehouse. Soon as Goodrowe makes an appearance, we'll know about it."
"And until then, how about a plan for when he does show up?" Darien suggested, coming out of the kitchen with a cup of cocoa in one hand and plate of food in the other. On the way back from the warehouse, they'd hit an open grocery store and grabbed some more food that could be easily cooked in the cabin's tiny kitchenette. The resort kitchen currently overtaxed due to the combination of weather and displaced employees and guests all eating for free. This week would probably be a loss for the resort on the books through no fault of their own.
"Well, it's not that difficult to figure out. We stop the guns and save the Hursts," Alyx said, shifting to set the laptop on the coffee table as Darien sat down beside her.
"Duh," he muttered. "Even I could figure out that much."
Hobbes nodded. "Timing is going to be the key."
"Exactly," Jarod agreed. "Hurst's family is supposed to be released once delivery has been confirmed."
"You know he's just going to kill them once he has what he wants, right?"
The kid just had to point out the obvious.
"He won't hold onto them for more shipments?" Darien suggested, and he wasn't wrong. Goodrowe could blackmail the man for years if he so chose, but Hobbes suspected the kid was right, he get his Navshots and then kill the entire family and only when the weapons failed to be delivered to the rightful owners would anyone become suspicious. Miner did good work to catch onto this scam early enough to make a real difference.
Miner shook his head. "Possible, but doubtful. Hurst isn't likely to get more product of this quality in the near future, especially once this shipment goes missing," he said echoing Hobbes own thoughts.
"Do we need to make certain Goodrowe thinks the product has been delivered and rescue the family before he has the chance to kill them?" Alyx asked an idea clearly percolating in her brain.
Jarod frowned, clearly pondering her question with a seriousness that impressed Hobbes. "What are you suggesting?"
"Do the opposite," Fawkes stated, obviously catching onto the kid's train of thought. "We stick with the two teams. One saves the family and once that's done the other stops the truck." He turned to meet Alyx's calm gaze. "If saving the family is top of the list, then screw the whole confirmation thing, just save them. Provided they are still on this side of the border, stopping them will be pretty simple."
One eyebrow rose on Jarod's forehead. "That… that makes more sense, especially given the delay in delivery." He gave Darien a nod, then turned to Alyx. "You certain you can get the contact info from Goodrowe?"
She nodded.
"What if Hurst is at the warehouse?" Hobbes asked, tossing in the one obvious thing that could screw up the simple plan.
"Which is more important: keeping the guns from falling into the wrong hands, or saving one man. A man, I might point out, would probably insist his family being saved first." Alyx pinched the bridge of her nose, not thrilled with having to sacrifice one, but she'd do it if necessary.
"We'll try to avoid that," Jarod insisted.
"Goodrowe will stay close to the family," Fawkes said with a surety that surprised Hobbes. "Based on his comments, he'll want his fun before he kills them."
Hobbes shuddered in disgust, especially with the memory of the man's words in his head. "I agree, Fawkes. So, who does what?"
"I believe the teams we broke into yesterday will work for this as well," Jarod stated.
Fawkes twitched and tried to cover it by shifting on the sofa.
Hobbes sighed softly. Fawkes wasn't going to like what he was about to say. "Yeah, that'll work. Fawkes and I will take the truck, you and the kid'll take the house."
When Fawkes glared at him he shrugged. "Fawkes, she'll be able to find the family. We just have to follow a truck."
"Or, better yet, be in the back of the truck," Alyx said, getting a nod of agreement from Jarod. "We can wire you with a GPS tracker so that Hobbes can follow at a distance."
"The border patrol is aware of the operation, so you won't have any issues once across," Jarod told them.
"How about we just track the truck and not risk one of us being found in a compromising position?" Fawkes countered with.
"Have to side with my partner on this one," Hobbes said. "Safer to just tag the truck."
"Alyx?" Jarod asked, plainly looking for her opinion.
"While I would like to have a human with the cargo, I have to agree that tagging the truck errs on the side of caution." She met the eyes of each man in turn, ending with Fawkes. "But we need to tag a case of weapons as well, just to be certain."
Hobbes grinned. "That's our girl, covering all the bases, plus the dugout."
"It won't leave us with any spares, so if this goes sideways..."
"We do what we do best, and fake it," Fawkes said. "If push comes to shove, which is more important, the guns or the family?"
Without hesitation Jarod answered, "The family. I can hunt down the guns after, if it becomes necessary. They will never reach their destination."
"And what is the destination?" Hobbes asked.
"Free Quebec Militia."
Fawkes guffawed, almost doing an impressive spit take with his hot chocolate. Alyx snickered turning to look at her partner. "Had a run in with them have you?"
Fawkes sobered instantly. "Yeah, first time we met," he said nodding at Hobbes.
Hobbes could see that the kid understood immediately. "They just about took our heads off at a bar in Mexico." He glanced over at Fawkes. "The start of a beautiful relationship."
That got the dour look to break. "All right, we have a plan, now, aside from the obvious waiting, what else do we do?"
"Well, unless you want to stake out the warehouse in person, which is kinda stupid, given what the kid rigged up there, I'd say rest, relax, and carb up, 'cause once we go, we may be going for a while." Hobbes crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall.
"I like that plan," Fawkes said around a mouthful of sandwich. He poked Alyx in the arm. "You need to nap, we can monitor the sitch."
"I will, promise," she told him, turning to rest her forehead against his arm. He kissed her on the top of the head, making her sigh softly.
Hobbes smiled slightly; glad to see the two of them back in their groove, even if he suspected it wouldn't last. Fawkes had been off the entire time they'd been here, but he couldn't point to anything specific, just this sense of wrongness to his moods and attitude. It could be nothing more than not being on their home turf, but Hobbes doubted it. Fawkes had learned to curb his jealousy where the kid was concerned months ago, the fact that the kid always came back to him, no matter how deep the cover on the job, seemed to make all the difference in the world. And yet, here he was turning green over Jarod, when it was clear to Hobbes that nothing was going on. "We'll work in shifts. I really don't expect them to move until the morning given the condition of roads as of yet."
Jarod nodded in agreement. "Main roads will take precedence, of course. If they work all night, and Goodrowe can get all of his pieces in place, he might be ready to go. I'll head back to my cabin, let me know when you want me to take my turn."
Alyx released Fawkes and strode over to Jarod. "Is there something you need to do?"
"Not in particular." He cocked his head, watching her with a hooded gaze.
"Then you are staying and I am cooking for all of us. We need at least one decent meal in us if we are going to do the Hursts any good." She looked about the room and after receiving no dissenting votes turned back to Jarod. "Think of it as a team-building experience if you want. We'll work better together if we get to know each other a bit more."
"And what are you gonna cook with the little we have?" Hobbes questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Who said anything about using the little we have here?" She pointed a finger at Fawkes. "You have first watch, I'm going to go persuade the hotel staff to let me raid their kitchen," she said with a smile.
Fawkes chuckled. "That's my girl." He grabbed the computer and set it on his knees. "I got this. Go," He waved, "work your magic."
She turned to Jarod. "So, you in?"
"If you'll let me help cook, then yes, I'm in."
She shrugged. "Maybe, depends on how well you take orders."
Jarod grinned. "Depends on who's giving them, I suppose."
Hobbes snorted while Fawkes rolled his eyes. "Steamroller, she is."
"Yep," Fawkes agreed. "Luckily, she's our steamroller." He leaned back slightly to look over at her. "Get moving, girl, I'm hungry."
She shook her head. "Moving, bub." She grabbed her shoes and coat and was out the door seconds later.
Jarod looked right at Fawkes. "I don't have to stay."
Fawkes shook his head. "She's right. And trust me when I say you don't want to miss her cooking."
Jarod nodded. "All right, I'll take second watch so she can get some sleep."
"Cool. Have a seat, man. We're gonna be here a while."
Jarod did so, taking over a chair by the fireplace. "Alyx has some impressive skills."
Hobbes laughed. "You have no idea, my friend. No idea."
…
The Centre
Blue Cover, Delaware
…
"Miss Parker?"
"What Broots?" The words came out gruffer than she had intended, but that always seemed to be the case these days. Ever since her father had jumped out of that plane over the Atlantic. When Raines had taken charge a lot of things had changed at The Centre, and not for the better. Lucky for her she'd remained in control of the return of Jarod, but he'd successfully continued to elude her.
"Mr. Lyle has ordered a jet prepared," he answered with his usual stutter-like hesitation. Even after all these years, he was afraid of her. There were days she regretted that, but after all this time, she had no idea how else to behave. Besides, he didn't seem to hold it against her.
"And where, pray tell, is this jet going?" She requested, tone as cold as the pit that had formed in her stomach.
"Great Falls, Montana - the nearest large airport to... to..."
"To where we think Jarod is," she finished for him.
Broots nodded. "But I don't think he's after Jarod," he stated.
"He's going after the girl," Sydney informed them, as he entered the room, voice lowered to prevent anyone outside from overhearing.
"And how does he know about the girl?" Miss Parker demanded.
"I would assume one or more of our discussions were intercepted," Sydney answered. "So, what are we going to do?"
"What we're supposed to do - go after Jarod. The girl is none of our concern." She turned to Broots. "Arrange a flight, ASAP."
Broots nodded nervously. "Right away." He scuttled from the room, back hunched and virtual tail tucked between his legs.
Sydney sat down in one of the chairs. "If she is as valuable as I believe-"
"Then Lyle had better be damn good or she's going to slip through his fingers. It's not likely that Jarod won't help her."
"True," Sydney agreed. "I imagine the reverse is true as well, and I have the feeling she is the more dangerous of the two."
Miss Parker chuckled darkly. "Then I hope we're there to see the show."
…
"What you risk reveals what you value." Man, ain't that the truth.
.
Rocky Mountain High Resort
Northern Rockies, Montana
.
Alyx arched her back and stretched her arms up over her head until she felt her spine shift back into place. She had taken over staring at the computer screen a little after two a.m., after a wonderful dinner and nap to recharge her batteries. The boys, all three of them, had volunteered to clean up and she had let them. Darien while he'd behaved, had been off all evening. Sideways glances and sly commentary had punctuated the dinner and the clean up. She'd made every effort to impress upon Darien that nothing was going on between her and Jarod, but he had remained suspicious and Alyx had not been ready to tell him the truth.
She settled back down, the laptop on her stomach, her legs up the side of a chair. She'd chosen the floor for her shift, lying on the thick rug in front of the fireplace that they had going to supplement the crappy heating system in the cabin. The early start to winter had been unexpected even by the locals and had caught everyone flat footed. The weather she could handle, the surprising revelation about her life had turned her entire universe on its ass. She wanted to tell Darien, desperately, wanted him to console and commiserate with her, hold her and tell her that this new information hadn't changed a thing. Yet, she deeply feared it would.
She could talk to Jarod, she supposed, but that would just irritate Darien yet more. Jarod might be her... brother and potential friend, but Darien would be the one she'd be going home with. And truthfully, Jarod, even after seven years living in the real world, was still amazingly naïve about it. Relationship advice would be about the last thing she would ask of him. Besides he was just as gobsmacked as herself over the news. She would most certainly be delving deeper into this Centre and exactly how this newest twist in her life had come to pass.
A person bundled up like an Eskimo walked across the upper left hand security screen on the laptop and she quickly zoomed in. She didn't recognize the face once the hood had come off, but he was followed by three others, one of whom turned out to be Goodrowe. She double-checked to make certain the audio was working and recording then closed her eyes to better focus. *Jarod?*
There were several seconds of silence, the random images and emotions, clearly those of a sleeping mind, flickered through her own then a groggy, *Yes?*
*Goodrowe has arrived at the warehouse.* He felt exhausted and upset, which worried her, though she could not discern exactly why. *You can sleep till I know more, if you wish.* She offered, not wanting to add to his troubles.
*No. I will be there in a few minutes. Fawkes and Hobbes?*
*In need of their beauty rest. This is your baby, you get to call the shots,* she told him, meaning the words.
She could feel him smile over the intervening distance. *Good enough,* he responded then broke the connection at his end, which impressed her mightily given he'd learned how to communicate mind-to-mind just over twenty-four hours ago. Fast study, to put it mildly. She grabbed her headphones and put them on, plugging them into the machine so she could better hear what was being said. Initially, most of it was bitching and moaning about being put behind schedule due to the weather along with some buried threats – against whom she couldn't be certain – apparently coming from those to whom they were transporting the weapons. From the sound of things, those in the Free Quebec Militia were a tad impatient to receive their arms, which suggested there was a specific purpose for which they were going to be used. Sadly, no one seemed to intend to go into the semi-traditional bad guy monologue, so she remained in the dark as to the whys, but the urgency to move the product was obvious.
Alyx felt Jarod's arrival at the door to the cabin and swung it open before he had a chance to knock. She could feel his bafflement at the empty doorway, but he figured it out quickly and, after shedding his winter clothes, sat down next to her on the floor with a wry grin brightening his features. She unplugged the headphones and cranked the volume, wishing she'd thought to bring speakers. She shifted the laptop so Jarod could see the screen. "He seems to be under some pressure to make the delivery ASAP, but there's been no mention of a time or place yet.
"We know it has to get across the border. The main road, with a full border checkpoint is on 93, but there's dozens of back roads that could be used."
"Plus old forestry roads, like the one we used to get to the Hurst estate."
He nodded in agreement. "We're going to need eyes on them, and warm bodies within easy reach. We can't depend on the Mounties to be able to get to the location in time, especially if it's in virtual wilderness."
"Well, if we can get a tracker on the delivery vehicle, eyes I can do… provided the weather remains clear," she told him feeling only a touch smug.
"You've arranged to retask a satellite for our use? For this mission that no one but me gave a damn about?" He sounded disbelieving, justifiably she had to admit.
"Not like I've gone through channels for this, but yes, I can get us eyes in the sky if you want them."
He laughed, eyes lighting up with amusement. "We are so alike," he finally said and it came across as a compliment.
She poked him in the thigh. "There's a reason for that." She thought for a moment, feeling her brow knit.
"What?" he asked.
"Can you train me? To do this Pretender thing?"
He actually went pale at those words. "Why would you want that?"
She hadn't meant to upset him, but she'd just had one of those epiphanies that her mind had become notorious for. "I… I think it might help with my persona problems. Make it easier for me to play those parts work requires and when it's over come back to me."
He didn't dismiss her suggestion out of hand, which could mean her idea had some merit. He sighed softly. "I want to tell you that you have no idea what you are asking, but I know that you do. I'm actually surprised that the deep personality programming they used even worked… it must be due to your psychic abilities. Maybe they coded it directly into your neurons…" He trailed off and even Alyx, who had known him only two days, could tell he had come to some conclusion.
"Unless I'm a bad copy," she suggested, making him snort in derision.
"Not hardly. If anything you are a decided improvement on the original," he told her straight-faced. "I think I might be able to help, but I'll need data."
Alyx nodded. "I'll get you everything I can. Heilberg's techniques are notorious for crashing and burning; I'm one of the few to survive with an intact personality… mostly. I have my bad days, but mostly I'm me."
"Fawkes keeps you steady," he said, far too observant for his own good.
She wouldn't deny it; there was no point in doing so. "Yes. His… how he sees me… that is what I hold onto."
"But his perspective is just as biased as everyone else's. Even myself. You can't just be you?"
An honest question and deserving of an honest answer, she simply had no idea how to do so. "You make it seem so simple."
"It should be, but I do understand. I was no more than a tool for many years, only Sydney's encouragement allowed me to acquire a personality of my own."
"And yet you are still looking for who you are?" Alyx felt this, and suddenly understood why he sometimes came across as a lost little boy to her senses. He'd been taken at such a young age that he'd had no real time to develop his own distinct personality, he still saw himself through his family, a family he'd been disconnected with for a fair thirty-five years.
"And you look for who you were… or perhaps who you want to be. Both of us displaced and out of step with the rest of the world."
Jarod understood, more than even Darien did, who still had not entirely adapted to his new existence as the invisible man. He wanted to be a thief, in his heart still was a thief, and still felt the need to buck authority at every step, but, as she had learned and not yet revealed to him, he'd followed in his father's footsteps even better than he had known. While not a spy, they had learned that Mason Fawkes had become one of the best assassins the US government had, and had been performing that job as recently as a year ago, give or take. She had yet to tell Darien the truth… neither had Hobbes, who had agreed with her that it would probably do more harm than good and tip the axis of his world just a touch too far. No, they had decided to grant him what little peace they could where it came to dear old dad. Hell, he was still pissed that Kevin had been wiped away before figuring out a removal technique even with Alyx's solution as a viable option when he chose to use it.
Darien had few illusions about his sibling and he would always be nothing more than the big brother that always disapproved of him and his life choices. Nothing Alyx could say would change that.
"Maybe that's the flaw in the Pretender design," he mused aloud, "to never know who you really are."
Alyx shrugged. "Would make sense, not as a flaw though. If the intent is to be anyone, you have to begin with someone who is no one. No real sense of self."
"And yet, that is part of the human condition, a sense of self."
"Thus, as you said, a flaw in the design." Not the most uplifting discussion to have, but one they would need to review in detail, but later, once they had completed this job and could take some actual time to get to know one another. "We'll set aside time to deal with… all of this, later," she assured him, meaning every word. They had volumes of information to exchange, and they needed to do so in order to protect themselves… and each other.
He sighed softly. "We may not. I can guarantee that as soon as the weather clears Miss Parker will be on her way to harangue me."
Alyx laughed at the mix of amusement and dismay in his voice. "You could, you know, cut off contact and stop leaving them breadcrumbs to follow."
He smiled and it was heart-wrenchingly sad. "It's the way things are: I run, she chases."
"Ah, a game of cat and mouse, without each other neither of you would have purpose." An observation she couldn't help making.
Jarod twitched, clearly surprised she'd figured it out so fast. "That too," he agreed. "The Centre used what I gave them to do some very horrible things and… and I'm still trying to correct the damage that was done."
"Penance that is not yours to make," she told him, then reached out to squeeze his hand. "I understand. Let me know how I can help."
Behind them came an unexpected voice. "How come I got no invite to this party?"
Alyx turned about to see Darien there, rubbing the back of his head and yawning. She was certain they had not been loud enough to wake him, so there had to be another cause for him to have arisen from his slumber. His eyes narrowed as he noticed her and Jarod holding hands, but Alyx refused to remove her hand, as that would just make her look more guilty in his eyes. "No need for you boys yet. Goodrowe has yet to reveal his evil plot and until he does, we have nothing to do." She gave him the once-over mentally, but found herself blocked completely. He was keeping her out, which meant… she had no idea what that meant exactly, but it did worry her a bit. "You okay, bub?"
He nodded. "Yeah, just some freakin' weird dreams."
"You are more than welcome to 'join the party'," Jarod said, releasing Alyx's hand with a pat and getting to his feet. "Though, as Alyx said, there's not much going on as yet."
Darien nodded, shuffling off to the kitchen. "Coffee?" he offered. "And what time is it?"
"Yes, please, and a little after five a.m.," Alyx answered, one eye on the monitor as the activity picked up. "Damn, we should have planted the one GPS already, we may not get the chance to now."
Jarod shook his head. "They will most likely double-check the contents of the crates before they load them, it could have been discovered."
"Crap," Darien muttered. "I know they won't find the bugs, but I never grabbed that mike from the first walk-through, they'd rearranged the crates. It's buried in the packing foam, but…" he trailed off with a head shake. "Nothing we can do about it now, I s'pose."
"Nope," Alyx agreed. "But given the discussions I'm overhearing, they may not care even if they do find it, their buyer wants the product like now, and Goodrowe actually sounds worried."
"He's scared of the buyer," Jarod stated. "Not the militia in general, but the specific buyer." He paced a few steps. "Perhaps we should look further into this."
Alyx tipped her head, allowing Jarod's emotions to simply wash across her without delving deeper. "We can, but if saving the family is the focus, waiting till after that has been completed might be prudent." Jarod turned to meet her eyes. She understood his need to cover all the bases and make certain this situation never came up again, but there were serious limits on what the four of them could do. "You can sic your buddies at the ATF on them. I think once we have Goodrowe in custody they'll take this minor situation a bit more seriously."
His serious look lightened at that. "Good plan. I'll make certain they have full details of this… incident. Though it would be nice if we could gain the name of the buyer to add to the report."
"Once we have Goodrowe I will endeavor to do so." She turned to watch Darien. "I don't see him being much of a challenge when it comes to interrogation."
Darien snorted. "Not with you at the helm. A'course we have to catch him first," he pointed out a touch ruefully.
"I believe that will be fairly simple. I suspect he'll be with the Hursts while the delivery is taking place. Rescue the family and take him into custody all at the same time," Jarod said as he leaned against the doorway to the galley kitchen, splitting his attention between the two of them.
Darien nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he's gonna want to celebrate as soon as he can, which means being near the family." He glanced over his shoulder at Jarod. "You will get the kids out first." It wasn't a question or suggestion, but a barely polite order.
Jarod frowned slightly, but it wasn't at Darien's tone, it was more the suggestion that he'd allow any harm to come to the children. "He won't touch them."
Darien nodded tightly, not appearing very assured, but not prepared to argue the point either. "Make certain of it."
"We will, Darien, I promise," Alyx said, hoping it would reassure him and got a tight nod in response. She sighed softly, getting that he was upset, but not having any clue why. Stupid, jealous bear of a boyfriend. Lucky for him he didn't let this side of him out to play too often, usually just when… Her musings trailed off as realization settled in. These days he only got jealous when hitting Stage Two or higher, not when the toxin build-up had yet to affect his judgment. "Bub, how much time do you have?"
He didn't question why she was asking in front of company, just glanced at his wrist. "Same as before, one red. Gonna need me to sneak in and plant the GPS, huh?"
Jarod didn't even raise an eyebrow, more than smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut. She may have told him about the gland and the less than fun side effects, but she had yet to tell the boys that he was in the know.
"Well, I'm good, but even I can't be in two places at once, especially ones miles apart," she observed drily, earning a real chuckle from Darien, which eased her concerns somewhat. He rarely surfaced from morose unhappiness when under the influence of the madness, so her conclusion might very well be way off base. She could but hope.
She could smell the coffee as the machine performed it's magic. It would probably be the first pot of many, given the lack of sleep most of them had had. An argument broke out on the monitor and she zoomed to the particular security camera and upped the volume. Looked like there could be trouble in paradise and that Hurst's presence would be required to correct the problem. This could give them their in. "Time to wake Hobbes," she told them and with a sigh, Darien shuffled off to do so.