Title: Transhuman
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Characters/Pairing: Garcia-centric, team - gen
Genre: Science-fiction/Drama
Summary: In a dystopian future, hacker Penelope Garcia finds herself being hunted by a corrupt organization. Fearing for her life, she must search for help in the strangest of places.
Author's Notes: Betaed by Windy City Dreamer.

Chapter Eight

Garcia flicked through the channels on Derek's flat-screen television, unable to hide the wonder on her face. It had been so long since she'd had the chance to sit down, and let her brain rot at some of the content. The laptop could receive some TV stations, but even then, the quality wasn't the best. Digital signals in the slums weren't exactly high on the Corp's list of priorities. They were lucky enough just to get a net connection. Eventually, she settled on the news channel, interested in seeing what things looked like from this side of the river.

Every so often, she cast her gaze back towards the laptop that was now plugged into an electrical outlet on the far side of the room. She couldn't very well do her job with no battery life. Part of her wanted to boot the thing up right away, so she could check her email, a few forum boards and catch up on her cyber life in general. She also wanted to take a brief look at Derek's background. Not an in depth search; just enough to find out who he was, and why he was so intent on taking down the Corp. For that, at least, she wanted to wait until he was asleep, which wouldn't be for hours, at least. The sun hadn't even set yet.

For the moment, she was relishing in the luxury of not having to run. The luxury of not having to look behind her shoulder every few seconds, to see if a Corp agent was following them. Of course, Derek could very well have been an undercover operative, luring them into a false sense of security before striking. That was something that she didn't want to think about. He had been perfectly cordial so far, and while he definitely had a few secrets, she didn't think he was about to sell them out so easily. That was mostly the optimism speaking.

Kevin sat on the loveseat next to her, absent-mindedly fiddling with the buttons of his new shirt. He too, was intrigued by this strange new world. Unlike her, the other hacker had grown up in the slums, albeit in a less dangerous part. Such wonders were almost like heaven to him.

'Two o'clock is business news,' Derek announced matter-of-factly, as if sitting down and watching the news was the most normal thing in the world to him. It probably was, reasoned Garcia. Even if he was fighting against the Corp, the organization rarely persecuted those north of the river. At least not outwardly. As with the slums, there were always unexplained disappearances.

Garcia felt like smirking as the image of the silver-haired Director displayed in the top right hand corner of the screen. In this town, "business" meant the Corp. Those companies that tried to avert the monopoly were usually crushed by the iron fist of fascism. It didn't really help that the Corp owned most of the news stations.

Oppression at its finest.

As long as they had their jewel-lined mansions, the rich were happy. The poor were too busy trying to survive to do anything about it. There were dissenters, of course – any system had those who disagreed – but most of them were smart enough to keep their mouths shut. It was an imperfect system.

Derek gave a snort, as the newsreader described recent events with a tone that would have made genocide sound like some kind of miracle.

'It's like 1984,' he said. 'Everything's always getting better.'

Garcia recognized the sarcasm, but wasn't quite sure what he was trying to relate it to.

'It's a book,' he revealed, noticing her confusion. 'Old book. Probably can't find it in stores today. Still…Even with all the bad shit going down, they're telling everyone how great things are.' He paused then, his expression one of hesitation. The thought of the Corp screwing them so badly had struck a chord.

'There's something I need to tell you.' The anger had faded from his voice, its rich tones now exhibiting a monotone solemnity.

Garcia straightened. She definitely didn't like that tone of voice. Was he about to kick them out? Turn them over? Had their supposed turn of fortune simply been a wolf in sheep's clothing?

'The people I work for…they're a resistance group against the Corp. We're working to bring them down.'

Was that it? Was he telling them that they were really no safer here than they were in the slums?

No, apparently there was something more to it.

'I wasn't in the slums by accident,' he told them. Garcia felt the blood drain from her face. She knew what was coming. 'I was sent to find you.'

'You we-…Who told you where we were?' Garcia demanded, any warmth towards the man that had rescued them suddenly fading away. Because it hadn't really been a rescue, had it? It was a recruitment.

'My Corp contact-' he started, the guilt evident in both his face and his voice. Garcia chose to ignore it.

'The Corp knows that we're here?' she asked him, almost incredulous. 'God, Derek. Do you know how long we've been running from them for?'

On some level, she understood his dilemma. But that wasn't important right then. What was important was that she had trusted him, and he had withheld the truth.

'Just my contact,' he reiterated. 'She's never let me down before.'

'She?' Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow. Garcia shot her friend a look. His irrelevant questions weren't helping the situation.

'Montana,' said Morgan, as if it explained everything. 'I've been in contact – secure ­contact – with her for over four years. She hasn't let me down once.'

Garcia shook her head. She couldn't deal with this. She couldn't deal with an agenda. She was just trying to survive.

'Look, Derek, we appreciate your help. But I think it's time we left.' She got to her feet, and started gathering her things. Derek's expression was a mixture of surprise and hurt.

'I don't think that's the best idea,' he said softly.

'You know how it works, Derek. The Corp won't look at us twice, this side of the river, as long as we're not breaking any laws.' She tossed a bundle of notes onto the table. It wasn't quite the last of their cash, but it was getting there. They weren't freeloaders.

'Good luck,' she told him, her voice softening a little. For all that he had done, she was still sincere in her hopes for his success. He'd have to succeed without them, though.

'Garcia, please…'

'Kevin, are you coming?'

Kevin scrambled to his feet, giving Derek one last look. Garcia could see the doubt in his eyes.

'Yeah,' he said finally. 'I'm coming.'