Author's Note: I'm so sorry for this late update! A lot has been going on lately, but I'm trying to pick back up!

Enjoy!


Day Five...

Alex wasn't sure exactly how he was able to tell who would have the information that he needed, but he followed his instincts nonetheless and it never failed to give him at least something that might be useful to him. He had managed to acquire information from various people regarding so many different aspects of not just the outbreak, but about certain people as well. One of them being Jessi-Lynn Adams—or more rather, Second Captain of the Blackwatch Organization.

"Zeus is extremely dangerous. He does not care who you are or if you're happily married with children. He can shape-shift into anyone and change his arms into weapons unlike any other. You are not safe around him and he will cut you down without a second thought. Should you see him, you are to alert either myself or the Captain immediately and then take necessary action. This is not a game, people, this is the real deal. So get your shit straight and do as you're told, or suffer the consequences." she spoke sternly.

"Yes, ma'am!" a large group of Marines responded to her orders.

So he was with someone in Blackwatch. Had he known before all of this? Does Dana know of this as well? He couldn't trust Jessi. She was the enemy and he was not safe around her. He would make her pay for her betrayal soon enough. For now, he would find out more about the outbreak.

He headed over to investigate the base initiated at Battery Park, unprepared for just how secured it was. Someone there knew McMullen and he was going to find out everything they knew; that part wasn't difficult. It was, however, difficult to get what he needed with everybody immediately opening fire on him. How did they know he was there in the first place? He was disguised as one of them. He couldn't understand just how he was so easily noticed.

Then he saw it. There were these machines that reacted any time he got within range. These guys were prepared, but how? He saw the commanding officer and didn't hesitate to grab and consume him.

"We know Zeus has been spotted multiple times in this area and we're breaking out some new tech to pin him down. This Unmanned Aerial Vehicle can detect the Virus at less than ten parts per million in open air. With it, we should be able to box Zeus in and destroy it."

So that's how they were able to figure him out so easily. That still didn't answer how they already had this technology just...waiting for him. He'd figure it out later. Right now, he needed to evade the eyes of everyone shooting at him.

He ran out of the base, heading down an alleyway and altered his appearance back to his normal self. He peeped out of the alley to see if anybody was heading that way. His attention was so caught up in them, that he hadn't noticed the person that leapt from a stairway right on to him, bringing him to the ground. He shifted his arms into claws to attack, but stopped when he saw who it was.

"Captain..." he growled, eyes locked on to hers despite the barrel of her sniper rifle pointing right between his eyes.

"What are you doing, Alex?" her question came through her respirator, muffling her voice.

"I'm making those responsible pay for what they've done to me."

"You unleashed that monster into the city. Why did you release Elizabeth Greene?" she asked more sternly, pressing the barrel of her sniper into his head.

"I didn't know." he gave his simple explanation.

"Bullshit!" she exclaimed, unbelieving of him.

"I really didn't know! I didn't know you were with them either!" he growled.

She sighed, removing the gun from his face and taking a hand off of it to help him up. "You knew. You really must have forgotten a great deal." she stated, turning around as the pain spiked up in her abdomen once more, clutching the area.

"You're an enemy and I have nothing to say to you."

"What?" she asked and turned back to him, a worried expression showing through her eyes.

"You betrayed me."

"No, Alex." she said, "Betraying you would be killing you before all of this shit started. Betraying you would be giving Blackwatch the location of Dana's Safe house." she explained, stepping up to his face. "Betraying you would be going against the fact that you are the father of my daughter and somebody I love. Betraying you would be me handing you over to them rather than helping you end this the way it should." she finished, taking her green eyes off of his icy-blue ones, "What have you found so far?" she asked.

"Not a whole lot. Karen is putting together a cure for this this as we speak. I gathered the genetic material for her from Water Towers and some that was dispersed from Hives." he explained, unsure as to why she looked back at him so quickly.

"You can't trust her, Alex." she warned him.

"And why the hell not?"

"You just can't. You don't know who she is or what her motives truly are."

"I can't trust you, either, Captain." he defended.

"So now you're standing up for her because she told you to collect genetic material from Towers and Hives?"

"At least she's helping me!" he yelled.

"And I'm not?! I'm defending you within those walls!" she informed him, pointing back at the Base, "I'm doing what I can to keep them off of you!" she said, poking him in the chest with her finger.

"Says the enemy's lapdog." he grunted, looking away.

"I am not a lapdog. I am a leader of Blackwatch, so watch it, Mercer." she sneered.

"Well, we'll see how trusting you can be in the end." he stated simply.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Alex. Don't you think it would be best to settle down a little and let the situation be dealt with on our end for now?" she suggested, afraid that he could be killed if he continued down the path he was on.

"Right, just surrender to the enemy and get fucked over." he declined.

She sighed, "You should go on and take out the tech. The UAVs are closing in on Dana's Safe House as we speak." she advised, stepping out of the alley and walking away as if nothing of any significance had occurred.

Alex did as Jessi told him, destroying the UAVs and APCs one by one to prevent them from finding Dana and eventually, there were none left to destroy. With them temporarily crippled, he could continue on in finding out what was going on and how he could stop it.


Day Six...

Population Infection: 20%

Alex had underestimated Blackwatch. Yes, he stopped them momentarily by destroying a bunch of UAVs and APCs; but that didn't prevent them from setting up a chain of Viral Detectors to search and close in on Dana's Safe House the next morning.

He began the troublesome task of destroying the Viral Detectors until there was no more left. Had Jessi known about this? If so, why didn't she warn him yesterday? His trust in her was dissipating with every new discovery, making him question her true motives.

Still, something within him made him trust her. The look in her eyes and the way she spoke to him gave him hope that she really was on his side in all of this chaos. She said that she loved him, so he thought maybe he shouldn't be so harsh on her. She said she was trying to protect him from within the base. All he could do at this point was hope that she really didn't screw him over in the end.


Blackwatch Headquarters — RED CROWN Command, Battery Park...

"Sir." Cross and Jessi greeted the General, walking up to his desk.

He looked at them, "At ease, Captains." he said, turning to the other man in the room, "Director McMullen, share your data with them. Perhaps it will help them complete their mission."

McMullen flashed the two a knowing smirk, "Mercer...uhm...Zeus...rebuilds on a cellular level—a shape-shifter." he began, "We've used the DNA sample you recovered to synthesize a pathogen. Inside Zeus, the pathogen will generate a possible cure." he began, looking right at Jessi, whose brief expression was one she was glad the General hadn't seen.

The General handed Cross a box: a large syringe needle with the pathogen contained within. Jessi looked at it, thinking of how much pain it would cause Alex, her eyebrows knitting. She looked up to see Doctor McMullen smirking evilly at her, which caused her to grit her teeth.

"Do you understand your mission?" The General asked them.

"We're to inject the weapon into the target, Zeus, and bring him in." Cross said, glancing at Jessi for a moment before returning his eyes to the General, "Sir, with respect, all indications are that—"

The General grabbed Cross' arm, "Mercer isn't a he, it's an IT." he reminded the Captain and let go of his arm, "I will debrief you when you complete your mission." he finished, looking at both of them, "Dismissed."

They gave a nod and left the room as ordered, walking to Cross' office. She held her abdomen, the pain coming back once more. Cross saw this, but said nothing as she refused to see a doctor about the pain.

Jessi closed the door behind them, sighing before looking at him, "You can't possi—"

"Enough." Cross said sternly, turning to face her, "You will not let your feelings get in the way of what we have to do any longer. You are my fiancée! You need to stop acting like he's the one who's gonna be there for you after this all ends. Am I understood?" he growled out.

"He still feels, Cross..." she said, her voice cracking.

"He isn't human. You of all people should know this, Jess."

"I'm not going to support you hurting him and causing him unnecessary pain." she said, crossing her arms.

"Then don't. I will do this on my own." he stated, adamant to carry this mission through, "And don't even think of informing him, Jessi. He has to be brought down, one way or another. He's a monster. He is not the man you knew, so get yourself in check."

"You're cruel, Robert..." she said softly, leaving his office and closing the door behind her.


Alex returned to Dana's Safe House, receiving good news that Blackwatch had Scientific Teams turning up at Hives. This was a way that he might be able to get closer to McMullen, hopfully, and find out the whole story to all of this. He was the head of research: he knew what happened and Alex had to get a hold of him to find out how and why.

He reached a Hive that was still out of control, searching for the Commanding Officer in the area. He must know McMullen. He grabbed the man, throwing him to the ground and pummeled his face in until the tendrils came out and picked the tissue apart.

The Scientific Teams were securing marked areas so that McMullen could be placed in for direct study, but won't come in unless everything read nominal. He had to hack the detectors and have it seem like nothing was wrong with the area to get to McMullen.

He made his way over to another hive that had detectors in place; McMullen's next objective. One by one, he hacked the detectors until all were reading clean. He radioed in, informing McMullen that the area was clean, asking what his estimated time of arrival was. The communication channel replied, alerting all Blackwatch Personnel that McMullen was arriving. Alex awaited, watching the helicopter as it neared, in the process of landing.

There was a sudden rumbling from the Hive, all Hunter nests adorning the building collapsing. He looked back at the helicopter, which had stopped the landing process and rather lifted up and headed out and away from the Hive. He had lost his chance to get McMullen and would have to find another way somehow. Maybe Jessi would be able to help. He evaded the soldiers shooting at him and headed out to her place, awaiting her arrival.

She was of no use to him when he finally spoke to her. She seemed uneasy, constantly trying to convince him not to seek further help from Karen. But he had no reason to not trust her. If anything, there was more reason to distrust Jessi, yet he didn't. He and Karen were working on a cure, that was enough for him to know that she was on his side. Jessi claimed to support him, but she hadn't given any direct help to him whatsoever.

He supposed that only time would tell.


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