girlface187: Thanks! I hope to be updating every Wednesday from now on. (Although I can't guarantee anything for Christmas week...) Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
PurpleNicole531: Yep, that was Spin in the last chapter. I love that character and couldn't resist putting him in the story. Thanks! I have trouble writing "bonding" moments between characters, so I'm glad it worked. And, yes, thunderstorms can be very scary at times. But I still love them! (idk why!)
Dirtkid123: Thanks! Don't worry, Chase will be learning some very important things in this chapter as well as the next one.
Asori: Thank you so much! That really means a lot. Andy's backstory will be revealed during the next two chapters. As for Spin, we'll have to see what happens to him. Don't want to spoil anything too early. ;)
CrazyChristianCowgirl: Thanks! And, as a complete oddball myself, there's definitely nothing wrong with being strange! (Yep, I'm weird and proud of it!) Glad you're enjoying the story and thanks again!
TekeoMiona: Cool! Although I live closer to the Topeka area, I have visited Emporia several times. And western kansas is breathtaking! Mostly because I've always lived in very crowded areas and cities (especially on the east coast) so it's just amazing to see so much open land. Anyway, I'm glad that I wrote it acurately and I really appreciate you saying that because I put a lot of effort into getting my facts straight in my stories. Thank you so much!
Sarcasmisinmyblood: Thank you! Yep, that was Spin. I really miss him and wish they'd bring him back to the show. Well, this chapter contains the answers to a couple of those questions, but the rest is coming soon. (Pretty much everything will be answered during the next several chapters.) Thank you so much!
A/N: Hey! So, I know I'm posting this several hours past the deadline and I'm really sorry about that. I was gone all day yesterday and by the time I got home it was time for part two of the Arrow/Flash crossover, so... yeah, this is late. Again, I'm really sorry. But I hope this chapter will somewhat make up for that. Why? Because you're finally getting a few answers! Well, sort of. You'll find out what I mean in a minute.
EXTRA NOTE: I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter. I was sick when I wrote it and I've tried revising parts, but didn't want to over-edit it. If you catch any grammar mistakes, it's probably because I had a fever of over 102 degrees. That's also why it's slightly shorter than my average chapters.
"To overcome fear, you must walk through it, not around it."
Chapter 9: The Ugly Truth
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, D.C.
Agent Andoll ran into his superior's office and stopped dead in his tracks after realizing that he'd forgotten to knock.
"It's okay, Andoll," Reimler said, motioning for him to close the door. "What's the latest update?"
After shutting the office door, Andoll hurried over to the desk and set several satellite images and security camera freeze frames in front of his boss. "Facial recognition scans picked these up," he explained. "The suspect was sighted in a bus station in Denver. He seems to be traveling with someone, though." He pointed out a smaller kid in several of the photos. "Looks pretty young. We haven't been able to identify him yet and there's no way of knowing if he's a hostage or what. The missing persons bureau is checking to see if he's among the lost children records."
Reimler looked over the pictures carefully. The suspect was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up so it was difficult to see his face, but he still matched the description perfectly. "Okay," he said. "I want a team sent in. Tell them to go in armed and prepared for trouble, but try not to start anything. This kid's bionic and we have no idea what he's likely to do."
"Are those agents from the Washington fight out of the hospital yet?" Andoll asked. Reimler couldn't help noticing the nervousness in his assistant's voice.
"Not yet. Now go send the team in."
Andoll nodded and hurried out of the room. As he was walking across the outer office, he was stopped by a tall, gruff looking man. Andoll couldn't remember his name, but he recognized him as one of the more recent transfers from the New York office.
"They found that bionic terrorist yet?" the man asked, not even bothering to hide the loathing in his voice.
"Sorry, that's classified," Andoll said. Technically, there probably wasn't anything wrong with telling the guy, but he was getting a bad vibe from him.
"I always knew those bionic monsters were trouble. I mean, they're basically a robot-person hybrid. That's just sick."
"As I recall, they didn't volunteer to be experimented on."
The man laughed harshly. "Yeah, right. We should have done something about them a long time ago. An army of robotic freaks show up to attack the world and what happens? We give them their own island and let them continue whatever it is they do completely unmonitored! They're illegal experiments and should have been treated as such from the beginning."
"You do realize they are still humans, don't you? They have certain rights like the rest of us." Technically, Andoll didn't know if that was true. Back when the bionic people were first discovered, there had been a lot of debating as to whether or not they deserved the full rights of a normal human citizen. As far as Andoll knew, no clear decision had ever been reached.
The man simply shrugged and turned to walk away. He called back over his shoulder, "There are a lot of people who feel the same way as I do about this. And after the public finds out that it was a bionic who killed the president, I'm sure everyone else will, too."
"Yes?" Cowan walked a safe distance from the restaurant so his conversation wouldn't be easily overheard. He pressed the phone closer to his ear. "What's going on there?"
"They found the target, sir," the informant said from the other end. "It looks like they're sending a team in to arrest him."
"We need to beat them to it," Cowan said. "How soon will the FBI reach them?"
"In a couple hours. It's hard to get an accurate assessment. They're handling this differently because of bionics being involved."
"Okay, keep me informed," Cowan said shortly. He hung up and quickly dialed a different number. As soon as a voice answered on the other end, he said, "Blackbriar leader, we have a change of plans. Bring in your team to capture the targets instead. The FBI is moving in and we'll need Shadow Squad to run interference. I'm assigning Agent Ward to your squad. Got it?"
"Yes sir," the voice of the teenaged girl came back at him. "Any special orders for this one?"
"Make sure you take this one alive," Cowan said firmly. "No excuses."
There was a disappointed sigh on the other end. "Fine. I'll get my team in place right away."
A click on the other end signaled that the conversation was over. Cowan frowned and returned his phone to his pocket. That girl could be so irritating at times. But she was useful, he had to admit. That was why he tolerated her insolence. Anyway, this whole thing would soon be over and he wouldn't have to deal with these sort of problems anymore. "Thank goodness for that," he sighed, heading for his car.
Tired and worn out, Chase and Andy finally arrived in St. George, Utah after almost twelve hours of bus rides, walking, and even hitchhiking. They'd left Denver at nine that morning and it was now after eight-thirty at night. It was an easy decision on their part to collect some provisions and then find someplace safe to spend the night. As anxious as Chase was to get home, he knew they wouldn't make it much farther without rest.
St. George turned out to be a rather large, sprawling city situated in a low valley and surrounded by hills and mountains. A unique feature in the landscape was the ground. Everywhere you looked - the soil, the rocks, the mountains - everything was a distinct red color. Chase noticed that it was also significantly warmer here and he was forced to ditch his sweatshirt in favor of a tee-shirt instead.
After replenishing their backpack with water bottles and other necessary supplies, the two boys decided to head out of the city and spend the night in the surrounding hillside. They could return in the morning to catch a bus for Las Vegas.
As they were walking through a relatively quiet shopping district, Andy suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and ran to the window of a TV store. Chase kept walking; he was used to the android's bizarre curiosity towards random things. He was surprised, however, when Andy called to him in concern. Returning to the window, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Instead of answering, Andy grabbed Chase's arm and dragged into a small cafe across the street. He hurried them over to a corner of the cafe where a TV on the wall was displaying the evening news.
"Andy, what's up?" Chase asked in confusion.
For once, the android was speechless. He just stared straight ahead at the TV. Chase was about to question him further when he suddenly realized what news story was playing. Without another word, he grabbed the remote and turned up the volume so they could hear the reporter.
"The manhunt is still on for the person responsible for shooting the president on Sunday afternoon," the newsanchor was saying. "The FBI has not yet released a name, but they have issued this photo of the shooter."
Chase felt his blood suddenly turn ice cold. The photo on the news was his picture.
"It has been confirmed that the shooter was a bionic individual and there were possibly several accomplices as well."
News footage of the actual event began playing on the screen. It showed a crowd of reporters gathered in front of the capitol building. The president and several other officials were standing on the steps when two teenagers suddenly started running through the crowd. Although the first teen was unfamiliar to Chase, he was shocked to realize that the second figure was himself. Only a few yards from the steps, Chase suddenly pulled out a gun and fired it straight at the president, hitting him directly in the head. The president went down immediately and complete panic broke out in the crowd. Several of the officials ran to the president's body to see if he was still alive while the others ducked for cover. The teen that had been running with Chase finally reached the capitol steps and rushed forward. He knelt down and placed a hand on the president's still form. Before anyone could stop him, he geoleaped away with the body. Meanwhile, an entire army of various guards, police, and agents swarmed the lawn in search of Chase, who had disappeared into the crowd.
The scene ended and the reporter continued the story, "Although the shooter managed to initially get away, he was sighted later in the evening where the police were forced to intervene in a battle between the assassin and another bionic person. By the time backup from the FBI arrived, the two bionics had transferred their fight to a rooftop in downtown DC."
Another video began playing, this time showing a nighttime scene of a rooftop battle taking place between two people who Chase immediately recognized as himself and Adam. Several FBI helicopters swarmed the area just in time to see Adam fall off the roof into the alley below.
The screen switched back to showing the reporter in the news station's headquarters. "The shooter managed to escape the FBI and it is suspected that he left the city. A nationwide manhunt is now being conducted for the suspect. The vice-president was sworn into office shortly after midnight and he attempted contacting Donald Davenport - the billionaire inventor responsible for the bionic people - but to no avail. Davenport and his family haven't been seen since the day of the shooting. The bionic island is under military custody at the moment, but sources report that the students had already evacuated before U.S. forces showed up. Everyone is warned to be on the lookout for the shooter and anyone else who may be bionic. Please exercise caution, though, as they are known to be very dangerous."
The news story switched to show an interview with some scientist who was simply ranting on about how reckless it was of Davenport Industries to try implanting children with bionics, etc. Chase was still in too much shock to be angry at the obvious misrepresentation of who was actually responsible for creating the bionic students. He muted the TV and stood staring at the screen in stunned silence. After a minute, though, he realized how dangerous it was for him to be seen in public right now, so he hurried out of the cafe with Andy right behind. They walked several blocks away until they located a street that was already abandoned for the night. Ducking into an alley, they finally came to a stop and leaned against the brick wall while trying to sort out their thoughts.
So, it's true. All of it. The president... my brother... I killed them. Adam was probably there to stop me and I killed him because of it. How could I? How could I have killed my own brother?!
"Chase?" a hesitant voice spoke up. Chase looked down to see Andy staring up at him with an expression that was half-scared and half-confused. "Chase, what did they mean? What did they mean when they said you were the shooter?"
He didn't respond right away. How could he? There wasn't really anything he could say in his defense. He'd already seen all the events as depicted on the TV in his memories and dreams. He remembered it so clearly, exactly how it had happened on the news...
No, not exactly the same. There's something wrong. Something missing. What is it?
"Chase?"
"Not now," Chase said a little more harshly than he'd intended. Andy backed up a few steps and remained silent.
This doesn't make sense. It doesn't all tie together. Who were the people that jumped us on the train? What did I steal from them? How does that have to do with my trip to D.C.? And where are my family and the students? There are way too many things that don't add up. There has to be another explanation. There has to be.
His thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of incoming helicopters. "I have to get out of here."
"What about me?"
Chase looked back at the tiny android who was staring at him with an expression that he couldn't even begin to read. "Andy, you can't come with me now. Not after what we found out."
"You did not do it." Although he stated it as calmly as if it was a well known fact, Chase could see the doubt and uncertainty on Andy's face.
He shook his head firmly. "You don't know that. Come on, I don't even know that right now. With my amnesia..."
"You did not do it," Andy repeated. "And I am coming with you."
There was no time to argue the point further. A spotlight suddenly lit up the entire alley and the two fugitives were forced to make a run for it.
A/N: Okay, well, I kept my promise about giving answers, right? At least now Chase knows what happened in D.C. So, what'd you think? Did Chase really shoot the president? Or is something deeper going on here?
Also, I was (as stated above) watching part two of the Arrow/Flash crossover last night, but I'm assuming that at least some of you probably watched the new Lab Rats episode. How was it? I couldn't find any websites to tell me what it was about so I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me.
NEXT CHAPTER: (will be posted next Wednesday)
"Battle Lines" - The FBI and the Nova squads clash with Chase caught in the crossfire. And Chase also finds out something that Andy has been hiding from him.
Until next time, take care and have a wonderful week!