Vanished
Kevin wanted to throw his phone across the room in frustration. The call wasn't going well, not at all. While on the phone with Olivia, he fed Alice some of her food. Throughout the conversation, she stared at him hopefully, as if she too was worried about Max's whereabouts.
Probably just wants more food…
Nathan had not been at the Prescott residence. This did little to prevent his father from being dragged away for questioning by the FBI. Apparently, the barn that held the secret bunker had the Prescott's name all over it. Nathan's father lawyered up immediately and wasn't offering any cooperation. The FBI was mobilizing the local police and a few of their own agents in a massive manhunt for Nathan. However, since Kevin hadn't been able to find him at Blackwell, Olivia didn't seem too confident that they would find him anytime soon.
Olivia's voice was grim when Kevin told her about Max's sudden disappearance. Olivia and Charlie were now on their way to Blackwell, but it would take them some time due to their distance. Realizing that Chloe had disappeared, Kevin quickly said goodbye to Alice and raced off to find her.
It took him several minutes, but he found Chloe in the parking lot pacing worriedly back and forth as she talked to someone on her phone. As he approached, she ended her call and looked towards him, her face full of tears.
"I've called Frank… I've even called my step-dou—step-father and asked him for his help. They are both ready to look for Max. I don't know what else to do Kevin. Where could she have gone? She doesn't have her own car and nobody else has seen her. She's just gone. Just like Rachel…"
Chloe's voice trailed off as she choked back tears. Kevin wanted to say something, anything that would ease her torment, but he was spared from his toils. In a flash of movement, Chloe was next to him. She flung her arms around him, desperately seeking some form of comfort.
Terrified and touched all at once, Kevin did his best to comfort his devastated friend. He wrapped his arms around her and searched the universe of words for something helpful to say.
Nothing came to mind.
Entirely at a loss, Kevin glanced around the poorly lit parking lot in search of inspiration. His heart nearly stopped when his gaze fell upon a visage that looked remarkably like the strange man Olivia had referred to as an observer. If it was indeed him, and he could think of no other person who would dress as he did, then the name fit quite well. The mysterious figure was doing exactly that, observing. Kevin was about to call out to the strange man, but he felt Chloe stiffen in his arms, then seconds later a voice called out to him from behind.
"I know where your friend is… but we must move quickly—"
Kevin spun around, and in a flash of movement he had positioned himself between Chloe and the voice. He drew his newly appropriated firearm in a flash and leveled it on the figure that had seemingly materialized from the darkness, flanked by one other figure.
Chloe recovered from her shock instantly. Requiring no further information, she drew her revolver and leveled it on the second figure. Kevin knew from the sound of the deep, gravelly chuckle, that her target was Canderous.
Kevin's target came into view, his own face was easily recognizable. It didn't take Chloe long to pick up on the fact that the figure whom Kevin had leveled his gun at looked almost exactly like him. The situation deteriorated rapidly.
"What the fuck? He looks just like you! What the hell?" Chloe's aim faltered. Canderous chuckled even more menacingly.
Kevin's doppelganger took a confident step forward, unconcerned with the weapon pointed his way. His voice was entirely too playful.
"Indeed. Tonight, is certainly a special night. Two Kevins, two moons… I wonder what else there are two of?" Kevin's eyes shot skyward in response to the voice of his double. He couldn't help but gasp as he looked upon the incredibly odd sight of two moons hanging almost adjacent to each other in the sky. "Please tell me this is not your first time noticing that…" his double added with a sigh of blatant disappointment.
Fuck off… me… I've been busy.
"I've seen it," Chloe replied flatly, not bothering to look up. "It's the end of the world, haven't you heard?"
"Indeed?" Kevin's doppelganger seemed rather intrigued by Chloe's behavior.
"Cut the shit! What have you done with Max!?" Chloe snapped, setting her sights Kevin's doppelganger, leaving Canderous free to act. Canderous instinctively went for his weapon, but ceased his movements when he was calmly ordered to stand down.
"I haven't done anything to your friend. In fact, I am trying to help you save her. So, I will say this once, and only once, lower your weapons." Kevin knew himself well enough to know that the other him was quickly losing patience. Exhaling slowly, Kevin lowered his weapon and nodded towards Chloe, motioning for her to do the same as he tucked his pistol away.
Kevin expected Chloe to protest, but she quickly snapped her sights off of her target and shoved her revolver back into the rear of her pants. Without preamble, she hastened towards her truck. The sudden movement startled their adversaries, but the pair quickly recovered their composure.
"Follow us and stay close. We won't be going far." Kevin's double spoke quickly and motioned towards a nearby vehicle. And with that, Canderous and the boy who held his leash made for their vehicle.
Chloe turned to Kevin and impatiently beckoned for him to follow. As Kevin moved, he cast a glance back to where he thought he had spied the 'observer' and wasn't surprised at all to see no sign of him. Kevin climbed aboard Chloe's truck and she engaged the ignition, hastily maneuvering her truck to follow the black sedan, a BMW of some kind, that Kevin's doppelganger and Canderous had boarded.
"What the fuck is going on? Who the hell is that guy? Why the fuck does he look just like you?" Chloe's barrage of questions would have continued if he hadn't motioned for her to be quiet as he furiously searched for Olivia's number.
"I'll explain later, just follow them and keep quiet… I need to tell Olivia what's going on!"
Chloe held back her questions and put her fury into her truck as she chased after their quarry.
During the short and chaotic ride, Kevin called Olivia and informed her what was going on. He had no idea where they were headed, but he told her that he would let her know as soon as he discovered it himself. After hanging up, he quickly explained to Chloe a very abridged version of the events that occurred when his doppelganger and his men had accosted him, only to let him go after the 'observer' had intervened. As the vehicle that they were following came to a stop behind another identical vehicle, Chloe pulled in behind them. All three vehicles were parked more or less on the side of the road. All around them the trees were thick and ahead of them, a very well-off looking house could be seen.
"I think we can trust these guys… don't quote me on that though. Not too long ago, they were thinking about killing me."
"I don't give a shit who these guys are. Seriously, I don't. All I care about is finding Max. If they help with that... then whatever. Who gives a shit if one of them looks like you?" Chloe's voice trailed off as a single figure exited the vehicle that had already been here and three more figures exited the vehicle that they had been following.
Kevin climbed out of Chloe's truck and watched as his doppelganger and his men popped open the trunks to both of their vehicles. The three men and their leader began to arm themselves. Kevlar vests were strapped on while a variety of rifles and submachine guns were prepared. Chloe disembarked as well, and side by side the pair approached, watching in awe at the spectacle before them.
"Hans, status?" the other Kevin called over to the man who had been waiting for them in the identical vehicle.
"Half-a-dozen cameras, even distribution, no blind spots. Solid security system active on all doors. One inside, plus two hostages," Hans responded calmly as he zipped up his armored vest and belted an already holstered pistol around his waist.
Two hostages… Victoria?
"Options?" Kevin's duplicate asked casually as he shoved a magazine into a sub-machine gun and charged the weapon.
"I can hack into the system... but that will take time," Hans responded as he adjusted his sunglasses.
Why the fuck is he still wearing those? It's pitch black out here!
"Max might not have time!" Chloe interjected as she took one quick step towards the others. "We have to do something. Now!"
Canderous cocked a shotgun and nodded towards Chloe, grinning ear to ear. "Frontal assault then," his voice trailed off as Chloe pushed her way towards the open trunk and inspected the array of weaponry. "I like her. Can we keep her, boss?"
Kevin managed to catch an armored vest that Chloe threw his way. As she struggled to put her own on, Canderous roughly helped her into it, thrashing the girl about as he secured its dangling straps. Grinning malevolent, the huge man offered her a choice from the array of weaponry that had been assembled before her.
Kevin had his own vest on and secured with minimal difficulty. His doppelganger handed him the sub-machine gun that he had apparently been equipping specifically for him. Checking to make sure that the weapons' safety was still on, Kevin accepted the empty pistol holster being handed to him by the third man whom he thought was Gerrard. However, the man's clean shaven and bald face and head starkly contrasted Gerrard's appearance.
"This is Lee… Lee, meet my clone," Kevin's doppelganger added, nodding to Kevin. Lee turned to look back at his commander as he readied his assault rifle.
"Looks just like you… bloody creepy," Lee said, his words dripping with astonishment.
"That's the whole idea of clones I suppose…" said the other Kevin before exhaling to clear his mind, and gathered his men around him. "Alright listen up… we're going in hard and fast. The building is surrounded by a perimeter fence, so once we're through that, alarms should start ringing inside. Canderous the door is yours. Once we're through, Lee you take the second floor. Hans, you take the main floor with Canderous, and I'll take the basement." The fierce looking boy pointed forcibly right at Kevin and then at Chloe. "You two stay right behind me, no heroics. You two are only coming in because I know you won't stay back, even if I forced you to, and we don't have time to deal with that shit, understood?"
Chloe nodded and Kevin mimicked her response.
Just when it seemed like the boy was done speaking he called for questions. Conveniently enough, Kevin's scarred double was looking right at him. It was almost as if he knew that he had a burning question in the back of his mind.
"Where's Gerrard?"
The boy who looked just like him smiled reassuringly at him and winked. "Keeping Kate safe… just in case." Speechless, Kevin should probably have thanked him, but all he could do was nod. "Alright, let's move!"
With those words barely out of the boy's mouth, his men charged towards their objective with their commander hot on their tails. Kevin and Chloe sprinted after them, but were easily outpaced and found themselves lagging behind. There was a loud crash as the outer gate was smashed open, followed seconds later by a loud boom as Canderous blew open the front door with his shotgun.
Kevin and Chloe could only look on in awe as they sprinted through the front yard to catch up as the three men and their commander filed into the house in an expertly trained maneuver. If anyone had been waiting for them in ambush, Kevin was certain that it would have failed. He and Chloe caught up to the other Kevin as he quickly but carefully navigated the stairs to the basement. He found himself behind Chloe as she had pushed herself in front of him and positioned herself right behind his doppelganger.
The leading Kevin reached the bottom of the staircase and, weapon at the ready, cleared the corner to his left. Moments later, all hell broke loose.
"Drop the weapon! Drop it!" the boy screamed, his voice loud and menacing.
"I'll kill her, don't fucking move—Kevin!?" Kevin couldn't see what was going on, but he froze as he recognized the voice.
Chloe, however, didn't freeze.
The blue-haired girl threw herself around the corner. Snapping out of his stupor, Kevin moved to follow, but was shocked when Chloe was thrown back towards him, the back of her head bloodied and a mass of carnage. Chloe's lifeless body fell upon him, covering him with gore.
Kevin's ears were ringing from the loud report of gunfire that had ended Chloe's life. The noise was so intense, he could barely hear Max's muffled screams over the return fire that his doppelganger spat out in response. Kevin choked back nausea as he felt the warmth of Chloe's blood and gore leak out onto his chest. The feeling only intensified as an overwhelming sense of vertigo overtook him. His panic quickly eased, if just barely, as he recognized the sensation.
In an instant he was back outside just before his doppelganger had ordered the assault to commence. Kevin opened his mouth to speak, but he immediately found himself keeling over and vomiting instead.
"What the fuck?" Canderous cried out as some of Kevin's vomit splashed onto his boots.
"Christ kid… nerves got to you already?" Lee grumbled disapprovingly. Oddly enough, Chloe bent down to see if he was okay and the sight of her untarnished face brought joy to his heart even though he was having difficulty shaking the ghastly image of her disfigured face out of his mind.
"That was… interesting…" his doppelganger said wistfully, catching his men completely off-guard. "And here I thought it was you all along messing with time. It appears I was wrong… Max, this friend of yours, is really quite something." Choking up the last bit of vomit, Kevin struggled upright with Chloe's help and nodded.
"What the fuck are you talking about boss?" Canderous grumbled as he cast his gaze from his commander to the boy that looked just like him.
"Well, in short, we just assaulted that house. I encountered a single hostile in the basement and engaged him. However, Chloe here took a bullet to the head before I could line up a shot. Mostly because she didn't listen to me about staying behind me." Pausing, as if for dramatic effect everyone cast their gazes on Chloe. Kevin, however, kept his eyes on the ground.
"Shit. Not again…" Chloe groaned.
"Don't judge my clone too harshly, Lee. I'm sure that was his first time wearing someone else's brains."
Chloe's gaze immediately shot towards Kevin. He avoided it as best he could.
"I'm… sorry," Chloe's words crawled out, struggling to manifest themselves into existence.
Only able to nod, Kevin did his best to look composed. His efforts failed to impress her and she took a step towards him, reaching out for his shoulder.
Canderous' protests cut her awkward gesture short. "Wait? How come I don't remember assaulting no damned house? What the fuck is going on here? Do you guys remember anything?"
Lee shook his head, eyeing the world around him with suspicion.
Hans, on the other hand, calmly adjusted his sunglasses, just as he had before. When the man spoke, his voice was oddly neutral. "It seems that the hostage has the ability to manipulate time. When the assault failed, she used her powers to reset everything, giving us a second chance to succeed. The Commander's abilities, it would seem, have allowed him to retain his memory of these past, now nonexistent events. It would also seem that his clone was able to retain his memories as well. Is that right, sir?"
"Right on the money, as usual Hans. So… we now know that our target is downstairs with the hostage. I bagged him by the way, if anyone is interested… two in the chest, one in the head. We also know that he's armed and that a direct assault may not be our best option."
"Why not? Let's just storm the place and take this asshole down… and, if we fuck up, the girl can just do her time rewind bullshit, right?" Canderous' plan sounded straightforward and solid but Hans quickly pointed out a flaw.
"And what if the hostage is killed, how will she rewind time then?"
Canderous, of course, had a simple solution. "We shoot the asshole before he shoots the hostage, easy."
Kevin's doppelganger clearly wasn't impressed with this solution. He called for options. It was silent for a few moments, then Lee cleared his throat and spoke up. "This guy goes after young girls, I guess?"
The question, it took Kevin a moment to realize, was directed at him and Chloe. The pair nodded in unison.
"Let's lure him up with some bait. Send Chloe in and have her knock on the door looking all drunk and seductive. Bastard won't be able to resist. Once he opens the door… Bang. Tango down. Hostage secured."
"That's no fun—" Canderous began, but found himself cut off.
"Let's do it." Chloe, apparently not worried about being bait, stepped forward and took off her armored vest and proceeded to strip off her outer layer of clothing.
Canderous, unable to help himself, whistled as Chloe stripped down to just a white tank-top and adjusted it so her black bra was sticking up just above the plunging neckline. Approaching her truck, she threw her clothes inside and, at the last moment, tore off her black beanie and ran both of her hands through her blue hair.
Chloe then proceeded to do that thing that girls do with their hair all the time that Kevin still didn't quite understand. He didn't complain though, nor would he ever. Leaning her head back, eyes closed, Chloe shook out her hair and seemed to let out a sigh of pleasure as she did so. Or was that his imagination? Or... had that been Canderous?
Regardless of who had sighed or whether or not it had happened in the first place, Chloe had finished the maneuver and seemed satisfied as her hair fell in place around her cheeks. She grabbed an empty bottle from her truck and nodded to the mystified men as she stalked towards the house. Lee quietly called out to her. She turned around, slowly at first, but finished the maneuver in a flourish. As her hair reset itself, Canderous, it was definitely him this time, made a very grotesque noise.
"When he opens the door, all you have to do is move to your left and I'll put him down. Easy right?" Lee said reassuringly. Chloe nodded and set off on her mission, but not before casting a very playful glance at Kevin.
Maybe it was me who sighed…
Feeling himself blush, Kevin slowly followed his doppelganger as everyone moved into position.
"Canderous, that girl is like fourteen… get a bloody grip mate," Lee whispered as they stalked towards their positions.
"Nineteen I believe, actually," Hans reported flatly, still wearing his sunglasses but having no difficulty seeing where he was going in the dark.
"Nineteen is legal here, right?" Canderous whispered to no one in particular, his gaze fixated on Chloe as she approached the gate.
Everyone was in position and Kevin noted that Lee was already lining up his shot. Hans was also setting himself up in a firing position, but it seemed as if he was only there to support Lee. The distance wasn't great at all. Kevin figured that it would be an easy shot regardless of who took it.
So long as Chloe moved out of the way, at least.
Chloe passed through the gate and sauntered her way toward the front door as if she were on a runway at a fashion show. The security cameras had her in sight and Kevin hoped that whoever was inside could see her at the moment because she certainly looked—
"Why Kate… and not her?" The blunt question from his doppelganger interrupted Kevin's thoughts and he struggled to answer for a moment. The boy that looked just as he did, save for a few minor details, hadn't even turned to face him.
"She's with Max…" Kevin responded lamely. However, his brain quickly reconnected itself with his mouth and he continued. "And besides Kate's more my type. I'm not into bad girls… Chloe's trouble."
"That she is… I do like trouble myself," his doppelganger responded wistfully as Chloe finally reached the door and rang the doorbell.
Chloe mimicked taking a final swig from her empty bottle, swaying back and forth ever so slightly as if she had been drinking. Before any further words could be exchanged, there was movement at the door. It opened and Kevin suddenly remembered the voice he had recognized in the basement.
"Mr. Jefferson!" As Kevin stared in shock. Chloe took action.
She did not move left.
Taking a quick and sudden step forward, she smashed her bottle against Mr. Jefferson's face and he staggered back in complete surprise.
"He's going for his weapon." Kevin heard Hans report calmly off to his left. Kevin's doppelganger and Canderous leapt into action, but Kevin felt as if he was frozen in place as he watched the events play out before him.
There was no way that anyone would get a shot in time.
"Dammit girl, move!" Lee cursed, clearly unable to get a shot.
Kevin watched as Chloe drew her own weapon, faster and surer than Jefferson. Without a moment of hesitation, she fired point blank into Jefferson's chest.
The crack of the shot jolted Kevin awake. Finding himself able to move again, Kevin rushed forward, gripping his weapon tightly. His former teacher collapsed heavily on the floor of his home. Chloe loomed over him, leveling her revolver on his head.
"Chloe, no!" Kevin cried, but his words were either too late or went unheard.
The second crack from Chloe's gun sent a bullet straight into Jefferson's head. He immediately ceased moving. Skidding to a halt, Kevin nearly tripped on a low-lying shrub and watched in horror as Chloe disappeared deeper into the house.
Either forgetting that Jefferson was alone in the house, or being extra cautious, Hans and Lee continued clearing the house and Kevin's doppelganger rushed after Chloe. Kevin slowly entered with Canderous lurking right behind him. The odd pair stopped to inspect the corpse.
"Now why the fuck shouldn't she have wasted him, huh?" the massive man demanded, kicking the corpse dismissively. "Fucking hipster Patrick Batemen…"
How the hell do you even know that reference?
Canderous must have noticed Kevin's incredulous stare because he snorted defensively, "What? I read."
"I didn't want her to kill him because now it's possible that the FBI, or the police, will charge her with his murder, that's why."
Canderous grunted, scrunching his already hideous face as he mulled over the problem. Lee came bounding down the stairs from the second floor, giving the all clear. Hans glided into view, giving his companions a reassuring nod.
The house was clear.
"Out of the way, kid." And without any further warning from Canderous, he leveled his massive shotgun on Jefferson's chest and fired. Kevin barely had time to get out of the way as a shower of gore and blood splattered the nearby area. His ears ringing painfully from the concussion, Kevin stumbled further away from the house when he realized that the man hadn't finished quite yet.
In one swift and practiced motion, Canderous cocked his weapon. A still smoking shell casing fell towards the floor. As it fell, Canderous leveled his weapon on the corpse's head and fired once more.
From outside, Kevin could see very little of the corpse. However, he imagined that there was very little left to see. Canderous seemed all too pleased with himself. Lee, slightly confused, cast what remained of the corpse a quick and dismissive look before proceeding on by towards the basement. Hans took a long thorough look at the scene and nodded approvingly to Canderous. The hulking man became ever more pleased with his magnum opus.
"There, I fixed it… now you can stop bitching." Canderous' words were barely audible through Kevin's ringing ears. With that, the massive man let out an equally massive laugh, shouldered his weapon, and moved off. Presumably to find something else to destroy.
Kevin crept into the house and did his best not look at what remained of Mark Jefferson. He couldn't help himself. The man's face was completely unrecognizable and what remained of his head was only a fraction of the size of what it once was. His chest had fared no better—there was a deep cavity of carnage and gore. Kevin could even see bits of the man's ruined rib cage, but as he began to pick out other details, his mind had finally had enough.
Kevin staggered away retching. Hearing this, Canderous' laugh bellowed ever louder. Kevin did his best to ignore the beastly man's mockery as he took the stairs to the basement one step at a time.
"Kevin… what happened to your face?" Max's voice brought him out of his stupor somewhat and he quickened his descent and made his way around the corner.
The main room of the basement was large and spacious and was populated by a fancy desk with a high-tech computer and some other gadgets that appeared to be for developing film. Several secure and locked metal cabinets covered the walls and a large leather couch and a few matching chairs littered the room as well.
The far wall was bare, immaculately painted white. The floor just in front of this wall was covered with white fabric and was clearly set up for photography. At the center of this setup was a sturdy wooden chair that Chloe was helping Max out of.
Max, the least clothed Kevin had ever seen her, stumbled and could barely walk. Chloe supported her, but ended up mostly carrying her towards the couch. Max was pale and shaking, her eyes entirely glossed over. The girl's face was mostly blank, but her eyes were lazily darting back and forth as she tried to make sense of everything all at once.
Chloe, tears in her eyes, looked as if she would never let Max go ever again. Once the two girls made it to the couch, the pair seemed to melt into each other's arms.
"Chloe… why are there two of Kevin…? And what happened to one of their faces?" Max's tiny voice drawled out.
Chloe shushed her partner and snuggled up closer to her. Lee appeared around the corner from one of the side rooms and motioned for Kevin to follow him and, overwhelmed by curiosity, he immediately obeyed.
The room he entered was also clearly set up for photography, although much smaller than the main room. Standing lights, white fabric, and bare walls greeted him. Hans was inside leaning over the unmoving form of another scantily clad girl who was tightly bound. As Kevin approached, he recognized Victoria and stared at her for a moment, too afraid to ask the obvious question.
"Her vitals are stable, she's just heavily sedated… see there's a breath."
Kevin let out a breath of his own as he watched Victoria's chest slowly rise and fall. She lay eerily still once more.
"I was going to ask if you knew this wee lass… but that answer is pretty bloody obvious now then, eh?" Lee clapped Kevin on both of his shoulders from behind as he continued to stare at Victoria. "Don't worry, she'll pull through."
Kevin felt numb all over and barely felt the man's hands slap his shoulders. He just stood and watched as Hans carefully released Victoria from her bonds and manipulated her body into a more comfortable position.
"Go on, I'll keep an eye on her, it's rude to stare," Hans said dryly, motioning towards the door. Suddenly aware that he had been staring, Kevin obediently left the room, his face warm with heat. As his face cooled, Kevin wondered if he would ever see Victoria seem so peaceful ever again. Back in the main room, he wandered over to one of the chairs and numbly collapsed into it.
Holy shit… it's over.
"Boss, we've got company!" Canderous bellowed as he came charging down the stairs.
Everyone was on their feet and ready for action in seconds, weapons at the ready. The only exceptions were Max and Chloe. The tension in the room infected Max and she began to shiver violently. Chloe doggedly refused to let go of her friend, holding her tighter.
"Who the hell is it now?" Lee grumbled. The answer came a few tense moments later as voices could be heard upstairs.
"FBI!" The calls filled the house as the agents methodically spread their way through the building. They were no doubt on edge and ready for trouble, each had to pass Jefferson's mutilated corpse as they entered through the front door.
"Friendlies downstairs! Check your fire!" Kevin's doppelganger called back in a surprisingly loud and commanding voice. He then motioned to his men and they all lowered their weapons. Everyone did their best to look non-threatening. Not that Canderous had a look that wasn't threatening, but Kevin mused that the massive man was probably less threatening when he was sitting down, or at least not smiling in the hideous manner that he did.
"Who's down there?" a voice called back from the top of the stairs.
"Kevin, Chloe, Max, and several rough looking people you won't know. We are armed but do not pose a threat to you. You may come down, if you wish."
"Kevin, is that you?" the voice called back. Kevin recognized it as Charlie's unmistakable voice.
"I'm the other Kevin… but yes he's down here too, as are his friends, Max and Chloe… plus another female that was abducted by the owner of this residence."
"The guy by the door, right?" Charlie's voice trailed off as his thoughts clearly went back to the mutilated corpse.
"Yes." Kevin's duplicate leveled his gaze on Canderous, "Or what's left of him I presume?"
The big man simply shrugged as if he had done nothing unnatural causing both Kevins to sigh.
"Please, don't do that again…" Lee grumbled as he shook his head. "It's weird enough already. Next thing you know this kid is going to be barking orders—"
"We're going to have to see one of the kids before anything else happens—" Charlie began, but Kevin quickly moved towards the stairs and shouted over him.
"Who the hell are calling a kid, old man?"
"Kevin, is this you this time or… the other guy?" Charlie responded slowly, understandably confused.
"What, you can't tell? That blow to the head did more damage than I thought! I'm coming around the corner. Please don't shoot me!" Kevin shot back as he prepared to step into view.
"Keep it up with that lip boy and I might!" Charlie shouted back, frustrated.
He's just joking… I hope.
Kevin peered around the corner of the stairs. He was hesitant at first, but his confidence soared when Charlie lowered his weapon and ordered the two agents with him to follow suite. Kevin waved. All three of the agents were in full body armor and were armed to the teeth but their bewildered expressions made them seem very nonthreatening, almost comical.
Definitely no-where near as terrifying as Canderous at any rate, Kevin mused.
"How the hell am I supposed to tell you two apart?" Charlie grumbled as he motioned to someone out of view. The two other agents disappeared from view and Olivia, also in full tactical gear, hurried into view.
"He's got a nasty scar on his face, so I'm way better looking." Both Charlie and Olivia cracked tense smiles at the joke, but remained where they were at the top of the stairs.
"Think again buddy, chicks dig scars. Right, Chloe?" Kevin's doppelganger flashed a roguish smile.
"I am so not getting involved in this." Chloe's response didn't seem to bother him though.
"You're no fun." Kevin rolled his eyes at his doppelganger's comment and returned his gaze to Olivia and Charlie. Peter had joined them.
"Alright, we're coming down," Olivia called.
Kevin made way for them as the trio cautiously made their way down. It took some time, and there were a few tense moments where Kevin expected everything to go wrong. However, in spite of this, Olivia, Charlie and Peter were soon gathered at the base of the stairs. Their hands tightly gripped their weapons, but they kept them lowered.
The rough men under the command of his doppelganger held their ground, but kept their weapons lowered. Chloe hadn't bothered to look up, or even greet the FBI team. She continued to hold Max close as the frail girl shivered in her arms. Kevin had to keep reminding himself to breathe, but when he looked nervously at his scarred duplicate he calmed somewhat. Not looking worried at all, the boy smiled warmly at the agents and seemed totally unconcerned and oblivious to the mounting tension in the room. When he spoke, his tone was friendly and soothing. His disarming voice immediately cut through the tensions that threatened to suffocate the room.
"We have two girls that are in need of medical attention, nothing serious, but they both are suffering from the effects of heavy sedation. If you have medics on hand, I would implore you to call for them," he allowed his words to trail off for a moment as a stare-down between Charlie and Canderous caught his attention. "And Canderous... quit your posturing and sit down or something before you make me nervous."
"Yes, boss," chuckled Canderous.
The large man eased his massive form into one of the empty leather chairs and, even though he was now sitting and doing his best to seem friendly, he still looked rather imposing.
"Peter, get Walter," Olivia spoke slowly, her eyes now fixed on Max.
Peter nodded to Olivia and, as he hurried up the stairs, Olivia slowly holstered her weapon and cautiously made her way over to Max and Chloe. Charlie remained where he was and kept his weapon drawn and at his side. He watched as Kevin eased himself into the lone remaining chair save for the wooden one that Max had been tied up in.
Ain't no way in hell I'm getting in that chair.
"You alright, kid?" Charlie asked as he inspected Kevin.
Kevin had felt like a total badass with his new armored vest and his submachine gun. Now, however, he realized that he was just a stupid kid playing soldier surrounded by professionals. Nodding slowly, Kevin deliberately exhaled through his nose and felt most of the remaining tension flood out of him.
"It's been… a day," Kevin managed as he carefully set his weapon down on the floor. The damned thing felt far heavier all of the sudden.
Charlie smiled and nodded. He was forced to move out of the way as Walter and Peter came rushing down the stairs. Walter froze when he noticed that there were two Kevin's in the room, and gradually found his voice after several long moments of hesitation.
"Are we certain that he's not from the alternate universe?" Walter's demanding question was met with a simple shrug from his son. Peter's nonchalant response only fueled the older man's paranoia.
"This 'alternate universe' thing keeps coming up. I can assure you that whatever it is you are talking about... I am not from there. That kid over there is my clone—"
"I will need a blood sample to confirm that," Walter responded in a much fiercer tone. "Or are you afraid of needles too?"
Face suddenly burning, Kevin did his best to ignore the amused glances cast his way.
"I fear only one thing… and it's certainly not needles."
Kevin glared at his doppelganger. A small smile crept onto his pursed lips though when Chloe scoffed at the remark. At least Chloe had his back.
"Oh, is that so? And what is it you fear then?" Walter's mocking tone set the heavily armed soldiers in the room ill at ease. The three men remained silent despite their grave expressions.
Walter prepped a needle and began to draw blood from the arm that was offered to him. No one mentioned to Walter that he had been brought down to look after Max and Victoria; the tense wordplay had everyone's strict attention.
"Losing those I care about." His duplicate's voice quivered slightly and his tone softened. Walter's face immediately saddened as he finished with his extraction. The pair held each other's gaze for a moment until Walter broke off and secured the blood sample in his portable gear.
"And it would seem that your worst fears have already come true, from the way you say it."
Kevin's mouth went dry as images of his nightmares suddenly flashed in to focus.
That girl… it wasn't Kate it was—
"Kiera…" His duplicate finished his thoughts as he turned towards him, nodding grimly. "It seems my nightmares plague you as well. It appears that we are more connected than I first thought possible."
Everyone in the room seemed to collectively hold their breaths, the silence was almost deafening. Walter licked his lips and would probably have pressed for more information, but Kevin found his voice and began to make sense of his dreams.
"They mutilated her and left her alive so that you would find her—" His duplicate nodded grimly, his eyes hard and dark. "And she died in your arms. You buried her in that desert… and then—"
"I killed them all." The voice that his duplicate spoke with was as hard, cold as ice. His eyes appeared to have turned to stone and every muscle that was visible on him tensed almost unnaturally. Hans quickly moved to the boy's side and whispered something in his ear, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder. Slowly, Kevin's scarred double returned to normal and the suffocating tension in the room dissipated once again.
"So… that's why you sent Gerrard to watch over Kate?" Kevin asked hesitantly, coming to a rough understanding. His duplicate nodded, seeming more like himself again, but significantly more withdrawn.
"Yes, my fears… my horrors, should stay my own." The room was silent once again. Walter had at some point, with Chloe's express permission, begun to look over Max. Peter disappeared into the other room to check on Victoria, so Walter quietly asked Charlie if he could fetch some blankets, but Charlie had other ideas.
"We need some blankets down here, now!" Charlie hollered up the stairs causing everyone in the room to jump slightly, even Canderous. Clearly proud of himself, Charlie looked over at the disgruntled giant and smiled mockingly at him. "You okay there, big guy?"
Canderous grumbled, but said nothing as he made himself comfortable once more. Charlie's demands must have also startled the agents upstairs, because several thick blankets were brought down moments later.
Max was soon bundled up and looked much happier, especially when Chloe burrowed inside and snuggled up next to her. Peter reported that Victoria was still unconscious but her vitals were growing stronger. He then proceeded to collect the remaining blankets and bundled her up as well. Olivia looked around for a moment as if searching for something, clearly not yet satisfied.
"So… I'm guessing we never found Nathan then?" Kevin and Chloe shook their heads. Olivia looked long and hard at them, her eyes full of suspicion. Max spoke up, her voice still alarmingly weak.
"Jefferson… he said that he was 'dead and buried,' and that 'no one would find him.'" Max's continuing state of weakness caused Chloe to hold her tighter and Max snuggled back up to her.
Olivia nodded slowly, turning to face Kevin's duplicate. "And what's your story, if you're not from the alternate universe, then where the hell are you from? Walter, you said it yourself, cloning as 'perfect' as this shouldn't be possible, right?"
"Indeed so, Agent Dunham, even though it appears that these two are identical, I expect to find many inconsistencies in their blood work… though I must admit that I am still very skeptical of these two being clones, such technology doesn't exist. Not here anyway."
"You won't find any inconsistencies. He's my clone," the boy said, entirely uninterested in any arguments.
"Care to explain how this all happened?" Olivia asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"It's a long story," Kevin's duplicate responded flatly.
"We've got time," countered Olivia, shrugging.
"No, we don't… my men and I are leaving."
If the boy's words shocked her, Olivia didn't let on.
"Would I be wrong in assuming that it was one of your men that—"
"Yeah, it was me," Canderous admitted, all too happily, as if he were a bloodthirsty killer. It certainly helped that he was a bloodthirsty killer. "You, going to arrest me?"
Clearly not intimidated, Olivia took a bold step towards the massive man.
"Two shots at close range with that shotgun, was that really necessary?" Olivia asked, looking deeply into the large man's eyes.
"He had a gun," Canderous declared defensively.
"But your first shot most certainly neutralized him… you blew out half of his chest."
"He twitched… had to make sure." Canderous smiled ruthlessly, probably dispelling any of the doubts Olivia had in her mind. Kevin certainly believed that he was indeed the man who had ended Jefferson's life, even though it was a lie. Olivia backed off, clearly satisfied.
"Even so, you're all staying here until I get some answers." She said this flatly, yet sternly, as if there were no other options.
"And that, Agent Dunham, is where you are wrong." And just like that, in an instant, Olivia and her team found themselves surrounded and outgunned.
Peter was dragged out of the adjacent room at gunpoint by Hans while Charlie, the only one capable of reacting, was staring down the barrel of Canderous' shotgun. Glaring fiercely at his opponent, Charlie lowered his weapon, placing it on the floor. "We mean you no harm, nor wish any harm to come to you, but we are leaving, Agent Dunham. It would not be wise to get in our way."
"We have plenty of agents upstairs," Olivia responded defiantly
"Do you wish to throw their lives away in a foolish attempt to capture me just so I can answer a few questions, that in time, will no doubt be revealed to you?"
Before Olivia could answer, her phone vibrated loudly from its holster attached to her belt. Kevin's duplicate stared at the offending device, his face suddenly hard. Confusion mounting, Kevin watched as his duplicate motioned for his men to lower their weapons.
"You should answer that."
Momentarily shocked by the sudden reversal of the situation, Olivia hesitated briefly before snatching up her phone. After a few quick words with whoever had called her, she switched the phone to speaker and an angry, flustered, but commanding voice barked through.
"What the hell is going on down there? An F5 category tornado has appeared off the coast of Arcadia bay out of nowhere! I've got analysts over here that want to call it an F6 because of how damned powerful it is… it's off the charts." The voice paused for a moment and he could be heard talking to someone else but he returned with even more distressing news. "You've got about thirty minutes before that thing wipes Arcadia Bay off the map… and probably most of Oregon along with it. So, if you can do something to stop it, I would strongly advise that you get to it… if not, get the hell out its way! Does doctor Bishop have anything to say about this, anything at all?" Olivia turned to Walter who was staring sadly at Max. Olivia called out to him, startling the older man into action.
"Agent Broyles!" Walter shouted into the phone as he approached, unbalancing everyone further. Broyles, sighed wearily.
"Doctor Bishop, I can hear you just fine."
"Oh… right," Walter composed himself somewhat before continuing and moved closer to Olivia's phone and continued somewhat quieter, although not by much. "I theorize that this sudden phenomenon is the culmination of a series of breaches between the two universes and that it will dissipate once it has run its course. Once all of its energy has been unleashed, I believe that everything will return to normal and that we shall see no further incidents in the area."
"I'm sorry, Doctor Bishop, but we are looking at an event of cataclysmic proportions. Are you telling me that you have no way of stopping this thing?"
"Forgive me, Agent Broyles, but how does one stop a tornado? The technology just does not exist!"
Broyles went quiet. Before anything else could be said, Kevin's duplicate sprung into action and began to bark orders at his men.
"Lieutenant Martin, prepare a vehicle, now!" Lee disappeared up the stairs as he hastened to comply with his orders. Charlie dashed after him, hopefully to make sure none of the other agents interfered. "Lieutenant Hans, contact Admiral Daala and have her dispatch a ship… have her techs modify the ion cannons, perhaps they can weaken the cyclone before it reaches the town. If not… I'll stop it."
Admiral who? A ship? What kind of ship?
"She won't be too happy about that, sir," Hans responded as he removed an odd-looking piece of tech that Kevin guessed was some sort of communication device.
"Then she'd better stop that damned thing before it gets to the town." The boy began to move towards the stairs to head after Lee, but he stopped and turned towards Kevin. "Sergeant, give him the keys to the other vehicle."
Canderous produced a set of keys and tossed them towards Kevin. He somehow managed to catch them despite the state of shock that he was in.
"Go to Kate," Kevin's doppelganger said flatly, as if Kevin was one of his soldiers to be ordered around. "Keep her safe... I'll let Gerrard know that you are coming."
And with that, Kevin's state of uncertainty and confusion vanished. Kevin jumped up and bounded up the stairs, right on the heels of his duplicate. They tore past several confused looking FBI agents and burst outside into the night. Strong winds were already tearing at the surrounding trees as a heavy rain pounded towards the earth, stinging him as he charged through the sudden apocalyptic weather. Lee already had one of their vehicles parked out front and jumped out when he saw them running towards him.
"Go with him, Lieutenant. Get him to the hospital. Just pretend he's me and follow his orders!"
Without waiting for confirmation, Kevin's duplicate dove inside the vehicle and speed off down the road despite the inclement weather. Kevin and Lee looked at one another for a second and, either because of the pouring rain or because of his orders, Lee motioned for Kevin to follow and together they ran off towards the second vehicle.