A/N: Sorry there was no update last week, I just needed a break from the story for a bit but I'm back and I promise I will finish it! Cheers!
Chapter 45- Exit Strategy
McCoy knew that Peter had special abilities that allowed him to do extraordinary things, he had seen it time and again, and yet there was something utterly otherworldly in the way he lead them straight to the holding cell that contained Spock and his brother as if he had locked them in himself. For some reason it wouldn't have been as creepy if Sylar had done it- he was just naturally unnerving- and McCoy found himself wondering what it was like to actually be either of them. He imagined it would lead to more headaches than he knew what to deal with. It was bad enough that people felt free to stop him in the hallway to ask advice on personal matters like he was Emily Post and an authority on interpersonal etiquette, to be able to hear their thoughts before they opened their mouth would be unbearable because sometimes he could discourage them with only a scowl before they had a chance to spoil his day…even more. It would be handy to use on his pig headed Captain, though. And if he could shoot energy from his hands the way he knew they could, people would think twice about disregarding his orders. But more than any other time, he wished he could read the thoughts of the suffering but always stoic Vulcan he witnessed on the other side of the bars. Damn if he didn't aggravate the hell out of him most times with his perfect diction and logic, but a man with one eye and half a brain could see that despite his façade he was in serious trouble and the only thing he wanted to do was to get through the door as quickly as possible to assess the damage.
Nathan picked up his head at the sound of Peter's voice softly calling his name. He stared wide eyed in disbelief at Peter as he wrapped his hands around the bars of his cage with a small, lopsided smile on his face that he found reassuring. His head was pounding and it hurt to keep his eyes open, but the sight of his unscathed brother- with a tattered shirt belying his current condition- was the best he could have possibly hoped for. Peter had survived long enough to wait out the eclipse and the man brooding just over his left shoulder had a good deal to do with it, but the old Sylar was clearly back so he wouldn't be thanking him anytime soon least it provide future ammunition for manipulation. Perhaps sometime in the future he might quietly swing some largess his way if he was in dire need as only a Petrelli could in silent acknowledgement of his gratitude, but he would never outwardly recognize his contribution to his brother's well being. And although he could never really imagine Sylar being in dire need of his help or inclined to take it even if he was, one thing Nathan had learned was no never say never.
Jim was nearly ready to chew through the bars if he had to in order to get to Spock. While Spock never overtly said or did anything to encourage him, he had known the stubborn Vulcan long enough to see the small glimmer and subtle change in his eyes that was a sign of relief at his arrival- or at least that was how he was determined to interpret it. He had one sole purpose in mind and that was to come for his friend and he wasn't about to let some forged metal stand in his way. Just as he was contemplating trying to melt the lock with his phaser or perhaps all of them pulling on the weakened bars together to open a gap just wide enough for the prisoners to squeeze through, Sylar solved the dilemma with not much more than a glance and a twitch of his finger to spring the lock with a small "click." It was almost enough to piss Jim off, but he had to remind himself that it was a good thing the evolved humans were on their side and to be appreciative of their powers even if it made him look like an ass. He kept forgetting that with them, the conventional rules of the universe just didn't apply, but at least in this case it made for an easy and expedient inroad and in his mind the easier the better.
Spock understood the concern of his rescue party, because in truth it really was a dire situation and he knew for a fact that he had sustained a moderate level of blood loss, increasing his chances of complications in recovery and evacuation, but he knew with equal certainty that his crewmates wouldn't have come as far as they did if they had any intention of leaving him behind- even if it was the most logical course of action given the circumstances. This was why he didn't even bother to inform them that statistically they had a much better chance of survival if they would take Nathan and go as their chances of a successful escape diminished by approximately 21.3% for every minute they lingered. He knew Jim wouldn't 'give a rat's ass' as he might say and McCoy would snap at him to keep quiet while he worked on him, so he just allowed the doctor to go about his business and studied the intense expression on his face as he occasionally grumbled about Vulcan physiology. It was perplexing to him why McCoy acted as though his unique physiology was a novelty when he knew the doctor had spent excessively long hours reviewing his medical records and studying his physicals intensely…just in the event such a need arose as like the one he was in where he needed every bit of that knowledge to save his life. Despite his protestations, Spock was utterly confident that the doctor was well informed and competent to intervene, and he trusted him completely even if McCoy had unfounded reservations about his own abilities.
Peter used his own unique skills as a nurse and paramedic to triage his brother even though he wasn't exactly cooperative at first, stating he didn't want to play hospital with him while he repeatedly pushed his hand away. "Nathan," he warned in his friendly yet stern paramedic voice, "we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. We both know I can make you cooperate, but I don't want to. Just let me take a look at you, I promise I won't do anything, ok?" Nathan squinted incredulously at him with his big brown eyes and Peter felt like a jerk for threatening his brother like that, but it had to be done. Thankfully, Nathan acquiesced with a chuckle and as he went through the neurological head trauma exam he found himself hoping that he wouldn't remember it anyway because he would never let him live it down otherwise. By the positive results of his exam, he probably wouldn't.
Sylar watched on with his arms folded and a mysteriously blank expression that gave Jim the chills. He noticed, but didn't feel the need to explain himself, he was fine with the Captain thinking he was some kind of monster because in a way he was. He was happy to have his powers back, ecstatic, really. Once more he felt comfortable in his own skin and he was the master of his universe. Trivial matters like the ones on display were no longer of concern to him, he had a much…much…longer worldview again and he was largely above it all, like watching a movie but not really being a part of it.
But as he observed, his IA ticked along with the regularity of a perfectly tuned clock, making notations and memos. For all of his notes, one pattern emerged: the deep relationships that others had. The bond between Peter and Nathan was more than obvious and it was equally apparent that McCoy had just a bit more than a professional concern for Spock as did Jim- it was personal for them as though he were their brother. He envied Spock in a way because he managed to strike a balance between his solitary nature- so much like his own- and the outside world. During the eclipse he had just a taste of what that felt like with Peter and it was exhilarating, comforting, and deeply frightening all at the same time. That feeling was largely gone, only traces of his empathy remained, but the memories were faithfully cataloged in his steel trap mind for him to retrieve at will should he ever want to.
"Jim," McCoy quietly muttered in the tone of voice that told him he would panic if he weren't trying to be a professional, "we have to get out of here, but I can't move him." He jerked his head in Spock's direction, who was looking oddly pale even for being half human.
Jim put his hands on his hips and nodded. He wanted to just throw Spock over his shoulder and run like hell if that was what it took, but he trusted Bones with his life- on many more occasions than he would admit to- so he believed him when he said the situation was dire. But there was no way he was going to leave without him. And then it hit him: "Peter," he said kneeling by him as he wrapped up his brother's exam, "is there any way at all you could teleport Spock to the ship? Just you and him, we can get out some other way."
Peter turned his hazel eyes to Jim and smirked. "Why just him? I can take us all. Nathan could move on his own, but he has a head injury and I don't think he would make it far." Nathan began to protest, but Peter gave him a loving pat on the shoulder to silence him. "We could fight our way back out, but I don't want to take a chance of…" he glanced up at Sylar and continued, "…causing more damage. Everyone has to be touching for it to work, though."
"Ok." Jim agreed eagerly. "Everybody hold hands. We're going home!" He for one hated Peter's teleportation and he knew he would be sick at the end of it all, but it was the most sensible solution, a true win-win so he would have to suck it up and take it like a man.
"Wait….wait." Nathan protested shaking off Peter's hand. "Doc, you got the…things…we…"
McCoy looked confused for a moment before reaching into his bag and removing three vials. He then quickly injected his allotment of the toxin Peter had brought back into each one and gave them a few vigorous shakes before tossing them into a corner. He might have been quick about it, but Sylar was faster. It took only a fraction of a second for him to read the label "Syalr AKA Gabriel Gray" and figure out that they were his biological samples. He glared down at the doctor with a sense of betrayal.
"We promised we would leave you behind for them to experiment on," Nathan smiled weakly, "and we did. Just not how they were expecting."
"And you ruined the samples with the toxin so they can't get any real information." Peter smiled reading his brother's disjointed thoughts. That was one of the reasons he was a great politician: living in a world of half truths and illusions, but at least this time it worked in their favor.
"Bones!" Jim cried with a smile on his face. "You knew all this time he wasn't going to leave him here? Jesus, you could have said something back at the negotiations so I didn't look like an ass!"
"I thought he let you in on it!" McCoy defended. "Besides, it wouldn't have mattered if I told you, you would have found some other way of making an ass of yourself. You always do."
"Wait," Sylar calmly said waving his hand to silence the room, "you were going to leave me here to die? That is the question of real importance here. Who decided this and when? Was it before or after I stuck my neck out to play your little games?"
"We can figure this out later," Peter replied grabbing Sylar's hand to complete the circle, "but for now, we gotta go." With that, everyone disappeared from the face of the planet.
"Sir!" Sulu alerted looking over his panel. "Five people have just boarded the ship!"
"Alert Security and catch 'em!" Scotty shrugged. He wasn't about to let five uninvited guests complicate things any further. "If they are Romulans, toss 'em in the brig and sort it all out later."
"No response yet from the ground." Uhura reported. She tried her best to keep a professional tone, but she along with everyone else on the bridge watched the chaos on the ground and she knew the chances of the away team's safe return was looking bleak.
"Keep tryin'. We'll hear somethin' sooner or later." He replied. He hoped it was sooner rather than later. He sure as hell didn't want to be on the hook to Starfleet brass explaining why he was now the Captain, what happened to the senior staff, and why the hell they were in Romulan territory in the first place. Then, like the voice of God himself, he heard such a wonderfully sounding voice call, "Scotty! You are relieved." He turned to see Jim bounding from the lift toward his chair looking a little pale.
"Aye, Sir!" he smiled yielding the command and completely amazed that the Captain wasn't worse for wear as he usually was on away trips.
"Mr. Kirk!" Hiro stood and bowed to him. "So happy you returned."
"Thank you." He nodded uncomfortably. He really wished he would stop the bowing, he never really knew how to respond to that kind of display.
"Did the others return too?" Ando asked on pins and needles. He really hated being in suspense.
"Yeah," Jim answered turning and giving a small nod to Uhura because despite her attempt to remain professional, he could see the panic all over her face. "all of us. Now, Mr. Sulu, get us out of here."
"Aye, Sir." Sulu replied as he dropped the shields and prepared for warp. "Uh…Sir. We have a small problem." Jim turned just in time to see a Bird of Prey fill the screen and fire on them. The ship shook violently, throwing Ando and Scotty to the floor.
"Sir, incoming hail." Uhura called as she struggled to remain at her station and put the image on the screen.
"Greetings, Captain Kirk." Mendak sneered. "You have made a deal with an enemy of our people…a traitor who will be dealt with soon enough. He has traded our property to you in a false deal and we want it back."
"No way." Jim answered resolutely. "We have an agreement with an official acting on behalf of the Romulans and that deal stands. I can't help it if you don't agree, but we acted though official channels and the agreement is binding."
"Turn over the humans and the Vulcan!" Mendak roared as spit flew from his lips in a rage. "Return them or you will die!"
"We will not return them." Jim declared with steely conviction. "You have no right to demand it and we will defend ourselves if attacked"
Mendak slowly smiled and began to chuckle. "Then you have chosen your path. Prepare to die."