"Fringey…"
Summary: Sarah and her sisters see there's an even darker side to Dyad's little cloning-fest…
(Not sure about this one but while I await more details for "Nessun Dorma" I'll play round with this darker one and see how it goes.)
Disclaimer: No copywrite infringement intended.
Part II…
"So you're saying someone used a brain-dead version of us…" Allison began…
"Two…And not quite brain-dead, more never completely brained…Versions…" Sarah corrected.
"…To rob and murder…?"
"Seems about the size of it." Art eyed her.
"Whoa." Cosima, blowing her breath out slowly.
"This can't be happening…Donnie?" Allison stared.
"Ally…" he held hands out in futile gesture. "I wish I knew what was going on…"
"Dyad and dear ole Leekie, natch." Sarah nodded bitterly. "They weren't satisfied with just playing with our genes and killing some or all of us with various neat little genetic diseases. They destroyed our brains and turned some of us into God knows what…"
"Zombies? Robots?" Allison blinked.
"Still ready to stand up for good ole Leekie, the humanitarian benefactor of us all…?" Sarah eyed Cosima.
"Sorry…" she sighed a moment later at Cosima's stare. "I forgot."
"I gave him the benefit of a doubt, Sarah. Not my trust. And now I know what he is and what he's capable of…" Cosima eyed her. "If you want to call me a fool for hoping there was something…Decent…Even noble…In all of this, fine."
"Maybe we're like them…" Allison eyed the others. "Maybe we're missing chunks of our brains too…Maybe we're just robots…"
"Ally…" Donnie sighed. "You couldn't fret like this if you were some kind of zombie…"
"Maybe they were fine until they found out about Dyad…" Allison went on… "Leekie cut their brains out to keep them quiet then began having some fun with them…"
"Honey, please…"
"Allison…" Art cut in… "If anyone did this deliberately…And I agree that someone must have…We'll make them pay for it. And it will give us, if we can prove it was Dyad, something no one can deny is out-and-out inhumane experimentation. If we can link Leekie and his people to these two, they will go to jail."
"I don't want to lose my mind…" Allison shuddered. "Donnie, kill me first."
"No one is going to lose her mind and I am not gonna kill anyone but Dr. Leekie…"
"But…"
"Ally…"
"Promise…"
"I'll never let you suffer, Ally…" he sighed. "Ok?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Good." She nodded, nervously. Bursting into tears as he hugged her.
"This is it. This guy has to die." He said quietly, looking over Allison's heaving shoulder to Sarah. "I want him dead."
"If he'll allow us, I'll gladly put a bullet in his bald skull." Sarah nodded.
"No one is putting bullets into anyone, people." Art sighed. "I agreed to join this merry band and do what I can to keep 'Beth' out of jail and in the fight so long as you all agreed to play by the rules…My rules." He eyed them.
"You don't have zombie versions of yourself wandering around killing people…Oh, God…" Allison shook her head. "What if the kids find out? What if they see one of them on TV news or something?"
"Allison…" Donnie patted her… "We'll just tell them you have a twin sister on "The Walking Dead" or something…"
She stared at his grin…
Sarah eyeing Cosima…Uh-oh…
Hee…She gave a nervous giggle…Then a hearty laugh…Kissing him…
"But we will prove what this guy is and what his project is and we will put him away or in a grave…" Donnie nodded to her look.
"You promise?"
"Cross my heart." Firm nod.
"Well…That settles that, I guess." Sarah, grinning.
"Yes. It does." Allison, archly.
Cosima staring…Sarah catching her desperate look…
"I can't believe Delphine…That any scientist, outside the Nazis…" tears welling…
"These are Nazis, Cos…" Sarah eyed her, taking hand. "We have to accept that…They are not our benefactors…We mean nothing to them except as lab rats. And like the victims of Nazis we have to survive and live to speak out, no matter how long it takes or who we have to fight."
Dyad Institute…Lower restricted level area conference room…
"Well…This is a pickle, losing one of our girls like this…" Leekie sighed.
"Everything had been going so well…The girls were performing perfectly." Head shake by the fortyish scientist in lab coat sitting across from him. "They were improving exponentially with each interaction…The mock attack on the treatment plant went off without a hitch. This was just a random…" he threw up his hands.
"Keep that for our selling point to our sponsors…" Leekie grinned. "All went perfectly till it was shot to Hell…By a convenience store clerk. Well, what can you do…What about our Olive?"
"Still functioning perfectly…Should we bring her in?"
"Hmmn…Well…Not quite yet. The way things are going we're not going to have another chance at a field test like this for months, probably years. We should try to complete as much as we can with her before we have to close up shop and clean up the mess. We owe poor little Louise that much." Smile.
"It is possible…If Olive is kept running on the outside…She might be taken, even alive…And the chances of tracing her back…" hesitant pause…
"If she's taken, her non-biologic components self-destruct and they have the same evidence they've got from Louise…A near- anencelphalic woman who somehow managed to go on a crime spree and pick up guys." Grin. "Nice to know my little girls met a couple of nice guys before the end."
Blink from the other…
"Leekie, you truly are a son of a bitch…" female voice from the other end of the table, amused tone. The speaker shrouded in darkness…
"Just sayin'…" grin. "I wonder how our troublesome trio is going to deal with this little blot on their good names…"
"Surely they can't be connected to Olive and Louise…" the voice asked. "Aldous, you did promise the test wouldn't impact on our other girls."
"I can't see it…Unless dear Sarah, with her record, gets tangled up in things…Which might not be the worst outcome, dear."
"I don't want Sarah in jail, Aldous. Not now, anyway."
"Certainly not…But if she needs us to keep her out…And with her baby." smile. "One never knows how loyalty may be born."
"Sarah will never be loyal, Aldous."
"And yet loyalty can encompass such a wide range, sweetheart… From devotion to skittish alliance…To mere forced to be in bed together."
"That sounds familiar…" sardonic tone.
"Sweetheart…" he put on mock hurt look.
"Just remember we want the girls…The fully functioning ones…To continue unharmed as humanly possible…"
"As humanly as possible…" he nodded, smiling…
"Now as for our Olive…"
"I'd like to push her to the limit…See what she's capable of…" he noted.
"Oh?"
"More interaction…She's been too stiff though we made considerable improvement with experience…And then, something rather big…Something guaranteed to impress our more action-oriented backers…Gotta keep the customer dazzled, dear…"
"Interaction, how?..." stern tone…
"We'd like to flush Helena and Sarah out…Olive might be the ticket to doing that. If we can improve her social skills and all that…"
Hmmn… "You're not considering her passing for Sarah with her people, by any chance? She may be improving but…"
"No, she's not quite there…Yet…But soon…But anyway, for now, even as she is…With a bit of tweaking…She would make a fine Allison."
"Allison?"
"Just that right combination of OCD and nervous hesitation…Mixed with a rather cloying love for the rotund doofus…"
"No need to make fun of our girl's romantic choices, Aldous. I rather like Donald…He's lovable and dependable. I can see why our Allison chose him. I'm not ready to terminate her yet, by the way."
"The thought never crossed my mind, sweetheart. I love our Ally…I just meant Olive could impersonate her better than the others should the opportunity arise."
"We'll keep it on the burner, back…Aldous? The big one?"
"Yes. I'm thinking of the ultimate nightmare…A successful terrorist attack on a US nuclear facility…"
"Seriously…?"
"Well, if you prefer a Presidential assassination…But been there, shot that. Of course I'm not talking about blowing up the East Coast…Just a terrorist makes it into a secure nuclear facility…Nearly sets off a meltdown after a proud declaration of jihadist principles and the regrettable murder of a number of security personnel. One lone terrorist…Our little girl."
Hmmn… "Didn't we push it far enough with the treatment facility?"
"That was kid's play…One security guard, no real other protection. Come on…" enticing grin… "You know you want to see our little girl pull this off. And what a marketing gimmick for our more…Hands on clients."
"Pity we couldn't get hold of Helena…She'd be perfect with her training…"
"Oh, that would be so messy when the damage has to be inflicted not induced during development. I'd hate to see the poor girl subjected to the sort of ultra-lobotomy that would require."
"And yet, Aldous…" grim tone. "Circumstances with the Helena might require fairly strong methods to be employed, much as I hate losing her abilities."
" 'I want you to know Wilmer'…" Leekie, mockingly quoting… " 'I feel toward you as I would my very own…[daughter]…But if one loses one [daughter] one can always get another…But there's only one Maltese Falcon' name of, Sarah."