Sorry for the delay, this chapter ran longer than I expected.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock. Nor do I own a crack team of computer hacking chimps. Turns out they were just your average typewriter variety.
Under normal circumstances, the group of splicers would likely have been angry that Cain was having them wait. They had arrived by train at the entrance to the Farmer's Market only to have him signal that they were to hold here until he gave the order to pursue further. Their targets were close. They all could see that by the train that was docked next to their own, and yet he insisted on waiting.
For Ares, it was more than a little annoying. He was a man of action, not of contemplation. Jericho had beaten him to the point however. The crazed man was absolutely livid that they had come all the way here just to pause for no discernible reason. He had started shouting at Cain when they all felt it.
The city shuddered. It was a feeling they all knew well. That miniature earthquake signaled that another part of Rapture had been claimed by the ocean. To make matters worse, it had felt very close.
If their leader was surprised by the sensation, he gave no outward signs of it.
After that, nobody had tried disputing his orders again. A tense silence fell on the room as all four of them waited for whatever signal Cain was looking for. Ten minutes later, they saw it.
Ares was testing the sharpness of his hatchets when a small buzzing noise assaulted his ears.
"What the fuck is that!?" Jericho demanded, jumping to his feet. His senses had already been stretched to the limit by the air of nervous anticipation that pervaded the room.
Cain simply ignored him, waiting expectantly as the noise grew louder.
As Ares watched, a tiny figure flew out of one of the air ducts in the room. As it drew closer, he could see that it was some kind of insect. Probably a bee or a wasp. He tightened his grip on his weapons. If the rumors were true, this place was suffering from a large bee infestation.
What happened next took them all by surprise. The insect flew directly for Cain and landed in his outstretched palm. The man then placed his other hand over the miniscule figure, effectively trapping it in-between them.
The other splicers all looked on hesitantly, unsure of what to make of this. After only a moment he pulled his hands away again, letting the now-lifeless body of the bee fall to the ground. Ares felt himself frown at the odd exchange. Confusion was something he wasn't familiar with.
Cain's eyes were glassy and distant, but they didn't stay that way for long. With a shake of his head their leader was back.
"Well now. That's quite interesting." He said with a wry chuckle.
Hammer gave voice to the question they were all thinking.
"What just happened?" The giant asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Did you squash it?"
Infuriatingly enough, he ignored the question.
"It seems our quarry has been split apart." Cain said, turning to address the group. "This gives us an excellent opportunity. They are wounded and fatigued from the opposition they have been facing here. If we move quickly, we can take advantage of that and finish them off before the day is through."
"What 'opposition'?" Isabelle demanded. "Just what kind of freaky shit are you using to figure this out exactly? I ain't the kind of person who likes being kept in the dark."
"I have my ways." He replied coolly, seemingly amused by her annoyance. "But since you were so kind as to speak up Isabelle, I will tell you that you and Hammer will be taking the eastern corridor to go after the two human troops."
"Wait, what now?" She asked, flustered by the sudden change of topic.
"The younger one is named Archer and carries a crossbow. He shouldn't be too much trouble." Cain's explanation gave them no room to protest. "The older one goes by the name of Tomas. Keep an eye out for him. He carries a shotgun and seems at least moderately proficient with it."
While Isabelle looked unsure whether to be wary or angry, and Hammer was still trying to process what had been said, he turned to Ares and Jericho.
"You two will be going after Davian and the protector. Both appear to be injured, but don't underestimate them."
The news caused a mixed reaction.
"Oh fuck yes!" Jericho shouted. "I've always wanted to kill one of them screaming bitches. I'll bet she's got plenty of Adam on her!"
"Not so fast." Cain ordered. "If at all possible, I want the two of you to take the protector alive. Kill the boy, but don't kill her unless it is entirely unavoidable."
"Feeling merciful?" Ares questioned, trying to figure out exactly what game the man was playing.
"Feeling practical." He stated. "A living sister is marginally more useful than a dead one. But of course, that wouldn't be a problem for you now would it Ares?"
None of the others seemed to pick up on the challenge.
"Where exactly are you going to be while we do all the work?" Isabelle demanded, still annoyed by being blown off earlier. The corners of Cain's mouth turned upwards in a disturbing half-smile.
"It's been years since my last doctor's appointment." He said casually. "I believe I'm overdue for another."
"Not that I don't appreciate you pulling me through the door, but would you mind not ripping my arm out of its socket next time?" Archer complained. "I need that for shooting things."
Tomas only spared him an irritated glance before turning to face the open hallway.
"We need to get moving." He stated. "The sooner we find the others the sooner we can head back home." Something didn't feel right. His instincts were warning him that the danger was far from over, and he'd learned a long time ago to trust their advice. His companion however, didn't share his concern.
"What's the rush?" The boy asked. "You afraid they're going to leave without us?"
The larger man only grunted, forcing Archer to jog in order to keep up with him. Once they had crossed the distance from one end of the hall to the other, his sense of danger increased tenfold.
"Something's off…"
Hoisting his shotgun into a ready position, he opened the bulkhead door. The room on the other side was fairly uninviting. It, like most of the others they had come across, was covered in the sticky residue of its former flying inhabitants. From what he could tell, it had acted as a dump zone where they stored any debris that would have been an issue in their hive. And when he said debris…
"Aww shit!" Archer exclaimed, violently shaking off his foot. "Great. I just stepped in a heaping pile of bee crap. Can this get any worse?"
He had to say it didn't he?
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Tomas heard another voice. It was very distant, and distinctly feminine.
"Quiet." He hissed, silencing the young man's moaning.
"Smug Bastard! I'll bet he knew this place smelled like a piss hole too. That's why he was so keen on having me go instead of him!"
Before either of them could comment, another voice that was much deeper than the first spoke up.
"What does that have to do with picking you?"
"Isn't it obvious? He's out to sabotage my position with Hawthorn! He's worried that I'll become the boss's new favorite, and he's damn right to worry! When this is over, I'll have him strung from the rafters with his own intestines for making me do this!"
"I don't think-"
"Of course you don't think dummy. That's why I'm the one in charge here!"
As they listened, the two voices began bickering back and forth. Normally Tomas would have assumed they were just roaming splicers, but there were two things that made that incredibly unlikely. First; most of the splicers in this area had been killed off by the bees. Second; they had mentioned Hawthorn, which meant they could only be here for one thing.
"We're being hunted." Tomas said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"More fighting? Are you serious?" Archer questioned with an exasperated expression. "How many things do we have to kill today?"
Grabbing his arm, the older man pulled him down behind the remains of what might have once been a market stall.
"How much ammo do you have left?" He asked, checking his own supply.
Archer took a moment to count his remaining bolts before answering.
"About seven shots, so I should be good. How about you? This shouldn't be too hard so long as you've got some lighting bullets."
"Two."
The young man's jaw dropped open, something he instantly regretted since it caused the smell of the room to hit him full force.
"Two shots?!" He exclaimed as quietly as possible. "Didn't you think to pack any extra? You're supposed to be the one who's prepared for this stuff!"
"I did bring extra ammunition." Tomas growled. "In case you didn't notice, I used it earlier. My weapon fires a lot faster than yours does."
"Two of them… Two of us… and you with only a couple of rounds." Archer said, looking borderline worried. "This is going to hurt isn't it?"
His only answer was a curt nod as they bunkered down to wait for their hunters to arrive.
Epsilon hurt all over. After her fight with Gamma, even her potent regenerative abilities were hard pressed to soothe the battered soreness of her body. The needle wound in her gut wasn't helping matters either.
The only other time she had felt this beat up was when she had decided to check out Rapture's automated electrical generators. As it turns out, generating power for the city involved lots of metal things moving at high speeds and waiting for some unfortunate soul to get too close.
Davian however, seemed to be even worse off despite not going a few rounds against an insane Mark 2. After the two of them had managed to recover from the near drowning, it became apparent that he was in poor condition. He was shaking so badly that she'd needed to help him just to keep him walking in a straight line. Right now, his arm was thrown over her shoulder and, while he tried not to put too much weight on her, she could tell that it was getting worse.
He was going through Adam withdrawal. She hadn't recognized it before, but now there was no doubt in her mind as to what it was. Normally she might have been rather wary of this, but right now she was entirely focused on finding Wren and getting the two of them back home safely. Oh right, and maybe finding the others from the colony at some point.
Suddenly Davian convulsed, nearly dragging her to the ground. His breath came out in short gasps as he gripped his midsection with a free hand. Epsilon tried to help by easing him into a sitting position, but she had no idea how to fix the issue. Thankfully, he managed to fight down the attack after several moments.
"Amelia." He said, struggling to focus. "I don't want to alarm you or anything, but I think we need to be getting home soon. As in very soon." While he spoke, she could see that he was desperately trying to keep his teeth from chattering. That probably wasn't a good sign.
Epsilon was at a loss. She'd never been in a position where she needed to help a splicer who was going through withdrawal symptoms before. If nothing was done, then his mind would start to slip. Davian would become just like all the other slavering psychopaths that haunted the fallen city. She was shocked to find how much the idea scared her.
Steeling her resolve, she helped him back up to his feet and made for the end of the hall they had stopped in. She wasn't about to let him fall to that level. Epsilon couldn't say exactly what it was about him, but she knew that he was starting to become more than just another face. He was almost tolerable. Maybe even… dare she say it? A friend. She'd had precious few of those in her lifetime, and none outside of the protectors.
Very soon however, her mind was forced onto a more immediate topic. No sooner had she opened the bulkhead door, than she was forced to jump behind a nearby pillar with Davian in tow. She quickly placed a hand over his mouth to prevent any noise of surprise from escaping.
Peeking out from behind her cover, she laid eyes on the source of her sudden action.
"Oh you should have seen their faces!"
Two men were standing at the opposite end of the room, blocking the only exit. She didn't need to get closer to see that they were splicers. The smaller of the two was speaking loudly and making a bunch of hand gestures, while his companion looked about ready to snap his neck.
"There was three of 'em, all hiding in some beaten down shack outside of the Kashmir Restaurant. The guy put up a fight, but a few hits with a pipe dropped him nice and quick."
The taller man was bare chested, exposing heavy scarring along his body. Even from this distance, Epsilon could recognize the markings as the same symbols that adorned many of the protectors.
"So good to see you can handle a defenseless man in a dark alley." He stated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The other man was apparently too deep in his own commentary to notice the interruption.
"Heh. The younger girl got all hysterical after that. I was tempted to bash her head open just to shut her up, but that would be a waste, now wouldn't it?" Epsilon didn't like the direction his story was taking.
"The old bird must have known what was coming, cuz she got this panicked look in her eyes. Started begging with me to let the girl go and take her instead. Ha! As if. I gave her a good smack with the pipe just to keep her from interrupting."
A sickening feeling ran through her gut as she realized what he was describing. And it looked like she wasn't the only one. The other splicer's gaze turned from irritation, to barely contained hostility. His hands had dropped down beside two wicked looking hatchets that hung by his sides.
For the sake of preserving her own sanity, Epsilon tuned out the rest of what was being said. A brief glimpse at Davian told her that he wasn't in a position to help fight.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to focus. Splicers were something she could deal with. It was fairly obvious that the two were waiting for them. Why, she couldn't tell, but it hardly mattered. Right now they were in the way.
She knelt down in front of Davian, getting his attention. She pointed to his chest, down to the floor, and back at him again in a gesture that hopefully told him she wanted him to wait. He took a moment to process the order, but eventually nodded. He wasn't going anywhere.
Now she would be able to focus on dispatching them as quickly as possible. Peeking around the pillar again, she laid eyes on her targets. Both splicers still remained unaware of her presence. Readying her harvester for what felt like the hundredth time that day, she launched into the open and started the attack.
"Come on! We have to find them!"
Gregory couldn't help but feel he was a bit too old to be dragged around like this.
"Hold on a minute." He said, trying to get through to the near-panicking little sister. "We'll find them; we just need to take it carefully. They can't have gone very far."
Wren turned away from him, nervously fidgeting in place. She all but refused to make eye contact with him, and never ventured within arm's reach. It was somewhat strange to see her transformation from the outgoing little girl she had been, to this. Without her protectors nearby, she was far less confident around him.
"It's all right." He said, getting down on his knees to appear as non-threatening as possible. "I won't hurt you." She didn't budge.
Restraining a sigh, he stood back up and readied his rifle.
"Stay behind me." He warned, as kindly as was possible. "There may still be nasty things waiting out there and I don't want you getting hurt."
She nodded timidly, fussing with the hem of her dress instead of looking up at him. Some part of the doctor's mind wondered just how much of her actions were due to honest fear and how much were caused by her mental conditioning. The gatherers were all programed to appear as small and unthreatening as possible for their own protection.
Opening the bulkhead door, the two of them stepped into a moderately sized room. Judging by the tables and scattered chairs, it used to be a dining area for those who had been enjoying the Market.
Distantly, Gregory's mind drifted back to a time when the city had not been so filled with strife and hatred. Back when Rapture was a prized utopia that harbored the best and brightest. A time before Adam…
A weary sigh escaped his throat as he thought of those times.
At his side, Wren suddenly stiffened with a small gasp. His head snapped back up and immediately caught sight of the disturbance. Standing at the opposite end of the room was a tall man dressed in a suit. He was holding a knife.
"Hands in the air!" Gregory ordered, bringing his rifle up to his shoulder. While he might be getting on in the years, he was still a skilled marksman.
The intruder didn't react to his threat at all. With a smirk, he actually began advancing towards the two of them.
"I'm not warning you again!" The doctor warned. "Stay where you are or else!"
He kept advancing.
You gave him fair warning. Gregory thought to himself. With a squeeze of the trigger, his rifle barked its retort. Almost instantly he knew something was terribly wrong.
The man didn't jerk back or collapse after being shot. In fact, he didn't react at all. The bullet passed right through his body with no resistance, clanging off the wall on the other side of the room. It was when the man's outline began to fade that the doctor realized his mistake.
Pain like a blazing spear exploded through his chest in the exact spot where he'd shot the illusory man. Rifle falling from his hands, he grasped at the open wound in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding.
"M-Mister Doctor?" Wren's worried tone made him realize that they were both in grave danger. The man who created the duplicate wouldn't be far behind.
Frantically grabbing for his fallen weapon, he tried to pick it up once more. His body had other ideas. Being shot could cripple a man in his prime. For Gregory, it was all but unbearable. His fingers refused to grasp the gun in any semblance of a useful manner.
Desperation edging into his actions, he searched the room for some escape route. He only half-succeeded in finding one.
Located near the door they had arrived through, was a gatherer's vent.
"Child… Listen to me." He said, grimacing as the words caused a fresh wave of pain to torment him. "Run. Through the vents. Quickly!"
Wren looked unsure for a moment, but the sound of approaching footsteps erased her hesitation. In the blink of an eye, she dashed to the small sanctuary and clambered inside.
That secured her escape, but Gregory was still in danger. Allowing himself to collapse into a kneeling position, he struggled to get a good grip on the rifle. His vision went black around the edges as each movement hit him with another blast of agony.
He had almost managed to wrap his hands around the trigger when a well-tailored shoe slammed down on the weapon.
"Doctor Gregory I presume?"
It took every ounce of willpower he had to tear his gaze away from the foot holding down his only defense. Looking up, he faced the man.
"What… do… you want?" He gasped, glaring up at him. "Who are you?"
A small smile formed on the man's face.
"My name is Maximilian Cain." He said, pressing his knife on the underside of Gregory's chin so that he was forced to look up and make eye contact. "You can probably guess why I'm here. I'll ask you this once and give you a chance to make this easier on yourself. Where is the girl?"
Had there not been a razor's edge pressed against his chin, the doctor might have snarled. It didn't take an expert to see what he wanted Wren for.
When he remained silent, Cain clucked his tongue in a disappointed fashion.
"Now, now, don't be like that." He chided. "You'll only make it worse, and I can assure you that I'll find her sooner or later."
"I… don't fear… you." Gregory shot back, despite the trickle of blood it caused as the knife broke his skin. "You can't… shorten my life… by many days."
The splicer gave an amused chuckle at his words.
"Why so protective?" He questioned. "Is that the guilt speaking?"
The doctor couldn't help but flinch in surprise. Luckily, the knife had been removed from his chin and was now being examined idly by Cain.
"Oh yes, I know all about you." He said, ignoring the reaction. "Doctor Simon L. Gregory. One of the scientists who first worked on the protectorate program if I'm not mistaken? When Lamb rose to power you, like many others under Ryan's payroll, had to go into hiding. It wasn't until Tenenbaum found you that you realized the monsters you had been creating."
"How…" Hearing his own history spelled out by a stranger was a most disturbing experience for him.
"Knowing things is my business." Cain stated simply. "Would you like me to recite the lives of your companions? How Tomas was a rebel fighting for Atlas before he found out that his employer was just as corrupt as Ryan? Or perhaps how Archer and Joseph had survived this long by working for multiple gangs before being recruited by Tenenbaum. I could even tell you what 'Amelia' and 'Wren's' real names are."
Gregory set his jaw in a vice, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing his unease.
"I'm not an unreasonable man doctor." He said, a convincing amount of sincerity in his voice. "I know that you don't want to die. Few people really do. Because of that, I'll give you one last chance. Tell me where she's hiding and we can all go home happy and alive. I'll even give you a medical kit to fix that nasty hole in your chest."
It was a tempting offer. In all likelihood, Cain wouldn't be able to reach her even if Gregory told him where she was hiding. But an offer was all it was. The doctor was no fool. He knew the splicer had no intention of following through on his end of the deal.
"No…"
He had expected some reaction. An outburst of anger, a growl of frustration, or even a shake of his head in disappointment. Cain gave none of these.
"So be it."
Gregory barely had time to see the knife move. He felt the cold steel blade whip across his throat, sending a wave of chilling agony through his system once more. Out of reflex, his hands darted up to the opening with the vain hope that he could stem the rush of blood pouring out of him.
They didn't even make it halfway before all the strength in his body was replaced by an all-consuming cold. With a strangled gurgle, doctor Gregory fell to the ground and lay still.
Cain observed the body dispassionately, before turning to more important matters. A needle-like stinging sensation ran up and down his arms as hornets started crawling forth from his sleeves.
"Find her." He ordered.
The insects needed no further encouragement. All at once, the swarm took flight and headed to search every possible crevice of the room.
Cain took a seat in a desiccated chair.
Right now, all he had to do was wait.