chAPTER 3

The helicopter flew over D.C., turning a few heads and causing a couple to duck into the nearest building. I sat on the edge, looking out the door and waiting to see just where it was we were going. Every once in a while, I would look over my shoulder at the others in the helicopter. Nix looked more upset than when her "pets" were killed by the Beast. Kuo would look at me every so often, her eyes betraying her mistrust for me. Zeke... he looked like shit. The plague was taking its toll, leaving him with minimal energy and making him cough intensely. He wouldn't even look at me.

I couldn't say I blamed him. On the way to D.C., we saw much of John's work. Cities were decimated, bodies were everywhere, and survivors, both human and Conduit, fought over whatever was left. One guess who won. Was I really willing to become a part of that? To be the bringer of such chaos? I thought about my hesitation to use the RFI. To stop the Beast once and for all. Could all of this have been avoided if I'd gone through with it?

The helicopter landed on the roof of what looked like a warehouse. We filed out and followed the pilot, who eventually introduced himself as Tom Heller. After taking a flight of stairs to the ground floor, we were greeted by the scene of a different kind if chaos. People ran from one side of the building to another, possibly with some kind of lead on the current situation with the Beast. Having a lead and being able to act on it were two entirely different things, though. Which was why I was here, I supposed.

"Welcome to DARPA," Heller spoke up as we entered. Zeke and I exchanged glances, remembering full well this was where Moya came from. If DARPA was in charge... everyone in the room suddenly looked hostile.

"Real cozy," I joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. It didn't work. Not even for me.

Heller approached me, a glare in his eye and his face looking as though he were prepared to kill me if I tried anything. "The Ray Field Inhibitor," he demanded. "Where is it?"

I glared back, not the least bit intimidated by this college boy who thought he was a spy. Then again, this was his show, and he did just save my life. I pulled the RFI out of my pack and handed it to him, not bothering to be gentle. "Hate to break it to you," I said, "but it's broken."

Zeke had asked to take a look at the RFI in the helicopter. His examination, which only took a couple moments, confirmed his worst fear. The RFI was broken beyond any simple repairs. It would have to be taken apart, the broken components fixed, and then put back together. The only person I knew who could do that was Dr. Wolfe.

Heller frowned at the RFI and handed it to a person walking by. "Get this to the lab to have it examined," he ordered.

"Right away, sir," the agent replied before jogging off, RFI in her arms.

Heller turned back to my group. "Any idea how to fix it?" he asked.

"Wolfe invented the RFI," I replied. "He'd be the one to know how to get it fixed, but he died in New Marais."

Heller looked away, frustrated. "What about notes?" he asked after a moment. "He would have left notes on the RFI, right?"

I looked over at Kuo, who looked at the ground. I stepped over to her. "Kuo," I began.

"Please, don't," she replied, tears threatening to slip from her eyes. "You can't ask me to do this."

"We can figure out a way to make it work," I replied, though not convinced myself.

"I don't want it to work!" she suddenly yelled out, now crying freely.

I paused for a moment, taking in the scene. She was so afraid. Who could blame her? Using the RFI meant certain death, for her and everyone like her. We were an endangered species, and we were only getting worse with time. Finally, I sighed. "I'm sorry, Kuo. Okay? I am. But you saw how bad the world's getting. What John's doing. We can't be a part of that." She looked me on the eye, fighting back sobs. "We need those notes," I finished, hoping she'd understand.

She sighed and looked away. "The boxcar," she said finally. "In Flood Town."

Heller nodded, uninterested in Kuo's personal crisis. "We'll head back to New Marais tomorrow," he said.

I turned to look at him. "Why not now?" I asked.

"New Marais was just flattened by the Beast. God only knows what kind of shit was left behind."

I sighed and nodded. "And once it's fixed?"

"Then you use it and finally end this goddamned thing." The words were thrown at me with a malice I wasn't quite expecting. This guy really seemed to hate me. Regardless, he was right. The RFI was the only way this would all end. I just had to suck it up and use it. "Get some sleep, MacGrath," he ordered. "We've got a job for us in the morning."

I may not have liked Heller, but I did like the idea of sleep.

The next morning, I was up before many others. I drained a bit of energy from the coffee machine to wake me up, then found Heller, who promptly ordered me to take a shower. I was getting a little sick of all of his "ordering", but he did have a point about my hygiene. I turned the shower on hot and stepped in, thankful my skin could now resist this amount of water. All I got were a few pins and needles, along with a few sparks of electricity, nothing more than an annoyance. I still wouldn't be swimming anytime soon, but it felt good to take an actual shower again.

After I got out, I wrapped a towel around my waist, just in time as a female agent stepped in and froze when she saw me. "Sorry," she said quickly, looking away. "I've, uh... I've got some clothes here. Should be your size." She set the clothes on the bench and hurried out.

Smirking slightly, I went over to the bench and put on the clothes. I'd been given a pair of blue jeans (without a Union Jack, but nothing a little tape couldn't fix), a black t-shirt, a yellow hoodie with a zipper down the middle, and a pair of running shoes. I put on the pants and t-shirt and slipped the hoodie on over the shirt, leaving it unzipped. I then grabbed my pack and slung it over my shoulder, making sure I could pull the hood should I need to. Finally, I grabbed the Amp and placed it in its sling and headed out the door.

Heller looked over at me and frowned, as if my presence ruined his entire day. "We're waiting on the helicopter to be ready to take us to New Marais," he explained. "While we're waiting, you should take a tour of D.C., while you've still got the chance."

I frowned, knowing full well what he meant. "I might just do that," I replied curtly.

"Just make sure you don't kill any innocent people," Heller replied.

I flipped him off when he turned around and headed for the exit. Before reaching it, I spotted Nix in the lounge area and walked over to her. "Hey," I said.

"Hey," she replied after a moment.

I struggled to come up with anything to say. Then, I finally asked the question I'd been dreading. "How are you holding up?"

She looked away, visibly shaken. "I've been through worse," she replied. I nodded, understanding. I'd seen the crater that Bertrand had left behind when he activated a Ray Field, heard about her mom being sucked in and killed. Losing New Marais must have been a slap on the wrist compared to that. But that wasn't the worst of what I was dreading.

"I'm sorry," I said. She looked over at me, confused. "For hesitating. Maybe if I hadn't, New Marais would still be standing."

"Yeah," she replied, not convinced. "Maybe."

That ended the conversation. I decided to look around for Zeke before I left, see if I could apologize. An agent pointed me to the medical wing, and I walked over there. I saw Kuo on the way and tried talking to her, but all I got from her was "Just leave me alone, Cole."

I found Zeke lying in a hospital bed with a few IVs in him. "Hey, Zeke," I said.

"Hey," he replied half-heartedly.

I knew what was bothering him. Didn't see any point in dancing around it. "Look, about back in New Marais-."

"Stop," he said suddenly. "Just stop." I was afraid of what was coming next. But I wasn't prepared for he said. "If I can screw up as badly as I did and you forgive me, I'm damn sure not gonna shun you for making a couple mistakes of your own." I breathed a sigh of relief. "You're my brother, Cole. I ain't gonna abandon ya now."

I nodded. "Thanks, Zeke."

A nurse came in and connected a needle to a port in his IV. "I'm giving him a light sedative," she explained. "You'll need to leave to let him rest."

I nodded. "Sure."

Before I left, Zeke called out to me. "Good luck, Brother!"

"Thanks," I replied, heading to the warehouse door.

We were all gonna need it.

Author's Note: I'm gonna try to have the DARPA warehouse act like a hub location, a bit like the Normandy in Mass Effect. In a game situation, Cole would be able to talk with different people, who would have different things to say depending on the situation. There'll also be some new (and old) people there to have the conversations with.

The idea for Cole's appearance came from me wondering what he'd look like in a hoodie, and what circumstances he'd be under to keep the hood raised. My thinking is this: Guardian, his appearance is like I described in the chapter above, with a lighter-toned face; Champion, he'll have a white t-shirt and blue hoodie, with the same complexion; Hero, he'll go back to a black t-shirt, but have a white hoodie that's zipped; Thug, his appearance would be like it is in the chapter above, but with a darker-toned face and, of course, red lightning; Outlaw, he'd have the black t-shirt and a red hoodie; Infamous, he'd have a red t-shirt under his now blood-red hoodie, and the hood would be up.

Also, I have a few other locations Cole will visit, but I can't think of an inFAMOUS-type name for them. If anyone can help, I'd greatly appreciate it. The locations are Detroit, St. Louis, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Las Vegas. Thanks.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed that chapter, please don't forget to review.