Wages of Sin part 2b
Danae
Disclaimers/Warnings:
see part 1
“Just
once, I’d like to see you guys with decent haircuts.” Pete grinned at his
operatives. Kit’s hair was braided in a
single braid that hung down his back.
Jesse wore his in a ponytail.
“It’s a good thing that you science types are given some leeway,
huh?” Pete opened the car door and got
in. They piled in as well, Kit taking
the front seat, Jesse climbing in back.
They would pick up Simon Banks and be on their way.
“Science
types? That may apply to Jess, Pete,
but not me. I’m just your
run-of-the-mill mercenary. Man, I hope
nobody starts rattling off science crap at me.
I sucked at science.” Kit smiled.
“Kit,
you are hardly a run-of-the-mill anything.
But you’ve got a damn good point.
We have to make sure that nobody gets too technical with either of you.”
“Pete?”
“Yeah,
Jess?” Pete looked at the younger man through the rear view mirror.
“We
haven’t asked up to this point but--”
“But
what?”
“Umm,
is it true? Is Ellison one of these
sentinel things?”
Pete
frowned. It was the question he did not
want to answer. He was always straight
with his people. Ask a direct question
and get a direct answer; that was his motto.
Of course, that was when he dealing with his own secrets. Now, this was someone else’s secret.
“It’s
true, Jess.” Kit’s voice startled him out of his moral dilemma.
“Excuse
me?” Pete asked incredulously.
“Don’t
ask me how I know. I just do.”
“Let
me guess. It was one of those visions
you get, right?” Jess sat up, an eager look on his face.
“Shit,”
Pete sighed. “Could we not discuss
this? You know I hate it when you get
weird on me, Kit.”
Kit
only grinned at him. “But Pete, I
always enjoy your reactions.”
“You
are just evil. I should have figured
that out the minute you managed to beat me at my own game. But no, I hire you instead of running like
hell as far from you as I could get.”
“Love
you too, man.” Kit laughed.
“Back
to the point, please. Okay, here’s the
plan. You guys are suffering from a
touch of food poisoning. Anytime anyone
gets too technical, you are sick and need to find a bathroom, quick. Got it?”
“Got
it.”
“Not
a problem.”
“Good. Now, let’s go get Banks and get our asses in
gear.”
“Come
on, Captain, you have to try.”
“How
many times have I told you, Holloway? I
can’t do it. The senses are gone, you
idiot. Now get the hell out of my
face!” Jim shoved the annoying man away
from him.
“We
are so screwed,” Holloway whispered.
Jim
laughed. He could not help it. “You have no idea what it’s like to really
be screwed, kid. You should try being
Blair Sandburg.” He laughed again but
the laughter took a dark turn and he nearly choked trying to stifle the wave of
self-loathing that rose up to engulf him.
Holloway
had the grace to look faintly ashamed and appropriately sympathetic for a
moment before he pressed on. “If we
can’t do this, the Colonel is going to come unhinged.”
“News
flash, Holloway, Adler is already unhinged.”
Holloway
frowned. “If I had known, I would have
never agreed to this training. Sorry,
Captain.”
Once
again, Jim felt like a jackass. Maybe Holloway
was not so bad after all. “Well, me
too.” Jim glanced at the observation
window. He did not have to be able to
penetrate the two-way mirror with sentinel sight to know that Rose was
there. Adler probably was too. He did
not care. If they heard the quiet
exchange, so be it. Things could hardly
get worse. He had betrayed his
guide. He had betrayed himself. He would probably die here in this lab or in
another one like it. He wondered what
they would try to bring back his senses.
Solitary confinement, probably.
Maybe even sensory deprivation.
Whatever it was, he would deserve it for what he had done to Blair’s
life. He thought about all that had
happened, from that first meeting in the hospital to the press conference when
Blair sacrificed his career and his reputation to save Jim from labs like this
one. They had both made mistakes but
somehow, his mistakes seemed to be the most damaging. Not just to Blair, either but to himself as well. He had agreed to this project. He had signed those papers all those years
ago. He knew that they really did not
have the power to make him participate, at least not back then. He could have disappeared and there would
have been nothing they could do about it.
But he had signed out of some twisted idea that he owed it to his
country to be the good soldier. And
that had been before Blair. He had
never intended to take Blair down with him.
He should have known that they would take Blair and hold him to gain
Jim’s allegiance. He knew what Adler
and Rose were like. He had trusted
that, even though his government could use him, Blair would be spared because
the United States did not do things like this.
He was wrong. Blair was being
used all along as well. He thought of
the free spirit that he had met in that university office. The kid, and he had been a kid back then,
that danced to tribal music and wore jeans with holes in the knees and that
vest. He almost smiled.
“Captain?”
“What
is it, Holloway?”
“I
could have never been your guide, could I?”
“No,
Holloway, you couldn’t.” Jim stared
directly into the mirror as he answered.
Seconds later, the door flew open.
“I
think we have wasted enough time, Captain Ellison. Holloway, you are dismissed.” Rose was smiling maliciously.
“But,
sir--”
“You
are dismissed,” Rose repeated. “And
you, Captain, are remanded to your quarters where you will remain until further
notice. Corporal Burns will escort you. Good night, Jim.” Then Rose was gone as quickly as he had arrived.
“Captain,”
the corporal announced as he stepped to one side for Jim to go first. If the man was expecting a fight he was
disappointed. Jim ambled down the
hallway to his prison. It is as it
should be, he thought, as Burns closed his door and engaged the electronic
lock.
“Ron,
we’re set. Yeah, thanks for the hotel
rooms. We’ll be heading out there
around noon. You know, scientists are
never on time. Kit’ll have us out by
midnight, no problem. Yeah, thanks
again. See you soon.” Pete hung up the phone and turned to Simon. “We’re still on. Everything’s cool.”
“Good.”
“We
may as well try to get some sleep, Captain Banks.”
“Easy
for you to say,” Simon muttered.
“Not
easy. Jim was my best friend for a long
time. I’m worried as hell.”
“This
is just so unlike him. Why would he do
this? And those airline tickets. Just one seat in his name. He was going to leave Blair in Cascade to
fend for himself if he’d had a chance.”
“Like
I said before, I’m reserving judgment on that.
There has to be a good explanation.
There was a time when I would have said that this was just like Jim, you
know? He was so rigid. So Army.
He was so focused on being a good soldier that he might have done
something just like this if he felt it was the ‘right’ thing to do for the good
ole U.S. of A. But that was not the man
that I met last year when we went after Darrien in the jungle. Blair Sandburg was Jim’s first and foremost
concern. I thought I was Jim’s friend
once upon a time. But I was nothing to
Jim compared to Blair. No, Captain
Banks, I will not accept that Jim was going to leave that kid holding his ass
in his hands for Adler to screw over.”
“Thanks,
Devereaux. I needed to hear that.”
“You’re
welcome.”
“Now,
you seem pretty confident that Chase can get you out of there. Is there some kind of back-up plan?”
“Sure
there is. In Kit’s head, as soon as
something goes wrong with the first plan, which nothing will, mind you.”
“Are
you crazy? You’ve said that Rose and
Adler are dangerous and you’re going in there without a real plan.”
“Yeah,
into the lion’s den, huh?” Peter Devereaux waggled his eyebrows at him and
Simon wanted to slap some sense into the man then and there. “Hey, don’t worry. This is Kit’s specialty.
He’s an infiltrator. He can get
in and out of anywhere, anytime, anyhow.
That’s how I met him after all.
I had set up what I was sure was impenetrable security for—well, for
this group that shall remain nameless, lest you lose any respect you may have
for me, and I had one foot in the road when the whole compound just explodes
all around me and this guy is standing on the roof of one of the buildings
announcing that he just blew up their little arsenal. And then before anybody could get himself pulled together enough
to kick his ass, he was gone. Just that
quick. Of course, he did make one
mistake, he hung around town and a couple of these guys, who shall remain
nameless, caught up with him in an alley.
He kicked all their asses and got himself arrested in the process. I got them to drop the charges, citing
needless negative publicity, and hired him on the front steps on the
jailhouse. He’s got his quirks. There’s this stuff about visions that just
blows my mind but it’s part of who Kit is.
He believes it. I’m iffy on it
but he does seem sometimes to know things, you know? So maybe there’s something to it all. Do I have faith in Kit?
Hell, yes. Too much faith? Never.
The guy’s a genius at this. Then
you get him and Jesse together and they are damn near unbeatable. I’m in good hands and so are Jim and Blair.”
“I
hope you’re right.”
“I’m
right. Now, I need my beauty sleep even
if you don’t. Good night.” Pete turned off the lamp by his bed and
slipped under the covers. “Catch that
overhead light, will you?”
Simon
flipped the light switch and headed off into the bathroom by the light of the
lamp on the dresser. He got himself
ready for bed but sleep was a hopeless cause that night.
“You
will not do this to me, you little hippie!” Robert flung the limp form of Blair
Sandburg down on the floor. “Get him up
and clean him up.”
“Dr.
Rose, the scientists from Washington have arrived.”
“Fine,”
he snapped without turning to face the man who had spoken to him. Instead, he watched Burns and Walker drag
Blair Sandburg across the room to the shower.
Burns stripped the boxers from the young man while Walker stepped out of
the room to turn on the water. Robert
leaned against the wall and contemplated his situation. He had tried everything he knew to force
Sandburg to end his farce of catatonia.
Not even the beating from Burns had gotten more than a few involuntary
grunts. This was his trump card:
subjecting Sandburg to the humiliation of being bathed by the two
corporals. When the anthropologist
simply sat under the water with a slack face and blank eyes, Rose swore aloud
and left the room. The little bastard
would guide his sentinel or he would die.
MacNamara’s spies could wait. He
needed to see Ellison. As he strode
through to the corridors, a scowl on his face, he promised himself the pleasure
of personally killing Ellison when this was over. Rose smiled as he opened the door to Jim Ellison’s prison.
Ellison
looked up at him from the bunk. “What
now? I’ve told you, I can’t do it
anymore.”
“Fine,
you can’t do it anymore. Right now, I
suggest you talk to Blair. If he
continues in his refusal to cooperate, we will have no need for him and I will
allow Maxwell to dispose of him however he pleases. Is that clear?”
Ellison
actually had the nerve to laugh. “I think
you have sort of missed the point here, Bob. Between you and me, we broke him. He’s damaged, not there, on permanent vacation. I can’t talk to Blair about
anything. I lost that privilege. Besides, you don’t have a sentinel anymore
or did you forget that again? You don’t
need Blair anymore. If you have a
decent bone in your body, you’ll get him some help. Of course, you don’t have a decent bone so I’m wasting my
breath. So, you might as well kill him
and me too. Put us both out of our
misery.”
“I’m
very disappointed in you, Jim.”
Ellison
only laughed again, a bitter sound.
“Take a fucking number.”
“Dr.
Rose, I’m Lt. Peter Devereaux. Drs.
Barrow and Parker are waiting for you in your office, sir.” The voice behind him grated on his nerves
and he turned to face the man the voice belonged to.
“You
should have waited with them,” he snapped.
“Colonel
Adler sent me to find you, sir.”
Jim
could not believe what he was seeing.
Peter Devereaux was standing in the doorway.
Rose
sighed. “The colonel is always impatient.
I think you should remember that, Captain Ellison. Lt. Devereaux, let’s not keep the colonel
waiting.” Rose left the room then.
Jim
caught a glimpse of Pete’s face before the door closed. The man winked at him. “Shit.
What’s going on? What are you
doing here?” Jim paced the room. “Barrow and Parker? As in Bonnie and Clyde?” Darrien and Jesse, he wondered. “You idiot, you have no idea what you’re
getting into. But--” he stopped and
closed his eyes. “If you can get Blair
out of this mess.” The words were
spoken softly, an almost prayer.
“Kit?”
Jess whispered in his ear. “You okay,
man?”
“Yeah.” He hoped his friend would drop the
subject. He could not explain what he
was feeling. He looked at Colonel
Maxwell Adler and got a disorienting double image of man and the dog from his
vision. The man stared at them as if
they were something that he had stepped in while the dog growled and snapped
its frothy jaws at them. He was queasy
in the man’s presence. It was ironic
that Pete’s cover story might end up becoming truth.
Then
Robert Rose entered the room and Kit’s knees tried to buckle on him. He forced them to lock instead but not
before Pete saw his distress. He
swallowed hard and signaled Pete discreetly, trying to reassure his boss. Kit looked back to Rose and realized that
here was the snake that the wolf—Blair Sandburg—was frightened of. Now, he only needed to identify the big cats
and he would have all the players, all his adversaries.
Adler
was leaving. Now that Rose was present,
the old man did not feel the need to accompany them on their tour
apparently. As soon as he was gone and
the door closed after him, Rose turned to them. “So, gentlemen, let’s not beat around the bush. You are here to check on Mr. MacNamara’s
interests in this project, correct?”
Kit
looked to Pete. A lift of Pete’s
eyebrows told him that his boss was as confused as he was. A short nod told him to go with the
flow. “That’s right, Dr. Rose. You’re absolutely right. We shouldn’t beat around the bush and Mr.
MacNamara is very interested in your progress.”
“Well,
I’m afraid that Ron has jumped the gun a bit.
There’s not much progress as of yet.
You see, the guide has been most reluctant. However, I will take you to see the sentinel if you wish?”
“Yes,
I think that’s an excellent idea.” Kit smiled.
Rose returned his smile, however insincere the expression was.
“Follow
me then, gentlemen. Oh, and I have
managed to keep her presence from the good colonel, just as Ron asked.” He led the way out of the room and down the
hall.
“That’s
good. I’m sure Mr. MacNamara will be
pleased to hear that.”
Pete
grabbed Kit’s arm and held him back for a split second. “Something’s not right
here. Tread softly.”
Kit
nodded and hurried to catch up to Rose, Jesse right behind him and Pete
bringing up the rear.
“The
sentinel is still in a feral state. As
you know, she came out of her fugue state but has been feral since. Mr. Sandburg refuses to guide her.”
“Her?”
Jesse mouthed, looking from Kit to Pete.
“She
can be quite violent but most of the time, she simply sits and rocks.”
Kit
decided to wing it. “What about Ellison
then? Can’t we use him?”
“Apparently,
Ron did not tell you about Captain Ellison.”
The man laughed over his shoulder at Kit’s question. “Ellison’s too ethical for what we need and
want. No, let the military have
Ellison. He can go back into covert ops
and as long as he thinks he’s doing something for the good of the country,
he’ll be fine. Ms. Barnes will be much
more pliable and not nearly as righteous.”
“Fuck,”
Kit heard the whispered curse but it was obvious that Rose did not. He looked at Pete only to be waved away.
Rose
stopped and took out a key. “Here we
are.” He gestured to the closed door
before using the key to open it. “After
you.”
Kit
searched the hallway beyond the door with suspicious eyes.
“The
observation room is the third one on the left, Dr.—oh dear, I don’t know which
is which.” He touched Kit’s nametag and
Kit felt nausea sweep over him.
“Barrow. Are you all right,
Doctor?”
“Fine,
lead the way.”
Jess
touched his arm and he tried to smile at his best friend. He followed Rose and found a spotted jaguar
behind door number three.
“Alex
Fucking Barnes!” Pete swore as he paced the room furiously. “Ron’s in this up to his fucking eyes and
he’s fucking with me!”
“Pete,
calm down, man. This is not
helping.”
“Kit,
I don’t think that you understand that we are standing in quicksand and going
down fast. Get on the same page with
me, please. We are fucked.”
“Who
is Barnes?”
Pete
sighed. He could still see the blond
woman in his head. He had read about
her in the file on Jim but he had figured she was out of the picture after what
he had read. She was sitting in that
room though, down that otherwise unoccupied hall, rocking back and forth, her
blonde hair hanging over her face. “She
tried to kill Blair last year.
According to the file, she really should have succeeded. They don’t know how Blair survived
that. She drowned him in a fountain. And Rose wants Blair to help her? Bastard.”
“I
don’t get it. How is Blair supposed to
help her? The guy pretty much admits
that her brain is fried. She took some
weird drugs and lost it, right? What’s
Blair got to do with that? He’s not a
shrink, he’s an anthropologist, right?” Jesse asked him.
“Jesse,
you know now what Jim is but apparently, Rose thinks that Blair is able to
guide a sentinel because he’s done so well with Jim, I guess. Anyway, Rose thinks that guides are as
special as sentinels. He thinks Blair
is a guide like Jim and this Barnes woman are sentinels. He doesn’t want Blair to work with Jim
though. He wants him to guide
Barnes. Where that leaves Jim, I don’t
know. And does Jim realize what’s going
on? Don’t know that either. But I will tell you this, if Jim knew Barnes
was here and let them try to force Blair to help her, then I’m ready to take your
suggestion, Jess, and leave his ass here.”
Kit
nodded.
“Well,
it’s about dinner time. Rose is
expecting us. Let’s get out there,
guys. Kit, are you sure you’re okay? You still look a little funny.”
“I’m
fine.”
“Are
you going to explain what’s up with you?”
“It’s
nothing that you want to hear, Pete.
Don’t worry. I’ll be fine when
it counts. Already found out when the
guards change shifts. There’s a big
hole in their security then. If we can
manage to get to the motor pool during the shift change and if we cut through
the barracks to get there, we can get a jeep and ride right out the gate.”
“How
do you do that?”
“I
watch and I listen.” The younger man smiled.
“The guards at the front can’t see the area between the barracks and the
motor pool and the rear guards are not in place during shift changes and even
if they were can’t see well enough to determine that we don’t belong
there. You’re a lieutenant. The guards probably won’t even question you
and if they do, we just crash the gate, dump the jeep in the woods and meet
Banks at our rendezvous.”
“You
know, you drive me crazy but it’s times like these that I remember why I hired
you. Let’s eat.”
Dinner
was a tense affair. Rose was barely
civil. Adler was overly
solicitous. Kit was still sick and Pete
was getting more and more angry as the night progressed. Jesse was pushing his food around on the
plate when Pete nudged him. “Huh?” he
inquired.
“Dr.
Rose asked if the food was bad.”
“Well,
it’s army food.” Jesse half-smiled.
“Very
sorry,” Rose oozed sarcasm. “You
gentlemen seem to be having a difficult time.
Dr. Barrow is ill and you aren’t enjoying your dinner.”
“Yeah,
maybe I should just turn in for the night.”
Jesse sat back in his chair, attempting to look tired. He was actually anxious to get back to his
laptop. He needed to hack into the
base’s computer system and find Ellison and Blair. It was their last order of business before blowing this
joint. Besides, the atmosphere at the
table was making him as sick as Kit.
“But
I wanted to take you to see Sandburg.”
Rose looked sincere and it made Jesse’s skin crawl.
“I’d
like to do that actually,” Kit spoke up.
Jesse gave him a look that he hoped conveyed that Kit had gone insane
but Kit did not even look at him. Pete
did, however, and gave him an almost imperceptible shrug. Okay, they were both nuts. The more they were around Rose; the more
likely their cover would be blown. Did
they not realize that?
“Wonderful. Shall we go now?”
“Now
is good for me.”
“Lieutenant,
will you be accompanying us?” Rose asked.
“Yeah,
I think I will. Dr. Parker, will you be
fine on your own for a while?” Pete gave him one of those looks, Pete’s way of
asking if he knew what he should do.
“Of
course. I’ll just get started on the
report for Mr. MacNamara.”
“Fine,
fine. I’ll have Corporal Burns show you
the way back to your quarters. It’s
very easy to get turned around in this huge complex.”
Jesse
stifled the smartass remark that sprung to his lips and instead forced a smile
on his face. “Thank you.”
Burns was beside him before he got out of his chair. He waved his goodbyes to his friends and followed the big man out of Rose’s quarters. Minutes later, he was in the base’s security system. He sifted through the images from the security cameras until he found what he was looking for. “Hello, Ellison. How are you this evening, you jerk?” The man sat on his bunk playing solitaire. “We’re coming for you and if you sold Blair down the river with these jackasses, I just may talk Pete into dumping you into the nearest lake after we fit you for some nice concrete shoes. Well, maybe Pete wouldn’t go for it but Kit would.” Then in a crisis of conscience, he added, “And if you didn’t screw Blair over, I’ll apologize for everything I just said. Jerk.” He then pulled up a blue print of the building and drew it off since he did not have a printer available and marked Ellison’s location on his diagram. Kit and Pete would know where Blair was but curiosity and the desire to see his friend sent him back into the security system. What he found was shocking and heartbreaking. He resisted the urge to throw something across the room since the only thing available was the laptop, the very expensive laptop that Pete had bought for him. He closed the thing and put his head down on it.
Kit
was not sure what he was expecting. He
had seen Blair Sandburg in his visions but the visions were visions and did not
translate directly into the waking world.
There was really no telling what Blair’s condition or mental state would
be. In the vision, he was frightened
and angry, almost as feral as the Barnes woman. And now, he was about to come face to face with the man and he
wondered if he was ready. No, he
decided, he was not ready. He
frowned. He had an absurd impulse to
scream, “why me?” to the sky. He had
another impulse to run in the opposite direction. He would do neither, however.
He knew why him. He could not
run. His grandfather would have his
hide if he did. A shaman did what was
needed, the old man told him over and over.
Kit had never been really thrilled with this so-called gift and he was
less thrilled about it now. But he had
spent his life doing what was needed just the same. Now he would do no different.
He had been called to protect a brother and that was what he would
do. He glanced at his boss as they
walked side by side down the hallway, following Rose. He would do what he had to, even if Pete did not like it. Even if it was contrary to what Pete
wanted. He hoped the man would
understand and forgive if it came down to that. Pete met his gaze, the look on the man’s face puzzled, asking
silently if there was a problem. Kit
shook his head. Rose was prattling and
Kit realized that he had not heard a word.
He nearly ran over the man when Rose suddenly stopped in front of a
door.
“This
is the observation room. We can go into
the room if you like but truthfully, this will probably suit our needs.”
Kit
motioned for him to go ahead. Rose
smirked then opened the door. Kit
stepped inside. The next thing he was
aware of was Pete’s rather inventive swearing as his friend rubbed soothing
circles on his back. Kit lifted his
head from the toilet slowly. “Fuck,” he
whispered.
“I’ll
get you some water, buddy, and then we are going to talk.” Pete left him for a moment then returned
with a paper cup, which he pushed into Kit’s hand before reaching up to flush
the toilet. “Wanna get up off the floor
now?”
“Yeah,
thanks.” Kit took the offered hand and
let Pete pull him to his feet. He made
his way to the sink, rinsed his mouth out then refilled the cup and drank down
the contents.
“What
is up with you? Are you sick or is this
some weird vision thing like Jess thinks?”
“If
I say weird vision thing, are you going to fling yourself across the room and
wail like you usually do?”
“Smart
ass. Just spit it out.”
Kit
told him about the visions and waited for the tantrum, but it did not come this
time. Pete just shook his head. “I don’t know what to say to you about all
this, Kit. I just know that I did not
like what I saw in that room either. I
know that kid. I consider him a
friend. And to see him like
that--” He closed his eyes and let his
half-sad, half-angry expression speak when words seemed to fail him. “I can’t say that I understand the things
you told me or the things that you can do and see, but you are right about one
thing. Blair needs us. We have to get him outta here.”
“Even
if it means leaving Ellison? Even if it
means taking some people out?”
“Yeah.
Yeah, I think so.”
“Good. I’m glad we’re on the same wavelength here,
Pete, because I’m taking that guy out of here and I don’t really care who has
to suffer to make it so.”
“Why
does this mean so much to you? You
don’t even know Blair.”
“I
may not know Blair personally but we have something in common that makes us
brothers.”
“You
mean Blair’s like you?”
“In
some ways, yes. I can’t explain it and he
doesn’t even know it, I don’t think, but there it is.”
“Dr.
Barrow?” The voice from outside the
bathroom made Kit’s blood boil with rage but he quickly suppressed it,
promising himself that later he would see Rose pay from what he had done. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,
Dr. Rose, I’m fine, just fine. Just a
touch of food poisoning, I think. Lt.
Devereaux did warn me about that salad bar.”
He even managed to laugh a little for effect. He opened the door and found Rose in his face. He took a bit of perverse pleasure in the
fact that Rose jumped back, startled.
“I think I’ll just go back to my quarters and get some rest. Lt. Devereaux, are you ready to turn in for
the night?”
“Of
course, sir. Dr. Rose, I think I can
get the doc back to his room.” Pete’s
hand fell on his shoulder and gently steered him out of the bathroom and down
the hall, away from Rose.
“What
now?” Kit whispered when they were out of earshot.
“We
hope that Jess has confirmed Jim’s location and gotten us the security codes we
need.”