Wages of Sin part 3

 

Danae

 

Disclaimers/Warnings: see part 1

 

Robert checked his watch.  Two hours.  He had dismissed the guards from duty, assuring them that it had been cleared with Colonel Adler.  This needed no witnesses.  He would get rid of Holloway first, he decided.  The man was worthless.  Of course, Robert had known that all along.  He was no guide, but he was properly military and Max was happy.  He was a pawn and pawns were expendable.  Then his visitors would be next.  The C-4 was already planted in their quarters.  His story was constructed.  He had overheard their plan and confronted them about it.  They were armed and he had been forced to defend himself.  Unfortunately, he did not find out in time to stop them.  He would even berate MacNamara for not screening his operatives better. 

 

At any rate, after that was done, he would get Sandburg.  Then kill Ellison.  Yes, that would work.  Make Sandburg watch Ellison die.  He smiled.  Sandburg would give up his pathetic act then and would realize that he had no other choice but to cooperate.  Ellison would not be saving him ever again.  He debated killing Maxwell, but decided there was no need.  If he had to, he would.  If he did not have to, so be it. 

 

In the meantime, he needed to get his sentinel squared away.  Her guide would join her after his former sentinel was dead and gone.  Official word would be that she had escaped in the confusion.  Nobody would care, more than likely, about what happened to Sandburg but they might believe that Barnes took him.  That would be fine.  Or they might believe that he had died with his sentinel and not search too hard for his remains.  Whichever, it was hardly of any consequence.  His friends were already standing by to take charge of his research subjects while he went to Washington to “explain.”  All Robert had to do would be to wait patiently until all the inquiries were over and the search for Barnes and Sandburg was ended.  Then he would begin training his sentinel/guide pair for their new lives in his new and well-funded lab.  He sighed happily.  Ron MacNamara thought he had Robert right where he wanted him.  He could not have been more wrong.  Robert had always known that the private sector was much more profitable than working for the government.  He was going to be rich and MacNamara would be left with nothing, probably not even his job.  He got up from his desk with a smile on his face.  It was time to get started.  Alex would need some preparation for her trip. 

 

 

“You know, I would have thought that Rose would have had some guards on us or something,” Pete commented as he drew his head back into the room.  “There is nobody out there.  Adler, he’s clueless.  But Rose, he doesn’t trust us.  He doesn’t trust Ron.  Hell, I shouldn’t have trusted Ron.  Why aren’t there any guards?”  It was driving him crazy.  Something felt off.

 

“Hey, Pete, what’s this?”

 

“What’s what, Jess?”  He crossed the room to where his communications expert was kneeling on the floor.

 

“This?”  Jess pulled a small case from under his bunk.  “Is it yours, because it ain’t mine?”

 

“Nope.  Kit, this yours?” 

 

“No.  It’s not ticking, is it?”  The man was joking but Pete did not feel like laughing.

 

“Give it to me, Jess.”

 

“Pete, forget it.  We need to get moving here.” Kit advised.

 

“No, this could be important.” Pete took the case from Jesse.

 

“Yeah, and it could actually be a bomb and it may go off if you fuck with it.  Let’s just get the hell out of here.  I wouldn’t put it past Rose to try and get rid of us.  He could even blame it on that crazy ass woman, Barnes.” Kit was anxious and Pete knew just how he felt.

 

Then it hit him.  “Or get rid of Adler, take off with Barnes, Jim and Sandburg, and blame it on us.  Do you realize what Jim’s abilities would be worth on the market?  Barnes, too, if Blair can actually fix her?”

 

“Oh shit.”  Jess moved to look over Pete’s shoulder.  “Open it, Pete.”

 

He did.  “It’s C-4.  Well, I think this explains the absence of guards.  He probably pretty much cleared the building tonight.  Can’t have witnesses that would contradict his version of things.  Do we want to try to disarm this thing or just make a hasty exit?”

 

Kit walked over to them and snatched all the wires at once.  Pete closed his eyes and waited for the explosion, but it did not come.  “There.  Not so hard.  But you do realize that this probably isn’t the only one.  Let’s get the fuck outta here, guys.”

 

"You're nuts, you know that?  You could have killed us all just then," Pete

scolded.

 

"Nah, no wires, no explosion.  Alex taught me that.  That thing was a simple

setup.  Rose is no bomb expert.  Now, can we move?  Before the whole place

blows and take us with it.  Pete, you going after Ellison?"

 

“Yeah, you and Jess get Blair.”

 

“Card keys, guys.” Jesse held up the coded cards.

 

“Good work, Jesse.  We meet at the barracks and get out of here.”  Pete checked his gun once more and watched as Kit and Jesse did the same.  “And guys, I’d say that we’ve lost the ability to do this neatly.  Whatever else happens, get Blair out of this complex.  I’ll try to do the same with Jim.  If I don’t meet you though, you get to Banks, then get in touch with Maggie.  She’s got what you need to get you and Blair out of the country.  Clear?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Got it.”

 

“And I hope like hell, none of us need any of what I just said.  Move out.”

 

Nothing more was said as Pete led the way out into the hallway.  They parted ways at the end of the hall.  Pete headed east toward Jim while Kit and Jesse went west. 

 

 

Jim stood when the door opened.  He had been asking to take a shower and he was hoping to see Burns with a few towels in the doorway.  It was not Burns.  “Pete, what the hell are you doing here?”

 

“Let’s go, Jim.  I don’t have to time to talk right now.”

 

“Forget me.  Get Blair out of here.”

 

“Got somebody on that, Captain.  Now move your ass.  Things ain’t gonna be pleasant around here for too much longer.  I think Rose is planning on the blowing the place.”  Pete glanced back out into the hallway.  “Let’s go, your captain is waiting for us not far from here.  Snap it up, Jim.  Damn, you used to be quicker than this.  You on drugs?”

 

Jim shook his head.  Pete was right.  He was standing there with his mouth hanging open. “No, no, I’m with you.  You have a spare gun?” 

 

“Um, well, maybe I used to be quicker, too.  Didn’t think about that.  Sorry.”  He motioned to let Jim know the hall was clear.  There had not even been a guard outside his door apparently.  They had not gotten more than a few steps from Jim’s room before the first explosion rocked the complex.

 

 

Robert was furious.  His scapegoats were not where they should have been.  And apparently, his little package had been found.  The black case sat on the desk in the good Dr. Parker’s room.  Nothing to be done about that now.  To make matters worse, he was behind schedule.  The first blast was due any minute and he had not retrieved Sandburg yet.  His contact was late picking up Alex and then Holloway had proven a little more difficult to kill than he looked.  The young man seemed to know that he was about to die.  If Holloway had been a little faster…well, he was not.  That was what mattered.  His new problem was that he could not even sound the alarm to round up the wayward scientists without chancing that his own activities would be discovered.  He revised his plan.  Ellison was closer than Sandburg.  He would take Ellison to Sandburg instead of vice versa.  Then the first of his charges blew.

 

 

“Watch the door.” Kit ordered as he moved into room.  He knelt beside the motionless figure on the floor.  “Damn,” he whispered as he smoothed matted hair from Blair Sandburg’s face.  Then he righted the flimsy boxers that were only half on.  “I don’t even think I want to know,” he muttered.  Then he braced himself and laid his hand on the pale forehead. 

 

 

He saw the cougar coming.  It leapt over the snake and moved up the steps toward him.  The wolf at his side did not seem upset, however, so he only watched it as it approached him.  He huddled down behind the wolf though, burying his face in the soft fur.  The cat then stood up and changed.  There was a man in its place.  The paint markings on his face meant something.  He searched his confused thoughts to try to remember what.  A hand was extended to him and for some reason, he felt compelled to take it.  He reached out.  As his fingers made contact, he knew what the markings meant.  The man was a shaman.  He was safe now.  He blinked and met the man’s eyes.  The scene changed but the man was still there.  He smiled at him.  Then the jungle was back.  The cat curled up at his feet.  He and the wolf were no longer alone.

 

 

“Kit!”

 

“What?” There were alarms going off. “What happened?”

 

“Jesus, scare the hell out of a guy, will you?  You wouldn’t answer me.  You here now?”

 

“Yeah.  What’s going on?  Have we been discovered?”

 

“No, man, that’s the fire alarm.  Didn’t you hear that explosion?”

 

“No, can’t say I did.  Let’s get out of here.  Help me get him up.”

 

Jesse grabbed one arm and together they pulled Sandburg up and supported him between them.  “Kit, he looked at you.  I saw him, but now he’s out of it again.  What’s the matter with him?”

 

“Later, Jess.  I’ll try to explain it all later.”  A second explosion rocked the floor beneath their feet.

 

“Damn, they’re getting closer,” Jess told him.

 

“Then we don’t have all day.” 

 

“Kit, I wouldn’t swear to it but I think that last blast was awfully close to where the barracks should be.”

 

Kit led the way out of the room and stopped.  “That means our way is blocked.  Okay, not a problem.  In all the confusion, we should still be able to get to the motor pool.  Wasn’t there another exit down that way?”

 

“Bigger chance of running into somebody that way.”

 

“Yeah, well, bigger chance of being grilled over an open flame the other way, Jess.”

 

“Good point.  Lead the way, man.”

 

 

“I have to get to Blair!” Jim yelled over the fire alarms.

 

“I told you, I have somebody taking care of Blair, damn it.  Let’s move.  We’re not going to be able to get through the barracks.  I think that’s what just blew up.  We’ll have to get out another way.  Follow me.”

 

“Blair was close to the barracks!”

 

“Goddamn it, Jim!  I have told you, he’s taken care of.  Hell, I’m more confident that he’ll get out than in us getting out!”  Pete dragged the man by his collar.  “I don’t have time for this, Jim!  I’m just before knocking your ass out with this gun and carrying you out!  Now, move, you stubborn son of a bitch!”  He pushed Jim ahead of him and followed down the hall.  He hoped that he had not imagined that emergency exit at the end of that last hall. 

 

 

Robert Rose was fuming.  Ellison was gone.  MacNamara’s men had him.  He was certain of that.  Let them have him.  Ellison would never cooperate with MacNamara’s people and they would kill him.  Robert just needed to make sure that they did not get to Sandburg.  Without Blair Sandburg, he had no hope of ever getting Alex Barnes functioning again.  He took a deep breath and marched in the direction of Sandburg’s room.

 

 

Maxwell Adler had been rudely snatched from a restful sleep by the sound of an explosion.  He looked out of his window and saw that the storage area behind the barracks was on fire.  He pulled on his clothes, grabbed his gun, and stormed out of his quarters.  Robert was supposed to be in the main building working.  He needed to round him up and make sure their research subjects were safe.  The fire alarms began and men came pouring out of the barracks as he crossed the square.  “Get the water truck from the motor pool!  Get that fire under control!” he ordered. 

 

“Yes, sir!” came a quick reply from someone that he could not pinpoint.  Satisfied that his men would get the fire out, he entered the main building.  A second explosion, very close, nearly deafened him and the alarms in the main building started. 

 

The barracks, he realized.  He shook his head and kept going.  He rounded the corner at the end of the hall, only to find the two scientists carrying the Sandburg boy toward him.  “Forget him.  Find Ellison and Holloway.  Leave him there.  Good riddance.” 

 

 

Kit only rolled his eyes at the old man and continued toward the door.  The man would move or get knocked down.

 

“Or did you do this?”  Adler’s tone changed as he eyed them with suspicion.  Kit saw the gun in the man’s hand start to rise. 

 

“Screw this,” Kit snapped as his hand closed over his own gun.  He heard Jesse yell at him.  “Oh, yeah.”  He fired before Adler even had a chance to aim.  He fired again before the old man hit the floor. 

 

“Fuck!  You just killed a colonel in the United States Army, man!  Have you lost your mind?”

 

“You would prefer he shot one of us?  Besides, he was a rabid dog.  It was a mercy killing.  Keep moving.”

 

“Pete is gonna freak.”

 

“Don’t worry.  Pete and I discussed this possibility.  Almost out of here now, Blair.”

 

 

The dog tried to make a move on the temple steps and the golden cat swiftly attacked it.  The cat’s powerful jaws closed over the dog’s throat and ripped it away.  The dog fell.  It rolled down the steps and lay there, dying.  He smiled as he watched it die.  The cougar returned to him and nuzzled his hand and the wolf’s muzzle before settling down once again.  Yes, he was safe.  He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

 

 

All the tension drained from the body they carried and both men had to change their grip quickly to keep the man from slipping bonelessly to the floor. 

 

“Shit!”  Jesse exclaimed.  “Kit, is he--”

 

“No, he’s sleeping.”  Kit motioned to the door with his head and Jesse nodded.  They were barely outside the door when the motor pool blew. 

 

“There goes our transportation,” Jess remarked.

 

“We’ll take the damn water truck if we have to.”

 

“I don’t think we have to.”  Jesse pointed to the front gate.  Their rented van screeched to a halt outside the gate and Simon Banks got out. 

 

“Stay there!” Kit yelled at the man.  “The man’s got timing.  Gotta love that.”  They made their way to the gate and Jesse punched in the code to open it.  “How’d I know that you’d know that code?”

 

“’Cause I’m thorough if nothing else?”

 

“That’s one reason I love working with you, Jess.” 

 

“Is he all right?”  Banks rushed over to them. 

 

“Well, no, but he will be. Get that side door open for me.  Let’s get him inside.”  The door opened and Kit and Jesse placed their burden down on the floor of the van.

 

“Hey!  You there!” 

 

Kit turned to face the voice.  He raised his gun.  “Just forget you saw us, man.  Be smart.”

 

“Corporal!  They’re under my orders!”  Pete’s voice sent a wave of relief through Kit’s body.  Killing Adler was one thing but this guy was a grunt.  He was just following orders. 

 

“Lieutenant, what’s happening here?” the man turned to Pete and asked.

 

“Rose has lost it.  He was trying to sabotage the project.  My superiors ordered me to remove the research subjects.  Just try to get that fire out and everything will be fine.”  Pete glanced at Kit as he spoke.

 

“Yes, sir.”  The guy actually saluted Pete and ran off. 

 

That was when Kit first noticed Jim Ellison.  The black jaguar.  Holy shit, he thought.

 

“Blair!” the man rushed toward Sandburg and Kit reacted.  Ellison came up short as he found Kit’s gun in his face.

 

“Back off,” Kit growled at him.

 

“Kit!  What the hell are you doing?!  This is Jim!” Pete exclaimed.

 

“I know who the bastard is.  I know what he is and I know what he’s done.  You just stay back, man,” Kit warned again.

 

Then Jesse was between his gun and Ellison.  “Kit, man, chill out.  We have to get out of here.  Do this later, after his pathetic attempt to explain.  Okay?”

 

Kit let his arm fall.  Ellison was glaring at him, as though the man thought he could be intimidated.  The look probably worked on most people but Kit just glared back.  Ellison started to move toward Blair again and Kit cut him off bodily this time.  “I’ve got him.  Maybe you should just get in the van.”

 

“Jim, let’s go,” Banks advised.  Ellison looked like he wanted to argue but then he turned and got into the front seat of the van without another word.  Jesse sighed and slapped Kit on the shoulder.

 

Kit helped his friend get Blair Sandburg settled in the back seat of the van and then practically flopped into the seat himself as Jesse moved up to sit in front of them.  Pete was last into the van and he plopped down next to Jess. 

 

“What a clusterfuck,” Pete said, letting his head fall back onto the top of the seat. 

 

Nobody had to tell Banks to pull out.  The big man had the van in reverse and was peeling out before Pete got his complaint out of his mouth.  “What happened?”

 

“Rose happened.  Ron happened.  A lot of shit happened.  We are well and truly fucked, Captain.  Rose had other interests here and employers that had other interests here.  Give me my phone.” Kit listened to Pete’s succinct explanation.

 

“Who are you calling, Pete?” Jesse asked.

 

“Ron.  That fucker has some explaining to do and he’s gonna help us get out of this mess or wish he had.”

Kit felt eyes on him and turned to find Ellison glaring at him again.  Kit returned the look whole-heartedly. 

 

“Pete, there’s something you should know first.” Jesse turned to look at Kit, drawing his attention from Ellison.

 

“What?”

 

“I killed Adler,” Kit announced.

 

“Shit.  Why Adler, Kit?”

 

“He was in the way, he had a gun, he wanted us to leave Blair and find his precious sentinel.  That good enough?”

 

“Okay, okay.  This is the story.  You have not killed anybody, clear?  Rose killed Adler.  You hear me?  Rose killed Adler.” 

 

A huge explosion behind them caused them all to turn.  Although they could not see the compound itself over the hill they had passed over, they could see the flames and debris shooting up into the night sky.  “I’d say that was the whole complex,” Kit said dryly. 

 

“Fuck! I’m going to kill Ron.”

 

“What about Rose?  You think he got out?  I mean, maybe he was looking for us and got caught in the explosion.”  Jesse was grasping at straws and Kit could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew it.

 

“I doubt that.  Pete, I suggest you get our version of events in before Rose beats us to it.”  Kit shook his head and frowned as he glanced back at the glowing orange sky behind them.

 

“Yeah.”  Pete turned his attention back to the phone that Banks had given him.

 

 

Robert had watched them get into the van.  He swore aloud.  He had run out of time.  The main building was going to go up in flames in mere minutes.  He made his way back to his office, picked up his briefcase, already filled with his files on the sentinel project, and slipped out of one of the emergency exits at the back of the building.  He walked quickly to the car he had waiting, got in and drove out into the testing area and out the rear gate of the complex. 

 

“It’s after three in the morning.  This better be good.”  Ron MacNamara’s voice was muffled. 

 

Pete resisted the urge to bang the phone against the side of the van to make sure the man was awake.  “Oh, it’s good all right, you son of a bitch.  You got some fucking explaining to do, Ron.  And I have some bad news for you, too.  You are just going to love this.  Are you awake, fucker?”

 

“Pete, what the hell’s going on?”

 

“Why don’t you tell me, Ron?  Rose was in your pocket, right?  You were in this, right?”

 

“Shit, Pete.  Look, the mess with Ellison had to be straightened out and I figured you could handle it.  The whole thing was questionable legally and Adler was losing it.  I gave you a shot to help your friend.  You going to hold that against me now?”

 

“You stupid son of a bitch, Rose has screwed you.  And he tried to kill us all.”

 

“What?”

 

“Your little complex is burning to the ground right now as we speak.”

 

“Fuck, Pete!  You were supposed to leave the place standing!”

 

“I didn’t do it, you idiot!  Rose did it.  He blew the place up, probably to try and cover up his escape and our murders but we got out before he could kill us.”

 

“Okay, Pete.  Start at the beginning, what happened out there?”

 

“Well, there was an explosion, see,” Pete remarked sarcastically.

 

“Four explosions, actually,” Jim put in from the front seat.

 

“Yeah, four, whatever.  The complex go boom, get it?  More than likely, Rose and Barnes are gone.”

 

“Burns,” Jim stated.

 

“Who is Burns?  Oh, that’s the corporal.  No, Jim, Barnes, as in Alex Barnes,” Pete corrected.

 

“Alex Barnes was in there?!”  The man was obviously surprised and upset.

 

Pete heard Simon Banks swear under his breath.

 

“Okay, Jim, you just came up a notch in my estimation.  Yeah, Alex Barnes was in there.  My ‘friend’ Ron here had Rose working on fixing Alex Barnes for the CIA.”

 

“Pete!  This is a classified project you’re giving details about!” Ron actually had the nerve to sound indignant. 

 

Pete watched Jim put his head in his hands.  “I should have known.  I should have fucking known,” the man was repeating over and over.

 

Pete went back to his phone call.  “I should think it would be.  Imagine what the media would do with this, Ron.  The U.S. government recruiting an insane thief and murderess to do their dirty work? I can see the headlines.”

 

“Why didn’t I know she was there?” Jim was muttering.  “Oh shit, what happened to Holloway?  Did anybody see Holloway?”

 

“Who the fuck is Holloway, Jim?”  Pete put his hand over the phone.

 

“He was supposed to be my new guide.  He was good kid, annoying and useless as a guide, but basically a good kid.”

 

“Beats me.” Pete looked to Jesse.  The young man shrugged.  He looked back at Kit.

 

“Wouldn’t know the guy if we saw him, Pete.  Sorry.”

 

Pete gave Jim an apologetic shrug then turned back to his phone call.  “Ron, you there?”

 

“Yeah, where’s Adler?”

 

“Dead.”  Pete gave Kit a sharp look then continued.  “We think Rose killed him.  He was shot.  There’s probably more people dead here, Ron.  Let me tell you what’s going to happen now.  You are going to get us out of this.  I don’t care how but I swear to you, if I have to leave this country, I’m gonna be taking you with me.  You got that?”

 

“Okay, I hear you.  Look, just head back to the hotel tonight.  Let me see what I can do and I’ll call you in the morning when I have something for you.”

 

“Ron, I’m telling you, man.  You have fucked me over here and there’s nothing I can do about that now but so help me, you try it again and you are going to find out just how good I am at what I do.  Do you understand that?”

 

“Yeah.  Hey, Pete, you did get Ellison right?”

 

“Of course.  Who the hell did you think I was talking to?  We got Sandburg, too.  That’s what I was here for.  Now, as for what you wanted me here for, I don’t know but you are going to explain it in vivid detail.”

 

“Of course.  But I have to get off the phone to get things rolling right now.  I’ll call Pete.  I swear.”

 

“I’ll be waiting for your call then.”  Pete hung up the phone.  “Fucker.  I trust you about as far as I can throw your fat ass.”  Pete threw the phone on the seat.  “To the hotel, Captain Banks.  We all need some sleep.”

 

The rest of the ride was silent.  Kit hovered over Sandburg, wrapping the unconscious man in a blanket.  Jim glared at Kit, his jaw tense.  Jesse alternately studied Jim and then Blair.  Banks drove, his eyes filled with concern and questions Pete could see in the rearview mirror even in the dark.  Pete sighed and closed his eyes, hoping against hope that he would wake up in his own bed and find that this whole thing was one very long, very intense dream.

 

 

Robert had a decision to make.  His scapegoats were not dead.  Should he come in from the cold and hope that he would be believed over MacNamara’s spies or just join his sentinel in his private lab now?  There were three of them and they had Ellison and Sandburg.  They had the upper hand and his sentinel needed him.  He had made some small progress with her after all and leaving her alone for a great deal of time had worried him even as he devised his plan.  She could regress.  No, his associations with the Pentagon and the CIA were over.  He had work to do.

 

 

Jim held up one hand to stop the barrage of questions as Simon closed the hotel room door after them.  “Not tonight, please, Simon.  I just want to get some sleep right now.”  He walked over to the door that connected their room to the room next door.  He opened it and banged on the second door.  “Open up,” he ordered.  The door opened and Jim faced Jesse Riviera.  “Let me in.  I want to make sure Blair’s okay.”

 

“Blair’s fine.  We’ll take care of him.”

 

“I’d rather he were in here with me.” 

 

“That ain’t gonna happen,” the other man, Kit, if Jim remembered correctly, announced from further inside the room. 

 

Jim’s temper flared and he pushed at Jesse only to have Simon grab his arms and pull him back.  “Jim, stop this.  They’ll keep the door open.  Besides, even with the door closed, you can easily monitor Blair.  Just give the kid some space.”

 

“Damn it,” he swore under his breath.  “Let go, Simon.”  His arms were released.  “Leave this door open.”

 

“Standard operating procedure, man,” Jesse told him before turning away.

 

Jim stood there for a moment longer, watching as Pete’s men settled his guide into bed.  He sighed and ran one hand over his face as he moved to sit on the bed.  “I can’t, you know.”

 

“Can’t what, Jim?”

 

“Monitor Blair.  I’m not a sentinel anymore, Simon.”

 

“What?” Jim winced at the volume of the question.

 

“I’m being punished for--” he motioned toward the other room.  “For what I’ve done to Blair.”

 

“Jim, don’t be ridiculous.”

 

“It’s not ridiculous!  I fucked up, Simon.  I destroyed my guide and he was taken from me along with my sentinel abilities.”

 

“A guilty conscience might have ‘taken’ your sentinel abilities, Jim.  You may be being punished but only by yourself.”

 

Jim chuckled without humor.  “You don’t understand.  Doesn’t matter anyway.  I’m going to take a shower and then I’m going to bed.  Listen out for him, please, Simon.”

 

“Of course.”

 

The outside door opened and Pete followed a rollaway cot into the room.  “Okay, got the cots.  I like you guys and everything, but I ain’t sharing a bed.  Jim, where you headed?”

 

“Shower.”

 

“I thought we’d talk.”

 

 

 

“Great, one word answers.  Classic Jim Ellison there, huh?”  Pete complained to Banks. 

 

“Yeah.  He says he’s not a sentinel anymore,”  Banks announced as he stared at the closed bathroom door.

 

“Really?  Well, that could be good news and it could be bad news.  I don’t know how Ron and his bunch are gonna take that piece of news.  Especially now that Barnes is gone.”

 

“Devereaux, those bastards are not going to try and keep Jim, are they?”

 

“Don’t know.  They may try.”

 

“Son of a bitch!”

 

“Hey, I didn’t say I was gonna let ‘em, Captain.  Besides, the whole reason behind Rose working with Barnes was because they didn’t think Jim would suit their needs.  Don’t worry.  Worst comes to worst, I can have Jim and Blair out of the country in less than one hour.”

 

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

 

“Me either but if it does, just think, you’ll have a nice vacation spot to visit every once and while and won’t have to book reservations.”

 

 

Jim lay awake, staring at the ceiling.  In the bed next to him, Simon snored softly.  Pete lay on the cot on the other side of his captain, his pillow over his head.  Jim unconsciously tried to extend his hearing to the next room only to be forcefully reminded that he’d lost that right, that gift.  Just like he had lost the gift that was his guide.  Kit Chase had his guide now.  That was the man’s name.  He had asked Pete.  What was Chase’s interest?  No, that was too frightening to contemplate.  He turned onto his side.  He closed his eyes.  He was exhausted but he doubted he could sleep.  And yet, he was drifting off when he heard a sound.  He opened his eyes and was about to reach over to wake Simon when he heard it again.  A whimper came from the next room.  Blair.  He was having a nightmare.  Jim slipped silently out of bed and over the threshold into the next room.  Blair moved restlessly, the bedcovers shifting as he did.  Jim glanced at the room’s other occupants.  Kit Chase was on the other bed and Jesse was on the cot near the door.  Jim knelt beside his friend.  “Chief?” he whispered.  “Come on, Blair, wake up.”

 

If anything, Blair seemed more agitated.  Jim’s hands itched to reach out and touch, soothe.  Finally, he could not stand it anymore and he gave into the urge, stroking Blair’s forehead.  The response was not at all what he expected.  A scream nearly deafened him even as Blair’s fist connected with his temple.  Before Jim could shake off the confusion and pain, the lights in the room were on and Kit Chase had a gun pointed at his chest.  Jesse had both arms wrapped around Blair, trying to restrain and calm the man.  Pete and Simon appeared in the doorway, both armed.

 

“Kit!  No!”  Pete yelled at his employee. 

 

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” Chase demanded.

 

“He was having a nightmare.  I was trying to help!” Jim snapped.

 

“Help?  You are joking, right?  You are his fucking nightmares, dumb ass.”

 

“Jim, come back over here.”  Simon rubbed his forehead.  Jim did not want to leave.  “Please.”

 

“I don’t like you,” he told Chase.

 

“Feeling’s mutual.”  He lowered the gun.  “Now that we have that off our chests, why don’t you just get the hell out of here so we can all get back to sleep?”  Chase turned away from him then and sat down next to Jesse and Blair on the bed.  Blair was quiet and still now.  Jim hesitated.  He needed to see Blair’s eyes.  He had to know if that horrible blankness that he had seen in the lab was still there. 

 

“Jim, come on, man,” Pete called to him.

 

He held up one hand, asking mutely for one more moment.  There, blue eyes, a flash of pure rage directed right at him, but then nothing, that blank stare.  Jim would rather have the rage.  He closed his own eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat.  He spun and nearly knocked both Simon and Pete down as he strode back into his room.