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Part 1
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
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Alliances Old, Alliances New
Part 2
When the sun rose over Genomex and over Sanctuary, Adam woke early, turning over a technical matter in his mind. He knew Jesse would know more about it than he did, although Adam would never let Jesse know that.
Ninety five minutes later, Mason Eckhart, Emma, and Jesse stood beside their parked car at the edge of a general aviation airport, a few dozen yards from the two story cinderblock structure serving as its tower.
Facing into the east –-away from the prevailing wind— Eckhart searched the mid-morning sky for signs.
“I hope we’re not doing something foolish, Emma,” Jesse said.
“You still can get in your car and go, Mr Kilmartin. “You’re not my prisoner, and not compelled to remain here with me.”
“I don’t want to become your prisoner, either.”
“I only want the two of you with me willingly, freely.” Eckhart turned about and faced Emma. “Ms deLauro, do you sense any menace, malice, or deception on my part directed towards you or the justifiably cautious Mr Kilmartin?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Visions of ill-intent?”
“Not towards us…but towards a fellow at Genomex. Dr Harrison. I wouldn’t want to be Dr Harrison.”
“The man who betrayed me. Dr Harrison. He is thoroughly deserving of my bad intentions. I should have taken care of him when I first noted him undermining and challenging my authority.” He turned to Jesse. “Try to believe.”
“I’m convinced Adam cannot be trusted. You have to earn my trust.”
“Fair enough.” Eckhart returned to scanning the skies. “There.” He pointed to a bright light low in the heavens, hard to see against the blue sky.
“These people of yours are on time.”
“Punctuality is one of April’s great virtues. She has many admirable qualities. She is an old Cold Warrior.”
The bright light resolved into a pair of brilliant landing lights. Behind them, a fainter light emerged, then another. By the time the first Gulfstream 4 reached the taxiway to the tower/terminal, another was visibly descending, a whole constellation of landing lights low in the eastern sky.
“This is from one phone call?” Jesse asked.
“One phone call to just the right person,” Eckhart said, walking through the open gateway onto the pavement, the better to be seen by the crew of the first Gulfstream. He turned and waved Emma and Jesse to join him. They followed slowly.
The Gulfstream carried no markings save for its number and an American flag on its tail. The crew taxied up to within a few yards of the chain link fence, then shut down the whining engines, with the sound of the second identical jet screaming down the runway, applying reverse thrust for braking.
The door of the first plane opened, and a red-haired woman emerged, dressed in black and teal. She carried a steel case, and held a leather portfolio under one arm. She sprinted towards them.
Emma and Jesse had only seen her like in movies. The teal portion of her clothing was clearly Kevlar body armor. She wore a headset radio an automatic and a teal baseball cap with the front embroidered with a row of bright feathers with “Chief” written beneath. She was not a young woman, though she carried her years lightly, with dignity, style, and no small amount of mischief in her eyes. Dark auburn hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail.
Behind her, the balance of the passengers of her plane unloaded weapons and gear.
“I rode as fast as I could, Mason. The cavalry is here.” April smiled, a smile full of intelligence, humor, and hell-raising.
“This is impressive. Thank you, April.”
April broke eye contact long enough to inspect Emma and Jesse. Emma was certain she was recognized.
The GSA must have photos of us.
“I thought I’d lost you. Routine confirmations kept coming in daily and my subordinates did not question them, until they ceased about twelve days ago. When I reviewed them, I knew none of them were from you. Are you still wearing your transponder?”
“Yes. I would have noted the surgery required to remove it.”
“We could not detect it up even when we were over the numbers.”
“The batteries must have failed a long time ago. I was. . . stored in a room preventing any transmission from getting out. Before proceeding, these are the people whom I request you protect as you would me.”
April once again inspected Emma and Jesse. “Done.”
“This is April Dancer, one of my superiors, and dead-shot.” He turned back towards April. “Teal Kevlar, April? How did you find such a thing?”
“I had ‘em custom made for my entire team. Bad guys never wear teal.” She smiled. “My lieutenant should be bringing along one for you. I’m sure the same outfit would gladly do black pinstripe for you, if you wished. Oh, I brought you presents.” She held up the steel case, and tapped on it. “A special feast, just for you, some blood, bio-polymer to last for a few days, and some other little treats, all for you. And a medical team to put it to best use, too.”
“Thank you, April.” Eckhart sounded as civil and sincere as Emma could recall.
“How long since you’ve eaten anything?” April asked.
“Months. Late spring.”
“I was afraid of that.”
She set down the case on the pavement and opened it. “The first course of dinner is served.” She handed Eckhart an opaque plastic tube of about 100 milliliters in volume. “Simple sugars, vitamins, electrolytes, essential amino acids, and I’m told it tastes good, but I cannot vouch for that. Don’t let the stubborn streak of formality in your soul stop you from eating in front of us.” She returned to the case, and pulled a headset radio still wrapped in plastic from a pocket, and handed it to Eckhart. “These batteries work. We’re on Channel C-8.”
Eckhart put on the headset, and adjusted the earpiece and microphone. “Very thoughtful.” He commenced consuming the semi-liquid contents.
“Details matter.”
“Events turn upon attention to detail,” Eckhart added.
April opened the portfolio, shouting over the din of jet engines as the Gulfstream fleet assembled along the fence line and armed men in teal Kevlar gathered behind her.
Emma and Jesse, more than a little awed by events, kept silent and watched.
“This is the plan you drew up for an assault on Genomex, should that ever be required. This is your most recent update from seven months ago. Everyone has studied a copy of it. Do you know of any changes to the facility? Anything to invalidate the plan?”
Eckhart shook his head. “I have no way of knowing what kind of security is in place. My impression on the way out of the building was that things had become lax.”
“Perhaps someone has made our task easy.”
A tall Asian man came to stand beside April. “Ms Dancer.”
“Mr Morimoto, this is Mason Eckhart.”
Morimoto grinned, and handed Eckhart a set of teal body armor. Then he opened a second steel case on the pavement as Eckhart donned the armor.
“Your weapon, Ms Dancer,” Morimoto said.
“Thank you.”
“And yours, Mr Eckhart.”
“Thank you.”
The last of the eight Gulfstream 4s shut down engines beside the fence.
“The medical team is lagging about twenty-seven minutes behind us. They required more time to prepare. I wanted them capable of dealing with whatever condition we found you. Are you ready?”
“I am, but…” Eckhart was briefly puzzled.
“Fear not. The remounts should be along shortly.” Even before April completed her sentence, the sound of rotors intruded.
April stepped past Eckhart to Emma and Jesse. “The safest place for you is to go with us, but stay with the helicopter when we touch down. Do not leave it until you are told it is safe to do so.”
Jesse nodded mutely.
“They look like sweet kids, Mason,” April said.
“They can be.” Eckhart smirked, and made eye contact with Jesse, knowing he had heard the exchange.
“Will you tell me someday how they are involved with you, and all of this? I could make some guesses, but with you the fine points can be surprising.”
“Someday. It is a good story.”
The first of the helicopters roared into view.”
“Black helicopters, April?”
“Absolutely. I’m borrowing them from an agency I can’t even name, not even to you.”
“The conspiracy fans will be pleased. Details will be on the Internet in hours.”
“Using black helicopters insures that anyone observing this operation carefully and describing it with veracity will be dismissed as a conspiracy loon.”
“Brilliant. What about the neighborhood?”
“The local police have been told there is a chlorine release from Genomex.”
“Chlorine isn’t stored there, and never has been.”
“Doesn’t matter. The nearest houses have been evacuated and everybody else warned to stay indoors. The access streets have been blocked off. We’ll go in low over the water. I needed something frightening but plausible, something which the police would use to justify keeping away the TV trucks. This way, news coverage will consist of stock shots of videotape made years ago with the usual corporations-as-the-handmaidens-of-Satan and chemicals-are-evil story. Some regulatory agency will slam Genomex with a fine, but having a free hand here to operate is worth paying a fine and admitting to an environmental sin, don’t you agree?”
“Of course, April.”
A fleet of black helicopters dropped down out of the sky, assembling in a line behind April’s small army.
Concern crossed April’s face. “Mason, are you up to this or do you need to wait for the doctors.? You look like hell.”
“You are not going into Genomex without me. I can hold myself together a little longer.”
“As I thought. But I wanted to give you that option. Turn on your radio.”
“Ready.”
April switched on her set, turned to the proper channel, monitored now by the helicopter crews and the armed men and women behind her. The giddy look vanished from her face. She waved to Eckhart, Emma, and Jesse to follow her to the nearest helicopter, speaking into her microphone, “Mount up.”
The helicopters were quickly boarded, and took off together like a great flock of crows. They first turned south, and once over the water, descending as low as their pilots dared, a hundred yards out from the shoreline.
April put her hand over her microphone, and turned to Eckhart. “I brought the best I have, Mason.”
“Thank you.”
“How did they do this to you? No one steal a march on Mason Eckhart.”
“Ashlocke corrupted one of my GSA agents from stasis, and convinced her to release him. I was betrayed by Dr Harrison, who allied himself with Ashlocke.”
“Is Ashlocke still there?” April asked. “Even Breedlove and Adam were terrified of Ashlocke’s capabilities. Putting him in stasis was a mistake. Something more final should have been done.”
“No,” Emma answered for him. “Ashlocke’s dead. He was very ill.”
“That’s a relief. Adam was a fool for wanting to keep Ashlocke alive for ‘future study’. Future study! Hah, Adam’s ego knows no limits.”
“I’m told he attempted to save Ashlocke right to the end.”
“Foolish. I hate traitors,” April said. “Who was your agent?”
“Morgan Fortier.”
“I don’t remember much about her, but she wasn’t marginal. You had no reason to doubt her?”
“None.”
I will give priority to finding Morgan Fortier and Ken Harrison. Each sub-team has separate goals and objectives. They’ll land in different parts of Genomex. You and I are going through the front door.”
Eckhart nodded understanding.
Genomex came into view. April uncovered her microphone. “Strike hard. Strike home.”
The assault was anticlimactic. Ashlocke had disbanded the armed security force, believing he required no help from humans or mutants.
The receptionists at the front office were stunned to see their old boss come through the front door, armed, with a paramilitary force at his back.
Office workers were ordered from their desks and out onto the lakefront access road. Security cameras revealed no one else present save technical people, a reduced maintenance staff, cafeteria workers, and very few others. Everyone was taken from their work areas and gathered outside and forbidden to use their cell phones.
“Very quick. Very clean. I’m glad we did not have to flex any muscle.” April looked relieved. “I’m glad Ashlocke wasn’t here to welcome us.”
“There should be a great many more people here,” Eckhart said.
“Someone has probably done ‘housecleaning’. Some people likely did not care for the new regime, sent out their resumes, and moved on. In any case, I strongly advise you eliminate your old staff completely, and start over. I would include the kitchen staff right down to the guys who change out the fluorescent lights. You have no way of knowing how deeply rot has penetrated.”
“I will assume the worst. There are only two staff members I wish to retain.”
“Oh?”
“Laura Varady. Psychologist. She’s one of the longest-term employees, but I don’t see her here.”
“And the other?” April asked.
“Dr Rebekah Steyn. Chemist. She’s been here fifteen years.”
“The name is familiar,” April said. “There was an incident last spring with Adam invading the facility. Isn’t she the one who had to go to an emergency room?”
“Yes? She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Adam has personal issues with her. He turned Mulwray loose, and she was throw several yards by a ‘lightning bolt’. I don’t see Dr Steyn here, either.”
“Maybe we’ll still find them here, Mason. And if we don’t, we’ll find someone who does know where they are…and Fortier and Harrison as well.”
Another group of employees was herded onto the access road in front of the plant.
Emma and Jesse were escorted from their helicopter to Eckhart, chiefly to maintain their distinction from the Genomex employees.
He turned to them. “If either of you know of any sins or good works committed by any of these people, now is the time to tell me.”
“Straczynsky, is that the last of them?” April radioed to the agent leading the bewildered looking autoclave room workers.
“There is no one else left alive inside the complex. We have checked with thermal imaging, Ms Dancer.”
“Very good. Get this bunch in a line, and start them walking towards the cafeteria. Mr Eckhart is looking for two of his people.”
April turned to Eckhart. “While my guys are going that—Mason, I officially return Genomex to you.”
Emma and Jesse, standing nearby, scarcely believed what they saw next.
Eckhart bowed low from the waist, took up April’s right hand and lightly kissed it. “And I thank you , Lady-General Dancer.” He smiled, and released her hand.
April was deeply amused. “Mason, one of the things I’ve always liked about you is your ability to surprise.”
“I work at it.”
“You succeed. I’m leaving Morimoto with you, along with three dozen agents to form a temporary core of a resurgent GSA. I’ll help you all I can with rapid recruitment. An hour or so behind your medical team, I have a security crew which will change all the keycard modes, thumbprint settings, and iris scanners before dark. I don’t need to tell you to be careful.”
“No.”
“And, you’re going to have to craft a press release to sedate the media covering the ‘chlorine’ event and ‘layoff’ of workers. Perhaps two press releases. I have confidence in your ability to deflect media and public concerns away from real events.”
“I already have some ideas and weasel words in mind.”
“Good. Let’s inspect the staff, shall we?”
The employees were herded one direction while Eckhart and April slowly walked the other. Most of the employees had no idea what was happening, but the sight of Eckhart and the armed men distressed them all. The employees believed what they had been told about Eckhart taking an extended leave of absence, and his return in this fashion unveiled that lie. Some of the women –and a few of the men—were crying.
Eckhart knew most of them. “Some of these are good people, a handful the best in the world at what they do.”
April shook her head. “No doubt. But you have no way of knowing their loyalties. Get rid of them all, Mason. Provide a generous severance package and wish them well. Assist them in finding new employment, preferably in distant cities. You don’t need to be vindictive, but you must be thorough.”
“You are correct, of course.”
A small, dark-haired woman broke out of the line and ran towards Eckhart.
“Mr Eckhart.” She then lowered her voice. “I feared you were dead. They told us a story about your taking a leave of absence but I know better.”
“Who is this, Mason?” April asked.
“Dr Samihah Shah. Please, Dr Shah, continue.”
“I went to the hospital after she paged me from your office. She said Gabriel Ashlocke had done something to her, and that he had taken you. She was bleeding.”
“But where is she now?”
“I don’t know. I went back to the hospital the next day and she was gone. Her home phone was disconnected. I went to her condominium and found other people living there. Very bad things have happened.”
“April, Dr Shah is one of those people I was describing to you…the best in the world at what they do. On the strength of my word, could you get Dr Shah and her three sons out of the city tonight, and relocate her to a position worthy of her talent and loyalty?”
“Absolutely, Mason. Dr Shah, I’m going to have two of the biggest guys I’ve got escort you back to my helicopter. They’re actually well-mannered, decent men. Please look miserable so everyone who remembers will be convinced you’ve been arrested, or worse. I assure you, that is not the case. I will have you and your family in a safe place by sundown.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you, Dr Shah,” Eckhart said.
“I could do no less. You’ve treated me well, and Rebekah was my friend.”
Two imposing men presented themselves to April. “Gentlemen, please escort Dr Shah to my helicopter. She deserves our special protection, but you must make it look as if she is being arrested. Put on a good show, but be gentle. Once you’re out of sight of the crowd, please help Dr Shah in any way she asks.”
The men nodded, and appeared to all but carry off the slightly made Dr Shah, who wore an appropriately dejected look.
“I’m going to have to return to Washington soon. Call me this evening and tell me what the doctors say. Is there anything else I need to do for you?”
“Yes,” Eckhart began. “I need you to take out the garbage.” Eckhart was focused upon someone in the moving line.
“Garbage?” April noted the look in Eckhart’s eyes.
“Dr Harrison.” Eckhart pointed out Dr Harrison in the line of workers.
April directed Morimoto to pull Dr Harrison out of the line. “Bring that one here to us.”
Morimoto dragged the less than willing Dr Harrison before April and Eckhart.
“You’ve bet on the wrong horse, Dr Harrison,” April said, purring.
“Where is Dr Varady?”
Dr Harrison smirked. “She had to be committed to an asylum. She began behaving quite oddly.”
“Mason, they probably fed her psychotropics. Get a team working on finding her and breaking her out.”
“Where’s Rebekah Steyn?” Eckhart demanded.
Dr Harrison smirked. “Ah, dear Rebekah. Gabriel was a little rough with her. I’m told she was hemorrhaging when the EMTs took her away.”
“What happened to her?”
“I don’t know. She never came back here. But Mason, aren’t you glad to see me?”
“You’ve taught me an important lesson, Dr Harrison, never to be lenient again.”
“Mr Morimoto, see that he is placed in restraints. He’s going back with us.”
“Don’t tell me what you do with him, just do something.”
“I will take the trash out for you. Which rubbish heap did you have in mind? ‘Take it out’ over the lake and leave dinner for the fishes?”
“I do not care. I never want to see Dr Harrison again.”
“Your wish, Mason, my pleasure.” April nodded to her agent.
“Please get Dr Harrison away from me, Mr Morimoto,” Eckhart said.
“What a miserable little toad of a man,” April said.
“You defame toads.”
Eckhart whispered to April, “No matter what you do with Harrison, alter the permanent records to show that he quit, so his heirs won’t receive payment under any circumstances.”
“Good idea.” April nodded. “I require a moment with Morimoto and Straczynsky.”
Eckhart stopped, and waited for Emma and Jesse to catch up with him. He removed his headset radio.
“We’ve managed a bloodless coup.” Eckhart looked pleased. “I don’t believe anyone suffered more than a bruise, or a loss of dignity.” He nodded in the direction of Dr Harrison, being led away by several of April’s agents.
“I’m impressed,” Emma said.
“This is only the beginning. I am going to rebuild the organization, with greater emphasis upon enforcement. I am offering you both positions here, as my assistants.”
“Why?” Jesse asked.
“Fair question. I do like your directness. Because, as odd as it might strike you, I like you both, and I trust you. You would be serving the best interests of your own kind as well, helping them avoid serving manipulators like Ashlocke and Adam, and help them live normal lives without fear.”
“I believe him, Jesse.”
“Thank you, Ms deLauro.”
“Are you going to kiss my hand?” Emma asked.
“Would you like me to?” Eckhart looked amused.
“Yes.”
“Mr Kilmartin, I shall not presume to act without your approval.”
“Go ahead.” Jesse shrugged, not wholly pleased, but at a loss to make any other response.
Eckhart bowed low to Emma, gently picked up her right had, and kissed it. “You have saved my life, and possibly the lives of uncounted millions. I thank you with all the sincerity in my heart..”
April watched it all. “Mason, your reversion to charm is a promising sign.”
Emma blushed. “No one’s ever kissed by hand before.”
“That’s unfortunate.” Eckhart turned to Jesse. “Mr Kilmartin, my offer was a serious one. I wanted you along on this foray so that you would know this struggle is not mine alone. I need a technical man who can be honest with me and not use weasel words.” He turned to Emma. “And I need a lieutenant who can ferret out future traitors. This is not make-work. This is important. No one, least of all me, will ever take either of you for granted here.”
“Would we wear governors?” Jesse asked.
“No. If you chose to leave my service, I would hope you would be civilized, and tell me.”
“I want to do it, Jesse.”
“Without governors, you will always be free to act and free to leave.”
Jesse shrugged. “I’ll try it. I’m not convinced. But we require one last trip to Sanctuary. We are late now. Adam will be curious what kept us. He will ask questions.”
“Be careful how you answer them, especially if he finds out what happened here today.” He turned towards April. “April, meet my new assistants.”
“Do they have names? I need names to issue paychecks.”
“Names to follow. Could one of your helicopters drop these good people at their car?”
“Of course. I need to leave now, and your doctors are probably waiting for a ride. I also need to get Dr Shah out of here and collect her kids.”
Eckhart stripped off the teal Kevlar, and handed it to April.
“You don’t want to keep this?” April asked. “I thought it looked good on you.”
“Not my color,” he laughed.
“You don’t have a color. You only wear black. Do you have a secure place to sleep tonight?”
“No one appears to have entered my quarters in all these months. That should be healthy enough. The air filters can be changed out tomorrow.”
“Good. Mason, take care of yourself, and don’t lose this place again. Give my doctors enough time for a thorough exam. You don’t want them to miss anything critical.”
“Thanks once more, April.”
Jesse spoke. “We’ll be back tomorrow, or even tonight.”
“Be wary of Adam. You cannot be careful enough.”
April handed Eckhart the steel suitcase. “Don’t lose this, either.”
Eckhart turned and entered Genomex by himself, and made his way to his office. His months-old access codes still operated; they would have to be changed.
The office was dark and silent. All the electronics were turned off. Eckhart turned up the lights, and brought all systems computers back online, returning everything to typical operation until the room was filled with a comforting, familiar electronic hum.
A thin layer of dust covered the desktop glass. Disgusted by the filth, he took care not to touch it, even with a gloved hand. He did not bother turning on his computer, assuming it to be trashed or corrupted. Instead, he sat down in his familiar chair, and searched for an envelope secured to opaque underside of the hydrofluoric acid-etched glass desktop…and found it. With that comforting discovery, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of stillness and quiet.
For a moment after Jesse turned off the ignition, he and Emma sat in the dark silence, making no move to leave the car. The only sound was of the wind in the pine trees and their own breathing.
“Telling one lie to people who trust you,” Jesse began, “is bad enough, but to deceive them so many ways makes me uncomfortable. I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve always tried to be direct and straightforward with people…and I like it when I get that back from them. That’s why I like computers.”
“We knew coming back here would not be easy. We knew we would have to deceive them. Let’s get it over with. Sitting here and thinking about things won’t get them done. We either go and lie to Adam, Shalimar, and Brennan, or we go inside and stay, and be the faithful followers of a man we don’t believe in anymore who has lied to us and deceived us all along.”
“Adam I don’t care about so much, but Shalimar’s going to be hurt when she knows what we’ve done, and didn’t trust her enough to confide in her.”
“We can’t take that chance. I think she’d run straight to Adam.”
“I think you’re right, Emma. I just wish you weren’t.”
“I know.”
Jesse sighed, and unlocked the car door.
The trunk was nearly filled with their personal belongings from the apartment. For the sake of appearances, Jesse carried in his suitcase, which in truth was nearly empty, as was Emma’s. He also carried a bag containing some of his computer and electronics purchases, items promised to Adam that he could easily abandon at Sanctuary. Emma carried the college catalogues and brochures, which she also intended to leave behind to lend credibility to the notion that she might return.
“What will we do if Adam figures out what we are doing?” Emma asked. “Any ideas?”
“He shouldn’t be able to do that, but he figures out all kinds of things he shouldn’t know. Sometimes, I think a lot of what he says is BS, but I don’t want to bother arguing with him.”
They entered Sanctuary, leaving their luggage and packages just inside the entrance. They followed the muted sound of conversation, finding Adam, Brennan, and Shalimar watching a recording of a news program.
Adam offered his best avuncular smile in greeting. Once upon a time, Emma had found that smile reassuring, a certainty in a world hurtling towards entropy. This time, however, she saw Adam for a moment through Mason Eckhart’s eyes, through the filter of the moment when he was certain of Adam’s betrayal. The memory was searing and sharp, and immeasurably sad since that betrayal led to losing his wife and children, and any hope of living an adult life compensating for an upbringing laden with loss and abandonment. Emma re-lived the moment almost as vividly as a personal memory.
Seen in this context, Emma found Adam’s smile mocking and insincere.
You are a fraud. Perhaps someday I will tell you I know exactly what you are and what you have done, but not tonight. Tonight, I will smile and be Sweet Emma. How do you live with yourself?
“Where have you two been?” Adam asked. “Have you listened to any news broadcasts?”
You’d like an hour-by-hour accounting of everything we did, wouldn’t you? Snoop. Emma struggled to contain her anger.
“We listened to music on the drive back,” Jesse replied.
“You missed a lot,” Shalimar said, smirking. “Guess what thawed out?”
Emma and Jesse mustered their best impressions of appearing unenlightened.
Jesse shrugged. “Tell me.”
Adam looked half-amused. “Somebody defrosted Eckhart. He’s back at Genomex.”
Brennan looked up from the copy of Sports Illustrated he was leafing through. “It’s all over the local news.”
“Eckhart? He always avoided cameras,” Jesse said. There weren’t any camera trucks there today.
“Well, no, not about Eckhart,” Adam began to explain. “The local news is full of the story about a ‘chlorine leak’ at Genomex. The problem is, chlorine gas was never kept at Genomex all the years I worked there and there is no reason that should change. Oh, somebody may have had a ‘lecture bottle’ sized cylinder for preparing solutions, but if one of those was emptied outside, that would not begin to justify evacuating the neighborhood. A few hundred people were chased from their homes to escape the peril of chlorine gas that doesn’t exist. Venting it outside where the tank sits shouldn’t be a problem.”
“What is stored there?” Jesse asked.
“Nitrogen. There is a huge tank two stories high. But nitrogen gas is inert; that’s why it’s useful. The hazard it presents is asphyxiation by displacing oxygen, mostly in enclosed places, indoors or in reaction vessels.”
“Adam thinks it’s all a lie,” Brennan said, smug as if he’d thought of it himself, smiling and proud. He unwrapped a Moon Pie as his reward.
“Don’t you believe there was an accident?” Emma asked.
“No,” Adam replied. “I believe something happened today at the Genomex site, but it didn’t involve a ruptured gas tank.”
“What does this have to do with Eckhart?” Jesse asked, wearing a convincing mask of puzzlement.
“He made a telephoned statement to the press about the ‘chlorine leak’. All the stations have been playing it for hours.” Adam rolled his eyes. “I think I have it memorized. Eckhart is a master of language. He put together exactly the perfect blend of concern, remorse, and promises of sinning no more to convince anyone he really gave a damn. If Eckhart thought blanketing the entire city with toxic levels of chlorine gas would stop mutants, he’d do it, and issue nearly the same press release as an explanation.”
“How can you be sure this wasn’t recorded months ago?” Emma asked.
“Well, I can’t. But why bother? No, the only explanation is that someone freed Eckhart from stasis, and in order to do so, they had to make certain no one saw what they were doing. The threat of a leak of chlorine cleared out the nearest neighbors and the local police sealed off access by the press. Very clever.”
Shalimar tossed her unkempt mane of shaggy blonde hair. “I can’t understand who would bother to thaw out Eckhart.” Her bare shoulders and midriff looked chilled. “Who would care about him?”
Adam laughed. “I doubt if the concern was personal, Shalimar. Don’t forget that the GSA was part of American intelligence. The defrosting wasn’t about freeing Mason Eckhart; this was about recovering lost turf. I was impressed with how sincere he sounded. He’s one of the most convincing liars I have ever known. Now I think I know how effective his company pep talk following Breedlove’s murder must have been, based on what I heard today and descriptions of the ‘pep rally’ from insiders.” Adam smiled smugly.
Jesse’s heart turned icy and leaden. Of course. After all the years Adam worked at Genomex, there would be people who could provide back channel details only an employee would know. Perhaps…someone there today recognized Emma or me or both of us, and Adam will know we were somehow associated with the retaking of Genomex. We could be one email or phone call away from disaster. We’ve got to get out of here.
“So, if Eckhart’s back, what does this mean for all of us?” Emma asked.
Jesse was impressed with the poise and collected calm Emma had schooled into her voice, knowing she must understand the implications of Adam’s statement.
“The hunt begins all over again. Eckhart won’t stop his fanatical campaign against mutants until he dies. His hatred of mutants and me is all that keeps him alive. What a hollow little man. He’s obsessed. He’s probably insane.” Adam spoke with utter conviction.
“I’ve never understood why he hates us so much.” Emma sounded perfectly, thoroughly sincere. “What did mutants ever do to Eckhart?”
Careful, Emma. Pile it too high and deep, and there could be trouble. Adam knows us too well. We’ve spoken freely and honestly to him all this time.
Adam shrugged. “Eckhart is one of those sad little people who don’t want anything to change, even if it’s a change for the better.” Adam sounded condescending. “And he hates me.” Days before, Emma and Jesse would have believed it all.
I don’t believe you, Adam. And I know you know better.
Emma wore a mild smile even as she damned Adam silently.
“I feel sorry for Eckhart,” Emma said, and meant it, though not for the reasons Adam assumed.
“Don’t waste thought on Mason Eckhart,” Adam said. “He’s not worth anyone’s time.”
“I don’t want to waste any more time talking about Eckhart. I want to see what you bought.” Shalimar said, grinning.
“I didn’t do any shopping,” Emma replied, shaking her head.
“No shopping?” Shalimar was stunned.
“I was too busy looking at schools.” Emma sounded earnest.
“Poor girl. A trip out into the world with no shopping!”
Adam smiled at Shalimar, then crossed the floor to stand beside Emma.
“Emma, you can go ahead with this plan of yours to take formal courses, but the truth is I could direct you in just about any area of study on an informal basis that would be more focused and challenging than anything offered by the local colleges.”
Months before, Emma would have reacted to Adam’s tone as warm and concerned, but now she instead heard condescension, and arrogance in the way he believed himself superior in fields far removed from his expertise and specialty, and what he thought Emma would find challenging.
Adam kissed the top of Emma’s head.
Emma exerted every possible aspect of self control she possessed not to flinch at Adam’s unsought and unwelcome touch, and not to wield an emotional flare at him in response. She hoped that Shalimar was not watching too closely; just as animals could sometimes see past deceptions that would fool humans, Shalimar might just discern something about Emma which was not right, which was just wrong.
Shalimar bounced up from where she was sitting, wearing her trying-too-hard smile and stalked over towards Emma and Jesse.
“I just can’t believe you didn’t do any shopping.”
Jesse was livid over the kiss. He had forgotten himself, displaying his displeasure openly. Shalimar’s silly comment dragged him back to the need for deception.
“I thought the idea of taking formal coursework was silly, too, Adam, but after I thought about it some more, I’m considering an actual degree in electrical engineering with specialty concentration in avionics.” Jesse managed his best I’m-earnest-but-harmless smile, except that he now felt anything but harmless.
Shalimar’s nostrils flared slightly; Emma recognized that she was carefully scenting them. Then Shalimar did something else: raising her upper lip, she took in the volatiles wafting off of Jesse and Emma, flehming as some animals could when using her vomeronasal organ.
Emma and Adam were the only people who knew she possessed this unhuman sensory capability. Emma knew if she noticed what Shalimar was doing, Adam would as well.
“Jesse, whatever you want to know about avionics, I can teach you.”
Adam was smiling, but Jesse could hear the edge in Adam’s voice and knew he had succeeded in annoying him. From Adam’s consternation at the uncommon experience of being questioned, Jesse knew Adam had a long night of indigestion stretching before him, and he was pleased with himself for being the cause of Adam’s discomfort. Jesse wished he could do more to distress Adam.
Brennan closed his copy of Sports Illustrated and tossed it aside. “Avionics?”
“The electronics, Brennan,” Jesse said casually. “In an aircraft.”
Jesse watched Adam’s face as it more and more reflected the turmoil in his stomach.
Paybacks are hell.
“Brennan, do you have plans for the balance of the evening?” Adam asked.
“Me? No.”
“Would you go out to the twenty-four hour drugstore and get me a few packs of antacids? I feel a long night coming on.”
“Oh. Sure.” Brennan shuffled out.
“Well,” Emma began, “I’m tired. I’m going to shower and turn in for the night.”
Shalimar was still smiling. “I just can’t believe you didn’t do any shopping. Not even a pair of shoes?”
“No…not even a pair of shoes.”
Emma did as she said, retreating to her quarters. Adam wandered off to his lab workshop to fill the time until Brennan returned with relief. Shalimar and Jesse were left alone.
“What are you two up to, Jesse? Emma’s scent is all over you.” Shalimar once again wore her trying-too-hard smile, this time with a sisterly interpretation.
“Shal, we’ve been in a closed car together for hours. What do you expect?” Jesse managed his best air of innocence.
“How long do you think you can fool Adam? He won’t be happy with you when he finds out. You know his rules.”
“And you should know how intrusive non-ferals find your talk about scent. It’s rude, and it reminds people of how you are different.” Jesse hated lying to Shalimar, so he chose to instead divert the conversation.
Shalimar was taken aback at Jesse’s objections, since he typically was so accepting of anything she said.
“Well…Jesse…I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted. Don’t put such trust in your animal senses. I’m going to shower and turn in, too. It’s been a long day.”
Shalimar smiled her trying-too-hard smile once more. “Good night.”
She waited until she heard Jesse’s door close and then padded off towards Adam’s workshop, disturbed by what she had scented.
“Adam…can you talk?”
“Sure…anything to take my mind off my stomach sounds like a good idea. I hope Brennan doesn’t dawdle over the martial arts magazines.”
Shalimar closed the workshop door behind her. “There’s something funny going on with Emma and Jesse.”
“You noticed it, too. Uppity Jesse.” Adam looked disgusted, but he was actually in gastric distress.
“No, there’s more than that. They reek of each other’s scent.” Shalimar smirked.
“That’s interesting. I noticed you flehming.” Adam looked up from the pile of electronic junk he had been tinkering with. “I’ll have to have a talk with both of them tomorrow.”
“Well, there’s something more about Emma. I know how crazy this sounds but I swear I scented the faintest whiff of Eckhart about her.”
“Eckhart?”
“He doesn’t smell like anyone else. He’s very distinctive.”
“Well, it makes sense that he would be unique…the combination of his pre-digested diet, odd profile of gut flora surviving his antibiotics, and volatile monomers from the biopolymer skin…but it doesn’t make sense that our Emma would be anywhere near Eckhart. She loathes him. She always has. He’s given her good reasons to loathe him.”
“I’m as certain about this as I can be, Adam.”
“Between that and Eckhart’s reappearance today…too much coincidence. I don’t think this will keep until morning. Go and get Emma, Shalimar. I want to examine her and be certain that this is our Emma…and that she hasn’t been tampered with.”
“Are you sure? What am I supposed to tell her? She won’t be pleased. She’s been sort of touchy lately. Haven’t you noticed?”
“I have, but that’s too bad,” Adam said. “Tell her I insist. I’ll meet her in the examination room.”
Shalimar found Emma damp and dripping from her shower, all traces of others now washed down the drain.
“Adam wants to examine you, Emma.”
“He wants to do what? Tonight? Now? I’m exhausted. I have a headache.”
“I don’t think he’s going to take ‘no’, Emma. Just come along and get this over with.”
“I’m really not happy. This is more than a little intrusive.”
And I’m not happy about the way you allow Adam to order you about, although I’m sure it spares you the effort of thinking for yourself.
Emma wrapped her dripping red hair with a dry towel and put on her pink bunny slippers, then followed Shalimar to the examination room, protesting loudly enough to attract Jesse’s attention. He trailed along behind the two women, saying nothing but listening. Emma glanced back once to be certain he was following.
Adam smiled at Emma, an unconvincing smile superimposed over his indigestions.
Emma did not return his smile. “Adam, I am not happy about this. I am tired, crabby, and wet.”
Adam just kept smiling. “Take off the bathrobe, and get up into the examination chair.”
Emma crossed her arms. “No. I’m wet and if I take this off I’ll just have on my nightie and I’ll freeze.”
“Don’t argue with me, Emma.” Adam’s voice held the raw edge of a threat.
Jesse walked through the doorway. “Adam, why do you always examine the women half-naked but Brennan and I get to keep our clothes on?” Jesse did his best to appear harmless, to imply that the question was nowhere near as loaded with meaning and implications as it actually was.
Shalimar turned to face Jesse, stunned by the comment. She said nothing but years of being used by men marked her. Always she had excluded Adam from this class of users, but Jesse was sure he saw doubt flicker through her eyes.
Good. Even Shalimar can learn.
Emma climbed into the exam chair, bathrobe, pink bunny slippers and towel secured about her head.
“I’m not playing, Adam. Take it or leave it.”
“This isn’t a game, Emma.”
“No, it isn’t, Adam.”
Adam proceeded with the exam without further protest but he did not appear pleased, and he appeared even less pleased when the scan was complete. Emma was Emma, with no hint or suggestion of tampering.
“Well?” Emma challenged.
“Emma, I had to be sure that you were you.”
Emma did not turn her head but fixed her eyes upon Shalimar, and glowered at the feral, letting her know who she blamed for this late evening indignity.
“Are you satisfied?” Emma asked. ‘Can I leave now?” She was already sitting upright, legs swung over the edge.
“Yes.”
Emma slid down to the floor and stalked off to her room, bunny slippers slapping on the hard floor.
Jesse turned to leave.
“Jesse, what is going on here?” Adam asked.
“With what?” Jesse asked, all innocence.
“Emma.”
“I don’t know. PMS?” Jesse wore his highly useful look of earnest harmlessness. And Adam believed him, and thought no more about Jesse, who turned away and walked off to his room, amused with how easy it was to fool the supposed ‘smartest man in the world’. Marginalized and taken for granted, Jesse perfected the look of naïve innocence. If Adam was going to habitually underestimate him, Jesse was going to put Adam’s poor judgment to work against him.
Shalimar turned to Adam. “Well?”
“She’s perfectly normal. This is our Emma.”
“Well, maybe it’s PMS.”
Back in their rooms, Emma and Jesse selected and packed the last of their possessions to take with them from Sanctuary. Brennan eventually returned from the drugstore, with antacids and martial arts magazines.
Jesse stayed awake, stealth fully checking every hour until Adam finally stopped playing with his electronic junk and went to bed. Sanctuary fell silent. Emma was dressed and waiting when he knocked ever so softly, and only twice.
Very quietly, they left Sanctuary, making three trips to Jesse’s car, filling the back seat before finally leaving their old lives behind them forever.
They did not say anything until they had put the access road to Sanctuary behind them and had reached the highway.
Emma watched behind them, searching the darkness for the mindset of the hunter.
“No one followed us out of there, Jesse.”
“No one expected us to leave. Adam’s suspicious, but he thinks sweet little Emma and good old reliable Jesse will wake tomorrow in Sanctuary, and be prepared to be Adam’s puppets. He was probably going to sit us down and talk at us for a few hours, one of those endless Daddy Adam monologues.”
“Adam will throw a fit in the morning.”
“Good. Brennan will have to get him more antacids. Do you still want to return to Genomex?”
“Yes,” Emma said with certainty. “If he goes against his word, or tries to implant us with governors, I will have an unpleasant surprise for him.”
“I’m not convinced it’s the best thing, but you’ve been inside Eckhart’s head, so I will try this.”
They drove on through he darkness saying little more. They reached the gatehouse two hours before dawn.
April’s agents staffed the gatehouse, heavily armed, and looking haggard from lack of sleep.
Jesse left the car, and entered the guardhouse.
“We have no identification which you would recognize, but Mr Eckhart is expecting us.”
“We’ll have to check.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to do otherwise.”
A few minutes passed by. Jesse realized that at this hour, Eckhart might actually be asleep.
The agent hung up the phone. “Mr Eckhart recognizes your names and described you both perfectly well, but he wants two of us to follow you to the front entrance. Until he personally recognizes you, precautions are necessary.”
“I would expect him to be careful,” Jesse said.
“Don’t take it personally.”
“I’m not.”
“Good.”
Jesse returned to the car and waiting Emma.
“Well?”
“We’re going to meet Eckhart at the front entrance. Two of April’s agents are going to follow us just to be sure we’re really us.” Jesse re-buckled his seat belt.
“This doesn’t feel real to me yet,” Emma said. “Having our personal stuff crammed into this car, driving about in the middle of the night to a friendly meeting with Mason Eckhart…”
“This will take some getting used to. I wonder if Eckhart is surprised we came back?”
“I don’t think he believes anything he cannot see, touch, or otherwise be sure of.”
“That makes sense. Emma, don’t do anything these guys could interpret as going for a weapon or any kind of aggressive move. They’re armed as heavily as they were earlier, but now they’re tired and they aren’t thinking clearly.”
Jesse parked as close as he could to the front door. Jesse and Emma did not linger in the car, but stood outside it and waited for the agents to escort them inside.
Eckhart waited within, flanked by another pair of agents.
“These are the people I was expecting. Thank you.” With a nod, he dismissed the agents from the guardhouse.
“Good morning, Ms deLauro, Mr Kilmartin.” Eckhart’s tone was as inflexibly formal as either Jesse or Emma could recall. Safely returned to his familiar Genomex domain, he had shed some humanity, and reverted to his no-nonsense persona.
The agents who had flanked him returned to the reception area.
“What now?” Jesse asked.
“I assume you are accepting my offer?” Eckhart asked.
“Well, we’re here,” Jesse said.
“Jesse…yes, we do accept,” Emma said.
Emma discerned a fleeting look of amusement on Eckhart’s face.
“You’ll need these.” He pulled a pair of unlabeled keycards from a pocket and handed one to each. “They will open any Genomex door until 18.00 tonight –6 PM—but by then, you will be issued others. You have not been singled out for special treatment; mine isn’t good past that time, either.”
“Everything we own is sitting outside in my car,” Jesse said.
“The car and contents are safe here. In the short term, the very short term, I’ve set up living quarters for you and for April’s people on Genomex property. Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to live here. I’m going to lease space in nearby apartment buildings shortly, but of course, you may make any arrangements you please. Also for the short term, I’m going to have catered meals brought in to further simplify everyone’s life. They won’t be elegant, but no one’s been unhappy so far. Do either of you have any special dietary concerns, health or religious?”
“No.”
“Good. I did not think it wise to have people coming and going at all hours, not until I’m more sure of having control. Was there any problem in leaving Sanctuary?”
“Adam was suspicious,” Jesse said. “We don’t know why; we tried to figure it out on the drive here.”
“Shalimar sniffed around us. Something she scented sent her running to Adam. I hate it when she does that.”
“The why of it probably does not matter now. You’re here, you’re safe. But I suppose we should be watchful for Adam. Knowing him as I do, I expect him to come hunting for you both.”
“After everything that’s happened, it’s strange to think of Genomex as being safe,” Jesse said.
“Life is strange, Mr Kilmartin.”
Emma watched Eckhart carefully. The comment was addressed to Jesse, but she knew she’d need to explain to Jesse that Eckhart had said something significant and revelatory.
“What did April’s doctors say?” Emma asked.
She correctly anticipated he would be surprised by the question.
“All of the news is good. Stasis appears to have been a positive experience. Many of my personal…functions…effected some measure of repair or enhancement. This was unexpected. I may be able to dispense with blood transfusions, which I would gladly avoid. The risk of disease is so great for me.” Caught off guard, he had probably said more than he wished.
He isn’t used to anyone asking after his well-being. Does anyone but April give a damn about him?
“I would like to meet with you after lunch and begin some real work. In the meantime, if you could retrieve short-term luggage from your car, I can show you your temporary quarters.”
“I’ll get it,” Jesse said, turning and leaving Emma in the lobby with Eckhart.
“I am glad you’re both here,” Eckhart said, slightly but noticeably less formal.
What did it cost you to make that admission? Emma realized that Eckhart would never be able to be completely formal with her again. She knew too many personal details. She sensed that he felt somewhat vulnerable around her, but not quite to the degree of fear she detected the day before. And something else, tentative, not quite formed: he wanted to like her and Jesse as well.
“I’m glad we had a choice between running away from Adam and coming here.”
“Something happened, didn’t it?” Eckhart asked.
For someone who maintained such exquisitely careful and painstaking control of his own emotions, Eckhart was a skilled and thorough observer of other people. Emma was impressed.
“Shalimar. Shalimar scented something specific on me. Probably Jesse. Possibly you. Adam put me through a horrible exam last night. I’m not sure he believed I was truly myself.”
“Don’t worry about Adam. Adam isn’t here.”
No, Adam’s not here. And I am pleased with that. Adam is not here, and will never rule my life again. Adam is not here to tell me what to and what to think, who to like, and who to hate.
“Should Adam try to invade this place, I am prepared to make his visit short and uncomfortable. I’m fed up with Adam’s little invasions of Genomex. The last one involved Mulwray blasting an unarmed female PhD. I watched from a monitor in my office. When she didn’t move, I thought she was dead. That isn’t going to happen in the future.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m thinking of offering every employee the option of going about armed after thorough training.”
“A water pistol would be just as effective against Brennan,” Emma laughed.
“So it would.”
Adam punched in the intercom code to Jesse’s room, and received no response.
Only the dead can sleep through an intrusion like that, he reflected. Can Jesse, innocent Jesse, be brazen enough to be spending the night with Emma, defying my rules?
Next, Adam entered the code for Emma’s room, not really knowing what he would say if she responded. Receiving no answer from her, Adam stomped out, almost breaking into a run.
He punched in the security override code for Jesse’s door, and swept into the room. Jesse’s bed was rumpled, but not slept in. Adam pulled open several drawers; he knew where Jesse kept sets of expensive precision tools. The tools were gone, and Adam knew that wherever the tools were, so too was Jesse.
Emma’s room was just as empty. Adam found her jewelry gone, and knew Emma was also gone for good.
At least, she’s gone until I can catch up with her and drag her back here. Until I haul them both back here. No one’s ever done this to me.
Adam stormed out of Emma’s room and pounded on Shalimar’s and then Brennan’s doors in succession. They poked their heads out, still looking sleepy.
“Council of war. Now.” Adam’s stomach was beginning to churn.
“What’s going on, Adam?” Shalimar asked. She was wearing a fluffy, shapeless pink bathrobe which was one of the few items of clothing which kept her comfortably warm enough in this chilly place.
“Emma and Jesse are gone. Jesse’s electronics tools are gone, and so is Emma’s jewelry. They’re gone. They’ve run away. I should have listened to you, Shalimar.”
“Where would they go?” Brennan asked. “Why would they go?”
“I think Eckhart got to them. I don’t know how, but I cannot imagine them just leaving. They’ve got to be at Genomex.”
“I know what I scented on her, Adam, but Emma hates Eckhart.” Shalimar felt hurt at the possibility of Jesse and Emma running off without a word to her, and annoyance at Adam making Mason Eckhart the root of all he did not like. Adam’s fixation upon Eckhart had left them unready and unprepared to deal with any other threat. They had merely been lucky that Gabriel Ashlocke died without doing much damage.
Adam did not calm down. “Well, it’s the only clue I’ve got unless one of you knows something useful I’m unaware of.”
Shalimar shook her head.
“Jesse hasn’t said anything to me,” Brennan offered.
“If they’ve betrayed me…”
“If they’ve betrayed you, they’ve betrayed all of us. I’ll claw their eyes out.” Shalimar’s eyes flashed feral. But she had done that for show. Hurt as she was, she could not imagine hurting Jesse or Emma.
“If they don’t have a good explanation for themselves…” Adam was nearly shaking with fury. “We need to look for them at Genomex. I need to know what Eckhart’s doing there, anyway. Let’s do that right now.”
“Now?” Brennan asked.
“Yes, now. Did you have something better planned?” Adam asked sarcastically.
“Well, I was having a guy drop off a 1969 Camaro this afternoon.”
“You’d better make other arrangements.”
“He wanted to be paid in cash.”
“Brennan, it is hot?”
Shalimar rolled her eyes. Of course the car was stolen. Why did Adam even bother to ask?
“I don’t know?”
“Brennan, I don’t want stolen property brought here.”
“But I don’t know if it’s stolen.”
“Leave the money under a rock. We have to go. Call the guy from mid-air.”
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Part 1
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
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