|
|
 |
|
2007 Alliances Old, Alliances New part 4
Emma met with Eckhart as soon as he could clear time in the afternoon.
“I want to help your Dr Varady if I can. As a psychologist, she understands what has happened to her, but I can induce calm and relaxation, maybe even replace intrusive images with benign ones.”
“Good. My thinking was that after months of being fed drugs to make her appear psychotic, she wouldn’t want anything to do with pharmaceuticals.”
“Well, I can understand that.”
“I have few details, but she’s been kept incommunicado almost from the time I was put into stasis, and kept under the influence of drugs. Ms deLauro, Laura Varady is a genuinely kind and decent woman. I don’t know yet how bad her condition is, but I suspect you could help her with mood and adjustment faster than more medication. I believe Dr Varady will probably begin to feel better being back in familiar surroundings, doing productive work. I’ve always found hard work to be a potent healer.”
“When will Dr Varady be back?”
“Perhaps as early as tomorrow afternoon. She wants to talk to me.”
“Have you found any trace of the other one, Dr Steyn?”
“None. She signed herself out of the hospital, and after that, she vanishes. The next-of-kin information in her personnel file was years out of date and useless. I know she has a brother named Steve whose work has him moving frequently, but none of the Steve Steyns my agents found had a sister named Rebekah. If he used ‘Steve’ in preference to a given name that is odd or awkward, and he keeps moving, I might never find him.”
Emma sensed much emotion when Eckhart discussed Dr Varady. The psychologist was important to him personally. Didn’t Adam say Eckhart’s mother committed suicide when he was ten or eleven? Maybe that’s just another one of Adam’s lies. Maybe Laura Varady is a kind of mother-surrogate.
Emma could not clearly sort out all the emotions linked to Dr Steyn. The most obvious was a sense of loss and failing her somehow, great guilt for some oversight or lapse. Detail-driven Mason Eckhart had missed something?
Emma put up the best shields she could construct. What she knew already made her feel like a sneak, despite the fact that emotions, anyone’s emotions, would surge through her mind unsought and unbidden. Eckhart was an intensely private person, and as he had earned Emma’s respect, she had come to respect his privacy. She had believed once that his secretive nature obscured a cruel, sordid soul with analogous inclinations and memories. Now she knew he buried personal pain and built barriers to fend off more damage. Eckhart was well-informed about her telempathic talents; Emma did not wish to cause him more pain, just knowing she knew.
“I cannot imagine being a sane person and locked in a mental institution against my will.”
Eckhart hesitated. “I can. My father was a psychiatrist who worked with violent, unpredictable patients. He was slow to adopt the practice of keeping everyone in the wards sedated so they wouldn’t be much trouble. His wards were run as they had been decades before.”
“That’s horrible.”
“One weekend he locked me in a ward with some of his patients as punishment. He didn’t come back for me until Monday morning. So, understand how important it is to me that we do everything we can for Laura.”
“I’ll be ready to help anytime, any hour.”
“Thank you, Ms deLauro.”
“And I’m sorry for what your father did to you.”
“I survived. My father expected me to come out of there crying…but I didn’t give him the satisfaction. In the long term, it was a valuable lesson.”
“Perhaps. I can sense the agitation the memory is causing you. I’d hug you, but I know you don’t like to be touched. I could impart a few moments of calm and serenity to you…your heart rate and respiration would go down.”
“Thank you, but…”
Emma interrupted him, smiling but frustrated. “Why do you guys have to be such stubborn stoics? It’s admirable to press on despite pain when there’s no alternative, but I’m offering a beneficial alternative. It’s the rational thing to do!”
To her surprise, Eckhart smiled back. “I yield to your logic. Please proceed.”
“Done,” Emma said, willing serenity. “Just sit quietly for a few minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Not until she returned to her desk did Emma realize the significance of what had just happened.
Mason Eckhart just admitted to me that he gave a damn about another human being, neither progeny nor lover. He shared a horrific memory with another human. He trusted me to go into his head and calm his emotions. Eckhart trusts me.
When Robert Varady drove his mother to Genomex the following afternoon, Mason Eckhart was waiting for her just inside the front door, not knowing what to expect.
“Welcome back to Genomex, Dr Varady,” Eckhart said, displaying one of his rare genuine smiles.
“Thank you, Mason. You’re looking better than I hoped after your ordeal.”
The same could not be said of Laura Varady. Months of being held prisoner while fed disorienting drugs had left her thin and emaciated. Her character and personality had withstood the assault, but the strain of enduring abuse and ill-treatment was plainly etched upon her face.
“Your office is exactly as you left it, but it’s a little dusty. Let’s talk in my office.”
Dr Varady inspected the faces of the receptionist and others visible in the front offices.
“I don’t recognize anyone, Mason.”
“You won’t. A lot of people left as soon as Dr Harrison took over; they couldn’t get their resumes out fast enough. But of the ones remaining when I returned, I could not be sure of their loyalties. No one is left here from the old days except you and me.”
“That’s an extreme measure, Mason.”
“I’m an extreme man. I won’t go through that again. They weren’t exactly turned out on the streets. They were in fact treated very gently.”
“What about Samihah?”
“She is happily making more money in Memphis.”
“What about Rebekah? Surely you did not dismiss her?”
“I cannot find her. I’ve had agents searching for months.”
“Keep looking. Keep in mind what they did to me. Rebekah could be enduring the same. Where is the traitorous Dr Harrison?”
“I honestly do not know. I turned him over to one of my superiors and asked only that I never have to look at him again.”
“I don’t particularly want to see him again, either. I’m not sure what my duties are to be if everyone I know is gone.”
“Every potential new hire is being carefully screened. There is someone I would like you to work with. Do you recall the name Emma deLauro?”
“A telempath. One of Adam’s followers. Potentially very dangerous.”
“She’s not with Adam any longer. Now she works for me.”
“How did you manage that?”
“I told her the truth. That’s more than Adam bothers telling his people.”
Dr Varady rolled her eyes. “Adam has always had difficulties with truths that did not suit him.”
“Ms deLauro’s fiancé also was formerly one of Adam’s people.”
“We both know how vindictive Adam can be. Watch your back, Mason. Adam makes everything personal. When can I meet Ms deLauro?”
“Any time. She was looking forward to meeting you.”
Eckhart summoned Emma to his office.
Laura Varady was very much what Emma had expected. She was sincere and genuinely warm.
“I’ve got architects from the St Katherine’s rehab due in here shortly. Ms deLauro, if you could explain in detail the outreach program and the long-term treatment plans, that would give me an opportunity to review the last discussion I had with the architects.”
“Of course,” Emma said. She rose from her chair. “My office is close to yours. None of your books or papers have been touched. Mr Eckhart was quite adamant about that.”
“I don’t believe I’ve ever worked with a telempath before.”
“Well, I’ve never worked with a psychologist before, so we’re even. Mr Eckhart is deeply concerned about possibly taking on personalities like Dr Harrison. I would think you would know what to look for; by the degree and tendencies of the emotions I detect, I have a good idea whether or not someone is telling you the truth.”
“That’s a little scary.”
“I’m careful not to intrude more than I must. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Mr Eckhart spoke highly of you.”
“He did?”
“Oh, yes. You’re surprised?”
“No and yes. Sometimes Mason had me convinced that he thought I was a meddling pest. Every Christmas I would drag him out of his office for the company Christmas carols.”
“You did that?”
“No one else dared. Then, when he came back to his office, it would be decorated.”
“I cannot imagine that office decorated for anything.”
Dr Varady laughed. “I suspect he would have been disappointed if I did not do that. His protests were never convincing. Mason used to be such a nice man before Jackie left him and took the kids. I never could get him to talk about it.”
“He’s the most private person I’ve ever known”
“Since I knew him before the accident, and my children are all grown, I took on Mason as a special project, to keep him from sinking entirely into himself. For a time, I thought he was coming out slightly, but now, I’m not sure what I saw. I’m amazed that Mason was able to get you away from Adam. Adam is one of the most charming, mesmerizing individuals I’ve ever known.”
“And intrusive. I didn’t want to be a little girl forever. Adam wanted us all to remain children, his children, and that just isn’t how things should be when you are an adult.”
“I’m sure Mason’s warned you about Adam’s temper.”
“Yes.”
“Not long before Harrison betrayed us, Adam and one of your former companions broke into the facilities. Dr Steyn discovered them before they could do any damage. Years before, there had been an ugly incident involving Adam and Rebekah. I was involved as were Mason and Breedlove. Adam nearly got fired. He should have been fired. He had his mutant friend toss Rebekah several yards onto hard floors. She wasn’t armed or threatening them. Adam just wanted to see her hurt. Never forget that Adam never forgets.”
“Unfortunately, Brennan’s not every bright and will do pretty much what Adam commands. Brennan’s another reason why I had to leave. He had become Adam’s favorite. Brennan could do no wrong no matter how much went wrong.”
“Doesn’t sound like Adam was a very good parent!”
“No. What do you know about Adam?”
“Next to nothing. Breedlove exempted him from the requirements expected of everyone else.”
“That’s odd.”
“I thought so. Mason agreed.”
Months later, settled in to their apartment, Emma surprised Eckhart by inviting him to dinner. To her surprise, he accepted.
“I didn’t think he ever left that building except on GSA business surrounded by a bunch of guys with forgettable faces packing heavy weapons.”
“They’ll just park all over the neighborhood pretending to read newspapers in matching black SUVs.” Jesse laughed.
“They’re not coming in here.”
“Do you think he’ll wear black?” Jesse asked.
“Be nice, Jesse. I doubt if he owns anything else.”
“That way, he never has to worry whether or not he’s wearing the right color socks. There are advantages to his approach. I wonder if there’s only one?”
“One what?”
“Set of Mason Eckhart clothes.”
“Oh,” Emma began. “Shirts I don’t know about but there are at least three suits.”
“How can you tell?”
“I saw one that was double-breasted. There seem to be two widths of stripes in the others.”
“I never noticed.”
True to predictions, Eckhart showed up wearing black.
“We’ve heard from so many of our friends about how their lives have been transformed. Usually, we have to drag it out of them, but with a little work we can get them to admit to gratitude to you for taking the first step and making their present lives possible. They’d never think of telling you, but I think you should know.”
Mason Eckhart appeared confused, even troubled. Jesse was no manipulative flatterer; whatever he said, he meant.
“I did not begin this program to earn the gratitude of anyone. Very likely the long-term positives of sparing humanity the nightmare of a genetic disaster will be understood by few and positively appreciated by fewer still. And if I’ve done my job properly, my name and actions won’t appear in the footnotes of history.”
Emma laughed softly. She was not surprised by Eckhart’s grave and thoughtful response to Jesse.
“Oh, we know that. We discussed it, and decided you should know you have made a lot of people…happy. Not all unintended consequences are bad.” Jesse smiled.
Eckhart looked even more bewildered.
Hey, I just said something good about you. I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable or miserable, just give credit where credit is due. You’re on the edge of panic because someone said something good about you to your face, and honestly meant it.
“I suppose they are not.”
“You’ve done a good thing,” Emma said.
“More good than Adam’s done in his time of dashing around,” Jesse added.
“I want to get better at collecting the dangerous ones, but unfortunately, too many mutants perceive them as peers instead of threats to all of us.”
“That’s changing, too,” Jesse said. “The criminals and unstable mutants are being seen more and more realistically. Fewer mutants are willing to assist them or give them a place to hide.”
“I have a personal favor to ask,” Emma said.
“Ask me.” Away from Genomex, Eckhart could be polite and mannered to an old-fashioned degree.
Emma smiled. Over time, she had become charmed by this strange, exacting man, who lived behind more barriers and had more surprises in him than anyone she had ever known.
“Jesse and I are going to get married next month, a very small, very private ceremony. Just a handful of friends, with punch and cake afterwards. I would like you to give away the bride.”
“You would?” Eckhart was startled.
We’ve confused you now. How long has it been since you were part of anyone else’s life?
“Yes, very much,” Emma said.
“Well. Then I would be honored.”
And he means that, but he’ll be giving this a lot of thought.
Jesse was surprised to hear Brennan’s voice when he picked up the phone in his Genomex office. For a moment, he wondered how Brennan had found him, then realized he had probably just gone through the switchboard like anyone else. Jesse’s presence at Genomex was not a secret.
“Hey, I was in the neighborhood, and I thought we could talk.”
Who does he think I am? One of the people he used to steal from? Or may still be stealing from? Adam has sent him to sniff around. Who does Adam think I am?
Jesse was annoyed by the interruption, but quickly realized that Brennan would faithfully report everything he heard to Adam.
There are a few things Adam needs to know. Faithful follower Brennan will be sure to tell him, too. Even Brennan’s stupidity can be put to good use.
“Sure, Brennan. Where did you have in mind?”
“The little square between the bagel place and the one-hour photo shop at the strip mall on Warsaw. It’s only a few blocks from Genomex.”
But of course, you just happened to be in the neighborhood.
“I know the place. I can get away from here in a few minutes. I’ll meet you there.”
“Sounds good.”
Months ago, Jesse had abandoned his casual look for corporately suitable suits, and he now looked like what he was, one of the more valued technical people at the resurgent Genomex.
Brennan is probably still dressing like a fourteen year old trying to look cool. He’s too old for that. On him it doesn’t look cool; it looks silly and a little sad.
Jesse made an extended detour to Eckhart’s office on the way to the parking lot.
“Mason, I just got an interesting phone call from Brennan. He said he was close by and wanted to talk. He wants me to meet him at the Lake Ridge mall.”
“And what do you guess Adam’s pet felon wants? Or more accurately, what does Adam want? Adam hasn’t had much to do the last few months except protect criminals and crazies.”
“No idea. But I thought I’d ask if there was anything you wanted pumped right back to Adam since Brennan will tell him everything I say, probably within an hour.”
Eckhart smirked. “An opportunity…well, be sure to tell him how we’ve been making the task of the police easier by siphoning the criminal mutants off the streets, into the courts, and locked away in prisons. Have you ever seen Brennan’s Mulwray’s record?”
“No.”
“I’ll forward the file to you. Interesting reading.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“Jesse, this meeting could be a ruse to capture you. Adam probably whiles away his evenings these days pondering unpleasant thoughts about you and Emma, and me, of course, so take no chances around Mulwray.”
“I’m carrying an activated GPS device. I don’t trust Brennan.” Jesse shook his head.
“Good. I could have a pair of GSA follow you at a discreet distance. You don’t want to become Adam’s ‘houseguest’.”
“It’s a busy mall, lots of people everywhere and even has a police substation there.”
“Adam’s world is crumbling, and his judgment was never the best even when he wasn’t angry.”
“If you wouldn’t mind sending agents…”
“Of course not. I’ll have them meet you at the parking lot door.”
‘If I learn anything useful, I’ll send you email about it.”
“Be wary of Mulwray. He’s dangerous. What he lacks in intelligence, he nearly makes up on impulsiveness.”
“Thanks, Jesse smiled, turned, and left.
Jesse described Brennan to the two agents before leaving the building.
The square was crowded with people eating bagels and sandwiches outside, making the most of one of the last fine, warm days of autumn.
Brennan was indulging himself in a bag of chocolate chip bagels, chewing with vigor and intensity while staring off down the street at a Burger King. He was so engrossed in his current bagel that he failed to notice Jesse’s approach.
Jesse stopped just short of Brennan, who was seated on a stone retaining wall holding low shrubs and flowers. Brennan looked larger than Jesse remembered.
“Brennan.” Jesse said, just to break the chocolate chip trance.
Brennan looked up from feeding. “Hey, Jesse.” Then he took in the way Jesse was dressed. “What’s up with all this? Gone over to the Dark Side?”
Brennan was wearing jeans, a Camaro t-shirt, and chunky wooden beads strung on a leather cord.
Jesse laughed. “It was time to stop dressing like junior high. I have five people reporting to me.”
“Did Eckhart send you to his tailor?” Brennan laughed. He thought it was a fine joke.
“As a matter of fact, he did.” Jesse smiled.
“I want to see the back of your neck.”
“Sure.” Jesse sat down on the low retaining wall next to Brennan and bent his head forward for the inspection of his neck.
“No governor, huh?”
“No.”
“I didn’t expect that. I thought this no-governor stuff was a lie. Adam says it can’t be true.”
“No, it’s real,” Jesse said. “There’s no mark, either; I didn’t just have one removed.”
“Want a bagel?”
“No, thanks, I’m going to lunch in an hour.”
“Jesse, Adam would really like you to come back. He won’t say it, but he misses your help.”
“He does?” Jesse feigned surprise.
Imagine that.
“Yeah. He had tried three other guys to replace you, but they haven’t worked out.”
“What happened?”
“One of them kept getting into arguments with Adam, kept insisting that Adam was wrong about things.”
“What kinds of things?”
“Oh, you know how Adam seems to know everything about everything, history, music, electronics, old movies, medicine, genetics?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, this guy was no dummy, and he kept stopping Adam and correcting him.”
“Adam must have like that.”
“He finally threw the guy out after he insisted Hill Rise didn’t win the 1964 Kentucky Derby. Adam said the guy was just jealous because he had done so much with his life and this other guy hadn’t.”
Even I know the truth about Hill Rise.
“Yeah. Sounds plausible to me. What about the other two
“Uh, they left after they found jobs in industry. They wanted paychecks instead of an allowance. They left the underground and everything.” Brennan shook his head. “They weren’t much fun anyway. I couldn’t get them to go out to bars with me and they criticized my driving.”
Brennan extracted another bagel from the bag.
“Brennan, Emma and I are getting married in a few days. What would Adam have to say about that?”
“Married?” Brennan was stunned.
“Yeah. We’re looking for a house to buy around here, too.”
“Wow.”
“I like my life here, Brennan. I don’t want to go back to living under Adam’s rules and getting an allowance like I did when I was twelve. I’ve gone back to school to finally finish my degree. I like what I’m doing. I like the way I’m actually helping people like us. People don’t want to spend their lives running and hiding.”
“Sounds like you’ve sold out, Jesse. You know Eckhart’s up to no good.”
“It’s not about money. I could match or beat what Genomex is paying me in a number of companies. I have yet to see any evidence that Eckhart is doing anything other than what he has promised.”
“His goons have been rounding up a lot of my friends lately.”
“Fellow felons?” Jesse asked.
“Well, yeah.”
“He always said the GSA would pursue criminals. Just because a criminal is a Genomex mutant doesn’t mean they’re outside the law. He’s been implanting them with governors and turning them over to the police. They’re being prosecuted just like any other criminal charged with the same crimes. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“You have gone over to the Dark Side.” Brennan grinned. “You’re hopeless. What has Mr Creepy done to you?”
“Mr Creepy? Is that what you call him now?”
“That’s what Adam calls him.” Brennan laughed.
“How clever.”
“Yeah. Adam can be funny, although lately he’s been pretty crabby.”
“PMS?”
“PMS? Hah.”
“Brennan, have you ever heard Adam talk about anything before the time he went to college?”
Brennan reflected for a moment. “I can’t think of anything.”
“Neither can I. Sometimes I wonder if Adam is really human, or if Breedlove made him.”
“Made him? Huh. Does it matter?”
“Hard to tell.” Jesse wasn’t sure if Brennan had understood the implications of his speculation.
“Hey, you’ve gotta see my new car. Well, ‘new’ old car. It’s newly restored.”
“Let me guess. A Camaro.”
“Yeah. A ’68. I had it repainted with rally stripes and everything. Kew-wel.”
They stalked off to the parking lot. Jesse noted the two bageless GSA agents pretending to be reading newspapers at the edge of the square. Eckhart disapproved of his agents munching on the job. He hated finding crumbs in the SUV fleet carpeting.
Brennan had parked the Camaro so that it straddled four parking spaces. The body was painted blindingly red with contrasting white stripes.
“Very nice, but Brennan, don’t you ever worry about attracting the attention of the police driving something like this? This is a cop-magnet. Arrest Me red.”
“Yeah, but it’s fun.”
“It looks fast just sitting here. Aren’t there warrants out on you in three states?”
“There used to be. Adam said he fixed all that.”
“How could Adam ‘fix’ things?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Well, if I were you, I’d drive this thing under the speed limit. At least you’ve got some plates on it. Adam never should have let us drive around without license plates. That’s one of the first things cops notice—cars without plates.”
“Want to take a ride?” Brennan asked.
“I’ve really got to get back.”
“Oh. Yeah. Well, if you change your mind about working for Mr Creepy, Adam sure wants you back.”
“I don’t think so, Brennan. Tell Shalimar I miss her. So does Emma.”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Adam said, smiling smugly.
“Hey, I like that,” Brennan said. He had never heard it before.
“I don’t like this at all, Adam.” Shalimar’s face bore no sign of her usual trying-too-hard smile. She was also completely covered, with no portion of her anatomy threatening a daring escape.
“These guys hate Eckhart as much as we do. Working with them is a natural alliance.”
Shalimar shook her head. “I’m not convinced. These guys control ninety percent of the drug trade in this state. I don’t care if they’re mutants. We should not associate with such people. We’re supposed to be the good guys.”
“Shal, they’re old buds of mine,” Brennan said, smirking.
“I don’t care. Brennan, and I’m not surprised. They’re drug dealers. They cause a lot of misery. If we work with them, how are we any different?”
“Shalimar, it’s clear we aren’t going to get Emma and Jesse back. Unless we capture Mr Creepy, and put a stop to his fraudulent program of ‘mainstreaming’ mutants we won’t have an underground to maintain.”
“I’m not sure that’s a bad thing,” Shalimar replied.
“What did you say?” Adam demanded.
“The people I’ve talked to who have left the underground don’t have any regrets. I’ve talked to a lot of them. I don’t know of anyone who’s had a visit from the GSA except the ones who lied and who turned out to be wanted for serious crimes.”
Adam was not pleased. “There is more than a whiff of disloyalty in that statement.”
“Even the ones who turned out to be mental cases have been handled gently. The treatable ones work in the world, but sleep at halfway houses so their medication can be monitored. That sounds a lot better to me than running through the streets confused and psychotic. To me, it sounds quite humane!
“It’s all a variant of the Big Lie, Shalimar. Tell a Big Lie often enough, and people will believe it. That’s all Eckhart’s doing, lying and lying. One day all the pretty stories will stop, and all the mutants will be rounded up for whatever purpose he might have in that evil white head of his. They’ll all wish they hadn’t abandoned me.”
“Mutant X wasn’t supposed to be about sheltering criminal actions by calling them something else! If you smuggle drugs using the Double Helix in return for the delivery of Eckhart, I don’t see how we haven’t become criminals.”
“Shalimar, we’re fighting an evil, amoral enemy who must be stopped.”
“I won’t be part of this operation.” Shalimar flashed feral eyes at Adam. “This will have to be just you and Brennan. I will not be part of ferrying drugs and I’m not going to work with those guys to get Eckhart.” With that, Shalimar stalked away.
“What’s gotten into her?” Brennan asked.
“I don’t know, but when we’ve got this operation behind us, I have to have a serious talk with Shalimar. I don’t care for that attitude.”
“I don’t, either,” Brennan echoed.
Adam and Brennan made a total of four flights smuggling drugs, filling every possible space in the Double Helix.
“We’ll never get the stink out of the cabin,” Brennan said. “I don’t know exactly what stink it is, but whatever it is the drug-sniffing dogs go crazy over it.”
Adam smiled his all-knowing smirk. “Well, I don’t intend the Double Helix to come within sniffing distance of a drug-sniffing dog. I think we’ll be able to outrun them.”
“Yeah. The Double Helix is fast.”
Having performed the heavy lifting portion of the deal, Adam demanded and got a team of eighteen of the most violent gang members available. Some of them were mutants.
Adam put the Double Helix into stealth mode and dropped down onto the front lawn of Genomex. Defensive forces had only a few seconds to realize what was happening, and to respond properly.
Brennan’s group had nothing to lose. Most of them were killers several times over, so they did not hesitate to use their weapons.
Even after a general warning was given, there were people caught outside of the sealed areas. Eckhart watched their approach from his office, cursing himself for not preparing for an assault force of this nature. He recognized Brennan Mulwray’s face. Seeing that, he composed a brief email to Dr Varady, and hoped she was still alive to read it. He sent it off moments before Brennan swaggered into his office wearing a gloating smile.
“Back in your preferred element, thuggery, Mr Mulwray?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve splattered the blood of my people all over this building. Does Adam know what you’ve done?”
“If it was up to me, I’d fry you now, right now, but Adam wants you alive. I guess he has plans of his own. He’s waiting outside.” Brennan turned to his companions. “Get him out of here.”
They dragged Eckhart up and away from his desk. Fearful of tearing his faux skin, Eckhart went along with his captors, back through the corridors of Genomex, past and over the bodies of dead and dying GSA, office workers, and technical people.
Eckhart cursed himself for not foreseeing Adam going to such desperate lengths.
Dragged and half-carried outside into the sunlight, Eckhart watched as the Double Helix became fully visible. At that moment, he knew exactly where he was going and was certain he would not be coming back.
Adam was all smiles as Brennan boarded with Eckhart dragged behind him.
“This level of thuggery is a surprise even from you, Adam.”
Adam reached into a pocket and removed a small spray can. “Welcome aboard the Double Helix, Mason. I prefer my passengers be docile, and that they stay put.” With that, Adam sprayed Eckhart’s face. Eckhart choked, then sagged to the floor.
Reviewing videotapes made a grim experience for Emma and Jesse.
“I’m shocked that Adam would have anything to do with something like this,” Jesse said.
“Brennan could not manage an invasion like this on his own. And what would he want with Mason? No, Adam’s all over this.”
“Brennan never really changed much. He probably knows these guys from the ‘good old days’.”
“April, can you see all of this clearly? These tapes are not the best.”
“I can see enough.”
“We could still lose some people in the hospital, but we have eleven dead, including your Morimoto, Wulfe, and Jackson. The others were all Genomex people. They did not care who they shot up.”
“Only drug traffickers would be armed like that. I’ll have some good images pulled from the tapes. Once I find out who they are, they won’t be walking around much longer. What are we going to do about Mason?”
“If Adam is nutty enough to do something like this, I don’t want to think about what he’s doing to Mason,” Emma said.
“Adam could be keeping him in any number of safe houses,” April said.
“Adam could, but I don’t think that’s likely. I think he would take him to Sanctuary, where he felt safe.”
“Then we’ll go in and get him.”
“That’s all but impossible. Sanctuary is carved out of a mountain. Once Adam seals it off, it is impregnable.”
“Then he creates his own tomb.”
“Possibly. He has huge stockpiles of everything. But I suspect he probably has a back door somewhere. You might take down half the mountain and find Adam long gone.”
“What are you thinking?”
“That Emma and I go in by ourselves. Adam will be expecting heavy cavalry, not the two of us.”
“Are you ready to take on Brennan and Shalimar?” Emma asked.
Jesse nodded. “We aren’t going to sit here and do nothing at all.”
“If you fail, I want you to know that I will see that Adam knows no peace until I capture him or destroy him. He has gone very bad. Find Mason. Do not delay. I know him. He will believe no one will come for him. If the circumstances appear hopeless, he may choose suicide over torment. Good luck.”
April’s image faded from the screen.
“I can’t believe Shalimar was part of this,” Jesse said.
“Maybe she wasn’t. We didn’t see her on any of the tapes. It’s not like Shalimar to miss an opportunity to kick GSA agents in the face.”
Jesse nodded agreement.
“She sounds like a lovely young woman,” Dr Varady added sarcastically.
“Shal does like action, but I cannot imagine her being part of this barbarity.” Jesse paused. “But if I find out she was involved, the past is gone.”
“We’ll have to be sure.”
“I would not have thought Adam capable of sending this Brennan in here with a gang of thugs.” Dr Varady shook her head. “Adam was moody and sometimes explosively emotional, but killing people, just to get his hands on Mason is a whole other level of descent for Adam. Breedlove should have disciplined Adam a long time ago before Adam’s ego and ambition got so out of hand.”
“Too late for that now,” Emma said.
“Much too late.”
“How does it feel, Eckhart?”
The lighting was dim and Eckhart’s focus soft and uncertain. The world appeared as a soft, dark blue blur. None of that mattered; he recognized the voice of Shalimar Fox.
“What do you mean? The drug Adam fed me?” Eckhart turned his head at the sound of Shalimar’s footsteps on the hard floor, and the world went swimming about him. He was grateful for being completely restrained. He lived with nausea daily, but never became used to it.
“That’s part of it. You won’t want to go anywhere with that stuff in your system. How does it feel to be a prisoner? Adam’s prisoner?”
“Thanks to Adam, by his negligence or intent, I’ve been a prisoner for nearly twenty years. I did not volunteer to live inside a faux hide of biopolymer, require frequent transfusions of blood, be pickled in antibiotics and antivirals, or sleep in a chamber of filtered air. I’ve been a prisoner for a long time, Ms Fox.”
“This is different, Eckhart. Now you are cut off from the people and machines that keep you alive. You are under Adam’s power now. No one here cares what happens to you. No one on earth is concerned with where you have gone. And no one will come to save you.”
“I accept that,” he said quietly. “I have lived my life for some time now assuming that people care very little about what happens to one another. Most people are not evil or malevolent, just apathetic and self-focused.”
Shalimar laughed. “Adam found your transponder, and dug it out of you. I dumped it two hundred miles from here.”
“That must be why my shoulder is sore. Adam always was a butcher.”
“He did the work while we were still airborne.”
“Observing strict sanitary conditions, no doubt.”
“Adam knows what he’s doing. Your friends with the feds will never find you.”
“Miss Fox, the difference between people like you and people like me is that you actually expect people to be loyal and faithful, even when such behavior inconveniences them. I know people better than that. As long as you serve their interests, of course they’ll be your friend. But if they must pay a price for such loyalty, don’t expect much. I’m a realist. I’ve seen what people do to each other. They are shallow, fickle, and weak.”
Eckhart’s negative comments were beginning to darken Shalimar’s mood. “That’s so bleak. How can you stand to live?”
“Sometimes, it’s difficult. But consider this, and see if you can tell me it’s not true: if you treat a cat or dog consistently well, almost invariably they will reward you with their friendship. But if you treat a human being well, you never can be sure what you will get back in return for your good works. Live a little longer, Miss Fox and you will come to know the truth of it.”
“You must have selected some pathetic friends to think that about people.” Shalimar shook her head.
“Such as Adam? He used to be a regular visitor to my home. I once believed he was my friend.”
“He says you always hated him,” Shalimar challenged.
“That isn’t true.”
“Why would he lie?”
“Why? Why he usually lies. To avoid dealing with the cumulative guilt of his unholy life. He’s told lies so long about his deep involvement in the creation of the Genomex mutants that I think he must believe them now.”
“He didn’t know what his work was being used to create. He had no idea what was really happening.”
“Hogwash, Ms Fox. Breedlove and Adam oversaw the entire operation. The only difference was that Paul had the authority to write bigger checks.”
“Adam was told he was helping sick children. That’s the only reason he did that work.”
“Someone working at Adam’s level isn’t put into a lab and assigned unconnected tasks to perform. Researchers at Adam’s level know the entire scope of a project because they tie everything together into a coherent whole. He was Breedlove’s recruit, Breedlove’s protégé, Breedlove’s chosen successor. Adam knew everything, from the beginning.”
“That’s too horrible.”
“Don’t think that you know Adam; that’s a trap. You wouldn’t be the first to fall into it. He has fooled many people, including me.”
“I’m not convinced by a word you’ve said, Eckhart.” Eckhart was making too much sense. Shalimar was becoming irritable.
“Your feralness makes careful reflection difficult. When you cease to be of use to Adam, he will discard you, just as he will discard his pet street thug.”
“Adam’s not like that,” she insisted.
“But he is. He needs the relatively young to send out on his errands. He requires people with great strength and lightning reflexes. When he sees these qualities vanishing, he’ll recruit younger team members. Just as animals in the wild peak at a young age, you cannot be far from an inevitable decline in strength and speed. All those drops from great heights have no doubt stressed and taken their toll on your knees. Even transgenics like you are still limited by your human biomechanics.”
“My knees are fine.”
Except they weren’t. Shalimar hadn’t said anything to Adam, but every morning upon awakening, her knees were stiff and sore. She had taken to a daily routine of a morning walk to warm up out of the pain, but now that no longer helped.
“Adam’s guilt has fostered a need for adulation from the very people he created as flawed, unfortunate freaks. He could not unmake his mistakes, so he has surrounded himself with mutants who have no one else to love but Adam. Surely you don’t believe the present Mutant X team is the first? Adam has been cycling through mutants for a long time.”
Shalimar had wondered what Adam did with himself in the years after leaving Genomex and the founding of the present Mutant X. Adam did not speak of those years, although there must have been mutants in need of help. Why hadn’t any of them asked Adam? Did they hold him in too much awe?
Shalimar became annoyed with herself for listening to Eckhart. She dismissed all of her doubts…for a moment. Then they promptly returned, as nagging and pervasive as ever. Her eyes glowed briefly, a sign of deep annoyance.
“I’m curious. Did you take my advice and ask your formerly underground friends about their present lives?” Eckhart inquired.
“Yeah.”
“And are their lives a living hell of harassment and intrusion by the GSA?”
“To hear them tell it, the biggest problems in their lives are their boyfriends, incompetent coworkers, and their diets. They don’t sound like the same people. We had very little left in common.”
“It all sounds very ordinary, doesn’t it?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Did anyone say they want to go back to the underground?”
“Not one. They all sounded…like you programmed them.”
Eckhart laughed. “By crediting me with extraordinary powers, you’re missing the obvious, that none of us wants to be a peculiarity. These people are living lives of relative contentment, and their concerns have become mundane. In other words, exactly what I promised them.”
“There has to be a catch,” Shalimar insisted. “It cannot be the simple or straightforward, not coming from you.”
“There is no catch. I realized that collecting all of the sad anomalies Breedlove and Adam created was an impossible task, and decided I really only needed to control the ones who were insane or who could not manage their own talents. The courts could take care of the criminals. The honest ones could just possibly manage themselves, if they were told the truth. Perhaps even you would like to live quietly, without having to watch for the GSA all the time?”
“Oh, you want me to believe this so I’ll turn you loose!” Shalimar laughed.
“No, Miss Fox. I don’t expect to leave this ‘Sanctuary’ alive. But no matter what happens to me, the plan will continue. Your former team members believe in it, and will not allow it fail. What we’re doing will not stop with me. It is not about me, and never has been.”
“Adam won’t kill you.”
“I know Adam far better than you. We have an extended history. I know things about Adam that probably no one else alive knows. Silencing me serves Adam well several ways. Given the opportunity, he knows I’ll see him charged –and punished—for his crimes.”
“Crimes?”
“Against humanity.”
“Adam?”
“Did he ever tell you that Paul Breedlove, of ‘saintly’ memory, began his researches in the death camps of the Third Reich?”
Shalimar was stunned. Adam spoke of no other man with greater respect and admiration than Paul Breedlove.
“That can’t be.”
“I didn’t think he’d tell anyone about Breedlove’s beginnings. Like so much else, Breedlove’s Nazi past is just one of those things Adam has not gotten around to telling you, his supposed friends. Adam can be quite calculating about what he shares and what he keeps to himself.”
“You’re just trying to turn us against each other!”
“If the truth has that effect, so be it.”
Shalimar stomped from the room. Eckhart closed his eyes, glad for the silence and relief from Shalimar’s emotionality.
His peace was brief, however. He listened as another came near. He could not place the rhythm of the footfall, and did not think it was Adam. Keeping his eyes closed, he assumed a look of relaxation. Perhaps if the approaching intruder was convinced he was sleeping, he would be left alone and have the opportunity for sleep through the nausea.
“You’re quite a sight, Eckhart.”
“How so, Mr Mulwray? Care to articulate your observations?” Mason Eckhart did not open his eyes, displaying his contempt for a common street thug. Brennan Mulwray’s inclusion in Adam’s group puzzled him, since the felon was not intelligent, technically trained, and he was inclined to ignore instructions.
“I’m trying to talk Adam into letting me bring a bunch of my friends here so they could see you as Adam’s prisoner.” Brennan laughed.
Eckhart opened his eyes and turned slowly to face Brennan. “And how much would you charge for admission? I cannot imagine that you would pass up a scheme enriching you. You could buy another junk car.”
“Huh?”
“You are a common criminal. Since adolescence, you’ve made your way in this world as a predator. Nothing I know of you indicates a moment of regret or remorse for years of pillaging and preying upon the vulnerable. You have not changed in the time you’ve been protected by Adam. You’re using Adam’s band of renegades as a convenient hiding place until you find something better.”
Brennan’s silence was more telling than any protest he could have made.
“Adam isn’t much of a realist, but I am. I’ve studied your criminal record in great detail. You are fast approaching the age by which most thugs weary of violence and uncertainty, and go straight, or are killed while committing a crime, or find themselves sentenced to spending most of the projected balance of their lives in prison. You’ve never noticed how few 35, 40, 45 year olds are active in your ‘profession’?”
Brennan was accustomed to his good looks and charm assuring him of getting his way. Years had gone by since anyone had spoken to him bluntly about what he was. Adam blithely ignored Brennan’s past.
“What I’ve wondered –and I don’t really know the answer—is whether you’ve carried on your criminal career on the sly while enjoying Adam’s protection.”
Brennan was a thief, not a con artist, and what Eckhart saw in his face was easy to read.
“Well. So you have remained ‘active’. Eventually, the real world will overtake you and Adam alike. I wonder what length of penal penalty Adam will have to serve for sheltering you from the police? I can hope it won’t be trivial. Perhaps Adam’s accumulated fortune can go towards restitution of your victims. That certainly sounds fair to me.”
“Why do you think you know everything?”
“I have no such illusions. I know enough to know how little I know. I’ve tried to reclaim a lot of thugs like you. The numbers of mutants who turned their powers to criminal endeavors is surprising and does not bode well for a society with an increasing proportion of Genomex-manipulated DNA. Most criminally inclined mutants prefer a life of easy plunder. I sometimes wonder if Breedlove did not breed-in the tendency towards taking the easy way out of everything.”
“I should just fry you.”
“And how would you explain the results to Adam? I’m sure he has plans of his own for me and would be deeply disappointed if you denied him the pleasure of my torment.”
Brennan hesitated.
“That’s wise. You don’t want to be on the receiving end of Adam’s wrath. I should know. Look what he did to me.”
“What did you do to him?”
Eckhart smirked. “What I did was discover what he was doing to me.”
Brennan looked puzzled. Eckhart’s reply was too convoluted for him. He quietly turned and left the examination room. Eckhart relaxed, relieved to be left alone. He closed his eyes, knowing sleep would not come, but that Adam would.
Eckhart did not have long to wait.
“Mason.”
Eckhart studied Adam’s face carefully, especially the eyes. To others, Adam was many things, but Eckhart knew his failings well. He could discern the irrationality Adam hid well from nearly everyone else.
“What are you running here, Adam? A cult? Your followers sound like true believers, parroting whatever you say, and drinking the Kool-Aid.”
“A cult, Mason?” Adam laughed nervously. “What are you talking about?”
“Perhaps I should say ‘occult’. I’ve heard the stories about your exploration of ceremonial magic. ‘I guess magic is a bit like science’. What would Paul think of that statement, Adam? Come to think of it, he might approve. Lots of those old Nazis knew an unholy lot about the occult.”
Any self control Adam retained vanished with Eckhart’s laughter.
“You weren’t there. You don’t understand.”
“But I wish I had been there to see the smartest man in the world invoke demons. Is there a scientific journal somewhere which would print your findings about demonology? With proper references, of course.”
Only Eckhart had the nerve to take Adam less than seriously. Everyone else accepted his posturing as a serious scientist, never questioning his pronouncements no matter how unlikely or bizarre they seemed.
“You’re in a lot of trouble, Mason. Your transponder is under a few hundred feet of water a long way from here.”
“Your feral friend already had the pleasure of telling me that. But I have a question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Does Shalimar have a litter pan in her room or is she fully humanly housebroken?”
“Why?” Adam was puzzled by the question and had no idea what prompted it.
“Does it matter? We both know how peculiar ferals usually are. Transgenics are the least human of all the current crop of freaks.”
“She does not have a litter box in her room.” Adam was irritated by the question.
“You must have done an admirable job of training her. The task must have required great patience.”
Adam changed the subject. “I’ve dreamed about this day…having you here like this.”
“Poor Adam. For you this has always been personal. You have never been able to stand back and reflect upon your own ungodly work. You’ve never been able to abandon it when it so obviously was going wrong, ruining the lives of hundreds of people. You’re still carrying on here, in a much reduced fashion.”
“You were at Genomex, too.”
“Adam, I joined the company after most of the mutants were created, and not as a life scientist. It was a long while before I was even told about your work. I don’t share your responsibility for creating these sad anomalies, and hence, I share none of your guilt.”
Adam had told himself the lie of Eckhart’s involvement in creating the Genomex mutants to so many people for so long he had come to believe it himself. Eckhart’s denial was unexpected.
“You don’t deny approving genetic experiments to the present day, do you?” Adam asked.
“Of the dead-end, criminal sort you and Breedlove specialized in, yes, I do deny that. I was never midwife to hundreds or thousands of births of diseased, doomed, damned individuals the way you were.”
Adam looked confused. He wasn’t accustomed to anyone contradicting him, and in all his fantasies of this moment, he had never considered that Eckhart would remind him of truths he had hidden from himself.
“Breedlove suffered the same kind of memory slippage, Adam. As near as I can determine, he created Gabriel Ashlocke when I was about five or six years old. I refused to share his guilt, and I won’t share yours, either.”
“You’re ruining everything. I don’t know what you’re doing to the mutants who were underground, but you persuaded them by the hundreds to leave safety and put themselves out in the open and at risk.”
“Can you name one honest individual who has been picked up by the GSA?” Eckhart asked.
“You’re just biding your time.”
“Not at all. I’ve taken great trouble to place only the sane, stable ones in plain sight. The lunatics and the criminals are being rounded up the same as always. They’re a hazard to everyone. Even to you.”
“You think they’re all criminals.”
“Not at all. But I do wonder what you were thinking, sheltering someone with a record like Mulwray’s. You weren’t exactly rescuing a juvenile. Mulwray is an adult criminal, a little short of smarts, and a lot short of remorse.”
“I’ll worry about that.”
“You’d better. When the police catch up with Mulwray and with you, you will have something to worry about. You always did think you were above the law; you got that from your old Nazi mentor Breedlove, I think.”
Adam was surprised by this revelation. ‘”How do you know about Breedlove? No one is left who knows except me.”
“Don’t be so certain of that. I have shared the knowledge with a few select individuals. And I’ve got Paul’s Nazi party membership papers, the originals in a very secure place. How brilliant could he have been if he did not destroy those?”
“I don’t believe any of this. You made a lucky guess.”
“Why not? The Nazis documented everything with great care. So did Paul. All those nights I could not sleep I spent searching company archives. I found out what Paul really was. The really odd thing is how I found plenty of your work, computer print outs from instruments, hardbound lab notebooks (you don’t have the handwriting of someone who learned cursive writing in an American classroom, Adam), supply requisitions, expense account forms, but while I was able to locate personnel files for Paul and Eleanor, I found nothing about you, not so much as an address where you lived before you were hired. In fact, the only proof extant that you existed prior to 1978 are some patents later integral to stasis pod technology. You seem to appear as a graduate student without bothering to be born anywhere as anyone. Very odd. But then, so are you.”
“You’d like to know what it all means, wouldn’t you?” Adam smirked, but his stomach was beginning to churn.
“I’m guessing it all goes back to Paul Breedlove.”
“Too bad the Genomex archives were burned when Breedlove was murdered.”
“I had been through every box in that building years before. When you sleep as poorly as I do, and you cannot leave the facility, well, you have time to ferret your way into all kinds of obscurities. I’ve been through every square foot of the facility, even the sub-levels sealed off before you joined the company”
“Sounds like you’ve had an exciting life, Mason.”
“The one you damned me to living.”
“Not that, again.”
“You could play dumb to Paul and have him believe you but we both know how motivated you were to be rid of me by then. You hadn’t counted on Paul even trying to save me. And your timing! You suddenly develop a conscience after years of creating wretched anomalies just as it is obvious I’m not about to die and leave you free to act! I wasn’t supposed to survive a week, was I?”
“Mason, the antivirals have made you delusional.”
“I don’t think so. Paul kept feeding me painkillers and sedatives, so my personal memories are vague and dreamlike. But there’s nothing dreamlike about Breedlove’s notes on my condition or the day he thought he had solved the specific issues of keeping me alive. Or the meeting he had with you late that day. Or the security logs showing you removing items from the building that afternoon and evening. You weren’t as clever or subtle as you imagined. You had started your inevitable exit from Genomex.”
“You cannot prove any of this.”
“I don’t need to. Your own actions betray your motivations. The day you began transferring records and equipment out of the facility was the day you decided to leave Genomex, even if that break did not come until later. You knew where things were going, with Breedlove keeping you on an ever-tighter leash, reducing your involvement in human work, and demanding that he be kept informed of the nature of your experimentation. By the time you actually spent your last day at Genomex, you had prepared to carry on the work here, hadn’t you? One day you had enough of Breedlove’s control, and off you went.”
“I seem to recall you having some part in all that business.”
“As security chief, it was my business to stop the use of company computers to spread slander. Adam, how could you have been so witless? Tracking what you had done took minutes to unravel.”
“I did not imagine the matter would come to you.”
“Wishful thinking. By then, you knew if you stayed Breedlove would have shut down most of your experiments. The only way to continue your work was to leave Genomex, pose as the champion of the mutants to gain access to them, while carrying on much of the same work, just calling it something different, “adjusting” their DNA. They are as sick as they ever were, and you keep collecting data. When does it end, Adam?”
Adam turned without a word, and left the examination room. He did not have a good answer for Eckhart, and when he checked his pockets, he discovered only empty antacid wrappers.
Eckhart wondered how much time he had won for himself, and how useful that time would be for him. Inside the biopolymer, his skin had begun to itch, indicating the time for a new faux skin was long past.
2007 Alliances Old, Alliances New part 5
|
|
|
|
The Sun Never Sets on PureMX.net
|
|
