Many thanks to Cee for the edits and suggestions.
Special thanks to Rhyo for her contribution to this chapter
Please read the Summary Page for details of warnings, notes and summary of story.
Commander Bryant slipped his phone into his pocket and looked at his wife. Their anniversary trip had been disturbed first by news of problems at a major conference in DC, then the news of the kidnap, and then by Claydove's call to take temporary command until Claydove was back in Cascade, which could be a while as Claydove was speaking from his hospital bed in Nepal, having injured his back climbing. Of course Claydove knew that Bryant would already be on his way to Cascade. Bryant absently patted his wife's hand and then glanced across to the captain that had met them at the airport. Bryant knew that Peel wasn't personally responsible for the flat tyre that had delayed their exit from the airport, but the man should have had a back up car ready. Didn't he know…? No, he didn’t, Bryant sighed to himself. He glanced out of the window and saw in the near distance a building that looked very much like a hospital. Peel had said that all the guides were essentially well, hadn’t he? He felt a squeeze on his hand, and gaining strength from his wife, he pushed his personal worries to one side and became the career GDP man again.
When he saw that Bryant had finished his call, Peel cleared his throat. "Officer White will take your wife onto the hotel we've booked for you." Bryant glanced out of the window at the crowd that was milling around the entrance to the hospital. He asked, "Isn’t there a back way into the hospital?" From the driver's seat, White nodded. Bryant ordered, "Take us there." He then turned to face Peel. "That won't be necessary." To stall Peel asking any further questions or offering any more obsequious hospitality, Bryant asked, "What was that call from your staff at the airport all about?"
Peel shrugged. "Probably a false alarm; nothing that can’t wait until morning."
Bryant could sense what the officer was thinking, that being here accompanying a senior commander, being in the midst of the big case was probably the way out of one of the most boring postings in the GDP. That finally he was going to be important. "What if it isn’t?"
Peel shook his head. "Our computer system has had gremlins all week, throwing all sorts of false data. I'd hate to abandon you to go and find it was a case of mistaken identity or a computer glitch."
Bryant could feel the car slowing to a stop. "Mistaken identity?"
Peel nodded. "The computer indicated that a rogue of twenty years standing had been caught on the cameras tonight. Must be a glitch, I mean…"
"Twenty years? If he or she's in the area then it must mean …"
"We're not sure yet whether she was incoming or outgoing."
Bryant leaned forward, his voice full of ice. "So, Captain Peel, you’re saying that you've let a twenty year rogue slip through your grasp? I think you’d better go and sort your unit out."
Peel opened his mouth and shut it and then said, "But…"
"I assume that there is some GDP presence in the hospital?" Bryant asked.
Peel nodded. "Watts, an Officer Watts. She's a junior officer though… in Curtis's unit."
Bryant frowned and asked, "Where is this Curtis then?"
Peel swallowed. "We don’t know. From the information I was given…"
Bryant wiped his hand over his face. Dan Slater was a very close friend, but it seemed as though the whole GDP structure seemed to be crumbling under Dan's watch. Well, he'd been told by Claydove to take charge until further notice… "I'll find that out no doubt when I speak to the Cascade police. Who's the officer in charge there?"
White spoke up, "Captain Banks, sir. The Senior Prime is under his command."
Bryant turned back to Peel. "Take the car and get back to the airport. I expect a report on this rogue matter as soon as possible. My staff was supposed to be leaving Dulles about now. Arrange for them to be accommodated in the same hotel that you've booked for me. Arrange for the hotel's conference rooms to be free for my use. I expect we will use them as a temporary command post." Bryant saw that the car had stopped and reached for the door handle. With his other hand he grasped his wife's hand. "White, you're with me."
@@@@
Simon Banks peered through the observation window and watched as the medics worked on Roger Courcy. The activity wasn't as frantic has it had been when the man was first brought in, but Simon could see that the man's condition was still serious. He only hoped that the man would survive and that then they would be able to find out why the man had created all this mayhem.
"Captain Banks?"
Simon blinked and turned to look at Watts. The young GDP officer looked exhausted. "You had something to eat yet?"
Watts managed a faint smile. "A sandwich and some coffee." The officer paused and then said, "GDP Commander Bryant is at the door demanding to come in."
Simon rubbed his brow and then said, "This is a lock down situation for security reasons. Once we know everything is secure then we will allow GDP access."
Watts bit her lip. "I know I told him that but…" Simon started to shake his head when Watts spoke again, "but there's something you should see from the personnel files of the guides. Look at the next of kin."
Simon took the file she offered and looked at the first page and then looked up at Watts. "You asked him about this?"
Watts shook her head. "His wife is with him though, and that's definitely not usual."
Simon blew out his cheeks and then closed the file. "I'll deal with it. Stay here; I want to be informed if there are any changes in his condition." Watts nodded. Simon tucked the file under his arm and moved towards the entrance doors to the floor. As soon as he'd banged through the doors, Rafe turned. Simon glanced at the couple that was waiting in the elevator lobby. The man wore an understated power suit and the woman was smart too, in the same understated way. Simon noted that the clothes looked crumpled as if they'd spent some time travelling. He also noted the presence of the GDP officers standing to one side of the couple. Looking around, Simon located a small office; he opened the door and checked it was empty. He moved across to the GDP commander. "Commander Bryant, I’m Captain Banks of the Cascade PD."
The man nodded and looked around warily. Simon motioned to the office. "We can have some privacy in there."
Bryant nodded, motioned to his wife, and followed Simon into the office.
Once he'd ensured that the door was shut, Simon said, "The whole area is covered with a dozen white noise generators. I believe you have been trying to gain entrance to the floor."
Bryant nodded. "I've been authorised by Claydove to take temporary command of the GDP in this area. I think I should have access; guides of GDP officers were involved after all."
Simon countered easily, "We're still in an investigative mode here, and until I've assured myself that the area is secure, then I'm within my rights to deny access to anyone I like. Besides, the Senior Sentinel Prime has made it plain that the GDP are not welcome right now in what he regards as his territory." Simon watched the commander's face become icy. He held up a hand to ward off any interruptions. "However, if I am asked by a next of kin to allow access to their son or daughter, then I would obviously have to consider that request."
Bryant glanced at his wife and then looked back at Simon. His expression crumpled a little bit, his voice shook a little as he stated, "Guide… Adam, Adam is our fos… is our son, Captain. Can we see him?"
"How is he?"
Simon looked at Mrs. Bryant and even without empathy could see that she was worried. Simon paused; he'd seen the guides as they were brought from the evac helicopters. The young guide hadn’t seemed injured, just very shocked and distant and then he'd overheard the doctors' worries about the effects of the dampener drugs on all of the guides. He gentled his voice and commented, "To be honest, I don't know. He walked off the helicopter, but the doctors have said something about all the guides being dampened."
"Do you know what with?" Bryant’s voice was hard.
Simon began to shrug and then said, "Sounded something like BTG?"
"Damn!" cursed Bryant. After a moment, Bryant looked up at the pair in the office. He explained, "BTG is a drug we don't use very often. It initially dampens the guide and then when it wears off, they have to bond or else." Bryant rubbed a hand over his hair and said, "We'd like to be taken to our son now if you don’t mind, Captain."
Simon nodded. "Of course." He led the way across the floor and to Adam's room. He waved the Bryants in and said, "I'll find his doctor for you." Before the door had time to shut behind them, Simon heard a shout of 'Mom! Dad!' Satisfied that all was well for the time being at least, Simon moved away trying to find a cup of coffee.
@@@@
"Naomi's safe, Chief."
"Good, good," Blair said, his tone distracted.
Jim frowned and eyed him closer. Blair's heart rate was up a little, his breath hitching, and he was rubbing one hand up and down the side of the bed. The repetitive motion was not soothing; it was jerky and anxious. "You sure you're okay?"
"Ummm, yeah, man, but my head is just pounding. Could I maybe …get something for it?"
Jim's eyebrows shot up. Blair asking for drugs? "Maybe I should have a doctor come and check you-"
"No!" Blair said sharply. "It's just a headache. Look, I need…I really need to get out of here. Go back home, get out of this 'room', man."
"You'll stay here until we've bonded and the docs say the drugs are out of your system," Jim said flatly.
Restlessly, Blair pushed the sheet aside and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "You know as well as I do that these guys are idiots and quacks. We don’t have to stay here, Jim. We don’t even have to go back to the loft. We can go…"
"We're staying," Jim repeated. Blair rocked on the edge of the bed, his hands clenching and unclenching in the sheets. Jim stepped forward and stilled Blair’s hands, one arm wrapped around Blair's shoulders to stop the rocking. "What's going on here, Chief?"
"My head," he moaned. "It feels … it feels like something is trapped inside. Something…angry."
"That's just the drugs," Jim said, his voice tight. "We have to ride it out, but it'll get better."
Blair turned to put his forehead against Jim's chest, and Jim felt his body relax slightly, though he could still feel small tremors shake through him. "The others? Was everyone okay?"
"Yes, all the other guides are fine, and Dan Slater will recover too."
"Things are fuzzy, Can’t remember much at all. Why's that?"
Jim let his hands rest on Blair's back and said quietly, "It’s okay.. You'll remember tomorrow or the next day. It's not really important. No threat, no threat any more."
Blair shook his head. "My head's all fuzzy, Jim." His voice shook. "I can't… I want to but I can't. I'm sorry, Jim."
Jim embraced his guide and whispered, "I know that, I know. It’s the drug they…" Jim stopped to recover his equilibrium as the nightmare image of a dead Blair flashed before his eyes. "I'm sorry we didn’t get there sooner, Chief."
"Not your fault, Jim. We… not one of us cracked, Jim, not one of us."
Jim's hands relaxed their hold on Blair's back and began massaging his neck. "I can tell. I can tell. You brought them through it, Chief."
Blair brought his head up and looked around him. "Can we… I need some air …" His eyes darted around the room. "Can't we go home to the loft?"
Jim fought down his anguish at seeing his friend so confused and almost panicked. The normally sharp blue eyes were unfocused and never still. He kept a hand on Blair's back, the friend and sentinel both wanting the physical connection. He said slowly, repeating what he'd said before, "Not just yet. Maybe later when we've bonded. When the docs have checked you over and made sure your wound's healing up okay."
Blair instinctively felt the dressing on the top of his head. He remarked, "Oh. Oh, okay. 'He' wants to bond."
Jim nodded slowly. "I know, but until the drug wears off, we can't." Jim sensed the shakiness in Blair. He suggested, "Let's go for a walk round the room. We can even stop by a window for some air."
Blair laid his head against Jim and smiled a little. "This is a palace compared to …"
Jim stood up and supported Blair as the younger man half stood, half slid off the bed. Jim apologised, "Sorry about the scrubs."
Blair looked down at the green trousers and top that Jim had dressed him in earlier and waved a hand of dismissal. "S'okay. Not as if I'm going to meet any beautiful women tonight…"
Jim just shook his head and laughed a little. "That’s the only thing you ever have on your mind, Sandburg!"
Blair's legs sagged a little and he had to grab onto Jim to keep upright. "Air, I need some fresh air."
Jim held his guide tightly to his side as the pair made their way across the room to the windows.
@@@@
Hunter sighed loudly as the itch he'd just banished returned again with greater intensity. Ignoring the stares from Goodchild and the nurse, Hunter rubbed his back up and down the wall to try and banish the irritating feeling. When the itch had abated again, Hunter asked Goodchild, "How long are you going to be?"
Goodchild shrugged. "I'm not sure. Need something for that itch, Captain?"
Hunter frowned. Unwilling to admit any weakness he asked, "What itch?"
Goodchild said, "It’s understandable for a sentinel to have skin reactions under stress. How long is it since you last bonded with your guide?"
Hunter's teeth set on edge at the doctor's tone. "None of your damn business." He repeated, "How long do you think you’re going to be?"
Goodchild snapped on a pair of gloves and turned to the nurse and said, "Stirrups please, Nurse." As Goodchild turned to arrange some instruments on his tray, he said, "Just the pelvic to do now. Then we can put the cast on her arm, and then she's yours to deal with."
Hunter scratched his arm, he felt as though something was moving just underneath his skin. He glanced at the woman on the gurney. "She fit to be discharged?"
Goodchild shrugged. "Well, she doesn’t appear to have any internal injuries. Normally we would advise hospitalization for observation." He returned to marking up a slide. "What's her name?"
Hunter blinked. "What?"
Goodchild sighed and made it simple. "What's the name of your prisoner? I need it for the samples I've taken."
Hunter opened his mouth and then closed it again. Then all of a sudden the scratching/ itching feeling got worse, immeasurably worse. All Hunter could feel were the cells immediately underneath his skin lining up in a completely different direction to the way they were supposed to be. Somewhere outside the buzzing in his head, Hunter heard a young woman cry out in pain. 'Sarah?' Gritting his teeth to push past the buzzing and the feeling that he was turning inside out, Hunter forced himself to focus on what was going on in the room. The doctor and a couple of nurses were busy around the gurney. Hunter staggered towards it, his senses were on the fritz and he couldn't hear Sarah's heartbeat or smell her, even the sound level of the hospital staff in the room was up and down. He pushed past the nurse who was at the head of the gurney, his hand reaching out for his guide; she'd be able to stabilise his senses. "Sarah…"
Hunter stopped in his tracks as he registered that the woman lying struggling on the gurney wasn't Sarah. A shrill alarm went off next to his ears and he had to grip onto the gurney to stop himself from falling over. He concentrated on dialling down his hearing, his need for his guide growing ever stronger. As yet another wave of the strange feeling ran over him, Hunter let go of the gurney and pushed backwards towards the wall. All he could hear were more monitor alarms and a rush of voices. He heard the bang of a door and looked up; Wyatt had just entered the room. For a moment Hunter let the wash of voices slide over him.
"You paged me?"
"Yes, Doctor Wyatt. I was just about to finish up her exam. She was stable and suddenly she went wild, vital signs all over the place."
There was a pause and then the older doctor ordered, "Ten cc's of Deoxcabalimin. Goodchild, get an airway and a bag, tell me when you're prepared."
"You're going to anaesthetise her?" The young resident's voice suggested that the older specialist had gone out of his mind. "Surely some mild sedation would do the trick?"
Hunter forced himself to stand up straight and moved across to the gurney. He grimaced as he recognised the acrid stench of fear that emanated from the young woman. He glanced at the older doctor and then at the younger doctor. "Ever heard of the phrase 'frightened to death'? Well, you're going to see it happen for real if you don’t act now." Hunter wiped a hand over his head, grimacing at the moisture he felt there. "I'll be outside."
Wyatt nodded and then turned his attention back to drawing up the Deoxcablimin.
Hunter left the room and leaned on the wall outside the room. He took long shuddering breaths to clear his nose and lungs of the foul fear drenched air that circulated in the room. As he did so, Hunter looked around what he could see of the floor. His eyes narrowed suspiciously when he saw that Rafe was now on guard outside one of the nearer rooms instead of at the floor entrance. A uniformed cop was now in place there. He looked around again and listened this time as his hearing had begun to clear. He licked his lips as he could hear Jon telling Harvey to dial it down and to take deep breaths; he quickly switched his focus when he heard Harvey begin to retch. Then he caught sight of David rubbing the back of Edwards as the Prime sat with his head between his knees.
Hunter blew out a big breath and took out his cell phone. He hit the quick dial code for his deputy and instructed him to bring Sarah and a full investigative team. Then he looked around for Banks. Just as he located Banks, a door opening at the end of the corridor attracted his attention. Hunter watched, as the nurse took care not to step inside the room. Hunter heard her say, 'Dr. Wyatt's busy at the moment, Senior Prime. As soon as he is free, I'll let him know your guide is uncomfortable. Dr. Wyatt did inform me that if you wanted some restraints…'
Hunter didn’t need to have enhanced hearing to hear the roar that was the reply to that suggestion. He picked up speed and pushed the nurse out of the way. As she squawked something unintelligible at him, he snarled, "Bring Wyatt as soon as he's finished with my prisoner."
Feedback to Fingers