Title:Liberation Day
Author/pseudonym: Fluffy Rabbit
Fandom: Sentinel/Stargate Jim/OMC Blair/OFC
Rating: PG
Status: New
Archive: To WWOMB
Email address for feedback: Kevin
schmidt@ntlworld.comSeries/Sequel: Jumping to Conclusions
Disclaimers: The Sentinel guys belong to Petfly, the rest are mine.
Notes: unbeteaed
JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS 2: LIBERATION DAY
By Fluffy Bunny
It had only been two days since king, if that was his real name had made his threat but already he had a feeling of dread when he picked up their morning paper or when the phone rang. He wasn't ashamed of what he was or the relationship he had with Robert so what was the point in him hiding it any longer. Robert deserved a lot better than that and he wanted Ria to be able to call him Dad in public without her having to worry about who heard her.
Under other circumstances Simon would have been the first person he told the truth to but Ria wanted a chance to get to know his family. Not that he was really expecting either his father or his brother to want to have anything to do with her. It was definitely their loss if they didn't though because his daughter was an amazing person. At times he still had trouble believing that he had Robert could have played a role ion making her such a wonderful person. Okay, so he was bound to be biased because she was his daughter, but he wasn't the only one who thought that she was wonderful. Joel did, even though she had knocked him out and Blair certainly did. when Ria was in the same room nobody else existed as far as Blair was concerned. He had to admit that he had been hoping that his friend’s interest in Ria would soon wear off. Instead the opposite seemed to be happening. He was starting to think that staying with Robert as much as he was enjoying it was bad idea. It was giving Blair and Ria too many chances to get a lot closer that he would have liked.
He didn't like the thought of his baby having sex with anyone but maybe it was time to accept that there wasn't anything that he could do about it except hope that neither of them got hurt in the process because both of them had had enough heartache recently.
Just about the only thing that had surprised him about recent events was the fact that Jacob had decided to go with Naomi. Still, he supposed that if his entire life had been spent in the same room he'd want to go out and see what the world had to offer. And as much as he hated to admit it Naomi had refused to help King after he'd threatened them. He could even understand how frightened she must have been at times over the past thirty years. Not that it any way excused what she'd done or the way that she'd treated Blair. He really couldn't see his friend ever forgiving her and he wasn't sure that he would be able to if Blair ever did. There were still so many questions that remained unanswered. Like where had Jacob come from, was he the last child created or was there more still being. That was something that he didn't like the thought of at all. Children in his opinion deserved to be raised in a family not in a lab. But that was what could have happened to his moppet.
*
"So is Jimmy different to the way you know him?" Ria asked handing Blair a mug of coffee.
"Yeah," Blair admitted, "it's like he'd an entirely different person when he's with you and your dad." Over the past two days he'd had a real chance to see Jim as he must have been a decade ago.
"That's probably because he can really be himself with us," she said, "plus we've been through a lot together."
"So have we," he said. Not all of it good though.
"There's a big difference in the way we see Jimmy to the way you do," she said, "he's my dad and no matter what else he is I love him for being that."
"He really loves you as well." he said. You only had to see the three of them together to know that they were a family. Something which made him feel more than a little left out. Not that they were doing in on purpose. They'd just slipped back into being a family again.
"Blair, we're not going to take Jimmy away from you," Ria assured him, "we couldn't do for him what you do and we wouldn't want to try."
"Try telling your other dad that," Blair said. So far he'd followed every rule that man had laid down regarding Ria and the way he should behave towards her and still the man didn't like him.
"I will," she promised, "but you that he's still learning to accept your role in Jimmy's life."
"Admit it, he's never going to like me." he said.
"Eventually he will," she smiled, "it's just going to take time. So we have to be patient."
"Easier said than done." he said. Staying with her wasn't easy because he had feelings for her, feelings that weren't just going to go away. If anything they were getting stronger. Not that he could do much about it with both Jim and her dad watching them like hawks all the time.
"You know they can't watch us if we're not in the house," she said.
"Ria, I don't think it's a good idea to use your ability until we know more about it." he said.
"I guess that means you're going to have to run some tests, some very boring tests," she said, "tests that my dad and Jimmy aren’t going to want to watch."
"The tests could go on for months," he grinned following her line of thinking. Jim hated going near the labs at Rainier in case he decided to spring a test on him. He always used the labs when there weren't many people around so that would give them a real chance to have some privacy.
*
They couldn't treat him like this, King thought as he cleared his desk. After all those years of loyal service they were throwing him on the scrapheap just because he'd dared to threaten a test subject's family. By rights they shouldn't have had had families so then he wouldn't have done anything wrong. He knew who to point the finger of blame at, Naomi, or Rachel, as she'd been known before joining to project. She had no right reporting him for what he'd done considering that she'd ruined the projects chances of ever collecting untainted data on them. Yea she'd got off scot free. That just wasn't right. After all, it hadn't been a big threat and it had been made in their own best interests.
Perhaps he could persuade them to go for training, failing that he could make them go for it. He wasn't without his share of supporters within the project who would help him do exactly that. They couldn't be allowed to just wander around wasting what everyone had worked so hard to achieve. They had a duty to use what they were for the purpose that they'd been created. How they felt about it was irrelevant. They would do it or else.
*
"Well, what do you think?" Naomi asked pulling up in front of a somewhat rundown house.
"Is this where we're going to be staying?" Jacob asked.
"For the time being," she replied. So it didn't look like much but with a little work it would be fine. Besides, her and Blair had stayed in a lot worse places during their travels. "Don't worry its going to be fine." she added.
"Will Ria and Blair come to visit?" he asked.
"I don't think so Sweetie," she said, "Blair's still upset with me." She'd left her address with Captain Banks but she wasn't really expecting either of them to use it, but at least they could find her if they really needed her/ She really did miss Blair thought. He'd been such a huge part of her life for so long. Still, in time he might begin to forgive her for having lied to him all those years.
"The world's bigger than I thought it would be." Jacob said.
"Sweetie, you haven't seen anything yet." she smiled. They were going to have so much fun and she would make sure that it was for him. It was terrible to think that he'd spent all that time alone. That was one of the reasons why she'd taken Blair and run. She hadn't wanted her baby growing up to be some sort of lab animal. That was what King still wanted to turn both him and Ria into. Well, she'd hopefully put a stop to that.
*
"Jimmy, you know that you're always welcome here," William Ellison said handing his son a mug of cofffee, "if you’d like Sally could make you something to eat."
"I've already eaten," Jim replied, "as for being welcome you've never made me feel that."
"You obviously came here for a reason," William said, "so why don't you tell me what it is." He should have known that his son wouldn't have just dropped by for a social visit. Although, he had thought that they'd been getting along better recently.
"My daughter would like to meet you." Jim said.
"Your..." he began.
"You remember her don't you," Jim said, "I brought her to see you once. Obviously you're not interested in seeing her." he added as he put the mug he was holding on the kitchen table and stood up.
Why would you think that I wouldn't want to see her?" William asked.
"Because the last time I brought her to see you, you wouldn't even hold her," Jim snapped, "not to mention the names you called her."
"Son, that was along time ago," he said. To be honest he didn't remember the occasion that his son was talking about. Still, if Jimmy said that it had happened then it must have.
"I don't even know why she wants to meet you," Jim said, "you never took any interest in her in the past."
"Perhaps I wasn't given the chance to." he said. "We’ve both made mistakes in the past." He was willing to admit that he might not have always been as understanding as he could have been where his sons were concerned, but Jimmy certainly wasn't blameless either. There had been times when his son had refused to accept him help and had made things very difficult for him. Not that you ever heard him complain about that.
Some of us have made bigger ones than others." Jim said.
"Son, why don't you sit down and tell me about my grandfather," he said, "I'd really like to know about her and her mother."
"She doesn't have a mother," Jim said, "My partner Robert helped me to raise her and for the past decade he'd done that by himself." he added as he sat down.
"Partner?" William said sensing that there was more that his son wanted to tell him.
"The man I love," Jim said, "our twenty fifth anniversary would be coming up soon."
"Congratulations." he said, not quite sure what else he could say without upsetting him son.
"You don't have to meet him, just Ria." Jim said.
"I'd like to meet them both," William said, "I should know the people who are important to you."
"I've got some photos if you'd like to see them." Jim said.
"I would." he smiled.
*
They were up to something and he suspected that he wasn't going to like it, Robert thought. He could always tell when Ria was planning to do something that she knew he wouldn’t like or approve of because she went quiet when he entered the room. Perhaps it would be better if he suggested to Jimmy that Blair went back to the loft because having him under the same roof as Ria was just asking for trouble. No matter how many rules he laid down it wasn't going to stop them from sneaking around behind his and Jimmy's backs.
He could already see that it was all going to end in disaster. Ria was going to end up with a broken heart or worse and he was then going to have to beat the crap out of Jimmy's friend. It was the or worse that worried him most. He wasn't ready to become a grandfather just yet and neither was Jimmy. Maybe it was time that he sat her down and talked about sex again. He'd done that in the past and it had gone down pretty well. Nowadays it wasn't just an unwanted pregnancy that she had to worry about. That was always assuming that she even came back alive from a date. Jimmy insisted that Blair could be trusted but he wasn't too sure. Only last night he'd come down to find them alone in the living room. Naturally Ria had thought that he was spying on her, which he hadn't been. He'd only gone down for a drink of water. He supposed that he should remind her that it was time for her to go to work or she would end up being late.
*
He'd given her two days to get over what had happened at the safe house, Simon thought when he saw Ria enter the Bullpen. Now it was time that she explained just what exactly had gone on. No doubt it was going to be an interesting explanation with probably more than a few half truths thrown in for good measure. However, he needed something to put in his report to the Chief to show that putting her in a safe house hadn’t been a waste of time and resources. Not that he would ever consider protecting one of his officers either of those things. As far as he could see everything had stemmed from the undercover sting operation that she'd taken part in. It was possible that there had been more than one person involved in those crimes. Perhaps that was what he should put in his report but then the Chief would want to know why an arrest hadn't been made. He could hardly say that Adam Frost seemed to have vanished into thin air. Still, he could always resurface later on and then they could arrest him although at the moment he wasn't sure what charges could be brought against him.
It was also about time that someone came clean about just what exactly was going on between Jim and her other dad. Joel knew something but he wasn't saying anything. Although, he did have his suspicions especially after seeing the two men together. There was a lot about Jim that he didn't know and the man was supposed to be his friend. Surely, it wouldn’t have hurt him to have mentioned the fact that he had a daughter at some point since joining the department. He could understand Jim not wanting Caroline to know about Ria. She had never been what you could call understanding so it hadn't really been any surprise when their marriage had failed.
*
"Morning," Joel smiled when Ria stopped by his desk, "How are you feeling today?"
"Fine," she said, "and you."
"Not to bad." he said. All things considered he felt better than he had in a long time.
"That's good," she said, "so what have we got on today?"
"Paperwork," Joel replied, "so it should be an easy day." In fact they could end up having an easy few days because there hadn't been a single homicide during the past two days. Not that he was really expecting the trend to carry on. Still, it was nice to know that people could stop killing each other if they wanted to.
"It's s good thing that I brought a packed lunch I'll be able to work straight through." she said.
"Or you could take it outside to eat," Joel suggested, "We don't get many nice days in Cascade so you might as well enjoy one when it's here." Personally he intended to enjoy every day that there was from now on because recent events had shown him that life was too short to waste and you should grab every chance to you to enjoy it.
"I don't think that Blair's got any pans for lunch." she smiled.
"And how are you and Blair doing?" Joel asked. He knew that things hadn’t been easy for Blair recently.
"We're okay," she replied, "we've been doing a lot of talking about what's happened. I don't think he's ever going to forgive her for what she did. And there are a hell of a lot better ways to tell someone that they're adopted."
"When were you told that you were?" he asked.
"When I asked why I didn't have mom like other kids did," she replied, "I didn't ask for all the lurid details until I was older though. Both Jimmy and my dad have always been open about where I came from."
*
Things were going a lot better than he'd thought they would, Jim thought as his dad poured him another mug of coffee. His dad already seemed interested in Ria and meeting her, but he still hadn't said anything about being sorry for sending that newspaper cutting to Robert. He supposed that it was possible that his dad didn't remember sending it after all it had been a decade ago.
"Dad, can I ask you something?" he said.
"Sure you can jimmy." William replied.
"Why did you do it?" Jim asked, "were you worried that they might turn up here and want something from you?" Not that Robert would have gone to his father for help unless there had been something seriously wrong with Ria, even then it was doubtful that he would have.
"Why did I do what?" William asked more than a little confused by his son's questions.
"Send a newspaper cutting of my marriage to Caroline to Robert," he replied, "do you have any idea of the pain that caused them."
"Jimmy, I have no idea what you're talking about," William said, "the only people I sent a copy of that cutting to were your brother and your cousin Rucker."
"If you didn't send it then who did?" Jim asked. Since Robert had mentioned it he'd assumed that his dad had sent it because that was the sort of thing he would do. But his dad was telling the truth.
"I don't know," William admitted, "I did get a letter from your friend about wanting to know what to do with your things. I've still got it around here somewhere."
"I believe you." he said. Not that it helped to solve the mystery of who had sent that cutting to Robert. When he found out they were going to be in trouble. Nobody upset his family like that and got away with it.
*
"O'Brien, my office." Simon barked from the doorway to his office.
"Coming Sir." Ria replied standing up and walking towards his office. She was going to have to do a lot of fast thinking and talking because he was going to be asking her questions that he wouldn't believe the real answers to. She was starting to think that maybe all the weird dreams she'd had over the years hadn't been dreams at all. "You wanted to see me." she added entering his office and closing the door behind her. No doubt he wouldn't want other people to hear what he had to say to her.
"Sit down, Detective," Simon smiled, "Coffee."
"No thank you, Sir." she said sitting down opposite him.
"Any problems that I should be aware of?" he asked.
"Not that I can think of." Ria said. He wasn't fooling her with the nice attitude. If he was expecting her to suddenly tell her everything he was going to be very disappointed. She'd been grilled by some of the best in the business, namely her dads and she'd only broken once but she had been six at the time.
"Perhaps you could explain again how you got out of the safe house without anyone noticing you," Simon said, "Especially Jim."
"Like I said Sir I went out of the bathroom window," she replied, "as for jimmy he must have been distracted by something." Nobody except for Jimmy could prove that she was lying and he wasn't about to say anything to anyone.
"How about that child and Miss Sandbag?" he said, "they didn't just appear out of thin air."
"Adam Frist was holding them hostage," Ria said, "you didn't want me to just leave them there did you, Sir." A little truth could go along way in a tight situation.
"Of course not," he said, "but that still doesn't explain who that child is." he added as he reached for a cigar, picked it up and began rolling it between his fingers.
"Naomi was looking after him for someone." she said.
"Detective, that's the biggest load of BS I've ever been asked to swallow," he said, "now I suggest that you start giving me some real answers."
*
Life in the outside world was completely different to the way hi life had been in the center, Jacob thought sitting on his bed. Here there was only one person to tell him what to do and when. Naomi was nice even if she didn't know what she was doing some of the time. He had to admit that he liked the fact that there was just one person looking after him now and that he wasn't being put through any painful tests. He was certain that he would soon get used to the way things were done here. But he was still going to be the only one like him here.
He wished that he'd been able to spend more time with Ria before he and Naomi had left Cascade because she knew what it was like to be different from everyone around her. Still, he did have a number that he could call if he wanted to talk to her and she'd said that if he needed help then she'd be there straight away. He didn't really need her at the minute but he might later. There were bound to be things that he wouldn't understand and that Naomi couldn't explain to him. At least, he still had his kitty with him, even if he did keep going away. Maybe his kitty knew that he was safe now and didn't need him all the time.
*
"This might answer a few questions" Blair read on the post it note which was attached to a file on his desk. Jack had probably found something out and decided that he should know about it. He had meant to talk to Jack again but with everything that had happened it had slipped his mind. Still, the last time he'd spoken to Jack he'd warned him not to get involved with the case that Ria had been working on. In fact it had been Ria's name which had prompted Jack to issue that warning.
That had all worked out fine though and Adam Frost wherever he was had lost. He still had trouble believing that Ria had made the sky lit up like that while she'd fought Adam. Of course, neither of her dads knew about that and it wasn't something that they really needed to know at the moment. He wanted to wait until he'd had a chance to run some tests on Ria first. Once he had something solid to show them he would.
Opening the file he saw that there were two separate documents in it, both with a small color photograph attached to the top right hand side corner. He recognized the first photo instantly, he'd seen it or rather one similar to it in the photo albums Naomi always carried with her. The second was a little more difficult to recognize at first because the child in it was a baby but then he took a closer look at the photo and saw what colour the eyes were. They were violet. The only person he'd ever met with violet eyes was Ria plus she was the only other person he knew who'd come from the same orphanage as him. He supposed that he really should look at his document first but maybe there was a date of birth for Ria in hers. More importantly there could be information about who her DNA came from then he could compare it to his and hope to god that they weren't closely related. Ria had said that she hadn't thought Naomi had been lying when she'd said that they weren't. Still, until that particular question had been answered he and Ria couldn't get as close as they wanted to be. Not that either Jim or her other dad were going to make it easy for them to do that.
*
"I'm coming." Naomi said when she heard the front doorbell ring. She wasn't expecting any visitors. The only people who knew where she was were Captain Banks and her brother. It had come as quite a surprise that her bog brother had risen so high in the military. Still, it was good to know that she could go to him for protection if she should ever need to. Not that she was really expecting to have to now that her one time friend had been thrown off the project for threatening Ria and Blair.
"George," she smiled opened the door to find her brother standing there, "I wasn't expecting to see you, but it is nice to." He'd put on weight since the last time she'd seen him and his hair was almost gone. For the past thirty years she'd thought of him as the young man she'd left behind so it was a shock to discover that he wasn't.
"Is it all right if I come in?" he asked.
"Of course it is," she replied, "You'll have to excuse the mess I'm still in the process of moving in."
"That's why I came to see you," George said, "you shouldn’t be living somewhere like this, mother wouldn't want you to."
"George, if you remember she didn't want me to join the project," Naomi said, "but I did and..."
"And now you have to start building a life for yourself." he said.
"I've had a life for the past thirty years, just not in the same place," she said leading him through into the living room.
"To be honest Rachel my house is empty most of the time," he said, "and quite frankly I'd feel a lot better knowing that you were living somewhere with proper security."
"If I did take up your offer you'd have two houseguests," she said. Maybe she could try for a week or so just to see how they got along and it would give them a chance to catch up on everything that had happened in their lives over the past thirty years. "I'm looking after someone." she added when she saw the look on his face. "He is the cutest seven year old you've ever seen." She wasn't sure of Jacob's exact age but she guessed that he was about seven.
"Is he yours?" George asked.
"Not that I know," she said, "George, he's spent his entire life in one room at some center. A friend rescued him."
"How long will it take you to pack?" he asked.
*
If he had to swallow any more BS he was going to choke on it, Simon thought as he sat listening to ria's explanation for what had gone on at the safe house. He had to give it to her she had one hell of an imagination. Not that it was helping to answer any of the questions had had.
"That's enough," he growled, "you're obviously not going to tell me the truth."
"There are some things I can't tell you because I don't know what happened," Ria said, "sometimes I find myself somewhere without knowing how I got there."
"And I'm Santa Claus." he said. At the moment he was actually prepared to believe that she had climbed out of that bathroom window without anyone noticing. It certainly made a lot more sense than the story she was trying to get him to swallow.
"I also read minds." she said.
"In that case you know what I'm thinking." Simon said. She was definitely Jim's daughter. She had his attitude when it came to dealing with authority figures and mixed in with that attitude was Sandburg's ability to move any conversation off it's original track and onto a completely different one.
"Get out of your office and back to work." she smiled as she stood up.
"Just go." he said dismissing her. Why did he get the feeling that Jim had had his hands full when she'd been younger. He could just imagine a very irate Jim chasing after her when she'd done something wrong. no doubt she'd had her fair share of spankings while growing up.
"By the way Sir neither of them ever spanked me." Ria said as she left his office.
"Maybe they should have." he muttered. There was no denying that she was a good cop but her attitude as going to have to go. Maybe Joel could do something about that. After all, partnerships were supposed to work both ways.
*
For the first time ever he had some idea idea of the man his son was, William thought as he watched Jim drive off. Not only that but he'd been given a real chance to be a part of his eldest son's life again. From what jimmy had told him any man would be proud to have her as a granddaughter, but would she want him as a grandfather. He hadn't been the best father in the world that was something that he'd realized a long time ago. However, he could be a really good grandfather. He had both the time and the money to make sure that he was. Jimmy would be really pleased to see that he was making a real effort to make up for all the years he'd been her grandfather and had ignored her.
Perhaps he could send her a gift of some sort or would it be better if he delivered it personally. She might not be too happy to have what was to her a total stranger turn up bearing gifts. He wasn't even sure what she would like so perhaps it would be better if he chose some sort of gift certificate. After all, she would be able to get whatever she wanted with it and once they'd met and talked he would have a much better idea of what she was interested in. Of course, he would be more than willing to introduce her to some of the young men who were members of his country club. It was important that she made the right sort of contacts because they would make her life so much easier.
*
He might have been a science nerd when younger but he didn't know that much about DNA. What he really needed to do was talk to someone who did, Blair thought. The big question was how he was going to explain not only why he needed the information deciphering but where it had come from in the first place. There was one person who would probably do it for him no questions asked but he didn't know where she was and he wasn't sure that he was ready to face Naomi just yet. He was angry that she'd lied to him his entire life but a part of him was starting to understand why she had done that.
The same thing would have happened to him and Ria as he'd always feared it would to Jim if anyone ever found out what he was. But there was a big difference between Jim, him and Ria. Jim was one hundred percent natural while he and Ria were god only knew what. If what they were was made public there would be no end to the problems they faced. To begin with were they real people with all the rights everyone else had or could they be forced to do things against their will because they were considered to be little more than lab animals. This whole thing could soon turn into a total legal and moral nightmare. Maybe he was getting too ahead of himself. After all, it wasn't a given fact that anyone would find out about them, but he certainly wouldn't put it past God as Ria called him to try and get them into some sort of lab for testing. The main difference between the tests that he was planning to do and the ones that God probably wanted to do was that he and Ria would be able to leave after his tests.
*
"So how did it go?" Robert asked when he felt a pair of muscular arms wrap themselves around his waist.
"Better than I expected, "Jim replied, "he wants to meet Ria."
"That's good isn't it?" he said. It sounded like good news for Ria although he could sense that Jimmy wasn't too happy about it.
"Yeah, but I'm worried that she might be disappointed when she meets him," Jim said, "he's not exactly the warmest of people."
"Neither were you when we first met." Robert reminded him. Jimmy had been so closed off from people that he'd almost been afraid to approach him at first but he had and the rest was history.
"That's different," Jim said, "Ria's been through a lot recently..."
"Jimmy, she'll be fine," he assured him, "if she can save the world handling your dad isn't going to be a problem for her." and if she couldn't then he'd be more than willing to. He had to admit that he was more than a little surprised that the man actually wanted to meet her. Obviously, he was trying to get in with Jim for some reason.
"Maybe I'm worrying over nothing," Jim admitted, "but I did find out that he didn't send you that cutting."
"If he didn't then who did?" he asked. He'd always assumed that Jim's dad had sent it.
"That's what I'm going to find out," Jim said, "and when I do they're going to regret sending it."
"So do you have to go into work today?" Robert asked.
"Not unless Simon calls," Jim said, "why? did you have something in mind?" he added as he began nuzzling Robert's neck.
"You could say that." he smiled. With Jimmy's friend staying they hadn't had much chance to be romantic with each other.
*
His backers had been more than generous to him, King thought, as he looked around his lab. The only thing that he was missing were test subjects but not for much longer. Soon they would be arriving and them they would be under his control for the rest of their lives. He was going to make them suffer for the way he'd been treated. It was all their fault that years of devoted service and loyalty had been discounted as little more than an after thought. His former employers were all going to be very surprised when they saw that he was running the show from now on.
He already knew that all the children who'd either been murdered or disappeared had reappeared as adults. Their families had accepted their presence as if they'd never been missing from them in the first place. His own life had been restored by Ria no that it meant that he was going to be any easier on her than the others. The sort of power she possessed had to be controlled by someone who knew what they were doing and he did. Within a few hours the first ones would be arriving ready to start their new lives as his servants. Of course, there would be some rebellion at first but once they saw what he would do to them if they didn't cooperate they would soon forget all about that and settle down. If he had to kill or permanently damage some then so it be. After all, who were they going to tell. Nobody he knew was going to object if there were a few casualties during his experiments. As for their families were concerned they'd been taken to custody by the federal authorities and by the time that they realized that they hadn't there wouldn't be anything that they could do about it. He had friends in some very high places who would make sure that anyone who got too close met with an accident.
*
Joel had been right, it was too nice a day to eat lunch in the station, Ria thought as she walked towards Blair's office at Rainier and she couldn't think of anyone who she would rather share her lunch with than Blair. Besides, it would give them a chance to talk about the tests that Blair wanted to run without either of her dad's listening in or objecting. She knew that Blair would never deliberately do anything to hurt her and they really did need to know more about what she could do. There was a possibility that she could make a real difference to the world. Perhaps in defeating Adam she'd already started that process. After all, a city like Cascade rarely went one day let alone two without any murders in it. It would be interesting to see if there had been any drops in other crimes being committed. Of course, it could just be a coincidence but she didn't really believe in those.
The thought sudden it hit her that she was walking when there wasn't any need for her to. She could go wherever she wanted to. All she had to do was think and she would be there. What harm would there be in trying it out now? If it didn't work then she didn't have that far to walk. Probably the best to go about this was to focus on Blair and where he was. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes. When she opened them she found herself behind him in his office.
"Hi, do you want to go for lunch?" She said, "or do you want to start tyhose tests you mentioned."
"Ria, how did..." he began as he turned round to face her, "Tell me that you didn't use your way to get here."
"Only from nearby I did," she replied, "there wasn't anyone around who could have seen me do it."
What were they going say if someone had seen her because no one would believe them.
"But what if there had been?" he asked, " you can't afford to take risks like that. Not while that guy's still out there."
"Blair, don't worry, I don't think he's going to come after us," Ria assured him, "and even if he does I can handle him."
"I just don't want you doing something that I'm going to end up having to explain to your dad and Jim."
"So I guess that means no popping to Hawaii for the weekend then." she said.
"Ria, they're not going to let me take you out of the house alone let alone let us go to another state together." he said.
"Maybe you're right," she admitted, "but we could go somewhere for a couple of hours without them knowing." she was getting tired of both her dads treating her like she was still a baby when she wasn't. She'd saved the world so surely she deserved a little more freedom.
"Pissing your dad's off is the last thing I want to," Blair said, "and do you have any idea way Jim would do to me if we did."
*
This had to be a mistake, Rafe thought as he was pushed into a dark room. They'd obviously gotten him mixed up with someone else because he'd never done anything illegal. Sooner or later someone was going to realize that and let him go. By now H would be wondering where he was. H had been fussing over him ever since he'd gotten out of hospital. Why he didn't understand because he'd just been knocked out.
"Is anyone there?" he asked when he heard a noise coming from a corner of the room he was in.
his was the first time he'd had any sort of human contact since he'd been grabbed during the night two days ago. He hadn't seen the faces of his kidnappers or even felt their hands on him. But what if whatever was in the room with him wasn't human. He could be dealing with psychopaths who weren’t in it for the money but for the pleasure of watching people suffer. "I guess not," he added when there was no reply to his question. He supposed that the only thing that he could do was sit down and wait to find out what they had planned for him.
Of course, there was the very remote possibility that this was some sort of joke being played at his expense. Any time now the light could go no and he'd find himself surrounded by the guys from the Bullpen. Maybe this was how O'Brien's dad treated people who spread untrue rumours about his daughter. Only he hadn't known that they hadn't been true at the time. What else was he supposed to have thought when Ellison was all mushy over her. Hey, it was a natural reaction to jump to the conclusion because the guy never acted that way with anyone except Hairboy and it wasn't as if he was the only one who's thought it. Next time he would keep his thoughts to himself until he had proof that there was something going on.
*
Robert was right, Ria was old enough to decide whether she still wanted to meet his dad or not, Jim thought. His dad was going to have his hands full if he tried issuing orders to Ria about how she should live her though. That was one of the things that had driven him away from home in the first place. However, his moppet wasn't just going to let some man who didn't know her try to organize her life for her. Despite, recent events she was happy and there didn't seem to be any fall out from the discovery that she'd been created in some lab instead of being born. Blair on the other hand seemed to be having a real problem accepting that. Not that he could blame him. Naomi hadn't exactly been very tactful in telling him the truth. Although, he wasn't sure that there was a right way to tell someone news like that. There wasn't a great deal that he could do about it except be there for Blair when he was ready to talk about it.
Now that his dad knew about him and Robert there was only one other person he had to tell apart from Steven and that was Simon. Simon had a right to know the truth about heir relationship because not only was Simon his friend but he was his boss as well.
"A penny for them." Robert said when he saw the distracted look on Jim’s face.
"Would it be okay if Simon came here for dinner?" he asked.
"Sure, it would," Robert replied. "Is there any particular reason why you want to invite him?"
"I think it's about time that he knew the truth," Jim said, "by now he's bound to have come up with some theory." It was only natural that Simon would have some thoughts as to what was going on even if they were the wrong ones.
"In that case I'll cook," Robert said, "just as long as you tell me what he likes and when to expect him."
"I could call him now and see if he's free tonight." Jim said. The sooner he told Simon the better if would be. Joel already knew about him and Robert and that Ria was his daughter. Not that Joel would say anything to anyone because he was the sort of man who could keep a confidence.
"You know if he is that means we're going to have to get up and organized." Robert said trailing a hand down over Jim's chest.
"In that case we'll take him out to dinner instead." he said. The two of them deserved some time alone. He supposed that they both felt a little uncomfortable about being intimate with Blair staying. Of course, it was totally ridiculous that they felt that way because Blair knew that they were in a relationship. A very long term one. Even when they hadn't been together Robert had still been in his thoughts.
*
That had to be her, Jack thought when he saw Blair walking towards a grassed area of the campus with a young woman in her early twenties. He was more than a little hesitant about going over there because he'd read the files on her. He was just glad that she'd won because he knew what the other side had been planning to do if they'd won. Not that the danger to her and Blair was over yet. Having friends in various places meant that he often found things out that no one else could. People talked to him when they didn't feel able to talk to anyone else and what he was being told at the moment wasn't filling him with much confidence. They had a right to know what was going on so that they could be prepared to act when the time came. However, they were bound to ask questions that he wouldn't be able to answer. And there were some things that even he couldn't find out no matter how many favours he called in. What little information he'd been able to find out recently he'd left on Blair's desk. He knew that eventually Blair would work it out for himself and come to him for help. Not that he would be able to give him much.
A shiver spread throughout his body when she turned her head and looked directly at him. If the eyes were truly the windows to the soul then she could see straight to his. Looking away from her he took a deep breath and began wheeling himself back towards the building where his office was housed. She definitely wasn't someone that he would want to either cross or upset. Whoever had created her had made sure that she was more than capable of protecting not only herself but those like her from all threats.
*
"Jacob, slow down," Naomi said as he charged up the path ahead of her and George, "Sweetie, I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself."
"Rachel, he'll be fine," George assured her, "and he's not the first child to run up that path."
"George, he doesn't know anything about the outside world." she said.
"You know we're going to have to talk about that," he said, "and your work." He needed to have some idea of what trouble could be following her around in order to protect her and the boy. The very nature of the project he was in charge of gave him access to resources that no one else had.
"We created life," Naomi said, "and the only two adult successes left are safe and happy. As for Jacob I have absolutely no idea who created him or why."
"Then where did he come from?" George asked.
"He was rescued by one of the successes," she replied, "the other side had grabbed him. She hid us until she'd dealt with them."
"She?" he said, "do you have any idea what sort of threat she could pose?"
"George, she's not a threat to anyone except those people who would want to destroy everything good in the world," Naomi said, "they were created to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, most of them were killed before they had a chance to make that a reality. I'm still hoping that she will be able to have some effect."
"You're not going to tell me who she is, are you?" he asked.
"No," she replied, "her and the other one are living perfectly normal lives. I'm not going to do anything that could cause trouble for them. It's the least that I can do for them. Besides, they're still adjusting to knowing what they are." she added.
"I could find out who they are on my own," he said. She might be his sister but he'd sworn an oath when he'd joined the military and he intended to keep it.
"You’re not the only one with friends in high places," she said, "I wouldn't want to have to call them just because you don't trust me."
"It's hard to trust you when you dropped out of sight thirty years ago." he said. As he'd risen through the ranks of the military he'd tried to find her but had failed to find any trace of her. With her changing her name and hair colour that was hardly surprising. Still, she was back now and when all was said and done she was still his little sister.
*
He supposed that he should tell her about the file he'd found on his desk, Blair thought as Ria handed him a sandwich, but he didn't want to get her hopes up in case the information in it wasn't what he thought it was. Besides, he wasn't sure that he wanted to know who had donated the genetic material that had gone into creating him. After all, he could hardly turn up on their doorsteps and say hi. Then there was Jim to think about, he wasn't going to be too happy if someone turned up out of the blue claiming that they were Ria's biological fathers.
"You want to tell me what's wrong?" Ria said, "and don't give me that nothing thing."
"Do you ever think about them?" he asked.
"Them?" she said.
"The donors," he replied. That was as good a word as any for them, "who they might be? Whether they knew what they were doing?" he added.
"No," Ria replied, "why should I?"
"I was just wondering," he said, "what if you could meet them, would you want to?"
"Probably not," she admitted, "because they're not my parents. All they did was donate some DNA. They weren't there when I needed a hug."
"Ria, someone left a file on my desk," he said, "it's got information about us in it."
"Like what?" she said.
"DNA results," Blair replied, "unfortunately I don't know much about it, just what I've picked up from working with Jim."
"Nether do I," she said, "you're looking at someone who blew up the chemistry lab in high school."
"I was thinking of taking it over to the biology department," he said, "I know someone who might be able to decipher it for us."
"There is someone who could tell us exactly what it means." Ria said.
"I don't want to talk to her." he snapped. He didn't even want to think about her. All she'd ever done was lie to him so she couldn't be trusted to tell the truth now.
"Blair, I could go and talk to her," she suggested, "admittedly she isn't my favourite person the world but at least she isn't going to ask awkward questions about where the information came from."
"Ria, not only don't you know where she is but Jim is going to kill the both of us is you go and see her without telling him." he said.
"Jacob's with her so finding her isn't going to be a problem," Ria assured him, "and Jimmy will understand that it's important."
"Your other dad won't." Blair reminded her. He was just going to use it as another reason why he didn't want Ria going out with him. Not that any other the others made sense to him. The guy really didn't like him and there was nothing that anyone could do to get him to change his mind.
"Let me worry about him." Ria smiled.
*
"Number 185, you will do as you are ordered or you will be punished," King said looking at the young man who had been dragged into the lad.
"There's been some sort of mistake," Rafe protested, "my name is..."
"You are number 185, you will answer to that from now on." he said. He had been expecting some resistance from the first arrivals but as more subjects arrived they would learn from the others what to expect if they didn't follow the rules that he laid down.
"You can't do this, I'm a police officer," Rafe protested, "people will come looking for me."
"First they have to know where you are." King smiled. Nobody was going to come for him. This location was probably one of the most secure in the country if not in the world. After all, how could you find something when officially didn't exist? He really liked official denial because even if he left dead bodies lying around outside nobody was going to say anything because he had friends in high places who would protect him. Friend who believe that was he was doing was right.
His subjects weren't real people so they didn't have to same rights. Hell, as far as he was concerned they had no rights at all. They had been created for a single purpose and it was his job to make sure that they fulfilled that purpose as quickly and cleanly as possible. Once they had he would be able to dispose of all of them like he would any lab animal that he had finished with. They might think that because they were special they weren't expendable but they were. When it came down to it they were pawns in a game. One which they were going to win for him. Winning would show all those people who had written him off that he could still be useful. They were all going to regret the day they'd decided to get rid of him. Soon he would be the one with all the power then they would have to do what he wanted.
*
Robert and I, Simon thought as he put the phone down. The way Jim had said it it had sounded as if they were in some sort of relationship but that wasn't possible. Obviously, they had a strong connection because of Jim's daughter and they had to have been close for Jim to have even considered letting the man raise his daughter, or was she both of theirs daughter. That was something that he wanted cleared up when he had dinner with them. Because it was something that he needed to know in case there was an emergency. After all, who was he supposed to call first, Jim or the other one. Jim wasn't listed as any sort of relative so he wouldn't be allowed to stay with her if she ended up in hospital. At least, not officially and he wouldn't want to be the person who tried to keep Jim Ellison away from his daughter. It was bad enough when Blair was injured helping Jim.
He'd done some checking into his newest detective's record in Seattle. After what she'd said at the safe house he'd thought that he should. He'd discovered that her ex partner had gotten a hell of a lot of commendations while she hadn't gotten any. According to her former captain she wasn't that good a detective and was a troublemaker.
That just didn't tally with what he'd seen of her so far. She was a damned good detective as far as he was concerned. One who was more than willing to tackle tough cases. Not only that but she'd boosted Joel's confidence in his ability to be a good detective. The two of them made a good team. If they kept up the good work it was even possible that one of them could be cop of the year. At the very least they deserved to be nominated for their work on the follow up to the sting operation, even if their main suspect had disappeared into thin air.
*
Blair was right. Neither of her dads were going to be too happy if she told them that she was going to see Naomi, Ria thought as she entered the Bullpen, but what other choice did she have? They needed someone to explain the information in the files and who better to that than the person who had been responsible for their creation.
She didn't have to tell them that she was going and if they didn't know then they couldn't get upset with her or blame Blair. Her dad was starting to make a habit of that and she didn't like it. Blair was really hurt by some of the comments her dad had made when Jim wasn't around. It wasn't right because Blair was a good person and the man she was in love with. Even if they turned out to be related she wasn't going to be able to stop loving him anymore than her dad had been able to stop loving Jimmy during the decade they'd been apart. Maybe if her dad could see that he'd go easier on Blair. In the meantime however she was going to have to keep working on him.
Sitting down at her desk she stared at the stack of files on her desk. They weren't going to write themselves and they sooner that they were done the sooner her day would be over and she could go home. Once she was home she could make her excuses and go upstairs. It would be relatively easy to get out of the house after all she could just think herself to where ever Jacob was. Besides, she wanted to see how he was going because it had to be really scary for him being out in the world. If she ever found out who had kept him in that room she would make them very sorry for doing that. Nobody had the right to treat anyone else like that.
*
Okay, now he was really starting to get worried, H thought as he entered the Bullpen. He'd checked out every place that Brian hung out and nobody had seen any sign of him during the past two days. It just wasn't like Bri to take off and not let him know where he was going. One phone call was all it would have taken but there hadn't even been that. Coming close to dying had obviously shaken Bri up a lot more than he'd thought and he still couldn't understand how Brian could have been o badly injured one moment and then okay enough to leave hospital a short while later. Hell, it was nothing short of a miracle as far as he was concerned. And nobody had been able to explain why the sky had turned pitch black the way it had either.
Every time he looked at O'Brien he got the feeling that she knew about what had gone on at the safehouse that she was telling. Well, if it had something to do with Brian's sudden disappearance he wanted to find out even if he had to make her life hell in the process. There was just something about her that didn't feel right but it was nothing solid that he could put his finger on. Then there was the way Jim acted around her. If they weren't dating then they were doing a hell of a job of pretending that they were. Even Hairboy was in on whatever they were up to. Nobody else seemed to have noticed though and that wasn't right.
Before Brian had gotten hurt he'd still been trying to work out who'd broken in and slashed his suits. Maybe his sudden disappearance had something to do with that. Still, he would get to the bottom of it even if he had to dump everything else that he was working on at the moment. Simon wasn't going to like that but he had a duty to his best friend and partner and that had to come first.
*
That man wanted to know about Ria and Blair, Jacob thought but he wasn't going to tell him anything because he might want to hurt them like the people at the centre had hurt him. Ria had made sure that he wouldn't be hurt anymore and that he could have a life in the outside world. So far he hadn't seen much of it but he was certain that would change soon. As long he didn't have to go back to the center he didn't really care where he lived as long as Naomi looked after him. She’d done a good job of it so far but whereas she might look happy on the outside he knew that she was said on the inside. It was because Blair was angry with her. He didn't like to see her sad because that made him sad as well and he should be happy all the time now that he was free.
The only thing that would make his life even better was if he had real parents like the children in the books Naomi had bought him had. Maybe he did and the people at the center had taken him away from them. They could be looking for him, then again the might not even know that he existed. At the center they'd kept telling him that nobody wanted or loved him. Ria loved him, she had to or she wouldn't have saved him. The next time he saw her he'd ask her if she could find out whether he'd ever had parents or not. If he didn't it wasn't going to change anything, but if he did then maybe he could go and see them, find out why they'd never looked for him? He knew that she thought about where she came from a lot but that she wasn't really sure that she wanted to know the answer in case she didn't like it. Besides, she had two dads who really loved her.
*
"Jimmy, I really need to go shopping before Ria gets home," Robert said, "or your friend is going to have nothing to eat." Not to mention the fact that Ria could end up being along in the house with Blair which was something that he did not want happening under any circumstances.
"Why don't you call her and ask her to pick up what you need on the way home." Jim suggested.
"Because our daughter isn't the domestic sort," he replied, "she's never had to be." Ria had always been a lot more interested in playing baseball and other sports than she ever had been in learning to cook. Besides, the few times she'd even attempted to cook she'd almost burnt the house down.
"She can't cook?" Jim said.
"Not unless you can put it in a microwave," he replied, "and she's blown up two of those during the past year." although, she had replaced them which hadn't been cheap. "I've tried teaching her but some people aren't mean to cook," he added.
"But she used to like spending time in the kitchen with you," Jim said, "surely. She’s picked something up from watching you."
"Jimmy, for her own safety and that of others she should stay well away from kitchens," Robert said, "except for when she's fixing something in. Our baby's always been better at fixing stuff than domestic stuff. You know at one point she was thinking of becoming a mechanic."
"Why didn't she?" Jim asked.
"Her school wouldn't let her take shop," Robert said, "I tried standing up to them but they wouldn't change their mind." Perhaps if Jimmy had still been around at the time their baby would have become a grease monkey instead of a cop. Still, he was starting to accept the fact that she was very happy being a cop even if he didn't like the thought of her being in danger. Every time that she went out of the front door to go to work he was afraid that would be the last time he saw her alive. Somehow, he was going to get over his fear otherwise with Jimmy doing the same job he was going to end up a nervous wreck.
*
He still had no idea of what was going on, Rafe thought as he was dragged into a room filled with medical equipment. He knew that they didn't have the right person but no matter how hard he protested they weren't going to believe him. Since he'd been taken out of the first room they'd put him in he hadn't been left alone for a second. It was almost as if they were waiting for him to do something, but what apart from escape. Even if by some miracle he did manage to get away from the men who were currently guarding him he had absolutely no idea of where the exit was or even if there was one. Every corridor that he'd been lead down had looked identical to every other one; they were all grey. How people found their way around without getting lost was beyond him.
Struggling as he was dragging towards what looked like an operating table he thought he saw a dark shadow in a corner of the room but he couldn't be sure because he was intent on making sure that they didn't strap him to that table. He'd always had a terrible phobia about hospitals and doctors. Now he understood why. This wasn't the first time that he'd been in a place like this. Oh god, he couldn't let them strap him to the table because they were going to hurt him and keep on hurting him until they'd finished with their tests.
"No." he screamed as he was forced down onto the table and leather straps were fastened around his wrists, ankles and across his waist. "Please don't," he begged as a masked man in green surgical garb loomed over him with a scalpel in one hand, "Oh god no." They were going to cut him until all that was left were little piece that nobody would ever recognize. Someone had threatened to do that to him along time ago and now they had come back to do it. He was never going to see H again and his friend would always wonder what had happened to him.
*
This was going to give him a great deal of pleasure, Neville Richmond thought as he entered the Bullpen, He'd always known that his ex partner had been a troublemaker and the Federal warrant for her arrest proved it. Of course, it wasn't normal procedure for a detective to serve a federal warrant but who gave a damn about procedure when he was going to get his revenge on the bitch who had made the rest of the department look bad. Still, she hadn't gotten any credit for the work she'd put in. Their captain had made sure of that. Fortunately, there was a lot of officer who believes that women did not belong in departments like Serious Crimes. It was a shame that O'Brien hadn't learnt that early on.
There she was sitting at her desk, no doubt hard at work. Well, she wasn't going to be for much longer. Soon, she would be locked up awaiting trial date. The things she was going to be charged with would make every decent cop in three states sick. There had always been something not quite right about the way she'd been able to solve every case she'd worked on. Now he understood why she'd been able to do that.
"Detective Ria O'Brien," he said standing directly in front of her desk. He knew who she was but it would look better if he did things properly for the time being.
"What do you want?" Ria asked.
"I have a federal arrest warrant with your name on it," he smiled, "so why don't you come quietly." If she didn't then so much the better because someone should have taught her a lesson a long time ago and he was more than willing to teach her one now.
"You can't serve me with that warrant because you don't have the authority to," Ria said, "I also know my rights so I'm not going anywhere with you."
"You don't have any choice," Richmond said, "If I have to take you out of here in cuffs I will."
"Try it," she smiled, "and see how far it gets you because the law is on my side."
"We'll see," he said as he moved away from her desk. He should have expected her to know her rights because she'd always been too smart for her own good while they'd been partners. Still, he would be back with reinforcements because she wasn't going to make it easy for him to take her into custody.
*
"Rachel, do you know how easy it would be for me to find out who they are," George said, "one phone call and I could have every detail about their lives in my hands within the hour."
"George, they're not criminals," she said, "if anything they are victims. They deserve to be left alone to live the rest of their lives in peace." He might be her brother but he worked for the military and there was nothing that the military would like better than to get their hands on both Ria and Blair. While George might not intend to do anything with any information he got there were bound to be others who wouldn't hesitate to use it for their own purposes. Not even Jacob would be safe from such people.
"I can't help you if I don't know all the facts," he said.
"The only fact you need to know is that they are good people," she said, "and good people are hard to find these days. The world needs more of them not less. Besides, they'd be long gone before you even found out their names." she added. With Ria's ability her and Blair could go anywhere in the world. "You'd never be able o find them no matter how long you looked."
"What about the boy?" George asked, "they'd come back for him, wouldn't they?"
"The only thing threatening Jacob would do is make you lower than a snake's belly," Naomi said, "and not my brother because my brother wouldn't do such a terrible thing." Decades might have passed but he was still the same sort of person he had been when she'd left all those years ago. George just didn't have it in him to threaten an innocent child not even for his precious national security. "And I want your word that you won't try to find them."
"You have my word for the time being." George said.
"I mean it," she said, "because there is no way that I will let you hurt them." She'd been the cause of so much pain for them that she wasn't going to let anyone hurt them if she could help it.
*
"What did that guy want?" Joel asked, handing Ria a mug of coffee. It would have been difficult for him not to have noticed that his partner had had a visitor.
"He had a federal warrant for my arrest," she replied, "but not the authority to enforce it because he's not a Fed." she added when she saw the look on Joel's face.
"So who was he?" he asked. He couldn't imagine that she could have done anything that would possibly get a federal warrant issued against her.
"He was my partner in Seattle," she said, "or rather he was supposed to be. Only every time that he was supposed to be backing me up he wasn't."
"Don't you think that you should tell Simon about the warrant?" he said. It was something that he did need to know about in case the Fed's did turn up to take her away.
"I suppose so," Ria admitted, "but it wasn't even a real warrant."
"So what is he up to?" Joel asked. If somebody was after his partner then he wanted to know why.
"I don't know," she lied, "but if he comes back he'll be leaving the building a lot faster than he entered it."
"You should let Simon deal with him," he said. After all, there was no point in her getting herself into trouble when it could be sorted out by Simon.
What if he can't?" she asked, "I know Richmond and he can't be trusted to stay within the law."
"Ria, if you know that for a fact why didn't you report him?" he said. Not that it was easy for anyone to make the decision to turn in a fellow officer. But it was something that he wouldn't hesitate to do if he had to. After all, he had taken an oath to uphold the law and that oath didn't give him a right to break the law if he felt like it.
"What makes you think that I didn't?" she said, "getting anyone to take me seriously was impossible. It was more like a boy's club than a police department. At the first sign of trouble they all closed ranks and pointed the finger in my direction."
"You know that's not the way things are done here," he said. There was no way that Simon would let anything like that happen in his department and if he saw anything even remotely like that going on then he would speak out about it because there were some things that just weren't acceptable to him under any circumstances.
"I know," she said, "it's just taking a while to sink in that's all."
*
It was going even better than he'd thought it would, King thought, as he watched the new arrivals being escorted into what would be their home from now on. There were a lot more of them still to come yet. He'd never imagined that there were had been so many created. Still, he'd only worked on a small part of the project. His friends who were higher up had access to all sorts of information that he had only ever been able to dream about. By the time he had them all gathered together the rests that were being run on 182 would be finished. Hopefully, by putting it in with them they would see that they weren't in charge. He was going to have to keep a firm hold over them otherwise they might start to get ideas and in the wrong hands ideas could be very dangerous. All it would take was for one of them to get the idea to fight back and he would soon lose the fragile control that he had over them.
Ria was definitely going to be a serious challenge to his ability to control them. She would fight him every step of the way but he had the advantage because he knew that she would do anything to protect Blair. He'd made a mistake in no realizing that before but it was one that could easily be rectified. Besides, controlling Blair was also the key to controlling Naomi. That woman would do anything to keep her son safe including work for him if he left her no other choice and he didn't intend to. She might think that her friends would protect both her and Blair but his friends were more powerful that hers ever would be. With the right planning and timing he could find himself living in a certain large white residence in Washington DC. He was amassing the ultimate army, his troops were expendable because they weren't real people and more could be created as he needed them. It was amazing just how far technology could be pushed in the name of progress. However, he wasn't going to use that particular option until he needed to because it was always good to have something with which to surprise the enemy with.
*
"Wouldn't it be easier to have Ria come with us?" Jim asked as Robert loaded to trolley he was pushing with groceries.
"Maybe," Robert admitted, "but we still need groceries. The last time I shopped I wasn't expecting to have to feed four."
"You should have said something." he said. If Robert had, he would have bought groceries to help out. After all, it wasn't right that Robert should end up being out of pocket because he and Blair were staying with him.
"Why would I? You're guests." Robert said.
"I thought that I was more than that." Jim said. During the past two days he'd got the feeling that they were a family again and Ria certainly thought that they were.
"You are," Robert assured him, "I just thought that at the end of the week you'd be going back to your place with Blair instead of staying with me and Ria."
"I don't have to go anywhere unless you want me to." he said. There was nothing stopping him from staying with Robert for as long as he wanted him to. Blair would be fine in the loft by himself and he could spend some quality time with his family. He hadn't had a chance to do anything special with Ria since they'd become a family again. Although, at the moment she seemed to be pretty wrapped up with Blair.
"I just thought that you might want to go back," Robert said, "I mean you're paying rent on the place..."
"Robert, I own the loft," he said, "I bought it when I came back to Cascade." It was his free and clear. He supposed that if he did move in permanently with Robert he could come to some sort of agreement with Blair about the rent. "So if you want me to move in with you all you have to do is ask." he added.
"I do, but what about Blair?" Robert said, "I know he's important to you."
" He is, but you and Ria are my family. He understands that and he is trying to fit in." Jim said. Although Robert wasn't exactly making it easy for him to do that. "Maybe you could ease up on him for a while."
"I'll try to for your sake." Robert said.
"And Ria's." he said. Time was the only thing that was going to soften Robert's attitude towards Blair and until then he was going to be caught in the middle of them. Although he couldn’t fault Blair's behavior towards Ria. It was almost as if overnight Blair had become a perfect gentleman and as far as he was aware Blair hadn't even looked at another woman since finding out that Ria was his daughter.
*
He wanted to die, Rafe thought as he started to lose consciousness, but they weren't going to let him because that would put an end to their tests. It wasn't fair that they were doing this to him because he'd never done anything to bring attention to the fact that he was different. Ever since he could remember he'd worked hard to fit in with the people around him. Now that was all gone because these people knew exactly what he was and how to hurt him. No one was going to rescue him this time and he didn't think that he could save himself even if he got a chance to which he seriously doubted. He knew that when they'd finished with him they would dispose of his remains like rubbish. There wouldn't be a decent burial for him because they didn't consider him to be a person. Maybe they were right and he wasn't.
When he woke up, or rather if he did he might find himself in the other place. He felt safe there because there were others like him in it. Some of them he'd known during his childhood and others had come from elsewhere. The last time he'd been there they'd all been talking about someone who was going to make sure that they were all safe for good. Well, whoever it was hadn't made it in time to save him or the ones who had arrived after him. They were all doomed to the same fate as him. At least, when they were gone there wouldn't be anyone else for them to torture.
*
"Jack, have you got a minute?" Blair asked.
"Sure," Jack replied. He'd known that Blair would come to see him to find out whether he had any information that could be useful to him and his friend.
"I just wanted to say thanks for the files," Blair said, "I know that you can't tell me where you got them but could you pass it on."
"What files?" Jack asked more than a little confused. The only information he'd been able to find wouldn't even fill one side of A4 paper never mind a while file.
"The ones... You didn't leave them, did you?" Blair said.
"No," he replied, "But I do know that any files you might have got could have only come from one place and that's someone working on the project." Only those close to the top would be able to get hold of files and smuggle them out without too many questions being asked. Blair obviously had someone important on his side but their motives for making sure he got those files might not be totally innocent.
"Why would someone help us like this?" Blair asked, "and why haven't they done it before now?"
"It could be that they feel that they owe you a huge favor," Jack replied, "or that they have a problem and are expecting you to fix it for them." The latter was much more likely in his opinion because people working on covert projects never felt that they owed anyone anything.
"We don't want to have anything to do with those guys." Blair said firmly.
"Blair, they might not leave you alone," he warned him, "the two of you represent a huge investment to them. At some point they are going to want a return on that investment and you won't be able to stop them from getting it." Blair didn't seem to understand that the sort of people that he would be going up against wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted and that as far as they were concerned no price was too high to pay for it. All too often in the past he'd been forced to solve problems involving people like Blair and the solutions hadn't always been happy ones.
*
She knew that she should tell her Captain about what her ex partner had tried to do but she had more important things to do; like getting those files to Naomi so that she could translate them into plain English for her and Blair. There was only one thing that she really wanted to know and that was whether her and Blair were related. As soon as that particular question had been answered her and Blair could progress with their relationship. It was also be good to see how Jacob was adjusting the life on the outside. She might even take him a present because she seriously doubted that anyone had ever given him one before.
There was no denying that Naomi had done a good job of protecting Blair while he was growing up but Jacob wasn't Blair. There was something very special about Jacob, he was so happy and full of life despite the fact that he'd spent so much time alone in a room. If there was any kid who really deserved to have a stable home and a loving family it was him. She had to admit that she was a little worried that Naomi might not be up to the job long term To begin with she couldn't understand what it was like to be different to everyone else around you. Jimmy understood what it was like but she couldn't really see him and her dad being willing to take Jacob on.
Although they had been really great parents to her. What Jacob needed were parents who could keep up with him and who would be able to cope with whatever he grew up to be. If no one else was willing or able to look after him she would because at least then he would have someone who loved him.
*
If Rachel wouldn't cooperate with them he was going to have to make his own inquiries, George thought. It wasn't going to be too hard to find out what city she had come from and who she'd been in contact with there. He could understand that she didn't want to put anyone in danger but he had a duty to keep the oaths he'd taken when he'd joined the military. Besides, if his sister was so reluctant to tell him what she'd been doing for the past thirty years then he had to assume that it had been something illegal. The last thing he wanted or needed was for her to be taken away in handcuffs. Something like that would be not only very embarrassing but could cost him his post. So it would be a good idea to know in advance whether anything like that was likely to happen so that he could try and head it off before it reached that stage.
As for the boy, well there was no point in taking him away from Rachel because he'd be able to keep an eye on him and make sure that he was being well taken care of while he was under his roof. He'd ask him a few questions later to see if he would tell him anything but he wouldn't push it in case it frightened the boy. According to Rachel the boy had already been through enough. He had grandchildren just a little older than Jacob and he'd kill anyone who tried to hurt them.
*
"Hey Moppet, how was work today?" Jim asked when Ria got home.
"Pretty boring, we were catching up on paperwork," she replied, "did you know that there haven't been any murders in Cascade for two days?"
"I didn't," he replied. It was pretty unusual because Cascade had gotten a reputation for being a dangerous city.
"And yes I saw Blair today," Ria said. "We had lunch together. So how was your day?"
"I went to see my dad," Jim said, "I told him about you and he'd like to meet you." Not that he was convinced that it was a good idea but it was up to her whether she decided to go ahead and meet his dad or not.
"Cool." she smiled.
"Ria, are you sure that you really want to meet him?" he asked, "my dad is nothing like Micky. He's overbearing and he uses people. I don't want you to be one of them." His dad had probably already made plans for her to meet some of his friend’s son's.
"Dad, I can take care of myself," she assured him, "if I don't like him I don't have to see him again, right?"
"Right," he said, "so do you and Blair have any plans for tonight?"
"No, because you guys won't let us even be in the same room alone together for five minutes," Ria replied, "Why did you have something special planned?"
"We're taking Simon out to dinner so that I can tell him about your dad and our relationship," Jim replied, "I know that it's going to cause you some problems at work." He'd keep a close eye on her when he could and he knew that Joel would watch out for her when he couldn't.
"Dad, it's okay," she smiled, "I know what can happen, I went through it five years ago when Dad came out."
"You shouldn't have to go through it again though." he said. Eventually, word would get out and then both her and Blair would have to deal with all the heat that came down on them because of him. "You know that I would never deliberately hurt you, but this is something I need to do." he added.
"I know, and I'm totally cool with it," Ria said, "so do you need any moral support?"
"If you want to come with us you can," Jim smiled, "but you are going to have to get dressed up."
"That's not a problem," she said, "I've got a dress to wear."
"Only one?" he asked.
"Yeah, they're not very practical for work." Ria replied.
"You'd better start getting ready then." he said. It looked as if she was still as much of a tomboy as she had been while growing up. Maybe he and Robert should have encouraged her to be more feminine. Still, it was too late to do anything about that now, not that they'd known how to raise a girl.
*
The first results weren't very promising at all, King thought as he threw the file he was holding down on the desk in disgust. 182 should have been able to cope with more pain than he had before passing out. Obviously, something was wrong, but what? Everything in 182's file showed that he had a very high pain threshold just like all of them were supposed to have. Maybe the testing hadn't been carried out to his exact instructions. That would certainly account for the results he'd gotten. But what was the point in him giving instructions that were supposed to be followed to the letter if they were just going to be ignored when people felt like it. Of course, the tests were going to have to be run again only this time he would be supervising them personally.
He was going to have to get better people working for him because not even he could do everything by himself. His time was too valuable to waste on the minor details of his plan. Perhaps when Ria was brought in he would perform all her tests personally. After all, he was allowed to have some fun. She was going to suffer over and over again for refusing to come voluntarily for training. She would soon realize that nobody could say no to him and get away with it. Naomi would also face his wrath because she'd meddled in things that she shouldn't have too often for his liking. He wasn't the only one who would be pleased to see her out of the way. His backers would be very grateful to him if he dealt with the Naomi problem. So grateful that they would give him anything that he wanted, and if they didn't then he would take it from them. Nothing in life was free but he'd already paid the price several times over for everything that he would receive from now on.
*
Ria needed to know that the files hadn't come from Jack like he'd assumed they had, Blair thought, and no doubt she hadn't told Jim about either the files or the fact that she was going to see Naomi. Both her dads had a right to know but he didn't want to be the one who was blamed if anything went wrong. She was as stubborn as Jim so it was pretty obvious where she got that from. It also meant that she wasn't going to listen to reason no matter what anyone said. He supposed that he could do with her to make sure that she got there in one piece. That would mean he would have to see Naomi and he wasn't sure that he wanted to do that. Still, there was no one else that they could trust to show those files to who wouldn't ask too many awkward questions. Although, he didn't trust Naomi not to tell them what she thought that they wanted to hear.
At least, Ria was so desperate to find out who her donors were that she would just swallow any story that Naomi fed her. He supposed that he should have been expecting her to be a little curious about whose genes had gone into making her not that knowing would make any difference to the person she was. In her case it was definitely nurture rather than nature that had had the biggest effect on her. The more time that he spent with her the more he could see Jim in her. That some something that must have been pretty difficult for her other dad to have dealt with over the past decade. Every time that he'd looked at Ria he'd have been reminded of the fact that Jim wasn't there. Some parents would have made their kid suffer because of that.
From what he'd seen her other dad had done the complete opposite, he'd taken even better care of her because she reminded him of Jim.
*
"I'm hungry." Jacob said.
"Why don't you tell me what you want to eat and I'll fix you it." Naomi smiled. She liked cooking but traveling around so much she hadn't had much of a chance to do it that often.
"I've a better idea," George said, "why don't we go out to dinner, my treat."
"That's very generous of you," she said, "but I'd really like to cook." She knew what he was up to and it wasn't going to work because she wouldn't let it. Her job was to protect Jacob from anyone who would try and take advantage of him and that included her brother.
"I just thought that it would give you both a chance to see what we have to offer you," he said, "besides, where I have in mind Jacob will have a chance to meet other children."
"There are other children here?" Jacob asked.
"Son, there are a lot of other children here," George smiled, "when you go to school you'll be with other children all day."
"We haven't discussed school yet." Naomi said. She wasn't sure that Jacob was ready to mix with large groups of people just yet, not to mention the fact that she would have to come up with a lot of answers about his background. They weren't just going to let him start school without some sort of official paperwork being filled in.
"Rachel, he has to go to school," he said, "and there's a very good one on base."
"We'll talk about it later." she said. It was up to Jacob whether he wanted to go to school or not because she was more than qualified to teach him at home if that was what he wanted. There was no point in forcing to him do something that he didn't want to do.
"I want to meet other children." Jacob said.
"You will." she said. When he did she would keep a close eye on him to make sure that it went smoothly. The last thing that she wanted was an incident that could attract the wrong sort of attention. She'd always kept a very close eye on Blair to make sure that nothing out of the ordinary happened. It never had and that was what had led her to believe that Blair had been a failure as far as the project had been concerned.
*
She didn't really like getting dressed up, Ria thought as she took her dress out of the closet but this was a special occasion so she was going to make an extra effort to look nice. It had been a long time since she'd last been out to dinner with both her dads. At one point they'd done out at least once a week. Even if only one of them had been at home they'd still gone out for dinner. She'd always felt so special walking into a restaurant with both of her dads. Everyone would look at her because she was with two very handsome men. Her dads were still very handsome but then she was biased. More than once while they'd been out women had come onto them, not that either of her dads had taken much notice of them. Which was why she couldn't understand why Jimmy had gotten married while he'd been away from them.
At least, that woman wasn't still on the scene because if she had been she would have made sure that she was out of the picture permanently. A part of her did wonder what sort of woman she was, not that she ever wanted to meet her or anything, but it was a part of Jimmy's past so it was bound to have had an effect on him. Maybe she could ask Blair about her when neither of her dad's were around because she didn't want to upset either of them and Blair was bound to know something about her. Then again it might be better if she didn't know anything about her because she was never going to be a part of Jimmy's life again.
*
"Special occasion?" Blair asked entering the living room and seeing both Jim and Robert dressed up.
"We're going out to dinner with Simon." Jim replied.
"There's plenty of food in the fridge feel free to help yourself." Robert said. Tonight was a family night and jimmy didn't need anyone else there when he came out to his boss. He could still remember how difficult it had been for him, the way people he'd thought of as his friends had run as far and as fast as they could from him. Ria had had a really rough time because of it, not that she'd ever said that it had been the wrong thing for him to do.
"Ria's going with us." Jim said when he saw the look on Blair's face.
"I've got a stack of papers to mark," Blair said, "so what time are you guys going out?"
"Soon, we're just waiting for Ria." Robert replied. It wasn't like her to take so long getting ready to go out but then she probably wanted to make and extra effort as this was the first time they'd all been out together since Jimmy had become a part of their lives again.
"She wanted to come as moral support," Jim said, "I'm going to tell Simon about everything."
"Including what Ria is?" Blair asked, "do you think that's a good idea?"
"She isn't anything apart from being our daughter," Jim said, "besides, there isn't any proof that they did anything to her in that place."
"But what if proof turned up," Blair said, "say a file..."
"If you have something to say..." Robert began. He should have known that he'd been keeping something from them and that he was probably using whatever it was as some sort of hold over Ria.
"I found a file on my desk," Blair said, "they have information about me and Ria in them."
"What sort of information?" Jim asked.
"DNA results, I haven't had a chance to look through them properly yet," Blair said, "not that I'm expecting to understand everything in them because biology isn't my field of expertise."
"Does Ria know about the file?" Robert asked.
"Yeah," Blair admitted, "she even suggested someone who could look at it."
"Naomi." Jim said.
"Ria is not going anywhere near that woman," Robert snapped. That woman had caused enough trouble without Ria giving her a chance to cause even more.
"I told her that it wasn't a good idea," Blair said, "but I can't see how you're going to stop her."
"I can," Robert frowned, "Ria Grace O'Brien get down here right now." He was going to put a stop to any ideas she might have about going to see that woman right now. If she knew what was good for her she would think twice about doing anything stupid.
"Robert, getting angry isn't going to do anyone any good." Jim said.
"He's right," Blair said, "there are only two things that Ria wants to know, when her birthday is and if we're related."
"That's it?" Robert asked. He would have thought that she would want to know more than that. At the back of his mind he'd always had this terrible fear that one day she would find her real parents and wouldn't want him and jimmy anymore.
"You guys are her parents," Blair said, "she's not even interested in looking for other candidates."
*
"Brian, oh god what have they done to you?" Matthew asked looking at his friend.
"Matt." Brian moaned.
"Yeah," he replied, "we're all here." Along with a lot of others who he'd never seen before. "But not for much longer she'll come and save us." he added.
"She?" Brian asked.
"The one we talked about," Matt smiled, "some of the others have actually met her. I never realized that there were women out there like us." He'd never seen one but he'd always hoped that there would be some because what other sort of woman was going to be able to understand that he was different. Like all the others he knew he'd tried to put his beginning behind him but it wasn't easy especially when you were arrested and brought somewhere like this.
From the state Brian was in it was obvious that they were going to be put through all sorts of tests like they had been during their childhood. Even now he could remember the pain he'd suffered for weeks afterwards, not that he would have dared to complain at the time. One of them had dared to and they'd never seen him again. Besides, until they'd been released he'd thought that it was perfectly normal for that to happen to you. It was probably why he'd decided to go into social work.
He was good at his job and there were a lot of kids out there who were healthy and alive because of him, but he would never be able to go back to his job after being arrested. Although he was totally innocent mud tended to stick and even those people who knew him well would always have their doubts about him. He'd seen what false accusations could do to people and they were never the same again.
*
Jim had said the meet him at the restaurant at seven but there was no sign of him, Simon thought as he waited in the lobby. Maybe Jim was running late but that wasn't like Jim unless he'd been called into the station and he would have been notified first if there was anything major going on. That was unless Blair had run into some sort of trouble which was more than likely given his past record. Until Blair had become Jim's partner he'd never come across anyone who attracted more trouble that he did. He had to admit that Blair had been a good influence on Jim though, and O'Brien seemed to be having a similar one on him. Still, when Daryl visited the station he was more relaxed. Although, it was taking some getting used to seeing a constantly smiling Jim.
He was really hoping that Jim would give him a full explanation as to what was going on rather than that fairy tale O'Brien had tried to sell him, It was certainly going to make reading her reports interesting. Not to mention the fact that Blair was paying more than just friendly attention to her. Jim didn't seem to mind too much at the moment but he suspected that he would before too much longer because the kid went through women like other people went through socks. If he had a daughter he certainly wouldn't have wanted her to get involved with someone like Blair.
*
"Dad, if I choose to go and see her there isn't anything that you can do to stop me." Ria said firmly, "I have a right to know what was done to me."
"Of course you do," Robert said, "but you can't trust her to tell you the truth."
I know that," she said, "but what if one day I get sick because of what they did to? Do you really think that an ordinary doctor will be able to figure it out."
"You're not going to get sick," Jim said, "you've never been sick in your life." She was trying to play on their fears that there might be a problem with her one day. It wasn't going to work because nothing was going to happen to her.
"I have though," Blair said, "and while I don't trust Naomi I would like to know what they did to me."
"That's your choice," Robert said, "but Ria is not going anywhere near that woman."
"Fine," Ria snapped, "in that case you translate the damned file..."
"Language," Jim warned her, "and that is no way to talk to your father." They'd raised her to act better than that. Of course he could understand that she was frustrated at not knowing what had been done to her but that was no excuse for taking it out on Robert.
"Yes dad," she said, "but she is the only person who won't ask a lot of questions that we won't be able to answer."
"Chief, do you think that Naomi would be able to explain that file?" Jim asked.
"If she can't then I don't know who can." Blair replied, "besides seeing her would give Ria a chance to see how Jacob's doing because we have a responsibility to him."
"What is the worst that can happen?" Ria asked, "that she can't help us but on the other hand anything she learns from that file could help Jacob."
"And what about King?" Robert asked, "or had you forgotten that he threatened you?"
"Dad, what do you think that he could do to me?" she said, "I could get away from him before he even had a chance to touch me."
"If we do decide to let you go you'd have to be very careful," Jim said, "because I don't want anything happening to you is that clear." Robert would never forgive him if he said that she could go and then she ended up in that man's clutches. Once in then he seriously doubted that even she would be able to get out of them without a great deal of trouble.
"Jimmy, you can't seriously be thinking about letting her go," Robert said, "how is she even going to know where to find her?"
"Simon has her address," he replied, "and we'll discuss this later because we're going to be late for dinner." There would be plenty of time for them to discuss it when they got back from dinner because it wasn't as if Ria was going to go and see Naomi straight away.
*
"It's oat, Sweetie," Naomi assured Jacob as they entered the restaurant that George had chosen.
"There are a lot of people," Jacob said, moving closer to her. He wasn't sure that he was going to like being around so many strangers because strangers had always hurt him in the past. If there were this many children at school he didn't want to go. He didn't know how to act around so many people. Maybe this was something that he needed Ria's help with because she probably remembered a lot better than Naomi did what it was like to be seven.
"Nobody's going to hurt you," she said, "now why don't we find our table and see what they have to eat."
"Can I have anything I want?" he asked.
"Of course you can," she smiled, "but you have to try and eat all your vegetables."
"Why?" he asked, following her to a table half way across the restaurant.
"Because they're good for you." Naomi replied.
"That's what they said about the test." Jacob said. He didn't trust people when they said that something was good for him because it usually meant that they were going to hurt him.
"Sweetie, vegetables can't hurt you," she said, "they taste good and have lots of things in them to make you grow up big and strong."
"Did..." he began.
"He always ate all his vegetables," she said, "it's all right to talk about them just not when George is around."
"He wants to lock them up, doesn't he?" he said.
"George doesn't understand things that are unusual," she said, "he thinks that they might be dangerous but we both know that they only want to stop the bad people from winning."
"They aren't going to win, are they?" Jacob said. He'd heard people at the center talking about bad people and what would happen if they won.
"Of course not," Naomi assured him, "so you don't have anything to worry about."
*
Bugging their holding rooms had been a good idea, King thought, because it meant that he could listen to everything that they were saying and put a stop to any escape plans that they might come up with. Not that they stood a chance of escaping because the furthest that they could get were the labs. He wasn't so stupid as to believe that they wouldn't try to band together to overcome his control of them but they didn't stand a chance because he knew how to use what they were against them. Having free access to all their files meant that he knew exactly what each one of them was capable of. They were all untrained. And lacked the discipline that they would need to carry out his orders. Any of them who failed to meet his standards would be rejected because he needed only the best for his plans to succeed.
The failure of so far bringing in Ria and Blair was a setback but one which soon would be overcome. After all, even if they ran he would be able to track them down.
Alternatively he could set a trap for them. He had more than enough bait to make one and make it look irresistible to them. They wouldn't just leave those like them to suffer once they found out about it because it wasn't in their nature to do that. They couldn't go against what they had been designed to so no matter how hard they tried because whoever had come up with their design in the first place had made sure of that. He didn't know who the originators of the project were but they had to have been damned smart to be able to think in such long term plans. As far as he knew the project had been running for at least three centuries, at least that was as far back as the records he'd been given access to go. There were probably others that went even further back and he'd have plenty of time to find and read them once he was in control of everything.
*
He wasn't sure what he was going to say, Jim thought, the truth was always a good place to start but Simon was going to want to know more than just that/ There were going to be all sorts of questions that Simon would want answers to and he wasn't sure that he would be able to give him them. Ria had a right to some privacy concerning her past until she knew more about it and the only way that she was going to do that was by having her file translated by Naomi. Admittedly, he wasn't too eager to her to go anywhere near that woman but he also knew that Naomi was probably the only person who could help her. At least Blair had been honest enough to tell him and Robert about the file and Ria's plans. It couldn’t have been easy for him because his past was linked with Ria's.
"Jimmy, everything will be fine." Robert said.
"Will it?" he asked. Simon only knew him as the person he had been while apart from Robert. But that person was a fake, a role that he'd played because it had been expected of him. He'd never been truly comfortable as that person.
"Of course it will," Robert assured him, "the first step is always the hardest to take after that it gets a lot easier and you have us backing you all the way."
"I know," Jim smiled, "and I'm lucky that I have you back." He'd had his doubts about whether Robert would have forgiven him or not but he and everything was fine.
*
"We have to try and get out of here," Matthew said, "or we're all going to end up like Brian." Whoever was holding them had definite plans for them. From looking around him at the people present he knew that not everyone he knew had been brought here yet so there was a real possibility that there might be some sort of rescue attempt made. Obviously, it would be a lot better if they got out by themselves.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Daniel asked. "They’re not just going to hand their guns over and let us walk out of the front door."
"They gave us certain gifts and now is the time to use them," he said, "if you want to stay here and become their lad rat then that is your choice but it is not mine." He'd rather die than let them treat him like that. The scars everyone thought were from a car crash in his teens were actually the result of experiments carried out on him as a child. He'd always vowed that he would never allow anything like that happen to him again.
"Supposing that by some miracle you do get out of her, what then?" Daniel asked, "How long do you seriously think that it would take them to find us? There are a lot more of them than there are of us."
"Well, if you just want to sit here and wait to die fine, but I'm getting out of here." he said. It would be worth all the risks if he could find the one who was supposed to save them all. "And someone has to find her." he added.
"You need to find someone else first," Daniel said, "because your friend over there pissed her off."
"So who do I have to find?" Matthew asked. He found it hard to believe that Brian could upset anyone because he'd always found him to be a very nice guy who would do what he could to help others. Still, if Brian had inadvertently upset her there was a chance that she might not come to help them.
*
"Jim," Simon said, "Mr. O'Brien."
"Call me Robert," Robert said, "after all my daughter does work for you."
"I thought..." Simon began.
"That's why I asked you to dinner," Jim said, "Chief, hands." he added as Blair placed a hand in the middle of Ria's back.
"Sure Jim." Blair said, taking his hand off her back, "but maybe you could tell me when I'm allowed to touch her." It wasn't as if he was going to do anything that they could object to in front of them.
"Probably never," Robert smiled, "it's a joke." he added when he saw the look on both Ria and Jim's faces.
"It's not a very funny one." Ria said.
"Why don’t we go get our table," Jim suggested, "we can talk while we eat."
"And order what you like because Jimmy's paying." Robert said.
"He usually does," Blair said. Jim was more than generous when it came to paying for meals and various other things. Maybe that was why Robert didn't like him, he probably thought that he was taking advantage of Jim. But he had never asked Jim for anything. He also probably thought that he wouldn't be able to provide for Ria. Okay, so he might never end up making the big bucks other people did but money had never been that important to him. As long as he could mostly pay his own way he was happy.
"My dad's always been very generous," Ria said, "you just have to catch him in the right mood."
"Which means she pulls out all the stops including tears to make sure that she gets what she wants." Robert said as they were shown to their table.
"Which one of you is her father?" Simon asked.
"We both are," Jim replied, "it's complicated."
"Now why did I expect you to say that." Simon said.
*
He knew exactly who they were talking about, Rafe thought and he'd ruined everyone's chances of ever getting out of this place because he hadn't known that she was when he'd first met her. But how was he supposed to have known when he'd never seen her at the meeting place for people like them. It did explain what had happened to his suits thought not that they were all that important now considering his current situation. The way things were going he wasn't likely to be wearing a suit ever again. Even if Matt did get out there was no guarantee that the person he had to find would believe his story. After all, it was like something out of a science fiction novel, or should that be horror. At the moment it felt like he was trapped in a fifties mad scientist movie only the credits weren't going to run anytime soon.
"I'm sorry," he said, "help us. Please." She couldn't hear him but he had to do something to try and make himself feel better about what was happening to him and the others. He'd come close to dying when he'd been attacked by that man but he'd known that he wouldn't have. This time he knew that he was going to along with everyone else once their captors had finished with them. Matthew’s idea was a good one but their gifts weren't any sort of match for the weapons their captors had. Matthew was not going to find it easy to get not only out of the room but out of whatever building they were being held in. For all they knew they could be being held in the middle of nowhere. And they weren't just going to let Matt escape and raise the alarm they would do everything that they could to stop him.
*
He'd been following the bitch all day and now he was going to take not only her but another one in as well. His retirement fund was going to be overflowing by the time he'd finished. He didn't know why someone wanted them and to be honest he didn't really care. She'd had something like this coming for a long time. From the first time he'd been partnered with her he'd known that she was trouble and despite all the none too subtle hints that everyone had dropped she'd refused to leave the department. And they'd really put the pressure on her after her dad had come out. He'd met the guy once but he'd never have pegged him as being a fagot. It was no wonder that she'd been such a troublemaker when she'd grown up under such a perverted influence. It was a pity that he didn't have orders to take him in as well. The world would be a lot better place without people like them in it.
Motioning to his backup he strode into the restaurant straight past the maitre de who protested as he did so. With this many witnesses there would be no problem in asserting her guilt. If she resisted so much the better because he really wanted a chance to teach her a lesson that she would never forget. The only problem was that he wasn't allowed to do any permanent damage to her. Although he supposed that he could pass it off as an accident. With any luck, his employer might let him have her when he'd finished with her. He was even prepared to take a slight pay cut for that pleasure.
END PART 7