Dollhouse Fic: "Capture the Castle (Under Siege)" (conclusion)
Information and beginning part here.
It’s the middle of the night as they approach the location of the House in DC.
Dominic resists the urge to check his weapon again, as he glances over at the others.
He would’ve preferred it if they all wore bullet-proof vests, but he figures the gun is pushing it as it is. After all, they’re trying to be inconspicuous.
He uses bolt cutters to get them through the chain on the fence, leading the way toward the building as Priya and Topher follow.
“Stay close,” he orders. His eyes never stop scanning the perimeter. “No telling what kind of security she’s got set up.”
“Uh, Dom?” Topher reaches and grabs his arm, stopping him. He points ahead, both puzzled and nervous. “Am I seeing things, or is the front door already wide open?”
He turns his head sharply, following Topher’s indication. Sure enough, the door to the place has been propped wide open, gaping at them invitingly.
Unexpected, to say the least. And probably not a good sign.
“There’s no way they could’ve known we were coming, is there?” Topher asks worriedly.
“I don’t know,” he responds. “Come on. But keep an eye out for any trouble.”
“I really don’t like the look of this,” Priya murmurs. He doesn’t blame her; she’s got good instincts. But like the rest of them, she doesn’t really have a choice.
He knew they could be walking into a bad situation. The fact that it’s taken them not five minutes to find one isn’t helping his nerves any, but it’s not going to stop him. He’s determined to see this mission through.
Inside the building, the main foyer is covered in a layer of dust and neglect.
He frowns. The outside may look abandoned, but this would be the first room any secret Dollhouse client saw upon entering. It should be polished and perfect, trying to create the best first impression. Instead, it doesn’t look like there’s been any human activity in here in months.
Priya steps back with a gasp as the wall she’s examining slides open, revealing a hidden compartment. He whirls at the sound, gun automatically raised and pointed. But all he’s looking at is an empty elevator.
“What did you do?” Topher demands of Priya, who shakes her head.
“Nothing!” she says. “I didn’t even touch anything, it just…opened.”
There’s a silent, tense pause as they all stare at the elevator. The doors stay open, seemingly waiting for them.
Reluctantly, he lowers his weapon. “I guess we’re supposed to take it.”
Priya glances at him, discomforted. “Do we have to?”
“I don’t like this either. But I don’t see any other way we’re getting to the rest of the House.”
“Oh boy,” Topher gulps audibly as they file in and face forward. The doors immediately close, and the elevator begins to descend.
He looks at the panel next to the doors. A single light is on, indicating the lowest floor. Experimentally, he tries pushing some of the other buttons, but nothing happens.
“The controls must be overridden somehow,” he mutters aloud.
Looks like their destination has already been chosen for them.
The seconds tick by as the car goes lower and lower. He tightens his grip on his weapon, feeling the cold sweat start to gather on his palms. He tries not to imagine what might be waiting for them. Topher and Priya are deathly silent, and he can only assume they’re doing the same.
Finally, they come to a stop. The doors open. The three of them step forward to the edge of the car, peering out.
It’s a long hallway that curves at both ends, out of sight. A few corridors branch off, but it’s impossible to see where they lead. Half the lights are gone, casting the entire area in gloom.
About an inch of water pools at one end of the hallway. There’s the sound of a pipe dripping somewhere, and a few bullet holes and what looks like a smeared bloody handprint mar the walls. Refuse litters the floor, stray bits of metal and paper. The remaining lights flicker.
“Well,” he notes, feeling the matching tension of the others beside him, “this is nice and creepy.”
They look another moment. From far off is an echoing bang that could be just about anything, and they all jump.
“I vote we give up and get out of here,” Topher squeaks.
“I’m with him,” Priya chimes in.
“I overrule both of you,” he intones. Stepping out, he moves forward with his gun level and ready to fire, one hand holding the barrel and the other the trigger. “Come on. Stick together.”
“Great, I get my freedom early only to die horribly,” Priya mutters, following close after him anyway.
Topher’s a step behind her. “If anybody hears shuffling or moaning, I am so-”
The technician cuts off as the elevator doors slide firmly close, and he spins around. Eyes wide, Topher tries pressing the call button to open them again, but to no avail.
Now there’s no choice but to go forward.
“Where now?” Priya asks, eyeing every shadow uneasily.
Topher shrugs. “Does it really matter?”
“Wait.” He raises a hand, frowning, as he listens carefully. “Do you hear that?”
The noise is faint, but it’s there: a steady, repetitive bang. He jerks his head to the left, indicating. “It’s this way.”
They head in that direction. The banging grows steadily louder, but they’re still not getting close.
After about ten minutes of walking, the floor is covered in water again. It’s cold, clammy, and there’s no sign where it’s coming from. Glancing down, he sees the pool has a dingy color that he hopes to God is from rust.
He looks straight ahead and doesn’t glance down anymore.
They pass a metal door that’s dented and pried forcefully open with a crowbar. A few feet ahead they find the remains of where a control panel of some sort was ripped off. A few more feet, and they come across a place where it looks like someone was just trying to bash in a section of the wall.
“What is she doing down here?” he mutters, brow furrowing. There are a lot of things he might’ve expected from Charity Brigade, but not this. It’s like her House has gone completely to pieces. He can’t begin to figure what the purpose might be.
“Priya,” he begins, evenly, “do you know how to use a gun?”
She stares at him, startled. “No. I’ve never even held one.”
He could argue that point, but now’s not the time. “Do you think you could figure it out?”
Her face drains of some color, but she steels herself. “Sure,” she offers weakly. “It’s just point and shoot, right?”
“If you see a weapon of any kind lying about,” he instructs her, “I want you to take it.” He looks over at the third of their party. “Topher?”
“Yes, Dom?”
“If you see a gun…leave it where it is. Because you’ll probably just end up shooting off your foot.”
“Yeah, okay, sure.” Topher gives a jerky nod. “Got it.”
The banging has gotten a lot louder.
“Up there,” Priya whispers, pointing at where the hall ends in a door that lies open a crack, a white light flickering on and off from the inside.
Cautiously, with him taking point, they enter the room. It’s hard to tell at first glance but it looks like it might have been a weapons storage locker. All the doors to the secure cages where the guns and ammo would’ve been kept stand open, however, empty. The walls are riddled with bullet-holes and more than a few dark stains.
The banging is coming from a large metal cabinet in one corner of the room. A length of chain has been wound around the handles, keeping it shut. The entire cabinet rattles with the force of the blows.
He approaches slowly, keeping his gun pointed as he gives it a wary eye.
“Think somebody’s inside there?” Topher asks softly.
“Or something,” he returns.
Priya is examining a particularly large patch of dried something on the wall at about her eye-level, a bullet hole at the very center.
“What’s this?” she wonders, reaching toward it. He looks over.
“Brain matter.”
Priya yanks back her hand and quickly steps backward. She looks around the room, a frightened look on her face.
“What is all this?”
“It’s a surprise party!” a man informs her, sinisterly.
That voice…along with the others he whirls around, gun aimed.
Alpha stands in the middle of the room between them and the exit, grinning. With feigned innocence, he indicates the locked cabinet. “Aren’t you going to open up your present?”
“Who-” Priya starts to ask, but Topher grabs her arms, pulling her swiftly back.
“No, no, no,” the programmer tells her, warningly. He never takes his wide eyes off of Alpha, face ashen.
“Well, isn’t this nice?” Alpha goes. “All these familiar faces.” Then, with an offhand frown, he points at Priya. “Except you; I don’t know you.” He starts babbling. “I don’t like the look of her, she’s too skinny. Maybe she’ll be our friend? We don’t need any friends. Alright, that’s enough.”
Alpha shakes his head, coming back into focus with a snap. He tilts his head, and then his eyes lock on Dominic. He grins broadly.
“Laurence Dominic: it’s been awhile. Hey there, boss,” Alpha says mockingly, head still at an angle. His eyes gleam. “You miss me?”
The weight of his gun is steady in his hands. “Not this time,” he promises.
He can still picture it: the bodies in the shower, the slashed faces, the smashed equipment, the remains of the first Dr. Saunders and the handlers. One of the worst days of his life, not just because it happened (he should’ve seen it coming; he did see it coming, but not even he predicted this), but because he got away.
Alpha - the monster that, like it or not, they’d all had a hand in creating.
Well, no more. No more secret messages or taunts or clues. No more blood-soaked trail that inevitably went cold. No more long-distance game of cat and mouse. He doesn’t know how Alpha got here or why, and he doesn’t care. It’s over.
“I’ve been waiting a long while for this,” he tells Alpha, pointing his weapon at him, ready to fire. His mouth sets in a hard, mirthless smile of cold satisfaction.
Alpha chuckles, waving a hand at him. He takes easy, slow steps to one side, inching further and further toward the cabinet. “But wait! Don’t you wanna see what’s behind door number three?”
And before he can do anything, Alpha lunges, whipping the chain off the door in one swift motion. It flies open - a figure rushes out in a blur with a roar, heading straight for Alpha.
“Nicole?” he whispers, shocked, as he recognizes her.
Alpha doesn’t flinch. As Nicole reaches for him, he gives a swift blow to her stomach with the side of his forearm. She stops in her tracks, bending forward, winded. Alpha twines an arm around and spins her, pressing her back to his front. His left arm goes around her neck, catching her throat at the inside of his elbow and placing her in a chokehold.
It all happens so fast, in the blink of an eye.
“A real spitfire, isn’t she?” Alpha comments, as Nicole fruitlessly struggles in his grasp. “She showed up here just a few hours before you did. Now, what are the odds of that? Well, I figured them out actually, it wasn’t that hard: I am a genius. But you wouldn’t care.” He drifts off into a distracted fugue again: “It’s only a number. I’m scared of numbers. You would be. Shut up!”
Alpha clears his throat. “Sorry. Where was I?” Nicole tries to kick him, and he sneers. “Oh, right. Now I figure, what are the chances of two Dominics, both NSA, being unrelated? And I can see from the look in your eyes that I’m right.”
He should’ve fired by now. There’s no reason he shouldn’t have: he still has a clear shot at Alpha’s head.
A bullet right between the eyes, and it’d all be over. The twisted, broken monster-Doll would be dead, never to harm another. He’d have done the job.
But he only stares at where his sister is caught in the psychotic freak’s grasp. He feels numb, like his arms aren’t attached the rest of him anymore.
“So, Dominic,” Alpha continues, voice practically a hiss, “why don’t you put the gun down,” he grips Nicole’s chin in his free hand, “or I snap her neck like a pencil.”
When he hesitates, Alpha nods at him, eyes wide and glinting with manic fervor: “You know I’ll do it. You know how…fast I can be.” Alpha smiles, voice becoming almost conversational. “You’ve seen my work.”
Pull the trigger. End it.
Alpha’s fingers tighten on Nicole.
With all the air coming out of him in a low exhale, he lowers the barrel of his gun, letting his arms drop.
“Good,” Alpha purrs, satisfied. He nods his head. “Now set it down, and kick it over here.”
As soon as he does it, Alpha lets go of Nicole with one hand and reaches out: he starts as Alpha grabs him by the bicep, dragging him roughly forward.
“Now then,” Alpha announces, looking between him and Nicole. “I’d say it’s time for a little family reunion.”
_____
A short while later he sits on a hard wooden bench, his hands bound behind him with a plastic zip-tie. Nicole sits with her back to his, similarly restrained.
The numb feeling in his stomach has been replaced with a sick, sour one.
Topher and Priya sit on a parallel bench a short distance away. Alpha bends over them, finishing with tightening Priya’s restraints.
“There.” Alpha stands up. “Now, does that hurt? I hope it does.”
Priya just glares at him.
Alpha surveys the lot of them, hands on his hips, satisfied.
“Well, that ought to hold you until I’m finished upstairs.” Alpha dusts his hands off against each other. “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, I’ve been a busy, busy boy.”
“What are you even doing here?” Topher’s voice breaks, squeaking. “You’re working with Charity Brigade? Why?”
“No,” he says. He already figured it out, almost the instant he saw Alpha here. He looks up, meeting their captor in the eye. “You broke in. Infiltrated the place, somehow, and took over.” With a bitter tone, he finishes, “If I had to guess, probably about three months ago.”
Alpha taps the end of his own nose. “As always, Dominic, you are right on the money.” He steps over the benches, pacing around the room. “How ever did you get to be so perceptive?” he says mockingly. “Must be all that spy training.”
Behind him, he feels Nicole shift, exhaling tensely. He ignores her, for the moment.
He meets Alpha’s eyes again, voice somewhat weary as he asks, “How’d you find out I was NSA?”
“I’ve been doing my research,” Alpha replies, smooth. “The whole time I’ve been on the run, I’ve been doing my best to read up on the lot of you, getting ready for round two. But then I get here, and the oh-so talented Ms. Brigade has already done my work for me!”
Alpha waves both his hands. “She’s got files, you see. A whole big stack of files, very, very thick with data - on you, and on Sparky the boy genius over here, and on your boss-nee-girlfriend…nice job, by the way.” Alpha gives him two thumbs-up, nodding with a lascivious smirk. “I approve. Let me guess, you’re a leg man?”
His fingers curl and his shoulders tighten; he gives Alpha a warning glare, which only makes the madman laugh at him.
“Course you are. Or maybe it’s the accent. Anyway…there are files on all of you, and on your House. Everything I’d ever need to get in, or out. Charity was quite thorough.” Alpha gives a knife-like grin. “She was planning an invasion of her own, you see. An attack. An assault. A siege. She was gonna bust in and tear you all up into little pieces.”
Laughing, Alpha saunters around, hands clasped behind his back.
“Guess you’re just lucky I got to her first.” Alpha stops pacing, looking at them over his shoulder. “Of course, now that just means I get to have all the fun for myself.” He looks upward, smiling nostalgically.
“My time here in our nation’s capital has been quite enjoyable for me. Very illuminating; very pleasant.” Alpha’s voice lowers, and he gazes back at them. “This House has offered me a lot of resources, that I’ve been sure to take advantage of. But I’m just about finished here, now. Time to take what I’ve learned, and move on.”
“And let me just guess what the next stop on your world tour massacre will be,” he spits, harsh.
Alpha grins at him. “Why, obviously I plan on returning to Los Angeles.” Sardonically, he goes, “Home sweet home. Where all my old friends are waiting for me. The darling staff: the caretakers, the handlers. And Echo, of course. I can’t wait to reintroduce myself to her.”
Suddenly, another figure enters the room, a young man dressed all in black. Alpha pulls back, nodding.
“Ah, there you are. Just in time.” As the other man steps forward, Alpha continues loudly, “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Tybalt. That’s my name for him; they used to call him Romeo, but I changed it. A clever little turn, don’t you think?”
None of them say anything, staring at the Active. He might’ve been handsome once, but not after Alpha was done: his face is a checkerboard, crisscrossed over and over by deeply-carved scars.
“What have you done to him?” Priya cries out, sickened. Alpha glares at her.
“I liberated him," he snaps. “Him and all the others. The ones they call Actives. I know better now than to try and repeat my little experiment - clearly, I’m one of a kind, a unique marvel.” Alpha’s voice lowers as he smiles at his creation. “But since I am so very special, I figured it was only right that I shared the wealth.”
“My god,” he says, horrified.
For the twisted sinister smile the Active is giving beneath his scars is now looking very familiar.
Topher breaths, gaze wide with disbelief and terror, “You…you gave them your own programming? You imprinted them with yourself?”
“Just a little bit.” Alpha smirks, raising his fingertips in a pinch. “A dab, a dollop. No, not anywhere near enough to wind up like…well, me…but enough for them to get my take on things.” His voice takes on a note of pride.
“In a way, they’re sort of like my children: each with their own, tiny piece of me, nestled inside.”
Alpha steps next to Tybalt, indicating his scars. “And like any children, they do like to play rough with each other. They’ve taken to cutting themselves, carving up each other’s faces. Very upsetting. But, whatever makes them happy.” He claps a hand on Tybalt’s shoulder.
“Now, be a good boy, and keep an eye on our guests while Daddy goes to work.”
“Yes, sir,” the mutilated Active says with a smirk.
Alpha heads toward the door. “Ta ta! Oh.” He stops, spinning on his heel.
“I should probably tell you all, I’m planning on bringing the house down. Literally. See, I’ve got this firebomb upstairs, and the whole place has been rigged to go up like one nasty Roman candle.
“But don’t worry.” Alpha smiles. “I have every intention of coming back and finishing you off myself first.”
The sound of his footsteps echo in the hall as he walks away, then all is silent.
“He means what he says, you know,” their guard says to them, smugly. “Father always keeps his promises.”
“Oh, could you just not talk, please?” Topher demands, sounding almost more annoyed than anything. “‘Cus, believe me, the last couple hours have been freaky enough as it is.”
The Active frowns, his eyes narrowing, and Topher gives a frightened gulp.
Nicole’s voice speaks up from behind him, angry, “Well, I sure hope you’re happy.”
He tenses, going straight, but doesn’t turn his head to her.
“Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?”
“You could’ve stopped that lunatic, that’s what,” Nicole barks, her voice sharp. “You had a clear shot at him and you didn’t take it.”
“He was going to kill you,” he exclaims, disbelieving. “What the hell was I supposed to do?”
“Well, now I’m gonna die anyway,” she concludes. She gives a frustrated sound. “Me, and you, and who knows how many other people. All because you hesitated when you had the chance.”
“I can’t believe you’re yelling at me for saving your life.” He snorts, continuing with bitter sarcasm. “You know, for awhile, I figured I might be the arrogant one in this family, but now I’m thinking it’s actually you. Do I even want to ask what you’re doing here?”
“Our sources indicated the Washington Dollhouse was weakening,” Nicole mutters. “It seemed like a good time to get inside.”
“Oh yeah? How’s that going for you?”
“Fuck you.”
Priya shifts in her spot, turning to stare at them.
“They’re siblings,” Topher murmurs.
“Oh,” Priya goes, half-nodding.
Nicole draws a breath. “I’ll have you know,” she says aggressively, acting like the others haven’t even spoken, “I could’ve handled this situation just fine by myself.”
“Yeah,” he scoffs, “because it looked like you were controlling things real well from inside the cupboard over there.”
“I’ve escaped from worse, and you know it! You just don’t wanna admit that it was you and your buddies coming here that really messed things up.”
“Um, guys?” Topher offers. “Maybe this could wait for some other-”
He swallows, his voice coming out stiff with anger: “You know, for your information we probably wouldn’t even be here, if you hadn’t shot-”
“Your cougar?” Nicole spits, sneering. She finally turns her head his direction, every feature etched with mockery and rage. “That bitch that turned you into her lapdog?”
“…Wow,” Topher says, shortly.
“Awkward,” murmurs Priya.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what you see in her.” Nicole shakes her head, mouth set. “The greed, the snootiness, the narcissism? What, do you just like being led around by the balls?”
“Don’t you talk about me like that,” he says tightly, “or her. You have no idea what she’s like.”
Nicole snorts. “I can guess.”
“No, you can’t! Not after what you-” He cuts himself off, almost choking.
He gazes at her, lost. “Why did you do it, Nicole? Is it just that you couldn’t stand, for once, I actually had a life outside of the Agency?”
“A life that you got by selling out the Agency,” Nicole states bitterly, dark.
“I’m happy with Adelle. She cares about me, and I care about her. You know as much. I told you. So how could you?” His voice falters, and then swiftly rises again as he’s almost yelling. “You just couldn’t take it, that I’m happy? Is that it? Is that why you and Dad decided to murder Adelle?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Nicole demands. When he just stares at her, speechless, she continues, “My orders were to take out the Head of the LA branch, because we thought it would result in panic and confusion across the organization. The plan was that, in the aftermath, we could take advantage of the situation and move in.”
As he still gazes at her without saying anything, stunned and unsure what to feel, Nicole’s eyes narrow.
“What, did you think we went after her just because of you?” She scoffs, disbelieving. “How self-centered can you get.”
After another moment passes he asks her, softly, “Did you even think about what it would do to me, if you killed her?”
“Why?” Nicole responds; dismissive, cold. “It’s not my job.”
He pulls away from her fiercely, closing his eyes.
Worrying about Adelle when he found out she was hurt almost killed him, but the worst part had been the knowledge that his sister pulled the trigger. He hadn’t been sure what to think, what to feel, how he should react if and when he saw her again.
Now, knowing that it wasn’t some act out of insane jealousy or spite makes it a little better. But only a little.
Any relief he might gain from the fact she wasn’t purposely trying to hurt him, is lost by knowing she showed no concern for him at all.
Nicole shifts slightly on the bench, brushing against him. He opens his eyes and looks at her. She stares pointedly at their guard, who’s now looking right at the two of them.
He knows exactly what she’s thinking.
He whips his head back to face Nicole. “You know, all my life it feels like I’ve been looking out for you! But not once, have you ever shown me any regard!”
Nicole turns to stare furiously back at him. “What are you trying to say? You make it sound like I’m some ungrateful little brat!”
“Well, maybe that’s exactly what you are!”
“Alright now,” the scarred Active speaks up, his voice carrying a clear warning. “This has been plenty amusing, but I’m getting sick of it, so the two of you pipe down.”
Neither he nor Nicole looks over.
“You say I’ve never done anything for you, but that is a lie,” Nicole declares. “And you know it!”
“Oh yeah? Name one thing that you’ve ever done for me,” he demands.
“How about the time I saved your ass in Brazil?”
“I don’t mean on a mission, Nicole. I mean when have you ever done something for me, personal, out of the kindness of your heart?”
With an audible growl low in his throat, the guard squares his shoulders, drawing a knife as he moves toward them.
“I don’t know, there must be something!”
“See! You can’t even think of anything, can you?”
“I haven’t been keeping track. It’s not really something you’re supposed to keep score on. Unlike what you’ve obviously been doing!”
“Who says I’ve been keeping track? I haven’t-” Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the Active move within range.
Simultaneously, both he and Nicole kick out as hard as they can with one leg each, hitting the guard square in the chest.
With a startled noise, the man’s head goes back - he loses his balance and falls heavily into the other bench. Topher scrambles out of the way just in time as the Active lands where he was sitting.
There’s a heavy thud as his back hits the wood, his skull colliding with the metal locker behind them. His body goes limp as he stays there, unconscious.
Nicole and he barely exchange a glance. He gets up and goes to where the dropped knife landed, squatting on the floor as he uses it to cut through his own bonds. Nicole draws her legs up, slipping first one then the other through the loop of her arms so her hands are in front. She pulls a hidden razorblade from the tread of her boot and goes to work.
“Um, okay.” Topher gapes at them, slowly finding words. “How about a little warning next time, huh? Maybe? ‘Heads up, we’re about to try something crazy and potentially dangerous’?”
“Shut up,” Nicole grunts at him, snapping off her weakened zip-tie.
“Alright, only one Dominic is allowed to say that to me,” Topher tells her sternly. “And it is not you.”
He stands up from the floor, coming over to cut the ties off Topher and then Priya. “Shut up, Topher.”
“You see?” Topher declares. “His is said with love, and a little bit of reverence. It’s very subtle, but it’s there.” He gestures with one newly-freed hand. “It’s all in the inflection.”
Nicole only rolls her eyes.
He pockets the knife then goes back over to the unconscious guard. The Active also has two guns, each on either side of his belt. He takes one, checking the clip.
Priya rubs one wrist. “What do we do now?”
“The only thing we can do.” He slams the rounds back in with his palm and cocks the barrel. “Get the hell out of here.”
There’s a deep, angry feeling of regret that he knows isn’t going to go away for awhile, that he’s letting Alpha escape again. If it was just him, he’d take his chances and never leave here without hunting the bastard down.
But he’s got two helpless civilians with him, and the building’s rigged to explode. So he can’t take that chance.
Priya actually smiles. “Finally, the first thing I’ve heard all night that’s made any kind of sense!”
He looks up, meeting Nicole’s eyes. She doesn’t say anything - just stands there looking back at him, hands clenched into fists at her side.
After a moment’s hesitation, he pulls the guard’s other gun and tosses it to her.
“And, now we’re straight back to crazy town,” Topher states. As Nicole checks her clip, Topher scurries to his side. “Dom, are you nuts? Attempted fratricide. Would-be girlfriend assassination. Friend-kidnapping. Any of this ringing a bell?”
“She has no reason to harm us, Topher.” He looks back up at his sister. “Her best chance to get out of here is if we all work together. Isn’t that right, Nicole?”
Nicole holds her gun up in one hand, barrel pointed toward the ceiling.
“I trust you to have my back, Laurence,” she intones. “Either of these two make so much as a peep to give us away, I’ll kill them myself.”
“Charming,” Priya says, dripping with sarcasm.
“Oh, you’re Australian today?” Nicole looks at her. “Well, isn’t that nice.”
Priya scowls. “I am Australian.”
Nicole gives a humorless laugh.
“The last time I saw you,” she jerks her head, “he was in your body.”
Priya stares at him, eyes wide with indignation. “…What?”
He gives Nicole a withering look. “Why would you do that?” Nicole only shrugs.
“Okay, um,” Topher puts his hands on Priya’s shoulders, trying to both calm her down and steer her toward the exit, “why don’t we save this conversation for later, when we’re not underground in a bunker of death?”
He goes to the door, pressing his back to the frame and looking out carefully. Seeing it’s clear, he nods to the others.
“Where are we going?” Topher asks as they hurry down the hallway.
“Back to the elevator.” He looks at Nicole. “Got any hack chips?”
“Just one more,” she tells him.
“Hopefully, that’s all we’ll need.”
They crowd into the elevator. Nicole crouches down as she gets access to the control panel.
“We only get one shot at this,” she says. “Which button do I push?”
“Third floor. That’s the atrium,” he answers. “There should be other elevators, stairwells, emergency exits leading off from there.”
Nicole presses the button, and then stands again with a grim look. “Hope you’re right.”
The doors open when they reach the main floor, and his grip tightens on his weapon. He’d forgotten what a fucking labyrinth Charity Brigade had turned her Dollhouse into.
“Everybody stay close.” He keeps his voice down, not sure who or what might hear them. “Let’s try to find a way out of here.”
“What I wouldn’t give for a ball of string or some breadcrumbs,” Topher murmurs feebly.
The four of them head into the maze of walls made out of frosted white glass.
Charity Brigade’s House may’ve had its share of hidden nightmares, but it doesn’t take long to see how bad things have gotten under the new management. Up here is even worse than it was down below - everywhere shows signs of fighting and violence. Furniture and artwork have been damaged and strewn every which way. There are more bullet-holes, more bloodstains, and in places the glass walls have been cracked or completely shattered. It doesn’t take them long to come across their first lifeless body.
The remains are literally pinned to the wall by knives through the palms and arms: a handler, judging by the clothes. The eyes have been gouged from their sockets.
He spots it first, and warns Topher and Priya so can they look away. Nicole doesn’t close her eyes - she takes a considering look, expression hard and empty.
The lights flicker in a few places, and have gone completely out in others. They have no choice but to feel their way through these spots in darkness, clinging to one another. His pulse quickens whenever he touches something wet or soft, but he never says anything. None of them do.
There are more bodies, and the others don’t always get the chance to avert their eyes. But it’s awhile before they come across anyone familiar.
“Oh my god…” Topher stops in his tracks, freezing completely.
He holds his breath, and stays to the edge of the room.
Gunter Wilkinson lies sprawled on his back, dried blood running from his ears, nose and mouth. A pile of twisted black wires coming from some damaged equipment lies over him, covering all of his body except his face and hands, which clutch futilely upward. His glasses are fractured, knocked askew. He stares blindly up, features fixed in a look of sheer terror.
Judging from the condition of the body he’s been dead for months. Probably one of the first Alpha killed when he took over, having no need for him.
Priya gives a moan of horror, clutching one hand over her mouth. She turns away. But Topher is still staring at the body. It doesn’t look like he’s able to move.
“Come on.” Nicole jerks her head impatiently.
He moves over to Topher’s side, trying to snap him out of it.
Topher swallows thickly. “What do I do, Dom?’ he asks softly, pleading.
“Put it aside for now,” he tells him. “Save it for later.” When Topher doesn’t respond at first he reaches out, giving his forearm a light squeeze. “You with me?”
“Sure, Dom. I got your back.” Topher almost laughs.
They keep going. There are more bodies, more blood, more broken glass. Tangles of chains and sinister-looking wires hang from walls and fill the corners of rooms, along with other torture devices, both electronic and more traditional in nature.
Worst of all are the sounds. Never from anywhere close, but in any given direction, they keep hearing screams and moans. Sounds of fright and fear. There’s the crash of things breaking, the spark of electricity, the occasional burst of low laughter…
“I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Priya murmurs, glancing behind them.
Then she looks forward and stops, giving a shrill cry of alarm as she sees a figure in the next room. Nicole and he come to a halt instinctively, pointing their guns at it.
Huddled in the corner to one side is Charity Brigade - or rather, what’s left of her. Her left side is pressed to the wall, shoeless feet curled beneath her, one hand propped up as if she’s reaching for something. Her hair is unkempt, lank, the whiteness of the scar on her lower lip standing out starkly against her face.
Her gray eyes stare at nothing, blank and as lifeless as they can be in a person still breathing. Occasionally she mumbles, too faint for any of them to catch it, like she’s trying to speak but keeps forgetting mid-action.
“She’s gone. Alpha…must’ve wiped her.” Topher blinks. He muses, “Huh. Never thought I could almost feel sorry for her.”
He looks at Topher, who shrugs. “Almost,” the technician repeats.
“Wait.” Nicole reaches out, stopping him as he starts to leave. “She might know something.”
He looks at her a moment - he can’t believe how little she understands.
“Believe me, she doesn’t,” he returns finally, hard.
“How can you be sure?” Nicole asks curiously.
He glances down at the empty shell, his face grim. “Because I’ve been there.”
He steps forward again, ready to move on, but he realizes something is amiss - glancing over his shoulder he sees Priya standing in the middle of the room, staring ahead with apprehension. Her hands are shaking.
“Come on, Priya. Let’s go.”
Priya shakes her head. “I don’t know if I can do this,” she chokes out. She looks like she’s going to be sick.
He comes back, trying to sound reassuring instead of impatient. “Of course you can. Come on.” He reaches for her wrist and she shies back, head shaking in such short, jerky movements it looks like she’s twitching.
“No. No, I don’t think I can.” Her voice rises frantically. The banging and screaming are growing louder, in the direction they’re heading. Priya starts breathing in a way that makes it clear how dangerously close she is to a panic attack. “It’s too much. I…I can’t…”
“Yes you can,” he tells her, forcefully. He grabs her arm so she can’t move back again, leaning forward and meeting her straight in the eye. “You can do this, Priya. You’re stronger than you think.”
“No, I-”
“Here.” He pulls out the knife he took earlier and offers it to her, hilt first. “Take it. If anyone comes after you, you will have the strength to defend yourself.”
“You don’t even know me!”
“Yes, I do. Believe me, I know you. I’ve seen a part of you that’s truer than almost anything else.” He offers her the knife again. Evenly, he goes, “Do you trust me?”
Priya’s voice is soft. She looks puzzled, like she’s not sure why she feels the urge to say what she does: “With my life.”
She takes the knife from his hand, wrapping her fingers around the hilt as she gazes down at it. She still looks frightened, but it appears she’s managed to calm herself.
Slowly, Priya raises her eyes from the knife and looks into his face, meeting his eyes again. She nods. “Let’s go.”
At last, they round a final corner, coming out in an open central space decorated by a dried-up fountain.
If they find any triumph in it, it’s incredibly short-lived. Because they immediately find themselves surrounded by Alpha and twenty of his reprogrammed Actives.
“Oh, fuck,” Topher wheezes.
“What, did you honestly think I wasn’t anticipating you might escape?” Alpha demands mockingly. He comes toward them, the others parting to let him through. “Did you really think the thought hadn’t even crossed any of my minds?”
He laughs, shaking his head like he feels sorry for them.
“But oh, I’ve gotta give you credit though. You made it a lot further than I expected. Guess you’ve had the grand tour!” Holding his arms out and slowly turning in a circle, Alpha beams at him. “Mr. Dominic, you’ve been here before. What do you think of what I’ve done with the place?”
“It’s wretched and perverse, and it disgusts me,” he says. He gives Alpha a cold sneer. “You’re a perfect match.”
“Oh ho ho, very clever. But you won’t be laughing when you’re in your graves,” Alpha spits, pacing forward. “No - I’ll be laughing. We’ll all be laughing. I like to laugh.” Impatiently, he interrupts himself, “Yes, yes, everybody likes to laugh!”
“So,” Nicole mutters tightly, never taking her eyes off Alpha, “this is one of yours, huh, Laurence?”
“I really don’t want to hear it, Nicole,” he replies through gritted teeth.
“I’ll kill you, and then I’ll watch your bodies burn. But first…” Alpha smiles sinisterly, as he walks over to Priya. He reaches out with the back of his hand.
“Oh no, you I’ll save. I’ll add you to my collection,” Alpha breathes. Without turning he indicates the scarred group of Actives standing around him. “Just like all the others. But first, I’ll have to give you a new name. I wonder what it should be.”
In one swift motion, Priya slides the knife out of the back of her belt, and buries it halfway to the handle in Alpha’s torso.
“I have a name,” she hisses at him, furious.
Alpha makes a strangled, stuttering sound, staring at her, and then down at the knife sticking out of his side in disbelief.
Priya has the good sense to tug the knife back out and move away before he can lunge at her. Alpha stumbles backward, clutching one hand over his wound.
Alpha raises his other arm, pointing at them. He roars.
“Get them!”
The Actives rush forward in a mob, pulling knives or baring their fingers like claws.
He stands with legs braced firmly apart, gun in one hand. He looks over at Nicole, who’s in a similar position.
They exchange a single, swift nod.
Both of them raise their weapons and begin firing.
Their targets are moving, yelling, dangerous - there’s a sense of chaos, but he’s never felt calmer. The gun makes a natural extension of his arm and he never blinks as he aims. Each bullet hits true, another foe dropping, and from the corner of his eye he can see Nicole is doing just as well.
Of course, they run out of bullets, eventually.
There’s just enough time for Nicole to toss her empty weapon aside before the enemy is on them.
They stand back to back. With a stifled grunt, Nicole kicks the first guy to reach her hard in the chest - when he stumbles she grabs his shoulders, dragging him down to slam his head into her knee. At the exact same time he hits his own opponent with a solid cross to the jaw, sending him down with a single punch.
He takes out another guy while Nicole’s ducking the swing of a knife. She blocks, disarms, and then sweeps her enemy’s feet out from under him with one swift kick. She grabs his hair, throwing him behind her: knowing without looking that her brother will be there waiting to finish the job.
He puts the Active in a chokehold and spins him, throwing him into two others. They go down like dominos, yet another tripping over them. The first one to try and crawl back up, he kicks him in the face.
Behind them, Priya manages to take out two would-be attackers with her knife. Then she grabs Topher, dragging him out of harm’s way. They take shelter on the far side of the fountain.
None of the crazed Actives go after them, their attentions thoroughly seized by the pair of successful warriors in front.
The battle rages on. He’s punched hard enough to make his vision spin. The back of his arm is bleeding from a blade-wound. But he keeps fighting.
Beside him, a female Active has Nicole by the hair, fingers digging into her scalp. Nicole punches her in the stomach and she lets go, then Nicole uses a jab from her elbow to send her down.
Nicole drops to one knee, ducking easily, as an opponent he threw goes hurtling past her.
They’re taking them out, one by one.
Somewhere in the midst of it all he catches a glimpse of Alpha slinking away, hand still pressed to his side, but there’s no chance to go after him.
“Move,” Nicole orders. He does, and Nicole smashes her fist into the face of the Active that’d been standing directly behind him.
The Actives keep coming, and they keep fighting them. It’s all a blur now, one kick after one block after one punch after another.
He and Nicole move beside each other, around each other, sometimes it seems almost through each other. They never even have to stop to look, their movements perfectly and instinctively timed.
He tries not to let himself get nostalgic, think anything along the lines of “just like old times”. But in spite of himself a longing twinge strikes up from deep in his heart.
It’s hard not to feel like this is how it’s supposed to be.
They literally grab two opponents and slam them into each other, and then Nicole gives a grunt of exertion as she finishes the last one off with a roundhouse kick to the face.
He and Nicole are now the only two left standing, disabled foes littering the ground at their feet. Both of them try to catch their breath, shoulders heaving.
Topher wanders out from behind the fountain to gape at them, eyes wide and jaw hanging loosely.
“…Whoa.”
Nicole gives one final gasp, her hands on her knees. Then she draws herself back up, straightening. All is dead silent before she speaks.
“Laurence.” Her voice is quiet but it carries quite clearly, her tone even and flat. “Last time we crossed paths, I warned you: the next time we would meet, no matter what, I’d only see you as an enemy agent.” Her hands begin curling into fists.
“And now that the other danger is passed-”
There’s an audible click as he raises his gun in one fluid motion, pointing it at right at her head.
Nicole stops. Slowly she turns to look at him. She snorts, then starts to smile.
“Don’t play me. You used up all the bullets-”
He cuts her off, this time, by firing a round not an inch from her foot. Smoothly he raises it back into position.
“I reloaded it.”
Nicole gazes at him, her blue eyes calculating and cool. “Would you really shoot me, Laurence?”
“We have the same training, Nicole,” he replies. “Would you shoot me?”
She smirks, eyes narrowing. “You couldn’t do it the last time.”
“No, you’re right. I couldn’t have.” He draws a breath, setting his mouth in a bitter line. “But things have changed since then.”
The smirk falls from her face and her eyes widen as she remembers what happened with Adelle.
“Get out of here, Nicole,” he commands, his arm never wavering as he continues to aim the weapon at her. “This enemy agent is giving a chance to escape. I suggest you take it.”
Nicole glowers at him. But she turns and leaves, jogging swiftly off and vanishing into the maze.
The moment she’s gone he lets his arm drop to his side where it hangs, heavy.
Priya takes a tentative step toward him. “Would you really have done it?” she asks quietly, curious.
He doesn’t look back at her.
“I don’t know.”
They find a staff elevator and get to an aboveground level, where they come out about a block away from where they first entered.
They don’t hear anything, but the bomb must go off while they’re making their escape. By the time they get out an inferno is already raging at the empty nightclub, fire exploding outward as it visibly consumes the building. Authorities are arriving, sirens howling and lights flashing as cop cars and fire trucks pull up.
The three of them stand there watching, silent. None of them needs to speak up to let the others know they’re all thinking the same thing.
In all likelihood, Nicole made it out okay. So did Alpha.
And absolutely nobody else.
Priya hugs herself, rubbing her arms as she watches the flames in the distance.
“You were right about me,” she says to him. “Thank you.”
He nods. “Don’t mention it.”
He moves a short distance away, where Topher is standing and looking visibly shaken.
When Topher sees him approaching, he tries to force a smile. It doesn’t stay long.
“I’m probably going to have nightmares tonight,” Topher states, quietly. “And, tomorrow night. And probably a lot of other nights as well.”
He hesitates. “I don’t…know if I can really do anything to help, but if you ever need someone to talk to-”
“Thanks. But I think I’ll eventually be okay.” This time Topher manages to hang onto a wan grin. “I just need to keep focusing on the fact that the good guys won. Right?”
He reaches out and gives the slighter man a pat on the back. “I’ll call the House, request an extraction team.” He glances back over at where Priya’s still staring off. “And, Topher?”
“Hmm? Yes, Dom?”
“When you erase Priya again,” he orders, gruff, “make sure she doesn’t keep any memory of this.”
Topher blinks. “You mean, on her wedge?”
“Yeah. Make it like it never even happened.”
He walks a few more steps away from the others. The wind is cold against his skin as he pulls out his phone and dials the Dollhouse.
_____
About half a mile away, Nicole climbs out from underneath a manhole cover to the street.
She looks around, trying to get her bearings.
In one hand she clutches a small black jump-drive, containing a massive amount of stolen information.
It’s the middle of the night as they approach the location of the House in DC.
Dominic resists the urge to check his weapon again, as he glances over at the others.
He would’ve preferred it if they all wore bullet-proof vests, but he figures the gun is pushing it as it is. After all, they’re trying to be inconspicuous.
He uses bolt cutters to get them through the chain on the fence, leading the way toward the building as Priya and Topher follow.
“Stay close,” he orders. His eyes never stop scanning the perimeter. “No telling what kind of security she’s got set up.”
“Uh, Dom?” Topher reaches and grabs his arm, stopping him. He points ahead, both puzzled and nervous. “Am I seeing things, or is the front door already wide open?”
He turns his head sharply, following Topher’s indication. Sure enough, the door to the place has been propped wide open, gaping at them invitingly.
Unexpected, to say the least. And probably not a good sign.
“There’s no way they could’ve known we were coming, is there?” Topher asks worriedly.
“I don’t know,” he responds. “Come on. But keep an eye out for any trouble.”
“I really don’t like the look of this,” Priya murmurs. He doesn’t blame her; she’s got good instincts. But like the rest of them, she doesn’t really have a choice.
He knew they could be walking into a bad situation. The fact that it’s taken them not five minutes to find one isn’t helping his nerves any, but it’s not going to stop him. He’s determined to see this mission through.
Inside the building, the main foyer is covered in a layer of dust and neglect.
He frowns. The outside may look abandoned, but this would be the first room any secret Dollhouse client saw upon entering. It should be polished and perfect, trying to create the best first impression. Instead, it doesn’t look like there’s been any human activity in here in months.
Priya steps back with a gasp as the wall she’s examining slides open, revealing a hidden compartment. He whirls at the sound, gun automatically raised and pointed. But all he’s looking at is an empty elevator.
“What did you do?” Topher demands of Priya, who shakes her head.
“Nothing!” she says. “I didn’t even touch anything, it just…opened.”
There’s a silent, tense pause as they all stare at the elevator. The doors stay open, seemingly waiting for them.
Reluctantly, he lowers his weapon. “I guess we’re supposed to take it.”
Priya glances at him, discomforted. “Do we have to?”
“I don’t like this either. But I don’t see any other way we’re getting to the rest of the House.”
“Oh boy,” Topher gulps audibly as they file in and face forward. The doors immediately close, and the elevator begins to descend.
He looks at the panel next to the doors. A single light is on, indicating the lowest floor. Experimentally, he tries pushing some of the other buttons, but nothing happens.
“The controls must be overridden somehow,” he mutters aloud.
Looks like their destination has already been chosen for them.
The seconds tick by as the car goes lower and lower. He tightens his grip on his weapon, feeling the cold sweat start to gather on his palms. He tries not to imagine what might be waiting for them. Topher and Priya are deathly silent, and he can only assume they’re doing the same.
Finally, they come to a stop. The doors open. The three of them step forward to the edge of the car, peering out.
It’s a long hallway that curves at both ends, out of sight. A few corridors branch off, but it’s impossible to see where they lead. Half the lights are gone, casting the entire area in gloom.
About an inch of water pools at one end of the hallway. There’s the sound of a pipe dripping somewhere, and a few bullet holes and what looks like a smeared bloody handprint mar the walls. Refuse litters the floor, stray bits of metal and paper. The remaining lights flicker.
“Well,” he notes, feeling the matching tension of the others beside him, “this is nice and creepy.”
They look another moment. From far off is an echoing bang that could be just about anything, and they all jump.
“I vote we give up and get out of here,” Topher squeaks.
“I’m with him,” Priya chimes in.
“I overrule both of you,” he intones. Stepping out, he moves forward with his gun level and ready to fire, one hand holding the barrel and the other the trigger. “Come on. Stick together.”
“Great, I get my freedom early only to die horribly,” Priya mutters, following close after him anyway.
Topher’s a step behind her. “If anybody hears shuffling or moaning, I am so-”
The technician cuts off as the elevator doors slide firmly close, and he spins around. Eyes wide, Topher tries pressing the call button to open them again, but to no avail.
Now there’s no choice but to go forward.
“Where now?” Priya asks, eyeing every shadow uneasily.
Topher shrugs. “Does it really matter?”
“Wait.” He raises a hand, frowning, as he listens carefully. “Do you hear that?”
The noise is faint, but it’s there: a steady, repetitive bang. He jerks his head to the left, indicating. “It’s this way.”
They head in that direction. The banging grows steadily louder, but they’re still not getting close.
After about ten minutes of walking, the floor is covered in water again. It’s cold, clammy, and there’s no sign where it’s coming from. Glancing down, he sees the pool has a dingy color that he hopes to God is from rust.
He looks straight ahead and doesn’t glance down anymore.
They pass a metal door that’s dented and pried forcefully open with a crowbar. A few feet ahead they find the remains of where a control panel of some sort was ripped off. A few more feet, and they come across a place where it looks like someone was just trying to bash in a section of the wall.
“What is she doing down here?” he mutters, brow furrowing. There are a lot of things he might’ve expected from Charity Brigade, but not this. It’s like her House has gone completely to pieces. He can’t begin to figure what the purpose might be.
“Priya,” he begins, evenly, “do you know how to use a gun?”
She stares at him, startled. “No. I’ve never even held one.”
He could argue that point, but now’s not the time. “Do you think you could figure it out?”
Her face drains of some color, but she steels herself. “Sure,” she offers weakly. “It’s just point and shoot, right?”
“If you see a weapon of any kind lying about,” he instructs her, “I want you to take it.” He looks over at the third of their party. “Topher?”
“Yes, Dom?”
“If you see a gun…leave it where it is. Because you’ll probably just end up shooting off your foot.”
“Yeah, okay, sure.” Topher gives a jerky nod. “Got it.”
The banging has gotten a lot louder.
“Up there,” Priya whispers, pointing at where the hall ends in a door that lies open a crack, a white light flickering on and off from the inside.
Cautiously, with him taking point, they enter the room. It’s hard to tell at first glance but it looks like it might have been a weapons storage locker. All the doors to the secure cages where the guns and ammo would’ve been kept stand open, however, empty. The walls are riddled with bullet-holes and more than a few dark stains.
The banging is coming from a large metal cabinet in one corner of the room. A length of chain has been wound around the handles, keeping it shut. The entire cabinet rattles with the force of the blows.
He approaches slowly, keeping his gun pointed as he gives it a wary eye.
“Think somebody’s inside there?” Topher asks softly.
“Or something,” he returns.
Priya is examining a particularly large patch of dried something on the wall at about her eye-level, a bullet hole at the very center.
“What’s this?” she wonders, reaching toward it. He looks over.
“Brain matter.”
Priya yanks back her hand and quickly steps backward. She looks around the room, a frightened look on her face.
“What is all this?”
“It’s a surprise party!” a man informs her, sinisterly.
That voice…along with the others he whirls around, gun aimed.
Alpha stands in the middle of the room between them and the exit, grinning. With feigned innocence, he indicates the locked cabinet. “Aren’t you going to open up your present?”
“Who-” Priya starts to ask, but Topher grabs her arms, pulling her swiftly back.
“No, no, no,” the programmer tells her, warningly. He never takes his wide eyes off of Alpha, face ashen.
“Well, isn’t this nice?” Alpha goes. “All these familiar faces.” Then, with an offhand frown, he points at Priya. “Except you; I don’t know you.” He starts babbling. “I don’t like the look of her, she’s too skinny. Maybe she’ll be our friend? We don’t need any friends. Alright, that’s enough.”
Alpha shakes his head, coming back into focus with a snap. He tilts his head, and then his eyes lock on Dominic. He grins broadly.
“Laurence Dominic: it’s been awhile. Hey there, boss,” Alpha says mockingly, head still at an angle. His eyes gleam. “You miss me?”
The weight of his gun is steady in his hands. “Not this time,” he promises.
He can still picture it: the bodies in the shower, the slashed faces, the smashed equipment, the remains of the first Dr. Saunders and the handlers. One of the worst days of his life, not just because it happened (he should’ve seen it coming; he did see it coming, but not even he predicted this), but because he got away.
Alpha - the monster that, like it or not, they’d all had a hand in creating.
Well, no more. No more secret messages or taunts or clues. No more blood-soaked trail that inevitably went cold. No more long-distance game of cat and mouse. He doesn’t know how Alpha got here or why, and he doesn’t care. It’s over.
“I’ve been waiting a long while for this,” he tells Alpha, pointing his weapon at him, ready to fire. His mouth sets in a hard, mirthless smile of cold satisfaction.
Alpha chuckles, waving a hand at him. He takes easy, slow steps to one side, inching further and further toward the cabinet. “But wait! Don’t you wanna see what’s behind door number three?”
And before he can do anything, Alpha lunges, whipping the chain off the door in one swift motion. It flies open - a figure rushes out in a blur with a roar, heading straight for Alpha.
“Nicole?” he whispers, shocked, as he recognizes her.
Alpha doesn’t flinch. As Nicole reaches for him, he gives a swift blow to her stomach with the side of his forearm. She stops in her tracks, bending forward, winded. Alpha twines an arm around and spins her, pressing her back to his front. His left arm goes around her neck, catching her throat at the inside of his elbow and placing her in a chokehold.
It all happens so fast, in the blink of an eye.
“A real spitfire, isn’t she?” Alpha comments, as Nicole fruitlessly struggles in his grasp. “She showed up here just a few hours before you did. Now, what are the odds of that? Well, I figured them out actually, it wasn’t that hard: I am a genius. But you wouldn’t care.” He drifts off into a distracted fugue again: “It’s only a number. I’m scared of numbers. You would be. Shut up!”
Alpha clears his throat. “Sorry. Where was I?” Nicole tries to kick him, and he sneers. “Oh, right. Now I figure, what are the chances of two Dominics, both NSA, being unrelated? And I can see from the look in your eyes that I’m right.”
He should’ve fired by now. There’s no reason he shouldn’t have: he still has a clear shot at Alpha’s head.
A bullet right between the eyes, and it’d all be over. The twisted, broken monster-Doll would be dead, never to harm another. He’d have done the job.
But he only stares at where his sister is caught in the psychotic freak’s grasp. He feels numb, like his arms aren’t attached the rest of him anymore.
“So, Dominic,” Alpha continues, voice practically a hiss, “why don’t you put the gun down,” he grips Nicole’s chin in his free hand, “or I snap her neck like a pencil.”
When he hesitates, Alpha nods at him, eyes wide and glinting with manic fervor: “You know I’ll do it. You know how…fast I can be.” Alpha smiles, voice becoming almost conversational. “You’ve seen my work.”
Pull the trigger. End it.
Alpha’s fingers tighten on Nicole.
With all the air coming out of him in a low exhale, he lowers the barrel of his gun, letting his arms drop.
“Good,” Alpha purrs, satisfied. He nods his head. “Now set it down, and kick it over here.”
As soon as he does it, Alpha lets go of Nicole with one hand and reaches out: he starts as Alpha grabs him by the bicep, dragging him roughly forward.
“Now then,” Alpha announces, looking between him and Nicole. “I’d say it’s time for a little family reunion.”
_____
A short while later he sits on a hard wooden bench, his hands bound behind him with a plastic zip-tie. Nicole sits with her back to his, similarly restrained.
The numb feeling in his stomach has been replaced with a sick, sour one.
Topher and Priya sit on a parallel bench a short distance away. Alpha bends over them, finishing with tightening Priya’s restraints.
“There.” Alpha stands up. “Now, does that hurt? I hope it does.”
Priya just glares at him.
Alpha surveys the lot of them, hands on his hips, satisfied.
“Well, that ought to hold you until I’m finished upstairs.” Alpha dusts his hands off against each other. “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, I’ve been a busy, busy boy.”
“What are you even doing here?” Topher’s voice breaks, squeaking. “You’re working with Charity Brigade? Why?”
“No,” he says. He already figured it out, almost the instant he saw Alpha here. He looks up, meeting their captor in the eye. “You broke in. Infiltrated the place, somehow, and took over.” With a bitter tone, he finishes, “If I had to guess, probably about three months ago.”
Alpha taps the end of his own nose. “As always, Dominic, you are right on the money.” He steps over the benches, pacing around the room. “How ever did you get to be so perceptive?” he says mockingly. “Must be all that spy training.”
Behind him, he feels Nicole shift, exhaling tensely. He ignores her, for the moment.
He meets Alpha’s eyes again, voice somewhat weary as he asks, “How’d you find out I was NSA?”
“I’ve been doing my research,” Alpha replies, smooth. “The whole time I’ve been on the run, I’ve been doing my best to read up on the lot of you, getting ready for round two. But then I get here, and the oh-so talented Ms. Brigade has already done my work for me!”
Alpha waves both his hands. “She’s got files, you see. A whole big stack of files, very, very thick with data - on you, and on Sparky the boy genius over here, and on your boss-nee-girlfriend…nice job, by the way.” Alpha gives him two thumbs-up, nodding with a lascivious smirk. “I approve. Let me guess, you’re a leg man?”
His fingers curl and his shoulders tighten; he gives Alpha a warning glare, which only makes the madman laugh at him.
“Course you are. Or maybe it’s the accent. Anyway…there are files on all of you, and on your House. Everything I’d ever need to get in, or out. Charity was quite thorough.” Alpha gives a knife-like grin. “She was planning an invasion of her own, you see. An attack. An assault. A siege. She was gonna bust in and tear you all up into little pieces.”
Laughing, Alpha saunters around, hands clasped behind his back.
“Guess you’re just lucky I got to her first.” Alpha stops pacing, looking at them over his shoulder. “Of course, now that just means I get to have all the fun for myself.” He looks upward, smiling nostalgically.
“My time here in our nation’s capital has been quite enjoyable for me. Very illuminating; very pleasant.” Alpha’s voice lowers, and he gazes back at them. “This House has offered me a lot of resources, that I’ve been sure to take advantage of. But I’m just about finished here, now. Time to take what I’ve learned, and move on.”
“And let me just guess what the next stop on your world tour massacre will be,” he spits, harsh.
Alpha grins at him. “Why, obviously I plan on returning to Los Angeles.” Sardonically, he goes, “Home sweet home. Where all my old friends are waiting for me. The darling staff: the caretakers, the handlers. And Echo, of course. I can’t wait to reintroduce myself to her.”
Suddenly, another figure enters the room, a young man dressed all in black. Alpha pulls back, nodding.
“Ah, there you are. Just in time.” As the other man steps forward, Alpha continues loudly, “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Tybalt. That’s my name for him; they used to call him Romeo, but I changed it. A clever little turn, don’t you think?”
None of them say anything, staring at the Active. He might’ve been handsome once, but not after Alpha was done: his face is a checkerboard, crisscrossed over and over by deeply-carved scars.
“What have you done to him?” Priya cries out, sickened. Alpha glares at her.
“I liberated him," he snaps. “Him and all the others. The ones they call Actives. I know better now than to try and repeat my little experiment - clearly, I’m one of a kind, a unique marvel.” Alpha’s voice lowers as he smiles at his creation. “But since I am so very special, I figured it was only right that I shared the wealth.”
“My god,” he says, horrified.
For the twisted sinister smile the Active is giving beneath his scars is now looking very familiar.
Topher breaths, gaze wide with disbelief and terror, “You…you gave them your own programming? You imprinted them with yourself?”
“Just a little bit.” Alpha smirks, raising his fingertips in a pinch. “A dab, a dollop. No, not anywhere near enough to wind up like…well, me…but enough for them to get my take on things.” His voice takes on a note of pride.
“In a way, they’re sort of like my children: each with their own, tiny piece of me, nestled inside.”
Alpha steps next to Tybalt, indicating his scars. “And like any children, they do like to play rough with each other. They’ve taken to cutting themselves, carving up each other’s faces. Very upsetting. But, whatever makes them happy.” He claps a hand on Tybalt’s shoulder.
“Now, be a good boy, and keep an eye on our guests while Daddy goes to work.”
“Yes, sir,” the mutilated Active says with a smirk.
Alpha heads toward the door. “Ta ta! Oh.” He stops, spinning on his heel.
“I should probably tell you all, I’m planning on bringing the house down. Literally. See, I’ve got this firebomb upstairs, and the whole place has been rigged to go up like one nasty Roman candle.
“But don’t worry.” Alpha smiles. “I have every intention of coming back and finishing you off myself first.”
The sound of his footsteps echo in the hall as he walks away, then all is silent.
“He means what he says, you know,” their guard says to them, smugly. “Father always keeps his promises.”
“Oh, could you just not talk, please?” Topher demands, sounding almost more annoyed than anything. “‘Cus, believe me, the last couple hours have been freaky enough as it is.”
The Active frowns, his eyes narrowing, and Topher gives a frightened gulp.
Nicole’s voice speaks up from behind him, angry, “Well, I sure hope you’re happy.”
He tenses, going straight, but doesn’t turn his head to her.
“Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?”
“You could’ve stopped that lunatic, that’s what,” Nicole barks, her voice sharp. “You had a clear shot at him and you didn’t take it.”
“He was going to kill you,” he exclaims, disbelieving. “What the hell was I supposed to do?”
“Well, now I’m gonna die anyway,” she concludes. She gives a frustrated sound. “Me, and you, and who knows how many other people. All because you hesitated when you had the chance.”
“I can’t believe you’re yelling at me for saving your life.” He snorts, continuing with bitter sarcasm. “You know, for awhile, I figured I might be the arrogant one in this family, but now I’m thinking it’s actually you. Do I even want to ask what you’re doing here?”
“Our sources indicated the Washington Dollhouse was weakening,” Nicole mutters. “It seemed like a good time to get inside.”
“Oh yeah? How’s that going for you?”
“Fuck you.”
Priya shifts in her spot, turning to stare at them.
“They’re siblings,” Topher murmurs.
“Oh,” Priya goes, half-nodding.
Nicole draws a breath. “I’ll have you know,” she says aggressively, acting like the others haven’t even spoken, “I could’ve handled this situation just fine by myself.”
“Yeah,” he scoffs, “because it looked like you were controlling things real well from inside the cupboard over there.”
“I’ve escaped from worse, and you know it! You just don’t wanna admit that it was you and your buddies coming here that really messed things up.”
“Um, guys?” Topher offers. “Maybe this could wait for some other-”
He swallows, his voice coming out stiff with anger: “You know, for your information we probably wouldn’t even be here, if you hadn’t shot-”
“Your cougar?” Nicole spits, sneering. She finally turns her head his direction, every feature etched with mockery and rage. “That bitch that turned you into her lapdog?”
“…Wow,” Topher says, shortly.
“Awkward,” murmurs Priya.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what you see in her.” Nicole shakes her head, mouth set. “The greed, the snootiness, the narcissism? What, do you just like being led around by the balls?”
“Don’t you talk about me like that,” he says tightly, “or her. You have no idea what she’s like.”
Nicole snorts. “I can guess.”
“No, you can’t! Not after what you-” He cuts himself off, almost choking.
He gazes at her, lost. “Why did you do it, Nicole? Is it just that you couldn’t stand, for once, I actually had a life outside of the Agency?”
“A life that you got by selling out the Agency,” Nicole states bitterly, dark.
“I’m happy with Adelle. She cares about me, and I care about her. You know as much. I told you. So how could you?” His voice falters, and then swiftly rises again as he’s almost yelling. “You just couldn’t take it, that I’m happy? Is that it? Is that why you and Dad decided to murder Adelle?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Nicole demands. When he just stares at her, speechless, she continues, “My orders were to take out the Head of the LA branch, because we thought it would result in panic and confusion across the organization. The plan was that, in the aftermath, we could take advantage of the situation and move in.”
As he still gazes at her without saying anything, stunned and unsure what to feel, Nicole’s eyes narrow.
“What, did you think we went after her just because of you?” She scoffs, disbelieving. “How self-centered can you get.”
After another moment passes he asks her, softly, “Did you even think about what it would do to me, if you killed her?”
“Why?” Nicole responds; dismissive, cold. “It’s not my job.”
He pulls away from her fiercely, closing his eyes.
Worrying about Adelle when he found out she was hurt almost killed him, but the worst part had been the knowledge that his sister pulled the trigger. He hadn’t been sure what to think, what to feel, how he should react if and when he saw her again.
Now, knowing that it wasn’t some act out of insane jealousy or spite makes it a little better. But only a little.
Any relief he might gain from the fact she wasn’t purposely trying to hurt him, is lost by knowing she showed no concern for him at all.
Nicole shifts slightly on the bench, brushing against him. He opens his eyes and looks at her. She stares pointedly at their guard, who’s now looking right at the two of them.
He knows exactly what she’s thinking.
He whips his head back to face Nicole. “You know, all my life it feels like I’ve been looking out for you! But not once, have you ever shown me any regard!”
Nicole turns to stare furiously back at him. “What are you trying to say? You make it sound like I’m some ungrateful little brat!”
“Well, maybe that’s exactly what you are!”
“Alright now,” the scarred Active speaks up, his voice carrying a clear warning. “This has been plenty amusing, but I’m getting sick of it, so the two of you pipe down.”
Neither he nor Nicole looks over.
“You say I’ve never done anything for you, but that is a lie,” Nicole declares. “And you know it!”
“Oh yeah? Name one thing that you’ve ever done for me,” he demands.
“How about the time I saved your ass in Brazil?”
“I don’t mean on a mission, Nicole. I mean when have you ever done something for me, personal, out of the kindness of your heart?”
With an audible growl low in his throat, the guard squares his shoulders, drawing a knife as he moves toward them.
“I don’t know, there must be something!”
“See! You can’t even think of anything, can you?”
“I haven’t been keeping track. It’s not really something you’re supposed to keep score on. Unlike what you’ve obviously been doing!”
“Who says I’ve been keeping track? I haven’t-” Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the Active move within range.
Simultaneously, both he and Nicole kick out as hard as they can with one leg each, hitting the guard square in the chest.
With a startled noise, the man’s head goes back - he loses his balance and falls heavily into the other bench. Topher scrambles out of the way just in time as the Active lands where he was sitting.
There’s a heavy thud as his back hits the wood, his skull colliding with the metal locker behind them. His body goes limp as he stays there, unconscious.
Nicole and he barely exchange a glance. He gets up and goes to where the dropped knife landed, squatting on the floor as he uses it to cut through his own bonds. Nicole draws her legs up, slipping first one then the other through the loop of her arms so her hands are in front. She pulls a hidden razorblade from the tread of her boot and goes to work.
“Um, okay.” Topher gapes at them, slowly finding words. “How about a little warning next time, huh? Maybe? ‘Heads up, we’re about to try something crazy and potentially dangerous’?”
“Shut up,” Nicole grunts at him, snapping off her weakened zip-tie.
“Alright, only one Dominic is allowed to say that to me,” Topher tells her sternly. “And it is not you.”
He stands up from the floor, coming over to cut the ties off Topher and then Priya. “Shut up, Topher.”
“You see?” Topher declares. “His is said with love, and a little bit of reverence. It’s very subtle, but it’s there.” He gestures with one newly-freed hand. “It’s all in the inflection.”
Nicole only rolls her eyes.
He pockets the knife then goes back over to the unconscious guard. The Active also has two guns, each on either side of his belt. He takes one, checking the clip.
Priya rubs one wrist. “What do we do now?”
“The only thing we can do.” He slams the rounds back in with his palm and cocks the barrel. “Get the hell out of here.”
There’s a deep, angry feeling of regret that he knows isn’t going to go away for awhile, that he’s letting Alpha escape again. If it was just him, he’d take his chances and never leave here without hunting the bastard down.
But he’s got two helpless civilians with him, and the building’s rigged to explode. So he can’t take that chance.
Priya actually smiles. “Finally, the first thing I’ve heard all night that’s made any kind of sense!”
He looks up, meeting Nicole’s eyes. She doesn’t say anything - just stands there looking back at him, hands clenched into fists at her side.
After a moment’s hesitation, he pulls the guard’s other gun and tosses it to her.
“And, now we’re straight back to crazy town,” Topher states. As Nicole checks her clip, Topher scurries to his side. “Dom, are you nuts? Attempted fratricide. Would-be girlfriend assassination. Friend-kidnapping. Any of this ringing a bell?”
“She has no reason to harm us, Topher.” He looks back up at his sister. “Her best chance to get out of here is if we all work together. Isn’t that right, Nicole?”
Nicole holds her gun up in one hand, barrel pointed toward the ceiling.
“I trust you to have my back, Laurence,” she intones. “Either of these two make so much as a peep to give us away, I’ll kill them myself.”
“Charming,” Priya says, dripping with sarcasm.
“Oh, you’re Australian today?” Nicole looks at her. “Well, isn’t that nice.”
Priya scowls. “I am Australian.”
Nicole gives a humorless laugh.
“The last time I saw you,” she jerks her head, “he was in your body.”
Priya stares at him, eyes wide with indignation. “…What?”
He gives Nicole a withering look. “Why would you do that?” Nicole only shrugs.
“Okay, um,” Topher puts his hands on Priya’s shoulders, trying to both calm her down and steer her toward the exit, “why don’t we save this conversation for later, when we’re not underground in a bunker of death?”
He goes to the door, pressing his back to the frame and looking out carefully. Seeing it’s clear, he nods to the others.
“Where are we going?” Topher asks as they hurry down the hallway.
“Back to the elevator.” He looks at Nicole. “Got any hack chips?”
“Just one more,” she tells him.
“Hopefully, that’s all we’ll need.”
They crowd into the elevator. Nicole crouches down as she gets access to the control panel.
“We only get one shot at this,” she says. “Which button do I push?”
“Third floor. That’s the atrium,” he answers. “There should be other elevators, stairwells, emergency exits leading off from there.”
Nicole presses the button, and then stands again with a grim look. “Hope you’re right.”
The doors open when they reach the main floor, and his grip tightens on his weapon. He’d forgotten what a fucking labyrinth Charity Brigade had turned her Dollhouse into.
“Everybody stay close.” He keeps his voice down, not sure who or what might hear them. “Let’s try to find a way out of here.”
“What I wouldn’t give for a ball of string or some breadcrumbs,” Topher murmurs feebly.
The four of them head into the maze of walls made out of frosted white glass.
Charity Brigade’s House may’ve had its share of hidden nightmares, but it doesn’t take long to see how bad things have gotten under the new management. Up here is even worse than it was down below - everywhere shows signs of fighting and violence. Furniture and artwork have been damaged and strewn every which way. There are more bullet-holes, more bloodstains, and in places the glass walls have been cracked or completely shattered. It doesn’t take them long to come across their first lifeless body.
The remains are literally pinned to the wall by knives through the palms and arms: a handler, judging by the clothes. The eyes have been gouged from their sockets.
He spots it first, and warns Topher and Priya so can they look away. Nicole doesn’t close her eyes - she takes a considering look, expression hard and empty.
The lights flicker in a few places, and have gone completely out in others. They have no choice but to feel their way through these spots in darkness, clinging to one another. His pulse quickens whenever he touches something wet or soft, but he never says anything. None of them do.
There are more bodies, and the others don’t always get the chance to avert their eyes. But it’s awhile before they come across anyone familiar.
“Oh my god…” Topher stops in his tracks, freezing completely.
He holds his breath, and stays to the edge of the room.
Gunter Wilkinson lies sprawled on his back, dried blood running from his ears, nose and mouth. A pile of twisted black wires coming from some damaged equipment lies over him, covering all of his body except his face and hands, which clutch futilely upward. His glasses are fractured, knocked askew. He stares blindly up, features fixed in a look of sheer terror.
Judging from the condition of the body he’s been dead for months. Probably one of the first Alpha killed when he took over, having no need for him.
Priya gives a moan of horror, clutching one hand over her mouth. She turns away. But Topher is still staring at the body. It doesn’t look like he’s able to move.
“Come on.” Nicole jerks her head impatiently.
He moves over to Topher’s side, trying to snap him out of it.
Topher swallows thickly. “What do I do, Dom?’ he asks softly, pleading.
“Put it aside for now,” he tells him. “Save it for later.” When Topher doesn’t respond at first he reaches out, giving his forearm a light squeeze. “You with me?”
“Sure, Dom. I got your back.” Topher almost laughs.
They keep going. There are more bodies, more blood, more broken glass. Tangles of chains and sinister-looking wires hang from walls and fill the corners of rooms, along with other torture devices, both electronic and more traditional in nature.
Worst of all are the sounds. Never from anywhere close, but in any given direction, they keep hearing screams and moans. Sounds of fright and fear. There’s the crash of things breaking, the spark of electricity, the occasional burst of low laughter…
“I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Priya murmurs, glancing behind them.
Then she looks forward and stops, giving a shrill cry of alarm as she sees a figure in the next room. Nicole and he come to a halt instinctively, pointing their guns at it.
Huddled in the corner to one side is Charity Brigade - or rather, what’s left of her. Her left side is pressed to the wall, shoeless feet curled beneath her, one hand propped up as if she’s reaching for something. Her hair is unkempt, lank, the whiteness of the scar on her lower lip standing out starkly against her face.
Her gray eyes stare at nothing, blank and as lifeless as they can be in a person still breathing. Occasionally she mumbles, too faint for any of them to catch it, like she’s trying to speak but keeps forgetting mid-action.
“She’s gone. Alpha…must’ve wiped her.” Topher blinks. He muses, “Huh. Never thought I could almost feel sorry for her.”
He looks at Topher, who shrugs. “Almost,” the technician repeats.
“Wait.” Nicole reaches out, stopping him as he starts to leave. “She might know something.”
He looks at her a moment - he can’t believe how little she understands.
“Believe me, she doesn’t,” he returns finally, hard.
“How can you be sure?” Nicole asks curiously.
He glances down at the empty shell, his face grim. “Because I’ve been there.”
He steps forward again, ready to move on, but he realizes something is amiss - glancing over his shoulder he sees Priya standing in the middle of the room, staring ahead with apprehension. Her hands are shaking.
“Come on, Priya. Let’s go.”
Priya shakes her head. “I don’t know if I can do this,” she chokes out. She looks like she’s going to be sick.
He comes back, trying to sound reassuring instead of impatient. “Of course you can. Come on.” He reaches for her wrist and she shies back, head shaking in such short, jerky movements it looks like she’s twitching.
“No. No, I don’t think I can.” Her voice rises frantically. The banging and screaming are growing louder, in the direction they’re heading. Priya starts breathing in a way that makes it clear how dangerously close she is to a panic attack. “It’s too much. I…I can’t…”
“Yes you can,” he tells her, forcefully. He grabs her arm so she can’t move back again, leaning forward and meeting her straight in the eye. “You can do this, Priya. You’re stronger than you think.”
“No, I-”
“Here.” He pulls out the knife he took earlier and offers it to her, hilt first. “Take it. If anyone comes after you, you will have the strength to defend yourself.”
“You don’t even know me!”
“Yes, I do. Believe me, I know you. I’ve seen a part of you that’s truer than almost anything else.” He offers her the knife again. Evenly, he goes, “Do you trust me?”
Priya’s voice is soft. She looks puzzled, like she’s not sure why she feels the urge to say what she does: “With my life.”
She takes the knife from his hand, wrapping her fingers around the hilt as she gazes down at it. She still looks frightened, but it appears she’s managed to calm herself.
Slowly, Priya raises her eyes from the knife and looks into his face, meeting his eyes again. She nods. “Let’s go.”
At last, they round a final corner, coming out in an open central space decorated by a dried-up fountain.
If they find any triumph in it, it’s incredibly short-lived. Because they immediately find themselves surrounded by Alpha and twenty of his reprogrammed Actives.
“Oh, fuck,” Topher wheezes.
“What, did you honestly think I wasn’t anticipating you might escape?” Alpha demands mockingly. He comes toward them, the others parting to let him through. “Did you really think the thought hadn’t even crossed any of my minds?”
He laughs, shaking his head like he feels sorry for them.
“But oh, I’ve gotta give you credit though. You made it a lot further than I expected. Guess you’ve had the grand tour!” Holding his arms out and slowly turning in a circle, Alpha beams at him. “Mr. Dominic, you’ve been here before. What do you think of what I’ve done with the place?”
“It’s wretched and perverse, and it disgusts me,” he says. He gives Alpha a cold sneer. “You’re a perfect match.”
“Oh ho ho, very clever. But you won’t be laughing when you’re in your graves,” Alpha spits, pacing forward. “No - I’ll be laughing. We’ll all be laughing. I like to laugh.” Impatiently, he interrupts himself, “Yes, yes, everybody likes to laugh!”
“So,” Nicole mutters tightly, never taking her eyes off Alpha, “this is one of yours, huh, Laurence?”
“I really don’t want to hear it, Nicole,” he replies through gritted teeth.
“I’ll kill you, and then I’ll watch your bodies burn. But first…” Alpha smiles sinisterly, as he walks over to Priya. He reaches out with the back of his hand.
“Oh no, you I’ll save. I’ll add you to my collection,” Alpha breathes. Without turning he indicates the scarred group of Actives standing around him. “Just like all the others. But first, I’ll have to give you a new name. I wonder what it should be.”
In one swift motion, Priya slides the knife out of the back of her belt, and buries it halfway to the handle in Alpha’s torso.
“I have a name,” she hisses at him, furious.
Alpha makes a strangled, stuttering sound, staring at her, and then down at the knife sticking out of his side in disbelief.
Priya has the good sense to tug the knife back out and move away before he can lunge at her. Alpha stumbles backward, clutching one hand over his wound.
Alpha raises his other arm, pointing at them. He roars.
“Get them!”
The Actives rush forward in a mob, pulling knives or baring their fingers like claws.
He stands with legs braced firmly apart, gun in one hand. He looks over at Nicole, who’s in a similar position.
They exchange a single, swift nod.
Both of them raise their weapons and begin firing.
Their targets are moving, yelling, dangerous - there’s a sense of chaos, but he’s never felt calmer. The gun makes a natural extension of his arm and he never blinks as he aims. Each bullet hits true, another foe dropping, and from the corner of his eye he can see Nicole is doing just as well.
Of course, they run out of bullets, eventually.
There’s just enough time for Nicole to toss her empty weapon aside before the enemy is on them.
They stand back to back. With a stifled grunt, Nicole kicks the first guy to reach her hard in the chest - when he stumbles she grabs his shoulders, dragging him down to slam his head into her knee. At the exact same time he hits his own opponent with a solid cross to the jaw, sending him down with a single punch.
He takes out another guy while Nicole’s ducking the swing of a knife. She blocks, disarms, and then sweeps her enemy’s feet out from under him with one swift kick. She grabs his hair, throwing him behind her: knowing without looking that her brother will be there waiting to finish the job.
He puts the Active in a chokehold and spins him, throwing him into two others. They go down like dominos, yet another tripping over them. The first one to try and crawl back up, he kicks him in the face.
Behind them, Priya manages to take out two would-be attackers with her knife. Then she grabs Topher, dragging him out of harm’s way. They take shelter on the far side of the fountain.
None of the crazed Actives go after them, their attentions thoroughly seized by the pair of successful warriors in front.
The battle rages on. He’s punched hard enough to make his vision spin. The back of his arm is bleeding from a blade-wound. But he keeps fighting.
Beside him, a female Active has Nicole by the hair, fingers digging into her scalp. Nicole punches her in the stomach and she lets go, then Nicole uses a jab from her elbow to send her down.
Nicole drops to one knee, ducking easily, as an opponent he threw goes hurtling past her.
They’re taking them out, one by one.
Somewhere in the midst of it all he catches a glimpse of Alpha slinking away, hand still pressed to his side, but there’s no chance to go after him.
“Move,” Nicole orders. He does, and Nicole smashes her fist into the face of the Active that’d been standing directly behind him.
The Actives keep coming, and they keep fighting them. It’s all a blur now, one kick after one block after one punch after another.
He and Nicole move beside each other, around each other, sometimes it seems almost through each other. They never even have to stop to look, their movements perfectly and instinctively timed.
He tries not to let himself get nostalgic, think anything along the lines of “just like old times”. But in spite of himself a longing twinge strikes up from deep in his heart.
It’s hard not to feel like this is how it’s supposed to be.
They literally grab two opponents and slam them into each other, and then Nicole gives a grunt of exertion as she finishes the last one off with a roundhouse kick to the face.
He and Nicole are now the only two left standing, disabled foes littering the ground at their feet. Both of them try to catch their breath, shoulders heaving.
Topher wanders out from behind the fountain to gape at them, eyes wide and jaw hanging loosely.
“…Whoa.”
Nicole gives one final gasp, her hands on her knees. Then she draws herself back up, straightening. All is dead silent before she speaks.
“Laurence.” Her voice is quiet but it carries quite clearly, her tone even and flat. “Last time we crossed paths, I warned you: the next time we would meet, no matter what, I’d only see you as an enemy agent.” Her hands begin curling into fists.
“And now that the other danger is passed-”
There’s an audible click as he raises his gun in one fluid motion, pointing it at right at her head.
Nicole stops. Slowly she turns to look at him. She snorts, then starts to smile.
“Don’t play me. You used up all the bullets-”
He cuts her off, this time, by firing a round not an inch from her foot. Smoothly he raises it back into position.
“I reloaded it.”
Nicole gazes at him, her blue eyes calculating and cool. “Would you really shoot me, Laurence?”
“We have the same training, Nicole,” he replies. “Would you shoot me?”
She smirks, eyes narrowing. “You couldn’t do it the last time.”
“No, you’re right. I couldn’t have.” He draws a breath, setting his mouth in a bitter line. “But things have changed since then.”
The smirk falls from her face and her eyes widen as she remembers what happened with Adelle.
“Get out of here, Nicole,” he commands, his arm never wavering as he continues to aim the weapon at her. “This enemy agent is giving a chance to escape. I suggest you take it.”
Nicole glowers at him. But she turns and leaves, jogging swiftly off and vanishing into the maze.
The moment she’s gone he lets his arm drop to his side where it hangs, heavy.
Priya takes a tentative step toward him. “Would you really have done it?” she asks quietly, curious.
He doesn’t look back at her.
“I don’t know.”
They find a staff elevator and get to an aboveground level, where they come out about a block away from where they first entered.
They don’t hear anything, but the bomb must go off while they’re making their escape. By the time they get out an inferno is already raging at the empty nightclub, fire exploding outward as it visibly consumes the building. Authorities are arriving, sirens howling and lights flashing as cop cars and fire trucks pull up.
The three of them stand there watching, silent. None of them needs to speak up to let the others know they’re all thinking the same thing.
In all likelihood, Nicole made it out okay. So did Alpha.
And absolutely nobody else.
Priya hugs herself, rubbing her arms as she watches the flames in the distance.
“You were right about me,” she says to him. “Thank you.”
He nods. “Don’t mention it.”
He moves a short distance away, where Topher is standing and looking visibly shaken.
When Topher sees him approaching, he tries to force a smile. It doesn’t stay long.
“I’m probably going to have nightmares tonight,” Topher states, quietly. “And, tomorrow night. And probably a lot of other nights as well.”
He hesitates. “I don’t…know if I can really do anything to help, but if you ever need someone to talk to-”
“Thanks. But I think I’ll eventually be okay.” This time Topher manages to hang onto a wan grin. “I just need to keep focusing on the fact that the good guys won. Right?”
He reaches out and gives the slighter man a pat on the back. “I’ll call the House, request an extraction team.” He glances back over at where Priya’s still staring off. “And, Topher?”
“Hmm? Yes, Dom?”
“When you erase Priya again,” he orders, gruff, “make sure she doesn’t keep any memory of this.”
Topher blinks. “You mean, on her wedge?”
“Yeah. Make it like it never even happened.”
He walks a few more steps away from the others. The wind is cold against his skin as he pulls out his phone and dials the Dollhouse.
_____
About half a mile away, Nicole climbs out from underneath a manhole cover to the street.
She looks around, trying to get her bearings.
In one hand she clutches a small black jump-drive, containing a massive amount of stolen information.