(no subject)
Mwahaha. And now we get to the Worth Abuse. I've noticed not very many fics go with this... fortunately, here at Lightwaves, we are indiscriminate in our sheer sadism.
I'm sure you're thrilled.
First: Here
Previous: Here
Title: Lightwaves
Authors: Myself and HosekiDragon
Rating: PG-13 at present
Characters: Conrad, Abner, Anya, Worth, Hanna, Veser, Toni, un!Zombie, Lamont
Chapters: 18/26
Description: Sprawling thousands of miles and surrounded by walls, the City of Varuna is a sight to behold. People are under constant watch and surveillance under the name of protection. The only issue now is Undesirables. Paranormal creatures, vampires and werewolves, remnants of an ancient and dying world. These creatures are expected to register with the government and are seen as second class citizens, living in oppression so as to avoid tainting the other citizens and ruining their quality of life.
"Eli" is a member of the Ahimsa, the police agency charged with dealing with Undesirables. He's beginning to feel rather disillusioned with the world he's living in. Fortunately for him, a certain redhead is about to come crashing into his life...
"Paging Doctor Worth. Paging Doctor Worth. Doctor Worth, please report to reality."
The doctor in question let out a groan, eyes squeezing shut. He recognized that voice and between hearing that voice and being unconscious, he'd gladly take unconscious.
"Hey, Worth, pay attention!" the owner of the voice snapped, "I am talking to you!"
Worth let out a grunt and finally cracked open one eye, squinting against the harsh glare of the blinding lights above him. After a moment a pale face swam into focus, along with a shock of curly brown hair and a clip-on tie that was just as aggravating as the grin stretched across the man's face.
"Ugh," the doctor groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut again. "Christ, your ugly mug is not the first thing I wanna see in t' morning. D'ya mind?"
"Nice to see you, too," Ellis grinned. "Oh, and you're far uglier than me, just so you know."
Worth blinked at him for a moment, then let out a sigh. "Right, well. You're clearly still delusional and a fucking moron, so… 'm goin' back t' sleep. Wake me the Council's got someone actually fucking important t' talk to me." With those words he slumped forward again, somehow managing to lounge in his seat even with clamps around his wrists and ankles.
"Y-you... you bitch! I am important!" Ellis pulled back a fist and slammed it into the doctor's face with as much strength as he could muster.
The doctor jerked in his chair, the sound of the blow ringing through the dark room. Worth then turned back to face him, blinking blearily for a moment before grinning. "That's it, really? What, did you and Connie get into a catfight when he was visitin'? 'Cause if that's all you've got, I'm thinking you lost, Shirley." This was the key, Worth knew that. He felt considerably smaller than usual without his coat and his body was still throbbing from the electricity that had brought him down, that was true. Also, the idea of being bound in a room with this fucker didn't sit well with him -- but he'd had more than enough verbal spars with Ellis to know just what buttons to press. Just being down didn't make him out.
Ellis stared at him for a second and then let out a flustered sputtering noise before composing himself, hiding his frustration behind that superior smirk of his, "Oh yeah? Well, your little Lamepire was the most pathetic of your toys yet. Seriously, he was screaming like a little girl the whole time."
His prisoner gazed up at him for a moment, as if he were trying to process this. After a moment, however, the blond merely shrugged. The mental images Ellis' words evoked were more than enough to make Worth want to tear the man apart -- after all, Conrad may have been a pathetic excuse for a vampire, but Conrad was Worth's pathetic excuse for a vampire and he didn't want Ellis' greedy little paws anywhere near one of his own. However, the blond was also well aware that those words were only meant to get a rise from him, and Worth had no intention of doing that.
Fortunately, if there was anything he'd perfected over the years, it was his poker face.
"What d'ya want me t' say? 'Congrats, you made a five-year old girl cry'? I ain't gonna pat you on the back for something you do on a regular basis, dumbass. For all I know he was just screaming from looking at your ugly face." Worth flashed a lazy, half-lidded smirk at this. "Come on, Mandark, let's cut t' the foreplay and get on with it. Why don't you go ahead and tell me what ya brought me here for?"
Ellis frowned at Worth's jibe, but the frown quickly became a grin. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his lab coat. "It's kind of amazing, Worth, don't you think? I know something you don't. Ha! I know something you don't know! I know something you don't know!"
He received an eye roll at this. "Yeah yeah, good job. That'd be, what, the first time in your life? Your mum must be so proud."
"You're just scared, Worth," Ellis hissed. "Scared, because for the first time you have no clue what this is about. You can keep up that tough guy act as long as you want, but we both know it's because you're completely lost without all your little toys to manipulate." The man smiled and shook his head like he was speaking to a stupid child. "Oh Worth, you think you're so smart, but you're not really. If you were, well, I guess you wouldn't be here, would you? Alone, clueless -- did I mention alone?"
The doctor shifted slightly in his bonds, cocking his head to the side as if he were considering these words. Finally, he gave a snort. "You're underestimatin' me. Big mistake. But I guess that's always been your problem, you never could work out just where little bitches like you belonged on the food chain." Those dark eyes met Ellis', unflinching and completely at ease. "News flash, Egghead. A little asswipe like you can't scare me, so let's just get the fuck on with it. I'm gettin' bored here."
A disgusted scowl swept over Ellis' face. "I just remembered why I hate you. But that doesn't matter." The smile came back, but it was different; darker, enjoying what was happening far too much. "See, because even though you got your friend to run away, he didn't get very far. Not very far at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure we captured him. Oh, but, wait, you're thinking that Mr. Toucey can handle himself, right? Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I got my toy back." This time his grin showed all his teeth. "Remember, the one you stole from me? Yeah, that one. I got it back. Isn't that great?"
This actually did get a reaction from Worth, though it came only in the subtle tensing of long limbs, as if his breath had caught in his throat. After a moment, however, he relaxed, meeting Ellis' smug grin with a smirk of his own. "Bullshit. You couldn't tell a lie if your life depended on it, moron. You don't have them, stop insulting my intelligence here."
Of course, this was a lie. For all the doctor knew, Ellis was telling the truth and Hanna and Lamont were most definitely locked up somewhere. Fortunately, Worth had two constants to rely on. The first was the rule that, no matter what, Ellis had never been better at lying than he was. If Worth pushed him, the man's pride would force him to fold. The second was that Hanna and Lamont absolutely couldn't be captured. Absolutely not. Hanna was too strong and Lamont was far too smart.
He had to hold on to that.
"Fine, believe your silly little lies if they make you feel better," Ellis tossed his hand in a dismissive way,."So anyway, I just have this really important question I think you should answer; just how did you disable Subject Thirteen's chip?"
The doctor ground his teeth together for a moment, then let out a breath. All right, fine, he wouldn't get his proof yet. That was fine. If Ellis didn't have anymore to say on the subject of Hanna, he'd have to take that as proof enough for the moment. After all, there were more important things to consider. So he forced that lazy smirk back into place, raising an eyebrow as he glanced up at the other doctor. "Hm? What's wrong Ellis, can't figure out how your own technology works? I guess you wouldn't, seeing how you fuckin' stole it. Really a shame cheating never worked out for you."
"I took advantage of something you never had the balls to do!" Ellis snapped, stomping a foot on the floor. "Tell me how you did it or I'll make you tell me!"
His prisoner's eyebrows flew upward at this. "You'll make me?" He repeated before bursting into laughter. "Oh man, I'm real fuckin' scared now! Big bad nerd Ellis is gonna make me talk!" The blond shook his head as he managed to subdue his laughter, though that confident, twisted grin still stretched across his face. "Please, you couldn't squish a fly."
"Try me," Ellis growled. "Just try me, you turn-coat bastard...!" And he drew back his arm again, letting fly another punch that caught Worth in the side of the face. "You know withholding information from the government is a crime, right? And that I can do whatever I want to you in here? No one is going to come in here unless I say they can." He punched Worth again. "So it's really in your best interest to tell me what you did!"
The blond let out a breath as he moved to face Ellis again, blood now trickling from a split lip. His tongue shot out to lick at the blood for a moment, then he grinned. "That's it, really? Come on, 'Mont hits harder on a daily basis."
Ellis glared at him, his eyes narrowed into angry little slits. "I don't need to hit you, Worth. I have more ways -- better ways -- for getting under your skin." He turned on his heel, marched across the room, and flipped open a tool box sitting on a nearby table. After a bit of rummaging, he held up a silver stick that crackled with electricity. "How about? Do you still want to play this game, Worth?" Ellis advanced on the blonde man, the silver stick raised, "Just tell me what I want to hear and I won't have to hurt you... that much."
He received an arced brow in response. "Well, that depends on what you want t' hear, I guess. I mean, I could tell you all about the rip-roarin' good time I had with your mum last week, but that's probably not it."
"You leave my mother out of this!" Ellis shouted, brandishing the electric stick, "This isn't about --God, what is wrong with you!? This is about what you did!" He leaned in and waved the stick in front of Worth's face. "This is about what you stole and what you did to it. You tell me how you disabled Subject Thirteen's chip or I'll jab you one with this! And you really don't want that."
Worth just met his gaze evenly, that horrible grin still in place. Even with the sparks right in his face, he didn't so much as flinch. "Now now, Ellis, don't get so upset. I'd bring up the other women in your life iffin' ya had any." Was this stupid? Oh, most definitely. But if he was stuck here, he may as well have fun.
"Enough about my social life!" Ellis snarled, "Tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen! Tell me now or I'll... I'll stab you with this!" And he pointed the electric stick at Worth, eyes blazing angrily as he glared at the man.
The blond's grin only widened in response. "Now now, Ellis, come on. If you're gonna make threats, t' key is followin' through. Are we gonna go or not?"
Ellis stared at him for a long moment, that stick still clenched in his hands; one could almost see the thought process behind his eyes. Then the man's jaw clenched and he jabbed the silver stick forward, shoving it into Worth's chest, releasing the wave of electricity that had been stored in its tip.
"Augh!" His prisoner let out a shout, back arcing, limbs tensing in their bonds, fingers twisting and twitching like spiders legs. He rocked back in his chair, teeth grinding together as for a good ten seconds the shock went on. Then it was over and the blond was slumping in his bonds, breathing as shaky as his shuddering frame. After a few tense moments of breathing the blond let out a laugh, raising his head again and grinning. "That all you've got? You already did the electric shock thing when I was fucking captured. C'mon Ellis, let's see some creativity."
Ellis made a collection of flustered, angry noises and flailed around for a moment before stomping back up to Worth and slamming the tip of the stick into the doctor again.
"You're not supposed to be having fun!" Ellis snarled, jamming the stick in painfully between Worth's ribs, "You're supposed to tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen! And I'll do worse -- much worse -- if you don't! You thought the damage to your vampire toy was bad? It'll be nothing compared to what I'll do to you!"
Worth gave another pained jerk, but this time he seemed more prepared, as all he did was grit his teeth and curl inward slightly. When the shock had passed, he let out a snort. "I never saw what happened t' Connie, bastard, I was a bit busy helping Lamont. Even if I knew, can't say I'm too scared." He raised his head to meet Ellis' eyes again, his grin speaking of superiority, pride and sheer defiance. "So come on, hit me with your best shot. If you can."
"Don't tempt me!" Ellis spoke through clenched teeth, yanking the stick away and tossing back onto the table as he dug into the box again, "I'd love to kill you for all the hell you've put me through, but I need you alive." The man held up another metallic rod, black this time, advancing on Worth with narrowed eyes. "Still, that doesn't mean I can't hurt you."
He raised the metal rod high and then swung it down, smashing it into the side of Worth's face. Again and again, he struck the doctor, not even bothering to aim, just swinging and taking satisfaction in the sickening thwack of metal hitting flesh. Through the whole thing, Worth was silent save for a few grunts and Ellis cursed him, snarling breathlessly. And when he finally stopped, Ellis was panting and out of breath, chest heaving, his fingers clenched so tightly around the metallic rod that his knuckles were white.
Worth was similarly silent for the moment, his long body slumped in the chair. Blood slid from his face and pooled in the dip between his collarbone and neck, soaked into his wrinkled gray shirt and dripped onto the bare concrete floor. His breath came out in hot puffs from a shattered nose, each inflation of his lungs sending spikes of pain from bruised and possibly broken ribs. After roughly twenty seconds of silence, in which the doctor had assessed his injuries, he straightened up, vertebrae clicking together as he turned and spat blood onto the concrete.
"Y'know, for a no-holds-barred beat down, that was pretty weak," Worth drawled, a grin stretching across his face in spite of the bruises that were forming. "I've had worse from 'Mont. The effort was decent though." He shrugged, wincing slightly at the pain the motion caused.
Ellis' eyes blazed in anger and he raised the metal rod again. Then he froze, gaze lingering on the blood that was seeping from Worth's injuries, and lowered his arm, letting the weapon fall to the floor with a clatter.
"Aw crap..." He raised his hands to his face and ran his hands through his messy brown hair. "Aaahhhh, you bastard. You know just how to push my buttons, don't you? And I hate you. I hate you for that." Ellis dropped his arms to his side, that obnoxious, superior smile back on his face. "Oh you... you sneaky little... mmm..." The man seemed drained, exhausted after his angry vent, but he still shook a finger in Worth's direction, laughing in a breathless sort of way.
Worth just grinned back through bloodied teeth. Because yeah, in a way he'd won, but of course this wasn't over. Not yet.
"Stop it!" Ellis snapped, "Stop smiling! Stop it! I hate it when you do that, when you smile like you've won. Well, you haven't!" The scientist backed up towards the tool box again, keeping his glare on Worth while reaching a hand sightlessly into the box. "You haven't because you're sitting there in a bloody mess and I have my toy and your friend! I won! I did!" And he pulled his hand from the box, a knife clenched in his hand. "So wipe that stupid smile off your face, you bitch."
At these words the blond blinked, then gave a snort. "Seriously? You dun know how t' use that. Put it down before you hurt yourself."
"Oh really?" The brown-haired man with the knife raised an eyebrow and tossed the knife from one hand to the other. "I am a scientist and a doctor, despite what your drug-addled brain would like to think. So yes, I do know how to use this."
Ellis approached Worth, raising the knife up so it caught the light with a deadly wink, and then swung it down, plunging it into the doctor's hand. There was a stomach-twisting sound and blood splattered the floor and up the blade.
This finally drew a cry of pain from Worth, his entire body going rigid. His eyes squeezed shut and he ground his teeth together, his uninjured hand clenching in a way the injured one could not. Booted feet kicked out on reflex, he could feel his stomach clenching with the motion as he fought back another scream. He'd been stabbed once or twice before, certainly, but it didn't change the fact that it still hurt like a motherfucker. The blond sucked in a few agonized breaths through his nose before his eyes opened again, wide and dark as they met Ellis'. For once, he didn't seem to have any words.
"Oh, you're making noise now, are you?" Ellis smirked. "So maybe I can get you to talk. Let's see..." He crouched down, not even bothering to pull the knife from Worth's hand, and grabbed one of the doctor's fingers. "Hmmm, now I'm sure there's a certain way to do this but I've never asked how so I figure we'll just wing it." He turned his gaze on Worth and there was a raging madness glittering in his eyes, "So, Worthy, tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen's chip."
His prisoner stared back at him with wild, glittering eyes, then took a deep breath. He wanted to jerk his hand away, but he was already hindered, and Jesus fuck that knife hurt. He knew Ellis was serious, and there were so many things he wanted to say, but he still needed a moment to compose himself. Finally, though, he found the words. "I'm not telling you shit. If you're gonna sit around and whine like some kid who stole his project for the fuckin' science fair…" Here the blond paused to take another breath, then gave a small laugh. "Well, fuck off."
"Have it your way." Ellis said mildly and bent Worth's finger backwards with a quick jerk.
There was a terrible, audible snap, like the breaking of a twig. Worth let out a howl of pain, bucking violently in the chair. He then slumped in his bonds, eyes squeezing shut, disgusting teeth gritting together as he fought to hold back several smaller, more muffled groans.
"Well, come on," Ellis remained hunkered down in his heels, staring up at Worth, "tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen's chip or I'll break another one. I figured if I took away your hands, you'd cease to be important to those rebels anymore. See," Ellis pushed against the finger he'd just broken, enticing a noise of agony from the doctor in the chair, "That one was the one you used to patch up Thirteen, though I don't know why you bother to fix it. And this one," he grabbed Worth's ring finger, "is the one you would have used to sew up the gaping hole in that mongrel Selkie brat. So tell me what you did or I'll snap it."
Worth let out a shuddering breath, slumping in his bonds as his nostrils flared. "Fuck off," he finally ground out.
"Fine," Ellis said flatly, and snapped Worth's finger back, blinking once as the resounding crack echoed through the room.
This time Worth was more prepared for the feel of it, but the sensation of bone splintering against skin and muscle was still excruciating. The cry remained in his throat this time, however, choked back but not entirely silenced. The blond's nostrils flared as he slammed his back against his seat, the light above him burning red through eyelids that had been squeezed shut.
"Tell me what I want to know," Ellis growled, "or I'll snap this one next." And he grabbed Worth's middle finger. "Tell me, or I'll keep breaking all of them until you have nothing left and you'll be useless to those precious rebels of yours. Tell me! Tell me now!"
The blond leaned back, simply breathing for a moment and listening to his heart thud in his ears. The chair suddenly felt impossibly cold, the lights impossibly white and hot, as if he were hyper aware of everything around him. He let out a grunt, as if he were trying to find words, then finally shook his head.
"God, you're a stubborn bitch," Ellis said. "What are you trying to protect? Subject Thirteen? Are you trying to protect it? You already failed at that, Worth, because we have it. So what did you do? Because I'm going to keep doing this until you tell me how you messed with Thirteen's chip." There was another crack as the man broke Worth's finger with quick jerk.
Worth let out a low, awful grunt, thrashing back against the chair again. He then slumped forward, going completely limp in his bonds, head lolling against his bloodied chest. After a few moments there came the laughter, quiet at first, in a chuckle, before building and building into hysterical cackling.
"Why're you laughing!?" Ellis glared at him. "Stop that! Stop laughing! Why the hell are you laughing!?"
Apparently Ellis' speaking was hilarious, as this only made Worth laugh harder. After another twenty seconds of this he finally managed to compose himself, flopping back in his chair as a bloodied grin spread across his face. "Fuckin' hell… sorry, Ellis. But I just can't take this seriously. Maybe you should be leavin' this to the professionals."
Ellis just stared at him with wide eyes and then let out a flustered snarl, leaping to his feet and facing Worth with his fists clenched at his sides. "This is between you and me, Luce. Just you and me. Our game, no one else's. So tell me everything! Tell me!" He lifted his foot of the ground and slammed the heel of his expensive shoe into Worth's broken fingers. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"
The blond grimaced, teeth grinding together and eyes squeezing shut as agony shot up the splinters in his fingers, jarred at the blade still pressing into his flesh. After this had passed, however, he let out a sigh that almost sounded amused, eyes remaining shut as if he were merely relaxed. "You just don't fuckin' get it, do you? Yeah, sure, it's our game… but iffin that's the case, you never stood a chance. You should have known that."
"Wait, hold on, you don't...you don't seriously think you're still winning do you?" Ellis snorted, shaking his head, "You're unbelievable. You're all by yourself, you're alone. We have your best friend, we have that toy you stole, and we know what all your stupid rebel friends are doing. You. Are. Alone." The doctor let out a barking laugh. "You've lost, Worth! Deny it all you want but you've lost."
Worth gave a snort at this, a smirk playing across his battered face. "Bullshit. Ya see, Ellis, the problem with you is you never did know how t' pick your battles," the blond declared as he shook his head and gave another laugh. "Don't you get it? You can't win. You couldn't when we were kids, you can't now. You've had one or two decent ass moves, I'll admit that, but flukes happen."
The doctor let out a grunt as he adjusted himself in his seat, ignoring the agonizing throb of his hand. "You say I'm alone, but Christ, I already knew that. Since when's somethin' like that ever mattered to me? I don't need my personal Justice League t' beat you, and well, shit, I can fix whatever the hell you do to me." He gave a shrug before continuing. "As for you claiming you have Hanna and 'Mont, I already know you're lying. If you had Hanna, you'd be parading him around like a Goddamn trophy wife, so shut the hell up already."
"Shut up! You know nothing!" Ellis shouted, "My toy is back where it belongs, undergoing tests to make sure there's nothing else you've done to it! And you're going to stay here, and you're going to suffer, until you tell me how to fix everything you've ruined!"
These words only made Worth laugh again. "Make me suffer? Seriously?" He shook his head again as his grin widened. "I'm a masochist, you dumb fuck. Do you really think this is gonna break me?" Here he suddenly tensed his hand, forcing it as closed as he could manage in the circumstances. There was a sickening squelch as muscles tensed farther around the blade in his palm, matched only by the horror of the grin playing across the blond's face. "It won't. Anythin' you can possibly do, odds are I've done it before. Sure, it'll hurt like fuck, but well, that's part of the game, ain't it?" Here he finally opened his eyes to meet Ellis' frustrated glare, his eyes glittering with pain, defiance, and most terrifying of all -- amusement.
"I am stronger than you. I am fucking better than you, Ellis, and you know it. You have always known it. Go ahead and fight all you want, I'm not going to talk. Just let me know when you give up, 'cause I wanna pay real close attention when you get stuck draggin' your ass to the Council and let them know all that money and freedom they gave you has been wasted on the second best."
Ellis' eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly, as though shocked that the broken and beaten man before him could actually still speak, let alone laugh and move those shattered fingers to only cause himself more pain.
"You're insane," Ellis finally gasped. "You're out of your bloody mind." He finally composed himself, shook his head, and let that superior grin slide over his face again, "It's okay, though, you'll see the light eventually. Until then --" The scientist drew back a fist and punched Worth in the face again. "That's for good measure. I'll see you around, you traitor son-of-a-bitch. For now you can sit there and think about what you've done. I'll see you tomorrow."
And then he turned and headed for the door, humming to himself. He stopped just in front of the door and looked back over his shoulder, "Oh, and because of your actions today... you can be sure that your friend and Subject Thirteen will be spending a very uncomfortable night in the labs. Think about that, Worth." Ellis laughed horribly as he left the room, the door hissing shut and locking with an audible clunk.
Worth watched him go, managing to hold his position until the doors had closed. The instant he was alone he collapsed in his seat, energy spent for the moment. The doctor flopped back against the cold steel of his seat and simply breathed for the moment. Every inch of his body throbbed, and the knife was still stuck in his hand, but in a way, that was a victory in itself. Because yeah, he was a mess, but Ellis was clearly shaken, and that was good enough for Worth for now. Admittedly, the threats against Hanna and Lamont were mildly concerning. But he hadn't been bluffing about the point that Ellis surely would have shown Hanna off had he been there, and if there was anything Worth wasn't going to underestimate in this situation, it was Ellis' arrogance.
And so the doctor lay there under the obscenely bright lights, listening to nothing but the sound of his own breathing, and he began to laugh, a satisfied grin splayed across his face. Because fuck, this was a mess.
He just hoped the others had enough sense to stay out.
---
Watching everything unfold had been almost tragic.
Hanna had dragged everyone back to the factory in a panic, spewing desperate ideas that Worth had just gotten locked in the bathroom and it had happened before so that was possible, or maybe all the technology had suddenly shorted out because that had happened before too, or maybe he was just being his usual jackass self and not responding just to yank their chains.
But the factory had been empty, the basement was devoid of the hazy smoke and cursing that usually awaited them on their return from a mission, and Hanna had been crushed. They had saved Conrad, true, but returning to an empty house with no idea where Worth could have gone was disheartening.
Hanna had torn the factory apart, searching for the doctor, then for Lamont, calling their names. He'd even tried contacting them through communicators and through the network but he gotten no response. And whatever energy he'd had left after the fight had left, leaving him drained and small looking. Now he was sitting forlornly in one of Worth's office chairs, head hanging, not speaking, the glow on his bracers dimmed in his lethargy to a pathetic flicker. In Hanna's dull blue eyes, everything seemed to be falling apart.
His partner stood against a nearby wall, arms folded, brow furrowed in obvious concern as he simply watched Hanna. He'd tried to get Hanna to move, asked him if he'd wanted anything, but after several minutes of getting little to no response he'd finally backed off.
Toni, meanwhile, was currently attending to Conrad, standing before one of the operating tables and dabbing at swollen cuts with a pained expression. "This might hurt a bit," She'd muttered as she pressed a soft hand against the vampire's arm in warning, an alcohol-soaked cotton ball held over the wound made with silver.
Conrad hissed between his clenched teeth and jerked his head to the side, "I don't care, as long as it cleans out that silver; that stuff stings like hellfire." His dark eyes flickered to meet Toni's emerald ones. "But at least I can see again. Um, th-thank you for... thank you for saving me."
A shadow of a grin spread across the werewolf's face for a brief moment. "You're welcome. But it was all of us, really. I'm not as fast as Hanna is, and without Eli's shooting I'm pretty sure we would have tanked," she said as she dabbed at the cut, brow furrowing. "I hope I'm doing this right, normally Worth deals with things like this…"
"You're doing fine, Sweetcheeks," Veser said, though it lacked his usual boisterous and cocky edge. He tore open a bandage and placed it over a cut on his arm. "You've got the hands of an angel."
If Toni was going to respond, she never got the chance because there was a clatter from the stairs and suddenly Lamont stumbled into the basement, covered in bruises and several still-bleeding cuts. He leaned against the door frame, looked around the room at everyone, and then dropped his head, eyes closing as he let out a weary groan.
"Lamont!" Toni's eyes widened and she paused to set down the things she'd been using to patch up Conrad before rushing to the dealer's side. "Oh my God, are you okay!?"
"What happened to you?" The former agent inquired, brow furrowing as he stood up straight. "Where's Worth?"
"It... I..." The dealer pushed himself off the wall, breathing heavily, and allowed Toni to help him over to a table next to Conrad. "It was stupid... my fault... I should have known better than to follow a shady lead but, hey," he let out a weak chuckle, "that's kinda my job."
"Lamont..." Hanna's small and quiet voice came from the shadowy corner of the room, "What happened to Worth...?"
Lamont's dark eyes locked with Hanna's blue ones for a moment before he looked away, "Sorry Hanna. He... I walked right into it; it was a trap and I fell for it." He shook his head. "And that fucking idiot played the hero. He knew what was going on and he came anyway."
Toni's eyes widened slightly. She paused in her grabbing for a bandage, those wide green eyes going to meet Lamont's dark ones. "You can't be serious," she murmured, expression disbelieving.
The former agent had gone stone still at his place near the wall. "So they captured you when you were out on a job, and then while we were saving Conrad…" He let the the words hang in the air, his mouth clamping shut as if it had hurt to say them.
"They got Worth." Lamont winced and his gaze flitted across the room to look at Hanna before dropping again. "It's what they wanted all along. I... I'm sorry."
A beat of silence and then, "No..." The single word from Hanna's mouth seemed to shatter the redhead completely. He slumped down in his chair, a mere shadow of the eccentric bundle of energy he usually was, and put his face in his hands.
Upon seeing this, the former agent winced. "Hanna…" he muttered before making his way over to the redhead. He reached out to touch his partner's shoulder without hesitation, a sort of physical, silent manifestation of what seemed to be one of the few remaining rocks in Hanna's crumbling world. This was nothing compared to everything else facing them down, but it was all he had to give for the moment and in a way that knowledge that this was all he had for Hanna made the crushing sensation in his chest all the worse.
Conrad watched them for a long, painful moment and then looked back at Lamont. "B-but how? I mean, he's Worth! How the hell could they capture Worth?"
"He didn't go without a fight, if that's what you're asking..." Lamont muttered, "But you get enough people and you can take anyone down."
Toni bit her lip as she pulled some supplies out of the first aid kit and pushed them Lamont's way, flashing him a questioning look before going back to Conrad. "But why would they go after Worth? He's Worth. He hasn't even been on missions or anything like that. I know he's just as wanted as the rest of us, but…"
"Because of what he knows," Lamont answered, dampening a cotton swab with some anesthetic and dabbing at his cuts with it. "He's smart and he knows a lot and they want him back."
"Wait, back? What do you mean "back"?" Conrad asked and then flinched when Toni tightened a bandaged around one of his cuts.
"He..." Lamont paused, licked his lips nervously, and then continued. "He used to work for the Council..."
"What!?" Toni sputtered, pulling Conrad's bandage just a bit too tightly. Her hair was a swirl of black and blue as she craned her neck to gape at Lamont. "But… but he's Worth!"
"What, you thought he always lived out here in the slums? Always fighting the government?" There was an uneasy edge to Lamont's voice, almost a panicked anger. "Back then, he was just like the rest of them. He worked for the Council, he lived a happy little life in the inner circle, and he... he..." The dealer drew in a deep breath, as though realizing what he was about to say, and then spoke in a lower, calmer tone, "He worked on the Firefly Project."
"No shit," Veser said loudly.
There was a heavy silence in the lab for a moment. It was as if everyone was afraid to speak, as if they left the words untouched, they would somehow cease to mean anything. Gazes went from Lamont to the floor and back, save for mahogany eyes that desperately sought out bright blue in an attempt to make sense of it all.
Hanna remained slouched in his chair, face hidden from the world. But when Lamont mentioned the Project, he tensed, his whole body seizing up into a knot of almost visible nerves. The lines on his bracers brightened for a brief moment and then dimmed again but he refused to look at anyone.
"Aheh, you're... joking right?" Conrad said half-heartedly after a long moment of nothing. "Right? Because he had me go in and steal that info and everything and..." The vampire trailed off, suddenly remembering the way Worth had talked about the offices, about the man named Ellis, about everything. "Oh God, you are telling the truth! Then... then how do we know he wasn't still working for them!?"
"He wouldn't." Hanna said flatly, voice still muffled by his hands. "He hates them, he wouldn't."
Toni bit her lip, shifting uncomfortably as her gaze stayed on the concrete. "Well," she muttered as she tucked a strand of bright blue behind her ear. "To be fair, him holding back this information doesn't exactly speak in his favor."
"But that doesn't explain why things went the way they did," the former agent spoke up, looking to the rest of the group. "If he was working for them, why create some sort of elaborate scheme to switch from Conrad being captured to himself? It doesn't make any sense."
"I told you, it's because of what he knows," Lamont responded, now tying off his cuts with bandages, pointedly not looking at anyone.
"That's no answer," Veser grumbled, leaning against a table with a scowl. "Even if he did work for them, what good is a stinking old man gonna do them?"
"It's not my place to say," Lamont said in a low voice.
Toni let out a growl of frustration. "It's not right for him to have kept this from us. Come on, Lamont, you can't just --"
The dealer's dark eyes locked on her, hard, cold, lacking the usual laughter and shadiness that lingered in them. The look he gave her told her -- not asked her -- to drop it because it was a territory she should not step into.
Again came silence after the dealer's words, this one heavy and oppressive. The group was left sitting there and in that instant, standing at Hanna's side, the former agent began to realize just how earth-shaking the whole situation was. For all of its terrifying lighting and shenanigans that went on down there, the lab and its main inhabitant had been one of the few constants the group had been able to rely on over the years. Regardless of what happened and regardless of how the missions went, even the former agent found he had started to trust the idea that Worth would always be there. He would always be in the lab, forever in a state of minor irritation and fixing up Hanna after his latest stupid stunt and cursing Veser for being equally reckless. He would have awful nicknames for Toni and he'd be cheery about the abuse he'd been dishing out for Conrad for hours now and every time Lamont came around there would probably be a fist fight and there had always been something strangely comforting in the constancy of that.
Except now there was no comforting, hazy blanket of smoke, there was no cursing and shouting and long, disgusting fingers pointing them in the direction they should go. It was gone and the group seemed lost.
"Fuck this whiny shit," Veser suddenly ground out, slapping a hand down on the tabletop with a loud smack. "You're all faggots!" The half-Selkie pointed at Lamont. "Greasy faggot!" Then at Toni: "Furry faggot!" Conrad: "Yuppie faggot!" The former agent: "Long, tall, and ugly faggot!" And finally at Hanna: "Whiny, gayass, faggot with a hero complex!"
Everyone except Hanna turned to stare at him.
"What?" Veser's face was a mixture of disgruntled anger and something like a hurt he was trying so hard to hide. "You're whining about the old guy not being here so I'm just trying to lighten the mood!" He folded his arms and leaned on the table again, scowling, "Worth woulda done it..."
Toni did nearly crack a smile at this, shaking her head as she turned to press a final bandage on Conrad's wounds. "Good point. All right, we've got our dose of swearing… the question is, what do we do now?"
"We rescue him." Hanna's voice was still flat, still muffled by his hands, but there was a hard edge of determination to it.
"How?" the former agent asked, brow furrowing.
"He has a point, Hanna," Toni said as she closed up the first aid kit and wandered across the room to put it away. "He's going to be in Vitra Tower. Going in there didn't exactly go well last time." Her gaze flitted to Conrad, apologetic and somewhat pained at the memory.
"Should we even rescue him?" the vampire threw in, flexing the fingers on the arm that had been cut by the silver. His gaze flickered around the room, stubborn, angry, glittering with the lingering hint of fear at the memory of the tower. "I mean, this is kind of his fault. Why don't we just leave him there?"
"No." Hanna still hadn't come out of hiding but that angry tone in his voice said it all, "We're not leaving him there. We're going to rescue him."
"How do you expect to do that?" Lamont asked, frowning. "What, are you going to just waltz in there and take him back? You don't stand a chance, Hanna! They'd take you away before you had a chance to even think about where they were keeping Worth!"
"You're just giving up on him," Hanna said, face still hidden, voice still flat.
"I am not!" Lamont shouted, "What you're suggesting is crazy! Stupid! You wouldn't stand a chance in there! Eli, tell him he's crazy! Tell why we can't get Worth out of there!"
The former agent stood in silence for a moment, his gaze going to a crack in the concrete floor. For an instant, his mind was miles away, and all he could wonder was just how long that crack had been there. How had it started? Had it been there before Worth, Lamont and Hanna had come there, seeking shelter in those nebulous years packed with lies and secrets? Were there still more things he didn't know, hidden away by squared shoulders and Hanna's haunted eyes? How many more of these were going to be crawling out of the woodwork at inopportune times, threatening to consume them all whole? The idea of that time, the time before he'd met Hanna -- it seemed so impossibly far away to him, something he couldn't even begin to wrap his head around or imagine.
He couldn't wrap his head around it, but he could see the agony in the set of Lamont's shoulders, in the clench of Veser's sharp teeth and the way Toni's dainty tanned fingers twisted together, the chipped nail polish glinting in the flickering light. He could see the hole that had been left behind as if it were a tangible thing, could see bright blue eyes gazing into that abyss, and he had no idea where to begin to try to pull the redhead back -- to try to pull them all back.
But he had to try, because they were all he had now.
"You know… Hanna and Conrad honestly didn't have that much trouble getting into Vitra tower," the agent murmured, mahogany eyes narrowing as he raised his head. "And the vampire hunter had considerably less luck against four of us. If we do this properly…" He trailed off, gloved hands clenching into fists. The words sounded ridiculous, he couldn't believe they were coming out of his mouth. Somewhere in his mind, the long dead agent was pointing out every thing that could possibly go wrong.
But well, lately he was finding there was something very Hanna-ish about him that was capable of ignoring that.
Lamont gaped at him and then shook his head, "Look, I want to get Worth outta there as much as you guys do, but be serious about this. They've probably doubled -- no, tripled security since you guys were in there. Maybe you can get in, but how do you expect to get out alive? They won't let you escape. Not again..."
"Uh, dude," Veser cut in, "in case you've forgotten, I have bombs."
"Then we'll make sure we're really packing," Toni was speaking now, that fighting spark in her bright eyes that was ordinarily so familiar. She stood up from the table she'd seated herself on, boots clicking on the floor. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting really sick of these guys taking our friends. I'd like to go in and deal some damage already."
The former agent frowned as he looked to the dealer. "I'm certain you have the connections to get into the city. Hanna tells me you've had him smuggled inside of supply crates more than once, and the tower definitely has a loading dock."
"Dude," Veser said again with an exasperated edge, "bombs."
Hanna's partner nodded curtly. "It seems fitting for us. Explosions tend to make good distractions and possible exit strategies," he said, then frowned slightly. "Though I believe the tunnels are bugged now, so using them as an escape is probably not an option."
"We'll wing it," Toni shrugged. "That place is full of captured paranormals, right? Veser and I can just… you know, do what we did in the ark. Free a bunch and see what happens. Worse case scenario, we just blow a hole into the tunnels and charge it."
"Um," Conrad fidgeted, still sitting on the table, "I... I don't have to go, do I?" He looked genuinely terrified at the idea of going anywhere near Vitra Tower.
There werewolf shook her head, her ponytail a blur of black and blue curls as she reached out to touch his arm. "Of course not. Why would we send you there?" She flashed him a smile. "Everyone else is terrible at surveillance. We need you here, Mr. Vampire."
A nervous smile made its way across Conrad's face and he nodded once, grateful that he didn't need to leave, grateful that he had place where he was needed.
Lamont stood off to the side, opening and closing his mouth every minute or so, as if he were trying to come up with something to interject. However, as his dark eyes flicked across the group, it seemed to steal the words from him. "I…" He mumbled before trailing off, brow wrinkling as he seemed to be considering this.
"Sweet!" Veser grinned. "You hear that, Hanna? We're gonna get Worth so you can stop being depressed and shit!" The half-Selkie danced around and then instantly deflated when he saw Hanna had still not come out of his shell. "Hanna. Hanna, for the love of God, we're going to rescue him! Will you stop being an idiot?!"
Hanna drew in a deep breath and straightened up in the chair, finally dropping his hands into his lap, "I'm all right, Veser." The flatness of his voice said otherwise. "I was just thinking about... just thinking." Those blue eyes were still empty and dull, the bracers still dimmed to a mere sputter of light, but he'd definitely recomposed himself after the silent breakdown he'd had earlier.
His partner gazed down at him for a moment, then stepped around so he could kneel down and look the redhead in the eyes. "Hanna," he murmured. "Look at me." Their gazes locked and the agent quirked a brow at him, his voice coming out in a low rumble as he continued. "I know this is hard. I understand you're probably blaming yourself. But would Worth want you to be doing this?"
Lamont snorted, "Worth wouldn't want us to rescue him at all."
"Dude," Veser cut in, "when have we ever listened to Worth?"
Hanna smiled a little. "Heh, you're right. We never listen to him." He looked up at his friends, the people he trusted more than anyone else in the world. "And if we do rescue him, he's gonna get pissed and throw stuff at us." The redhead suddenly let out a loud, short laugh, "What am I so worried about? We can do this! We can rescue Worth and we'll stick it to the man while we're doin' it!"
The former agent frowned at this response, eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed down at the redhead. His smile was back in place, but it seemed more forced somehow, lacking something behind the eyes. The source of the problem could be seen in the set of Hanna's shoulders, bent as if the weight of everything from the past few days was placed upon them. A part of him wanted to reach out, wanted to take that weight from him, wanted to beg the redhead to let him to help, to shake Hanna until that stupid strand of heroism somehow fell out and his partner understood that he wasn't to blame.
But of course, all he could do was stand and watch helplessly.
If the others noticed this lack of spark, they didn't say anything. It was as if the redhead's smile had brought a new light to the darkness of the room, and regardless of the strain behind it they all seemed to sorely need it now. Perhaps they did know, and the former agent had to wonder this as he spotted the slight tension in Toni's own smile, in the way Veser punched his fists in the air and Conrad very nearly smiled himself.
Perhaps they knew and understood that there was no stopping Hanna from taking on the burdens he did. All they could do was follow along and desperately cling to that hope, because that was all they had right now.
"Fine." Lamont sighed. "Fine, there's no way I'm going to argue with you like this. I'll go set everything up." The dealer shook his head at the grinning Hanna, turned away, and left the room. The former agent could hear him muttering to himself as he ascended the stairs to the first floor and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this.
Lamont was obviously still scared, but even that couldn't deny Hanna's optimism, especially in regards to his best friend.
"Okay guys!" Hanna said happily. "Let's go get ready to rescue Worth! Because what's the Agency of Awesome without its doctor, right?"
"Right," Toni said with a grin. "Time to get our jerk back."
"Oh joy," Conrad said sarcastically, levering himself off the table and pulling a jacket on over his his ruined shirt, "how would I ever find my motivation for life without an asshole calling me gay every five minutes?"
"Well, is it a lie?" Veser asked, and then grinned innocently when Conrad glared at him, "Aw, come on! We're going on a rescue mission and I get to go and I get to blow stuff up! This is gonna be awesome!"
"It'll be easy!" Hanna added brightly, "We've got nothing to worry about, especially now we've got Connie watching our backs again. Right Eli?" And the redhead turned to the former agent with that familiar grin on his face.
His partner gazed back at him, expression blank for the moment. The smile was so bright, it could have been genuine. There was clearly no point in pushing the issue, so the ex-agent finally forced a small smile. "Of course," he murmured. He had to believe there was some truth to that smile and everyone else's enthusiasm.
Otherwise, he was starting to worry nothing would be able to chase away those shadows in Hanna's eyes.
---
Next: Ta-da!
I'm sure you're thrilled.
First: Here
Previous: Here
Title: Lightwaves
Authors: Myself and HosekiDragon
Rating: PG-13 at present
Characters: Conrad, Abner, Anya, Worth, Hanna, Veser, Toni, un!Zombie, Lamont
Chapters: 18/26
Description: Sprawling thousands of miles and surrounded by walls, the City of Varuna is a sight to behold. People are under constant watch and surveillance under the name of protection. The only issue now is Undesirables. Paranormal creatures, vampires and werewolves, remnants of an ancient and dying world. These creatures are expected to register with the government and are seen as second class citizens, living in oppression so as to avoid tainting the other citizens and ruining their quality of life.
"Eli" is a member of the Ahimsa, the police agency charged with dealing with Undesirables. He's beginning to feel rather disillusioned with the world he's living in. Fortunately for him, a certain redhead is about to come crashing into his life...
"Paging Doctor Worth. Paging Doctor Worth. Doctor Worth, please report to reality."
The doctor in question let out a groan, eyes squeezing shut. He recognized that voice and between hearing that voice and being unconscious, he'd gladly take unconscious.
"Hey, Worth, pay attention!" the owner of the voice snapped, "I am talking to you!"
Worth let out a grunt and finally cracked open one eye, squinting against the harsh glare of the blinding lights above him. After a moment a pale face swam into focus, along with a shock of curly brown hair and a clip-on tie that was just as aggravating as the grin stretched across the man's face.
"Ugh," the doctor groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut again. "Christ, your ugly mug is not the first thing I wanna see in t' morning. D'ya mind?"
"Nice to see you, too," Ellis grinned. "Oh, and you're far uglier than me, just so you know."
Worth blinked at him for a moment, then let out a sigh. "Right, well. You're clearly still delusional and a fucking moron, so… 'm goin' back t' sleep. Wake me the Council's got someone actually fucking important t' talk to me." With those words he slumped forward again, somehow managing to lounge in his seat even with clamps around his wrists and ankles.
"Y-you... you bitch! I am important!" Ellis pulled back a fist and slammed it into the doctor's face with as much strength as he could muster.
The doctor jerked in his chair, the sound of the blow ringing through the dark room. Worth then turned back to face him, blinking blearily for a moment before grinning. "That's it, really? What, did you and Connie get into a catfight when he was visitin'? 'Cause if that's all you've got, I'm thinking you lost, Shirley." This was the key, Worth knew that. He felt considerably smaller than usual without his coat and his body was still throbbing from the electricity that had brought him down, that was true. Also, the idea of being bound in a room with this fucker didn't sit well with him -- but he'd had more than enough verbal spars with Ellis to know just what buttons to press. Just being down didn't make him out.
Ellis stared at him for a second and then let out a flustered sputtering noise before composing himself, hiding his frustration behind that superior smirk of his, "Oh yeah? Well, your little Lamepire was the most pathetic of your toys yet. Seriously, he was screaming like a little girl the whole time."
His prisoner gazed up at him for a moment, as if he were trying to process this. After a moment, however, the blond merely shrugged. The mental images Ellis' words evoked were more than enough to make Worth want to tear the man apart -- after all, Conrad may have been a pathetic excuse for a vampire, but Conrad was Worth's pathetic excuse for a vampire and he didn't want Ellis' greedy little paws anywhere near one of his own. However, the blond was also well aware that those words were only meant to get a rise from him, and Worth had no intention of doing that.
Fortunately, if there was anything he'd perfected over the years, it was his poker face.
"What d'ya want me t' say? 'Congrats, you made a five-year old girl cry'? I ain't gonna pat you on the back for something you do on a regular basis, dumbass. For all I know he was just screaming from looking at your ugly face." Worth flashed a lazy, half-lidded smirk at this. "Come on, Mandark, let's cut t' the foreplay and get on with it. Why don't you go ahead and tell me what ya brought me here for?"
Ellis frowned at Worth's jibe, but the frown quickly became a grin. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his lab coat. "It's kind of amazing, Worth, don't you think? I know something you don't. Ha! I know something you don't know! I know something you don't know!"
He received an eye roll at this. "Yeah yeah, good job. That'd be, what, the first time in your life? Your mum must be so proud."
"You're just scared, Worth," Ellis hissed. "Scared, because for the first time you have no clue what this is about. You can keep up that tough guy act as long as you want, but we both know it's because you're completely lost without all your little toys to manipulate." The man smiled and shook his head like he was speaking to a stupid child. "Oh Worth, you think you're so smart, but you're not really. If you were, well, I guess you wouldn't be here, would you? Alone, clueless -- did I mention alone?"
The doctor shifted slightly in his bonds, cocking his head to the side as if he were considering these words. Finally, he gave a snort. "You're underestimatin' me. Big mistake. But I guess that's always been your problem, you never could work out just where little bitches like you belonged on the food chain." Those dark eyes met Ellis', unflinching and completely at ease. "News flash, Egghead. A little asswipe like you can't scare me, so let's just get the fuck on with it. I'm gettin' bored here."
A disgusted scowl swept over Ellis' face. "I just remembered why I hate you. But that doesn't matter." The smile came back, but it was different; darker, enjoying what was happening far too much. "See, because even though you got your friend to run away, he didn't get very far. Not very far at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure we captured him. Oh, but, wait, you're thinking that Mr. Toucey can handle himself, right? Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I got my toy back." This time his grin showed all his teeth. "Remember, the one you stole from me? Yeah, that one. I got it back. Isn't that great?"
This actually did get a reaction from Worth, though it came only in the subtle tensing of long limbs, as if his breath had caught in his throat. After a moment, however, he relaxed, meeting Ellis' smug grin with a smirk of his own. "Bullshit. You couldn't tell a lie if your life depended on it, moron. You don't have them, stop insulting my intelligence here."
Of course, this was a lie. For all the doctor knew, Ellis was telling the truth and Hanna and Lamont were most definitely locked up somewhere. Fortunately, Worth had two constants to rely on. The first was the rule that, no matter what, Ellis had never been better at lying than he was. If Worth pushed him, the man's pride would force him to fold. The second was that Hanna and Lamont absolutely couldn't be captured. Absolutely not. Hanna was too strong and Lamont was far too smart.
He had to hold on to that.
"Fine, believe your silly little lies if they make you feel better," Ellis tossed his hand in a dismissive way,."So anyway, I just have this really important question I think you should answer; just how did you disable Subject Thirteen's chip?"
The doctor ground his teeth together for a moment, then let out a breath. All right, fine, he wouldn't get his proof yet. That was fine. If Ellis didn't have anymore to say on the subject of Hanna, he'd have to take that as proof enough for the moment. After all, there were more important things to consider. So he forced that lazy smirk back into place, raising an eyebrow as he glanced up at the other doctor. "Hm? What's wrong Ellis, can't figure out how your own technology works? I guess you wouldn't, seeing how you fuckin' stole it. Really a shame cheating never worked out for you."
"I took advantage of something you never had the balls to do!" Ellis snapped, stomping a foot on the floor. "Tell me how you did it or I'll make you tell me!"
His prisoner's eyebrows flew upward at this. "You'll make me?" He repeated before bursting into laughter. "Oh man, I'm real fuckin' scared now! Big bad nerd Ellis is gonna make me talk!" The blond shook his head as he managed to subdue his laughter, though that confident, twisted grin still stretched across his face. "Please, you couldn't squish a fly."
"Try me," Ellis growled. "Just try me, you turn-coat bastard...!" And he drew back his arm again, letting fly another punch that caught Worth in the side of the face. "You know withholding information from the government is a crime, right? And that I can do whatever I want to you in here? No one is going to come in here unless I say they can." He punched Worth again. "So it's really in your best interest to tell me what you did!"
The blond let out a breath as he moved to face Ellis again, blood now trickling from a split lip. His tongue shot out to lick at the blood for a moment, then he grinned. "That's it, really? Come on, 'Mont hits harder on a daily basis."
Ellis glared at him, his eyes narrowed into angry little slits. "I don't need to hit you, Worth. I have more ways -- better ways -- for getting under your skin." He turned on his heel, marched across the room, and flipped open a tool box sitting on a nearby table. After a bit of rummaging, he held up a silver stick that crackled with electricity. "How about? Do you still want to play this game, Worth?" Ellis advanced on the blonde man, the silver stick raised, "Just tell me what I want to hear and I won't have to hurt you... that much."
He received an arced brow in response. "Well, that depends on what you want t' hear, I guess. I mean, I could tell you all about the rip-roarin' good time I had with your mum last week, but that's probably not it."
"You leave my mother out of this!" Ellis shouted, brandishing the electric stick, "This isn't about --God, what is wrong with you!? This is about what you did!" He leaned in and waved the stick in front of Worth's face. "This is about what you stole and what you did to it. You tell me how you disabled Subject Thirteen's chip or I'll jab you one with this! And you really don't want that."
Worth just met his gaze evenly, that horrible grin still in place. Even with the sparks right in his face, he didn't so much as flinch. "Now now, Ellis, don't get so upset. I'd bring up the other women in your life iffin' ya had any." Was this stupid? Oh, most definitely. But if he was stuck here, he may as well have fun.
"Enough about my social life!" Ellis snarled, "Tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen! Tell me now or I'll... I'll stab you with this!" And he pointed the electric stick at Worth, eyes blazing angrily as he glared at the man.
The blond's grin only widened in response. "Now now, Ellis, come on. If you're gonna make threats, t' key is followin' through. Are we gonna go or not?"
Ellis stared at him for a long moment, that stick still clenched in his hands; one could almost see the thought process behind his eyes. Then the man's jaw clenched and he jabbed the silver stick forward, shoving it into Worth's chest, releasing the wave of electricity that had been stored in its tip.
"Augh!" His prisoner let out a shout, back arcing, limbs tensing in their bonds, fingers twisting and twitching like spiders legs. He rocked back in his chair, teeth grinding together as for a good ten seconds the shock went on. Then it was over and the blond was slumping in his bonds, breathing as shaky as his shuddering frame. After a few tense moments of breathing the blond let out a laugh, raising his head again and grinning. "That all you've got? You already did the electric shock thing when I was fucking captured. C'mon Ellis, let's see some creativity."
Ellis made a collection of flustered, angry noises and flailed around for a moment before stomping back up to Worth and slamming the tip of the stick into the doctor again.
"You're not supposed to be having fun!" Ellis snarled, jamming the stick in painfully between Worth's ribs, "You're supposed to tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen! And I'll do worse -- much worse -- if you don't! You thought the damage to your vampire toy was bad? It'll be nothing compared to what I'll do to you!"
Worth gave another pained jerk, but this time he seemed more prepared, as all he did was grit his teeth and curl inward slightly. When the shock had passed, he let out a snort. "I never saw what happened t' Connie, bastard, I was a bit busy helping Lamont. Even if I knew, can't say I'm too scared." He raised his head to meet Ellis' eyes again, his grin speaking of superiority, pride and sheer defiance. "So come on, hit me with your best shot. If you can."
"Don't tempt me!" Ellis spoke through clenched teeth, yanking the stick away and tossing back onto the table as he dug into the box again, "I'd love to kill you for all the hell you've put me through, but I need you alive." The man held up another metallic rod, black this time, advancing on Worth with narrowed eyes. "Still, that doesn't mean I can't hurt you."
He raised the metal rod high and then swung it down, smashing it into the side of Worth's face. Again and again, he struck the doctor, not even bothering to aim, just swinging and taking satisfaction in the sickening thwack of metal hitting flesh. Through the whole thing, Worth was silent save for a few grunts and Ellis cursed him, snarling breathlessly. And when he finally stopped, Ellis was panting and out of breath, chest heaving, his fingers clenched so tightly around the metallic rod that his knuckles were white.
Worth was similarly silent for the moment, his long body slumped in the chair. Blood slid from his face and pooled in the dip between his collarbone and neck, soaked into his wrinkled gray shirt and dripped onto the bare concrete floor. His breath came out in hot puffs from a shattered nose, each inflation of his lungs sending spikes of pain from bruised and possibly broken ribs. After roughly twenty seconds of silence, in which the doctor had assessed his injuries, he straightened up, vertebrae clicking together as he turned and spat blood onto the concrete.
"Y'know, for a no-holds-barred beat down, that was pretty weak," Worth drawled, a grin stretching across his face in spite of the bruises that were forming. "I've had worse from 'Mont. The effort was decent though." He shrugged, wincing slightly at the pain the motion caused.
Ellis' eyes blazed in anger and he raised the metal rod again. Then he froze, gaze lingering on the blood that was seeping from Worth's injuries, and lowered his arm, letting the weapon fall to the floor with a clatter.
"Aw crap..." He raised his hands to his face and ran his hands through his messy brown hair. "Aaahhhh, you bastard. You know just how to push my buttons, don't you? And I hate you. I hate you for that." Ellis dropped his arms to his side, that obnoxious, superior smile back on his face. "Oh you... you sneaky little... mmm..." The man seemed drained, exhausted after his angry vent, but he still shook a finger in Worth's direction, laughing in a breathless sort of way.
Worth just grinned back through bloodied teeth. Because yeah, in a way he'd won, but of course this wasn't over. Not yet.
"Stop it!" Ellis snapped, "Stop smiling! Stop it! I hate it when you do that, when you smile like you've won. Well, you haven't!" The scientist backed up towards the tool box again, keeping his glare on Worth while reaching a hand sightlessly into the box. "You haven't because you're sitting there in a bloody mess and I have my toy and your friend! I won! I did!" And he pulled his hand from the box, a knife clenched in his hand. "So wipe that stupid smile off your face, you bitch."
At these words the blond blinked, then gave a snort. "Seriously? You dun know how t' use that. Put it down before you hurt yourself."
"Oh really?" The brown-haired man with the knife raised an eyebrow and tossed the knife from one hand to the other. "I am a scientist and a doctor, despite what your drug-addled brain would like to think. So yes, I do know how to use this."
Ellis approached Worth, raising the knife up so it caught the light with a deadly wink, and then swung it down, plunging it into the doctor's hand. There was a stomach-twisting sound and blood splattered the floor and up the blade.
This finally drew a cry of pain from Worth, his entire body going rigid. His eyes squeezed shut and he ground his teeth together, his uninjured hand clenching in a way the injured one could not. Booted feet kicked out on reflex, he could feel his stomach clenching with the motion as he fought back another scream. He'd been stabbed once or twice before, certainly, but it didn't change the fact that it still hurt like a motherfucker. The blond sucked in a few agonized breaths through his nose before his eyes opened again, wide and dark as they met Ellis'. For once, he didn't seem to have any words.
"Oh, you're making noise now, are you?" Ellis smirked. "So maybe I can get you to talk. Let's see..." He crouched down, not even bothering to pull the knife from Worth's hand, and grabbed one of the doctor's fingers. "Hmmm, now I'm sure there's a certain way to do this but I've never asked how so I figure we'll just wing it." He turned his gaze on Worth and there was a raging madness glittering in his eyes, "So, Worthy, tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen's chip."
His prisoner stared back at him with wild, glittering eyes, then took a deep breath. He wanted to jerk his hand away, but he was already hindered, and Jesus fuck that knife hurt. He knew Ellis was serious, and there were so many things he wanted to say, but he still needed a moment to compose himself. Finally, though, he found the words. "I'm not telling you shit. If you're gonna sit around and whine like some kid who stole his project for the fuckin' science fair…" Here the blond paused to take another breath, then gave a small laugh. "Well, fuck off."
"Have it your way." Ellis said mildly and bent Worth's finger backwards with a quick jerk.
There was a terrible, audible snap, like the breaking of a twig. Worth let out a howl of pain, bucking violently in the chair. He then slumped in his bonds, eyes squeezing shut, disgusting teeth gritting together as he fought to hold back several smaller, more muffled groans.
"Well, come on," Ellis remained hunkered down in his heels, staring up at Worth, "tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen's chip or I'll break another one. I figured if I took away your hands, you'd cease to be important to those rebels anymore. See," Ellis pushed against the finger he'd just broken, enticing a noise of agony from the doctor in the chair, "That one was the one you used to patch up Thirteen, though I don't know why you bother to fix it. And this one," he grabbed Worth's ring finger, "is the one you would have used to sew up the gaping hole in that mongrel Selkie brat. So tell me what you did or I'll snap it."
Worth let out a shuddering breath, slumping in his bonds as his nostrils flared. "Fuck off," he finally ground out.
"Fine," Ellis said flatly, and snapped Worth's finger back, blinking once as the resounding crack echoed through the room.
This time Worth was more prepared for the feel of it, but the sensation of bone splintering against skin and muscle was still excruciating. The cry remained in his throat this time, however, choked back but not entirely silenced. The blond's nostrils flared as he slammed his back against his seat, the light above him burning red through eyelids that had been squeezed shut.
"Tell me what I want to know," Ellis growled, "or I'll snap this one next." And he grabbed Worth's middle finger. "Tell me, or I'll keep breaking all of them until you have nothing left and you'll be useless to those precious rebels of yours. Tell me! Tell me now!"
The blond leaned back, simply breathing for a moment and listening to his heart thud in his ears. The chair suddenly felt impossibly cold, the lights impossibly white and hot, as if he were hyper aware of everything around him. He let out a grunt, as if he were trying to find words, then finally shook his head.
"God, you're a stubborn bitch," Ellis said. "What are you trying to protect? Subject Thirteen? Are you trying to protect it? You already failed at that, Worth, because we have it. So what did you do? Because I'm going to keep doing this until you tell me how you messed with Thirteen's chip." There was another crack as the man broke Worth's finger with quick jerk.
Worth let out a low, awful grunt, thrashing back against the chair again. He then slumped forward, going completely limp in his bonds, head lolling against his bloodied chest. After a few moments there came the laughter, quiet at first, in a chuckle, before building and building into hysterical cackling.
"Why're you laughing!?" Ellis glared at him. "Stop that! Stop laughing! Why the hell are you laughing!?"
Apparently Ellis' speaking was hilarious, as this only made Worth laugh harder. After another twenty seconds of this he finally managed to compose himself, flopping back in his chair as a bloodied grin spread across his face. "Fuckin' hell… sorry, Ellis. But I just can't take this seriously. Maybe you should be leavin' this to the professionals."
Ellis just stared at him with wide eyes and then let out a flustered snarl, leaping to his feet and facing Worth with his fists clenched at his sides. "This is between you and me, Luce. Just you and me. Our game, no one else's. So tell me everything! Tell me!" He lifted his foot of the ground and slammed the heel of his expensive shoe into Worth's broken fingers. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"
The blond grimaced, teeth grinding together and eyes squeezing shut as agony shot up the splinters in his fingers, jarred at the blade still pressing into his flesh. After this had passed, however, he let out a sigh that almost sounded amused, eyes remaining shut as if he were merely relaxed. "You just don't fuckin' get it, do you? Yeah, sure, it's our game… but iffin that's the case, you never stood a chance. You should have known that."
"Wait, hold on, you don't...you don't seriously think you're still winning do you?" Ellis snorted, shaking his head, "You're unbelievable. You're all by yourself, you're alone. We have your best friend, we have that toy you stole, and we know what all your stupid rebel friends are doing. You. Are. Alone." The doctor let out a barking laugh. "You've lost, Worth! Deny it all you want but you've lost."
Worth gave a snort at this, a smirk playing across his battered face. "Bullshit. Ya see, Ellis, the problem with you is you never did know how t' pick your battles," the blond declared as he shook his head and gave another laugh. "Don't you get it? You can't win. You couldn't when we were kids, you can't now. You've had one or two decent ass moves, I'll admit that, but flukes happen."
The doctor let out a grunt as he adjusted himself in his seat, ignoring the agonizing throb of his hand. "You say I'm alone, but Christ, I already knew that. Since when's somethin' like that ever mattered to me? I don't need my personal Justice League t' beat you, and well, shit, I can fix whatever the hell you do to me." He gave a shrug before continuing. "As for you claiming you have Hanna and 'Mont, I already know you're lying. If you had Hanna, you'd be parading him around like a Goddamn trophy wife, so shut the hell up already."
"Shut up! You know nothing!" Ellis shouted, "My toy is back where it belongs, undergoing tests to make sure there's nothing else you've done to it! And you're going to stay here, and you're going to suffer, until you tell me how to fix everything you've ruined!"
These words only made Worth laugh again. "Make me suffer? Seriously?" He shook his head again as his grin widened. "I'm a masochist, you dumb fuck. Do you really think this is gonna break me?" Here he suddenly tensed his hand, forcing it as closed as he could manage in the circumstances. There was a sickening squelch as muscles tensed farther around the blade in his palm, matched only by the horror of the grin playing across the blond's face. "It won't. Anythin' you can possibly do, odds are I've done it before. Sure, it'll hurt like fuck, but well, that's part of the game, ain't it?" Here he finally opened his eyes to meet Ellis' frustrated glare, his eyes glittering with pain, defiance, and most terrifying of all -- amusement.
"I am stronger than you. I am fucking better than you, Ellis, and you know it. You have always known it. Go ahead and fight all you want, I'm not going to talk. Just let me know when you give up, 'cause I wanna pay real close attention when you get stuck draggin' your ass to the Council and let them know all that money and freedom they gave you has been wasted on the second best."
Ellis' eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly, as though shocked that the broken and beaten man before him could actually still speak, let alone laugh and move those shattered fingers to only cause himself more pain.
"You're insane," Ellis finally gasped. "You're out of your bloody mind." He finally composed himself, shook his head, and let that superior grin slide over his face again, "It's okay, though, you'll see the light eventually. Until then --" The scientist drew back a fist and punched Worth in the face again. "That's for good measure. I'll see you around, you traitor son-of-a-bitch. For now you can sit there and think about what you've done. I'll see you tomorrow."
And then he turned and headed for the door, humming to himself. He stopped just in front of the door and looked back over his shoulder, "Oh, and because of your actions today... you can be sure that your friend and Subject Thirteen will be spending a very uncomfortable night in the labs. Think about that, Worth." Ellis laughed horribly as he left the room, the door hissing shut and locking with an audible clunk.
Worth watched him go, managing to hold his position until the doors had closed. The instant he was alone he collapsed in his seat, energy spent for the moment. The doctor flopped back against the cold steel of his seat and simply breathed for the moment. Every inch of his body throbbed, and the knife was still stuck in his hand, but in a way, that was a victory in itself. Because yeah, he was a mess, but Ellis was clearly shaken, and that was good enough for Worth for now. Admittedly, the threats against Hanna and Lamont were mildly concerning. But he hadn't been bluffing about the point that Ellis surely would have shown Hanna off had he been there, and if there was anything Worth wasn't going to underestimate in this situation, it was Ellis' arrogance.
And so the doctor lay there under the obscenely bright lights, listening to nothing but the sound of his own breathing, and he began to laugh, a satisfied grin splayed across his face. Because fuck, this was a mess.
He just hoped the others had enough sense to stay out.
---
Watching everything unfold had been almost tragic.
Hanna had dragged everyone back to the factory in a panic, spewing desperate ideas that Worth had just gotten locked in the bathroom and it had happened before so that was possible, or maybe all the technology had suddenly shorted out because that had happened before too, or maybe he was just being his usual jackass self and not responding just to yank their chains.
But the factory had been empty, the basement was devoid of the hazy smoke and cursing that usually awaited them on their return from a mission, and Hanna had been crushed. They had saved Conrad, true, but returning to an empty house with no idea where Worth could have gone was disheartening.
Hanna had torn the factory apart, searching for the doctor, then for Lamont, calling their names. He'd even tried contacting them through communicators and through the network but he gotten no response. And whatever energy he'd had left after the fight had left, leaving him drained and small looking. Now he was sitting forlornly in one of Worth's office chairs, head hanging, not speaking, the glow on his bracers dimmed in his lethargy to a pathetic flicker. In Hanna's dull blue eyes, everything seemed to be falling apart.
His partner stood against a nearby wall, arms folded, brow furrowed in obvious concern as he simply watched Hanna. He'd tried to get Hanna to move, asked him if he'd wanted anything, but after several minutes of getting little to no response he'd finally backed off.
Toni, meanwhile, was currently attending to Conrad, standing before one of the operating tables and dabbing at swollen cuts with a pained expression. "This might hurt a bit," She'd muttered as she pressed a soft hand against the vampire's arm in warning, an alcohol-soaked cotton ball held over the wound made with silver.
Conrad hissed between his clenched teeth and jerked his head to the side, "I don't care, as long as it cleans out that silver; that stuff stings like hellfire." His dark eyes flickered to meet Toni's emerald ones. "But at least I can see again. Um, th-thank you for... thank you for saving me."
A shadow of a grin spread across the werewolf's face for a brief moment. "You're welcome. But it was all of us, really. I'm not as fast as Hanna is, and without Eli's shooting I'm pretty sure we would have tanked," she said as she dabbed at the cut, brow furrowing. "I hope I'm doing this right, normally Worth deals with things like this…"
"You're doing fine, Sweetcheeks," Veser said, though it lacked his usual boisterous and cocky edge. He tore open a bandage and placed it over a cut on his arm. "You've got the hands of an angel."
If Toni was going to respond, she never got the chance because there was a clatter from the stairs and suddenly Lamont stumbled into the basement, covered in bruises and several still-bleeding cuts. He leaned against the door frame, looked around the room at everyone, and then dropped his head, eyes closing as he let out a weary groan.
"Lamont!" Toni's eyes widened and she paused to set down the things she'd been using to patch up Conrad before rushing to the dealer's side. "Oh my God, are you okay!?"
"What happened to you?" The former agent inquired, brow furrowing as he stood up straight. "Where's Worth?"
"It... I..." The dealer pushed himself off the wall, breathing heavily, and allowed Toni to help him over to a table next to Conrad. "It was stupid... my fault... I should have known better than to follow a shady lead but, hey," he let out a weak chuckle, "that's kinda my job."
"Lamont..." Hanna's small and quiet voice came from the shadowy corner of the room, "What happened to Worth...?"
Lamont's dark eyes locked with Hanna's blue ones for a moment before he looked away, "Sorry Hanna. He... I walked right into it; it was a trap and I fell for it." He shook his head. "And that fucking idiot played the hero. He knew what was going on and he came anyway."
Toni's eyes widened slightly. She paused in her grabbing for a bandage, those wide green eyes going to meet Lamont's dark ones. "You can't be serious," she murmured, expression disbelieving.
The former agent had gone stone still at his place near the wall. "So they captured you when you were out on a job, and then while we were saving Conrad…" He let the the words hang in the air, his mouth clamping shut as if it had hurt to say them.
"They got Worth." Lamont winced and his gaze flitted across the room to look at Hanna before dropping again. "It's what they wanted all along. I... I'm sorry."
A beat of silence and then, "No..." The single word from Hanna's mouth seemed to shatter the redhead completely. He slumped down in his chair, a mere shadow of the eccentric bundle of energy he usually was, and put his face in his hands.
Upon seeing this, the former agent winced. "Hanna…" he muttered before making his way over to the redhead. He reached out to touch his partner's shoulder without hesitation, a sort of physical, silent manifestation of what seemed to be one of the few remaining rocks in Hanna's crumbling world. This was nothing compared to everything else facing them down, but it was all he had to give for the moment and in a way that knowledge that this was all he had for Hanna made the crushing sensation in his chest all the worse.
Conrad watched them for a long, painful moment and then looked back at Lamont. "B-but how? I mean, he's Worth! How the hell could they capture Worth?"
"He didn't go without a fight, if that's what you're asking..." Lamont muttered, "But you get enough people and you can take anyone down."
Toni bit her lip as she pulled some supplies out of the first aid kit and pushed them Lamont's way, flashing him a questioning look before going back to Conrad. "But why would they go after Worth? He's Worth. He hasn't even been on missions or anything like that. I know he's just as wanted as the rest of us, but…"
"Because of what he knows," Lamont answered, dampening a cotton swab with some anesthetic and dabbing at his cuts with it. "He's smart and he knows a lot and they want him back."
"Wait, back? What do you mean "back"?" Conrad asked and then flinched when Toni tightened a bandaged around one of his cuts.
"He..." Lamont paused, licked his lips nervously, and then continued. "He used to work for the Council..."
"What!?" Toni sputtered, pulling Conrad's bandage just a bit too tightly. Her hair was a swirl of black and blue as she craned her neck to gape at Lamont. "But… but he's Worth!"
"What, you thought he always lived out here in the slums? Always fighting the government?" There was an uneasy edge to Lamont's voice, almost a panicked anger. "Back then, he was just like the rest of them. He worked for the Council, he lived a happy little life in the inner circle, and he... he..." The dealer drew in a deep breath, as though realizing what he was about to say, and then spoke in a lower, calmer tone, "He worked on the Firefly Project."
"No shit," Veser said loudly.
There was a heavy silence in the lab for a moment. It was as if everyone was afraid to speak, as if they left the words untouched, they would somehow cease to mean anything. Gazes went from Lamont to the floor and back, save for mahogany eyes that desperately sought out bright blue in an attempt to make sense of it all.
Hanna remained slouched in his chair, face hidden from the world. But when Lamont mentioned the Project, he tensed, his whole body seizing up into a knot of almost visible nerves. The lines on his bracers brightened for a brief moment and then dimmed again but he refused to look at anyone.
"Aheh, you're... joking right?" Conrad said half-heartedly after a long moment of nothing. "Right? Because he had me go in and steal that info and everything and..." The vampire trailed off, suddenly remembering the way Worth had talked about the offices, about the man named Ellis, about everything. "Oh God, you are telling the truth! Then... then how do we know he wasn't still working for them!?"
"He wouldn't." Hanna said flatly, voice still muffled by his hands. "He hates them, he wouldn't."
Toni bit her lip, shifting uncomfortably as her gaze stayed on the concrete. "Well," she muttered as she tucked a strand of bright blue behind her ear. "To be fair, him holding back this information doesn't exactly speak in his favor."
"But that doesn't explain why things went the way they did," the former agent spoke up, looking to the rest of the group. "If he was working for them, why create some sort of elaborate scheme to switch from Conrad being captured to himself? It doesn't make any sense."
"I told you, it's because of what he knows," Lamont responded, now tying off his cuts with bandages, pointedly not looking at anyone.
"That's no answer," Veser grumbled, leaning against a table with a scowl. "Even if he did work for them, what good is a stinking old man gonna do them?"
"It's not my place to say," Lamont said in a low voice.
Toni let out a growl of frustration. "It's not right for him to have kept this from us. Come on, Lamont, you can't just --"
The dealer's dark eyes locked on her, hard, cold, lacking the usual laughter and shadiness that lingered in them. The look he gave her told her -- not asked her -- to drop it because it was a territory she should not step into.
Again came silence after the dealer's words, this one heavy and oppressive. The group was left sitting there and in that instant, standing at Hanna's side, the former agent began to realize just how earth-shaking the whole situation was. For all of its terrifying lighting and shenanigans that went on down there, the lab and its main inhabitant had been one of the few constants the group had been able to rely on over the years. Regardless of what happened and regardless of how the missions went, even the former agent found he had started to trust the idea that Worth would always be there. He would always be in the lab, forever in a state of minor irritation and fixing up Hanna after his latest stupid stunt and cursing Veser for being equally reckless. He would have awful nicknames for Toni and he'd be cheery about the abuse he'd been dishing out for Conrad for hours now and every time Lamont came around there would probably be a fist fight and there had always been something strangely comforting in the constancy of that.
Except now there was no comforting, hazy blanket of smoke, there was no cursing and shouting and long, disgusting fingers pointing them in the direction they should go. It was gone and the group seemed lost.
"Fuck this whiny shit," Veser suddenly ground out, slapping a hand down on the tabletop with a loud smack. "You're all faggots!" The half-Selkie pointed at Lamont. "Greasy faggot!" Then at Toni: "Furry faggot!" Conrad: "Yuppie faggot!" The former agent: "Long, tall, and ugly faggot!" And finally at Hanna: "Whiny, gayass, faggot with a hero complex!"
Everyone except Hanna turned to stare at him.
"What?" Veser's face was a mixture of disgruntled anger and something like a hurt he was trying so hard to hide. "You're whining about the old guy not being here so I'm just trying to lighten the mood!" He folded his arms and leaned on the table again, scowling, "Worth woulda done it..."
Toni did nearly crack a smile at this, shaking her head as she turned to press a final bandage on Conrad's wounds. "Good point. All right, we've got our dose of swearing… the question is, what do we do now?"
"We rescue him." Hanna's voice was still flat, still muffled by his hands, but there was a hard edge of determination to it.
"How?" the former agent asked, brow furrowing.
"He has a point, Hanna," Toni said as she closed up the first aid kit and wandered across the room to put it away. "He's going to be in Vitra Tower. Going in there didn't exactly go well last time." Her gaze flitted to Conrad, apologetic and somewhat pained at the memory.
"Should we even rescue him?" the vampire threw in, flexing the fingers on the arm that had been cut by the silver. His gaze flickered around the room, stubborn, angry, glittering with the lingering hint of fear at the memory of the tower. "I mean, this is kind of his fault. Why don't we just leave him there?"
"No." Hanna still hadn't come out of hiding but that angry tone in his voice said it all, "We're not leaving him there. We're going to rescue him."
"How do you expect to do that?" Lamont asked, frowning. "What, are you going to just waltz in there and take him back? You don't stand a chance, Hanna! They'd take you away before you had a chance to even think about where they were keeping Worth!"
"You're just giving up on him," Hanna said, face still hidden, voice still flat.
"I am not!" Lamont shouted, "What you're suggesting is crazy! Stupid! You wouldn't stand a chance in there! Eli, tell him he's crazy! Tell why we can't get Worth out of there!"
The former agent stood in silence for a moment, his gaze going to a crack in the concrete floor. For an instant, his mind was miles away, and all he could wonder was just how long that crack had been there. How had it started? Had it been there before Worth, Lamont and Hanna had come there, seeking shelter in those nebulous years packed with lies and secrets? Were there still more things he didn't know, hidden away by squared shoulders and Hanna's haunted eyes? How many more of these were going to be crawling out of the woodwork at inopportune times, threatening to consume them all whole? The idea of that time, the time before he'd met Hanna -- it seemed so impossibly far away to him, something he couldn't even begin to wrap his head around or imagine.
He couldn't wrap his head around it, but he could see the agony in the set of Lamont's shoulders, in the clench of Veser's sharp teeth and the way Toni's dainty tanned fingers twisted together, the chipped nail polish glinting in the flickering light. He could see the hole that had been left behind as if it were a tangible thing, could see bright blue eyes gazing into that abyss, and he had no idea where to begin to try to pull the redhead back -- to try to pull them all back.
But he had to try, because they were all he had now.
"You know… Hanna and Conrad honestly didn't have that much trouble getting into Vitra tower," the agent murmured, mahogany eyes narrowing as he raised his head. "And the vampire hunter had considerably less luck against four of us. If we do this properly…" He trailed off, gloved hands clenching into fists. The words sounded ridiculous, he couldn't believe they were coming out of his mouth. Somewhere in his mind, the long dead agent was pointing out every thing that could possibly go wrong.
But well, lately he was finding there was something very Hanna-ish about him that was capable of ignoring that.
Lamont gaped at him and then shook his head, "Look, I want to get Worth outta there as much as you guys do, but be serious about this. They've probably doubled -- no, tripled security since you guys were in there. Maybe you can get in, but how do you expect to get out alive? They won't let you escape. Not again..."
"Uh, dude," Veser cut in, "in case you've forgotten, I have bombs."
"Then we'll make sure we're really packing," Toni was speaking now, that fighting spark in her bright eyes that was ordinarily so familiar. She stood up from the table she'd seated herself on, boots clicking on the floor. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting really sick of these guys taking our friends. I'd like to go in and deal some damage already."
The former agent frowned as he looked to the dealer. "I'm certain you have the connections to get into the city. Hanna tells me you've had him smuggled inside of supply crates more than once, and the tower definitely has a loading dock."
"Dude," Veser said again with an exasperated edge, "bombs."
Hanna's partner nodded curtly. "It seems fitting for us. Explosions tend to make good distractions and possible exit strategies," he said, then frowned slightly. "Though I believe the tunnels are bugged now, so using them as an escape is probably not an option."
"We'll wing it," Toni shrugged. "That place is full of captured paranormals, right? Veser and I can just… you know, do what we did in the ark. Free a bunch and see what happens. Worse case scenario, we just blow a hole into the tunnels and charge it."
"Um," Conrad fidgeted, still sitting on the table, "I... I don't have to go, do I?" He looked genuinely terrified at the idea of going anywhere near Vitra Tower.
There werewolf shook her head, her ponytail a blur of black and blue curls as she reached out to touch his arm. "Of course not. Why would we send you there?" She flashed him a smile. "Everyone else is terrible at surveillance. We need you here, Mr. Vampire."
A nervous smile made its way across Conrad's face and he nodded once, grateful that he didn't need to leave, grateful that he had place where he was needed.
Lamont stood off to the side, opening and closing his mouth every minute or so, as if he were trying to come up with something to interject. However, as his dark eyes flicked across the group, it seemed to steal the words from him. "I…" He mumbled before trailing off, brow wrinkling as he seemed to be considering this.
"Sweet!" Veser grinned. "You hear that, Hanna? We're gonna get Worth so you can stop being depressed and shit!" The half-Selkie danced around and then instantly deflated when he saw Hanna had still not come out of his shell. "Hanna. Hanna, for the love of God, we're going to rescue him! Will you stop being an idiot?!"
Hanna drew in a deep breath and straightened up in the chair, finally dropping his hands into his lap, "I'm all right, Veser." The flatness of his voice said otherwise. "I was just thinking about... just thinking." Those blue eyes were still empty and dull, the bracers still dimmed to a mere sputter of light, but he'd definitely recomposed himself after the silent breakdown he'd had earlier.
His partner gazed down at him for a moment, then stepped around so he could kneel down and look the redhead in the eyes. "Hanna," he murmured. "Look at me." Their gazes locked and the agent quirked a brow at him, his voice coming out in a low rumble as he continued. "I know this is hard. I understand you're probably blaming yourself. But would Worth want you to be doing this?"
Lamont snorted, "Worth wouldn't want us to rescue him at all."
"Dude," Veser cut in, "when have we ever listened to Worth?"
Hanna smiled a little. "Heh, you're right. We never listen to him." He looked up at his friends, the people he trusted more than anyone else in the world. "And if we do rescue him, he's gonna get pissed and throw stuff at us." The redhead suddenly let out a loud, short laugh, "What am I so worried about? We can do this! We can rescue Worth and we'll stick it to the man while we're doin' it!"
The former agent frowned at this response, eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed down at the redhead. His smile was back in place, but it seemed more forced somehow, lacking something behind the eyes. The source of the problem could be seen in the set of Hanna's shoulders, bent as if the weight of everything from the past few days was placed upon them. A part of him wanted to reach out, wanted to take that weight from him, wanted to beg the redhead to let him to help, to shake Hanna until that stupid strand of heroism somehow fell out and his partner understood that he wasn't to blame.
But of course, all he could do was stand and watch helplessly.
If the others noticed this lack of spark, they didn't say anything. It was as if the redhead's smile had brought a new light to the darkness of the room, and regardless of the strain behind it they all seemed to sorely need it now. Perhaps they did know, and the former agent had to wonder this as he spotted the slight tension in Toni's own smile, in the way Veser punched his fists in the air and Conrad very nearly smiled himself.
Perhaps they knew and understood that there was no stopping Hanna from taking on the burdens he did. All they could do was follow along and desperately cling to that hope, because that was all they had right now.
"Fine." Lamont sighed. "Fine, there's no way I'm going to argue with you like this. I'll go set everything up." The dealer shook his head at the grinning Hanna, turned away, and left the room. The former agent could hear him muttering to himself as he ascended the stairs to the first floor and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this.
Lamont was obviously still scared, but even that couldn't deny Hanna's optimism, especially in regards to his best friend.
"Okay guys!" Hanna said happily. "Let's go get ready to rescue Worth! Because what's the Agency of Awesome without its doctor, right?"
"Right," Toni said with a grin. "Time to get our jerk back."
"Oh joy," Conrad said sarcastically, levering himself off the table and pulling a jacket on over his his ruined shirt, "how would I ever find my motivation for life without an asshole calling me gay every five minutes?"
"Well, is it a lie?" Veser asked, and then grinned innocently when Conrad glared at him, "Aw, come on! We're going on a rescue mission and I get to go and I get to blow stuff up! This is gonna be awesome!"
"It'll be easy!" Hanna added brightly, "We've got nothing to worry about, especially now we've got Connie watching our backs again. Right Eli?" And the redhead turned to the former agent with that familiar grin on his face.
His partner gazed back at him, expression blank for the moment. The smile was so bright, it could have been genuine. There was clearly no point in pushing the issue, so the ex-agent finally forced a small smile. "Of course," he murmured. He had to believe there was some truth to that smile and everyone else's enthusiasm.
Otherwise, he was starting to worry nothing would be able to chase away those shadows in Hanna's eyes.
---
Next: Ta-da!