The Devilstone Registry: From These Great Heights (12/12-1/2) PART 1

Oct 09, 2009 00:55

Prologue:

“So by now you’ve figured out why you’re all here.” The Snoop said, addressing the impromptu Westport Concerned Citizen’s brigade.

“The doc’s got himself kidnapped again.” Megan nodded, pulling on her hat. “When do we ride and who do we shoot?”

“Hold on, Mrs. Sarver.” Anoop said, making her blush at the mention of her new moniker. Mac blushed too, an unlikely expression for a sheriff. “We can’t ride. It’s a long way. We’ll have to buy horses in Salt Lake City to get us to where I think the Sons of the West are holed up. Anyone have the scratch to outfit this whole posse with ponies?”

Lil rose her hand shyly, looking unsure of what she was about to say.

“Adam keeps an emergency fund. In case I or Scott would need anything if something should happen to him - enough to get us by. I think…I think this qualifies as an emergency. Don’t you think, Scott?”

Scott was sitting in the back of the room, head hung low and goggles off as if he hoped no one could see him if he couldn’t see them. At the sound of his name he perked up and nodded once, running a hand through his unwashed mass of curls.

“I think that’d be doing right by him. Whatever it takes to get him free. ”

“Kris too!” Matty piped up, arm slung around Allison’s waist. “We gotta get Kris out of there. I mean, I am sure if he wasn’t tied up he’d be out himself by now. Unless he’s waiting for Adam. Yeah, he wouldn’t leave Adam there, not ever.”

“Matty brings up a good point.” Mac said, striding forward confidently. “We don’t know what shape our boys will be in. They could be incapacitated, tied up…maybe worse. If you can’t handle that kind of outcome, you’ve gotta stay home. If you lose it - you’re a goner.” He leveled a long stare at each individual in the room, excepting Scott. “So I want you all to think long and hard about this. I know you want to help the Doc and Arkansas. But at what cost? Are you ready to lay your life on the line for two men that, let’s face it, might already be dead?”

Allison exploded into tears, and Matt pulled her close, shooting a reproachful glance at Mac.

“I ain’t sayin’ it’s likely.” Mac hurried. “But we gotta be prepared for the possibility.” He walked over to Allison and squatted down in front of her. “It’s alright if you don’t wanna come, Miss Iraheta. Adam knows how much you care, you don’t gotta prove nothing.”

“It ain’t about proving nothing, Mac.” Allison said, stifling her tears. “Adam and Kris saved my life. Adam didn’t give up on me when anyone else would. If he’s still alive, I’m gonna do everything I can. And if they’re …not alive, then I’m gonna take out the sonnuvabitch that did the deed.” Mac brightened considerably, knuckling her chin.

“That’s a girl.” He said, rising and returning to the front of the room.

“Are we all agreed?” The Snoop asked, looking around. “Is anybody going to back down.”

“Hell no!” Danny shouted after a moment. “It’s judgment day for the Sons of the West, and I’m their own personal St. Peter.”

“That’s right.” Lil agreed, moving to stand next to Danny. “I’ve got a few things welded together up in the lab that the Sons of the West ain’t never seen. We’ll show ‘em and show ‘em good.”

“Alright.” Anoop nodded, making a few notes. “We’ll meet up in an hour at the trackless station. Pack light and lock up your goods tight. Say goodbye to your next of kin, folks. This might be a rough ride.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Snoop!” Megan thumped him on the back. “Everything will be alright in the end. Y’all ‘ll see.” She gauged the room for a reaction and was pleased to see most people sharing her optimism. But Scott just picked up his head and looked, not at her, but in her general direction. He looked liked he could see something the rest of them couldn’t; something he didn’t like in the least.

***

“So, you’ll do it?” Adam asked, pressing a thick roll of bills into the open hand.

“I’ve got to go into Salt Lake for a food and supply delivery tomorrow. Of course, I’ll have a few of Simon’s henchmen with me. They don’t trust me, you know, not entirely. If you can get him into one of the empty crates without the muscle noticing, yeah, I’ll take him.”

“Get him onto the trackless, but make sure he doesn’t have any money on him. That way he won’t be able to make it back…not in time anyway.” Adam said, biting back the wave of nausea he felt as he imagined Kris waking up and realizing what had happened.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“It’s the only way.” He handed Todd a second bundle, this one consisting of a vial of liquid wrapped in cloth. “When you get him on the train, give him this. He’ll wake up a few seconds later. He’ll be groggy and cold, but awake. Make sure he’s comfortable.” Adam swallowed hard, trying desperately to refrain from tearing up. “Listen…in with the money is a map to my ranch. You should be able to find you brother there. And he’s not…I never…We didn’t. ” Adam felt awkward, not sure how to explain to Todd that his brother wasn’t a sodomite without coming out and saying it. Todd waved it off, though.

“Kris told me. Seems like we were played. Both of us. I’m sorry for my part in it, and his too. You should hear him talk about you, I don’t think he ever admired anyone as much. That was part of the reason why I believed that - the rumor - could be true. I don’t think he would have sold you out willingly.”

“I know.” Adam said, offering Todd his hand. “And if you get Kristopher out of here, you’ll be making up for it tenfold. Todd looked him in the eyes a long moment before taking his hand.

“Scott was right about you. You are a good man, Dr. Lambert, an exceptional human being. If you succeed, I’ll make sure the world knows. You won’t be soon forgotten. A cold comfort, I know-“

“I’ll take any comfort right now.” Adam said softly, eyes far off. “Even a cold one. I don’t feel like a very good person, doing what I’m about to do.”

“He’ll thank you for it someday. You’re giving him life. It’s the best gift you can give him.” Todd patted his shoulder reassuringly, but it did nothing to lift Adam’s spirits. He was giving Kris life beyond the Salt Flats, yes, but it was a life without love. A life knowing he had been betrayed by the person he trusted most. Adam could only hope Kris would find with someone more deserving. Tomorrow. Simon would be here for the launch of The Susan tomorrow afternoon. If Todd left with Kris tomorrow morning, he would be long gone by the time Adam did what he needed to do.

***

The Tale

“Do it for me, Kristopher.” Adam begged, pressing a warm and almost empty bottle into Kris’s hands and promptly rolling off his bedmate.

“You want me to?” Kris was surprised but satisfied that Adam had a good enough experience with it the last time to want the same treatment again. Though, to be honest, he was content with the way of things as they usually ran. There was something about their typical arrangement that just felt right.

Not that this felt wrong. Awe contrayre, as the French say. It felt wonderful, as everything did with Adam. Just a bit unusual, which was also part-and-parcel to being with Adam. The unusual was to be expected, celebrated even, so Kris did his best by his man, trying to recall things that Adam had done for him.

By the reaction of the man beneath him, his efforts were appreciated.

“Love you.” Adam cried out, entangling their hands when the crucial moment arrived. “Kristopher, I love you.”

“Love you too, darlin’” Kris responded, awash in his own bliss as Adam constricted around him. They lay together a long time, breathing returning to normal and sweat-slicked skin cooling back to an acceptable temperature. Adam scooted down so that his head was lower than Kris’s and kissed him. It was not a normal post-love-making kiss. Those were soft and short where this was…Kris struggled to think as Adam’s tongue darted between his teeth…this might as well be the kind of kiss to start things up all over again.

“Never wanna lose you.” Adam mumbled into his mouth, at least that’s what it sounded like to Kris, who was fighting a losing battle against Adam’s hands. He wanted to go to sleep, but Adam’s hands were prepping him for an entirely different activity.

“You won’t.” Kris promised, squeezing Adam playfully between the legs. Adam whimpered against Kris’s lips, so Kris repeated the gesture until Adam was pressing into his thigh. Kris wasn’t sure what had gotten into Adam - they hadn’t done this twice in an evening since their first few nights together, when they both had needed to make sure it had really just happened. But he couldn’t pretend to mind, not when Adam claimed his body in a sweet reversal of their earlier position.

“There, Adam.” Kris arched his back, angling his body so that Adam could reach a certain spot inside of him and gasping as Adam found it, again and again. “Need you…” Kris didn’t have to finish his plea. Adam knew him now, could devour him like a well-loved book. Adam burned through his pages, bringing Kris fast to his conclusion and then continued on for his own epilogue.

Kris lay in peace, body spent and heart full as Adam handed him a glass of water from the bedside pitcher. He drank deep as Adam watched over him, waiting to take the glass and replace it in his hands with a warm bit of cloth. When they were both clean, Adam curled next to him and held him as he fell asleep. Kris was thoroughly exhausted, so he was not surprised that sleep came fast.

“I’m sorry.” Adam whispered in his ear. Kris wanted to explain that it was alright; he had certainly enjoyed himself even if the exertion would take its toll tomorrow, but his mouth couldn’t form the words. He mumbled something, tongue heavy, and hoped Adam would understand. He usually did.

***

Kris slept heavily and uncomfortably, feeling like their mattress had turned to wood overnight. His arms tingled and ached, but he couldn’t stretch them. They must be pinned between the blankets and Adam. In fact, he really couldn’t move at all. It was disconcerting, but Kris couldn’t focus. They had been up too late, that was all. Kris surrendered to sleep, letting his worries dissipate into dreams.

***

“So you’re saying that they should be along presently?” Anoop said, leaning against the counter of Salt Lake City General Goods. The clerk winced, obviously not wanting to answer, but Mac placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, impending violence implicit in his movement.

“They’re here at the same time every week. But I don’t know what you want with them. They tell me it’s some religious group out there in the flats. Good Mormons they are, some kind of retreat.”

“I don’t know what they told you.” Anoop said, nodding to Mac, who tightened his grip. “But they’ve got friends of ours, innocent folks. We mean to get them out, so you better come clean on what you know.”

The clerk looked from Anoop to Mac; from Anoop’s softly smiling face to Mac’s scowling one.

“We can do this the easy way…” Mac said, leaning in closer.

“I know they come in from the west, every time. From the Salt Flats but you know that already. Dr. Todd should be in to pick up the supplies this afternoon. If you rode due west you might run into him. If you try and mess with him in town, well, you’re going to have to mess with a lot more than just him. They bring a lot of business through here; a lot of palms get greased.” The shopkeep stuttered. “That’s really all I know.”

Mac eased his grip at Anoop’s nod, and after tying and gagging the clerk lest he alert the local authorities the two men cleared out onto the front porch of the store where the rest of the party was waiting. Lil and Megan had gone to the nearest stable and purchased as many horses as they had; but there would still be people riding two a-horse and some riding in carts.

“Listen up” Anoop said, taking charge of the unorganized posse.”Our information says that the Sons of the West are gonna make a pick up from this store this afternoon. The shopkeeper says if we ride west from here, we should intercept them without anyone in town being the wiser. The point of this operation is to obtain their location and also a way into the compound. If they are expecting on bringing shipment back, they will likely have a large cart. If we can sneak as many of us back on the cart as possible, we might have a shot at infiltrating the compound before they are aware they’ve been compromised. “

“Then what?” Scott asked, speaking up for the first time since they had left Deadwood.

“…We get them out?” Mac offered, looking towards Anoop for confirmation.

“We don’t even know why they are there.” Scott huffed. “Allison and Matty said they went up to Simon’s place and didn’t came back. They were told by the Simon’s goons that they went willingly to go work on Simon’s big project, which we all can guess is the bomb Adam got kidnapped for in the first place.”

“Well they obviously wouldn’t go willingly…” Scott said angrily. “No one works with the Sons of the West willingly.”

“What do you mean, man?” Anoop said, eyeing him cautiously.

“I just mean we should try finding out as much as we can about their situation before we go charging in.”

“Well maybe this Todd fellow can shed some light in on the situation?” Mac said, mounting the largest of the horses, a giant palomino named Saint.

“Todd?” Scott said, taking a few quick steps towards Mac. “What about Todd? How do you know him?”

“Easy there, specs.” Mac said, shaking Scott loose from his arm. “The shopkeeper said someone named Todd was going to be the one picking up the supplies. What’s he to you?”

Anoop shot Scott another warning look, but Scott didn’t want to lie anymore.

“He’s my brother.”

***

Todd was on edge the entire way across the Salt Flats, and even after the runners were traded out for wheels he kept glancing back over his shoulder to where his secret cargo was stored away. What if Kris woke up early? What if someone at the compound noticed him gone and followed them?

He was so busy looking for trouble behind him that he missed it coming on the horizon.

“This might get interestin’ Doc.” One of Simon’s gunhands held up a small viewing scope and surveyed the dust cloud indicating a large riding party ahead of them by a few miles. “I see a whole posse of strangers, riding hard. Right for us, too.”

Todd took the viewing scope and peered through. Sure enough, there were at least ten riders heading in their direction. He couldn’t make out their faces, but they all looked heavily armed.

“You better get in back, Doc. Let us handle this.” Todd considered his situation. Perhaps in the confusion he could give his guards the slip.

“Let me have a gun. I can help.” Todd ventured, knowing full well that he wasn’t allowed to have a fire arm under normal situations.

“Don’t think so, Doc. Just get in back behind the cargo. We can take out these greenhorns if they start any trouble.”

Todd did as he was told, palming the vial from Adam as he climbed back amongst the cargo and ducked low. The first shot rang out, from far away. It was a warning shot. The Sons of the West returned fire, and as the sounds of the fighting increased, Todd opened the crate where he had hidden Kris and ducked inside. The crate was narrow, only wide enough for one but deep enough to conceal them both. Kris was unconscious, but his body twitched as Todd shifted his weight down on top of him. Todd pressed the vial to Kris's lips, sliding his hand beneath Kris's head and lifting slightly as he poured the contents down Kris's throat. Kris swallowed reflexively. Todd waited a few long moments before Kris's eyelids fluttered. Todd clasped his hand down over Kris's mouth to prevent him from screaming, though judging from the sounds of the gunfight outside, an extra scream would likely go unnoticed.

If the folks up ahead were more than simple robbers, they could perhaps provide a more reliable escort to town. If they were bandits, then Todd figured that an armed and conscious Arkansas was a sight better than nothing, which if the sounds of his “comrades” falling into the dust was anything to go by, was what he’d be left with after the initial firefight.

Kris’s eyes were fully open now, darting wildly around the crate. Todd was thankful his hands were bound, or he was sure that Kris would have been able to shove him directly up and through the lid of the crate. As it was, Kris arched his back hard in an effort to free himself.

“Shhh.” Todd said. “Listen. We’re under fire. The guards don’t know you’re here. I think…I think help is on the way.”

Todd felt a sharp pain in his hand as Kris bit down hard. Todd pulled away instinctively, but Kris didn’t shout. Instead he only mouthed a word, his face white with panic.

“Adam.”

When Todd didn’t answer Kris mouthed it again, and again. Each time growing more and more frantic.

“He asked me to take you. He drugged you. He wanted to save you, Kris.” Todd explained finally. Kris’s eyes blazed and he screamed, letting out the loudest noise Todd had ever heard a human make. There was rage and sadness and desperation in the unintelligible sound. Unable to cover his eyes, Kris fell silent and turned his head in an effort to disguise the tears falling from his eyes.

Only then did Todd notice that the gunfire had stopped. Either the fight was over, or Kris’s inhuman yell had silenced it temporarily. Either way, their cover was blown.

***

Kris felt like he was moving underwater. His eyelids were heavy as they struggled to open. He felt weight on top of him. Adam, he thought, thrill rushing through his veins even though his body wasn’t reacting the way it normally would.

It occurred to him, then, that the smell was all wrong. The person on top of him smelled far too much like salt and wood. In fact, the smell was everywhere, not just on top of him. It was all around him.

He forced his eyes open all the way, blinking the world into focus.

Dr. Todd?

He opened his mouth to speak, but Dr. Todd pressed a hand down over his mouth and mumbled a warning. Kris struggled to process this information and make sense of their situation. Was the compound under attack? They could be hidden, he supposed, in one of the warehouses. But how had he gotten there? He heard gunfire and the floor beneath him bounced slightly. They were moving.

Kris realized that they weren’t in a warehouse at all. They were on a wagon, which could really only mean one thing. He began to panic. Where was Adam? Was Adam with them? He knew in the pit of his stomach, though, what had happened. Or maybe what was going to happen. What Adam was trying to do.

A stab of white-hot anger pressed into his stomach, and Kris lashed out against the only person he could reach, biting Todd hard on the hand.

“Adam.” Kris mouthed, begging Todd to deny the theory Kris had forming in his mind. Their time together last night was, Kris was sure of it now, Adam’s own personal garden of Gethsemane. He had memorized Kris’s body with his mouth, as thought he would never see it again. It was because he had not expected to.

“He drugged you.” Todd confirmed, and Kris thought back to the glass of water, and how Adam had apologized, kissing him on the back of the neck.

Betrayed with a kiss.

Kris felt the rational part of his mind slipping away as emotion took the reins and pulled him sharply left off the well-worn trail of right-thinking behavior. Had Adam really condemned him to life? Was Adam dead already, had he slept unknowingly through Adam’s last moments on earth? Kris screamed in impotent rage, straining against his bonds and bucking his hips hard against the man on top of him in an effort to free himself.

His back and thigh muscles were sore and the pain felt good; his only physical proof that Adam had ever existed at all. He had no ring, no photograph, no glove or any other lover’s trinket. Only an angry, empty heart and a soreness between his legs to hold onto the fact that he had ever been loved at all.

Kris pushed up with his entire body, slamming Todd hard into the top of the crate. The gunfire had stopped now, and Kris wondered what had been the cause of the ceasefire. Maybe they weren’t that far from the compound yet. Perhaps they hadn’t even left; perhaps they were stopped on the way out. Hope reared her beautiful head and Kris shoved upwards again, screaming out for Adam with all the rage he could fill his lungs with.

Suddenly Kris’s vision went white as the lid of the crate was opened and the high noon sunlight filled his frame of view. Just as suddenly there was someone to block out the sun leaning over him, pulling Todd up and off.

“Adam!” Kris shouted again, daring to hope that perhaps this was all a misunderstanding, and now that Adam was here -

But his eyes adjusted and he found himself looking into the confused face of Fightin’ Mac Sarver. No, they couldn’t be that far - unless he had been out for days - unless Adam was already…

Kris screamed again, but this time it was a tortured howl and Kris felt more beast than human, like a creature of the Fragments.

“Easy there, Kid.” Mac said, lifting him out of the crate and over his shoulder as if he were nothing more than a girl.

“Careful, he could be hurt!” Kris heard Lil’s voice and screamed again. He must be back home - he couldn’t tell with his face buried in Mac’s shoulder.

“He’s fine.” Dr. Todd said, voice shaking. “I am not sure if this hysteria is brought on by the drug Adam used to knock him out or if -“

“Adam drugged him?” Mac asked incredulously, and Kris couldn’t help but sob into Mac’s shoulder. “Doc you better start talkin’ cause we don’t have the time to waste. Where’s Adam and what’s this nonsense you’re tryin’ to sell me about Arkansas?” His voice was booming, and Kris considered the very real possibility that he was about to be used as an impromptu club. Mac mentioning Adam had calmed him. If Mac was asking where he was, perhaps the explosion hadn’t gone off yet. Surely he would have heard of it. He struggled against Mac’s hold on him, and Mac set him down.

Kris blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the light. He was in the desert somewhere, nowhere near Westport as far as he could tell. He looked west and saw, with the greatest sense of relief he had ever experienced, the white Salt Flats stretching their glowing expanse as far as his eyes could see. They couldn’t be more than ten miles from the compound. He took off running, but only got a few feet before Todd gave a warning yelp and Mac grabbed him with two strong arms.

“Where do you think you’re going, Kid?” Mac said, picking him up off the ground. “Snoop get over here, something’s wrong with Arkansas.”

“There’s nothing wrong with him.” Todd said, jumping off the back of the wagon. “He just knows that unless we go back to stop him, Adam’s going to blow himself up. Along with the entire facility. To save the country, before you ask why. Look around you. Would you rather the bomb go off here or in Washington DC, killing a million people in the process? What Adam’s doing is necessary - he understands that but Arkansas here wouldn’t see reason. So Adam took the decision out of his hands and asked me to get Kris out. Begged me to, more like.” Todd walked close to Kris, looking him in the eyes.

“Kris if you have any-“ Todd glanced towards Mac, clearly unsure of how much to say in front of other people “ - respect for Dr. Lambert, you have to let him do this. You’d do it for him if you were in his shoes.”

Kris considered it a moment. If he knew that by dying he could save the lives of thousands, including Adam, that he’d do whatever it took to make sure Adam was safe and then he’d gladly go to his death. But the circumstances had changed. Kris looked around to see more horses arriving. Horses with familiar riders.

“Y’all…you came.” Kris said, looking around at his assembled posse of friends. He saw Danny, who had brought along a few of his parishioners. Megan, who had hopped off her horse to stand beside Mac. Matty and Allison were astride one horse, looking nervous but determined. Lil was there as well, pulling a cart that carried an arsenal of bizarre looking contraptions Kris couldn’t even guess at the uses for. The Snoop and Mac were there of course…and Scott, who rode up last.

“Well of course we did.” Megan said, looking incredulous. “Why, as soon as we figured out where you could be, we were off lickety- split. What kind of no good, lily-livered-“

“Todd!” Scott shouted, leaping off his horse and running towards his brother. “I never thought I’d see you again. I thought you were dead.”

“I thought you were-“ Todd started to say but stopped himself just in time when Kris coughed loudly “-never mind. How did you find me?”

“I just wish I would have come sooner. “ Scott moved the goggles away from his eyes as they hugged tightly. Kris turned away to give them a moment, and because their tearful reunion made his heart ache. He understood why Adam did what he did, but the manner of his betrayal stung him deeply. It was strange, after being so open amid the Sons of the West, to have to pull back his emotions now. But if they were going to save Adam, it was best that Kris pull up the veil of secrecy once more, at least in front of the group at large. After a moment, Anoop strode forward as several members of the group looked confused and a little edgy at the delay.

“Alright.” Anoop said. “Sorry to break up the reunion. But we’re working against the clock here, if I’m guessing correctly and I usually do. So let’s piece together what the situation is now and what we can do about it. Kris-“ Anoop turned to Kris but abruptly changed his mind when he saw how Kris looked. Kris rubbed his face, trying to pull himself together. “Todd. It’s Todd, right? Todd is Scott’s brother, everyone. Dr. Todd, why don’t you tell us what’s happening.”

Todd launched into a detailed explanation of the compound and its defenses as well as the sequence of events leading up to the launch of The Susan with her weapons payload. He glossed over how Kris came to be in a crate, saying only that Adam had enlisted his aid in getting Kris to safety since Kris was unwilling to leave. He related Adam’s plan to change the bombs trigger so that it would explode fifteen minutes after activation rather than upon impact.

“Why fifteen minutes?” Matty asked, looking perplexed. “Why not an hour? Why not wait until it’s up in the sky and it won’t hurt anyone.”

“The timing mechanism was only added as a failsafe against a faulty drop. If the bomb would fail to detach from The Susan, the pilot could land the aircraft, utilize the timer, and take off again to be clear of the bomb. “ Todd explained.

“The timer works based on a coil of wire.” Scott broke in, indicating with his hands the design of the mechanism. “There is only so much room for the coil to fit, so your time is limited by the length of the wire. If the bomb were physically larger you could make the time longer but it is already almost larger than practical. The government felt that fifteen minutes would be sufficient time to make an escape without giving the enemy enough time to disarm the bomb, if I remember the initial specifications correctly.”

“That’s exactly it.” Todd said, nodding. “You must have studied Adam’s notes on the timing mechanism pretty well.”

“Studied them?” Scott asked, looking surprised. “I wrote them. Adam doesn’t have the patience for precise mathematics. Anything that required intense calculation he would have me work up. I designed the entire timing function - once he gave me the vision. For the mechanism.” Scott said, clarifying his meaning since Adam had, literally, given him vision.

“That’s all well and good.” Kris said, growing impatient. “But we can’t let Adam blow himself up. I won’t stand by and let him do it. There’s gotta be another way, with all of us here.” He looked around, eager for anyone to suggest something that would save Adam. No one spoke up. “You’ve gotta be kidding me - y’all rode out here and now we’re going to saddle up and head for the hills while Adam gives his life to-“

“It’s what he wants. You can’t let your personal feelings get in the way of his plan.” Todd interrupted, and Kris wheeled on him. All the anger and frustration that had been building up ever since he stepped foot inside the research facility came spilling out of him. His trigger finger literally itched, but his gun belt was disturbingly empty.

“I don’t care what he thinks he wants. He’s not going to die because no one was brave enough to take a stand before it got to this point. Yeah, Yeah. I know Simon had you in a rough spot. You and half the people down in that lab. But you all played a long, so eager to be part of the problem so long as your own lives and loved ones didn’t bear the brunt of the damage. Well I’m done with playing along. I’m done with following orders and acting according to plan. I’m going to follow my own gut, and it’s telling me that Adam, that Dr. Lambert isn’t supposed to die in there. Not like this. It ain’t right and it ain’t fair.” Kris lowered his voice to a growl and grabbed Todd’s shirt. “And as for my personal feelings, they’ve got nothing to do with it.”

“Yeah! They’re friends, and Kris would never leave one of his friends behind. He’s saved me like five times already!” Matt chimed in, looming ominously over Kris’s shoulder and sneering at Todd.

“Kris?” Scott said, and Kris eased his grip on Todd’s shirt at the sound of Scott’s voice. “I just got my brother back. If you could hold off killing him till we’ve caught up, I’d be much obliged.” Kris looked up at Scott, and there was understanding in Scott’s eyes, apparent even though the thick goggles. Kris dropped Todd and embraced Scott, knowing that Scott knew how he must be feeling right now and didn’t judge him for it. It was good to let down the pretense even for a moment.

“What’s that for?” Scott said, chuckling.

“I missed you, man. I’ve missed all of you. You’re the best friends a fella could ask for.” Kris said, stumbling over the awkward moment. Allison coo’d and Matt looked like he was about to cry for joy. Scott recoiled slightly, as if he’d been punched and moved next to his brother. Todd looked slightly frightened of Kris now that they were outside of the compound, as if only now realizing that his erstwhile errand boy was in actuality a living legend.

“I’ve got it.” Anoop shouted, breaking up the reverie of reunion.

“What?” Kris asked eagerly, trying to refrain from hugging Anoop as well. His panic and fear was giving away to a desperate, grasping elation that everything would be okay now, as long as he wasn’t alone in his rescue effort.

“We use their plan against them.” Anoop said, pacing around the circle of comrades. We sneak in on this cart as far as we can and when we can’t hide any longer, we mount an attack, focusing on two areas. Team A will concentrate on getting a hold of the bomb and holding the position until Adam can rewire it. Kris you’ll lead that team, because you know the layout of the building and, if some reason Adam isn’t there, you’ll probably be able to find him. Scott, you’ll go with him, since you know the most about the timer and could re-wire it yourself if Adam isn’t there. Team B will make for the Zeppelin and wrest control of it from the guards. Danny and Mac, you’ll lead that team. Todd and I will go with and see if we can make heads or tails out of how to fly it. Once Team A sets up the bomb, they’ll join up with Team B and we’ll fly straight up until we’re clear of the radius of the explosion. I hope one of you science fellows can figure out how far that is.”

Kris couldn’t refrain from hugging Anoop after that, and Anoop patted his shoulder awkwardly.

“I don’t know what Adam gave you to knock you out man, but you are seriously ruining the image I worked so hard on over the last few years.” Anoop said. “So unless anyone else needs to get any hugging out of the way, we really should be off.”

Kris went over to one of the dead men and removed his pistols and bandoleer. Thinking “waste not” he grabbed the other bandoleers as well, feeling like he was going to need a whole lotta bullets.
TO BE IMMEDIATELY CONTINUED

author: xbeyondinsanex, rating: r

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