Episodes 10-11
by Diane Smith
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PREAMBLE TO EPISODE 10 Dr. Copeland moved to the window and flashed the blinds 3 times. The Monitors would be there within 10 minutes to help him remove the unconscious body of Ed Tate from the Lab. While he waited, he returned to deleting the files from Ed's computer. The Monitors were a clean-up crew specializing in removal of humans from secure locations. Dr. Copeland watched them efficiently clean all evidence of their presence. When they left, he accompanied them so he could keep watch over Ed Tate's condition. Upon his return to headquarters, he knew he would be notified of the arrangements made for their travel to Wainwright, Alaska. Later, he would administer medical aid to Ed during the flight. Follow-up shots would be required to keep Ed unconscious for the duration of the seven-hour flight and the drive to base camp. He had to ensure the drugs he used for the rest of the time Ed was with them were compatible and would not adversely affect Ed's thought process. Ed's only value lay in the capabilities of his mind. During the flight, he thought about the project at base camp, 'It will be good to get back to the business of finally defeating the humans. Ed will join us or die. Carl has forced others to join us before, but Ed needs to join us willingly.' Copeland firmly believed Ed would not be able to resist the pull of a truly original, biological science project. When Ed woke up, Copeland knew he would be Ed's initial contact. If he could convince Ed to join them by merely showing him the project and letting him think about it, Ed's conditioning would go much more smoothly. Otherwise, Carl's special talents would be required. EPISODE 10 ~~~~~~~~~~ Start Episode 10 Watch until the interview with Shane is completed ~~~~~~~~~~ Sloan pleaded with Attwood to mount a full-scale search for Ed. Despite his reassurances that he had already done so, Sloan wanted more. She wanted Tom to contact Shane. She did not know if Tom even knew how to reach Shane anymore. She fully understood the potential dangers involved if Tom was in contact with Shane. At this point, she no longer cared. Her oldest, dearest friend was in danger. She had to risk everything to get him back Tom acquiesced to her wishes. He wanted Ed back, too. Ed provided a solid base for Sloan. Ed was an integral part of the team and if Sloan thought Tom was less than enthusiastic about helping to find Ed, his value to Sloan would drop. Retrieving Shane would be challenging. He had directed the woman to never allow him to talk to Shane. Tom would have to risk driving there and snatching Shane away when Shane was away from home. However, the risk was not in actually taking Shane. The potential risks were to the boy and his mother if he exposed their location and to Tom, himself, since being with Shane could still prove dangerous. He unhesitatingly left to retrieve Shane for Sloan. ~~~ "Carl, no matter what happens, I don't want Ed hurt." Dr. Copeland said. Looking at him skeptically, Carl asked, "What if he won't cooperate?" Returning Carl's look with one of confident authority, Dr. Copeland said, "I believe he will help us because he will not be able to resist the draw of our advanced scientific work. If we threaten him or hurt him, he will definitely not cooperate. He has a brilliant mind. I want that mind working for us. Direct your guards not to hurt him." "As you wish." Carl replied as he turned to walk out the door. He hesitated as if about to say one more thing, then continued on out. As he left, he thought, 'We can always use my methods later when yours don't work.' ~~~ Ed awakened with the worst headache he had ever experienced. He was handcuffed and lying on a cot and he had no idea where he was. Ian Copeland walked in with some guards. Ed was willing to bet they would all test out with a 1.6% differential. Ian asked Ed to come with him. But first he wanted to give Ed something for his headache before showing him why he brought him there. The shot he gave Ed was very effective for the headache. Its primary purpose, however, was to make Ed susceptible to suggestions for a few minutes. For the first programming session, Ian wanted to limit his tampering to making Ed forget the nanites could be defeated by a simple electrical charge. He reasoned Ed would be less likely to be distracted if he did not remember that he might know the cure for the Bardsdale school children. They also needed to determine the effectiveness of this programming regiment on Ed. It generally worked on humans, but Ed was not the average human. As soon as Ed recovered from the shot, Ian wasted no time before showing off his new toys. He was proud of the radical direction his research had taken. No one had ever recovered a supposedly dead virus and cultivated it for exposure to the general population. He was certain that Ed would share his enthusiasm for the research. Of course, Ian had researched the virus and developed a vaccine. His own species would not suffer from this disease. The creative part still requiring development was the determination of the best means to expose the most people in the shortest time. This was where he wanted Ed's help. Ed's experience with malaria and other tropical disease research would be invaluable. To understand how to defeat a disease you have to understand the vectors that spread it. Vector intervention and treatment research had been the two areas Ed had worked in previously. Ed tried very hard to control his emotions as he saw Ian's laboratory. He did not understand the exact nature of the research yet, but he knew he wanted no part of it. This was surely not benevolent research for the betterment of mankind. He kept flashing on images of his father and his uncle. They had both been exposed to chemicals when they had served their country during Vietnam. Those chemicals had been developed to 'defend the good of the people.' Surely, the people who invented those compounds thought their work was important too. As he was returned to his prison tent, Ed looked around for escape routes. He could flee in any direction. The problem was, he had no idea where he was or where he needed to go. He kept thinking about his father and his father's brother, Bob. They both distrusted the government, but each expressed their anger differently. Ed grew up in a pacifist's home, but as a teenager he had visited his uncle's survivalist camp every summer. As he reviewed the limited knowledge he had gained from his month long visits, Ed now wished he'd paid more attention. Uncle Bob had always thought that Ed's parents and their pacifist attitudes were self-defeating. Thanks to the new species, Ed was beginning to agree with him. Those visits to the camp did give him some very rudimentary defensive training and his basketball, running, and surfing had kept his body in tone. With a lot of luck, he might find a way out of here. With even more luck he might find a safe haven. Ed figured he had nothing to lose. He would not help Ian Copeland. They would eventually kill him anyway. He might as well go out with style. ~~~ Tom conducted surveillance of Shane for the better part of the day. He had to know what Shane was doing and how to safely take him. In the end, he caught Shane as he was leaving the library just as the sun was setting. The shadows in the secluded area where the bike stand was located helped to hide Tom's aggressive actions from public viewing. Tom approached Shane straight on as he was preparing to unlock his bike from the bike stand. Shane was happy to see his new friend. His eyes went wide as Tom grabbed him and twisted him around so that Shane's mouth was covered and Tom held him immobile from behind. He had no idea why Tom would do this to him. "Cooperate, Shane. I'll explain all of this to you. I need you to come with me." Tom whispered in his ear. Shane nodded his agreement and stopped all resistance to Tom's restraint. As Tom pulled his hand away from Shane's mouth, Shane realized that Tom had put duct tape over his mouth. "Leave the tape in place. Get in my car. It's right here. When we are in the car, I'm going to handcuff you also," Tom said. As he got into Tom's car, Shane struggled through the tape to ask the obvious question, "Why?" "Sloan needs information from you. I can't trust myself to be around you without someone else there. You may have been programmed to give me commands that would force me to go back to being a Chameleon. You would not necessarily be aware of the program if they did it to you. I can't take that risk. It is part of why you could not stay with me. Will you help us?" Shane nodded his consent. Tom climbed into the driver's seat and used two sets of handcuffs. One set secured Shane's hands together in front of him. The other set held his hands down near the door handles. Tom then started the car and drove off. On their return trip, he filled Shane in on what had happened and coached him on how much information was safe to share with Sloan. Shane might know details about whatever project Dr. Copeland was working on, but all details of the work being done by the new species could not be shared with the humans...not yet anyway. Whatever the project was, it was important enough to cause Copeland to accept exposure and kidnap a top human scientist. "When she asks you questions, take your cues from me," instructed Tom. Shane arched his eyebrows and grunted as he tried to ask a question. Tom guessed at Shane's question, "You don't understand? We are both cooperating with the humans, why would we hold information back?" Shane nodded. "We want to help the humans, but if the wrong element thinks our information is too valuable they might imprison us to try to extract more of it. In your case, because you have no training to resist questioning, you would eventually tell them everything you know. Then you would be useless to them. They might try to dispose of you or use you for experiments. In my case, I'm no longer programmed to suffer pain when being questioned, but my training still makes me very reluctant to divulge any unnecessary information. I would resist longer, but eventually, anyone can be broken. With enough small pieces of information they might be able to put together sufficient facts to destroy our species. I don't support the beliefs anymore, but I still want our species to survive." lectured Tom. Shane nodded again but had a questioning look on his face. "Watch me for small motions. I'll give you cues on which questions you can answer fully and which ones you should only give rudimentary answers to. If I shake my head, don't give a full answer...don't give any details...just say, 'I don't know.' You can give her a hint or a general idea, but don't give specifics. I'll try to stand behind Sloan when she questions you," answered Tom. When they arrived at Sloan's door Tom knocked to have her unlock the chain and let them in. As he felt her approaching he removed the tape from Shane's mouth. ~~~ 'Holocaust.' Why did that word bother Tom so much? He knew the obvious implications of something deadly that was also so vast and evil as to be almost beyond comprehension, but there was more to it. Could this word have set another program in place for Tom? Shane's use of it seemed preplanned. Tom was fairly sure they should renew their efforts to watch him in case he started reporting to the Chameleon program again. ~~~~~~~~~~ Continue Episode 10 Watch until Tom says, "We'll go down and find Ed" ~~~~~~~~~~ Ed set up his mental priority list: get a coat, open his hand cuffs so he could wear the coat, find a way past the guards, and sneak away from the camp. He remembered one of his uncle's admonitions, "Plan the way you want to fight, then fight the way you planned." Well the list was the start of a plan. Of course, with the way Ed's luck had been going lately, the coat he would find would probably be from someone much smaller. Ed could never stay warm if he couldn't close the coat. ~~~ On the plane to Alaska, Sloan was working herself up to an extremely tense state. All she could think about was the possibility that Ed was already gone. For Tom, the experience was almost as intense as if he was experiencing those same feelings himself. Tom was becoming more and more attuned to Sloan's emotional signals. He needed to reassure her. This emotional state would distract both of them from concentrating on their mission. He had to get her focused back on finding Ed and solving the mystery of what Dr. Copeland was working on in Alaska. Tom put his fingers in her hair and held her as he had two nights before. It calmed her, but he found it did not really calm him. He was finding that the more he touched her, the more he felt a sexual tension building in himself. He hoped they would not have to kill Dr. Copeland immediately if they found him. Dr. Copeland might have the answers to some of Tom's questions about interspecies mating. If Copeland knew the answers, Tom would get them. That was a given. ~~~ As they looked down over the base camp, Tom and Sloan realized they would have to wait a while until nightfall. It was springtime, there would be a nightfall eventually. They had a quiet, easy talk about how they could enter the camp. "Can you sense Ed?" Sloan asked. "No, we're too far away to sense anything. If I could sense them, they could sense me," Tom reminded her. "What about masking," Sloan asked. "I'm not trained in it. After experiencing it from Lewis and Lisa, I think I know how it's done. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right, or if I'm effective. I tried it when we went to the Lab to try to get Ed away from Dr. Copeland, but, of course, he was already gone. I tried the biofeedback method that you suggested several weeks ago. I also tried to project a feeling of emptiness. There is no one I can ask for help. I need someone from my species, someone I can trust, to tell me if they can sense me. Sloan put her hand over Tom's to console him. He was trying so very hard to help her and her species. Sloan hated that she still felt compelled to ask him more details about this ability, "When did Lewis mask himself from you?" "When he left us in the room after he shot Lisa. One minute it felt like he was there and the next minute he was replaced by an empty hole," answered Tom flatly. Sloan pondered this description for a moment and then asked, "How do you project emptiness? Can you describe it in words, Tom?" "Basically, I've been trying to consciously project an energy pattern similar to what you might call white noise. It should equalize energy patterns coming from my vicinity." Tom answered. "From your vicinity? Do you think you can cover someone else's energy patterns if they are close enough?" Sloan asked. "In principle, yes. In practice, I just don't know if I'm effective at all," lamented Tom. "Well, we may get to try it tonight when we rescue Ed," Sloan responded. "I thought about that. It may be our only way to get into the camp. What if they move him while we are waiting, Sloan? I know we need to get Ed, but don't we also need to know what is going on in their base camp? What is so important that they came all the way up here?" asked Tom. Sighing, Sloan had to agree, "You're right. Even if Ed is gone, we need to know what they are doing. But rescuing Ed is our first priority and for that, we may have to call Walter." "I'm not sure I can support it if he wants to bring in a show of force. I don't want to see open warfare started. My species would retaliate strongly. Both sides would lose if it came to that," mused Tom. "I see your point. Let's worry about that later. For now, as far as we know Ed is down there. We can sneak in, get him out and see what they are doing. If he is already gone, we can still sneak in to see their work. As a last resort we call Walter," Sloan said. "Sloan, I noticed you called him Walter. You used to call him 'Attwood' or 'Dr. Attwood.' Now you're calling him by his first name. I don't understand why you're suddenly doing that. Does this mean you trust him now?" Tom inquired. Sloan thought about Tom's question for a minute before giving her answer, "I guess I do. Ever since he helped get me the phone tap records without asking any questions and then helped capture Lewis, I guess I've grown to trust him." Tom tilted his head and gazed into her eyes as he said, "Good, I've sensed trustworthiness in him from the first time we shook hands. Once I touched his hand, I knew I could trust him for most things. Deep down, he is a good man. On a personal level, I don't think he would betray us. I'm not certain what he would do if it came to choosing between me or all of humanity. Short of that, I think I can trust him, too" Sloan nodded her agreement. "Speaking of betrayal, Sloan," Tom continued. "I sensed something from Shane earlier when he used the word 'Holocaust.' I may be overcautious, but I think you need to start monitoring me again." Sloan's eyes grew bigger as she said, "You sensed something? What did you sense? You said you never knew when you were triggered before. Why would you know it now?" "That's just it, Sloan. I shouldn't know. It may be nothing. It might just be nerves. I took precautions to make sure Shane could not say anything to me when we were alone, but I never thought about him giving me a trigger while I was with someone else." Sloan held his hand as she assured him, "We'll deal with it. Don't worry, Tom. It'll be alright." ~~~~~~~~~~ Continue Episode 10 Watch until Walter leaves Ed's hospital room to call Sloan ~~~~~~~~~~ As they entered the base camp laboratory, Sloan immediately realized that this was no amateur setup. Expeditionary, yes, but this was a highly sophisticated laboratory. As she explained what she believed Copeland and his staff were working on, the potential impact of the project destroyed his concentration for masking their presence. He may have been effective at the beginning, but Tom could not maintain it when faced with too many intruding thoughts. Copeland and his guards were there almost immediately to restrain them. Copeland had mixed feelings about having them there. On the negative side, the humans now knew where he was. On the positive side, if Ed was alive, he could use Sloan to get Ed back. If Ed was dead, he could use Tom to make Sloan work for him. Also, a lot of their people wanted Tom back; they wanted to know what went wrong. Why had he strayed from the path that had been chosen for him? For Dr. Ian Copeland this was a win- win situation. ~~~ "Lock them up. Double the guard force. Stay alert this time," directed Carl as Sloan and Tom were placed in the temporary prison tent. Tom's reputation made it clear that only massive numbers or a threat to Sloan Parker would enable them to detain him. If he wanted to leave he would be gone before anyone even noticed. Carl left to find Dr. Copeland. "Dr. Copeland, I want Tom Daniels. I want to bring him back to the Chameleon program," opened Carl as he entered Dr. Copeland's personal area. "Sit down, Carl. You can't have him yet. I need him. I may have to use him to make Dr. Parker work with us. She may be able to get Dr. Tate back here," responded Dr. Copeland. Carl pounded the table in an unexpected show of emotion as he said, "But he's a Chameleon and he has been turned...by humans! I want to know what happened. We underwent Chameleon training together. Tom was always the winner in any of our training exercises or group competitions. We even worked together a few times. He was the best team leader I ever worked under. I want him back on our side." "I'm not sure he is not on our side, Carl. Lewis came to me a few months ago with questions about how best to avoid the mental problems associated with multi-layered programs. Shortly after that visit, Tom showed up at the human research area at Whitney University Labs. He may be a plant. I have no way of confirming this, but the facts make it seem so. He may not even know it," answered Dr. Copeland. Carl's eyebrows raised in surprise at Dr. Copeland's conjecture. He was pleased at the thought that Tom might still be the Chameleon he had admired for most of his adult life. "What do we do?" "I think we have to assume he is still programmed to believe in his alignment with the humans. His emotions may seem real to him and may feel real to us. Lewis said the subject was going to be programmed to be extra sensitive to human feelings. So don't let on that he may be programmed or it could cause anything from extreme confusion to psychotic reactions. However, I think we need to grudgingly cooperate with him," responded Dr. Copeland. "What if he is not programmed?" asked Carl. "It's a risk. We won't be able to detect the difference. His programming is that deep, that thorough," answered Dr. Copeland. As the discussion progressed, Dr. Copeland started receiving reports of ailing guards. In fact, Dr. Copeland was starting to feel pretty poorly himself. He knew this was not just a result of the cold weather snap. He returned to the lab to verify whether the virus had mutated. Perhaps his vaccine was no longer effective. ~~~ As far as he could remember, Tom had never actually been sick. If Sloan's suspicions were right, he might get the opportunity to experience severe illness once in his lifetime. Surely Copeland had developed a vaccine. Tom did not want to guess whether Copeland would share it with his captives. ~~~ Walter Attwood called to have large dosages of some of the more effective general viral agents sent in on a special one way trip aircraft. The aircraft would only return to its source if the epidemic was brought under control. After that call he tried Sloan...again. ~~~ Dr. Copeland did not require a long time to figure out that he definitely had the flu. A few minutes in the lab proved that this strain was not the same one they had recovered from the graves. The original was not very virulent in the new species, however, this one was. The scientist in him couldn't help but notice the irony of this new mutation. Ed Tate's malaria research experience would be very helpful right now. The new species had never suffered from the flu before; this one might kill them all if it spread and they had purposely cultivated it themselves. ~~~~~~~~~~ Continue Episode 10 Stop when Tom and Sloan leave the camp ~~~~~~~~~~ Tom was furious that his own people could have created this disaster. Their assumption of superiority blinded them to the potential for becoming ill themselves. He could not go back to his people. Their utter disregard for humanity and their lack of foresight to see potential danger to their own species was disgusting to Tom. His species might be self-destructing. He could never go back to his former place in that society. Until Sloan started suiting up in the biohazard suit, Tom had not quite realized just how much she meant to him. She was his guide, she was his focus. He had tried to kill her once shortly after they met. He couldn't do it then because of his feelings. Those feelings had only strengthened over their time together. He did not understand the feelings and he wasn't sure how to handle or explain them, but the thought of losing her now was like a stab through his heart. He felt like he would be losing the foundation of his life if anything happened to her. Somehow Sloan sensed Tom's turmoil. She came over to give him an encouraging hug before she donned the last part of the suit. Tom felt his heart skip a beat when she held him. Tom waited outside while Sloan and Dr. Copeland worked. He had helped care for the sick earlier, but now that Sloan was working with the live virus he could not bring himself to leave the lab area. However, when Carl carried the ailing Dr. Copeland out, Tom knew this might be his only chance to talk privately with Dr. Copeland. He waited for Carl to leave and then sneaked into Dr. Copeland's tent. "...that's biologically impossible. Genetically undesirable," Dr. Copeland quoted from the lessons all members of their species learned. "That's what we're taught. But why?" demanded Tom. Dr. Copeland sensed the force of Tom's will as he tried to end the conversation. Tom's demand came with a clear threat of physical harm, "Tell me the truth. With your research and your medical knowledge, you must know what really happens with interspecies matings. I know we are physically compatible, but what happens if offspring result?" "Why should I tell you?" whispered Dr. Copeland. "Because there are many more painful things than being ill. Tell me now," Tom continued. Dr. Copeland thought for a few minutes, 'Tom might be simply following his program or he might have broken the training. Either one is possible. Maybe he really does need to know for his mission.' "If the two species mate, offspring can result. They test as 1.6% different from the human baseline. Most characteristics of our species are genetically dominant. They are evident in the first generation offspring. However, some of the controls needed to manage our abilities are not dominant. The first generation offspring are often...unmanageable. They seem to get the worst characteristics from their human side. The second generation are even more uncontrollable...more unpredictable," said Dr. Copeland. "So having children is possible, but inadvisable. Is there a danger to the human mother?" asked Tom. "While the actual mating did not hurt the females, the pregnancies were difficult and some of the children injured or killed their human mothers," Dr. Copeland replied without any show of concern. "What about birth control measures?" persisted Tom. "The normal human methods using drugs or chemicals do not work effectively for us. Prophylactic devices are nearly as effective for us as for the humans. It's the only available way," answered Dr. Copeland. "Why hasn't an effective method been developed for us?" asked Tom. "Why would we? We strongly discourage interspecies mating and we want to expand our species as quickly as possible. There is no need," answered Dr. Copeland just as he passed out from his flu. "Dr. Copeland! Dr. Copeland!" Tom tried to rouse the doctor but was unable. He had so many more questions. Although Tom despised Dr. Copeland, for his reckless endangerment of both species, he made him comfortable before walking outside to think about the revelations Dr. Copeland had just made. If she agreed, having a closer relationship with Sloan was possible. But it would only be possible if he could get them both out of this camp safely. He had to try. Copeland was clearly dying. Tom did not trust the others to honor Copeland's promise. Carl might, but he was only one man. Tom headed for the lab. Even if Sloan had not yet developed a cure, they had to leave. Time was short. They were probably contagious, so Sloan would resist leaving. If she had a cure, they could try using it as a bargaining chip. Carl had always seemed like a responsible person, even though his Chameleon training may have simply created that illusion. ~~~~~~~~~~ Finish Episode 10 ~~~~~~~~~~ As Tom handed the vial to Sloan so she could administer the vaccine to Ed, he sensed a mixture of anxiety and foreboding from Walter. He knew that he would need to shield Sloan from getting involved in any follow-up actions and he knew he had to be involved to prevent bloodshed. He could not allow this ill- planned scheme of Dr. Copeland's to result in all out war or in genocide for his people. He would have to take Walter and possibly a small force to the base camp. On the other hand, he did not want to leave Sloan. Her deep feelings for Ed might make her forsake him and go to Ed permanently. Tom was not sure if he could ever start a relationship with Sloan, but he also did not think he could handle her choosing Ed over him. Tom had to find a balance point between letting her express her concerns for her friend and making sure she did not forget him. ~~~ Finally, the time came when Tom and Walter had to go to the camp. Tom had to see Sloan to let her know they were leaving. He held her to reassure her and calm her inner turmoil. Finally, he kissed her with a kiss that in his society could only be shared by a bonded, mating couple. Displays of affection like this were unfamiliar to Tom, especially considering that he was feeling strong emotions for the first time in his life. He had to let her know on an emotional level he was coming back for her. He needed her to be there. ~~~ At the camp, Tom and Walter negotiated a truce with the remaining few base camp people. Only two doctors and nine guards from Copeland's original group remained alive. Their casualties had been very high. The humans agreed to take no legal action against the base camp personnel. Precedents for legal action in this case would probably have fallen into the area of war crimes. Their punishment would be left to the Legal Counsel in their own species. Their actions had endangered their species' welfare as well as their very existence. Tom assured Walter the justice system that would prevail in this case among his species was extremely severe. The humans disassembled and confiscated all of the lab equipment. Walter's people worked with the remaining base camp people to ensure that the newly created vaccine was properly mixed with the remnants of the virus before the entire sample was placed in a capsule for burial. For the time being, burial in the isolation of the tundra was the only safe and expeditious solution. Eventually, a facility would be set up on site to incinerate the contents of the capsule. PREAMBLE TO EPISODE 11 Strapped down to his chair in the interrogation room, Lewis was steeling himself for his next session. He had been questioned everyday for at least a month now. Lewis's sense of time was distorted. He had little access to views of the outdoors and he was drugged so often that time slipped away from him without his knowledge. He knew this was part of the technique being used on him. They wanted him to be completely disoriented and at their mercy. Somewhere along the line he had actually told them his last name. They occasionally would refer to small details that he must have told. He didn't remember any of it. Everyone had a breaking point. If his people did not find him soon, his breaking point might be reached. Maybe if he purposely told one small detail, he could avoid the drugs today. He wasn't sure if he could handle them again so soon after the tough session yesterday. Speaking aloud to the empty room, Lewis said, "I wonder which one it will be today?" "I thought I'd take my turn today, Lewis" Attwood's boss answered from the door as she entered. Lewis was dumbstruck. Only one other time had humans been able to sneak up on him. That time he had been so distracted by the traitorous Tom Daniels that he had not noticed their approach. Lewis was in this place because of that mistake. Now it had happened again when he had not been distracted at all. Was he losing all control? Lewis stared at her, trying to discern her mood. She was almost unreadable today. Lewis decided to try a different tactic -- maybe being cordial would work, "So how are you today? I was worried when I hadn't seen you for a while." "I was busy. You are only one of the minor projects I have going," she replied curtly. Lewis sensed she was lying about his importance. Maybe if he pressed the friendly attitude, she would respond to him. "Things would be easier if I had a name to use when I talk to you," Lewis suggested. "Why?" she asked. Sensing a possible opening, Lewis replied, "People usually speak more openly when they use each other's names." "Okay, call me Marsha," she said. "Is that your real name?" he asked. "Close enough," she replied. "It's nice to finally be introduced, Marsha," smirked Lewis. Realizing that she had allowed herself to be drawn into a trap, Marsha decided to cut her losses and push on. Reminding him that he had already shared some information, she continued, "I've told you something you wanted to know, now tell me something that can help me, 'Mr. Bell'." "When I get out of here, I'm taking you with me," Lewis threatened as he leaned toward her with a gaze so intense it was like laser beams coming out of his eyes. Marsha inwardly shuttered but showed only an intense gaze back. "You will never get the chance to carry out that threat," she said flatly. "We'll see," was Lewis's only response before the real session started for the day. ~~~ Walter Attwood and his team stayed in Alaska until Ed was stabilized and starting to show promises of recovery. Walter called for a special flight to return them to the Los Angeles area where they could resume their work. Theirs was not the first flight out of the Wainwright area. The first flight had been a major media event. The press provided lots of live coverage of the passengers when they disembarked from that aircraft. It was the best way Walter and Tom could devise to let the new species know exactly where they could find the base camp survivors. Walter's team's aircraft was fitted with a hospital bed for Ed plus executive chairs and regular aircraft chairs for the rest of them. The rest of the aircraft was dedicated to carrying the equipment and documentation from Copeland's camp. For security reasons, Walter did not want a medical staff onboard. He and Sloan attended to Ed's medical needs during the flight. Since he had a captive audience, Walter decided that this flight would be a good time for a team meeting. He opened the meeting by saying, "People, in view of the kidnapping of Sloan by Lewis and of Ed by Ian Copeland, I believe we must make some changes to our security. We have to improve our personal security measures. While we've been gone, Ray Peterson has arranged for security guards to stay within the Lab area at all times. Additionally, each of you will have bodyguards assigned." Sloan and Ed immediately became angry with Walter for presuming to make these decisions without even asking them. Tom said nothing, but he stood up and turned away from the others. "The guards will be as non-intrusive as possible. If you insist, they can be more like surveillance by keeping a comfortable distance from you. You won't even know they are there. But they can rush in if you need protection." Walter continued. "I can protect Sloan," Tom said quietly as he turned back towards Walter and the others. He looked somewhat upset, as if Walter had just insulted him. "Tom, I know you mean well and you are very capable, but even you have to sleep sometime. Remember, we caught Lewis off guard, the same thing could happen to you," Walter said in an attempt to console Tom. Tom gave Walter an expression that could only be described as hurt. He started to pace the floor while rubbing his thumb and fingers together. Tom's anguish was obvious to all as they waited for him to say something. Finally, he quietly said, "All right, but keep them at a distance. I don't want their emotions interfering with my ability to sense danger to Sloan." "Okay, this is not the way I would prefer it, but I'll respect your wishes. Tom, they are also there to protect you," Walter reminded him. Giving him a surprised look, Tom said, "Thank you." He had never thought about having humans protecting him. Hesitating for a minute, he continued, "What about our vehicles? We discussed a motor pool once. Changing vehicles might make everyone less vulnerable." Walter had to think for a few minutes to recall the conversation he and Tom had had when both Tom's and Sloan's cars ended up in the repair shop following attacks from the new species. Sloan's car had been damaged when the pillar was blown up. Then Lisa shot the windows out of Tom's car. Tom had suggested a motor pool then. Come to think of it, Walter had seen Tom driving at least two different cars himself. Walter chuckled as he realized that Tom had already set up his own 'mini-motor pool.' He then said, "I thought of it as a joke then, but I can see you are right. I haven't made any arrangements for that yet." "How long would it take?" Tom insisted. Walter hesitated for a moment, then said, "At least a couple of weeks to get a rotating motor pool of nondescript but extremely reliable cars. I don't want anything that could be traced to a government motor pool." "Maybe we could just all pool our cars together for a little while until you can set it up. If we simply drove each other's cars it would make it more difficult if one person in particular were being targeted. They would have to watch all our cars." suggested Tom. "I can't believe you two are just standing here talking about this as if it were a normal everyday event," exclaimed Sloan. She continued in a quietly alarmed vein, "I never bargained for this kind of danger in my life. I thought research in a university lab with occasional field work would be calm...boring." Then with a twinkle in her eye, she looked up at Tom, took his hand in hers, and said, "You have certainly added some spice to my life." Tom caught his breath and then quickly hid his growing excitement as he tilted his head to read her emotions. She was upset, but this emotion did not seem to be directed at him. This turmoil probably had more to do with their overall situation. The emotions she was casting his way were emotions of caring and affection...perhaps something more. Tom was not sure what this last emotion was. He had felt it before in humans, but he had never understood it and it had never been directed towards him. It scared him, but at the same time it was intoxicating. Feeling like a fifth wheel, Walter turned his attention to Ed. Somewhere during the conversation, Ed had drifted back to sleep. The stress of being moved from the hospital, to the aircraft by ambulance had been very taxing to his recovering body. He needed lots of rest. His vital signs all appeared to be normal. He would probably continue this way for another week before he started to regain his normal strength. He would probably not be back on the basketball court for some time. Feeling enough time had gone by to allow Sloan and Tom to compose themselves, Walter turned around and joked, "Well, Ed doesn't seem to have any objections." All three of them laughed until their laughter woke Ed up, "What did I miss? Did someone say something funny?" This just started the laughter all over again. Contagious laughter was always good for the soul and for morale. When everyone recovered enough to speak sensibly again, Walter continued, "I know this project is not what any of us bargained for. It is more important than anything we've ever done before or probably ever will do again. You are right Sloan, it is dangerous, but ignoring the danger will not make it go away. We have got to continue and find the answers together. The changes we talked about are necessary. We will implement them as soon as we arrive. Tom, that's good thinking about the motor pool. I'll get right on it. Maybe you and Ray can work out the interim plan for switching vehicles among ourselves." They all nodded their heads in agreement as the meeting ended. Tom and Sloan, still holding hands, went to the far side of the plane to talk. Sloan had been trying to catch up on her rest while they were in Alaska waiting for Ed to recover. Tom had been most solicitous of her needs. When they had been at the camp, Sloan had missed two full nights of sleep. Her concern for Ed had made her sleep pattern become very irregular. Ed was not the only one who needed someone watching over them. Tom held her until he could calm her and sooth her to sleep. As Sloan slept, Tom's mind kept racing. One part of him wanted to go to Walter to continue the discussion regarding security measures, the other wanted to stay here and just hold Sloan for as long as she would let him. While they had been in Wainwright, Tom and Sloan had taken a hotel room near the hospital. Twice he had held her in his arms while she slept there just as he was doing now. It was during his time in this hotel room that he realized the true importance of the kiss he had shared with Sloan in the hospital. Whether she felt bonded to him or not, he would never be able to leave her. Through the close, serious contact made by his kiss while his hands held her head, he had inseparably bonded himself to Sloan. He no longer had a choice in the matter. Had she been of his species, she would have felt the same bond. After his unsettling conversation with Dr. Copeland, Tom was still concerned about pursuing an intimate male-female relationship. Dr. Copeland had passed out before Tom could find out more about the uncontrollability of the mixed offspring. He knew in a strictly ordered society like his, any deviation was unacceptable, but how bad were these children? Could they fit in if they were properly raised in the human community? He knew that if he and Sloan were to become mates, he would eventually want to have children to raise himself. He had sired several children before, but the option of raising them had never been offered or expected. Being a Chameleon excluded him from that role. Someone else was raising his children. He had never seen them; he didn't even know their names. On the other hand, Sloan had made no moves to indicate she was interested in anything more than a close friendship with him. He knew that humans often felt one way but acted another. He needed her to demonstrate her interest before he would proceed. Tom's mind drifted back to the security guards Walter was assigning to them. To Tom, this action indicated that Walter had lost confidence in Tom's ability to protect Sloan. His value to the team was being diminished. In fact Walter's reference to Lewis could have implied that Tom would one day be taken as a prisoner for laboratory experiments. He knew he had to work harder to prove his worth to them as a cooperative team member. After a while Tom gently laid the sleeping Sloan across several seats and went over to Walter to continue their discussions about security. He had some ideas he wanted to discuss with Ray Peterson, but first, he had to clear them with Walter. One interesting point that Walter mentioned was that his boss would probably not object to any protocols they wished to implement. Reportedly, she was so busy with Lewis that Walter had not heard from her for weeks. Satisfied with his discussion with Walter, Tom spent a few minutes visiting with Ed before the plane started its descent into LAX. ~~~ Ed was moved to a hospital room overlooking the ocean. Except for that view, the similarity of his room to the one in the Wainwright hospital was amazing. Did the same guy design every hospital everywhere? Well, the fact that he could even think about that absurdity showed Ed that he was improving. As soon as they returned to the Whitney University Lab, Tom and Walter called a meeting with Ray and the rest of the security staff. New procedures were setup and all of the bodyguards were given their instructions. Until Ed was out of the hospital, one would always be stationed outside his hospital room. Walter readily accepted close contact with his bodyguard. Tom explained that he and Sloan would probably be together most of the time. He would provide her primary protection. They were there as backup only and to cover her if the two were separated. They were to stay a suitable distance away from Tom. He clearly did not want guards near him. While Tom and Walter were meeting with the bodyguards, Sloan was just outside the meeting room in the open lab area planning the arrangements for setting up the equipment from Dr. Copeland's lab. She was excited about using some of it, but Ed would probably think it was Christmas morning when he returned to see all the new toys. Much later that night Sloan and Tom returned to her apartment. Tom could sense a new sexual nervousness from Sloan. However, other than sharing a deeply passionate kiss with her every night, nothing had overtly changed in their relationship here. They resumed their previous roles of staying separate from each other. Tom returned to his couch as Sloan retreated to her bed. Although they both seemed to want more, neither one was willing to risk their relationship by making the first move. Each day Sloan and Tom started their morning by making a quick swing by the hospital to see Ed. Sloan brought him videos; Tom brought him news about the Lab arrangements. It seemed Ed's van would not pass their standards as a reliable vehicle for the new car pool arrangement, so Ed was getting a new van, courtesy of the US government, as soon as he was able to drive. Most afternoons Sloan left the Lab a little early to visit Ed and bring him a fresh set of movies. Tom usually worked with Ray while she made her visits. Either Sloan would pick Tom up or Ray would drop him off at the apartment when his work there was finished. Tom was never alone for more than a few minutes at a time. In any case, he always had a bodyguard in the distance. When he tried really hard, Tom could usually discern the bodyguard at the limits of his sensing range. EPISODE 11 ~~~~~~~~~~ Start Episode 11 Watch until Tom holds Sloan and asks her to start at the beginning ~~~~~~~~~~ It had taken someone ten days to find a way to disrupt Tom's world. When Sloan threatened him with the fireplace poker, he knew that had she been anyone else, he would have defeated her with no remorse and no effort. But, this was Sloan; he could not harm her no matter what she did. They called Walter to tell him of the horrible mistake. They both knew the intrigue was just beginning. ~~~~~~~~~~ Continue Episode 11 Watch until the car is blown up ~~~~~~~~~~ Sloan had confessed her love for Tom in the car on the way home. This was the sign that Tom had needed to tell him it was safe for him to try and win her as his mate. He knew it might not be physically safe, but he had to try. When they arrived at the apartment, they prepared for bed. As usual, Tom let Sloan use the bathroom first. When he was finished he came out of the bathroom and stared at Sloan as she lay in bed. He moved to the side of her bed and sat down still gazing into her eyes. He gently leaned down and kissed her with deep passionate longing. His kiss did not end this time with him pulling back quickly to retreat to his couch. She finally broke away, "Tom, we need to talk." Although he had a strong inkling of the exact nature of the subject matter, he remained in place leaning over her and asked huskily, "About what?" "You know I love you and you have promised never to leave me. Every night since we've been back you have kissed me good night like this and it makes me tingle clear down to my toes. Then you back off and go to the couch, leaving me frustrated. Is it possible for us to have a normal relationship...to be intimate?" "Are you saying you want to have children together?" "You are putting the cart ahead of the horse. We have to become lovers before children could even be a possibility. I'm not talking about having children now. I'm talking about becoming lovers. What I mean is this closeness without complete intimacy is driving me crazy, but I don't know if you are interested or if we would be safe. I know you are aroused now and have been so before, but you have never acted on it beyond a kiss. It's very frustrating to me" Turning away from Sloan so that she could not see his face, he sat on the edge on the bed and leaned down to look into his hands. As he started slowly rubbing his hands together, he said, "Sloan, when we were at the camp in Alaska, I asked Dr. Copeland." "Dr. Copeland, why? What did you ask him?" "Maybe I should start at the beginning." "That might be best." "This may not be easy to listen to, Sloan. In my species, we are taught that relations...sexual relations with humans are taboo. They are undesirable. Chameleons sometimes are required to have sex with a human partner, but that is different and still is considered... disgusting, unclean. Normally, the Chameleon kills the human shortly thereafter, so this makes accepting this duty easier." Sloan was visibly angered, but Tom sensed deep hurt beneath her anger. He winced at the anguish he was causing her. Taking her hand in his but still refusing to look at her, he continued, "Sloan, I don't remember much from my childhood, but I do remember this lesson clearly. It was reinforced on us continuously." "Tom, I don't understand. You hold me constantly. You kiss me. We do everything short of having sexual relations. Are you telling me now that you find me despicable?" "No, Sloan, it's not that," he answered quickly as he turned to look directly at her eyes. "Let me finish. You know I've never known love, I'm not sure what love is, but I feel very strongly for you. I admire you; I care for you. I would sacrifice my life for you. I want you as my mate for life. But you have to understand, this concept is very difficult for me. It's been ingrained in me on the deepest level that these feelings and being with you are wrong, yet I still want to be your mate." Hesitating and swallowing deeply with discomfort, he continued in a whisper, "I don't know if it's safe." "Safe? Do you mean because of your Chameleon training?" Finally, turning to look at her, he stammered, "No...yes...I mean, it's more than that. Yes, I might endanger you because of my training, but there's much more to it. Sloan, what if you became pregnant? Have you thought about our offspring?" Clearly surprised, Sloan answered, "Tom, we are different species. We don't even know if it is possible for me to become pregnant by you." "I know it's possible. Mixed offspring were the reason for the taboo. We were never taught what those offspring were like, just that they were undesirable. I asked Dr. Copeland." "Why would he help you?" "He was the only doctor from my species with whom I have had contact. He has worked among humans. He would probably know the truth. After our capture and after you started working in his field lab, I stopped sensing any threat from him. It was more like curiosity. Also, he knew I could and would force answers from him if he didn't cooperate." "Curiosity?" asked a stunned Sloan. "Yes, he was curious about my 'vestigial feelings.' He did answer some of my questions, but then he became unconscious before I could finish. He never became lucid enough to answer any more questions." "What did he manage to tell you?" "The offspring from their experiments tested as 1.6, but they were uncontrollable. He said they get the worst of the human features like rage and anger. They have the strength and abilities of my species. Their offspring would be even more unpredictable." "How bad could they be? Were they raised by your people? Do you believe him?" Sloan's inquisitive mind was racing. "I know that he believed what he told me. The thing is, our society is so structured, so rigid, that any variance from our beliefs could be viewed as unacceptable behavior. Humans have a lot of original thoughts and creative differences. If not allowed to express them, humans sometimes get angry. This natural, normal human behavior could be called uncontrollable among my species. Before I could ask specific questions, he passed out." "So you don't know if the mixed children are really a problem?" "No, and I don't want to put you at risk. Some of the children hurt their human mothers." "Tom, what about birth control?" "He said barrier type methods are almost as successful for us as for humans. The medical prescriptions don't work. Nothing is completely safe. I won't put you at risk until I know." Tom could feel her start to get upset, "I can't believe birth control pills wouldn't work for human women. Those pills control the woman's hormonal secretions. Wait a minute, you won't put me at risk? Tom, do I get any say in this decision at all?" "Of course, you do. You control almost all of it. I would never touch you if you said no, but I also won't put you at risk. Sloan, I meant it when I said I would never leave you. No matter what happens, I'll stay with you." Gazing into his eyes, she said, "Then stay with me in my bed tonight." He smiled as he leaned in to kiss her again. ~~~ That same night, Marsha's teams took turns interrogating Lewis. He was nearing complete exhaustion, but then so were the three teams that had been taking turns continuously questioning him all day. The only one who appeared bright and chipper was Marsha. Lewis was learning the human feeling of resentment. She continued to goad him, "Lewis, don't tell me you don't like to brag about your accomplishments. Tell us about how you taught Tom Daniels his skills." "Tom is a natural. He only needed to be given direction." Realizing that he had already said too much, Lewis closed his eyes and tried to withdraw away from the humans and into himself. As he withdrew from the stimulus of those around him, he sensed a presence nearby. Had his people come for him or were his battered senses fooling him again? The thought rejuvenated him enough to withstand further questioning about his relationship with Tom Daniels. As he sat there strapped to the interrogation chair he could feel the presence growing stronger. He showed no indication of this to his captors. There were at least three of them. Their minds were concentrating; staying focused and united. In his current weakened state, he could not identify the individual signatures. However, he could recognize the mental aspects of Chameleons broadcasting their presence. It could only mean they needed a diversion from him. He concentrated his focus to broadcast confidence and arrogance. These were two emotions he knew would be recognized as his signal. The corresponding softening of their signal indicated their acknowledgement. The next signal would tell him to initiate his diversion. He could feel small peaks in their signatures as they fought and defeated the two resting interrogation teams. Marsha was asking him some trivial question. He answered with a blank stare to indicate he could not focus on her words. Suddenly he started to convulse. She raised the alarm to immediately summon medical help. She was not going to lose this prisoner because someone had overdosed him. The team in the room with her rushed to her side to see if they could assist in keeping him from hurting himself with his convulsive thrashing. The door burst open. Expecting the medical response team she turned. It was too late. The Chameleons were in the room. Her team was dying. "Don't kill her!" Lewis cried out just as one of the invaders was just about to strike her across the throat. The Chameleon diverted his strike by swinging his thrusting arm to the side. He swung fully around using the force of his thrust to turn completely and grasp her from behind with his fingers at her throat. The move had a beauty as graceful as any choreographed dance, but this audience was not interested in beauty. "Why do we want this one?" asked the Chameleon holding her. "She has value. I have a use for her. Bring her with us." "As you wish," the Chameleon said. Using a method designed to render her unconscious for a brief period, he neatly pressed on her neck. Turning back to Lewis, he asked, "Can you walk?" "I think so. At least, I can walk for a short distance." Turning to the other two Chameleons who had been busy ensuring the signs of their presence were erased, he directed, "Toss me the duct tape to secure the woman. You two get Lewis free and help him out of here. We'll send in a clean up team to remove everything. If we are taking one of them, we need a cover up action so they won't know we kept this one." He looked to Lewis to confirm if the man concurred in this decision. Lewis nodded. The leader threw the still unconscious Marsha over his shoulder to carry her out. The other two had to help Lewis considerably to get him to the van waiting at the gate. Using the medical kit they had brought, they sedated Marsha for the trip. The van departed. No unnecessary words were spoken. No statements of gratitude were offered. No such sentiments were expected. Lewis fell asleep within minutes of his rescue. ~~~ "Which car do you want to take Sloan?" Tom asked as he finished the last sip from his morning cup of coffee. They had spent the night holding each other in as close an embrace as Tom was willing to allow. He was still worried about the unknown element of safe birth control and potential offspring. Standing at the sink, rinsing the breakfast dishes, Sloan said, "Tom, I don't care. I miss your Lincoln. The seats were so comfortable." "I know. You've dozed off in them often enough after long days in the lab. Speaking of the lab, is Ed going to do the autopsy today?" "I think so. He's supposed to be released from the hospital around lunchtime. Ray has two guards driving him straight to the lab. Walter should have been able to make arrangements to get the body transferred from the morgue by now. I'm sorry, Tom. This must be hard on you." She walked over to him and squeezed his hand as she said this. Tom could feel a warm, soft sentiment, but he did not understand the reasoning behind it. He said nothing, merely turned to put his cup in the sink as he absorbed this new sensation from Sloan. ~~~ At the lab, the humans all treated Tom differently that day. They seemed softer and they all had somber expressions on their faces. Tom finally recognized the meaning of their feelings. He had never felt sympathy directed at him before. They seemed to feel that he should be sad because of the death of his unknown look alike. ~~~~~~~~~~ Continue Episode 11 Watch until Sloan returns to her bed after checking her apartment ~~~~~~~~~~ "Randall Lynch! You purposely sent one of the rogues after Tom Daniels? What were you thinking?" Lewis was furious. He was standing in front of the Oversight Council berating their decisions. This time, they knew he was right. They hadn't heard from the Lynch clone in several days and now one of Tom's brothers was missing. Lewis had slept for over twenty-four hours. When he awakened the Council briefed him on all that had transpired during his absence. They had set one of the Randall Lynch rogue clones free to pursue Tom Daniels. They had not known whether Tom Daniels had been under Lewis's control or not. Just before his capture by the humans, Lewis had told them he would report when he saw fit. They had no way of knowing whether Lewis had adjusted Tom's program again. They had thought removal was the best option under the circumstances. Lewis assured them the new trigger mechanisms were in place. They only needed Lewis to pull the trigger. Lewis demanded to be put in charge of resolving the Lynch clone issue and retrieving Tom. If this stressful situation had not already imposed too great a strain on Tom, they still might be able to return him back to the fold. He was the chosen of their species. They had to stop the second Lynch clone, but first, they had to find him. In the meantime, they would concentrate on reprogramming the new guest. Marsha had been kept unconscious until Lewis awakened and explained how he intended to use her. "Are you sure you can effectively program a human?" the Head of the Council asked. "What makes you think she's not already under my programming guidance?" retorted Lewis. "What?" "You knew someone else from the inside was passing information to me. Now you know who it was. I didn't want to blow her cover while I was captive. Marsha still doesn't know that she's been programmed. She thought Lisa was her lover, someone she visited once a week or so. Unfortunately, when I killed Lisa, I also lost my access to Marsha. I had to wait until the Chameleons found me on their own and hope they found me before I broke under the questioning." He paused for the impact of his revelation to set in before continuing, "She was spending too much time with me to have maintained her normal contact with the team at the Lab. I want her programmed with multiple level programs similar to the ones we used on Tom Daniels. She can then be used any way I need to redirect the efforts of the lab. One way or another, we'll get Tom Daniels back." The Council already had some of their best ventriloquists fielding phone calls from Attwood to her. Her physical absence could be easily explained for a while by attributing it to her intense questioning of Lewis and her pursuit of other isolated secret projects. For his part, Lewis was glad they had done at least a few things right during his absence. ~~~ "Marsha, how do you feel?" "I feel fine, Lewis." "It's good to have you back. "It's good to be back." "Are you ready to go back to work?" "Yes, what do I do?" She was answering the questions exactly as her program required. She still belonged to Lewis. He planned to spend several days, maybe even a couple weeks, programming her to think she was working for her human bosses when in fact she was performing Lewis' bidding. Because she was human and because of the lessons learned from programming Tom, Lewis would take his time and do this correctly. Before releasing her, Lewis would give her a separate cell phone to use for calling him. No calls made on her government-issue phone would ever be made to his number. She would use the second phone for this purpose. It looked just like her government-issue phone except for a small crease cut into one corner. She was not consciously aware of the existence of the second phone, although she would carry it with her everywhere. ~~~ The autopsy was the strangest thing Tom had ever witnessed. In a way he was seeing what would happen to himself if he failed to prove to the humans that he had value as a live member of his species. He knew that ultimately, if he died while working with the humans, he would be the one on the table. His fear of captivity resurfaced as he watched the procedures. He put those fears aside so he could concentrate on the procedure. The humans offered a perspective on the second Randall Lynch's possible motives. This kind of creative thinking was not common among his species. Only the rogues had truly original ideas, but they were all focused on self-destruction. Coexistence was necessary. His people would stagnate without the creativity of humans. He was sure of it. What kind of head games could Ed be talking about? ~~~ As soon as Tom and Sloan left the Lab for the evening, Ed steeped into Walter's office. Ed's capture by the new species had had a profound effect on his viewpoint. He no longer felt as he had before. He was definitely not a pacifist anymore. He no longer felt that he should work toward cooperation and coexistence. He knew this attitude would eventually drive a wedge between him and Sloan. On the other hand, Tom, a member of the new species, had already done that. She would never fight to destroy the new species. Ed offered his ideas to Walter. While lying in his hospital bed, he had been thinking the problem through. He thought he knew how to proceed. He needed only authorization and equipment. The equipment came from Ian Copeland's field lab. Walter gave the authorization. ~~~ As they left for the evening, Tom and Sloan argued over what to do about the body of Tom's look alike. It was probably a brother. Sloan was stunned that he could feel nothing. He obviously had feelings for her even if he could not put them into words. How could he be so cold to someone with whom he had grown up? Tom knew she was having great difficulty accepting that he remembered absolutely nothing of his childhood other than the brief flashes he experienced while in Oaxaca. When he finally met "the one" from those memories, he had almost died. He could not let himself care about people from his past. The last time had nearly led to disaster. ~~~ Tom knew he had made a contribution to the human's efforts when he went after the Lynch look alike. Tom wanted to kill or at least capture him. The man had tried to hurt Sloan. No one else could have fought him and survived. Tom didn't defeat him, but he at least recovered a blood sample for testing. Tom and Sloan returned to the lab. Ed was still there; he could retrieve and test the sample from Tom's jacket. Tom fretted for most of the night. He now knew the killer of his brother was a clone of Lynch. Could he somehow use his own species to help in his defense of Sloan? The next morning, he brought up the subject of using a press conference to broadcast the location of this latest Lynch rogue to his people. He was certain his people would try to kill the new Lynch. ~~~ After dinner at the local Italian restaurant, Tom and Sloan returned to her apartment. As much as he wanted to stay in her bed with her again, he knew he could not. With the way he was attuned to her, her proximity and the emotions she emanated would block his ability to perceive danger. He tried to get her to leave this life and go to a safe house with him, much as Shane had done. She refused. He knew the Lynch clone would come after them. It was only a matter of time. He and Sloan had witnessed the death of the first Lynch. This one would probably want revenge. Tom would have to make a stand against this clone. ~~~~~~~~~~ Continue Episode 11 Watch until Walter tells them their bags are packed and they walk out of the lab. ~~~~~~~~~~ "How are you, Lewis?" "I'm fine." "It's good to have you back." "It's good to be back." "How are your sessions with Marsha going?" "She's ready to return to her government position. The sooner she goes, the better. If she stays any longer, her absence will start to be noticed. We need her back there feeding us information." Lewis reported to the Councilman. "Very well, Lewis. It's good to have you working and in control of the Chameleon program again." ~~~ In the morning, Tom awoke with a feeling of trepidation. Something wasn't right. He walked to Sloan's room to check on her. What he found showed him that his defenses were no longer useful. The Lynch clone had to have been there in the night. Somehow, Tom had not been able to detect him. If he had been human, Tom would have thought, 'Thank God, she's safe.' But he was not human, Tom could only think about the practical steps to follow. He knew he was glad she was alive, but now he had to find a way to hide her. Whether she liked it or not he had to get her away from the lab. ~~~ As she slowly recovered from the shock of seeing the monkey, Sloan looked at Tom. "Why did you let me see that thing first off? You could have pulled me off the bed in the other direction and then had me turn and look. My heart is still racing." "You had to see how easy it is for one of us to get to you. I don't know how he got past me. My people are getting better at this every day. Sloan, let me take you away from here, even if only for a little while." "No. We've got to fight even harder now. We don't know how many there are. My work is more important than ever." "It won't be important to you if you're dead." Tom regretted his words before he was done saying them. He had never suffered from emotional outbursts like this before. What was going on? Was it the constant close contact with humans or was it the fact that he had bonded himself to one of them? Sloan was angry. "Then you'll just have to figure out a way to keep me alive." "I'm sorry, Sloan. I shouldn't have said that. I'll do what ever you need. We've got to let Walter, Ed and Ray know what happened here." "We've also got to get this monkey into the lab so we can do the autopsy. We've got to see if it came from the lab." "From the markings on your mirror, I think it's safe to say the Lynch clone did this. I'm sure he could get into the lab if he needed to. We've tightened security, but it's obviously not perfect. If he got in here once, he could have returned a second time last night. If he borrowed one of our security cards, he could have bypassed some of the security barriers. He might even have given our security cards back when he returned with the monkey." "Why didn't he kill us or hurt us?" Tom thought for a second. "I think Ed put his finger on the reason during his autopsy on my brother. Ed said this Lynch might be playing head games with me. He wants to keep me confused." "Is he succeeding?" Sloan asked. "Yes, absolutely. I don't trust my extra senses anymore." ~~~~~~~~~~ Continue Episode 11 Watch until Tom walks out of the cabin ~~~~~~~~~~ At the cabin, Sloan quietly read a series of professional magazines. Tom wanted to talk or do something. He knew she was scared. When they were home, she often retreated to the lab when she was upset. Here in the cabin she could only retreat to her books. He wanted to help her cope with the stress by talking. She did not seem interested. He realized how difficult life would be if she ever chose someone else over him. He craved her attention. When she asked him if she could ask him a personal question, he thought she might finally be willing to spend time with him in their usual companionable way. Her question about having a family caught him off guard. He had never told her of his offspring. From her emotions, he believed she suspected the truth. She knew he had been segregated from his society and she knew his species was trying to widen their gene pool. It stood to reason he would not have been excluded from siring children. Her intuitive nature probably put the rest of it together. He was, once again, impressed by her intellect. She was certainly not the average human. That intellect and the brightness of her emotions were the things that had drawn him to her in the first place. Her question made him think clearly for the first time about the possibility of having a family with her. He had toyed with the idea before, but now it became clear. He wanted her to be the mother of his children and he wanted to help her raise them. This life had been denied him by his upbringing. No matter what happened, he would find a way to make that possibility come true. As he left to chop wood to get them through the night, he planned to ask the guards not to check on them for a few hours. Tonight he would consummate their bond. ~~~~~~~~~~ Continue Episode 11 Watch until the end ~~~~~~~~~~ As he bent to pick up the wood, Tom was thinking about the best way to ask the guards to leave them alone without being too obvious. He knew Sloan would be embarrassed if she thought everyone knew what they were doing. He decided he would tell the guards she needed to have undisturbed sleep. He picked up the wood and turned toward the cabin. The door was ajar. He couldn't sense Sloan. He ran to the cabin. As he arrived he could begin to feel tendrils of her presence. It had to be the Lynch clone. He was attempting to block Sloan's emotional signature. How had he found them so fast? Someone inside had to be feeding him information. For the first time and even then only for a moment, Tom knew what true panic felt like from the inside. Lynch would use her to hurt him. He had promised to come for Tom eventually, but Tom was certain that would not happen until he had suffered enough to satisfy the clone. He would do anything to protect her. She was his life. Without her, for however long the clone would let him live, he would return to the meaningless life he had known before. He didn't want that. He finally had something, someone, to live for. ~~~ "So, Walter, how are they doing in their cabin?" "They were fine the last time I checked." "You've never set up a safe house before. You should have left it to professionals." "Ray is a professional. I told you the details. You didn't seem to have any problems then." Walter hated talking face-to- face with his boss. Apparently, she was taking a break from interrogating Lewis. Always casting the last zinger, she quipped, "We'll see how well your safe house plan turns out." ~~~ As Tom held Sloan after the Lynch clone died, Lynch mentioned the pillar and Tom seeing many familiar faces. Tom had no idea what Lynch meant and he didn't care. He knew she was the only thing in the world that mattered and she was alive. |
