Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Cloak & Dagger - Episode 10


Cloak & Dagger

Episode 10

By Toni Walker


Alison Corday and Ethan Fairchild in Cloak & Dagger, a Legacy mission.
As Ethan moved forward taking the lead, the tunnel swirled before him and switched between one tunnel and two. He could feel an unexpected drain on his energy as if someone was sucking it straight out of his body. His head swum and he dizzily reached for what he thought was the wall but came in contact with Alison's arm. Alison regarded him warily, her eyes taking in his actions.

He let her energy steady him. And suddenly his vision snapped back into focus. He shook his head as if trying to erase what had just happened but Alison wasn't letting him off that easily.

Ethan pulled Alison aside before they reached the end of the tunnel. His mind was on Michela. How could somebody do this to her?

"Exactly who was on this mission with Michela when her mind went sideways? Are they trustworthy? Could they have triggered it?"

"Always thinking like a spy aren't you?"

Ethan gave her a look that said he didn't think any other way.

"Simon Falconer was her partner on the op. He was halfway across the courtyard when she started displaying symptoms. I was their eyes and ears from HQ playing the role of controller. No one was near her according to my surveillance when the incident happened."

"Falconer's loyalties were a little iffy a few years back." Ethan mulled around theories in his head. "After that helicopter incident everyone thought he was dead. He may have been compromised. He may have given her some time delayed concoction."

Alison stopped him. "Hey, you're making too much of this. This could have happened for any number of medical reasons that are not nefarious at all."

"Nefarious complications are easier to cure than medical ones," Ethan pointed out.

Kevin appeared at the junction with Mila in tow. Her face was wrapped in Kevin's handkerchief. Ethan gestured toward the girl's face. Kevin recognized the gesture. It was his, what in the hell are you doing gesture.

"What?" he said. "It's a secret tunnel. I'm keeping it secret."

Alison punched in her code on the non-descript phone at the end of the tunnel. There was no beep, no acknowledgment. She waved at the hidden camera hoping it was a friendly face on the other side.

The door opened soundlessly and the four of them crossed the threshold. Boswell was there to meet them, but he wasn't the only one. Kain Newcastle, aka Echo, was doing his technological magic on the computer. He was pounding so hard on the keyboard they wondered if it would break apart from the pressure.

"What's with him?" Ethan glanced toward Echo.

"We had a bit of a security breach. That new director, Liz Hunter, brought some of her people in. We've been coordinating with sections all over HQ," Boswell said.

Echo didn't look up but he continued on where Boswell left off. "This has to be more than Echelon. they don't have the expertise for this. That Liz girl is just a pawn they've placed in the game.

"So, what's your theory," Ethan asked.

"Could be Black Council. They have their fingers everywhere. But whomever is doing this is good. Damn good."

"Echo is a genius with code and he's having a challenge getting around them." Boswell approached Mila and removed the blindfold. Her eyes connected with Echo's and she wobbled a bit on her feet. She glanced up with apologetic eyes.

"Who's this lovely lady?" Echo asked.

"Mila Ferguson. Her father works for Chandelor Knight." Ethan said.

"Worked," Boswell said. "Somehow Liz got her hooks in Daddy Warbucks and had half the staff replaced including Fergus."

Kevin cursed under his breath. "They really are targeting the entire organization. Whomever 'they' are."

"What about Michela?" Mila asked. "Where is she? Is she safe?" MIla could think of nothing but her friend. Everyone she trusted had betrayed her, even her own father.

"We might be able to bypass the new troops Liz brought in. The infirmary is only one level down from here," Echo said.

Ethan held up his hands for silence. Footsteps pounded in sync down the hallway. He motioned for everyone to hide and they all scattered to various corners of the Delta entrance just as armed men dressed in black cammo and black boots marched around the corner. An emblem tattooed on one soldier's wrist caught Ethan's eye. It was two letters: BC.

The Black Council definitely had a hand in this, at least, a far as ground cover and troops were concerned. They needed to get everyone of their people together to fight this new enemy.

***

Bette Marsden woke up the next morning in her bed, stretched and walked into the shower. Her phone beeped on the floor with a new text message. The text showed the screen. It was from Jacques DuPre.

Bette came out of the bathroom to another beep on her phone fifteen minutes later. The sedative Alison gave her had knocked out the last forty-eight hours of her memory. In that time period, she'd met the notorious Jacques DuPre.

Today she just looked at the phone in confusion. "Who is Jacques DuPre?"

Bette pushed the ignore button on the small cell not realizing making such a gesture would send a unit of men to her doorstep. But she had at least ten minutes before that option occurred. 

Photos and correspondence littered the surface of the kitchen table. She fingered one and her hand moved to a note that had her hand moved to a note that had her handwriting on it. In the background was a buzzing noise. Bette recognized as her fax machine. But that didn't concern her.

Huh, transportation cipher. She brought the note closer. "I don't remember doing this."

She picked up a photo, but noticed a fax lying on the floor next to her computer. She grabbed it. Another transposition cipher. When she completed it minutes later, her eyes widened in horror. 

It said: JACQUES DUPRE IS ONTO US. GET OUT NOW! 

***

Echo returned to his desk and put blocks on doors in the security system so the BC troops couldn't get  back into this area or the Infirmary one level down. He motioned for Boswell to start moving toward the elevators. He turned on elevator three for them.

"Text me if you want to come back up." Echo said. "Tell me I look hot. I'll get the message."

"Yeah, I get the message too. She's too young for you, Echo. Stay away from her." Ethan put his arm around Mila.

Once inside the elevator there was no need for hiding. Boswell took Ethan and Mila down one level to Michela's room. She looked at them with blank eyes. She sat cross-legged on the bed writing in a pink notebook with a purple gel pen.

"They've been parading people in here all day," Boswell said. "I don't think she's quite in the mood for company."

"How many times do I have to say, 'I don't remember any of you?'" Michela lamented dramatically then focused back on her notebook.

Mila nudged Ethan. "I thought you knew her a long time ago."

"I met her a year after she was in high school. Alison says she believes she's justin her junior year. So, she shouldn't remember me."

"But, she should remember her dad," Mila said.

"My dad? You know my dad?" Michela bounced off the bed and grabbed Mila with both arms.

"Of course. My mother has worked for him for years." Mila wriggled against Michela's insistent grasp.

"Your mother? The only person who works for my parents is... Sophia! Your mother is Sophia."

"Yes."

Michela hugged Mila. "I don't know you but you're the closest thing I've got to family." Then she eyed Ethan. She gave him a scorching once over. "Who's the hottie?"

"The hottie does have a name," he said. Before he could say more his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Oh, my God! I so did NOT do that!" Michela spoke in her best valley girl voice.

Mila ran down the hallway and yelled for help. Kevin was chatting with one of the techs and heard her cries. He ran to assist. As he checked Ethan's pulse, he realized it was barely there.

Kevin threw his cell phone at Mila. "Call Lee Myers. Name's in the directory. Tell him we'll meet him at the lab."

"What's happened?" Mila asked.

"Ethan's body crashed. His nanites are killing him."

Monday, July 16, 2012

Ten Little Spies - Episode 7


Episode 7: In A Stranger's Eyes
by Toni Walker and Sabrina Carol

Steven Webb laid the woman he rescured on the sofa in his underground fall out shelter. He had come here to get away... from people ... from life ... from everything. He wasn't much of a people person and his social skills were next to nil. But he did have a very focused moral compass. He didn't like it when people tried to kill other people right on his front lawn.

He looked out the window which was a glass opening on the side of a cliff. He had been correct in his first assumption. It was gonna be one hell of a storm. The first flakes were only now starting to fall. The battered and bruised man outside would find it in his best interest if he discovered a way off the mountain. If he didn't, he was going to be stuck in the storm of the century.

Steven glanced at the woman on the couch. She was going to need to rest for a few days. As far as he could tell, she had a major concussion, but nothing a little rest and relaxation wouldn't cure. He wondered how she had come to be lying on a snow drift without a coat. Maybe she would tell him when she woke up.

He used his special periscope to see above his house and atop the mountain and scanned the horizon. He could see three people clearly. One woman was alone and from the looks of it had a very menancing looking gun in her grasp. The other two were not far head of her, running at full throttle down the mountain. They would never make it to the bottom in time. Steven knew he would have to call the authorities to get them, but even the National Police might not fly up to the top of the mountain in the middle of a storm. It was then he began to worry. At this altitude, it wouldn't take long for them to freeze to death.

***

Gia Doyle still couldn't fathom why the Foundation wanted Ethan back. She had been out of the country for most of the last few years, so she wasn't completely informed about what the elder Fairchild had done to put him in the laser site of the Foundation's top covert team. Somehow in the last three years, Ethan had become a detriment to the Legacy, and as far as she could tell, the Foundation didn't want him either. The new controller, Kain Newcastle aka Echo, had told her that this man she would be chasing had killed many and to watch herself. She guessed Echo didn't know that Gia was well informed on the life of Ethan Fairchild.

"They're getting away!" She yelled as she ran to intercept Ethan and his gal pal, Jazz. "Ethan, you little twirp. I'm going to get you this time," she mumbled.

Echo listened in on Gia's conversation with herself and couldn't help but wonder why she kept referring to the man she was chasing as Ethan.

"Please tell me you're chasing the right man," Echo asked innocently.

Gia stopped running abruptly. "What are you talking about, Newcastle?" Her breath came in short gasps, but she could still hear what the controller had to say.

"It's just that you keep calling him Ethan. I just want to make sure you're after the right man."
If it was possible to burst a vein at will, Gia would have probably been able to accomplish the feat. She had never been so enormously angry before.

She breathed deeply to control her voice. "The photo I received was of Ethan Fairchild. I know what he looks like, I've worked with him before."

"No," Echo corrected her. "The photo you received was of Ethan Fairchild's clone. As far as I know, they're calling him Ian. Aren't you up on this whole story?"

"Apparently not." Gia noticed that Ethan and Jazz had stopped running and were now searching an abandoned cabin for anything they could use against her.

"During the Bulgarian Underground assignment, Ethan stumbled upon a labortory where someone was keeping an exact replica of Ethan. Ethan and Octavia faked his getting kidnapped so Ethan could bring this clone back to headquarters. Well, that never happened, cause not long later, Ethan realized that his father was the one who had created this clone. That was when Ethan hooked up with the Knights Foundation. He's been working with them for awhile now."
Gia couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So, you're telling me that this man I'm chasing is a clone of Ethan?"

"Yup, I'm pretty positive considering I just talked to Ethan a few minutes ago and he was going on an errand in south London. Something to do with Michela Forsythe, I think. I'm sure you remember her. She's that wacko freelancer who tried to kill her entire family after Ethan ... well, I guess that's not important."

Gia was actually interested in knowing more about a psycho Michela, but she didn't have time now.

"So, is this man as dangerous as Ethan?"

"Probably more so. He actually thinks he is Ethan. But when he remembers that he's really the clone... well, let's just say, I'm glad I'm not you."

"Wonderful." Gia moved from her spot on the mountain and edged down the steep trail a bit more. "Let me guess. He could go psycho-clone at any moment?"

"Pretty much. Have a nice day." Echo signed off and Gia drew her gun as she opened the door of the abandoned cabin.

***

A wave of nausea swelled in the recess of Kaye Corday’s stomach. It was a feeling not unexpected, yet defied explanation; especially, since it was always her older sister that made her feel this way.

Mustering a stabling breath, Kaye twisted free of Dyan Ransom’s hold. "Really, Dyan, you have a grip that can kill," she said, massaging her forearm.

Dyan delicately touched her tender and swollen abdomen. "Then I guess that makes us even," she made reference to the bruising Kaye had given her a few minutes earlier. "But judging by what I caught you doing I think a sore arm is the least of your worries," Kaye’s puerile face flushed hot, and Dyan seized the moment.. "I saw everything. I want you tell me what’s really going on. Why are you risking not only your career, but your life?"

That very moment Kaye wanted to cry out to the heavens. It was as if the Gods were determined to keep putting obstacles at every corner. Her trembling hands became clenched, forming two fists.. She’d already come so close to blowing it. If it had not been for Dare… He had put everything on the line by helping her sneak Allison and Jared from the hospital.
Kaye, found herself struggling not to laugh at the absurdity of her situation. It was quite ironic that she was face to face with her sister, the woman Dare had vowed to love forever. The woman that only knew him as selfish and a liar.

It seemed she and Dyan were always opposites at everything, including when it came to Dyan’s husband. Whereas, Kaye and her twin sister, Allison, were petite blondes with hazel eyes, Dyan had a crown of brunette locks, and sparkling violet eyes that could be mistaken for the finest gems. If not for their late mother, Anna, they would have nothing to connect them.

Kaye’s sudden cheerful disposition soon gave way to anger. Once again she was plagued with peculiar emotions that collided in confusion when she thought about the people she was suppose to hold dear. A slicing pain cut into the base of her skull. Kaye pressed a hand to the throbbing ache. Some days it hurt so bad she was unable to cope.

Fed up, Dyan turned sharply on her heels and started for the hospital’s front lot.
"Where are you going?" Kaye called after.

Her sister glanced back over one shoulder, but didn’t stop. "Back to the hospital, we’ll see how fast you cough up an explanation when Fairchild hears about this."

"Dyan, stop!" Kaye cried out in a voice trapped between desperation and pain. "I’ll tell you, okay. Just don’t…,"

Dyan didn’t say a word, but nonetheless returned to her.

Kaye took several calming breaths before beginning. "The person you saw me putting into the van wasn’t dead," she said, shakily. "He was a patient from the hospital--- and yes, I kidnapped him."

"Why did you take him, he’s obviously in need of serious medical care," Dyan demanded to know. When Kaye didn’t respond she continued. "Is he an operative?"

Kaye nodded silently.

Dyan’s eyes grew troubled. "Kaye, their going nuts on Sector 5 trying to find this man. What possessed you to do such a thing?"

Kaye couldn’t say a word. She looked helplessly at Dyan as she tried to force her mind to work through the pain. Think damn it, think! As Kaye stared into her sister’s eyes she knew the answer was right before her--- Dyan. Dyan, who was like a finished novel, once it was written that was it. Her sister was relentless when she set her mind towards something; particularly, something she despised. For the first time Kaye saw a dim light at the end of the tunnel.

"I did it because of Dare."

Kaye said nothing more. Instead she aloud her words to hang like a cloudburst in mid-air ready to pour down on the dead silence.

Dyan’s fair face had gone from disturbed to pale with shock. "Why would Dare ask you to do something like this?"

"He begged me to," Kaye answered softly. "I didn’t ask why because he seemed so desperate for help. I know you don’t trust him, but Dare has been nothing short of wonderful to me. He was the one who truly took the time to teach me all I needed to know when I first joined the Legacy. Why would I doubt his sincerity?"

"And you figured you had know choice, but to help him," Dyan concluded bitterly. "This is classic Dare Ransom--- to play on someone’s feelings. The man is a velvet steamroller."

"Please don’t tell anyone," Kaye pleaded, her hazel eyes wet with unshed tears. "If anyone at the Legacy finds out---,"

Dyan instantly took Kaye into her arms. "Don’t worry sweetheart," she assured while stroking her hair. "I’ll take care of that soon to be ex-husband of mine. I’ll see to that."

***

Dare Ransom couldn’t believe what he had heard.

"I did it because of Dare… , He begged me to …, he seemed so desperate for help... , I know you don’t trust him…"

"This is classic Dare Ransom--- to play on someone’s feelings…"

Yet the words echoed loud and true to his ears. Dare remained hidden behind the long row of gardenia shrubs. How could he have been so stupid? He had been a part of the Legacy for ten long years, never once had he allowed himself to play fool. Why did he have to start now?

Dare found the answer to his question as he peered between an opening in the gathered leaves. All he wanted to do was reach out and touch a silken tress of her brown mane. Even huddled in the dirt he knew what her hair smelled like at that very instance--- roses. Dare gritted his teeth in anger. He also wanted to grab hold of her and shake her violently. Didn’t she know him at all?

"No. You never let her," the ever present voice in his head mocked."You learned the art of disguise far too well, my friend. For a while there you even managed to fool yourself into thinking you could actually be true to anyone. Is it any wonder you slipped? Now sit back, relax, and watch everything you love fall away from you..."

A hard lump formed in the back of Dare’s throat as he saw Dyan and Kaye walk away, arm-in-arm, sister-to-sister. He knew then and there she was walking out of his life; and, he couldn’t help but feel that his heart was failing him.

***

Night had begun to fall, bathing the city in a blue calm. A cool glow radiated from the half moon illuminating the dusky sky. Nearing in the distance just across Culver Main was the vast Tudor mansion Adrian Zeller called home. The estate sat far removed from the road shrouded heavily by towering oak trees. Adrian circled his Mercedes-Benz into the concave drive and came to a stop behind Dyan Ransom’s waiting car.

Dyan did not seem to notice they had arrived. Instead, she stared absently through the side window, her mind elsewhere. Adrian watched her from the corner of his blue eye with careful curiosity. He vaguely recalled meeting his employee only once before. Other than the one time and today, their meetings were strictly the occasional phone call, where even then he found her bothered personality less than inspiring.

Tonight was proving to be different however. In the fading light, Dyan painted a strangely fascinating portrait of a woman. To Adrian, she wasn’t the classic beauty he was accustomed to; and yet, he was discovering something engaging about her. Maybe it was in the way her hair, resembling the brownest earth, folded past her shoulders; or, her eyes, violet, waxed strong and frail all at once. Whatever it was not even the troubling lines time had borne about her face could erase.

Adrian noisily cleared his throat, breaching the silent repose. "This certainly has been an interesting day, to say the least."

Dyan finally turned away from the window and a shadow fell across her face. "Yes, it has been," she sighed. "I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused--- though there wasn’t a need for you to come."

Adrian cocked one meaningful blonde brow in her direction. "You were far too upset to drive in your condition. I simply did what any gentleman would have done."

This appeared to amuse her. "Then I suppose I should thank you, in spite of everything," she said in an openly accusatory tone.

That very instant, Adrian wanted to kick himself as he recalled how foolishly he acted at the hospital. His ego had gotten the best of him, and he stupidly took his anger out on Dyan. It was an unwise move that could cost him in the long run. "I am truly sorry for what I did," he apologized in the hope of amending whatever ties he might have broken. "In my eagerness to help you I stepped out of line. But please, understand that everything I did was for your benefit."

"It's getting late I should be going." Dyan replied, opening the passenger door.

Adrian stifled a groan. "Tomorrow you can take the day off, if need be," he tactlessly tossed in for good measure. Even in the now darkness he knew she was smiling, whether it was one of gratitude or disdain he would never know.

"I'll be at the shoppe tomorrow," was all Dyan said and took her leave.

Adrian watched as she got into her car and drove off. His sight remained fixated on her until she bypassed a solitary car parked on the other side of Culver Main. Quiet, he exited his car, and swaggered purposely across the street. He lightly rapped his knuckles on the passenger window of the lone car. There was a clicking sound as the door was unlocked, and he smoothly slipped inside.

"I thought she would never leave," a rather melodious voice spoke in the shadows. "Tell me, how did everything go?"

Adrian tapped his fingers on the armrest. "It's going to be a lot harder to bait her than I formerly expected."

Her silhouette turned to him. "Surely not because of me-- I was brilliant today," she said with all the confidence in the world.

"Never you," Adrian huskily agreed, taking her into his arms. He felt the warmth of her breath on his chin. Expertly, he gently grazed his mouth against hers. "As always, you were a marvel to behold… Ms. Peel." And their lips united in a feverish passion, setting fire to any lingering thoughts of day.

***

"Please stop moving around, Ms. Kassoff," Steven tried to force Octavia to remain still.
"Oh, so now it's Ms. Kassoff, is it?" Octavia smiled through her pain. Her Russian accent was thicker today. Maybe he hadn't understood her request. She had woken up hours earlier and asked the stranger to call her by her given name.

"All right, Octavia. If you're in much pain from the fall, I can only offer you the basic pain reliever. I'm afraid I don't have anything stronger."

"I'll take you up on your offer, kind sir. You're a darling. Add a vodka chaser and I'm yours for the night."

Steven laughed nervously. "Not that I don't find your offer tempting, but alcohol is the last thing you need."

Octavia fell back onto the couch. Her lips jutted out in a pout. "Oh, you're no fun."

"Women tell me that all the time."

As the day progressed, Steven continued to check on his patient. He knelt down beside her bed sometime around two o'clock in the morning. She seemed to be resting comfortably, but he wanted her to take a bit more medication for the pain. If she didn't do it know, all her aches would be more pronounced in the morning.

Steven nudged her arm hoping to lightly rouse her, but her eyes opened almost immediately.
"Light sleeper, huh?" He handed her a glass of water and two brown pills. "Take these. The others have nearly worn off by now."

She did as he instructed, which she found strangely unusual. She didn't usually trust strangers.
When he rose to leave, she put a hand on his arm. "Don't go yet."

"I think it would probably be best if I did." Octavia couldn't know how many times he had undressed her with his eyes. He had felt the chemistry crackling between them since he found her passed out on the bluff with a gun pointed at her.

"You feel it, don't you?" she asked softly. Octavia wasn't one to believe in soul mates or things that were meant to be, but this feeling Steven Webb conjured inside of her almost made her think it could be true. "This can't possibly be all one sideded, can it?"

Her words hung between them like an unbreakable wall. Somehow her hand found his forearm and she moved it up brushing across dark hair.

"Octavia." His voice had changed. It was more husky now. It was more obvious that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. "We douldn't even be thinking what we're thinking. You're in pain, for Christ's sake. You fell out of a helicopter."

"I know. But... I'm also thankful to be alive. If you hadn't come along when you did, Irish would have killed me." She inched closer to him.

"You don't know that." His voice was now softer. She could tell he was into the chemistry building between them.

"I know only one thing for sure. Today I'm alive. Tomorrow I may not be. That's why I live for today."

She reached up and brushed her mouth against his. He was here today. That was all that mattered. And she knew chemistry like this only came around once in a lifetime.

As soon as their lips met, they knew one kiss wouldn't be enough. Steven deepened the kiss, going against his better judgement. It was in that moment that something cold and metalic came between their mouths. It was the shiny barrell of a gun.

"I'm sorry to interrupt such a tender moment, but I have to kill you know." Irish Quinn stared at the two of them in the near darkness. Both had let their guards down. Both would be dead by sunrise.

Ten Little Spies - Episode 6


Episode 6: Narrow Exit
by Toni Walker and Sabrina Carol

Alison Corday smiled. She had been having the most wonderful dream Jared Quinn was kissing her and he knew it was definitely her and not his partner, her sister, Kaye. She reached for him one more time. She wanted to revel in another kiss, this time taking it deeper, but then something distracted her and she found herself falling. She didn't know why she was falling she only knew that she was.

Picking herself up, she realized she had been having a dream.

"Shoot," she whispered to herself in disappointment. Alison could have any man she wanted, and she had many in her lifetime. But it was always the unavailable one that garnered her attention. It had been that way in grade school, and it was still that way with Jared now.

It took a few moments for her to realize she was moving or at least, the van she was in was moving. She looked down to herself and discovered she was wearing a hospital gown. The pale green and her complection did not go well together. What was going on?

She inched forward to get a peek at the driver of the van. The boy's red hair shouted at her, but she didn't recognize him. It was then she saw Jared's body lying on a collapsed gurney near the back of the van.

How in the world had they gotten here, she wondered. What had happened? Why was she in a hospital gown? There were too many questions rolling around in her head.

"Jared. What's going on?" Alison whispered, shaking him to get him to respond. "Wake up, dammit!"

When he finally opened his eyes, she didn't expect him to grab her throat. Which is exactly what he did. His hand clamped around her neck like a vice. In a matter of moments, she began to have trouble breathing.

***

Jazz Demarco dragged herself to the closest hidey-hole she could find. As soon as she dropped the phone that disconnected her conversation with her sister, Maxie, Jazz revealed her location to someone else who was roaming around the structure she had woken up inside of.
"Damn," she muttered, grabbing the phone from the floor.

The stranger walked into the room standing so close to her she feared even breathing. Jazz realized with a startling intensity that if Maxie hadn't called when she did, she would have been captured and maybe even killed.

***

Ethan Fairchild felt like hell. His head was throbbing like a son of a bitch. He opened his eyes and was welcomed with very little visual acuity. He was longing for the day when his eyes healed so he could see normally again. As it was, he was still blind as a bat.

Quickly, he did two things, he heard a noise then rolled to the side away from whomever had only seconds earlier walked into the room.

"There is no use hiding," a woman said, her voice harsh and firm. "We know you have little sight left. Come out and show yourself. We can help you..., Ethan." The woman paused when she said his name, as if she were about to call him something else but then recalled what she was supposed to call him.

It took a minute but he finally recognized the voice. Gia Doyle. He had heard the story of how she fell out of favor with the Legacy's High Council. Her alliances with Philip Lancaster had been her ultimate downfall. She was discovered by his father to be a double agent for the Black Council.

She had escaped capture, but Philip hadn't been so lucky. He took the heat for not only his sins, but the sins of Gia Doyle as well. Philip wasn't strong enough to wait for a proper trial. In the end, he took the coward's way out. He committed suicide.

Ethan felt the waistband of his jeans for a weapon. It wasn't there. Couldn't a guy get a break once in awhile? He could hear Gia walking around. Her feet scuffled along the floor, and he could hear her whispering into a microphone, probably to the Council's version of a controller.

Ethan Fairchild could hear someone else stumbling around the room. It was obvious, either the person was a complete amateur or they were scared witless. It wasn't merely the stumbling that had woken him up. It was also because it was freezing cold.

It was then he remembered being in Jazz's nightclub and running into the alley where they were confronted by someone lurking in the shadows. He wasn't exactly working with 20/20 vision these days, so he wasn't sure of the intruder's identity. If he wasn't mistaken, he and Jazz had been shot. He felt along his body for an entry wound, but didn't fine one. It must have been some sort of tranquilizer. And that was why he felt like ten kinds of hell.

Ethan glanced around the room slowly from his position lying on the floor. He noticed a gigantic hole in the ceiling. That was definitely the reason it was cold in the building. But what he hadn't expected to see was the helicopter teetering off the edge of the hole.

Ethan backed closer to a wall. There was no use revealing himself. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his thigh. Ethan grabbed the wrist of the woman and pulled her out of her crouched position. He hauled back his hand to punch her, but a whimper stopped him.

"Ethan, stop. It's me, Jazz." His entire demeanor changed at the sound of Jazz's voice. "I see one of your old friends has decided to pay us a visit." Jazz pulled Ethan down and back into the cubby hole she had been hiding in.

"We have to either get out of this building or get the drop on her. And with my flaky eye sight, it won't be easy." Ethan tried to listen to Gia's fading footsteps.

"Does she have a weakness?" Jazz asked. "One we can take advantage of?"
Ethan laughed unexpectedly. "No, not unless you count lack of a heart as a weakness."

"Is she really as bad as they say?"

"Worse."

***

Alison felt the breath leave her lungs. The tighter Jared squeezed, the blacker the edges of her vision became. She could see one thing, though. Jared was still wearing his street clothes, unlike her. She had a feeling that clue was important. As she looked into the eyes of her attacker, she realized that Jared had his eyes closed. He was still asleep!

"Jared," she croaked. "Jared, let go!" She said the words as loud as she could without alerting the driver of the van that they were both awake.

Jared was practically sitting up now. The right hand joined the left and both were putting immense pressure on her windpipe. Alison knew she only had a few seconds to live so she did the only thing she could think of - she hammered her fist into Jared's crotch.

The pain shocked him enough that he released her and doubled over in agony.

Alison stumbled backward holding her throat and coughing. He had nearly killed her. She knew she would have a hell of a bruise tomorrow, but that was better than dead any day.

***

"Stay away from him, Marian. He's a killer." Irish Quinn raised his gun to the stranger who looked strangely like Ethan Fairchild. He grimaced. The crash had fractured his collarbone. "Get away from her."

The helicopter jolted and the gun flew from his hand. Irish tried to catch it and in doing so, lost his balance and tumbled out of the shattered front window. Shards of glass flew everywhere spilling down into the opening of the roof. Irish landed on his back on top of the roof of the cabin, luckily well away from the danger zone. The fall had unexpectedly knocked him unconscious.

Marian Noble screamed as she hang from her fingertips grasping onto the helicopter. She was already afraid of heights so this terrified her more than she could express. Her breath came in short pants. She knew if she didn't get control of her fear, she was going to pass out and then fall to her death.

"Help me," she screamed.

The dark stranger flew into action. He'd already make it onto the roof, now his only problem was getting to her.

"Stay with me," he reassured her with calming tones. "I'm going to get you down from there."
"Fairchild, hurry!" Marian began to lose her grip on the metal casing when it broke away from the body of the metal bird. Her scream increased in decibel. The man raced across the roof and dove toward the opening. Could he save her in time?

***

Gia Doyle made her way into the room just in time to see Simon Falconer grab a woman from a very certain death. She grumbled under her breath. She didn't have time for this heroic crap. And she told him so in no uncertain terms once he guided the woman back to solid ground.
Simon inched backward once he finally acknowledged Gia was in the room.

"What's wrong with you?" Gia asked him.

"You know me?" The man who was beginning to think of himself as ‘Fairchild' stared at her in amazement.

"Is that a trick question?" Gia put her gun down and returned it to the waistband of her slacks. "Get rid of the woman. We've got more important things to do - like bringing Ethan in."

Marian stirred uncomfortably next to Simon. "Fairchild. What's going on? Who is she?"

Gia ignored Marian and spoke directly to Simon. "Fairchild?" she laughed. "Who is this idiot, Falconer?"

Gia didn't want to be here, but her superiors had insisted. Finding Ethan was her responsibility. They wanted to bring him back into the fold, and they were willing to do anything to make that happen.

A noise coming from behind her caused her to pivot on her heel. Grabbing her weapon and holding it up, she slowly retraced her steps back the way she came. As she entered the next room, she heard a tatter of footsteps and a door opening and closing.

Gia ran toward the slamming door. She thrust it open, waving her gun from side to side. Whomever it was, they were gone now.

"Falconer better pray that wasn't Ethan," she muttered.

***

Once Gia exited the room, Marian became concerned about the pilot. She ran to where he had tumbled from the helicopter. The dark stranger named Falconer followed her.

The spot where Irish Quinn should have been was empty.

"My God. He's gone."

***

"We're outta here," Gia said harshly.

Marian stood in front of Simon. "Leave him alone. He's very fragile right now. He doesn't need the stress you are obviously putting him under."

Gia raised her gun and aimed it at the annoying female. "Stress? Honey, you haven't even seen stress yet."

Simon stepped forward. "Wait."

"I am so tired of this," Gia yelled. "I knew I shouldn't have taken Knight up on his job offer." She pulled Simon away from Marian. "Leave the floozie here. I'm sure she can find her own way home."

Marian sniffed indignantly. "Floozie? I beg your pardon."

Simon tore his hand away from Gia's. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"I don't have time for this. The assassin is getting away, don't you understand that?"

"Why don't you leave him alone? He doesn't even remember his own name." Marian didn't know where her rush of confidence came from, but she was liking it. She liked it a lot.

Gia came up to Marian and got up in her face. "Don't test me. I have a gun and I know how to use it."

Seconds later she left using the same door Ethan had minutes earlier.

The ceiling of the cabin wasn't as strong as it seemed. The high winds from the south sailed across the mountain top and caused the helicopter to plummet off the roof and down the side of the cliff causing the entire ceiling of the cabin to collapse on top of Simon and Marian.
No one screamed. No one had time.

Gia watched horrified from outside. There was no way anyone could have survived and implosion like that. In seconds, she realized that her partner, Simon and the floozie were most likely dead.

***

Octavia Kassoff's body had not hit the earth upon impact like Irish had expected. Instead her fall had been cushioned by a parachute, one she had only been able to halfway open before she plummeted toward the ground. Amazingly, she had survived not only the explosion, but his deliberate maneuver to knock her out of the helicopter.

Irish was a freelance agent in the best of times, but times being as they were, he had to take any assignment he could get - even if it meant killing a friend like Octavia.

She was lying unconscious across a mound of show, like a siren with her arms extended. She looked very inviting like that. Too bad he had to kill her.

"We have a problem," Irish said into a secured satellite phone. "It's Doyle and Falconer sent down from the KF (Knights Foundation), I'd imagine. They're on to you, sir."

"Not necessarily," Franklin Fairchild told him. "No one around here is going to believe Gia. I've made certain of that. Even Ethan will steer clear of her, if we're lucky. What's happening with your assignment?"

"Octavia fell out of the helicopter as planned. I'm going in search of the body right now." He glanced down at Octavia's form. He wasn't about to tell Franklin that she was still breathing. "I haven't run into Fairchild yet."

"You did as instructed and used the candle as an explosive device?"

"Yes, sir. Worked pretty effectively too. If I can ask - why a candle?"

"It's of no consequence why. Keep checking in every few hours." Franklin signed off.

Irish leveled his gun at Octavia. He'd have preferred it look like an accident, but sometimes these things didn't always work out the way the brass planned. But at least she'd be dead. And that was exactly what Franklin Fairchild wanted.

"Get the hell away from her!" A man appeared behind Irish. His face was almost as disturbing as his gravely voice. He'd seen friendlier faces in mug shot books. The man was bare chested and wielding a baseball bat.

Irish jumped back a step or two. Where the hell had this joker come from? He hadn't seen a cabin anywhere close to where he'd discovered Octavia's body.

"Stay out of this," Irish warned, turning the gun on the stranger.

"Sorry. Can't do that. You made it my business the minute you walked in my front yard."

Octavia hadn't completely regained consciousness, but she knew something was going down. She moved and every muscle in her body cried out in pain. She hadn't realized she'd screamed until the man with the gun turned toward her and aimed. The rough looking man with the baseball bat was faster and laid the assassin out with one swift swing.

The man with the bat ran toward Octavia. He looked to the sky. "Storm's a brewing," he said off handedly. "Gotta get you inside before it hits."

He'd have to take her back to his place for the time being until he could get her to a hospital.
"Can you move?" he asked, more softly than she thought possible.

"I don't know. I'll try." Octavia rolled off the snow cap and onto her hands and knees. The movement assured Steven Webb she didn't have any critical spinal cord injuries. Then he picked her up and carried her a short distance and disappeared with her underground.
Irish remained immobile as the first flakes of the blizzard began to fall.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Ten Little Spies - Episode 5


Episode 5: Dare to Scheme
by Toni Walker and Sabrina Carol

Kaye Corday and Dare Ransom in Ten Little Spies.
The quivering rings of the alarm grew rapidly until a shrill cry resounded throughout the entire ward. One-two quick flashes of pulsating light danced with a frenzy across the white walls. Dare Ransom's heart beat in wild unison with the warning siren, pounding hard against the inside of his chest. It will only be a matter of time before they know the truth, the voice in his head cautioned. He clenched the handle to the roller bed tighter, turning his knuckles white. Now is not the time to panic, he told himself as he bypassed a group of nurses.

Dare's brown eyes dropped down to the slumbering man on the bed. In a matter of minutes, Jared Quinn had gone from a sickly sallow to a deathly pale. A sheen of perspiration matted his hair to his forehead.

"That should keep him docile for the time being." The thought reverberated in his head.
Instinctively, Dare looked over at his accomplice. Kaye Corday's hazel eyes were narrowed with intent as they neared the elevators. She didn't seem to notice the sudden change in Jared's condition.

"The sleeping med you gave him was too strong." Dare's voice was quiet and fierce, but his face remained a mask of civility.

"Just keep going," Kaye ordered. She was petite in height and had to practically jog alongside the roller bed to keep with Dare's legged pace.

It didn't take long before they reached the end of the Sector 5 hallway. Kaye pushed the down button to both elevators. "Come on… come on…," she urged them desperately. It was the first time she allowed her nervousness to show. She yanked up the long sleeves to the surgical scrub she wore. Beads of sweat were beginning to form above her eyebrows.

Dare took the opportunity to wipe away the perspiration mustache above his lip. With each passing second his insides twisted and coiled like a snake. What they were trying to do was one of the most dishonorable things a Legacy operative could do to their own. If caught, Franklin Fairchild would make their world cease as they knew it.

"What's taking so damn long?" Dare demanded, letting his nerves get the best of him.
Kaye slammed the first elevator's button again with her thumb.

That's when Dare saw it, the large, red X steadily blinking across the button. "Oh no…," he groaned.

"Damn it," Kaye said, finally seeing it too. "They've blocked the elevators." Agitated, she started to tap her hands at her sides. "If the elevator's are blocked, then chances are so are the emergency exits." Kaye angrily tugged at her surgical cap. "This isn't the way it was suppose to be. I had everything so perfect."

Dare watched in silence as her face grew darker and her eyes colder. "How was it suppose to be Kaye?" he asked after a moment.

Kaye seemed put off with being caught coming undone. She prided herself on being flawless, and hated it when things went awry. "I already told you," she said, her already juvenile voice becoming even more childish.

Dare wasn‘t so easily swayed. He tried to block out the unyielding wail of the alarms as he sought to piece together what his intuition was telling him. "You told me Allison was in danger, and not safe in the hospital," he said in reflection. "You never fully explained why. I only took you at your word because you were willing to risk everything for your sister. But Jared wasn't apart of the deal, and now we're in over our heads. If I'm going to go down in flames I want to know why."

Kaye's pretty face appeared to become lost and abstract. "Everything I said is true," she said thoughtfully. "Allison can't stay here, and neither can Jared." She looked to Dare with solemn eyes. "What's going on is bigger than you and me. What happened tonight isn't about poisoned candles. It goes much deeper and is as black as midnight." Without even the slightest hint her entire manner changed, becoming icy and untouchable. "We don't have time for this. If Franklin catches us you know what will happen."

Dare ignored the chill that iced his spine. There was no turning back. They had to get out of there.

Reaching under the white lab coat he donned, Dare removed a pistol affixed with a silencer from his waist band. Kaye stepped into place to cover him. He aimed the barrel at the small lock to the emergency pull-switch door. Expertly, he fired two shots without notice amid the chaotic hallway, dismantling the lock. He pried open the silver box, and yanked down the red lever; automatically, the elevator doors opened.

They quickly pushed a still sleeping, Jared inside. Kaye punched in a series of coded numbers and the elevator hummed as it came to life. The floor numbers lit one by one until they reached the first landing. But the elevator didn't stopped there. Instead it continued downward to an unlisted floor that only a member of the Legacy would know about.

The double doors opened letting in a draft of cold air. They were below ground level. Kaye wheeled Jared from the elevator, and into the dimly lit tunnel. Dare started to follow.
"No," Kaye said abruptly. "You've done your part. It's best you get out of here." 

Dare shook his dark head. "We've come this far, we might as well finished what we've started."
"I can handle everything from here," she tried reassuring him.

A sharp whistle echoed through tunnel. By the exit door was a silhouette of a stocky built man. "The girl is already in the van. We've got to get going, the front lot is already crawling with security."

Dare grabbed the handle of his gun. "And who are you?"

"He's on our side," Kaye answered fast and signaled for the man to get Jared. She turned back to Dare. Standing on her toes, she kissed him softly on the cheek. "Thanks for everything. I'll never forget what you did for me."

Dare looked on quietly as Kaye and the stranger, along with Jared, disappeared through the door. Afterwards he stripped out of the lab coat and purposely made his way through the tunnel. "Sorry Kaye, but you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Once they were safely enclosed inside the covert passage exiting Franklin Fairchild's office the startling sound of alarm bells ceased. The panic and the urgency Dyan Ransom and Adrian Zeller were feeling only a few moments ago began to dissipate.

"Just follow me folks." Melanie said with her usual gusto as if they weren't in the middle of a hospital security breach. She quickly ushered them down the narrow corridor. "When you're outside you will immediately feel like you're standing in the middle of nowhere. But don't worry because at the end of the lot you will find a trail of gardenia shrubs. Simply follow them, and they will lead you to the visitors parking area. Is it okay to assume you can find your own car?" Franklin's assistant didn't bother waiting for an answer. With a bright smile and the snap of her wrist, she turned the silver handle to the right and pushed open the door. "Have a nice day," she sang all the while shoveling them through the secret exit.

Before an accosted Dyan and Adrian even had the chance to spin on their heels, the door closed with a convincing slam. They were shut out yet again--- this time for good.

Dyan smacked the cement flat that concealed the door enabling it to blend into the wall with her purse. "Now what do we do?" she asked the inanimate object instead of the man at her side.

"You wanted to play leader in this hide-and-go-seek, why don't you tell me," Adrian Zeller answered anyway.

Dyan glanced up at her employer in annoyance. She hated his smug expression. Only two things stood in her way of erasing it from his face--- her job and her livelihood. "I suppose doing things your way would have produced better results?"

The corner of Adrian's mouth curved upwards revealing an amused smirk. "With my way we would have at least been tossed out the front door."

In spite of the way she was feeling, Dyan couldn't help but find the humor in his sentiment. But as quickly as the feeling came it was just as fleeting. She had no idea what was happening with her sister Allison, or even what happened to her. The only thing Dyan was certain of was whatever was going on with Allison was very serious. "It's almost as if they are trying to keep us apart," she spoke her private thoughts aloud. "But why?"

"Who are they?" Adrian asked, curiously.

Dyan shook her head, brunette mane swaying from side to side. "It's nothing. I was just thinking."

The look on Adrian's somewhat boyish face revealed he didn't believe her, but nonetheless didn't try to press the issue. "It's getting late. We should be heading back."

They started the trek across the paved lot as Melanie instructed, easily finding the row of gardenia shrubs exactly where she said they would be.

"I understand that hospitals are looking for cheaper ways to cut corners, however, I must say that this is ridiculous," Adrian commented as they traveled the line of shrubs.
Dyan absently touched one of the many white gardenias. "I take it mother nature can't even satisfy you, Adrian."

Adrian‘s lazy stride came to a halt. At that moment, Dyan wished for once in her life she had bitten her tongue. She had more than her share of confrontations for today, and didn't feel like going a second round with her boss. Her violet eyes looked to his blue ones in weary uncertainty.

"As far as my eyes can see mother nature has done a remarkable job," Adrian said, unblinkingly.

Dyan found herself unexpectedly taken aback. She wasn't a fool, and was well aware of Adrian Zeller's love for playing the cad; but, the way he said those words almost made her believe he meant every last one. For the first time, Dyan was at a lost for a snappy comeback.

Adrian inhaled a silent breath. "I guess it's safe to assume that was less than impressive," he said, briefly reflecting a flaw in confidence. He gestured about him. "Still, the gardenias were not what I was referring to."

"Then what?" Dyan inquired, finding her voice again.

Adrian pointed east of them. Parked alongside the south-wing of the hospital was a dark van. They watched as a doctor and an unidentified individual hoisted a sheet covered stretcher into the back of it. Suddenly, an arm popped out and fell limply to the side. Quickly, the doctor tucked the arm back underneath the sheet.

"I don‘t know what‘s going on, but something isn‘t right," Dyan said, her every instincts telling her she was on point. Without hesitation she began running towards the van, each step gathering speed.

"Dyan, wait," Adrian called after her, but she wouldn't listen.

As Dyan came closer, the two figures began to take form. A red haired male quickly hopped inside the back of the van, while the doctor removed a surgical cap from their head, unleashing a mop of blond hair. It was a woman, one of familiar substance--- the hair, the body, and the way she stood, Dyan knew her all too well. The woman shut the van doors, and gave it three whacks with her hand. The van roared to life and hastily took its leave, tearing out of the open lot.

Dyan ran up to the woman, and snatched her arm from behind. Swiftly, the woman whirled around, slamming her in the sternum. Dyan cried out in pain as she was roughly thrown backwards. Tumbling hard, the very breath knocked out of her, Dyan clenched her chest as she struggled for air.

"It's okay, I've got you," Adrian's soothing voice was suddenly in her ear. Dyan blinked several times, and tears spilled down her cheeks. It took her a few moments to apprehend she wasn't lying on the ground, but still on her feet thanks to Adrian's support.

"Are you mad?," Adrian yelled at Dyan's assailant. His brownish eyebrows were furrowed in anger. "You may have seriously injured her."

Kaye Corday's face registered with shock. "Dyan," she squeaked in a child-like voice and rushed to her sister‘s side. "Dyan, are you all right? Did I hurt you?" 

"Did you hurt her?" Adrian mocked, still holding on to Dyan. "What do you think?" His features softened when he looked down at Dyan. "I think you should be checked out at a hospital." He glanced back at Kaye in disgust. "But certainly not this one. It's clear the doctors are as crazy as the staff here."

Dyan wiped her tear stained face with the back of her hands. "I'll be fine, Adrian," she assured, ready to free herself of his embrace.

"Dyan, I thought you were someone else, really I did," Kaye hurried to explain. "You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that."

A still riled, Adrian grabbed Dyan's purse off the ground. "Who did you think she was--- a wanted fugitive?"

Kaye's demeanor suddenly became stern, and she looked awful bigger than her small stature let on. "I said I was sorry, so back off."

"Do you honestly believe an apology is enough after what you did?" he countered.

"Stop it, Adrian," Dyan said, her voice hoarse from pain. "She's my sister, Kaye--- Allison's twin."

Adrian glanced Kaye from head to toe. "You have got to be kidding."

"My name is Kaye Corday," Kaye introduced herself. She tugged on the blue scrub she was wearing. "I, uh, work here. I'm studying to be a neurologist."

"And a practicing martial artist on the side," Adrian added rather unpleasantly.
"Adrian, could you give me and my sister a minute," Dyan asked. He hesitated before giving into the pleading look she gave him.

Once Adrian was gone, Kaye visibly relaxed, her shoulders slumping underneath the oversized gown she wore. She resembled a little girl wanting to playing doctor. "Were you here to see Allison?" she asked, immediately rolling her hazel eyes afterwards. "Dumb question. Of course you were."

Dyan combed a misplaced tendril back in frustration. "More like tried," she huffed. "No one would let me near her. Maybe you can tell me how she is?"

Kaye nodded in understanding. "Franklin is keeping everything pretty tight around here. But to answer your question, Allison is fine."

Dyan reached for her sister's hands. "So you saw her?"

Kaye seemed unsure how to answer. "She's doing much better."

"Well," Dyan sighed tiredly. "I guess that's all the answer I'm going to get." 

Kaye shifted impatiently from side to side, and tugged loose her hands from Dyan‘s. "Listen, I have to get out of here. I'll talk to you when I can."

"Wait a minute," Dyan seized her by the arm, this time without physical consequence. She eyed the surgical scrubs Kaye was wearing up and down. "Nice outfit. Is that the latest wear in spy land?"

Kaye didn't say anything.

"All right, then answer me this," she continued. "Why are you pretending to be a doctor, Kaye? And more importantly… who was the dead body you shoved into the back of that van?"

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