Ambrose: Episode 16: Danger Site

Ambrose

Alpha Site: Danger Site

His head pounded in time with the raindrops pelting the back of his skull. The ground beneath him was wet and uneven. His body laid there at an awkward angle and he wasn’t sure how long he’d been in that position. But one word coursed through his mind faster than the lightening illuminating the sky.

“MOVE!”

His arms and legs felt weak but he knew he had to keep moving. He wiped mud from the side of his face. Donovan wouldn’t be happy he’d made such a mess of himself. But then again, Donovan didn’t approve of much. It wouldn’t be long before the Director sent the dogs after him. He knew this to be true. It was his gift to know, as well as his curse.

The lights of the compound behind him swirled in an erratic pattern. Two minutes and ten seconds later than the last time. Somehow this time, he’d managed to change the past. Now he had to find his target and warn her. She was the only one of his kind who was truly free from the Site with no memory of the evil things that had been done to her in the name of science and technological advancement.

“There’s no use running, Thane,” Shayne Michaels’s voice boomed over the series of loud speakers. He was Donovan’s top security goon.

“Your aim is noble, but you should know by now that we won’t let you go without a fight.”

What Shayne Michaels and Donovan didn’t know was that it wasn’t his aim to escape. He had to find the girl and warn her before she ruined everything, before she revealed to Alpha Site what was coming in the future. If he didn’t succeed, this, his last trip backward in time, was in vain.

^^^

“How does that bastard keep getting out?” Shayne Michaels paced in front of the bank of security cameras that showed him exactly nothing. “Where is he?”

“He is one of the most intelligent subjects we currently have in captivity, sir,” said the guard monitoring the security area of the west wing of Alpha Site.

“That’s not it. It’s almost like he knows what we’re going to do next and then evades us. It’s damn well getting on my nerves.” Shayne raked a hand though his mussed hair. “Try thermal imaging and keep me informed. I have to meet our guests at the front gate. Apparently, Doc McRae thinks he has an open invitation.”

The guard nodded as Shayne exited making his way to the west gate.

^^^

Mila Ferguson had a bad feeling about this place. It reminded her too much of the settings of one of her stories, Edge of Danger. Movement to her right grabbed her attention. Maybe it wasn’t even movement but a knowing that someone was watching her. She squinted trying to break the darkness.

The man staring at her had to be twice her age. It was strange, but he didn’t give her the same icky feeling the military-like facility did. He put a finger to his lips giving her the signal to be silent. She tried not to act any differently, but Austin McRae gave her a strange look.

“You okay?” he asked.

Mila cleared her throat and swallowed. “Fine, just fine.”

A man dressed in fatigues stepped out the facility door and McRae exited the car.

“Stay here. I need to talk to that man.”

Mila nodded fear clawing at her throat.  Why had she ever allowed that man to bring her here? Maybe she really was too naïve.

As McRae was distracted, the man from the bushes approached her. He kept his distance from the two men conversing at the entrance. He opened the car door and finally got a good look at the girl inside.

“Mila?”

Mila pressed her back into the far door. “How do you know my name?”

“Because in a strange way, I’m your father. My name is David Carter.”

^^^

Kate Donovan’s feet clipped down the hallway. She’d been summoned to the lab for a security problem. She didn’t really want to deal with this tonight. She had other plans with Shayne Michaels, and she didn’t want to put off her night of enjoyment. 

Two men stood over a third who was lying still on the floor. Kate shook her chestnut curls. Yet another fowl up. What was she going to do with these people? They had incompetence written all over them.

“Please tell me that’s not our lead scientist.” Kate brought her head to her throbbing temple. 

“Headache, boss?” Farley asked. He pushed the blocky black glasses back onto his nose.

“Of course, you idiot,” Kate snapped. “We need David. His research is groundbreaking.” She sighed. “Do I even want to know what happened?”

Joshua Shaw stepped up behind Farley. He was younger than most of the staff, but his intelligence was off the charts, only David and his brother, Hank was smarter. Joshua looked out of place among the sea of white coats.

“It was my fault, boss lady,” Joshua admitted. “I walked in and found David destroying files, files of his research. Without those documents, we’d have lost years and years of Echelon research. I had no choice. I had to call security.” He looked down at the dead body. “Security did that to him. I’m sorry, Kate.”

“We needed him, Josh. He was the one who could think outside the box.”

A dark and brooding man entered the room. Kate stood a bit straighter. The man’s name was Carlos Santini. His snake skinned boots blipped against the dirty tile flooring. 

“I’ve delivered the package we agreed upon into your office. But we found a little stowaway hiding in one of our vehicles. Bring him in, boys.” Carlos bellowed to the guards in the hallway.

The security team struggled with their prisoner. The young man did not look happy that he’d been captured.

“You know that top secret project David’s been working on?” Her eyes clashed with Carlos. “Kate meet Matt, David’s genetically enhanced clone.” Carlos walked around next to Kate. “You wanted someone who thinks like David? This boy is David, but with a few extra features even he doesn’t now about.”

^^^

Neither seemed to remember Michela Forsythe was in the car with them. David seemed surprised by her sudden appearance.

“What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here right now.”

Michela raised a curious eyebrow. “Really? If I’m not supposed to be here, where pray tell am I supposed to be?”

“With Hank at his house.” David was certain of that.

“Well, things don’t always turn out the way you plan, do they?” Michela said. “Hank and I were following Reese. She’s sure Matt is in trouble.”

“You’re name’s not Michela, is it?” Mila asked.

“Yes, we weren’t introduced. I’m Michela…” 

“Forsythe,” Mila supplied.

“That’s correct. Have we met?”

“In a way, you’re one of my characters.”

“Characters?” Michela questioned.

“We don’t have time for this you two. If we want to stay alive, we all must exit this vehicle right now.” David grabbed at Michela’s arm.

“Why the rush?” Mila said. “We don’t even know you.”

“In less than a minute this car will blow up.”

“Are you psychic now?” Michela asked.

“In a manner of speaking. Just humor me, okay?”

David managed to get both Michela and Mila out of the car before a grenade launcher targeted the vehicle and turned it into a pile of scattered metal fragments. The three of them jumped into the shrubbery away from the fireball that chased them from the vehicle. 

Hank Carter witnessed the man entering the car with Michela. He was concerned.

“What is going on?” he whispered leaving the golf cart behind and doing a bad imitation of a spy slipping from one location to another. He looked more like the Inspector from the Pink Panther. It was a good thing everyone was distracted by the burning vehicle to notice his antics. 

He followed the trio into the bushes on the other side of the courtyard.

“Are you all insane?” Hank whispered. Then he saw the man sitting off to the side. “David? I thought you were dead.”

“I’m afraid reports of my death have been greatly fabricated,” David said. “But we don’t have time for catching up, I’m afraid. We need to get out of here before one of the Alpha Site goons find us.”

“What about Matt?” Michela asked.

“He’s fine for the time being.” David said. “There is a secondary access tunnel a half a mile behind us. We can exit from there.”

^^^

Shayne Michaels was not happy to see Austin McRae back so soon. He’d be happy if the man just left Kate well enough alone. They didn’t need any more hack surgeons.

Before the two could reintroduce themselves, the vehicle exploded. They dove for cover.

Austin called out a woman’s name but Shayne couldn’t understand his words.

“This is your fault,” he suggested. “I had her. I had the clone.”

“You think I did this? You’re crazy,” Shayne said. “I have enough paperwork to deal with without putting this on my plate.”

The walkie-talkie at Shayne’s hip crackled as an animated voice emitted from it. “Colonel, we have discovered three or four tangos on thermal imaging. They’re heading away from the burning vehicle. We’re having a bit of trouble tracking them due to the heat of the explosion.”

“Copy, security.” Shayne said. “Out.” 

Shayne began running to the gate. He spied a figure slip into the access tunnel just as the gate performed a full lockdown. By the time he sprinted the distance, the gate was closed and locked. 

“Dammit!” He kicked the gate muttering a few more colorful swear words.

Ambrose: Episode 15: Edge of Danger

Ambrose

Alpha Site: Edge of Danger

“We have to find out who this woman is.” Ramsey Redcliffe shuffled through the manuscript that covered his desk.

“It’s only a story,” said the man seated in the chair opposite. He looked to be thirty-five and in very good condition for a man his age. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“A story? A story? That story, as you call it, is so exact in its details that it scares the hell out of me. There are things in there even our scientists don’t know.”

“It won’t do good to overreact, Ramsey. It will only raise your blood pressure and draw attention to something that at the moment is a controlled situation.” Shayne Michaels sat with his legs crossed at the ankles and hiked up on Ramsey’s expensive mahogany desk.

The Director swatted at Michaels’s feet. He was definitely losing his superior sense of cool. Shayne had never seen him so spooked.

“What’s really going on, Ramsey?” Shayne looked at his friend and colleague skeptically. “I’ve seen you tackle more important shit with much more fineness.”

“Just read the girl’s web page.” Ramsey insisted, then thrust a piece of paper at Shayne with the website’s URL. “Then you tell me if I have cause to be concerned.”

Shayne exited the office stuffing the note into his pocket and wondering if he’d just stepped into the Twilight Zone. Lowell Vargas met him at the crossroads of the first hallway. The man looked discombobulated. Not that that was anything new. He always looked as if he had forgotten his head at home.

“Eavesdropping again, Radar?” Shayne remarked to the technician.

A sudden horrified expression crossed Vargas’ face and then faded. “Eavesdropping? Me?”

“Don’t feign innocence, Lowell. I know your fingers can’t help but trip Alpha Site’s fantastic gossip grapevine. When it comes to secrets in here, you’re always there with the dirt.”

“My fingers didn’t need to do any tripping. I was the one who brought the suspicious website to the director’s attention.”

Shayne rolled his eyes.

“A fanboy, are we? Great. Now everybody’s surfing for a scapegoat.”

“Not a scapegoat.” Vargas looked around then whispered to Shayne. “I believe it’s an advanced form of remote viewing. We did some research here back in the late seventies. Way before my time. Amazing results, but there was some sort of accident, which is classified, and the research was dropped. I’ve been searching for the missing files for years.”

“Good luck in your search,” Shayne said, backing away. He continued on down the hallway muttering, “Freak,” under his breath.

“Don’t forget to check out the site,” Vargas called after him. “You’ll be intrigued.”

“Sure, I will,” Shayne said sarcastically, stepping into the elevator, then disappearing behind the swiftly closing metal doors.

***

Ramsey Redcliffe had no sooner watched Shayne walk out the door when he placed a call to one of his associates.

“Kate? This is Ramsey. Have you looked over the document I sent you?”

Katherine Donovan glanced around the formal dining room. It was filled to capacity tonight with many, many guests who wouldn’t appreciate being interrupted by the phone call she was now receiving. She placed her still full champagne flute on a passing waiter’s tray. A group of eight well-dressed men gathered around her speaking in foreign tongues. They had no clue she, the master of eight languages, could understand every sentence.

“If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen. I see someone I must have a word with. She nodded politely at the men, then walked toward the open balcony doors. She carefully surveyed the area before activating the Bluetooth device around her ear hiding under her expertly styled hair.

“Exactly what is so important it couldn’t wait until after tonight’s Gala?” her curt tone was quite a one-eighty from the one she’d displayed a few minutes earlier.

“Have you read the manuscript I sent you?” Ramsey repeated.

“You mean the one about the girl’s website?” Kate heard a grunt of yes. “I’ve glanced over it.”

“What did you think?” Ramsey asked eagerly.

“It’s fiction, Ramsey.” Katherine was not amused.

“You must not have read it too closely then, because this fiction exposes many of your program’s secrets.”

“Is this a joke? Is this what couldn’t wait until after the Gala?”

Redcliffe chuckled. “Judge for yourself. The manuscript claims two youths from a secure wing escape. That was posted on her site tonight. Out of curiosity, have you checked on your subjects today?” Ramsey paused, more for effect than anything else. “Read the manuscript, Katie. You’ll be enlightened. I know I was.”

Ramsey clicked the connection closed leaving Kate grunting at the abruptness of the termination.

She walked back into the formal dining room and spied a familiar face across the room. A jazz band located at one end was playing a generic form of elevator music and people were taking advantage of the large ballroom floor. Couples gathered together as the music played. Kate circled the outskirts of the room and met Shayne Michaels who was standing just inside the halls elaborate foyer.

His skin was tanned from many hours working outside. She didn’t know if his body matched the outer package but considering the way that monkey suit fit him he was probably well chiseled.

“I didn’t know you owned a tux,” Kate remarked.

Shayne gave an uncomfortable glance down at the outfit then raked a hand through his mussed brown hair. It was the only thing about his appearance which wasn’t sheer perfection.

“Tux isn’t mine. They keep it in the back of the closet for me in case a mission calls for black tie. Otherwise you wouldn’t catch me dead in one of these things.” Shayne surveyed the room. “Where’s Stark? I thought he lived for these things.”

“I lost track of him about a hour ago. It’s not my responsibility to watch him any longer now that we’re divorced.”

“Never knew what you saw in the guy. Did they ever find the stick corporate shoved up his ass?”

Kate laughed. It wasn’t something she did often, but it felt good to let loose once in awhile.

“I’m sure that stick is now a permanent part of his anatomy,” Kate said with a smile.

“Damn, the luck. I knew there was something I didn’t like about Corporate. The two-by-four probably comes as part of the orientation package.”

“You’re awful.”

Shayne smiled. “That’s why you love me.”

A man appeared behind them both. He was dressed in a sharp Armani suit, his hair styled flawlessly, not one strand out of place. Johann’s face glowed with a natural tan many would envy.

“So, this is what you do when we have a security breech? You trade witty banter with Michaels?”

Shayne was quick with a come back. “I wanted to go for something raunchy, but Kate doubted your guests would approve.”

Kate slapped Shayne’s shoulder.

“What do you mean we have a security breech? Why were there no alarms?”

“Maybe if you’d answer your cell phone once in awhile, you’d know the answer to that,” Stark said abruptly, then turned on his foot and walked away.

Episode 14: Road To Alpha Site

Episode 14: 

THE ROAD TO ALPHA SITE

“Your little project got screwed up in the head, Doc. Something activated her early.”

Carlos Santini threw off the leather jacket he had been wearing and donned a lab coat. He slipped on a pair of glasses he found deep inside the left pocket. It made Carlos look like a completely different man.

“That’s a big problem," Josh said. "If Mrs. Raines-Ambrose discovers the slip, we’ll all be given our walking papers.”

“Don’t get so dramatic, Josh. If they tried to get rid of us, the clean up would be a lot messier than this. If I were Michela, I would be a lot more worried.”

***

He reared back as the rifle was stuck in his face. Matt wasn’t sure who would be lurking outside a secret government facility on the outskirts of the Gateway City. Reese cowered in the back seat trying her best to put her body between the front seat and Michela. Even though she wasn’t completely on board with his scheme, she was willing to protect Michela with her life.

Matt grabbed the assailant’s gun and pulled it as far into the car as he could to throw their adversary off balance. The shadowy figure was taken by surprise and released the gun. Matt threw it into the floorboard of the passenger seat while the man’s skull cracked on the roof of the vehicle.

“Ow! Ow!” The man dramatically stumbled backward. “Whoever you are,” he said uneasily. “You need to go. Just go as fast as you can away from here.” He waved his hand in a large sweeping arc in the direction of town.

A curious expression overcame Matt’s face.

“Wait a minute,” he said, stepping out of the vehicle. “I know that voice.”

Matt grabbed the hood of the shadow man’s jacket and pulled it off his head.

“Hey! Watch it.” The man wriggled to get away from Matt but he wasn’t successful.

“I knew it.” Matt bent down and looked into the car. Reese stared back at him quizzically. “It’s Hank Carter.”

Reese sighed with relief. “Hank? I didn’t know he even owned a gun. I thought he was against them.”

“I’m not against them, per say. I just aggressively dislike them. But if one can keep me safe, I’m all for that.” Hank held the gun to his chest like a woman would a baby, except that this baby was built for protection.

Hank peered into the car. “Where’d you get the transportation? Do you even know how to drive?”

“Of course I can drive. I’ve had simulations,” Matt replied. “It’s as easy as riding a bike.”

“Which, of course, you haven’t done either.” Hank was quick with the smarty-pants come backs.

It took a moment before Hank got a good look at the woman lying in the back seat.

“Is that? Oh, my God, it can’t be.”

“It is.” Matt said. “It’s my mother.”

---

THE MYSTERY INSIDE OF ALPHA SITE IS JUST BEGINNING...
KEEP READING FOR MORE EXCITING ADVENTURES!

Lucky Faraday and Piper made their way to the hallway outside where Quentin and the kidnappers were. His boss, Harry, wouldn’t be too keen on yet another John Wayne tactic but he had to do what he had to do.

“Shouldn’t we wait for backup?” Piper Ferguson asked. “I know you cop-types are so adamant about back up.”

“There’s a circus outside. They should have the building surrounded by now.” Lucky said although he wasn’t counting on Gateway City’s finest to get him out of his current jam.

“Should? They *should* be able to handle it? What has happened to the police protection in this city?”

“I’m sure it’s a lot like other jobs,” said Lucky, peeking through the window where Caine and Roanna were tied up. “They spend more time playing solitaire than doing their job.” He motioned to the door. “They’re inside.”

“What about the perps?” Piper asked.

“Room looks clear but keep your eyes open.” The two of them burst through the door aiming their guns around the room. All that the two discovered inside were two people tied to chairs.

“How in the hell did they get away?” Lucky muttered.

“Uh. Lucky?” Piper said. “I think we have bigger problems than a missing gang of thugs.”

Lucky joined her near where Caine and Roanna were passed out. Sitting on the table in front of them was a very tiny looking device that was counting down the seconds.

“A bomb. We’ve got to get them out of here.” Lucky knew they didn’t have enough time to exit the building. “We’re going to have to drag them as far away from the blast area as possible.”

“You’re not going to try and defuse it?” Piper said with a smirk.

“Who do you think I am? MacGyver? I leave that crap to the professionals.”

They had only begun to move the bodies of Caine and Roanna when the alarm on the device rang. They cringed anticipating the impact but nothing came. Suddenly the device trembled and a flag jumped up. It said. “Boom.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Piper muttered.

“Looks like we’ve got a joker on our hands. Let’s get them out of here before it tries to do something more than scare us.”

***

“Technically, she’s no one’s mother. But we don’t need to get into that messy paradox. Younger than you. Bred for a purpose. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I worked on the beginning stages of the project design, the basic structure of the model, you know -- before.”

Hank whistled. “I don’t think I’d be walking around with a Gamma 5 Series unless I knew exactly why she was created.. Otherwise, you’d never know when she might ‘go off.’

“She’s going to explode?” Reese asked, inching backward away from Michela.

“Of course she’s not going to explode, but she has some complex programming going on in her brain. Only a certain sequence of events will trigger her ‘mission.’ That is, unless he’s had some sort of cranial damage or a programming glitch that causes her brain to shut down. That would warrant an immediate recall.”

“She does have a big bruise on her forehead,” Reese replied.

“That’s not a good sign. Can you get rid of her?” Hank asked.

“I’m not getting rid of her,” Matt insisted. “She’s my mother.”

“Oh, all right. You can keep her,” Hank said. “Just leave me out of it.”

Reese glanced at her watch. “Matt, we have twenty minutes until bed check. We have to get back if you want to find out more about your mother.”

Matt glanced uneasily at Reese. He didn’t want to go back. It may have been the only place he’d ever known, but he wanted a life on the outside, beyond the reach of Alpha Site.

“She’s right,” Hank agreed. “You’ve got to get back in there if you ever want to find out who you really are.”

“What about Michela?” Matt said. “I can’t take her back in there. I don’t trust them.”

“Don’t look at me,” Hank said backing away from Matt.

“But you used to work on her project,” Matt said. “If she’s broken, you can fix her.”

Hank sighed. “it’s not like fixing a toaster. Her parts aren’t the most readily available.”

“You can’t help her?” Matt’s frown deepened.

“Of course I can help her. I still have a few friends in the business. I might be able to get the equipment I need.”

“Ten minutes,” Reese called out. “It’s either now or never.”

Matt grabbed Reese’s hand. “We have to go.”

As the two trotted off toward Alpha Site, HanK had a sudden realization.

“Hey -- what about the car?” Hank sighed, then muttered to himself. "Take care of the woman, ditch the car. Why is this suddenly all *my* responsibility?"

***

Stone hated leaving Mila alone at his house but he wanted to check on Honor. He may have only been her next door neighbor but since he was the one who found her sprawled at the bottom of the stairs he felt more than a little responsible for her. Visiting hours were over but he ignored the sign. It wasn't like he was one who was used to following the rules.

His cell rang while he was in the elevator. The mini-screen indicated it was Joe the Bluesman. He was the grounds keeper of the Ambrose Estate in England.

“Hey, Blue. What’s going on?”

“Mrs. Raines-Ambrose has closed up the London mansion. She’s returned to your neck of the woods. You know the woods I mean? The ones way on the outskirts of town that don’t really exist.”

Stone sighed. “Why can’t that woman leave the past alone?”

“We knew she’d resurface sooner or later,” Blue said.

“That means those non-existent woods you were taking about were never completely cleared.”

“They probably just covered them with sod hoping the trees would re-root at another time. That time, it seems, is now.”

“Dammit,” Stone cursed. “I thought I was out of this shit.”

“Shit follows you wherever you go, man,” Blue chuckled.

“I’ll be there in a day to help with the follow up. How’s our little Mila?” Blue asked.

“Shaken. Nearly got mugged at the airport. She’s safe, though.”

“You’ve got to keep that gem wrapped up tight, Stone. Even she doesn’t know what she is.”

“Don’t’ remind me. You don’t think I feel bad enough?”

Stone paused as the doors to the elevator opened.

“I’ve got to go. I’m visiting a friend in the hospital. See you when you get here.”

“Keep safe,” Blue said.

“Always am, Blue. Always am.”

Stone rounded the corner and found the room where Honor was staying. He slipped quietly inside hoping not to disturb the man lying in the bed next to her.

"Don't bother," said a weary voice from the darkness. The man in the next bed wasn't asleep after all.

"What's that?" Stone asked.

"She's long gone. Sprung her an hour ago."

"Gone? Who sprung her?" Stone didn't have a good feeling about this.

"It was that doctor. Young, good looking. Said his name was McRae. She still looked pretty banged up to me. But who I am to question the ethics of a doctor? Ya know?"

"Lucky isn't going to like this one bit," Stone muttered to himself.

***

While Mila played on her new laptop computer, a present from Stone, she observed someone outside her window. The man looked vaguely familiar. She'd seen him in England a year ago as a guest of Mrs. Raines-Ambrose. So when the knock came at the door, she didn't hesistate to answer since she was familiar with the person standing on the other side. She knew Stone wouldn't appreciate her ignoring the orders he'd given her, but she thought the order only applied to strangers.

When she opened the door, a familiar face greeted her.

"Austin. It's so nice to see you."

Episode 13: Mysterious Son

EPISODE 13: 

MYSTERIOUS SON

"What guy?" Matt said slipping a glance out the back window.

The night was dark. Michela Forsythe laid on the ground as rain lightly tapped on her skin. Her eyes blinked open and stared up at the canopy of trees above her. Lightning flashed sideways across the sky, and she barely flinched as the thunder boomed seconds later.

She tried to move -- tried to sit up but her eyes rolled back into her head. She collapsed back onto the soft grass, her head lightly thudding on a mound of dirt.

A loud noise cracked in the distance causing an adrenaline response in her chest. She shot upward. Her long wet hair slapped against her cheek. The weakness she'd felt moments earlier were temporarily gone. Her eyes assessed the situation. She was lying behind a parking structure next to a muddy dirt road. The road looked barely used. The backside of a skyscraper towered above her.

"You have to get up," a young man's voice said impatiently. He reached down to lift her to her feet, but Michela's weight sagged against him.

"I'm not feeling so well," she said.

Her head lolled against his shoulder. The young man looked back toward the building as if he was expecting someone to walk outside and catch him at any moment.

"Come on," he said to someone in the distance. "We have to get her out of here. It's not safe."

A young girl peeked out of the bushes. She was wet, rain dripping in her eyes. "You're crazy to come here. If they catch you, they're going to kill you."

"I know, but I can't leave her here not knowing the truth."

"The truth? Matt, you don't even know the truth," Reese told him.

"I may not know the truth but at least I know that something is going on. She's clueless. Look at her. Is this the woman you remember?"

Reese sighed. "Of course not. But Matt -- what are we going to do with her? We have to get back before someone realizes we're gone. It's crazy leaving the compound at night. If the guards find us gone, there's not telling what might happen.

"I have a friend on the other side of the compound. He'll help us." Matt's eyes were uncertain.

"You better hope he'll help us. If he doesn't, we're all screwed."

***

Austin McRae glanced down at Diana's sleeping form. She was going to be fine. He fingered her hair. She'd had it highlighted so it seemed almost blond on top but still dark beneath. It was the style now. He wasn't sure where these trends came from but on her they worked. He checked her chart one final time and decided he better make an appearance in his wife's room. Didn't want the hospital thinking he wasn't a devoted husband to Honor. It wouldn't do good to get the gossip mill turning.

His wife's room was one floor down. It took less than five minutes to get there but he dreaded every step. When he arrived there were people already in the room.

"Glad you could join us, McRae," said a skeptical male voice.

"Excuse me?" Austin said.

"Don't mind him," Glory said suddenly. "He's just miffed you weren't here earlier. You know, when they brought Honor in."

"I'm not my wife's personal physician. But I don't feel the need to explain why I've only now arrived to visit my wife. Is there a reason why I'm getting the third degree?"

Hope stood and crossed the room. She looked back at Honor's sleeping form. Her eyes for Austin were hard and cold.

"Your wife should be your first priority, Austin. Not something you put on your to do list."

Austin could feel the slightly hostile vibe emanating from all three of them. What had changed since yesterday when everything was normal? He weaved through the hostile threesome and made his way to Honor's bedside.

"What happened to her?" Austin asked, trying to appear unaware of the events that had transpired tonight.

"Like you don't know you -- you big jerk!" Glory's words came unexpectedly. She was going to have to work hard at winning back her trust. He needed to remain friends with her brother, Lucky. Having a source on the inside of the FBI was a valuable commodity to his other employers, the ones who had forced him to marry a woman he didn't love and now was having her exterminated. Deleted like a wayward file they wanted erased. If he didn't defuse the situation and do it quickly, the head honchos at Alpha Site would not be pleased.

"I'm sorry you feel I haven't been as attentive as I should have been to my wife, but I was assisting your brother with a situation at Anthony's. A group of men came in and shot up the place."

"I"m aware of the situation, Dr. McRae. The man those men took is my father."

"Which one are you? Caine or Peter?"

"Peter."

"Well, then, Peter. You may want to stop judging me and make an appearance in your own sister's hospital room. She's one floor up in Room 314." Austin felt smug dropping such a bomb on Peter Forsythe, but it made him feel a tiny bit better about his own situation.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your sister, from what I gather from the ER nurses, was in an elevator at ForeCross when the cables snapped. Sounds like a pretty nasty deal to me."

Peter stood immediately. "Is she alright? Why didn't anyone call me?"

"I'm sure the nurses are attempting to notify the family but you all seem a bit preoccupied with Quentin's kidnapping."

Peter turned to Hope. "Tell your sister I'll come back and see her later." He squeezed her hand, glared at Austin then left.

"Was it something I said?" Austin replied, managing not to chuckle.

"You're such an ass," Hope remarked. She'd never been Austin's biggest fan and he was losing points with her by the second.

"You've never had a high opinion of me, Hope. So why don't you drop the attitude and tell me what happened with my wife."

"She was home alone and someone broke into your house. They pushed her down the basement stairs. She's lucky to be alive."

"My God. How did that happen? We have a security system."

"Oh, like you don't know," Glory said suddenly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We know your dirty little secret. We know you want to kill our sister."

Austin couldn't have been more surprised if she'd slapped him.

***

Reese didn't know why she followed Matt tonight. Every time she broke the rules she always managed to get caught. Maybe with the special shindig at the Site, no one would notice either of them were missing. She checked her watch. The guard would be coming around in an hour and twenty minutes for a bed check.

"If we're not back for bed check, we'll be in solitary for the rest of our natural lives," Reese said.

"I'm not going back, Reese. Now that I've found her, I'm not going back there."

Matt somehow managed to drag Michela's body over to the car he'd borrowed from one of the medical staff. "Either help me or leave now."

Reese stamped her foot and then grunted. "Oh, all right. But if they kill us, it's all on your head."

The two of them carried Michela to the car. They could hear police radios echo through the bottom of the parking structure. Reese couldn't stop looking over her shoulder.

"You are so going to owe me for this."

Reese crawled into the back first so she could pull Michela's body across the seat. They nearly had her completely inside when a group of men burst out the back entrance. All were wearing dark clothes and hooting and hollering.

Matt jumped into the car and closed the door before the group could see them.

"I've seen that guy's picture," Reese whispered.

"The one with the gray hair. The one those two man are dragging to the van. I think he's Michela's father."

"What?" Matt focused in on the elderly gentleman. "I think you're right." He crawled into the front seat and slouched down until the men in black passed their car. "I'm going to follow them."

"What? No way, Matt! Those are some dangerous looking guys."

"You know we can handle ourselves," Matt said mysteriously.

"I know, but what's the point? You came to get her."

"I came to find my family, Reese and Quentin Forsythe is my family." Matt started the car and drove after the men holding his grandfather captive.

***

Lucky Faraday glanced around the hallway of ForeCross. "Where is she?" He lowered his weapon and stalked up and down the hallway. "She's gone."

Piper Ferguson tried to hide the smile hinting at the edges of her mouth. "In the scheme of things, I think she's the least of your problems."

"I know, but she's acting strangely. She's not herself."

"Not your problem at the moment. But the hostiles inside ForeCross, that's who you should be worried about," Piper said. "You were right about Roanna. She probably went gang-busters and got in over her head."

"With no prompting from you, I'm sure," Lucky snapped.

"Hey, she's a big girl. She's been making her own decisions for a long time now."

Piper pulled a security card from her back pocket. "This gives me access to any door in this building. What room did you say Carlos was hold up in?"

"Follow me."

***

Reese stared at the woman lying next to her in the back seat. She hadn't gotten a good look at her until now. Previously, she'd only heard Matt talk about her.

"Matt, I've seen this woman before."

"I told you. She's my mother." Matt followed Carlos' men as they drove a familiar path.

"No, I mean, I've seen her at Alpha Site. It was a long time ago, maybe two years, but it's definitely her."

"What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that if she's who I think she is, she couldn't technically be your mother."

"What?"

"She looks like your mother, has the same DNA as your mother, but she's not your mother." Reese moved the wet hair away from her neck. "She has the mark." She fingered the strangely shaped 'A' she and Matt had come to know so completely since they had marks of their own.

"She's the plant?" Matt said skeptically. "No, no, she can't be." He stopped the car suddenly and the wheels skidded slightly on the gravel of the access road.

Reese looked out the window. She recognized the terrain.

Alpha Site.

The men they were following entered the outer gate of the facility.

"This is getting weirder by the minute," Reese whispered.

She barely had time to think a second thought when Matt's driver door came open and a rifle was thrust into his face by a shadowy man. He was wearing a hooded, black parka that dripped with rain.

"Don't move," the man said in a menacing voice.