Disclaimer: This original story is not authorized or endorsed by Warner Bros, ABC, Lors Thornwald Inc, Edelson Productions, William Schmidt, or anyone else having rights to "Prey". It is not intended infringe on any rights or copyright and is not written for profit. Any characters not recognizable from the series "Prey" belong to the author.
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Walter closed the conference door behind him and let out his breath. After months of inactivity, things certainly had heated up quickly. Maybe he was wrong to bring Stephen here without notifying Tom or the others first, but he didn't want to take a chance on losing this opportunity. If there had been any further discussion on the matter, the meeting may never have happened at all. No, he had made the decision. He would have to live with it - they all would. Walter sat down at the table and looked around the room. This would probably be the last time they would meet here. He realized that he had gotten quite close to all of them these past few months and hoped the changes coming would not destroy the relationships that they had built. 'Change is good', he said, as if trying to convince himself of that fact. Besides, if they were to survive, they needed this alliance with Mark's group.
His reverie was short-lived as he heard footsteps and the sound of familiar voices coming down the hall. The others were arriving just as Tom said they would be and they'd be stepping through the door any moment now. He also wondered how much longer it would be before Tom and Stephen could join them. Neither Stephen or Mark had chosen to explain what a Level One clearance was or exactly how long something like that would take. And as for Tom ... well, he was just glad that Tom agreed to do it at all, considering how annoyed he had been at seeing Stephen here in the first place. He didn't like to see Tom annoyed - for any reason.
As much as he liked and trusted Tom, Walter also had a healthy fear of him. Not that he thought Tom would intentionally hurt any of them. No. Not that. But, if anyone jeopardized Sloan, or anyone Tom considered a friend, Walter believed that Tom's retribution would be swift and total. He never wanted to find himself on opposite sides from Tom ... ever.
Walter looked up as he saw the doorknob turn and heard the familiar 'click'. A second later Sloan appeared, with Ed following close behind her. Her face looked tired and tense but a quick nod and squint of the eyes from Ed, assured him that things would be OK.
"Good morning, Sloan ... Ed. Glad to see you arrived on time. Take a seat. We're just waiting on Ray now." said Walter, his eyes looking behind Ed expectantly.
"He's already here, Walter. We saw him pull up just as we came in the front door. He should be in shortly - that is, if he can find a parking space." answered Ed, heading for his usual seat to Walter's left. Sloan glanced around the room nervously. "Is Tom coming?" She took her chair and moved it next to Ed. She didn't want her back to the door today. When Tom came, she wanted to be able to see him.
"Yes, Sloan. He's in my private office right now with Stephen Hart. Once he's cleared him, they'll both be joining us. In the meantime, Tom said to go ahead and start the meeting without him, ... which we will do just as soon as Ray gets here." As if on cue, the door opened. It was Ray.
"This had better not be another wild goose chase, Walter. I just got off work and I'm tired and hungry. I'm in no mood for games. Besides, Grace said she'd divorce me if I got home late one more time this week."
"Good morning to you, too, Ray." Walter couldn't stop the slight curl of a smile from appearing on his mouth.
"Ray, you know Grace would never divorce you - for any reason." added Sloan, who also couldn't help but smile at the blustery ex-cop, despite how she felt.
Ray shrugged and grunted his reply. "Just the same, hearing her say it doesn't make my life any easier." Settling into his chair at Walter's immediate right, he leaned back and asked, "By the way, where's Daniels? Sloan, I'm not used to seeing you without Tom standing over you."
Walter widened his eyes at Ray and gave a slight shake of the head. Ray closed his mouth tighter and Walter knew he had gotten the message. "He's here - in my office. He's clearing Stephen Hart as we speak."
"Here? Why is this Hart character here? Weren't we supposed to meet him later - somewhere else? Isn't this just a little dangerous?" Ray was immediately concerned and leaned on the table to look Walter in the eye. It was always a close tie as to who was the most anxious over their security precautions - Ray or Tom.
"Let's just say we had a sudden change of plans." said Walter, looking down at the table to avoid Ray's steady gaze. Ray knew he wasn't going to get the whole story right then, so he just closed his mouth again and sat back in his chair. He'd find out from Walter later.
"So tell me, Walter, what's going to happen with the rest of us when Tom and this guy go to New York?" asked Ed. "Are we just gonna sit around twiddling our thumbs, waiting for news from them?"
"Actually, I'm glad you brought that up. Obtaining recognition and protection from the UN for the new species- and for us - is not the only benefit of an alliance with the coexistence faction. If we agree to work with them, they are willing to fund our whole operation, including security and research."
"What kind of research are they talking about, Walter?" asked Sloan cautiously. "I hope they don't expect us to do anything like the Spanish flu research Copeland was doing. That could've killed all of us."
"No. They're not looking to annihilate anybody. But, among other things, they are extremely interested in Ed's work on perfecting the genogenesis serum."
"What about the genogenesis serum?"
The question came from a voice they had not heard from
yet. Everyone looked up and saw Tom, with Stephen Hart behind him, framed in the doorway. No one had even heard the door open.
Ray never liked the way this new species was able to just "appear" without a sound, even when it was Tom. When he looked in the direction of the door, he felt a chill run through him. He could see that there was a definite difference in Tom. He glanced around the room quickly to see if the others had noticed what he did. They had, but no one said a thing. All that was discernible were a few quick eye movements that flitted around the table. Ray was quite certain that this was not the Tom that he and the others had grown to know this past year. The one who always followed a little behind Sloan and whose eyes and body language reacted to everything in relation to her presence. It was almost as though that Tom had been replaced by someone ... or, something, .. else.
The "Tom" that now stood in the doorway was a creation of Lewis. Hardened somehow and who could become whatever was necessary to get the job done - even kill. This 'Tom" had disappeared almost entirely as his contact with humans grew. He had resurfaced only once more after Lewis reprogrammed him. The difference now was that the 'programming' was deliberate and humans were no longer his prey. He was here to help and protect them the best way he knew - as a chameleon. It was only that knowledge that helped Ray to stifle an instinctive desire to get as far away from him as possible.
Walter stood up and acknowledged Tom with a nod of his head. Then he added, "People, this is Stephen Hart, the agent I told you about." Moving around the table, Walter introduced each one to Stephen. With the amenities over, he asked Tom and Stephen to have a seat.
Stephen sat down opposite Sloan and Ed, but Tom just leaned against the file cabinets behind Stephen. Seeing that Stephen had chosen his side, Ray moved a little closer to the end of the table and angled his seat so he could see him better. Stephen felt there was more to Ray's action than just to get a better view. He turned his head slightly to the right, in Tom's direction, as if to alert Tom to Ray's reaction. He sensed that Tom noticed it too, but apparently was not concerned. So Stephen chose to say nothing for the time being and turned his head around to face Sloan and Ed. He hoped that this Ray would not be trouble in the future.
"Well, getting back to Tom's question, Mr Hart, er, ... Stephen, maybe you can tell us what the feelings are in your group about the serum." questioned Sloan, trying to keep her eyes from staring at Tom as she spoke.
"Steve ... please call me Steve." he said, flashing a warm smile at her.
Tom raised an eyebrow at Steve's warmth but said nothing. He was busy fighting the impulse to stare at Sloan but was almost glad to see that she was having the same problem. He wanted to talk to her but it would have to wait until the meeting was over. He had to concentrate on business first.
In the meantime, Steve continued. "We want Dr Tate ... Ed ... to continue his research on the serum. We know you were close when you tried it on Tom." he said looking at Ed.
"We wondered if you knew about that. After I was knocked out and Tom captured, we lost everything, including the lab and all our old contacts. We weren't sure who knew what."
"Yes, we knew something had happened, but not exactly what. Eventually we learned about the serum after the lab was closed. What we couldn't figure out was how that small group of humans was able to capture Tom so easily - and that's when we found out that you had tried the serum on him."
"At his request," interjected Ed.
"Yes. We learned that too. We also found out that it didn't work and Tom had started to revert back to his normal DNA when you were ambushed by government troops. By the time we pieced this all together and located the facility where Tom was being held, Walter had already orchestrated his release. Not bad, Walter, for a small group with no contacts. And Tom's willingness to take the serum convinced ... most of us ... that his defection was genuine. That and your resourcefulness in retrieving Tom before we could, made us decide to reopen negotiations with you."
While Steve was talking, Tom had begun to shift uneasily from one foot to the other, although not so anyone would notice. He didn't like being the topic of conversation, especially when it dealt with his being a guinea pig for human research - or his failure to escape capture. And any minute now he was expecting Sloan to interrupt with her concerns about him and he wasn't quite sure how he was going to handle it. He had been shielding himself from Sloan's emotions since he knew she had arrived, but now he needed to know how she might react and prepare himself for it.
Tom slowly lowered his guard but before he could even begin to scan her, her feelings enveloped him. He felt worry, ... but he expected that. Only now it was coupled with something different ... something new. What was it? Acceptance? Yes. He hadn't expected that. Had she finally accepted his decision to go on this mission? Maybe. At least he sensed that she would no longer try to interfere with it.
He didn't quite know why she had changed her attitude. Maybe Ed had something to do with it? He concentrated a bit on Ed, ... yes, that was it. Ed had come through again. He was grateful to him and yet, he wished he himself had been the one to get through to her. He didn't quite understand the relationship that existed between Sloan and Ed, and sometimes it made him feel left out, ... uncomfortable. But, for now, he was glad it was there.
As Sloan sat there, trying to concentrate on what Steve was saying, she felt something she couldn't put her finger on. It was as though an invisible hand was tracing the outline of her face ever so softly, touching her hair, putting her at ease, ... . Suddenly she looked up and found Tom staring intently at her. It was as though she knew, somehow, that he was scanning her. She'd never felt that before. But she knew from Tom's expression that it was true. Tom allowed his eyes to soften from darkness to blue as he continued to look at her. Her own eyes noticed the change and responded in kind.
Tom was pleased when he saw that Sloan was aware of what he was doing. Was she becoming more 'in tune' with him? And, there was no mistaking the look in her eyes. When he offered a hopeful smile to her, he wondered if she would return that as well. He saw her bow her head slightly and by the time she had brought it up again, her face held a small smile meant only for him. He nodded a little to let her know he had seen it. He hadn't lost her ... not yet.
"But getting back to your question, Dr Parker ...?" Steve gave Sloan a quizzical look as he saw her return abruptly to the present.
"Yes-s ... " Sloan blinked herself out of her fog. "Oh, yes, ... my question - how exactly does your group feel about this research. They can't actually be pleased with it."
"Pleased? ... No. But, altering DNA, for both species, is now a part of reality. It's only a matter of time before someone from your species perfects it. It may as well be your group, who at least believes in giving coexistence a chance. And hopefully, we'll be there to help guide you as well."
"Wait a minute ... guide us? This is why you want to make an alliance with us, so you can get your hands on the serum and control our use of it? Is that it? Or control it for your own agenda? Maybe knock out a few rival factions by reducing them to human - leaving you guys in charge?" Ray finally decided to add his two cents to the discussion. He may not have quite understood the scientific end of what was being said, but gang rivalry was something he did know about.
"Control it?" Steve felt an underlying hostility from Ray and his guard automatically went up. "We are more interested in seeing that there are controls in place for it's use rather than controlling it ourselves. We have no intention of ruling our species by 'knocking out' any rivals, as you put it ..."
Tom unfolded his arms and jumped into the conversation. "Ray was only asking questions. It's what he does." Tom gave Ray an intense look as he placed his hand on Steve's shoulder, as though preventing him from reacting further. Steve's looked at Tom's hand, but did nothing.
Ray leaned back in his chair again and nodded. "Right. They were only questions."
Tom knew that Ray was never comfortable with his species - even Stephen had picked that up earlier. In fact, it took a long time for Ray to trust even him. And despite everything that they had been through together, Tom could still feel doubts from Ray. Deep down he knew Ray really didn't think coexistence was possible, but the fact that he was willing to give it a chance anyway, was to his credit. Besides, Ray had been a cop. It was almost second nature to him to be cautious. Tom appreciated that, even if he had not been fully able to communicate those feelings to Ray. But he knew that now was not the time to bring this up.
With the introduction of this latest tension, Walter decided it was time for him to take charge of the meeting again. "Mark told me that they wanted the serum to be controlled by a joint group of humans and dominants. While they have no desire to see it used on their species as a whole, they do see its usefulness in controlling the rogue section of their species, like the Lynches and Lewis'."
"Well, that does make sense." admitted Ray. Then he added, "Look Hart, I'm sorry I came across the wrong way but we've been through a lot - from both species. It's nothing personal."
Steve stared at him for a minute then added, "I understand. Besides, I'd rather have you tell me to my face what you think than to have you lie about it. I respect the honesty."
"Not that we could hide how we feel from your 'radar', anyway." added Ed letting his eyes glance from Tom to Steve.
"Radar?" Steve pondered that a moment, then smiled as though he had decided that he liked the term. "We don't always have our 'radar' on, you know." said Steve, "But knowing where we stand with each other is important. Besides, trust needs to be earned - I understand that.
The next few months will be the real test of loyalty, especially if the serum is perfected."
"OK, so getting back to the serum, how am I gonna do all this research?" asked Ed.
Tom checked his watch and gave Walter a look. Walter had almost forgotten that Tom said bringing Stephen here may have compromised their security and it wasn't good to take too long.
"People, I think it's time to get to the point. To begin with, you're all back on the payroll. Ed, ... Sloan, ... You will be getting a lab of your own to continue your serum and genetic research. What that means is - Ed, you can stop your research on genetically altered earthworms for Gencorp - I know you're heartbroken." Ed smiled his response. "And Sloan, that small community college will have to get another professor to teach their Anthropology 101 class. From what I understand, the lab is being stocked even as we speak and you will find that it will have all those great toys you've always envied." Sloan and Ed looked at each other, obviously pleased with the prospect of working on their pet projects again - and in their own lab.
"Ray, you and Grace, will be happy to know that you can give up that night security job of yours. You'll be doing security for the new lab and checking any new leads that come up. While I can't promise you that there won't be any night assignments, your schedule should be a heck of a lot better than it is now." Ray managed to smile this time and nodded his assent.
"Of course, my offices will be moved to the lab. I'll continue to follow up your research and remain the liaison between the coexistence faction and us. As for you, Tom ..." Tom's head popped up at the mention of his name, "you're on the payroll as well. You'll remain an operative in the field, doing whatever it is you do best, and, you'll also work with Ray on security." Tom's wrinkled brow was the only response Walter received, but he would take that as a 'yes'.
"Great! So when and where do we start?" asked Ed.
Walter was about to reveal the location of the lab when Tom cut him off. "Not here. I suggest we move out soon and discuss the rest at another, more secure, location."
"Good idea." said Ray. "Who knows if Steve was followed when you brought him here, Walter."
As if it was planned, Tom and Steve looked up and then back at each other. Almost at the same time they said, "Trouble."
Immediately, Tom drew his gun and darted towards Sloan. He grabbed her arm and yanked her out of her seat. "Hurry." Dragging her behind him, he shouted for the others to follow him. Tom could hear the sound of chairs scraping against the floor almost in unison as their former occupants jumped to follow his lead. He flung open the door and took off running down the hall - in the opposite direction from the front door. He turned quickly to Steve and said, "You and Ray, bring up the rear. Do you have a gun?"
"No."
Tom threw him his. "Use this if you have to and stay close." He then crashed through the door marked "Do Not Enter" with the others following close behind.
As he raced along the mildewed corridors with Sloan still in tow, he was glad he had already checked out any possible escape routes. This was an unused section of the building that hadn't been renovated yet and had a boarded-up exit in the back of the building that wouldn't be too difficult to break through..
"Almost there." he said aloud, when he heard the first cracks of gunfire in the distance. High powered rifles, he thought. Then he heard the sound of his own weapon returning fire - and then Ray's. "Steve and Ray are no match for those rifles."
"Great!" said Ed, glancing back at Walter. "Now they're firing at us. Nice meeting, Walter!"
"Just keep moving - we'll critique it later." rasped Walter, who was definitely out of shape for this type of exertion.
Tom started to speed up when he heard Sloan call him. "Tom, you're going .. too fast ... for me. Either slow .. down or leave ... me behind," she panted.
Tom looked at her and said "Never .... never again." He had been gripping her right arm with his left hand. Now, he reached back with his right arm and pulled her arm across his back and held her arm at his waist. He was then able to put his left arm around her waist and pull her closer to him, practically lifting her off the ground. He poured on the speed and was literally carrying her with him. The others had fallen behind but Tom needed to get to the exit soon. As the rest of them caught up with Tom and Sloan, they came face to face with the seemingly blocked exit.
"Great. A deadend. We're dead." wheezed Ed, nervously running his hand through his hair as he stared at the wall. Ed turned to look at Walter who was breathing even harder, leaning against the wall.
"Hey, are you alright?" asked Ed.
"I'll be OK."
Tom made a quick assessment of the wall and then told Sloan to stand back. He called to Ed and said "Watch her," as he ran to the wall. Ed reached for Sloan and the two of them leaned on one another trying to catch their breath, watching Tom as he grabbed one of the boards and ripped it off the wall. He continued to pull boards off until daylight began to filter through the cracks. Tom had already cleared half the exit when Steve and Ray finally caught up with them.
"We've barricaded the door to the corridor. That should buy us a little time." panted Ray. When Steve saw Tom pulling down the boards, he leapt to help him and within seconds the wall was down, revealing the alley behind the building. Ed met Sloan's eyes and said
"And you were worried about him?" nodding in Tom's direction.
Sloan just shook her head. She hadn't even had time to react, more or less, to think about what was happening. She had to admit to herself that maybe Ed was right about Tom. But, before she could answer, Tom grabbed her again, and took off down the alley with the others close behind.