JT tapped his lips with his tablet. Keeping Evans in Lewis' lair was really the only possibility. It was close, but unknown. Except for one little thing.
"Has Red been down here by himself?"
Lewis raised his eyebrows, following JT's line of questioning. "He doesn't have access. Only you, Charlie, and Cait." He paused for a moment, and then added, "No, Red can't be trusted. Not unless Charlie fixes him."
JT winced at his choice of words.
"Well, you know what I mean."
JT laughed, despite the seriousness of the topic. "Will he have any reason to come see you down here?"
"None. If I can't be reached topside, Red will know I'm probably down here, but won't risk drawing attention to the lair."
He pointed at Evans with the tablet, "Because this will be really hard to explain."
Aside from the four of them, no one within the Pipers with the Blood Memory could be trusted. Someone or something was watching, and they couldn't risk leaking information out.
"Isn't propofol the drug that killed Michael Jackson?"
"Well, yeah. That and gross negligence. Evans will be fine if monitored. There's Sodium thiopental, but this really is more commonly used."
JT was looking at his tablet, reading Evans vital signs when he realized the usually inquisitive Lewis had become quiet. Looking up, he saw the slack jawed expression on Lewis' blank face. His green eyes were unfocused and his mouth was moving slightly.
"What are you doing?"
Lewis' eyes snapped to focus in on JT. "Reading up on propofol dreams. I read an article not too long ago on the affects of propofol on surgery patients."
"You were..." JT paused and shook his head. "I don't understand, you were reading up on it? Right this second? Your recall is that instant?"
"Oh sure." Lewis shrugged, as if the ability was nothing. "Pretty much anything I've read, I can recall. It's-"
"Handy?"
"Yeah," Lewis smiled, looking very much like a little boy. "Richards. Bingham. Soliatus."
JT blanched. "What are you doing?"
"The names on your back tattoo. Saw it once when you were changing out of your Therian-weave real quick. I know you hide your tats, but I was just trying to show you an example-"
"Don't ever do that again, Matt."
JT felt his throat want to close up at the mere mention of those men's names. Lewis had only named three, but there were fifteen names tattooed within the expansive, all black tribal tattoo across his back. His time in the Big Blue had been a violent one. One he never spoke about to anyone. One he tried not to recall. Ever.
"Why?"
Immediately JT reached out and grabbed the collar of Lewis' uniform. He had at least six inches on Lewis, so when JT balled his fist up with his friend's shirt, he nearly picked him up off his feet. JT whispered harshly, "Because it's none of your fucking business."
Lewis flinched and looked confused. His scared green eyes looked down at JT's hand and he tried to back up, but JT's grip was solid. Slowly, Lewis reached up and tried to pull JT's hand away. Looking at his own hand like it was a stranger's, JT let Lewis go, dropping him back about a foot. The clank of the entry door made them both look toward the noise, but it did nothing to break the tension.
JT turned his back on Lewis who walked away from him quickly. Wincing, he balled his hand up and pressed the flat of it against the table Evans as sleeping on.
Lewis' first guest.
"Should I even ask why you have sodium pentothal in your lair?"
Lewis tilted his head toward JT and asked, "Charlie doesn't want us calling this place my 'Lair'."
JT blinked slowly. "That still doesn't explain why you have truth serum in your med lab, dude."
"It's handy."
JT opened his mouth and then closed it again slowly. "Uh. Well." JT shook his head. "He's on propofol right now. Fairly common anesthesia, but I had to check his blood alcohol levels first. He's clean, not a drop of alcohol in him."
"Isn't he a alcoholic?"
"From what I read, high functioning, pickled motherfucker."
Lewis blinked for a moment. Pickled? "Oh, I get it."
"It's a slow drip, enough to keep him in a medically induced coma. Short term, he wouldn't remember even going under. I don't know how long the LT wants to keep him under, though."
Lewis flinched. He still wasn't used to everyone referring to Charlie as the LT. "Long enough to burn the Eternity out of him, he said."
JT took a deep breath and picked up a tablet. "According to his levels? That's going to take a couple weeks. He's-"
"A pickled motherfucker?" Lewis offered.
JT laughed, "Well, yeah. Eternity is hard to trace in the system, so this is going by what Charlie and Cait provided. Beyond that," JT shrugged, "I'm not a scientist."
Lewis' eyes glazed over and he recalled the information Charlie had been providing regarding Eternity and its effects. In comparison, Mr. Evans' predicament was hard to predict. "The vials Mr. Evans had on him were quite telling."
"What do you mean?"
"He had Eternity vials labeled with various abilities from all three clans. He must have a stash of considerable size and variety." Lewis squinted his eyes. "The Eternity is built up in his system, right?"
"Yeah."
"So he's using boosters of specific abilities to enhance what he has - boosting the levels of the ability. Which would mean, at least I'd think it would be reasonable to assume, that he can do much more than what he was carrying on him."
JT thought silently for a moment. "That could be bad."
"Is he dreaming?"
"They're called 'throw-away' side effects of being under propofol. Some dreams can be dramatic, but really I've read cases of dreams with mundane acts. Walking your dog to being sexually ravished. Odds are he's keeping himself busy in there."
"We shouldn't sleep in here."
JT nodded. "He walked into DI with 'Glamour'. Do you know what that is?"
"He pushed a different appearance on the security guards. He did that before, impersonating Mr. Huntington."
"Right," JT said slowly, recalling meeting Kyle Evans briefly for the first time by grazing him with a bullet. Reaching out, he tugged at Evan's scrub shirt they had replaced his white button up with, pulling back the material and looking at the outside of his bicep. It was clear of any scars or blemishes. "It's gone."
"Is that where you marked him with that bullet?" Lewis asked, to which JT replied with a slow nod. "He heals like Charlie does. That's interesting."
JT Paulson
11 years ago
Charlie Hammond
11 years ago
"God dang honey roasted cashews!"
Charlie looked over at Cait as they walked one of the trails through the Long Run. She was munching out of a zip lock bag of nuts, apparently unable to stop. "Gimme some," he said reaching out.
"Oh my god, here. Take them away from me." She grumbled as she shoved the bag at him. "Wait, gimme a handful first."
He pulled the bag away and tucked them into his jeans pocket. "Are you pregnant?"
"Because I'm eating cashews? No, I am not pregnant."
"You seem pretty sure about that."
"Why wouldn't I be sure?"
Charlie tilted his head and tried to mentally count the amount of times they made love, not just daily, but weekly. "We kinda do it a lot, you know."
"We're still in the honeymoon phase. Don't worry, I'll cut you off soon enough."
Twisting, he picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder, making her laugh. "I should have my way with you now just for being mean."
Cait laughed and then squirmed. "Put me down, you're killing my stomach!"
Lowering her, they cut off the path and went deeper into the forest until he was fairly certain no one was around. They made their way over to where Lewis kept his lair. Shaking his head, not believing he referred to it as that, they slowed to where the hidden entrance was located. Kneeling down, he ran his fingers along the dirt and found the lip of the entry when he felt the full force of upsetting emotions hit him.
Cait fell to her knees next to him, grabbing her head. "Oh...my god," she moaned.
Anger, embarrassment, fear, and regret burned through his head, apparently bouncing off him to Cait as she reacted to what he was feeling. Shaking his head, he reached out to Cait. Grabbing her arms, he knelt down in front of her, trying to support her body.
"Are you alright?"
Gritting her teeth, she muttered a few colorful expletives and finally was able to focus on him. "What the hell was that?"
"Come on," he said hurriedly and pulled on the latch.
Charlie looked over at Cait as they walked one of the trails through the Long Run. She was munching out of a zip lock bag of nuts, apparently unable to stop. "Gimme some," he said reaching out.
"Oh my god, here. Take them away from me." She grumbled as she shoved the bag at him. "Wait, gimme a handful first."
He pulled the bag away and tucked them into his jeans pocket. "Are you pregnant?"
"Because I'm eating cashews? No, I am not pregnant."
"You seem pretty sure about that."
"Why wouldn't I be sure?"
Charlie tilted his head and tried to mentally count the amount of times they made love, not just daily, but weekly. "We kinda do it a lot, you know."
"We're still in the honeymoon phase. Don't worry, I'll cut you off soon enough."
Twisting, he picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder, making her laugh. "I should have my way with you now just for being mean."
Cait laughed and then squirmed. "Put me down, you're killing my stomach!"
Lowering her, they cut off the path and went deeper into the forest until he was fairly certain no one was around. They made their way over to where Lewis kept his lair. Shaking his head, not believing he referred to it as that, they slowed to where the hidden entrance was located. Kneeling down, he ran his fingers along the dirt and found the lip of the entry when he felt the full force of upsetting emotions hit him.
Cait fell to her knees next to him, grabbing her head. "Oh...my god," she moaned.
Anger, embarrassment, fear, and regret burned through his head, apparently bouncing off him to Cait as she reacted to what he was feeling. Shaking his head, he reached out to Cait. Grabbing her arms, he knelt down in front of her, trying to support her body.
"Are you alright?"
Gritting her teeth, she muttered a few colorful expletives and finally was able to focus on him. "What the hell was that?"
"Come on," he said hurriedly and pulled on the latch.
Caitlinn Conrad
11 years ago
Lewis was waiting for them just beyond the main lab where he kept his computers, just outside the med lab. He couldn't quite look Charlie in the eye.
"What happened?" Charlie asked as Cait walked by Lewis and into the medical wing he had set up just beyond.
She still couldn't get over how large the lair actually was, considering it was just Lewis who constructed the entire thing. A short tunnel led to another section and she walked through, seeing JT standing over Kyle on his bed.
"Hey," she said, but JT only turned his head to the side, giving her his striking side profile and keeping his back to her. "What just happened?"
"Nothing," JT said looking back at Kyle.
'Lewis said he upset JT,' Charlie sent to Cait.
'Alright, give me a few minutes with him back here.'
Walking slowly up to JT, Cait stood next to him and looked down at the sleeping Kyle Evans. JT was holding a tablet, pretending to read it, but his eyes looked unfocused. Cait gently took the tablet out of his hands.
"Evans is fine. He's on a slow drip of propofol and," JT said, his voice trembling a bit. "He's, uh, he's dreaming."
"Ok," Cait said softly. She paused and looked down at the tablet, reading Kyle's vitals. Everything was five by five. Taking a slow, deep breath, she decided to just bite the bullet. Hopefully not literally. "What just happened with Lewis, JT?"
"I said nothing," JT replied, not a little sternly, giving Cait a hard look.
'His tattoos,' Charlie whispered in her mind. 'Be careful, babe.'
"What about your tattoos?" Ok, she didn't do careful all that well.
JT turned toward Cait, making her take a step back, as he unbuttoned his uniform shirt, popping the last bottom buttons. Dropping the shirt to the ground, he pulled off his Therian-weave top and revealed his massive, naked chest. The top half of his arms were covered in a black tribal tattooed sleeve, wrapping up his shoulders, and over toward his back. Turning, he held his arms out and showed Cait his expansive back. It was covered in tattoos, almost every inch of skin. There were names written in blocks within the ornate and colorless design. JT pointed with his left finger.
"Richards. Bingham. Soliatus. Henry. Dead, March 14th, 2007. Phillips, Long, Rodriguez, Harmon, Peters. Dead, September 15th, 2007. Williams, Mayo, Harrison, Welch, Morrison, Welsh. Dead, January, 18th, 2010."
JT turned back and Cait flinched at the hard, soulless expression on his face. "IED's, ambushes, grenades. 15 from my unit alone. These are personal, Cait. They have nothing to do with the Pipers. None of you were there. None of you would understand. None of you ever need to bring this up ever again. Is that clear?"
"Yes, JT."
Cait turned and saw Charlie standing at the entrance into the med lab. Matthew was nowhere to be seen. Looking down, Cait picked up JT's discarded shirt and held it out to him. He glared at her and grabbed the shirt from her hand quickly.
'Post traumatic stress disorder,' Cait whispered in her head to Charlie.
'I'd say so, yeah.'
JT put his shirt and Therian-weave back on. "Matthew didn't mean any harm, JT," Cait said quietly.
He snapped another hard look at her as he tucked his shirt back in. "I really do not want to talk about this."
"At ease, Piper," Charlie said with a tight voice. Cait felt his anger spike at JT, undoubtedly because of the vicinity of JT's anger and where he was directing it.
JT rolled his shoulders and let out a deep breath. "Evans is stable and comfortable. With the amount of Eternity in his system, he's going to have to be out for several weeks. Lewis has everything we need here to keep him alive."
Cait lifted the tablet and showed Charlie as he approached the bed. "Lewis said he can monitor him easily from his phone."
Cait raised her eyebrows and reached up to touch Kyle's face, pulling at his eyelids and checking his pupils with a pen light from a tray of instruments next to the bed. "Can I get blood samples?"
JT moved away from the bed. "Yeah, I'll do that now," he mumbled softly as he crossed the room.
"What happened?" Charlie asked as Cait walked by Lewis and into the medical wing he had set up just beyond.
She still couldn't get over how large the lair actually was, considering it was just Lewis who constructed the entire thing. A short tunnel led to another section and she walked through, seeing JT standing over Kyle on his bed.
"Hey," she said, but JT only turned his head to the side, giving her his striking side profile and keeping his back to her. "What just happened?"
"Nothing," JT said looking back at Kyle.
'Lewis said he upset JT,' Charlie sent to Cait.
'Alright, give me a few minutes with him back here.'
Walking slowly up to JT, Cait stood next to him and looked down at the sleeping Kyle Evans. JT was holding a tablet, pretending to read it, but his eyes looked unfocused. Cait gently took the tablet out of his hands.
"Evans is fine. He's on a slow drip of propofol and," JT said, his voice trembling a bit. "He's, uh, he's dreaming."
"Ok," Cait said softly. She paused and looked down at the tablet, reading Kyle's vitals. Everything was five by five. Taking a slow, deep breath, she decided to just bite the bullet. Hopefully not literally. "What just happened with Lewis, JT?"
"I said nothing," JT replied, not a little sternly, giving Cait a hard look.
'His tattoos,' Charlie whispered in her mind. 'Be careful, babe.'
"What about your tattoos?" Ok, she didn't do careful all that well.
JT turned toward Cait, making her take a step back, as he unbuttoned his uniform shirt, popping the last bottom buttons. Dropping the shirt to the ground, he pulled off his Therian-weave top and revealed his massive, naked chest. The top half of his arms were covered in a black tribal tattooed sleeve, wrapping up his shoulders, and over toward his back. Turning, he held his arms out and showed Cait his expansive back. It was covered in tattoos, almost every inch of skin. There were names written in blocks within the ornate and colorless design. JT pointed with his left finger.
"Richards. Bingham. Soliatus. Henry. Dead, March 14th, 2007. Phillips, Long, Rodriguez, Harmon, Peters. Dead, September 15th, 2007. Williams, Mayo, Harrison, Welch, Morrison, Welsh. Dead, January, 18th, 2010."
JT turned back and Cait flinched at the hard, soulless expression on his face. "IED's, ambushes, grenades. 15 from my unit alone. These are personal, Cait. They have nothing to do with the Pipers. None of you were there. None of you would understand. None of you ever need to bring this up ever again. Is that clear?"
"Yes, JT."
Cait turned and saw Charlie standing at the entrance into the med lab. Matthew was nowhere to be seen. Looking down, Cait picked up JT's discarded shirt and held it out to him. He glared at her and grabbed the shirt from her hand quickly.
'Post traumatic stress disorder,' Cait whispered in her head to Charlie.
'I'd say so, yeah.'
JT put his shirt and Therian-weave back on. "Matthew didn't mean any harm, JT," Cait said quietly.
He snapped another hard look at her as he tucked his shirt back in. "I really do not want to talk about this."
"At ease, Piper," Charlie said with a tight voice. Cait felt his anger spike at JT, undoubtedly because of the vicinity of JT's anger and where he was directing it.
JT rolled his shoulders and let out a deep breath. "Evans is stable and comfortable. With the amount of Eternity in his system, he's going to have to be out for several weeks. Lewis has everything we need here to keep him alive."
Cait lifted the tablet and showed Charlie as he approached the bed. "Lewis said he can monitor him easily from his phone."
Cait raised her eyebrows and reached up to touch Kyle's face, pulling at his eyelids and checking his pupils with a pen light from a tray of instruments next to the bed. "Can I get blood samples?"
JT moved away from the bed. "Yeah, I'll do that now," he mumbled softly as he crossed the room.
Kyle Evans
11 years ago
Kyle opened his eyes and suddenly felt the ground beneath him tip in a 45 degree angle as he is unceremoniously soaked with what feels like 100 tons of salt water.
"Oh shit, not again...OOF," he yelped as he flew off to the side and directly into what felt like a pine mast. "Shit, shit," Kyle reached out; trying to steady his footing, but the ground betrayed him and threw him back opposite onto his back, sliding across the deck, into a door, straight through it. The ship tipped again, sending him sliding back out the door. That was until gravity had its way with it and slammed just before he got through the doorway. In a crumpled heap, he laid against the heavy door, legs halfway up with his back still on the floor.
"How the hell," he whined when the ship slid him back across the room into more furniture. "Ok, this is...this is a dream. I'm dreaming OH CHRIST!"
Kyle slid back across the door, yelling at no one but himself.
"Oh shit, not again...OOF," he yelped as he flew off to the side and directly into what felt like a pine mast. "Shit, shit," Kyle reached out; trying to steady his footing, but the ground betrayed him and threw him back opposite onto his back, sliding across the deck, into a door, straight through it. The ship tipped again, sending him sliding back out the door. That was until gravity had its way with it and slammed just before he got through the doorway. In a crumpled heap, he laid against the heavy door, legs halfway up with his back still on the floor.
"How the hell," he whined when the ship slid him back across the room into more furniture. "Ok, this is...this is a dream. I'm dreaming OH CHRIST!"
Kyle slid back across the door, yelling at no one but himself.