Curt stood uncomfortably for a moment watching Ryan trying to process this. ‘Anyway sir, I just-’
Ryan wiped at his bloody eyes again. ‘They did what to you?’
‘It doesn’t matter, sir. I’ll leave you to recover.’ He turned to leave, but heard the door lock click. For a moment, his pulse increased – he was trapped in a room with an agent again. An agent with the right to kill him for even speaking out of line. An agent that could-
He forced himself under control and turned back to his commander. ‘If you insist sir. Let me put it this way, what would you have done with me?’
Ryan leaned back in his chair. ‘If I’d been in Agent Petersen’s place?’
‘Yes.’
‘I would have shot you.’
‘Petersen went for the crueler option. He wanted to punish me. Level five is what he decided on.’
‘But you’re human,’ Ryan argued, ‘how could they do it?
He sat on the couch, and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Two shots of blue straight to my central nervous system, a bunch of smaller shots to my brain…just so I could process the audio-visual stuff. So I could glitch properly.’ He scratched the arm of the couch. ‘The pain is one thing, I’ve been taught to handle pain, the glitches though…they’re something else entirely.’
Ryan stared incredulously at him.
‘I’ve got no reason to be lying about this, sir.’
‘What did you see?’ Ryan asked him after a long moment.
‘Most of it was disjointed nightmare imagery. Terrifying stuff, but nothing that made sense. Pain, torture, getting trapped in a burning coffin, random nightmares. There was only one semi-coherent one, they kept tearing my daughter apart and I couldn’t help her, I just had to watch, I couldn’t turn away.’
Ryan’s hand twitched for a moment. ‘Glitches like that…are difficult.’
He stared at Ryan for a moment, there was something about the way he’d said that. ‘You have a child sir?’
‘Glitches can prey on certain fears, a situation like this…it represents the fear of not being able to protect what’s important to you. It would be the same thing for someone to glitch about their city being carpet bombed or their Agency breached and decimated.’
He stared at his commander for a moment, the unanswered question hanging heavy in the air. ‘I didn’t mean to push, sir.’
Ryan’s intense expression relented a little. ‘There is someone I feel very protective of, if that answers your question.’
‘Yes sir,’ he said. Is she five-foot-nothing and a crap shot with a handgun?
‘How long did they keep in that state?’
‘Only twenty minutes, apparently I was gonna flat line so they pulled the plug. Stopped me from glitching, but didn’t do anything about the fact that I was hemorrhaging from strange places, they just left me to bleed out. I don’t blame them, I deserved it, still it’s a very strange thing to watch yourself bleeding to death because you’ve lost so much blood from your eyes.’
‘They mentioned none of this. I didn’t know.’
‘It’s all in the past. Just like the Solstice. There’s who I was, and who I am now, sir, they’re two different people.’
‘Unless they also recycled you,’ Ryan said as he dabbed the blood handkerchief to his face, ‘that isn’t true.’
He sat back, trying not to take offense at the statement. Trying to ignore the fact that is boss still saw him as Solstice-scum, as on permanently probation. That there wasn’t anything that he could do to prove himself. That he was the outsider, and would always be that. Familiar thoughts. Another day in the suit.
‘Not that I recall,’ he said, trying to sound light, ‘but then again, I wouldn’t would I?’
Ryan simply stared at him. ‘Sorry sir,’ he said, feeling that he’d said something wrong. ‘If there’s nothing else, I’ve got a report to write so you can know all the details about the mission. There’ll probably be a follow-up, I’ve got the techs analyzing a blood sample I found.’
‘Fresh?’
‘No,’ he clarified, ‘a couple of days old.’
This stilled Ryan for a moment. He looked away for a moment, then smiled.
‘Sir does,’ he said uncertainly, ‘does that mean something to you?’
‘Of course not,’ Ryan said, all the indicators of a lie clearly on his face.
‘If you’ll excuse me.’
‘Of course,’ Ryan said, and a moment later, there was the sound of the door unlocking. He stood, nodded to his boss and quick-marched through the door, and back toward the relative safety of his room.
His room that was likely still bugged. Where they could watch him every moment he was in there. Where they could see him at his worst. Where they could- He forced the thoughts away, he’d been told that it wasn’t bugged, that despite the fact that he was on probation, he did have certain rights. “Certain rights” was the phrasing though. Agents were the kings of word-smithing. Not so much as the Liars, but they had time to dedicate their entire lives to lying whilst telling the truth, to whatever end.
Agent just made you feel safe by turning one carefully crafted phrase after another. There was also the fact that any of those “certain rights” could be revoked at any time. He was sure that, at any time he felt like it, Petersen could shift into his room, tear off his head and flush it before returning to his ordinary routine.
He stripped himself of his jacket, his vest and his shirt, dropping each onto his unmade bed. He was sure that the other recruits’ beds actually made themselves once they left the room, but his stayed obstinately messy unless he required it back to perfection. It was a single thought, but it was also something that demonstrated exactly how singled-out he was. It was petty.
A thought changed his pants from his dress uniform to his training uniform, and a unintentional sigh of relief left him as he saw the familiar blue colour. A thought told him that one day they would be grey, that one day, without warning, they were just going to turn their collective suited backs on him, revoke his right to live and wait for justice to take its course.
He dropped to the floor and began his set of one hundred push-ups. It wasn’t a full workout, no-where near it, but it was one less thing he had to do in the public gym, one less opportunity for his colleagues to kick him while he was down.
Someone hit his cage, sending it spinning. He woke immediately, feeling even worse than when he’d managed to go to sleep. His body was cramped from fitting into the tiny enclosure, and his head hurt from it being pushed up against the bars. There was the sound of a creaking chain, and a rush of air against his face as the cage fell.
It hit the ground, hard, and knocked all the air from his lungs. Bruises bumped against metal, but he held back from saying anything, from swearing, from crying, from begging, he’d done enough already. Any sound he made either set the beasts on him more, or was ignored. Then again, that was the nature of torture.
The cage disappeared from around him, but he stayed in his curled up position, not wanting to take the liberty of stretching, of making himself more comfortable. Not wanting to make his naked body more of a target. At least this way they knew they were getting to him.
A strong and grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked. This time, he couldn’t hold back a scream as the hair was torn free from his head. The suit attached to the arm grunted and grabbed him again, this time by the neck, and dragged him from the dark room.
The bright light of the hall outside burned his eyes, making him realise exactly how long he’d been away from the light. He was glad of it though, it was better than the darkness, and anything was better than the nightmares.
He kept his eyes trained on the floor, unsure if he wanted to know what was coming next, be it another torture or his execution – neither was pleasant, though he was unsure as to which he would prefer. There was at least a quick release after the sharp crack of a bullet.
He was thrown into a chair, and he felt cold restraints clamp around his arms, his legs, one across his empty belly, another across his abused chest, and finally, one around his neck.
‘Tell me,’ the agent said, ‘what happened to Charlotte.’
He was tired. He was dehydrated. He was exhausted. ‘You already know,’ he said in a voice that barely resembled his own anymore.
‘You brought me the child. What happened to her?’
He tried to focus on the agent. ‘Is the kid ok?’
The agent stopped pacing and stared at him. ‘Will be. What happened to Charlotte?’
‘Water.’
The agent punched him in the face. ‘You don’t get to ask for anything.’
‘I brought her baby here, what do you think happened to her?’
The agent hit him again, then aimed a gun at his head. ‘I won’t ask you again.’
He looked away for a moment. ‘I cut the baby out of her.’
The agent hit him again, and this time, he couldn’t hold onto consciousness.
He finished counting out the last few push-ups, then jumped up and walked into the shower. His breathing was still steady, he could keep a handle on that, no matter what fears or what memories were dredged up. External calm, internal storm – the former being why he’d been so good at his former job.
The instantly warm water did a lot to was off the sweat, to wash off the day. Twenty minutes later, he stepped out, required himself into a fresh training outfit and headed for the infirmary.
The shorter of the two Parkers was sitting in the office, his lab coat hanging on the door and his shirt rumpled, working on a stack of paperwork. The taller was walking through the infirmary from the door at the back. The morgue.
‘You need something, Recruit?’ the shorter one asked.
The taller twin’s face lit up and he jogged across the room to clap him on the shoulder. ‘You’re here to donate your organs, right? I need more practice with that!’
‘Sorry doc,’ he said as he slipped out from under the doctor’s hand. ‘I just wanted to check on-’
‘The corpse?’ the taller asked. ‘Well, it’s a corpse. In the freezer. But he’s got family, so I don’t get to play with him. You on the other hand, just one of your kidneys, please, I’ll even buy you a drink.’
‘You gave him options?’
The doctor nodded. ‘Memory wipe, cab fare to Madchester, the usual stuff. He wouldn’t hear any of it. He just wanted to-’ He looked away for a moment. ‘Escape,’ the doctor finally said. ‘Couldn’t have a criminal running loose, so took him down with one shot. He didn’t feel a thing.’
How can you know that?
‘Was there anything else?’ the shorter of the twins asked as he walked from the small office.
‘No,’ he said, ‘just needed to know how to finish of my report.’
‘Same way it always does,’ the taller said as he lifted a form from a nearby trolley. ‘Solstice die, it’s how they always end. You can’t save some people.’ The doctor smiled again, though he was sure it was the smile of a man looking at a potential organ donor. ‘But you seem to have turned out all right, but if you ever need a shot, call me, ok?’
‘Sure doc.’
With on last look at the door, he turned away and walked back toward the gym.
‘Yes sir,’ he said. Is she five-foot-nothing and a crap shot with a handgun?
Hehehe
This stilled Ryan for a moment. He looked away for a moment, then smiled.
Did he realise that that was where Stef went, or was he thinking about something else?
Agents were the kings of word-smithing. […] Agent just made you feel safe by turning one carefully crafted phrase after another.
I SO very much want to learn this art… Does Clarke need recruits? *volunteers*
A thought changed his pants from his dress uniform to his training uniform, and a unintentional sigh of relief left him as he saw the familiar blue colour. A thought told him that one day they would be grey, that one day, without warning, they were just going to turn their collective suited backs on him, revoke his right to live and wait for justice to take its course.
Is he ever going to loosen up about this whole thing? However, the fear is quite understandable.
He looked away for a moment. ‘I cut the baby out of her.’
O_O
The taller twin’s face lit up and he jogged across the room to clap him on the shoulder. ‘You’re here to donate your organs, right? I need more practice with that!’
Just imagined him as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. “Oooh, oooh, I got a box of livers! ^_^”
You on the other hand, just one of your kidneys, please, I’ll even buy you a drink.
Too nice, Parker is.
Did he realise that that was where Stef went, or was he thinking about something else?
Ya, he realises. 🙂
I SO very much want to learn this art… Does Clarke need recruits? *volunteers*
…you do realise with Clarke, you would probably have to sleep with him to get the job. 😛
Is he ever going to loosen up about this whole thing? However, the fear is quite understandable.
Yeah, he will.
O_O
Yeah…it’s kind of like that. -_-
Just imagined him as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. “Oooh, oooh, I got a box of livers! ^_^”
This would work so wonderfully if there was tall!Parker/Taylor slash. Taylor could provide the organs, and Parker could provide the organ. Wait…
you do realise with Clarke, you would probably have to sleep with him to get the job. 😛
>_< how about using logic and rhetorical abilities to persuade him? That's what I'll be there for after all, not for learning Kama Sutra (although the first pages of Kama Sutra - full version, that is - are an excellent persuasion and rhetoric manual... but that's not the point here >_<). ... Is he at least hot? This would work so wonderfully if there was tall!Parker/Taylor slash. Taylor could provide the organs, and Parker could provide the organ. Wait…
>_< Dude... Taylor/Grigori is enough. And no livers etc involved. *goes to scrub out brain*
Is he at least hot?
He couldn’t do his job properly if he wasn’t good looking. 😛 Plus he finds sleeping with someone an easy and enjoyable way to get to know someone. -_-
Dude… Taylor/Grigori is enough. And no livers etc involved. *goes to scrub out brain*
I can’t help where my brain goes!
… Plus he finds sleeping with someone an easy and enjoyable way to get to know someone.
reminds me of me.
Don’t make us take out restraining orders!
😛
Plus he finds sleeping with someone an easy and enjoyable way to get to know someone.
Yeh, can’t blame him for that, but I’d still go with sound arguments and strong persuasion skills. And guns. Guns are good.
He could argue that if you’re that good, you could discuss guns while he…got to know you. >_>
Can he even multitask like that?
…he’s an agent, so yes. 😛
…
Ok, apart from the weirdness of it all, I so very much want to be an agent in my next life :p
This would work so wonderfully if there was tall!Parker/Taylor slash. Taylor could provide the organs, and Parker could provide the organ. Wait…
I’m pretty sure it would be the other way around.. >_>
Parker would get organ donations, and kind of “sew”/grow them on himself.. Then Taylor comes with his…….
Wait, are we talking about the same thing? O_o
…cause Taylor would just line up all of his recruit and goes *organ yank* “oooh, liver” *organ yank* “lung, bleh, *shoves it back in, pulls out a kidney instead* then box them all up and take them to Parker, who would be…thankful. >_>
I thought Parker wanted experience in actually yanking the organs out by himself >_>
“Playing the doctor” and all 😛
…but he also has nothing against getting a box of organs as a present.
…actually imagined this scene. >_<
He looked away for a moment. ‘I cut the baby out of her.’
O_O
I second that! I’m guessing it isn’t a C-section?
…a C-section. More like “you sure?” “yup” “*hackslash*” “waaaaaaah” “*run*” >_>
nasty. Also
“A strong and grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked.” I think you meant “hand”
*goes to fix*
hmm, he asked about it! i thought this was just a strapping and cutting…
I guess I can kind of understand the whole attitude thing towards him.. But at the same time – it’s just so bad and wrong.. I know we have no idea what Curt was before, but I still feel sorry for him 🙁
…complicated, we’ll learn pretty much everything by the end of the book, but it was still horrible what happened to him. -_-
Well that explains why he knows, having it done to him must have been weird. Having to inject a bunch of different things into just to make it work, it’s a small wonder he is still alive.
Well Stef did tell Ryan I think that she ran over there after Emma tried to kill her.
I think you ment “wash” here: The instantly warm water did a lot to “wash” off the sweat, to wash off the day.
Well that explains why he knows, having it done to him must have been weird. Having to inject a bunch of different things into just to make it work, it’s a small wonder he is still alive.
At the time, they didn’t really care that much about keeping him alive. If it had killed him, then, meh, it’s only a few sheets of paperwork. They pulled the plug only because they wanted to make him suffer *more* but they really wanted to do this, so they risked him being corpsified.
Well Stef did tell Ryan I think that she ran over there after Emma tried to kill her.
Nah, all she said was that she had been somewhere “safe”.
I think you ment “wash” here: The instantly warm water did a lot to “wash” off the sweat, to wash off the day.
*fixes*
He looked away for a moment. ‘I cut the baby out of her.’
Wait.. Was that a human baby in the first place? Maybe it was another pregnant mirrorchild on the brink of death, and he saved at least it’s child before the other solstice came and killed them all? *speculates*
Wait.. Was that a human baby in the first place? Maybe it was another pregnant mirrorchild on the brink of death, and he saved at least it’s child before the other solstice came and killed them all? *speculates*
It was Agent Hanson’s wife, so half human, half agent. Yeah, it would have been killed if he hadn’t rescued it, but doing it this way kill the mother in a really, horribly painful way – even though she asked for it and did it so that there was the chance that one of the three of them (since they had captured her husband as well) would make it out of there alive. -_-
This sequence is a very good case study on why I fell for the Mirrorverse in the first place.
Even though it’s on it’s third part of the story and a LOT has been revealed there’s still an element of surprise. Having a character like Curt, with such a vivid story to him, around for so long before being allowed a more detailed glimpse into his troubled past is a stroke of genius. Good storytelling has, to me, always been about revealing exactly what you need to reveal… and not an ounce more than that. So while we all now have a somewhat detailed insight in how the ‘verse might work. It now appears that it does not always work like intended and what that implicates… well.. we’re all dying to know. Of course.
Having a character like Curt, with such a vivid story to him, around for so long before being allowed a more detailed glimpse into his troubled past is a stroke of genius.
*feels all warm and fuzzy* I’m glad that sentence wasn’t something more like “Stormy is a lazy bitch who probably should have started explaining all this stuff somewhere in the last two books/side stories” -_- Cause I worry about that sometimes. >_>
So while we all now have a somewhat detailed insight in how the ‘verse might work. It now appears that it does not always work like intended and what that implicates… well.. we’re all dying to know. Of course.
Well, there’ll be more detail and explanation later on. ^_^
And dude…your avatar is hypnotic… *watches it*
…concentrate on the emoticons. You feel relaxed. You are in your happy place. In your happy place you write more chapters. Till your fingers bleed. Then you write more.
…oh also. Just got tickets for the Avatar movie. Yay!
(I really thought you would have grown out of going “yay!” by now, -E)
*relaxes*
…I’ve just had a wonderful idea…I’m going to write some chapters…wheeeeee…
*slaps self*
…oh also. Just got tickets for the Avatar movie. Yay!
Oooh, let me know what you think. I used to be such a huge Cameron fanboy, but fell out of the habit, so I’m not completely sold on this, I mean, it looks to pretttty, but I need to know there’s more than the pretty.
*stares more*
…
*skips off to write*
…yeah. Trying not to expect too much from the movie. Except perhaps to see if they finally do anthropomorphic/human down-n-dirty. They got SO close in Planet of the Apes. If nothing else. I’m sure it’ll be pretty. Review coming Sunday.
…wouldn’t it be cheating, cause it’s a human-in-a-Na’vi-body with a Na’vi rather than proper human-on-other?
… it’s the bodies that count.
The only exception to that rule is that it doesn’t count if it’s a possessed family member.