Title:Dead On.Part 6 Author:Tapestry Email:Shaddow_Cat@hotmail.com Standard Disclaimer Apply *denotes thought I know...I was cruel.*wince* To dream is to wish, To wish is to see, To see will be reality. dushka (pet name) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recap: Darien stared as the woman in front of him closed her eyes.Forever shutting out the light.Forever.... Zach shouted a curse. Tears were streaming down Amy's face. Darien's fist clenched into a tight fist.His face a mask. Raye Morton aka Raven,an American espionage agent...their friend,was dead. Now..on to the story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was no time for tears. No time for lengthy goodbyes.They didn't even have time to go to her funeral. This wasn't the time. *These things happen,* Amy Lachlan thought to herself as she stared at the computer screen. So what if another friend was gone??Dead and buried?? They had a job to do. Raye Morton a.k.a. Raven's death had been a week ago. She'd been poisoned, but not before she spoke the little bit of information the Dominion had tried to conceal. There was a spy in their midst. The tension between the groups had stretched from tolerant to down-right suspicious. The knowledge someone was betraying them didn't help. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien stared at the pale blonde sitting across him with her brother. She was in an even worse condition than usual. The once confident and proud blonde was no more. In her place was a pale and wide-eyed woman. A shell of her former self. She had screamed when she'd awakened a week ago. ~FLASHBACK~ A muscle was throbbing at his jaw, he stared at the still, lifeless body before him, when a blood-chilling scream pierced the air. "Serena!!" gasped Darien as he burst through into the room. He saw Serena, her mouth in an O and her eyes wide. Her face was pale and she crouched in a corner of the room. Darien bent down and touched her head. She looked at him then but at the same time was not seeing.His whole being seemed to hurt at that blank look on her face. At that moment, he would have given anything, just so she would never have that look on her face again. "Lachlan??" whispered Serena, but then, her eyes went blank again as if he wasn't really there. Darien was shocked. How was it, Serena Dancek...knew his last name?? Her brother had entered then. He'd rushed over to Serena and cradled her, cooing soft Russian words. "Hush, dushka...it's over. All over."whispered Malakov. Serena had quieted down and was slowly, closing her eyes. ~END FLASHBACK~ Darien frowned at the memory. Serena had called him Lachlan.She had never called him that before. It had always been 'Shields'. Serena couldn't possibly have known his last name for that matter. All information about the agents were classified. Her gaze met his, her eyes widened then turned away. Darien's frown deepened. She'd been doing that a lot lately, and her brother was always staying by her side. Pushing the nagging thoughts aside, Darien turned his attention back to the question he'd asked himself earlier. Who could the spy be??? Jed Starling?? It was clear he despised Americans. And he hadn't been at the scene where Domina had been shot. Alan Bessmerkov?? Darien knew of Alan's antipathy toward him. He had been the last one to visit Serena and he hadn't gone to the scene of Domina's murder. Malakov Dancek?? The man was a mystery, but he loved his sister and hurting her was preposterous!! But he too had not been around when the inspection of Domina's corpse was made. The game was getting more lethal by the minute. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that day, Darien cornered Serena in a darkened hall. "Serena, what the hell is up with you lately??" snapped Darien furiously. "I don't know what you're talking about...let me go." whispered Serena. "Not until you answer me. I know you have amnesia because of one of your earlier jobs with the KGB. But..are you regaining your memories??" "I don't know...the dreams-" began Serena as she began to struggle. "What of the dreams?? What were they about, Serena??" pressed Darien. "I don't know..." "Serena..." warned Darien. "I don't know!!Please...let me go." whispered Serena,the last words were almost a wail of despair. Darien felt self-loathing eat at him. Throwing her arms away, Darien stared at the frightened blonde. Something in her dreams was frightening her.He felt like a worm.Lower than a worm.Here he was, Darien Lachlan a.k.a. Shields, pressuring a woman to speak about her dreams. Her nightmares. The demons that were rising and beginning to pursue her. "I'm sorry." sighed Darien. "Not your fault, Darien." choked Serena,pressing a palm to her face. Darien stiffened. She'd called him Darien... "What did you call me??" rasped Darien. "Shields??" "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME???" repeated Darien. "I don't remember!! I don't know!!" sobbed Serena as she began to back away. She'd turned from dragon to rabbit. And now, the rabbit was trying to escape. Guilt hit him once more. He was scaring her again. "Look Dancek, I'm sorry." whispered Darien as he gathered her trembling form into his arms. "It's just..I care for you,you know that??" A small nod was the only answer he got. But it assured him, she had heard his words. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena sat alone in her dark room, her eyes open but not seeing. Her door opened, light seeped into the room. "Serena??" came her brother's voice. "Are you alright?" "Malakov??" "Yes, little sister??" "What's happening to me??" whispered Serena pitifully. "I suppose you're just going through a traumatic experience. I'm sure it will all pass when we leave America." smiled Malakov. "But when will that be???" "I'm sure soon, sister...sleep now." said Malakov as he held out some sleeping pills from a bottle in his hand. She took the pills and drank a glass of water. Serena's eyelids felt heavy. Slowly, they closed into a blissful and dream free sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena woke in the middle of the night. Her mind felt heavy. *Brother's sleeping pills did not work.* thought Serena wryly. However, all trace of hysteria was fading fast. Even the dreams were not coming to bother her. She shivered at the thought of the dreams. It was always the same. A fire, and then a cold lab where she was tied down and prodded with instruments. It was probably a latent memory of one of her missions in her earlier days as a KGB agent. Her thoughts changed to Shields. He was worried about her. But that was something she didn't want. She was falling in love with the man. A knock came on her door. "Serena?? You awake??? Marine and Susan have uncovered something." came Darien's voice. "I'm coming." answered Serena weakly. Who was she kidding??? She was already in love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena pushed a heavy lock of hair back as she exited her room nervously. Everybody was already seated and in a heated discussion. Darien saw her first and smiled slightly. "What's this about news??" asked Serena. "We believe we've figured out which country this Lazarus is operating from." grinned Andrew broadly. "Y-You do??" asked Serena. "Yes. In Russia. Intelligence reports just came in." said Susan calmly. "R-Russia??" echoed Serena. "Are you ill Serena?? You look a little pale." pointed out Amy. "I'm fine, Marine. It is probably just homesickness." "Well, we'll be in Russia in no time." smiled Zach. Serena merely gave a weak smile. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They took a private plane to Russia, landing in Moscow. When Serena stepped off the plane, she seemed to breathe easier. Darien came to stand beside her. "You seem more at ease." "I am." smiled Serena. "Back in America...I was getting too many visions. They were starting to scare me." sighed Serena as she hugged herself tightly. "Visions??" echoed Darien in puzzlement. He knew her dreams were scaring her. But he'd never heard her say anything of visions. "What kind of visions, Serena??" asked Darien as he lightly took hold of her arm. "I d-don't know. Please... don't ask me anymore." pleaded Serena. "Alright.." sighed Darien. "I won't. I'm just worried because I-I.." "What is it Shields??" "I love you, Serena." whispered Darien. Serena bent her head and sighed. "You don't love me, Shields. You only think you do because I look like...like..because I look like your Rena." finished Serena hesitantly. She walked faster and headed into the terminal. Darien swore under his breath. As they were walking out of the terminal, Darien grabbed her arm. "Dammit Serena. I don't love you because you look like her. I love you because you're you. You and Rena...you're different people." sighed Darien. "And you wished I wasn't, right???" snapped Serena suddenly angry, though she didn't know why. Another vision flashed before her eyes. She was arguing. Arguing with someone....a man. The man had made her angry and exasperated. She was angry and exasperated at Darien now. "Look Darien, whatever it is. It can wait." snapped Serena. Darien paled considerably as he continued staring at her. "You did it again." "What???" "You called me by my name." breathed Darien. "I did not!!" "Yes you did." "No!! I-" She stopped in mid-sentence as another vision flashed through her mind's eyes. This time she was sitting on the beach at night, gazing out into the silvery water. She was leaning her head on her companion's shoulder. She felt loved and needed... "I love you Serena.." She stumbled onto the road. A car horn brought her back to the present as her brother and Jed pulled her back towards the kerb. "Are you trying to get yourself killed!!??" shouted Malakov angrily. Serena wasn't listening. She couldn't understand. She'd never even been to any beach. And why couldn't she see the man's face??? At that moment, two black cars screeched towards the kerb, making everybody jump back to avoid getting hit. Men jumped out from the cars with guns and shoved Jed, Malakov and Serena into one car as they were the closest agents to the cars. "Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt." laughed one of the men slyly. "You'll be hearing from our boss REAL soon." grinned another. With that, the men jumped into another car and sped off. The rest of the agents jumped up and stared as the two black cars disappeared round a corner.... "Dammit." swore Andrew. Darien merely stared at the road. Serena was gone...they'd taken her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Dammit Amy!! Don't stop me!! If I have to, I'll plow right through you." growled Darien angrily. "No. You're acting just like when Rena died. I'm not about to let you go charging about like a mad bull in a china shop. The last time you did, you nearly got yourself killed!!" exclaimed his sister pushing her brother, trying to hold him back by pushing him into a chair in his hotel room. "I have to go find her, Amy." "You don't even know where to start looking!!!" "I'm not going to loose the woman I love again. It happened once. I wouldn't be able to live the second time." whispered Darien hoarsely as he sat back in the chair with a defeated face. "Serena Dancek is a strong woman, brother." "So was Rena." "You said so yourself they weren't the same woman." pointed Amy. "I know. But the truth is...they're so much alike, it's almost scary." Amy knelt before her brother as he cupped his face and rested his elbows on his knees. "Darien...she's not going to die.." whispered Amy as she hugged her brother. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena's eyelashes fluttered. Blinking, she stared up at the light shining down on her face. She was strapped to a cold hard metal table. It almost seemed familiar.. Where was Malakov?? Where was Jed?? Serena tried to wriggle with her bonds. She stopped when she heard angry voices. "I told you this would happen. I knew we should have finished the job a long time ago." "I'm the leader of this operation. Besides...the American agent Shields did have such a fit." laughed a deep voice. "But they never should have sent her." hissed the other voice. "I tried to object at the meeting, but I was overruled." grounded out the deep voice once more. "It just isn't right, Lazarus." Serena's eyes widened. *Lazarus???* "Calm down Atlas. It doesn't matter. Those agents are as good as dead. Once we have done the necessary improvising to our plan, the American, the British and the Russian governments will once again be back to square one." Serena squeezed her eyes shut. *Dead?? Who were as good as dead?? Her brother?? Jed?? The others??* Serena tried to mantain a calm demeanor until someone entered the room. Of course, things don't always go as plan. The door opened. Serena strained to see, her eyes widening as the figure entered the room.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a week before they had any leads on the Dominion kidnappers. By then, Darien was ready to explode into black moods. They'd caught a Dominion agent, thanks to Darien who had at that time, cracked the agent over the head in a fit when they'd encountered two of the Dominion agents in Moscow. "Shields, I really suggest you calm down. You're practically foaming at the mouth." said Mina tentatively. "Blast you, I am not foaming at the mouth. And I AM CALM!!" shouted Darien furious. "As calm as he'll probably get." said Susan entering the room calmly. Darien spied the file she held in her hands. "No need to glare at me so. And yes, before you ask, this is the information we've been waiting for." said Susan. Darien glanced at Susan Baker for a moment. There were times when the woman annoyed and exasperated him. But there were also moments when she gave him some chills as she seemed practically clairvoyant. "The information, Baker." snapped Darien losing his patience. He'd already waited a week. A week. There were so many things the Dominion could have done in a week. Though, true to their word, they'd recieved a letter a few days ago from the mastermind himself...Lazarus. In the letter he'd taunted and applauded Darien's abilities and also a statement of their agents's health. After careful examining of the letter, the group of agents had realized there was actually something to be read between the lines. "Why is it Lazarus picks on you, Shields??? Could it be someone you'd known in the past??" asked Andrew as he entered the room. Darien cursed and ran a hand through his hair. "I have no bloody idea. This whole fiasco practically started the day... the day," Darien swallowed convulsively. "The day Rena died." Nikolas frowned. "Both of you were hot on the Dominion's trail then, were you not??" asked Nikolas. Darien nodded. Alan's sour face glared at Darien. "That is when you worked even harder to stop any terrorist activities, correct??" Darien frowned and nodded once more. He didn't like where this was going. "Perhaps the Dominion have found your efforts troublesome and have decided to eliminate you by making you careless. Stirring up old hurts. But it's clear Lazarus is playing a game of cat and mouse with you." said Zachary. Darien sighed. "Baker, just read the info already." Susan merely nodded. Opening the file she scanned the papers and said aloud. "Your KGB intelligence has managed to make the Dominion agents talk. It seems, Lazarus returned to the main base a week ago along with Atlas. They didn't mention anything of our agents though. But Lazarus did bring a new agent with him going by the codename Isis. The main base is located in St.Petersburg, or that is what was disclosed by the Dominion agents." finished Susan. "Who is this Isis??" asked Mina with a frown on her face. Zach chuckled. "I believe in ancient Egypt, Isis was the goddess of the moon." "Very funny Falcon. Very funny. It's so funny, I forgot to laugh." snorted Andrew. "Enough, we don't have time for jokes or to make light of matters." grounded Alan. "Please Miss Baker, continue and enlighten us." Susan rolled her eyes. "The information is a bit sketchy. There have never been any reports on Isis before. The two men merely said Lazarus introduced the agent as that. They didn't disclose any facial features though. It seems they had gone through intensive conditioning. Anything more to pressure them, I'll bet they would have had seizures." "Isis...it's a woman isn't it?" asked Darien, his fingers itching to wrap around any terrorist's throat. "Yes. The KGB are convinced Isis was brought as a substitute for Lazarus's right-hand envoy, Domina." "Where in St.Petersburg??" asked Darien in a dark angry voice. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "All is going as planned Lazarus." grinned Atlas. "Those two agents have disclosed the location??"asked Lazarus as he turned to face his man. "Yes. It won't be long until Shields comes like a bull in rage. The yankee is on such a short fuse of late. Or so our intelligencers say." Lazarus smiled. "Of course. He wouldn't dream of leaving the agents in our grasp. Especially not when one of them looks so much like his deceased girlfriend." mocked Lazarus laughingly. Atlas grinned. The main doors to the room creaked open. "You sent for me, Lazarus??" came a voice. "Ah, Colossus. There is someone I want you to meet. She will be replacing your companion, Domina in our little club." Colossus bowed in obedience. The side door behind Lazarus slid open. "Colossus, I want you to meet Isis." smiled Lazarus as he turned and held out his hand to the woman coming towards them. The woman stopped in front of Lazarus and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Lazarus, Atlas." acknowledged the woman. "My dear Isis, you know Colossus, don't you??" The woman turned to face the pale faced man in front of her. "Of course. Colossus." "You..." breathed Colossus. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien led one group of agents consisting of Mina, Amy and Zach while the other group consisting of Nikolas, Alan, Andrew and Susan was being led by Susan herself. They'd found the building they were looking for within two days of searching after arriving in St.Petersburg from Moscow. Darien had already konked out two guards in the facility but not before he'd questioned them on Serena's whereabouts. "We better be careful, we have no idea how many guards there are in this place." said Zach as he held his trusty handgun. "Shields, did you ever consider this could be a trap???" hissed Amy. "We have plenty of agents waiting for our signal to storm the place. I don't know if this is a trap, sister. I only know, I won't have Serena stay here a minute more." "You could lose your job, you know.."said Amy quietly. "I know. But it doesn't matter to me." Darien stopped at a door. "At the count of three." They burst into the room and saw only a pale blond sitting bound to a chair, her face was wet and blotchy. Darien's heart nearly broke at the sight. He quickly went over and loosened the bonds that bound her. His anger and hatred at the Dominion quickly rising. This was the second time that someone he loved was taken by the Dominion. "Serena...are you alright??" asked Darien softly as he wiped away her tears. "Is it really you?? This isn't one of their tricks is it??" asked Serena as she put out a hand to touch his face. "Yes it is Serena. It's really me." Standing up, Serena smiled, her face lighting up. "Do you know where Malakov and Jed are??" asked Darien as he pulled out a second gun and checked it's bullets. "No. I haven't seen them. The guards said we were to be kept seperated." answered Serena. Darien handed her the gun. "Nevermind. We'll find them." smiled Darien as he turned to head outside. "I don't think so." said Serena as she lifted the gun and aimed at his heart. Darien stared at Serena. The rest of the agents pointed the gun at Serena. "Drop the gun, Serena." said Amy coldly. No one threatened her brother's life. Serena merely smiled. "Why should I when there are a dozen AK-47 rifles pointed at you??" asked Serena in a sweetly patronising voice. They turned and saw Serena was telling the truth. Darien could do nothing but stare. "You?? You were the spy?? The double agent??" asked Darien. Serena laughed. "No, I'm afraid not. But I believe you recieved reports concerning a certain replacement for Domina, didn't you??" asked Serena still holding the gun on him. "Yes...Isis. Are they coercing-" "You fool, I AM Isis." spat Serena. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To be continued... Whoeee, I finally finished this chapter. I thought I'd never finish it. :) I think I should have about one or two chapters more then an Epilogue. Email me about what you think will ya?? I really want to know who you think is the spy and if you figured out Isis is Serena.