Targeted

[Ashi]

In a way, Clark was special. He got to see more of Claire than anyone had for quite a while. The only other person, aside from perhaps her brother, who got to see past Claire's poker face was her partner. There were a few coworkers she drank with on occasion, but none knew her so well as Randy. While it was true that she and Clark were each others' only alternatives to solitude on the lonely highway of fugitiveness, Claire was fulfilling her basic human need for interaction without really realizing she was doing so. Then, maybe the wall she built around her castle had a hole blasted in it by the cannon of one she could not label an enemy for reasons she didn't understand.

"Then, I guess it's a good thing that we're taking food on the road." Claire said with a glance towards Clark over her shoulder. She flipped the eggs in the skillet, folding them over to make an omelet. On the counter was spread out an entire bag of slices of bread with different condiments spread over them. There was ham and turkey, some with cheese, and even a few peanut butter and jelly. "Well, it's sandwiches, but that sure beats another burger. Colton won't care that we cleaned out his kitchen; he lives on take-out, anyway." After a moment she put the omelet on a plate and set it on the table.

"What do you mean?" Leaning over Clark's shoulder, Claire scanned the paper. The message in the personal column was disturbing to say the least, though not for its content. "But what's it doing in the Kingsport Times?" Claire challenged with concern and aggravation rising in her voice. "How could they know about. . . ? Colt's address isn't even publicly available, or at least, it wasn't. That doesn't mean that I'd come here, though!" She slammed the skillet on the eye of the stove in frustration. Surely they didn't know about her next move.

"Well, if you go there at all, it looks like we're dead. There are two possibilities here: A) Gary is having his arm twisted or is being blackmailed into luring you there, so you can shut down the virus; or B) Gary is in on the whole thing and has a hell of a lot to gain from this information and is luring you there so you can shut down the virus. But no matter which possibility happens to be true, you and I will wind up dead once the virus is taken care of. Well, I can also see us being killed if you go there and refuse, just out of revenge or spite." Claire explained grimly. "I'm sorry but, if we go, I can't promise that your cousin will come out of all of this unharmed.. or alive." She cleaned up the breakfast stuff without making herself anything to eat; she wasn't hungry anymore. Claire finished the sandwiches and packed them away, then set their things by the door for when they were ready to leave.

"I don't really know what to do. I don't want to just hide and wait til it all blows over, but what can I do? If the virus does what its supposed to, if they don't shut it down, then the jig is up in the next twenty-four hours. What would there be left to do aside from let the authorities handle it? In the end, I suppose it's up to you. Do you still want to go to Raleigh? Or take shelter and wait out the storm?"

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Since this whole thing had started all the major decisions had been on Claire. She was the one with the training and experience and the plan had been to get to Atlanta. However, as time wore on things started looking more and more like Claire's days as an Agent were running out and this was going to be just two ordinary people just trying to survive one series of bizarre events to another. Now she was asking Clark to make a major decision that was going to impact the two of them. Up until about two weeks ago Clark was that type of person who would freeze up at the Burger King line trying to remember what he wanted on his Whopper, and now he was being asked to make a life and death decision.


Clark stood up and looked out the window as he began to have a cup of coffee. He let things process in his mind for a few moments. Knowing that Claire in some ways was ready to throttle him for what appeared to her as Clark avoiding this decision I was hoping she knew him well enough by now to know he was processing what was going on and going from there. She was a great one for going in and making things happen, and he was one who liked to analyze and take a step back before going forward. As the situation was going on though Clark began to realize he and Claire were finding their groove somewhere in the middle.


Looking at Claire Clark said, "First Greg is not being blackmailed Claire he's part of this now." Nodding and slowly beginning to pace things felt like they were falling into place for Clark. He said, "Okay look at when he got the endorsement about two days. It's established that his Candidacy was falling apart, so his curiosity gets the better of him and he opens the Flash Drive. On that Drive the main brunt of the information was in the first couple files out of the 13 files on there." He stopped for a moment and then raised an eyebrow as he said, "So he calls Kramer one of the big wigs in the party and tells him what he has. Kramer gives the endorsement for the Flash Drive, and he comes down gives a big public endorsement and they think everything is fine because they also are realizing that we're watching things as well." Clark resumes pacing and nodding and said, "Now here's where it all goes North for them. They start opening files and then they open that one file that makes all Hell break loose which also reveals that this Flash Drive is a copy of the files. They now have no choice but to get us to come in and save them. They also know that the original files are no longer together, and yes I renamed all of them, so they won't find them anytime soon."


Clark stopped pacing again and said, "You should know something Claire. I don't have the originals on me. I uploaded them to several different servers covertly. I hacked a Porno Site and used an alias so that when I log into it and type in three words into the search box then it will pull all of the files away from the other servers throughout the world and when they come back together to form the directory…" Clark smirked and said, "They all upload at one time on a You Tube channel. Since I haven't used the channel it's completely blank and only I know the correct words procedures on You Tube to make it all happen." Shaking his head slowly Clark said "Just so you know I'm not into Porn, but I needed something as far away from who I am to hide everything from everyone. Not to mention do think these Government officials wanna be caught surfing for Porn in an Election Year? I don't think so."


Walking over to Colton's computer Clark cut it on and his fingers flew across the board. Clark said, "In terms of how they found us here." He looked back at Claire and calmly shook his head and said, "They didn't, because if they did they would already have caught us." Looking back on the screen he said, "Colton is safe he lives in a small town his untimely demise would raise serious questions. Covering up a murder of someone they knew they'd have to kill like Simmons was easy they knew he'd have to be eliminated. Colton…" Shaking his head as he typed Clark said, "They can't cover that up otherwise he'd already be dead and we'd be in custody. Now you also may be wondering why I'm on the computer." He looked back at Claire and said, "Let me show you oh ye of the brown flowing hair. Which by the way I haven't said this yet, but you always look good." Smiling Clark turned back to the computer and entered a long search term into Google peppering it with many non-sense words but keywords from the Personals Ad. Clark hit search and within minutes there were several hits, and Clark clicked through quickly scanning along the way until he reached the fifth page and then smiled. He said, "If you would Agent Bennett please look at these Search Results." Clark waited for a moment and then clicked on the next page and said, "If you notice Claire this AD was placed in just about every major newspaper throughout the State." He looked at Claire and said, "They're fishing Claire Greg's hoping we'd see the AD and call the number. They all know we're coming to Raleigh, but they have no clue where we are."


Turning off the computer Clark said, "Now sadly as the clock ticks down the more desperate they're gonna become to catch us. Which means they will eventually put an APB out on us with a reward thus turning our faces against us kind of thing and getting the public to do their dirty work." He looked to Claire and standing up he said, "My idea right now. We go get the car head to Raleigh and call the number there. That way they know we're in the city and they don't call out a massive manhunt against us. We then…" Clark let out a sigh and said, "This is where it can get complicated. We ummm…" Nodding his head Clark said, "We kidnap Greg find out what he knows and go from there. He might have some new information but either he's been in recent contact with Kramer and I know for a fact Kramer is not the top dog in all of this someone nick-named "Blitz" is apparently the top of the food chain."


Looking back to Claire Clark said, "Luckily we got five hours in car to figure out how to kidnap and interrogate the top law official in this state." Shrugging his shoulders Clark said, "At least we probably won't have to worry about too many awkward silences in the car."

 

[Ashi]

It hadn't occurred even once to Claire that, since the beginning, she'd been the one making the big decisions. At least, it hadn't occurred to her in a negative sense. She saw it as she was making the decisions because she was the one with the training in hectic, life or death scenarios which often required quick on-the-fly thinking. The only reason she asked Clark now was because he was the one they wanted to get their hands on, the one who would likely face torture or some other atrocity that would force him to do their bidding. Without him, their plans couldn't continue. Claire would likely just be killed so she couldn't interfere on Clark's behalf. Rather what she was asking Clark was whether or not he was willing to take that risk.

Claire paced uneasily, longing to smoke; however, she didn't want to do so in her brother's house. She glanced over her shoulder towards Clark, wondering briefly if she should have even given him a choice in the matter. It was probably best that she send him somewhere safe and try to end the charade on her own. She listened intently as he explained the situation which, even if hypothetically speaking, sounded pretty damn likely to be the case.

"I didn't say anything, but for future reference, it's usually little comments like that which stir the imagination." Claire muttered and almost winced at the mention of the porno site. She wouldn't have thought anything of it if Clark hadn't returned to that specific detail; now she was fighting to keep her mind from wandering to the worst. She was only human. Following Clark to her brother's computer, she leaned over his shoulder to watch the screen. The search brought up many different instances of the ad on the net from different newspapers. Her face reddened at his compliment and she moved her head so that her tresses fell over her shoulder, like a curtain between them hiding her face from his view.

"Thank God. I don't know what I'd do if I lost Colt, too." Claire heaved a sigh of relief, a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Pacing back into the kitchen, she swiped a tear from her eye and steeled herself. "Okay, so we find a payphone, hopefully away from any kind of security or traffic cams and you make the call." She nodded, thinking up a plan. "The only issue with kidnapping is how to do it without witnesses.." Her voice trailed off, the idea of actually going through with a kidnapping apparently not a bother to her. "Maybe you call him up, ask to meet someplace? Of course, he'd have to be alone or no deal. You don't even have to show, maybe just wait in the car. I may have an idea about the method of kidnapping and how to get information out of him, but it requires that we make a stop on our way to Raleigh." She nodded with determination.

"All we need to do now is go get the car. Well, after breakfast." Her appetite restored, Claire quickly made herself something to eat and a cup of coffee. As soon as the dishes were taken care of, she grabbed a bag and headed out the door. However unfortunately, they had to walk to the garage since Colt drove his jeep to work. The walk wasn't that far though and Colt came out to greet them and show them to their car. It was an old Bronco that wasn't yet beyond repair. He'd spent the morning fixing it up, even though he shouldn't have. Once the good-bye's were said, Claire drove to a beauty supply store where she must have spent twenty minutes just looking at hair products.

"Alright, on to Raleigh." Claire tossed the bag of things into the back seat and started on the road. "So, I was thinking maybe ask to meet at a bar? Someplace public but where people won't pay too much attention, or at least won't have very reliable witness statements due to alcohol." She would talk every now and again when an idea came to her and tried not to pay attention to the awkward silences. The buildings of Raleigh rose up around them by evening. "There are two options here: One, scout out a bar and place to interrogate and do this tomorrow; or Two, do it tonight." She looked at Clark with raised brows between scanning the cityscape and surrounding traffic.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Clark was starting to see where Claire was going with her plan, and this made Clark feel like they actually had a chance of pulling off the abduction part. After it was going to take an insane amount of luck, and Clark was wondering just how long that was going to hold out. Clark looked around as the sun was setting around them and he knew that sooner than later the Feds were going to get desperate. So if they were going to act it had to be soon otherwise the potential of things getting ugly increased exponentially.


He looked over at Claire and said, "Sooner or later they're gonna get desperate so we gotta move while we still have the momentum on our side." Clark looked around and as they passed the NC State Campus Clark smiled as he saw a bed-sheet spray painted with an announcement. "Fifty cent shooters from 7-12 at The Tic Tac Toe Hut. All other drinks 50% off." Clark knew that announcement would draw many of the students over to the bar like a moth to a flame. He asked, "Oh Claire, tell me something how would you feel about going to a bar full of drunken college students?" He looked back at Claire and said, "While you and are old enough to still get away with being college aged Greg and the others will stick out like sore thumbs. Meaning if they try to 'Jump Street' us we can see them coming a mile away. Besides if we tell them that it's tonight it doesn't give them enough time to pull something together. They have to play ball with us or they lose."


Looking out over the campus as they drove by the Student Union Clark said, "Claire pull in here I see a pay phone. It's time to say hello to my dear sweet back stabbing slime ball of a cousin." He looked Claire and said, "If he is involved in all of this family gatherings could be real awkward now." Smiling as Claire pulled over he said, "Come in this way you can hear what's going on. Besides…" He looked around and said, "I still don't feel safe. Face it Claire we might have the momentum and all that but we are still on someone else's home field."


They arrived at the pay phone and Clark made the call. The phone rang once and Greg picked up right away. He said, "Clark?"

Clark replied, "Hey there Greg? How are the folks tonight? You gotta virus issue a really bad one too from what I know of it. It's replicating like a pair of Catholic Rabbits."


Greg said, "Listen here you son of a bitch! Tell me how to deal with it and I might show you lenience, and I'll even let Agent Bennett arrest you. Otherwise I will personally lead the hunt to bring you down, and Agent Bennett will not be able to save you. I bet she's ready to throw you to the wolves right now. You always were an annoying prick."

Clark looked at Claire and said, "You kiss Aunt Jenny with that mouth? Wow! Anyway, you were the idiot who opened the files, but tell you what you meet me tonight at the Tic Tac Toe Hut on the corner of McPherson and Dodson at 7:15 which is 20 minutes from now. I'll be there for 15 minutes after that I'm in the wind and that virus will make life a living Hell for you and everyone else involved. Oh and good luck with the trace."

Greg said, "One more thing before you go."

Clark replied, "I'm listening."

Greg said, "I'm guessing Agent Bennett is there with you as we speak, so I'll address this to her. Agent Bennett bring Clark to the FBI Building downtown right now. You can say he was forcing you to go along with this and I will back you up all the way. It will not only save your career, but you're probably looking at a promotion as well. Play ball with us Claire it's the only way to save your career and bring an end to all of this non-sense. Do you really think that pencil necked geek is gonna be able to help you out? Face it Claire he is not worth it. Clark has always been a troublemaker. Not to mention, could you see yourself spending the rest of your life on the run with him? Come on Claire bring him in and let's put an end to this. Claire this is a one-time offer. Take it or leave it. You don't accept it now you will be hunted like him, and your career will be officially done for. "

Clark trusted Claire, but Greg was career politician and very smooth with the charm. He could hang up now, but he wanted the choice to be Claire's alone.

 

[Ashi]

"So, tonight." Claire said, her voice somewhere between a sigh and grumble. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as her eyes narrowed on the road ahead. Of course, she could see Clark's reasoning; and it was an excellent reason. That didn't make what they were plotting, or rather what Claire was plotting, to do any easier. Her apprehension was arguably due to the fact that kidnapping was a much more serious felony than Grand Theft Auto. It wouldn't be something that the FBI could just take care of for her and sweep under the rug, since she was a hard worker who never got into trouble. Her clean record wouldn't make a difference after this.

"The idea of being surrounded by a bunch of drunk, horny little college boys is definitely not an appealing one. Why?" Claire had an expression of convincing horror and pain on her face as she peered past Clark to see the sign for the bar. Despite his explanation of meeting his cousin at the bar, Claire couldn't help the sick feeling that churned in her stomach at the thought. One of the things she most lamented about college was the party crowd. She pulled off and parked by the phone booth, scanning the area briefly before piling into the booth with Clark. "We're fine, just call." While she didn't have her ear to the phone, Claire could hear both sides of the conversation.

Right off the bat, Clark's cousin was hostile. The fact that he cursed at Clark in the first sentence had Claire raising an eyebrow. "What an ass," She muttered, wondering if he'd always been that way or if it was because Clark was in his way. Both brows shot up when the man addressed her; he wasn't just mentioning her in passing, he was speaking to her. She leaned in closer to the phone so as not to miss a word. After a moment of listening, she angrily snatched the phone.

"Firstly, that's Agent Bennett to you. Secondly, what idiot would believe for a second that Clark made me do anything? I practice MMA at least four days a week; I can kick my partner's ass and he's twice my size. I mean, if he's really such a 'pencil-necked geek' as you put it, he couldn't force me to do shit. As for my career, my career is pursuing justice and putting crooks like you and your buddies behind bars, protecting people; and that's exactly what I'm doing. Just remember that I've got friends in high places too, asshole. So you can take your offer and fuck yourself." Claire sneered, slamming the receiver down. She turned to leave the booth, pausing to look apologetically at Clark. "No offense. I was just, you know.. well he.. okay. We should go." She struggled with what she wanted to say and ended up avoiding it altogether.

With only twenty minutes until the plan, Claire had Clark drive so she could prepare. She climbed into the backseat where she tore into the supplies she bought at the store on their way out of Kingsport. The ride to the bar was filled with much frustrated muttering and cursing on her part and she frequently told Clark to watch the road to make sure he wasn't looking. It wasn't until she got out at the bar that Clark would see what she'd done. With hair chalk, she'd made her hair blonde, or had at the least highlighted her natural highlights so that her brown hair looked golden. Where her makeup had been subtle, it was bold with darkly lined eyes and bright lips. A pair of socks in her bra gave her assets some extra lift, which was only exaggerated by her low-cut top.

"I feel stupid." Claire groused, anxiously fiddling with her hair. "I want to smoke so bad.." She said under her breath, taking a deep breath to calm herself as she reached into the back seat for one last thing. She pulled from her bag an orange bottle with a variety of pills. Claire took a few out and put them in her pocket. "Valium. Hopefully, this goes smoothly."

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Clark wasn't exactly sure of where they were heading to be honest. As he drove he had the bright idea of following the large crowd of college students. There were moments that he wanted to look at Claire while she changed, but he was more concerned about trying to find the bar and he was fairly certain that Claire would kill him if he got caught looking in the back. Clark also discovered that Claire had a mouth on her that would make a stand-up comedian blush with shame, but he also realized that his vocabulary was expanding by leaps and bounds in the "colorful metaphor" department thanks to Claire. There were also moments that while Claire was talking Clark wanted to say "I didn't know you could use those terms together."

As Claire put on the final touches and got the pills Clark found the bar. He parked the car around the back. He said, "College…" Clark shook his head and said, "Three of the longest years of my life." Looking at Claire, he said, "Yeah surprise I got done early and I was a geek so it felt three times as long." He smiled at that and said with the smile slowly fading away, "I figure when it's time we'll carry Greg out the back going through the club will help us weed out any potential interference." Clark knew Claire wanted him to stay in the car, but he knew that if Greg didn't see him Greg would bolt quickly. Clark said looking at his watch, "We got about 7 minutes, and…." Clark began to shake his head as he asked, "What the hell are we doing Claire?"

Clark looked at Claire and said, "You're dressed up like that, I'm sitting in a bar getting ready to make sure my cousin swallows a roofie so we can kidnap, and then we find out what he knows about a dealings concerning certain Government Officials and a rouge Defense Company while in a College bar hoping that some horny frat boy doesn't try to feel you up, or they look at me and think geek-slash-nerd let's pants him." He looked back down at the floor board and said, "All the while your career is about to take several Godzilla sized hits that it may not recover from. All because I didn't just walk away when everyone else would have." Clark looked back at Claire and said, "Not everyone I know would've told Greg no, and would've taken him up on his offer. Thank you Claire for not deserting me."

He just looked at Claire for a moment and then said, "Okay let's do this. I'm heading to the bar you come in after me say in about two minutes. We wait for Greg and then we go from there." Clark knew he would hear about this later, but he couldn't say no to this. Clark very quickly kissed Claire and said, "For good luck." With that Clark bailed out of the car and figured if this was gonna be his last night on Earth it was going to be memorable.

The bar was playing "music", if one could call it that, that made Clark slowly consider the positives of being deaf. He managed to make his way to the bar, and though he was pretty close to the age of everyone there he still felt somewhat out of place. Clark checked his watch three more minutes and no sign of Greg but also no sig on Claire. Maybe it was best if he didn't see her this way he wouldn't be locked in on her the whole time and give away their position.

Clark finally saw Greg walk in wearing dark glasses and a beige three piece Armani. Clark made sure they made eye contact as Greg approached Clark looked away and still hadn't seen Claire. He said, "Hey there Cousin did you get that before or after you sold me out?"

Greg replied, "You were the one who sent me those files."

Clark said, "Biggest mistake in my life. I figured my cousin a servant of the people would help me do the right thing by exposing corruption and threats to our security."

Greg chuckled and said, "Oh drop it Clark. You are so sanctimonious and self-righteous. In Politics there is only American Interests and what's counter to them."

Clark asked, "What about right or wrong?"

Greg replied, "What about them?"

Clark shook his head and said, "Forget it. Okay my deal is this I am on a plane to a location of my choosing and 10 million in an account. I tell the pilot where we are going, and once we land I call with the second part of the code. Part one is 'The ice is slick…' part two is later on."
Greg asked, "And what about Agent Bennett?"

Clark replied, "You see her here."

Greg said, "Too bad. You could use her right about now." Clark felt a barrel in his side as Greg said, "We're heading outside to an undisclosed locale once there you will give me part two and then I put you out of my suffering."

Clark signaled for the bartender and said, "Figure might as well have one last drink. I'm buying." He said to the bartender, "Two Long Island Iced Teas."

The bartender brought him the drinks and Clark said, "Here's to doing the right thing."

 

[Ashi]

"I can't believe he did that! If we get out of this alive, I'll kill him." Claire groused to herself through gritted teeth as she watched Clark across the bar. Her face was still flushed with the warmth of embarrassment and frustration after he pulled a fast one on her. It took all of her will power and self control not to smack him for it. Truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure why it riled her up so much; or if she was, she refused to acknowledge the reason and so convinced herself otherwise. Lightly she placed a finger to her lips, but realizing she did so, she swiftly crossed her arms and tucked her hands away. "Stop being stupid and focus!" She thought with a shake of her head.

Claire had followed into the bar a few minutes after Clark. Having stayed along the wall, she moved stealthily behind the crowds to the bar and chose a spot in the back corner where she had decent sight lines to Clark but where she was hidden from his view. If he could see her, it was likely that he would keep glancing at her, thus giving her and the plan away to his cousin. Not too long after she settled, Greg walked in. He wore an expensive three-piece suit, one he probably couldn't afford on his regular salary. What kind of prick wore glasses indoors after dark? Claire clenched her jaw; she wanted to shoot the bastard right there. She reached into her pocket and ran her fingers over the pills. It was only a matter of time now.

"There's the signal." As soon as Clark signaled to the bartender, Claire was making her move. She laid the pills on a napkin on the counter, using a salt shaker to break them up and pound the pieces into powder. Every few seconds she would glance up to see how far along the bartender was with the drinks. He just finished up an order and was starting on the tea. She swiped an apron from where it was left behind the counter by a waitress on her way to break and tied it around her waist.

Rolling the napkin up, Claire moved around the bar to where the drinks were being placed on a tray. She dumped the powder in the drink, pretending to use the napkin to wipe the stray drops off the side of the glass. With ease she lifted the tray of drinks and skirted through the crowd, taking the long way around to Clark and Greg to give herself time to swirl the glass a little and mix the powder into the drink.

"Alrighty, two Long Island Iced Teas. Y'all enjoy." Claire spoke with a peppy smile and an ever-so-slightly southern accent. She handed each man a glass and a straw, which she pulled from a pocket on the apron. The name tag on the pocket read Emily. "An' let me know if I can get y'all anything else, 'kay?" She said, as if ready to go serve other customers. It only awarded her a few extra seconds, but that was plenty of time to take in the situation, to read their faces. The situation was escalating. Claire turned and started back towards the bar. She would go on to serve more drinks, if just to keep up the charade and to keep an eye on the two - namely Greg.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Once Clark saw "Emma" give them the drinks he knew that things were about to get interesting. While Greg didn't even blink at the waitress Clark knew that Claire was nearby and that this thing had a fighting chance of success once again. Clark took the drinks and didn't even look at Greg as he said, "Greg, are really going to shoot me in here with all of these witnesses? Come on even you would have a hard time explaining away this one, and I might be a novice to the Government Intrigue game but even I know the minute we set foot out the front door I get a pop upside my head and whisked away. So don't tell me your worried about a DUI." Clark picked up his drink and said, "Here's to one for the road." Clark felt the gun leave his back and Greg said picking his drink, "I can't wait to watch you suffer you little worm." Greg picked up his drink and took a sizable drink. Clark knew quite a few things about his cousin, and one of them was him and drinking. Not only would he become a blabbermouth, but more importantly Greg was a terrible drinker. It didn't take much for him to start flying, and with the special addition from Claire Clark knew Greg had no chance of winning this round.


Clark asked taking a sip, "So tell me Greg, how does the family feel about all of this? You selling out family and all that?"


Greg replied taking a long drink, "Who gives a shit? You are a fly buzzing around a pile of shit, and that Agent Chick of yours..." he chuckled as he said, "She might think she's got friends and all that, but I know for a fact she's radioactive now. They're gonna avoid her like the plague despite her walking away from…." Greg's speech started to slur a bit and Clark had to fight with every fiber of his being to keep from smiling as Greg took another long drink…. "you. You see Clark while your death will be painful Claire will suffer worse, because she knew what she was doing was…." Slurring was starting to get more pronounced "wrong. Too bad she's a cutie." Greg turned to Clark and asked, "So tell me something Cuz…" he leaned in and with a huge smirk on his face and slurring speech that wasn't even close to being coherent Greg asked, "Did you…you know give it to her? I tell you what Clark she has got a tight little bod and....I bet with training she's a hell cat in the sack...I can tell she is a screamer too I'll bet the election on that...and that she knows all kinds of positions that…." Clark leaned in a bit more, he took a deep breath and jabbed Greg in the gut as hard as he could. As Greg went down Clark bent over to look as though he was helping Greg up, and socked him in the jaw. The valium and the punches were enough to render Greg unconscious.


Clark helped Greg to his feet and began to carry him to the back with one arm. He said, "Poor guy just couldn't handle his booze." Clark looked around and then slipped into the employees only area. He laid Greg on his back and looked around. Once he saw no one around Clark kicked Greg in the side twice as hard as he could. Greg merely grunted and said, "Don't you ever talk about Claire like that again. Unlike you she is not some kind of sex conquest for me. She is a wonderful young woman with a great spirit, and yeah she ain't got nothing to be ashamed of in the looks area either…" Clark paused for a moment and said, "But I also know she's out of my league. Still I'll never forget her win or lose. Claire Bennett is something special." Clark closed his eyes and was frustrated that he was coming to the realization that he and Claire could never be. Like he said she was out of his league, and what could he offer her? Clark grabbed two bottles of beer and poured them all over Greg. There were a couple of wisps of smoke rising Clark knew that the tracers had just shorted out. He then looked in Greg's ears and pulled out two ear plugs. Clark put them in a locker and said, "This should keep your friends from tracking us." He got Greg back to his feet and said, "Now all we need is Claire to show up and we're out the back door to who knows where. You had just better pray I don't tell her what you said about her body."

 

[Ashi]

Claire must have run fifty other drinks in the time it took for Greg to actually drink the roofie-tea. It was only so that she could keep a close eye on Clark and the scumbag, to make sure he didn't try to pull anything before the Valium had a chance to take effect. The funny thing about it was that no one seemed to realize that she didn't actually work there, not the bartender or any other waiters or waitresses. How could they be so ignorant as not to notice a complete stranger and quite obvious impostor? It made Claire question her faith in people. It was about that time that Claire saw the real Emily return from the back. She made her way back to the bar, pulling off the apron and placing it atop the tray as she set it down on the counter. Emily seemed to notice that her apron was not where she initially left it, but apparently wrote it off as she simply went back to work.

"Idiots." Claire shook her head in disbelief, heading towards the back to take a look at their escape route. Luckily for Greg, she wasn't there to hear what he had to say about her. If she had, she might have attacked him right there. The last person to do something like that became her MMA punching bag. That was something Randy could attest to, as she let him have it a couple of times, too. The back hallway, which led to the restrooms and the exit was relatively crowded, mostly with couples making out and smokers. There was just enough room to drag a body to the exit. With the drugs and alcohol, perhaps if anyone asked, she and Clark could simply say that Greg couldn't hold his liquor and were going to take him home. That would be a worst-case scenario, since eye-witness testimonies were already unreliable without the influence of substances. The police, if they were called, wouldn't be able to get much.

Claire started back to the front in time to see Clark drag his cousin into the empty employee lounge at the opposite end of the hall. She slipped in a moment later, eyebrow raised at the beer-drenched passed-out slimeball. "Who said what?" She asked, scrunching up her face at the smell of the beer. She didn't linger on the question long, though. "There's a pretty clear path to the back door. We should get while the getting's good." Making sure the coast was still mostly clear, she helped Clark lug the creep out the back door. The car was just around the corner. Claire opted to stuff Greg into the trunk, since that way no one would by chance see him in the car; and they wouldn't have to waste time moving their things from the back seat.

"Know of any place around here where we can take him? Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the Raleigh area." Claire looked to Clark with uncertainty as she started the car. "If I could use my phone, I'd just look something up. Of course, there's bound to be some place that's not in use or is rundown somewhere around here? Even a seedy motel would be too risky."

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Clark made a mental note not to bring up how he defended Claire's honor at the time. He knew Greg well enough between the valium and alcohol that when he came to it would only be a matter of time until he shot his mouth off again. Then Claire would have plenty of opportunity to beat Greg into a bloody pulp. Clark had a feeling that was going to happen anyway.

To be honest Clark didn't think that they would get as far as they had, and so finding a place to "talk" to Greg about his recent sins didn't really occur to Clark. After a couple of seconds Clark said, "There was convenience store which had a garage attached to it that had several closed up signs around it. The real estate sign had the old area code on it, so the chances of people coming around were minimal. They had a couple of flashlights and battery powered lanterns courtesy of Colton leaving some road survival gear in the car.

Clark said grabbing the keys, "I got an idea." He waited for Claire to get in and once she was in Clark was heading out of town as soon as possible. He kept checking the mirrors to see if anyone was following them, and after about 45 minutes on the road he finally let out an exhale. He said, "Okay I think we're all right for the moment." He parked the car and got out quickly. Grabbing a crow bar he popped a rusted out lock off of the garage and then moved the car into the garage.

Clark said, "I think this is home for the time being Claire. We're in the middle of nowhere, this place hasn't seen a living soul since…." He cut on the lantern and shined it on a waiting table in the garage and walked over to it. Clark said, "Hey check it out according to this copy of Time Senator Barack Obama is a rising star in the Democratic Party." Clark looked over at Claire and said, "I think we're safe for the moment." Clark opened up the trunk and lugged Greg out. He placed Greg in a chair and grabbed a rope. Clark handed it to Claire and said, "I tie him up he's out in thirty seconds I don't know what I'm doing at this moment. You're more trained in this area I'm guessing the FBI taught you how to deal with someone who could be a threat." He sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't mean that you're into tying people up Claire. Well at least I don't think you are I mean you don't seem to be the type but there are some who don't seem to be who are but then again…"

Clark closed his eyes and shook his head as he asked, "Can I just blame that whole babbling exchange on the stress of our situation?"

Shaking his head to refocus Clark said, "Look about me kissing you. I'm sorry if I offended or upset you Claire, but to be honest I thought I was about to walk into a death trap and I wanted to have at least one pleasant memory of what had gone on besides just meeting you." He looked at Claire and said, "If we get out of this but we eventually have to go our separate ways for whatever reason I just wanna say Claire the guy who ends up being with you is gonna be the luckiest man alive."

At that moment Greg started to stir back into the world of the living. Clark looked at him and shined the lantern on him. Greg asked, "What in the Hell is going on?"

He looked at the lantern and saw the outline of Clark. Luckily he was still too groggy to lunge at him. Greg said, "Okay Clark? What's your deal with all this? I said somethings about Agent Hot Bod and you took offense to them and now you're gonna beat the crap out of me? Gimme a break Clark. She was out of your league anyway so you attacking me all while being all caring and sensitive about her ain't gonna mean shit. Besides she's probably a million miles away from you by now. Just like everyone else in your life. You're a geek and a nerd Clark. Not to mention half of the Government wants you dead the other half wants to know how you figured everything out and then kill you. Just so you know Senator Kramer, who has endorsed yours truly, is already coming up with a contingency plan in case I don't get the virus password. You're gonna be the most wanted traitor in the history of the world. I was actually supposed to just get you outside they're gonna kill you anyway geek. When it's all said and done Clark you're gonna die alone just like you lived your life all alone. I think Carrie agreed to marry you out of pity. Smartest thing she ever did was ditch you two days before the whole God awful wedding."

Greg looked at Clark directly and said, "You are nothing Clark and the information you have. It's gonna get you killed you think the people involved are gonna let a third rate nerd from Pittsburgh take 'em out?" Greg chuckled and said, "Yeah right. Too bad you didn't get to sleep with Agent Hot Bod it would've been great I bet. Again the training and MMA all those positions she could probably do…"

Clark once again didn't even hesitate. He put the lantern on the floor and clocked Greg in the jaw. He did it again and then again and then once more. Suddenly Clark realized he was just pummeling Greg into a state of near unconsciousness. Once he saw Greg was almost unconscious he looked at Claire and asked, "Yeah he was talking about you earlier this evening. You wanna take over or do something before I end up killing him?"

 

[Ashi]

Claire was more than happy to yield control of things to Clark if just for a moment. At least he had an idea, which was more than what she had; Claire hadn't paid much attention to their surroundings when she was in the back seat preparing. She didn't want to just go driving around Raleigh looking for a place to hide out; that would scream suspicious. From the passenger seat, Claire watched the road behind them, keeping an eye on every car that happened to drive behind them for longer than a few blocks until they would turn. The ride felt a great deal longer than it really was and Claire was relieved when they got the car in the garage. While Clark dragged Greg out of the trunk, Claire examined the paper left on the table. It was several years old with stains and part of it was mush from moisture. She grabbed it and crumpled it up before tossing it on the floor in the far corner. It would make a good fire-starter later.

"What? You never like went to boy scouts camp or something?" Claire asked sarcastically, taking the rope from Clark. She walked behind the chair, looping the rope around Greg's torso, and started to tie him to it. "Usually, we have our perps handcuffed to the table; however, I do know how to tie a sturdy knot." She explained, working the rope around the legs of the chair and Greg's. She took pause as Clark rambled to look up at him with an expression of deepening disgust. For the most part, it was easy to brush off; that is until he mentioned the kiss. "Clark! Just.. shush!" Claire snapped, hastily finishing a knot. She only just stood up when the man started to stir.

"Wow, what an asshole." Claire waited until Greg's spiel was finished before she walked around to face him. Her arms were crossed, lips pursed as if she was trying to keep from exploding in the creep's face. It was strangely satisfying to watch Clark punch him, but not satisfying enough. "I'm really going to enjoy this." Pulling her gun out, she pointed it at his face. "You're lucky that I believe murder is a heinous crime, or I'd paint the wall behind you with your brains." Claire growled as she withdrew her gun. Grasping the edge of the table, she scooted it up to Greg. Without word, she went to rummage through her bag and the tool kit. She placed on the table a pair of pliers and a double-ended metal tool. She pulled up something just tall enough to sit on and leaned over the table.

"Do you know what this is?" Claire asked Greg, indicating the tool. "It's called a cuticle pusher; it's basically for cleaning around fingernails. Of course, that's not what I plan on using it for." She stood to get the tool kit, from which she pulled a hammer and nails. With Clark holding his arms on the table, she hammered several nails through the inside and outside of each of Greg's sleeves. "Can't have you pulling those hands away before I even get to demonstrate." Claire said in a pretend-happy kind of voice one might use to speak to children as she sat back down. "This pointy end here is typically used to clean under the nail, but.." She drove the pointed end of the tool under Greg's fingernail. "Now, we grab the nail in the pliers.. like so.. and," Claire gave the pliers a tug. Blood welled up where the fingernail used to be.

"That right there is what is going to happen every time you don't tell me what I want to know. If we run out of fingers, then we'll do the toes. If that doesn't work, I'll nail your fingers to the table. So, start talking."

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Clark was relieved when Claire stepped in to take over, because at the moment he thought for sure that he was more than capable of killing Greg with his two bare hands. The things he said about Clark were nothing new for Clark to hear, but hearing the things said about Claire was where the line was drawn and Greg obliterated it. There was a part of him that was hoping that Claire would just put a bullet into Greg, and they would just be done with it but Clark wanted to know what Greg had seen and was there the potential of him saying something that might give Clark and Claire some kind of hope. That they weren't gonna spend the rest of their lives on the run and they, or at least one of them, might actually get to enjoy a semi-happy ending.

Greg yelped in pain as the once perfectly manicured nail on his right index finger was now a bloody pulp. As much as he wanted Greg to suffer and talk Clark wanted the people in charge to suffer far more than Greg. Had Greg done what he was told by Clark none of this would be happening, but Greg sold his soul for his career. In this case The Devil Wasn't Senator Alan Kramer but Claire Bennett and she was looking to collect. Clark had a feeling that though she said she was going to enjoy this Claire was gonna be all business in dealing with Greg.

Greg struggled but eventually regained some sort of composure as he said, "Go ahead I got nine more you two have no idea the Hell that you are unleashing upon yourselves." He looked over at Clark and said, "You're in trouble for what you know, but also they've made up some real good shit concerning you. You think Kramer is the top dog in all of this?" He smirked as a bead of sweat began to form over his upper lip and said, "He ain't even in the Chain of Command in this. As powerful as Kramer is in DC he's a glorified errand boy in this operation. His endorsement was not even close to what they have in mind for me in their plans. Not to mention Clark you've only seen the tip of the iceberg. This thing that they got planned you can't even begin to dream of what it all means. The country is gonna be changed forever, and you won't be able to stop it."

Greg looked over at Claire and said, "As for you Agent Hot Bod…" He shook his head and said, "Oh my, you had the chance to avoid a lot of pain and suffering. Yours is gonna be even worse than what they're gonna do to Clark. In the end, they're just gonna kill him, but you…" Greg started to smirk and chuckle as he said, "Let me leave it at this. I hope you will enjoy making a living on your back craving heroin by the end of next week." Greg nodded and asked, "Yeah remember the Black Tiger Human Trafficking and Prostitution Ring the FBI supposedly shut down last year?" Greg shook his head said, "Surprise! It is still up and running only in a different form now. You see our friends overseas were merely the caretakers of the operation. That's right we are the ones behind it all. Trust me Bennett it's only a matter of time before they catch up to you both, and you know they'll kill Clark on sight. You?..." Greg shrugged his shoulders and said, "Maybe I'll ask them to let me watch what happens to you."

Clark was immediately horrified at the prospect of that happening to Claire. He knew though that beating Greg was futile at best, and he said, "You have no idea when to shut up. You told us more than we know at this moment. Senator Kramer is a weak link in all of this. I'll bet that he wants a bigger seat at the table of power, and there are so many other areas to exploit your friends besides the information I have. There are bound to be other weak links in the fence somewhere if this thing is as big as you say it is."

What Greg has said to Claire, combined with the earlier insults, was now making Clark angrier and angrier. He reached down and grabbed a stone. Greg asked, "What do you plan on doing Clark? Bash my head in?"

Clark shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Sorta."

With that he brought the stone near Greg's head and then slammed it right into Greg's groin. Greg cried out in agony and Clark did it two times. He said, "If you ever insult her again I will castrate you with this stone."

Clark took a couple of steps back . He said, "If you got anything you want to ask him I'm sure you'll find him a bit more agreeable." Then Clark took a deep breath and with a slight choke in his voice he said, "I'm sorry for all of this Claire. You deserve better." Clark took a couple of steps back into the darkness and was now more frightened for Claire than ever before. Clark knew things would get rough, but what they were going to do to Claire, according to Greg, made Clark feel worse than he ever felt in his life. Greg was right in that there was no way Clark would be able to save Claire. He had some good moments so far but in the end he wasn't a trained agent or a mercenary, and sadly Clark knew Claire would defend him out of a sense of duty to her badge and nothing was going to change that. Clark knew she would carry out her mission to the end no matter what . Clark opened the door and just walked outside with his head bowed and he felt one single tear fall.

 

[Ashi]

"Is that the best you've got? That I'm going to live the rest of my life too high to care who I sleep with? I'm shaking in my boots." Claire rolled her eyes at Greg's words, sounding almost bored. There wasn't much that Greg could threaten Claire with that would have any profound effects on her, at least not one he would see. Claire had a poker face for interrogations, something she learned from her father as a detective. Even if she was to take a threat seriously, she wouldn't let it show in front of the perp. That wasn't to say that the threat didn't affect her at all. The idea of ending up like that was horrible and sent a chill down Claire's spine.

"That doesn't really surprise me. The Black Tiger was a pretty big organization to begin with; the FBI probably only managed to shut down a small section of it, if at all. Not to mention that wasn't even my case, so." Claire said, raising a brow. "'Watch?' You'd probably beg to participate, you sick fuck." Her tone was almost laughing, as if taunting "Because that's the only way you'd ever get it." She watched with piqued interest as Clark slammed the stone down between his cousin's legs. Why hadn't she thought of that first?

"Oh, I'm sure." Without warning, Claire gripped another fingernail in the pliers. She didn't bother to use the tool to prepare that time, just the pliers and sheer force to rip it straight off. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say these were recently manicured nails, Greg." She inspected the bloody nail before flicking it at the man's forehead and going in for another one. Out of the corner of her eye, Claire glanced at the door as Clark left, but made no move to go out after him. That talk could wait until later.

"I want names of those involved, from the FBI to the highest government officials." She growled, pulling another nail. It was arguable which names she wanted more though: those of the corrupt officials or those agents who betrayed one of their own and everything they stood for. Not that it mattered either way, since they would all see the same end of life in prison. Well, most of them would. If some died along the way, there was no loss on the world's part. The less scum, the better.

Those other seven nails went quickly; and however unfortunate, Claire didn't plan on actually touching the man's toes. She stood from her make-shift seat and pulled a cigarette from her pocket, lighting it and taking a drag. She walked around the room a bit, picking up the old paper she had crumpled and tossed, then settled on the edge of the table next to Greg. With her lighter, she lit it on fire. Then, she dropped it on his lap.

"Oops."

 

[MST3K 4ever]

As the interrogation seemed to reach a pause Greg looked at Claire. He had howled like a wolf during the nail-pulling sessions, but after the forth nail his hands seemed to numb from pain. Greg knew that his days of playing racquetball with the guys at the club were gonna take a hit for a few weeks, and that seemed to upset more than anything else. Greg said, "I give you the names and then what Claire? You and Clark go busting in and take them all out." Greg started to laugh as he said, "Gimme a fuckin' break Claire! You have no fuckin' clue with who you're dealing with! None!" Greg shook his head and said, "They're insulated against that sort of thing Claire. Face it, you and Clark are yipping dogs going after tanks. Hope you both enjoy getting crushed by them."

Greg rolled his head back and said, "Since you've done all this work Claire I'll give you a bone…." He smirked and said, "Not the kind I'd really wanna give you but meh maybe sometime down the road when you're in some village outside of Ho-Chi-Mihn sweating and begging for a fix you'll see me there. By then you'll be too stoned to remember me but anyway. Ask yourself this question Claire; the defense contracts are a way into seeing what The Trust, that's what they call themselves, you know those rumors about The Illuminati and Secret Groups The Trust is the overseeing organization of them all." Greg smirked and said, "See you and Clark are in way over your heads, but anyway those contracts are your pass into seeing what they are all about. Follow them and you will see everything. By the way Clark is right Kramer would be a person of great interest to you all. Despite the fact he's a low-level flunkie he might be able to help you. Too bad though because in a matter of moments it won't matter." Greg glanced down at his shoes and said, "Clark should've taken them when he had the chance. That's right Hot Bod they've tracked you all down. It's only a matter of seconds now."

Outside Clark walked for what felt miles. He wasn't sure where he was going or what he was doing, but Clark felt like he had destroyed Claire's life. He felt, even if Claire didn't, like there really was no way to win. Clark sat on a rock formation and just closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt a piece of cold steel against his temple. Clark opened his eyes and saw at least a dozen laser sights on his chest. He looked up and saw several people in black-ops gear pointing their weapons at him.

Someone said through a voice distorter, "Echo-1 this is Black Rose package secured."

A voice on the other end said, "Bring him in alive. Hercules will eliminate the others."

Clark said, "Oh no! CLAIR……" the next thing Clark felt was a rifle butt across his jaw. Just before he collapsed Clark heard a high-pitched sound, like a firework being set off and then a few seconds later the gas station was a pile of glowing splinters and brick.

Clark shook and fell to the ground devastated. He started to weep as he said, "God Claire I am so sorry. What have I done?" One of the soldiers said, "I can't stand crying," and hit Clark upside the head rendering him unconscious. One of them said, "All right let's take him to the outpost. The Doctor is waiting to interrogate him. Send a couple over to the gas station to verify the other two are dead and then meet us back at Rosebud 3."

The soldiers dragged Clark into an SUV, and another one with two other soldiers headed off to the station.

 

[Ashi]

"Damn straight," Claire said around her cigarette, blowing a puff of smoke in Greg's face. The way he laughed like he was all high and mighty, like was stronger than she, it pissed her off. There was nothing Claire would like more than to beat Greg within an inch of his life, but there was something holding her back. It didn't seem right somehow, since Greg was Clark's cousin; even if he did sell him out. It felt to her like that was Clark's decision to make. He was the real victim in all of this or so Claire thought; she sure didn't consider herself to be one. That being the case, of course she intended to go in with guns blazing and take out all these crooks.

"Ugh! Sick fuck!" Claire sneered at Greg's comment in disgust. "How about I break your bones?" With a swing of her arm, she laid a back-handed slap across his smug face, whether he meant his bone or not. There wasn't a person she could name that she hated more in that moment than him aside from, perhaps, Kramer. She was considering stringing him up and using him for a punching bag when he said something that caught her off guard. "They've tracked you all down." If for a moment, there was a glimpse of very real fear in her eyes as she raced for the door and threw it open. Clark, whom Claire thought was just outside, was nowhere to be found.

"Fuck!" The brunette spat angrily. No, angry didn't even begin to describe the rage welling up inside her. Going over to the car, she grabbed her other gun, some extra ammo, and a flashlight; then, without word to Greg, she stormed out the door. "Dammit, Clark! Why would you wander off!? WHY?" Claire grumbled, flashlight trained on the ground in front of her. There were distinct footprints in the dirt, a damn near perfect trail. She took off in a sprint in the direction they headed, swearing to herself that she was going to hit him upside the head for his thoughtlessness.

There came a sound from behind, something similar to the scream of fireworks. Claire skidded to a stop and whirled around in time to see the gas station burst into flames. The force of the blast was immense; Claire hardly had time to dive into the brush to avoid the wave of heat, bricks, and shards of glass that accompanied it. The trees shielded her from the blast at the expense of some catching fire. Shaking, she stood, watching with horror as the flames roared and black smoke billowed overhead. The car, all of their supplies - it was all gone. So was Greg, not that his was a significant loss.

If not for the golden glow of the fire, Claire would have been white as milk. She had been so close to being engulfed in those flames, so close to blowing up. It made her feel dizzy, not to mention the ringing in her ears from the explosion. If not for the fire also, Claire would have been completely in the dark, as the flashlight had busted when she dropped it in her haste. She also wouldn't have been able to see the black SUV approaching, since she couldn't quite hear it and its headlights were dim.

Claire had just the presence of mind to duck behind a tree as the vehicle got closer, waiting until it had passed to look out. Two people in all black got out, guns at the ready, and approached the burning building. They didn't get too close on account of the fire, but scanned the area around it, presumably for her. "Making sure I'm dead, no doubt." She glowered, thinking, "They've undoubtedly got Clark. Question is where?" As stealthily as she could, Claire made her way towards the back of the vehicle. It was just light enough that she could see through the tinted windows to the empty trunk and seats. They didn't have Clark, but someone did.

"What to do?" She wondered, wracking her brain for ideas. Trying to get into the car wasn't a good idea. They might hear it; and even if they didn't, there was no guarantee that she could or would stay hidden within the vehicle long enough to make it to Clark. What if they didn't even go to the same location or parked the car somewhere else? In that case, there was only one thing she could do. Claire snuck back into the first fringe of the trees, making a beeline towards the two. Picking up a rock, she threw it farther into the trees a little to her left. It must have stirred an animal, for there was a mess of leaves rustling and twigs snapping. Whatever the case, it was enough to get the twos' attention. The two appeared to converse a moment before one of them started into the trees, gun raised, prepared to shoot.

Claire removed her belt and waited until the target just passed her before she looped it around his neck. There was a struggle; although, after a minute the person became still. Lowering him to the ground, Claire placed her fingers to his neck, making sure there was no pulse before she started to strip off the black clothing and put it on. She tossed her belt beside the body.

"Find anything?" The other's distorted voice came over the radio. There was a moment of silence before it came again, clearly wondering why there was no answer. With a glance towards the road, Claire could see the other moving into the trees. She hastily pulled the helmet on and picked up the weapon, making sure hers were tucked away. "Negative." She said over the radio, voice disguised by the distorter. The other person, still within sight, stopped and lowered his gun. "Let's head out," was the reply. Claire emerged from the woods as the other started for the SUV. It started just as she got in on the passenger side. They made a U-turn and started down the road.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

The room was blinding as Clark was emerging from his unconscious stupor. It was perfectly white room, the floors, the florescent lights, and the futon was white as well. Clark tried to stand up but discovered himself strapped down to it. The walls were white tinted glass, but there were some that just looked somewhat out of place. Clark was guessing that there were cameras and listening devices behind them. He said looking around, "Hello? Hello? The white in here is clashing with my black t-shirt and blue jeans."

Just then a door opened and a figure dressed in what almost looked to be in hospital scrubs approached Clark and took his pulse. Clark said, "Excuse me? Can you tell me where I am? Although I think it's safe to say this probably isn't Miami." The person made no indication that he heard Clark as he stood up and said into a Bluetooth, "Pulse is steady and at acceptable rate send The Black Rose in to meet the package." The person walked away as Clark said, "Thanks for stopping by maybe later on I'll let you take my temperature." Clark shook his head and began to feel slightly nervous as he wondered who or what The Black Rose was.

The door opened and in walked a gentleman wearing a black suit with a white shirt, a black tie, and sunglasses. Walking into the room slightly behind him was a woman wearing a black and red pants suit Clark had blink twice. He couldn't believe what he was seeing as the man stopped a few feet away from the bed. Sitting next to him was Vice President Susan Kilmont. She smiled and said, "Hello there Clark. I am guessing you know who I am."

Clark merely nodded as Susan said, "Excellent that bypasses the awkward introduction phase. I am also guessing that you have thousands of questions as well."

Clark asked, "What am I doing here? And what's going on?"

Susan replied, "Fair basic questions that I am willing to answer. You are here because we want to see what exactly you know concerning the files you came across, and in terms of what's going on? What's going on Clark is the world moving into synchronicity as we see fit."

Clark asked, "Who's we?"

Susan replied, "Another good question. You really are as intelligent as your profile indicates you are. Clark I am involved with an organization called The Trust. We have a strong influence over certain worldwide events and are trying to shape the world into a more cohesive form and unite it under our banner. Think of it, no more wars or inequality or any of the things that are currently holding humanity from being a more unified aspect of life."

Clark thought for a moment and then he felt his pulse quicken somewhat as he began to realize what Susan was talking about. He said, "The New World Order or the Illuminati some kind of secret society."

Susan shrugged a bit and said, "Somewhat surprisingly simplistic coming from you Clark, but acceptable for now. You see Clark those organizations do exist however we oversee them all. They are more allies and associates of ours and the files you discovered were actually intended for you to find."

Clark was puzzled as Susan stood up and began to pace in front of the bed. She said, "From time to time it is necessary for us to replenish our ranks. We were looking for someone to join us. Someone with your skills and ingenuity would be a major asset to us. Now the files were slipped into the core processor of the Haddon Industries systems. Oh by the way, Mr. Haddon is one of us as well he spoke very highly of you as well. Anyway, we were testing you and you passed with flying colors." Susan shook her head as she said, "Your mind is such a beautiful gift Clark. The possibilities of what you can do for us are just staggering." Susan stopped pacing and said, "You graduated College at the age of 19 and were recruited by the CIA and turned them down. You've been on my radar for some time considering I was with them at the time as an advisor, and I must say you're even more impressive now then you were back then. I mean Clark those files you saw it took our techs weeks to come up with them and you cracked them in seconds, and that virus you created…" Susan nodded very slowly and said, "Equally impressive it took all of our techs and other techs from other allied organizations working around the clock 24-7 but we finally cracked your code. The date of the first 'Star Trek' episode along with the Enterprise's serial number very clever."

Clark's mind was reeling as he couldn't believe what he was hearing, and not only that it was coming from the Vice President. He closed his eyes for a few seconds to regain his focus. Clark opened them again and said, "All those people killed at the safe house, the others, and my cousin. All this to get to me? You all are psychotic."

Susan said, "One's psychosis is another's genius. Causalities of war, and your cousin was a boorish snake in the grass. How you let him live this long is beyond me. Luckily we already have his untimely demise already planned out and by midnight it'll all be done." Susan looked away and then said with a smile, "Oh, I did notice you left out one name in particular."

Susan walked around behind Clark said in a sing-song voice into his right ear, "Claire. That's right Clark we know all about the late Agent Claire Bennett, and that you were head over heels for her. I noticed how you didn't refer to her in the past tense because that would mean you having to acknowledge her death. I admit she was quite formidable and bright and I even saw some of my qualities in her she was very impressive. But she has the sense of duty and honor that would eventually put her at odds with us so…" She shrugged her shoulders and then said, "Hail and farewell to Agent Claire Bennett. Sorry you won't be able to have any little Clarks and Claires with her. Cest l'vie Clark. We are in process of planning out how she met her demise, and as a special favor to you we are making it heroic and in the line of duty, so you're welcome for that."

Clark's jaw locked and he tried to surge forward but couldn't as Susan sat back down on the edge of the futon. Susan touched the top of Clark's hand gently and he tried to pull it away but he couldn't. She said in a very matter of fact tone, "Clark listen to me. To Claire, you were truly just another assignment she was not going to be with you romantically ever." Looking deep into Clark's eyes Susan said with great focus, "We mustn't compare ourselves to normal people. We aren't like them they don't understand that we are the select ones and they are made to serve us and our needs. Carrie Sanderson the one you were previously engaged to, she too…" Susan shook her head and said, "Not one of us. You are far better off without them. Although, had I known how much Claire truly meant to you I might've allowed her to live."

Clark just looked at Susan and asked, "Why? So you could use her to get me to do whatever you wanted me to do? Emotional manipulation?"

Susan returned Clark's look and replied, "For someone who is at times so socially awkward and naïve you learn very quickly. Sadly, now though I am just going to have to rely on you joining us because you have no other options."

Clark bowed his head in defeat and closed his eyes. Susan was right Clark had no other options. Claire was gone, his cousin was, soon his family would believe he was dead because after what Susan told him no way was he ever going to see daylight again, and many others died for this as well. He had nothing left in this world, and in most cases that should've scared Clark but instead it made him angry. He felt a seething rage festering in him like he had never known. Clark opened his eyes and spat in Susan's face. He said, "Go to Hell Bitch! And take the other psycho rejects with you! What you say about Claire not ever being mine romantically is probably true, but if I join you all I dishonor what she stood for as a person." Clark shook his head and said, "I'll be damned if I'm gonna let that happen. So go ahead and kill me, but know this if you all don't pay for your sins here you will pay for them at the gates of Hell."

Susan pulled out a cloth and wiped her face off. She blinked twice and said, "Religion Clark? You actually believe in that too? You really are hopelessly naïve." Susan walked over and spoke to the man for a few seconds. She stood in front of the futon and said, "I've just been informed that a gentleman by the name of the Doctor has arrived. I sadly had a feeling you would be less than cooperative, so I'm afraid you like anyone else who tries to resist us must be dealt with."

Clark looked at her for a moment and she said, "Oh perhaps you heard of one of our more famous dealings. Dallas November 22, 1963 ring any bells? Yes, JFK was young and an idealist but he also thought about others before himself and certainly not of our needs so he had to be removed for someone more agreeable to us. Anyway, in about ten minutes the Doctor will be in here to pick your mind using a unique cocktail."

Clark asked, "Truth serum?"

Susan shook her head and said, "One too many spy movies I see. No we use Curare with a Psychedelic Compound. You will tell us anything we wanna know and you won't even realize you're doing it, but sadly there is one major side effect."

Clark asked, "And that is?"

Susan sighed and shook her head as she said, "Permanent brain damage. Once your synapses begin to break down we'll cast you out into the desert and let the vultures have at you. Fortunately, you won't know what's going on so I imagine that your suffering will be brief. Besides, I'm running on being a friend to animals rights groups for the election so you will be helping me in that sense." She shook her head and said, "Oh how I wish you would reconsider your position. I would hate to see your beautiful mind destroyed."

Clark said, "Fuck off! I'd rather be dead."

Susan replied, "I aim to please." As she turned to leave she said to the man, "Wait for about 10 minutes then bring in the doctor." Susan looked at her watch and said, "It's 21:30 right now by 01:00 I want this place turned into a parking lot."

As the door closed Clark bowed his head and began to recite the Lord's Prayer to himself.

 

[Ashi]

The ride to wherever it was exactly they were going was long and dark, consisting mostly of back and country roads. If there were any street signs, either Claire couldn't see them in the blur that was the darkness outside the vehicle or she simply didn't notice in her deep thought. Much to the misfortune and without the knowledge of the person in the driver's seat, Claire was working to concoct a plan. Her killing the man whose clothes she stole had been an on-the-fly decision, something her intuition as an agent told her to do. She tried not to think about the man's death, the fact that she murdered someone in cold blood even if for a reason she thought to be just was against everything she stood for. Deep down, she questioned whether or not she could still call herself an agent; however, she didn't focus on this for too long. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Claire's attention was pulled away from her racing thoughts by a glimpse of lights in the closing distance. Surrounded by a tall chain-link fence adorned with barbed wire was a building. It reminded Claire of her childhood imaginings of what Area 51 looked like, minus the desert and rocket-launcher-equipped armed sentries. The SUV rolled to a stop at the gate and the gunman rolled the window down to speak to the gunman who approached it. Claire didn't hear a word of what they said; she was too busy gawking at the sight that lay before her. The many black-outfitted soldiers with enough firepower to each be a one-man army, the selection of black armored vehicles. It was like something pulled straight from a movie like James Bond.

The gate slid back, allowing the SUV to pass through before closing again with a jingle of the metal. Claire followed the other gun as he got out and headed towards the building. None of the many others seemed to notice her, that anything was wrong or different. It was almost comforting to know that she at least blended in well enough. The man slid a key card at the door, followed by a beep and a click signaling that it was open. The inside of the place was a science-fiction-lover's dream, from the sterile white walls and ceiling and floors to the eerie, almost blue glow of the fluorescent lights. Clearly there wasn't much thought put into decorating the place. It was reminiscent of a hospital, not withstanding the few people who wore scrubs.

"Wait, what do they need doctors here for? Or nurses?" Claire furrowed her brows behind the visor, watching them closely until they had passed by. She steadily slowed her pace, trying to catch some of what they were saying. "The Doctor?" Who was that? The name sounded sinister, likely some crazy quack who specialized in torturing people rather than helping them like an actual doctor. Claire stopped in time to prevent herself from walking into the person she'd been following, who had met up with another few dressed like them in the hallway.

"Station secured?" One asked, to which the other nodded. "Affirmative. There were no signs either of them survived the explosion." Claire clenched her jaw, hands tightening on the rifle in her hands. Without a doubt they meant her; and without a doubt, these people had been there too. "They must have taken Clark." She waited until the group dispersed to move again, this time sneaking away in the direction the others had come from. Perhaps Clark was there somewhere.

It took a considerable amount of effort not to freeze up and just start shooting every body she came across in a panic. "It's okay. You're okay. Nobody knows it's you. Find Clark first, freak out later." Claire told herself, repeating the words like a mantra. She tried following the conversations taking place around her, though not many indicated an exact location as to where Clark was. Mention of this doctor kept popping up and someone they referred to as the Black Rose. "The leader, no doubt a woman," the agent rationalized. Nothing so regal and symbolic as a rose would be given to anyone of lesser influence than the leader, especially if that leader was a man. It was like the cliche: Every rose has its thorns. Claire decided at that point that she no longer liked roses.

"Damn it! Where is he?" Claire groused. She peeked in every window of every door she passed, turning corner after corner and searching corridor after corridor as inconspicuously as she could. Every now and again, she would get a strange look from passersby, quite obviously from the way they would pause to watch her. "God! How much time have I wasted? Maybe I should just shoot someone and make them tell me!" Her aggravation and aggression were on the rise, the more it seemed like she was getting farther away from her goal, the more she wanted to empty her magazine.

"By... I want this place... a parking lot." There came a voice and brisk footsteps from down the hall. It was a strangely familiar voice and it niggled at Claire's memory. There was a vague face in her mind and a name on the tip of her tongue, if only she could place it. As Claire neared the next corner, the footsteps got closer. Then there was visible an arm and a leg, and a red and black pant suit. It was made clear why the voice sounded so familiar; it was because Claire had heard it many times on television. It was the voice of the Vice President, the woman not but mere feet away.

"So, it goes that high up the food chain.." Dismay clutched at Claire's heart. The situation went much deeper than she ever dared to imagine. Was this the kind of people she was serving in the FBI? What good was justice if the system was broken? Perhaps she truly was in over her head. "Nonsense. You're going to get Clark and get the hell out of here. Then you're going to put a bullet in that traitorous bitch's head." Resolve strengthened, Claire pressed on. Once again she peered in windows and doorways. Up ahead there was a guard lingering outside a door. "That must be it."

"I'm here to relieve you of duty." Claire said, voice distorted. The guard didn't say anything at first; Claire could tell she was getting a weird look. "It's not time to change shifts." The guard opposed. "Oh, my bad." She said, pulling her still-silenced pistol from its hiding place amongst the gear she wore and firing point-blank at the guard's throat. Ignoring his gurgling and choking, Claire stole his key card and swiped it at the door. She opened it then dragged the drowning guard into the room. "Time to go." Claire barked, hastily unfastening the restraints. "Put on his vest and helmet, quickly." She pointed at the guard's gear and briefly took a look outside to make sure the coast was clear. "Hurry, we don't have much time. We need to go." Claire hardly waited for Clark to get the stuff on before she herded him out the door, gripping his arm and pulling him close behind her.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Clark was in the midst of his 20th​ reciting of The Lord's Prayer with his eyes closed when he heard the door open. Clark's heart and pulse rate went from rapid to almost non-existent he began to wonder which of his bodily functions would start to go first. He was hoping it was his ability to speak, because if that happened then the interrogation would stop sooner and Clark would be put outside a lot sooner. Clark promised himself he would hold onto one feeling and one image as long as he could. The feeling of Claire's lips pressed against his, and the flirting smile she would give him every so often. If nothing else he would have one last good feeling to hold onto for as long as he could. Just then he heard through a voice distorter, "Time to go" as the restraints loosened up and fell away. Clark's eyes popped open as he saw a guard on the floor with a hole in his throat. Even through the distorter Clark knew what was happening, but he couldn't believe it. Claire was here! She was not only getting him out of here, but she was still alive! Clark felt a couple of tears fall and a smile cross his lips. There was no doubt many other obstacles in their way, but at this moment certain death had become just become a fighting chance to live.

Clark shook his head twice to try and clear his mind of what was going on. He quickly got on the guard's gear and was being pulled behind Claire. He said as they moved down the hallways, "I've got so much to tell you about Claire. This group called The Trust they are behind everything and Vice President Kilmont is…" Claire popped him in the chest as if to say "Shut up!" She just looked at him and Clark said, "Oh right you already probably know about this stuff, and we can compare notes later right." Claire slowly shook her head and Clark said, "We can't exactly just walk out the front door, and any minute now they're gonna know that…" Just then the alarms began blaring and Clark said, "You know I really need to learn when to shut up." Clark looked over to a nearby door and said, "Might as well can't hurt."

Clark used a passkey and pulled Claire into the room. He looked around at the monitors and the computers. Clark said, "This must be one of the security rooms. I think I got an idea keep an eye on the door. Anyone comes in here do what you do best." Clark began typing on the keyboards and going through various files as fast as he could. Clark studied their protocols and several of the charts concerning the facility. Clark said, "This place used to belong to the military. They used it for testing Nuclear Warheads and other activities that we really don't wanna know about." Clark was in his element behind a keyboard with a monitor. It was like Michelangelo with a set of paints or Jimi Hendrix with a guitar and Clark actually felt himself slightly smile. He said while he typed, "In case I haven't said it already. I am so glad to see you again Claire. Thanks for coming to get me." Clark was done typing and said, "Okay the security systems are about to go offline in about thirty seconds." He bolted over to nearby locker and grabbed two gasmasks. Clark gave one to Claire and took one for himself as he took off his helmet and put it on. He said, "I activated a security protocol and in about…" Just then the room began to fill up with gas and Clark said, "Now. This is a sleeping agent used in case of hostile invasion and they get over run. Everyone will be out for about ten minutes that should give us time to get out of here, and I have an idea about that too."

Clark opened the door and there were several agents sound asleep in the hallways. He said, "Hopefully the sleeping agent also affected those in the rooms too. Come on I got a plan I really do." Clark was somewhat excited that he not only had a semi-plausible escape plan, but that Claire was with him. He led them down several hallways to a large door. He pulled out a card and said, "Okay this may not be the best idea in the history of the world, but if it works we'll have a healthy head start. We can't take any of their vehicles because I'll bet they have tracking devices and all that crap. Speaking of crap…" Clark used the security card and opened the door. He led Claire inside and stopped at a control panel. Clark opened up the panel and pulled several of the wires out. Clark said, "They ain't following us in here right away." Clark walked over to the drain cover and said, "We go out through the sewer system. The tunnels are lined with lead which should cover our body heat signatures, the smells will cover our smells, and if they come looking for us we'll hear them coming. If we do this right, we'll come out at the nearby reservoir and we can go from there."

Clark pulled off the cover and said, "If we pull this off I promise…" He looked at Claire and said, "You can have the shower first." Clark smiled through the mask and jumped down the hole. Once he knew Claire was with him Clark covered the hole and pulled out a flashlight. He cut on the light and said, "Okay time to get going if my guess is right they should be waking up any minute now, and with the way they got things wired in this place it won't take them long to find us." Clark was trying to remember the maps that he studied and there were moments that he doubted himself. Until he heard the sound of rushing water. Clark said, "That's got to be the reservoir run off." They followed the sound and eventually they found themselves standing at the opening of the reservoir. Clark stood there for a moment and said, "Wow, it didn't look this far down on paper." He looked at Claire and said, "I guess it's too late to go back and escape through the front door. I hate heights and…" Then Clark saw a red dot appear in the middle of Claire's forehead he pulled her down as bullet hit inside the tunnel. Clark said holding onto her, "They won't shoot at you and run the risk of hitting me too." Clark closed his eyes and said, "Only one way out." He opened his eyes and said, "If this doesn't work the bright side is we'll be free from them, and Claire meeting you is one of the best things to ever happen to me." Clark took a deep breath and said, "One, two…" and with that Clark jumped into the water below holding onto Claire

 

[Ashi]

"Clark!" Claire exclaimed, her exasperated tone clear even through the voice distorter. Despite the small gestures to tell him to be quiet, he kept talking. Then as if on cue, the alarm started blaring over their heads. She shook her head again in sheer astonishment, frustrated with their seeming bad luck in such cases. The frustration eased though when Clark pulled her into the nearby room. There were monitors all over, each flashing different sections of the building, along with computers. It was a security monitoring room.

"Holy.." Claire's voice trailed off at the sight before her. She was taken aback. It truly was like a spy movie. She nodded with hardly the presence of mind to actually watch the door, but turned to do so. It didn't surprise her when Clark said that the place was used by the military; actually, it made perfect sense. It wasn't very comforting to hear the words "nuclear warheads" though. "Don't thank me.. not yet." Claire said with a glance over her shoulder. Clark looked like he was in the zone behind those computers and it made Claire smile a little. Briefly removing the helmet, she donned the gas mask handed to her.

"They really went all out to protect this place." She said, the amazement returning as the gas poured through the vents. "Good, at least one of us does." She followed Clark out and to another room. This one was much simpler than the other. It seemed almost like just extra space that they put a door on. If at any other moment someone told Claire she'd have to go into the sewer, she might have been repulsed; however, she had to admit that Clark's idea of escaping through the sewer was genius. He made it sound like he hadn't just thought of it, but had a lot of time to plan it out. Claire made sure Clark got down before she started and pulled the drain cover shut behind her if just to give them a few extra seconds.

"I will hold you to that, I hope you know." Claire remarked. She sure would need a shower after all this and nothing would keep her from getting one. The feeling of the water filling her boots and the sloshing as she walked made her cringe. She nearly gagged at the smell. Following the sounds of the water, they soon came to the outlet of the reservoir. The water rushed around their legs and plunged into the water below. "It's only, what? Fifty feet tops? Though I doubt it's more than thirty. Besides, we'll be landing in more water. You'll be fine." Claire shrugged at the height, ready to jump. She shrieked when Clark pulled her down; although she wasn't aggravated and she didn't shove him away like the first time at the motel.

"Stop talking like you're saying 'good-bye.'" She scolded lightly, putting the rifle sling around herself. She held onto Clark and took a breath. "Three." They met the churning water in a matter of seconds, tumbling round in a flurry of bubbles. Claire tore the mask and helmet off and surfaced only long enough to take another breath. She swam under water, one hand holding onto Clark. After a couple more breaths, they surfaced at the far side of the reservoir. Claire clambered onto the grass, gasping and pushing her wet hair from her face. She was soon on her feet, heading for the trees, as there wasn't time for them to linger. They had to get out of the open. The dark woods was the perfect hiding place.

"I'm not sure how far from civilization we are, but we need to move and keep moving. We got to get as far away from here as possible. If we can get to a road, maybe we can hitchhike." Claire said, still breathing hard. She had stripped off a little of the gear as she walked, to lighten the heavy load that came with wet clothes. She kept the backpack and the vest and the black clothing. The gear would help and the black would keep her hidden. "I know a place we can go. I'd planned on us going there anyhow. But it's not a well-known place, so no one should be able to find us there." Claire spoke softly now and quieted her breathing. She tried to take careful but quick steps, so as not to make too much noise if they were being followed.

"Oh, and I almost forgot: Don't you EVER wander off on me like that again."

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Once they were out of the water Clark knelt down on all fours. His body was telling him that it had enough, but the adrenaline rush was keeping him going and the fact that once again insane dumb luck had saved them. He knew that Claire was right in that they had to get out of there the water would mask their body temps along with the uniforms, and the smell of the sewer would make dogs useless against them. However, they still almost managed to catch them even though they had escaped through one of the last places in the world. Clark stood up and said, "On the whole that went better than I thought it would." He looked at Claire and said, "We're still alive to be honest I thought for sure…" Clark shook his head and said, "Forget it."

After Claire said she knew of a place where to go Clark replied, "Considering where we just came from I'm willing to go there. As long as it doesn't involve someone named 'The Doctor', who on the orders of the Vice President, is preparing to inject me with Curare with a Psychedelic Compound designed to make me talk. She said it was more reliable than Truth Serum." He lowered his voice like an announcer and said, "Side effect did include permanent brain damage." Returning his voice to normal Clark said, "If not for you right now I'm a drooling vegetable in the desert getting picked clean by the vultures. That also leads me to a question of how in the Hell does the Vice President know about that drug? She really is bat-shit crazy Claire."

Claire rebuking him for his running off as angrily as she did kind of surprised Clark. He didn't know that she would be that upset with him. He replied, "You're right I shouldn't have wondered off like that Claire." Clark felt as though a great weight was on his shoulders suddenly and he wanted it off of him. He sat on a tree stump for a moment to catch his breath. Clark said, "You see Claire a lot of times in my life I have been the cause of unintentional damage. At some point I have hurt someone very close to me whether it was through thoughtlessness or accident Greg kinda hinted at it." He looked down on the ground and said, "You've been through so much already because of me. Your career, your personal life is about to be changed forever and who knows what that will look like, and then Greg talking about what was going to happen to you if they caught you." Clark looked up at Claire and said, "I couldn't stand the thought that could happen to you Claire. I know you're an FBI Agent and you're damn good at what you do, but even the prospect of that happening to you because of me…" Clark looked away shaking his head and said, "I felt so much pain and guilt for all of it. I thought maybe you'd be better off without me. That if they found me alone that I might be able to cut a deal to save you." He looked back to Claire and said, "Shows you how fucking stupid and naïve I was to even think that now. Seeing anything happen to you is more than I could take Claire. I give a damn what happens to you Claire because yes I'm in love with you, but I'm not naïve enough to believe you feel the same towards me. Everyone is right Claire take a look at you and then at me Claire, and look at our personalities Claire." He shook his head and said, "You're so far out of my league. Sadly though, Kilmont knows how I feel about you as well because while she was talking to me she realized that if you were alive she could use you for emotional manipulation to get me to do whatever they want. For the record though she did say that she actually is impressed with you in a lot of ways. Take that for what it's worth."

Clark felt the burden lifted off him and he stood up. He said, "I told you all that because when one is looking at the prospect of having their life destroyed it makes them see things differently. Makes them wonder what matters and what doesn't, and that if they have another chance at life they need to take it." He let out an exhale and said, "Okay now that you've experienced my babbling on for the one-thousandth time since you've known me I think we should move on to wherever your hiding place is." Clark pulled out his wallet and the wallet in the uniform. He said, "I have almost 1,500 in cash so I suggest we make it count as much as possible. If we get out of this area we won't have to worry too much about them for at least 48 hours. While I was on their system I had some fun with their files. It's gonna take them a bit before they're back up and running. I suggest we make use of that time."