DISCLAIMER!!!! Not mine, don't sue me. Jan. & Feb. are mine, don't use 'em. Read the story and have fun.

Casting Shadows ch 4

January stood up in her little red convertible, pulling her sunglasses off her face. This was not how she'd left the house this morning.

"Stop the car, Eddie. Pull it around there, I'll meet you back here in half an hour." She jumped out, walked across the drive between the police cars with their flashing lights and the men and women racing around. Slowly she walked to the door of the house, peering in. Dr. Quest and Race Bannon stood talking to an inspector. Someone rushed by her, almost knocking her over. She turned and took a hold of the woman's arm, stopping her.

"What happened here?"

"Three kids were taken forcefully. Two boys and a girl. Did you see anything?"

"No . . . I just came here to pick them up. We were going to go to the movies . . . ." She trailed off, looking absently into the distance.

"Sorry kid. They're not here." The cop turned and walked off as January snapped out of her stupor and started to ask what they knew. She stopped. She needed her questions answered, and the cops wouldn't do it.

Turning she walked back to the house, determined to find either Race or Dr. Quest. She slid into the building, afraid of being told to leave, and stayed close to the walls. She made her way to the couch, across the room from where the two men stood. She was careful not to attract any attention to herself, stopping when she would have had to step around the couch and into a policeman. She looked around, and saw a slip of white paper stuck between the cushions of the couch. Glancing around she saw no one looking at her, so she moved to pull it out.

Race wasn't sure why he followed her around the room with his eyes. She was very pretty, although good at not attracting attention. That in itself was amazing. But he was sure that wasn't why he watched her. When she pulled the small piece of paper from the couch he watched closer, and saw when her face went white and she started to tremble. She turned and left the room, and Race excused himself to follow her.

"I think we need to talk." He said as he walked up behind her, taking her elbow and leading her around the corner of the house. He pushed her back against the wall, keeping her there between his rather large body and the plaster. "What haven't you told us, girl?"

January looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"What was that thing you pulled from the couch?"

"Is that what this is about?! Sorry, I shouldn't have taken it. I'm really sorry." She hung her head and pulled it out of her pocket, handing it to him. Race opened it and looked at the single letter printed there, X.

"What's this mean?"

January shrugged.

Race stuck his face in hers, growling at her. "What. Does. This. Mean."

January shook her head, shrugging her shoulders.

"Look, this is about Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji's lives. This isn't a game. What haven't you told us?"

January bit her lip and shuffled her feet. Finally she spoke. "Not here. I'll tell you, but not here."

Race took her arm and led her back into the house, where he hailed Benton and told him that they needed to leave.

Recognizing his friends' tone of voice Benton excused himself and they made a hasty retreat.

"What's going on Race? Any news?" Benton asked as they walked father away from the crime scene.

"Maybe." He stopped January on the grassy area in front of the cliff. "Spill it, Fiztgerald."

January took a deep breath and looked out over the cliff. "Eight months ago a man broke into our house. He--" She stopped, took another breath, forced back the tears, and kept going. "He killed my mother and father and took my sister and I to a . . . I don't know. Lab, I guess. They did tests and things on us, trying to make us more than human." She stopped, facing away from them. Brushing away tears she started again. "They needed people with a certain link to their sub-conscious or something like that, and February and I had it, because of the fact that we were identical twins, and shared a telepathic link."

"A what?" Race asked, interrupting.

She turned. "A telepathic link. I could hear her thoughts, she could hear mine. It's like having another person in your head all the time. Anyway, they started doing these things, trying to make the perfect weapon. After implanting our bodies with . . . things . . . they erased our memories, and implanted new ones so that we'd work for them without question. But one of the things they'd opened in my mind was a sort of healing factor."

Race stopped her again, unsure about what he was hearing. "What's a healing factor do?" He asked.

January turned and looked at them. "Got a pocket knife?"

He nodded and pulled one out, handing it to her. Carefully she pulled out the blade, then quickly sliced her arm before either man could stop her. It healed almost instantly. She smiled bitterly. "That's a healing factor. It broke down the implants in my brain, bringing back my memories. My real ones. I used my telepathic link with Feb to break her loose of them too, and then we tried to escape." She turned away again, sitting down on the cliff. "They shot her. Almost drove me mad when she died. The sudden silence was overwhelming. I got out, and they've been looking for me since."

"What's the X?" Race asked, pocketing his knife.

"They called us their "weapon X". It's a sign that they know I'm here, and they'll keep J, J, and H until I turn myself in." She stood quickly, turning to look at them with fire in her eyes. "I won't. I can try to get them back, but don't you dare try to turn me in. They'll do the same thing to your kids as they did to me."

"Relax, January. We won't turn you in. But I want the kids back." Race warned.

She nodded. "I'll get them."

***

Jessie woke up first, her head throbbing. She looked around, trying to figure out where they were. Jonny and Hadji lay beside her, thrown down in a heap on the concrete floor. They were in a cell about twelve by twelve feet in a long line of cells. One side was a wall, two other sides joined more cells, and the last side opened into a large room filled with, what looked like, giant test tubes and massive computers.

Jonny moaned. She put a hand on his chest, adding just enough pressure to keep him from sitting up.

A man walked by, engrossed in a file he was reading, and called to another out of sight. Dressed in blue jeans and a lab coat another man came up, and they spoke quietly about whatever papers they were looking at. This all seemed so official.

"What's going on?" Jonny said quietly. Jessie shook her head.

"You're awake. Mind telling us where January Fiztgerald is hiding?" The second man looked at them and said. The first one wandered off.

"Why are you holding us here?!" Jessie demanded, her temper flaring.

He smiled. "Take it easy girl. It doesn't matter. We know where she is now." He turned and walked away, going to a computer.

"Jerk."

Jonny started to laugh.

Jessie glared at him.

"Sorry. But you're the only person I know who would be mad in a situation like this."

Jessie glared at him harder.

Jonny just shrugged and sat up. "What do they want January for?"

"I dunno. But it's weird. I mean, they said she was armed and dangerous."

"I don't think so." Jonny scoffed.

"I think someone has been tap-dancing on my head." Hadji moaned.

"Yeah, mine too Hadj."

Hadji sat up slowly, rubbing his arm. It still felt cold. "Where are we?"

"A laboratory," Jessie said.

"We were abducted and taken to a laboratory?!" Jonny couldn't believe this. It wasn't exactly like normal robbers to take people to labs. Then again, those hadn't been normal robbers. "HEY!" Jonny stood up, walking to the cell door. Holding on to the bars and trying to shake them he shouted, "LET US OUT!"

No one looked their way.

"It's like they're all robots." Jonny blinked, looking at the men and women scientists walking by.

"Do you think the newest weapon x will stand the treatment?"

"He'd better. After losing one weapon and almost another, we can't afford anymore." Two men said as they walked by.

Jonny just gaped. On the other side of the room a young man was being lowered into a giant test tube filled with a water-like liquid. He struggled for a minute, tossing silver hair back. But it didn't last long for the shackles and breathing apparatus he wore muffled his movements. Soon he was in the water, and the great machines hummed to life.

Jessie and Hadji joined Jonny at the bars.

"What are they gonna do?" Jessie whispered. No one answered.

The man jerked, banging on the glass, kicked hard, and then slowly stopped, looking as though he'd fallen asleep.

"Start feed." A voice said through an intercom. Blue dye-looking stuff washed into the water, surrounding him. Then suddenly the machines went dead, and everyone went back to walking around.

"Did I miss something?" Jonny asked.

"Surely." Hadji replied.

"Well, he's not dead or insane yet, so the experiments are working so far." A woman said, walking by.

"Whoa. They didn't say what I think they said, did they?" Jonny asked.

"Ohhhh, I hope not." Hadji said in distress.

Jessie just gaped.

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