No Chance, Ch 4
No Chance
Chapter 4
copyright 2009 comidacomida
Daryl reviewed the documents for what must have been the tenth time. He had always been the bureaucracy sort; it was his job to file the paperwork, not to study it. David talking to him while he tried to understand the research didn't help; his subject of discussion made it even harder to focus.
"She'll be fine." David assured him yet again.
The panther finally put down the papers, covering his face with a paw as he rubbed at his overworked eyes, "And I still don't like the idea of it. It's too dangerous."
"No more dangerous than orchestrating her journey here in the first place." the ferret countered.
"Except now they'll be looking for her." Daryl noted.
"And she'll know who to avoid." David pressed.
"We won't be there to help." the panther responded, his eyes narrowing at the thought of Courtney being unprotected, "I just don't like it."
"She's a smart girl, Daryl; she can take care of herself."
The panther ran his paws through his half-mane of fur on either side of his head, letting out a sigh. He gazed across the table at the ferret who sat regarding him. David was relaxed in his chair, paws palm-down on the table, leaning forward ever-so-slightly: all business, as always. Daryl opened his muzzle to object further, but was cut short by the ferret.
"She can bring my gun." David offered.
"She doesn't know how to use a gun." Daryl objected.
The ferret let out a sigh. It wasn't one of frustration, rather, it reminded Daryl more of the way one of his college professors used to sigh when the class wasn't picking up on something he considered obvious. Normally, the condescending significance of the sigh would have given Daryl a bad taste in his mouth but, at the current time, he was more worried about getting the idea across.
"David... I just don't think that sending her into town is a good idea. We still have plenty of supplies and it's just not worth the risk." the panther explained.
"It's more than supplies, Daryl. We're sitting blind in here; we have no information from the outside-- how much anyone knows about what's going on... official government statements... missing persons reports... nothing." David noted, starting to gather some of the loose papers the panther had been reading. The ferret always kept research material and journal documents in order-- it made Daryl's job easier, but, at the moment, it was only further displeasing him. He slapped his paw down atop the papers before David could pull them into the folder.
"I'm not done with those." Daryl noted, a faint, animalistic growl to his voice. David released the papers immediately.
"Calm down, Daryl... calm down." the ferret sat back in his chairs, paws up, palm pads held toward the panther in a calming display of surrender, "We're just--"
Daryl let out a deep breath, and felt the fur on his neck and shoulders slowly settle back into place. He unclenched his paws, the claws siding back into inactivity again. "Fuck!" Daryl cursed, his voice coming out as a mixture of words and growls. He took another breath, "Fuck..." his voice was calmer... more human, "I know, David... I know."
"Are you alright?" the ferret inquired, making no move in either location or posture.
"I'm fine." the panther responded, using his paws to smooth out his fur as if he were brushing errant specks from a work shirt, "I... I just don't think getting Courtney any more involved is a good idea."
"It's more than that." David noted, "I should not have tried to take the case files... I just wasn't thinking." the ferret slowly lowered his arms, "I apologize... I thought you were done with them. I inadvertently crossed your ownership boundary."
Without giving it another thought, Daryl slid the files over to the ferret, "I may as well be done with them. I can't make much sense of them. I'm sorry for growling at you."
David chuckled in response, "It's something new you'll have to get used to, my friend... just like I have to remind myself to not be so eager to grab. We are an amalgamation of more than what we started as. Until we recover, these are traits we will have to grow comfortable with."
"Not to play devil's advocate, but I can't 'grow comfortable' with thinking about ripping out your throat if you try to clean up around here." David offered with a half-hearted smile.
"Well," the ferret responded after a moment's thought, sliding the paperwork into the file folder, "I appreciate that. Should you think about decapitating me I encourage you to feel uncomfortable." the two shared a laugh, which slowly faded into an empty silence. David put the files away in a briefcase he carried with him while Daryl closed his eyes, a thousand scenarios running through his head as to why sending Courtney into town would be a bad idea.
"Do you plan on having her take the cruiser?" Daryl asked at length, referring to the FDA SUV in which the three agents had arrived at the facility.
"Yes. And we'll switch to the secondary, local plates. We'll remove the government ones so it doesn't arouse suspicion." the ferret confirmed. David couldn't argue with that logic since anyone from Division Six would be more inclined to remember plates and not specifically a black SUV, which were common enough.
"Courtney hasn't spent a lot of time up this far north," the panther continued, barely pausing in his discussion, "I don't think she's been further north than Los Angeles. Where would you suggest we send her?"
"Bakersfield." David replied with barely a pause, "It's large enough that she won't attract attention, and smaller than San Diego so she'll have an easy time navigating."
"Not to mention the GPS." Daryl offered.
"I'll be disconnecting the GPS-- we don't need anyone from the home office monitoring our movement. Until we know what they know, we shouldn't give them any heads-up beyond our last transmission" David offered.
The panther sighed, "I don't like the idea of all this secrecy."
"But you know it's for an important reason." the ferret added, "Until we can understand what's happened more clearly, the last thing any of us need is to become an experiment."
"I know... I know..." Daryl answered with an exasperated sigh, "So no GPS..."
"Correct."
"And what about the Thomas Grants?" the panther inquired about the clones.
"They'll be on the look out in San Diego, assuredly... perhaps even in Los Angeles. I would assume they would also be looking along the border with Mexico; Bakersfield should be outside of their search."
"Should... but might not be." Daryl noted.
"Which is why we take the precautions... local plates... the cruiser has tinted windows... she'll be making several quick stops without calling attention to herself... we are taking great pains with this, Daryl." the ferret pointed out.
Daryl let out another sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, "And what does Courtney think of this?"
"Think of what?" Courtney spoke up from the hallway. Daryl had been so focused on the conversation that he hadn't even bothered paying attention to what his sensitive hearing had been trying to let him know: someone was coming. He winced inwardly.
Daryl could smell her from the distance, watching her every move. He could hear her heart beating. He could tell that she was still uncomfortable around them, but at least she wasn't as stunned as when she had first arrived. The panther hoped that she would calm further, given time... at least enough that he could spend time with her; they had a lot to talk about, and he didn't think he would be able to wait until he was cured of his 'condition', as David called it.
David spoke up first, "Daryl and I were discussing our current level of goods here on base. We'll need to resupply eventually, and--"
"and David doesn't like the idea of a night time raid on a warehouse." Daryl interjected, trying valiantly to add a level of humor into the conversation, hoping Courtney wouldn't take the upcoming request seriously.
"Needless to say... that leaves you." David quickly reclaimed the conversation.
"Me?" Courtney asked, still standing in the doorway.
"Yes, my dear." David answered, "I would dare say that out of any of us, you would raise the least number of eyebrows when walking into a grocery store."
"Or hardware store." Daryl spoke up, offering it as a reminder of items that Fred had requested.
"At any number of locations." the ferret agreed, "You would fit in better than any of us."
"And we know that I'm not contagious." Courtney added, "right?"
Daryl shot David a glance at that, but the ferret continued, ignoring the gaze, "All things being equal, Courtney, I don't think any of us are 'contagious', but, you are very right-- that's another reason to limit the time we spend out of the base."
Courtney looked to David, "What about the people after you? Won't they be looking for me too?"
It took the ferret less than ten minutes to go over the plan with Courtney, detailing her transportation and the methods she would be able to use to evade pursuit. He went over key points on acting unassuming and avoiding being memorable. It astounded Daryl how competent David was with the 'cloak-and-dagger' aspects of the agencies ~But, then again,~ he reminded himself, ~He did work for the CDC before joining the FDA.~ Daryl never considered that a good thing until David was giving Courtney the benefit of that experience.
"You've spent the better part of a week here at the base. I can only assume you would like the opportunity to get out, stretch your legs, and enjoy the company of people more... mundane, than we." the ferret offered.
"Well... it hasn't exactly been a weekend at the spa." Courtney offered with an upbeat attitude.
"The generators are shut off. We are running only on solar power. I have no doubts that you've been uncomfortably cold, and I'm sorry for that." David offered to her, "We cannot afford to do anything that would call attention to the base, and that includes suitable heating."
"Easy for you to say," Courtney noted dryly, "You all have fur." the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth let Daryl know it was said in good humor. He let out a wistful sigh; he had missed Courtney so much-- even though she was so close he still missed her... things were just not the same.
"Rightly so." David nodded enthusiastically, "And a slight detour to the clothing store would certainly be warranted. Something more insulated for you, perhaps."
"Any change of clothes would be good." she answered back, pulling at her blouse, which, to Daryl's sensitive nose, smelled richly of her.
He quickly cut short a purr that threatened to escape his muzzle as he worked to focus on something else, "Or any of us, for that matter... we may have fur, but having some clothes would help me feel more..."
"Human?" David inquired, glancing askance at him.
"I was going to say 'complete'." Daryl corrected, "I wasn't raised as a nudist, and a loincloth makes me feel entirely too 'Conan-the-Barbarian' for my tastes." he found himself cracking a smirk; despite his misgivings of Courtney's pending departure, it felt good to have what felt like a casual conversation... at least, far more mundane than anything else he'd been debating with his fellow agents for the past weeks.
The ferret simply nodded in response, making the panther wonder for the umpteenth time just what went on in David's head. Out of everyone in the base, David was probably the most relaxed about it; he was certainly the most complacent. The panther figured that it had something to do with the dosage of the mutagen they had each received-- Fred had the hardest time coping because he was practically at 'ground zero', while David received the least amount of the chemical, resulting in an easier time coping. Daryl's own strange emotions and occasional frustrations didn't feel like his own, and he knew it had to do with the part of him that was working to assimilate the animalistic tendencies within him.
"Daryl?" Courtney asked, and the panther's mental focus took a moment to reorientate.
"Hmm?" he asked, looking to her, feeling his ears swivel in her direction. It was an odd sensation the first time he felt them do so of their own accord but, after several weeks, they felt more second-nature than anything else... it made him feel like he was really committing his attention. Only too late did he realize he was paying his body more attention than Courtney.
"...and I can't figure out any better way for it to work... can you?" she inquired.
David thankfully came to his rescue, "You can use one of my credit cards." the ferret offered, reaching into his shoulder pouch and pulling out his wallet, "I would stay away from the agency cards, but this one here..." he pulled out a blue card with silver flecks on it, "is for a personal business of mine and isn't connected to the government hub. It won't draw any attention."
"What do you think?" Courtney asked of Daryl, accepting the card from David.
"I think we should talk about this for a minute," the panther paused, before adding quickly, "Alone." he shot a glance at David.
Courtney shrugged, then glanced to the ferret, "Do you mind?"
"Not at all." he replied with a casual smile, and excused himself, heading out of the room, "I'll wait in the hall." he declared.
Waiting for David to leave, Daryl felt suddenly uncomfortable being alone in the room with her. He had barely seen her since their relatively simple exchange on the day of her first visit, and he felt his stomach jitter slightly at the unknown.
"So... we're alone." Courtney noted, "What's up?" she leaned casually against the table, tucking David's credit card into her back pocket.
"I... I just want you to be careful." Daryl remarked, wishing he could bring himself to say any of a hundred things running through his mind. Looking at her from across the table brought forth so many feelings... thoughts... emotions... memories... desires. He shut his eyes, learning quickly that many of the desires running through him were fueled by elements of the animal, and he didn't want to think where they'd lead. ~There's been enough damage done already.~ he told himself.
"I will be." she remarked, eying him closely, "David already went over that, and I'm not a little girl."
"I wasn't saying you were." Daryl quickly spoke up, "I just want to make sure you're going to stay safe."
"Well, coming from you, a lecture on safety seems pretty silly," she noted flatly.
"Huh?" he inquired
"You said you preferred a desk job so you wouldn't have to go do field work... 'It isn't safe.' you always said." the speed of her words were coming out faster, and Daryl didn't like where the conversation was going, "and now, you're out in the field, and this happens."
He saw her face turning red and could hear her breath rate increase and her heart beat quicken. He knew that she had been holding back a lot of things she had wanted to say-- he had always been good at telling when she was being reserved. The physiological changes he was able to perceive now gave him a few seconds of warning that a storm was brewing, and he expected to hear it.
"I know... kind of ironic." he offered quietly.
"You always turned down field assignments, Daryl... ALWAYS." she slammed her fist down on the table, "And then... days before our wedding, you go and do THIS!" the final word was practically spat out at him, "What in the HELL were you thinking?!?"
"I didn't mean for it to happen." the panther offered.
"No shit." she fumed, her volume decreasing, but the words coming out almost like a growl, "Great fucking time to grow a pair of balls and take a little risk." At any other time he would have acknowledged it as another one of Courtney's jabs at the safe way he chose to live his life. She always tried to get him to be a little more adventurous, and he always tried to reign her in. Nothing seemed funny about it at that point.
Daryl tried to force the fur on the back of his neck to lower, but he wasn't having much luck, "Listen... I didn't ask for this." his voice came out louder than he wanted.
"You could have fucking fooled me!" she answered. Daryl saw tears start to form in her eyes, and the slightly strained edge to her voice made him realize that things were not going well. He knew that he'd have to calm things down.
"It wasn't my fault." he noted, the words coming out almost as a hiss as he fought to keep his emotions in check-- he knew what might happen if he gave in to his frustration, and didn't like the idea of getting angry with access to ten sharp claws and numerous pointed teeth.
"You could have said 'no'. You SHOULD have said 'no'." her voice was quiet, a little more than a whisper. She leaned against the table, head hanging so that he couldn't see her face, "You always say 'no'." he saw two droplets hit the table.
There were a lot of things Daryl wanted to do at that point. He wanted to move to her and comfort her. He wanted to embrace her and console her, and tell her everything was going to be alright. He wanted to apologize and to say that she was completely right. More than anything, he wanted to explain why he had to say yes this time, above all others. All of these things he wanted to do... but he realized that what he wanted to do wasn't what he needed to do. Without another word, Daryl balled his paws, gritting his teeth as his unsheathed claws dug into his paw pads, and he silently left the room.