Banner By: Kyra_and_co
Chapter 12
‘The Parts of The Whole’
Regina sat in her office staring down at the paperwork in her hand. Scott Bernstein was dead and as she glanced over all of his paperwork and research that had been delivered to her earlier in the day, she now knew who they were working for.
Her hand shook as she let the papers fall to the desk. Whatever Scott did had gotten him killed and it was pretty clear, if she didn’t do what she was told her fate would be the same as his. She wondered what kind a sick person would do what he was doing.
There was a knock on her door and she pushed the papers aside and stood as it was pushed open. She straightened her back and glared at the man in black fatigues. “What are you doing bursting into my office?” He inclined his head as he lowered his weapon to his side.
“I apologize Doctor Wright, but we were able to successfully acquire the target.” He motioned for the man behind him to come into the room and when he did she could see him carrying an unconscious Chloe Queen. For her part Regina was able to keep her facial expression completely void of all emotion.
What had happened? Had she not given them enough of a warning? She had been more than convinced that Oliver had the situation under control. She swallowed hard and nodded toward Chloe nonchalantly. “You use the needle again?”
The man with the weapon shook his head, “No, we used the new formula and put some in her drink. Mr. Queen wouldn’t let her out of his sight so we had to adjust our normal approach.” She nodded and walked over to them and motioned for the man holding Chloe to lay her on the small couch in her office.
He put her down and she checked her vitals as she spoke. “How long ago did she ingest the chemical?”
“About forty-five minutes ago.” She nodded as her fingers fell to Chloe’s wrist. If that was the case she would most likely be waking up in the next fifteen minutes or so. But they didn’t need to know that. Regina stood and glanced at them. “Has her cot been made up in the main room?”
He shook his head, “No, we brought her straight here.” She sighed and shook her head. “Well let’s go then. We’ll leave her here while we get everything ready.” They paused and she gave them an annoyed look eyebrow raised. “What now? Why aren’t you moving?”
They glanced at each other before the man with the weapon spoke, “Is it alright to leave her here? She won’t wake up?” Regina rolled her eyes. “Well you said she ingested the chemical forty-five minutes ago so we should have more than enough time to make it back before she wakes up. An hour at least.”
A look of relief covered both of their faces as they turned and headed towards the door. She ushered them out as she spoke. “I need to put some paperwork away, I’ll meet you two down the hall in a minute.” They nodded and closed the door behind them.
As soon as she heard their footsteps recede, she rushed over to her desk and spread all the paperwork out. She took a small pad of paper and wrote a message on it hoping that Chloe was as smart as Oliver made her out to be and she’d be able to put two and two together.
She walked to the door, glanced over her shoulder giving Chloe one last look before pulling open the door and making her way outside her office. She shut the door behind her and walked down the hallway to the main hall of the facility.
Regina hoped Chloe woke up in time…she’d never forgive herself if something happened to the young woman in her office. She’s known Oliver Queen for three years…and she knew his past. The last thing she wanted to be responsible for was him losing someone else he cared about.
She wished she would have listened to her gut feeling all those months ago. After her Mother had gotten sick and she’d become obsessed with becoming a doctor, finding a cure, her Mother used to always say the road to hell was paved with good intentions…and now Regina finally understood those words all too clearly.
_______
Victor watched as Oliver paced across the floor in front of the main console. They’d made their way back to Watchtower a little over twenty minutes ago and immediately called an emergency meeting. The rest of the team sat quietly solemn looks on their faces as Oliver lifted another glass and tossed it across the room.
Mia winced and Clark clenched his jaw as he crossed his arms over his chest. When he spoke his voice was low and held a hint of anger in it. “How could you let this happen Oliver?” Several sets of eyes turned toward the dark haired man.
Oliver spun around slowly, his eyes settling on Clark, voice colder than ice. “Please tell me that you didn’t actually just say that.” Clark threw up his hands as he pointed at Oliver. “Well what do you expect me to say? This plan was your idea…you let Chloe go along with it and now she’s gone! Just like Lana. How are we supposed to find them now?”
Bart got up from his position on the couch and moved between the two men letting out a nervous chuckle. “Whoa there amigos…why don’t we just…calm down a little bit before we say something we regret.”
Oliver let out a humorless chuckle and shook his head. “I think it’s a little late for that Bart.” He turned back to Clark. “Tell me something Clark, since we started this investigation what exactly have you contributed to it? Aside from watching Lois’s back I mean? Have you bothered to stop and check in or have you only dropped by the times you wanted to accuse people of things?”
Clark glared at the blonde man in front of him and scowled. “That’s not fair and you know it. I’m Superman Oliver, The Justice League is only a part of what I do. I travel around the world daily, sometimes hourly. I save close to 200-300 hundred people a day! I can’t be everywhere at once, but I’m always there when it matters.”
Oliver pursed his lips. He knew most of what Clark was saying was true, but even so that didn’t give him the right to stomp into Watchtower and point fingers. That wouldn’t get them anywhere. Dinah stood arms crossed over her chest as she spoke a hint of anger in her voice at the way their alien friend was treating Oliver.
“Even so Clark…you haven’t been around to help us with this mission, so don’t come in here and point fingers. We did everything we could…it just wasn’t enough…our plan was full proof…hell Chloe helped design it herself it should have worked…”
Her voice trailed off and Oliver glanced at her and mouthed a ‘thank you’ his chest tightening at Chloe’s name as he looked away from the team and took a deep breath. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t be the calm level headed leader while Chloe was out there somewhere with people doing god knows what to her.
When he turned back around to face the team, his eyes were red rimmed, voice throaty and emotional. “I can’t keep fighting with you…At this point I don’t care if you want to blame me all I care about is getting Chloe back. Do you understand me? I need to find her…I promised her…I…”
His voice choked up and Clark wasn’t sure what to do. Courtney, Dinah and Mia had tears in their eyes and Carter’s face held a grim expression as he watched the once sarcastic and cocky man break down in front of them. He knew what it was like to lose someone you cared deeply about and he didn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone.
Oliver met Clark’s eyes and he swallowed heavily before looking down, his hands slipping into his pockets. He took a deep breath in an attempt to compose himself before glancing back up at his friend as he shrugged. “So I guess the only question is…are you in or are you out?”
_______
Chloe groaned as she shifted against the couch, eyes drifting open slowly. Her head was pounding and the light currently blinding her really wasn’t helping. She pushed herself up carefully into a sitting position and frowned as she glanced around the unfamiliar office.
Where was she? She stood on shaky legs and suddenly without warning her memory came crashing back to her. She sucked in a deep breath her hand reaching out to the desk on her left to steady herself. Someone had kidnapped her from the fundraiser.
But why bring her here? It didn’t make any sense. She shifted trying to get the pins and needles feelings to leave her legs when her hand brushed against some papers scattered across the desk. Chloe bit her bottom lip and glanced over her shoulder at the door before lifting the skirt of her dress slightly and dropping down into the desk chair.
She rifled around the papers and on top of the one in the middle was a bright orange post it note. Her brows furrowed as she lifted it up confusion settling on her face as she read the words there.
Wake up…
Read files…
Press 7...
Sleep…
It looked like a to do list, but it didn’t make any sense. Who left it there and what kind of person sleeps in their office? Well aside from her. And who needs to be reminded to wake up and go to sleep? She went to put the post it down when her hand froze.
Unless…someone knew she was there. Her eyes widened slightly as she glanced down spreading the papers out to she could look them over. How many people were kidnapped and left in an office with loads of information to sift through? It had to be their informant…which would mean that Scott Bernstein wasn’t it.
Chloe’s mind was running a mile a minute as she glanced over the notes in front of her. She paused re-reading the second passage before gasping. Her entire body froze as she read through the notes. Her throat constricted, and she felt her stomach lurch.
No…this couldn’t be right. Her eyes burned with unshed tears as her hand covered her mouth and she glanced around the desk. In the corner she spotted a phone and practically lurched to it. She pulled it off the base, the wire extending and attempted to dial Oliver’s number.
After dialing the second digit the phone beeped and hung up on her before the dial tone came back. She tried two more times before slamming the phone down on the receiver and growling in frustration. She turned in the chair and caught sight of the post it note out of the corner of her eye.
She arched an eyebrow at it. Wake up…read files…press 7. Her arm reached out slowly, hand shaking slightly as she lifted the phone again. She pressed seven, the phone clicked and then there was a dial tone again.
Instead of dialing Oliver’s number, not wanting anything to be able to be traced back to him, she dialed Watchtowers number and when it rang and she closed her eyes almost crying from relief. She just hope someone answered the call.
_______
Victor was just pulling up the footage of the fundraiser to go over with the team when the Watchtower line rang, startling them all into looking up at the large monitor as the computerized voice spoke. “Incoming Communication from a Restricted Caller…”
Victor glanced at Oliver as he moved over to screen and squinted his eyes. He took a deep breath and spoke quietly. “Everyone be quiet.” If these were the people who took Chloe he didn’t want them knowing he wasn’t alone.
He’d gotten a note like the rest of the husbands, but his didn’t ask for anything…it only had once sentence written on it. ‘This is what happens when people stick their noses where they don’t belong…’ No ransom, no technology request…nothing.
Oliver walked over to the touch screen, took a deep breath, and pressed the ‘accept call’ button. “Hello?” Chloe’s eyes flew open at the sound of Oliver’s voice. “Ollie?” His heart beat picked up speed when he heard Chloe’s shaky voice come through the speakers.
Half the team stood as Oliver pressed his hands against the console eyes closing tightly as he tried to keep the relief from being heard in his voice. “Sidekick? Where are you? Are you hurt? What happened?” He prattled off a dozen questions as she tried to get his attention without shouting.
“Ollie…Oliver stop! I don’t have much time I need you to listen to me can you do that?” He pursed his lips, nodded, and then realized she couldn’t see him. “Yeah…I can do that. Just answer one question for me first…are you okay?”
Chloe paused calming herself down slightly before answering his question. Worrying Oliver wouldn’t help the situation. “Physically, I’m fine…” His body tensed, as his grip on the console tightened. “You hesitated.” She let out a loud puff of air that everyone could hear, her voice low as she spoke.
“Ollie please…this is important I need you to focus. Forget everything we were thinking…is the team there with you right now?”
He glanced around him before turning back to the monitor and speaking through clenched teeth. “Yes.” He heard what he thought was a sigh of relief before she spoke again. “Is Clark there?” Clark was standing by Oliver in seconds. “I’m here Chlo…”
Her grip on the phone tightened as she took a deep breath, “Good I’m on speaker. I need you guys to listen to me and not interrupt until I’m finished. It’s Lex…he’s behind this…” She let out a bitter chuckled and shook her head even though she knew the team couldn’t see her.
“He knew if he had Lana kidnapped we’d never suspect him because we all know how much he loves her and he used that knowledge to play us.” Oliver saw red as Dinah spoke up, “I don’t understand how do you know it’s Lex?”
They could hear the creak of a chair and then the shuffling of papers. “Clark…do you remember Project Gemini? Lex was working on it in one of his 33.1 labs. Victor you can probably find it in Watchtower’s database somewhere, I’m sure I put it in there.”
Victor started typing as Clark frowned, “I remember it vaguely…” the screen beeped and the information popped up on the screen. Oliver glanced over Victor’s shoulder and read it out loud. “It was Lex’s cloning project. Is that what he’s doing cloning people?”
Her voice grew lower, “No…this is Gemini 2.0 so to speak. I know why he needed all that equipment…I’m looking at papers that practically outline the project.” She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady as she spoke.
“Lex is using a team of doctors and scientists to take DNA from people, and genetically alter it to take out faulty or undesirable genes before manually merging two different sequences of DNA together. His doctors are basically growing their own fully formed person that has no traceable background in this world.”
Disgust filled Oliver as he listened to Chloe talk and confusion settled on his face as he spoke, “But that doesn’t make any sense what does that have to did with kidnapping these wives?” She let out a frustrated sigh, “I’m not done Oliver…”
She licked her lips and continued speaking. “He’s creating these genetically altered embryos and using John Caffrey’s neuroimplant technology in them creating sleeper cells. The embryos would grow like any other child, but once they come out Lex would be able to control them using those sleeper cells.”
She paused glancing back at the paper in her hands. “He’s essentially creating the perfect human. Taking the best and most dominant traits and combining them together to form a person that he can control with the flip of a switch. He took the wives…as collateral to get them to give him the technology he needed to complete the project…and he’s keeping them because…”
Chloe shook her head her heart aching as she thought of her best friend and the other women there. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke. “He’s keeping the wives because he plans to use the embryos he’s created to impregnate them.”
Courtney gasped as Carter’s jaw tensed. Oliver’s fist clenched by his side as the rest of the team stood there speechless. Chloe kept talking over the speakers and Oliver could hear the guilt in her voice. “He wants powerful people he can control…imagine having the most power families in Metropolis’s being impregnated with these genetically altered embryos…he could take over the whole damn world if he wanted to…slowly…without suspicion.”
Oliver was doing his best not to let his anger get the best of him. He wanted to find Lex and kill him, but with their luck he’d probably just come back from the grave. He focused on calming his body as he broke the silence in the room. “Chloe--”
She ignored him and started talking again. “I should have known…it all makes sense now…don’t you see? Lois didn’t get shot until after we told Lex she was the one who helped us find the information…then after we tell him the kidnappers have to be someone who worked for all three companies…Scott Bernstein turns up dead and all the anonymous tipster’s things and everything are pinning the kidnappings on him…”
She let out another bitter laugh as she shifted in the chair switching the ear the phone was on. “And then my meeting with Lex…God I was so stupid…he played the Lana card on me…told me to put myself in his shoes and all I kept thinking was what if it was you who was missing…what would I do? And I told him how we were planning to case the facility…Not about the team, but about your security detail so to speak…that’s how they got me…he knew exactly what to avoid…God Ollie I’m so sorry…”
Her voice trailed off and Oliver could feel moisture gather in his eyes, his voice low and shaky. “It’s not your fault Chloe…he had me believing him too…none of this is your fault. I’m gonna get you out of there…I promise you…I just need you to tell me where you are.”
She glanced around the room and frowned. “I don’t know…I’m in a doctor’s office and whoever the doctor is…I think he or she is Lois’s real anonymous source. I think this person is trying to help us. I woke up in the office and there was a note telling me to read the files and then telling me how to make a phone call…can you trace the number?”
Victor shook his head, “I’m trying, but it’s restricted and every time I think I’ve found it the number changes. It’s bouncing around, area codes from all over the world. I’m trying to focus it, but it’s difficult. I’ll keep working on it though.”
Chloe heard a noise and covered the phone pulling it away from her ear. She could hear people walking towards the door. She lifted the phone, breathing slightly heavier than before as she spoke quickly. “Someone’s coming I need to get off the phone.”
Panic shot through Oliver as he shook his head, “No, Chloe no…I need you to figure out where you are…do you still have your com? We can--” There was a scuffle and then Chloe’s mumbled voice as papers were moved. “Ollie I have to go I’m sorry…I’ll figure something out I…shit.”
Chloe hung up the phone when she heard what sounded like a key in the lock. She pushed the papers back in place and laid back on the couch closing her eyes as she tried to calm her breathing. Regina pushed the door open hoping Chloe had understood her note.
When she saw the young woman on the couch chest rising and falling slowly, but not slow enough to be asleep, she knew she had. Hopefully she’d given her enough time to contact her husband. She cleared her throat and motioned to Chloe.
“Go ahead, you can take her to the main room with the others now.” They nodded as the same man who brought her in lifted her off the couch and turned towards the door. The man with the weapon nodded at Regina before closing the door behind them.
She let out a heavy sigh and plopped down on the couch, anxiety filling every inch of her body. She shifted and frowned as she felt something underneath her. Regina stood turning and bending down as she lifted the small ear bud off the couch. Curiosity filled her face. What in the world was that?
_______
Chloe did her best to keep her body limp as she was carried down the winding hallways. She heard a door click open and then a few startled gasps before she was placed on what felt like a small bed or cot. She could feel the rough cotton beneath her cheek and when she heard the door close she immediately felt a hand on her shoulder.
Her eyes popped open and she turned startling the brunette. Chloe’s eyes widened. “Lana!” She sat up and pulled her into a tight hug. Relief filled her as she hugged the blonde back. “Oh my god Chloe! What are you doing here?”
She let out a slight chuckle while pulling back and giving her friend a once over before shrugging. “I was trying to find you…it’s a really long story, but now that I’m here…it’s time to get out of here…” She lowered her voice, concern filling her face. “Are you alright? What have they been doing to you?”
A renewed hope filled Lana at Chloe’s words. She'd been doubting their escape plan lately, but with Chloe there she knew they’d be able to get out. “I’m doing okay.” She motioned behind her to the two women sitting on one cot as she continued speaking. “You know Crystal…and that’s Maria. Guys…this is Chloe.”
Lana grinned at her friend before turning back to the girls. “She’s gonna help us get out of here.” Chloe gave Lana half a smile as she glanced between the three women in front of her.
As Lana started to explain the plan that they’d been carefully crafting for the past few days all Chloe could think of was how in the world was she going to tell her best friend…that the man she loved…the man she’d been married to for the past two years was behind all this?
‘The Parts of The Whole’
Regina sat in her office staring down at the paperwork in her hand. Scott Bernstein was dead and as she glanced over all of his paperwork and research that had been delivered to her earlier in the day, she now knew who they were working for.
Her hand shook as she let the papers fall to the desk. Whatever Scott did had gotten him killed and it was pretty clear, if she didn’t do what she was told her fate would be the same as his. She wondered what kind a sick person would do what he was doing.
There was a knock on her door and she pushed the papers aside and stood as it was pushed open. She straightened her back and glared at the man in black fatigues. “What are you doing bursting into my office?” He inclined his head as he lowered his weapon to his side.
“I apologize Doctor Wright, but we were able to successfully acquire the target.” He motioned for the man behind him to come into the room and when he did she could see him carrying an unconscious Chloe Queen. For her part Regina was able to keep her facial expression completely void of all emotion.
What had happened? Had she not given them enough of a warning? She had been more than convinced that Oliver had the situation under control. She swallowed hard and nodded toward Chloe nonchalantly. “You use the needle again?”
The man with the weapon shook his head, “No, we used the new formula and put some in her drink. Mr. Queen wouldn’t let her out of his sight so we had to adjust our normal approach.” She nodded and walked over to them and motioned for the man holding Chloe to lay her on the small couch in her office.
He put her down and she checked her vitals as she spoke. “How long ago did she ingest the chemical?”
“About forty-five minutes ago.” She nodded as her fingers fell to Chloe’s wrist. If that was the case she would most likely be waking up in the next fifteen minutes or so. But they didn’t need to know that. Regina stood and glanced at them. “Has her cot been made up in the main room?”
He shook his head, “No, we brought her straight here.” She sighed and shook her head. “Well let’s go then. We’ll leave her here while we get everything ready.” They paused and she gave them an annoyed look eyebrow raised. “What now? Why aren’t you moving?”
They glanced at each other before the man with the weapon spoke, “Is it alright to leave her here? She won’t wake up?” Regina rolled her eyes. “Well you said she ingested the chemical forty-five minutes ago so we should have more than enough time to make it back before she wakes up. An hour at least.”
A look of relief covered both of their faces as they turned and headed towards the door. She ushered them out as she spoke. “I need to put some paperwork away, I’ll meet you two down the hall in a minute.” They nodded and closed the door behind them.
As soon as she heard their footsteps recede, she rushed over to her desk and spread all the paperwork out. She took a small pad of paper and wrote a message on it hoping that Chloe was as smart as Oliver made her out to be and she’d be able to put two and two together.
She walked to the door, glanced over her shoulder giving Chloe one last look before pulling open the door and making her way outside her office. She shut the door behind her and walked down the hallway to the main hall of the facility.
Regina hoped Chloe woke up in time…she’d never forgive herself if something happened to the young woman in her office. She’s known Oliver Queen for three years…and she knew his past. The last thing she wanted to be responsible for was him losing someone else he cared about.
She wished she would have listened to her gut feeling all those months ago. After her Mother had gotten sick and she’d become obsessed with becoming a doctor, finding a cure, her Mother used to always say the road to hell was paved with good intentions…and now Regina finally understood those words all too clearly.
Victor watched as Oliver paced across the floor in front of the main console. They’d made their way back to Watchtower a little over twenty minutes ago and immediately called an emergency meeting. The rest of the team sat quietly solemn looks on their faces as Oliver lifted another glass and tossed it across the room.
Mia winced and Clark clenched his jaw as he crossed his arms over his chest. When he spoke his voice was low and held a hint of anger in it. “How could you let this happen Oliver?” Several sets of eyes turned toward the dark haired man.
Oliver spun around slowly, his eyes settling on Clark, voice colder than ice. “Please tell me that you didn’t actually just say that.” Clark threw up his hands as he pointed at Oliver. “Well what do you expect me to say? This plan was your idea…you let Chloe go along with it and now she’s gone! Just like Lana. How are we supposed to find them now?”
Bart got up from his position on the couch and moved between the two men letting out a nervous chuckle. “Whoa there amigos…why don’t we just…calm down a little bit before we say something we regret.”
Oliver let out a humorless chuckle and shook his head. “I think it’s a little late for that Bart.” He turned back to Clark. “Tell me something Clark, since we started this investigation what exactly have you contributed to it? Aside from watching Lois’s back I mean? Have you bothered to stop and check in or have you only dropped by the times you wanted to accuse people of things?”
Clark glared at the blonde man in front of him and scowled. “That’s not fair and you know it. I’m Superman Oliver, The Justice League is only a part of what I do. I travel around the world daily, sometimes hourly. I save close to 200-300 hundred people a day! I can’t be everywhere at once, but I’m always there when it matters.”
Oliver pursed his lips. He knew most of what Clark was saying was true, but even so that didn’t give him the right to stomp into Watchtower and point fingers. That wouldn’t get them anywhere. Dinah stood arms crossed over her chest as she spoke a hint of anger in her voice at the way their alien friend was treating Oliver.
“Even so Clark…you haven’t been around to help us with this mission, so don’t come in here and point fingers. We did everything we could…it just wasn’t enough…our plan was full proof…hell Chloe helped design it herself it should have worked…”
Her voice trailed off and Oliver glanced at her and mouthed a ‘thank you’ his chest tightening at Chloe’s name as he looked away from the team and took a deep breath. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t be the calm level headed leader while Chloe was out there somewhere with people doing god knows what to her.
When he turned back around to face the team, his eyes were red rimmed, voice throaty and emotional. “I can’t keep fighting with you…At this point I don’t care if you want to blame me all I care about is getting Chloe back. Do you understand me? I need to find her…I promised her…I…”
His voice choked up and Clark wasn’t sure what to do. Courtney, Dinah and Mia had tears in their eyes and Carter’s face held a grim expression as he watched the once sarcastic and cocky man break down in front of them. He knew what it was like to lose someone you cared deeply about and he didn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone.
Oliver met Clark’s eyes and he swallowed heavily before looking down, his hands slipping into his pockets. He took a deep breath in an attempt to compose himself before glancing back up at his friend as he shrugged. “So I guess the only question is…are you in or are you out?”
Chloe groaned as she shifted against the couch, eyes drifting open slowly. Her head was pounding and the light currently blinding her really wasn’t helping. She pushed herself up carefully into a sitting position and frowned as she glanced around the unfamiliar office.
Where was she? She stood on shaky legs and suddenly without warning her memory came crashing back to her. She sucked in a deep breath her hand reaching out to the desk on her left to steady herself. Someone had kidnapped her from the fundraiser.
But why bring her here? It didn’t make any sense. She shifted trying to get the pins and needles feelings to leave her legs when her hand brushed against some papers scattered across the desk. Chloe bit her bottom lip and glanced over her shoulder at the door before lifting the skirt of her dress slightly and dropping down into the desk chair.
She rifled around the papers and on top of the one in the middle was a bright orange post it note. Her brows furrowed as she lifted it up confusion settling on her face as she read the words there.
Wake up…
Read files…
Press 7...
Sleep…
It looked like a to do list, but it didn’t make any sense. Who left it there and what kind of person sleeps in their office? Well aside from her. And who needs to be reminded to wake up and go to sleep? She went to put the post it down when her hand froze.
Unless…someone knew she was there. Her eyes widened slightly as she glanced down spreading the papers out to she could look them over. How many people were kidnapped and left in an office with loads of information to sift through? It had to be their informant…which would mean that Scott Bernstein wasn’t it.
Chloe’s mind was running a mile a minute as she glanced over the notes in front of her. She paused re-reading the second passage before gasping. Her entire body froze as she read through the notes. Her throat constricted, and she felt her stomach lurch.
No…this couldn’t be right. Her eyes burned with unshed tears as her hand covered her mouth and she glanced around the desk. In the corner she spotted a phone and practically lurched to it. She pulled it off the base, the wire extending and attempted to dial Oliver’s number.
After dialing the second digit the phone beeped and hung up on her before the dial tone came back. She tried two more times before slamming the phone down on the receiver and growling in frustration. She turned in the chair and caught sight of the post it note out of the corner of her eye.
She arched an eyebrow at it. Wake up…read files…press 7. Her arm reached out slowly, hand shaking slightly as she lifted the phone again. She pressed seven, the phone clicked and then there was a dial tone again.
Instead of dialing Oliver’s number, not wanting anything to be able to be traced back to him, she dialed Watchtowers number and when it rang and she closed her eyes almost crying from relief. She just hope someone answered the call.
Victor was just pulling up the footage of the fundraiser to go over with the team when the Watchtower line rang, startling them all into looking up at the large monitor as the computerized voice spoke. “Incoming Communication from a Restricted Caller…”
Victor glanced at Oliver as he moved over to screen and squinted his eyes. He took a deep breath and spoke quietly. “Everyone be quiet.” If these were the people who took Chloe he didn’t want them knowing he wasn’t alone.
He’d gotten a note like the rest of the husbands, but his didn’t ask for anything…it only had once sentence written on it. ‘This is what happens when people stick their noses where they don’t belong…’ No ransom, no technology request…nothing.
Oliver walked over to the touch screen, took a deep breath, and pressed the ‘accept call’ button. “Hello?” Chloe’s eyes flew open at the sound of Oliver’s voice. “Ollie?” His heart beat picked up speed when he heard Chloe’s shaky voice come through the speakers.
Half the team stood as Oliver pressed his hands against the console eyes closing tightly as he tried to keep the relief from being heard in his voice. “Sidekick? Where are you? Are you hurt? What happened?” He prattled off a dozen questions as she tried to get his attention without shouting.
“Ollie…Oliver stop! I don’t have much time I need you to listen to me can you do that?” He pursed his lips, nodded, and then realized she couldn’t see him. “Yeah…I can do that. Just answer one question for me first…are you okay?”
Chloe paused calming herself down slightly before answering his question. Worrying Oliver wouldn’t help the situation. “Physically, I’m fine…” His body tensed, as his grip on the console tightened. “You hesitated.” She let out a loud puff of air that everyone could hear, her voice low as she spoke.
“Ollie please…this is important I need you to focus. Forget everything we were thinking…is the team there with you right now?”
He glanced around him before turning back to the monitor and speaking through clenched teeth. “Yes.” He heard what he thought was a sigh of relief before she spoke again. “Is Clark there?” Clark was standing by Oliver in seconds. “I’m here Chlo…”
Her grip on the phone tightened as she took a deep breath, “Good I’m on speaker. I need you guys to listen to me and not interrupt until I’m finished. It’s Lex…he’s behind this…” She let out a bitter chuckled and shook her head even though she knew the team couldn’t see her.
“He knew if he had Lana kidnapped we’d never suspect him because we all know how much he loves her and he used that knowledge to play us.” Oliver saw red as Dinah spoke up, “I don’t understand how do you know it’s Lex?”
They could hear the creak of a chair and then the shuffling of papers. “Clark…do you remember Project Gemini? Lex was working on it in one of his 33.1 labs. Victor you can probably find it in Watchtower’s database somewhere, I’m sure I put it in there.”
Victor started typing as Clark frowned, “I remember it vaguely…” the screen beeped and the information popped up on the screen. Oliver glanced over Victor’s shoulder and read it out loud. “It was Lex’s cloning project. Is that what he’s doing cloning people?”
Her voice grew lower, “No…this is Gemini 2.0 so to speak. I know why he needed all that equipment…I’m looking at papers that practically outline the project.” She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady as she spoke.
“Lex is using a team of doctors and scientists to take DNA from people, and genetically alter it to take out faulty or undesirable genes before manually merging two different sequences of DNA together. His doctors are basically growing their own fully formed person that has no traceable background in this world.”
Disgust filled Oliver as he listened to Chloe talk and confusion settled on his face as he spoke, “But that doesn’t make any sense what does that have to did with kidnapping these wives?” She let out a frustrated sigh, “I’m not done Oliver…”
She licked her lips and continued speaking. “He’s creating these genetically altered embryos and using John Caffrey’s neuroimplant technology in them creating sleeper cells. The embryos would grow like any other child, but once they come out Lex would be able to control them using those sleeper cells.”
She paused glancing back at the paper in her hands. “He’s essentially creating the perfect human. Taking the best and most dominant traits and combining them together to form a person that he can control with the flip of a switch. He took the wives…as collateral to get them to give him the technology he needed to complete the project…and he’s keeping them because…”
Chloe shook her head her heart aching as she thought of her best friend and the other women there. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke. “He’s keeping the wives because he plans to use the embryos he’s created to impregnate them.”
Courtney gasped as Carter’s jaw tensed. Oliver’s fist clenched by his side as the rest of the team stood there speechless. Chloe kept talking over the speakers and Oliver could hear the guilt in her voice. “He wants powerful people he can control…imagine having the most power families in Metropolis’s being impregnated with these genetically altered embryos…he could take over the whole damn world if he wanted to…slowly…without suspicion.”
Oliver was doing his best not to let his anger get the best of him. He wanted to find Lex and kill him, but with their luck he’d probably just come back from the grave. He focused on calming his body as he broke the silence in the room. “Chloe--”
She ignored him and started talking again. “I should have known…it all makes sense now…don’t you see? Lois didn’t get shot until after we told Lex she was the one who helped us find the information…then after we tell him the kidnappers have to be someone who worked for all three companies…Scott Bernstein turns up dead and all the anonymous tipster’s things and everything are pinning the kidnappings on him…”
She let out another bitter laugh as she shifted in the chair switching the ear the phone was on. “And then my meeting with Lex…God I was so stupid…he played the Lana card on me…told me to put myself in his shoes and all I kept thinking was what if it was you who was missing…what would I do? And I told him how we were planning to case the facility…Not about the team, but about your security detail so to speak…that’s how they got me…he knew exactly what to avoid…God Ollie I’m so sorry…”
Her voice trailed off and Oliver could feel moisture gather in his eyes, his voice low and shaky. “It’s not your fault Chloe…he had me believing him too…none of this is your fault. I’m gonna get you out of there…I promise you…I just need you to tell me where you are.”
She glanced around the room and frowned. “I don’t know…I’m in a doctor’s office and whoever the doctor is…I think he or she is Lois’s real anonymous source. I think this person is trying to help us. I woke up in the office and there was a note telling me to read the files and then telling me how to make a phone call…can you trace the number?”
Victor shook his head, “I’m trying, but it’s restricted and every time I think I’ve found it the number changes. It’s bouncing around, area codes from all over the world. I’m trying to focus it, but it’s difficult. I’ll keep working on it though.”
Chloe heard a noise and covered the phone pulling it away from her ear. She could hear people walking towards the door. She lifted the phone, breathing slightly heavier than before as she spoke quickly. “Someone’s coming I need to get off the phone.”
Panic shot through Oliver as he shook his head, “No, Chloe no…I need you to figure out where you are…do you still have your com? We can--” There was a scuffle and then Chloe’s mumbled voice as papers were moved. “Ollie I have to go I’m sorry…I’ll figure something out I…shit.”
Chloe hung up the phone when she heard what sounded like a key in the lock. She pushed the papers back in place and laid back on the couch closing her eyes as she tried to calm her breathing. Regina pushed the door open hoping Chloe had understood her note.
When she saw the young woman on the couch chest rising and falling slowly, but not slow enough to be asleep, she knew she had. Hopefully she’d given her enough time to contact her husband. She cleared her throat and motioned to Chloe.
“Go ahead, you can take her to the main room with the others now.” They nodded as the same man who brought her in lifted her off the couch and turned towards the door. The man with the weapon nodded at Regina before closing the door behind them.
She let out a heavy sigh and plopped down on the couch, anxiety filling every inch of her body. She shifted and frowned as she felt something underneath her. Regina stood turning and bending down as she lifted the small ear bud off the couch. Curiosity filled her face. What in the world was that?
Chloe did her best to keep her body limp as she was carried down the winding hallways. She heard a door click open and then a few startled gasps before she was placed on what felt like a small bed or cot. She could feel the rough cotton beneath her cheek and when she heard the door close she immediately felt a hand on her shoulder.
Her eyes popped open and she turned startling the brunette. Chloe’s eyes widened. “Lana!” She sat up and pulled her into a tight hug. Relief filled her as she hugged the blonde back. “Oh my god Chloe! What are you doing here?”
She let out a slight chuckle while pulling back and giving her friend a once over before shrugging. “I was trying to find you…it’s a really long story, but now that I’m here…it’s time to get out of here…” She lowered her voice, concern filling her face. “Are you alright? What have they been doing to you?”
A renewed hope filled Lana at Chloe’s words. She'd been doubting their escape plan lately, but with Chloe there she knew they’d be able to get out. “I’m doing okay.” She motioned behind her to the two women sitting on one cot as she continued speaking. “You know Crystal…and that’s Maria. Guys…this is Chloe.”
Lana grinned at her friend before turning back to the girls. “She’s gonna help us get out of here.” Chloe gave Lana half a smile as she glanced between the three women in front of her.
As Lana started to explain the plan that they’d been carefully crafting for the past few days all Chloe could think of was how in the world was she going to tell her best friend…that the man she loved…the man she’d been married to for the past two years was behind all this?
Chapter Thirteen: The Knight in Shinning Leatherk
Poor Lana! I really liked how you were writing the Lexana relationship, showing them truly in love and seeing Lex's whole demeanor soften when Lana entered a room. I should have known Lex would find some way to ruin things with her!
ReplyDeleteOMG... What a plot! This is totally blowing my mind... I mean for once I genuinely believed Lex was not totally evil. I should have known! You totally played us, and I loved it...
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