A Deli Sized Problem (Ch. 2)

Rhysis

Rhysis

Well-Known Member
Staff member
(Yes, if you know what was going on before I took my leave of absence, this will be like reading the first chapter of a book's sequel, but it's been a while and we have a lot of new people. Get over it! :p )

The sibling pair of Katarina and Marcus entered the building of the specialty doctor Marcus had managed to find to help with Katarina's excruciating headaches. She'd suffered with them since childhood, for as long as Marcus could remember. The protective younger brother walked with his arm linked around his sister's. She was an expert at hiding her true feelings. Nobody aside from him could tell she was a nervous wreck.

The hallway was long and dim, and the few doors along each side displayed no light through the cracks. There was a gentle hum of the vents. Aside from that, the only sound were the gentle pats of Marcus' and Kat's feet on the plush carpet.

Marcus slowly walked to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of the only door with light around the doorjam. It was a faint, orange light, and soft music could just barely be heard coming from the other side. The brass sign said "Dr. Roe, specialty pains." Marcus looked to his sister and waited a moment before asking. "This is it. Ready?"
 
Fear. Anxiety. Uncertainty. All of these became a swirling combination in her body until her hands visibly shook. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, a liquid drug overtaking all other thoughts of reason. Regardless of the fact that her brother, of whom she trusted with her life, stood beside her...she still remained affixed to her current position. Her legs felt of lead, her head like a cloud of fog, but yet somehow...someway....she managed to nod.
 
Slowly, Marcus took one more step forward, leading his sister. He reached for the handle and opened the door to the office. It swung open to reveal a well decorated room with the same faint light. Surprisingly, the soothing tones of the music, which seemed to exactly match the decor and lighting, didn't get any louder as the door was opened.

As he helped his sister in, Marcus shut the door and looked to the silent clock on the wall. Despite the lengthy process they'd taken to get here, they were still a few minutes early. Still, he couldn't help but feel like the doctor, hidden behind a second door, was well aware of their arrival. Still, remembering the instructions he'd been given, he helped Kat over to the soft couch to await Dr. Roe's entry.

Marcus didn't say a word, letting the peaceful tranquility of their surroundings engulf them. There was something about the balance of the room, the way it was laid out combined with the strangely faint light and calming music, and especially the delicate aroma that gently settled on the senses, that made Marcus feel like it had some preliminary healing effect. Of course, his martial arts background may have had a good deal to do with that point of view. Still, he figured it couldn't hurt, so he let it do what it would.
 
The room was quiet with one person sitting on a couch and reading from a magazine that was undoubtedly trashing the life of some poor famous person. Painted in light brown for comfort and tranquility, plants situated in a perfect harmonious manner, and an aquarium that filled the room with the sound of water trickling over rocks, was meant to put one at ease but it only succeeded in raising every hair on the back of Kaitlyn's neck. While Marcus sat, she paced. She suddenly felt herself caged in, unable to breathe, and standing at the brink of losing control and tearing this place apart. Her breath was rampant as if she'd run a marathon, her heart beat erratic and her eyes snapping to attention with each dropped pencil or turned page. Just when she was about to scream the door opened and she froze, turning to the voice that called her name. It wasn't a nurse like a normal doctor's office would send out, but the actual doctor. As her eyes locked onto the man a torrent of memories cascaded through her mind like a freight train. Memories of testing and pain and the harsh realities of being more of a scientist's test subject than his daughter. She froze like a deer caught in headlights and looked to Marcus. "I think we should go." She muttered out, her eyes searching for the door. The headaches she could stand. She told herself that she'd be fine with him. "Please Marcus, can we go?" She asked suddenly feeling scared, small and vulnerable. her every instinct that had been on edge had a reason for doing so.

She knew this man. He had been the one to subject her to the random tests of torment and anguish and pain. The endless needles and studies. And while she sat there like a guinea pig crying for her father, he merely stood by the 'doctor' and watched as his daughter's tolerance for pain, her speed, and her agility, her intelligence changed beyond normal. She knew this man.

And he scared her to death.
 
His sister did not frighten easily. As a matter of fact, he had never known her to show fear in front to anyone aside from him since their parents died. Something about this man was so devastatingly frightening to her, that she had no qualms about showing her fear in front of him.

The look of anticipation on the face of the 'doctor', combined with the familiar feelings leaking from Katilyn to Marcus told him more than he needed to know. There was a reason she was so afraid of this man, and he wasn't about to let her stick around to experience it again. With a protective arm pushing her behind his back as he stood, Marcus placed his other hand in the small of his back, and flicked up the tail of his shirt to grasp at the throwing knives concealed there. He took no risk when it came to the safety of his beloved sister, and he glared at the doctor as he backed her toward the exit.

Dr. Roe simply watched, the anticipation changing to frustration as he watched the child experiment he'd so willingly worked on slip away. Having suspected it to be her upon talking to Marcus, he had precautions in place against their premature departure. After all, Kat may have had all the obvious talents, but Marcus had to have something worth testing, right?

Marcus and Kat would get into the hall with no trouble, until the person who had been sitting in the office appeared in a downpour of splinters that was once the door.
 
With her past experiences, Katarina had derived an intense amount of ability when it came to a pain threshold and intellect. She had the capacity to fight, which she'd never expanded upon - at least not in the presence of her brother. As Marcus had seen when Katarina had leveled that man within that bar, she could hold her own. Essentially she became an entirely different person when it came to combat. Perhaps she did have a sense of multiple personality disorder, but regardless of who she was and what she'd become...this moment in time rendered her useless. The fear of the past had grappled her mind like a clawed hammer and left her visibly trembling against her brother's touch. Would this be the single moment when she found out the full extent of what her father and this doctor had turned her into, or would she be fortunate enough to escape unharmed? Only time would tell.
 
Marcus stood in a defensive position, his feet hard planted onto the floor, but ready to shift into any number of positions when the instant called for it. One hand remained protectively on his sister's chest just below her neck line, while he continued to ease her back, speaking in as delicate of a tone as he could create to the opposition.

"Careful now, friend. Let's not make this harder than it has to be." That sparked a horrible reaction. The brute in the door erupted into a thunder of laughter. One of two things was the case. Either this tower of a man didn't know anything about Marcus' combat credentials, or he was just that good. Either way, with his size, it could spell big trouble for Marcus and Katarina.

He spoke with determination to her as he concentrated carefully on the man. "I'll keep this guy busy, Katie. You go to the car and drive as fast as you can away from here. I'll catch up." He just hoped she was in a well enough mindset to do what she was told.
 
Of all of the attributes that Katarina possessed, stupidity wasn't one of them. She knew of times when people had been told to 'go away,' to 'run,' and had stayed in worry of the other person, with the only result being the untimely death of both. With Marcus, Katarina had viewed him as more of a father-figure than her own father, so when he told her to do something...she did it. With enhanced movement capabilities, her body moved beyond the realms of normal. Quicker than a fox and more agile than a feline, she ran through the hallway to the front door.
 
The brute was easily stronger than Marcus, and much quicker than the executive would have thought, quick enough to land a few solid blows, mostly because of Marcus making sure nothing befell Kat as she made her escape. Once she was out of sight, Marcus' own speed and dexterity came fully into play. Marcus' talents were simply inherited and privately trained, not precisely honed and perfected like Kat's, but he had more than enough to deal with the bruiser before him.

Kat would make it to the car with no trouble. The doctor had been so anxious to restore his studies of her that he'd forgotten to take into consideration her brother's combat capabilities. As such, he thought the brute in the waiting room would have been enough.

It wouldn't take long for Marcus to drop the man. He then looked down the hallway. He'd heard the car peel away earlier, so she was safe. He looked back to the room they'd just left, then down the hallway again, and back. His eyes narrowed as the decision was made and he walked back into the office and kicked the door open that had been shut again. He took the throwing knives out from their hiding spot and readied them as he glared at Dr. Roe. There was no awaiting comment. He spoke low and loud. "Why is she afraid of you!?"
 
The doctor's frustration hadn't been the fact that Marcus had leveled his most privileged combat warrior, but in the knowing that his chance of having Katarina once more in his grasp was now gone. When the door was kicked through as if it were as light as a feather, he looked to Marcus with eyes as cold as ice, although his demeanor still managed to hold a warm, comforting doctor-like aspect to it. With a raised brow he studied Marcus before replying.

"You have no recollection of the past? Or perhaps did your father never enlighten you to her purpose? You were present for the majority of the time that she was here...or do you not remember that as well....Marcus?" When Marcus said nothing, Dr. Roe motioned to the couch. "Apparently you don't remember a thing. Sit. We have much to discuss about your...sister."
 
Marcus had never been a diplomat. The only reason he was in the position he was within the company he worked for, was simply due to the fact that he had a major hand in all things dealing with their martial arts department. His ever-expanding list of tournament championships that accompanied his resume made anything he had to say about the subject that much more believable. When he said a business, community or organization could use a martial arts program, it was true, and everyone listening knew it.

Still, despite his ability to be quick with hands and feet, and inability to be quick in a debate, he was far from stupid. He did not bother to return the false friendly demeanor. "I have no time for your games...doctor. You will answer my question or find yourself with a few extra holes. Anybody that can inspire that kind of fear in her is deserving of it, I am sure." Marcus twirled two of the knives between fingers on one hand, simply to reinforce his point.
 
The doctor expected nothing less than what Marcus had given him. Each of them stood un-threatened by each other, and yet trying to intimidate the other in yielding. It was unsuccessful on both fronts. The doctor waited until the presence of another guard stood outside the door, waiting, before he even spoke. Walking to the side of his desk and half sitting on the front, he looked to Marcus with his fingers clasped loosely together.

"You remember nothing then?" He asked with a raised brow. Seeing the agitation in Marcus' eyes, he quickly deducted that Marcus knew nothing. "Well to know of what happened with your sister is to know of your father." He paused for a long moment to let Marcus weigh those words. "Your father was a genius. A man of purpose. A man with a vision." He smirked in remembrance of the great man that had been his mentor. "But in addition to being a great scientist and a father...he also worked for the government."
 
Marcus knew he was not scaring the doctor. However, he felt it necessary to make sure the man knew what Kat already did. Marcus made no idle threats. If he said it, he meant it. "I have very little patience." Marcus was more than aware of the guard at the door behind him. "I will ask you one final time, assuring you that no amount of bouncer-style force you can conjur up will cause me any amount of concern. Even if they can stop me..." He flicked his wrist and let fly with one knife. It would sail across the room and graze the side of the doctor's head, cutting off a decent sized chunk of hair before it continued on to the wall behind and stuck in. "...the blade will not be stopped so easily, and if you won't tell me now, I have no qualms with ensuring you will not tell anyone anything ever again. With my connections, prison does not frighten me. So for the last time. Why is she afraid of you, and you had best make it short."
 
The threat was true enough as he could see from Marcus' actions. Marcus wasn't intimidated by the doctor, and he didn't expect him to be. The only person that he had that strong of a hand in controlling was Katarina. So, Marcus wanted a short answer to a complicated question? Marcus wanted him to provide a simple explanation to Katarina's actions? Well there were only two words that could create a simple answer to his demands. With firmly set eyes locked onto Marcus he replied, "Your father."
 
Marcus refused to believe the doctor, at least he refused to actively believe him. In truth, Marcus and his father, while always close as far as emotional bonds were concerned, had known very little about each other. It was entirely possible, though he would never admit it, that their father willingly subjected his beloved sister to horrendous tests for some reason, but in Marcus' mind, it would always have been necessary at the time, be it to relieve her headaches or whatever else. So, to him, this doctor was lying to save his own skin. It was the nature of most humans, he supposed. Still, it infuriated him.

Marcus walked over to the doctor while putting the knife back in its place. He grabbed the doctor off the floor and swung around to prevent the other body guard from being able to do much of anything. Glaring directly into the doctor's eyes, Marcus spoke with a low growl that sounded more like an angry wolfhound than a human. "I should disembowel you and your friend for that coward's answer, but I have a family member to find." He threw the doctor into his oncoming body guard before the tracking device could be placed on him. Marcus then grabbed the doctor's chair and threw it at the two of them, effectively distracting them long enough to get out of the building before looking for fresh tire tracks to determine which way Katarina had gone.
 
Katarina didn't have any specific place in mind. Within the last forty-eight hours, she'd been set up, nearly killed, re-united with her brother, and thrown back into a world that her mind had fought so hard to forget. Perhaps she didn't have an end in mind. Perhaps the end of this road would lead to somewhere away from here. The only way to find out was to keep driving. Perhaps she would just do that. Drive until she couldn't anymore. How far would she get then?

Flashes of her past danced before her eyes. In response, her foot crushed the petal even harder revving the engine harder.

Katy-bell....just put this princess hat on.

But papa...the last time it hurt.


Katarina's teeth clenched. Her head throbbed, and in the attempt to suppress the images, an un-yielding torrent of rage began to rise within.

________

The doctor, helped to his feet, brushed himself off. He'd been fortunate in not finding his demise, of that he was certain, but now Katarina was loose and more dangerous to others than she'd ever know.

"Sir?" His assistant questioned.

"Find her." He commanded. "And bring her back here."

"And her brother?"

"Kill him."
 
--The Doctors Asssistant--
A smile dashed across his lips. "Mission accepted sir," he said firmly. Although many experiments were done to increase a person's natural ability, the doctor performed on the assistant experiments that excelled his combat performance. Being tested against failed experiment after failed experiment had given him the strength needed to survive. Killing was just another experiment or training exercise, but as the time passed, the doctor saw a certain value in him. He made waste of those that the doctor had thrown at him, and so he was pulled from the experiment line, only to be considered a temporary success. He extended his hands outward, open palms with his thumbs perpendicular to the floor extending upward toward the ceiling. With a twisting motion, his thumbs soon pointed downward to the floor and popping noises emitted from the length of his arms. "Your death will be swift young one," he said softly to himself.
 
The tracks of the studded tires weren't difficult to locate. Hell it was still warm. He ran to the main street to get an idea of where, exactly, she was going. He let out a frustrated sigh. She was going East, which meant she wasn't headed home, to Marcus' house, or to the diner. She wasn't even going to any friend's house he knew of. So where was she going? He wasn't sure why he was asking himself those questions. She was running, and she was scared. It had happened before. But then, she was twelve and on a bicycle. Now she was in her late twenties and in one of the fastest cars on the street today. If she discovered the automatic traffic navigation and executive's pass which would give her access to the reserved tunnel systems of the area, it could take months to find her. He called his office as he ran toward the nearest garage owned by his company.

"Equilibrium, fitness division, office of Mr..."

"Sabrina, it's me. Find the coupe." He didn't care to wait for the twenty second greeting his secretary was so good at making sound authentic.

"Oh, sir! I didn't know you were in town, yet. How was..." Sabrina was a master of small-talk. It was a great quality when you wanted someone to distract a client, not so much one when you were in a hurry.

Marcus wasn't usually mean, but he didn't have a choice at the moment. "The coupe, Sabrina! Find it! And while you're at it send a security team over to my sister's diner. Oh and tell Max in the automotive division I'm borrowing a car from the southwest garage, make sure he tells them so I don't have to wait. Do that part first."

Another thing Sabrina was good at was questioning directions she thought were out of place, but she knew better than to do anything of the sort when the word "family" came out of his mouth. That was particularly true now that Katarina was the only one left. Like any good secretary, Sabrina knew more than enough about her boss' life to know what was important to him, and she had to wonder if Marcus' devotion to his sister's welfare would ever allow him to maintain a relationship outside of family. Still, it wasn't her place to question.

"Right away, sir."

"Good." He was looking around for the street signs so he knew just how far he had to go. He'd forgotten how different everything looked on foot. "I'll call back in a few minutes. Hurry up!" With that, Marcus hung up and focused solely on how he would find his sister.
 
The roadway system was so highly congested that there had been alternate roads built that traveled beneath much like a subway system. She deducted to take the Interstate 30 and keep heading east. As the road dropped beneath ground level and she was enshrouded in a cavern of overhead lights and brick walls, the implementation of images continued to assault her senses. Admist the clutter and scatter of the information came two conclusions - her anxiety was continuing to rise along with the rage that burned within, and secondly, she needed to find an answer for what was going on. Who would have any information about this?

When she asked that question to herself as she changed lanes, the face of Derek Trimelton, her father's best friend, snapped before her.

"Of course." She spoke aloud. Pressing harder to the pedal, she didn't care that the speedometer was well over 100, she just knew one thing...

She was headed to the coast.
 
Ducati

(Hypermotaro 1100---The link below is in reference to this post.) (http://www.ducati.com/en/bikes/my2007/Hypermotard/Flash20070503/index_eng.html)
*Although he had been genetically modified, the enhancements hadn't given him superhuman speed, and so he knew he would never catch his target on foot with such a lead. Grumbling, he took a helmet off the garage wall once he entered and sat down on a black Ducati Hypermotaro 1100. Catching up with the target, he lied in waiting for Marcus to come out. To confront Marcus infront of so many people would not only be a mistake, but tactfully it would be alot smarter to follow Marcus to the other target, and then complete both objectives. Although he was supposed to bring back the target alive, perhaps killing them both wasn't such a bad idea if he could become the doctor's prized posession once again. The mere thought of snapping the man's neck had his veins pumping, the sweat began dripping down his forehead as the hallucinations kicked in momentarily. One of the nasty side-effects of the genetically enhanced vessel that was his body. Coming back into reality, he took a deep breath and was thirsty for bloodshed, perhaps he couldn't wait for the target, but he would for as long as he could.*
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom