Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
Vin Tanner cast his gaze across the square that lay between himself and the main entrance of the building known to the visitors of Calumet as the Arena. At this time, the enormous wooden doors leading into the amphitheater were closed to the rest of the public as the games had well and truly commenced, if the dull roar he could hear through the brick was any indicator. He wondered if Chris was battling it out in the ring like some trained animal and hoped that was not the case. Vin was going to have enough difficulty finding his way in without that complication.
Scattered across Calumet at strategic locations were the rest of the seven. Josiah and Nathan was scouting the line of sight between Calumet and the pass that lead out of the canyon, trying to discover if Laurel Chase had guards protecting it from intruders. He had to assume there were because the woman was no fool and he doubt she allow her enemies that kind of an advantage without being vigilant. The two lawmen would ensure that when the time came, they would be able to get Chris out in safety without being impeded by Laurel's hired guns when they finally made their gateway.
As he thought that, he glanced towards the alley in between a nearby hotel and restaurant only to see JD waiting patiently for them, whilst perched on top of the carriage that would provide their transport out of here when they ready to leave. In the meantime, Buck Wilmington was presently carrying out the part of the plan that would offer a little bit of distraction that would give them the leverage they needed to keep ahead of Laurel's men if they meant to get Chris back.
Even though Calumet was lively at this time of night, most of the people on the street were drunk and too involved in entertaining themselves with the revelry that the town offered to be concerned with his presence. Vin was certain that Laurel and Mr Zhang would be inside the Arena at this moment and thus not likely to recognise him as he made his attempt to infiltrate the adjoining buildings where he was certain Chris would be imprisoned.
For as far as the eye could see, the main structure of the Arena was a circular length of wall that enclosed the ring and stands for the paying audience. Vin found little difficulty in skimming the edge of the structure and following the curved rock until he found a length of fence that tapered away from the Arena itself and led to a collection of buildings that was a separate but nonetheless an attachment of the original. Climbing stealthily over the fence, he dropped into the grounds within and took advantage of the shadow cast by both the towering amphitheater over him and the structures ahead. Observing how they were interconnected with the Arena itself, Vin spied what look like a walkway that from ran from stadium to the largest building inside within the fenced area.
Deciding that was as good as any place to start, the tracker began following the passageway to wherever it lead him. He knew that he had some time and though he disliked it intensely, Vin knew that Alex and Ezra would keep Laurel Chase and her Goliath busy for a time while he made his search. According to Ezra who had spent considerable time in Calumet the past two days while waiting for Alex and the others to arrive, Chris would not be fighting tonight. It was Laurel's habit not to utilise her main attraction frequently in order to make his appearance something of an event.
The idea that Chris Larabee had been turned into a side show attraction hollowed the insides of Vin's stomach each time he thought of his best friend trapped in those circumstances. As much as he loathed to believe it when Ezra had revealed what he saw Chris do, Vin knew that was the only plausible explanation. Nothing else answered the question why Laurel Chase had taken such great pains to kidnap Chris. Before that day in Vesta City, the woman had never laid eyes upon the gunslinger and following the first sighting, Vin was certain she had decided that Chris was viable livestock for her exhibition of performing animals.
He hoped that even if they did manage rescue Chris from this place, they were still able to save him. The nature of what had been done to him did not make those two actions one. Rescuing Chris was not enough because of what Laurel had done to him. The manner in which she had twisted everything that was Chris Larabee into a darker mirror of himself was a mystery they had to break in order to shatter the reflection and return the gunslinger to who he had been before the stupor of drugs had made him a killer.
The walkway finally ran its course in front of a large set of door leading into the depth of the building away from the Arena he had sighted upon first entering the place. Vin unsheathed his Winchester, prepared to shoot the first thing he saw that gave him reason to do. His intention to bring Chris home to Four Corners had driven an edge of ruthlessness to his manner. It did not often surface but when it did, people who bore witness to its presence knew wisely to keep their distance.
The doors were unlocked and the tracker entered what appeared to be an exercise room of some kind. It was hug and sprawling and the only reason he recognised the odd apparatus that littered its waxed floor was because he had seen some of equipment in those fancy magazines that Alex had sent to her from the big city. Judging by the volume of the equipment, Vin realised that Laurel had quite an extensive troop of pugilists under her control and he wondered if they all had been snared the way Chris had. Did those men have families who were still wondering what became of them?
A deep sense of moral outrage rose inside of him and any attraction he might have once held for the female in the centre of all this misery withered up and died, leaving a residue of hatred inside Vin that demanded satisfaction. This had to stop. Someone had to stop it. While his main concern at the moment was retrieving Chris Larabee, Vin knew that once his friend was safely away from here and delivered home to his wife and newborn son, Vin was going to take steps to ensure that this place be dismantled, brick by tainted brick.
He crossed the floor of the gymnasium and exited through the doors on the other side of the sprawling room. Once he passed through that opening, he found himself at a corridor with many doors flanking him as he continued up the carpeted floor. He listened closely as he moved, with the sense of a hunter used to listening to animals move with far more silence than any human could manage. He could tell instantly which rooms were occupied and which were not as he walked up. Some of the rooms were lavishly decorated and had the lived look of being someone's domicile. He saw objects and clothes, not to mention the warm smell of comfort that came whenever stepping unwanted into somebody's private domain.
He was almost to the end of the corridor when he heard feminine voice speaking behind one door and froze when he realised that voice belonged to Alex. For a moment, he was almost tempted to barge in and then decided against it. Judging from her tone and the cool deliberation in his wife's speech, it did not take him long to understand that she was successfully completing her part in this rescue by keeping Laurel Chase busy. The two women were speaking as colleagues and he did not understand what they were talking about when they descended into discussion about drugs and chemicals with names so long it was mind boggling for Vin to imagine how to say it, let alone what it was. It did not appear as if Zhang was in the room with them and so Vin felt that the best thing he could do for the moment was to continue his search and come back for Alex later. She did not seem to be in trouble and he did not want to tip their hand by exposing her with his attempt at rescue.
As he distanced himself from the room within which Alex and Laurel were conferring with no awareness of his presence, Vin continued up the corridor and noticed something odd about the door that was situated at the end. The most telling thing about it that set it apart from all others was the fact that it seemed to have a primary door not unlike that found in a jail cell and then a secondary door like all the others in the corridor. The instincts which he relied upon with more trust than any other thing in his life, save the man he was attempting to free, told him that he was close to what he was seeking. Taking a deep breath, Vin approached the dual set of doors with extreme stealth, not wishing discovery, not until he learnt what inside it.
With footsteps that were soundless, Vin neared the bars and paused a moment as he listened closely and knew that someone was occupying the room. He knew was taking a gamble on intruding especially when the consequence for being wrong could be dire but Vin had an epiphany of sorts that told him that he was right. Slipping his hand through the thick bars, he placed his hand on the doorknob and twisted gently, hearing the lock mechanism click into place as the bolt slid out of its brass fastenings. There was a slight creak as he pushed against the inner door, allowing it to swing backwards.
Vin found himself staring at Chris.
The gunslinger had obviously been attracted by the sound of lock turning and had come to investigate, pausing a few feet away from the doorway, clearing its arch as it swung back. Chris was clad in pair of dark trouser and nothing else, no shoes or shirt. He stood there looking at Vin for a moment with dark eyes that seemed cold, almost alien. For a second neither man knew what to say. Vin had always been able to read Chris from the first moment they had met, conveying all that needed to be said between each other with a simple look that meant far more than anyone could manage with the spoken word. For the first time since Vin had known Chris, he did not know what his best friend was thinking.
"Chris," Vin finally spoke first, hoping that the drugs had not addled the gunslinger's mind so badly that he did not know whom the tracker was.
"V...Vin?" The sound escaped Chris almost involuntarily.
"Yeah," Vin smiled, pleased for that much at least. "I'm going to get you out of here pard." Vin answered, letting those strings words escape him in order to prove to Chris that his moment of freedom had finally come, that this was no illusion created by whatever poison Laurel Chase had made him kill those men in the ring. "I'm taking you home."
"Home." Chris mouthed the word.
"Yeah," Vin nodded. "We've been tearing the countryside apart trying to find you." He explained, noticing that Chris did not seem very excited about the prospect. In fact, he appeared rather indifferent to it all. "You've got a wife and son waiting for you at home."
"No." Chris shook his head after a moment, showing no effect whatsoever at being told that he was a father again. "I can't go home."
"Chris," Vin showed just as much indifference to that statement because he knew that Chris was not in his right mind, that it was the effect of what Laurel Chase had done to him that was making him like this. "You can go home. Mary is waiting. You wife is waiting for you at home. She's been worried sick about you."
"I don't have a wife," Chris replied. "I have Laurel."
Vin almost blanched at that thought and realised just how deeply Laurel's poisoning of his mind had gone. "Chris, I ain't got time for this. Stand aside, cause I'm getting that door open and we're going home." The tracker aimed his Winchester at the lock, aware that it was going to bring everybody down on his ears when he was done but listening to Chris talk had sparked his fear despite himself. Everything about the gunslinger seemed so detached. It did not appear his memory of the people in his life was impaired but rather he just did not care.
"Don't bother," Chris replied and stepped forward, pushing against the bar and allowing the steel door to swing towards Vin. "It ain't locked no more. There ain't no reason for it to be." He explained. "I'm home already."
"You're not home!" Vin hissed in exasperation as he stood back and understood how bad things were about to get. "This ain't you home and that woman has made you crazy. You have a wife for Christ sake! She almost died giving birth to your son!"
"My son is dead." Chris stepped out of the room and into the hall, closing in on Vin in a predatory approach that the tracker recognised immediately and stepped back from him.
Vin knew what was happening. There was a time in the days when he still hunted buffalo when a mountain lion had gotten his scent and stalked him for days before attacking. He remembered seeing its eyes in the dark as it moved in for the kill, the scent of the prey thick in its lungs. It was the same look that Chris Larabee was now looking at him.
"Adam is dead," Vin nodded in agreement. "But you have two sons now. You have Billy and you have Michael. Isn't that what you and Mary wanted to name your baby?"
Chris blinked because through the haze of his mind, he could remember those discussions. She with the long golden hair, the one that sometimes crept into his thoughts when he was making love to Laurel, the one that stood between his ability to appreciate the act. "Shut up." He growled, closing his eyes and trying to sort through the confusion in his mind. "Shut up!"
"Pard," Vin realised with growing anguish how this was going to go down and had no choice but to permit it to happen. "I don't want to hurt you. Come with me now and we'll take you home. You've been hurt bad, you need help."
"I don't need anything!" Chris' eyes flew open and he glared at Vin with that powerful gaze that could reduce a man to a quivering mound of flesh by the menace that was reflected in them. However, this time there was more than just menace, there was something skirting the edge, about to flare into existence with frenzied rage. "I am stronger and faster than I have ever been. I could take you apart with my bare hands."
"I'm sure you could." Vin replied cautiously, not about to make the first move. "But why do you want to? We've rode together and we've watched each other's back in more fights that we can name. You trusted me with your life and I've done the same with you. There ain't no reason for you to do that."
"Sure there is," Chris Larabee smiled coldly. "Because I can."
Vin swore under his breath, deciding that there was no way out of the corner Chris was painting him into. The drugs had not only stripped away his memory of those who meant something to him but had also robbed him of any moral centre that might have existed inside Chris' psyche. He was poised for attack because Laurel's poison had made him a powder keg of pent up aggression waiting for release anyway he could find it.
"Chris I don't want to hurt you. Please," Vin responded almost pleading. "Don't make me do this."
"Do what?" Chris laughed. "You think you can take me Vin?" His eyes danced with maniacal fire as he dared Vin to answer. "You think you can hurt me?"
"I know I can hurt you." Vin retorted, feeling his own ire inspired by the swagger and arrogance in Chris' voice. Vin had to remind himself that he was preparing to do battle with a predator that was stronger and a whole lot meaner than he was capable of being, who also happened to be his best friend. "I just don't want to."
"What's the matter Vin?" Chris continued to goad him. "Afraid that sense of honor of yours will get a little dirty? Didn't seem to worry you much when you went from hunting buffalo to hunting men. You didn't seem so high and mighty on your morals when you were turning human beings in for money."
Chris was trying to provoke him, Vin knew that but the words cut just the same anyway. "You ain't gonna make me throw the first punch Chris." Vin whispered.
"I ain't afraid to throw the first punch." Chris returned sharply, "I was just trying to give you a kick start."
"Is that what you call it?" Vin replied and looked down the corridor. So far their presence had gone unnoticed but Vin did not have time for this. He had to get Chris out of here and he had to do it soon. Unfortunately, there was only one way to do it. He took a step towards Chris and without further hesitation, though it pained him greatly, Vin threw his fist forward and connected with the gunslinger's jaw.
Chris staggered backwards, reeling from the blow but affected no more than that. He looked at Vin with a smile and replied. "Well its about goddamn time."
Lauren Chase found Alexandra Styles rather intriguing even if she did not fully trust the lady.
What could not be denied despite that lack of trust was the fact that Laurel could not find any evidence that might contradict the lady's claiming of being a doctor. Alexandra Styles, suspect as she still might be to Laurel was extremely well educated and knew her craft as any good physician might. There was also the added bonus of she being more than just a repository for factual data and was capable of using the knowledge at her disposal to be quite a formidable intellect.
While it was commonplace for her to have men always clamoring to gain her attention and her favor, it was rare that she found herself on an equal footing with another woman. Although she was confident that in physical beauty she still had no peer that could match her, despite the fact that Alexandra Styles was attractive in an exotic sort of way, it was her mind that held Laurel's interest most. While biochemistry had always interested Laurel, the idea of becoming a doctor had never occurred to the lady during her years of study. Of course, Laurel could find nothing more tedious than to spend one's life mending bones and sewing flesh with catgut while wrist deep in warm organs. However, she did give credit to those who put themselves through the almost backbreaking toil of becoming a physician, particularly when those concerned were female.
It was this credit that had allowed Laurel to allow Alex into her private laboratory located not far from where Chris Larabee was presently housed. The gunslinger had come a long way since their love making a few nights ago when he had made his first real kill. As she had suspected, once the conditioning of his nobility had been broken, it was easy to further manipulate him with the drugs he unknowingly consumed whenever he sat down to a meal. He no longer had any desire to leave and if he still remembered his wife and family, the need for them had been overridden by the overwhelming desire to vent his aggression at every opportunity. Of course, when he was done venting all that hostility, he had other needs to exhaust almost as frantically and on those occasions, he was every much as delightful as Laurel imagined he would be.
"I am impressed." Alex remarked and could not deny that part of her meant it. "You have a very well equipped laboratory."
The room Laurel was presently showing off to her with no small amount of pride impressed Alex. For someone who had roamed the hallowed corridors of Oxford, being one of the finest centres of learning in Europe, not to mention the onus for scientific research in the world, the laboratory where Laurel Chase conducted her feats of biochemical magic deserved the pride bestowed upon it. As her eyes traveled over smooth and tidy work benches with the very latest in scientific equipment perched on its wooden surface, from its Bunsen burner to its tripod stands, everything that a researcher would need to conduct the work that Laurel indulged was a finger tip away.
"Thank you," Laurel responded, her gaze travelling across the shelves containing racks holding vials of every conceivable ingredient she may need for her concoctions. She noted that Alex was studying everything, taking great stock of her private laboratory with great interest. "I do delicate work here and so I insist upon the best."
"I'm sure that's true," Alex continued to observe. "I don't think I've seen a lab this well equipped since Oxford and that was some years ago."
"Well what I do requires precision." Laurel remarked, leaning against the bench where she did most of the work. Vials of white powder sat in a neat row within a small wooden frame and Laurel picked it up before facing Alex again. "And you Doctor Styles are similarly impressed. I was not quite ready to believe your credentials but our discussions have proved you are anything but a liar in your claims. I must confess the idea of lady doctor in my little organisation does have certain attraction."
"Thank you," Alex said graciously. "I have the impression that it takes quite a bit to meet with your approval, I am honoured."
"Well, you may not say the same once I charge you with the task I require." Laurel walked towards her and handed her the vial. "As you so astutely observed, my fighters do have a little bit of enhancement added to their physiology, one whose long term effects you have so accurately pointed out will have future repercussions."
"Any chemical abuse over a length of time is dangerous," Alex said automatically. "Of course, I cannot determine exactly what rate of deterioration we are talking about until I am allowed to examine the substance you are using."
Laurel immediately held up the vial for her to see. "I call it Venom." She announced and gestured for Alex to examine it closer if the doctor so wished it.
Alex was not about to deny herself the chance of getting a sample of the substance that had turned Chris Larabee into a monster but did not want to seem to eager either. She regarded the vial for a moment, before taking it out of Laurel's grip and examining the contents within the vial breaking the cork seal. In its present form, it was little more than a white powder that did not look very different from fine sugar.
"Interesting." Alex remarked, attempting to appear nonchalant as she made her examination. "So tell me, what is venom."
"Originally I considered using an opiate of some form but acquiring it in the quantities I desire is too problematic for my tastes and as you mentioned earlier, long term use will a number of health hazards I am not prepared to deal with." She said breezily as if she might be discussing the recipe to pie as she pulled up a chair and nestled comfortably into it so she could continued her narration. Like all inventers, the opportunity to boast her genius to those who understood it in its full complexity was rare and she was revelling in it. "Eventually I came to the conclusion that if I wished to inhibit the symptoms of physiological degradation than I would have to use something different."
The manner in which she made that offering to Alex sent an involuntary chill through the doctor as she waited for Laurel to make her revelation regarding her inspiration to go an alternative route in the manufacture of the substance known as poison. "I am intrigued." Alex responded, prompting her to continue.
"I felt that the problems of introducing something alien into the body could be eliminated if we attempted to use a more natural substance, something that isn't foreign to the human body." Laurel continued to speak. "I read a medical paper some years ago that made mention that the growth and development of the human body was linked to the hormonal substance contained in what is the pituitary gland."
"Yes," Alex had heard of the same research done on the subject. "Our pituitary gland is supposed to regulate the hormones in our body and effect how we produce it." She had to admit her admiration for this woman as psychotic as she was escalating. The paper was considerably theoretical mostly because the technology to examine the idea in the practical sense had yet to be invented.
"In human physiology, enzymes are catalytic components which make the chemicals in our body react in one way or another. With this in mind, I decided to isolate the enzyme specially designed to produce testosterone. It is that hormone that makes a male everything that he is, more aggressive, more sexually inspired and more susceptible to his baser instincts. Of course, I made a few other adjustments. The enzyme also increases adrenalin levels making the subject stronger, faster, his senses heightened and ready for the fight."
"That would make for a very dangerous combination." Alex pointed out, trying her hardest to hide the horror of what this woman had wrought. "How do you maintain the control that you do?"
"Oh that's easy," Laurel smiled. "A little hallucinogenic component added into the mix and the subject becomes extremely susceptible to suggestion. Of course, selection has to be careful. You cannot just use this on anyone. The subject has to be the right sort. There would be a certain amount of natural hostility as well as an aggressive personality to begin with."
God, Alex shuddered inwardly. She could not imagine how Laurel could appear so calm while relating with great pride how she had more or less engineered a substance that was capable of reducing a normally rational man into a mindless automaton that wanted nothing but to spill blood. The horror of it sat inside her stomach and contaminated her with its filth. The irony of it was, Laurel was brilliant. What she had accomplished with her concoction put her years ahead of anyone in the world, in regards to biochemistry.
What in God's name had happened to this woman to make her so completely soulless?
"I stand in awe." Alex confessed. "That is absolutely remarkable." Suddenly a thought occurred to her and she looked up at Laurel. "You said that the enzyme has to be a natural substance that the body would not reject, where do you get your supply to do your manipulations?"
Laurel smiled at that question and the glimmer of sinister light that crossed her lovely features struck cold fear in Alex's heart as the doctor realised that there was only one place Laurel could have acquired the pure product. However, the enormity of it was more than Alex could voice, she had to hear the woman say it or else she would not believe it.
"Identifying the enzyme responsible for the production of the substance made things infinitely simpler but once I did, it was just a matter of extracting my requirements from the source." She replied with complete innocence as if what she was revealing was just another statement of fact. Not an admission of murder.
"The source being anyone who has a pituitary gland."
Alex was about to respond in kind when suddenly they heard noises outside the door in the corridor beyond. It sounded like fighting and Laurel turned around immediately, striding towards it to escape. Alex looked around quickly, having suspected what could have been the cause of the commotion and knew that she had only seconds to act before Laurel raised the alarm and brought her people into the place. Taking note of a heavy book bound in leather, she picked it up soundlessly and advanced upon the woman.
Laurel paused as if some inner instinct was signalling trouble and turned around just in time to receive a face full of hard leather as Alex smashed the bound text against her jaw. Laurel let out a soft cry as she tumbled to the floor, dropping on her knees as she reeled with disorientation. Not allowing her the chance to recover, Alex brought down the book on the back of her head as Laurel was hunched forward on her knees. The second blow effectively knocked whatever conscious thought was left in her body as she collapsed on the ground heavily.
Alex let out a deep breath and dropped the book from her hands, completely aware that the blows would not keep Laurel out for long. She hurried back into the laboratory and picked up the vial of Venom, requiring a sample if she was ever going to find a way to undo what had been done to Chris Larabee. Tucking the length of glass somewhere safe in her dress, she skipped over Laurel's prone form and made a quick search of the room before heading towards the door. She could hear voices outside and as she pulled it open and peered through the crack it produce upon being ajar.
Outside the corridor, she saw Chris Larabee and Vin fighting in a bar knuckled brawl.
Vin was fast coming to the conclusion if he did not stop pulling his punches, it would be him that would be dragged out of here not Chris.
As Vin blocked another incoming blow, a part of him was unable to believe that they had been reduced to this. Laurel's drug had made Chris almost incomprehensible with rage. The manic fire Vin was seeing in his eyes had always been present except then it had manifested itself as the infamous Larabee glare. Until now, Vin had never thought how terrifying it could be to those on the receiving end when they knew that Chris was out to do them harm. When Chris looked that way at any of the seven, they all felt the reassurance of knowing that Chris might have been angry but his feelings for the men he rode with negated the possibility of that rage becoming ugly. Vin was grateful that none of the other could see Chris like this because if they did, that assurance would be destroyed forever, knowing how truly vile Chris' unchecked anger could be if he chose to vent this.
"Come on Vin," Chris goaded as the succession of punches he had thrown had forced Vin's back to the wall. The gunslinger was on an adernalin high and though he had no intention of killing his friend and Vin was his friend, that much he knew through the stupor of venom in his veins, he did want to fight him. Chris had always suspected that Vin was quite capable of rising to the occasion. When his passions were properly inspired, Vin could be almost as hot headed as any man and he was especially dangerous that way because there was a hint of calculation that made him spot weakness almost immediately.
"Is that the best you can do?" He asked, preparing to swing again. "Is that why you always watch and wait, cause you're too scared to do anything else?" He hissed.
Vin did not answer because he was coming to grips with a decision he had no choice but to make if he wanted to get out of here alive and take Chris with him. He had struck the first blow hoping that whatever altercation that ensued would be quick and decisive but that was not how it had taken place. Chris was moving at a juggernaut pace and each time Vin struck back, the gunslinger became more frenzied and far more dangerous. It was as if he was feeding the fire inside him the more aggressive he became. If there was any consolation to be had in the whole sorry situation, it was the more frenzied Chris became the less focussed he became.
Vin remained silent as he kept Chris under deep scrutiny, seeking out the vulnerability he could use to put down his best friend without killing him. He saw Chris glaring at him, breathing hard as he prepared to launch himself at Vin again, his blood lust having taken his senses completely and finally giving Vin the edge he needed to finish this once and for all. Enough was enough, they had to get out of here immediately. As it was, they had lingered here too long and soon other would be entering the equation.
"I'm sorry Chris." Vin found himself saying quietly.
"Sorry for what?" Chris retorted derisively.
"Sorry for this." Vin answered just before he slammed his foot into the side of Chris' leg and dropped the gunslinger to his knees. Without pausing, he delivered the second blow into the gunslinger's sternum with his knee while grabbing the arm that was attempted to strike back. As Chris doubled over, Vin brought down his elbow on the back of his neck and completed his hard impact against the floor. As he grovelled on his belly and tried to stand up, Vin took a step backwards, aware that he was far from done. Whatever was running through his body had yet to exhaust itself but Vin's action was done to provoke him further, not to wear him out just yet.
"Not bad," Chris groaned clutching his chest as he slowly pushed himself up to his feet and glared at Vin. "Wondered when you were gonna show me a little more spirit."
"I got more spirit than you can handle Chris," Vin said positioning himself carefully before he launched his next attack. "Truth is, you can do much without whining for that rabid bitch."
"Don't talk that way about her!" Chris roared with a renewed sense of rage as he lunged at Vin.
Vin who was ready for him, side stepped Chris as he charged. The tracker delivered a double blow as he slammed his elbow into Chris' side and then his face, pulling a surprised cry of outrage from Chris as he reeled back. Taking advantage of his disorientation, Vin moved in for the kill and began throwing a succession of blows, ensuring every punch connected until it was Chris with his back to the wall. His head snapped back with each punch and as much as Vin might think he had enough, the tracker could not allow himself to be clouded with feeling of friendship when it was possible that Chris would kill him for the mistake.
Chris still managed to defend himself, blocking and striking but the momentary advantage Vin had created for himself allowed the sharpshooter to hurt and weaken him. They were playing on a level field now and as they struck at each other, blow for blow, Vin could see Chris becoming exhausted. Whatever he was running on was starting to wind down while Vin on the other hand whose senses were always heightened and never prone to lose his head in a fight, was still keeping his concentration on wining, not just fending or delivering punches as his opponent was doing.
They had both stepped away from each other after the latest series of blows, circling like two wolves battling for their position in the pack. Chris was breathing harder while Vin, who was tired was managing to hide it better. Thanks to the Arena, Vin thought with anger and disgust, Chris was accustomed to quick kills. If he were himself, he would have been able to hand Vin's head to him in a platter if Chris got it in his mind to do it. However, this was not Chris Larabee Vin was fighting but rather a facsimile borne out of the drugs he had been forced to ingest into his system.
"Vin!" Alex's voice rang in his ear and he turned around to see Alex emerged from the room he passed by earlier.
The momentary distraction was all Chris needed and he ploughed into Vin, dropping them both onto the floor. Vin felt the gunslingers' weight straddling him and pummelling him with blows. In his position of weakness, the effect was almost devastating as Vin felt fist connecting with his face repeatedly, feeling the grains of teeth in his mouth as it shattered, tasting blood on his tongue and the heat on his face as flesh began to swell. He could hear Alex screaming out in fear and focussed enough through the pain to see her trying to pull Chris off him.
Chris stopped hitting Vin at that point as the tracker reeled from pain and from the series of blows he had been subjected to. Chris shrugged Alex off him as she was nothing and he turned to her, as if he had forgotten all about Vin as he sighted a new prey.
"Hello Alex." Chris said with a smile that immediately told Alex that she was in a lot of trouble.
"Chris, let us help you." She implored as he started closing in on her, the gleam in his eyes was nothing less than predatory. "You're very sick."
"I'm sick of people saying that to me." He replied and swung at her with a backhanded blow.
Alex hit the floor almost straight away, feeling the salt of blood in her mouth and started to crawl away when she looked up and saw Chris not advancing upon her. Her eyes widened when she saw why he had not come after.
Vin was standing behind him, with the sawn off Winchester aimed directly at the back of Chris' skull.
"You touch my wife again and I'll blow your head off, friend or not."
"You don't have the balls for that." Chris sneered.
"Maybe not," Alex suddenly came up along side of him. "But we'll never know." Without warning, she plunged a small syringe she had discreetly hidden on her person deep into his arm and pumped its fluids straight into Chris' vein.
Chris' eyes widened in rage as he realise what she had done as she retreated quickly. "No!" He snarled angrily and lunged at Alex.
The doctor quickly withdrew to a safe distance away from him, in anticipation of the reaction she would receive upon his realising what she had done. When she had seen Vin and Chris fighting, Alex had quickly searched through the potions and drugs the lady had on stock, hoping that there was something there Alex could use to end the fight in a more peaceable manner. Fortunately, she discovered a heavy morphine based sedative and hoped that it would not react too adversely with whatever Chris was already drugged with.
Chris managed no more than one or two steps before the effect of the drug started to hit. The gunslinger paused as the disorientation began to seep in and no long after Vin could see Chris struggling to remain on his feet. The tracker sheathed his Winchester back into its holster, breathing hard as the sedation made him drowsier and drowsier.
"What did you do to me?" He growled angrily as he dropped to his knees, no longer able to stand.
"It will be alright Chris," Alex assured him. "We're going to help you!"
"Now you want to help me!" Chris barked as his pupils started to dilate and he had difficulty breathing. He turned his gaze on Vin as his mind started to cloud over and he tried desperately to remain lucid. Unfortunately, it was the one battle he could not lose and he felt himself succumbing to the darkness. The knowledge of his eventual defeat gave him a renewed sense of anger and he glared at Vin. "You want to help me?" He hissed angrily as the fight started to drain out of his face. "You were supposed to watch my back! Where were you when I needed you? You were supposed to come! I waited and waited and you didn't show! Not one of you!"
Vin blinked, feeling the words sink into him like a knife. As he saw Chris lose his battle to stay conscious, finally tumbling to the floor in a heap, Vin took a deep breath and steadied himself before he strode over to Alex, who was allowing herself a sigh of relief.
"Alex are you okay?" He asked, embracing her quickly because he sorely needed one right now and took note of the ugly bruise that was forming against her skin. Not that he was in any better shape himself. He knew that he had broken one of his back teeth and he sorely wanted a drink to wash away the taste of blood in his mouth.
"Yes," she nodded and pushed away, her eyes darting about nervously because she did not want to be trapped in this place after what she had seen already. "We must get him out of here now. I have no idea how long that morphine is going to keep him knocked out. The drug that's already in his system is running his metabolism like a locomotive, we've got to find some other way to restrain him."
Vin nodded in understanding and moved towards Chris. Alex looked down the hall cautiously to see if anyone was coming as Vin pulled Chris' arm around his shoulder and proceeded to go down the hall the way he came. As Alex fell into stride with him, she turned to her husband and saw the impact of Chris' accusation in his eyes.
"Vin," Alex said softly. "What Chris said, it was the drug talking. He's half insane from what's she has done with him. I'm sure that's not how he feels."
Vin did not answer because the truth was, he was very certain that was exactly how Chris had felt.
Zhang was starting to get anxious by the rather absence of the lady he served after a considerable length of time had passed and there was still no sign of Laurel Chase returning with her guest. Of course, that period of waiting was not made any less tolerable by the attempt of the man he had been left to keep watch upon, challenging him to play a game of cards at two minute intervals. He was starting to understand why the lovely doctor kept the man around for his hidden talents since the most obvious ones were rather annoying.
"I was given the impression that yours is a rest that enjoys the games of chance. Why I had chance to journey through a railway camp where a number of your countrymen were laying the foundation for that, great transport enterprise and found that they were most receptive to games of chance. They even taught me a few things."
"I do not gamble." Zhang retorted firmly wishing to put an end to the matter.
"But this entire establishment gains its revenue from that particular human vice." Ezra pointed out, continuing this discussion in order to distract the man from his concerns regarding Laurel Chase's prolonged absence. Ezra was certain that something was going on and it was in everyone's best interest particularly in light of what they were attempting to accomplish in this place if Mr Zhang remained seated.
"That is my lady's concern," Zhang said hotly, seriously deciding whether or not it would be such a terrible sin that if he were to break every bone in this upstart's smirking face. However, he decided that the more sensible course would be to simply leave. He doubted this creature could cause any mischief while he went to investigate where his lady was this point.
Ezra saw him starting to move and decided he was out of time. Without blinking, the derringer tucked safely under his sleeve made its emergence, the click of its mechanism drowning out in the sound of the crowd's roar.
"Move Sir and I would be most gratified to see if your thick bulk is capable of keeping this tiny bullet from cleaving your heart in two when I pull the trigger."
Mr Zhang's eyes clouded over with murderous anger and Ezra did not wish to be on the receiving end of his considerable rage and gestured the man to remove the gun belt around his barrel thick waist. Reluctantly, the Oriental unbuckled the belt and his weapons dropped to the floor. Ezra took a deep breath and knew it was time to depart, deciding that if Vin and Alex had not emerged together than a new plan was required. However, the fact that Laurel had not yet returned and Mr Zhang was so concerned, led Ezra to the conclusion that both had run into each other.
"No doubt you have noticed the absence of Miss Chase," Ezra said smoothly, displaying his most hardened poker face before this man who would see straight through it if he was anything less than convincing. He saw Zhang reacting to that statement and the man wanted to act so badly that Ezra knew if he managed to escape the Oriental's clutches he could consider himself extremely favored. "If I do not emerge from this place in the five minutes," Ezra continued. "My companions who are scattered all around this charming community of yours and who by now have the lovely Miss Chase in their company, will see to it that she is returned to you in tiny pieces."
Zhang made a stepped toward him and Ezra cocked the gun, proving that he would not hesitate to fire if provoked into it. " Do not underestimate the determination of those with me to see to it that their demands are met. If I am not outside, they will kill her."
Ezra had been correct in assuming that Zhang's devotion to the lady was too strong to keep him from consciously placing her life in danger because a few seconds passed in silence between the two men, despite the noise that roared around them, the oriental took a step backwards. Ezra let out an inward sigh of relief and met the men's gaze with a little smile.
"You have made a wise decision." He replied and withdrew slowly out of the box, beyond the notice of the audience who was too interested in the carnage taking place. As soon as Ezra put enough distance between himself and the huge man, he looked over his shoulder and saw Zhang running into the private entrance into the box, which he and Laurel had used to make their appearance. No doubt, he was rushing to find out of if what Ezra had claimed was true.
For Alex and Vin's sake, Ezra hoped he was right.
JD was getting anxious.
The youth sat perched on top of the carriage they had stolen from the travellers who were journeying to Calumet, feelings tendrils of concern snake up his spine each time he heard a sound and realised it was not any of the seven or Alex that was approaching. So far, his presence had gone largely noticed as he remained in position, hidden in the dark alley that overlooked the main part of the Arena. The horses had settled in for the wait, which was just as well for when things finally rolled into motion, they would be pushed to the limit in order for the seven to make good their escape.
During his wait he had seen the rich idle up and down their streets, drunk and full of carefree enjoyment as they went to indulge as many vices as was humanly possible. JD felt an immediate dislike for all of them because he had seen their type too many times before in his young life. He remembered at the boarding school where his ma had worked and he had received his education. The students had been just like these people, accustomed to a life of privilege where everything was provided for them and scornful of those who did not have the same freedom.
The people who came to Calumet to satiate their desires and their tastes had no idea what their hungry indolence usually came at a price for those who had to provide the service. He still had trouble believing Ezra had seen what he had confessed to in the Arena because a part of JD Dunne refused to admit that Chris Larabee could succumb, no matter how overwhelming the forces. Even though that he had seen enough during his years in the West to be a far cry from the youth that stepped of that stage when Chris and Vin had gone to save Nathan, he still indulged in a little hero worship when it came to Chris Larabee.
Even when Chris had been trapped in that hellish prison as Inmate 78, he had managed to hold his own and remain very much the man JD respected immensely. What could have happen to him in the last week that could turn him into a murderer who had no sense of anything, not even his wife. JD felt his anger rise more potently when he remembered that poor Mary was at this moment, recovering what was supposedly by all accounts, a terrible ordeal delivering hers and Chris' child. It was beyond JD's understanding how all that could simply be forgotten by Chris in a week.
He had no time to debate the matter because suddenly, he saw movement at the corner of his eyes that did not match that of the tourists in Calumet. He saw three figures emerging from the darkness into the main square before the Arena, capturing startled expressions from passers by as they work their way towards the alley. Needing no incentive than that, JD grabbed the reins and snapped them hard, breaking the horses out of their inactivity and sending the animals into a running start. JD directed the horses towards Vin Tanner who was carrying an unconscious Chris Larabee, with Alex looking about nervously.
JD pulled the horses to a halt as near to them as he could manage and then noticed that Ezra Standish had made his sudden exit from the main doors that led from the innards of the Arena. The gambler immediately caught sight of JD and the others, assessing the situation in the split second that it took for the image to imprint upon his mind before he broke into a run towards them.
"Is he alright?" JD asked preparing to dismount as Alex pulled open the door of the carriage so Vin could put the gunslinger inside its compartment.
"He's out like a light," Vin answered. "Stay up there. We're getting out of here right now." The tracker ordered as he and Alex deposited Chris inside the carriage, just as Ezra reached them.
"I think that would be an exceedingly good idea," Ezra remarked, looking over his shoulder to see anyone was following. At the moment, he could see no evidence of pursuit but bet his entire fortune, what there was of it, that the situation would change the minute Mr Zhang found out that Laurel was not kidnapped as he had claimed. "I may have alluded to Mr Zhang that we have Miss Chase in our custody to make my retreat."
"Don't matter," Vin gestured for Ezra to get into the carriage. "We got what we came for."
"The question remains whether we can leave with it." Ezra retorted as he climbed into the compartment.
"If everything goes to plan, I'm guessing it will." Vin remarked and then looked up at JD. "Get us out of here JD." He ordered.
"On our way!" JD replied as he saw Vin disappear inside the carriage and yelled at the horses to get moving just as he saw the huge oriental man appear at the doors to the arena with a group of armed man. That was all the sight he allowed himself before returning his attention back to the horses and snapping the reins harder, until they were galloping hard away from the arena.
The stage coach thundered down the streets at a rapid speed, chasing people who were crossing frantically to the other side in order to keep from being run over. JD glanced over his shoulder and saw no one in pursuit yet, even though he expected this would change soon enough. The stage rumbled through the centre of town quickly, passing the hotels, restaurants, shops and cat houses in its attempt to make a speedy departure from Calumet City.
When the stage cleared the last building and was turning its way down the meandering track that would take them through the pass that led out of the high canyon walls, JD took his hat off and waved it, offering a signal to Buck Wilmington. Buck had been waiting just as he had in the shadows to unleash the little surprise they had in store for the patrons of Calumet, not to mention Miss Chase when they finally made their escape. As he cleared the last building, Josiah and Nathan appeared out of the same darkness on horse back, providing escort to the carriage as it continued onward.
Buck watched JD and the stage roll past him and immediately push down the detonator handle that would ignite all the explosives that they had brought with them for the purpose. When Vin had sent Josiah and Nathan from Four Corners, he had instructed that they bring an adequate sample of dynamite with them to use when they made their escape. Buck did not wait to see if the fruits of his labour would go off as planned, confident that everything would progress as planned. Hurrying to the horse that he had waiting for him, he was about to mount the animal when the explosions began tearing through town.
Buck had to settle the horse down as it reared up on its hind legs from the sudden sound before he could get into the saddle. After a few seconds, Buck was in the saddle, looking over his shoulder long enough to see the sky filled with amber light as the fires broke out in several places across the town and the sound of screaming and shouting filled the air. He had tried to place the explosives in positions that would cause little harm in terms of a body count but it was not completely possible. However, Buck was able to take consolation in the realisation that this entire place was a monument to sin not to mention, that these people were feeding an industry that inspired violence.
Digging his heels into his horse Beavis' side, the animal broke into a running gallop and Buck thought no more about Calumet as he rode after the stage, hoping that the chaos they had created would allow them the margin of time needed to escape.
The stage made it to the pass unaccosted but just to be certain they would not be followed, Buck had also placed explosives there as well. He ensured that when Laurel's men came after them, they would arrive at this point and be confronted with a wall of rock that would require days of digging to get through. Once they had completed that final piece of insurance, the lawmen from Four Corners wasted no time in returning to their campsite where they gathered the last of their horses and discarded the stolen carriage.
Within the hour, they were riding back to Four Corners.
Deciding they needed to rest some ways into the journey, Vin led them to a small backwater town that was not known to many but he had come across in his bounty hunting days so that they could freshen the horses and get some meal. Besides, Alex felt that it was necessary to make a quick examination of Chris as well as appraised the others of what she had learnt from Laurel regarding the nature of the addiction he was now suffering.
"We can't bring him home to Mary like this." Alex stated first and foremost.
"Mary will have to be told," Buck said automatically. "She'll want to see him."
"That's a real bad idea right now." Vin retorted as they sat around the fire. Chris was presently in the bedroom tied up even in his sedation and Alex had made certain that he had been given another dosage to keep him subdued. After what she had seen earlier, she was not about to take the chance of his gaining consciousness before they returned to Four Corner. "He barely knew us and didn't seem to know her either."
"We can't keep her from him." Buck argued, knowing how much Mary had missed Chris and how his disappearance had effected the premature birth of their child. "The woman just had a baby, she's going to want to let it see its father."
"Buck you don't know what he was like," Vin replied, having no wish to tell them the details of his confrontation but neither could they allow Chris anywhere near Mary at this point, not in his present state of mind. "He was ready to kill me and you saw what he did to Alex."
The doctor frowned at her husband, not wishing to call attention to the ugly bruise that was on her face. Instinctively, she let a lock of hand fall over the swollen flesh in an effort to hide it. "It's not his fault." She replied. "She told me what she had done to him."
"What exactly is that?" JD asked, since they had only known that it was some kind of a drug, not much more.
Alex reached into her dress and produced the vial of white powder, holding it up for them to see. "Look, whatever she may be, the woman is a certifiable genius."
"A genius?" JD baulked. "You called her a genius for turning Chris to a monster?" The youth said impetuously.
"Let her talk," Nathan hushed JD into silence because he was just as interested as the others as to the contents of that tube of white.
"What's she has done is years ahead of everyone in biochemical research. Buck," she looked at the tall man. "I mean I've heard of research papers and theoretical data that talks about what she's done but nobody has actually attempted anything like what's she's accomplished."
"What she has accomplished is turned a good man into a monster." Josiah pointed out. Even though he tried to reserve judgement on most evils committed by men and women for that matter, Josiah found something inordinately offensive about what was done to Chris Larabee. To twist a man inside so he did not friend or family and was degraded in a murdering savage was beyond thinkable. It was just plain evil.
"I agree," Alex spoke up. "But to the understand the problem, you must understand the work she has done. She has created something that accelerates hormone growth in human beings. Hormones regulate everything about us and when you give this to a person, specifically a man, it accelerates the production of testosterone. Everything masculine about you owes its thanks to testosterone. An overabundance of it will make all those instincts strengthen. Chris became what he did in the Arena because he did not have a choice, his testosterone levels was so elevated he probably couldn't even say straight. At the moment, he'll kill anyone of us because the drug has made it impossible to control the urge to fight. He knows us on some level but not enough to break the conditioning of the drug."
The group went silent as they mused over Alex's words and suddenly rescuing Chris did not seem to be the end of their troubles. On the contrary, it seemed like it had only been the first step in a long and arduous process.
"So what do we do to help him?" JD asked first.
Alex and Nathan met each other's gaze and both knew the answer to that even if they did not like to embark upon that course of action. As the other looked at the two healers in question it was Nathan who finally spoke.
"If it is a drug then it's probably an addiction by now." He explained.
"She didn't say how she was giving it to him," Alex remarked, remembering her conversation with Laurel Chase and felt her skin crawl just thinking about the woman. "But I didn't see any needle marks on him when I was examining him, except for the ones I put there when we had to knock him out. I'd say that it was probably in his food. I don't see Chris voluntarily taking it and we all know that anyone who tried coming at him with a needle was going to regret it."
Everyone was in agreement with that statement and the revelation that Chris might have been fed his poison by his meal drew a universal groan of disgust from everyone present. "So he didn't even know that this was happening to him." JD said aghast.
"No," Vin shook his head. "The room they had him in was like a cage, there were no windows, no way to tell whether it was sun up or sun down."
"That was probably intentional." Alex looked at her husband and offered. "She looks to me like someone who plays mind games."
"Jesus." Buck swore under his breath.
"The question still remains however," Ezra spoke up. "What do we do with Mr Larabee once we return to Four Corners? We certainly cannot return him home in his present state."
"Cold turkey." Nathan looked and Alex.
"Yeah," Alex nodded in agreement. "Cold turkey."
"Oh hell," Nathan swore and immediately made everyone not only puzzled but also rather concerned about the reluctance in his manner to embark upon that as a form of treatment.
"Well he's only been on it a week," Alex sighed. "It may not take as much time as a full blown addiction."
"I don't understand," Vin looked at her. "What's cold turkey?"
"I recognise the term." Josiah said after a moment. "You keep him from getting his hands on the stuff. The withdrawal symptoms will start to appear almost as soon as he wakes up and it will feel like we're riding a tornado but there's no other way around it. We've got to keep him away from the stuff until he doesn't need it no more. He's gonna be violent and ready to kill us to get some, so there's no way in hell he can go home. The jailhouse might be an idea."
"The jailhouse?" Buck exclaimed. "You mean lock him up?"
"It will be dangerous if we don't," Nathan explained. "You ain't got no idea how bad this is going to be. He'll want it so bad he'll be ready to kill all of us to get his fix. I've seen men sell their family just to get that craving satisfied. Putting him in the jailhouse will keep him from killing us and maybe himself."
"We can't let her get away with this!" JD said angrily. "We've got to pay her back for doing this to Chris."
"She's already gotten away with it," Vin replied sharply. The tracker's eyes went dark with rage and as Alex glanced at her husband, she had a feeling that Laurel Chase had made a mortal enemy in Vin Tanner and, Alex could not blame him for wanting to tear the woman apart. While Alex admired the mind that allowed her to create Venom, Alex could not forget that the woman had used her considerable intellect to murder and to turn a friend into savages. "Right now, we got to mend our wounds and that means helping Chris. We can go after her later."
"Vin there is one other thing," Alex found herself reluctantly admitting, considering how incendiary her words could be to them when feelings were so heated all around. However, the issue had to be brought up because wholesale murder was being committed by this woman and would continue as long as Venom was being manufactures. "She told me how she makes it."
Vin turned to Alex. "I thought it was the opium that the Chinese like to smoke?"
"No," Alex shook her head slowly. "Males produce testosterone naturally. To make a human being produce more testosterone than normal, you have to find the catalyst that begins production. That cannot be manufactured. It has to be something that is produced naturally."
"Oh my god." Nathan started to exclaim. "Are you telling me that she's been killing people to make this stuff?" Similar expressions of horror started to sweep across the room.
"It's the only way she can do it. She has to take the enzyme, whatever it is, from a human body." Alex confirmed their suspicions. She looked at Vin and said with a heavy sigh. "She has to be stopped Vin," Alex implored. "Not right now, but she has to be stopped."
"You ain't got to worry about that." Vin said with a glint in his eyes that made everyone in the room shudder a little. "When the times comes, I'll see to that personally."