SPECTRE
Chapter Four: Dev -Observer-
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never see
Never be
Won't see what might have been
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee...unforgiven-
-'Unforgiven', Metallica
I do my job. I do what I have to. I do what needs to be done.
Doesn't mean I have to like it. Some aspects are less than desirable. Such as the task I'm currently on. I should've just let one of the army drones do this, let 'em clean up their own mess. Actually, I would, if I weren't afraid Dib would kill the messenger for sake of the message. At least this way I know no bodily harm will come of it. I hope.
Out of everyone on this base, I'm probably the only person immune to Dib's anger. And boy is he ever gonna be angry. Hell, I was. If Zey hadn't been unconscious when we found her, I would've taken her out myself. And this project is far more important to Dib. This is definitely not gonna be easy to tell him.
Now...if I were Dib, where would I be? A survey of my surroundings is of no help. All I can see is darkness, and the shadows of the squat buildings scattered around the base. No sign of life, no movement, no sound. Not even a hint of breathing, though my own breath is echoing back at me. He's gotta be around here somewhere.
Thirty minutes of searching and talking to everyone in sight has so far yielded no results, save for the vague, "I think he's over there. Somewhere. Maybe," that was all one officer had to offer. The security in this place is brilliant. I swear the alien could've walked himself out of here without raising an alarm.
But he didn't, not without leaving a trail of blood. I've seen the security tapes of Zey's own little 'personal experiment'. Just before something shorted the cameras she gave him quite a souvenir. A souvenir that should've bled profusely. That's inconsistent with the small droplets and occasional puddles we found. That, my gut instinct, and the torrential downpour that happened to be going on at the time of the escape, are all the proof I need.
The alien was taken out of there. If I didn't know the details, I might assume some activist had done it, or maybe a fanatic whack job hoping to trade the alien back to his people for safety. People do strange things when faced with the possibility of war.
Whoever it was allowed the alien to have his fun, though. He certainly found a creative use for that drip; that was an act of revenge, pure and simple. Not that I blame him. That bitch deserved what she got, and then some. I'm just thankful I wasn't the one he got his claws on. I wonder what Zey's gonna have to say about his accomplice's identity...once she wakes up.
Dib, where the hell are you?! I'm still in the southern quarter of the base, surrounded by labs, mostly. Flat, featureless buildings, empty alleys, nothing but darkness punctuated by ever darker shadows. This is pointless, I might as well go back and check the dorms aga...
A dumpster by one of the labs catches my eye. It's stupid, but right now I'm desperate enough that I'm not above grasping at a few straws. I've known Dib a long time, since I worked as an intern on his father's show, though we didn't really become friends until working together on the project. I often visited the Membrane household, to help the Professor or bring him something from the lab across town. And half of the nights I was over there, Dib could be found in the same place. The roof.
He used to pop his head over the edge in response to my calls. That long stalk of black hair would fall into his face, and his eyes were always wide, bright and eager with possibility. It always struck me as funny. He was so certain that he would be the one out of thousands to finally discover life in outer space. And he did. Guess the joke's on me. Or rather on the alien.
With a grumble and a grunt I pull myself onto the dumpster, trying to ignore the rancid smell. If I stretch I can just wrap my fingers around the edge of the roof. It's almost a minute before I can haul my skinny ass up, and for a moment I can only lay there, panting. So I can't ever find the time to make it to the gym. So I'm a busy scientist, with lots of important sciency stuff to do. So sue me.
When I can breathe without an accompanying wheezing noise, I push myself up and turn to scan the roof. It's as flat and featureless as the rest of the buildings, save for the other pale figure lying across the middle of it. Dib's on his back, head pillowed on his arms, staring at the night sky. I've found him, hooray for me.
He doesn't even look at me as I get up and plop down beside him. I stare with him for a few moments, but can't keep quiet for long. I love quiet as much as the next guy, but I don't think silence is what Dib needs right now. "You know, I never used to look at the stars much, when I was a kid. They're just little balls of light, floating around the void. Surrounded by nothing. Way too much nothingness for my tastes. Reminds me too much of how insignificant everything is. I preferred to stay indoors, watching my pet hamsters for hours on end, or vegging out with some nature documentaries. My parents certainly didn't have to worry about what their boy was gonna be when he grew up."
No response. Time for a more direct approach. "So...you haven't done this since before we lost your father. So I gotta say to myself, 'Self. What's bugging Dib?'"
He finally glares at me. "I'm thinking. The kind of thinking that requires silence, and privacy."
Well, at least I know he's alive. Good thing I know when not to take a hint. "That conference sure yielded some interesting results, huh? Funny that the alien was actually telling the truth. Well, he was wrong about the whole attacking thing, but he was serious when he said he was in exile." Dib goes tense as a deer cornered by a pack of wolves. Bingo.
Dib and the alien had some acquaintance long before Dib turned him in, I've known that for some time. But I can't help but wonder what kind of acquaintance it was. Is he feeling guilty for what he's done? The alien was trying to take over the world, of course, Dib was perfectly justified in his actions. Hell, he's a hero! But conscience is a freaky thing. Guilt is quite possible, I guess, even probable. I know I've felt the twinges...
Suddenly my mind's thrown back, to one of the early days of the project. Dib had a visitor with him, the only one he ever brought to the lab. Despite the purple hair that clung around her face, and her black clothes- kinda, what's that style called? 'goth' -it took me a while to recognize her as the little sister I'd seen hanging around the house. Of course, the portable game thing she played while Dib filled out the security forms should've clued me in.
I tried to intoduce myself, and got a glare that would've boiled water before she turned back to the game. Then Dib asked me to show her the alien. A strange request, indeed. I figured either she was interested in the novelty of it or, assuming the sibling rivalry I remembered was still there, she refused to believe Dib was actually right about something.
We walked down the dimly lit hall to the Cage in silence, broken only by the beeps and ringing noises of that game. Frankly, I was afraid to talk to her. There was something unnerving about her, something I still can't place. And the way she was playing that thing in near-darkness; I swear, the woman must have the night vision of a big cat.
At the appearance of light down the hall, she turned the game off, shoved it in a pocket, and took off running. When I reached her she was standing at the large glass window, one hand raised to it, staring fixedly into the Cage. The alien was curled up in the middle of the room, eyes closed and muscles lax. I've seen him like that a few times since, but that was the first time I'd ever seen him sleeping.
It was also when the first hints of guilt started to creep in. There was just something about him, he looked so...well, innocent. I shrugged it off, almost anything can look innocent when it's asleep, and focused instead on Dib's sister.
That didn't help my previous unease. Her eyes were wide, chips of cold amber with who knows what hell trapped inside. The nails of her upraised hand seemed anxious to dig into the bulletproof glass. A single tear made its inexorable way down one pale cheek.
I was struck with the certainty that I was the only person alive to have seen her like that, and the surety that she'd probably kill me for it. Trying to force such foolish thoughts out of my head, I shifted my weight on my feet and watched the floor for what seemed like hours, until she turned on a furious heel and retreated down the hall at a pace I could barely match.
When she told her brother with a growl that she was going to stay and watch the experiment for the day, I think my eyes must've doubled in size. Throughout the drip experiment she was silent, a statue, as...
She did it.
I don't believe it. Dib's own sister stole the alien from him! I don't know how I know, but...and Dib's going to know too, as soon as I tell him, I'm sure of-
"Professor Membrane!" I jump about a foot in the air. Dib's sitting now, too, eyes wide. He gets to his feet and runs to the edge of the roof, and I follow. An officer is on the ground, walking around and calling Dib's name, his back to us.
"What do you people want now?" At Dib's shout the officer jumps and turns. Good, at least we scared him as much as he scared us.
"Sir! They're planning a strategic meeting, they've requested your presence, sir." Dib rolls his eyes and, with a growl, leaps onto the dumpster with a grace that should only be reserved for an animal. Now I see the family resemblance; she's a big cat and he's a damn wolf.
By the time I manage to lower myself to the dumpster, in a somewhat less flashy manner, Dib is almost out of sight, stomping behind the officer on the way to the north of the base. I run to catch up. "Boss, wait! There's something you've gotta know."
He stops and stares as I run up. His fists are clenched at his sides, and now I'm not so certain I'm safe from bodily injury. The officer's already retreated to several feet ahead, and watches us with a wary gaze. This is going to hurt.
"Dib...the alien is gone."
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