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The man who Brennan knew only as his handler waded into the water when Brennan quit moving. He made his way to the young man's side and stared down at him. Suspecting a last effort to survive, he placed his foot on Brennan's chest and pressed down.
Any remaining air was forced from Brennan's lungs, and he jerked a few times as he was held down. His handler waited, knowing Brennan didn't have any strength left. He quieted again soon, becoming absolutely still.
The man placed a firm kick to his side, receiving no response. "Drain it," he called to the supervising doctor.
As the water rushed out, he knelt beside the still form. There was no sign of breathing. He placed his hand to Brennan's throat and checked for a pulse. It beat faintly beneath his fingers. Damn, the kid was a fighter right to the end.
He waited for the heartbeat to cease, then looked up once more. "Tell Eckhart he's dead."
-----
A feeling of unease crept over Emma. Something wasn't right. She felt like someone had called out her name. She could feel echoes of it being shouted along with Adam's. She stopped pacing and walked to the door of her cell, pounding on it.
"I need to talk to somebody!" she yelled, feeling herself shiver. Eckhart had told her that Brennan had broken their deal. She prayed he hadn't done something to him as punishment. Eventually, her door was opened. She stared at the GS agent without really seeing him; her mind was too distracted. "Where's Brennan?"
"Mr. Mulwray didn't survive the last stage of tests," he informed her, his tone lacking any trace of compassion.
She shook her head. He was lying. It couldn't be true! Suddenly slamming herself into the bastard, she shoved her way past him and into the hall, bolting as fast as her legs would carry her.
Training all her senses on Brennan, she ran. She had no idea which way to go. She couldn't feel him. Even with a governor on, this wasn't right. She should have felt something. She could always tell when he entered a room without using her powers. It was that feeling which was absent. She might as well have been blind.
Ripping a stupid "you are here" map from the wall, she headed for the labs. There was an echo of another set of footfalls pounding against the floor behind hers, alerting her that she was being pursued. This damn building was massive.
Finally, she saw a flock of doctors through one of the large glass windows. Inside that lab, she also spotted Eckhart. They were all gathered around something... someone.
She took another step and her foot slipped. She stared down at the drops of water. At a certain angle, the lights reflected an entire trail of small pools. Emma's throat clenched up as she lifted her eyes, very scared of what she might see.
The person who was blocking her view moved, and she caught a glimpse of Brennan lying on a table, his shirt being stripped off so that electrodes could be attached to his chest. Matching ones had already been placed on his temples. Monitors were also being hooked up.
Her hand instantly reached out and touched the glass to support herself as her legs threatened to buckle beneath her. With difficulty, she made herself to walk into that room.
Emma finally understood what people meant when they said that their blood ran cold. She could have sworn her heart stopped pumping entirely. Brennan's body was soaked with water, and he was pale. Her blood seemed to change direction and run backwards through her veins. She forced herself to breathe.
She pushed her way closer, not even noticing the person who grabbed her arm. Brennan was lying perfectly still. Why wasn't he moving?
She wanted to scream at somebody to dry him off, but her voice was gone. Brennan was weak when he was wet. He'd heal faster if they'd just dry away the water. Then he'd wake up.
Dear God, he had to wake up...
This had to be a nightmare, for it couldn't be real. It wasn't her best friend who was lying on that table. This wasn't happening. It wasn't possible!
His lips were tinged blue, and there was no rise and fall of his chest to signify breathing. He was obviously dead, the monitor behind him flatlining. "What the hell have you done to him?!" she yelled at Eckhart as someone tried to drag her away. Her words came out whispered.
Flailing, she began to kick wildly at whoever held her. Her only focus was Eckhart. If she was let go, she'd kill him. She'd kill him because he'd killed Brennan. She knew she'd become hysterical as she continued to scream at him, managing to raise her volume to a shout of rage, sorrow, and fear.
He'd taken Brennan away from her. She couldn't have lost him.
A hand was placed over her mouth and she quit trying to scream, merely sobbing instead. Eckhart was acting as though she wasn't even there. None of them cared. They were all a bunch of murderers!
As she was none-too-gently escorted out, she kept listening to the conversation in that room. According to the doctor that seemed to be in charge, Brennan was registering as completely brain dead.
They really had lost him...
At that, Emma stopped kicking and simply let herself go limp with a small whimper. Her world crumbled around her. If that were true, there was no point in fighting.
-----
"There's no sign of any brain activity," the doctor commented to Eckhart. "In my opinion, it's doubtful he'll revive."
Jordan watched in shock before intruding on the conversation. "Let's get a crash cart in here and try defib," he suggested, his mouth oddly dry. He was completely torn as to how he was supposed to feel.
"That would invalidate the experiment," Eckhart stated calmly.
Jordan had listened to enough of this crap. He decided to be more bold. "It could be enough to save his life!"
Eckhart's tone remained the same. "His life is worthless to me if this fails."
Jordan shook his head. They might be scientists, but he was foremost a doctor. He was compelled to act. "So save him now, and once the changes to his DNA are complete, try again. The Messiah Strand will work. Trust me!"
The room was silent as he waited for a reply. Every sound seemed to single itself out as though it were the only one. The steady beep of the monitor which was displaying a straight line, the hum of the lights, the rumble of the air conditioner kicking on - or was it the heat - his own heartbeat, the breathing of the other men in the room... Everything was so sharp, yet no sound came from Brennan.
The other doctor checked his watch, and Jordan could swear he heard it ticking. Brennan had been down well past the five-minute mark. "I think we should call it."
Not ready to admit defeat, Jordan began scrambling for supplies. "Let's hook up an IV, try an epi push, and start CPR," he recited, trying desperately to recall his studies. He'd never been present during an actual code before if he didn't count Brennan's last return from near death.
Deciding to skip setting up an IV line because it would be too time- consuming, he opted for injecting the drugs straight into Brennan's blood stream. Of course, that would do little good since his heart wasn't beating. Placing his hands on Brennan's chest, Jordan pressed firmly.
Eckhart watched him attempt compressions for several minutes before looking to the other doctor. The man gave a slight shake of his head. "It's not going to do any good; he's gone."
"Then see that Mr. Mehler doesn't waste any more supplies," Eckhart said before regarding Brennan once more. He felt disappointment at the failure of his experiment, but nothing for the loss of Brennan's life. He removed his gaze from the corpse which now occupied his lab. "I suppose I should send my condolences to Adam."
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