10
Blayze
The room was tiny. Blayze held out his arms and touched both sides at the same time. There was no room for a dragon. It was windowless. The floor and walls were solid concrete. The door was made of heavy, thick steel, with a small grated window. Dragon fire could burn through it, but if he used it, he would die from the biologic. There was no point in trying to escape.
He was not alone. The cells on either side held more of his kind. They often shouted and raved, banging their bodies against the heavy doors. Each time their rage was spent, they began to moan. He understood that the voices were back in their heads, and so was the pain.
Blayze had learned to keep his temperament even, neither angry or dejected. As long as he could do so, the voice stayed away and the pain barely registered. He could not remain this way forever. Eventually, he would completely lose his mind. Insanity, though, was preferable to understanding that he would never leave, never fly, or see his homeworld.
It had grown quiet. His fellow prisoners had finally surrendered to their circumstances. Blayze called out to them. "I am Blayze. Which weredragons are you?"
No sound came for several minutes, then a faint voice replied, "Condor."
"I know you," Blayze answered. "You are a soldier belonging to Tae. You were assigned as a bodyguard to a mayor in Florida. How did you get here?"
"I was traveling with the mayor and his family. I went to sleep in my hotel room and woke here. There is a voice in my head and when I seek to escape, my head bursts with pain. Does this happen to you?" Condor asked.
"Yes. Do not fight against it. It will become worse. You must, however, refrain from using dragon fire. We contain a biological weapon that is released in the fire. It kills us and those around us. The voice will try to make you obey the urge and when you do not the pain grows. Do you have a scar on the side of your head?"
"I do."
"So do I," the second man replied. "I am Promesus. My assignment was building structures. I was located in Mexico. I was sent here to bring copies of plans for a bunker that they did not want to risk sending by COM link. I thought they were trusting me with important information. Instead, it was a ploy. What does the scar mean?"
"I am almost certain it is an implanted device to control our thoughts and actions," Blayze replied.
"Why do you know so much? Do you work with the humans? Are you here to spy?" Promesus asked with suspicion.
"I listen. When I wake, I do not open my eyes or move. I allow the humans to believe I am still unconscious. They speak freely. You can learn many things in that manner. Some of our kind have died doing their bidding. Innocent humans were killed by weredragons. It has occurred in many lands. We are being used as weapons. Do not let them use you."
"The pain will kill us," Condor answered.
"It is better to die by our own choice than to kill others for unknown reasons. If we give in, then we are allowing the enemy to win. I cannot. Someone out there will come to free us," Blayze assured them.
"How can you have faith in a human when it is they who put us here? Why not pull out the control device?" Promesus inquired.
"There is evil on all worlds, but that does not make the entire population evil. We know this from experience. Only one world was entirely evil, the Savra, and it has been destroyed. You worked for good humans, did you not? You were treated as equals? Xycon live among us. They rejected their world and its evil occupants. I believe the good will triumph. Belle will never give up. She will help us."
"Who is Belle? What do we do in the meantime? I want this thing out of my head!" Promesus shouted.
"Anger brings pain. Keep your breathing and heartbeat even. I considered digging out the device but realized it must be deep inside in order to control us. Prying it out could destroy our minds or even kill us. We will need medical help to remove them. As to the biologic, I do not know how it works, nor how to remove it from our bodies. Belle works for the CIA. She does not believe we are the perpetrators of this crime and is trying to prove it. She and I alerted Maxxus before I was taken. She will come for us."
Belle
The ranch was just as Belle had remembered it, except for the absence of animals. The homestead was centered on the acreage, far from prying eyes. Its last update was more than thirty years previous, so the technology was ancient in comparison to what Shark was supplying. The modest, two-story home would now house technology more advanced than the CIA itself had access to. The huge barn sheltered every fast vehicle imaginable. The helicopter rested in a dry, tree-lined creek bed. There were six cots in each of the five bedrooms. They were for Belle's rogue colleagues and any weredragons they managed to free. The master suite was prepared for Maxxus. Shark took the dining room, making it more luxurious than necessary. Belle would sleep on the sofa, when she slept at all. If needed, there was a bunkhouse that could hold twenty more. It was a frightening prospect to have that many weredragons contaminated with the biologic so near.
"I've got the layout of the CIA basement," Shark announced. "I guess no one thought it was necessary to update the protection of old documents. I broke into the computer without a problem. There are cells down there dating back to the late twentieth century. I'm sure they've been modified for the weredragons and security has been added. I can tell you where they are and the quickest route to get there, but not what obstacles you'll have to overcome. Of course, you're badge or handprint could override a lot of the security. However, it would alert the director to your presence, and you'd be locked up too."
"I promise he's already made my badge and prints invalid. I'm a fugitive, remember?"
"The cleaning and kitchen staffs have badges that would get us past the security. They're not even assigned specific badge numbers. They can't get us in the director's office or anywhere classified, but the basement has never been off limits. The weredragons have to be fed, and I doubt the agents would be willing to do it. No one pays attention to those who serve in that capacity. Once they've passed all security tests, they are ignored," James, one of the rogue agents, explained.
"Aren't their prints checked when they arrive for their shifts?" Shark asked.
"Sure, but I can get us around that," Belle answered excitedly. "When David was demoted, he was given that as a duty. It was supposed to embarrass him into changing his view of the weredragons. It's a rookie's job, but perfect for our purposes. He'll let us in."
"Not us, Belle. You can't go. You would be recognized in a heartbeat. Your picture is everywhere. I'll do it," Shark declared.
"You can't stop me. Blayze trusts me. I'm doing this. I can cover my red hair with a wig, wear colored contacts, change my face shape with cosmetics, and wear clothes that are padded to change my shape. I know how to do disguises. I've used them for work lots of times. If you think facial recognition won't tell them who you are, you're dead wrong. You'd get in but getting out would be impossible. Cameras will scan our faces everywhere we go and send the pictures to the computers instantly. If we match the database, we'll be detained. We have to appear so average that we match hundreds of other faces."
