Save Him One More Time: Phase 3

Chapter 20 - Cursed Sympathy

"Where's Angela?" Gabriel limped into the room, rubbing his backside. Jesse pointed to a closed door without opening his eyes.
"She's in one a those rooms, taking a nap till you had a plan. We all are kinda." He sat up straight. "So, what's the plan?"
Reyes didn't answer him. He knocked on every door and poked his head in until he found Angela, and then he went inside, closing the door behind him.
"Rude," Jesse muttered, leaning back and pulling his hat over his eyes.

"Angela," Gabe whispered. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"What time is it?" she whispered back, "what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he said, "can I turn on the light?"
"Sure." She blinked hard when he flipped the switch. Once her eyes had adjusted, she looked him over. "So, what's the plan?"
He shrugged. "I don't know yet. But while I was up there thinking, something weird happened." He stuck out his hands. "My hands went gray and then I turned into dust . It didn't hurt, but it did kind of scare me. What if I do that again and turn on you?" Angela shook her head.
"Of all your abilities that one is a very useful one." She examined his hands carefully. "You turn into some kind of a wraith or something. And you can float on the wind, and change shape and size to fit through many things. Under a door, through a keyhole, wherever you want to go." She curled each of his hands up tightly, letting them go, testing the flexibility of each finger. "It shouldn't have any negative effects on your mind, though."
"That's a relief." He watched her look his hands over. "Right before I turned into dust, my hands turned gray. They used to always be gray, I remember. They're not gray now, though."
"Moira probably kept you in a constant state of flux. She probably kept you one thought away from disintegrating and since you've been away from her you haven't been taking whatever drugs she had you on." Angela looked at his face, gently examining his eyes and ears. "But whatever you did, it hasn't changed you from who you were when we got here." She tapped his chest, listening intently for a moment. "What triggered it, do you know?"
He tried to remember exactly what he was thinking. "I think I was trying to remember things from before a few weeks ago. I remembered my hands used to be gray and now they weren't and then my hands started turning gray. And then I went up in a cloud of dust and I turned back into myself and I fell on the floor." He stood up. "And I was getting scared and wondering if I would turn on you and jeopardize our plans and then I realized I was in control of my mind and that's when I fell from the ceiling." He was getting excited, Angela could tell.
"Gabriel, calm down. You're liable to break something if you do it again and you solidify in midair."
He sank, slowly, his feet now dust, the rest of him quickly following. "Too late, I think."

"You want me to what?"
"Amelie, trust me, it will work." Moira took off her parka, hanging it on a nearby tree. "The doctor is a compassionate person. She'll take you in and patch you up, and then you can take them from the inside." Amelie watched silently, unfazed.
"And where will you be, Moira?" Moira smirked.
"I'll be right outside waiting for my perfect chance. Don't worry. I won't hurt you too badly. But it has to be real or our plot won't work." Moira pulled out several knives. "Now hold still. I can't put you under for this or I would. It'll have to look like you finally snapped and tried to fight me and then ran away and found this place." Amelie nodded.
"So you're going to beat me up and then I'm going to play on Ziegler's feelings."
"Exactly." Moira smiled, then struck.
The snow was a bloody mess when she had finished, and Amelie could barely walk.
"Good." Moira stepped back, pleased with her work. "You look absolutely horrible. If you can still cry you might throw in some tears. That will really help sell your change of heart." She nudged the dazed sniper in the right direction. "Now go play your part."

"Jesse," Sam tugged on his arm. "Jesse."
Jesse waved at him, still asleep. "Five more minutes, captain." Sam climbed on top of him and poked him. "Wake up." No answer. Sam grinned impishly. "Dad, wake up." Jesse frowned and opened his eyes. "What? Why are you calling me dad? You know I'm not your pop." Sam laughed so hard he almost fell. "I know. But you wouldn't wake up." Jesse rolled his eyes.
"Well I'm awake now. What do you need?" Sam frowned a little.
"I heard a noise outside and I can't open the door." Jesse stood up, setting Sam down. "Yeah, you ain't need to be outside anyways. Moira's after us and I don't want you getting hurt." He walked to the door.
"You stay there, kid." He listened for a minute before opening the door. He stepped outside, looking around, then yelled.
"Get Angela! We've got someone!" He picked up a body and carried it inside, closing the door with his foot.
"Angela! Sam, get Angela!" He laid the body on the floor and ran for a blanket.