Season 1, Episode 4: Ice Ice Baby
Part 5 of 5
“Great! Just
great! It is like working with a damn ten-year-old! Nice going, Carter!” Brian yelled over the
now-wailing sirens. They blared around
them, making almost any other noise inaudible and reminding Nick of a yowling
feline in heat. Not the most pleasant
noise in the world.
“Oh yeah, like I sneezed on purpose just to fuck
you up!” Rolling his eyes, he went to
his watch, contacting whomever would answer it first. It seemed
“Jay!”
“Nick?” He
blinked at the noise filling his ears as Nick had to put subtitles on his own
watch. A small screen arose so it could
capture what the other agent was saying.
Amidst the sirens, he’d never know what Agent McLean was saying
otherwise. “What in the holy blazing hell is going on over there?!”
Brian grabbed Nick’s arm as chaos ensued around
them. Many of the enemy agents were too busy
scrambling around to even notice there were two uninvited guests among them at
the moment. “He’s busy screwing up the
mission! That’s what!”
Nick shoved him aside with a glare, before focusing
back on the watch. “We set off the
fucking failsafe thingy! Tell me
The older man back at HimTak started typing
rapidly, but was obviously uncomfortable operating the complicated system the
scientist of the agency made look simple.
“No, get your asses out of there before you get blown to penguin
shit!” And the screen shut off.
Nick sighed, wishing the damn thing would shut
up. “We’re fucked!” he yelled. “Let’s just get the hell outta here!”
Brian started racing past agents, temporarily
delayed by the minion finally realizing he was against him. Nick was soon behind him, only pausing to
catch sight of two Russian females, looking around with a smirk and a chuckle
to each other. It hit him that they may
have been the ones who brought the laser there to begin with. Yet, when the two shared a passionate kiss as
the lair slowly began to fall apart, all thoughts fled momentarily.
They laughed again.
“They’re not gonna get us! NOT GONNA GET
“Nick! Stop
staring at the lesbians and come on!” came the CIA agent’s agitated voice.
And for once, Nick listened to him, if only because
he knew it’d save his ass later.
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“Sir!” Chris Kirkpatrick called, with the penguins
following, squawking fearfully at all the noise about them.
Howard turned, fury resting within both eyes as one
twitched anxiously. “You better say
something I want to hear, Kirkpatrick.”
“The, the laser is self-destructing!”
A low growl escaped his lips as he shoved him
back. Justin watched, somewhat amused by
his new mentor’s demeanor, a nagging voice reminding him how K or Jay had never
been this way. But he shoved that away,
to be lost with other thoughts of those who betrayed him. “I know THAT!
Who did it!?”
“We think it’s agents from Himitsu Takana!”
“Damn that Carter!”
A blade was quickly whipped around, gleaming in the light, and reflected
in the icy, mirrored wall around them. Within
seconds, it slid across his worker’s throat.
Crimson fluid gushed angrily from the wound, splattering on the walls
around them and making a deep pool on the floor, freezing slowly soon after the
body slumped pitifully to the ground.
Dr. Rough snorted as he kicked it aside.
He had no room for those that
inferior. He needed a strong team to
take the snobbish and prideful agency called HimTak down. And they would
fall… Somehow, he would bring them down.
He rubbed his temples, a headache growing from the
wailing alarm around them. “Drums, see
to it that those important get out and to my ship. I am barricading this door behind me so that
the pretty agents make no discoveries.”
“Aight, yo,” was the simple reply. Following orders, he headed out, knowing Dr.
Rough would be using the escape tunnel below.
Coming upon the hall, his gaze shifted downwards
toward the first floor below him. Justin
eyed the area: mayhem had taken
over. Anyone near could feel the heat
escaping the laser as it ran its doomed countdown. He could see Nick, with a new partner, it
seemed. He even recognized the shrimp,
K's cousin, Agent of the CIA. Amazing that
those two could work together, knowing how Nick was. Yet, it didn't matter now. He could pursue them, risk his life again,
another accident like before. Like his…
But something stopped him. Unsure of what that thing was, he credited it
to his own instinct of preserving his own life.
His remaining eye took in one last look before he quickly caught on to a
rope, swinging himself down from the upper levels to the ground floor. He jumped down, bolting to the nearest exit,
in the direction of Dr. Rough's own private escape vessel, where he knew he'd
be welcomed. As he did, he could hear
the familiar yells of the now foe, and upped his speed.
It seemed Nick wouldn't let him go that
easily. No matter; he could lose him
quickly in the icy death trap awaiting them both.
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Nick was almost outside the false iceberg when he
caught sight of Drums once more. It was
then that his mind went to autopilot.
Nothing else mattered then but capturing his former friend. He picked up his pace, following his
direction out rather than Brian’s.
Brian slipped out, only to see him in pursuit once
outside the lair. He yelled for
Nick. “Damnit, Nick! Let ‘im go!
We got what we need!” But as
usual, Nick wouldn’t listen. Brian went
for the boat, having known he would be the one Nick needed as an escape when
the laser did destroy anything within its radius. He gunned the agency, following the two from
a distance along the water. There was a
fury, a determination within Carter he hadn’t seen before.
Nick kept up the chase, leaping over a frozen
stream he doubted could support his weight, jumping down from steep hills,
trying anything he could to capture his man.
Gunshots rang out within the distance, causing
Justin to finally grab a penguin. The curly-haired man picked up the pace even
more, incredibly enough. Using the
animal, he slid down a icy cliff side crazily upon it in the style of a
toboggan.
The other man skidded to a stop. His feet caught
the edge suddenly, narrowly escaping a dangerous slide on his own. He screamed with frustration at seeing his
nemesis slide away to the F.A.N.S. boat in the distance.
Brian directed his own boat as close as he could to
Nick‘s location. He knew the man saw him
and would come in a moment. Nick was furious; he shouted curses to the
heavens. To The Rok, it was almost as
if…
Almost as if this was personal. Was it?
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Brian
pulled up to a stop, watching the young agent intently.
“Nick,
c’mon, it’s too late; he’s gone already.
Get on, and let’s go.”
Brian
watched as Nick made his way onto the boat, picking up a dirty rag and flinging
it hard against the deck. What was his
problem? He was getting way more upset
over this than he should be.
Sighing,
Brian turned the boat around and started back.
“It’s
okay, ya know. We’ll get em. Don’t let it bother you.”
Nick
said nothing, flopping down on the seat, staring out blankly, tension radiating from his body.
Brian continued to eye him curiously. “So…what’s that all about?”
Nick
inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled, saying nothing. He didn’t want to be bothered, didn’t want to
talk about it. He sure as hell didn’t
wanna talk about it with some guy he hardly knew.
“Ohh,
the strong, silent type, huh?” Brian chuckled.
“Figures.”
“Just
what the hell does that mean?”
“Aww,
poor 008’s all upset ‘cause he couldn’t catch the bad guy.”
“Go
to hell,” Nick muttered.
“Ya
know, you’re just like I expected.
Young, naďve. The government
would’ve never hired anyone like you.”
“Good
thing I don’t work for the government then, isn’t it?” Nick spat.
“It
sure is.”
“Look,
I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think, okay?”
“You’re
in the wrong profession, little boy. Why
don’t you leave this up to men to take care of?” Brian teased, trying to get
some reaction from him.
Nick
looked at him, his eyes cold and empty.
“Shut the fuck up. You don’t know
what the hell you’re talking about. I
suggest you keep driving and mind your own fucking business, you got it?”
“He
talks big…” Brian had just managed to stop the boat when he saw Nick come
barreling over.
He
couldn’t take it any longer. He stood,
storming over to the other agent, fisting up his shirt in his hand, his voice
startlingly calm and cold.
“I’ve
had just about enough as I’m gonna take from you, you got it? You don’t know shit about me or what you’re
talking about. You have no fuckin’ clue
as to what I’ve been through. This is
more to me than just some damn mission, okay?
You walk all up in here like this is just another assignment, on your
high fuckin’ horse, when you don’t know shit.”
Brian
stared at him, clearly stunned.
“Why
don’t you do a little research before you go shooting your mouth off about
who’s qualified to do what? I’m way more
than qualified; I’m the only one who can do this. You’re a government man, right? Why don’t you stick to that instead of
sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?
The government has no part in this.
This is personal.”
Brian
remained perfectly still as Nick slowly released him, staring hard at him
moment longer before turning and sitting back down. He, too, turned, starting the boat up and
taking off, shooting wary glances at the guy sitting next to him. He couldn’t figure Carter out. He acted all cocky, but there was something
there, something hidden and painful.
Staring
out at the water, he drove. Maybe there
was more to the rookie than he’d first thought.
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