Martin was furious, absolutely seething with rage. Every time he tried to get ahead that damned Attar stood in his way. 'The only reason he has any position at all is because of his connections with the General!' he thought, savagely slamming the door to his office. Pacing he tried to calm himself. Anger would not help him right now; he needed to be calm, levelheaded and able to think up a plan to get that human into his hands. He wasn't a stupid ape. He saw how that human had behaved when he was first brought in and then again when the guards had surrounded him. He was not a normal human. He knew normal humans. None of the ones he had observed were canny enough to evade the guards like this human had. Normal ones would cower or freeze when surrounded with that many hostile apes. This one though, this one had used logic to try and figure a way out of his predicament. He had analyzed the situation, saw his break and made his move. No, he was far from normal. Which is why Martin wanted him so bad. 'This human is going to catapult me to the top of my field. I'll be famous! Rich!' Whirling Martin went to his computer and activated a screen that would link him with the small tracking device he had stuck on the human. The human was just in Attar's office but Martin knew that Attar and Thade were on to him. First with the guards he had sent under the pretense of Dr. Boulle's orders. Now this little incident. He would just have to find a more subtle way to get the human placed under his care. His mind flashed on all the bruises the human sported. Giving an evil little cackle he picked up his phone. "Human rights services? Yes, I'd like to report a serious case of abuse…I'd like to remain anonymous please."
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Pericles listened intently to the phone, pen scribbling furiously in his book. This was his break. General Thade was finally calling him in to meet with the human. "Yes, I'm on Fifth Street. I can be there in five minutes. Gate three, around back? Okay, yes…yes. See you in five." Slamming down the phone Pericles raced around his house gathering up the research he had conducted in preparation for this interview, should it ever happen. "And now it is! This is gonna be my big break!" He couldn't help announcing to his empty apartment. Stuffing his notebook, pen and tape recorder into his bag he ran out to his car. He knew that he was even a minute late this deal was off and then he was screwed. Jobs were not easy to come by and while it had only been a few days since he quit his job and Thade had contacted him he knew that too much longer and he would be out of money. The thought of crawling back to his boss at the Times was too repugnant to think about. Once he had this story then his boss would be crawling to him!
Carefully he maneuvered his way to the military post, pulling up to gate three almost a minute earlier than he had said he would. Taking a deep breath he grabbed his gear, got out of the car and walked towards the gate. It was dark and quiet when Pericles reached the gate, standing in a small pool of light in front of the tightly locked gate, the only light for miles it seemed. It wasn't long before he heard footsteps coming his way. Straining his eyes he was just able to make out the shape of General Thade. The sound of the bolt being drawn back was loud in the silence and Pericles hurried through the gate, nerves drawn tight in excitement and trepidation. "This way." Pericles jumped a little at the gruff commanded but followed in silence down a dusty road until they cam to a large, squat building and entered through a small door. Pericles blinked to adjust his eyes as they stepped into a suddenly bright room. It was a plain gray room with quietly humming overhead lights that shone down on vehicles that sat silent in various stages of repair. The garage. Hurrying to catch up to Thade he couldn't help but feel like he had fallen into some bad 1950's spy movie. All the secrecy, the dark night, the small door leading into the empty garage, the eerie silence.
After what seemed like endless minutes of walking down one empty gray hallway to another Thade finally stopped at a small nondescript door, with a small black plaque set into the door that read Dr. L. Attar, Human Studies in bold white letters. Thade reached for the handle but stopped short and turned to Pericles. "Now try and keep calm alright? Dr. Attar isn't thrilled about this and the human's pretty jumpy around apes. That said, this is going to be a story of a lifetime and both mine and Dr. Attar's jobs are on the line here, so make it good." Pericles nodded. He knew exactly how important this story was going to be, especially if this human really did turn out to be as articulate as the General said. Thade gave him one more piercing look before opening the door and walking through. Pericles took a deep breath and followed. What he found was not what he expected at all. The room was dark except for a small table light that was on in the corner. Sitting next to the light was Dr. Attar, and cradled in his arms was a pale looking human, fast asleep, looking small and frail in the oversized blue scrubs he was wearing. Stepping further into the room Pericles noted the cage sitting in the corner as well as the stark metal exam table. Pericles couldn't help the little shudder that ran through him at the thought of anyone being strapped to that exam table.
Attar gave the small chimp that walked through the door a thorough measuring look as he walked up to him, eyes alight with curiosity. Not that he didn't trust Thade but he didn't trust the press, previous experience had taught him that they were loose cannons and would print whatever they saw fit, facts be damned. Unconsciously he tightened his grip on the sleeping man in his arms. He had such mixed emotions about this. On the one hand Leo was an important scientific discovery that the world deserved to know about, not to mention it could save his life. On the other hand, he'd have to share him with the world, no longer would he be the sole caretaker and companion. Scientists with far more experience handling humans would be called in and to be honest Leo wouldn't have much say in who was in charge of his case. Attar would merely be a footnote. Power and recognition really wasn't what Attar wanted though. He knew that when a human gave their friendship and trust a bond was created, one that was like no other and one that Attar had dreamed of. That wasn't a possibility now though. Gently Attar shook Leo. He wished that this were over already. Leo needed the sleep and Attar loved holding him, knowing that he trusted him enough to fall asleep in his arms. Stirring slightly Leo mumbled a sleepy protest, turning his face into the cloth of Attar's lab coat. He couldn't help his quiet chuckle. His 10-year-old nephew made the same noises when Attar would baby-sit and wake him up from his spot in front of the TV at bedtime. "Leo, Leo the reporter's here. You need to wake up now." The slim body in his arms all of the sudden tensed, muscles bunching as he slowly turned his head to regard the reporter warily. For a moment Attar was afraid that Leo wouldn't say anything, that maybe the talking thing was just a dream. His mind flashed to the broken pleading words Leo had uttered only a few hours ago, "Please…please…please, don't leave. Bad things happen when you leave." He turned pleading eyes up to Attar, "promise. Please promise you won't leave." No, that had not been a figment of his imagination. The fear in those eyes and in his words had been all too real. "Leo, this is the reporter, Mr. Gradou." Slowly Leo sat up, turning to face the reporter, his body tense, his eyes mistrustful. Silence reigned for moment, shattered when Leo said quietly, "Nice to meet you Mr. Gradou, my name is Leo Davidson."
The reporter just stood there for a moment, silent with shock. Quicker than Attar expected he gave himself a shake and extended his hand. "Oh, uh…Pease, call me Pericles." Leo gave his hand a brief shake before pulling back. Attar kept his arms loose around Leo but he could still feel the slight tremors shaking him. It seemed Attar wasn't the only one who was having second thoughts about this meeting. "Alright then Mr. Davidson, let's get started.
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Leo gave a sigh of relief when Pericles finally left. The interview had gone surprisingly well, though had left out some things, like Thade's bloodlust and his and Ari's relationship. Other than that he kept to the facts of his mission and his time on the other planet of the apes, even going so far as to explain what he could of their culture, the layout of the city, the hierarchy of the apes, other observations he had made. He even remarked on how much bigger the apes were here but that made some sense. Even as far back as the 1800's humans had been a lot smaller than their present day counterparts so it seemed logical that apes would follow the same basic evolutionary path as humans. Pericles had left with the promise that his story would be out in two or three day's tops. Thade had growled at the delay but Attar was silent. Leo honestly didn't know what to say or what to feel. He knew he was in a lot of danger as things stood presently but escape would be impossible once the world found out who he was. He sincerely doubted that the government would be even remotely inclined to help him rebuild his ship and send him back out into space. No, most likely they would force him to update their weapons and technology. Luckily there was only so much he could do. Not only was he not a mechanic or an engineer but also he doubted they had discovered the necessary elements needed to achieve the same level technologically as his people had. Beyond the military branch of the government was the scientific community. What would they do to him? He thought back to the chimps that he had been in charge of. They hadn't ever really hurt them, and if he was an endangered species then they would take even greater care not to harm him. Of course, he was the so-called 'missing link' so messing with his brain was not out of the question, mapping neuron pathways or something. He tried to quell the panic rising in him. He was an intelligent being, so that must limit their options, if the apes had the same morale systems as human from his universe did.Leo shook himself out of his thoughts. Now was not really the time for that anyway, he was much too tired to think coherently. His nap hadn't really made up for all the sleep he'd lost and it certainly was not enough for his healing body. Giving a tired sigh he leaned back into Attar's embrace. He knew that he must look a fool, clinging to Attar like this but recent experience had proved that without Attar bad things happened. Nobody had commented on it as of yet, though the reporter had given him some strange looks. "Well, that went well." Leo spared a weary glance over at Thade. He'd been strangely quiet throughout the interview, even as Leo had talked about his final fierce battle with him. "It seems interesting to me that when you went through that wormhole you weren't sent to the future but another universe. I wonder how many more are out there?" Thade speculated. It was unsettling knowing that there were multiple 'Thade's' out there, though all of the ones Leo had run into seemed militarily inclined. Another thought occurred to him, "If your ship never crashed in this universe, could they still be out there somewhere?"Leo sat, stunned. His ship could still be out there, he could still be rescued, he could go home. Leo would have jumped for joy if not for the tight arms around him. Attar's arms. Well crap. He knew that on this planet humans seemed to be pretty rare and that to be in charge of a human created some sort of bond, he had picked up that much from listening to Attar and Thade. Before he could say something, before he could even think of what to say Attar stood and began walking towards his cage in the corner. "Well, until then, or until the story comes out, you need to act like a normal human. That means of course no talking and no more walking around without restraints, even in my office. For now though I have to put you back in your cage." Attar said briskly. Leo's whole body tensed but he recognized Attar's reasoning, though he knew that he was only bringing this up out of anger over Thade's revelation. "Also, that means that I have to leave for the night. I've been here long enough, people are going to wonder why I refuse to leave you alone, even at night." At this Leo couldn't control the panic that welled up in him.
"NO! You said you wouldn't leave!" Twisting in Attar's arms he grabbed two fistfuls of Attar's lab coat. "You promised!" Attar wouldn't be swayed though, fear and anger at losing Leo making him stubborn. Roughly he grabbed Leo's wrists and forced him to let go of his coat. Leo grimaced and couldn't hold in a small whimper as his wrists were squeezed tight enough to bruise. He knew Attar was upset at the thought of him leaving but angry enough to hurt him? Leo had not anticipated that. Something inside of him gave a painful twist. Now what was he going to do? Attar was supposed to be the one ape that wouldn't hurt him, who would make others didn't hurt him. Unbeknownst to him tears escaped him and ran down his cheek.
It was at that moment that there was a brief knock at the door before it was flung open and two chimps and five hulking gorillas poured in. "Freeze!" One of the chimps held up an official looking badge. "We're from the department of Human Rights Services. We received a tip that you were abusing the human under your care." His grim gaze took in the tears on Leo's pale face and the painful looking grip Attar had on his wrists. Add that to the bruise on his face that Martin had given him earlier and the bandages peeking through the oversized scrubs and Leo knew he made a pretty pitiful sight. "And it looks like we got here just in time." He gestured sharply and the five gorillas started to move up on the pair.
"Now wait just one minute. My name is General Thade and I specifically placed this human under the care of Dr. Attar. You have no authority here." Despite his shorter stature his hard glare stopped the five in their tracks. "Now, I'd like to know who gave you this tip and who let you in here." The other chimp did not appear intimidated by and angry General Thade and met his glare head on.
"The tip was, and will remain, anonymous. We received the call several hours ago and went through proper channels to get here. Our authority is valid and we will be removing the human from Dr. Attar's care. Per orders we cannot remove him from the base but he will be placed under the supervision of another one of your human specialists, who will be under 24 hour surveillance." He gestured to the other chimp who had entered the room with him. "Dr. Greer will be taking over from here." Thade and Attar traded desperate looks before Attar quietly handed Leo over to one of the gorillas.
"Very well, for now I'll leave him with you." Attar pinned Martin with a sharp look, "but remember this is only temporary. I can prove that none of those bruises were put there by me and that your claims of abuse have to backing." Attar ignored the frantic look Leo shot him. There wasn't anything he could do for him right now, no words of reassurance he could say. As the situation stood, Leo had to go with Martin and there wasn't anything Attar could do about it now. Both Attar and Thade stood rigid as Leo was carried, struggling, out of the room.