Chapter Text
The alleyway was dark and dead, the only light coming from the occasional lamppost and the far-away glow of the city lights. His footsteps echoed throughout the silence, the only sound until a familiar voice filled his ears.
“Two meetings in the span of a week. People might start to talk.”
“I don’t like it anymore than you do,” Malcolm gritted out.
Harris smirked. “So, you want to go to Mars, and you need my help.”
“You know the situation.”
“I believe I'm aware of the broad strokes. I also understand Paxton's tapped into the planetary sensor grid. No one can get within a thousand kilometres of the Verteron Array without being detected.”
Malcolm nodded. “And you’re going to tell me how.”
“What makes you think I even have that information?” Harris asked.
Malcolm took a step forward. “Because your section routinely thinks about the unthinkable, and because you’d never miss a chance to put me in your debt.” He let his teeth flash briefly at this, but Harris only laughed.
“You’re a good judge of character. But there’s one other thing you’re forgetting to consider.”
“What’s that?”
“What it’s going to cost you.”
Malcolm growled, low in his throat. “What are you on about?”
Harris took a step closer; they were inches apart now. “To rescue your friends. That information is going to cost more than you think.”
“And what’s that?”
Harris gave a small smirk. “Only your soul.”
Malcolm barked out a laugh. “In case you’ve forgotten, Harris, I’m a bloody Demon. I don’t have a soul.”
“No,” Harris admitted, “not exactly. You certainly didn’t have one when we met. But your time around humans has affected you, Mr Reed, and brought light to the darkness that resides within you. You see, ever since you first began your assignment, I’ve been watching you closely. One would be foolish to take their eyes off such a powerful asset.”
Without warning, he suddenly thrust his hand out, palm splayed flat against Malcolm’s chest and Malcolm stood, frozen, as he felt himself being invaded, Harris’s eyes never leaving his. Yellow sparks crackled from beneath Harris’s fingertips, the jagged ends shooting outwards then burrowing deep within Malcolm’s body.
“You may not have a soul,” he said, “but you have light those humans gave you. And that’s enough for me.”
“You’re…” Malcolm choked out pathetically.
“A Demon as well, yes.” Harris released his hold and Malcolm slumped slightly, stumbling back, regaining his breath. “Not as powerful as you, and not whole like you, but a Demon nonetheless.”
“Impossible,” Malcolm spat. “I never felt it off you.”
“I hide it very well. A perk of being a half-Demon.”
Malcolm narrowed his eyes. “There have been no half-Demons ever recorded. It’s not simply possible.”
“It is entirely possible, Mr Reed,” Harris said simply. “I stand here before you as proof. But you should be less concerned about that and more concerned with the fate of your friends. So, do we have a deal?”
Malcolm glanced down at Harris’s outstretched hand, then back up at the man’s face. A part of him wanted to walk away, but he knew if he turned his back now, all would be lost for Trip and T’Pol—and the entirety of Enterprise. They were relying on him.
He had no other choice. “Deal.”