Note. This story was conceived during at time when both authors' were on meds. So, if this story is completely insane, this is why. We've tried to do our best to fit everyone in. Sisters, we hope you like this.
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Project Manticore Facility, Manticore
"494, here is your mission file," Colonel Donald Lydecker said, handing the X-5 a manila folder.
Without a word, the transgenic took the folder from his superior. Standing in Colonel Lydecker's office, X5-494 stood listening to the Colonel detail the mission for him. As per any other mission, the mission leader was being briefed by his superior.
The assignment destination was Boston. The target was a former Manticore scientist who had been fired on an ethical basis. The powers that be at Manticore thought that the doctor had learned his lesson after being fired from a prominent government position, as well as having his family tortured. But they were obviously wrong. Now it was time to exterminate.
"You will be expected to lead the designated team of six," Lydecker continued. "I expect little to no anomalies."
"Yes sir."
"Remember, we do not want this traced back to any part of the government."
"Understood."
"Well then. Go brief your team. Dismissed."
Expressionless, 494 saluted the Colonel and exited the office. 494 did not know whether being the team leader was a good thing or not. It had been so long since he'd been out for a mission that, for once, he was worried about his performance. And this time, it was not just himself he had to look after, it was a team of six, him included. He sighed.
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Boston, MA
"So Jai, what's the count tonight?" a petite brunette asked, from where she was lying on top of the bar counter. She put her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling, where she found a bra hanging from the exposed rafters. She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
The three girls were spread out around the Boston pub. One was cleaning, the other was next to the cash register while the third was lying there. The interior of the pub needed to be cleaned after a long night. But it hardly mattered to the girls. The cleaning crew would be by later, and if they didn't, that was okay too. The popularity of the bar had the patrons caring less about what the bar was like and more about what show they'd be given while there.
"It was once again an above average night thanks to a little someone," Jaime, a.k.a Jai, hinted at Kathleen, counting the cash from behind the counter. "And our grand total is... $250, each."
"Woohoo!" the redhead, Kathleen, answered. She was on the other side of the bar cleaning the tables.
"Damn straight, Kat," Melanie, or Layne as her friends called her, said, sitting up.
"Layne, while I'll admit that the extra money is good," Jai noted, walking around the bar and handing Kat her share of the cash. "I would prefer to keep the bar relatively clean, if you get my meaning?"
Layne stuck her tongue out at Jai's back, muttering something about being an adult and knowing the difference between right and wrong.
"Touchy aren't we, Jai?" Kat said, taking the money.
Instead of answering her, Jai headed back to the counter, grabbing the second stack of cash for Layne. She had not been feeling well, and loathed to admit it. Her bar was her life. Once before, she'd promised herself not to ever take the night off, and never to close the bar. It was not in fear of losing customers, but it was more the fact that Jai hated to be idle.
Layne sat up on the bar, frowning in concern. "I swear she's coming down with something. Either that or it's that time of the month again. Jai, you really should've heeded to my words and taken the night off." Shrugging, she moved to sit so that her legs dangled off the bar and shot a look at Jai that told of her distaste for Jai working tonight.
"Melanie, is it necessary to discuss such things here? Besides, I'm fine. It's just the little sensing abnormality of mine that's going crazy," Jai replied, hesitantly, leaning on the counter. It had been a while since she'd felt anything from what people call her "sixth sense". In the past, she had put it to good use, sensing people's emotions and all. But after a while, she felt that it really wasn't right. Now, she tended to wait for it to tell her something. And now, it was definitely telling her something, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was.
"Are you sure it's nothing more than that? Your weird senses have never made you look like you were sick before." Layne noted, watching her friend carefully. Jai looked like hell and Layne was concerned that she was coming down with something.
"I don't like what I'm feeling. The possibility that our lives will change irrevocably in the next few weeks is not something I'm looking forward to."
Kat rolled her eyes. "It's just one of those feelings again? You actually had me worried there for a minute, Jai."
Jai frowned lightly. "Yes, it's just one of those feelings," she sighed. "It's not my subconscious trying to tell me something either; I know that was what you were thinking."
Kat shrugged, moving to sit beside Layne on the bar. "Then, are you seeing dead people again?"
"I resent that. The sixth sense each person has is uniquely different. It is not as simple as it is made out in the Sixth Sense. His whole purpose was to help the dead seek peace. Mine is to help the living find answers."
"Potato, potato," Layne said with a giggle, but stifling it when Jai glared at her.
"I don't expect you to understand, but I would appreciate it if you don't try to deconstruct it like the past generation Hollywood film makers."
"Okay. I'm sorry," Layne said apologetically. "Do you want to tell us about it?"
"You know it's against the rules. Besides, I'm not seeing much. Only that whatever is to happen will change us."
Kat rolled her eyes and hopped back off the bar to resume cleaning tables. "Does it at least include hot guys?" Everything with Kat had to include hot guys or had to promise the inclusion of them at a later time. Layne suspected that it was Kat's bra hanging from the ceiling since Kat had been dirty dancing with a handsome fellow on top of the bar earlier in the evening.
"Kathleen!" Layne exclaimed, blushing. Melanie was the shy one. While she appreciated cute guys, she rarely had the courage to walk up to them and say anything. "She already noted that not much was being revealed for crying out loud. How's she to know whether cute men are involved or not?"
"Well, whatever it is, it's going to be soon," Jai said, finally handing Layne her share of tonight's cash. Jai could honestly care less whether it involved hot men or not. She'd had her share of men whether they be good or bad, and in the end, Jai found that it simply was nicer being single. While it may be lonely, it suited her and her lifestyle.
"I assume that we'll need to be ready for just about anything and everything?" Layne asked, accepting the money. She had been friends with Jai for a long time and she knew from past experience that Jai's sixth sense came in a lot of forms, some good, some bad. She tended to stick to the background and let Jai handle the bad situations. She seemed to have a knack for it, while Layne was better suited to deal with the good situations.
"That would be the best for all," Jai replied, not really knowing how to answer the question. Although she had little trouble handling the not-so-great situations, she had yet to reveal the whole truth about her past to either of her friends. It was not something that she wanted either of them to know.
"I hope it involves hot guys." Kat piped up again. No matter what either of the girls said, Kat knew that Jai's sixth sense always brought in the cuties.
Layne and Jai laughed, rolling their eyes at their friend and looking around the bar. Everything looked good for the cleaning crew, so they motioned for Kat to join them as they headed toward the stairs to the suite above. It had been yet another successful night at J's Bar and now the three bartenders were in for some much-needed downtime.
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Holiday Inn, Boston, MA
The next night, Alec and his team were laying low in one of the cheaper hotels in Boston. They had just arrived a few hours before and decided that they should get some sleep so they would be well-rested and ready to start prepping for their mission the next morning.
Alec lay on one of the full-sized beds with his twin brother, Ben. Manticore hadn't allotted them a lot of money for this mission, so they had to double up on the beds. Alec started to toss and turn on the bed, moaning quietly as his nightmare became too much for him.
~! Alec's Nightmare !~
Alec crouched on Berrisford's driveway, watching Mr. Berrisford and his driver approach the car that he had just planted the bomb under. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I can do this," he thought to himself. "Just press the button when Rachel gets in the car. It's simple. Just a press of a button."
Movement for one of the second story windows caught Alec's eye. He turned to look and saw Rachel packing her bookbag for school. She zipped it up and started to leave the room and panic gripped Alec's heart. He couldn't kill her; he just couldn't do that to her.
Crouching low, he moved past the car and into the house to meet Rachel, who was coming down the stairs.
"Simon, what are you doing here?" She asked, sounding surprised, but happy to see him.
"We don't have a lot of time." Alec said urgently.
"What's the matter?" Rachel asked, obviously not understanding.
Alec sighed. "Listen to me. You and your father need to leave town right now."
"Why?"
Alec grabbed her shoulders, feeling more rushed than ever. "I'll cover for you. I'll tell 'em that you left in the middle of the night. But you have got to go now."
"You're hurting me!" Rachel exclaimed, trying to push his hands away.
"Come on," Alec urged, trying to pull her down the stairs.
"No! Tell me what's happening." Rachel whimpered, his grip was strong and he was scaring her. Something was happening and she wanted to know what it was.
"Okay," Alec hesitated, not wanting her to know the truth. "I was sent here to kill your father. It was my job. You were my job." He closed his eyes against the frightened, repulsed look on her face.
Rachel gasped as his words penetrated her mind. She reacted instinctively and slapped him as hard as she could across the face. Bursting into tears, she pushed him away and ran down the stairs.
Alec tried to stop her, but all he could grasp was her locket. It broke off into his hand and he looked at it, pausing for a moment before running after her. "Rachel!"
Alec emerged from the house in time to see the car explode. "Rachel!" He screamed. Rachel!"
Alec sat up on the bed, drenched in sweat. Breathing hard, he threw the sheets away and got to his feet. Stumbling into the bathroom, he leaned over the sink and turned on the cold water. After splashing his face a few times, his breathing started to ease and his heart started to calm, but he knew that he wouldn't get anymore sleep. Sliding down the wall, he pulled his knees to his chest and sobbed silently.
Thirty minutes later, Alec couldn't sit on the bathroom floor anymore. His tears had stopped falling, so he stood up and splash his face again. He toweled the excess water off and quietly moved back out into the room to pull on his jeans and a clean t-shirt. "There has to be a bar open somewhere around here," he thought to himself as he grabbed the room key and slipped out into the night.
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Easily, Alec found that there was a pub that stayed open late at the College District. He wandered up to the seemingly run-down building and nodded to the bouncer at the door. The large, muscular man nodded back and let Alec pass without a word. Once Alec was inside, he saw that despite the late hour, the place was still going at full swing. What caught his attention most were the two girls that were dancing on the bar top.
Jai and Layne moved rhythmically to the loud, pulsing music. They laughed as they passed each other on the bar top, but kept dancing for the men who were whistling and cat-calling at them. Jai suddenly felt something, or more like someone, staring at her. It was not an uncommon feeling since they got quite a bit of attention while dancing, but this was different. She turned toward the direction of the feeling and found a very cute blonde guy watching her. She could tell that he wasn't a local and she smiled.
Alec watched the girls dancing and wasn't sure what to make of it. It was like nothing he had seen before. It was obvious that they were well-rehearsed as they moved in unison; neither faltering. His eyes locked with the petite Asian and she smiled at him. His first instinct was to smile back and he granted her a small grin before ducking his head and making his way toward the bar. He had come here to get drunk, and that's exactly what he was going to do.
"Scotch, straight up," Alec said to the redheaded bartender, slapping a bill on the bar top.
"Coming right up," Kat smiled at the handsome young man and pocketed his money. She poured his drink with a flourish and slid it across the bar to him.
"Thanks," he said, taking the glass. He turned and found that there was an empty spot in the corner where the couches were. Alec left the counter area and made his way there.
"He's hot!" Kat whispered loudly to Jai as she passed by. "I'd do him."
"Kathleen, have you reverted back to being so hormonally overloaded that "that" is all you think about?" Jai asked, hopping off the bar top.
"Pretty much," Kat concurred, turning to the next patron.
"Jai, you should know by now that she has a one-track mind," Layne noted, also hopping down from the bar. "One would think that us, as her friends and colleagues, would be used the constant sexual references by now."
Jai laughed, handing a guy his vodka straight. "Yet, I'm still not."
"Neither am I," Layne replied, laughing.
Meanwhile, across the bar, Alec was watching the girls when the crowd parted far enough for him to see them. They were smiling, laughing, joking with each other and their customers. He was becoming increasingly interested in who they were. "Hey," he said, to a man standing close to the couch. "Who are the bartenders?"
"You must be new," the guy replied.
"I'm not from around here." Alec replied evenly.
"Whatever. Anyways... the bartenders. No one knows their real names, only their personas. The redhead's the witch, the brunette is the angel, and the one with the dyed hair is the devil."
Alec was perplexed. "Uh, come again?"
The guy laughed. "The girls here go by personas. I believe it's because they don't always want people to know their names. That or their names are kinda plain," the guy explained.
"I doubt the latter." Alec muttered. "Do they always dance?" Alec asked the guy, raising his voice to be heard above the music.
"Yes. It's a part of the show. They sing, they dance, they bartend."
"Every night?"
"Every night, for as long as they've been in Boston. They've never closed."
Alec nodded, thanking the guy and turning his attention back to the girls. There was something about them that was drawing his attention, especially the brunette girl.
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"Okay, Jai, as much as I enjoy the attention that male patrons give to us, the guy in the back is starting to creep me out," Layne said, nudging Jai with her elbow and nodding in Alec's direction.
"It can't possibly be that bad. They always stare, much like hormonally charged teenagers given their first taste of women," Jai said without even trying to figure out what guy Layne was talking about.
"He's just sitting there staring. There's a difference in staring while whistling and staring while just sitting there." Layne protested, shuddering and moving to stand on Jai's other side, away from Alec.
"He's cute. What's there not to like?" Kat asked, reaching between them to grab a glass.
"Who is it?" Jai finally asked, wondering who was unnerving her best friend.
"That guy sitting on the sofa by himself. Light brown hair, holding an empty scotch glass." Layne replied, nodding once more in Alec's direction.
Jai turned towards the direction that Layne was nodding at and saw the guy that had come in a little while earlier. Jai smiled. "Ah, him. He's not local, hence the staring."
Layne frowned. "Still creepy," she muttered, turning her back to serve the patron that was calling out for a beer.
"Trust me Layne, he's not creepy," Jai assued. "There's just something about him. I have no doubt we'll be seeing more of him."
Layne rolled her eyes, but nodded to Jai. She trusted her friend even if she didn't always agree with her. With one last glance in Alec's direction, she turned back to the customers at the bar.
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Next time...
"I'm Alec." "And I'm Jai," she answered, shaking his hand.
"I had a dream that I wanted to forget."
"You know what to do right?" Alec asked, looking at Syl, Krit and Max.
"Okay then. Let's get this over with."
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A.N.: So, you've read the first episode. What do you think? Good? Bad? Should we even bother continuing?