All the sudden everything's one big mess. I had been hiding for
years, undetected. Nobody knew I was different. Nobody knew that I was made
in a lab, genetically engineered to be a soldier. Then I met Logan and
things started changing. I tried to stop the change, maybe even reverse it,
but things just kept getting worse. Twice I was captured. The people who
created me weren't happy whenever I escaped. Each new capture received
worse punishment. I was stuck with needles, hypnotized, operated on, and
electrified. Each time I came home, people said I was different. I would
hide all my pain, my sorrow, my grief. When Zack killed himself, I had to
hide my pain for him too.
The last time I got out, I blew my birthplace up into small bits of rubble. I enjoyed watching it burn. It was as if I was burning all the pain that I had stored up in me. I felt great. Each flame was my freedom. I didn't know that this would cause major problems in the future. How could one know? I'm not psychic.
Then Alec came along and made my life much more difficult. Logan and I split up because we couldn't allow ourselves to touch. He'd die if I didn't leave him. Then there was White, a man in the Government that was put in place to make my life a living hell. He was part of a breeding cult that had the same abilities as the Manticore soldiers.
Everything got out of hand and soon everyone found himself or herself in a state of war. The most buildings in Seattle were on fire, others were just pieces of brick lying in a pile. Day and night you could hear gunfire and bombs exploding. The public was behind the government. Who knew it would take a war against transgenics to bring everyone under the government.
I am the commander of the transgenics. I'm not even sure how or why I became the commander, but it happened. Under me are forty hundred transgenics. Only a hundred or so of them were X series. Battles were fought all over the US, but most of them were fought in the northwest. The largest front was in Seattle.
On the other side, Hector Lauren was the commander and great leader of the 'humans'. Everyone looked for his guidance. They were like little Nazis following Hitler. The man wasn't looking to help the humans, he was looking for power. If he had to do some side joke, he'd do it to get the publics attention.
Many people had lost their lives over the year. Logan died from cross fire as he was going to the store. White was murdered by his younger brother CJ and CJ was killed by the breeding cult. So far the count of civilians dead ran up to a thousand and the count for the transgenics was up to a hundred. Nobody knew when it would end, but people were afriad.
"Afraid of what they don't understand?" Joshua tilted his head looking at her the way a puppy does when they are trying to understand something. Smiling with only half her mouth as she stared at the blue screen.
Afraid of what they don't understand…….2-5-25
She pushed send, it would go straight out to all the newspapers that carried all the speeches that she had made. Sketchy had helped her get a few contacts with some newspaper printers. At first Sketchy was a little skittish with her, but soon he went back to normal and got a to know a few of the transgenics. He, Original Cindy, a few other humans, and the X series were able to go out in public without anyone prosecuting them on the spot. There were problems with the government's new equipment. Heat sensitive cameras were able to spot the X series. Many of them had died or been captured because of these cameras. But they got a scientist to give them a few pills that would lower their body temperatures to the normal human temperature.
"It's getting hot out there. We got fifty new machine guns and Dickey's still rollin in those grenades. We haven't lost anyone today." Alec sighed jumping onto the table that the computer sat on.
"That's good, any more news from the government?" Max asked looking up from the computer.
"Nope." Alec replied jumping off the table. "Same old, same old. Civilians can fire at us if they feel endangered."
Rubbing her fingers over her eyes and then pulling them through her hair, she groaned. It had been a few weeks since her last nap and even with her cat DNA, she was tired. "So how long has it been since you last slept?"
"Matters what you call sleep. If you mean leaving you mind even though your still doing something, just a minute ago. If you mean lying down in an actual bed, then two days ago. Coffee really keeps you awake. You should try it." Alec said nodding over to the coffeepot.
"Hmm, I like the traditional sleep. Who knew I could miss it so much." Max sighed and picked up the papers from the desk. "There's a new Head Quarters in Orlando. Kent is running the game over there. I want you and your guys to watch that spot for a little while. It's liable to get pretty hot down there. He needs a few weapons and a guy who can make grenades. Teach an X-series soldier to do that and send him down."
Alec nodded and headed away to another station. She headed to the screening room that held all the screens of cameras in every sector. Dan ran the show in here. He was half dog half horse and had an unusual nose. "How's it look."
"We got a few squads in sectors two through nine. Sector one is crowded with civilians watching the government's updates." Dan replied taking a sip of some brown thick substance.
Max nodded and left the room heading out to the other side of the underground base where Original Cindy hung out and where the bed were located. People moved swiftly trying to get to their destination. Although there were about two hundred down here, there was never any traffic.
"Hey girl, you look like you were just run over by a truck. How long has it been since you've slept?" Original Cindy asked sitting on one of the beds next to Sketchy who lay back casually.
"Bout a week or maybe it was two. I'm not sure. I sent some more print over to that newspaper Sketch." Max said looking at the beds wondering how good it would feel to sleep. "I'm going to take a small nap. If there's any trouble, wake me up."
She went to one of the beds and flopped down ignoring her shoes. She wasn't even on her pillow when she fell asleep…
Twenty soldiers all stood in one long line. The teacher glared at them. They had failed a mission. That was the second time they had failed. It was time for some harsh punishment. Each soldier would get a hard beating. Failing a mission was one of the worst things they could do.
Max held her breath as the hot metal rod hit her skin. Crying was another thing a soldier must not do. Pain was only in the mind. Pain made a person weak. The big people didn't want weak soldiers. Each time the rod hit her skin, it would hiss and smoke would come up from her burning skin…
"Max, wake up. Drake is in trouble." Alec said shaking her awake. She quickly sat up, her skin was burning up. Sweat rolled down her forehead. "You're not having a seizure are you? You're burning up."
"I'll be fine." She said relaxing a little. The sleep hadn't helped. In fact it had shaken her up enough to loose her wits for a second. "What sector?"
"Sector five. Near that Chinese restaurant. Hurry. They're going to get him." Alec said and then headed towards the parking deck where all the bikes were stored. Max ran after him and soon the fresh air hit her burning forehead. She'd brake soon and she knew it. She was on her last nerve.
* * * * *
"Hey, throw me a pack. I'm out." Max yelled as she ducked behind a barrel. Sweat and the rainwater made her clothes damp. A small black pack full of a couple of rounds flew into the air and landed in her hand. She quickly reloaded her shotgun and looked around the corner. Five male soldiers were hidden behind a large dumpster. Drake lay beside her moaning about a wound in his side.
Bullets hit the barrel and against the wall behind her. She was surrounded by a mass of bullets. The soldiers had a plan. Only two would shot while the others reloaded.
Alec was behind a low brick wall to the right of her with a few others. He pointed to a grenade and then pointed to the soldiers. That was his way of asking if he could throw them. She nodded. A second later it exploded behind the dumpster and soldiers flew out. Max shot with perfection getting all five of them in a matter of seconds.
"Move out." Max yelled and picked up Drake. Running to the motorcycles, she kept her eye on her surroundings. From the windows above to the basement below, everything has to be watched. Soon only the roar of the bikes could be heard on the streets.
* * * * *
"How's he doing?" Max grunted as another stitch was placed on her elbow.
"He'll be fine. Just a little sleep and he'll be as good as new." Dr. Yang replied. The doctor was a normal human. She didn't like how the people were treating transgenics and decided to help them.
"Great." Max replied as gauze was placed over the stitches. "I got to get back. Do you need anything? Any material?"
Dr. Yang paused for a minute and thought about the question. "Yeah actually, I need some more Peroxide."
"All right, I'll see what I can do. Thanks and keep me up dated on Drake." Max said and headed out.
Alec ran up to her, his brown blond hair flew behind him. He hadn't gotten it cut in months and it was now growing into his eyes. His hair reminded her of Zack's. "Max, congress is thinking about a peace agreement."
"What?" Max asked, her forehead knotted.
"Congress…" Alec started to repeat.
"No, I mean, are you sure? This could be a trick. Why would they want to sign a peace agreement all of the sudden?" Max asked confused.
"Maybe they give up?" Joshua suggested and then gave an innocent shrug.
"There's been way too much activity to all the sudden want to sign a peace agreement." Max shook her head not understanding.
"Don't you want to sign a peace agreement?" Jake asked as he walked by. Max looked up at him and smiled.
"Of coarse. I'm just worried they're not trying to trick us." Max replied and then sighed. "I'll be glad to get to an almost normal life again. I'd get to sleep."
Alec dropped into one of the office chairs and then he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can see what you're saying. But if it's not a trick and we pass it up then we'll be in a deep mud puddle."
"I don't know, when did you hear they wanted to make peace?" Max asked running her hands through her damp hair. She growled and then rubbed her face. Now sleeping clouded her mind, she couldn't think right.
"Just a second ago on TV." Alec replied. "It's your choice."
"I know, I know. Let's wait and see if they try to contact us and then go from there. Jake, keep a line open on the phones. Alec keep watching." Max said and started heading away.
"What are you going to do?" Alec asked.
"I am going to get on the net and find some information. I don't want anyone leaving tonight. Tonight we are going to keep the streets quiet. Tell that to the guard. If you need me I'll be in section one." Max nodded and headed down the hall.
What's the Deal senator?
We suggest a peace between us and the transgenics.
What are the hook ups?
We won't fight you, you won't fight us. You will go by our laws. You will sign an agreement with us.
That all?
No, every transgenic must register that they are transgenics.
Why?
So that we know if you're a transgenic.
Then we'll never have any privacy. We will be segragated. I thought all man is equal in this country.
They are, you are not man.
I'm more human then you guys. We were living just fine until you guys spread out a panic though out the US.
I'm sure you think that. So is it a deal or not?
I have to talk it out with my comrades. If this is a trick…
I assure you this is no trick.
Sure… LOGANCOMP LOGOUT
* * * * *
"So?" Alec asked leaning back in his chair. Every general was on the lane listening and waiting for her to talk.
"They say it's no joke, but we can't trust their word. They have a few hook ups. One, we can't show any aggression to the people. Two, we go by their laws. Three, we must sign an agreement. And four, we have to register to say that we are transgenics." Max replied looking around the room.
"We have to register? Yeah, over my dead body." Kent replied over the phone. The others seem to agree. "Look, why do I want to sign my name over? That's ridiculous. Nobody would hire me, I'd be an outcast."
Alec nodded in a agreement. "We would never get jobs. There would be no point, I'd still be outlawed. They'd probable pass some new law saying we can't get jobs."
"So it's a no." Max let out a deep sigh and yawned.
"No." everyone replied.
"All right." Max threw her hands up. "It's a no go."
Nice to hear from you.
Yeah well don't get use to it. We aren't going to settle on those terms. We won't register. We might as well be at war because we'll be outlawed if we register.
Ok, you wont register.
So what are you gaining?
Nothing, absolutely nothing.
Sure, right. LOGANCOM LOGOUT
* * * * *
"Today we are here to unite two groups. The transgenics and us." HL announced. Cameras flashed and tape recorders rolled. People applauded. HL was a middle-aged man with graying hair and a growing belly. He had chipped tooth grin and a crooked nose. "I am happy to present to you Jake. He is the leader of the transgenics and here to sign the peace agreement. This is a mark…"
Max sat quietly in the balcony next to Alec in the audience. They didn't let her sign just in case this was a trick and HL was here to assassinate the leader. The two applauded and booed when others applauded and booed. Nobody knew that Max was the one who was suppose to sign the agreement. Kent sat on the other side watching the procession. All three had a small gun just in case some one tried to kill Jake as he signed the treaty.
"If you would sign on the dotted line sir." HL said with a forced smile.
Jake leaned over to sign the treaty and then fell to the ground. Only Max, Kent, and Alec could see the bullet through the air. It was a silencer. It was a gun that could be shot and would not be heard.
"Damn." Max said quietly as everyone screamed. Cameras focused in on the dead body. Jake, he was gone and they couldn't do a thing about it. Max looked at Alec and nodded. They headed out with everyone else. Anonymity was key.
* * * * *
Fuck you HL
I thought you were dead.
This isn't over by a long shot. I'm far from dead you mother fucking shit head.
I see, I guess I can't fool you.
I thought you did your homework, we're smarter then you, quicker then you. You can't fool us. You know you just lost some of the public's trust.
I guess you haven't done your homework either. We blamed the death on you guys. We said that the transgenics didn't want peace and that the leader was the only one who wanted peace.
You won a battle, but the War is far from over. LOGANCOM LOGOUT
* * * * *
"Now what?" Alec asked with his head in his hands.
"I say we kill the bastard." Kent replied. "Mother fucker doesn't know what he just did. It's pay back time."
"Wait guys." Max said coming into the room where every general sat waiting for what to do next.
"No shit Max. Jake just died. I'm not letting these bastards get away with that." Kent replied punching his hand into his palm. His face looked determined that he'd bash a few heads around.
"I'm not saying that we're going to let him get away with that. No, he'll have to learn to never do that. I'm saying that we get the people to turn on him." Max groaned as she sat on a hard wooden chair.
Kent cocked his head to the side, his bangs fell into his eyes. "I thought you said that he said that we are to blame."
"I did." Max agreed. "But, I have a transcript that I just sent to the press. They're going to eat it up like candy."
"It's our word against theirs." Alec reminded her. He ruffled his hair and then shook his head.
"Yeah, but why the hell would we mess up a perfect opportunity to be free? The public knows what we want. They won't be sure what happened to the treaty. They still are a little cautious with the government and not afraid to turn their backs on them." Max raised an eyebrow up and then nodded. "It'll work out for the better. Did Jinx get Jake's body? We don't need them to find out that we're taking medicine to get of the Heat cameras."
"Yeah." Kent replied and sighed. "What if it don't work?"
"Then I'm going to go into a coma and one of you can take over." Max said with a tired voice.
Kent chuckled and shook his head. Everyone started to file out. "That'd be very interesting."
"I'm not kidding. I'm too tired. I can barely keep my head straight. You and Alec can take over. I don't even know how I got into this mess." Max leaned over and put her head down into her hands.
"None of us can." Kent reminded her and then patted her on the back. Alec nodded. "All of us are running on empty. It'll be a matter of time before they brake us down and lock us up like animals. Turn us into lab rats. We don't have reinforcements, they do. It's only a matter of time, days, weeks, months, years, nobody knows."
"Yeah but we try to keep their hopes up. Tell them we'll get out on top. But it isn't true. Not on top at least. Maybe on the side, but not on top. Look, we need to keep all transgenics off the streets for tonight. Let the transcript soak in. Then we'll see what we need to do. I want to make us seem like we aren't there. I want the soldiers to be bored. You two got that?" she stood up and nodded. "In the mean time, I want everyone to get some sleep. Keep two people rotation at each station. I'll see you guys in the morning. Wake me if anything comes up."
* * * * *
"State your designation." A teacher yelled at her. She was battered and bruised from the last test she had been through. She stood strong, not showing how much pain she felt. Ignoring the bloody taste in her mouth, she replied "452 sir."
"You are going to go through another test. Go to room 65432. The directors will tell you what to do next. Now your dismissed." The man barked. She solitude and jogged through the corridor.
"Stand hut." Another man commanded once she got to the room. She stood straight looking at nothing. "Designation?"
"452 sir." Max replied
"452, lie down on the table. We are going to hook you up to some machines. She lied down. Soon needles poked her skin and cold metal sensors were placed over parts of her body.
The man turned the machine on and it only took a few seconds to understand what this was for. The IV's sent a liquid through her blood and the doctors wanted to see how long she could tolerate it. She'd be unconscious before they'd stop. The liquid felt like acid running through her veins.
A few seconds later there was beep, which meant they would send even more into her. Now she thought she was on fire. Keeping her mind blank help a little, but the next beep she wouldn't be able to ignore it. Beads of sweat rolled down her face, her arms shook…
* * * * *
"Hey Max, you hungry?" Original Cindy asked as Max limped into the kitchen.
"Hmm?" Max asked.
"Are you hungry?" Original Cindy repeated and then chuckled. "So girl, why is my boo limping?"
"I don't know? Maybe I'm getting old." Max replied sitting down. Original Cindy pushed a bowl of Oatmeal over to her.
"How'd you sleep?" Original Cindy asked.
"Okay, any news about the transcript?" Max dug into the oatmeal keeping her mind off what she had just dreamed about. "There wasn't any trouble last night, was there?"
"Nope, you need to stop worrying so much. Everyone stayed inside. Nothing has come up with the transcript. It's in every damn newspaper and Magazine in the US. You got some good connections or something." Original Cindy smiled.
"Hey Max." Alec groaned as he sat down. "Man, I still need more sleep."
"You all do." Original Cindy replied. "You hungry? Have some nice hot oatmeal." She shoved it to him and he dug into it.
Max sat back and watched as he inhaled the food. After he was finished, she rolled her eyes. "Were you hungry?"
He nodded and then leaned back in his chair. "We're going out into the streets. I want to see what everyone's talking about. See if that transcript did the job right."
"Alright." Max replied and then pushed herself up. "Get Kent, he's coming."
"Man, you hear this bull shit? The government shot this transgenic just as they were going to sign the treaty. At least we could get back to the way it was before the war. Transgenics are probable going to try and get payback. Man forget the government." A guy in some rags and a buzz said throwing down the newspaper.
"Sounds like a lot of people are saying that." Alec said raising his eyebrows up and then down.
"Hey, it might have worked." Kent grinned slightly.
Max scanned the area. People were readying the paper everywhere. She wasn't going to say it worked just yet. It might back fire if they think it worked before it actually worked. "Let's go to sector three."
"Why, it's loaded with feds. It worked, let's go." Kent replied.
"I want to check something out. We can't say it worked unless we hear it on the news. Then we'll relax a little." Max replied heading towards the next sector.
Kent and Alec shrugged. They followed slowly and silently.
Max stopped at a shop that had TV's set up so people could watch the news. Tons of people were already watching. On the TV screen, HL was talking into a mike.
…"Good morning America. I am sad to say that our Peace treaty failed. It seems to be that the transgenics did not want peace and decided to murder their own leader. We are still at war and are still trying to make peace agreements with these animals…" HL said with a fake grin…
"Man, the government sucks. This guy is a total liar. Come on let's go." A lady said pulling her two children along with her. "If it was the Transgenics who killed their leader they would have killed Hector Lauren to."
"Very true." Max said with a slight grin.
"Are you satisfied?" Kent asked.
"Sure, for now." Max nodded.
* * * * *
I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear
Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I'd had it all
But I was waiting for you
When it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy
Hush now I see a light in the sky
Oh it's almost blinding me
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
~ Celine Dion "A New Day Has Come"
Max looked out the window of an abandoned apartment. The sun slowly rose over the top of the buildings left standing in Seattle. The warmth from the sun made her grin, each day meant that she had made it through the night of brutal attacks. It was hard to believe that there was so much controversy on the ground when the sun shone so beautiful in the morning sky. In Manticore, she never really noticed the sky. Now, she looked at it with great joy and pleasure.
"Max?" Alec asked coming in the room ruffling his hair. His clothes were rumpled and his hair stood out every where. They had gotten stuck in the apartment when a few of the night patrols started shooting at them.
"Yeah?" Max asked hypnotized by the sunrise. Her thoughts rested on every loved one that wasn't here to see this beautiful day. Logan, Zack, Ben… All those people whom died because of her.
"Ready to go?" Alec asked softly as if she was emotionally unbalanced and technically she was unbalanced.
She looked over to him and then sighed. "Another day, another battle. When is this going to end? I'm not ready for another tug of war with whoever wants to attack us next. This has gone on way to long."
"We were made to be soldiers." Alec reminded her as if she didn't remember why she was in this mess to begin with. She nodded and pushed up from the chair she had curled up in.
"I wasn't made to be a commander, Zack was." Max replied and then headed out the door and down the steps two stairs at a time. Alec trotted behind. Next stop, the station.
* * * * *
"How long?" Alec asked scanning the screen. The black screen up above the surveillance cameras was a radar that was able to detect government armies. There was a large green blob on the screen heading to sector five.
"Maybe five, ten minutes." Dan replied. "That's if you guys go on your motorcycles at top notch speed. I would let them settle in and then pick them out."
"Our problem is if they pick us out." Max said staring at the screen. "We'll wait a little while, but we can't let them get close to the base. We also can't let them know that they're close to our base. Alec, send out two guys at 19 hundred hours. That should give them enough cover to be able to start picking them out. Send a mermaid out to the docks. Make sure they have a suit on. Report to my block if any thing goes wrong. We have to be careful about this."
Alec nodded and Dan followed suit.
"Is Kent still here?" Max asked as she got to the doorway of the surveillance room.
"Yeah, he's leaving tomorrow. Why?" Alec cocked his head to one side.
"Tell him I need to talk to him. Some matters about his head quarters. I'll see you guys later." Max replied and headed out the door to the streaming traffic of the underground.
When she got into her section, she flopped into her chair and rubbed the sides of her head. Anxiety was working overload on her which probable meant a seizure was coming. Each time the seizures got worse. Slowly everything became distorted and her hand started shaking.
Max slowly got down to the floor and curled up into a ball. The rest she couldn't recollect. Everything was to hazy, voices talked softly to her. She wasn't sure who's they were. Pain ran through her body, she couldn't control anything, only a small part of her brain. She happily crawled into that small spot and waited till it was over.
* * * * *
"Max?" a voice called out to her. She blinked, all she could see was an outline of a body. Max mumbled something, not anything that was audible, more of a grunt. "How are you feeling?"
She grunted again. Her mouth didn't seem to be connecting with her brain. Slowly Max's vision began to clear. It was Alec, he sat next to her on a bed rubbing a cold wash cloth over her head.
"You scared us." Alec said softly.
"It was just another seizure." Max mumbled. It felt so hot and stuffy here. Her head throbbed as if someone had hit her with a baseball bat. "I'll be fine. What time is it?"
"You've been in a coma for three days Max. It's around ten in the morning. We got your temperature down to 110 degrees.
"Shit, how high was it?" she slowly closed her eyes and then opened them. Everything felt out of whack. How could she have been in a coma for three days?
He shrugged and then put the rag down on the ground. "About 120 degrees. We put you in some ice water, cooled you right down. Dr. Yang wasn't sure what to do, so we put you on ice. We got your body heat down to 115."
Max stared at him a second. He hadn't shaved in days, his hair was uncombed, and his clothes were a day old. Strangely, he had been worried. Alec had slowly changed through the war. She wasn't sure if she missed his old self or not.
"How's things on the front?" Max asked trying to keep on task. She had been out for three days, it was time to get at it again.
"Max, why don't you rest and in the morning I'll brief you on everything. Are you hungry? I can get you some food." Alec started to stand up and watched her carefully.
"No thanks." Max replied closing her eyes. As he got to the door she sighed. "Alec?"
"Yeah?" she could hear him turn on his heals, like a soldier would do. The kind she always heard when she was in Manticore.
"Thank you." She opened her eyes and smiled.
He shrugged and smiled. "No problem."
* * * * *
How about truths?
Are you kidding? The last time we called truths you tried to kill me.
True, but we have lost so many and the public is interested in truths. So how about we be civilized and call it truths.
How do I know that you're not going to try and kill me again?
Because we'd destroy the peoples trust if it happened twice in a row. Please, we need to stop the war.
None of these little rules. You hear me?
Yeah, sure.
We're watching every move of yours. You better not side step. I need to talk to my comrades. Then we'll see.
All right, fair enough.
Damn right. LOGANCOM LOGOFF
* * * * *
"How do we know this isn't another one of their tricks?" Alec asked scanning the room. "Jake already died. Who next? Who will you send off Max? What brave soldier will you send off to die for you?"
"Nobody Alec." Max replied taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. The room was full of tension. Enough that one could cut with a serrated knife.
"Then what are you going to do? You can't send yourself." Alec said now concerned that she was actually going to do it. She licked her lips and then raised her eyebrows as if saying 'what else is there to do?'
"Look Alec, if we don't try it now, the public will think we're not interested. I'm not going to send anyone out to die for me. I think people have to choose when they're ready to go out on a limb. I am ready." Max looked around the room at stony faces.
Alec shook his head. "We can't afford to loose you."
"Alec, I have made to many people die for me. Anyway, how do we know that I'm going to die if I do this? I need to do this. I'm not trying to kill myself here. If I die, at least I know you guys can handle this operation" she stood up and got ready to leave.
"This isn't about Logan is it? You don't believe you're going to see him in some after life, right?" Alec said standing up.
The silence was sickening. She glared at him. "Why the hell would I think that? If there was a heaven, then there would be a God. There is no God out here, only the devil. Anyway, if there was a Heaven, then I'd be more likely go to Hell than Heaven. Look, unless someone else recommends something better, then we're going ahead."
She left the room and went straight to her corner. Her desk was a mess filled with reports and scanning papers of the area. Sitting down, she ran her hands through her hair and sighed. Slowly she started to shuffle through the papers. A light tapping on the door made her look up. Alec looked in and nodded to her.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, look. I wasn't trying to say anything bad about you and Logan. It's just… I think you're trying to get yourself killed." Alec walked in and sat in a chair opposite of hers.
"I'm not trying to get myself killed Alec. Listen to me, I've had so many people die because of something I do. I can't have that. I also can't let this chance pass us by. What if this is an actual peace treaty and it brings peace to the two sides? We'd beable to go anywhere without the fear of being caught. I know what to look for. I know that I shouldn't look away from anything." Max leaned back in her chair and grinned. "Anyway, why would it matter to you? You'd get this division to yourself. I've been a butt hole to you ever since I met you."
He chuckled and shook his head. "That's true, but what would I do with this many transgenics? I wasn't made to be a commander."
"Neither was I." She reminded him.
"Sandimen seems to think the opposite." Alec replied.
"Screw him. He hasn't done anything helpful to us. All he's done is make White run after me. I don't give a shit what he thinks." Max started to sort out her files. "Why do you guys just throw this crap on my table? Do you want to give me a hard time?"
"Max, Hector Lauren's on the line." Kent said coming in quickly just as Alec was about to respond with another one of his smart-alec remarks.
"Can't you see we're trying to have a conversation?" Max smiled and got up. Alec followed suit and then stopped her at the doorway.
He looked straight into her eyes. "Please reconsider."
"I can't." Max replied and headed out the door down towards the terminals in the middle of the underground.
* * * * *
So?
So what?
Stop playing games with me. The congress needs to know your answer. Is it a deal or not?
It's a deal. But remember, you never know who's who. I have people watching everywhere. One bad move and well take matters into our own hands. We still remember what you did to our friend. That isn't going to go with out punishment. Especially if you screw up this time.
Can I expect that you'll be there in person?
No, trust that I'll send someone. You don't know who it is. You don't even know who this is.
How can we sign a deal with out the leader?
You have done it before, I'm sure you can do it again.
Please come. This wont be truly be official unless two leaders come.
Then bring the President and then I'll show.
All right, we'll bring the president.
Sleep tight. LOGANCOM LOGOFF
* * * * *
"All right, Kent. You got the revolver. Alec, you're going to keep eyes on the President. Take a pistol with you. Dan, I want you to watch all posts. We will use the intercoms. They're probable going to have a lot of security, so come in through the roof. Any bad movement, tell me. I want one soldier on every balcony. Don't haste to shoot. Ignore me if I go down. Also, if I do die, please don't let the public nor Hector Lauren know. We don't want them to know. Alec will take over the operation and Kent with be the supervisor. Is everything clear? Half the group will leave in half an hour. The others will leave in the morning. All right, I wish everyone lots of luck. Keep civilians out of it. Any one have any questions?" Max looked though the large hall.
"I thought there was no such thing as luck." Alec replied.
"Anything that applies to the mission?" Max suppressed a grin.
"Why are you doing this? Shouldn't one of us?" a fish man asked.
"Because, none of you need to die if I have made a terribly stupid mistake. I've already done it once, I'm not going to lose another. Any more questions?" Max replied with a business like tone.
Everyone looked at people around them and no one spoke up. Max sighed. "Then this is it. Everyone needs to keep alert. Dismissed."
The soldiers filed out. Soon only Kent and Alec were the only ones left. Standing up, Alec stretched. "Why don't we go have a beer and chill for a short while?"
"Sounds good to me." Kent nodded and stood up from a box that he was sitting on. "What about you Max?"
"I'll be there in a little while." Max replied putting her head in her hands. She listened as the footsteps left the large room and then let out a long sigh. For the first time in a year she cried. Tear slowly rolled down her cheeks, she had learned to cry silently. Silence was key, you were never punished.
It wasn't that she was afraid of dying. She was fine with that, she had been fine ever since Logan had died. No, she was afraid of letting everything go. Letting Alec go, letting Joshua and Original Cindy go. She knew the pain of having someone she loved die. It was hard. All the pressure was slowly relieved. All the times she had kept the pain inside. She didn't even cry when Logan died.
"Max?" it was Alec. She looked up, tears were still coming down. He went over to her and held her head. They stayed silent already knowing that words couldn't do anything to help the problem.
* * * * *
Max stood next to Hector Lauren. He had gotten fatter and older. His cheeks were getting plump, his hair was growing white. They nodded and shook hands. "So the President is here. He's coming. And you, I can trust you are the real leader of the Transgenics?"
"You can trust that we won't do anything unless you make a bad move." Max replied with sincerity. "Other then that, you can't predict what we do."
The President came out, nobody in the audience clapped. They waited to see what was going to happen. The last event was still fresh on their minds. The President was Benton Gore, a long distant relative to Al Gore. He was a small man with a white completion and strong cheekbones. All he wanted was power, he didn't give a hoot about anything else.
"I am President Gore. I assume you are an X-series prototype." He said with his sneering mouth. His voice rang with authority.
"And I assume you are a human." Max replied in the same tone as his. She kept her eyes on the crowd, using her eyesight to pick out something that didn't fit right. She saw Alec in the front row watching and waiting for anything. She slightly nodded to him and then went back though her scan.
The President cleared his throat and looked as if he had been offended. "Let's get this over with."
Hector Lauren nodded and brought out the paper. "Read it and then sign if you agree."
The President didn't read it, he just signed the paper and handed it to Max. Max quickly scanned the pages. As she got to the last page, Max felt the air switch in a different direction. Just as she started to move knife swiftly went into her side. She threw her elbow back knocking who ever had stabbed her in the nose. She dropped the papers and looked down at the wound. It was in her side. Looking back, she saw the President on the ground dead. Hector watched carefully as she turned to him.
"This is what we get." Max announced to the public showing them the blood on her hands. "We try to gain peace, yet you attack us. Who the hell is more human? What the hell is your definition of humanity, because to me, this sure as hell is not human."
Alec was by her side as she fell to her knees. Slowly she was losing strength. People in the stands stayed quiet and watched. She heard Alec screaming for help, but reality seemed to slip away. Was she dying?
"Max, stay awake." Alec cried. She saw tears collect and slowly fall down his cheeks. His voice seemed so far away, so out of reach.
Was it over? Was the pain and suffering over? Would she be gone forever, leaving the others to fend for them selves? She had hid for so long and it was over. Slowly her life slipped away from her. She looked into Alec's weeping eyes. Would he be okay when she was gone?
"Alec…" she gasped. "…You have to… you have to keep the underground going. Do you hear me?"
"You're not leaving me Max. You can't leave me. Max… I … I love you." Alec said with pleading eyes. She gave a weak grin. It was to hard fighting. It was over for her. She was born a soldier and died like one. She died from a severe knife wound that had cut an artery.
"It'll be okay Alec." She replied breathing heavily now. It felt as if she were trying to breathe with weights on her chest. She felt sleepy and closed her eyes…
* * * * *
Two months ago there had been war. Now, there was peace. People were back on the streets ignoring the odd creatures that walked by them. Transgenics and people alike all lived in somewhat of a state of peace. It had all happened because one girl gave her life. The girl was like a prophet. She was real, but seemed so far away.
Alec grinned as the sun beamed on his face. "Another day, I'm still alive," Max would have said. But it wasn't true for her. She had left him to survive on his own. First she let him escape and then left him to fend for his own.
Original Cindy sat on his right and Kent sat on his left. None of them thought that they would be able to live with the human population again. It was pleasant to be able to do this again. There was always one thing missing though. It was on the back of everyone's minds.
"Man, it's almost time to do another run." Original Cindy sighed.
"Yeah." Alec replied.
"Well," Kent grunted as he got up from the grass. He looked at the sky and grinned. "I think we did good. We got the bad guys and now it's all handy dandy again."
"Yeah." Alec agreed.
"Let's go." Original Cindy got up and patted Alec on the back.
"Yeah." Alec nodded and got up. He nodded towards the sky. "Hope we did what you wanted. I'll be back tomorrow. Tell Logan, Ben, and Zack hello for me."
The three of them left, all with small smiles on their faces.
The last time I got out, I blew my birthplace up into small bits of rubble. I enjoyed watching it burn. It was as if I was burning all the pain that I had stored up in me. I felt great. Each flame was my freedom. I didn't know that this would cause major problems in the future. How could one know? I'm not psychic.
Then Alec came along and made my life much more difficult. Logan and I split up because we couldn't allow ourselves to touch. He'd die if I didn't leave him. Then there was White, a man in the Government that was put in place to make my life a living hell. He was part of a breeding cult that had the same abilities as the Manticore soldiers.
Everything got out of hand and soon everyone found himself or herself in a state of war. The most buildings in Seattle were on fire, others were just pieces of brick lying in a pile. Day and night you could hear gunfire and bombs exploding. The public was behind the government. Who knew it would take a war against transgenics to bring everyone under the government.
I am the commander of the transgenics. I'm not even sure how or why I became the commander, but it happened. Under me are forty hundred transgenics. Only a hundred or so of them were X series. Battles were fought all over the US, but most of them were fought in the northwest. The largest front was in Seattle.
On the other side, Hector Lauren was the commander and great leader of the 'humans'. Everyone looked for his guidance. They were like little Nazis following Hitler. The man wasn't looking to help the humans, he was looking for power. If he had to do some side joke, he'd do it to get the publics attention.
Many people had lost their lives over the year. Logan died from cross fire as he was going to the store. White was murdered by his younger brother CJ and CJ was killed by the breeding cult. So far the count of civilians dead ran up to a thousand and the count for the transgenics was up to a hundred. Nobody knew when it would end, but people were afriad.
"Afraid of what they don't understand?" Joshua tilted his head looking at her the way a puppy does when they are trying to understand something. Smiling with only half her mouth as she stared at the blue screen.
Afraid of what they don't understand…….2-5-25
She pushed send, it would go straight out to all the newspapers that carried all the speeches that she had made. Sketchy had helped her get a few contacts with some newspaper printers. At first Sketchy was a little skittish with her, but soon he went back to normal and got a to know a few of the transgenics. He, Original Cindy, a few other humans, and the X series were able to go out in public without anyone prosecuting them on the spot. There were problems with the government's new equipment. Heat sensitive cameras were able to spot the X series. Many of them had died or been captured because of these cameras. But they got a scientist to give them a few pills that would lower their body temperatures to the normal human temperature.
"It's getting hot out there. We got fifty new machine guns and Dickey's still rollin in those grenades. We haven't lost anyone today." Alec sighed jumping onto the table that the computer sat on.
"That's good, any more news from the government?" Max asked looking up from the computer.
"Nope." Alec replied jumping off the table. "Same old, same old. Civilians can fire at us if they feel endangered."
Rubbing her fingers over her eyes and then pulling them through her hair, she groaned. It had been a few weeks since her last nap and even with her cat DNA, she was tired. "So how long has it been since you last slept?"
"Matters what you call sleep. If you mean leaving you mind even though your still doing something, just a minute ago. If you mean lying down in an actual bed, then two days ago. Coffee really keeps you awake. You should try it." Alec said nodding over to the coffeepot.
"Hmm, I like the traditional sleep. Who knew I could miss it so much." Max sighed and picked up the papers from the desk. "There's a new Head Quarters in Orlando. Kent is running the game over there. I want you and your guys to watch that spot for a little while. It's liable to get pretty hot down there. He needs a few weapons and a guy who can make grenades. Teach an X-series soldier to do that and send him down."
Alec nodded and headed away to another station. She headed to the screening room that held all the screens of cameras in every sector. Dan ran the show in here. He was half dog half horse and had an unusual nose. "How's it look."
"We got a few squads in sectors two through nine. Sector one is crowded with civilians watching the government's updates." Dan replied taking a sip of some brown thick substance.
Max nodded and left the room heading out to the other side of the underground base where Original Cindy hung out and where the bed were located. People moved swiftly trying to get to their destination. Although there were about two hundred down here, there was never any traffic.
"Hey girl, you look like you were just run over by a truck. How long has it been since you've slept?" Original Cindy asked sitting on one of the beds next to Sketchy who lay back casually.
"Bout a week or maybe it was two. I'm not sure. I sent some more print over to that newspaper Sketch." Max said looking at the beds wondering how good it would feel to sleep. "I'm going to take a small nap. If there's any trouble, wake me up."
She went to one of the beds and flopped down ignoring her shoes. She wasn't even on her pillow when she fell asleep…
Twenty soldiers all stood in one long line. The teacher glared at them. They had failed a mission. That was the second time they had failed. It was time for some harsh punishment. Each soldier would get a hard beating. Failing a mission was one of the worst things they could do.
Max held her breath as the hot metal rod hit her skin. Crying was another thing a soldier must not do. Pain was only in the mind. Pain made a person weak. The big people didn't want weak soldiers. Each time the rod hit her skin, it would hiss and smoke would come up from her burning skin…
"Max, wake up. Drake is in trouble." Alec said shaking her awake. She quickly sat up, her skin was burning up. Sweat rolled down her forehead. "You're not having a seizure are you? You're burning up."
"I'll be fine." She said relaxing a little. The sleep hadn't helped. In fact it had shaken her up enough to loose her wits for a second. "What sector?"
"Sector five. Near that Chinese restaurant. Hurry. They're going to get him." Alec said and then headed towards the parking deck where all the bikes were stored. Max ran after him and soon the fresh air hit her burning forehead. She'd brake soon and she knew it. She was on her last nerve.
* * * * *
"Hey, throw me a pack. I'm out." Max yelled as she ducked behind a barrel. Sweat and the rainwater made her clothes damp. A small black pack full of a couple of rounds flew into the air and landed in her hand. She quickly reloaded her shotgun and looked around the corner. Five male soldiers were hidden behind a large dumpster. Drake lay beside her moaning about a wound in his side.
Bullets hit the barrel and against the wall behind her. She was surrounded by a mass of bullets. The soldiers had a plan. Only two would shot while the others reloaded.
Alec was behind a low brick wall to the right of her with a few others. He pointed to a grenade and then pointed to the soldiers. That was his way of asking if he could throw them. She nodded. A second later it exploded behind the dumpster and soldiers flew out. Max shot with perfection getting all five of them in a matter of seconds.
"Move out." Max yelled and picked up Drake. Running to the motorcycles, she kept her eye on her surroundings. From the windows above to the basement below, everything has to be watched. Soon only the roar of the bikes could be heard on the streets.
* * * * *
"How's he doing?" Max grunted as another stitch was placed on her elbow.
"He'll be fine. Just a little sleep and he'll be as good as new." Dr. Yang replied. The doctor was a normal human. She didn't like how the people were treating transgenics and decided to help them.
"Great." Max replied as gauze was placed over the stitches. "I got to get back. Do you need anything? Any material?"
Dr. Yang paused for a minute and thought about the question. "Yeah actually, I need some more Peroxide."
"All right, I'll see what I can do. Thanks and keep me up dated on Drake." Max said and headed out.
Alec ran up to her, his brown blond hair flew behind him. He hadn't gotten it cut in months and it was now growing into his eyes. His hair reminded her of Zack's. "Max, congress is thinking about a peace agreement."
"What?" Max asked, her forehead knotted.
"Congress…" Alec started to repeat.
"No, I mean, are you sure? This could be a trick. Why would they want to sign a peace agreement all of the sudden?" Max asked confused.
"Maybe they give up?" Joshua suggested and then gave an innocent shrug.
"There's been way too much activity to all the sudden want to sign a peace agreement." Max shook her head not understanding.
"Don't you want to sign a peace agreement?" Jake asked as he walked by. Max looked up at him and smiled.
"Of coarse. I'm just worried they're not trying to trick us." Max replied and then sighed. "I'll be glad to get to an almost normal life again. I'd get to sleep."
Alec dropped into one of the office chairs and then he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can see what you're saying. But if it's not a trick and we pass it up then we'll be in a deep mud puddle."
"I don't know, when did you hear they wanted to make peace?" Max asked running her hands through her damp hair. She growled and then rubbed her face. Now sleeping clouded her mind, she couldn't think right.
"Just a second ago on TV." Alec replied. "It's your choice."
"I know, I know. Let's wait and see if they try to contact us and then go from there. Jake, keep a line open on the phones. Alec keep watching." Max said and started heading away.
"What are you going to do?" Alec asked.
"I am going to get on the net and find some information. I don't want anyone leaving tonight. Tonight we are going to keep the streets quiet. Tell that to the guard. If you need me I'll be in section one." Max nodded and headed down the hall.
What's the Deal senator?
We suggest a peace between us and the transgenics.
What are the hook ups?
We won't fight you, you won't fight us. You will go by our laws. You will sign an agreement with us.
That all?
No, every transgenic must register that they are transgenics.
Why?
So that we know if you're a transgenic.
Then we'll never have any privacy. We will be segragated. I thought all man is equal in this country.
They are, you are not man.
I'm more human then you guys. We were living just fine until you guys spread out a panic though out the US.
I'm sure you think that. So is it a deal or not?
I have to talk it out with my comrades. If this is a trick…
I assure you this is no trick.
Sure… LOGANCOMP LOGOUT
* * * * *
"So?" Alec asked leaning back in his chair. Every general was on the lane listening and waiting for her to talk.
"They say it's no joke, but we can't trust their word. They have a few hook ups. One, we can't show any aggression to the people. Two, we go by their laws. Three, we must sign an agreement. And four, we have to register to say that we are transgenics." Max replied looking around the room.
"We have to register? Yeah, over my dead body." Kent replied over the phone. The others seem to agree. "Look, why do I want to sign my name over? That's ridiculous. Nobody would hire me, I'd be an outcast."
Alec nodded in a agreement. "We would never get jobs. There would be no point, I'd still be outlawed. They'd probable pass some new law saying we can't get jobs."
"So it's a no." Max let out a deep sigh and yawned.
"No." everyone replied.
"All right." Max threw her hands up. "It's a no go."
Nice to hear from you.
Yeah well don't get use to it. We aren't going to settle on those terms. We won't register. We might as well be at war because we'll be outlawed if we register.
Ok, you wont register.
So what are you gaining?
Nothing, absolutely nothing.
Sure, right. LOGANCOM LOGOUT
* * * * *
"Today we are here to unite two groups. The transgenics and us." HL announced. Cameras flashed and tape recorders rolled. People applauded. HL was a middle-aged man with graying hair and a growing belly. He had chipped tooth grin and a crooked nose. "I am happy to present to you Jake. He is the leader of the transgenics and here to sign the peace agreement. This is a mark…"
Max sat quietly in the balcony next to Alec in the audience. They didn't let her sign just in case this was a trick and HL was here to assassinate the leader. The two applauded and booed when others applauded and booed. Nobody knew that Max was the one who was suppose to sign the agreement. Kent sat on the other side watching the procession. All three had a small gun just in case some one tried to kill Jake as he signed the treaty.
"If you would sign on the dotted line sir." HL said with a forced smile.
Jake leaned over to sign the treaty and then fell to the ground. Only Max, Kent, and Alec could see the bullet through the air. It was a silencer. It was a gun that could be shot and would not be heard.
"Damn." Max said quietly as everyone screamed. Cameras focused in on the dead body. Jake, he was gone and they couldn't do a thing about it. Max looked at Alec and nodded. They headed out with everyone else. Anonymity was key.
* * * * *
Fuck you HL
I thought you were dead.
This isn't over by a long shot. I'm far from dead you mother fucking shit head.
I see, I guess I can't fool you.
I thought you did your homework, we're smarter then you, quicker then you. You can't fool us. You know you just lost some of the public's trust.
I guess you haven't done your homework either. We blamed the death on you guys. We said that the transgenics didn't want peace and that the leader was the only one who wanted peace.
You won a battle, but the War is far from over. LOGANCOM LOGOUT
* * * * *
"Now what?" Alec asked with his head in his hands.
"I say we kill the bastard." Kent replied. "Mother fucker doesn't know what he just did. It's pay back time."
"Wait guys." Max said coming into the room where every general sat waiting for what to do next.
"No shit Max. Jake just died. I'm not letting these bastards get away with that." Kent replied punching his hand into his palm. His face looked determined that he'd bash a few heads around.
"I'm not saying that we're going to let him get away with that. No, he'll have to learn to never do that. I'm saying that we get the people to turn on him." Max groaned as she sat on a hard wooden chair.
Kent cocked his head to the side, his bangs fell into his eyes. "I thought you said that he said that we are to blame."
"I did." Max agreed. "But, I have a transcript that I just sent to the press. They're going to eat it up like candy."
"It's our word against theirs." Alec reminded her. He ruffled his hair and then shook his head.
"Yeah, but why the hell would we mess up a perfect opportunity to be free? The public knows what we want. They won't be sure what happened to the treaty. They still are a little cautious with the government and not afraid to turn their backs on them." Max raised an eyebrow up and then nodded. "It'll work out for the better. Did Jinx get Jake's body? We don't need them to find out that we're taking medicine to get of the Heat cameras."
"Yeah." Kent replied and sighed. "What if it don't work?"
"Then I'm going to go into a coma and one of you can take over." Max said with a tired voice.
Kent chuckled and shook his head. Everyone started to file out. "That'd be very interesting."
"I'm not kidding. I'm too tired. I can barely keep my head straight. You and Alec can take over. I don't even know how I got into this mess." Max leaned over and put her head down into her hands.
"None of us can." Kent reminded her and then patted her on the back. Alec nodded. "All of us are running on empty. It'll be a matter of time before they brake us down and lock us up like animals. Turn us into lab rats. We don't have reinforcements, they do. It's only a matter of time, days, weeks, months, years, nobody knows."
"Yeah but we try to keep their hopes up. Tell them we'll get out on top. But it isn't true. Not on top at least. Maybe on the side, but not on top. Look, we need to keep all transgenics off the streets for tonight. Let the transcript soak in. Then we'll see what we need to do. I want to make us seem like we aren't there. I want the soldiers to be bored. You two got that?" she stood up and nodded. "In the mean time, I want everyone to get some sleep. Keep two people rotation at each station. I'll see you guys in the morning. Wake me if anything comes up."
* * * * *
"State your designation." A teacher yelled at her. She was battered and bruised from the last test she had been through. She stood strong, not showing how much pain she felt. Ignoring the bloody taste in her mouth, she replied "452 sir."
"You are going to go through another test. Go to room 65432. The directors will tell you what to do next. Now your dismissed." The man barked. She solitude and jogged through the corridor.
"Stand hut." Another man commanded once she got to the room. She stood straight looking at nothing. "Designation?"
"452 sir." Max replied
"452, lie down on the table. We are going to hook you up to some machines. She lied down. Soon needles poked her skin and cold metal sensors were placed over parts of her body.
The man turned the machine on and it only took a few seconds to understand what this was for. The IV's sent a liquid through her blood and the doctors wanted to see how long she could tolerate it. She'd be unconscious before they'd stop. The liquid felt like acid running through her veins.
A few seconds later there was beep, which meant they would send even more into her. Now she thought she was on fire. Keeping her mind blank help a little, but the next beep she wouldn't be able to ignore it. Beads of sweat rolled down her face, her arms shook…
* * * * *
"Hey Max, you hungry?" Original Cindy asked as Max limped into the kitchen.
"Hmm?" Max asked.
"Are you hungry?" Original Cindy repeated and then chuckled. "So girl, why is my boo limping?"
"I don't know? Maybe I'm getting old." Max replied sitting down. Original Cindy pushed a bowl of Oatmeal over to her.
"How'd you sleep?" Original Cindy asked.
"Okay, any news about the transcript?" Max dug into the oatmeal keeping her mind off what she had just dreamed about. "There wasn't any trouble last night, was there?"
"Nope, you need to stop worrying so much. Everyone stayed inside. Nothing has come up with the transcript. It's in every damn newspaper and Magazine in the US. You got some good connections or something." Original Cindy smiled.
"Hey Max." Alec groaned as he sat down. "Man, I still need more sleep."
"You all do." Original Cindy replied. "You hungry? Have some nice hot oatmeal." She shoved it to him and he dug into it.
Max sat back and watched as he inhaled the food. After he was finished, she rolled her eyes. "Were you hungry?"
He nodded and then leaned back in his chair. "We're going out into the streets. I want to see what everyone's talking about. See if that transcript did the job right."
"Alright." Max replied and then pushed herself up. "Get Kent, he's coming."
"Man, you hear this bull shit? The government shot this transgenic just as they were going to sign the treaty. At least we could get back to the way it was before the war. Transgenics are probable going to try and get payback. Man forget the government." A guy in some rags and a buzz said throwing down the newspaper.
"Sounds like a lot of people are saying that." Alec said raising his eyebrows up and then down.
"Hey, it might have worked." Kent grinned slightly.
Max scanned the area. People were readying the paper everywhere. She wasn't going to say it worked just yet. It might back fire if they think it worked before it actually worked. "Let's go to sector three."
"Why, it's loaded with feds. It worked, let's go." Kent replied.
"I want to check something out. We can't say it worked unless we hear it on the news. Then we'll relax a little." Max replied heading towards the next sector.
Kent and Alec shrugged. They followed slowly and silently.
Max stopped at a shop that had TV's set up so people could watch the news. Tons of people were already watching. On the TV screen, HL was talking into a mike.
…"Good morning America. I am sad to say that our Peace treaty failed. It seems to be that the transgenics did not want peace and decided to murder their own leader. We are still at war and are still trying to make peace agreements with these animals…" HL said with a fake grin…
"Man, the government sucks. This guy is a total liar. Come on let's go." A lady said pulling her two children along with her. "If it was the Transgenics who killed their leader they would have killed Hector Lauren to."
"Very true." Max said with a slight grin.
"Are you satisfied?" Kent asked.
"Sure, for now." Max nodded.
* * * * *
I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear
Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I'd had it all
But I was waiting for you
When it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy
Hush now I see a light in the sky
Oh it's almost blinding me
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
~ Celine Dion "A New Day Has Come"
Max looked out the window of an abandoned apartment. The sun slowly rose over the top of the buildings left standing in Seattle. The warmth from the sun made her grin, each day meant that she had made it through the night of brutal attacks. It was hard to believe that there was so much controversy on the ground when the sun shone so beautiful in the morning sky. In Manticore, she never really noticed the sky. Now, she looked at it with great joy and pleasure.
"Max?" Alec asked coming in the room ruffling his hair. His clothes were rumpled and his hair stood out every where. They had gotten stuck in the apartment when a few of the night patrols started shooting at them.
"Yeah?" Max asked hypnotized by the sunrise. Her thoughts rested on every loved one that wasn't here to see this beautiful day. Logan, Zack, Ben… All those people whom died because of her.
"Ready to go?" Alec asked softly as if she was emotionally unbalanced and technically she was unbalanced.
She looked over to him and then sighed. "Another day, another battle. When is this going to end? I'm not ready for another tug of war with whoever wants to attack us next. This has gone on way to long."
"We were made to be soldiers." Alec reminded her as if she didn't remember why she was in this mess to begin with. She nodded and pushed up from the chair she had curled up in.
"I wasn't made to be a commander, Zack was." Max replied and then headed out the door and down the steps two stairs at a time. Alec trotted behind. Next stop, the station.
* * * * *
"How long?" Alec asked scanning the screen. The black screen up above the surveillance cameras was a radar that was able to detect government armies. There was a large green blob on the screen heading to sector five.
"Maybe five, ten minutes." Dan replied. "That's if you guys go on your motorcycles at top notch speed. I would let them settle in and then pick them out."
"Our problem is if they pick us out." Max said staring at the screen. "We'll wait a little while, but we can't let them get close to the base. We also can't let them know that they're close to our base. Alec, send out two guys at 19 hundred hours. That should give them enough cover to be able to start picking them out. Send a mermaid out to the docks. Make sure they have a suit on. Report to my block if any thing goes wrong. We have to be careful about this."
Alec nodded and Dan followed suit.
"Is Kent still here?" Max asked as she got to the doorway of the surveillance room.
"Yeah, he's leaving tomorrow. Why?" Alec cocked his head to one side.
"Tell him I need to talk to him. Some matters about his head quarters. I'll see you guys later." Max replied and headed out the door to the streaming traffic of the underground.
When she got into her section, she flopped into her chair and rubbed the sides of her head. Anxiety was working overload on her which probable meant a seizure was coming. Each time the seizures got worse. Slowly everything became distorted and her hand started shaking.
Max slowly got down to the floor and curled up into a ball. The rest she couldn't recollect. Everything was to hazy, voices talked softly to her. She wasn't sure who's they were. Pain ran through her body, she couldn't control anything, only a small part of her brain. She happily crawled into that small spot and waited till it was over.
* * * * *
"Max?" a voice called out to her. She blinked, all she could see was an outline of a body. Max mumbled something, not anything that was audible, more of a grunt. "How are you feeling?"
She grunted again. Her mouth didn't seem to be connecting with her brain. Slowly Max's vision began to clear. It was Alec, he sat next to her on a bed rubbing a cold wash cloth over her head.
"You scared us." Alec said softly.
"It was just another seizure." Max mumbled. It felt so hot and stuffy here. Her head throbbed as if someone had hit her with a baseball bat. "I'll be fine. What time is it?"
"You've been in a coma for three days Max. It's around ten in the morning. We got your temperature down to 110 degrees.
"Shit, how high was it?" she slowly closed her eyes and then opened them. Everything felt out of whack. How could she have been in a coma for three days?
He shrugged and then put the rag down on the ground. "About 120 degrees. We put you in some ice water, cooled you right down. Dr. Yang wasn't sure what to do, so we put you on ice. We got your body heat down to 115."
Max stared at him a second. He hadn't shaved in days, his hair was uncombed, and his clothes were a day old. Strangely, he had been worried. Alec had slowly changed through the war. She wasn't sure if she missed his old self or not.
"How's things on the front?" Max asked trying to keep on task. She had been out for three days, it was time to get at it again.
"Max, why don't you rest and in the morning I'll brief you on everything. Are you hungry? I can get you some food." Alec started to stand up and watched her carefully.
"No thanks." Max replied closing her eyes. As he got to the door she sighed. "Alec?"
"Yeah?" she could hear him turn on his heals, like a soldier would do. The kind she always heard when she was in Manticore.
"Thank you." She opened her eyes and smiled.
He shrugged and smiled. "No problem."
* * * * *
How about truths?
Are you kidding? The last time we called truths you tried to kill me.
True, but we have lost so many and the public is interested in truths. So how about we be civilized and call it truths.
How do I know that you're not going to try and kill me again?
Because we'd destroy the peoples trust if it happened twice in a row. Please, we need to stop the war.
None of these little rules. You hear me?
Yeah, sure.
We're watching every move of yours. You better not side step. I need to talk to my comrades. Then we'll see.
All right, fair enough.
Damn right. LOGANCOM LOGOFF
* * * * *
"How do we know this isn't another one of their tricks?" Alec asked scanning the room. "Jake already died. Who next? Who will you send off Max? What brave soldier will you send off to die for you?"
"Nobody Alec." Max replied taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. The room was full of tension. Enough that one could cut with a serrated knife.
"Then what are you going to do? You can't send yourself." Alec said now concerned that she was actually going to do it. She licked her lips and then raised her eyebrows as if saying 'what else is there to do?'
"Look Alec, if we don't try it now, the public will think we're not interested. I'm not going to send anyone out to die for me. I think people have to choose when they're ready to go out on a limb. I am ready." Max looked around the room at stony faces.
Alec shook his head. "We can't afford to loose you."
"Alec, I have made to many people die for me. Anyway, how do we know that I'm going to die if I do this? I need to do this. I'm not trying to kill myself here. If I die, at least I know you guys can handle this operation" she stood up and got ready to leave.
"This isn't about Logan is it? You don't believe you're going to see him in some after life, right?" Alec said standing up.
The silence was sickening. She glared at him. "Why the hell would I think that? If there was a heaven, then there would be a God. There is no God out here, only the devil. Anyway, if there was a Heaven, then I'd be more likely go to Hell than Heaven. Look, unless someone else recommends something better, then we're going ahead."
She left the room and went straight to her corner. Her desk was a mess filled with reports and scanning papers of the area. Sitting down, she ran her hands through her hair and sighed. Slowly she started to shuffle through the papers. A light tapping on the door made her look up. Alec looked in and nodded to her.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, look. I wasn't trying to say anything bad about you and Logan. It's just… I think you're trying to get yourself killed." Alec walked in and sat in a chair opposite of hers.
"I'm not trying to get myself killed Alec. Listen to me, I've had so many people die because of something I do. I can't have that. I also can't let this chance pass us by. What if this is an actual peace treaty and it brings peace to the two sides? We'd beable to go anywhere without the fear of being caught. I know what to look for. I know that I shouldn't look away from anything." Max leaned back in her chair and grinned. "Anyway, why would it matter to you? You'd get this division to yourself. I've been a butt hole to you ever since I met you."
He chuckled and shook his head. "That's true, but what would I do with this many transgenics? I wasn't made to be a commander."
"Neither was I." She reminded him.
"Sandimen seems to think the opposite." Alec replied.
"Screw him. He hasn't done anything helpful to us. All he's done is make White run after me. I don't give a shit what he thinks." Max started to sort out her files. "Why do you guys just throw this crap on my table? Do you want to give me a hard time?"
"Max, Hector Lauren's on the line." Kent said coming in quickly just as Alec was about to respond with another one of his smart-alec remarks.
"Can't you see we're trying to have a conversation?" Max smiled and got up. Alec followed suit and then stopped her at the doorway.
He looked straight into her eyes. "Please reconsider."
"I can't." Max replied and headed out the door down towards the terminals in the middle of the underground.
* * * * *
So?
So what?
Stop playing games with me. The congress needs to know your answer. Is it a deal or not?
It's a deal. But remember, you never know who's who. I have people watching everywhere. One bad move and well take matters into our own hands. We still remember what you did to our friend. That isn't going to go with out punishment. Especially if you screw up this time.
Can I expect that you'll be there in person?
No, trust that I'll send someone. You don't know who it is. You don't even know who this is.
How can we sign a deal with out the leader?
You have done it before, I'm sure you can do it again.
Please come. This wont be truly be official unless two leaders come.
Then bring the President and then I'll show.
All right, we'll bring the president.
Sleep tight. LOGANCOM LOGOFF
* * * * *
"All right, Kent. You got the revolver. Alec, you're going to keep eyes on the President. Take a pistol with you. Dan, I want you to watch all posts. We will use the intercoms. They're probable going to have a lot of security, so come in through the roof. Any bad movement, tell me. I want one soldier on every balcony. Don't haste to shoot. Ignore me if I go down. Also, if I do die, please don't let the public nor Hector Lauren know. We don't want them to know. Alec will take over the operation and Kent with be the supervisor. Is everything clear? Half the group will leave in half an hour. The others will leave in the morning. All right, I wish everyone lots of luck. Keep civilians out of it. Any one have any questions?" Max looked though the large hall.
"I thought there was no such thing as luck." Alec replied.
"Anything that applies to the mission?" Max suppressed a grin.
"Why are you doing this? Shouldn't one of us?" a fish man asked.
"Because, none of you need to die if I have made a terribly stupid mistake. I've already done it once, I'm not going to lose another. Any more questions?" Max replied with a business like tone.
Everyone looked at people around them and no one spoke up. Max sighed. "Then this is it. Everyone needs to keep alert. Dismissed."
The soldiers filed out. Soon only Kent and Alec were the only ones left. Standing up, Alec stretched. "Why don't we go have a beer and chill for a short while?"
"Sounds good to me." Kent nodded and stood up from a box that he was sitting on. "What about you Max?"
"I'll be there in a little while." Max replied putting her head in her hands. She listened as the footsteps left the large room and then let out a long sigh. For the first time in a year she cried. Tear slowly rolled down her cheeks, she had learned to cry silently. Silence was key, you were never punished.
It wasn't that she was afraid of dying. She was fine with that, she had been fine ever since Logan had died. No, she was afraid of letting everything go. Letting Alec go, letting Joshua and Original Cindy go. She knew the pain of having someone she loved die. It was hard. All the pressure was slowly relieved. All the times she had kept the pain inside. She didn't even cry when Logan died.
"Max?" it was Alec. She looked up, tears were still coming down. He went over to her and held her head. They stayed silent already knowing that words couldn't do anything to help the problem.
* * * * *
Max stood next to Hector Lauren. He had gotten fatter and older. His cheeks were getting plump, his hair was growing white. They nodded and shook hands. "So the President is here. He's coming. And you, I can trust you are the real leader of the Transgenics?"
"You can trust that we won't do anything unless you make a bad move." Max replied with sincerity. "Other then that, you can't predict what we do."
The President came out, nobody in the audience clapped. They waited to see what was going to happen. The last event was still fresh on their minds. The President was Benton Gore, a long distant relative to Al Gore. He was a small man with a white completion and strong cheekbones. All he wanted was power, he didn't give a hoot about anything else.
"I am President Gore. I assume you are an X-series prototype." He said with his sneering mouth. His voice rang with authority.
"And I assume you are a human." Max replied in the same tone as his. She kept her eyes on the crowd, using her eyesight to pick out something that didn't fit right. She saw Alec in the front row watching and waiting for anything. She slightly nodded to him and then went back though her scan.
The President cleared his throat and looked as if he had been offended. "Let's get this over with."
Hector Lauren nodded and brought out the paper. "Read it and then sign if you agree."
The President didn't read it, he just signed the paper and handed it to Max. Max quickly scanned the pages. As she got to the last page, Max felt the air switch in a different direction. Just as she started to move knife swiftly went into her side. She threw her elbow back knocking who ever had stabbed her in the nose. She dropped the papers and looked down at the wound. It was in her side. Looking back, she saw the President on the ground dead. Hector watched carefully as she turned to him.
"This is what we get." Max announced to the public showing them the blood on her hands. "We try to gain peace, yet you attack us. Who the hell is more human? What the hell is your definition of humanity, because to me, this sure as hell is not human."
Alec was by her side as she fell to her knees. Slowly she was losing strength. People in the stands stayed quiet and watched. She heard Alec screaming for help, but reality seemed to slip away. Was she dying?
"Max, stay awake." Alec cried. She saw tears collect and slowly fall down his cheeks. His voice seemed so far away, so out of reach.
Was it over? Was the pain and suffering over? Would she be gone forever, leaving the others to fend for them selves? She had hid for so long and it was over. Slowly her life slipped away from her. She looked into Alec's weeping eyes. Would he be okay when she was gone?
"Alec…" she gasped. "…You have to… you have to keep the underground going. Do you hear me?"
"You're not leaving me Max. You can't leave me. Max… I … I love you." Alec said with pleading eyes. She gave a weak grin. It was to hard fighting. It was over for her. She was born a soldier and died like one. She died from a severe knife wound that had cut an artery.
"It'll be okay Alec." She replied breathing heavily now. It felt as if she were trying to breathe with weights on her chest. She felt sleepy and closed her eyes…
* * * * *
Two months ago there had been war. Now, there was peace. People were back on the streets ignoring the odd creatures that walked by them. Transgenics and people alike all lived in somewhat of a state of peace. It had all happened because one girl gave her life. The girl was like a prophet. She was real, but seemed so far away.
Alec grinned as the sun beamed on his face. "Another day, I'm still alive," Max would have said. But it wasn't true for her. She had left him to survive on his own. First she let him escape and then left him to fend for his own.
Original Cindy sat on his right and Kent sat on his left. None of them thought that they would be able to live with the human population again. It was pleasant to be able to do this again. There was always one thing missing though. It was on the back of everyone's minds.
"Man, it's almost time to do another run." Original Cindy sighed.
"Yeah." Alec replied.
"Well," Kent grunted as he got up from the grass. He looked at the sky and grinned. "I think we did good. We got the bad guys and now it's all handy dandy again."
"Yeah." Alec agreed.
"Let's go." Original Cindy got up and patted Alec on the back.
"Yeah." Alec nodded and got up. He nodded towards the sky. "Hope we did what you wanted. I'll be back tomorrow. Tell Logan, Ben, and Zack hello for me."
The three of them left, all with small smiles on their faces.