Chapter Three
Otto sat in his car again, watching the fence line. Taking a deep breath he unbuckled his belt and stepped out of the car, shutting the door as silently as he could. He skirted the crowd of protestors until he reached the back fence of Terminal City to ensure no one saw him, then he started looking for a hole in the fence. The barrier was fairly solid, with any holes quite firmly planked up, but he was able to find a loose area to slip through.
Reaching the other side he stood breathing fast with his heart racing and his palms sweating furiously. This was insane.
Carefully wandering through the streets of Terminal City Otto made sure to avoid the sentries as much as he could, wanting to get far enough in that maybe he could meet someone that didn't have a gun and would be willing to listen before they started shooting. He wasn't sure how possible that would be, but he thought it was at least worth a try.
"Stop!" the shout made Otto freeze. "Hands up, turn around," the voice sounded young, but by no means something to mess with.
Obediently Otto slowly put his hands up, pivoting to face his challenger. A young X5 most likely, probably around five feet eight inches with ragged blonde hair and multiple layers of clothes. Otto recognized him as one of the sentries - he must've been off for the evening.
"Don't shoot," Otto called softly, hoping to alleviate some of the Transgenic's fear. "I'm not here to hurt you."
"You're one of White's men," the young man said matter of factly.
Crap, they recognized him, Otto fought to keep himself calm, well aware that he was in mortal danger facing this unknown; especially after the death of 494. "Not anymore," he tried to keep his voice steady but knew that it shook a little.
Dalton had spotted the intruder shortly after he had snuck through the fence, but the man's actions intrigued him. He didn't go to knock out the sentries, he didn't signal anyone on the outside; if Dalton didn't know any better he'd say the man was alone in this. Challenging the man brought an instant response of obedience as the man turned to face Dalton.
Definitely some Latin blood in his background, he had dark hair, brown eyes, and was around five feet ten inches tall, probably weighing in at 120 or 130 pounds. His first response was 'don't shoot', which intrigued Dalton even more. This was one of White's guys, he recognized him from the crowd of agents and police around Jam Pony; so why wasn't he shooting first? Dalton challenged him again, pointing out that he was one of White's goons.
The man stiffened visibly, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Not anymore," there was an audible tremor in the man's voice.
"Who are you?" Dalton started walking towards him slowly, watching the man's every move.
Otto breathed a sigh of relief as the Transgenic seemed to deem him not worthy of instant death. "My name is Otto," he answered the boy's question, for he looked like a teenager.
"Mine's Dalton," the boy said, stopping a few feet away from Otto.
Otto nodded in acknowledgement, not sure what to do next.
"What are you doing in here, if you're not one of White's men?"
"I want answers about a few things," Otto said as he carefully lowered his arms; they were getting rather sore from him holding them in the air.
Dalton made no move to make the man raise his arms again, though he did keep a keen eye on where each hand was. "About?"
"Who White is."
Dalton shrugged his shoulders. "And?"
"Look," Otto stepped forward. "I don't know why you're being hunted by your own kind, but quite frankly I want to know, because if this is some sort of sectorial battle between two factions, I'm not going to let innocent human beings get dragged into it."
Dalton blinked several times, furrowing his brow. "White's not one of us."
"Oh, really? Then how'd he throw an oaken desk across a room single handedly?" Otto challenged. That seemed to strike a cord with the boy.
So, Dalton thought. The monster has revealed himself. "Follow me," he told Otto, motioning for him to go first.
Otto obediently turned and started walking, his heart beating swiftly. "Where are you taking me?"
"I think you need to talk to Logan," was the only response he got.
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Logan took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, stretching before returning to researching. He was getting frustrated at the lack of any concrete data on White. Frustrated and angry. He knew Max needed this, she needed this closure - and they all needed White off their backs somehow, even if it was just for a short time.
He looked over his shoulder when he heard Mole shout a challenge, then all the guards stiffened and pointed their guns at the person who just walked in. Dalton was standing in front of someone in a suit, seemingly trying to dissuade Mole from shooting the man. "What's going on?" Logan asked.
"Lily liver here is protecting an Ordinary!" Mole growled.
Logan stood and walked down the steps quickly, recognizing the man when he reached the bottom of the stairs. "You're one of White's men."
Mole shoved Dalton out of the way. "Even more reason to shoot him!"
"No!" Dalton grabbed the shot gun by the barrel and shoved the muzzle upward, pulling the butt back at the same time to make sure it didn't go off accidently. He actually succeeded in ripping the gun out of Mole's hand, which left the Transhuman standing shocked for a moment. "He isn't one of White's guys anymore!"
"Well then why don't we just invite him in for drinks of champagne and show him all our eggs, ya little -"
"Hey!" Logan yelled, getting both of their attention. "Why don't we just let Dalton explain? He's got a reason for what he's doing."
"How do you know that, human?" Mole turned the term into an insult.
"He's a Transgenic - he's an X5, and he's smart. Militarily, strategically, and the kid has a cutting edge common sense. Unlike you sometimes." Logan knew it was dangerous to insult Mole, but sometimes that was the only language the man seemed to get.
"White threw a solid oaken desk against a wall, single handedly, in front of Otto," Dalton said.
"So?!" Mole reached and wrenched his shot gun back.
Logan grabbed the barrel, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow. "Really?"
Dalton nodded mutely. "His heart beat stayed constant, he looked me in the eye of his own will, and his pupils stayed consistent."
"Meaning?" Logan had to ask, surprised the kid noticed all that.
"Meaning either this Ordinary's one heck of a liar, or he is actually telllin' us the pearly truth," Mole cradled the shot gun as he crossed his arms.
"I'm not lying," Otto finally spoke up for himself.
"All liars say that," Mole leaned forward threateningly.
Dalton ignored him, focusing on Logan. "Considering the dead ends, I figured he should talk to you first."
But Logan was already shaking his head. "This needs to be Max's decision."
"Yeah," Mole agreed. "Where is our fearless leader, anyway?"
Logan glared at Mole before turning away and walking up the stairs. "I'll get hold of her, see when she can get back. You should probably put Otto in one of the cells, just to be cautious."
"Good thinking," Dalton grabbed Otto's arm, making the guy jump, and led him over to the confinement cells Luke had built to the side of the room.
"I don't think he should be in the -"
"Mole, could you help me with this," Logan cut him off from the balcony above.
Mole stopped and looked at the human, incredulous. What?! he didn't answer to him! But he went up the stairs anyway, intent on reaming the guy out. Logan beat him to the bat however.
"Do you really think it's wise to reveal this is our command center?!" Logan spoke in a whisper that most humans would not have heard, but Mole's hearing picked it up fine.
The statement made Mole stop and think, surprised at the humans wisdom. Otto had no way of knowing what this place was. Unless someone identified it in front of him. Oops.
Logan saw the light dawn behind Mole's eyes and turned away. "Thanks; I'll tell Max that," he said, loud enough that if Otto wanted to hear he would've.
Mole turned away and walked downstairs, signaling everyone outside for an impromptu brush up on what to say and not say in front of a potential enemy.
Logan sighed as he sat down, picking up the phone to dial Max's pager. He hoped she'd taken it to whatever 'surprise' Joshua had taken her to see.
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Max sat back with a full stomach, smiling and thanking Shirley for the meal. It had been quite good; a stir fry type dish with homemade egg noodles instead of rice with peppers, onions, chicken, and tomatoes in the 'topping'. Accompanied by some delicious cheese biscuits and wine glasses filled with chilled tea, the meal was simple and elegant. And it hit the spot.
Just as Max was about to ask Joshua something her pager went off.
Leaning her head on the back of her chair and groaning slightly she stood and walked to check it.
"Who is it?" Alec asked from the table, his head cocked to the side. He'd been doing that a lot tonight, cocking his head. Max guessed he was listening to movement and heart rates to identify what was going on and where everyone was, what their mood was like. Shaking herself she checked the number again. "TC HQ."
"The phone's by the door," Shirley started collecting the dishes, Joshua helping her. When Alec went to stand Shirley put a hand on his shoulder and said they had it - no need to strain himself.
Surprisingly, he just nodded quietly and obediently sat back down.
Max picked the phone up and dialed the HQ phone, smiling when she heard Logan's voice say hello. "Me bumpin' back."
"Hey Max," Alec turned in his chair and cocked his head to hear better, focusing on Max and Logan's conversation and blanking Joshua and Shirley out.
"You should get back here as soon as you can, if the surprise is over."
Max looked at Alec, obviously listening in as he sat half facing her with a look of complete concentration on his face, as she responded. "Yeah, I'm green to come back. What's up?"
"Dalton found one of White's guys sniffing this side of the fence - he says he's not White's guy anymore," Logan hurriedly assured her. "Says his name is Otto and that White threw an oaken desk against a wall singlehandedly in front of Clemente and some other guys after firing Otto shortly after they got back to the police station the day White and Clemente came to talk to you." Logan finished, waiting for her response apprehensively.
The day after Alec died, she thought silently. "Okay," she scuffed her feet, feeling awkward for some reason. How on earth was she going to tell everyone else Alec was still alive?
"Okay." Logan sounded worried at Max's odd tone. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she said it a little to fast. "I'm fine, don't worry. I'll be headed back as soon as I can. Don't let him wander -"
"He's in Luke's cell, Mole's got a couple guards on him, just 'cause."
"'Kay. Mole hasn't shot him?"
"It was a little tense at first, but everyone's cool for now. That could change, depending on tempers and, ya know - chance."
"Yeah," Max bit her lip. "Well, I gotta go. Can't talk all the way home," she laughed lightly.
"Yeah," Logan nodded even though she couldn't see him. She was laughing. Wow. That surprise must've worked.
"See ya," she hung up, turning to Shirley and Joshua. "Something happened at TC, I gotta get back to handle it."
"That's fine," Shirley nodded, smiling. "My doors open any time, and you can bring friends whenever you want."
"Yeah," Max nodded, smiling tightly. "I'm not to sure how everyone is going to handle this; I think we should take it slowly." She walked over to Alec, sitting oppisite him. "I don't think we should let your survival be common knowledge right away. White took you for a reason, and I want to know what's going on in that bastard's head before we do anything, 'kay?"
"Sounds smart," he smiled brightly, nodding as he sat on his hands, head hanging down. If he could've seen he would've been studying his lap.
Max nodded, impulsively hauling him to his feet to wrap him in a hug. He stood stiff for a second before relaxing slightly and hugging her back. "We'll get through this." she stepped back, resting her hands on both of his shoulders. "You will get through this. It's no worse than what Manticore did to us."
"Actually it's a little easier than some of the stuff they did," he said, smiling confidently. She knew it was fake; it was too forced, to bright. A mask he put on to keep himself strong by hiding what he was really feeling - because if no one else knew what he was feeling, he didn't really feel it, right?
She shook her head and sighed, taking them both by surprise when she stood on her tip toes and kissed his forehead. "Just keep getting better, please," she whispered, then walked away. "Josh, you can stay here for the night if you want. I'll cover, say you're staying with a friend - which is true," she started putting her coat, buttoning it up.
"I'll stay, stay with Alec. Get him walking tomorrow," Joshua said excitedly.
Max froze. Alec hadn't been walking? but he was walking now. Moving slowly she put the hat on, tying the string under her chin. Then again, walking wasn't going to be as simple as it had been before. Alec couldn't walk into a room and know where everything was. He'd have to learn the lay out before he could move confidently. She nodded, trying to wrap her head around the concept of Alec being blind - this was going to change a lot of things. A lot. " I have to go," she turned to the door. "Thank you, Shirley, be careful, Alec - Thankyou, Joshua," she turned back briefly to look him in the eye. "It was a good surprise."
Joshua smiled and waved, then sighed as she shut the door and ran to the road, slipping around the gate to run to the city and make her way to TC. She'd be fine. The coat concealed her well and she was smart - super smart.
Joshua and Shirley turned as one to look at Alec as he stood beside the table looking utterly lost and alone.