I'm back again! Woo! This chap is way longer than the last, as promised. N-joy! Oh, and I sorta apologise in advance for skipping around in POVs so much. I'm juggling a bunch of persepctives at once because it speeds up the plotline and makes updating easier. :)
Thanx for reading and reviewing, as always!
Chapter Seven; Of Journeys, License Plates, and Those White Walls
There was soft light streaming in through the window across the room.
Momentarily confused and muddled, I blinked, rubbing my eyes with one hand. Why am I facing the ceiling? Where am I? How did I get here? Where's the Flock?
I suddenly snapped into a sitting position, eyes going wide as it all came rushing back. The Flock. Itex. Taken. Mom. Jeb. Hotel. Washington DC. Taken.
With the rush of memory came the awareness of the pain now shooting through almost every inch of muscle in my body. I winced and gritted my teeth as I heaved my aching body out of the cheap motel bed; I saw our bags piled in a corner of the room, but Mom's bed was empty. I heard water running in the bathroom. She must have been taking shower. I made a beeline for our bags, shooting a glance at the digital clock on the bedside table. It was ten to eight in the morning. Had I really slept that long? I pushed the thought aside and combed my fingers through my hair.
So, I thought. The Flock was gone. Itex was back. Well, that wasn't entirely true – Itex had never really been 'gone' to begin with, it was simply that we had vanished from their sight with absolutely no desire to deal with them again. But despite our preferences, it was obvious we were no longer hidden in the shadows. It was times like this that I began to wonder if we were really ever under the radar – it didn't seem to matter where we went or how we got there – Itex or the School caught up with us some way or another.
Still wincing, I kneeled down beside our packs and began to sort through my things, condensing the contents of my bag until it had reached a whole new level of conservative. I had two pairs of clothes, my windbreaker, first aid, my Max Ride credit card, water, and a bit of food. I had already decided my plan of action: find a lead and follow it; improvise when necessary; keep moving; don't get caught; avoid contact with people as much as possible.
Chewing a mouthful of a bread roll I'd snagged from my bag, I made to zip up my pack but stopped, eyes falling on Fang's bag. On an impulse, I reached over and pulled it open, gently lifting out his laptop. I weighed it in my hand for a moment, and then slipped it into my pack. Something told me it would prove a valuable resource along the way, and I was prepared to use whatever I could to find my family. Every bit would help.
Once my pack was ready and my carb-loaded breakfast was in my stomach, I checked over my injuries. My ribs were only sore now, and my cuts and bruises were already well on their way to being healed; my left arm and hand were mending a little slower than I would have preferred, but I would deal. My wings were fine; the scratches had healed and I was only a little stiff. I quickly threw on fresh clothes and shoved my torn, bloodied ones into a trash bag. I wouldn't be able to wear them anymore - not in that state, anyway.
I was fully dressed when Mom came out of the bathroom. She stopped when she saw me, looking only partially surprised that I was awake and dressed and carrying a backpack over my good arm. Her hair was damp from her shower and she looked tired.
"Are you leaving now?" She asked; her voice was controlled so she sounded more like Dr Martinez than who I'd come to call 'Mom.' I nodded, shoving aside my emotions and letting my priorities dissolve the lump in my throat. I grimaced a little at what I was about to say.
"I have to see Jeb," I said, hating every syllable that made up the statement. "I have to know where else Itex might have taken them – I don't think they've been taken back to California." I didn't need to say who 'them' was. I'd made my point perfectly clear.
Mom nodded and wrapped her robe around herself more tightly. I suddenly realised how small she looked; tired, probably afraid, too. On an impulse I gathered up my bag and slung it over my shoulder; I went over and wrapped my mother in a one-armed hug that she gratefully returned.
She gave me the number of Jeb's room – just a few doors down – and I left without another word.
Fang couldn't remember when they'd put him out. All his hazy brain offered was the memory of rough hands pulling what felt like a sack over his head and the thick smell of whatever drug had been used as an inhalant sedative. Now, along with the remainder of the Flock, Fang found himself in a blank room with no windows and a single door without a handle. His hands were no longer bound and his gag had been removed. Disoriented, he pushed himself to his feet and rubbed the raw skin of his wrists.
The rest of the Flock was still out, mostly sprawled haphazardly across the floor. Out of habit Fang did a headcount, and his heart jumped a little. All the Flock was here save for Max. But Total was missing.
Frowning, Fang checked over each member of the Flock again, gently arranging them into more natural positions and searching for any potential injuries. Fang found none, but he was still worried – worried for Max, for Total – but mostly for Max.
Fang swept the room from corner to corner, wall to wall, scanning every crack and crevice for a weak spot in the door, a fault in the wall, or a camera in the ceiling – anything he could use to his advantage. There was nothing. He tapped his hand on the middle of the wall, testing the thickness. It was solid, not a single reverberation to be heard. The walls were solid, the door was solid – even the floor felt thicker than cement. They were trapped, and they were trapped good.
Resigned, Fang stretched out his stiff wings and retreated to the back of the room, where he sat and leaned against the wall.
So, he thought. Itex.
They had been walking for nearly ten minutes before the Doctor suddenly acquired the brilliance to check the tags on a car for a possible location. Rose had suppressed a sigh of relief when she'd seen what he'd been pointing at.
"Florida!" She'd shouted, more to herself than to anyone else. "The States. We're in the States. How did you mix up North America with Belgium?"
Only a few minutes after this wondrous discovery, Rose also spied a road sign that gave them further detail to their location – somehow or other the Doctor had landed them in Miami, Florida, year 2008. Miami, not Belgium. Rose still didn't know how the Doctor could be such a terrible navigator after nearly a millennium of practice. It couldn't be that hard to fly the TARDIS, could it?
"I've told you before, Rose," the Doctor was telling her, "the TARDIS was designed to be piloted by six Time Lords, not one. Give me some credit, please."
Rose couldn't suppress a grin, pressing her tongue against her teeth as she rolled her eyes.
"Sure, sure." She swung the hand he was holding back and forth but suddenly pulled him to a stop. "D'you want to go back? To the TARDIS?"
He considered this suggestion again, an odd, contemplative look contorting his expression. His free hand was in his pocket, brows furrowed and dark eyes fixed on the middle distance – which seemed to be located just above the horizon. Rose waited in silence, taking advantage of the opportunity to simply stare at him and have a plausible 'reason' for doing so. Eventually he spoke, but his gaze was still fixed on that one spot above the city-lit horizon of Miami.
"No," he said, suddenly uncharacteristically quiet. "I'm beginning to think that this was less of an accident than we thought. There's something going on here as well – I can feel it – and I think it has to do with those kids."
And with that, his mouth split into a grin and his eyes met hers. Rose returned his smile and they both started off towards the city, hand in hand.
However far-fetched the Doctor's reasoning would have sounded coming from anyone else, Rose was more than willing to place her trust in his decisions, no matter how mad they sounded.
After all, she thought as they strode through the faintly-lit streets, they haven't failed us yet.
Jeb didn't look surprised when he found me on his doorstep. If anything, he looked like he'd been expecting me. Which I guess is typical, as even now, after however many years and months and days I've known the guy, I still can't figure him out.
I didn't even try to start small talk. I barged right in, blunt and to the point – in true Max style.
"I need to know where else Itex might have taken my Flock," I stated, the moment he'd closed the door behind me. Again, Jeb didn't look surprised. I briefly wondered if Mom had talked to him after I'd fallen asleep the night before; it was a likely possibility, anyway.
Jeb thought for a few long moments, staring down at the floor.
"There are... several different headquarters I know of," he said, almost hesitantly. "In the years I worked for them, they had already spread their branches all across the world. There are the ones you know of – the more public ones in Europe – but, as I seem to recall, there were several discreet branches that worked in the shadows." Jeb looked up at me, but whatever door to his mind had been open in the past few seconds was suddenly closed, and his expression was unreadable again. I frowned, crossing my arms.
"And these headquarters would be... where?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow. Jeb just looked at me, and I could hardly see the hint of contemplation hiding in his eyes, like he was debating on what to tell me, if anything. I almost growled when he took an extra few seconds to answer, and the expression on my face seemed to help him come to a decision.
"There are, as far as I know, three bases in the United States: Utah, Florida, and Washington – the state, not here in DC." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his qualification. He went on, "From here, the closest place to look would be Florida."
He said nothing after that, and I turned away to face the wall, brows furrowed. Florida. We'd been to Florida – Disneyworld and all that – and we'd been caught there, too. Then again, we'd been caught a bunch of other places, too, so that couldn't really be a coincidence. Florida...
"Where in Florida?" I asked, barely attempting to keep the demand out of my voice.
At this Jeb shrugged. "I don't know a specific location – remember, Max, I was involved with the School, not directly with Itexicon – and all I know is that it is somewhere near the coast. The east coast."
Well, that's hardly helpful, I thought acidly. 'Somewhere near' the east coast. That left, what, maybe a few hundred miles of ground to cover? My frown deepened, becoming a scowl.
"Fine," I said. "I'll go to Florida. But you ––" I pointed at him with a slightly crooked finger, "If you're going to do anything for me, I want you to look for anything that leads to the Flock and Itex. And I'm leaving now."
I headed for the door, but suddenly stopped and swivelled around, struck by a thought. I stared at him full in the face, eyes hard. "And if those government people ask questions, don't answer them. Lie if you have to. I don't want them involved." Then, almost as an afterthought, I added, "I don't trust them. I don't even think I trust you."
And with that, I turned on my heel and swept out the door, leaving him to deal with the last of my affectionate words.
I leaped into the air and spread my wings, starting what was the very beginning of another long journey. I rose high into the air, banked south, and did not look back again.
Si, es finit.
Mas pronto! No se que hablo espanol hoy. Demasiado tarea de espanol hoy, supongo.
(Virtual dark chocolate and raspberries to the first person to figure out what I just said. :D)
Hasta luego, mis amigos!
-Dots
