A/N: Thanks go to Maia. I wouldn't do it without you.
Seek and Destroy : Catching Up
- Infie
Captain Thomas Andrews was feeling very unhappy. He'd known what was supposed to happen; that Johanssen had made a deal with some woman over at some top secret genetics manipulation facility. The deal was to demonstrate their technology, with an eye to potentially merging their design streams. He had known that, logically. He'd even suspected that it might... might be the same outfit who's kids he'd evaluated five years ago.
He hadn't known that they would send 494.
Seeing the kid again had been like a punch to the gut. He'd grown up... grown into the potential Andrews has seen so clearly back in the Balkans. He moved with assurance now. A different kind of arrogance than he'd displayed back then. 494 had been on more missions, been out in the world, had come back alive. He had come into his own.
But 494 couldn't know what he was facing here.
Of course, he'd recognized Andrews immediately, but had reacted as if they'd never met. A wise choice; it placed the ball in Andrews' court. If he was undercover it kept him safe, and if he was for real it kept him as a potential ally. If Andrews had gone to the dark side, then he'd know pretty darned quickly. If he was undecided, it let him know that 494 was willing to work with him. Andrews felt a grudging admiration for the quickness of 494's mind in assessing the options and making his decision so fast. He'd still been working out the implications when they left the room to watch the 'demonstrations'.
He'd watched Viktor dispatch Grigori in a haze. A distant part of his mind was surprised that the kid took down such an experienced soldier so quickly, while another part noted the kid's reaction speeds and training as being above average, but hardly in the same realm as theirs. The part of him that was hoping for a convergence of technology... and a way to extend his life... was disappointed. The part of him that wanted 494 safe was glad.
Then 494 entered the cage. Andrews almost reached out to stop him, but at the last instant caught himself and instead took his place on the bleachers. Ace and Jeff entered the cage with him. Andrews' heart stopped as he realized what Johanssen had in mind. Ace and Jeff weren't hand to hand experts. Viktor had demonstrated that the transgenics were well trained and could take down one of Johanssen's soldiers one-on-one. Now Johanssen wanted to see how hard these transgenics were to kill.
494 engaged directly enough, taking Jeff down with a straightforward punch that would have knocked out an ordinary human. There was a scuffle with Ace, and then 494 whirled away from him, only to be grabbed in a bear hug by the recovered Jeff. Andrews winced as 494 struggled. Maybe his memory was flawed by time, by the haze of pain he'd been in at the time, or by the implant at the base of his skull. Maybe these transgenics weren't much more than human. Based on what he had seen so far, the fight was over.
494 stilled. It was the peculiar relaxation Andrews remembered from the Balkans, and he leaned forward involuntarily.
494 burst into motion, dropping away from Jeff and escaping across the cage in a blur of motion. There was an instant of stunned motionlessness from his opponents, and then they went after him, no holding back.
Andrews risked a look at Johanssen. His face was avid as he watched the fight, grinning broadly at the enhanced capabilities 494 was showing them. 494 fought off Jeff and Ace brilliantly. They were putting on a show, too... taking punishment no human should be capable of. It was clear that 494 could have taken either of the soldiers individually, but it was equally clear that the two of them were wearing him down. Andrews could see how the two technologies could compliment each other. Imagine! A fighter with transgenic speed, strength, and senses, combined with the soldiers' endurance and resistance to pain.
That fighter would be unbeatable.
A pained gasp drew his eyes back to the ring. 494 had been laid out full length on the canvas and had just taken a punishing kick to the face. He curled defensively, rolling away, and Ace lifted his foot to crush the back of 494's neck. Andrews lunged to his feet, a protest on his lips. Only he saw 494's hand flash with inhuman speed toward his boot.
Viktor exploded to his partner's defense. He was so fast it looked like stop motion; one instant he was beside the cage, the next at the top of the wire, the next standing over 494 as the two attackers were airborne. He lowered his hand to help 494 to his feet, and Andrews caught a glint of metal as 494 slid the knife back in his boot, hiding the motion under the guise of tucking his legs under himself to stand. With his free hand he accepted Viktor's assistance.
Andrews sat back down, surprised to find his hands shaking and his breathing rapid. He ignored the action in the ring; ignored Johanssen's gesture for him to come over. He knew, now.
Betraying 494 was not an option.
He jerked to his feet again as 494 shouted. "Mayday, mayday, mayday! Soldier needs assistance! Mayday, mayday, mayday..." The watching audience attacked the cage. Andrews was frozen in shock. There were too many of them!
The lights went out.
The lights went out.
494 and 511 reacted simultaneously, each leaping straight into the air and grabbing hold of an overhead iron beam. They curled their legs up, 494 restraining a soft noise of pain as his cracked rib complained fiercely. Silently they pulled themselves over the edge of the rafter, straddling the beam and looking down at the chaos below them. The soldiers didn't display any signs of enhanced night vision, instead attacking each other indiscriminately in the almost total darkness.
Smoothly, they stood and started making their way out of the room. 494 stopped over the bleachers, looking down intently. 511 tapped his shoulder and gestured a question. 494 looked back at him and chewed his lip thoughtfully. Then he shrugged and stepped off the beam, dropping almost soundlessly to the floor beside Andrews. He grabbed the other man, clamping a hand over his mouth. Andrews didn't move.
511's eyebrows shot up in alarm. He followed 494 back to the floor immediately, gesturing at him urgently. 494 ignored him, easing his captive towards the door. The din in the room was fading as the combatants realized that they were, in fact, fighting each other. Within seconds the room was quiet.
511 cursed silently and followed 494. Andrews made no move to struggle or to pull away, instead meekly allowing himself to be pushed to the wall. 494 pressed the latch with his free hand as carefully as possible.
The click of the door sounded ridiclously loud. There was an enveloping rustle as fifty or more heads turned as one towards the door. 511 felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and fought the urge to scratch.
"Go go go!" 494 pushed the door open and shoved Andrews through before leaping through himself. 511 was a heartbeat behind and both transgenics threw themselves against the door to hold it in place as the first soldiers thudded against the other side.
"Here. Use this." Andrews handed 494 a heavy metal bar. "There are brackets to hold it."
511 shot the other man an incredulous look. What the hell? 494 took the bar and heaved it into place without comment, then took off down the hallway towards al-Nassan's office at a comfortable run. 511 grabbed Andrews' collar and followed, pulling his unprotesting prisoner along with him.
494 reached the office and went inside without pausing. A tiny click froze all three of them, then a match flared and revealed two young, grinning faces. 529 cracked open a light stick so that they could see.
"Took you long enough, Dmitry. I was expecting you 18 seconds ago." 303 eased down on his gun.
"So sorry to keep you waiting, Jason." 494 stepped aside and let 511 and Andrews into the room. 511 pushed Andrews onto the couch. "Had some baggage to pick up."
"Hmmm." 303 nodded wisely. Andrews couldn't help it... he laughed out loud. He jumped back to his feet with a quickness that had all four of the transgenics jerking in surprise. He took one long stride and grabbed 494 in an exuberant bearhug.
"It is good to see you, 494!"
When Andrews released him, 494 was surprised to find himself grinning back. "Hi Lieutenant." The other three relaxed, exchanging puzzled looks. 303 and 529 shrugged.
"Captain now." Andrews sobered almost immediately. "You need to get out of here."
494's face smoothed back into impassivity. "Can't. I have a mission to complete."
Andrews' face was grave. "I was afraid of that." He took a deep breath. "But it is still good to see you."
529 looked up from where he had been expertly tossing al-Nassan's desk. "I found the files you mentioned, Viktor. Looks like there is embedded computer access here too."
511 joined him. 303 was rifling the books in the bookshelves. "Nice work, Abbu." 529 nodded. "So... there is a laser-guided bioweapons development lab at this site." He blinked as the implications of the information scrolling down the screen hit him. "Though that's a bit of an interpretation, isn't it, Captain?"
Andrews sat down. "Yes."
494 stared at him. "Explain."
529 was the one who spoke up. "The bioweaponry is him. Is them... the soldiers. They have an implant that increases their metabolic rate and makes a few other 'improvements'. It's seated at the base of the neck, and uses a micro-laser to find the right position." He glanced at Andrews. "It kills them within a year."
494 blinked slowly. Andrews nodded. "This is a recruitment facility," he said heavily. "al-Nassan is a frontman for the US government. He picks suitable candidates, and we recruit them."
"Suitable?" 494's voice was remote.
"Good fighters. Good shape. Cold killers." Andrews told him softly. "If you only have a year to live, you don't have time to learn hand to hand, or start a fitness regimen." He shrugged. "We were in talks with your group about a partnership. It's possible the technology that made you could also make us live longer."
"How long do you have left?" 494 looked away, not wanting to see Andrews' face. 511 and 529 were watching the byplay in fascination. 303 kept searching the books, but he was listening closely, too.
"Months. Not many." Andrews said flatly.
"Why?" 494's voice was cold.
"You know why." Andrews replied, amused.
"Because of us." 494 shook himself. "Because you wanted to be like us."
"Don't forget the leg!" Andrews almost laughed. "That bullet did a lot of damage, 494. I spent four years limping around like a horse that needed to be put out to pasture."
"It isn't worth your life."
"That's not your decision."
"No. It isn't." 494 turned back to face him, straightening his shoulders. "I have other decisions to make." 529 snapped to attention as 494's eyes found his. "Did you guys set the explosives?" Andrews stiffened in shock.
"They'll kill you if you do that," he said urgently.
"They can try." 494 reached out and took the pistol that 529 offered him. "But I don't plan on asking them to arm wrestle."
Andrews closed his eyes. "These guys don't feel pain."
511 spoke up. "They'll feel even less with a 45 caliber lobotomy." He retrieved his gun from 529.
Andrews stood abruptly. "I won't interfere with you." He held 494's gaze steadily. "But I won't help you, either. This is my team."
494 nodded at 511, who brought the butt of his gun down hard on the back of Andrews' neck, knocking him out. "You don't have to."
A reverberating crash signalled the end of the door restraining the soldiers. 303 turned away from the bookcase, flipping open his cell phone.
"Time to call home," 303 said.
Lydecker picked up on the first ring. "Lydecker," he snapped.
[Sir. We've found them.] 303 sounded faintly smug. [We're bringing them out.]
Lydecker breathed a soundless sigh of relief. "What's your status?"
[We have the information, sir.] 303 paused. [And the sample.]
Lydecker frowned at the hestitation in 303's voice. "What is it?"
[Well, sir. It's certainly not what we expected...]
"We have cover." 303 snapped shut the phone. "All we have to do is get out of here, and we'll be home free." There was the sound of running footsteps growing closer in the hallway, and the crashing of doors as the soldiers searched for the missing transgenics. "Lydecker confirmed it. The technology merge evaluation is completely unsanctioned. Someone meant to give you two over." He shook his head in disbelief. "When you told us all this last night, I thought you were ready for another trip to Psy Ops, 494. But you hit the nail on the head."
529's lips compressed. "A traitor in Manticore. I still can't believe it."
511 was gathering paperwork and printouts together in a blur of speed, and waiting impatiently for the printer to finish spitting out the documents he needed. "At least we know it wasn't the Colonel."
"Yeah." 494 hadn't moved from his position staring down at the prone Andrews. "He wouldn't have sent you in if he'd been behind all this." The sounds of the search were getting closer. Abruptly he dropped to one knee and pulled Andrews into a fireman's carry. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
