Walking Wounded
Disclaimer: I claim no rights to Dark Angel, or any of the characters you find here.
Spoilers: Set one month after the events of Exit Strategy, which included spoilers for the entire series.
Chapter 11: Warning Shot
494 was lost.
He'd escaped the sickroom his captors had stashed him in, neutralizing the doctor on his way out. Five transgenics had been waiting for him in the outside corridor. He dispatched them with an ease that was almost disappointing. Three of his fellow X5s and two X6s, and each one of them hesitated in their attack, unwilling to subdue him without ample provocation. By the time they got their act together, it'd been too late.
He tried to pinpoint the reason behind their restraint, but no satisfactory explanations came to mind. He shoved aside, with great prejudice, all thoughts of the man called Alec, and what he might have done to earn their gentle treatment. 494's officers at Manticore had taken such joy in stamping the sentimentality out of him, he had a hard time imagining it existing in any transgenic who'd been raised at the compound.
The corridor he found himself in now was quiet and, so far, unmanned. Some unfamiliar recess of his mind recognized the route he was taking, knew clearly the location he sought. The borrowed knowledge- Alec's- made him uncomfortable, like he was too big for his own skin. That didn't stop him from taking advantage of it.
So, yes, 494 was lost, though more in the metaphorical sense, than the literal.
He passed three more transgenics before he reached his destination, none of whom put up any notable resistance, just more restraint, more weakness. Lydecker would be ashamed.
Lydecker.
The name weighed on his sanity, pulled at its edges.
If there was one thing all the parts of his fractured mind could agree on, it was that the Colonel held some measure of the blame for his current condition. The foreign part of him, the part he was coming to recognize as Alec, wanted to seek out help. Alec had people he trusted; the lizard-like transhuman for one (Mole, his traitorous brain supplied), and someone called Max, for another (though 494 had no memory of anyone by that name). Alec had allies and loyalties, a unit, a family.
494, on the other hand, had nothing. No vocation to confine him, no directive to guide him, no allegiances worth honoring. As of today, he decided, he was a free agent. And 494 wanted blood.
He shook off the objections he felt growing in his mind (Alec's, they were Alec's objections, not his), and headed into the empty armory.
The walk back to Alec's room was tense and quiet, save for the intermittent crackling of Mole's radio. Three more transgenic guards had been found, unconscious and disarmed, but there were no further signs of Alec, no clue as to where he was headed. The military efficiency of the takedowns and their incomprehensible, yet practiced, pattern spoke of a trained solider with a plan and destination, one who still maintained the wherewithal to cover his tracks. Not Alec, though. 494.
"Son of a bitch."
"You want to tell me what's got you wound up there, soldier?" Lydecker asked.
The old Colonel had been keeping step with the anomaly since they left Command, just close enough to listen in on every update. If he hadn't been so worried about finding Alec, Mole would have knocked the man on his ass by now.
He put on his most practiced sneer and looked over, never interrupting their brisk pace.
"Is it that hard to guess?"
"I'd say you're starting to understand the liability 494 represents in his current condition," the Colonel stated matter of factly.
Mole huffed a laugh, "Current condition, huh? Funny you mention that. You may've got an 09er and a couple of ordinaries all bought into that little dog and pony show you put on back there, but this ain't my first rodeo. 494 was a special case, my scaly green ass."
Lydecker arched an eyebrow in surprise while Luke, who was walking five paces ahead of them, nearly tripped over his own feet.
Mole favored the Colonel with a wry look, "Now you know, and I know, there was something you were lying about back there. I wanna know what. You're gonna tell me."
"Who said I was lying about anything?" the man replied, his face giving away nothing.
"Come on, Colonel. You can't train us in subterfuge, and expect us not to know when you're keeping things from us."
Lydecker let a small smile escape before replying, "I may have left out some irrelevant details."
"Why don't you let me decide what's irrelevant?" Mole asked.
Luke gave up any attempts to mask his eavesdropping, and squeaked in protest. Seemed the transhuman was still determined to protect Alec's privacy.
It was a noble cause, to be sure and, under normal circumstances, Mole'd have been right there behind him, but the X5 (Alec or 494 or whoever the h-e-double-hockey-stick he was nowadays) was rapidly reaching the point of no return. The boy was awake, awake and violent, his mind spun in a thousand different directions. There was no time to namby pamby around- the power of love would not be bringing Alec back from his mental brink. They needed to get to the root of his condition, and the only way that was happening was with Lydecker's information and insight. It was the only way. It was.
"You really want to know every detail of 494's history?" the Colonel asked, "Somehow I doubt he'll thank you for your diligence."
Luke glanced over his shoulder, and fixed the two men with a serious gaze. Mole directed his reply to the anomaly.
"Maybe not," he said, "but it's not like he's givin' us much a choice."
Luke sighed, nodded, and picked up his pace, once again increasing the distance between them.
"So, Colonel," he continued, "Since you're so intent on protecting the boy's privacy, why don't you answer me just one thing?"
"Shoot."
"You say you loaded Alec up with all those fake memories, after Berrisford, to keep him in line. I wanna know why you needed to do that, on top of the damn implant that caused this whole mess in the first place?"
The question had been bothering him since Lydecker finished his debrief. After witnessing the deployment of the implant and its devastating effects on Alec, Mole could appreciate its utility. If Manticore was looking for a leash to rein in their more difficult operatives, the implant fully satisfied that need. The creation of false memories, and the manipulation done by Psy Ops were simply unnecessary. It was excessive, even by Manticore standards.
"Like I said," Lydecker replied, "494 needed a reminder of the possible consequences..."
"Outside of himself," Mole finished the thought, "See Colonel, there's that bullshit I was telling you about."
The Colonel visibly stiffened.
"Do I need to remind you that my cooperation here is voluntary?" he asked, "That there are no answers I'm required to provide, to any of you?"
Mole smiled.
"I'll take that as confirmation."
"Confirmation of what?"
"That you're a manipulative bastard giving us the run around," Mole replied, "Course, that's nothing new."
The Colonel rolled his eyes, "I had hoped we'd gotten past this blatant distrust."
Mole rolled his eyes in return. Run around, indeed.
"Answer the question, then, and we'll see."
"I'm telling you to drop it, solider. It's irrelevant."
"Says you," Mole countered, "Tell me."
The request came out like a command, and then it was Lydecker's turn to sneer.
"No."
"Enough," Luke said quietly. He gestured in front of them, where Zero and two other X6s stood at attention.
"We're here."
494 left the armory armed to the teeth. No one interrupted him while he was there, or stopped him as he left. He shook his head in amazement at the fact.
He listened carefully to the walkie he'd lifted from the doctor. Instructions and status reports were relayed in plain English, no code, no discretion. It was another sign of how out of practice these transgenics were, with or without Lydecker's overbearing presence.
He wondered how Alec fit in among them.
He had already considered the possibility that his captors weren't lying; that he was experiencing some kind of memory loss or regression. From the stories he'd been told, and the kind and careful way he was being handled, he gathered that Alec was well liked and respected. Alec was a leader here. Alec had escaped the nightmares of Manticore to live in the world, to live among humans. Alec was free.
494 would never be free. Not as long as Lydecker was alive.
He turned his attention back to the radio. They were searching for him. The transhuman Mole was barking out orders, trying to mobilize the transgenics. He warned them to "knock that son of a bitch out first, and ask questions later", and 494 chuckled before he could stop himself. He wondered if he could ever make friends with an anomaly. He wondered how long it had taken Alec to become comfortable in their presence.
The updates over the walkie continued. A reporter was growing impatient, according to someone named Dix. The "norms" were making progress, looking for someone or something, apparently.
Finally, reinforcements arrived at his abandoned room. The transhuman medic was seeing to the doctor (a minor head injury, just as 494 had expected), while the other transhuman (Molemolemole) argued with someone, in between spitting out orders. 494 listened closely, carefully, and tried to identify the other voice. He had his suspicions, but he needed to be sure. He couldn't attack, couldn't risk hurting innocence bystanders (friends, Alec's friends), without proof. He wouldn't. He needed to be sure.
The voice came over the radio, clear and unmistakable, despite the bad reception. It belonged to Colonel Lydecker. He was talking to the ordinaries still at Command, but the words meant little to 494. Because now he was sure, and he had plans to make and execute.
Because he needed it to be over. He deserved to be free.
"Tell me again what happened."
Mole demanded, fighting to keep the bite out of his voice. He was kneeling on the floor in front of Doctor Shankar, hoping the woman had some idea where Alec was headed.
"When I entered the room, he was just lying there," she answered, "He was still and unresponsive at first, and then he…wasn't. I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything else. I don't even know how he got out of the restraints."
"You have quite a bump back here, but that's the extent of things," Luke said, as he finished bandaging the doctor's head, "It looks like he knocked you out with the minimum amount of damage possible. The same goes for the transgenics we found in the corridor."
Mole sighed. Alec tempering his actions, only disabling his supposed enemies, rather than going for the kill, was a good thing. But the motivation behind those actions meant something. Mole could only hope it was more about preserving lives, than some situational advantage. Sadly, it was the most encouraging thing to happen since Alec had woken up that morning.
Leave it to Lydecker to rain on his parade.
"That's a reflection of 494's training; nothing more, nothing less," the Colonel said. "Debilitating enemies without killing them takes a certain amount of restraint, restraint 494 learned at Manticore."
"Thank you, for that depressing analysis of the situation," the doctor replied. Mole snorted, then directed his attention to Lydecker.
"How are Cale and Gottlieb coming along?"
"My contact is en route. Hopefully, they'll be here by late afternoon."
Mole cocked his head.
"And what's with the pronoun game, Colonel?" he asked.
"Simply protocol, son," the man answered, smiling when Mole bristled at the epithet. "Now, I think it's time we send the injured off to the infirmary, don't you?"
Mole nodded reluctantly.
"Wait," the Doctor held out a shaky arm and wobbled on her feet. Her other hand was frantically checking the pockets of her long, white lab coat.
"I had a radio, I took it from the infirmary."
"Zero used it to call in," Mole said, motioning to the X6.
The boy shook his head slowly in response.
"Sir, I already had a walkie when I found the doctor here."
Mole growled in frustration.
"Wasn't enough for us to leave the little son of a bitch without adequate protection, oh no."
"If 494 has a radio in his possession, I think it's safe to say he's been listening to us since we left Command," Lydecker pointed out needlessly.
"Yeah," Mole snorted, "that's safe to say."
"So what do we do now?" Luke asked.
Mole tipped back his head and shut his eyes; willed himself to think. Alec was clever and well trained; he had certainly heard every conversation they'd had over the past half hour. Hell, the boy didn't even need to puzzle out Lydecker's location; they'd done him the favor of spelling it out when they confirmed their arrival at his sick room. Even in his current mental state, he was more than capable of bringing all of Terminal City to its knees. He needed to be found, and quickly. But first, Mole had to try and limit any collateral damage.
"Get the doc and injured to the infirmary," he ordered Zero, "Radio silence."
The kid clipped off a short salute, and immediately started leading the doctor into the hall, to organize his small convoy.
"I'd hold up on that," Lydecker said, "the radio silence, that is."
Mole regarded the man with wide eyes, his surprise evident on his face.
"You said it yourself Colonel, the boy's listening in. We don't really have much a choice here."
The Colonel looked calculating as he nodded his agreement.
"I concur, but there's something we should try first."
"And what's that, exactly?" Mole asked.
The Colonel pointed to the walkie-talkie clipped to Mole's waist.
"Talk to him," he said, "see if you can bring him in."
"You can't possibly think…"
"We need to see how far gone he is. This is how."
Mole's jaw flapped in disbelief. As much as he wanted to believe in Alec, and much as he wanted to protect him, he needed to be realistic. After all, he had an entire city full of transgenics to look out for, Alec aside.
"The boy attacked nine of his own people. I'd say that's pretty far gone."
For a second Lydecker looked taken aback, before pasting on his customary no nonsense expression.
"Humor me."
Mole met the man's glare with one of his own. Though he tolerated the Colonel's presence in Terminal City, and was more than willing to accept his help when necessary, he wouldn't stand being ordered around by the man.
He was just gearing himself up for an impromptu staring contest, when Luke cleared his throat loudly and ruined the moment.
"You can try. It can't hurt, and at least then we'll know."
The Colonel smirked, before schooling his features.
"You need to address him as 494," he explained, "I highly doubt he'll answer to anything else. And try to project an air of authority, if that's even possible."
Mole grumbled unhappily, knowing he had lost, and reached for his radio. He set it for an open call frequency and cleared his throat, tried to forget this may be his only chance to reach the boy.
"494, this is Commanding Officer…uh…Mole. We want to bring you in. I'm requesting you head to Command for debrief. You copy?"
For the next several minutes, there was nothing but dead air. Mole saw Luke twitch nervously beside him, while Lydecker stood still as stone, staring at the two-way. Zero appeared in the doorway, and Mole gave him a silent nod, indicating his group should head out, but neither man made a sound. Then, quite suddenly, a familiar voice called out over the radio waves.
"This is X5-494. I copy."
The voice was colder than Mole was used to hearing it. Colder, even, then it had sounded earlier that afternoon. Mole suppressed a shudder, and spoke into the radio again.
"Will you come in? 494?"
"And you're calling that a request, sir?" the X5 asked after several more seconds of silence.
"Nobody's twisting your arm, boy," Mole replied, and took a breath, "but it's time you come in from the cold."
"And Colonel Lydecker?"
Mole looked to the Colonel, saw him nod in confirmation, "He's here."
"Can he hear me?"
Lydecker stepped forward and plucked the radio from Mole's grasp, "That's an affirmative. This is Colonel Donald Lydecker, soldier."
"Colonel."
Alec's voice, if possible, sounded even colder than it had before.
"What can I do for you, 494?"
"I'm giving you the opportunity to surrender."
"Surrender to whom?" Lydecker asked, obviously baffled by the command. Mole could relate.
"To me," Alec replied, "I want you to surrender to me."
"And if I don't?"
"You can consider this my warning shot."
Mole didn't have time to contemplate the meaning of Alec's words. No sooner had the transgenic finished speaking, than an explosion sounded from the corridor outside. He ran out to investigate, Luke and Lydecker on his heels.
The air was thick with plaster, but there was no fire, and no screaming. They quickly found a large crater in the cement floor where the explosion must have originated from, the walls of the hallway on either side of the site blown apart. On the opposite side of the crater stood Zero, and his group headed to the infirmary. They looked shaken, but uninjured.
"I don't want to hurt them," Alec said over the radio, "but I will."
Mole closed his eyes in disbelief, but the voice kept talking.
"Now, what'll it be, Colonel?"
Sorry for the gigantic delay. I had a bit of a case of writer's block (for this story, at least). Thank you for your reviews, and continued support. I hope to have more consistent updates from here on out. As always, please review, and feel free to include any questions or suggestions you may have. Thanks!