The Reds (part2)
Max and Alec stood on the rooftop of the building next door looking at what was left of their team.
The mission had been a disaster. Technically they'd accomplished their objective by recovering the embryos, but they'd suffered numerous casualties in the process. The plan had been for Jes to set off an explosion in front of the warehouse to draw all the outside guards to one location. Brin, Alec, and Paige were then going to drop down and take them out one by one before heading inside to the rendezvous point. That part at least was a success. Once inside though, all hell broke loose. These Red soldiers were trained a whole lot better than any of the ones Max had encountered previously. It was extremely difficult to fight their way through. Paige found herself surrounded by three Red soldiers at once and ended up with a badly broken leg and a dislocated shoulder before Biggs was able to get to her. Dren was killed during the skirmish and that only left Brin, Max and Alec to finish off the soldiers and recover the embryos. Max was reluctant to leave them so outnumbered but she knew that if they didn't recover those embryos everything would be in vain. She quickly made her way towards the freezer taking out one more soldier along the way. When she arrived at the freezer she was struck with the realization that there was not one soldier inside as they had expected. There were four. Fortunately for her she had a full clip of ammunition. Max hated guns, but she tried to put that thought out of her mind as she emptied the entire clip into the guards. Three of the soldiers died but the fourth was only badly wounded. Max knew he wouldn't stay down long so she grabbed the container of embryos and headed back towards the team. When she reached the lobby she was shocked to discover that her teammates were missing. She was about to head out the front door when someone grabbed her. Her first instinct was to fight.
"Max, it's me." Alec whispered.
"Oh, thank god." She threw her arms around him, glad that he was alive. Alec hugged her briefly then pulled away. "Max, we have to get out of here. The sector police are out front and they've got Brin, Biggs and Paige. We've got to get the embryos to
Cale and then distract the police so the others can get away."
Max nodded and then said "Follow me. I've got an idea." She headed out the back of the building and took the fire escape to the roof of the next building over where Meeks, Cale and Jes were waiting.
Alec briefed the three of them on the situation and then handed the embryos to Cale. "Cale, I need you to get these embryos back to Manticore regardless of the cost. Without these our mission is a complete failure and Dren's sacrifice will mean nothing."
Cale nodded solemnly, accepting the container. Alec clapped him on the shoulder and Max gave him a quick hug. "Be careful!" She whispered. He smiled at her then turned and melted into the darkness.
"Meeks, I want you to gather your medical supplies and head downstairs. When you get to the bottom take a left and go two blocks, turn right and head north 1 ½ clicks. You'll find a place called JamPony Express. There's a fire escape around the back that leads up to the second floor. Wait there. Paige and the others are going to need serious medical attention. If they haven't arrived within two hours, assume they are lost and head back to base. Understood?" Max asked. Meeks was crying, but she understood her objective and she obeyed.
"What do you want me to do?" Jes asked.
Alec closed his eyes for a moment to collect his thought. The task he was about to assign Jes was the hardest of all, but it had to be done. "Jes, Dren's body is still in the warehouse. It cannot fall into the wrong hands. Once everyone else is in the clear I need you to rig an explosion that will take out not only that warehouse, but everything in a one block radius. Can you do that?" Jes's eyes widened in fear. An explosion of that magnitude would be difficult to outrun. If he didn't time it just right, he and everyone else on his team would die in the rubble. "I know what I'm asking is hard, but this has to be done, Jes. Can you do it?" Alec asked again. Jes swallowed hard, and then nodded. "Good luck, buddy. We'll see you back at Manticore."
Alec reached out and took Max's hand. Together they turned and walked away. They knew there was a good chance they might never see Jes again, but they didn't dare look back.
From the shadows of a nearby alley, Alec attracted the attention of Biggs. He, Brin and Paige were surrounded by sector police. Alec made some hand signals to Biggs informing him of the escape plan and Biggs relayed the instructions to the others under his breath. All three acknowledged the instructions with an almost imperceptible nod of their heads and Alec headed back up to the rooftop to join Max.
"You ready for this?" Alec looked at Max and smiled.
"Are you kidding?" Max asked with a grin. "I was born ready." Hand in hand they leapt off the roof, landing on two police hover drones several stories below them. Using their body weight to change directions Max and Alec guided the hover drones until they were directly behind the mass of sector cops.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Max called out. The police spun to face her giving Biggs, Brin and Paige a chance to slip away unnoticed. The sector cops raised their rifles to fire, but just then Alec's hover drone went flying by diverting their attention at the last minute and deflecting their shots. Unfortunately one of the bullets ricocheted off a metal door nearby, grazing Alec's arm and causing him to lose his balance. As he fell, his hover drone crashed into Max's toppling her over the edge too. Luckily they didn't have far to fall. Feline DNA was their savior; both transgenics landed on their feet and sped off into the darkness together.
After a few miles of running and dodging in and out of the shadows to avoid detection, Alec was beginning to falter. His steps were erratic and at one point he very nearly fell. Max heard him curse quietly when he stumbled and she stopped to look back. Alec's wound wasn't fatal, but unless she could get the bleeding to stop soon he'd pass out right there in the street.
Max thought for a moment and then said quietly "Come with me. I think I know someplace we can stay tonight." She wrapped her arm around Alec's waist and allowed him to lean some of his weight on her. Slipping back into the shadows they slowly continued their journey.