Chapter Twenty-Eight
Bend and Not Break
"I am fairly agile
I can bend and not break
Or I can break and take it with a smile.
And I am so resilient
I recover quickly
I'll convince you soon that I am fine"
Bend and Not Break,
Dashboard Confessional
A/N: THANK YOU! to Wildsky for fantastic support, wonderful suggestions and valuable input. Sheri, I'da been lost without you, hon! hugs And to feekh for suggestions, proofing & support. I love you guys :D
2020, 30 miles north of Seattle, Washington, Manticore Facility
"Why are you doing this, Deck? Why take risks for me?" Max threw a confused look in his direction.
Lydecker's voice was strangled and his eyes wide and confused as he replied. "I...don't know. It's -" he pursed his lips and furrowed his brow, "I have to."
Max gritted her teeth. "Why? It never bothered you in the past, so why now?"
His words were gentle, reverent even. "You're my kids, Max. I feel responsible."
"Right," she laughed hollowly, "like that meant so much. It didn't stop you from hurting us before."
"You remind me of her," he said quietly.
"Of who?" Max was now very confused.
"My wife," he replied in a broken whisper. "You remind me of her. She had that same fire, the same spirit. So full of life." his eyes glazed and took on a faraway look.
Max was about to retort, telling him how disgusting that image was, when Lydecker shook his head and pulled out a manila envelope. He slid a finger under the gummed flap and eased it open, spilling the contents onto the table.
Max looked down and gasped. It was a picture of her sister, Tinga, and a full DNA assay. She glanced at Lydecker, eyes hard and questioning.
"Max, we need to get her out."
Max's hands shot out and she grabbed Lydecker by the neck, raising him off the floor and slamming him against the wall. "Out of where? Where is she? What happened to her, you son of a bitch?!"
Lydecker struggled for breath, scratching at her hands with his own. "C-an't br-ea-the."
Max dropped him unceremoniously and pressed her boot to the center of his stomach. "Talk," she demanded.
Lydecker took in huge gulps of air until he caught his breath. His eyes met hers and she noted the sadness and despair there.
"Elizabeth has her in a remote facility for testing and experimentation."
Noting her unwillingness to accept that he was truly looking out for her unit, that he would go to any lengths to protect them from the likes of Renfro, he pleaded with her, "Look, Max, I know you don't trust me; I don't blame you. But I don't trust that bitch; she's up to something. Remember what I taught you? The enemy of my enemy..." he paused, looking at her intently.
"...Is my friend," she muttered reluctantly.
He took a breath before continuing, staring levelly into Max's eyes.
"Regardless of what you think, I do care about my kids. I'm going after Tinga. But I need your help."
It could have been a trap. Max knew that if she didn't help Lydecker, Tinga could die. If she went along with the plan, and it was a trick, she might end up in being re-indoctrinated after all. But trap or not, Max wasn't going to turn her back on her sister.
"I'm in. What do I have to do?"
"I'm going to need a team that isn't connected to Manticore. People you can trust. Like I told you before, I need you to contact Eyes Only. He's the only one who can reach out to the others."
"And how do you propose I do that from in here? We don't exactly have phone privileges, and even if we did, somehow I get the feeling that the calls would be monitored. Not exactly conductive to private communication."
Lydecker chuckled. "And do you think that I would allow my own calls to be monitored? There is a reason I still hold my position and rank, Max. Regardless, any correspondence with Eyes Only would have to be conducted off-site.
"Director," he uttered the title with utmost distaste, "Renfro has approved an intelligence mission for your unit. The question is how to get you away from them to safely transmit communications."
Max looked thoughtful for a moment, contemplating the suggestion bubbling in her mind. It was risky, granted, but from what she'd come to know of him over the past weeks made the idea seem feasible.
Lydecker eyed her curiously, imaging the wheels turning as she considered plans of action. Max had always been a decent strategist. Not as brilliant as Syl or as thorough as Zack, but one of the top in her unit back in the day. He wondered at what she might suggest and waited patiently for her to speak.
"I'm pretty sure that Alec-," she began, stopping short when she caught her mistake and hurriedly corrected, "494 would cover for me."
Lydecker blinked. 494. Why hadn't he thought of him sooner? The boy had shown intense loyalty to those he cared about and especially to his unitand from what he'd seen of the interaction between the pair, he also cared for Max to a slightly higher degree.
Not to mention that the look on Max's face when she suggested the boy - Alec, was it? - also indicated that she may have similar feelings in return.
Interesting.
"Alec, you say?" he finally returned, amusement tingeing his voice. "Why would you think that 494 would keep your secrets? He has never had cause to be anything but loyal to Manticore." Lydecker knew that last statement was false, but she didn't know that. He wanted her reasons.
Max remained silent for a moment before looking him directly in the eyes. "Because he is the one that convinced me to talk to you."
Lydecker was stunned. "I see." He composed himself and continued, "Inform 494 that I wish to speak to the both of you following receipt of your mission parameters."
Max turned to leave when he called out in warning, "Max, be sure to impress upon him the importance of secrecy. There is more on the line here than you know."
2020, Converted Silo Near The Municipal Border - Offsite Manticore Testing Facility
Tinga awoke to yet another unfamiliar setting, though this time around Brin was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, neither was the bleached blonde woman.
Considering the thoroughly befuddled state of her mind at the present moment, Tinga was inclined to believe that it had all been a hallucination, Brin being one of the last people she saw before fleeing for her life who had also been the one trying to bring her in.
Glancing around at her surroundings, she noticed two things immediately: one, she was unrestrained and, two, she was in a glass cage of some sort. Her skin was damp and chilled from exposure to some sort of chemical mist coming from the overhead of the structure. It smelled vaguely of disinfectant. She curled her lip in distaste.
Focusing beyond her confines and out into the open area beyond the Plexiglas, she could see white-coated figures darting about and a wall panel lit up with displays, buttons and indicators.
Just where the hell am I? she wondered, watching the activity around her. She stepped forward and pounded the glass.
"What do you want with me?" she asked, her tone indignant and demanding. "Let me the hell outta here!"
Her request went unheeded; in fact, she was ignored completely, the figures not even glancing in her direction as if they hadn't heard her.
It dawned on her finally that they probably couldn't hear her without flicking some switch or other and allowing sound to enter or exit the cage. Furious, she turned to pacing her cell.
Some thirty minutes later, bored and dejected, she settled down in a corner and bent her legs, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin on her knees.
Something's gotta give, she raged silently, wishing for all the world that she were wrapped in Charlie's arms, safe at home with her family.
And something did give; suddenly, a hole opened from the ceiling and a large, robotic appendage lowered into the room. There was a slight hissing sound before nodes shot from the metal arm and sent jolts of electricity through her body, knocking her unconscious.
2020, Post-Pulse Seattle, Washington, Cale Residence
The two boys were still bickering, and quite loudly when the door to Logan's apartment swung open and two figures sauntered in with an air of superiority that Logan had come to recognize as a trademark of the Transgenics species. He sighed.
"Don't you people ever knock?" Logan asked in exasperation. Met with amused faces and knowing smirks, he muttered, "Never mind."
Looking the newcomers up and down he focused on the tall young man who was a dead-ringer for a certain, feisty brunette.. "You must be Max's twin."
The young man stepped forward with a not-quite smile and extended his hand. "Krit. You must be Logan," he added, tone implying he was less than impressed with the face that fit the name. Nodding to the blonde girl beside him he stated, "Syl."
Dismissing the hacker and turning to the room's other occupants he shook his head. "Will you two cut it out already? Squabbling like kids isn't going to get us any answers. Zane, put your hands down and walk away. Zack, no. You don't get to say anything. Shut up and sit down. Do I have to referee every time the two of you breathe the same air?"
"I'm surprised Zane hasn't taken off yet. I woulda."
"Thank you Syl, because that really helped, " Krit groused in irritation.
"She's right, Krit. I shouldn't be here. I should be out there, looking for Jondy," Zane growled, rounding on Zack with furious eyes and a hard-set jaw.
"Enough!" Logan all but shouted. He'd had enough of the bickering and arguments from Zack and Zane. Weeks of it, actually, and he was thoroughly fed up. "You two will remain civil or find someone else to take advantage of. The only reason you're still here, sleeping in my home, eating my food, is because of Max. If you can't get along, get out."
Zack's eyes iced over and he pinned the older man with a pointed glare. "The only reason you are still here is because he," he pointed at Zane, "convinced me that we need you." His voice hardened and lowered to a threatening purr. "Listen up, Cale. You are a liability and I don't like liabilities. Liabilities should be taken out of the equation before they get us killed. Don't like it? I can remedy that, easy. Do we understand each other?"
Zack's little speech had the desired effect and Logan resigned himself to a prolonged headache and additional houseguests.
Zack dismissed the hacker with a shake of his head and abruptly turned his attention back to Krit. "Now that you're done playing commando, where's that status report, soldier?"
"Soldier?" Krit, who knew full well that Zack's bark was worse than his bite, snorted. "Give it up, man, and start talking like a normal person. Christ, we're not at Manticore any more."
Zack glowered but didn't argue. "What happened with the Norms in Canada?"
Syl's gaze snapped up, brown eyes narrowing. "Norms?" she spat forcefully. "Are you kidding me? They're family. Why are you still busting on them?"
"Why?" Zack echoed angrily, advancing on his sister until they were practically breathing each other's air. "Why can't you see that getting involved with them is what put Tinga at risk in the first place? If it hadn't been for them, she'd have stayed hidden. She'd have stayed safe."
Zane shook his head in disgust. "You really think so? You really think that Tinga was only in danger because of Charlie and Case? Open your eyes, brother, and get your head around the fact that Tinga endangered them, not the other way around. We haven't been safe since the day we ran."
"Oh, both of you shut up!" Syl snapped, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "First of all, when I called Tinga a few weeks ago she told me she thought she was being followed but she couldn't find anything solid to back it up, so she let it go. She could have gotten out then if she'd wanted to, but she didn't."
"What?! Are you crazy? You consider that staying off the radar?! Initiating contact over unsecured lines where you could be intercepted? Did you consider that maybe your stupidity is what compromised her position?" Zack's words cut deep, leaving Syl with heavy feelings of guilt and hurt, not only from his words, but from the looks of betrayal and disappointment in his eyes.
"Ya know what, Zack? You're a real prick. The fact of the matter is, we're all old enough to make our own decisions and we chose to stay in touch. Besides, you're one to talk, living with Zane. Keeping in contact with all of us, visiting regularly to 'check up' on everyone. And that's not dangerous?" she voiced indignantly.
"That's different! I'm always careful. We follow protocol. There's a good reason for the system and you know it," he insisted stubbornly.
"You're saying that Tinga isn't careful? You're implying that you don't trust her." She shook her head sadly. "Do you trust any of us?"
Zack gaped but no sound escaped his lips.
"I guess that answered that," Zane muttered bitterly to himself.
"Zane, come on-," Zack spluttered.
Syl cut him off with a bark of laughter. She shook her head disbelievingly. "Whatever. You want a status report, Sir?" she asked Zack acidly. "The civilians were relocated to the specified coordinates at 22:00 hours on Sunday. They were issued with new identity papers and installed in the safe house as per your orders, Sir."
"Syl," Zack implored, "Don't be like this. You know that's not what I meant!"
Krit stepped in when Syl turned her back on Zack in defiance. "Enough, okay? They're fine. They're safely tucked away in Canada and we're back in one piece. We have more important things to do than fight. Jondy, Tinga and Max are all missing, or has that tiny detail escaped you all? And I, for one, don't plan to sit on my ass any longer while they could be in trouble."
Zane, who'd been mostly quiet throughout the argument, met Zack's eyes, his lips drawn in a grim line.
"Exactly. And I'm going after Jondy."
Turning on his heel and striding towards the exit, past a bewildered Logan and irate Zack, the latter reached out to grab his arm. Zane broke free of his grasp and whirled around, his face a mask of determination. "So help me god, Zack, you try to stop me one more time and I'll make Manticore seem like a fairytale."
2020, Post-Pulse, Elsewhere, USA - Present Day
Hours turned to days which became weeks. She'd been in the same room, strapped to the same chair and subjected to the same treatments every day for almost a month. She was beginning to despair ever escaping her captors or the relentless lasers, injections, simulations, or the droning, monotonous voices repeating the same propaganda until she wanted to scream.
For each session with Special Agent White and his lackeys, she was exposed to almost identical procedures at the hands of one specific doctor on staff. Only, he whispered comfortingly in her ears and kept confusing her with his words and actions.
Nothing made sense. Nothing but the darkness and sweet oblivion that followed her daily sessions. And throughout, the doctor urged her,
"Hold on to your happiest memory and retreat there when it becomes too much to bear."
So she did. Reaching deep into her subconscious, Jondy focused on the one memory she held dearest to her heart. She fled the pain and never-ending assault of recordings and projections and burrowed deep inside. Going back to that moment when his lips had caressed the shell of her ear, had grazed the soft skin of her throat. Where his words had blanketed her in safety and comfort, but above all, love.
"I love you, Jon. God, how I love you," he'd shuddered the heartfelt confession, body trembling with passion and need. "Be mine, baby. Tell me I'm yours."
Cocooned in the warmth of his love, Jondy avoided the world of white coats and sharp needles, bright lights and loud noises.
And the doctor's words gave her a measure of comfort..
"Keep that happy memory. Remember the details, hold on and never let go. You're going to make it through this, 210. Keep strong and have faith."
