Title:
Father Figures
Author:
aegean
E-mail:
aegean11@hotmail.com
Genre:
Angst, Angst, Romance, Action-- shippery
Rating:
R
Summary:
This is the sequel to Design. This
takes place 4 months after the events in Design.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel is a Fox /Cameron/Eglee
vehicle. I get no money. I do it for fun/practice Please don't sue me.
Notes: This is the sequel to Design. You really have to read that first to really understand where this story is coming from. Sorry this has taken so long to post. I moved and I just couldn't figure some of the story line out, and my beta has been bogged down with grad school work. I just can't seem to post without her tearing it apart first. Hopefully I'm back on track now. I really hope you like this. I've been working on it for a while. Please R&R. Good/Bad whatever. Advice. Anything works for me. Thanks to all those who have reviewed.
Thank you to all that have reviewed this story. I honestly do appreciate all comments. -a fan- your reviews for both this story and Design really forced me to work a little harder and put a little more into each chapter. Thank you.
Chapter 2
Mexico
"Either
we get to her or they do." Max was sitting on the bed next to Logan discussing
their most recent complications. "I'm
not saying they can sway her, but so far they've already tempted two of
us." Urgency was written across her
face and Logan reached for her hand to hold it as she finished. The emotional strain of the last few days
had taken a toll on the remarkable woman sitting before him. Her hair seemed to have dulled some and, in
the eyes, a bit of their brilliance had been clouded by the dark circles that
had formed beneath.
Logan
could only sit and listen. He had no
words and worse yet, he had no better ideas. Her plan was simple, they would go down to Mexico and check out the
situation. If Jace was alone, they
would bring her back to Seattle and stay together until their fathers could be
located. However, if she had been
compromised them they were going to have to use her to smoke CFT out. The preferable scenario was evident, but Max
wanted to be prepared for anything.
"It
won't be so bad. Think of it as a road
trip to an exotic locale," Max said trying to cut though Logan's worried
expression. He smiled.
"When
is Zack supposed to get here?"
"Actually,
he came in about half an hour ago. We
should probably go out there before the small measure of patience he's been
exercising runs out."
"I
think he can wait one more minute, don't you," Logan said as he pulled her in
for a final kiss. She came flying
forward and settled into his waiting arms. "One of these days you're gonna have to explain Zack to me," he
whispered to her as she lay in the embrace.
"That
would be like trying to explain…" she paused creasing her brow in momentary
thought. "Actually there is nothing
harder to explain than Zack." A brief
moment of reflection overtook her before Logan began to tickle her,
successfully causing the contemplative demeanor to give way.
"You
know he's still in the kitchen," she said a few seconds later through her
laughter.
"I
know." Logan ceased his attack. "Why don't you head out there? I'll follow in a minute." Max reluctantly climbed out of the bed for
the second time that morning, padded slowly down the hall, and went to greet
her brother.
"Good
morning," she said spying Zack in the kitchen.
"Hey,"
Zack muttered. It was a cold, flat
greeting and the most civilized response he could muster after being forced to
wait for so long. He and Max may have
covered a lot of emotional territory the night before, but he still wasn't
ready to witness the more intimate aspects of her relationship with Logan. That included the inevitable sight of her
coming out of his bedroom.
Max
rolled her eyes as she leaned over the counter to look at the papers that held
Zack's attention. "What'cha got for
me."
"I
picked up some bus schedules this morning," he said as he slid some of the
papers in front of her. "I was mapping
out a route to ----. "
"Why
don't we just take the Aztek?" He
scowled at her.
"I
should've known you weren't serious about being more responsible."
"Relax,
I was kidding. I wouldn't presume to
take anything that could be traced to us. The bus was what I was thinking." She reached over and poured herself a cup of coffee. "The first thing were gonna have to do when
this is over is buy you a sense of humor."
"I'm
not in the mood this morning."
"Funny…I
never realized you were specifically not a morning person. I just assumed you were difficult all the
time, but now you've officially distinguished yourself as a particular shit in
the early hours." She smiled taking her
bowl back to the bedroom to see what was keeping Logan.
Max
found her answer in the comforting sound of a running shower when she walked
into the room. Instinctively, she went
to Logan's bureau and pulled out a clean pair of boxers. She threw them on the bed and went to the
bathroom door. Usually, she would toy
with the idea of jumping in with him, however this morning, the little angel
that was sitting on her shoulder told her to forgo the activity. "Logan, just to give you a heads up…Zack's
bein' and ass this morning."
"And
this is unusual how?"
"That's
right, get all the sarcasm out now because I'm not in the mood to run
interference out there." She heard
Logan's distinct chuckle.
"Will
do. Hey can you grab a pair of-"
"They're
already on the bed. I'm going back out
there, k."
"Yeah,
I'll be there in a minute." Max closed
the door.
"So
let's try this again shall we," she said when he reached the kitchen. "Mornin' Zack."
"Hey"
"Good
you're playing along so I'll skip the rest?"
"Fine."
"What
route are we taking?"
"Here
I've pretty much mapped it out." He
handed her a pad of paper with the pertinent information. "I've made the route hard to track."
"Looks
good. How long will it take?"
"If
we leave this afternoon, four days…five if the buses are running late. A full week if we leave tonight—it's a
different route."
"Then
by all means leave this afternoon." Logan said as he came out of the bedroom,
surprising Zack with the quick acceptance of his proposal.
"Max?"
Zack questioned waiting for her consent.
"This
afternoon's fine. Zack I assume you're
ready to go, so just give Logan and I a few minutes to pack and we can leave."
"To
be honest Max, I think I should sit this one out." Zack stood stunned at the response while Max crossed the room to
Logan's position.
"What's
wrong?" she half-whispered upon reaching him.
"Nothing,"
he said turning his back to Zack to gain more privacy. "I just think it'd be better if you two go
alone." She shot him a slightly
bewildered look. "It's a sensitive
issue and Jace doesn't really know me. She'd be more inclined to listen to just the two of you…and if they have
gotten to her, a stranger in the mix won't make things any easier."
"He's
right Max. She's eight months pregnant
and alone. If they have turned her this
won't be a walk in the park." The both
turned to stare at him. "Manticore
ears," Zack said flatly and then returned to his maps.
"Yeah,
I keep forgetting." Logan turned away
again but ceased his efforts to whisper. "Anyway, I can be of more help if I stay here and search for any new
signs of them. If they are expecting
you they may make a move." Max couldn't
argue the logic, the plan was clear and they'd be killing two birds with one
stone.
"Well,
since it's settled…Zack, I'll be ready in five," Max said passing Logan without
argument.
"That
was way to easy," Logan remarked when she was substantially out of earshot.
Zack's
brow furrowed in conjunction with his nod. He too was surprised by Max's lack of resistance.
Logan
left for the bedroom and upon arrival stopped to watch Max for a moment. "Is it me or are you becoming more agreeable
in your old age."
"It's
you." She smiled then resumed
packing.
"Max?" It was said with his standard intonation of
confusion, worry, and well…confusion. Her name had quickly become a question when the men in her life were
puzzled by her actions.
"Look
I simply agree with both plans presented to me. In fact it's as it should be. We really did need to expand the mission profile. So there was no point in arguing." Max's arms suddenly dropped to her side and
she plopped down on the bed. "God, I
used to be queen of the light packers. Look what settling down has done to me," she said as she surveyed
everything she had laid out on the bed. Logan laughed musing over her ability to slip in and out of the
Manticore mindset in a heartbeat.
"How'd
you used to pack?" Logan asked grabbing
a small duffel bag from the closet.
"Let's
see…our rule of thumb for extended ops was "one to spare"…a pair of underwear,
a spare shirt, and spare pants. I've
since upgraded to my "on the run" method which is three pairs of underwear, two
shirts, spare pair of jeans, and a toothbrush. I'll go with that. Gotta have
the clean undies." They both smiled as
she finished. "Done!"
"Good,
because you've only got about thirty seconds left in your five minutes and it's
mine," he said as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. She squeezed him tightly and gave him a
quick kiss before she opened the bedroom door.
"Ready?"
Zack asked.
"Yeah,
let's move." He said cocking his head
and turned for the door. Zack stepped
out into the hall and Max turned to close the door just in time to see Logan
open his mouth to speak. "I'll be
careful," she said before he could get the words out. Then, she blew him a kiss and closed the door.
Logan
smiled to himself for a moment then walked over to the phone. "Hey Cindy…yeah I need to talk to Lana." He sat down at his computer and put his head
in the game. "Lana, I need you to
get over here as soon as you can. No…not work…it's personal. Yeah
an hour is good."
*************
Day
4- Morning
The
old Greyhound bus pulled into the station at nine in the morning and Max and
Zack stepped into the sunlight after two straight days of travel. They were going to wait out the next
twenty-four hours in Potrero, California, the last town before the Mexican
border. Zack planned the layover
intentionally. Manticore would often
plant men at the border to stop all travelers when x5's were reported in the
area. Therefore, he felt minor
surveillance was a necessary security measure. So, leaving Max behind to find lodging, Zack took off telling
her he'd be back in a while. If he did
find trouble, there was no sense in the both of them getting caught. Max wasn't pleased with Zack's disappearing
act, but she decided to use the alone time to grab a bite and check-in with
Logan
After
a stop in a small diner, she commenced her search for a place to stay. She began to stroll through the town, if one
could call it that considering its size. Since the Pulse, most of the hotels in the area had turned into single
roomed apartments. The cramped living
quarters had become customary in almost every small town. The rich, who had lost the vast majority of
their wealth, could only afford middle class neighborhoods so, they took them
over pushing the middle class residents into lower income neighborhoods. The downward spiral continued in this manner
until the poorest people could only afford to move their families into hotel
rooms. It had been tough but people
seemed to adapt to the lifestyle, caring only about the fact that they had a
roof over their heads.
The
search for lodging went on for hours with no luck. For a time, she thought they would have to rough it in the
streets, but that outlook changed when hope came in the form of a white poster
board sign hanging in a house window that read Room for Rent. It couldn't hurt to give it a shot.
When
she knocked on the door, a blond, middle-aged woman came to the window and
looked out. A few seconds later, the
door unlocked and opened. "Hello."
"Hi,
I was wondering if you still had a room to rent?" Max asked abruptly with her traditional lack of formality.
"Yes
the room is still available." The woman
looked Max over for a moment. "Why
don't you come inside--" She paused as
a questioning look marred her face.
"Sorry,
the name's Max."
"I'm
Sara," she replied. With the
introductions having been officially completed, Max stepped inside the
house. Force of habit caused her to do
an initial sweep of the visible rooms before she moved enough for Sara to close
the door. So far everything had seemed
secure. She followed Sara into the
living room. "It's a hundred dollars for the night. There's a bathroom at your disposal, but you'll have to take your
meals in town."
Max
finally let her guard drop. "Sounds
fine." She turned to Sara. "By the way, I have a brother who'll be
joining me shortly."
"That's
alright, but there's just the one room and the price goes to one-fifty for the
two of you."
"No
problem."
"Good,
then if you'll pay me now, I'll show you to your room."
Max
followed Sara down the hall taking note of the floor layout and confirming the
safety of the location. By the time
they reached the bedroom, Max had determined the house was secure. She threw her bag down on the bed and left
the house heading for town. She still
needed to call Logan and wait for Zack.
At
three-thirty, Zack returned to find Max sitting on the bus stop bench. "Find a place?"
"Yeah
I got us a room about a mile away." Zack nodded.
"Any
news?"
"Not really, called Logan--He's got nothing
now, but might by tomorrow night. What
about you?"
"Border
looks secure for tomorrow." And that
was it. The briefing was over and all
vital information had been exchanged leaving them to just glance from the
ground to each other as if to ask 'now what.'
Eventually
they settled on grabbing a bite to eat, figuring full mouths would keep
conversation to a minimum. It wasn't
that they didn't want to talk to each other, it was more that everything
between them had been so intense over the past few days and neither wanted to
re-open any newly healed wounds. If
they had tried to share stories, they would have inevitably ended up reliving
times from Manticore, and neither of them had the stamina for that. Stories from the decade they were apart
would have proven uncomfortable as well. Zack didn't have any carefree stories to recount and all of Max's happy
times involved Logan and her friends. Either way, one or both would've ended up disheartened by the conversation.
However,
despite the quiet meal, they managed to sustain enough of a dialogue to answer
the question of what to do with themselves for the duration of the afternoon
when they decided a return to the room for a quick rest was warranted. The strain of the trip was taking its toll
and just being able to stretch out for a while would put them back on
track. They returned to Sara's after
taking care of the bill and Max quickly grabbed the bed leaving Zack the
floor. They lay in silence staring at
the ceiling until dusk fell. 'So much
for sleep.'
*************
Morning-Day
4 (Logan)
"Yeah,
I still haven't come up with anything here," Lana said as she clacked away on
her keyboard.
"Then
I guess I'm left with only one option," Logan replied.
"Are
you sure?"
"Yes."
He ran his fingers through his dirty blonde locks. "In all the chaos I failed to realize Max has at best a 10-14
days to complete this."
"Why?"
"Because
in about two weeks her defenses will be significantly diminished for about 48
hours."
"Again…why?"
"The
details aren't important."
"Well
isn't Max aware of all this? Or at the
very least Zack will be there to help her."
Logan
flinched at the thought of Zack's possible assistance, but then his thoughts
returned to the pressing matter at hand. "To answer your first question…Max doesn't track her down-time as well
as I do. And as for your second
question," he clenched his jaw, "even Zack won't be of much help in terms of
keeping Max, or himself for that matter, safe."
Lana
couldn't have been more confused by Logan's cryptic response. It reminded her of the early days of working
for Eyes Only. "OK, well if what you
say is true, I'll put the call in ASAP."
"Fine,
I'll set up the relay here. Call me
when you're ready." Logan disconnected
his link to Lana and began preparations.
***********
Potrero,
California
Evening-
Day 4 (Max)
At
eight, the sun was just beginning to set and Max couldn't lie still any
longer. She looked over to Zack but it
seemed that his penchant toward wakefulness was no match for her shark
DNA. So, paying care not to hit the
sleeping figure on the floor, she smiled and moved toward the window to take in
the changing colors of the sunset. It
had gone from the crisp clear cerulean blue of Logan's eyes, to a reddish
tinge, and finally to the chilly purple of a bruise. The transformation on the horizon took about forty-five minutes
to complete and through it all Max was working on a way to approach Jace with the details of their fathers. The oppressive nature of the thought made
her head ache. She was thankful when
Zack finally stood because the disturbance in the background derailed her train
of thought. "Do you wanna go for a
run?" she asked suddenly turning to him.
"Sure." Brevity and compliance, all in all an
unusual mixture to be found in any response from Zack.
Remembering
she didn't have any running shorts, Max left the room. Returning minute later, she came back into
the room and rummaged through the closet. Sara had told her that previous guest had left items there and she
usually just left them in the closet. Max found a pair of mens shorts, put them on, and left to meet Zack on
the front porch.
They
ran like the feral animals they were for hours in silence, their eyes giving
off a preternatural glow as they reflected the moonlight. They were running to expend pent up energy
born out of excitement and fear. Excitement in the mere fact that they were working together after so
many years and fear of the inevitable complications that always surrounded the
x5's.
'The
CO and his first in command working together as one unit, how proud her
father's would have been,' Zack mused as he ran. He was breathing deeply, and as the air coursed through his
lungs, he found himself lost in that introspective moment when the endorphins
flood the body. Some believed that in
those few minutes all of lifes questions could be answered if you were just
open to the knowledge. Zack's moment of
Zen occurred when his body shuddered and he became aware of his own
thoughts. Things were changing for
him. For the first time in years, he
found himself in the sole company of the x5 he trusted the most with his life,
despite his posturing to the contrary. Of course any x5 would lay down their life for another if it ever came
to it, but with Max it was more than that. The knowledge that she would go to hell and back or worse yet into the
belly of Manticore if it meant saving him was having an effect on him. He was beginning to consider her mere
presence his refuge from emotional isolation and with that came a freedom of
spirit he had never known
At
about eleven thirty, Max decided they should head back to their room, so she
altered their course and began to run back to Sara's. As they ran, Zack began to speed up and Max adjusted her cadence
to meet his. When she was finally back
with him, he accelerated again, and his simple run turned into an all-out
sprint. Before Max could catch up, he
turned a corner. She followed quickly
behind him and as she made the turn, a hand reached out and pulled her through
the door of an empty building. The
force alone swept her off her feet and she fell forward into the waiting arms
of the person who grabbed her. She
tumbled into the room taking her assailant with her. When the momentum of her roll was exhausted, she stopped only to
see Zack's face in the darkness.
"What
the--"
"Just
keepin' you on your toes," he said cutting her off. Max kicked out at his perched body and sent him flying
backward. He quickly flipped back up
and faced her. "So," he said circling
her, a smile cracked through his stone features. Realizing his intention, Max proceeded to mimic his movements and
began to smile slyly herself. It was
all the consent he needed.
Zack
threw the first punch, which was easily deflected by Max who in response swept
a kick past his feet to which he sidestepped. Max began to speed up as their movements turned into a ballet of flips
and throw, ducks, hooks, and a few high powered round houses for some
variation. The encounter lasted half an
hour and neither party walked away unscathed. Max ended the confrontation with a fractured finger and Zack took home a
broken nose, reset with her compliments. But, in the end, both left with a feeling of mutual admiration for the
others performance. It had been a good
day.
That
night they both slept for a few hours and spent the rest of the time waiting
for dawn in companionable silence. The
next morning they rose early and headed to pick up the bus to embark on the
last 24 hours of their journey to Jace.
***************
Seattle,
Fogle Towers Day (Logan)
"Logan
you'll only have about five minutes to get this done. I can't guarantee the security of the transmission beyond
that. Did Sebastian send the specs to
him?"
"Yeah. He was told to be ready by six."
"Well
it's about that time…shall we?"
"Start
the relay."
"Done."
"I'm
patching in now," Logan said. The
customary Eyes Only image filter appeared on one screen in front of Logan, and
moments later the black void of the adjacent screen was replaced by a
regrettably familiar figure.
"I
must admit I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon," Lydecker began.
"Barring
imminent disaster, you would not have been contacted. However, a situation has arisen which warrants your attention and
perhaps ultimately your intervention."
"I'm
listening." The straightforward
vagueness of the statement managed to both amuse and intrigue Lydecker, for the
almighty Eyes Only needed his help—again.
"It
would seem that Manticore's containment policies are not entirely effective and
your kids are now paying the price."
"Whatever
you think you've come across, my kids can handle," Lydecker replied in the
raspy voice that suggested he had smoked a lifetime of cigarettes by the age of
twenty.
"Under
normal circumstances, that may be true, but since the child rearing techniques
of Manticore have left them at times with the emotional coping capacities of
nine year olds, they may be under-prepared for this." It was an extreme statement. Actually, Manticore's progeny tended to act more like sociopaths rather
than nine year olds when emotionally cornered. Never the less, Logan's words did bring the dialogue to a head.
"Does
all of this have a point?" Deck grunted.
"Christianson,
Franklin, and Tisch." A stifling pause
fell over the screen.
"Continue,"
Lydecker replied, his voice returning more raspy than usual.
"They've
already gone after x5-452 and 599."
"With
what results?"
"That
situation is under control. However,
new elements are now coming into play." He was playing his hand as close to the table as possible. No reason to give Lydecker any more
information than necessary.
"I
assume you're referring to x5-357" Lydecker turned his head away from the camera for a moment to consider
what must have transpired if Geoffrey, Daniel, and Robert were going after Jace
instead of Max. "And, what do you want
from me?"
"I
want everything you have on them." It
was a bold request, which had a large chance of being shot down, but it was a
calculated risk.
"Logan
you have two minutes," echoed Lana's warning in his earpiece. At that prompt, he realized he needed to sweeten the pot quickly to
bring the conversation to a favorable end.
"Now
that you know they're alive, I'm sure you'll have your own search running. I propose this one time sharing of
information. You give me their files
from Manticore and I update you on their recent activities. Even with your considerable resources,
you'll still lose valuable time if you chose to go it alone. And, to make the deal more palatable to you,
…if I find them first I'll inform you of their location. It'll give you a chance to rectify the
oversight Manticore made. I really
don't care what you do with them, I just want them stopped."
"I'm
sure you realize I won't show you the same courtesy."
Logan
released a disgusted snicker. "I
figured as much. However, my offer is
still on the table. So…do we have a
deal?"
"No
doubt you have a secure FTP client program. Riviera Springs Human Resources, go to the site at exactly ten. Enter zeta_381A/7 at the prompt. You'll have three minutes to download the
information before the server access expires. It will be there by the end of the day. But, before that happens, I want what you have on them."
"They
operate under the name CFT Inc. and have extensive cash reserves which I've
been unable to trace. At first I
thought they were tapping offshore accounts but my sources have come up empty. So, if they are drawing from stateside
accounts, which I now firmly believe to be the case. That leaves only a handful of options. There are few agencies these days with slush fund accounts large
enough for withdrawals of this magnitude to go unnoticed. Actually, perhaps Manticore should run an
audit of it's own accounts. With
pockets as deep as your and your hand in nearly everything, I wouldn't be
surprised if they were using you. As
for the other part of our agreement, either an associate or myself will contact
you when a positive id has been made. You'll just have to take my word on that. Now, if you don't mind, your trace is going to locate me in
three, two." The video feed was
abruptly terminated.
__________________________
"Did
we get a location?" Lydecker growled.
"No,
we needed more time sir."
"I
want Manticore's financial records now."
______________
"How
was that?" Logan asked.
"Actually
you had about five more seconds left."
"Next
time we'll synchronize watches."
"So
now what?"
"We
wait till tonight. If he holds true to
form, he'll regard the deal as a weak move on my part, which makes me less of a
threat. From everything Max has told me
about the man, that coupled with the trustworthy reputation of Eyes Only will
make him more inclined to cooperate. He'll figure I'll hold up my end of the bargain and supply him with the
location if I come across one and I will-situation permitting of course. Providing me with the files will cover all
his bases. He probably just thinks he
can get to them before I can. Either
way he gets his men. And like I said, I
don't really care what he does with them. "
"Can
he?"
"Hopefully,
he'll be too busy checking out the money trail, that we'll be able to stay two
steps ahead. I've known Manticore was
one of their sources for a few days now. CFT's drawing from about half a dozen companies. It's actually a pretty nice set-up." Logan leaned back in his chair and smirked
in recognition of CFT's ingenuity. "Right now I'm trying to find the most recent withdrawals. It'll give me an idea of the magnitude of
their next venture. Unfortunately, now
that Lydecker knows, timing is going to be more critical than ever."
"I'll
come over tonight to help."
"That's
fine, I have some things I need to take care of in the meantime." He sighed. "Eyes Only work stops for no personal complication." A button was pressed and Lana was quickly
disconnected.
--
Logan
returned to the penthouse at two minutes to ten that night after meeting with
an informant. He rushed directly to the
computer, anxious to see if Lydecker had accepted his terms. He entered the designated site and input the
access code smiling briefly when he saw the three downloadable files waiting
for him. His fingers clacked away at
the keyboard remembering the three-minute retrieval timetable. He realized their size would seriously press
that limit.
Logan
downloaded the first file just to skim while waiting for the others to complete
the process. He found everything to be
as he expected. Christianson's file had
been riddled with relatively uneventful incidents. In truth he really only cared to fill in the wholes of Tisch's
file. He had been the one to actively
seek Zack out and his file if memory served him was heavily red-flagged. Logan needed to know what the man had done
to deserve the honor.
The
second file completed the download process and Logan moved to open and skim it
as he had done with the previous file. His eyes began to dart across the screen after he read the name on the
file narrowing his focus on the flat panel as he took in more and more
information. He only made it to the
first incident report logged in the file before his hand moved toward the
phone. He picked it up and his fingers
dialed Lana's number of their own accord. He hit the speakerphone button so he could free his hands again, but
quickly found himself having to dial a new number when the page went
unanswered. He called Original Cindy in
search of Lana only to discover she was out filling in for a bar tender at
Crash. Logan grabbed his keys and headed
out to track her down. In the course of
two minutes, Max's situation had gone from potentially threatening to extremely
dangerous.
Logan
stepped into the elevator and descended the thirty flights to the ground
floor. He stepped out and began to cross
the foyer to the glass doors of the lobby. As he approached, two men, who seemed to be on their own mission,
entered the building. Logan looked at
them momentarily as they passed. There
had been a hint of familiarity in one of their faces. It felt as though he had just passed a childhood acquaintance;
older, but incredibly familiar. He
shook it off and kept walking, but the nagging feeling of recognition caused
him to stop a few feet from the main doors. He turned once again to see if another glimpse would jog his
memory. However, instead of stealing a
glance, he found himself face to face with the two men. They had moved within inches of Logan and
one of them had his gun drawn.
"Looks
like you've saved me an elevator ride," Tisch said. Logan's eyes dropped to the gun in the other mans hand, then
quickly returned to Tisch. The futility
of the situation was overwhelming. Logan in his haste had forgotten to arm himself before he left the
penthouse. He was at the mercy of
Tisch, and, according to his file, that was a place no human being would
envy. A moment later he found himself
being ushered into a waiting SUV. His
only thoughts were that there was no way to warn Max about what kind of people
she was truly up against. At that
moment, Logan knew that unless divine intervention decided to… well--intervene,
they were all screwed.
--
El
Rosario, Mexico Morning Day 6 (Max)
At
five minutes to six the bus departed the station minus two passengers. Max and Zack left the station heading to what
seemed like the center of the town, which was so small, their presence probably
constituted a population explosion. It
couldn't have been more than seven or eight square blocks. "How do you suggest we go about this without
looking suspicious," asked Max.
"I
think through our sheer presence we've already achieved that status. This is why small towns are not good
relocation sites. Any new person is an
outsider. Why couldn't you have sent
her to L.A. or Mexico City?" She rolled
her eyes.
"Right
because that would've made our search that much easier. Count your blessings in this situation—at
least it shouldn't take long to find her."
--
Seattle
Fogle Towers 12:07 AM (Lana)
It
was after midnight when Lana opened the door to Logan's penthouse and called
out to him. She was surprised when she
received no response expecting him to have returned from his meeting
already. She reached down to check her
pager to see if he had called. It was
then she realized that she had forgotten to take it to Crash with her. Lana shrugged and headed into the computer
room to see if there was any sign that he had returned earlier.
She
sat down in her chair and moved into position. She prepared to enter her password at the prompt, but it never
came. It worried her because it was
unlike Logan to leave anything insecure. She checked the activity log to see what could have made him rush out so
quickly still hoping that he had left of his own accord.
She
found the last files that had been opened had come from the Human Resources
Site. She decided to take a look at
what Lydecker had provided. Skimming
through Christianson's file she was less than intrigued by the information. She moved on to Franklin's file and was
slightly more interested in the psychological profiling on him. But, it was Tisch's file that really grabbed
her attention. The man was absolutely
unhinged.
Geoffrey
Tisch
Donor
X-5 series
IQ-
225
Assessment:
Displays
an overdeveloped sense of self-worth, which often crosses into
megalomania. Secondary personality
disorders evident. Strong aversion to
authority.
Incident
Log:
Age-
17
August
17, 200- Created unauthorized war games scenario using Manticore personnel
An
infiltration of the facility was detected and personnel were deployed. Thirty men were positioned in the attack
co-ordinates. Location of the "enemy"
was detected
23 men downed by friendly fire
Age
19- Three-month take-over of Gillette facility—Spring '03
Age
23- Release of 3 X-2's
During
a transport of the Assistant Director, 3 X-2's were released as an apparent
warning to the Director
7 casualties including Assistant
Director, 2 X-2's put down
Termination
Log:
Scheduled
for Termination Fall '01
Termination
Cancelled-utilization of strategic knowledge
Scheduled
for Termination Fall '03
Scheduled
for Termination Winter '07
Termination
Complete December 9, 2007
The
psych enthusiast in Lana had reared its ugly head as the level of psychosis
Tisch displayed fascinated her. There
was something about his file that seemed to make the reader reach for the phone
because that was what Lana was involuntarily doing. Her fingers began to dial Cindy. She waited for the phone to ring four times before she moved to
terminate the call. Cindy's voice cut
through the silence just in time.
"Original
Cindy here"
"Hey
baby."
"Hey"
"Has
Logan called looking for me?"
"Yeah
he left you a message about an hour ago. Said he was gonna stop by Crash to see if you were there. If you weren't he was gonna head over here
to wait."
"And
he hasn't shown?"
"Nope"
"OK,
if he does show, have him give me a call."
"Aiight"
"Gotta
go, love ya" Lana pushed the off button on the phone and began to type away on
the computer. She was hacking into the
surveillance videos for Fogle Towers and any police drones in the area. She needed to find Logan and it was her best
shot.
--
6:15am
Day 6 (Max & Zack)
It
took Max and Zack only twenty minutes to locate Jace. She was found in the first restaurant they entered drinking a
glass of milk at the bar. She was
surprised to see both her brother and sister in front of her. She reached from the bar to hug both of
them. Zack was taken aback by the
contact from the sister who had stayed at Manticore a decade longer than anyone
else he knew.
Jace
looked tired so Max and Zack decided to retire back to Jace's small room before
hitting her with the news. It took them
only twenty minutes to walk the distance to her place. They made great time, as Jace was still
light on her feet despite her condition. Max had been impressed by that small fact. It gave her hope that if she became pregnant one day she wouldn't
lose all coordination.
Jace's
place was cozy. There was a bed, two
chairs, and a table. She motioned for
Max and Zack to take a seat while she got herself another glass of milk. She offered them some as well. No x5 was ever known to turn down anything
with tryptophan that didn't come in pill or needle form. She returned from the kitchen after a few
moments and set all the glasses down on the table. Zack got up and offered her the chair while he moved to the edge
of her bed.
"Not
that I'm not happy to see you two, but why are you here. I doubt it's about the birth because you
know I can handle that."
"It's
not about the baby," Zack said.
"There've
been a lot of things happening in our neck of the woods that we thought you
needed to know about." Max wasn't sure
how to proceed. "This may take some time…are you up to it?" Jace nodded so Max continued. "In short, Manticore isn't our only problem
anymore."
"What
do you mean?"
"I
mean there are some people who will stop at nothing to make certain that
Manticore meets all of its goals." Her
voice began to trail off at she took off her jacket. She was beginning to feel warm and dizzy. At first Max thought it was heat, but then
realized it was still a little too soon for that. She glanced over and saw Zack looking a bit pale himself. She turned back to Jace just as her vision
became blurry.
"They
say you shouldn't drink the water south of the border for good reason," Jace
said as she began to rise. "What they
never tell you is that the milk can be just as bad." Max looked over to Zack for some help, but it was too late for
him. He had already passed out and she
was following right behind him. Her
last thought before losing consciousness was simply 'oh, shit.'
--
7am
Day 6 (Lana)
During
the seven hours it took to break through any security measures and find the
data she was looking for, Lana had run downstairs to see if Logan's car was
still around. Much to her dismay, it
was. She became increasingly wary of
what she might find on any of the feeds.
She
returned to the computer room inside the apartment and began to view the last
two hours of footage from the many cameras around the building. She found what she dreaded on Camera Files
tape. It was shot from one of the
corners n the foyer of the building and the image was grainy, but it still told
the entire tale. The clip marked
10:47pm showed Logan in the company of two unidentifiable men. Lana rewound the tape a bit to re-watch
their entrance. The second time around
the identity of one of the men was unmistakable. It was simply an older version of the picture she had just seen
on Geoffrey Tisch's file. Lana again
headed for the phone and she dialed Cindy and Bling in rapid succession and
told them to get to the penthouse.
Any
thought after that became a blur as she tried to figure out how to handle
everything. Logan was gone and she had
no idea how to find him or contact Max. Everything was a blank except for two little words-- 'oh shit.'
--
7am
Day 6 (Logan)
Logan
woke suddenly in the back seat of an SUV. He had no idea how long he had been out or what had happened. Then, as lucid thought began to stream in,
he remembered the events of his abduction the prior evening. He touched his wrist in search of his
watch. It read a few minutes after
seven meaning he had been unconscious for nearly eight hours.
Logan
still had no idea where he was being taken, until the car slowed to a
stop. Looking out the window, his eyes
fell upon a sign. 'You are now leaving
Washington.' They rolled slowly through
the checkpoint. A few seconds later
Logan spotted another sign 'Welcome to Oregon.' The only thing he would know for sure was that they were moving
south. Everything else became a sudden
blur as he felt the needle pierce his skin. He had been drugged again. The
attempt to struggle only raised his heart rate causing the unknown substance to
rapidly course through his body. And as
the delicate pools of blue began to disappear behind their lids, the only thing
Logan could think was 'oh shit.'