When they reached Logan's, Zack was back to his aloof soldier routine and Alex was all attitude. They entered silently, not so much as looking at each other. Logan glanced from one to the other: Zack with his level gaze, arms crossed; Alex looking anywhere except at Zack, unable to stand still. The tension was thick enough to choke on.
"Anyone want to tell me what happened?" Logan asked finally.
"No," they both answered.
Logan sighed. It was going to be a long day.
"Risky piece of business, grabbing Lydecker like that," Logan commented. Zack had, reluctantly, told him what happened, leaving out the part between him and Alex.
Zack shook his head and said with a wry smile, "That wasn't the objective. Max caught a bad case of mission creep."
"Oh, is that what they're calling it?" Alex muttered. They both looked at her curiously; she hadn't said so much as a word the whole time. That is, besides "no."
She looked defiantly back at them, but didn't say anything else. The phone rang. Logan picked it up. "Yeah?" The caller identified himself. Or herself, as the case may be. "What do you have for me?" A pause while whoever was on the other end told him what he wanted to know. "You got this how?" Another pause. "Appreciate the help."
Logan hung up and turned back to them. "Okay, the Chinese military has been trying to procure biosynthetic technology." He turned back to his laptop as he continued to talk. "Word is, the order's been filled. A deal is in the works. The operation's being run by a Major Jake Sanders, works at Fort Xavier, an abandoned base just outside of town. The guy's gone rogue, runs his outfit like his own private fiefdom."
"Where is this place, exactly?" Zack wanted to know.
"Thirteen and a half miles northwest of here," Logan answered, taking something off the printer and handing it to Zack. Alex, curious but not wanting to admit it, glanced at it.
It was a layout of the base. Zack didn't bother to say "thanks" (common courtesy, what a waste of time), just nodded and rolled it up.
Logan hesitated, then asked, "You'll look after Max, won't you?"
Alex looked at him, and almost smiled. He was obviously worried about Max, even knowing that she was a genetically-enhanced soldier. It was so sweet. Alex caught herself thinking that, maybe, she'd like to have someone care about her like that.
No. Not now. This is not the time or the place.
"It's not something anyone has to ask me to do. It's my responsibility, looking after all of them. If I had done my job, Brin wouldn't be in this jam." He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with where things were going. Alex, surprised, glanced at Zack. He sounded like he was dangerously bordering on the edge of sentimentality. Mustn't have that. Man, talk about a guy who has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
But then things took an ugly turn. "You know, you're worried about Max's safety, but the biggest threat to her safety is you. She should have gotten the hell out of Seattle a long time ago, but she stayed because of you. She ignored her training and let her judgement be clouded by feelings and emotions. And one day, they're going to get her killed."
Alex stared at him. What he just said stunned, and infuriated her, so badly that she couldn't speak. When she finally found her voice, she said, "You know, Zack, a simple 'thank you' would have been fine." They both looked at her again, but she couldn't tell what they were thinking. "Stop looking at me like that! I'm pissed off because they're not letting me come and I'm pissed because Zack's being a jerk and…" She swallowed hard, forcing herself to calm down. "Let's just say I'm pissed about a lot of things right now."
"Wait, what do you mean, they're not letting you come?" Logan asked.
"I mean Max and G. I. Joe aren't letting me come because they think it's too dangerous!" Alex spat out. She saw Logan's mouth turn up slightly at the reference to their phone conversation earlier.
"It's not safe!" Zack interjected.
Alex glowered at him. "Was anyone talking to you? No, I didn't think so."
Zack ignored this and said, "You're not coming."
"The hell I'm not!"
"Maybe Zack's right," Logan spoke up.
Alex looked at him in disbelief. "I can't believe you're siding with him!"
"FYI, it's a secure installation," Logan informed her. "As in, lots of guys with guns. They're in for the money, and they'll kill for it."
"I can handle it!"
"Why are you so determined to go?" Zack asked roughly.
"I…you need all the help you can get—"
"This is what we do. We're soldiers. Stay here." Seeing she was about to argue, he muttered a word Alex hadn't even known was in his vocabulary, a word that obviously hurt to say. "Please."
"Fine."
He looked at her, like he couldn't believe it was that easy. "What?"
"I said, fine. Strange things happen when you ask nicely."
But, of course, she had no absolutely intention of staying put. All she needed was a quick glance at the layout of the base, which she had, and a photographic memory would do the rest. Well, that and a few extras back at her apartment.
After Zack left, Alex said cheerfully, "Well, gotta go. See ya!"
"Tell me you're not going to the base."
"I'm not going to the base," Alex repeated obediently.
"Are you saying that because it's true or because I told you to?"
She just smiled secretively and winked at him.
Logan groaned. Like Big Brother's condescension wasn't bad enough.
"Alex, don't go. It's too dangerous. You don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"Au contraire, Monsieur Cale. I know exactly what I'm getting myself into."
~~~
Alex sat on her bed and just thought.
If I were Dad, and I were going to an unfamiliar base, along with two kids I had been trying to capture for ten years, what would I do? Oh, not to mention there's another X5 already there that they're trying to sell off. How would I use that to my advantage?
Then she had it. She knew what he was going to do.
"Shit."
She started searching through her closet frantically. "I know it's in here somewhere…"
~~~
Zack and Max were led to the brig, barefoot, their wrists bound, surrounded on all sides by guards with guns. They were shoved into separate cells, which were locked behind them.
"Good timing, you showing up with these two now," Sanders remarked as the locks snapped into place.
"How do you mean?" Lydecker questioned.
"Well, maybe you should see for yourself." Sanders gestured to the corner of the room behind the cells. Lydecker turned to look, putting on his glasses and squinting. Max and Zack turned to look as well.
Lying on the cot was Brin. Her once glossy, jet black hair had turned gray; her dark, lively eyes had turned a dull blue. Curled up in a fetal position, she was hooked up to an IV. As if that would help.
"Brin?" Max said softly. The girl's eyes fluttered. "Brin, it's me, Max."
"Max?" a weak voice asked. "Is it really you?"
"We're here, baby sister," Zack said, sounding almost…affectionate.
"Zack. You came for me." The utter relief and joy in her voice was heartbreaking to hear.
Max turned to Lydecker, gripping the bars so hard her knuckles turned white. "What's wrong with her?"
"It's a form of progeria, similar to Warner's Syndrome," Lydecker answered. "It's a spontaneous, rapid mutation of the genomes, expresses in the form of highly accelerated aging. Three of the X5 group developed it. She's the fourth…as far as we know." He looked meaningfully at Max, but she was still looking at Brin. He turned to Sanders. "We're going to need to ice her down, bring down her core temperature, slow down her metabolic rate."
"She gonna last long enough for me to lay her off to my clients?" Sanders wanted to know. It was a shame, really, that SOB getting his hands on one of the X5.
"Two or three days, maybe."
"All I really need is to have her breathing when the taillights disappear in the morning. But, Deck, they're not going to want to pay much for damaged goods." Goods? She was a sophisticated weapons system, not a piece of furniture.
"Dead or alive, her genetic code is worth millions. Besides, we have the other two to sell. They're the top of the X5 group."
Then Max spoke. "You know, Don, I always wondered what led you to hunt us down all these years. Thought maybe you were afraid for your dumb-ass Fed job, or some whack sense of patriotism, or professional pride because you felt like such a chump for losing us in the first place." She made no attempt to disguise her obvious contempt for him in her voice. "But now I know. You're just a bottom-feeding pimp, peddling flesh for the benjamins."
"It's a little more complicated than that." He turned to Sanders. "Permission to address your men."
They had a long night ahead of them.
~~~
A young woman attired in the standard camouflage uniform and driving a black Humvee stopped at the checkpoint. She held her ID out for the uniform on duty to see. "Lieutenant Alexia Lydecker," she said, smiling winningly at the corporal. See, even she could be charming when she wanted to.
"Any relation to Colonel Lydecker?" the young corporal inquired.
Unfortunately.
"Yes," Alex answered, struggling to keep the smile plastered on her face. "I'm his daughter."
"Well, he's a lucky man," the corporal said, smiling at her.
Alex forced herself to smile even wider and pretended to blush. Ugh, God, she couldn't keep this up for much longer.
"Um, do you know where he is?" she asked sweetly.
"I believe he and the major are in the brig." He leaned out the window to point, but he was ogling her. Alex wondered exactly which part of her he was checking out. Then she decided that she didn't really want to know. "Keep going straight, then take a left."
"All right, thanks." She waited patiently for him to raise the barrier, her fixed smile as bright and empty as a lightbulb. As soon as he was out of sight, the smile disappeared, replaced by a grimace.
Man, smile too long and your face could get stuck like that.
She shook her head and drove the truck she had hotwired down to where the corporal had directed her. Outside, it was silent, although she could hear voices inside. She turned the ignition off and opened the door. The hinges well-oiled, the door swung open smoothly and without a sound. She jumped out, moving like a cat, graceful and silent.
She crept to the window, but didn't dare to look in. She could hear her father's voice clearly. "All right, listen up. Under no circumstance is anyone to interact with the prisoners. Handling them requires special training. Which you don't have. Do not open their cell. And under no circumstances allow yourself within arm's length of them. Understood?"
Then another man's voice. "Same old Deck."
That must be the major. Only egotistical guys with too much power could sound that arrogant in three words.
Then her father's voice again. "Next time we do this, we're going to have to have more men."
A door shut, then Zack's voice. "Told you he'd double-cross us."
"Never fails to disappoint, does he?" And Max.
Alex was already slipping around the side towards the entryway.
She was just in time to see the figures of her father and a man, apparently Major Sanders, retreating. She waited about ten minutes to make sure they weren't coming back anytime soon. When no one appeared, she stood up straight and stepped out of the shadows. Her nerves were humming, the way they did right before a fight.
Chin up, shoulders back. You're a soldier, goddamnit, not Cinderella on her way to the ball! Intimidation is half the battle.
Alex grinned to herself. For a moment there, she had sounded just like her instructor. Ah, the good old days.
Well, it's now or never.
She took a deep breath and strode towards the entrance.
~~~
Someone rapped on the door. Zack looked up at the sound; neither Sanders nor Lydecker would bother knocking.
One of the soldiers opened the door, pointing a gun at the visitor, who was just out of Zack's line of view.
"Stand down, soldier!" a female voice commanded.
It couldn't be…Alex wouldn't…
But Zack knew that she would.
The soldier hesitated, but didn't lower his gun.
"I said, stand down!"
Still the gun stayed raised.
"Do you know who I am?" The soldier didn't reply. "I'm Lieutenant Alexia Lydecker."
She's just saying that to get past them…
"That means two things. One, I outrank you, Private. Two, that means Colonel Lydecker is my father. That means he's friends with your boss. So stand down!"
Slowly, reluctantly, the soldier lowered the gun and Alex stepped into view. She was wearing a camouflage uniform like the other soldiers. The three stripes identified her as a lieutenant.
"Where's your ID?" he demanded.
Alex's eyes darkened and flashed, like the sky on a stormy night. "I don't like your tone, soldier." But she got out her ID and handed it to him. The soldier looked it over for a minute, then handed it back to her and saluted.
That was when it really began to sink in.
Alexia Lydecker…
~~~
"The deal's off. Release the prisoners."
Contrary to how she felt, her voice was firm and commanding. She held her breath. Now was the moment when it was decided whether things would go according to plan or whether you were screwed.
Another of the soldiers beside ID Boy frowned. Alex saw his hand tighten on his gun. Shit. "What are you talking about?"
"The PRC tried to screw the major over."
His eyes narrowed and his grip got a little tighter. "What do you mean?"
"What do you mean, what do I mean?" she shot back. "Do you want to question Major Sanders?"
His hold loosened.
Point taken, I guess.
She nodded toward the cells. "Release them."
The soldier shook his head. "We're under orders not to open the cell."
Alex smiled wryly. "Let me guess. My father gave you those orders."
The soldier nodded.
"Well, look at it this way…" she paused and examined the emblem on his uniform, "Corporal Davis. If anything goes wrong, blame me." Seeing him hesitate, she added, "Don't make me go into that whole thing about how I outrank you and shit. I really don't feel like giving that lecture again."
Alex could almost see him considering. If she was lying and they let them go, they would be in deep shit. If she was telling the truth and they didn't let them go, they would still be in deep shit. The major's temper was known to be erratic. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation. Besides, if she was Lydecker's daughter, and she had the ID to prove it, they could just turn around and blame it on him. And she did outrank them.
"All right," he said finally. He nodded to the others. "Open the cells." One of the soldiers started to protest. "I said, open them!"
Alex held her hand up. "I'll handle this." She walked up to the soldier in question. Then, without warning, she grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed on the floor with a thump. She dusted her hands off and looked around. "Any more objections?" She looked at Corporal Davis and shrugged apologetically. "Less than professional, but it works."
He was looking at her with something akin to lust in his eyes. "Hey, if you're not busy tomorrow night…"
Alex was having a hard time masking her feelings, which were bordering somewhere between incredulity and disgust.
No way. Don't tell me there really are guys who go for women in power. Or if there are, great, but why does this guy have to be one of them? Why?
She managed a feeble smile and answered, "Sorry, my dad frowns on dating other officers."
She walked up to Zack as one of the soldiers unlocked his cell.
"You gonna play nice?"
He stared at her, his face unreadable. Finally, he answered, "We'll see."
She shrugged. "Close enough." She turned to Max. "And you?"
"Oh, I'll be a good girl. Promise."
"Good. Because if you don't," she pulled out a Taser from her holster, "you get the treatment. Got it?"
"Got it," Max muttered as she stepped out of her cell.
Alex glanced at the girl on the cot. "What about you? Can you walk?"
The girl nodded weakly.
"My ass." She looked at Max. "Help her."
When everyone was ready, she nodded to Zack. "Move it." He glared at her, but obeyed. Alex couldn't tell if his anger was real or if he was pretending. She hoped he was pretending.
As soon as they were outside, Alex turned to them. "Well, this is the end of the line." She tried to smile, but her heart was beating too rapidly.
"We'll take Don's ride," Max said brusquely, helping the sick girl, Brin, into the backseat. As she walked around to the front, she asked, "So, where'd you get the Taser from?"
Alex shrugged. "It came with the truck."
Max nodded and climbed into the NTV, allowing her and Zack some privacy.
Alex faced him, scared of what was coming next but determined not to run away. Zack looked at her, anger showing in his eyes. So he hadn't been pretending. "What the hell were you doing? You compromised—"
"Zack. Shut up." She smiled unhappily and kissed him. She tried to express all her feelings, all her emotions, into that kiss. She just hoped he understood. She wasn't looking forward to what she had to do.
She broke away and looked down, unable to meet his intense gaze, ashamed of who and what she was.
"Alex Lydecker." He shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Not 'us'. 'Me'.
She looked up. The anger had drained away from his face, leaving only frustration and regret. "I couldn't tell you. You hate Lydecker. How was I supposed to tell you he was my father?" Her voice broke on the word. "Would you still have trusted me then?"
He didn't answer.
"Just leave, Zack."
"What about you?"
"What about me?" Alex smiled, and it was bitter. "Zack, haven't you learned? I can take care of myself."
~~~
The brig was empty. All the soldiers had left. Major Sanders was missing, dead most likely. Alex turned around when she heard someone enter.
"Hello, Dad."
"You didn't do as well as I'd hoped."
"I know."
I love you, Zack.
~*~
The Beginning