Alicia and Logan jumped when they heard Lydecker yelling into the radio. They could hear everything that was being broadcasted, could even jump in and say something if they wanted, but there was no way to warn their people what was going on. They knew the trio was in the secured part of the hospital, but had one of them been hurt? There was no way to tell what was going on until they heard the radio crackle to life once more.
"All right 'Deck," a strange voice spoke up. Logan saw Alicia perk up a little like she recognized it. "Exactly who is A.D. Lydecker?" he snarled.
"What's going on there Bailey?" Lydecker yelled into the radio as he flew towards the hospital.
"One of your creations is down there!" Bailey yelled back. "Got her ID right here. The guards are missing. If I see another one of those things, they're being shot. Director's orders! Clear the building of those things immediately!"
"You will not be able to take 608 down by yourself," Lydecker insisted. Alicia could hear the frustration in his voice. He understood what they were up against. He knew that a team of norms couldn't take her down. But the norms were being stupid. They had no idea there were three of them there. They still thought it was just her.
"I got the scrambling codes!" Logan shouted, triumphant.
"Put it on the general frequency for the guards," Alicia ordered. He hesitated. They needed to warn Max. "Time to run interference," Alicia snapped. Logan did as he was told.
She wet her lips and keyed the microphone, feeling sick as she did so. After this, there wasn't going to be any doubt about her role in this. They would all know she'd betrayed everything that she had held sacred in her life. She was going to have to do it to save them. "Fast as fast can be, you'll never catch me," she sang in a mocking manner. "Didn't you figure that out from your little brother, Bailey," she continued.
Logan could see the tone of her voice didn't match her expression in the slightest. She looked like she was going to be physically ill. "He had what, twenty men with him?" She rattled some paper on the desk. "Ah, there, that's what I was looking for. Bet you're still trying to break into the elevator shaft. Too bad you're not smart enough to try and…well, you're so much better, you'll figure it out. Ta!"
There was dead silence. Had he heard her? The sudden stream of profanities confirmed that he had. Alicia could see Logan looking at her quizzically. "His brother was one of the ones sent after me when I first escaped," she said simply.
"Where are you, you bitch?" Bailey snarled. "Come on out you fucking coward! I'll show you what we can do." There were several more creative epitaphs. He was spitting with rage, and that was just how Alicia wanted him. He was going to be looking for her, and the rest of the mission could wait.
"There's another way in and out," she teased. "I'd tell you, but I know the director told you that important piece of intelligence. See you there!" She keyed off the microphone, wanting to scream. This wasn't fair. She didn't want to do this at all.
The command frequency crackled. "Dad," Cole said calmly, "can you give us a few minutes?" She could almost hear Lydecker's thoughts in the moment of silence. Was she really there? A blonde had been mentioned. They saw her clearance badge. She had to be there. Who else could it be? He knew she was listening, and whatever they tried, she would know about it. She was the best sixer there was. She knew what their strategies and contingencies were. How do you defeat yourself?
"Stand down 608," Lydecker said firmly. "You are to report to command and surrender yourself immediately." It was a voice that before she would have obeyed without question. Had she been on the edge of a cliff and ordered her to step off in that tone, training might have carried her over before her rational mind could stop her.
"Dad," Cole said again in that very calm and relaxed tone, "she's not going to listen to you, or anyone else that might have betrayed her. She knows I didn't, don't you 'Leecee? Let me talk to her alone."
Lydecker keyed off. It was just the two of them on the command frequency. "You OK little sister?" Cole asked. Alicia didn't respond. "I know you're listening," he said. "You're still there. For everything I did for you, just listen to me OK?"
Logan reached to disconnect. He didn't like the way Alicia was looking. She looked like she was really going to listen to this guy. They needed to be reconnecting with Max. They had heard gunshots. Anything could be happening, and Alicia was getting sidetracked. Before he could touch a button, she grabbed his wrist and pushed him back. Cole had risked so much to help her; she owed him this. She didn't notice Logan start recording the conversation.
"It's just us now," Cole said. "Me and you just like always. You're somewhere, moving fast, not liking where you are, or that hideous feeling of being alone. You don't have to be alone little sister. The director made a huge mistake. I know where her office is. You got that? I know where her office is."
"If she was gone, maybe Dad would take her position. We could work it. We've gotten into trickier political situations. You know how you really wanted your baby to be raised. When you found out, did you immediately think of having a little house with Zack, and baking cookies with baseball games on the weekends? Or did you think about training him like we should have been trained? I already know the answer to that, and if you're willing to be honest to yourself, you know it too. Dad didn't lie to you 'Leecee. He'd let you train the kid."
"You want him raised on the Outside? He'll always feel different. He won't be one of the crowds. Look at those X-5's. Always running, never having a home or life. They don't even know each other probably. Come home. He'll be with his own kind. He'll never be an outcast. He'll always know where he belongs."
There was a pause. "All you have to do is to tell me where to meet you," he said. "I'll go anywhere in the world, no questions asked. We'll make tonight go away. We can do it. We'll make it work. Just tell me where."
She wanted to say something. Anything. He was right. Absolutely right about everything. He knew that originally she had no intention of ever seeing Zack again when she found out about the baby. That's why Cole had sent Zack. To remind her of what her son was going to become if she didn't come home. Cole wanted Bryn out of there. What was happening to her was flat out wrong. Zack would remind Alicia of why she needed to come home, and then he could get Bryn. Cole was a better strategist than she'd ever thought. Well, he was when he could get into the minds of the people he was working on.
She jumped from the table and ran into the bathroom to throw up. It was too much. He'd risked his life for her over and over. Didn't she owe it to him to go back? They could take out the director. It would be easy enough. Everything could work. She retched again, and didn't hear the last thing he said, but Logan did.
There had been a long pause of silence. "'Leecee," Cole said softly. "Remember everything that Dana and I were. Remember that, and decide what you want. That's all I'm going to say."
At the edge of the Utah base, Cole got moving. Her silence had spoken volumes. He'd prodded her weakest spots, said everything that would remind her of why she needed to come back, and she couldn't respond. He knew full well she wasn't on base. The stupid norms were so impressed about what a pregnant girl had done to a group of them a week before, they weren't being practical. Well, they didn't know she had access to others as good as she was, so they weren't even considering the possibilities.
He was considering the possibilities. Step one had been completed. It was time for the next move, and that was going to be checkmate.