Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or it's characters.
Copyright: I own Viper so please ask me if you wish to use him.
Escape
Viper carried Max to his room and sat her down on his bed. As he did he noticed that he was covered in blood, her blood. Thankfully though she had stopped bleeding but he knew that he needed to clean the cuts in her body or they would become infected and even she would die then.
He walked off into his bathroom and looked around. He opened the medicine chest and found what he was looking for. He pulled out the bottle of rubbing alcohol and grabbed himself some soft cloth that he had in his room for his own cuts when he received them from training.
Viper didn't trust the Director's doctors to clean and fix his own wounds and he wouldn't trust them with Max's either. Max was too expendable now that they had the X-7's and Viper didn't care what the Director said the Director felt that Max was expendable or else she wouldn't have just tried to kill her off with torture.
Viper pulled up a chair to the edge of the bed and looked down at Max who lay with curled up with her head cradled in her arms and her knees pulled up to her elbows. He thought that she looked so fragile there and so peaceful and he knew that she was anything but those things.
There could be no peace for her while she was a prisoner and as far as fragile he knew better than that. She was extremely tough as she had proven time and time again by getting away when they thought that they had her captured. She was an amazing woman he knew and he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He felt that she needed to have her life back and he would do what was necessary for her to have it.
He didn't want to disturb her peace but he knew that he had to. It was the only peace that she had he knew but if he didn't clean the cuts now they would start to get infected and he wouldn't allow that to happen to her. He grabbed a small bowl and dumped the alcohol into it. He then placed the cloth into the bowl and let it soak while he went and found another bowl and some other cloth. He filled this new bowl with water and soaked the new cloth in that bowl then as he took up the cloth soaked in alcohol.
Viper took a breath and then rubbed the first cut he came to. As the cloth touched Max's skin where the cut was her eyes snapped open and she went to cry out but then bit her tongue so as not to. She looked around quickly to see where she was as it dawned on her that she was no longer being tortured. She saw that she was in a room somewhere and someone was tending her wounds. She looked over to see who it was and was shocked to find that it was Viper. He was being so gentle it was hard to believe that the hands that he was using to clean her cuts were the same hands that could crack a human skull with little effort at all.
Viper noticed that she was looking at him and he smiled at her to reassure her that she was all right now. "You are fine now Max," he said gently as he wiped another cut and his cloth came away with blood on it.
Max looked at him and frowned for he was covered in blood. He was helping her which she knew was going to cost him later and it seemed as if he didn't even care. She wondered how she had gotten to where she was and who had made them stop with their torture of her. She doubted that it had been Viper though it would be a good thought to have if it was.
"How did I get here and who made them stop with the torture," Max asked in a voice she could hardly recognize as hers it was rough from screaming.
"You got here because I carried you and that is why I am so bloody. As to who made them stop that was me as well Max. I won't abide the torture of you for any reason especially the one that they gave me," Viper said vehemently.
Max was taken aback by that statement. She wondered what reason they had given and she was starting to wonder why he was helping her out so much. He had no reason to and the more he helped her the more he ran the risk of being killed outright for disobeying orders. She was truly touched that he had helped her though and so said quietly, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Viper said and looked up at her in concern as she inhaled sharply as he cleaned yet another cut. This one on her thigh.
"What is wrong," he asked with true concern in his voice. He hoped that nothing was wrong with her that he couldn't fix because that would mean that she had to go to the doctors.
"Nothing is wrong it is just that it burns," she said hoping that she didn't sound like too big of a wimp.
"Oh it is supposed to burn that way you know that it is cleaning," Viper said the relief evident in his voice.
"God it hurts though," Max said through clenched teeth.
"I know I have had to do this to myself many times. You aren't the first one to be tortured like that and you won't be the last. All I can promise is that it will be the last time for you," Viper said.
"Oh and why is that," she asked slyly with a twinkle in her eye as Viper stopped his ministrations.
"Because I won't let it happen to you again," he said matter of factly and the tone of his voice was enough to send a shiver down even her spine.
"Now lay here and rest. You will need a couple of days to heal and then you and I will do something. In the meantime I have things I need to do and don't worry about any of them coming here after you. They know that if they touch you then they will die I made that clear," Viper said as he stood up abruptly.
"Where are you going," Max asked, suddenly not wanting to be alone.
"No where important. I will be back shortly I promise," Viper said softly and then he walked out. Max couldn't believe the man! He was a bit different that was for sure. She was glad though that he had helped her even though she felt that he had cost himself something that was important to him.
She laid her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes knowing that he was right. She needed to rest and if she did then her body would heal all the faster. She hoped it took only a couple of days since she hated being laid up for long. As sleep claimed her the last thoughts were of Viper.
* * * * *
In the four days since the torture Max had been healing good. She was up and around and was really wanting to leave the room and do something anything! She was pacing back and forth when Viper walked into the room with a bundle thrown over his shoulder.
"What is that," she asked as he sat it down gently as if whatever was in it was breakable.
"This," he said as he opened the top of the bag and a child stood up that Max remembered only too well. The eyes and the face that looked back at her were her own. They belonged to the girl who had shot Max and nearly killed her. They belonged to the girl who had cost Zack his life.
"Why is she here," Max demanded harshly. More harshly than she had intended.
"Because she is the one who told me what they were doing to you. She is also the one who felt bad about what she had done to you and she is the one who feels that you are like a sister in a way to her," Viper said gently.
"What do you mean," Max demanded.
"Just what I said is what I mean. She is sorry for what she did and she wishes to leave this place just like you did all those years ago. I promised to take her with me when I left. I am leaving today in a few minutes Max," Viper said.
"What," Max stammered out not quite understanding what Viper had just said.
"I am leaving and you are both coming with me. I keep my promises," Viper said as he reached into the bundle and pulled out two swords and put them on so that they made on X on his back. Next he pulled out of the sack that the little Max had been in a bandolier of knives which he strapped onto his chest. He put a knife in each boot and then a throwing star on each forearm.
"Oh by the way Max this is Ariel and Ariel this is Max," Viper said making the introductions.
"Nice to meet you," Ariel said in a tone of voice that was cultivated to give nothing away. Not to let her feelings show though it was easy to tell at least to Max that she was trying to be more like a normal person. Max admired the girl for standing up to the Director and telling Viper where she had been. In fact Max probably owed the girl her life.
"Nice to meet you as well. I thank you for telling Viper where I was," Max said as the girl stood shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
"What is it," Max asked frowning.
"Just do it," Viper said from where he was standing watching the two of them.
"Do what," max asked again. At that time the girl rushed forward and before Max could act the girl Ariel threw her arms around Max in a hug. "What's this."
"I . . . I just felt that it was right," Ariel said as she pulled away then and Max saw Viper smiling slightly.
"Let's go," he said then.
"What about weapons for us," Max said as she indicated herself and Ariel.
"Don't worry you will get them soon enough," he said as he turned to the door.
He opened the door and stepped out not caring who saw him. He was Viper and that should be enough for most of them. He hoped that the Director didn't suspect what he was up to though or else he was going to have quite the time of freeing them. He motioned for them to follow him and they started down the hall. As they rounded the corner though he saw that the corridor was packed with men in uniform with their guns aimed at them.
* * * * *
The Director was pacing back and forth in her room. She hated not knowing things and she hated Viper even more for making her not knowing what was going on. It had been four days since he had taken Max and in that time she hadn't been told one thing about the girl. She wanted to know if she had died if she had lived or what the hell the deal was.
She saw her reflection in the mirror and glared at it. She hated Viper more than anything! Damn him for being the way that he was. She should have killed him when she had the chance but she hadn't and that had been one of her biggest mistakes. She wouldn't make that mistake again though.
She knew that max was alive even without the intellect to tell her that. She knew that he had cared for her like she was the love of his life or some such. She also knew that she could wound him if she took Max. She knew many things and the least of which was that he was going to try and break Max and the younger Max, Ariel, out. Of course he would fail but it would be fun to watch him try to get out.
She would lose some men but that was their job. They were supposed to give their lives for her at a whim if she so chose and well she was choosing now. She had sent some men to guard the only way out from Viper's room after he had retrieved the girl Ariel from the X-7 quarters.
She had to admit that he was good though because he had almost got her without being detected. Almost though didn't count and he had been seen. He was now nothing more than another pawn in the game and he didn't even know it. She smiled then because she had never lost a game of chess in her life. She wouldn't lose this one either. Of no Viper was going to die today for she had armed the X-7's with guns and told them that they were now allowed to shot him on sight. The rules were revoked and if they killed him then they were allowed to have their freedom to a certain extent.
She smiled broadly then for she knew that it was just a matter of time. He was dead and she would be happy because she would have not one but two X-5's for herself then. The fully grown product which was near perfect. Yes it was going to be a good day after all even though it had started off bad with her having to torture one of her guardsmen to death. At least she had gotten some enjoyment out of his screams for mercy. He had deserved what he had gotten though for he had attempted to rape one of the women that the Director was training for a special mission. She felt that she had given justice while still getting her own enjoyment. She wondered at that moment how Viper was faring.
* * * * *
"Get back," he yelled as he shoved the Max and Ariel back around the corner. He leapt back just as bullets came flying down the corridor at him. He had just gotten back around the corner in time to miss getting hit. He growled deep in his throat and his eyes seemed to glow Max noted. Had it not been for everything that had been done to him he would have been dead for no human had reflexes like his.
"Damn the Director guessed what I was doing. Now I have to kill these men in order to get us out of here," He growled. He looked over to Max then to make sure that she was holding up. He didn't want her cuts to reopen even though they were mostly healed. It would be worse that way if they did reopen for they wouldn't stop bleeding and that would leave a trail for their enemies to follow right to them.
"What are we going to do," Max asked him already knowing the answer and she had prepared herself. She had been flexing her muscles and stretching without Viper noticing.
"Now I go kill them while the two of you wait here," he said as he as he stood up.
"What do you mean," Max demanded as she stood up and glared at him with those beautiful eyes. She put her hands on her hips and he thought that she had never been more beautiful. He didn't want anything to happen to her to mar that beauty. She had that look that could almost make him like normal men and want her. Almost.
"I mean that I won't put you in danger unless there is no other way. First of all I am better at this than either of you and second they fear me which is to my advantage," Viper explained.
Max hated it but she knew that he was right. Man she didn't want him to do this but she knew that he had to. She also knew that he was telling the truth when he had said that he didn't want anything to happen to her. She loved him for that but she also loved Logan and she wouldn't betray him in any way. "Alright then," she said and gave him a small smile.
That smile made his heart warm. With her dark skin and her eyes that held such a sultry look to go along with that smile she was like a goddess. He had never seen a woman so beautiful and he felt that he could die happy of course he had no intention of dying at all. That would bring too much pleasure to the Director.
He cracked his neck and then charged around the corner as he drew two knives from his bandolier. He threw the two knives and they embedded themselves in the throats of two men. Even as those were in flight though he had pulled another two and thrown them. He was moving with such speed that he was like a blur to the men who were hoping to kill him.
Four of them fell in the blink of a eye and then there was a demon among them with flashing swords that trailed blood as they sliced into men's arms and legs. There were six men left when Viper was among them. He sliced left and a man fell with his throat sliced and then one fell to his right as he ran him through the chest with his blade.
The remaining four pulled their guns onto him but before any of them could shoot he had stepped in close to two men and he punched one in the face and stabbed the other in the leg. As the one man fell back clutching his broken nose Viper threw his sword overhand and the sword took the man in the chest. Viper turned to the one who was holding his wounded leg and he came in fast. Viper stuck the man in the stomach and yanked the man's gun from his limp fingers. Viper turned in time to see the other two men shoot at him. Viper spun to the side and only got hit once in the shoulder which didn't stop him from firing two shots each hitting a man in the head. As those two men fell Viper reached over and tore his sword from the man who was still standing next to him holding his stomach where the sword had been lodged.
"Finish me fast please," the man mumbled as blood trailed from his mouth.
"Alright," Viper said as he reached up and jerked the man's head to the side breaking his neck and killing the man instantly.
He looked around at the carnage he had wrought and shook his head. What a waste he thought. They may have had families but he doubted it. Part of the requirement was that you couldn't have a wife or kids if you wanted to work for the Director. She didn't like family interfering with her men.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to the dead men hoping that it would bring them peace in the after life.
"I see that you are truly as good as they say," Ariel said as she and Max came up to him. In truth Max couldn't believe what she was looking at. She wasn't sure but she thought that she would have lost. Viper though had killed ten men and had only been slightly wounded in the effort.
"Let's go," he said as he pulled two knives free of the dead men. He didn't wipe them off he just sheathed them which meant to Max that he was expecting to need them again. She noticed to that he had left two knives for some reason. She reached down then and picked up a .45 and two clips to go with it. She didn't need one of the rifle's but that is what Ariel picked up. She felt more comfortable with one in her hands than with a pistol.
Viper led them down the halls and though other rooms that neither Max nor Ariel had ever been to. "Where are we going," Max asked finally after they had passed through what was a trophy room with animal heads all over in it.
"We are getting out of here and I am hoping to not meet any more men," Viper said as he led them outside for the first time.
Max couldn't believe she was outside. She loved the smell of the fresh air along with the smell of rain on the way and the sounds of the wildlife that lived near the compound. She looked around and reveled in the sunlight shining down on her face. She turned to it and closed her eyes and just let the outdoors engulf her.
"This is lovely," Ariel said. She had never been allowed to enjoy anything like the outdoors. There had always been drills to be done or other such things. There had always been a leader there that she had to obey and they had never allowed her to enjoy anything.
"Viper what do you think of this," Max breathed as she smiled over at him. She looked at him and frowned. He was holding his side but she didn't remember anyone shooting at them. "What is it."
"Nothing I am fine. We need to get moving. We have about six hundred yards to go before we make it to the trees and once there we will be safe," Viper said as he pushed himself away from the wall. Max noticed though that when he moved his hand away from his side it was covered in blood. She figured that he had stopped a trap so that it hadn't done anything to her or Ariel.
They headed across the open ground and after no more than a hundred yards they heard gunfire and bullets started to tear into the ground all around them. They turned around and saw the X-7 kids running after them and they were gaining. "Stop or you all die right now," one of the boys yelled as he pulled up and aimed right at Max.
"Stop," Viper instructed them.
"Let us go for the rules still stand," Viper yelled back.
"No I can't allow it," the boy yelled back.
"Go and don't look back Max, Ariel. This is the only chance you are going to get," he whispered to them.
"No," Max said right back.
"Just do it or we all die. At least let me die for a reason," Viper said to her with pleading in his eyes.
"Let's go Max," Ariel said. "Give us the word and we will run."
"Go now," Viper said as he charged the X-7 group. The X-7's shot but only two of them did and Viper stepped into the line of fire so that he took the bullets in the arm. Max and Ariel made it to the trees and they didn't look back.
The X-7's turned and walked back into the building and as they entered it a few men came out wearing their uniforms. They came towards Viper and had their guns trained on him.
Max and Ariel watched from the safety of the trees. They saw that Viper stood up slowly and looked at the approaching men. Max frowned though and asked Ariel, "Why did the X-7's leave him be."
"Because we respect him more than anyone. You see to them the rules still stood no matter what they had been told. My guess is that the Director had told them to kill him on sight but they couldn't do it because they respected him too much. They had shot him and that had cheapened the win that they would have gotten had they stood there and fought him," Ariel explained to Max who nodded her understanding.
Viper looked at the men and growled, "What do you want with me."
"Well I want your death you insolent fop," came a woman's voice from behind the men in front of Viper. He knew the voice for it belonged to the Director.
"Too bad I don't die easily," Viper hissed just like his namesake.
"I know," she yelled at him from the safety of her shield of human flesh.
No matter what she did she couldn't get Viper to die. She had sent the X-7's after him and they had turned their backs on her! They hadn't followed the order she had given them! They had shot him and then left him there. Damn she wished that he would just die and make her life easier though she needed some information first.
"Where are the girls," she asked a bit more calmly.
"I don't know. My guess is that they are at least a mile from here by now," Viper said as he smiled at her.
"Damn you," The Director yelled as she slapped him in the face. She turned on her heel then and knew that he wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know. She walked back to the building. As she was walking away though she heard something that sent a shiver down her spine.
As the Director walked away Viper leaped to his feet and stabbed the two closest men with the knives from his boots. There were only five men left then. Viper kicked out and caught one man in the knee and it shattered. The man fell to the ground screaming in pain. Another man shot his gun and the bullet tore into Viper's side as he spun away. He yanked two knives free and threw them. They caught two men one in the eye and the other in the heart. But as the men fell they pulled the triggers on their guns and the bullets tore through the air. Viper took five more hits two in his left arm and two in one of his legs. The last bullet caught him high in the chest missing anything vital.
Now there were only two men and Viper growled at them. The men were so scared that the front of their pants were wet. Viper launched himself through the air and he got hit in the shoulder again as he grabbed one man by the throat and tore it out as the man looked at him with terror in his eyes. The last man dropped his gun in fear and ran. He didn't get very far though as Viper caught up to him. "You die now for serving a evil bitch," Viper hissed at the man as he snapped the man's neck.
"Oh God," the Director said as she put her hand to her mouth. She had watched Viper kill another group of men with ease. He as bleeding from so many wounds that anyone else would have been dead but he was still standing. He turned slowly to her and started towards her.
He stopped about fifteen feet from her and said coldly, "You have this one chance to change. If I have to come back here then I will kill even you. The first woman I will have ever hurt will be you."
She knew that he was telling the truth but she still hated him. She nodded her head though and said, "I will change I will." She didn't want to die so she would say anything that she needed to.
"Good," Viper said as he turned and limped towards the forest. The Director ran into the building and was hoping to get some more men but she couldn't find any. She guessed that they were all too scared of him.
Viper was nearing the edge of the woods. He was about fifteen yards from the forest when a gun fired and the sound echoed. Viper's eyes grew wide as he pitched forward. Max couldn't believe it. She looked and saw that the man who had shot was the man with the broken leg. She pointed and Ariel nodded. She pulled down on the man with her gun and fired. The man stiffened and he didn't move again. Normally a gun wasn't accurate at seven hundred yards but they were specially made guns so that they were accurate up to nine hundred yards.
Max ran out and grabbed Viper and pulled him back into the trees. She carried him for awhile and then sat him down. She looked at him and he was barely breathing. His eyes fluttered open and he said, "Just go and leave me here. It is the only way that you will survive."