Kyle now sat across from Carly and I, a washcloth wrapped around his bloody nose. He was in the forest green chair that I had trapped Carly in only minutes before. Her coat still hung, wrinkled now, over the back.
Carly and I were seated on her loveseat opposite of Kyle, so that we directly faced him. She, feeling that I was safe with her, let her hand rest on my knee. For once I didn't brush it away; I needed human support. It was another weakness I hated to admit-needing somebody.
She refused to look at Kyle, unlike I did, for something on the carpeting proved to be far more interesting than looking at him. I, though, glared at Kyle, not looking away under his defiant smirk.
"Where should I begin, Zack? Can I call you 'Zack'? I'm sure the identity of X5-599 wore off eleven years ago," Kyle said to me. I bit down hard enough on my jaw to make my teeth ache from the pressure. Saying nothing, I simply continued to glare at him. "Well," Kyle began again with a heavy sigh and removed the washcloth around his nose. He paused, dabbing at his nose to check for fresh blood, but found none. Slowly, he rose to his feet, saying that he would clean the washcloth.
"I'll get it," Carly told him, rising to her feet. Without looking at him, she gingerly took the bloody washcloth and began to rinse it off in the sink. Rinse it for longer than it needed to be.
"I've surprised we've met up again," Kyle told me as he flexed his fingers and leaned back in chair. He acted like this was some sort of happy family occasion, the antithesis of what it really was. "I was pretty sure you didn't make it out during the escape. Either that or got yourself killed out in this place," he said, motioning his hand around, referring to the world in general. "You always were too headstrong, but it's good to see you nonetheless."
"You act like this is some kind of goddamn reunion!" I snapped, ready to kill him at any moment. Curiosity on my part was the only thing keeping him alive. "I don't even know who the hell you are. 'Kyle'." I snorted. "How does that tie you in with Manticore? With me? With everything?"
"I worked in the DNA lab."
"Oh really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in mock interest. "So did a lot of other filthy bastards."
"Lydecker and I were very close."
"Congratulations."
"You don't get it, do you?" he sneered. "You just don't understand what this is all about."
"Then what is it all about?" Carly, by this time, had regained her seat beside me, still objecting to look at Kyle. Not that I blamed her any, of course, it wasn't her battle.
"I left Manticore shortly after the escape. Place was goin' down…doesn't matter that it was able to rebuild itself now…no concern of mine, though.
"Anyhow, I moved away. To here, Canada, and built a life for myself, forgetting Manticore completely.
"Then Brin…isn't that it?…shows up at the bar. Well," he laughed slightly, "seeing you guys fight brought it all back. And it's not like I, who worked with you kids, can ignore something like that." And with a nod at Carly, he said, "So, I get her name and address, knowing that you don't have a home, and follow you both here-"
"And so you're just another one of Lydecker's henchmen?" I interrupted.
Kyle laughed hoarsely, sitting up a little bit straighter. "Not quite…"
"Then what are you?"
"Consider me a Y chromosome donor-"
"Cut the b.s. and get to the point."
"Your Y chromosome donor…Your father, Zack."