"Ire?" Max asked, bewildered.
Ire only nodded.
"How - how did you find me?"
"I followed some annoying guy with glasses-"
"Normal."
"Didn't seem like it. Anyway, I followed him and ended up where you work, but Original Cindy said that you were here. I had to show her some proof, but after I did, she let me know. Here I am." Ire said.
"Wow...you're soaked."
"It's raining outside. Did you not notice the rain?"
"Ha ha." Max said sarcastically. "Well, come in."
Ire smiled weakly and walked into the penthouse.
"I'm a little too soggy to be inside I think."
"Don't be stupid." Max said. "Logan has a mop."
"Is it a solid gold mop?"
"You would think, wouldn't you?"
Ire just followed Max through the penthouse and into a room where a man sat in front of a computer.
"Ahem."
He turned around and Ire could tell he was surprised by the sight of her.
"Logan," Max said. "I would like you to meet Ire. Ire, this is Logan."
"Hi." Ire said quietly.
Logan just nodded in reply to Ire, then looked at Max.
"She doesn't look that aggressive to me." Logan said, looking at Ire.
"Get her mad and see what happens." Max told him.
"From your stories, I'd rather not." Logan laughed lightly.
"Uh, Max?"
"Hmmmm?"
"They found me and I think they're closing in on you." Ire said gravely.
"What? How did they find you? I thought you were in Canada." Max said.
"They found me. I ran and ran for days until I finally got into a forest." Ire said. "That's when they let loose the X7s and the dogs. They tracked me for a long way, but the dogs lost me. The X7s on the other hand, they were always just a few paces behind me, that is until the river."
"The river?" Max asked.
"It was a calm one. I dove in and swam until I couldn't swim anymore. I ended up in Seattle eventually and here I am now." Ire said.
"Wow. So, Manticore found you in Canada?" Max asked.
"Yeah." Ire said simply.
"But, I mean, who's running it? Renfro..."
"I know." Ire said. She had been trying to forget that moment, but it was something that she couldn't and she wasn't really sure that she wanted to forget. All she knew was that she was trying.
"So, someone, but we don't know who, is running Manticore and coming after us?" Max asked.
"That's basically it." Ire said.
"But why would they all of a sudden want to find us? I mean, they'd backed off lately, so why now?" Max wondered.
"I don't know. If we could get into Manticore files, I'm sure we'd be able to find who's running everything." Ire said.
Max turned to Logan with a smile.
"Right. I'll get right on that." Logan said and turned back to the computer.
"I think there's some clothes of mine here still, want them?" Max asked Ire. "You look...wet."
"Oh I would do anything for dry clothes."
"Aiight, follow me." Max said, then left the room, with Ire following.
Max walked into a room, leaving Ire in the living room. Ire looked around the room and felt uncomfortable. This place was too...fancy for her, she liked it simple. It's much easier to leave in a hurry if it's simple.
Max came out of the room with a pair of gray sweatpants and a white tank top.
"You can put these on 'til your clothes dry." Max said and handed the clothes to Ire.
"Thank you, thank you." Ire said and went to change.
Ire got changed, then gave her clothes to Max, then Max went to dry them. Ire walked into the computer room and watched as Logan pulled up different Manticore files.
"Okay," Max said as she came into the room. "Ire, your clothes are drying. Logan, what ya got?"
"I'm looking at some potential files and scanning the notes on former heads of Manticore." Logan said. "All the notes seem to be the same. See, right now I'm looking at Lydecker's file."
Max moved over to the computer and read Lydecker's file. After she was done, Ire read it too.
"There's a mistake on it." Max said after Ire had finished. "It says Lydecker is deceased, but he isn't. I mean, he left that forest alive."
"Well..." Ire let her voice trail.
"What? Do you know something?" Max asked.
"Well..." Ire took a breath. "That isn't a mistake. While you were in there, before we left, before we even met, everyone was called out into the yard. After a few minutes, Renfro came out into the yard with a gun and faced us all. She gave us a lecture about being loyal to Manticore, then she said she had a demonstration of what happened if we strayed. Four guards came out of a side door, dragging a man in chains with them. They threw him down on his knees in front of Renfro and she told him to state his name. He did. Donald Lydecker. Then, Renfro whispered something in his ear and...and shot him."
Neither Max nor Logan knew what to say. Ire thought she could probably cut through the silence with a knife.
"Well..." Logan said. "Now...now we should look at Renfro's files."
Logan turned back to the computer and pulled up her files. Ire and Max both turned away when they read:
Deceased.
Cause Of Death: Executed by rogue XS-618.
Neither of them wanted to relieve that moment. Logan could sense something was wrong with them, so he pulled up the next file.
"This guy is the first possibility." Logan said and pulled up Gregory Silt's file.
"It can't be." Ire said. "He's dead."
Logan pulled up more and more files, each being rejected by Ire. Peter Lasko had been discharged, John Myers was off on injury leave, Harold Lector was in Europe on Manticore business for a year, Kevin Johnson was dead, and Karen Distroph was MIA.
"Last one." Logan said and pulled up the file of Wye White. Logan looked up at Ire, waiting for her to reject it, but she just stared at the photo.
"It's him." Ire said, still looking intently at the picture.
"How do you know?" Max asked.
"He's the only real choice." Ire said, still burning the photo into her memory for later use. "The others aren't it, so it must be him. It's logic."
They all stood in silence, each of them hoping for any little disturbance. The dryer buzzed, signaling that Ire's clothes were dry.
"I'll get them." Ire mumbled and left the room.
"So, do you really think it's him?" Logan asked.
"Yeah," Max said. "But I think there's something that she isn't telling us."
Ire only nodded.
"How - how did you find me?"
"I followed some annoying guy with glasses-"
"Normal."
"Didn't seem like it. Anyway, I followed him and ended up where you work, but Original Cindy said that you were here. I had to show her some proof, but after I did, she let me know. Here I am." Ire said.
"Wow...you're soaked."
"It's raining outside. Did you not notice the rain?"
"Ha ha." Max said sarcastically. "Well, come in."
Ire smiled weakly and walked into the penthouse.
"I'm a little too soggy to be inside I think."
"Don't be stupid." Max said. "Logan has a mop."
"Is it a solid gold mop?"
"You would think, wouldn't you?"
Ire just followed Max through the penthouse and into a room where a man sat in front of a computer.
"Ahem."
He turned around and Ire could tell he was surprised by the sight of her.
"Logan," Max said. "I would like you to meet Ire. Ire, this is Logan."
"Hi." Ire said quietly.
Logan just nodded in reply to Ire, then looked at Max.
"She doesn't look that aggressive to me." Logan said, looking at Ire.
"Get her mad and see what happens." Max told him.
"From your stories, I'd rather not." Logan laughed lightly.
"Uh, Max?"
"Hmmmm?"
"They found me and I think they're closing in on you." Ire said gravely.
"What? How did they find you? I thought you were in Canada." Max said.
"They found me. I ran and ran for days until I finally got into a forest." Ire said. "That's when they let loose the X7s and the dogs. They tracked me for a long way, but the dogs lost me. The X7s on the other hand, they were always just a few paces behind me, that is until the river."
"The river?" Max asked.
"It was a calm one. I dove in and swam until I couldn't swim anymore. I ended up in Seattle eventually and here I am now." Ire said.
"Wow. So, Manticore found you in Canada?" Max asked.
"Yeah." Ire said simply.
"But, I mean, who's running it? Renfro..."
"I know." Ire said. She had been trying to forget that moment, but it was something that she couldn't and she wasn't really sure that she wanted to forget. All she knew was that she was trying.
"So, someone, but we don't know who, is running Manticore and coming after us?" Max asked.
"That's basically it." Ire said.
"But why would they all of a sudden want to find us? I mean, they'd backed off lately, so why now?" Max wondered.
"I don't know. If we could get into Manticore files, I'm sure we'd be able to find who's running everything." Ire said.
Max turned to Logan with a smile.
"Right. I'll get right on that." Logan said and turned back to the computer.
"I think there's some clothes of mine here still, want them?" Max asked Ire. "You look...wet."
"Oh I would do anything for dry clothes."
"Aiight, follow me." Max said, then left the room, with Ire following.
Max walked into a room, leaving Ire in the living room. Ire looked around the room and felt uncomfortable. This place was too...fancy for her, she liked it simple. It's much easier to leave in a hurry if it's simple.
Max came out of the room with a pair of gray sweatpants and a white tank top.
"You can put these on 'til your clothes dry." Max said and handed the clothes to Ire.
"Thank you, thank you." Ire said and went to change.
Ire got changed, then gave her clothes to Max, then Max went to dry them. Ire walked into the computer room and watched as Logan pulled up different Manticore files.
"Okay," Max said as she came into the room. "Ire, your clothes are drying. Logan, what ya got?"
"I'm looking at some potential files and scanning the notes on former heads of Manticore." Logan said. "All the notes seem to be the same. See, right now I'm looking at Lydecker's file."
Max moved over to the computer and read Lydecker's file. After she was done, Ire read it too.
"There's a mistake on it." Max said after Ire had finished. "It says Lydecker is deceased, but he isn't. I mean, he left that forest alive."
"Well..." Ire let her voice trail.
"What? Do you know something?" Max asked.
"Well..." Ire took a breath. "That isn't a mistake. While you were in there, before we left, before we even met, everyone was called out into the yard. After a few minutes, Renfro came out into the yard with a gun and faced us all. She gave us a lecture about being loyal to Manticore, then she said she had a demonstration of what happened if we strayed. Four guards came out of a side door, dragging a man in chains with them. They threw him down on his knees in front of Renfro and she told him to state his name. He did. Donald Lydecker. Then, Renfro whispered something in his ear and...and shot him."
Neither Max nor Logan knew what to say. Ire thought she could probably cut through the silence with a knife.
"Well..." Logan said. "Now...now we should look at Renfro's files."
Logan turned back to the computer and pulled up her files. Ire and Max both turned away when they read:
Deceased.
Cause Of Death: Executed by rogue XS-618.
Neither of them wanted to relieve that moment. Logan could sense something was wrong with them, so he pulled up the next file.
"This guy is the first possibility." Logan said and pulled up Gregory Silt's file.
"It can't be." Ire said. "He's dead."
Logan pulled up more and more files, each being rejected by Ire. Peter Lasko had been discharged, John Myers was off on injury leave, Harold Lector was in Europe on Manticore business for a year, Kevin Johnson was dead, and Karen Distroph was MIA.
"Last one." Logan said and pulled up the file of Wye White. Logan looked up at Ire, waiting for her to reject it, but she just stared at the photo.
"It's him." Ire said, still looking intently at the picture.
"How do you know?" Max asked.
"He's the only real choice." Ire said, still burning the photo into her memory for later use. "The others aren't it, so it must be him. It's logic."
They all stood in silence, each of them hoping for any little disturbance. The dryer buzzed, signaling that Ire's clothes were dry.
"I'll get them." Ire mumbled and left the room.
"So, do you really think it's him?" Logan asked.
"Yeah," Max said. "But I think there's something that she isn't telling us."
