Disclaimer: Don't own, blah blah, not mine, blah blah, if I did own, Logan would be my personal slave! ;)
Special Thanks to: Meka, for beta-ing this for me; BlackWolf, for helping me out with weapons info; Zig, for giving me a really cool idea for Chapter 9 and 10. And to all the wonderful people who have reviewed this! Reviews keep me going, and I have to say that I've gotten more than I ever thought I would have. :)
Spoilers: Up to and including Rising, then the story veers off on it's own little timeline (but it does have one spoiler from an upcoming episode involving one of the X-5's).
A/N: This is a slow developing story, so I appreciate your patience! :)
_______________
Chapter 10
Unreal
... "Kill him," Lydecker said, and then turned to leave.
For Max, everything happened in slow motion after that order. She watched in horror as Andrews raised the gun to Logan's chest and fired. Logan's body jerked once, twice, three times as the bullets pelted him from point blank range. Then Logan's eyes closed and he was gone.
Max gave a primal cry of fury and pure adrenaline made her snap free from the shackles that were holding her down.
"NOOOOO," she shouted as tears streamed down her face and she jumped on Lydecker, kicking and punching him blindingly as hard as she could before the guards aimed their tasers at her. They both fell to the ground, but the tasers combined with the drugs that were already in her system slowed her down enough for them to hand and ankle cuff her.
She looked at Lydecker who was still on his hands and knees on the floor. The guards had her by the arms and legs, and her limbs were twisted in an awkward and seemingly painful position. However, none of this seemed to faze her. The look Max gave him was one of pure revulsion, and when she spoke, her voice was low and filled with loathing.
"I am going to kill you. You won't know when, or where, but I promise you-you will die by my hands. Remember this day, because it's the day you signed your death certificate, you bastard!" Each word was spoken slowly and carefully enunciated, with Max snarling each syllable. In the background, one of the guards turned the monitor off. She barely noticed, not being able to look at the horrid image on it. She didn't want to see that scene again. Those few minutes she had witnessed on the TV would no doubt be burned in her memory for the rest of her life.
Lydecker answered her sneer with one of his own. A bruise was already forming on the side of his face from where her fist had connected with it, and Lord knows what kind of contusions he would have on his back from her kicks. It angered him to even think about it.
"Listen, here, Maxie," he spat as he stood and began brushing himself off. "You are weak. You let yourself get emotionally involved and a good soldier never allows that to happen. Let this be a lesson to you. Emotions are good for nothing-nothing at all. When you let feelings cloud your judgment, you allow yourself to be vulnerable, and you give your enemy the upper hand. The enemy will triumph using it against you. I did, didn't I? You are your own worst enemy, Max."
With that, he reached his hand back and slapped her hard across the face, busting her lip and causing blood to start trickling down her chin. Then, turning on his heel, he walked out the door. Almost immediately, Max felt a small pinch in her arm and the room began to swim. Her last thought was of Logan, and then there was nothing but black.
___________
Lydecker let the door close behind him and subconsciously rubbed the his hand across the swollen area on his cheek. That little bitch! How dare she lift a hand to him-he, the one who had created her, given her life, made her so different and special! He was so disgusted with her at this moment, he could barely see straight. When he had seen the tears- tears! - rolling down her face, he had felt so repulsed. Sure, her complete emotional breakdown would make his entire conversion process much more simple, but he still couldn't believe that she would allow herself to become as involved with someone as she had. She had left her self completely controlled by her emotions. It was bad enough that she had turned herself in for the Cale man, but a display such as tears just made Lydecker completely disappointed. He had thought he had taught her better.
His cell phone rang, disrupting his thoughts.
"Lydecker," he answered shortly.
"Hello, sir." It was Andrews.
"Andrews. Nice to hear from you. That was a good performance you gave in there today. I have to say that it was all very convincing. While I am immensely saddened by our little soldier's weakness, I am pleased with the end result. It will be much easier to train her now. When one is so emotionally vulnerable, they are more pliable. Remember how well Brin turned out after we got her back?"
"Of course I do. If you could make Brin the model soldier she is today, then you can do it with Max as well."
"Well, how is Cale really doing? I must say that the soldier you got to impersonate him was quite a look alike - especially with the short notice I gave you. Excellent job."
"Cale is fine, although I have to say probably a little sore. He is quite the stubborn one." Andrews paused for a moment to puff on a cigarette, then continued on. "Yes, my young impersonator was quite the actor, wasn't he? Hell, for a minute, I almost believed that he was Cale and that I had killed him. And Max-well, with the amount of medication in her, she has no idea that it wasn't the real Logan she was seeing."
"Yes, it was a mighty good job, Andrews. On another note, I want you to dig up more info on this alter ego Cale has. This 'Eyes Only' that Max spoke of. Interrogate him more... I would bet money that he knows more about my kids than either of them let on. God only knows what he has on us. Cale will be of some use before this is all over with, damn it."
"Yes, sir. Consider it done."
"Thanks Andrews. Contact me in a couple of days when you have more info. I will be quite busy with Max over the next week. The conversion process is long and involved, so make sure any interruptions you have are important."
"Yes sir." Lydecker disconnected the phone and allowed himself a small smile of victory. It was going to be quite interesting to see how Max would break now that she thought that Logan Cale was dead. It would no doubt be an easier task as she was vulnerable, but still-she was one of his, and therefore it would no doubt take a considerable amount of time. In the end, it would be well worth the effort.
_________
Bling was gasping for air. The big, blond man in front of him had an inhuman strength and obviously wasn't even exerting all of it. This must be Zack, Max's sibling that Bling had heard Logan mention-though none too fondly.
"I am a friend of Logan's. My name is Bling. Let me go." He managed to get around the burning in his throat.
"Where are Max and Logan?" Zack asked, pressing even harder with his hands into Bling's esophagus.
"They are at Manticore." Bling said. Zack was momentarily shocked at this other man's knowledge of Manticore.
'Is there anyone you haven't told, Maxie?' Zack wondered.
"You're Logan's physical therapist, huh?" Original Cindy asked, lowering the shotgun from him only slightly.
"Yes. You must be Original Cindy. I was going to get in touch with you today about Max. She told me you would be worried about her."
Zack eased off of Bling's neck, but did not release him totally. Bling began gasping for air and clawing at his throat with his hands, as if he could assuage the pain there by massaging it away. The two people in front of him watched, both prepared to pounce if he made any wrong moves.
"Look, can you take your hands off me? And can we go inside and talk about this? I don't necessarily feel safe out here." Bling said when he finally could speak without it hurting too badly.
Zack stared at him thoughtfully; obviously trying to weigh whether he could trust this man or not. His gut instinct told him that he could, but he was still a soldier through and through, and logic always prevailed.
Original Cindy made the first move and began walking toward the cabin door, the shotgun now lowered completely by her side and at a non-threatening angle. When she had reached the door and looked back at the men, she cocked her head and pursed her lips.
"Well, are you fools coming or not? Original Cindy is cold, and I'm sure that wheel-boy has got some pretty damn good tea in here. Plus, I want to hear about my boo and the soldier boys. We can't help her out here."
Zack imperceptibly shrugged and followed her inside, careful to keep a close watch on the man beside him. If what Bling had said was true, then he was going to need to get as much information as possible about what happened. Max was going to desperately need his help before it was too late. Lydecker would take no time in trying to convert her.
Once all of them were inside, Bling closed the door and they moved to the center of the room, but none sat. Original Cindy looked at both Zack and Bling for a moment, then asked, "Well, what's the plan?"
Zack glanced at Bling, still unsure if he was friend or foe, however he realized that he didn't have too much time to debate that now.
"The plan is we go get Max and wheelboy back. That's the plan." Zack said.
_______
Andrews strode into the room where Logan was being kept. Upon entering, he saw that his prisoner was sleeping restlessly. Andrews smirked, knowing he wouldn't allow Cale that bliss too much longer.
He nodded to the guard that was standing in the open doorway, motioning for him to leave. The guard abided and the door shut behind him as he walked out. Andrews stood over Logan and slapped him hard across the face, instantly reopening a wound above Cale's right eye. Logan awoke and became alert immediately.
Logan looked up at his captor through blurry, swollen eyes. He wanted to rub the blood away that was causing his vision to be out of focus, but he denied himself that action. He didn't want to show any weakness in front of this man. Andrews sat down nonchalantly in a chair beside his cot, as if he was a friend stopping by for an amiable chat.
"Nice to see you again. I was afraid you wouldn't come around. I missed you." Logan chuckled at his own sarcastic humor, though it hurt him terribly in the stomach as he did.
"No time for chit chat, Cale. Why don't you tell me about yourself, Mr. Eyes Only?" the Major asked, sneering the alter ego's name.
Logan blanched. Max wouldn't give away that information easily. They got it out of her somehow, though. He just didn't want to think of the means that Lydecker used to get it.
______
'He's dead.'
Max couldn't think past that thought.
'He's dead. Because of me. I killed him. I may not have pulled the trigger, but he's dead all the same.'
She lay on another bed of some sort-again without clothing. She didn't know how long she had been in this room, and she no longer cared. She didn't care about anything anymore. She couldn't, because she killed Logan. Because of her, he was murdered in cold blood this afternoon. In some sort of tactical mind game between her and Lydecker, Logan had been used as a pawn. Because he was Max's weakness, he was dead. She didn't feel the tears that were drying slowly on her face, because she couldn't feel anything at all. She was numb, distant and removed from reality. If she came back to the real world right now, she would lose her mind. Everything was like it was being viewed from a camera, like she was watching somebody else's life. This horror story couldn't be her own, could it? This couldn't be real.
A door slid open to her right, and Lydecker came in with two doctors, but Max didn't notice. Gone was the fury that had consumed her immediately after Logan was shot. All that was left of her was a shell. They had raped her soul and stolen her heart. Now, she was lost inside - deep inside in a place where they couldn't hurt her anymore and the only thing that had mattered was Logan. A childlike chant began in her head. 'No one will ever hurt me again... never...never...'
"Dr. Johns, hook her up immediately. I want to start this process right away." Lydecker commanded. The young female doctor complied and hooked two pads up to Max's forehead. Max made no sign of acknowledgement. The doctor looked at Lydecker, but he said nothing. On his face was an intense thoughtful look as he contemplated the task at hand, but he couldn't hide the satisfied light in eyes. Just as he had hoped, Max was emotionally weak and tortured. She was hiding like a child deep in herself. She would be more receptive to the treatment right now. He wanted her disoriented and confused, so he could set her mind back on the track he had originally destined for her.
"Dr. Stevenson, I want you to start the machine right away. There is no time to lose." Lydecker barked.
"But sir, we haven't stabilized her yet-," Dr. Stevenson began to protest.
"She'll be fine, just start it now." The tone of Lydecker's voice left absolutely no room for argument. Dr. Stevenson gave a slight shake of his head and sighed, then proceeded to turn the mechanism on to it's lowest power. Immediately, an electric shock was pumped through and Max twitched in pain. She said nothing, still deep inside her secret place.
"Again," Lydecker requested.
Once again, the doctor followed the order, and another jolt was given to Max. This triggered an image in her mind. Something-someone- was coming after her, chasing her, and wanting to kill her. It was pure evil, and she was inexplicably scared. She needed to run! Run quickly and-
'NOOO!' her mind screamed. 'It's a lie! It's not real! There is NOTHING there!' She struggled briefly, then pushed the image out and sank lower into her private abyss.
Lydecker had noted the flicker of fear and life in Max's eyes, and then saw how she closed herself off. For a moment, she had felt scared. Good.
"Push it up to the next level," he said. Stevenson nodded and turned the notch up to 'B' and Max shuddered more noticeably at the jolt that was sent.
"It's not going to be that easy, Max. Not that easy at all." Lydecker murmured.
________
A/N: Okay, had wanted to get more of this story out today, but Dark Angel is coming on soon. So I am going to post this now and try to get the next chapter out by Wednesday or Thursday. There is going to be some action in the next couple of chapters as Zack, Bling and OC plan and start to rescue Logan and Max!! :)
Special Thanks to: Meka, for beta-ing this for me; BlackWolf, for helping me out with weapons info; Zig, for giving me a really cool idea for Chapter 9 and 10. And to all the wonderful people who have reviewed this! Reviews keep me going, and I have to say that I've gotten more than I ever thought I would have. :)
Spoilers: Up to and including Rising, then the story veers off on it's own little timeline (but it does have one spoiler from an upcoming episode involving one of the X-5's).
A/N: This is a slow developing story, so I appreciate your patience! :)
_______________
Chapter 10
Unreal
... "Kill him," Lydecker said, and then turned to leave.
For Max, everything happened in slow motion after that order. She watched in horror as Andrews raised the gun to Logan's chest and fired. Logan's body jerked once, twice, three times as the bullets pelted him from point blank range. Then Logan's eyes closed and he was gone.
Max gave a primal cry of fury and pure adrenaline made her snap free from the shackles that were holding her down.
"NOOOOO," she shouted as tears streamed down her face and she jumped on Lydecker, kicking and punching him blindingly as hard as she could before the guards aimed their tasers at her. They both fell to the ground, but the tasers combined with the drugs that were already in her system slowed her down enough for them to hand and ankle cuff her.
She looked at Lydecker who was still on his hands and knees on the floor. The guards had her by the arms and legs, and her limbs were twisted in an awkward and seemingly painful position. However, none of this seemed to faze her. The look Max gave him was one of pure revulsion, and when she spoke, her voice was low and filled with loathing.
"I am going to kill you. You won't know when, or where, but I promise you-you will die by my hands. Remember this day, because it's the day you signed your death certificate, you bastard!" Each word was spoken slowly and carefully enunciated, with Max snarling each syllable. In the background, one of the guards turned the monitor off. She barely noticed, not being able to look at the horrid image on it. She didn't want to see that scene again. Those few minutes she had witnessed on the TV would no doubt be burned in her memory for the rest of her life.
Lydecker answered her sneer with one of his own. A bruise was already forming on the side of his face from where her fist had connected with it, and Lord knows what kind of contusions he would have on his back from her kicks. It angered him to even think about it.
"Listen, here, Maxie," he spat as he stood and began brushing himself off. "You are weak. You let yourself get emotionally involved and a good soldier never allows that to happen. Let this be a lesson to you. Emotions are good for nothing-nothing at all. When you let feelings cloud your judgment, you allow yourself to be vulnerable, and you give your enemy the upper hand. The enemy will triumph using it against you. I did, didn't I? You are your own worst enemy, Max."
With that, he reached his hand back and slapped her hard across the face, busting her lip and causing blood to start trickling down her chin. Then, turning on his heel, he walked out the door. Almost immediately, Max felt a small pinch in her arm and the room began to swim. Her last thought was of Logan, and then there was nothing but black.
___________
Lydecker let the door close behind him and subconsciously rubbed the his hand across the swollen area on his cheek. That little bitch! How dare she lift a hand to him-he, the one who had created her, given her life, made her so different and special! He was so disgusted with her at this moment, he could barely see straight. When he had seen the tears- tears! - rolling down her face, he had felt so repulsed. Sure, her complete emotional breakdown would make his entire conversion process much more simple, but he still couldn't believe that she would allow herself to become as involved with someone as she had. She had left her self completely controlled by her emotions. It was bad enough that she had turned herself in for the Cale man, but a display such as tears just made Lydecker completely disappointed. He had thought he had taught her better.
His cell phone rang, disrupting his thoughts.
"Lydecker," he answered shortly.
"Hello, sir." It was Andrews.
"Andrews. Nice to hear from you. That was a good performance you gave in there today. I have to say that it was all very convincing. While I am immensely saddened by our little soldier's weakness, I am pleased with the end result. It will be much easier to train her now. When one is so emotionally vulnerable, they are more pliable. Remember how well Brin turned out after we got her back?"
"Of course I do. If you could make Brin the model soldier she is today, then you can do it with Max as well."
"Well, how is Cale really doing? I must say that the soldier you got to impersonate him was quite a look alike - especially with the short notice I gave you. Excellent job."
"Cale is fine, although I have to say probably a little sore. He is quite the stubborn one." Andrews paused for a moment to puff on a cigarette, then continued on. "Yes, my young impersonator was quite the actor, wasn't he? Hell, for a minute, I almost believed that he was Cale and that I had killed him. And Max-well, with the amount of medication in her, she has no idea that it wasn't the real Logan she was seeing."
"Yes, it was a mighty good job, Andrews. On another note, I want you to dig up more info on this alter ego Cale has. This 'Eyes Only' that Max spoke of. Interrogate him more... I would bet money that he knows more about my kids than either of them let on. God only knows what he has on us. Cale will be of some use before this is all over with, damn it."
"Yes, sir. Consider it done."
"Thanks Andrews. Contact me in a couple of days when you have more info. I will be quite busy with Max over the next week. The conversion process is long and involved, so make sure any interruptions you have are important."
"Yes sir." Lydecker disconnected the phone and allowed himself a small smile of victory. It was going to be quite interesting to see how Max would break now that she thought that Logan Cale was dead. It would no doubt be an easier task as she was vulnerable, but still-she was one of his, and therefore it would no doubt take a considerable amount of time. In the end, it would be well worth the effort.
_________
Bling was gasping for air. The big, blond man in front of him had an inhuman strength and obviously wasn't even exerting all of it. This must be Zack, Max's sibling that Bling had heard Logan mention-though none too fondly.
"I am a friend of Logan's. My name is Bling. Let me go." He managed to get around the burning in his throat.
"Where are Max and Logan?" Zack asked, pressing even harder with his hands into Bling's esophagus.
"They are at Manticore." Bling said. Zack was momentarily shocked at this other man's knowledge of Manticore.
'Is there anyone you haven't told, Maxie?' Zack wondered.
"You're Logan's physical therapist, huh?" Original Cindy asked, lowering the shotgun from him only slightly.
"Yes. You must be Original Cindy. I was going to get in touch with you today about Max. She told me you would be worried about her."
Zack eased off of Bling's neck, but did not release him totally. Bling began gasping for air and clawing at his throat with his hands, as if he could assuage the pain there by massaging it away. The two people in front of him watched, both prepared to pounce if he made any wrong moves.
"Look, can you take your hands off me? And can we go inside and talk about this? I don't necessarily feel safe out here." Bling said when he finally could speak without it hurting too badly.
Zack stared at him thoughtfully; obviously trying to weigh whether he could trust this man or not. His gut instinct told him that he could, but he was still a soldier through and through, and logic always prevailed.
Original Cindy made the first move and began walking toward the cabin door, the shotgun now lowered completely by her side and at a non-threatening angle. When she had reached the door and looked back at the men, she cocked her head and pursed her lips.
"Well, are you fools coming or not? Original Cindy is cold, and I'm sure that wheel-boy has got some pretty damn good tea in here. Plus, I want to hear about my boo and the soldier boys. We can't help her out here."
Zack imperceptibly shrugged and followed her inside, careful to keep a close watch on the man beside him. If what Bling had said was true, then he was going to need to get as much information as possible about what happened. Max was going to desperately need his help before it was too late. Lydecker would take no time in trying to convert her.
Once all of them were inside, Bling closed the door and they moved to the center of the room, but none sat. Original Cindy looked at both Zack and Bling for a moment, then asked, "Well, what's the plan?"
Zack glanced at Bling, still unsure if he was friend or foe, however he realized that he didn't have too much time to debate that now.
"The plan is we go get Max and wheelboy back. That's the plan." Zack said.
_______
Andrews strode into the room where Logan was being kept. Upon entering, he saw that his prisoner was sleeping restlessly. Andrews smirked, knowing he wouldn't allow Cale that bliss too much longer.
He nodded to the guard that was standing in the open doorway, motioning for him to leave. The guard abided and the door shut behind him as he walked out. Andrews stood over Logan and slapped him hard across the face, instantly reopening a wound above Cale's right eye. Logan awoke and became alert immediately.
Logan looked up at his captor through blurry, swollen eyes. He wanted to rub the blood away that was causing his vision to be out of focus, but he denied himself that action. He didn't want to show any weakness in front of this man. Andrews sat down nonchalantly in a chair beside his cot, as if he was a friend stopping by for an amiable chat.
"Nice to see you again. I was afraid you wouldn't come around. I missed you." Logan chuckled at his own sarcastic humor, though it hurt him terribly in the stomach as he did.
"No time for chit chat, Cale. Why don't you tell me about yourself, Mr. Eyes Only?" the Major asked, sneering the alter ego's name.
Logan blanched. Max wouldn't give away that information easily. They got it out of her somehow, though. He just didn't want to think of the means that Lydecker used to get it.
______
'He's dead.'
Max couldn't think past that thought.
'He's dead. Because of me. I killed him. I may not have pulled the trigger, but he's dead all the same.'
She lay on another bed of some sort-again without clothing. She didn't know how long she had been in this room, and she no longer cared. She didn't care about anything anymore. She couldn't, because she killed Logan. Because of her, he was murdered in cold blood this afternoon. In some sort of tactical mind game between her and Lydecker, Logan had been used as a pawn. Because he was Max's weakness, he was dead. She didn't feel the tears that were drying slowly on her face, because she couldn't feel anything at all. She was numb, distant and removed from reality. If she came back to the real world right now, she would lose her mind. Everything was like it was being viewed from a camera, like she was watching somebody else's life. This horror story couldn't be her own, could it? This couldn't be real.
A door slid open to her right, and Lydecker came in with two doctors, but Max didn't notice. Gone was the fury that had consumed her immediately after Logan was shot. All that was left of her was a shell. They had raped her soul and stolen her heart. Now, she was lost inside - deep inside in a place where they couldn't hurt her anymore and the only thing that had mattered was Logan. A childlike chant began in her head. 'No one will ever hurt me again... never...never...'
"Dr. Johns, hook her up immediately. I want to start this process right away." Lydecker commanded. The young female doctor complied and hooked two pads up to Max's forehead. Max made no sign of acknowledgement. The doctor looked at Lydecker, but he said nothing. On his face was an intense thoughtful look as he contemplated the task at hand, but he couldn't hide the satisfied light in eyes. Just as he had hoped, Max was emotionally weak and tortured. She was hiding like a child deep in herself. She would be more receptive to the treatment right now. He wanted her disoriented and confused, so he could set her mind back on the track he had originally destined for her.
"Dr. Stevenson, I want you to start the machine right away. There is no time to lose." Lydecker barked.
"But sir, we haven't stabilized her yet-," Dr. Stevenson began to protest.
"She'll be fine, just start it now." The tone of Lydecker's voice left absolutely no room for argument. Dr. Stevenson gave a slight shake of his head and sighed, then proceeded to turn the mechanism on to it's lowest power. Immediately, an electric shock was pumped through and Max twitched in pain. She said nothing, still deep inside her secret place.
"Again," Lydecker requested.
Once again, the doctor followed the order, and another jolt was given to Max. This triggered an image in her mind. Something-someone- was coming after her, chasing her, and wanting to kill her. It was pure evil, and she was inexplicably scared. She needed to run! Run quickly and-
'NOOO!' her mind screamed. 'It's a lie! It's not real! There is NOTHING there!' She struggled briefly, then pushed the image out and sank lower into her private abyss.
Lydecker had noted the flicker of fear and life in Max's eyes, and then saw how she closed herself off. For a moment, she had felt scared. Good.
"Push it up to the next level," he said. Stevenson nodded and turned the notch up to 'B' and Max shuddered more noticeably at the jolt that was sent.
"It's not going to be that easy, Max. Not that easy at all." Lydecker murmured.
________
A/N: Okay, had wanted to get more of this story out today, but Dark Angel is coming on soon. So I am going to post this now and try to get the next chapter out by Wednesday or Thursday. There is going to be some action in the next couple of chapters as Zack, Bling and OC plan and start to rescue Logan and Max!! :)
