Disclaimer: You guys know I don't own any characters from DA, except for Logan. (He is mine, and I will get him back!) But I like to play with Max and the others, and make a new little world for them. One, that I like to think, at least, is somewhat interesting. :)
A/N: All right, I cannot promise when the next update will be. This one took so long because my boyfriend's grandmother is dying, and everything is all up in the air right now. I really wanted to write this, because I had the ideas floating around in my head since the last chapter, but it could be a week to 10 days before I post chapter 14. :(
Special Thanks: To all my wonderful readers/reviewers. You guys really don't have any idea how much you keep me going. I have just as much fun writing this story as hopefully you do reading it. Thanks for all your support. :)
Thanks also to: BlackWolf-for he is my weapons/explosives source; and Zig-because he not only had an excellent plot idea that I used earlier on in the story, but he is a wonderful beta reader! :)
BTW, I am suffering from major writer's block, so if this sucks, please don't hurt me.
Warning: Some of this could be pretty graphic.
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The Enemy Within
Chapter 13
Out With a Bang
Original Cindy knew that there was a gun aimed at the back of her head- she could feel it, even if she couldn't see it. The man sounded like he was at least a good three feet behind her, but some sort of sixth sense had kicked in-the kind that comes with adrenaline controlling you. A lump of fear settled in her throat, and she swallowed thickly. This was not good.
"Ah, Major Andrews. I was wondering when you would come back." Logan said around Cindy, in a slightly amused voice. His eyes, however, looked anything but pleasantly surprised by their visitor's presence.
"It would have been rude of me not to welcome your guest, Mr. Cale." Andrews said in an equally cordial voice.
Original Cindy caught Logan's eye and she turned her gaze down to her right jacket pocket, where the Walther was bulging slightly against the fabric. Logan's gaze followed and his eyes flickered with recognition at the object. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod, acknowledging that he understood what it was she wanted him to do.
"So, Logan. Who is this intriguing woman?" Andrews said and shut the door softly behind him.
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"I don't like this," Zack told Bling as he listened intently to the earphone. "She's in trouble. There's someone in there with them."
Bling looked somberly over at the man sitting next to him. "What do you want to do?" he questioned the X-5.
"She hasn't given us the word yet. We wait. She may have a handle on the situation. Until she tells us to move, we do nothing." Zack tried to sound confident, but he was fighting an internal battle with himself. One part of him was saying that Cindy was smart, and if she got in serious trouble, she had the gun. The other part was feeling guilty for sending her in there anyways. It should have been him, but that would have been dangerous. Someone may have recognized him. Lydecker would have made sure that all Manticore's employees would have a pretty good idea of what the X-5's looked like.
"I guess all we can do is wait then," Bling said and ran a hand down his face. Zack looked at Bling, but didn't reply. There was nothing that needed to be said.
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"Major Andrews, this is Original Cindy. A good friend of mine." Logan said leaning forward to get a better glimpse at Andrews. This enabled him to reach into Cindy's coat pocket without the man behind her noticing. He felt his way until he could wrap his fingers around the gun.
"Nice to meet you, Original Cindy." Andrews said. "You must be really loyal to Mr. Cale here to venture in here today. Either that, or you're really stupid."
Cindy eyes stayed focused on Logan, not wanting to make the wrong move. Her heart was pounding in her ears, seemingly deafening everything around her. She felt as if she were in some sort of bad dream, but knew all too well that this situation was very real. If she made any mistakes, she would be dead in less than a minute. Logan would undoubtedly follow soon after.
"Original Cindy just felt that the man's accommodations could be a little nicer, that's all", she replied with saccharine sweetness. She felt Logan take hold of the gun and slowly began pulling it out of the jacket. She seemed to be nailed to the floor, and unable to breathe. Logan's eyes caught hers again, and he jerked his head slightly to the right. 'Okay,' she mouthed, letting him know she understood what he was going to do. Logan carefully drew the Walther out, trying to not make any more movement than necessary. He was thankful that Original Cindy's body was blocking him almost completely from his captor's view.
"Well, we tend to think that his stay here has been just fine. However, we have no vacancy for you at this time. It was nice to meet you, even though it was for such a short time." Andrews chuckled and cocked his gun. The sound seemed to ricochet off the walls, and Original Cindy felt her face go pale.
"NOW!" Logan yelled. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. Logan took his left arm and pushed Original Cindy to the ground. Andrews own gun fired simultaneously, and a searing pain ripped through Logan's shoulder. In the back of his mind, he could hear Cindy's shriek of terror, but at the moment, he was totally focused on the person standing just a few feet away from him- the man who had tortured him mercilessly for the past few days. Logan pulled the trigger on his weapon and felt it give a satisfying jerk. A quiet whoosh was followed almost instantaneously by a sickening crackle as bullet ripped through flesh and bone. Andrews' head jerked back violently and blood splattered the door behind him. His eyes stared blankly as his dead body slumped to the ground. Logan inhaled deeply, and closed his still swollen eyes. He was valiantly trying not to vomit.
"Cindy? Are you OK? What the hell is going on? CINDY??" Zack's voice crackled in her ear, but at the moment she couldn't talk. Her breath coming in heaves, she looked over at the corpse on the floor and silently thanked God. Looking back at Logan, she felt a rush of gratitude. He had saved her life. Sitting up on her knees, she hugged him tightly, rejoicing in the feel of him- thankful that she was alive to feel him. He returned her embrace with fervor. In that moment, they were content to just the other take comfort in being able to feel another person, no matter what lay on the other side of the room. And that was enough.
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"DAMN IT!" Zack shouted. "CINDY? Are you there?"
Bling didn't say anything. He feared the worst, but neither him or Zack was ready to give up hope yet. They had listened in horror as a man named Andrews and Logan had an almost polite exchange of words. Then, Logan had screamed 'now', and that was followed by a lot of rustling and movement that carried through the mic. The earsplitting gunshot- from what they assumed was Andrews gun- then a reply to that one from the silencer, was the last thing they heard. Since then, nothing. That was over a minute ago, and still there was no response from Original Cindy or Logan.
"Cindy, please talk to me. Let me know you're still there." Zack's usually hard voice was taking on a slightly pleading manner.
"Hey, man, I think we need to go ahead and-", Bling began around the bile that was building in his esophagus.
"Zack?" Cindy's shaken voice came through the radio.
"Cindy? What the hell happened? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a little woken up, so to speak. Original Cindy's got Logan and a dead army man in here. Score one for the good guys." Zack gave a small smile at that, but that disappeared as she continued on. "Look, Logan's injured. He was shot in the shoulder."
"Is he bleeding bad?" Zack questioned.
"Well, it's a steady flow, but the boy says he's fine. It's pretty high up, so Original Cindy don't think it hit anything major." She sucked in a breath, obviously trying to stay keep her emotions in check.
"No one's came after that gunshot. It was pretty loud, Cindy." Zack said.
"Well, the peeps here must be paranoid or something, because I think this room is soundproofed. We're good right now. I'm gonna get him outta here. Original Cindy's got wrap something about Logan's shoulder to try to slow the bleeding so give me a bit."
"You got it. Just remember, all you have to do is say-"
"Yeah, yeah. Original Cindy knows this. Say moon, and you got my back. Aiight let me finish getting rich boy outta here."
_____________________________________
Logan winced as Cindy wrapped the gauze around his shoulder.
"That hurt?" she asked.
"Trust me, I've had worse the past couple of days," he said, giving her a small smile.
The stench of blood was permeating the room, making the air seem thick and nauseating. Logan couldn't keep his eyes from straying toward the unmoving body in front of him. He had killed a man. He knew he had no other choice, but it really didn't make him feel better.
"It was him or us, you know." Cindy said, correctly reading Logan's thoughts.
"I know. It's just...I've never had to kill anyone before."
"Well, think of all the people's lives you just saved. He wouldn't hesitate to murder, Logan. He doesn't deserve you feeling guilty about it," she stated.
"I know." She wrapped the gauze tight around his arm, making him jerk slightly in pain.
"You ready to get outta here?" she asked, standing up and walking toward a medicine cabinet in the corner of the room.
"You bet your ass I am," he answered, unable to stop the relieved grin that formed on his face.
Cindy gathered some supplies from the cabinet and stuffed them in her coat pocket. Turning back to him, she grabbed the handles on the wheelchair and rolled him toward the door. She had dragged Andrews body near the bed Logan had lain on- no small feat since he was a solid fifty pounds heavier than she was-but adrenaline and the urge to get out of this hell hole was on her side. She had also helped herself to the gun that had shot Logan and almost killed her, tucking it inside the elastic of her pants and under her coat.
"Well, let's what the hell are we waiting for?" Cindy asked, and smiled down at him. Together, they opened the door, and prepared to face whatever may be on the other side of it.
_________________________________________________________
"We drive in and detonate in ten minutes," Zack told Bling. Bling jerked his head up toward Zack.
"Detonate? What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Look in here, Bling." Zack said, gesturing broadly to the insides of the armored truck with his hand. "What do you see?"
Bling looked around, still perplexed. Several boxes filled the vehicle, but he hadn't really thought about what filled them. Suddenly, a light seemed to come on over his head, and his eyes widened with realization. They were sitting inside practically one enormous bomb.
"Wait a minute, we didn't discuss this-" Bling began.
"There was nothing to discuss. I am in charge here, and this is what we are going to do." Zack said as he began to climb up to the driver's seat of the vehicle. "This baby is filled with enough explosives to blow a nice hole in the earth. It will level that building, for sure." Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small remote device; similar to the one Logan had made for his apartment's devastation. This one, however, was more professional and high tech looking.
Bling said nothing. After all, it was Zack who was trained to be a mercenary. Yet, he couldn't push aside the queasy feeling that rested in the pit of his stomach. Starting up the truck, Zack pulled the gearshift into drive, and they eased out of the wooded area toward the road.
_______________________________
They had no problems until they reached the exit of the building. Then, all hell broke loose. A loud alarm began to shriek overhead and Cindy jumped with the sound.
"Aw, hell," she muttered under her breath.
"Damn! I think someone just discovered our friend Andrews." Logan said over the shrill and piercing siren.
She pulled the pen up toward her mouth and spoke into it.
"MOON. Do you hear me, Zack? MOON."
"Zack?" Logan asked and looked up toward her, his expression shocked.
"Yeah. As Original Cindy said, it's a long story, and I don't exactly have the time to tell you about it now." She picked up the pace and rolled Logan out into the parking lot. The Aztek was only about thirty feet away, but that distance seemed like miles.
"What the hell? He's supposed to be dea-"
"Stop right there!" a loud, militant voice said from behind them.
Slowly, she turned around. There were a dozen troops behind them, all of their weapons aimed on her and Logan.
She sighed heavily, and plastered an innocent smile on her face.
"Can I help you boys?" she asked.
_________________________
Max sat in the middle of the large classroom. She was the sole student and the empty chairs around her should have been creepy. Max didn't notice that she was by herself, however. She was totally focused on the screen in front of her, paying attention to the words that were appearing on the large white surface, taking pains to burn every single syllable into memory. It was important to her becoming a good soldier again. She had made a mistake, but she was thankful that Lydecker still had faith in her. Max wanted to please him, and to get back into her top form. The blackness in the rest of the room encompassed her, but she was only attuned to the words that were being drilled into her.
Duty.
Discipline.
Obey.
No mercy.
They were quick on the screen, appearing like flashcards from hell, but it didn't matter. She was made to memorize and absorb things at a rapid rate. Max had failed once. She would not fail again.
______________________
A/N: Okay guys, I was going to write more to this, but I JUST got a call saying that my boyfriend's grandmother had passed away. I'm going to go ahead and post this the way it is. I will try do more next week, but I don't know how things are going to go.
I'm sorry; I also didn't have this beta read either.
And, as I said before, if this sucks, I apologize for that, too.
A/N: All right, I cannot promise when the next update will be. This one took so long because my boyfriend's grandmother is dying, and everything is all up in the air right now. I really wanted to write this, because I had the ideas floating around in my head since the last chapter, but it could be a week to 10 days before I post chapter 14. :(
Special Thanks: To all my wonderful readers/reviewers. You guys really don't have any idea how much you keep me going. I have just as much fun writing this story as hopefully you do reading it. Thanks for all your support. :)
Thanks also to: BlackWolf-for he is my weapons/explosives source; and Zig-because he not only had an excellent plot idea that I used earlier on in the story, but he is a wonderful beta reader! :)
BTW, I am suffering from major writer's block, so if this sucks, please don't hurt me.
Warning: Some of this could be pretty graphic.
___________________
The Enemy Within
Chapter 13
Out With a Bang
Original Cindy knew that there was a gun aimed at the back of her head- she could feel it, even if she couldn't see it. The man sounded like he was at least a good three feet behind her, but some sort of sixth sense had kicked in-the kind that comes with adrenaline controlling you. A lump of fear settled in her throat, and she swallowed thickly. This was not good.
"Ah, Major Andrews. I was wondering when you would come back." Logan said around Cindy, in a slightly amused voice. His eyes, however, looked anything but pleasantly surprised by their visitor's presence.
"It would have been rude of me not to welcome your guest, Mr. Cale." Andrews said in an equally cordial voice.
Original Cindy caught Logan's eye and she turned her gaze down to her right jacket pocket, where the Walther was bulging slightly against the fabric. Logan's gaze followed and his eyes flickered with recognition at the object. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod, acknowledging that he understood what it was she wanted him to do.
"So, Logan. Who is this intriguing woman?" Andrews said and shut the door softly behind him.
_______________________
"I don't like this," Zack told Bling as he listened intently to the earphone. "She's in trouble. There's someone in there with them."
Bling looked somberly over at the man sitting next to him. "What do you want to do?" he questioned the X-5.
"She hasn't given us the word yet. We wait. She may have a handle on the situation. Until she tells us to move, we do nothing." Zack tried to sound confident, but he was fighting an internal battle with himself. One part of him was saying that Cindy was smart, and if she got in serious trouble, she had the gun. The other part was feeling guilty for sending her in there anyways. It should have been him, but that would have been dangerous. Someone may have recognized him. Lydecker would have made sure that all Manticore's employees would have a pretty good idea of what the X-5's looked like.
"I guess all we can do is wait then," Bling said and ran a hand down his face. Zack looked at Bling, but didn't reply. There was nothing that needed to be said.
______________________________
"Major Andrews, this is Original Cindy. A good friend of mine." Logan said leaning forward to get a better glimpse at Andrews. This enabled him to reach into Cindy's coat pocket without the man behind her noticing. He felt his way until he could wrap his fingers around the gun.
"Nice to meet you, Original Cindy." Andrews said. "You must be really loyal to Mr. Cale here to venture in here today. Either that, or you're really stupid."
Cindy eyes stayed focused on Logan, not wanting to make the wrong move. Her heart was pounding in her ears, seemingly deafening everything around her. She felt as if she were in some sort of bad dream, but knew all too well that this situation was very real. If she made any mistakes, she would be dead in less than a minute. Logan would undoubtedly follow soon after.
"Original Cindy just felt that the man's accommodations could be a little nicer, that's all", she replied with saccharine sweetness. She felt Logan take hold of the gun and slowly began pulling it out of the jacket. She seemed to be nailed to the floor, and unable to breathe. Logan's eyes caught hers again, and he jerked his head slightly to the right. 'Okay,' she mouthed, letting him know she understood what he was going to do. Logan carefully drew the Walther out, trying to not make any more movement than necessary. He was thankful that Original Cindy's body was blocking him almost completely from his captor's view.
"Well, we tend to think that his stay here has been just fine. However, we have no vacancy for you at this time. It was nice to meet you, even though it was for such a short time." Andrews chuckled and cocked his gun. The sound seemed to ricochet off the walls, and Original Cindy felt her face go pale.
"NOW!" Logan yelled. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. Logan took his left arm and pushed Original Cindy to the ground. Andrews own gun fired simultaneously, and a searing pain ripped through Logan's shoulder. In the back of his mind, he could hear Cindy's shriek of terror, but at the moment, he was totally focused on the person standing just a few feet away from him- the man who had tortured him mercilessly for the past few days. Logan pulled the trigger on his weapon and felt it give a satisfying jerk. A quiet whoosh was followed almost instantaneously by a sickening crackle as bullet ripped through flesh and bone. Andrews' head jerked back violently and blood splattered the door behind him. His eyes stared blankly as his dead body slumped to the ground. Logan inhaled deeply, and closed his still swollen eyes. He was valiantly trying not to vomit.
"Cindy? Are you OK? What the hell is going on? CINDY??" Zack's voice crackled in her ear, but at the moment she couldn't talk. Her breath coming in heaves, she looked over at the corpse on the floor and silently thanked God. Looking back at Logan, she felt a rush of gratitude. He had saved her life. Sitting up on her knees, she hugged him tightly, rejoicing in the feel of him- thankful that she was alive to feel him. He returned her embrace with fervor. In that moment, they were content to just the other take comfort in being able to feel another person, no matter what lay on the other side of the room. And that was enough.
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"DAMN IT!" Zack shouted. "CINDY? Are you there?"
Bling didn't say anything. He feared the worst, but neither him or Zack was ready to give up hope yet. They had listened in horror as a man named Andrews and Logan had an almost polite exchange of words. Then, Logan had screamed 'now', and that was followed by a lot of rustling and movement that carried through the mic. The earsplitting gunshot- from what they assumed was Andrews gun- then a reply to that one from the silencer, was the last thing they heard. Since then, nothing. That was over a minute ago, and still there was no response from Original Cindy or Logan.
"Cindy, please talk to me. Let me know you're still there." Zack's usually hard voice was taking on a slightly pleading manner.
"Hey, man, I think we need to go ahead and-", Bling began around the bile that was building in his esophagus.
"Zack?" Cindy's shaken voice came through the radio.
"Cindy? What the hell happened? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a little woken up, so to speak. Original Cindy's got Logan and a dead army man in here. Score one for the good guys." Zack gave a small smile at that, but that disappeared as she continued on. "Look, Logan's injured. He was shot in the shoulder."
"Is he bleeding bad?" Zack questioned.
"Well, it's a steady flow, but the boy says he's fine. It's pretty high up, so Original Cindy don't think it hit anything major." She sucked in a breath, obviously trying to stay keep her emotions in check.
"No one's came after that gunshot. It was pretty loud, Cindy." Zack said.
"Well, the peeps here must be paranoid or something, because I think this room is soundproofed. We're good right now. I'm gonna get him outta here. Original Cindy's got wrap something about Logan's shoulder to try to slow the bleeding so give me a bit."
"You got it. Just remember, all you have to do is say-"
"Yeah, yeah. Original Cindy knows this. Say moon, and you got my back. Aiight let me finish getting rich boy outta here."
_____________________________________
Logan winced as Cindy wrapped the gauze around his shoulder.
"That hurt?" she asked.
"Trust me, I've had worse the past couple of days," he said, giving her a small smile.
The stench of blood was permeating the room, making the air seem thick and nauseating. Logan couldn't keep his eyes from straying toward the unmoving body in front of him. He had killed a man. He knew he had no other choice, but it really didn't make him feel better.
"It was him or us, you know." Cindy said, correctly reading Logan's thoughts.
"I know. It's just...I've never had to kill anyone before."
"Well, think of all the people's lives you just saved. He wouldn't hesitate to murder, Logan. He doesn't deserve you feeling guilty about it," she stated.
"I know." She wrapped the gauze tight around his arm, making him jerk slightly in pain.
"You ready to get outta here?" she asked, standing up and walking toward a medicine cabinet in the corner of the room.
"You bet your ass I am," he answered, unable to stop the relieved grin that formed on his face.
Cindy gathered some supplies from the cabinet and stuffed them in her coat pocket. Turning back to him, she grabbed the handles on the wheelchair and rolled him toward the door. She had dragged Andrews body near the bed Logan had lain on- no small feat since he was a solid fifty pounds heavier than she was-but adrenaline and the urge to get out of this hell hole was on her side. She had also helped herself to the gun that had shot Logan and almost killed her, tucking it inside the elastic of her pants and under her coat.
"Well, let's what the hell are we waiting for?" Cindy asked, and smiled down at him. Together, they opened the door, and prepared to face whatever may be on the other side of it.
_________________________________________________________
"We drive in and detonate in ten minutes," Zack told Bling. Bling jerked his head up toward Zack.
"Detonate? What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Look in here, Bling." Zack said, gesturing broadly to the insides of the armored truck with his hand. "What do you see?"
Bling looked around, still perplexed. Several boxes filled the vehicle, but he hadn't really thought about what filled them. Suddenly, a light seemed to come on over his head, and his eyes widened with realization. They were sitting inside practically one enormous bomb.
"Wait a minute, we didn't discuss this-" Bling began.
"There was nothing to discuss. I am in charge here, and this is what we are going to do." Zack said as he began to climb up to the driver's seat of the vehicle. "This baby is filled with enough explosives to blow a nice hole in the earth. It will level that building, for sure." Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small remote device; similar to the one Logan had made for his apartment's devastation. This one, however, was more professional and high tech looking.
Bling said nothing. After all, it was Zack who was trained to be a mercenary. Yet, he couldn't push aside the queasy feeling that rested in the pit of his stomach. Starting up the truck, Zack pulled the gearshift into drive, and they eased out of the wooded area toward the road.
_______________________________
They had no problems until they reached the exit of the building. Then, all hell broke loose. A loud alarm began to shriek overhead and Cindy jumped with the sound.
"Aw, hell," she muttered under her breath.
"Damn! I think someone just discovered our friend Andrews." Logan said over the shrill and piercing siren.
She pulled the pen up toward her mouth and spoke into it.
"MOON. Do you hear me, Zack? MOON."
"Zack?" Logan asked and looked up toward her, his expression shocked.
"Yeah. As Original Cindy said, it's a long story, and I don't exactly have the time to tell you about it now." She picked up the pace and rolled Logan out into the parking lot. The Aztek was only about thirty feet away, but that distance seemed like miles.
"What the hell? He's supposed to be dea-"
"Stop right there!" a loud, militant voice said from behind them.
Slowly, she turned around. There were a dozen troops behind them, all of their weapons aimed on her and Logan.
She sighed heavily, and plastered an innocent smile on her face.
"Can I help you boys?" she asked.
_________________________
Max sat in the middle of the large classroom. She was the sole student and the empty chairs around her should have been creepy. Max didn't notice that she was by herself, however. She was totally focused on the screen in front of her, paying attention to the words that were appearing on the large white surface, taking pains to burn every single syllable into memory. It was important to her becoming a good soldier again. She had made a mistake, but she was thankful that Lydecker still had faith in her. Max wanted to please him, and to get back into her top form. The blackness in the rest of the room encompassed her, but she was only attuned to the words that were being drilled into her.
Duty.
Discipline.
Obey.
No mercy.
They were quick on the screen, appearing like flashcards from hell, but it didn't matter. She was made to memorize and absorb things at a rapid rate. Max had failed once. She would not fail again.
______________________
A/N: Okay guys, I was going to write more to this, but I JUST got a call saying that my boyfriend's grandmother had passed away. I'm going to go ahead and post this the way it is. I will try do more next week, but I don't know how things are going to go.
I'm sorry; I also didn't have this beta read either.
And, as I said before, if this sucks, I apologize for that, too.
