Chapter 5
"I can't believe he's letting you do this." Tinga complained loudly as Max packed a bag, filling it with what little things she had been given for her mission. Tinga sat on Max's bunk watching in envy.
"It has been three years since that little incident. I would say it's about time he gave me another chance." Max offered hoping to make Tinga understand that this mission wasn't going to be fun and games.
"Still…we all thought he'd never give you another chance." The "he" they were referring to was Lydecker and the new "chance" was Max's new mission.
"Believe me you weren't in the minority with that thought. I'm just as surprised as you guys." Max said shoving the last article in her bag. "So what is it like out there?" Max asked nervously hiding her fears behind a calm and curious exterior. If there was one thing Max had learned at Manticore it was how to hide her feelings. She'd learned that lesson so well that at times she couldn't understand or recognize them.
"Honestly…I don't know why we were in such a hurry to leave here. We have everything we could want. Out there you're lucky if you have anything…" Tinga drifted off and Max wondered if maybe there was something Tinga was leaving out. She wondered if maybe Tinga really believed what she was saying or if she secretly still wanted to be on the outside.
Tinga and the other X-5's had all had brief missions on the outside during the past three years. All of them had done their job and returned quickly, as if they couldn't get back soon enough. But Max had noticed changes in them. Some vocalized their disgust for the outside a little too much and often for Max to believe them, while others like Tinga seemed to get a far away lost look when talking about it.
Max was eager to get out there but still her fears of what she didn't know held her back. She didn't know if she wanted to go out there and come back here at the end of the mission. If the world out there changed people, what would happen to her?
Tinga let out a sigh and jumped up to her feet.
"Well Maxie, good luck." Tinga offered her hand for a handshake. There was once a time when she wouldn't have hesitated to give her "sister" a hug but since '09 none of them had wanted to risk the consequences. Max suddenly wanted to hug Tinga just to spite Manticore.
"There's no such thing as luck." Zack said walking in on the two of them. Max quickly banished the idea of a hug and instead briefly saluted Tinga. There was no way it would get back to Lydecker that she had acted in any way inappropriate. She couldn't jeopardize her mission like that because Lydecker wouldn't hesitate to swoop down and take it away from her for something less.
"Its an expression Zack. Lighten up." Tinga offered slightly hurt by Max's behavior. Max felt Tinga's hurt deeply but forced herself to forget it. There was nothing she could do. Secretly she wondered if there was a place where she could act out on her impulsive thoughts without fear of punishment and condemnation.
"Come on Max, its time." Zack said coldly and as the two left the room and started down the long corridor he worried. He worried that once Max tasted life out there she wouldn't want to come back. He didn't want to come back but he had to. Because of Max and Tinga; Krit and Syl; Alec and Ben. There were numerous reasons, all of them had designations but they also had names. Once more he kicked himself for not getting them out in '09. Things would have been different he was sure. Maybe Eva would have been with them still. Maybe they'd still be able to call each other brother. Maybe they could have had lives, started again somewhere. It would have been dangerous; it would have been foolish. But then again, Max could have given Tinga the hug he knew each one wanted to have.
One day he would get them all out. But he had to wait until he was sure they could pull it off. They wouldn't have another chance because they wouldn't be alive to try again. So he bid his time pretending to be the perfect soldier, spying on his siblings, and occasionally leading Lydecker astray.
"You're quiet." Max commented breaking into Zack's thoughts.
"Maxie, do your job and get back quickly. Don't let the world out there distract you." He said suddenly and harshly. Of all his siblings he feared for her the most. She was the youngest. She was the most emotional, though to her credit, she tried hard to hide it. And of everyone she was the most likely to just disappear out there. He didn't want to be the one Lydecker sent to bring her back.
Max chuckled uneasily at his comment. She had thought about taking this chance to start a new life but only briefly. It would be foolish, as Zack would say. She didn't know anything about life out there and she'd probably end up back here in a world of trouble before the week was out. Besides as Tinga said they had everything they wanted.
"Don't worry Zack." She answered to Zack's intense stare. Suddenly she saw the boy who had tried so hard to get them out. Impulsively she stood on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm coming back." She risked. Zack only nodded and they continued on their way down the hall. Max hoped that Zack would keep the kiss to himself.
Zack hoped that Max would be smart but her kiss told him that she wouldn't. He just hoped that she could get far enough away that when Lydecker sent him after her, Zack wouldn't be able to find her.
As they rounded the last corner the two soldiers stopped and came to attention.
"That will be all X-5599." Colonel Lydecker said abruptly dismissing Zack who left quickly without giving Max another glance. "Designation?" Lydecker questioned Max. It was a routine they'd go into every time the two met. He felt the need to reminder her who she was as often as possible.
"X-5452. Sir"
"Mission?"
"To go under, find Eyes Only, gather useful information, and dispose of the threat. Sir." Max replied quickly and clearly.
"Very good."
Seattle was a dark city. Its impoverished streets spoke of better days. Max found her hand wandering to her gun strapped safely just in reach. She still wasn't comfortable using a gun but as a good and obedient soldier she tried not to let it show. Oddly enough here in Seattle a gun seemed like a good thing.
People of all colors and smells crowded the streets pushing her around. Max tried to ignore the faces of hungry little kids and their old and tired parents. Every one here seemed ten years older then their age.
"Hey baby girl, you look lost." A voice said from behind her as a dark hand came down on her shoulder. Max's hand when up to grab the woman's hand in a reflex reaction but at the last minute she changed its direction and instead brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Turning around Max found a woman on a bike offering her hand.
Max took the women's hand and quickly picked up on her "original" handshake.
"Your pretty quick. What's a sweet girl like you doing this side of the tracks?" the women asked. Max pasted on a quick smile.
"Looking fer a good place to kick it, either that or a good place to get shot in the back. Still not sure which." She shot out sarcastically.
"Original Cindy." The women offered.
"Max. So you know a place I can get a job?" Max asked gesturing to the logo on the women's hat.
"Jam Pony? Sista you gotta be tripping cause Jam Pony aint no road to paradise, aint no road to nowhere." She said laughing.
"Girl's gotta work." Max offered.
"Yeah no kidding. Come on I'll see what I can do."
