A/N: Okay, I messed up when I was uploading chapters the other day. I'm uploading a couple now.
Chapter 9:
"Where's Cale?" Zack asked under his breath as they waited for Lydecker to enter the large room where their mission briefings were held.
Max glanced at the small watch she wore on her wrist. 10:15. She had things to do, people to see, and she didn't have the time to be sitting around waiting for Lydecker to make an appearance. "They have him watching the sixer's do an E & E exercise. Where the hell is Lydecker? I don't have all bloody day." Max snapped, checking her watch again. Still 10:15. Bloody fucking hell.
"What the hell is your problem?" Zack asked amused.
"What?" Max asked as she crossed, the immediately uncrossed her legs.
"You are once again suffering from what appears to be AD/HD." Zack said as Max started to drum her finders against the table in front of her.
"I don't have AD/HD." Max's foot was tapping harshly against the table leg.
"Someone forgot to use their Preparation H." Zane said under his breath. Max was about to make a comment involving taking Valtrex to control herpes outbreaks when Lydecker (finally) opened the door and stepped silently into the room.
The X5s quickly got to their feet, their own form of respect since they rarely saluted. "Be seated." He said distractedly.
Lydecker himself sat in one of the chairs at the front of the room, which was a rarity because he usually stood, his way of establishing superiority. But today he didn't look in the least superior, he almost looked pathetic, fatigued, and it almost looked like he had aged a matter of years since yesterday.
The room was so utterly silent that they could hear the sounds of each other's breathing. Something was wrong, something was seriously wrong. "Sir?" Jondie was the first one to build up the courage to speak.
Lydecker looked up, seeming surprised by the sudden intrusion of sound. "Wha-? Oh, sorry." His voice sounded odd to all of them. Zane and Max glanced at each other subtly out of the corner of their eyes while they sat forward in their chairs. "Sorry I am late, we had a…accident with the PA1s."
Each of the X5s recognized that this accident had resulted in someone's death. They didn't need to be told that when they could clearly see it in Lydecker's face.
The silence transcended across the room again, no one wanting to be the first to speak. The X5s didn't even see the PA1s more than a handful of times in passing throughout the base, and never really interacted with them due to the age difference. While youngest X5 was twenty-two, the oldest PA1 was nearly seven. But it didn't matter how little the X5s knew the PA1s, they were still soldiers just like they were, and when a solider died, it affected more than just their direct team.
It was a long moment before Lydecker seemed to snap back into his surroundings and initiate the start of the mission briefing. "What is the status of the Costello matter? Any progress?"
"At this point, sir, we are at a stand still until we can break the encryption codes on the files that X5 452 and myself recovered several days ago. X5-353 and myself have been working on the algorithms but they are more sophisticated than we had anticipated."
"You'll keep me posted?" Lydecker asked easily falling back into the normal routine of a mission briefing.
"Yes Sir." Zack replied.
"Ok then, I understand you had some concerns, X5-452."
"Yes, sir, I do." Max said as she sat forward in her seat. "I don't think it has been properly calculated the risk of having Phillip Costello's godson having access to every detail of our lives. He very well could be in on Costello's crime ring and we just haven't noticed yet. If he finds out we are investigating his godfather, there is a very good chance that Cale will tip Costello, or at the very least derail our investigation. I've been working on this case for well over eight months and we are as close as we ever have been to nailing this bastard. Can we really risk all this work the way we are?" Max finished with a flourish of her hand.
The room fell into silence again as Lydecker considered this. "We also can't risk the snowball effect that Manticore being exposed without our control would have if we don't let Cale do his article. We are going to keep him out of the loop as possible. Just tell him he doesn't have the clearance whenever he questions what you are doing. Plain out lie if you have too, but Manticore is more important than the mission, so do what you have to do."
Max nodded her head in reluctant agreement. "Yes sir."
"Is there anything else that needs to be addressed as far as the Costello case?" When no one spoke up, Lydecker stood to distribute thin black files to the six X5s sitting in the room. "This is just basic information on the rebel crisis in Paris. Early yesterday, the rebel crisis in France reached a new level when the king was taken hostage by the radicals and then they beheaded poor Louis XIX at midnight."
"As in good French tradition." Zack muttered as he flipped open the file and studied the detailed map of Paris.
"I'm telling you, soon as they tried to revert to the monarchy, all of Europe was shot straight to hell. You'd think after the absolute monarch failed so many times, they'd learn to stop trying it." Jondie muttered.
"How are the Conservatuers retaliating?" Max asked as she read the psychological report on the Radical's current leader, and would be dictator of France, Luc Bonaparte, the great times 20 or so grandson of the legendary Napoleon.
"Three bus bombings since the Radicals took the King's palace, several Radical politicians have mysteriously disappeared. The riots aren't getting that bad, only a couple of cars have been set on fire. The only way that we are sending you in is if the riots get out of control. The US is trying to stay out of this as much as possible, we don't want to take sides in a war that we don't want to get involved in."
"That's what they said in 1941." Krit said, which was more than he's probably say for the rest of the day.
No one spoke as they silently read their files. "Nothing to worry about as of now, just so you have the basic info should the occasion arise that they call you in." Lydecker's eyes scanned the room a moment before he stood. "Dismissed."
The X5's gathered their belongings as the walked out of the room, and they scattered as they walked out the door, each heading to their own area to accomplish whatever busy work they had to do for today.
And when the room was empty, Lydecker sat in the dim room, alone, wearily contemplating the mistakes in his life.
Chapter 9:
"Where's Cale?" Zack asked under his breath as they waited for Lydecker to enter the large room where their mission briefings were held.
Max glanced at the small watch she wore on her wrist. 10:15. She had things to do, people to see, and she didn't have the time to be sitting around waiting for Lydecker to make an appearance. "They have him watching the sixer's do an E & E exercise. Where the hell is Lydecker? I don't have all bloody day." Max snapped, checking her watch again. Still 10:15. Bloody fucking hell.
"What the hell is your problem?" Zack asked amused.
"What?" Max asked as she crossed, the immediately uncrossed her legs.
"You are once again suffering from what appears to be AD/HD." Zack said as Max started to drum her finders against the table in front of her.
"I don't have AD/HD." Max's foot was tapping harshly against the table leg.
"Someone forgot to use their Preparation H." Zane said under his breath. Max was about to make a comment involving taking Valtrex to control herpes outbreaks when Lydecker (finally) opened the door and stepped silently into the room.
The X5s quickly got to their feet, their own form of respect since they rarely saluted. "Be seated." He said distractedly.
Lydecker himself sat in one of the chairs at the front of the room, which was a rarity because he usually stood, his way of establishing superiority. But today he didn't look in the least superior, he almost looked pathetic, fatigued, and it almost looked like he had aged a matter of years since yesterday.
The room was so utterly silent that they could hear the sounds of each other's breathing. Something was wrong, something was seriously wrong. "Sir?" Jondie was the first one to build up the courage to speak.
Lydecker looked up, seeming surprised by the sudden intrusion of sound. "Wha-? Oh, sorry." His voice sounded odd to all of them. Zane and Max glanced at each other subtly out of the corner of their eyes while they sat forward in their chairs. "Sorry I am late, we had a…accident with the PA1s."
Each of the X5s recognized that this accident had resulted in someone's death. They didn't need to be told that when they could clearly see it in Lydecker's face.
The silence transcended across the room again, no one wanting to be the first to speak. The X5s didn't even see the PA1s more than a handful of times in passing throughout the base, and never really interacted with them due to the age difference. While youngest X5 was twenty-two, the oldest PA1 was nearly seven. But it didn't matter how little the X5s knew the PA1s, they were still soldiers just like they were, and when a solider died, it affected more than just their direct team.
It was a long moment before Lydecker seemed to snap back into his surroundings and initiate the start of the mission briefing. "What is the status of the Costello matter? Any progress?"
"At this point, sir, we are at a stand still until we can break the encryption codes on the files that X5 452 and myself recovered several days ago. X5-353 and myself have been working on the algorithms but they are more sophisticated than we had anticipated."
"You'll keep me posted?" Lydecker asked easily falling back into the normal routine of a mission briefing.
"Yes Sir." Zack replied.
"Ok then, I understand you had some concerns, X5-452."
"Yes, sir, I do." Max said as she sat forward in her seat. "I don't think it has been properly calculated the risk of having Phillip Costello's godson having access to every detail of our lives. He very well could be in on Costello's crime ring and we just haven't noticed yet. If he finds out we are investigating his godfather, there is a very good chance that Cale will tip Costello, or at the very least derail our investigation. I've been working on this case for well over eight months and we are as close as we ever have been to nailing this bastard. Can we really risk all this work the way we are?" Max finished with a flourish of her hand.
The room fell into silence again as Lydecker considered this. "We also can't risk the snowball effect that Manticore being exposed without our control would have if we don't let Cale do his article. We are going to keep him out of the loop as possible. Just tell him he doesn't have the clearance whenever he questions what you are doing. Plain out lie if you have too, but Manticore is more important than the mission, so do what you have to do."
Max nodded her head in reluctant agreement. "Yes sir."
"Is there anything else that needs to be addressed as far as the Costello case?" When no one spoke up, Lydecker stood to distribute thin black files to the six X5s sitting in the room. "This is just basic information on the rebel crisis in Paris. Early yesterday, the rebel crisis in France reached a new level when the king was taken hostage by the radicals and then they beheaded poor Louis XIX at midnight."
"As in good French tradition." Zack muttered as he flipped open the file and studied the detailed map of Paris.
"I'm telling you, soon as they tried to revert to the monarchy, all of Europe was shot straight to hell. You'd think after the absolute monarch failed so many times, they'd learn to stop trying it." Jondie muttered.
"How are the Conservatuers retaliating?" Max asked as she read the psychological report on the Radical's current leader, and would be dictator of France, Luc Bonaparte, the great times 20 or so grandson of the legendary Napoleon.
"Three bus bombings since the Radicals took the King's palace, several Radical politicians have mysteriously disappeared. The riots aren't getting that bad, only a couple of cars have been set on fire. The only way that we are sending you in is if the riots get out of control. The US is trying to stay out of this as much as possible, we don't want to take sides in a war that we don't want to get involved in."
"That's what they said in 1941." Krit said, which was more than he's probably say for the rest of the day.
No one spoke as they silently read their files. "Nothing to worry about as of now, just so you have the basic info should the occasion arise that they call you in." Lydecker's eyes scanned the room a moment before he stood. "Dismissed."
The X5's gathered their belongings as the walked out of the room, and they scattered as they walked out the door, each heading to their own area to accomplish whatever busy work they had to do for today.
And when the room was empty, Lydecker sat in the dim room, alone, wearily contemplating the mistakes in his life.
