It was five in the morning. The first glimmer of light that heralded the sun's arrival had barely lifted night's cloak. Donovan was wide awake and staring out his window once more. He had not slept well at all that night. Despite his best efforts he could not remember what in the night had disturbed his rest.
As he looked out on the world, the green tinge of his night vision began to fade with the first morning rays. This was not the way a soldier behaved. Finally he ripped his eyes from the forest, getting down on the floor to begin his morning ritual of 300 pushups and 500 sit-ups. The effort did not tire him, but was meant instead to get him into the mind frame of a Manticore operative.
*****
It was just past dawn when Mathews walked the halls of the lower levels of Manticore. Sublevel 6 to be exact. One of the Triumvirate had left a message to meet her here. The three persons that lead Manticore were shrouded in even more secrecy then Manticore itself, that their names were unknown to even Lydecker. He didn't even know if he would actually meet one of the Triumvirate or if they would send a messenger in their stead. A meeting like this was unheard of, or at least never mentioned openly, and the thought made him a little jumpy.
It did not help his nerves that she had asked to meet him here, on this particular sublevel. The whole stretch of hallway was lined on both sides with huge cells. Sublevel 6 is were the preliminary experimentation of stage three took place. All that stood between Mathews and the disfigured shells of humans was a four inch layer of plexiglass.
He stared at the first attempts to incorporate technology with human flesh. The first humans they experimented on were young bums off the street. Now they were lumps of flesh horribly warped by jutting bits of metal. They were reminiscent of the Borg from the pre-pulse show Star Trek. Their heads were shaved, their skin pale and dry, their lips cracking. In parts of the skull metal replaced scalp, under the skin strange bumps occurred where the bodies tissues began to reject the foreign objects, wrapping them over and over again with scar tissue until a strange growth could be seen. These first ones were grotesque creatures that turned into less than zombies. Mathews could feel his stomach twist. Failure never settled well with him.
As he walked further, it was like watching the evolution of man from the humble origins of an ape. When Manticore finally realized that genetics could be the answer to the compatibility between human and machine, the experiments of the X series began. Because gene splicing technology was so poor when they were created that the X-1's and 2's were so un-enhanced they would easily pass for human. They were no faster than the average woman, no stronger than the average man, no smarter than a person of their age. They were useless. All the first scientists had succeeded in was enhancing the healing factor, which proved useful later on when Manticore began to fiddle with techno-implantation. Yet still at this point the geniuses that Manticore had gathered still didn't know how to properly wire the human brain. So these too, turned into mindless zombies.
Later, which was only a few years ago, when the X-3's were deemed "out of date" a more streamline method was used. The creation of nanotechnology was implemented instead of actual implantations. The nanoprobes healed the body from within almost instantaneously. Bullets shot into the patient would be broken down faster by the nanoprobes and used to by them to create more of the microscopic machines.
By the time all the X-3's were used advancements in understanding the brain advanced with leaps and bounds. Last year, when stage three turned her head toward the X-4 the nanoprobes were easily programmed and integrated into their bodies. At will, just by thinking it, the X-4 became stronger and faster as the nanoprobes increased adrenaline flow through the body. Pain was no longer an issue for when any pain receptor in the entire nervous system was set off, the nanoprobes would be just as quick to help release and transport dopamine, the body's natural pain killer. There were so many more untapped possibilities, but even newly enhanced as they were, the X-4 were still weak.
"Prompt as always, Major." The woman he was waiting for greeted him with a nod, drawing his attention away from the X-4 prototype. Though the woman was older, the few streaks of silver on her face showed this, her face was little marred by wrinkles, it was as though she had never used her face to smile or cry before.
"I aim to please…" Mathews left the sentence open in hopes this woman would reveal her name, but she did not notice. Either that or intentionally ignored his efforts. It seemed the Triumvirate would remain nameless.
"I'm sure you must be curious as to why I wanted to meet you."
"I must admit, ma'am, my interest was peaked."
She smiled a smile so minute Mathews did not even notice it. "The Triumvirate has reviewed your performance during Lydecker's absence. We all think highly of you Major. Objective completion was up drastically, as well a mission success. It seems you know your X-6. You use them well."
"Deck," Mathews straightened his shoulders mentally reprimanding himself for slipping into a casual mode with one of the Triumvirate, "I mean Colonel Lydecker never understood how to utilize their specialized capabilities."
"That is what we are here to discuss. We have decided you would be best fit to take over control of the X-6. This, of course, would also mean Project Nemesis, seeing as they are so intertwined."
Mathews was in shock. He could not help it as his jaw dropped slightly.
She continued, "You must also understand that the authority of your new position is retroactive. If you see fit to take control of anything else because it will help you complete your objective; feel free to do so."
All morning he had prepared himself for every scenario, good or bad, but this was beyond any stretch of his imagination. Complete control? It almost seemed like a dream.
"We will be monitoring you of course. Any abuse of this power will result in your termination." Mathews could tell that meant more than just stripping him of this title. "We never hesitate to do what is necessary to maintain the integrity of this fine organization."
"I … I understand." Mathews could not help but stammer and the woman's eyes bore into his skull. She was a head shorter than him and yet he found her to be the most intimidating person he ever met. It had nothing to do with herself, but more the powers she had at her fingertips.
Almost casually the woman turned and looked into the cell containing the X-4 that Mathews was previously watching. She surprised him with her motherly voice, "It is a beautiful thing isn't it?"
Mathews could only nod. The power he had just been handed had yet to soak in.
It was a strange sight as she smiled. It looked almost as thought her face might crack with the effort. "Imagine the efficiency when they will be able to communicate amongst themselves with merely a thought. Operations would become streamlined, stealth movement of an entire group would be accomplished easily, timing would no longer be reliant on watches. That and their increased strength, speed, agility, pain resistance… They will be invincible…"
Just as she spoke the word a noise behind them caught their attention. They turned to find another of the X-4 running around like a four year old child in the middle of a severe temper tantrum. The prototype tore at his clothes and kicked the wall, then fell to his knees and scraped at the floor with his fingernails like he was trying to dig through. His movements were stiff and erratic. And, though the cell was sound proof, they could see he was yelling something, and with such force his face was turning purple.
Mathews' looked at the X-4 confused and shocked. Beside him, she remained fully composed, reaching into her pocket for a cell phone which she then held to her ear. "Jerry, cell 6-104. Shock him." Almost as quickly as she gave the command the X-4 clutched his skull, him mouth stretched in an agonizing scream. Seeing this Mathews was thankful that the sound was blocked.
Still clutching at his skull with one hand the prototype leapt at the plexiglass with his shoulder, punching and kicking at it, desperate to get through to the other side where they stood. All the while he was still screaming in pain. "That's enough, he's gonna hurt himself. Put him under."
Again, almost instantly there was a reaction from the subject. His movements became groggy and slow, his eyelids drooped and moments later he fell to the floor, his body limp.
"Is he…"
"Asleep. The nanoprobes in his brain triggered a reaction that released gamma-aminobutyric acid. Nature's tranquilizer if you will. Anyways, you have just witnessed a slight flaw we have yet to get a handle on. No fears, scientists are close to a solution. This nano technology will be perfected in time for the X-5."
*****
It was early morning when Max opened her eyes. The clock revealed it had only been two hours after they had fallen asleep. Below the sheets her leg was still entwined with his. They had finally succumb to slumber with her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her. As she smelled in his musky scent a lazy smile came to her lips. It wasn't like she was a virgin, her heats, sadly, made sure of that. But these past few hours with Logan was like nothing she had every experienced before. It wasn't a frenzy of flesh and limb, like all the others before. It was tender, and loving, and most importantly it was she, rather than her hormones, that had control.
Though she did not want to disturb him, she found her hand tracing the muscles of his body. Her fingertips traced down the line between his pecs and then lightly over his abs. She smiled to herself again, as she wondered if she missed kissing a spot.
In a soft but gruff morning voice Logan quietly spoke, "That tickles."
Lifting her head she met Logan's eyes, which were still half closed. "Sorry."
His head fell back down onto the pillow, he must still be exhausted. "You shouldn't be. That was the best way I've ever been awakened in my life." His fingertips responded to her actions and were now lightly brushing her shoulder.
Max could not hold down another smile as she lay her head back down. "Then fall asleep, so I can do it again."
*****
Zack and Raven made their way to the top of the building adjacent to Logan's penthouse. After telling her to stay behind he walked up to the lip of the roof closest to the apartment. Just before it came to view, he braced himself for what he might see. Max hadn't returned that night and that meant one of two things. The first being she was roaming the streets on her bike trying to get her head together and the second…well, that was what he was checking for now.
It wasn't like he wanted to see it. He just wanted to get access to Logan's computer. As he lay awake in his bed last night his mind was racing with ideas. It had been too long that he tried to push aside all concerns for Kat and his son. Even if he couldn't hope to save them by himself, since the place was probably crawling with X-6, he at least had to know what had become of them. It did not matter if the news was good or bad, though he expected the worst as he always did, not knowing was far worse.
Cole was strong, young as he was, and he easily defeated two of the X-6. Maybe they had escaped and were on the run. Maybe they had been fully reabsorbed into the Manticore way of life. Or maybe they were dead. Zack hoped with all his heart that, for their sake, it was the first or the last.
Looking into the apartment he was relieved to find the main areas were empty, and the blinds of the bedroom were closed enough to not reveal what lay inside. Satisfied they would not disturb anyone by breaking into the apartment he signaled Raven over. In her arms she held all the gear that was necessary.
*****
Mathews stepped into Lydecker's office, confident beyond words. He was thankful that not only had the triumvirate given him such a huge responsibility, but that they had also left it to him to inform Deck of the change in the ranks.
"You wanted to see me?" Mathews walked into the office without being beckoned and took a seat without being first offered.
Lydecker eyed him suspiciously but chose to ignore this obvious lapse in protocol. There were other pressing matters he had to discuss. "Yes. I wanna know what you were thinking when you deployed X-6r to a kind of mission that X-6m or X-6q could have easily accomplished."
"You always underestimated the X-5. Why send someone weaker who might finish the job when you can send someone who will finish the job?"
"I want you to bring her home, she would be better used for other matters."
"And I want to keep her out there. She has already established relationships with two of the X-5 who will, in the end, most likely lead her to the others." His confidence was obviously unnerving the still weak colonel.
"I don't think you understand Mathews, that was an order, not a request. I want you to bring my operative home with the X-5 she currently has."
Finally Mathews could not take it anymore and he laughed. "They are your operatives no longer Deck."
"What are you—" Lydecker's eyes widened with confusion.
Mathew stood now. "The powers that be have decided your concern for the X-5 is interfering with your ability to lead this organization. This morning I was informed by the Triumvirate that I now have full control of the X-6 and Project Nemesis as well as retroactive command. If you don't know what that means, let me clarify: you will now answer to me. The X-5 and anything before are mine to control if I deem it necessary. Check the database if you must, but it wouldn't be proper to doubt your commanding officer. I would love to stay and watch that pathetic look on your face but right now, I tire of you and I have more important matters to attend to."
Mathews smiled again. He had dreamt of the speech many times before, but to actually say the words was a power trip he wished he could live over and over again. No longer needing to be dismissed, he stood up and left.
Lydecker sat, back rigid in his chair, staring at the space before him that Mathews had just vacated. He had thought it was just a glitch in the system when he could not access files he once had free reign over. Finally, he turned to the computer and accessed a few files here and there. In almost every instance, his name as commanding officer was replaced by that of General Mathews. God, it was true…
*****
Once inside the penthouse, Zack and Raven remained in stealth mode. There was no need to awaken Logan or anyone else who might be here earlier than necessary.
Raven sat down and waited for the computer to boot up. Zack had placed himself behind her, arms crossed, watching over her shoulder.
"Remember to scramble your ip."
Raven looked back at him. "I was trained thoroughly in cyber-espionage."
"Just making sure…" Zack backed down and let his daughter continue.
"Now what is it that I'm looking for?"
"Anything recent connected to the barcode number 330981273112."
"I can only stay logged on for a minute before the security programs find me." Her fingers were unnaturally fast, but there was nothing natural about anything that came out of Manticore. Minutes later she had broken into Manticore files and began a search for the number Zack had just given her.
They waited only a few heartbeats, which seemed like hours, before search hits were returned. Operation files were pulled up onto the screen.
"What the…" Raven said, studying the reports that appeared.
"What is it?"
"Lydecker should be in control of these operations…" She did not have to explain futher as Zack's eyes came to rest on the box that held the commanding officer's name. All of them read, General Mathews.
"He's a general now…" She rapidly clicked through the different reports, time was of the essence here.
"Wait, wait, go back."
The clicked back and it was a file on X-6e.
"Again."
The one before that was a daily log of the X-series progress.
"Again."
Finally they pulled up the file that caught Zack's attention in the first place. The heading was foreign to both of them.
Project Nemesis. Further down the page, after all the stats, it read:
Natural offspring of 330417291599 and 330981273112.
"What are they doing to him?"
The question went unanswered as they scrolled down. There was an attachment of pictures and when Raven clicked on the link stills of a young man were shown. He wore army fatigues and stood arrow straight, in line with some unknown preteens approximately Raven's age. His face showed no emotion and his hair was tiger striped.
"Those are my…I mean the X6."
Zack was too shocked to pay her slip of the tongue any attention.
"No…" he whispered as they scrolled picture after picture of Cole during mock-operations and other various training exercises.
Then another link caught Raven's eye. "What's this?" she said as she clicked on a link titled: Operation Lockdown. Pictures popped up immediately after she clicked and there was no time to prepare for what the screen displayed.
"It can't be…"
Kat's limp body lay on damp earth, her face was smeared with blood and dirt and her neck was in an unnatural position. It was obvious by the way her eyes stared blankly at nothing, that she was dead. "I'll kill whoever—"
Raven interrupted his vengeful speech, "I don't think you will."
"What?" The mourning for Kat was shortlived.
She did not say a word but instead pointed to a paragraph written in the report:
The subject, known to the X-6 as Donovan, formerly named Cole, has proven his skill in this exercise, which ensured his loyalties to Manticore. Tracking capabilities are at a premium. However his efficiency in the effort was less than foreseen. It has been concluded that this was only due to the circumstances in which he hunted his prey. The premise was that an escapee had injured X-6e, the prototype Donovan had bonded to most. It is assumed that he delayed the kill to enjoy avenging his new family and that future assignments not so entrenched in personal matters will be completed swiftly and professionally. In any case our molding of the child's mind proved to be a complete success. Even when confronted with the escapee who was, in fact, his mother, he still completed his objective and took her life. Prototype X-5k was a necessary sacrifice to secure the allegiance of who could be Manticore's greatest soldier.
Before he could read on Raven tapped a few keys and the window that held all the documents disappeared from the screen.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "They were beginning to track our signal, I had to get out."
However her words were lost on Zack, he stood staring at the now empty screen with a look of horror on his face. Their son had killed Kat. Zack remembered in the alley when they finally found Cole after weeks of searching. The child did not trust him or Max, but the sound of Kat's voice proved all that was necessary to calm him. When she arrived Cole ran into her arms. And now he had murdered his own mother. This went beyond anything Zack could have imagined that Manticore would do to his son.
And Kat was dead. He always thought that death would be better than going back to Manticore. However right now he wished more than anything that she were alive, even if it meant her reprogramming. At least with her alive, there was a chance to rescue her. Now, her remains were most likely violated, stripped of anything they might want, her organs harvested like the latest fall crop. The rest of her corpse was probably dumped into a shallow grave at the fringes of the compound if not submerged in a strange preserving fluid in some oversized test tube.
His mind kept flashing between the images of Cole among and working with who must have been the X-6, and the images of Kat's lifeless body. Zack was thankful Raven had to pull out just then, because he did not want to have to read more of the atrocities that took place at that little island of hell on earth.
As he looked out on the world, the green tinge of his night vision began to fade with the first morning rays. This was not the way a soldier behaved. Finally he ripped his eyes from the forest, getting down on the floor to begin his morning ritual of 300 pushups and 500 sit-ups. The effort did not tire him, but was meant instead to get him into the mind frame of a Manticore operative.
*****
It was just past dawn when Mathews walked the halls of the lower levels of Manticore. Sublevel 6 to be exact. One of the Triumvirate had left a message to meet her here. The three persons that lead Manticore were shrouded in even more secrecy then Manticore itself, that their names were unknown to even Lydecker. He didn't even know if he would actually meet one of the Triumvirate or if they would send a messenger in their stead. A meeting like this was unheard of, or at least never mentioned openly, and the thought made him a little jumpy.
It did not help his nerves that she had asked to meet him here, on this particular sublevel. The whole stretch of hallway was lined on both sides with huge cells. Sublevel 6 is were the preliminary experimentation of stage three took place. All that stood between Mathews and the disfigured shells of humans was a four inch layer of plexiglass.
He stared at the first attempts to incorporate technology with human flesh. The first humans they experimented on were young bums off the street. Now they were lumps of flesh horribly warped by jutting bits of metal. They were reminiscent of the Borg from the pre-pulse show Star Trek. Their heads were shaved, their skin pale and dry, their lips cracking. In parts of the skull metal replaced scalp, under the skin strange bumps occurred where the bodies tissues began to reject the foreign objects, wrapping them over and over again with scar tissue until a strange growth could be seen. These first ones were grotesque creatures that turned into less than zombies. Mathews could feel his stomach twist. Failure never settled well with him.
As he walked further, it was like watching the evolution of man from the humble origins of an ape. When Manticore finally realized that genetics could be the answer to the compatibility between human and machine, the experiments of the X series began. Because gene splicing technology was so poor when they were created that the X-1's and 2's were so un-enhanced they would easily pass for human. They were no faster than the average woman, no stronger than the average man, no smarter than a person of their age. They were useless. All the first scientists had succeeded in was enhancing the healing factor, which proved useful later on when Manticore began to fiddle with techno-implantation. Yet still at this point the geniuses that Manticore had gathered still didn't know how to properly wire the human brain. So these too, turned into mindless zombies.
Later, which was only a few years ago, when the X-3's were deemed "out of date" a more streamline method was used. The creation of nanotechnology was implemented instead of actual implantations. The nanoprobes healed the body from within almost instantaneously. Bullets shot into the patient would be broken down faster by the nanoprobes and used to by them to create more of the microscopic machines.
By the time all the X-3's were used advancements in understanding the brain advanced with leaps and bounds. Last year, when stage three turned her head toward the X-4 the nanoprobes were easily programmed and integrated into their bodies. At will, just by thinking it, the X-4 became stronger and faster as the nanoprobes increased adrenaline flow through the body. Pain was no longer an issue for when any pain receptor in the entire nervous system was set off, the nanoprobes would be just as quick to help release and transport dopamine, the body's natural pain killer. There were so many more untapped possibilities, but even newly enhanced as they were, the X-4 were still weak.
"Prompt as always, Major." The woman he was waiting for greeted him with a nod, drawing his attention away from the X-4 prototype. Though the woman was older, the few streaks of silver on her face showed this, her face was little marred by wrinkles, it was as though she had never used her face to smile or cry before.
"I aim to please…" Mathews left the sentence open in hopes this woman would reveal her name, but she did not notice. Either that or intentionally ignored his efforts. It seemed the Triumvirate would remain nameless.
"I'm sure you must be curious as to why I wanted to meet you."
"I must admit, ma'am, my interest was peaked."
She smiled a smile so minute Mathews did not even notice it. "The Triumvirate has reviewed your performance during Lydecker's absence. We all think highly of you Major. Objective completion was up drastically, as well a mission success. It seems you know your X-6. You use them well."
"Deck," Mathews straightened his shoulders mentally reprimanding himself for slipping into a casual mode with one of the Triumvirate, "I mean Colonel Lydecker never understood how to utilize their specialized capabilities."
"That is what we are here to discuss. We have decided you would be best fit to take over control of the X-6. This, of course, would also mean Project Nemesis, seeing as they are so intertwined."
Mathews was in shock. He could not help it as his jaw dropped slightly.
She continued, "You must also understand that the authority of your new position is retroactive. If you see fit to take control of anything else because it will help you complete your objective; feel free to do so."
All morning he had prepared himself for every scenario, good or bad, but this was beyond any stretch of his imagination. Complete control? It almost seemed like a dream.
"We will be monitoring you of course. Any abuse of this power will result in your termination." Mathews could tell that meant more than just stripping him of this title. "We never hesitate to do what is necessary to maintain the integrity of this fine organization."
"I … I understand." Mathews could not help but stammer and the woman's eyes bore into his skull. She was a head shorter than him and yet he found her to be the most intimidating person he ever met. It had nothing to do with herself, but more the powers she had at her fingertips.
Almost casually the woman turned and looked into the cell containing the X-4 that Mathews was previously watching. She surprised him with her motherly voice, "It is a beautiful thing isn't it?"
Mathews could only nod. The power he had just been handed had yet to soak in.
It was a strange sight as she smiled. It looked almost as thought her face might crack with the effort. "Imagine the efficiency when they will be able to communicate amongst themselves with merely a thought. Operations would become streamlined, stealth movement of an entire group would be accomplished easily, timing would no longer be reliant on watches. That and their increased strength, speed, agility, pain resistance… They will be invincible…"
Just as she spoke the word a noise behind them caught their attention. They turned to find another of the X-4 running around like a four year old child in the middle of a severe temper tantrum. The prototype tore at his clothes and kicked the wall, then fell to his knees and scraped at the floor with his fingernails like he was trying to dig through. His movements were stiff and erratic. And, though the cell was sound proof, they could see he was yelling something, and with such force his face was turning purple.
Mathews' looked at the X-4 confused and shocked. Beside him, she remained fully composed, reaching into her pocket for a cell phone which she then held to her ear. "Jerry, cell 6-104. Shock him." Almost as quickly as she gave the command the X-4 clutched his skull, him mouth stretched in an agonizing scream. Seeing this Mathews was thankful that the sound was blocked.
Still clutching at his skull with one hand the prototype leapt at the plexiglass with his shoulder, punching and kicking at it, desperate to get through to the other side where they stood. All the while he was still screaming in pain. "That's enough, he's gonna hurt himself. Put him under."
Again, almost instantly there was a reaction from the subject. His movements became groggy and slow, his eyelids drooped and moments later he fell to the floor, his body limp.
"Is he…"
"Asleep. The nanoprobes in his brain triggered a reaction that released gamma-aminobutyric acid. Nature's tranquilizer if you will. Anyways, you have just witnessed a slight flaw we have yet to get a handle on. No fears, scientists are close to a solution. This nano technology will be perfected in time for the X-5."
*****
It was early morning when Max opened her eyes. The clock revealed it had only been two hours after they had fallen asleep. Below the sheets her leg was still entwined with his. They had finally succumb to slumber with her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her. As she smelled in his musky scent a lazy smile came to her lips. It wasn't like she was a virgin, her heats, sadly, made sure of that. But these past few hours with Logan was like nothing she had every experienced before. It wasn't a frenzy of flesh and limb, like all the others before. It was tender, and loving, and most importantly it was she, rather than her hormones, that had control.
Though she did not want to disturb him, she found her hand tracing the muscles of his body. Her fingertips traced down the line between his pecs and then lightly over his abs. She smiled to herself again, as she wondered if she missed kissing a spot.
In a soft but gruff morning voice Logan quietly spoke, "That tickles."
Lifting her head she met Logan's eyes, which were still half closed. "Sorry."
His head fell back down onto the pillow, he must still be exhausted. "You shouldn't be. That was the best way I've ever been awakened in my life." His fingertips responded to her actions and were now lightly brushing her shoulder.
Max could not hold down another smile as she lay her head back down. "Then fall asleep, so I can do it again."
*****
Zack and Raven made their way to the top of the building adjacent to Logan's penthouse. After telling her to stay behind he walked up to the lip of the roof closest to the apartment. Just before it came to view, he braced himself for what he might see. Max hadn't returned that night and that meant one of two things. The first being she was roaming the streets on her bike trying to get her head together and the second…well, that was what he was checking for now.
It wasn't like he wanted to see it. He just wanted to get access to Logan's computer. As he lay awake in his bed last night his mind was racing with ideas. It had been too long that he tried to push aside all concerns for Kat and his son. Even if he couldn't hope to save them by himself, since the place was probably crawling with X-6, he at least had to know what had become of them. It did not matter if the news was good or bad, though he expected the worst as he always did, not knowing was far worse.
Cole was strong, young as he was, and he easily defeated two of the X-6. Maybe they had escaped and were on the run. Maybe they had been fully reabsorbed into the Manticore way of life. Or maybe they were dead. Zack hoped with all his heart that, for their sake, it was the first or the last.
Looking into the apartment he was relieved to find the main areas were empty, and the blinds of the bedroom were closed enough to not reveal what lay inside. Satisfied they would not disturb anyone by breaking into the apartment he signaled Raven over. In her arms she held all the gear that was necessary.
*****
Mathews stepped into Lydecker's office, confident beyond words. He was thankful that not only had the triumvirate given him such a huge responsibility, but that they had also left it to him to inform Deck of the change in the ranks.
"You wanted to see me?" Mathews walked into the office without being beckoned and took a seat without being first offered.
Lydecker eyed him suspiciously but chose to ignore this obvious lapse in protocol. There were other pressing matters he had to discuss. "Yes. I wanna know what you were thinking when you deployed X-6r to a kind of mission that X-6m or X-6q could have easily accomplished."
"You always underestimated the X-5. Why send someone weaker who might finish the job when you can send someone who will finish the job?"
"I want you to bring her home, she would be better used for other matters."
"And I want to keep her out there. She has already established relationships with two of the X-5 who will, in the end, most likely lead her to the others." His confidence was obviously unnerving the still weak colonel.
"I don't think you understand Mathews, that was an order, not a request. I want you to bring my operative home with the X-5 she currently has."
Finally Mathews could not take it anymore and he laughed. "They are your operatives no longer Deck."
"What are you—" Lydecker's eyes widened with confusion.
Mathew stood now. "The powers that be have decided your concern for the X-5 is interfering with your ability to lead this organization. This morning I was informed by the Triumvirate that I now have full control of the X-6 and Project Nemesis as well as retroactive command. If you don't know what that means, let me clarify: you will now answer to me. The X-5 and anything before are mine to control if I deem it necessary. Check the database if you must, but it wouldn't be proper to doubt your commanding officer. I would love to stay and watch that pathetic look on your face but right now, I tire of you and I have more important matters to attend to."
Mathews smiled again. He had dreamt of the speech many times before, but to actually say the words was a power trip he wished he could live over and over again. No longer needing to be dismissed, he stood up and left.
Lydecker sat, back rigid in his chair, staring at the space before him that Mathews had just vacated. He had thought it was just a glitch in the system when he could not access files he once had free reign over. Finally, he turned to the computer and accessed a few files here and there. In almost every instance, his name as commanding officer was replaced by that of General Mathews. God, it was true…
*****
Once inside the penthouse, Zack and Raven remained in stealth mode. There was no need to awaken Logan or anyone else who might be here earlier than necessary.
Raven sat down and waited for the computer to boot up. Zack had placed himself behind her, arms crossed, watching over her shoulder.
"Remember to scramble your ip."
Raven looked back at him. "I was trained thoroughly in cyber-espionage."
"Just making sure…" Zack backed down and let his daughter continue.
"Now what is it that I'm looking for?"
"Anything recent connected to the barcode number 330981273112."
"I can only stay logged on for a minute before the security programs find me." Her fingers were unnaturally fast, but there was nothing natural about anything that came out of Manticore. Minutes later she had broken into Manticore files and began a search for the number Zack had just given her.
They waited only a few heartbeats, which seemed like hours, before search hits were returned. Operation files were pulled up onto the screen.
"What the…" Raven said, studying the reports that appeared.
"What is it?"
"Lydecker should be in control of these operations…" She did not have to explain futher as Zack's eyes came to rest on the box that held the commanding officer's name. All of them read, General Mathews.
"He's a general now…" She rapidly clicked through the different reports, time was of the essence here.
"Wait, wait, go back."
The clicked back and it was a file on X-6e.
"Again."
The one before that was a daily log of the X-series progress.
"Again."
Finally they pulled up the file that caught Zack's attention in the first place. The heading was foreign to both of them.
Project Nemesis. Further down the page, after all the stats, it read:
Natural offspring of 330417291599 and 330981273112.
"What are they doing to him?"
The question went unanswered as they scrolled down. There was an attachment of pictures and when Raven clicked on the link stills of a young man were shown. He wore army fatigues and stood arrow straight, in line with some unknown preteens approximately Raven's age. His face showed no emotion and his hair was tiger striped.
"Those are my…I mean the X6."
Zack was too shocked to pay her slip of the tongue any attention.
"No…" he whispered as they scrolled picture after picture of Cole during mock-operations and other various training exercises.
Then another link caught Raven's eye. "What's this?" she said as she clicked on a link titled: Operation Lockdown. Pictures popped up immediately after she clicked and there was no time to prepare for what the screen displayed.
"It can't be…"
Kat's limp body lay on damp earth, her face was smeared with blood and dirt and her neck was in an unnatural position. It was obvious by the way her eyes stared blankly at nothing, that she was dead. "I'll kill whoever—"
Raven interrupted his vengeful speech, "I don't think you will."
"What?" The mourning for Kat was shortlived.
She did not say a word but instead pointed to a paragraph written in the report:
The subject, known to the X-6 as Donovan, formerly named Cole, has proven his skill in this exercise, which ensured his loyalties to Manticore. Tracking capabilities are at a premium. However his efficiency in the effort was less than foreseen. It has been concluded that this was only due to the circumstances in which he hunted his prey. The premise was that an escapee had injured X-6e, the prototype Donovan had bonded to most. It is assumed that he delayed the kill to enjoy avenging his new family and that future assignments not so entrenched in personal matters will be completed swiftly and professionally. In any case our molding of the child's mind proved to be a complete success. Even when confronted with the escapee who was, in fact, his mother, he still completed his objective and took her life. Prototype X-5k was a necessary sacrifice to secure the allegiance of who could be Manticore's greatest soldier.
Before he could read on Raven tapped a few keys and the window that held all the documents disappeared from the screen.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "They were beginning to track our signal, I had to get out."
However her words were lost on Zack, he stood staring at the now empty screen with a look of horror on his face. Their son had killed Kat. Zack remembered in the alley when they finally found Cole after weeks of searching. The child did not trust him or Max, but the sound of Kat's voice proved all that was necessary to calm him. When she arrived Cole ran into her arms. And now he had murdered his own mother. This went beyond anything Zack could have imagined that Manticore would do to his son.
And Kat was dead. He always thought that death would be better than going back to Manticore. However right now he wished more than anything that she were alive, even if it meant her reprogramming. At least with her alive, there was a chance to rescue her. Now, her remains were most likely violated, stripped of anything they might want, her organs harvested like the latest fall crop. The rest of her corpse was probably dumped into a shallow grave at the fringes of the compound if not submerged in a strange preserving fluid in some oversized test tube.
His mind kept flashing between the images of Cole among and working with who must have been the X-6, and the images of Kat's lifeless body. Zack was thankful Raven had to pull out just then, because he did not want to have to read more of the atrocities that took place at that little island of hell on earth.