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Cruel Twists of Fate
2020


"Watch it, G.I. Joe!" RX shouted as a guard threw him into his cell. "I got better service in Juvie you dumb ass!" He squinted into the darkness of his new prison. "Man, Lori, you really screwed up this time."

"Did she turn on you, too?" A bitter voice asked from one corner of the room.

RX spun to face Logan. "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I don't? She claimed she was going to *help* Max. Do you call turning her into Manticore *helping* her?"

"Shit, Logan, she's been mourning her husband for two years. A couple of days ago, she finds out the guy is alive and kicking. She's so in love with that man...X4...whatever that she wasn't thinkin' straight. It ain't her fault. She's one of them hopeless romantics who believes that love conquers all. How can I tell her that that stuff's all shit?"

Logan wheeled himself into the light and stared at RX. "Are you telling me she did all of this to get her husband back?"

"Yep."

He hung his head in his hands. "Why didn't she just ask? I would have helped her, and we wouldn't have ended up in this mess!"

"Like I said, hombre, she wasn't thinkin' straight." RX muttered.

"Why are you here?"

"My best guess? Lori told too many lies, and they bit her in the ass. We're going to have to do something about it, though. You and Max have a little while before you face the firing squad, but Lori's and my days numbered. We're no good to them now. And, I don't think Lydecker's gonna be of much assistance."

"I'm not sure I'll be of much help to you, RX." Logan sighed. "I'm not really much help to anyone in situations like this."

RX raised an eyebrow. "You're shittin' me right? You're tellin' me 'Eyes Only' can't get out of a little old jail cell. Shit, I'm disappointed."

"I'm not 'Eyes Only.' " Logan answered quickly.

"Yeah, right, and I ain't a thirteen year old Mexican American with a Juvenile record longer than Moby Dick." RX muttered as he sat down on the floor and began untying his shoelaces. " 'Eyes Only' is my hero, Logan. I didn't see it at first, but I recognize your eyes now. You *are* Eyes Only. Deny it all you want. I don't care. Frankly, I'd be disappointed if you didn't." With a soft declaration of triumph RX removed his tennis shoe and began picking at the sole.

"What are you doing?" Logan's curiousity got the better of him as he wheeled closer to the teenager.

"This." RX declared as he pulled the plastic free of the shoe to reveal a small array of tools and implements. "When you're paranoid, its best to be prepared for anything. I figure between my criminal mastermind and your area of expertise, we can get out of this here cell in a matter of no time."

"I think I could actually start to like you, RX."

"I'm a lovable guy."

X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4

Lori watched through tear dimmed eyes as the prison door swung open. She'd been expecting it. Max was busy plotting their escape...but Lori knew. She knew they'd be coming to kill her soon. She knew they wouldn't wait long. Truthfully, she wanted to die. Life held no meaning for her any longer.

X4-316 stepped into the cell accompanied by two other armed guards. "Dr. Davis, you're coming with me."

Lori nodded sadly. "I'd follow you anywhere, Nick. You know that."

Max's eyes darted to the soldier. "That's Nick."

"Yes, this my husband."

"Come on." He yanked her arm roughly out the door. She didn't care anymore. She just kept whispering, "I love you," over and over again as they walked.

Finally, they stopped inside a brightly lit, empty room. 316 held her firmly in place as Lydecker examined her from head to foot. "You've brought this all upon yourself, Lori."

"Yeah, right, Deck. I know." She was getting some of her will power back. Just seeing this man made her remember why she needed to live. She couldn't let him win. "You can tell the android to let me go. I can't escape. Not by myself. Not with all these guards."

Lydecker waved his hand at 316. Immediately, he dropped his hold on her and fell into an 'at ease' stance by Lydecker's side. "I can't believe you're willing to die for this, Loren."

"You took him from me, Deck. My joy. My heart. My life. They were all erased the day you erased his memory. I would rather die than live without my husband."

"Do you even know what this man did?" Lydecker asked. Lori stared at him, but did not reply. "You were told your father committed suicide when you were twelve. He didn't, Lori. Your father was going to tell the Defense Department about the X5 escape. He was going to compromise our security. We had been training one of the X4s to work as an assasin. So, we told him to kill you father. He carried through with the objective and escaped later that night. Do you know who that X4 was?"

Lori blanched. "No! I don't believe you. Nick would have told me. He would have never kept that from me."

"You really think so, Lori? You really think he was willing to risk your relationship by telling you that he was your father's murderer?" Lydecker smiled triumphantly. "Now you have to understand why I took him from you. He would have only hurt you in the end, Loren."

"You're wrong." Lori whispered. "Nick would never hurt me. He loves me."

"He'll do whatever I tell him to do." As if to illustrate, Lydecker unstrapped his sidearm and handed it to X4-316. "Kill her."


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