Cruel Twists of Fate
2020
Logan gritted his teeth
as the next wave of electricity passed through his body. He had to keep a
strong face. Max couldn't let Manticore know where any of the others
were. If she thought he was breaking...she just might tell.
Mercifully, the sound of the door opening forced his tormenter to disconnect the
flow.
"Your relieved of duty.
I'm going to take over from here." Lydecker's voice interrupted.
Logan propped himself up enough to see their familiar adversary standing in the
doorway with two uniform clad soldiers behind him. They were probably X4s
or X5s. He could surmise that much from their dark uniforms and hats
pulled down over their heads. Logan squinted at the smaller of the
two. She looked familiar, but from this distance who could really
tell?
The men seemed annoyed with
the interruption but made room for their superior and his entourage. The
smaller of the soldiers moved forward quickly, seemingly to check Max's
restraints. As she bent over to pull them tighter, she pressed her lips to
Max's ear. "Shh. Don't let on its me." Lori whispered.
"I need you to trust me, Max. I'm going to get you out of here. But,
you have to trust me. You have to tell Lydecker that you know where the
other X5s are."
Max glanced at Lori
out of the corner of her eye. Trust her? She expected trust after
everything she'd done? Still, she couldn't forget the woman's grief over
her husband...her husband! Max's eyes flew to the door and the man still
positioned there. For a second, she was sure she saw the X4 wink at
her. Max gave a small, imperceptible
nod.
"Sir, permission to speak
freely?" Nick asked.
Lydecker frowned and turned around to
face the soldier. "Permission granted,
316."
"I don't think she's going to
tell us where the others are unless we hold true to our
threat."
Lydecker ruminated over
this for a moment and nodded. "Why don't you show her how serious we are,
316?"
Nick removed the sidearm from
his holster and took up a position by Logan's head. He cocked the pistol
and pressed the cold steele against Logan's
temple.
Max struggled against her
bonds with a bevy of curses. Nick watched her with amusement and began to
quietly countdown from ten. At three, Max finally broke. "All right,
Deck. I'll tell you where they are...under one
condition."
"I don't think you're in
any position to be bargaining, 452." Lydecker observed with a
sneer.
"Do you want to know where
they are or not?"
"Fine. 452,
what do you want for them?"
"You
have to let him go."
"Done."
Lydecker waved a hand at Nick who began removing the electrodes and
restraints. "As soon as I have the X5s, you're little friend is free to
go. Now, where are they?"
"I'm
going to have to show you. If they see you coming, they're going to
scatter." Max declared with confidence. She could see the glimmer in
Lori's eyes. Apparently, this was exactly what they'd been hoping
for.
Lydecker hesistated. "All
right, but if you try anything, he dies."
X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4
Nick hurriedly pushed
Logan down the hallway. They were going to be cutting it close. He
swung the wheelchair around the corner and ran straight into an
officer.
"What are you doing with
that man, 452?"
Nick saluted and
stood rigidly in position. "Taking him to the infirmary, Sir. 452
gave up her information. We have to keep this man healthy until the X5s
are returned."
"A bargaining
tool?"
"Yes,
Sir."
"Carry on."
Nick breathed a sigh of relief as
he continued down the hallway. Now, if RX was doing his part....
X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4
The teenager sat perched
in the cargo bay of the small military transport with a purloined laptop in
front of him. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he rerouted the
security feed from the video cameras in the hallway. "It's sure a good
thing that all these hallways look the same." He muttered as he continued
to reek havoc.
RX was
carefully mixing the screens so that it appeared as if Nick was taking Logan to
the infirmary. When, in reality, he was heading straight for the
underground tunnel to the airstrip. So long as he wasn't questioned by any
other passers by, they were home free.
X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4
Fifteen feet. Just
fifteen feet. Logan watched the end of the tunnel nervously. Only
fifteen more feet and they were on the runway. Could it really be this
easy?
"Stop!"
Nick cursed and began to walk
faster.
"I said stop! This is
a restricted area! X4-316,
stop!"
Nick pulled the gun from his
holster and stared ahead at the guard blocking the doorway. "How many
times do I have to tell you people, my name is Nick?" He shouted back as
he fired one clean shot through the man's right forearm. The guard's gun
crashed to the floor as the muscle in his arm was shredded. He screamed
with pain and gripped the bloody appendage. His wound was sufficient
enough to render him incapable of stopping the X4 and his companion. One
quick fist to the head, and the pathetic guard was out cold.
Nick bolted out the door, sure that
he could already hear the reinforcements following him. He spotted the
military transport at the head of the runway. Max and Lori had already
taken up positions by the door, semi-automatic assault rifles at the
ready. Lori grinned at her husband and winked as she picked off one of the
guards behind him. They could only come out the door one at a time, and
that was going to make them easy pickings for the two women guarding the
plane.
Max looked approvingly at the
man on the pavement by the door. "Nice
shot."
"Thanks." Lori
blushed. "Nick thought it would be wise if I learned how to use a
gun." She explained as Max shot the next two who emerged from the
exit.
"He must be a good
teacher."
"The best."
X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4
Lori made her way to the
back of the plane. "Come on, Nick. Everyone's strapped in and ready
to go."
Nick nodded, removing a
grenade from his pocket. Swiftly, he pulled the pin and tossed it towards
the exit. "Tell them to start 'er up. I'm going to make sure they
can't use this runway and follow
us."
Lori nodded and jogged back to
the cockpit.
No sooner had
the plane started to accelerate, then Nick had pulled out yet another grenade
and thrown it towards the beginning of the runway. The result was a
mangled piece of macadam which would make lift off virtually impossible.
He grunted as he pulled the plane door closed and locked it securely.
"Let's get out of here." He called.
X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4
Lori leaned her head back
against the seat of the plane. She could feel two years worth of fatigue
catching up with her.
"Hey,
baby." Nick had been running through a few final aspects of their escape
with RX. They needed to cover their
trail.
Lori smiled, although she
didn't open her eyes. "I'm afraid to go to sleep, Nick. I keep
thinking that if I do...this will all turn out to be a
dream."
Nick sat down next to her,
rubbing her arm gently. "It isn't a dream, Love. I'm here, and I'm
not going anywhere."
"Pinch
me?" She asked in a soft tone.
"I'll do you one better." He whispered back with an evil grin.
Before she could protest, he'd pulled her into his lap and engaged her in
another passionate kiss. "There," He brushed his lips against her
forehead. "You see, it isn't a
dream."
Lori sighed
contentedly. "Don't let go." She pleaded. "Could you just hold
me a for a little while?"
"Anything,
Baby."
X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4
Max watched the scene
play out and glanced at the man in the seat beside her. "I hate to say
this, but it might have actually been worth
it."
Logan nodded his
agreement. "Just watching those two together...its easy to see how much
they love each other." He paused. "I don't know how they surived the
last two years..." He didn't voice the comment which followed in his
mind. He'd barely survived two days without Max. Had that been
her...
She gave him a sidelong
glance. She knew what he'd wanted to say, even if he hadn't said
it.
X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4
Nick turned Lori's face
up to his. "I have to confess, I'm surprised at the way you handled
Lydecker. I didn't think you had it in
you."
Lori giggled into his
shirt. "I still don't. That wasn't Lethe. It was saline
solution. His memory is safe. He's my godfather, Nick. I knew
him well enough to know that the threat would be enough to corral him into
obedience. Besides, he'll have Manticore waiting at my house for us when
we get off this plane. He doesn't need an antidote, so we're not going
back."
"Where are we going,
then?"
"Where ever you want.
As long as you're here with me, my Orpheus, I'm in
Paradise."
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