All Fairytales End – Chapter Seven
Disclaimer: please refer to Chapter 1
When the ground disappeared from underneath the Jeep, Dean was sure that they were all gonna die. His heart was thumping so hard that he thought it'd go into overdrive and just collapse. He didn't even notice that the blood curdling-deafening scream came from his mouth. Tash had unfastened her seat belt and while the Jeep was still freewheeling, she landed with a thud in the backseat beside him and clamped a hand over his wide-open mouth.
With her free hand, she re-strapped herself in. A second longer and she would have been thrown from the vehicle as all the wheels made contact with the earth and the Jeep jerked violently and then lurched forward. She kept her hand firmly over his mouth, his eyes were still wide with fear and his was ghost pale. "I think we lost 'em." Alec said. Tash sent a look over her shoulder back at the small crevasse they'd just jumped. In the darkness it would be extremely hard for the human eye to spot. If they followed them, they would probably go over. Oh well, at least it would mean that they'd lose them for good. That had to be a plus. Turning back to Dean, she noticed he'd gone eerily quiet. Oh shit, he'd passed out. Taking her hand away she put one arm over his shoulders, holding him steady as the Jeep continued to bounce on the uneven ground. Alec was following his gut, using the moonlight as a guide he was headed in the general direction of Yellster Airfield.
Once they reached solid tarmac, Tash reached under the front seat and dug out her backpack. Rummaging around she found her cell phone and dialed a number from memory. It was number she hadn't used in about a year, she crossed her fingers and prayed he'd answer. Please pick up and when you hear me don't hang up.
"Jones Worsely speaking, better be good cause I need sleep."
Tash took breath and let it out slowly before speaking. "Jones, it's me and please don't hang up." She heard a rustling on the other end, which meant he'd either been in bed or he'd slept amongst his paperwork again. Some things would never change. "You don't have to say anything just listen."
"Jen, do you have any idea how much shit you're in?" He asked civilly. "You broke mom's heart when you walked out. Dad's disowned you, you've been cut from the will."
"Listen lil bro, I don't a flying crap," She'd almost swore but bit her tongue. At home she'd always been the prefect lady, she didn't want to shock her brother now. It wasn't the time for it. "I've got bigger worries right now. Jones, I need a huge favor and I'm asking you not to turn me down. You're my only shot at this, I don't have anyone else."
She explained what she needed and when he didn't respond, she didn't plead with him any further. If he wouldn't help there was no way she was gonna convince him. He'd been silent for a while now and she was beginning to panic. She didn't know what to make of it. The longer she held the line, the more it was costing her; time, money and perhaps their lives. Couldn't they trace signals to a certain radius? "Listen Jones, I'm cutting. You won't help, fine-"
"Wait. Don't hang up. I'll have Shane there in an hour, you remember him right? I tell him to leave the keys in the right wheel compartment…" He struggled with the next words and Tash wondered what he could possibly be trying to say. "…I miss you, Jen."
She was thoroughly shocked as the call cut and the line tone sounded she just continued to stare and sit there just dumbfounded.
"What'd he say?" Alec demanded. They were about ten miles from the airfield, if they took it slow they wouldn't have to wait long for Shane to show. Maybe it would be better if they didn't bump into him at all.
"He's sending a plane. It'll get us out of Chicago but if I try taking us over the border to Canada, we'll be stopped by customs and Dean'll be caught. Is there anywhere we can go, just to hide for now?" Tash switched off her cell and stuffed it back in her bag. She checked on Dean quickly before climbing back into the front seat.
"There's a small cabin in Orr town, Minnesota."
"Yeah I know." Tash grinned, "The one you were staying at. Will Max be there?" She didn't manage to hide the dimples that were showing and Alec punched her in the arm. "What the hell was that for?"
Alec avoided meeting her frown and fixed his concentration on the road ahead. "You know what for and it's not like that. She's probably long gone anyway."
Tash studied him for a moment as she rubbed her arm. If she kept the blood moving she'd probably miss the bruising stage all together. "You sound sure of that. Something happened, didn't it?" That question got a quelling glare and she decided to drop the subject. "Fine, don't talk about it. But I'm warning you. You can't bury stuff, it has a nasty habit of springing up when you least expect it."
Alec ignored that last comment. Like he really cared. He didn't need reminding of what had happen in his life over the last couple of months. First, he'd been paired together with the most uptight female he'd ever come across. Only to be sent personally to get her back when she escaped. Then he'd gotten involved with her and her crazy group of friends, gotten emotionally involved. Something he thought would never happen to him. Now he was carrying around this seriously annoying baggage. Guilt they call it, what did he have to be guilty over? He was just following orders, completing the objective. Sticking to the mission.
Alec hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. But after an hour of hiding in the shadows, the plane arrived as planned and the pilot left. Tash piloted the plane with expert control. Her explanation was that she took lessons as a kid. He scoffed at that, as if martial training from Manticore weren't enough. Tash explained that her parents had insisted that she take up flying, karate and ballet.
How ballet and karate could possibly match up was beyond his comprehension but he never tried to understand rich people. Although with Tash he found himself caring so he was about to ask when Dean beat him to it.
"Why karate and ballet? That's one weird combination." Having been out cold for most of the ride up and still looking a little green, he managed to sit up and listen in on the conversation.
"Well Jenny was kidnapped very young. I think my parents were paranoid about it happening again. So they wanted me to take lessons. I ended up topping the class and taking on the teacher. They stopped sending me after that. As for ballet, well Mom loved ballet." Seeing the lake coming up she's pulled back on the throttle and adjusted the flaps for descent. "Time to buck up." Lowering the landing gear, she steadily pushed the steering column down. They hit the ground with a thump and as she pushed hard on the brakes, the small twin-engine plane came to a slow screeching stop.
Shutting off the engines and opening the side door, they all piled out. Dean didn't even take two steps before vomiting. Alec, jumped to one side, narrowly missing projectile prison grub. Tash just went directly to Dean's aid and rubbed his back gently. Slipping one arm around his back and slinging his across her shoulders, she nodded toward Alec and indicated he go and open the front door. Just convenient that Alec had chosen a place a good distance from town with a huge open field on one side and a massive lake on the other. Nobody to ask nosey questions, comfy looking place, just far enough to be secluded but close enough to the necessities to not be isolated.
After settling Dean comfortably in bed, Tash moved off to the lounge/kitchen/rest of the cabin. She took to resting against the edge of the kitchen table, noticing Alec leaning on the mantle over the fireplace.
"Tash there's something I gotta do." Alec looked at her earnestly. He'd been wanting to forget about it, convince himself it didn't matter, that it wasn't his problem. But his conscience just wouldn't let it go. "I'll check in at 2200. If I don't you'll know what to do." He walked towards her and put a small key in her palm. Closing her fingers over it.
Tash felt the cool metal against her skin and as Alec closed her fingers over the key, for a second she felt a burning sensation tingle through her skin. There was something extremely significant in his actions and she searched his eyes questioningly, a small frown furrowing her brow. "Alec, I can help. Dean'll be okay here for a while. Let me go with you."
Alec averted his eyes, not wanting her to see inside his thoughts. He hated the feelings that were tearing him apart. He could use Tash's intelligence, an extra pair of hand and the back up but did he want her in on this. It would mean having to tell her the whole story. Hell, he didn't even know where he was going to start looking. "I don't know Tash. You don't know what you're volunteering for. This isn't a search and rescue mission." He grew serious, "It's more like a salvage op, one that involves a lot of risk. I don't want you to get involved because it could get you killed. It's not like I need to add that to my conscience." He let that last statement slip before he had a chance to really think about what he'd just admitted. Hoping she didn't catch on he tried shifting the conversation to safer ground. "How's Dean doing, last I saw he was looking a little green."
Tash sighed and lifted herself up to sit on the table, the aged timber creaked under her weight. Her legs dangled over the edge, her feet not reaching the ground. "He's fine, he yakked a few more times and now he's sleeping it off. Couldn't handle your driving I think." She giggled. "Nice way of side stepping the issue by the way." She reached over and touched his arm. "Tell me Alec, I promise not to scream, yell or judge. Okay?"
"Since you're so intent on getting me to spill you might as well use that now." He gestured to the small key she held. "Here," he pulled out a thick journal from his duffle bag, it had a strong metal binding and a lock. Passing it to her, he let her opening it with the key. "It's my mission journal."
She was surprised that he'd surrendered it to her so easily. But then again, she and Alec had always been straight with each other. Flipping though the pages, she sped read. A few of the missions brought flashbacks of ops she'd done when she'd been at Manticore. As she read further the memories started to appear more clearly, dark, haunting, cold images. She shuddered and went through the pages a little faster. Her train of thought froze when she came across a familiar date. There were references to her, Original Cindy and Max. Max being the main subject. Her training flashed words through her brain. 'Mission, Objective, Enemy, Obey'. As she read a little further her fingers started to tremble and the words began to blend into a scrawl of black lines swimming before her eyes.
Alec remained silent. He knew she'd reached the part about Max and the bio-weapon. All he could do was hope she didn't look up and slap him. No, he could handle that, he wouldn't know what to do if she got up and turned her back on him. He was praying that wouldn't happen. He watched as she closed the journal. Her eyes filled with tears, she was so quiet. Too quiet. If she just said something, anything, he'd be able to gauge where he stood. Maybe it would have been better if she was yelling and screaming at him. He moved to sit next to her and saw her nod her head, as if she was accepting his actions.
"So what are we going to do?" She whispered. Her eyes widened as Alec shrugged and continued to avoid her gaze. "Alec, she doesn't know, does she?" When he didn't answer, she abruptly slid off the table and stood directly in his face. "Well we're going to get the cure. Then you're gonna tell her it was you that put that bitch in her. Come on." She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him after her. Yelling toward the bedroom to Dean, Tash told him they'd be out for a while. He just uttered an exhausted groan in response.
