15. There's No Place Like Haiti
At home, Alec changed his clothes. He had a sneaking suspicion that nothing was as it seemed. Maybe he was still at Manticore. He could be down the in basement with the anomalies, and all this merely an escapist dream.
The logical thing would be to sit tight until he had better Intel. Here, it was quiet and dark. Maybe he could rest. But he felt restless, like he needed air. He had to get out and move around, or he was gonna explode. Abruptly, he was in Port-au-Prince. The sun was like razor sharp diamonds, cutting him everywhere. The noise and stench were incredible. The other relief workers were insufferably patronizing. There was one guy, a Belgian named Charles, who kept saying: "Our primary goal here is to help the locals help themselves. Give a man a fish, and he only eats for a day."
Alec, who was at that very moment engaged in a covert operation to destabilize the Haitian Government and generally fuck up life for the Haitian people, could hardly stand to listen. It was all he could do to stop from taking the guy off to the side, and snapping his neck. He went into a Quonset hut, and everything went black.
When he came back, he was on the street in Seattle, in the pouring rain.
"You can't just barge in there," Logan was arguing. "If that's their fortress, it's going to be-- you know--fortified."
"I have to follow this path to the end, Logan." Max said. "I have to know what they're hiding, what dirty tricks they have planned. I have to find a way to stop them."
"Max," said Logan, "I want to stop them too. But the simple fact of the matter is that White is holding all the cards right now. He can operate in the daylight, while you and all the other Manticore refugees have to hide from the world."
"Ames White can kiss my transgenic ass," said Max. "I have one card, and it's a doozie."
"Yeah,"said Logan. "And when he gets it, he doesn't need to keep you alive anymore."
For a moment they sat in silence. They had kidnaped White's son, and hidden him far away. They had done this at the request of White's own wife. Logan said quietly, "I don't need to remind you that anyone can be made to talk. I know Manticore taught you techniques to withstand interrogation, but no one can hold out forever. With enough pain, and enough pressure-- " he broke off abruptly. He realized he was no longer talking about White's son.
Max felt a sharp stab of guilt, right in her gut.
"Anyone can be made to do anything," she said. She stood in one smooth motion, and headed for the door.
"Max don't!" said Logan sharply. "The virus is not your fault! They tricked you. You know that."
"It doesn't change the fact that I'm death to you Logan," she said.
Logan tried to put the discussion back on course. His priority was Max's safety. "White has one overriding mandate," he reminded her, "and that's to see you in a body bag."
"Me and all the other freaks," said Max.
"Especially you," said Logan.
"Especially each and every one of us," Max said. "Including you, if he ever finds out who you are."
"If you're going to do this, at least take Alec for backup," Logan said reluctantly. "Make him work for us for a change."
"I don't even know where he is," said Max, irritated. She paused, her hand on the door. There was no point in keeping secrets, not from Logan. "Something's up with Alec," she said. "Something not good."
"Like what?" asked Logan.
Max said softly, "Like maybe he's sick." The word "sick" hung in the air between them, strange and frightening.
Logan said carefully, "Sick in what way?"
"Sick like Ben," said Max. "My brother Ben. His twin."
To be continued. . .