James Cameron and Charles Eglee own Dark Angel. My use is in no way meant to challenge their copyrights. This piece is not intended for any profit on the part of the writer, nor is it meant to detract from the commercial viability of the aforementioned (or any other) copyright. Any similarity to any events or persons, either real or fictional, is unintended.
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Author's Note: Well, character building parts like Chapter 6 are all fine and good, but they need a plot to string 'em together. With that in mind, here's a plot-heavy chapter. Thanks for all the comments, too. Please keep firing away with your thoughts – they certainly help keep me inspired. Also, in response to one particular comment, the word 'evenly' does not appear once in the entire chapter. :) (See how I pay attention to my readers?)
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VII – A Meeting of the MindsThe lights of the abandoned paint warehouse were even dimmer than Max had hoped, lending an eerie, distracting glow that fizzled from three long fluorescent lights that only had a short amount of life left in them. The hazy, flickering light made Max feel as if she had walked into a television screen displaying only static, and she felt a strange wave of nausea start to build up within her. Well, the dim lighting is certainly welcome, but getting queasy from it sorta sucks.
She walked slowly, with only Alec and her decoy, Erin, following closely at her heels. It had been too risky to bring anyone else past the National Guard's siege of Terminal City, although Alec had complained bitterly that it was incredibly unsafe for Max to go anywhere without a sizable contingent of armed guards. She wondered at that. Sometimes he sees me as just the same old Max, she thought happily, and then he goes and starts talking about me like I'm some kind of indispensable figure who can't be risked for anything. Maybe OC was right, despite what Alec himself said. The seeming inconsistency wore on Max's nerves, but she refused to raise the issue with the other X5. He's just trying to do his job, she reminded herself. And as long as he isn't genuflecting every time he enters my presence, I guess I should tolerate his over-protectiveness.
The three transgenics rounded a corner and saw a rickety old steel table set up with a small video screen and a camera. Standing in front of the table was Senator McElroy, dressed in an expensive blue pinstripe suit, accompanied by three burly men, each of whom was holding an assault rifle. The senator breathed an obvious sigh of relief when he settled his gaze on Max and her two compatriots.
"They've requested that you not come any closer," he said, gesturing to his guards and seeming genuinely apologetic. Of course he seems sincere, Max told herself, making certain she never took the senator at face value. He's a politician – he's had a lot of practice making himself look sorry for one thing or another. "My men have concerns about whether or not they'd be able to react quickly enough if you decide to double-cross us."
"And how do you feel?" Erin asked. "You think we're here to take you out?"
"You were designed to have genius-level intelligence," McElroy retorted. "I expect you to realize that an alliance with me, however distasteful it may seem at present, is likely the best way out of your present dilemma. So if you're asking me whether I trust you to respect the peace of this meeting, my answer is yes."
"You just don't think it's because of any inherent nobility on our part," Alec commented. "You figure enlightened self-interest will stay our hand."
"And do you think of me any differently?" McElroy asked in a well-practiced tone that sounded both patronizing and endearing at the same time. "I never claimed to be your friend, so let's cut the BS. I want something you can give me, and vice versa." He looked the transgenics over and smiled. "So why don't we just get down to it, eh? Which one of your two is Max?" he asked, looking from Max to Erin.
"Guess," Max answered.
"Just make sure you get it right," Erin added.
"Because if you move wrong and take out one of us, the other one will be very displeased," Max said.
"Don't look at me," Alec said with a grim smirk. "I can't tell them apart, either." The senator simply grinned with apparent amusement and turned to the video monitor.
"So what do we do now?" McElroy asked.
"Just turn it on," Alec instructed. "My understanding is that the connection is already established." McElroy looked at the screen and pushed a small green button on the bottom right hand corner. Within moments they could all see Logan's eyes, revealed on his traditional Eyes Only screen.
"Hello, senator," Eyes Only said. "It's nice to finally get to talk to you."
"I was under the impression that you'd be here in person," McElroy replied. "I could have appeared online just as easily if I knew this was going to be a video conference."
"My identity is my greatest secret. Not even my closest allies know who I truly am," Eyes Only lied. "I don't make exceptions to that most basic rule; not for transgenics, and not for senators. My understanding is that you want information, Senator McElroy. If that's incorrect, or if you don't think it's worth putting up with the circumstances of the meeting, then feel free to leave. I'm obviously in no position to stop you." Max smiled at Logan's words, noticing how much more he had become like he'd been when she'd first met him. In the beginning he'd been the noble crusader, willing to stand up to anyone at anytime. As the days, months, and years had worn on, though, and as he'd grown more involved in the transgenic cause, he seemed to compromise a little too often. He had shied away from the larger stories, the more disturbing truths. Max doubted that Logan would do that any longer.
"Fine," McElroy grumbled. "As you say, I want information. I asked Ms. … umm…" he trailed off while looking at Max and Erin, as if he was trying to remember a last name that he'd never been told. "I asked Max if she knew anything about the Familiars," he finally continued. "She said she knew a bit, but that you likely knew more. So she set up this meeting."
"The Familiars, as they often refer to themselves, are the products of a breeding cult," Eyes Only replied. "From what we've been able to gather, this cult has been in existence for at least three and a half millennia. Obviously this kind of information raises a lot of questions."
"You can say that," McElroy replied. "But let me be clear on what we're talking about, first. You used the word 'cult' – are you saying that this is some kind of a religious thing?"
"Partly," Logan answered. "We know that the Familiars have a fairly well developed belief system of some sort, but we still don't know if it's a deistic religion, an animist set of beliefs, or something entirely different. What we do know, and this is what's truly important, is that they've been selectively breeding their members for thousands of years."
"Are we talking about eugenics?" McElroy asked, clearly taken aback by what he'd been told.
"It seems that way," Eyes Only confirmed.
"So what else do you know?"
"The scientist you know as Sandeman is one of them," Eyes Only said.
"The man that started up the Manticore Project?" the senator asked. Max saw a small bead of sweat appear at McElroy's at that small bit of information. He seemed genuinely shaken. Strange, she thought to herself. I wouldn't have expected this kind of a reaction. Sure, I figured he'd be shocked by what he heard, but to get this worked up he'd actually have to believe everything we're saying. I didn't think someone like him would have that much trust in him.
"Sandeman was privy to some of the cult's greatest secrets," Eyes Only said. "Chief among these secrets was The Coming, which was their version of the apocalypse. They had a genetically engineered virus that they were planning to release into the world. Sandeman designed the transgenics not to defend the interests of the United States, as he made you believe, but to protect all of mankind from his own kin. The plague that recently broke out in the Jordan River valley is the biological agent the Familiars have been developing for as long as they've been working on their own genetics."
"That's the disease that your people came up with a cure for, right?" McElroy asked, turning to face the transgenics. Erin and Max nodded in confirmation. "So what now?"
"Now we expect the Familiars to do something else," Eyes Only answered. "By attempting to unleash The Coming, they've made it clear that they intend to cease waiting on their prophecies and actually bring them to pass. The existence of the transgenics poses a huge threat to them – there's now a group that can stand against them."
"How do you mean?" McElroy asked.
"For millennia they've been selecting the strongest, fastest, and brightest of each generation," Eyes Only responded in his typical monotone. "You know what the transgenics are capable of, senator. Let me explain the Familiars' capabilities by saying that most of them are physically capable of standing toe to toe with any transgenic up to and including the X6's."
"Only up to the X6's?"
"The later generations haven't fully matured yet," Max said. "From what we've seen so far it looks like the X7's will be stronger than any other generation. Even the X8's aren't as powerful as the X7's."
"That's because the X7's started measuring off the charts at the age of two and three years old," McElroy said, offering information that Max had never heard before. She was grateful that she'd get at least something out of this meeting. "There were concerns as to whether we'd be able to control the X7's and their successors, so we scaled back some of the physical development. Physically, the X8's should end up being on a par with the X5's and X6's, but they'll be more intelligent and adaptable." The senator stopped and looked at the transgenics before him, as if he was waiting for them to ask questions. When none of them spoke up, he continued. "So, back to the Familiars – you're saying what, exactly?"
"We're saying they look like any human," Erin replied, "and that genetically it's virtually impossible to identify differences between them and an ordinary."
"An ordinary?" the senator asked in a condescending tone.
"You don't like being an ordinary?" Alec asked.
"I like myself just fine," McElroy assured them.
"Then I guess we can be assured that you didn't take the comment personally," Alec said with a smile.
"Of course," the senator countered smoothly. "So do you know who these Familiars are?"
"We've identified some of them," Eyes Only said. "Most of them remain anonymous, though. So I'd advise you to be rather careful."
"How so?" McElroy asked.
"We already know that at least one senator is a Familiar," Eyes Only said, eliciting a surprised look from everyone in the room.
"Who?" Max and McElroy inquired in unison.
"Hastings."
"How did you find that out?" Max asked. How in hell could Logan have stumbled across that kind of information?
"He was the third child in his family. Also, a source of mine placed him in that wonderful prep school we visited a while back," Logan answered, explaining everything to Max while leaving McElroy thoroughly in the dark.
"What prep school?" the senator asked. "So what if he was the third child?"
"Those are trade secrets," Eyes Only answered. "Rest assured that all of our information indicates that he's one of them."
"But you have no hard evidence?" McElroy asked.
"This isn't exactly something that's added to a birth certificate," Eyes Only explained. "All we can ever go on is supposition, and that's the true danger of these guys. Humanity is concerned about transgenics, senator, but most of them are clearly identifiable at twenty paces. And the ones that look human still have barcodes."
"The Familiars, though… they're the stuff nightmares are made of," Alec commented.
"Enough," Max barked, seeing where the conversation was going. She'd be damned before she allowed humanity's paranoia to simply be transferred from one target to another. I want acceptance of who we are, she reminded herself. I don't want us to receive a reprieve simply because we're the lesser of two evils.
"This is truly disturbing," McElroy said. "What can I do?"
"What do you mean?" Max asked. Max had hoped that she would, at the very least, be able to use this meeting to gain a greater degree of McElroy's trust; never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would actually gain an ally.
"If what you say is true, and I expect you'll be able to provide me with some proof, then they've already tried to wipe out humanity," McElroy said breathlessly. "Obviously, they have to be stopped. What can I do?"
"You can be careful," Eyes Only said. "If they suspect that you know anything, they'll probably take you out."
"I'm a senator," McElroy protested. "They can't just kill me."
"Sure they can," Alec replied. "I did enough work for Manticore to know that senators are vulnerable."
"No," McElroy gasped.
"Yes," Alec said with a grim nod. "And congressmen, and governors, and just about anyone else that gets in the way. If I could get to them, then the Familiars can, too. It's that simple."
"Which is why we'd like you to hire an intern," Max commented.
"An intern?" McElroy asked curiously. "How is that going to help?"
"I guess it depends on the intern," a new voice said as a young woman walked into view. She stood about 5'9", with the same athletic figure of any other X5. Her red hair, falling down to her waist, was done in two tight braids that slowly swung back and forth as she strode up to join the conversation. Her light brown eyes locked onto the senator's as her pale, freckled face lit up with a well-practiced smile. "I'm Cassandra," she said, walking past the other three transgenics as she extended her hand. The guards looked her over suspiciously, and one finally moved to interpose himself between her and the senator.
"Jackson, please," McElroy muttered. "I think we're safe enough here."
"No, he's probably right to stop me from getting any closer," Cassandra commented. "But I hope he learns to loosen up a bit after awhile. I plan on being with you every minute of every day."
"Excuse me?" McElroy asked.
"She's your new bodyguard," Erin explained. "You'll introduce her around your office as a new intern, and she'll stay close to help protect you in case our enemies figure out that you know about them."
"I already have guards," the senator pointed out.
"And like you said, their ability to protect you against us could fall into question," Max said. "Some of the Familiars are as good as we are, so it stands to reason that they could also get past your security. We can only hope that they might not fare so well against Cassandra."
"I was trained to be a bodyguard," Cassandra stated. "It's the one and only thing I'm good at, senator. You'll be safer with me than with anyone else."
"Fine," McElroy relented. "As you say, this might be a good idea. So that brings me back to my question – what can I do?"
"First off, we need to find out where the Familiars might be," Erin said eagerly. Max almost hissed as her clone spoke, having hoped that they would be able to put the breaks on this conversation. I might be paranoid, she admitted to herself, but I think McElroy might be a little too willing to help us. But then again…
"They have to have access to some high-tech facilities," Max said cautiously, hoping her doubts didn't come through in her tone. "Not to mention military-grade weapons and vehicles, like we saw them with at Jam Pony. These are things that you might be able to trace, senator." She decided that despite her concerns, she would give their new ally the benefit of the doubt for the time being. She would give McElroy the opportunity to put his money where his mouth was. If we can get the senator to help, then fine. If not… well, I guess we can deal with that later.
"We also have questions about the last director of the Manticore project – a woman named Renfro," Erin said. "She seemed to know a lot about what was going on… she knew more than Lydecker did, that's for sure. She did independent genetic work-ups of all of the transgenics, like she was looking for something. Special Agent Ames White did the same thing when he captured any of us. Since he's a Familiar, we can only assume that Renfro was, too."
"Renfro? And White's a Familiar, too?" McElroy asked dubiously. "Are you sure?"
"Hasn't anyone noticed the man's acting like he has an agenda independent of whatever it is his agency is telling him?" Max asked. "Is everyone that clueless?"
"I guess it does make sense, actually," McElroy admitted. "So information on him could be a possible lead, too."
"Also find out who got him clearance to take matters into his own hands at Jam Pony," Erin said. "That decision had to come from somewhere, and I'll bet that whoever it was that made the call is one of them, too."
"You think a lot of people in the government are in with them?"
"We have to assume they are," Max said. "If we assume otherwise, we might get burned real bad."
"I also have some information that I've come across," Eyes Only added. "I'll transmit the information to you once you can provide me with a secure mainframe I can upload the data to."
"Give me 24 hours on that," McElroy responded. "So, is there anything else?"
"Not right now," Max said. "Why don't you leave first? We'll wait five minutes or so, and then we'll follow."
"Fine," McElroy replied, already walking away quickly, two of his guards ahead of him, and Cassandra and his third guard falling in behind."
Once the senator had gone, Max turned back to the computer screen. "You gonna be around your place tonight?" she asked Logan.
"Yeah."
"I was thinking I'd stop by," she said. "I'd like to see some of the information your sources have gathered. Besides, you said you wanted to talk about Syl…"
"Sounds great," he responded, his tone making him appear none too thrilled at the prospect of having company, despite his friendly words.
"I'll see you in a bit, then." Max pushed the green button to turn off the screen, and a moment later she disconnected the line. Then she heard the shout of pain and surprise.
Erin was on the ground, struggling to pull herself into a seated position even as Alec tackled Max to the concrete floor, holding her down with his left hand as he drew his 10mm with his right, scanning the area for a target. Max noticed a red splatter pattern on the wall behind her clone and concluded immediately that someone had fired a shot, though she had never heard it. The sniper is using a silencer, she realized, and he's far enough away so that none of us could hear the report even with our heightened senses.
"Where'd it come from?" Alec shouted to Erin, who had likewise drawn a weapon and held it in her right hand, her left arm hanging limply at her side.
"I don't know," she yelled back. "I didn't hear a shot. Just get out… I'll hold 'em here."
"Damnit," Alec cursed, knowing that Erin's words had just betrayed the fact that she was the decoy. The hidden sniper would now change targets, and that meant bullets would be flying in his direction, next. "Let's go," he yelled, pulling Max with him as he rose to his feet.
"No," Max protested. "I'm not leaving her."
"This is what she's here for," Alec shot back. Erin started firing, and Alec caught a faint glimpse of several shadowy figures approaching, staying close to the walls so as not to be seen too easily. "We're leaving, Max."
Max tried to resist, only to have Alec's fist pound into her right temple, completely knocking her senseless. "I'm sorry," she heard him whisper into her ear. She wanted to snap his neck in retaliation, but it was all she could do to keep her feet under her as Alec half-dragged, half-carried her away as Erin continued to fire. Max turned her head groggily and looked back at Erin, even as she continued to fight to break free from Alec's grasp. What she saw, however, convinced her that Alec had the right idea – they should get away as quickly as possible. Erin had pulled the pin from a grenade and lobbed it at her attackers. The last thing Max wanted was to be caught in a paint warehouse on fire.
The grenade's blast echoed through the building moments later, and within a heartbeat Alec and Max were both blown off their feet and onto the ground by a secondary blast that Max assumed was the explosion of some volatile chemicals in the plant. Max had no idea how long it took her to regain her senses, but by the time she did, the warehouse was a raging inferno. Alec was out cold next to her, and for the briefest of moments she considered leaving him behind. Deciding against that, she gathered him up into her arms and walked away as quickly as she could, hoping her attackers had been killed in the fire, and that she would be able to get clear of the area before the authorities arrived.
To be continued……………………………