The Second Key
By Be Boring
Chapter 6: Back With The Family
At first it almost didn't look real, couldn't be real, but it was. Zack could see all of Kay's back, then from the hips down she was covered, or tangled, in the sheets. She was sleeping soundly while stretched across White's bare chest. Despite the fact that the sheets also covered White from the hips down, it didn't take much to figure out that he wasn't wearing anything either. It didn't take a genius to realize what was going on, Zack was just furious at himself for coming in here to rescue her when it was obvious that she didn't want to be rescued.
This sight only lasted a second or two, then the sound of the door crashing down from Zack's kick woke them both up. Kay sat bolt upright with her arms crossed over her chest when she saw Zack standing in the doorway. White only caught a glimpse of him before he was reaching for the gun in his coat that was laying on the floor. Zack didn't even give him the chance to reach his coat. Ames found himself dragged out of the room by his throat before he could even react, the only thing he managed to do was clutch the blanket with his legs to keep it from falling off.
Kay grabbed his coat from the floor to cover herself. What was Zack doing here? Oh God, he must have heard my call! She should have known that he wouldn't show he had heard her. Her body was shaking from head to toe. Everything seemed to have happened in a blur. She could remember sleeping with Ames, but at the moment she couldn't quite figure out why she had done it. Right now it seemed like the worst decision she had ever made.
Zack managed to get White out of the room without taking a breath, but he was in need of oxygen now. He waited until White was no longer moving, the fumes from the drug finally getting to him. Zack left him laying there and ran back into the room with Kay, throwing open a window and sticking his head out to get a breath of fresh air. As soon as he felt he would be alright again, he sucked his breath back in and stalked towards Kay.
Kay shrank back as he approached. He was in a fit of rage right now and it wouldn't be a good idea for her to try fighting him right now. Her eyes managed to pick up something as he reached the bedside. Why wasn't he breathing? The fumes weren't as strong in the room yet and hadn't started taking full effect on her. She changed her mind about fighting when he punched her hard in the face.
Zack was livid, he didn't know how to fully express what he was feeling. Why had she done it? Had she been working against them the whole time? She wasn't in heat, she would have been all over him right now if she was. He finally became so frustrated that he threw his fist into her face. He was as stunned as she was when he pulled his hand back. He didn't know what had possessed him to do that, he would never deliberately hurt one of the other X5s. She's not just one of the other X5s. She's always been different and she's never been under my control or protection. If anything it's been the other way around. The blue eyes that stared up at him were in shock, then the soldier side of her reacted.
Kay's body sprang into action once it fully hit her what he had done. It was almost against her will, but she leapt onto him, punching, scratching, kicking, basically anything she could do to hurt him. Something was happening in the back of her mind that she didn't like, just as it was with his. When he had looked at her just before hitting her, his eyes had been exactly the same as they had been as a child in Manticore. It was a look of pure loathing and disgust. He wasn't the man she had become close to on the farm, he was back to being X5-599, and X5-599 hated her. As soon as she had seen that look, she knew she had to defend herself. She had been outnumbered back at Manticore, but now they were on equal terms. Well, not quite.
Zack was so surprised when Kay attacked him that at first he did nothing but let her tear away at him. There was no real method used in her attacks, she was just trying to inflict damage. She didn't even seem to care that she had nothing on, she just wanted to hurt him. He finally grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the linoleum floor. With the drug starting to take effect, she was knocked unconscious much easier.
Once he was sure it was safe, Zack started searching for something to put on her. He hated to think of what Brin's reaction would be if he brought Kay out to the car naked. He finally reached the closet and pulled out White's bag, seeing Kay's clothes behind it. Feeling a little self-conscious, he completely dressed her and started to carry her towards the window. Just before he reached it, he paused and set her down, then headed back for White. He could be used to get Sandeman to help them easier. He also might be a bargaining chip with the cult.
Zack only bothered to put White's sweatpants back on him, he really didn't care how the bastard looked when he carried him down to the car. He tossed White out the window first, hearing the loud snap as White landed on a stack of crates. That didn't really matter to him. He finally scooped Kay up in his arms and jumped out, landing perfectly on both feet even while holding her.
Brin heard Zack's sharp whistle and drove towards it. She was almost beside herself with curiosity as to who he was with. She nearly crashed into a dumpster behind the hotel when she saw Kay in Zack's arms. She barely managed to stop in time before running over White, not even noticing he was there. Not saying a word, she watched as Kay was placed in the back seat, then White was thrown into the trunk. Zack didn't even meet her eyes as he climbed into the passenger seat. He looked completely preoccupied.
"What's going on? Is something wrong?"
He took a deep breath and ran his fingers back through his hair. "We need to pick up Sandeman and go to Terminal City. There's a lot more shit going on than we thought. I'll have to talk to Kay when she wakes up before anyone else does."
"Why? What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing."
"Don't give me that. I know you better than you think I do, and I know you're hiding something from me. I want to know what it is."
"I'll have to talk to Kay before I tell you anything. I'm not even sure what's going on."
Brin nearly screamed in frustration, she hated how stubborn Zack could be. What was really bugging her was the fact that White was in their trunk. Why the hell would Zack have brought him along? Oh well, there was no point dwelling on it now. She wasn't going to get any straight answers out of Zack.
Alec was walking towards Max's room, trying to figure out what he was going to tell her. He didn't even really know for himself what was going on. He knew she would be less than happy to hear that Ray was here, perhaps Brin could watch him. She knew him. At the moment, Mole was sitting with the kid. Alec grinned in spite of himself, staying with Mole would either mean the kid would wind up dead or the youngest weapons expert in history.
Alec was aware that his knock on the door was a little louder than it should have been, but this was important. He groaned and wished he had thought first before coming when Jondy answered the door. She didn't look any happier to see him.
"Do you have a reason for being here?"
Alec felt his jaw clench and silently told himself to calm down. He wasn't going to score any brownie points by blowing up. "I have to talk to Max. Now."
Jondy's hands were firmly planted on her tiny hips. "And what makes you think she has time to see you?"
Alec finally just shoved her out of the way as he walked into the room. "It's an emergency."
Max stood up from the chair she'd been sitting in and gave him an annoyed look that was strangely similar to Jondy's. "It had better be an emergency for you to just barge into my home. What is it?"
"Ray's here."
Max's eyes nearly popped out of her head while Jondy remained with her hands on her hips, feeling completely in the dark. It really bugged her when people talked about a subject she had no clue about.
"Who's Ray?"
Max didn't answer, she just looked at Alec determinedly. "Where is he?"
"The Rec Center."
Max nodded and was out the door before Jondy could repeat her question. Despite the severity of the situation, Alec found himself being amused by Jondy's cluelessness. It amused him even more when she became curious enough to actually turn to him to ask her question.
"Who's Ray?"
Alec placed a look of pure innocence on his face. "Ray? Who's that? I've never heard of anyone by that name."
"But you just said it!"
"What?"
"Ray's name!"
"Who, me? I said no such thing. You're hearing things."
Jondy threw her hands up in exasperation. "And to think I was actually going to apologize to you!"
Now she had sparked his curiosity. "Did you just say you were going to apologize to me?"
Jondy turned to him with wide eyes, she hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud. After a moment, she relaxed and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.
"No, when did I say that?"
Alec rolled his eyes. "Just two seconds ago."
"Who, me? I said no such thing. You're hearing things." She said it in exactly the same tone of voice he had used. Condescending, as though she were talking to a child.
Her last comment made Alec grin. He should have realized she was just making fun of him. He decided to take a rather dangerous leap of faith.
"Let's make a deal. I'll tell you who Ray is if you apologize to me. And trust me, I want the apology to be good."
Jondy's eyes glittered exactly like a cat's. A compromise was just fine by her, as long as she managed to trick her way out of giving anything.
"Fine, but you go first."
Alec crossed his arms. "Do I have 'I am a doormat, walk on me' written all over my forehead? You go first. I'll keep up my end of the bargain."
"Oh please, you don't intend to tell me anything."
Alec grinned mockingly. "Of course I do. I plan on telling you every bit as much as you were planning on telling me. Then again, that's not going to get us very far, is it?"
Jondy groaned and finally gave in. Her curiosity was killing her. "I'm sorry for being a bitch to you when you were just grieving over losing a friend. Are you happy?" she mumbled almost inaudibly.
Alec twiddled his fingers and looked at the ceiling. "Did I hear something? I could have swore I did, but even my X5 ears didn't really pick it up. Oh well, must have been my imagination."
"Fine!" Jondy snapped. "I'm sorry for being a bitch to you when you were just grieving over a lost friend!" Her voice was definitely louder, almost a shout. Alec grinned again, more like a Dracula grin than anything else.
"Ooh, I felt the oomph behind that one. Now, should I tell you who Ray is or not?"
Jondy grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him against the wall. "You'd damn well better tell me! Otherwise you're going to find I can be one hell of a pain in the ass!"
Alec easily grabbed one of her hands and twisted until she was forced to let him go. "Alright, I'll tell you. Just know that it's not because I'm afraid of you, I already know you can be one hell of a pain in the ass."
Jondy flashed him an evil eye, but it was pretty much the best she could do. It was plain to see that he was much stronger than her, she didn't stand a chance if she decided to fight him. Alec playfully took his time getting something to drink before he talked, fully enjoying Jondy trying to stay quiet and not push him just because she knew he could change his mind in a split second and she couldn't do anything about it. Just when it was getting to the point where she didn't think he was ever going to tell her, he started talking.
"Ray is the grandson of Sandeman, the man who created us. He's also the son of the man who's been doing his damnedest to destroy all the transgenics. Max found out quite a few months ago that White, Ray's dad, was part of a breeding cult that produced people that were just as strong as the transgenics. Max managed to get Ray out of there, but that just made White more determined than ever to catch her. He's the one that killed Ben, and it's because of that that Kay went after him and ended up dying while trying to kill him. Ray was sent to live with his aunt, but just earlier today she was killed in a car accident and he came here for help. His presence here is just going to make things worse for us."
Jondy was stunned. She had thought Ray was just going to wind up being another transgenic, she never expected to get a story like that. She smiled sheepishly. "That completely outclassed my apology."
"I'd say so." Alec's eyes made it clear that he was only teasing, otherwise she would have gotten mad again.
"Funny, Max told me your head would swell and she wasn't kidding. You're never going to be able to get back out that door."
Max had just made it down to the Rec Center and had spotted Ray sitting next to Mole when Gem came running over to her.
"Max, a group of people just came through Freedom Pass! I was just coming back from my break when I saw them. They were gone by the time I reached the area, but there's a car sitting outside the fence."
Max looked at Ray and sighed, then followed Gem. She had to pick her battles, and someone breaking through Terminal City's barrier took priority over hearing Ray's story. She was starting to doubt her decision as they walked, and she especially regretted it when she saw the car.
"That's the car Zack used to get the ordinaries out this morning. He probably decided to come back with Brin and see some of his family."
"But then why did I see a group of people?"
"How many did you see?"
"It looked like three people walking, but two of them were carrying more people. One of the people who was being carried was covered by a blanket, I think."
Max raised an eyebrow. Why would Zack and Brin bring back three more people? Terminal City was jammed enough as it was.
"What direction did it look like they were going in?"
Gem pointed off to her left. "I think they headed that way. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure."
Max sighed and started walking in that direction. "You stay here and keep your position. I'll go see if I can find them."
Gem nodded and sat down in the building directly in front of Freedom Pass, feeling embarrassed for not recognizing the car. After all, she had seen it just an hour ago.
Keeping her eyes and ears as alert as possible, Max steadily walked in the direction Gem had pointed. Now she wanted to know what was going on. Even though she hadn't asked for it, she was in charge here and these people were her responsibility. If Brin and Zack had brought anyone that posed a threat to everyone's safety, she'd have to deal with it. She couldn't see why they would do that, but she always had to be a bit on the paranoid side nowadays. It almost made her sad to think she felt the need to protect herself from her family.
Max was just starting to give up on finding them when she heard a commotion in the cellar of an old house on her right. Maybe now she would find out what was going on.
The first thing Ames was aware of as he woke up was that he was cold, almost numb. It was his back that was completely numb, and the parts of himself that he could feel were bone-chillingly cold. As he moved slightly, he could feel the cold floor beneath his bare back. It felt like he was laying on stone. When he tried to get up, he realized he had been handcuffed to the legs of a table that was nailed into the ground. He rolled over onto his stomach so his arms were crossed over each other, then pulled his legs underneath him until he was in a crouch. Gathering all his strength, which still wasn't at its normal level because of the after-effects of the drug, he dug his heels into the ground and threw himself backwards. He landed on his butt with a thud, the chain of his handcuffs now broken.
Slowly standing up, Ames looked all around the room he was in. It looked like a normal house basement, probably not anything that would be really hard to get out of. Where was he though? The last thing he remembered was being dragged out into the hall of the hotel by his throat. He gingerly ran his hand over his neck, feeling how sore it was and noting that there were definitely bruises there. He would have thought the X5 would kill him, but apparently he wasn't that smart. Well, Ames wasn't complaining.
He could hear movement upstairs. Being as quiet as possible, he climbed the stairs to the first floor. It didn't surprise him that the door was locked. Maybe the transgenics weren't so stupid after all. He went back down and noticed a laundry chute off to the side. He would never be able to get up through that, but he might be able to hear what was going on.
The echoes that came down the chute were faint, but audible. Ames kneeled down and nearly stuck his head inside to try and hear what was being said. The first voice he heard was one he didn't recognize, but it was female.
"When are you going to tell me what's going on?"
The next voice he didn't recognize either, but since it was male he guessed it was the X5 from the hotel. "I'll tell you after she wakes up."
"Why not now?"
"Because I'm not sure what happened or why. Kay's the only one who can answer that."
Ames pulled his head out of the chute for a moment. The X5 wanted to know why he and Kay had slept together. He shook his head angrily. She was 358, not Kay, he had to stop thinking of her by that human name. He was angry enough with himself for sleeping with her. She was a transgenic for Christ's sake! At first he had been half asleep and had thought she was Wendy, but why had he continued after he realized who she was? The only thing he knew for sure was that after he had started, he had let himself go back to thinking she was Wendy. But why had he started in the first place? It wouldn't be good for him if this got out. The Conclave would have him killed for something like this. He was about to slam his fist into the chute out of frustration when he heard a new voice. This one was also male, but it was strangely melodic and was all too familiar.
"Who was under the blanket? Why didn't you want me to know?"
Ames nearly fell backwards at the voice. No wonder they had brought him, they were going to use him to get his father to cooperate! He forced himself to go back to listening, next hearing Zack speak.
"You'll find out later. It's not important right now. It's more important that I get the answers I need from Kay."
"Why did you even bring the other one along?" That was the female voice again. Ames could tell she was referring to him.
"He could be useful. His use won't last long, so don't worry about it too much."
So, they were definitely planning on killing him. He had figured they would, it didn't upset him too much. No matter how much the idea sickened him, if he could let his father know he was here he might stand a chance at getting out. Maybe even Kay would help him, she wasn't any better off with these people than he was. It didn't sound like Zack was very pleased with her. Not that Ames could blame him. As he pulled his head back out of the chute, his arm came up and his handcuff scraped against the metal of the chute. Shit! There's no way they didn't hear that.
Zack was in the basement in a flash, leaving Brin to keep Sandeman busy. Ames's reflexes still weren't back up to par, so Zack definitely had the advantage. Zack was hitting hard and fast, not giving Ames a chance to hit back. Zack didn't stop until he sent Ames flying into the wall of the basement. Ames finally sent his fist into Zack's stomach when he got too cocky, but that was all he managed to do before he heard the shattering of glass and Max popped her head down through the tiny window she had broken. The look on her face was nothing less than pissed off.
"Why the hell did you bring him here?"
Zack slammed Ames' head against the wall, making him slump to the ground nearly unconscious. "He could be useful. You don't know all that's been going on."
"Well then, why don't you tell me?" Max pulled her head out of the window and walked around to the front of the house, effectively kicking the door in and opening the door to the basement so she could come down. Zack left Ames where he was, heading for the bottom of the stairs to talk to Max
When Max reached him, her hands were on her hips and her eyes were spitting fire. "You'd better have a good explanation for this! I don't need him to be here."
Ames didn't let it show that he was listening to the conversation, but it was hard to keep his face straight when he heard that. Did this mean he was inside Terminal City? That wasn't good for him at all. It would be hard enough just to get away from Zack and Brin, how would he get away from hundreds of transgenics? They would rip him to pieces! The thought didn't appeal to him greatly.
"He won't be here long, I promise you that. I just need him for a little while. I may not even need him at all, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Max smirked bitterly. "That was always your motto, wasn't it?"
Zack's eyes flashed, but he kept himself calm. "That was for your protection. So is this. You have no idea how necessary it is."
"Then why don't you tell me! I'm not nine years old anymore, I can handle difficult situations if I have to! I don't need your protection anymore."
"So you say. Listen, I didn't come here to argue with you. I might have some pretty good news for you later, but for now you need to go and let me take care of things here."
Max was furious, but she wasn't going to do herself any good if she picked a pointless fight with him. It would be a waste of her energy. That was something she seemed to have a lack of lately.
"Fine, but if he's still here in one week then I'll let Joshua deal with him and I'll throw you out myself! I don't need you causing any more problems around here than we already have!" Max whirled around and stormed back up the stairs, wishing she wasn't so damned helpless when it came to things like this. Still, if Zack said having White here was necessary, she had no choice but to trust him. For a little while anyways.
Kay groaned and rolled over onto her side. Her head was pounding, it felt like she'd been hit in the head with a sledgehammer. It surprised her when she realized she was laying on a couch in what appeared to be a living room. The more surprising thing was that Sandeman was sitting right next to her in a recliner. She sat upright so quickly that her head nearly exploded. She bit back a cry and raised a hand to her head, her eyes asking her questions of him. He seemed to understand.
"Don't worry about the headache, that's one side effect my drug has when it's used on transgenics and not Familiars. It's a good thing you're a little bit of both, otherwise the pain would knock you out again."
"What drug?" Kay asked groggily. The world was practically spinning in front of her. Whatever drug he'd given her must have been a doozie.
"It's a drug I designed to knock a Familiar out for quite a few hours. I made it to protect myself from the other Familiars."
Kay looked around. "Where's Zack?" She could remember fighting with him. After what he had seen, he was bound to want to ask a few questions and he wouldn't give her any peace until he did.
"He's busy talking to Brin at the moment."
Kay's eyes lit up. Even though it had only been a few days, she couldn't believe how much she wanted to see her sister. It felt like she had been away from her for an eternity. "Could I see her?"
Sandeman frowned and shook his head. "I'm afraid Zack says he has quite a few questions to ask you first. I have no idea what it's about, but it must be important. Do you know?"
"No," Kay lied. She sure didn't need the old man to have a heart attack from hearing his creation slept with his son. She had already killed the other one.
It was at that moment that Zack entered the room. As soon as he saw she was awake, his eyes gave Sandeman the clear warning to get out. He had already sent Brin after Max to spend some time with her. He needed to be alone for a while with Kay.
Once Sandeman was out, Zack dragged the recliner he'd been sitting in so he could sit where he could look Kay in the eyes while they talked. She watched him carefully the entire time, trying to read his body language. Zack had always been good at hiding his emotions, but she could tell he was angry. He finally sat down and faced her.
"What exactly did I walk in on last night?"
"You have eyes, you tell me."
He clenched his jaw, then continued. "I think you had sex with one of our main enemies. Am I correct?"
Damn him, he was talking like a soldier now. Any hope she had of appealing to his softer side had just gone out the window. "Yes."
Now Zack was frustrated as well. He liked to get some emotion out of people when he questioned them, but she was keeping herself as blank as possible. "Have you been working against us the whole time?"
Kay was stunned that he would ever think that. "Of course not. You don't know what the circumstances were."
"Did he drug you? I know you weren't in heat."
"No, he didn't drug me. You wouldn't understand, so there's no point in telling you."
His eyes flashed again. "Try me."
"I was lonely and needed someone. Out of the group I was with, he was the best shot." That wasn't really how it was, but she needed to give him some kind of answer. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she had done it. At the time it had seemed like a good idea. She had been lonely, but that wasn't really the reason. She had the feeling that it had more to do with the fact that she didn't think she was going to live much longer, seeing as how she was being held by the Conclave, and she needed some sort of comfort and had sensed that he needed it too.
Zack was truly furious now. "So, was he good? Did he fulfill your needs?" he taunted angrily.
Kay could have strangled him for that. That wasn't the point of it. With the question in her mind, she couldn't help but ponder it. She wasn't the kind of person to rate how good it had been, but then again she didn't have a lot to compare it with. All her other times had been when she was in heat except for her times with Ben. Ames was certainly a far cry from Ben. It wasn't that it was bad, it was just that it was so much different. Ben had been a naturally gentle person, but Ames was a little more needy and rough. He had almost scared her.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Zack almost growled, then stood up and spun on his heel when he heard a noise behind him. Both he and Kay were shocked to see Brin and Max standing there. They had both decided to come back to find out what was going on and had stood there to listen to the whole conversation. Kay felt completely ashamed at the look on her sisters' faces.
Max was the first one to speak, hurt tears slowly filling her eyes. "Brin told me you were alive and ok, and I thought I couldn't be happier. I can't believe you could ruin that so easily." After that, she turned and ran out the door. Brin gave Kay a hurt look, then turned and went after Max.
Zack didn't say anything, he just slowly walked out of the room. She made it sound like she had just needed someone, but what if she had feelings for White? That would ruin everything. His eyes wandered over a calendar Sandeman had placed on the wall. Well, there was always one sure way to find out how she felt.