The Second Key
By Be Boring
Chapter 10: Jeepers Creepers
Kay finally stepped out into the light of Elm Street. She wasn't too worried about other transgenics seeing her here, the psy-ops didn't even know who she was and there would be no other kinds here. She had seen during her time hiding in Terminal City how much the psy-ops were hated.
She had been able to find out from a few different people who the leader of this area was. Despite the fact that Max was in charge of Terminal City, these people had branched away and were a whole separate community from the others. The leader here was a man named Sate, and she had heard from rumors that guards at Manticore had named him that after Satan because that was the kind of person he was.
Some curious eyes peered out the windows as she passed by, but other than that the street was silent. She found it a little strange that no one was outside, but she wasn't going to concern herself with it. These people could do as they wished as long as it didn't affect her. She just hoped Sate agreed with her plan.
Kay was unable to suppress her grin when she reached his address. Someone had certainly set him up well. The number on the side of the house read 666, which was more than fitting. She wondered if he even knew what it meant. The doorbell echoed oddly through the house, giving it an almost haunting sound. For several moments there was no noise from the other side of the door, then suddenly it was thrown open and the house's lone occupant stood before her.
There was no one else he could be other than Sate, she couldn't imagine Manticore had made too many people like him. He stood nearly seven feet tall, so pale and thin he almost faded away. Then came the shock of his curly black hair and electric blue eyes. Kay had only seen eyes that color when people were wearing contacts. She hated how bright they looked, she had the feeling he could see right through her. He also seemed rather amused.
"How may I help you?" His voice was creepy as well, it was softer than most men's but somehow very deep. What gave her even more chills was the way he spoke. He almost made her think of Dracula, but the accent wasn't that strong. She also hated the way he cocked his head to the side and smiled slowly, revealing perfect white teeth and a strange glint in his eye. He was mocking her with his question, she had the feeling he already knew who she was.
Kay smiled right back at him. "Take a guess, I would think you already know."
Sate chuckled softly, sending more chills down her back. "My dear, mind reading was not my specialty. Telekinesis was."
My dear? This guy can't be more than two years older than me. "Ah, so you can move things with your mind, is that right? What kinds of things can you move?"
She felt the air get very cold around her and suddenly found herself propelled forward until he caught her, just barely keeping her from hitting him. He smiled down at her eerily. "All kinds of things."
Kay squirmed out of his grasp and took a good step back. He was over a foot taller than her and she had to admit that his demeanor intimidated her. Being that close to him wasn't a lot of fun either, his body was warmer than she was used to. She had heard somewhere that while X5s have a body temperature of 101.8, psy-ops' bodies were usually around 103.4. His might have even been more than that.
"You've made your point. Could I talk to you alone?"
Sate smiled again, still sending shivers down her spine. "We're already alone, but you can come in if you like."
Keeping an eye on him at all times, Kay stepped past him and through the open door. If she got the creeps from him, it was nothing compared to how his house made her feel. All the walls were painted black, and black draperies hung on the windows. It was the windows that really finished off the effect of the room, they were blood red and the light that came through them cast an eerie shadow on the room. It reminded her of an Edgar Allan Poe story she had read once, Masque of the Red Death. The prince in that story had a room exactly like this, but she had the feeling that Sate's whole house had this kind of decoration in it.
"Why do I feel that you don't like my unique sense of style?"
Kay jumped, he had been so quiet that she didn't realize he had moved to stand right behind her. "Unique is the only word for it, but I didn't come here to discuss your living arrangements. I need your help with getting some people out of Terminal City."
Sate sat down on the couch, which was also black, and folded his hands between his knees. His eyes scanned her slowly, as if sizing her up. After a few minutes, his soft voice broke the silence.
"Mole said he wanted to help us get out of this place so we could be fairly treated, now you want me to help you get out the very people who were condescending to us?" His voice held just a hint of anger, but it was enough to make Kay take an unconscious step backwards.
"Yes, we'll need them if we ever want to be treated as equals in the outside world."
He finally looked up and met her eyes. "Why do we need them? The ordinaries are more afraid of them than anyone else."
Kay sat down in a chair that was in the corner of the room. She was a good fifteen feet away from him, which was just fine with her. "Actually, the ordinaries are more afraid of us, the X series and psy-ops. We can blend right into normal society and can make ourselves exactly like them so they can't even tell what we are. At least with the freaks they can see them coming."
"What do you propose?"
"The others refuse to leave with your kind, so I was wondering what you would think about scaring them out."
Sate's eyes lit up slyly and the corners of his mouth curled up. "You want me to make the other psy-ops scare out the freaks?"
"Exactly. We can trick them into thinking that you're taking over Terminal City, then once they're out Mole will be waiting to take them in. They'll have no choice but to go to him."
"Are you sure you trust him with that many well trained soldiers?" he asked with the air of someone who was talking to a child. Even his smile gave that feeling.
Kay's smile matched his perfectly. "I trust him more than I trust some others."
He chuckled again, the amusement back in his eyes. "I see, you don't trust me, is that right? What is the saying, you don't trust me as far as you can throw me?"
"That's the saying, but I reckon I could throw you at least the distance of this room, if not more. But I think you got the point and you're right, I don't trust you. I don't have any reason to right now."
He nodded with satisfaction. "Maybe there's more to you than I first gave you credit for. I might think about your proposal, but remember, I always ask for something in return."
"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. For now I want you to decide quickly, we don't have a lot of time. Mole is probably going to be waiting for us tomorrow."
Zack sat on the roof of his and Sandeman's house. It was the best spot he could go to think right now, seeing as how everyone hated him right now. Not that he blamed them, he almost couldn't believe what he had done. He had still been angry with Kay and had gone back to his younger state of mind. Now that he could reflect, he wished he hadn't done anything nearly as horrible as what he actually did. He couldn't see how anyone would forgive him for this, especially Max and Brin. They were the two he really didn't want to have angry with him. It was a relief to have Jondy to talk to, but she wasn't the best person to talk to. She just didn't understand him.
Sandeman hadn't treated him any differently, but Zack wasn't trying to be friendly. He couldn't stand the old man, he was the reason they were all in this mess. They all could have been normal people if it hadn't been for him. That was what Zack had always wanted, just to have a normal life. He had enjoyed his time on the farm and he missed it greatly, but it was time to move on. He had other things to do now so he needed to stop escaping from everything and get back to reality.
Footsteps below him made him lean over the edge of the roof and look down. Brin was walking past the house, not even bothering to look at it. She obviously was just going somewhere that happened to take her past here, otherwise she wouldn't be anywhere near this area. Zack was off the roof and on the ground behind her in an instant. He was sick of feeling so separated from her, she had always been someone who was close to him. Leaving her with Lydecker when her Progeria acted up had been the hardest thing he'd ever done, but having her choose not to talk to him was almost worse. At least last time it hadn't been of her own will.
"Hey," he muttered almost too quietly to be heard. He knew perfectly well that she could hear him.
Brin stopped and stood in her spot, not turning her head an inch. "What do you want?"
"Please, just talk to me. I can't take this."
Brin felt a little sad, he sounded sincere. She just hadn't quite forgiven him yet. Finally, she turned to face him.
"What are you going to do, try and explain why you handed my sister to the enemy when she was in heat? Try and explain how you could control yourself around her in that situation but not me?"
Zack was taken aback. He had never thought about that. "I know I can't explain what I did to Kay, but I can explain why I didn't lose control around her. I already knew beforehand that she was coming into heat, so I was prepared to deal with her. With you, I woke up and I could already smell you. The pheromones already had a grip by then, I wasn't expecting it at all.
"Is that an excuse? It sounds pretty pathetic to me. Sorry Zack, but I'm not in the mood to deal with you today."
Zack stood in silence as she walked away, not trying to go after her. He didn't want to push her farther away. As soon as she was out of sight, he slammed his fist into the wall of the house. He figured she probably had heard that, but he just didn't care anymore. He had made a huge mistake, and he was going to have to live with it. He turned and headed inside, it was going to be dark outside soon.
Jondy rolled over onto her stomach and looked at the clock by Alec's bed. Wow, she had slept the afternoon away. She turned her head and looked at Alec, sleeping like a baby. None of the pain that had been on his face earlier was there now, he looked completely innocent. From this point of view it was hard to believe he wasn't even human.
A soft pounding down the hall gave away the approach of another X5. Only an X5 could run like that, but whoever it was must have been in a hurry because they were being so reckless. When it became clear that whoever it was was coming to Alec's apartment, Jondy slid out of the bed and pulled her clothes on quickly, then went to the door and opened it before it could be knocked on.
Max was surprised as she nearly hit Jondy in the face when she went to knock on the door, then recovered herself. "I need your help, Ray's gone!"
Jondy pressed a finger to her lips and stepped out into the hall so Alec could sleep. "Where could he have gone?"
"I don't know, but I think you guys were right. I left him with Mole for just a couple minutes and when I came back, they were both gone! No one's seen either of them all day. I finally decided to come get you guys. Is Alec sleeping or something?"
"Yeah, he's completely wiped out. He's had a tough couple of weeks. I'll see if I can help you."
Max sighed with relief. She had been trying to find Ray all day on her own, but she had finally realized she needed help. It was nice that she wouldn't have to panic on her own. She would have her sister here with her to panic with her. Max couldn't help but smile at the thought.
Alec couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he reached over to the other side of the bed and found it empty. Where had Jondy gone? He sat up, rubbing his eyes with one hand as he stretched with the other. Hopefully it hadn't all been a dream, it had been so real. He flopped back down in the middle of the bed, then sniffed the air. No, it hadn't been a dream, he could still smell her. She must have had to leave for some reason.
The sun was setting outside as he walked through the streets of Terminal City, not really sure where he was heading. He just felt the need to get out and stretch his legs. He'd been cooped up for far too long in this place. The air was a little chilly, but it didn't bother him any. Even the wind was starting to pick up. That was when he looked up and frowned, there was usually a lot less wind in a city. It surprised him when he realized he was walking through a more residential area of Terminal City. The only place he had seen like this was Elm Street, but he didn't wish to be seen there since others would accuse him of being a friend of the psy-ops. This part of the city was completely new to him, and was actually kind of nice.
From what he could see, no one lived in this area. All the houses appeared deserted and there was absolutely no sound that betrayed a living thing. Wait, he took that back. There was someone walking not too far behind him. Whirling around, he had to force himself to relax quickly so he didn't attack his follower.
"Mole, what are you doing here?"
Mole was at a loss for words, he hadn't meant to be seen. He just hadn't seen Alec until the last minute. "I, uh, just needed some air. This place is the best place to get it on my own since no one's here."
Alec nodded in agreement, but he could still sense something off about Mole's attitude. He had never heard Mole use the word 'uh' in all the time he'd known him. Mole usually had too much pride to show if he was uncertain.
"Where are you headed?" Mole asked finally to break the silence.
"Not really sure, does anyone live around here?"
"I've seen that X5 guy everyone's been angry at lately. He's around here a lot, even before everyone was mad at him. Isn't his name Zack?"
Alec nodded. "Maybe I'll go have a talk with him. I've got a couple things to sort out with him."
Mole tried hard not to show his anger as Alec walked away. Dammit, he didn't need Alec to see him going into that house, but it would be hard for him not to if he was in there. Hopefully he and Zack would have an argument and wouldn't notice him. From the way Alec had looked when Mole said Zack's name, that seemed to be a possibility.
Alec kept his eyes open for any sign of life, not that he believed Zack would just give away where he lived. It would be suicide for him right now if he did.
The house wouldn't have given itself away if it had just been Zack living there, but Sandeman lived there as well. Alec could see dirty dishes through the kitchen window. Zack usually washed them himself and quickly put them away, but he didn't always notice Sandeman's snacks during the day. It was almost as though Sandeman wanted someone to find them.
It was when Zack walked past the window that Alec went to the door. He needed to get this thing sorted out as soon as possible, and he found nothing wrong with getting it over with now. It was obvious Zack wasn't expecting company, he almost jumped in shock when he turned around and saw Alec standing no more than five feet behind him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I needed to talk to you, why else?"
Zack frowned, he already had the feeling this wasn't going to be good. "About what?"
"What you did to Kay."
Yep, this wasn't going to be good. "I didn't do anything to her."
Alec smirked and his eyes flashed dangerously, reminding Zack of how Ben had been before Max broke his neck that first time. "I know you didn't do anything to her yourself, but you let White do plenty to her."
"It's not like she hadn't done it before. You should be angry with her, not me."
Alec's smirk faded and the anger stood out plainly in his eyes. "I am angry with her, but I'm also angry with you. Seeing as how you're the only one I can get my hands on right now, I'll have to settle with being mad at you."
Zack was about to comment when Alec caught him off guard and punched him in the face as hard as he could. It sent the other man to the floor, but there was really no other damage. Zack slowly climbed back to his feet, surveying Alec to see what he would be up against. Alec really didn't look like much of a threat.
Zack gathered up his strength and lunged at Alec, sending both of them out the open door. Alec hadn't expected it, but he immediately got his wits together and fought back. Soon they were both on the ground, rolling around and hitting each other. No one watching this would have thought they were transgenics, they just looked like a couple guys having a normal fight.
Mole couldn't help but be amused at the sight. If his kind had ever had any dignity, it was gone now. "X series," he muttered too quietly for them to hear. Making sure they didn't see him, he slid inside the house and moved silently to the basement door. His hand moved inside his coat pocket, making sure the chloroform was still there. He knew it would take longer for it to kick in, but it would still work. He was pretty sure White would be tied up.
Ames tried to make himself more comfortable, or as comfortable as he could get on the cold floor. The cold hardly even affected him anymore, his body had started to adjust to it. He just hoped he didn't have frostbite or something on his back.
Lately he had pretty much given up any hope of getting out of here. As far as he knew, his father didn't know he was down here and he was sure none of the transgenics that knew of his presence felt like letting him out. He figured Zack would kill him soon if he wasn't going to use him for anything else. Actually, he was pretty sure that was what Zack was doing now. He hadn't been given food in two days, and Zack was showing no signs of wanting to come down. His body was starting to show definite signs of dehydration by now, and he had the feeling Zack was just going to leave him here until he died.
Ames spent most of his time thinking about Ray and Wendy. He constantly regretted killing his wife, she had been his escape from the world. He had been able to come home every day and just be a normal person around her, he didn't have to assume the role of a soldier or federal agent, he didn't have to be perfect. She had loved him regardless of whether or not he screwed up, he could see in her eyes even as he killed her that she still loved him. He wished he could have said something to her, but he didn't want to make it any harder for either of them than it already was.
Ray's little face was always in his mind also. That had been his other release, but Ray was something he almost depended on. Ray was to be almost like his partner, he would help Ames rebuild the honor of the family name and they could stay close. That had always been his dream and he had clung to it desperately as he watched his son grow up, but now he just wished he had worked to keep his son alive. At the time he had thought nothing of having his son endure the initiation, there had never been a death in his family from it since the cult had started. That was what made it so hard, he had just never expected to lose his son.
Something that troubled Ames was how much he had changed. He was more aware of his emotions, and he wasn't ashamed that he had them. The need for someone to understand him was suddenly all too great, he had felt it that night in the hotel when he had made love to Kay. That bugged him too. For one thing, he had stopped thinking of her as a number and her name was the first thing that came to mind whenever he pictured her. The other thing that bothered him was that whenever he remembered that night, he kept labeling it 'making love' rather than just plain sex. He had never thought of it that way even when he was married to Wendy.
Maybe it was the fact that Kay understood him and almost accepted him. At first she had been completely against him, but then she had just started talking to him and joking around. It may have been more out of necessity than anything else, but nevertheless she had still started treating him like a person rather than an enemy. The problem was that he had done the same thing.
A loud creak on the stairs brought his head up. At first he thought it was just his imagination, but then he heard it again, this time closer. Did Zack just get sick of waiting for him to die? That seemed like the most likely possibility right now, and he was almost glad for it. There just didn't seem to be any point to living any more. He couldn't run on his anger for 452 because he found out his son was dead. Now it wasn't like he had to find out from her where he was, and it wasn't her fault Ray was dead, it was his.
When the door opened, Ames certainly hadn't expected to see Mole standing there. He recognized him immediately, then remembered nervously that he had managed to kick the shit out of him at JamPony. That might not work in his favor right now.
Mole smiled wryly, enjoying seeing White completely helpless. "How nice to see you again. The pleasure is all mine, believe me."
Ames clenched his teeth together as Mole's boot connected with his ribs, cracking a couple. It wasn't the first time he had broken some ribs, but he was usually in better shape to deal with it than he was now. Mole kept kicking, aiming for Ames's weakest parts. Ames found his stomach, ribs, face, and groin all being pummeled until his entire body had a terrible throb to it. It felt like someone had dropped a tractor on him once or twice, hell, twenty times.
Mole didn't stop until he was satisfied by the damage to White's body. He glanced up the stairs, making sure Alec and Zack weren't coming back down. Then he pulled the chloroform out of his pocket and started pouring it onto a rag in his hand. Ten minutes later, he was carrying White's body out of Terminal City.
Kay was more than ready to leave Sate's house, it hadn't been a fun visit. She wouldn't be coming back if she could help it. Hopefully she could trust him to follow through on her plan, but she wasn't sure how much she should let herself depend on him. He didn't seem like the most honorable type of guy.
Sate's amused smile was still on his face as they reached the door. "I hope I'll be seeing you soon."
Kay smiled sweetly up at him. "Dear God, I hope not."
He simply chuckled and opened the door for her, his electric blue eyes watching her as she walked away. He found her to be better entertainment than anyone else he had dealt with in his life. She had more spirit than the other transgenics, but even he could tell she was guarding herself at all times. Something must have happened to her that she wasn't happy about, and he had the feeling it would be worth his time to find out.
Kay never felt happier as she finally was out of sight of Sate's door. It surprised her when she let out a whoosh of air, almost like she'd been holding her breath nearly the entire time she was in there. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders as soon as she was away from him, he just had that dooming effect on people. Thank God she was away from that place. Now she just had to find Mole and see when he would be starting his plan and what he would be doing.
Her path took her straight through the neighborhood where Zack had been keeping her. She kept to the shadows whenever possible, which wasn't too hard considering it was almost pitch black out by now. She just hoped she didn't come across someone, she wasn't in the mood to have to kick someone's ass right now. She paused for a moment, listening hard. From the sounds coming from the next street, someone else was doing the ass-kicking.
Kay poked her head around the side of the house closest to her. It surprised her when she saw that it was Alec and Zack fighting. At first she felt a surge of excitement when she saw Alec, then she had to remind herself that he wasn't Ben. That had happened nearly every time she'd seen him around. What could those two be fighting about? She didn't have to wait long before someone else asked that very same question.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Both men paused and stood up as Max and Jondy approached. Max was the one who had spoken, and she didn't look too happy right now.
"Ray is missing and you two are rolling around like a couple of schoolboys!"
Zack nearly growled as he turned and headed for his house, calling over his shoulder, "He can tell you!"
Alec's eyes coldly kept on Zack's back as he entered his house, then he turned to face Max. "We just had a little disagreement."
Max rolled her eyes. "Sure, like I'm gonna believe that. I didn't come out of the test tube yesterday, you know!"
Alec opened his mouth and was about to shoot something back at her when Zack came back out of the house.
"He's gone!"
Max glared at him. "Who? Sandeman?"
He shook his head. "No, White!"
Max's face paled. "Oh God, did he get loose and take Ray? Maybe that's why I can't find Mole anywhere. I left him with Ray this morning and they've both been missing all day. What if White hurt him?"
Alec raised an eyebrow. "He couldn't have been missing all day, I saw him just a little while ago. I ran into him in this area while I was coming to beat the crap out of Zack."
Max shook her head in confusion. "But why didn't he tell me what he did with Ray?"
Kay clenched her fists and crept from house to house until she was far enough away from the group to walk freely. She wasn't sure exactly what Mole was up to, but it apparently wasn't going to be something she would agree with.