Disclaimer: Nope, last time I looked in a mirror I wasn't James Cameron or anyone else lucky enough to own Dark Angel.
Summary: Sequel to "Then it comes to be." The cult loonies are gone but the transgenics have other problems to deal with, not to mention a whole civilization to build. M/A
Rating: R because of occasional violence and sex.
A/N: The NC-17 version of this story is posted at http://nunswithpens.hyperboards.com/.
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Dix licked his lips and eyed his CO nervously. One second Alec had been chatting with Max and the next he was screaming her name as if someone had reached into his chest and pulled out his still-beating heart. "She's down. They got her," was all he'd managed to say. Now he was staring at the wall as if he could see through it and past the city beyond to wherever Max was.
Dix opened his mouth to speak and then hesitated. He glanced around HQ but no one else seemed to know how to approach Alec either so he plunged ahead. "Alec, did you hear anything we could use as a clue?"
Common sense suggested Max had been captured by whoever was running the base she'd been on her way to check out. The only problem with that theory was that Max hadn't been anywhere near the compound when she went down. Besides, how could they possibly know that the girl on the bike was a transgenic on her way to scout out their location? So logically, it could've been anyone. It might not even have anything to do with the transgenics. *Just a random attack by some weirdo. Max could handle that, easily.* Dix held onto that hope as a way of keeping fear at bay. He wasn't a soldier. Manticore had never trained him in how to keep his emotions in check.
Alec stared blankly at Dix. Slowly the words penetrated his brain. *Find a clue, find Max. Because she isn't dead. She isn't!* he screamed mentally at the darkness in his head that threatened to swallow him whole. And then twenty years of training asserted itself. He closed his eyes and replayed the phone call in his mind. *A sudden burst of gunfire. A small moan of pain from Max.* Alec took a deep breath and forced away the fear. *The screech of the tires as the bike skidded out of control. The squeal of metal sliding on pavement. Max's grunt as she hit the ground. Booted feet running up, and then the sound of tazers connecting with flesh.* Alec's eyes snapped open. "Machine gun fire and tazers. And no voices."
"So, not the local trannie haters then. These guys were well armed and well trained."
"It's gotta be the same bastards holding the X-6s." Alec spun to face Blink, the X-5 section head in charge of recon. "Blink, get your unit out there ASAP. I want to know everything there is to know about that place."
"Got it," Blink said and hurried out of HQ to assemble his team.
Lydecker felt a cold rage settle in the pit of his stomach. He'd be damned if he'd just hand over one of his kids to be experimented on and exploited by another Renfro. He stood up. The sudden movement drew everyone's attention. Deck ignored the others and concentrated on Alec. He caught and held the transgenic's eye. "We need more intel. I can check with my contacts. They may have heard something."
Alec stared at Lydecker for a long time, weighing the risk. Deck had put them through hell as children, but he'd also helped Max and the others take on Manticore and blow up the DNA lab. People could change. The transgenics were living proof of that. *And even if he hasn't changed, I'd deal with the devil if it would bring her home.* He shrugged. "Agreed. But we'll be checking with our own sources too. Anything you give us had better be right."
"Of course." Deck agreed.
Alec turned and walked into his office and shut the door softly. He crossed the room in two quick strides and slammed his fist into the wall. A giant crack snaked across the wall and bits of plaster fell to the floor in small puffs of dust. It wasn't enough damage. He wanted to howl in rage, smash something, make someone bleed. But destroying his office wouldn't help bring Max home. He closed his eyes and forced his hands to unclench. He took several deep breaths and willed himself to think and act like the soldier Manticore had trained him to be. *I will find you Max,* he vowed, *and I will make sure they never hurt you again.* His mind raced as he analyzed and rejected tactics, planning for every conceivable contingency.
----*----
An hour later Deck knocked on Alec's office door. He had a grim look on his face.
"Well?" Alec said impatiently as he pushed past Deck and led the way back to the conference room at HQ.
"Nothing through official channels."
"Big surprise. And the unofficial ones?"
"A strong possibility. About 10 days ago a doctor started asking around for a hire to capture an escaped fugitive. The thing is, he was looking to hire more than just a couple of heavies. He was looking for the kind of muscle you'd need to take on one of you kids. You have any idea who this doctor is or why he's after Max?"
Alec looked at Deck. "Maybe. A couple of months ago Max got shot trying to save a little kid. The hospital found the love bug virus in her blood and called in the CDC. The doctor in charge was really pissed when she escaped."
Alec turned to face the map hanging on the wall and pointed at the compound outside Seattle. "So let me guess. The guys who took the hire have a base north of here."
"Yeah. A mercenary unit known as the Black Hawks. They're mean s.o.b.'s and they're well-armed."
"Dix," Alec called over his shoulder to the transhuman at the computers.
"Already on it," Dix said as his fingers flew across the keyboard, accessing an aerial map of the area.
"Conner, I want three assault teams fully loaded. We have to be ready for anything."
"We will be," the X-5 replied. "I in a shipment of real nasty stuff the other day. They won't know what hit them."
"Good," Alec said with a cold smile.
"Alec," Zane called out from across the room. Syl, Krit, and Jondy were standing next to him. All four looked pissed-off. "Maxie's our baby sister. We want in." They met Alec's eyes with a look that was half-determined, half-pleading.
Alec nodded. "Ok. But you're under Conner's command. You don't move without his say so."
"We got no problem with that."
"Good." Alec turned his attention back to the monitors. Dix had pulled up the map and was zooming in on the compound. Alec memorized the layout and started adapting his plan of attack.
----*----
Max cautiously opened her eyes. A bright light stabbed into her eyes and made her head pound. The pain in her head matched the one in her leg from the bullet wound. When she tried to raise her hand to her face she realized she was restrained. She looked around groggily, and groaned. She was lying in a hospital bed hooked up to several monitors and a couple of IV bags. The walls of the room were draped in heavy plastic and the section covering the door had a biohazard warning symbol on it. *Not this guy again.*
She raised her head and shoulders off the bed and then immediately lay down flat again with her eyes closed. Whatever medication they'd given her made her really dizzy. *Damn it. Now I have to wait for this crap to wear off or I won't be able to walk straight.* Carefully she opened her eyes again. The room spun a little but it was bearable as long as she didn't move her head too suddenly. She focused on one spot on the wall and tried to overcome the nauseous effects of the drugs.
Almost immediately Dr George from the Center for Disease Control strode into the room dressed in full containment gear. Max smothered a laugh. *This is ridiculous. He looks like something out of a really bad post-nuclear holocaust movie.*
"Ah good, you're awake, Mrs. Eastman. Although I seriously doubt that's your real name," he said, never taking his eyes off his clipboard.
"I told you before, you don't need all this decontainment crap."
Dr George moved around the room checking the monitors. "You are the carrier for a mutated strain of a biowarfare agent called Zycinor," he said absently.
"And if you were half as good as you think you are you'd have discovered by now that it's a mutated strain because it's targeted to a specific DNA code sequence." That got his attention. His head snapped around and he stared at Max in confusion.
"It's a weapon designed to take out a single person only. I'm not gonna start a plague."
"Why?"
"Cuz my bosses wanted the target dead in a big way. That's usually the point of assassination."
"But why bother? Why go to all that effort to mutate a virus? From what I've heard you transgenics were trained to kill in a 100 different ways."
"A 1000 actually, but who's counting?"
Dr George swallowed hard at the deadly gleam in Max's eye. His gaze flickered down to her wrists, and he was visibly relieved to see that she was still tightly restrained.
*Yeah, well, give me long enough for these drugs to wear off and then you'll see if your stupid restraints can hold me.* Max mentally rolled her eyes.
"And considering they cooked up me and my friends, mutating a virus probably wasn't that big a deal." She smirked, knowing it probably did seem like a big deal to Dr George. Manticore was light-years ahead of the CDC. "As for why bother, what would be easier than to brush up against some guy at a cocktail party? No fuss, no messy bullet holes, and nothing to suggest assassination."
"Who was your target?" he asked curiously.
"Some government contractor who got a little too curious about who he was supplying," she lied.
"Is he…dead?"
Max just grinned and let him read whatever he wanted into it.
"So why didn't the scientists at Manticore remove the virus from your blood stream?"
"What, don't you listen to the news? The facility burned down a year ago. I was still out on assignment. So, any chance you could remove the virus yourself?" she asked casually.
"Why do you care?"
"Cuz then I wouldn't have your ugly mug chasing my ass anymore."
"But the virus isn't the only reason I'm interested in you, my dear girl. You're a very valuable commodity. You and you're friends are going to help me make scientific history. Even if it kills you." He took a prepared syringe off a metal tray by the bed and injected the contents into the IV tube. The room faded and went black.
----*----
Hey boss, Blink said over the radio, we've got movement. They just parked a troop transport truck, a CDC van, and three Hummers in front of the main building. Looks like they're getting ready to pull out with the prisoners.
"Perfect," Alec said. "We'll take them on the road. Set up a barricade. We don't want them getting far."
Copy that.
"How's our approach?"
All clear. Merc scouts have withdrawn to base. They aren't expecting company.
"Their mistake. We'll be there in 30."
Alec turned to face the twelve transgenics that made up the assault teams. They watched him attentively. "Listen up, people. Alpha and beta squads, take out the mercs. Hit them hard and fast. Don't give them the chance to return fire. We're sending a message here. Gamma squad, get the X-6s out of there. Leave Max and the CDC creep to me."
Jondy opened her mouth to argue, and then shut it again at the fierce look on Alec's face.
Alec grabbed a gun off the pile on the table and headed out of HQ. He jumped down a manhole into the sewers and led the way out of Terminal City. The others followed single-file behind him. He'd sent out a team of X-6s earlier, so there were three stolen vans waiting for them when they emerged from the tunnels. Each squad hopped in one and raced north out of Seattle.
They pulled the vans off the road into the bushes a mile from the access road and made their way cross-country to the rendezvous point. Blink and his team had toppled a couple of trees across the road. The barricade was out of sight around a sharp curve, hidden from view of anyone leaving the compound. The transgenics crouched in the undergrowth.
Boss, Blink said, they're loading the prisoners now. Five X-6s in the troop transport and two guards. Four mercs each in the Hummers.
Max? Alec asked, forcing his voice to remain calm and controlled.
No sign yet.
Several tense minutes passed. I have a visual on Max. They're loading her into the CDC van. She's on a stretcher.
Alec winced mentally at that but did not allow his emotions to show on his face. There would be time to feel later. Now was the time for action. He signalled to the waiting units. They faded into the undergrowth and took up position along the side of the road.
Ten minutes later the convoy came into sight. A merc Hummer was in the lead, followed by the CDC van and the troop transport. Two more Hummers brought up the rear. An X-5 from alpha squad stepped out into the middle of the road and levelled her mini grenade launcher at the oncoming vehicles. The driver in the lead Hummer gaped at her in surprise and then sped up in a vain attempt to scare her off the road. She stood her ground and calmly took aim and fired. The Hummer exploded in a burst of flame and flipped into the air. The X-5 dived for cover in the ditch. There was the sound of two more explosions as beta squad fired on the mercenaries in the rear. Burning, twisted metal littered the road.
The CDC van swerved dangerously to avoid the flaming wreck of the lead Hummer. The driver gunned the engine and careened around the corner. Alec raced through the trees after it.
The troop transport tried to follow the CDC van around the wreckage but there was a chatter of gunfire as the members of gamma squad fired at the tires. With a squeal of metal the transport came to a shuddering halt, tire rims gouging tracks in the asphalt. The transgenics from alpha squad laid down cover fire, keeping the two guards in the cab of the transport pinned down while gamma squad raced up to the truck. Conner wrenched open the back doors. The dazed X-6s were handcuffed hand and foot. "Next stop, Terminal City. Let's go, let's go!" Conner shouted. The kids jumped awkwardly to the ground. Zane shot apart the ankle chains and then gamma squad led the kids to the safety of the trees. Alpha and beta squads pulled back slowly, covering their retreat.
The speeding CDC van hurtled around the corner straight for the barricade. The driver slammed on the brakes in a desperate attempt to avoid a collision. The van skidded out of control and smashed into the barricade. The front end crumpled completely under the impact.
Alec charged up to the van. He ripped open the back door and fired at the dazed soldier inside. The bullet took him in the shoulder and he fell back against the wall. He knocked his head against one of the metal cupboards that lined the sides of the van and went down hard. Alec jumped into the van and quickly checked the guard. He was out cold. He moved forward cautiously, gun ready, to check on the driver and the CDC doctor. Both were slumped against the dashboard, unconscious and bleeding heavily from head wounds.
Alec ignored them and turned to Max. His heart beat painfully against his ribs. She was strapped to a gurney, tubes protruding from both arms. Her left leg was heavily bandaged. She looked frail and weak, and despite the fact that he knew how strong she was he couldn't help the pang of fear he felt at the sight of her lying there so still and pale. Only the slow rise and fall of her chest told him she was even alive. He shook her gently. "Max. Max, open your eyes. You're safe now. Wake up. Come back to me."
But Max was deep in a drugged stupor and didn't move. Alec undid the straps and gently pulled out the IV tubes, working as quickly as he could.
Dr George winced at the blinding pain in his head and forced his eyes open. He raised one hand to his forehead. It was wet and sticky with blood. He blinked his eyes to clear his vision and glanced out the shattered window at the fallen tree, and then over at the driver. He was still unconscious and bleeding from a gash above one eye and a broken nose.
Dr George turned in his seat to look back at his precious cargo, the patient who would ensure his place in medical history. His eyes went wide in shock when he saw Alec hoist her into his arms and carry her towards the open doors.
*No! He can't take her, she's mine!* Dr George looked around frantically for a weapon. His gaze fell on the handgun strapped to the driver's leg. He felt the van shift as Alec jumped to the ground. *I have to stop him.* He yanked the gun out of the holster and lurched to his feet. Dimly he recalled the firearms lessons he'd taken in university. He flicked off the safely and laid his finger against the trigger. "Stop!" he shouted.
Alec spun around. The doctor was on his feet with a gun in his outstretched hand. Alec cursed himself for being so preoccupied with Max that he hadn't heard the doctor move.
Dr George aimed for Alec's heart and squeezed the trigger. Alec bent his knees and took the bullet in the shoulder. He felt a searing pain as the bullet ripped through him. He dropped his right hand from under Max's knees and reached behind his back for the gun he'd tucked in the waistband of his jeans. He whipped it out and fired before the doctor could react.
The bullet slammed into Dr George's heart, killing him instantly. The force of it threw him backwards against the front seats. He slumped to the floor, the blank look of death in his eyes. Alec stared at the doctor's dead body and smiled in grim satisfaction.
He gently adjusted his grip on Max, shifting her weight in his arms. His shoulder felt like it was on fire and he could feel the blood trickling out of the bullet holes. He ignored the pain and raced for the cover of the trees.
Report he barked into his radio.
Alpha team clear.
Beta team clear.
Gamma team clear. Mission accomplished.
Boss, Blink said urgently, you got company headed your way. You need back-up?
Negative. I have Max. We're almost at the rendezvous. Pull your men out now and meet us back at base.
Copy that. Blink said.
Alec raced for the rendezvous point. Conner held open the back door of one of the vans and Alec jumped in. The van peeled out as soon as they were safely inside. He cradled a still-unconscious Max to his chest as Conner pressed a pad against Alec's bloody shoulder.
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