Spoilers: This is the third in my series of stories. The first
was Shattered Trusts and Whispered Confessions. The second,
which I only just finished, is Remembering to Forget. This
series is set after Hello Goodbye but does reveal spoilers from
the rest of the season, as I incorporate it into the story.
Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine except for some minors. The ideas are pretty much mine though but I just want to say thanks to those who have reviewed my previous works, it keeps me writing!
Authors Note: If you really want to understand this story and enjoy it, then be sure to read the original parts one and two.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Author's Note:
I just reread my work that I have posted and I realised that there are a couple of things bugging me (aside from the stupid word mistakes I have made) about this and the last story. Okay this is how it worked. Ben kidnapped Sketchy, just in case Alec didn't respond to the killings. When he discovered Alec was on his way, he handed Sketchy over to Otto (who was working against White) so that it would fuel Alec's hate against White further, should the bracelet have not worked. Okay I hope that made sense, that was kind of what I get for making everything so damn twisty. White has been contained by Manticore and so what that means is I cant include him in my merging of the last few episodes with my story. I hate myself for killing off Biggs, I am having major guilt pangs and this is pre harassment from reviewers. I'm too scared to check if there have been any because it was such a below the belt thing for me to do. So that said, I guess it's on with the show...
Seattle; Barkley Warehouse; September 20th 2022
2300 hours
Max crept silently forward, Mole closely behind. She stuck her head up to check McKinley and the woman's positions. Dead ahead, they weren't moving. She moved forward again, her eyes watching everything around them cautiously, terrified that there might be familiars lurking. She signed at Mole to split up, taking the couple from opposite sides. Attack and detain. She tossed him a length of rope and he nodded at her, stubbing his cigar out under his foot.
The senator turned, as he was knocked high into the air by Max's right hook. He landed in a clumsy position, his eyes seeing stars as Max blurred to him, tying him against a tree. She looked over at Mole, the lady bound tightly to another tree close by. Max turned to McKinley, a smile playing her lips,
"A sudden turn of events doesn't look good for our hero, what will he do?"
"I can cut you a deal. Help out your fellow transgenics. I have some in a holding facility nearby. You let me go - unscathed - and I will release them."
"Yeah, I'm really gonna cut a deal with the devil. I like my soul thank you."
"You're not even human."
"Am too. Like 90 percent of me is, you jackass. Anyway, at least I can feel pain and that's the most human thing there is. So I'll tell you what. You let me know where my mates are, I go rescue them. They're okay, I ring Mole and he lets you go. I don't ring; well he might just get a little peckish. Thank god you guys cant feel pain, coz being eaten alive - jeez, that's a killer!"
Max laughed at her clever punning, relishing in the way that the senator and the woman's faces went pale with fear.
"Okay, deal."
"Wow. That was easy. You're not so tough, I was expecting a huge scratch match. So much for familiars being the all-mighty end-all."
"This wont be over."
"You just can't keep your mouth shut. Look at your girlfriend, nice and quiet."
Mole laughed, stepping closer to her,
'I gagged her."
"Exactly!"
She looked back at McKinley,
"Now, where's that facility?"
* * * * *
Seattle; Terminal City; September 21st 2022
0200 hours
Max waved at Mole as he ushered a long chain of transgenics out of the van backed against a hole in the Terminal City south fence. He bowed courteously at her and she grinned, driving off to dump the van.
She returned later, heading straight for headquarters as always. The last of the rescued transgenics was leaving as she entered,
"Database huh?"
Dix smiled at her,
"Yeah, just added the new recruits. You and Mole did a good thing tonight."
An albino anomaly looked up at her from his position in front of the fridge,
"He's right - thanks, you guys saved my life. I know they were just itching to take me apart. Or worse, send me back to Manticore."
"Anytime."
She moved uncertainly over to Luke, who was squinting at his large computer monitor,
"Hey."
"Hey Max."
"How's it going?"
"Still going. And going. I'm thinking that by the looks of your runes all laid out, you have presented everything you're supposed to. When I match the position of yours to Alec's, all of his match to yours. You just have more. Which makes me think that Alec hasn't got the majority of his."
"You said that you could decipher mine. What did it say?"
"Well ancient Minoan is a tricky language to deal with, it was never fully translated. But the basic gist of your message is, 'When the shroud of death covers the face of the earth, the one whose power is hidden will deliver the helpless. He will not be alone, but with his chosen mate will bring the world up from it's knees.' Pretty full on stuff. I just need the rest of Alec's runes to come up, so I can figure what language they are and what they mean."
"Why Minoan or languages we cant understand?"
"Sandeman probably intended to teach you it. But he left Manticore in a hurry according to Joshua."
"Yeah. He was a good man apparently, very fixed on our survival. He believed in our ability to do good, perform for the greater good."
"I heard he was a familiar?"
"Was. He left, betrayed them. I... I don't know if he's alive still or what. Logan said he was. But I have trouble believing stuff he's told me."
"Fair enough. You look wrecked. Why don't you go home and get some sleep?"
"You should too. You can't stay up all night working on that stuff Luke."
"Logistics and Stats. We were designed to be able to go without sleep for excessive periods of time."
"Okay. Well try not to stress, you've done great."
The transgenic's face lit up at the compliment and Max smiled, looking around the building nervously.
"He's not here."
"Oh, I didn't think that... who's not here?"
"Nice try. Alec hasn't come back since earlier when he..."
"Yeah. Well, goodnight Luke. Thanks."
"Anytime Max, anytime."
* * * * *
Seattle; Sector 10; September 21st 2022
0600 hours
Alec crossed the footpath stealthily, his eyes focused ahead and narrowed as he continued on his way. He looked behind him to see if anyone was following him and bowled into a familiar looking man,
"Whoa, watch out there fella!"
"Sorry."
"That's okay son. My name is Robbie. I work for Mission here. You need a place to stay?"
"No, I'm okay, I have a home."
"Oh well you wanna make a donation to keeping transgenics off the streets?"
Alec's eyes squinted further and the man looked him up and down.
"You don't like transgenics?"
"You could say that."
"Well then you'll always be welcomed round here boy."
"Yeah, I heard about what happened yesterday here on the news."
"Stick with me sonny and you'll do more than hear about it, you'll be a part of it."
"What do you mean?"
"What do you think I mean?"
Alec's blood ran ice through his veins; he stared down the man coolly,
"You did that. You killed that man?"
"He was no man. He was a lab rat, a GI Joe figurine come alive. A freak."
"You handled a transgenic on your own? I hear they're real tough."
"Much as I'd like to take credit for it, took four of us. I pulled the trigger that put the bastard down though."
"I'd like to shake the hands of those who helped you."
"Want me to take you to meet them?"
"There's nothing I'd like more."
Robbie extended an arm around Alec, an almost fatherly gesture,
"I think we're gonna get along real well."
Alec nodded, his voice lower than in the ordinary's hearing level,
"Yeah, we're gonna have a great time..."
* * * * *
Author's Note:
It's late and I am so sleepy...zzzzzzzz - more later. Weekend coming up so lots of chapters to come because I turn into this weird sort of recluse on weekends. Out at night, out most of the day, but with a certain amount of allocated home time - all my friends are the same, except they sleep all day.
Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine except for some minors. The ideas are pretty much mine though but I just want to say thanks to those who have reviewed my previous works, it keeps me writing!
Authors Note: If you really want to understand this story and enjoy it, then be sure to read the original parts one and two.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Author's Note:
I just reread my work that I have posted and I realised that there are a couple of things bugging me (aside from the stupid word mistakes I have made) about this and the last story. Okay this is how it worked. Ben kidnapped Sketchy, just in case Alec didn't respond to the killings. When he discovered Alec was on his way, he handed Sketchy over to Otto (who was working against White) so that it would fuel Alec's hate against White further, should the bracelet have not worked. Okay I hope that made sense, that was kind of what I get for making everything so damn twisty. White has been contained by Manticore and so what that means is I cant include him in my merging of the last few episodes with my story. I hate myself for killing off Biggs, I am having major guilt pangs and this is pre harassment from reviewers. I'm too scared to check if there have been any because it was such a below the belt thing for me to do. So that said, I guess it's on with the show...
Seattle; Barkley Warehouse; September 20th 2022
2300 hours
Max crept silently forward, Mole closely behind. She stuck her head up to check McKinley and the woman's positions. Dead ahead, they weren't moving. She moved forward again, her eyes watching everything around them cautiously, terrified that there might be familiars lurking. She signed at Mole to split up, taking the couple from opposite sides. Attack and detain. She tossed him a length of rope and he nodded at her, stubbing his cigar out under his foot.
The senator turned, as he was knocked high into the air by Max's right hook. He landed in a clumsy position, his eyes seeing stars as Max blurred to him, tying him against a tree. She looked over at Mole, the lady bound tightly to another tree close by. Max turned to McKinley, a smile playing her lips,
"A sudden turn of events doesn't look good for our hero, what will he do?"
"I can cut you a deal. Help out your fellow transgenics. I have some in a holding facility nearby. You let me go - unscathed - and I will release them."
"Yeah, I'm really gonna cut a deal with the devil. I like my soul thank you."
"You're not even human."
"Am too. Like 90 percent of me is, you jackass. Anyway, at least I can feel pain and that's the most human thing there is. So I'll tell you what. You let me know where my mates are, I go rescue them. They're okay, I ring Mole and he lets you go. I don't ring; well he might just get a little peckish. Thank god you guys cant feel pain, coz being eaten alive - jeez, that's a killer!"
Max laughed at her clever punning, relishing in the way that the senator and the woman's faces went pale with fear.
"Okay, deal."
"Wow. That was easy. You're not so tough, I was expecting a huge scratch match. So much for familiars being the all-mighty end-all."
"This wont be over."
"You just can't keep your mouth shut. Look at your girlfriend, nice and quiet."
Mole laughed, stepping closer to her,
'I gagged her."
"Exactly!"
She looked back at McKinley,
"Now, where's that facility?"
* * * * *
Seattle; Terminal City; September 21st 2022
0200 hours
Max waved at Mole as he ushered a long chain of transgenics out of the van backed against a hole in the Terminal City south fence. He bowed courteously at her and she grinned, driving off to dump the van.
She returned later, heading straight for headquarters as always. The last of the rescued transgenics was leaving as she entered,
"Database huh?"
Dix smiled at her,
"Yeah, just added the new recruits. You and Mole did a good thing tonight."
An albino anomaly looked up at her from his position in front of the fridge,
"He's right - thanks, you guys saved my life. I know they were just itching to take me apart. Or worse, send me back to Manticore."
"Anytime."
She moved uncertainly over to Luke, who was squinting at his large computer monitor,
"Hey."
"Hey Max."
"How's it going?"
"Still going. And going. I'm thinking that by the looks of your runes all laid out, you have presented everything you're supposed to. When I match the position of yours to Alec's, all of his match to yours. You just have more. Which makes me think that Alec hasn't got the majority of his."
"You said that you could decipher mine. What did it say?"
"Well ancient Minoan is a tricky language to deal with, it was never fully translated. But the basic gist of your message is, 'When the shroud of death covers the face of the earth, the one whose power is hidden will deliver the helpless. He will not be alone, but with his chosen mate will bring the world up from it's knees.' Pretty full on stuff. I just need the rest of Alec's runes to come up, so I can figure what language they are and what they mean."
"Why Minoan or languages we cant understand?"
"Sandeman probably intended to teach you it. But he left Manticore in a hurry according to Joshua."
"Yeah. He was a good man apparently, very fixed on our survival. He believed in our ability to do good, perform for the greater good."
"I heard he was a familiar?"
"Was. He left, betrayed them. I... I don't know if he's alive still or what. Logan said he was. But I have trouble believing stuff he's told me."
"Fair enough. You look wrecked. Why don't you go home and get some sleep?"
"You should too. You can't stay up all night working on that stuff Luke."
"Logistics and Stats. We were designed to be able to go without sleep for excessive periods of time."
"Okay. Well try not to stress, you've done great."
The transgenic's face lit up at the compliment and Max smiled, looking around the building nervously.
"He's not here."
"Oh, I didn't think that... who's not here?"
"Nice try. Alec hasn't come back since earlier when he..."
"Yeah. Well, goodnight Luke. Thanks."
"Anytime Max, anytime."
* * * * *
Seattle; Sector 10; September 21st 2022
0600 hours
Alec crossed the footpath stealthily, his eyes focused ahead and narrowed as he continued on his way. He looked behind him to see if anyone was following him and bowled into a familiar looking man,
"Whoa, watch out there fella!"
"Sorry."
"That's okay son. My name is Robbie. I work for Mission here. You need a place to stay?"
"No, I'm okay, I have a home."
"Oh well you wanna make a donation to keeping transgenics off the streets?"
Alec's eyes squinted further and the man looked him up and down.
"You don't like transgenics?"
"You could say that."
"Well then you'll always be welcomed round here boy."
"Yeah, I heard about what happened yesterday here on the news."
"Stick with me sonny and you'll do more than hear about it, you'll be a part of it."
"What do you mean?"
"What do you think I mean?"
Alec's blood ran ice through his veins; he stared down the man coolly,
"You did that. You killed that man?"
"He was no man. He was a lab rat, a GI Joe figurine come alive. A freak."
"You handled a transgenic on your own? I hear they're real tough."
"Much as I'd like to take credit for it, took four of us. I pulled the trigger that put the bastard down though."
"I'd like to shake the hands of those who helped you."
"Want me to take you to meet them?"
"There's nothing I'd like more."
Robbie extended an arm around Alec, an almost fatherly gesture,
"I think we're gonna get along real well."
Alec nodded, his voice lower than in the ordinary's hearing level,
"Yeah, we're gonna have a great time..."
* * * * *
Author's Note:
It's late and I am so sleepy...zzzzzzzz - more later. Weekend coming up so lots of chapters to come because I turn into this weird sort of recluse on weekends. Out at night, out most of the day, but with a certain amount of allocated home time - all my friends are the same, except they sleep all day.