-by Infie
Zane awoke in a cage.
He was on his feet in an instant, scanning the room, eyes wide. He had to keep his head bent ever so slightly, as the two by two inch mesh bit into his hair. At the same time, he realized his wrists were locked together by a length of strong, flexible plastic. His gaze met that of Alec, who was seated in a comfortable looking leather chair, watching him coolly. Zane relaxed marginally, and Alec rose to his feet, stalking around the cage. Alec trailed a finger along the metal wire.
"Costeel 494," he said conversationally. "An old friend of ours, isn't he?"
"Hmmmm." Alec smiled inwardly as Zane tried to assess his mood. "Though the restraints aren't precisely 'friendly', Alec."
Alec nodded, looking away, his mouth twisting as he agreed. "Yeah, I suppose. Then again, maybe you should just be happy you're clothed." His eyes swung back to meet Zane's, and the ice in them had Zane taking a hasty step backwards. "And that I didn't have time to run any electricity in here."
"Hey... I never zapped you."
"This is true." Alec returned to pacing the length of the cage, staring at Zane. Zane lifted his eyebrow defiantly, then leaned back against the wall of the cage, crossing his ankles and settling his arms more comfortably. He was the very picture of relaxation, and Alec laughed. Zane jumped, belying his pose, and Alec shook his head, grinning. "You are good, I'll give you that." He returned to his seat and leaned back against the leather, propping his feet against the cage. He popped the lid of a Coke, studying Zane with unnerving glee.
"So... who are you working for, anyway?" He asked suddenly.
"I don't know what you mean." Zane responded smoothly. "I pulled one over on White, sure, but...." He broke off as Alec held up a tiny piece of metal the size and shape of a grain of rice. Zane's face smoothed into expressionlessness. "How did you know?" he asked evenly.
Alec rubbed behind his ear thoughtfully with his free hand, then made a 'ta-da' gesture. "After about a day our bodies start to reject them. It makes us itch." he told Zane. "I've spent almost my entire life resisting the need to scratch. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize someone else giving in to it?"
Zane sighed, and felt a warm trickle down his neck. He reached behind his ear, his hand coming away wet with blood. "What the hell did you use, a chainsaw?"
Alec pursed his lips. "Nah," he said. "I made Johan put that away." He tilted his head. "So... who are you working for?"
Zane didn't answer, and Alec waved his hand. "Oh, I considered that it might have been part of the whole White informant thing, which we have tapes of by the way. But you know, for all White's cunning and underhandedness, he really had no interest in being... subtle. And this is very, very subtle. Which points to another player." Alec's eyes narrowed, and all the amusement left his voice. "Who are you really working for here, Zane?"
Zane heaved a sigh. "Would you believe the British SAS?"
"No."
"MI-5?"
"No."
"Spetznaz?"
At that one, Alec laughed out loud. "No."
"CSIS?"
Alec's eyes sharpened, and he brought the chair upright with a bang. "Now, that one, I'd believe."
Zane blinked. "Really?"
"Good effort, Zane." Alec looked at the transmitter he'd been rolling absently between his fingers and thought a moment, then flicked it out of the room. Zane watched it go and relaxed further. When he spoke again, it was softly.
"CSIS, Alec."
"Spill."
"When I left Manticore, I ran for weeks. Months, it felt like. I ended up in Calgary." Zane slid down the wall of the cage until he was sitting. "I ended up in a youth home for a few years. Nice place, actually, but no structure, you know? When I was about sixteen I decided to join the Armed Forces." He licked his lips. "I lied about my age, of course. It was like coming home. Well... like coming home to a hell of a lot nicer home than I'd ever known before. Then, after about a year in the infantry, one night, they came and got me."
Alec's face hardened. "They hurt you." His voice was flat.
"What? No." Zane shook his head. He took a deep breath, lowered his voice further. "When Sandeman ran from Manticore, where do you think he went, Alec? Canada. He spilled the plan, all of it, and offered the Canadians a choice; they could take action or he could go public. Sandeman knew about the escape of course, and he gave them our great weakness.. the barcode. They checked their records, and out popped... me. No, they didn't hurt me, Alec. They offered me a mission."
Alec's eyes narrowed as more pieces clicked into place. "They sent you undercover," he said slowly. "They sent you in as a Familiar." Zane nodded. "Uzbekistan... that was a Familiar compound. And when you ran into Rhys, in Toronto. You weren't rounded up with the transgenics. You were with the Familiars!"
Zane's smile was dark. "Yep. It was a Gods-given opportunity to get out here. I'd been tasked with getting close to White; he'd been identified as a primary threat early. I told the Conclave that I'd met Rhys in Uzbekistan, and they gave me a mission, too. Go undercover... as a transgenic. Report to White, cause dissent in TC." Zane laughed bitterly. "Christ, what a cosmic joke!"
Alec snorted. "Un-fucking-believable."
"And then I got here. No problem getting in, of course. And I expected you to be here, cause Rhys had talked to his CO and knew you were here. But Max...." Zane closed his eyes. "Max was a surprise. And White's primary objective."
Alec tilted his head. "You gave us the tattoo technology without White knowing about it."
"Yeah." Zane ran his bound hands through his hair. "When I saw Max, I knew I had to change the plan. White was so irrational about her... I knew he had to be taken out of the picture. And I knew Max wasn't the person to do it." He heaved a sigh. "But I knew you could. And would. So I pushed White's buttons. I kept telling him what a mistake it would be to drag you into it. Arrogant bastard couldn't let that slide." Zane's eyes met Alec's with an uncharacteristic honesty. "The only problem was getting you to engage. Max was the barrier, and the answer, there."
Alec rubbed his nose, eyes hard. "If I felt White could get to Max, I'd act." He growled low in his throat. "When Max decided to leave, you must have had a fit."
"Christ! You have no idea." Zane shook his head ruefully. "I knew it had to be now, and I could never actually turn her over to him. So, I made it look like TC had turned, left her for you to find, and hoped you'd figure it out. I staked everything on you."
"Huh." Alec ignored the blatant attempt at flattery. "Ok." He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees and clasping his hands together loosely. "Say I believe you. What does Canada get out of all of this? And why don't you want them to hear this conversation? This is all stuff they already know."
Zane heaved a breath. "We're transgenics, Alec. A very, very small percentage of the population, and you're almost universally immune to a disease that is about to be unleashed on a population of billions worldwide. We can be useful in many ways, but the biggest one should be staring you in the face already."
"Vaccination," Alec breathed.
"Yes." Zane stared at him intently. "But there's only a few of us. Max's genome could be used for genetic therapies and intervention before birth, so future generations are safe, but what about the nine billion people who are on the planet already? How much blood do you have, Alec?"
Alec paled. "They want to use us in labs, experiment on us."
Zane shook his head. "No. That's not these people's style. They do ask for frequent donations, but it's voluntary. They've offered full asylum to any transgenic, or transhuman, who wishes to cross the border. Full citizenship, no strings. And they've already begun the vaccination process, very quietly, with the transgenics who have already taken residence there."
"Then what? What the hell are you afraid of?" Alec growled in frustration. He rubbed his temple.
Zane leaned forward. "It's the babies, Alec!" he hissed. "A renewable resource, useful right from birth. And nine billion people waiting for a vaccine no one has enough time or resources or BLOOD to make. You do the fucking math!"
"You think they'd take the kids?" Alec stared at him, stunned.
"No. Not them. But what if someone talked? What if word got out?" Zane's face was anguished. "Christ, Alec...Can you take that chance? Cause I sure as hell can't."
Alec sat back in shock. "No," he said, looking away as he processed everything Zane had told him. "No. I can't."
He stood decisively. "Looks like my timetable just got moved up too, Zane." A moment later he was out the door, leaving Zane in the cage.