James Cameron and Charles Eglee own Dark Angel. My use is in no way meant to challenge their copyrights. This piece is not intended for any profit on the part of the writer, nor is it meant to detract from the commercial viability of the aforementioned (or any other) copyright. Any similarity to any events or persons, either real or fictional, is unintended (and would really be sorta whacked, given some of the events and persons depicted herein).
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XIII – To All Good Things"I wish you would turn that off," Max complained as Alec continued to stare at the television screen. Though she was tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he was capable of listening to her and Sports Center at the same time, she didn't think dividing his attention like that was appropriate when there were so many important matters to discuss. And he hasn't turned that damned TV off since we left Terminal City and got back to his place, Max thought with no lack of irritation. You'd think he'd get bored or something…
"I'll turn it off once I get the score in the Mariners game," Alec replied.
"Seattle 7, Kansas City 4," Max told him. "It's been on the bottom line three times since we started talking."
"You sure?" Alec asked.
"Trust me."
"Well let me just catch the highlights," he suggested. "Then I'll turn it off."
"Might as well give up, Max," Cindy commented. "He's gone without a TV for weeks – he's probably got lots of catching up to do. Men and their sports . . . you know how it is."
"Yeah, I know," Max grumbled. "It would just be nice to get some work done for once."
"No problem," Joshua put in. "Don't need him," he said with a dismissive wave in Alec's direction.
"No, I'm paying attention," Alec objected, immediately muting the volume and turning away from the screen. Max suppressed a smile at Joshua's newfound skill with reverse psychology. No better way to get Alec to do something than to suggest you'd be just as well without him. And of course, it's only that much more effective coming from Joshua, since no one would really expect such subtlety from him. She looked over the large transgenic, concluding that he was really no longer the same man he'd been at the start of the siege. And it's not just the language thing, she decided, though Joshua's habit of spending over six hours a day working on vocabulary and diction had itself completely transformed him. It's something deeper . . . he's confident, strong. It's like all that passion he always used to express in his art has been focused and directed on something. But what? She chased the thought away, not wanting to dwell on what she'd come to think of as Joshua's dark side. As kind, peaceful, innocent, and naïve as he usually was, she'd also seen him become irrationally, brutally violent. Despite his outward calm, she could still see some of that fire still dancing behind her friend's eyes. Ever since Annie died…
"Let's just leave all the boring stuff 'til the end," Alec requested.
"The boring stuff?" Max asked.
"You know, like figuring out who can live where and stuff like that," Alec explained. "Let's start with something more interesting."
"Like what?" Max responded. "Most of what we have to do is find safe places for our people to crash. What could be more important than that?"
"Zack," Joshua muttered, drawing surprised stares from the other three people in the room.
"Okay, Zack," Max agreed, though if she'd had her way, Zack would have been the last topic of discussion. Might as well do this now and get it over with, she decided.
"Did you know Logan was gonna sell him out?" Alec asked with obvious irritation.
"No."
"That was whack, Max," Joshua grumbled. "I mean . . . you know what I mean," he added, not bothering to express himself more eloquently, as was generally his habit.
"McElroy and his boys already knew about Zack and Kilroy," Max explained. "McElroy even broached the subject in one of our meetings. He said they wanted both of them arrested and put on trial."
"For what?" Cindy asked. Max thought it almost funny that Cindy seemed so concerned about Zack's welfare. It's not like the two of them ever exactly warmed to each other.
"Domestic terrorism," Max answered.
"No way in hell," Alec snapped. "This is exactly what I was afraid of, Max."
"You agreed that we should at least take Zack out of the picture," Max shouted. "We already discussed this."
"I agreed that we should take care of it," Alec countered. "The transgenics. I never agreed to sell him out to the government, and don't ever try to say otherwise." Silence reigned for several minutes as Max and Alec kept their gazes locked on each other, engaging in a contest of wills that neither one intended to lose.
"I already agreed," Max muttered, keeping her eyes on Alec the whole time.
"What?!" Alec roared, standing his feet quickly enough to draw Joshua a few steps closer in case he needed to separate a fight. "You had no right!"
"I had every right," Max growled. "I'm the one in charge. I'm the one everybody looks to for answers, even though when it started you knew damned well I didn't want that kind of responsibility. Don't come to me now and bitch that you don't like the way things were done. You could have taken over any time you wanted, Alec."
"Hey, I'm not the one that came back from the dead," Alec pointed out. "You think they would have followed me?"
"I never came back from the dead," Max said evenly, threateningly. "You know that already. You were there, Alec. I don't ever want to hear you say that again. Understand?"
"Whatever," Alec said with a shrug, as if he knew that seeming casually indifferent would piss off Max far more than continuing to debate her on that issue.
"It's already done, anyway," Max said, making certain she hid the intense guilt that had been gnawing at her since she gave in to McElroy's demands. "They've probably already chosen and prepped a team, and I'll bet they have Zack under surveillance even now. It's too late for him to escape."
"You unbelievable bitch," Alec muttered, just loudly enough so that Max knew she'd been meant to hear his comment.
"I'm gonna be with them," Max added, hoping that she could at least get Alec to understand she wanted to make sure Zack never got hurt. Though I don't even know why I bother at all, she wondered. It's not like Alec's opinion is all that important, is it?
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out there," Cindy commented. "What if something bad happens?"
"Like what?" Max asked.
"Like you get shot in the head or something," Cindy retorted. "You're a leader – your people need you."
"And Zack's one of us," Max retorted. "I have to be there. Somebody has to make sure they don't just kill him and claim it was some kind of freak accident."
"No pun intended, right?" Alec asked grimly. "I have to agree with OC on this, though. You shouldn't go out there. It's too dangerous. I mean, what if they arrange a freak accident for you, too?"
"Paranoid much?" Max asked.
"Somebody's gotta be," Alec countered. "Despite all my warnings, you end up trusting all these ordinaries. And not just everyday, run-of-the-mill ordinaries, either. You're out there trusting politicians! How stupid is that?!"
"Oh, so now I'm stupid?" Max asked incredulously. "What the hell bug crawled up your ass, Alec?"
"Shut up!!" Joshua's voice boomed. "Both of you, shut up! Try talking. Normal talking." Alec spun to face Joshua, and for a brief moment Max thought that the two of them would come to blows. Thankfully, it never got that far. "You're friends," Joshua reminded them both. "This is whack. I mean, you're both being stupid. Shouting won't help."
"You're right," Alec relented. He turned from Joshua and looked once again at Max. "And you're wrong," he added, this time far more calmly. "At least, about going out there to help them take Zack. I don't agree with handing him over in the first place, but it was your decision to make."
"Thanks, that means a lot," Max admitted, "even though that's probably the most half-ass apology I think I've ever heard."
"Now that's better," Cindy commented. "I always knew --"
"-- Shhhh," Joshua interrupted, pointing toward the television screen. The familiar Eyes Only logo had appeared on the screen, and in a heartbeat Max had seized the remote and turned the sound back on.
"--- Freedom Video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in the city."
"You know about any big news?" Max asked Alec. He only shook his head, keeping his eyes riveted on the screen.
"Only days ago, Eyes Only reported to the public the existence of the leaders of two renegade transgenic groups – Zack and Kilroy. It has come to the attention of Eyes Only that only minutes ago, the enigmatic leader calling himself Kilroy surrendered himself to authorities in Seattle." The familiar logo disappeared, immediately replaced by a video that seemed to be shot from a rooftop across the street from Seattle's police headquarters. As the video zoomed in, Eyes Only's voice continued the report. "As can be seen in this video, the man claiming to be Kilroy is obviously older than any of the transgenics, and therefore is not one of them. He is, in fact, an ordinary named Logan Cale, the nephew of deceased industrialist Jonas Cale."
"Oh my God," Cindy muttered. Max was aware that Alec and Joshua both said something, too, but she had no idea what it was. It was if everything in the world had come to a screeching halt, and all she was aware of was the complete feeling of emptiness that washed over her as she stared at the black and white video of Logan walking into the police headquarters building. Though her brain had not yet processed everything, some part of her mind was aware of the fact that everything in her life had just changed.
This can't be happening please let it not be him it must be a mistake what am I going to do wake up Max wake up wake up wake up. Max's thoughts raced along as her eyes continued to watch the television screen in front of her. She was vaguely aware that she wasn't hearing the Eyes Only report any more than she'd heard Alec and Joshua. Reality had become a still life, and she was desperately searching for a way out of the moment.
"Max!" she finally heard Original Cindy yell. Max was suddenly aware that Cindy was holding her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly while gazing into her eyes, searching for some sign of recognition. "Max? Can you hear me?"
"I have to go," Max mumbled. It took several moments for her to realize that she hadn't even stood up, despite the fact that she had intended to race out of the room. It seemed as if every fiber of her being was so shocked she was incapable of functioning. "I…"
"Come on," Cindy said, offering her a hand. Max noticed that Alec and Joshua were just staring at her. Did I grow and extra head, or a third eye or something? she wondered.
"Max," Alec said sharply. "What about Zack?"
"Huh?"
"What about Zack?" Alec repeated.
"What about him?"
"The Black Omegas are about to take him down," Alec reminded her. "You're supposed to be there."
"I can't do that right now," Max responded. "Could you call McElroy for me? Could you let him know?"
"I'll take care of it," Alec assured her.
"Come on, Boo," Original Cindy said. "Let's go." Max allowed herself to be led from Alec's apartment, still fighting to regain her grasp of reality. What am I going to do now? she wondered. How can I possibly keep up the fight when my best ally – my best friend – is gone?
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Several miles away, in the penthouse of Foggle Towers, Syl continued to stare at the computer keyboard in front of her, tears freely flowing down her face. Doing an Eyes Only report had held none of the excitement she'd expected. She doubted she'd ever welcome the role that Logan had so thoroughly and discreetly prepared her for, from having her help him prepare his reports, to sending her to meet with his sources so that they'd become familiar – and comfortable – with her.
A backhanded swat sent the camera flying across the room, and a quick slap visited the same fate upon the voice modifier that she'd used. To virtually everyone in the city – in the nation – it'll appear as if Eyes Only is still fine and well, she thought miserably. Only a handful of people will know that someone new has taken over, that someone who's in way over her head is trying to fill in for a great man.
A heavy sob escaped her chest. I'm all alone now, she reminded herself. Just like always, except for just a few wonderful weeks. She tried to think of something that could comfort her, but quickly decided her attempts were less than futile. I don't know who it was that ever said, 'It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all,' but it's a load of crap, Syl decided. Now I know exactly what it is that I'm missing. Now I know what loneliness really is, because I'll always be cursed with the memory of what I had.
"Enough," she growled, trying to talk herself out of her funk. "He left this job to you, and you're gonna do it," she assured herself. Well, as soon as I get a new camera and voice modifier, anyway.
To be continued………………………………