Dark Angel : Future History
Story One
The Recovery
Welcome to story one of my Future History of Dark Angel. I took the idea from Robert Heinlein collection of short works as I've been writing DA stories for over two years now, but only recently discovered fan fiction on the internet. I hope you enjoy.
The usual disclaimers apply. I own nothing.
Chapter Four
"Who are you?" The man asked.
"Malcolm Warner. Call me Mal. You've been having some computer problems?" Warner asked.
"Yes. How'd you know about that?" The man asked.
"I was sent from the agency to help find your money trail." Mal said offering up his papers and badge. Security told me to ask for John Carson."
"That's me." The man said. "Give me your papers." Mal handed the documents to him and waited by the desk. "Everything checks out. Follow me."
"Where?" Mal asked.
"This is the computer lab. We've been hacked and can't trace the hacker."
"That's why I'm here. Who hacked you?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean?" Mal asked. "Every hacker has an alias. They always leave a calling card. Who was it?"
"That's need to know." Came a woman's voice from behind them. "You come very highly recommended. Don't screw this up and you might be placed here permanently. I'm Director Renfro. I run the facility and the project. If you want to impress someone then impress me."
"I appreciate your vote of confidence, but I like my job just the way it is. However, if you tell me who hacked you, I might have an easier job of tracing their work."
"Eyes Only." The blonde woman said.
"Eyes Only." Mal swallowed hard. "Really?"
"Yes, really. You've heard of him?"
"Everyone's heard of Eyes Only. He's elite."
"What's that mean?"
"That means he's the best of the best." Mal said. "I've got my work cut out for me."
"Then you'd better get to it." Renfro turned and headed out of the lab. Mal turned to John when she left.
"She's not a very pleasant woman." He smiled. "I assume everything is controlled from here."
"No. But when we got your orders, we set up a private station from which you can access everything. Apparently Eyes Only has been into just about every system but the only thing he's done malicious is take all of our financial records and dump them into offshore accounts and lock us out of the system."
"That's all?"
"Isn't that enough?" John asked. "We have over a thousand troops and another five hundred or so personnel. We have no money to run the operation and we're already over budget as it is. They will shut us down and the personnel will be sent to other facilities."
"Would that be so bad?" Mal asked.
"It would for the soldiers. They'd be locked down and the grounds would be cauterized."
"Cauterized. It sounds so surgical." Mal said.
"Technically, we are a VA hospital." John laughed.
"So, they'd just kill everyone?"
"Everyone that couldn't get out."
"I'll get your money back then." Mal said.
Max was dragged from the cell in the basement and up into Renfro's office. The guards dumped her on the floor.
"Stand up."
Max spit blood on her shoes and coughed.
"Stand up!" Max struggled, but pushed herself to her feet. She stood as straight as she could in front of Renfro. "State your designation."
"X5-452!" Max shouted as loud as she could.
Renfro stared into her eyes. "No. I don't buy it. When did you last eat?"
"I don't know." Max said. "You're guards have been doing things to me. I haven't been given much food."
"Do you think your boyfriend will win?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Eyes Only. He thinks he's going to beat us. He thinks that taking away our money and hacking our surveillance and security equipment are going to get him somewhere. He's planning an assault on our compound, but we're waiting for him. We have the outside covered." Renfro explained. "He already tried an assault that returned you to us along with your brother. We know his methods. We are expecting him. His next assault will get him killed. Come with me."
They walked along the corridors and Max followed slowly trying desperately to regain her strength as they walked. She had been locked and made to suffer so much in that little hole they had her in. Renfro was babbling about things Max ignored. She was staring up into the video surveillance equipment. She had hoped that first day that Logan had been watching. She had believed he was.
"He's not going to help you." Renfro said. "That little stunt you pulled only succeeded in getting you locked down in solitary without contact."
"I saw the guards every day. They did things to me." Max spit the words at Renfro. Renfro slapped Max hard and she dropped to a knee from the force of the blow. "Eyes Only did this to you. Eyes Only brought you to this place and left you here to die. Eyes Only destroyed you, not me. I'm trying to save you. I'm trying to show you what you have always known. This is your home 452. This has always been your home." Renfro turned and started walking.
"This is not my home and you will never find Eyes Only." Max said as the guards pulled her to her feet and pushed her along the hall.
"Eyes Only is a hacker. I am told he is Elite." Renfro continued. "I have brought in my own elite hacker. We're going to find him and we're going to do it today and then my soldiers are going to bring him here so we can experiment on his body for a while. Make him suffer. You know how it is." Renfro turned into a lab and walked over to a man pouring over stacks of hard copy.
"This one used to work for Eyes Only. She will answer your questions." Renfro said. The man looked up and stared into the eyes of the broken girl in front of him.
"This is an unexpected boon." He said.
"What do you mean?" Renfro asked.
The girl looked up from where she hung in the arms of the two guards holding onto her. She gasped, but otherwise remained inactive.
"What happened to her?" Mal asked.
"She's an escapee. We've been putting her through re-indoctrination and reprogramming." Renfro said. "She is broken but she is the only connection we have to Eyes Only."
"She's in no condition to answer any questions." Mal said.
"The soldiers here are used to such treatment. They've been bred for it."
"At least bring her some food and fluid. I can see her lips sticking to her teeth from over here." Mal demanded. "She can't help anyone in that condition. I have to go over this paperwork anyway. I can interrogate her while I work."
Renfro stared at the man called Mal for a moment before nodding. The guards threw Max to the floor and went to stand by the door. A tech rushed out and headed down the hall to get some food.
"Tell me what you know about Eyes Only." Mal said.
"He's a great man." Max answered. "He's going to save the world."
"Right. Look. I have to find the man and get back the money he stole. If I don't they are going to lock this place down and kill everyone inside."
"Let it burn." Max said.
"Not while we are here." Mal said. Renfro eyes him suspiciously. "But maybe we can leave her here. She's unbearable." He gestured to Director Renfro. "Reminds me of my Aunt." Mal laughed. Max relaxed visibly and snickered slightly.
"Mr. Warner." Renfro shouted. "May I see you for a minute?" Her request sounded more like a command. Mal stood and walked over to the door where Renfro walked. She whispered to Mal. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
"You get the information in your own way. I'll get it in mine." Mal said. "If this girl actually worked for Eyes Only and you haven't stopped him yet, then I assume that you haven't got any information out of her yet regarding my esteemed colleague. I have a limited amount of time to get information from her. Stay out of my way."
"This is my operation." Renfro started, but Mal interrupted her.
"And because you have improperly managed your operation, I have been called in. I am the last resort in this industry."
"Are you threatening me?"
"You want Eyes Only. I will deliver him to your front door. Hell, I'll put him in your office in front of your desk if that's what you want. I don't care if you like how I do it, but I will do it. Now leave me alone and let me do my job." Mal said turning and walking away from Renfro. She stood there seething in her anger, frustrated.
"Remarkably unpleasant woman. I don't know how you put up with her." Mal said as he returned to his space.
"She ain't all that." Max said. She knelt on the floor looking into eyes she never believed she would see again. "You won't find him. He's untraceable. Eyes Only can't be stopped." She said loud enough for Renfro to hear as the director left the room.
"Here. Drink this." Mal said handing his bottled water to Max. She reached up for it and Logan could see the marks on her arms where they had strapped her down and she hadn't healed yet. He could see needle marks in her arms and she realized he noticed them. She tried to hide her arm as she took the bottle. "It new water. It's very stimulating." He smiled. She took the water and tasted it. It tasted like water. Then she took another swig and something washed over her. She felt energy rushing into her. She looked up at Mal and smiled as she finished the bottle of water.
"Good stuff." She said.
"It gets better." He tapped the keys a few times and the doors closed sealing everyone in the room. "How do you feel?" He whispered.
"Like killing a few guards." Max said.
"Guards." Mal said. The guards rushed over and as soon as they were in position, Max made her move. Three seconds, later, Max was standing over two dead guards and Logan had the other three techs in the room at gunpoint.
"You have to kill them." Max said to him. Logan nodded. He pulled the trigger dropping two of the techs before turning the weapon on John Carson.
"Who are you?" John asked.
"Eyes Only. Did you people really think you could take my woman away from me?" Logan asked before he pulled the trigger.
"Your woman?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow. "I like the way that sounds, but you've only succeeded in locking us in a computer lab."
"I have everything under control."
"I can't believe you came here for me." Max said. "Probably the stupidest stunt you've ever pulled."
"And you're wondering what?" He asked.
"How do we get out of here?"
"I'm in." Logan said to no one in particular.
"I know. I'm watching." OC said. "Say hello to my Boo for me and tell her I missed her."
"OC says that you have to come home with me." Logan said.
"Tell her I'll see her soon." Max answered.
"She looks pretty bad. Is she okay?"
"She'll survive." Logan said. "Is everything ready?"
"I've followed all of your instructions to the letter. I double checked everything." OC said. "We're all set on this end."
"We?" Logan asked.
"It's me Logan. Krit and Zane are just south of your position with a vehicle in case you get into trouble." Syl said. "I arrived here about twenty minutes after Original Cindy did and she filled me in on your attempted suicide. It's good to see your not dead yet."
"I kind of like it that way." Logan said. "Everything is set here. Cindy. You know what to do. We're out."
"What's going on?" Max asked as she reached for Logan's shoulder to steady herself. He noticed immediately that she was in worse shape than he had originally thought. He reached for her.
"I'm taking you home, Angel." He said.
"Okay." She said as Logan sat down in front of the keyboard again. A few more keystrokes and he was watching himself on the monitor. Max was leaning heavily on his shoulder.
"You're location has been revealed. The facility listed as a VA hospital is located thirty miles south-east of Seattle in…" Logan stood grabbing Max by the hand and leading her out of the lab. The door opened in front of them as he raised his hand in front of it.
"How'd you do that?" Max asked.
"What?"
"The door?" She said. He reached into coat and pulled out a small black box. "It's keyed to the computer system. The transmitter is in my ring. It will open only the doors in the complex I want opened."
"They are going to burn the facility." Max said. "We have to free everyone."
"Already taken care of, Angel. I'm going after Renfro."
"This way." Max said pulling his arm and leading him down a dark flashing hall. An explosion sounded far off on the other side of the complex. "It's started." She said.
A few more halls flew by them and they turned into an office. Someone was running in the opposite direction, but Renfro was still standing at her desk.
"What now?" Renfro demanded as she stuffed papers and discs into her briefcase. "I told you I was coming."
"You're not going anywhere." Max said. Renfro spun on her heels and stared at the two of them.
"What are you doing here?" She asked before she noticed they were holding hands.
"Did you really think you were going to win?" Max asked.
"Who are you?" Renfro demanded of Logan.
"Mal. Latin for bad." He said as the doors to her office swooshed shut.
"Director Renfro. We are locked in our offices. The doors won't open and the system is not responding to the commands. The soldiers are escaping though. All of the barracks are open."
Logan walked over and pressed a button on her desk. He reached for her briefcase just as she went for her weapon. He smiled.
"I've been watching you." He said. "I've been watching you for days now, learning security patrols, patterns and training methods. I've learned routes and doors and who's where and when. Mostly though, I've been watching you." He said. "I watched you shoot that man in front of your desk for bringing you that report. I have to admit that was pretty cold."
"You won't get away with this." Renfro said. "We'll hunt you to the ends of the Earth if we have to."
"Fortunately for me, the Earth is round. It doesn't end." Logan said sarcastically.
"You think you have won? You think you have protected your girlfriend?"
"I've done it before and I will do it again." Logan said. He pointed the director's gun at her and pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped into her stomach and she fell to the floor. Logan turned toward Max but Renfro spoke one last question.
"Who are you?" She coughed.
"I am Eyes Only. The son of assassinated parents and Guardian of a Dark Angel. I have come to rescue my one true Love and take her home to safety and freedom. You see death before you. Embrace it. It is all you have left." He pulled the trigger a second time placing a bullet in between her eyes.
"We have to go." Logan said turning to Max. She nodded. "You'll make it. Just stay with me a little longer and we'll get to the truck." He said.
"I'm not going anywhere, ever again." Max said. "I'll never leave you again."
They headed out and down the hall making their way toward the main entrance. Logan fired off a few more shots to get them through the doors and into the truck he had procured for the days festivities. He revved the engine until Max was strapped in. She turned back to watch the building burst into flames as Logan drove away from the compound. Her enhanced vision let her see several of the soldiers they released heading into the woods.
Max dropped onto her side and rested her head on Logan's leg sliding her hand underneath his thigh.
"You're going to be okay." Logan said.
"I know. I'll be more than okay. My Guardian will always protect me." She said.
Logan smiled. He reached down and pulled her hair from her face. She let out a soft subtle moan and began purring against his leg as she let herself drift off to sleep in the truck. He didn't tell her they were heading to the cabin. It would be a surprise.