Author's note: Yay, I'm done with my report! I finished it a couple days ago, and I got 100% on it! Woohoo! Um...ahem...okay. I'm good, I'm calm. WOOHOO!!!!! Umm, okay, I just hope you like the chapter.
Disclaimer: This computer isn't even mine. There's no way I own DA.
Zack's Penny
By Be Boring
Chapter 11: Strategy
*~* Penny
Brin wasn't kidding when she said I wasn't going to like this room. There was nothing in it except for the chair I was sitting in, what was obviously a two-way mirror, and a projector. This would later flash different words on the wall to reprogram me after I was broken, but I didn't plan to let it go that far. My eyes quickly detected the speakers that were built into the wall. What were they going to do, break me by boring me to death with their endless droning? That possibility was forced from my mind when they strapped me to my chair. I could see the cord running from my seat, this was meant to give me electrical shocks.
"State your designation." A strange woman's voice filled the room, seeming as though it was coming from all around me.
"I'm Penny," I replied coldly. I stared straight into my own reflected eyes in the mirror, not letting one touch of emotion escape into my face. A low mechanical buzz could be heard from under my seat, then the shock hit me. Still not letting any expression cross my face, I let my mind wander to scenes from my time with Zack. Something in me told me he would come for me, he would never leave me for them to have. He left Brin, a nagging voice insisted from the back of my mind.
"State your designation."
"Penny!" I snapped. When the shock hit, I was more prepared for it. It was slightly stronger though, they evidently weren't going to keep it at the same voltage.
"State your designation, soldier!" This time it wasn't that woman's voice, it was Lydecker's.
"Fuck you!" I yelled at the mirror. That has to be the most gutsy thing I've ever done, but it was going to cost me dearly. Lydecker apparently didn't like my response, so the shock was much more severe. It took a lot of willpower for me to keep from cringing. After the pain in my body faded, I forced a very Zack-like sneer. "What, wasn't that the answer you were looking for? I know you thought about it."
There was silence for nearly a minute. That last comment had definitely struck a nerve with him. When the speakers sounded again, it was the woman who spoke. "State your designation."
"I don't have one. I have a name, and I've already told you what it is." My voice was nearly a growl now. This time the shock was like an explosion inside my body, it came everywhere at once. My temples throbbed, my breath caught in my throat, and every muscle in my body flexed to its extreme. Still, I managed to keep any pain from registering on my face. I wasn't about to give them that satisfaction.
"State your designation, or we'll use every bit of power that chair has to offer."
I glared at my reflection. "Go right on ahead. I'm ready for it." In the split second I had before the shock, I let my mind almost completely shut down. My face and body position didn't change, but I had closed myself off. It was something I had learned to do a long time ago when I got hurt, it was like going into a coma. When the shock hit me, I barely felt it. My body jerked naturally against the restraints, but my senses were safely protected within the confines of my all-too-complex mind. It lasted for nearly a minute, which would have made anyone else pass out, but after it was over I simply dragged myself back to reality and stared confidently into the mirror. I was perfectly aware of the soreness that was present in my body, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'm sure the shock was.
"That didn't work nearly as nice as you thought it would, did it? If that was all the juice this baby had, what else do you have to offer?" I asked sweetly. Even though the woman seemed to be good at staying calm, I was sure that Lydecker was fuming. He'd always considered me to be weak, but this was throwing off his beliefs. Sure, I was physically weaker than my family, but mentally I could hold my own.
"Your heat cycle is still in the process of ending. We still have our shot at breaking you," came the woman's cold, hate-filled voice. I felt my stomach drop, but I refused to let it show. I was strong enough to at least defend my body, there was no way I was going to let them get away with doing anything to me.
*~* Zane
I don't think I've ever heard such complete silence while I've been with Krit and Syl. Ever since telling them the truth about Penny, neither one has said a word. Syl just keeps staring out the window, while Krit just keeps studying his hands. I knew it was going to hit them hard, but I didn't think they'd react this strongly. I mean, even I didn't get so upset! I'm the one who slept with her!
Syl was the first to speak up. "Zane, did she know who we were?"
"I honestly don't know. I don't think she did, I got the impression off Zack that she had no interest in ever seeing any of us again. If she knew who we were, I think she would have left, especially with her heat cycle coming up."
"Please, I doubt her heat cycle's been a big deal. Zack's probably been taking care of it ever since it started," Krit growled bitterly. I guess he didn't like being lied to.
"No, she was never with Zack. She was a virgin before her heat cycle, I could feel it. That's one of the main reasons I want to see her again."
Krit just rolled his eyes. "You've slept with plenty of girls before, why should Penny be special?"
I felt my temper rising, but Syl answered before I could. "Because for one thing, she considers us family. It's probably something like incest for her. Also, it's not easy losing your virginity by means of a heat cycle. I remember my first time, it ended up being with some drunk from a bar that I didn't even know. I felt helpless, it was so much like rape because it's something I never would have done of my own free will, but I couldn't blame the man either. It's not his fault I came into heat. I was frustrated over what had happened, but there was no one to turn to and no one to blame. That's probably exactly how she's feeling right now."
There was silence for another couple minutes, then Krit spoke up again. "So, how are we getting her out of there?"
I felt a rush of relief flow through me. "You're definitely going to help?"
Now he grinned at me. "I think Zack would kick my ass if I didn't. Besides, I want to talk to her too. I have a few questions I want answered."
"Well, as long as you're with us, I think we'll just have to see what we're up against first. We have no idea how much the security at Manticore has changed since we were there, things could be a hell of a lot tougher now. I'd like to try and get a message to Penny, and maybe get one back from her. Seeing as how she's inside, she might be able to give me a little more information than what I can see."
Syl frowned thoughtfully. "How do you plan on getting a message to her? I doubt they have a post office in there."
"That's why I want to see the place first. I'm just hoping that all three of us won't have to go in, it would be that much harder to get everything done if we were in a group."
"Why isn't Zack here?" Krit asked finally.
"Because he doesn't think they have her, and I don't think we'll be able to convince him of it. I think it would be a blow to his pride if he knew that someone who'd lived with him for so many years had been caught. Besides, I'm not sure if he'd be able to think straight and actually form a plan. I've never seen him more protective of any one of us. He might not act rationally."
Krit snorted. "That would be a first for him. Is he really that hung up on her?"
"I don't think he feels that way about her, but they're very close. If any two of us were actually blood related, I think it would be those two."
We lapsed back into silence for a while, each one of us dreading our return to Manticore. Perhaps it was because we so far away from reality that we all were so startled by a phone ringing. I knew for a fact that wasn't my phone, my ring was completely different.
Syl's hands shot into her back pockets, first dragging out her wallet, then her ringing cell phone. "Hello?" She cringed as a very outraged voice came over the line. She turned and mouthed It's Zack as she held the phone away from her ear. I reached over and snatched it out of her hands.
"Upset that I got away from you?"
His heavy breathing was a sure sign of how angry he was. "Are you insane? I figured you'd be right back with those two, putting them in as much danger as you'll be in. Where are you going?"
"Where do you think? I happen to know for a fact that Manticore has Penny, and I'm going to get her out. You can catch up if you want, but otherwise just leave us the hell alone." With that, I hung up the phone and smashed it against my door. At Syl's cry of protest, I snapped "I'll buy you another one later. I just don't want him calling back. Krit, if you have a cell phone you might want to do the same thing."
I heard a bit of grumbling, but he eventually pulled out his phone and crushed it. "You're buying me a new one too. I liked this phone."
I was about to shoot back a sarcastic remark when a sign overhead caught my attention. WELCOME TO GILLETTE. "Get ready, we're almost there."
*~* Penny
I had the feeling as Brin dragged me back to my room that I was going to have company. Who would they send? If it was just an X5 I didn't know then I might be able to handle it, but what if it was someone I recognized? I wasn't sure if I could deal with that. Judging by the smirk on Brin's face, she knew who was waiting for me.
I felt some relief as I entered my room and didn't see anyone, but then the door slammed shut behind me and rushed footsteps were all too clear. I managed to shoot to my left just in time to avoid being tackled by someone who was quite obviously an X5. I whirled around to get a good look at him, but found myself having to run again as he came hurtling towards me. I grabbed the chair that Lydecker and Brin had used and threw it at him. Luckily, my aim was dead on and he was sent against the wall. Now I had time to see him.
He was probably around 5'11", with black hair and a perfect blend of blue and brown in his eyes. I guessed he had some Hispanic blood in him, he vaguely resembled Krit. Then again, Krit never looked quite that frightening. The X5 stood up and wiped the blood off his chin where part of the chair had caught him, then his eyes landed on me again. My heat cycle was fading, there was no way my scent could be doing that to him. It seemed that Manticore had just sent me one of their most insane men to break me. Preparing to roll out of the way once again, I couldn't help but be a little scared. I couldn't just keep avoiding him forever, I would have to put him out of commission somehow. The scary thing was that I wasn't sure I was capable of doing that, he was obviously much stronger than me.
As I lunged out of his way yet again, I clasped both of my hands together and hit him in the back as if I was using a club. It had the effect I had wanted, it knocked the breath out of him. As soon as he hit the wall, I shot forward, grabbed a handful of his hair, and slammed his head against it. His unconscious body slumped to the floor, and I dropped onto the bed wearily. I couldn't believe I had done that, but I knew it wasn't likely to happen again. I had simply caught him by surprise. Manticore had probably told him that I wasn't much of a fighter, and I had probably confirmed that by continuously running away from him.
Taking one more good look to make sure he wasn't going to come back to his senses any time soon, I let myself flop out on my back on the bed. I was incredibly tired, I wasn't sure if I'd ever been as exhausted. Most likely the effects of the drug they had used to keep me asleep for the past twenty-four hours hadn't quite worn off yet, and on top of that I was fighting someone twice as strong as me. My eyes hadn't been shut for more than a minute before a sudden noise from my window caused me to sit bolt upright. I raised myself onto my knees on the bed and glanced out the window, then nearly fell backwards onto the floor.
"What are you doing here?"
*~* Zane
Manticore still looked the same to me, it was as if I had never left. I felt a chill run through me as I stared at it, and I have no doubt that it did the same to Krit and Syl. The only difference I could detect was the vast increase in cameras that were on the outside of the building. We were safe in the trees at the moment, but I knew that in order to find Penny we would have to move around, which would probably get us spotted.
I turned to Krit and whispered, "You can still do good bird impressions, right?"
He shrugged. "I haven't done any in a long time, but I probably still could."
"Syl?"
She nodded. "Krit taught me, and I'm pretty sure I can still do it."
"Good. We'll spread out to look for Penny. I'll go to the north end, and you guys go to the east and west. If you don't see anything, head to the south. If I don't see anything, I'll meet you there later. If either of you guys see her, make three bird calls. I don't care which ones, just do whichever you think you could manage the best. If I find her, I'll make three whistles. I know that will draw more attention, but I can't do bird calls worth shit."
Once we were all spread out, Krit going east and Syl going west, my eyes never left the building. The cameras rotated in their spot, so every time they were pointed away from me I would move as far as I could before one turned back. If I waited until every last one of them was in a perfect position, I could make it past three or four of them in one shot before I had to stop. As soon as I was on the north end, I slowed down and really started to study the building. This appeared to be the regular cells of the other X5s, none of them seemed to strike me as a holding cell. Once I was pretty sure that she wasn't over there, I started to head down the east side to get to our southern meeting point, then I heard three sharp crow cries coming from my right. They sent chills through me, but I knew that had to be Syl. It figures she would use the one call that would scare the crap out of me.
As soon as I was far enough along the west side that I could see her, I started keeping a very close eye on the cameras. It would be much harder to make it to the building than to just run along it. Krit and I reached Syl at about the same time, then we followed her finger. On the second floor, between two large electrical boxes on the outer wall, was what was obviously a holding cell. I could hear some scuffling, then I saw Penny flash past the window. My stomach tightened when I saw that a male X5 was right behind her.
"You guys keep a lookout, I'll go talk to her."
As Syl and Krit positioned themselves perfectly to keep an eye out for soldiers, I waited for the two nearest cameras to be pointed away, then shot forward. When I was about seven feet from the building, I jumped up and grabbed the bars of Penny's window. The electrical boxes were large enough for me to remain hidden from the cameras or any prying eyes from the side. Pulling myself up to see into the room, I was stunned to find myself face to face with Penny.
"What are you doing here?" she gasped. It seemed as though I had scared her half to death.
"What do you think? I'm getting you out. Krit and Syl are here too, they're right back there." I gestured with my head towards them, then peeked inside the room to see where the other X5 was. To my relief, he was lying on the ground next to the left wall. "Look, I don't have a lot of time. I want to get you out, but I'm not exactly sure how. It'll be tough enough to get to you."
She frowned for a second, then her eyes lit up. "Wait for tonight. It's been cloudy all day, so it'll be pitch black tonight. Find a way to turn off the electricity, and I can handle myself from there. Meet me in the main hall that led to the old training room."
I was confused, how did she think she was going to get out in the dark? Still, I had to trust her. She looked as though she knew what she was talking about. "Fine, that's what we'll do. Are you okay? What is that guy doing in here?"
At that she smiled ruefully. "After they couldn't get me to be submissive by shocking me, they decided to send in an X5 to break me by means of my heat cycle. I'm not that far in heat anymore though, so I was able to catch him off guard. I think it took him by surprise when I knocked him out."
I could have laughed at the thought of what he must have been thinking. Then I did something that caught even me by surprise, I reached in and grabbed Penny with one hand, pulled her forward, and kissed her. It wasn't from the faint smell of her heat cycle, that wasn't affecting me anymore. I just had the sudden urge to do it. It made my mood brighten a little when she kissed me back, but I knew I couldn't hang there forever doing this, no matter how tempting it might be. As soon as I pulled back from her, I glanced at the cameras then dropped back to the ground and ran across to the fence where Krit and Syl were waiting. After that kiss, I was even more determined to get her out.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Author's Note 2: Please review! I love hearing from you guys! There's no better way to brighten up my mood. :)