TAKE ME OR LEAVE ME


Chapter 2 by Big Sister

Okay since NS took to long for Syrai's (or my) liking, here's my addition.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my Mummy, who's Birthday it is … today actually now. (16/6/03)

A/N: I'm sorry this is so short, but I've added all I wanted too so far and I've got get back to boarding school in the morning. You'll just have to take it from here. Promise my next contribution will be longer.

Oh and Disclaimer: May I second what S said about suing, because I don't have anything worth suing me for either and I don't own Dark Angel or any of it's characters or scenes. Fox does. Though it's my life's ambition to reverse that fact.


It was just as well that he did, because at that moment a muscular blonde man came sneaking around the corner. 494 shrank back against the wall, trying to avoid being seen.


Suddenly the other man paused. 494 felt his heart stop. Had he been spotted?


The man spoke, "Logan! What the hell do you mean you've lost the connection to the security cameras?"


494 relaxed, grinning to himself. Obviously this poor fool had also been set up with a headset mike.


Quickly 494 assessed the situation. Luckily somebody had put a large ancient-looking bookcase out here in the corridor. It provided him with some cover for now, but in a few seconds the blonde man would be close enough to see him, unless 494 did something - fast.


The most obvious option was to simply knock him out cold, but for some reason he was reluctant to do that. No ordinary person could match a transgenic, but still the man looked like he could pack one hell of a punch. He'd be trouble to take out quietly and stealth was paramount in this operation. And … besides … , a voice in 494's head added reluctantly, he had this gut feeling that for some reason it would be a bad idea to try to take out this man.


He looked around for a second optician. It was too late to take to the ceiling. There was a door approximately five inches to his left. If he could just slip behind it without the man noticing, he could just wait for him to pass and then get on to the next phase of his mission.


Gingerly he inched his hand out towards the handle. The other man was still busy hissing at the invisible voice in his ear. "Well un-scramble it then! I don't care if that would crash your computer! What do you mean somebody's deliberately putting up firewalls? Who the hell would bother? I took out the guards myself!"


'452 would bother,' 494 thought as his hand closed on the handle, 'Still, that with the guards is good to know. Thank you!' Gingerly he pressed downwards releasing the door. Now he just had to get behind it. Checking that the man was still arguing with his distant accomplice, he slowly pulled his hand forward, inch-by-nerve-racking-inch, one little bit a time, until finally he had just enough room to squeeze through. With all stealth borne of years of training, he pushed himself through the gap. The blonde man still hadn't noticed.


All of a sudden there was a scream behind him. "What the hell do you think your doing?"


Instantly he spun around and found himself face-to-face with an irate woman in her mid-fifties, welding a large hand bag like some kind of weapon – and for good reason – a horrified 494 suddenly realised which room he had so stupidly strayed into. The ladies lavatories.


"Pervert!" the woman roared, "Sicko!"


494 swallowed hard. Then his training took over. Instantly he became nothing more than a blur as he dashed forward and snapped the woman's neck.


"Tough price to pay for simply defending her dignity!" said a voice behind him.


494 turned slowly fully aware of what he would see. The blonde man had finally spotted him.


494 sprang forward, aiming a blow to the man's knees, but to his surprise his adversary dodged it with ease and landed on of his own on the transgenic's head. 'A blow that hurts like hell,' he thought kicking so-called ordinary in the mid-riff. The blonde grabbed his shoulder and threw him across the room. 494 staggered, dazed, and the man used that chance to come at him again, aiming a blow to his abdomen. 494 saw it coming and blocked it. Landing a blow of his own to the man's head. His opponent instantly retaliated, kicking the transgenic's feet out from under him. 494 sprung up from the floor knocking his adversary against the wall. The transgenic grabbed the other man's head and slammed him down against a sink, knocking him unconscious.


494 found himself gasping for breath. He was worn out. That fight had been hard. Much too hard for his liking. Was there something wrong with him? Was he ill? Was he getting week?


He looked down at the still form of his beaten adversary and then his eyes fixed on something that made him stop dead.


"Oh My God!" 494 whispered, "He's got a barcode!"


"I know," came a very cold voice in his ear, "That's 599. One of the '09 escapees. You know – the unit I almost deserted with."