A/N: Ugh, I'm so sorry this took me so long. I had the first half of this chapter done last week, but I haven't been on the computer much lately so I didn't get a chance to finish it. Sorry for the wait. :(
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Disclaimer: The moment I own DA, I'll let you know.
Dust In The Wind
By Be Boring
Chapter 2: The Stage Is Set
Max carelessly let her legs dangle over the edge of her window. She was one of the few residents of Terminal City that had her own room, and the thing she liked the most about it was the fact that it had a huge window and it was high up on its building, the ninth floor to be exact. It wasn't anywhere near as freeing as the Space Needle, but it was the most relaxing place she had come across in this miserable sector. It was fairly secluded too, the window faced into the alley behind the apartment complex.
Her mind had been screaming at her for the past few hours, ever since Alec had made it more than clear that he didn't like playing the role of the bad guy in the little drama she had forced onto his shoulders. Maybe it would just be easier in the long run to tell Logan the truth. She'd still have to be careful about physical contact, but why couldn't she do that honestly? Despite the fact that she didn't want to admit it to herself, she knew the truth. It was just easier to let Logan believe that she was with someone else. Why was it her first instinct to take the easy way out? Only about two months ago she had been considering leaving town, but she had been snapped back to reality by the spitting image of herself. Maybe I need her to come back and give me that nasty left hook again.
As she tried to sort herself out, she was startled out of her thoughts by the clear ringing of the telephone. She sighed and slid back into her apartment, grabbing the phone with a slightly over-tight grip. "What is it?" she snapped irritably.
"There's newcomers," came Luke's nervous tone. He always hated talking to her when she was angry, and her tone of voice was making it clear that that's what she was.
"How far away?"
"They're a few hundred yards from the main entrance, trying not to be seen by the sector police. We need to send someone out to tell them where to go."
Max held back her groan of frustration. Why did she have to supervise everything that went on around here? "I'll be there in a sec," she said, struggling to keep her feelings from coming out in her voice. Slamming the phone down hard enough for the table beneath it to creak in protest, she grabbed her jacket and stalked out the door.
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Ignoring the horrible stench of the sewage surrounding him, White made his way through the sewers beneath Terminal City. Why did the brats insist on meeting me down here? Any idiot could figure out that the best way to get into this freak zoo is through the sewers. He just hoped that those kids had something extra to tell him.
He would have allowed Otto to tag along, but he wasn't sure if the situation would be too much for him. The poor man might step on something and alert the transgenics of their presence. In that case, if the transgenics didn't tear him to pieces, White would. He wouldn't accept failure when it came to something this important. Actually, he didn't accept failure in almost any situation. He didn't even accept it of himself, which was what made 452 such a delicate issue with him. He didn't like the fact that she seemed to elude him every time he got close to having her within his grasp.
"Are you Agent White?" asked a male voice that was probably supposed to come off sounding tough, but it seemed to be trembling slightly. White decided to have a little fun with him.
Turning on his heel sharply, he let his face come to a halt just inches away from a now terrified-looking teenage boy, flanked by three other teens. Twisting his face into a horrible sneer, he let his breath wash over the youth's face as he spoke. "That's Special Agent White to a punk like you. Do you think you're so tough to come up behind a stranger in the dark of a sewer and try to make yourself seem intelligent by making it sound like you've got information on a delicate matter that we could figure out for ourselves without your so-called help?" He had to struggle not to laugh at the shocked looks on their faces. They'd probably never heard such a long sentence in their life.
A gutsy girl from behind the group stepped forward, obviously working hard to keep her lip from shaking under the glare of his cold eyes. "We didn't just call you out here to waste your time, we actually have some useful information. It's not as simple as just walking under the place and popping up somewhere." Her voice came across surprisingly calm. White couldn't help but feel a spark of admiration, the girl had some spunk in her. Of course, he could outdo her.
"Why don't you just share your brilliant scheme with me and let me decide for myself if you're wasting my time?" he hissed, never blinking as his eyes tore into hers.
It was an obvious struggle for her, but she didn't allow herself to blink. She apparently had a lot of pride too. "We happen to know for a fact that there's a group of new transgenics trying to make their way into the city. Now, there is one particular group of manholes that are used for bringing in the new recruits, each of which is well-guarded. When the newcomers are brought in, they are checked to make sure that they're actually transgenics, but this needs to be done very thoroughly. Their only flaw in the system is that they don't have enough qualified people to do this, so they end up pulling their guards away from their manholes in order to let them check the newcomers. It's during those five or ten minutes that you can get in without them ever knowing." She seemed to be satisfied that she'd said all she needed to.
White mulled this over for a moment, trying to come up with a mistake in what the girl had said. "What's your name?"
This seemed to surprise her for a minute, but she cleared her face of its stunned expression and replied, "Christine."
"Well, Christine, you seem to have actually given me something I can use. Are you sure there's no secondary guards that are appointed to take over the main guards' positions during that little space of time?"
She nodded assuredly. "I'm positive."
He smirked slightly. "Haven't you heard that only fools are positive?" At the angered look on her face, he glanced at his watch and shook his head briskly. "Never mind. You people are coming with me so I know I'm not being sent into a suicide mission."
One of the boys rolled his eyes. "Will it matter if we're there or not?"
A cold smile spread over White's features. "There's less chance of me getting hit by a bullet if I have company."
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Max glanced out the window of the guards' facility. Behind the broad forms of the sector police, she could barely make out the shapes of five people hiding in the shadows far back from the fence. They hadn't been detected by anyone yet, but they weren't hidden well enough for that luck to hold up.
"How long have they been there?"
Dix shrugged. "They were first noticed around 1900 hours, but it wasn't until nearly fifteen minutes ago that we determined that they're possible transgenics."
Max glanced around the room, noticing almost right away that there wasn't anyone that she trusted enough to do this. "Who's willing to go out there and direct them into the city?"
The transgenics each exchanged nervous glances, shuffling their feet and refusing to meet her eyes. Why did this have to happen on a Saturday night? It was nearly a full minute before anyone meekly raised a hand, or rather, a claw. The volunteer ended up being Tagg, a young man that appeared to have some timber wolf in his blood. "Which entrance do you want me to bring them to?"
Max thought for a moment, looking out at the pathetic bunch that stood huddled so far away. "They look like they're worn out, so bring them to Unit 3, it's the closest. Just make sure they're not being followed. We wouldn't want any unannounced visitors."
With a stiff nod, the young transgenic made his way out of the room with several eyes following him. No one ever liked the task of bringing in newcomers, it was so dangerous to go outside of their borders alone and bring in a group that had no clue what they were doing. It was almost like a form of extreme sports, except perhaps a little more dangerous.
Tagg struggled to shake off his fear as a horribly reptilian guard named Blake allowed him to enter the sewers. He managed to block out the raw stench of his surroundings, heading towards where he estimated the newcomers' position to be. The silence was strangely haunting, making him feel paranoid at every turn. Could there possibly be someone watching him? The eerie sensation of eyes following him refused to leave him, even after he stood perfectly still and strained his hearing to see if he could hear anyone nearby. Although there was no evidence that there was anyone for the next few blocks, he couldn't get rid of that watched feeling. He let out a deep sigh of relief when he finally reached his estimated destination. Climbing until he was only a few steps below the manhole cover, he reached up and slowly knocked three times on the manhole. After a moment of silence, the cover was removed and moonlight washed in over Tagg's wolfish features.
"Friend or foe?" came a gruff female voice from above.
"That all depends on you," Tagg replied curtly. He tried to remind himself that he needed to sound as if he knew what he was doing. If these transgenics turned out to be unfriendly, the last thing he needed them to know was that he had never done this before.
A smiling woman's face popped down into the darkness, and it surprised him when the gruff voice came from that lovely mouth. "Then take us as friends. Are you the escort?"
Lowering himself a few more steps, Tagg nodded. "How large is your party?"
"There's five of us. Couldn't you see that from where you were?"
"Of course, but it's standard procedure to double-check. Are there any injuries?"
"We're just exhausted and hungry, but it's not anything life-threatening yet."
Tagg bit his lip. "You might not find help here with that last problem. We don't have much of a supply as far as rations go, but if you have any among you that happen to eat bullets, then they could feast for a week."
Once again the oddness of the woman's gruff voice struck Tagg as she laughed. "I've been told I'm tough enough to eat bullets, but I've never tested that theory. We'll be happy as long as we have a place to sleep without having to keep both eyes open all night. Can you at least help us with that part?"
Tagg finally offered her a smile. "Yeah, we can help you there."
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Heedless of the dark, White's eyes carefully scrutinized the small group that passed him. The wolf-like transgenic that had passed by earlier was now leading a group of five, four of which looked normal. Waiting until they had rounded the corner, he slowly made his way forward while making sure that the kids never strayed far behind. They most definitely weren't fighters, but they could be used as shields if it came down to it. He turned and grabbed Christine by the arm, feeling her muscles tense under his tight grip. Some animalistic part of him wanted to squeeze harder, to make her squeal, but his rational half pushed away the urge. This wasn't the time for fun and games, he had to keep his mind on business. As soon as he got what he wanted from 452, he could satisfy himself with squeezing her until he felt bones crunch.
"You and your friends are going in first, got that?"
Her eyes flashed, but it was obvious her fear of him kept her from saying anything that she would ultimately regret. "Fine, but we'll also be the first coming back out."
He smirked as she moved to be ahead of him. That's what she thinks.
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Logan rolled over on his cot, struggling to get comfortable. It wasn't exactly easy, he felt as though he were lying on a mattress filled with golf balls. He could hear both Sketchy and Original Cindy having the same problem, but they were the lucky ones, they were already asleep. It was just natural to keep moving around on these God-awful excuses for beds, you'd get too sore if you remained in the same position. He finally sighed in resignation and threw off his covers. Not bothering to see if it matched his sweatpants, he pulled on the nearest shirt he could reach and slowly shuffled over to the window. The movement was the first thing that caught his eye, then Mole's jaunty walk pulled his attention to it. The lizard transgenic looked as though he wanted to appear more tough than usual for some reason. He usually did this to make a first impression, so Logan could only assume one thing. There were newcomers.
"Well, I'm not going to get any rest anyways," he grumbled to himself. Slipping into a pair of shoes, he headed out the door and made his way down to the street. He was almost swept up in the mass of guards that were walking along, but a strong hand gripped his arm and pulled him away from the center of the mass.
"You don't want to get caught up in that, buddy. You wouldn't last a minute."
Logan's entire body tensed automatically as Alec's cheeky voice drilled its way into his head. "What's going on, anyways? Where is everyone headed to?"
Alec rolled his eyes, making it clear that he thought this entire process was a waste of time. "We have some new transgenics coming, and naturally Mole wants to scare the living shit out of anyone who might come in here thinking they're tough stuff. I'm just tagging along to see the fun. What are you doing out of bed?"
"As if anyone would want to be in that bed," Logan snorted.
Alec threw back his head and laughed. "Yeah, the setup here isn't that great, but at least we're somewhat safe. I just want this whole thing to be over, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. I'm surprised you haven't done any more Eyes Only broadcasts to try and defend us to the public."
A headache was starting to make itself felt in Logan's temples, but he shook it off. Still, his anger was starting to make him see red. "If you haven't noticed, there's no longer any equipment here for me to make the broadcast. You pretty much got rid of it all when you tried to help me set up my operation in Sandeman's house."
Alec's eyebrows lowered for a moment, then popped back up. "Did you have enough to start your whole system again?"
"Over at Sandeman's I did, but--"
Alec quickly motioned for him to shut up. "Ok, so it's all over there. We could probably get all that stuff over here, don't you think?"
Logan didn't get his chance to reply as they were shoved into the Rec Center. As soon as the newcomers were brought in, they would be blindfolded and brought here to make sure they were authentic transgenics. This would happen under many watching eyes, but there was now an extra pair that nobody had counted on.
Ames White was perched on top of a beam crossing the ceiling, surveying the crowd beneath him. He longed to spit just once to show them what he thought, but that would have to wait. He could always do that when he had what he wanted. And, as he was pleased to see by looking out the window and following Max's progress as she approached with Tagg and the newcomers, that time would be very soon.
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A/N 2: Ok, all of the main characters we'll be seeing from here on out are now in the story, but in the next one everything will really pick up the pace. I was going to make this chapter longer, but I decided to put the second half into the third chapter because otherwise it would take you a week just to read this one! Let me know what you think by pressing the little friendly button!
