The members of The Committee sat in their places, motionless. Their faces were masked by the darkness, and only a few members faces were touched with light from the windows with closed blinds opposite them. Finally the man at the head of the table, the Head of The Committee table spoke.
"I see you've brought the soldiers we requested."
"Three of the finest, sir." The leader replied.
"You mean three of the finest of what we were left with after the Manticore situation." A female voice spoke.
"Yes, ma'am." The leader said. "They are, however, some of Manticore's finest and best, even before the situation. They'll be of great assistance in securing him."
"It is in your best interest that they are, Mr. Strauss." The Head told him. "The transgenic situation at Terminal City needs to be dealt with immediately, and we see the only way of that happening is for us to have the cooperation of the man of Voltaire."
"We will bring him to you, as you wish." Strauss replied, then saluted the man. He turned to the soldiers behind him, all X6s, and grabbed a folder from the table behind him and handed it to the one in the middle. "Your mission and all that you need is in that folder. You know what you have to do. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." All three soldiers barked in unison then marched out of the room.
"He will be delivered to you." Strauss said without turning to face The Committee.
The Head spoke again. "For your sake, he better be."
Strauss swallowed the lump in his throat and left the office.
One of the female members of The Committee, code-named Seven, turned to face the Head. "What will become of Strauss if he delivers us the man?"
"The question is not if, but when." The Head replied with a smile, though no one could see it. "And Strauss will most certainly have to be terminated. The Manticorelings will be allowed to live, temporarily."
"But why?" A man, code-named Four, grunted.
"We'll keep them around for a bit, but if they do not prove useful in six months they shall be terminated as well." The Head told him. "We can't afford to have any more transgenics on the loose."
The pencil clutched in his hand snapped in two.
* * *
Strauss sat in his office, a bottle of whiskey and a glass sitting on his desk. His face was buried in his hands as memories of his early days at Manticore filled his head. For some reason, he couldn't manage to shake them. Any of them.
"Be aware!" Lydecker snarled, only inches from his face. "They are only children on the outside, but the hearts of dedicated soldiers beat within them! Never forget that!"
"Sir!" He barked as a reply.
"Dismissed."
He poured himself a glass of whiskey, looked at it a moment, then threw it against the wall with a scream. The sound of the shattering glass was therapeutic, but only for an instant or so. He buried his face in his hands once again and Lydecker's words filled his head.
"If they fail, it's my fault."
"When you're in charge of them, you're in charge. Their success - or failure - is dependent on you."
"Never underestimate them..."
"Don't let them get the best of you. Ever."
"The destiny is the same for us all..."
"It all comes back to Manticore, doesn't it?"
He growled and threw the whiskey bottle against the wall. He slumped back in his chair and watched the liquid drip down the wall, a satisfied smile on his face.
* * *
X6 587, 469, and 385 made their way noiselessly through the deep forest that would lead them to their target. 587 put up a hand, stopping the others. He turned to them and made a few swift hand motions. 385 nodded and handed him the file.
He opened the folder and pulled out the map. Not far. He signaled.
What do we do if he's not alone? 469, the only female of the three, signaled.
Terminate the others. 587 signaled. They are not the objective.
469 and 385 nodded, then 587 tucked the file away, then signaled for them to keep going.
After thirty-seven minutes and twelve seconds (385 had been counting in his head), the trio reached the edge of the forest. A neat circular clearing had been made and a modest, comfortable-looking house sat in the center, some of the windows glowing gently. The trio crouched down behind a large pine and huddled together.
587 pointed at his companions and signaled, You secure the man and I'll search the house for others.
469 and 385 nodded, then the pair crept to the back of the house. 587 watched them disappear then pulled his gun from his jacket and slid in a clip. He counted to ten in his head, then swiftly moved to the front door. He flattened himself against the wall near the door, hiding himself away from view from the window. His heart began beating faster and harder and if it had not been a moment of battle, he would have smiled. This was what he was built for and he enjoyed every minute of it.
He heard 469 and 385 burst in through the back door with a scream, then he let out a battle cry himself and kicked down the door. He pounded over the wood, shattering the small window in it. He held his gun out and scanned the room. Seeing no one, and hearing 385 and 469 pounding up the stairs, he moved on to the next room. Then the next, then the next. Then he came to a closed door and listened hard. He could hear breathing inside.
Without hesitation, he kicked down the door and rushed inside. He found himself face to face with the barrel of a shotgun. Instinctively, he dropped his weapon and held up his hands. This scenario had been part of his basic training: make the enemy feel as if they have the upper hand, then take over the situation.
"Who are you?" The man said shakily.
"I think you know." 587 replied coolly and straightened.
The man tightened his hold on the shotgun and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't know -"
"Come on." 587 said. "We all know who you really are... Dr. Tiede."
Dr. Tiede began to shake, but managed to get hold of himself. He took a deep breath and continued. "How did you -"
"None of that is important." 587 interrupted. "And I have no time for any of this."
Before Dr. Tiede could do anything, 587 lashed out, knocking him backward. He tried to regain his hold on the shotgun, but 587 kicked it from his hands and did a few backward handsprings back to where he had strategically dropped his gun, and landed gracefully on his feet. He quickly grabbed the gun and trained it on Dr. Tiede.
"You're not the objective." 587 said, then shot.
Dr. Tiede's lifeless body dropped to the floor, blood trickling from the devastating bullet hole in his forehead. 587 glanced at him, then turned and left the room. He found 469 dragging the unconscious man down the stairs. He had the face of the man (plus a few years) in the picture of the folder, though his hair was no longer bushy, but short and gelled.
"Was he trouble?" 587 asked, noticing the cut above 385's eye.
"He moved like us." 385 said. "It's like he was from Manticore, but we know he wasn't. I'd like to know about that."
587 pulled the file out and read it over. He looked at 385 with a somewhat confused expression. "He's genetically engineered too."
He handed the folder to 385, who accepted it eagerly. He read it over, mumbling comments as he read it. "He had the same training as us... but he was born before us. Does - does that mean he's a transgenic? Was he the beginning of Manticore?"
"No." 587 replied. "His DNA hasn't been mixed with any others, just been enhanced. He is missing some traits X series were given, for example, he has no cat DNA so he can't adjust his vision."
"It also says that he was built to be a mind." 385 said as he read more of the file. "Instead of being built to fight, like us, he was built to protect what was most important to whoever made him, his mind. He was supposedly designed to solve the world's problems."
"Sounds like a stupid idea to me." 469 remarked.
587 shrugged. "People were weak then. They didn't understand that problems couldn't be solved without logical thinking, like soldiers think."
385 handed 587 the folder, then grabbed the man around the middle and threw him over his shoulder. "We should probably go. The Committee will want him immediately."
587 nodded and they moved out.