AS 2.07: Devil's Waltz by Star24 (2003

Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters are copyright 2000-2002 Twentieth Century Fox Studios and James Cameron and Charles Eglee. This original fiction is copyright 2003 Star24.

Chapter Four

Manticore

Max sat up on the narrow cot and looked around her. She was in a small examining room in the Manticore infirmary, that much she could tell. She glanced down and was relieved to see that she wasn't restrained, and that she still had on her catsuit. She swung her legs off of the cot, and rose and walked to the door. Before she could open it, the handle on it turned and it swung open to reveal a young soldier standing there.

"Colonel Lydecker is waiting to see you in his office, ma'am."

Max gave him a sharp look but then nodded, "Lead the way, Private."

They walked down dingy gray corridors that were familiar to her from her stay several months earlier, ending up outside an office with frosted glass in the top half of the door.

"I'll leave you here, ma'am," the private said. He gave her a sharp salute and then turned on his heel and left. Max watched for a moment and then shrugged. She opened the door to the office and stepped inside.

Donald Lydecker sat behind a desk, directly in front of her. He was reading a file and didn't look up as she entered and closed the door behind her. Max deliberately took a seat in one of the chairs facing his desk. She slipped a piece of bubble gum from her pocket, and began to chew it.

After a few moments, Lydecker closed the file and looked up at her. "You're going to have to remember some of that military discipline you despise if you want to do this deal, Max." He said, The mildness of his tone was belied by the sharp look in his eyes.

"When we do the deal and I'm on your mission, I'll observe discipline as needed for appearances. But until then, I see no reason to stand here like one of your flunkies, waiting for you to deign to notice me." Max retorted.

To her surprise, Lydecker chuckled. "Good to see that my predecessor didn't manage to break that spirit of yours. You're going to need it."

"What exactly am I going to need it for?" Max wanted to know.

Lydecker's tone hardened. "Enough fencing. You came to me. Before I tell you anything further, you tell me exactly what it is you want. If you aren't willing to do that, the deal's off and I'll have one of my men show you off the base."

Max sat there silently for a moment. She had been nervous that Lydecker was pulling a double cross and she wasn't going to get out of Manticore easily. Something in his words and tone, as well as the fact that she wasn't in restraints, at least eased that fear.

"I need medical technology. Specifically technology dealing with nerve and muscle repair. I know you have it from my last visit here."

"Nerve and muscle repair as they relate to spinal injuries?" Lydecker said shrewdly.

Max met his eyes and the two stared at each other for several moments.

"Yes."

"I wondered how long it would be before you came to me. Cale's back must be deteriorating badly at this point." Lydecker observed. "Does he know you're here?"

"He doesn't." Max said flatly, not bothering to try to mislead Lydecker about her reasons for wanting the technology. He clearly knew about her relationship with Logan, and she saw no point in playing games. "He's not going to either if I have my way."

"How do you intend to explain your sudden access to technology that can allow him to walk again?" Lydecker threw out.

Max felt a sudden leap of her heart. She had known Manticore was a good way along in working with spinal injuries. Her goal had been simply to find a way to arrest Logan's physical deterioration. That they might have the ability to help him walk was more than she had dared to hope for.

"That's my problem. Not yours. Is it possible to for him to walk again?" Max demanded.

"There's a very good chance of it. At least according to what my doctors tell me."

"They've seen his medical records?"

Lydecker raised his eyebrows. "Know your enemy, Max. Have you forgotten everything you learned here? Information is power. I know everything there is to know about Logan Cale. More than you know, I'm sure. I know how his parents died, where he went to school, who his fourth grade teacher was, and the name of the first girl he ever kissed. His current medical condition is an open book."

Max felt a trickle of unease at Lydecker's words, but she suppressed it along with the niggling doubts she had about the wisdom of what she was doing.

"You know what I want. What do you want from me in return?" she asked him.

"Nothing too difficult for one with your skills. I need you to head up a team for me. A small tactical team. There's an individual who's going to be coming to Seattle and we need to contain him."

Max looked at him skeptically, "Contain him? From what? And why do you need me for that? Sounds like something any one of your in house X5s could handle."

"You'll find out from what, when you need to know. As to why you. It's simple. You're the only one I have currently who's had experience with his type of bodyguards before. Not to mention the only X series who's been able to handle them and come out of it alive."

Max felt a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. "Who exactly are his bodyguards?" She knew what Lydecker was going to answer even before he began to speak.

Lydecker's smile was grim. "He's from South Africa. They're Red series."

End of Chapter Four