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.

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Chapter Six

Manticore, Next Day

Deck stood at the window in his office that overlooked the training grounds. He watched as a group of eight soldiers filed onto the field and stood waiting at attention. A small smile crossed his face and he walked to the door of his office and stepped into the hallway.

Within minutes he was standing outside of one of the complex's training rooms. He pushed open the door and watched for a moment as Max worked through a series of moves. When she finished the set he cleared his throat and waited for her to turn to him.

"You've gotten a bit sloppy in your moves, 452 I'd suggest you schedule some sessions with one of the training masters. Sloppiness on this mission is almost certain to be fatal," he observed, as calmly as if he was remarking on the weather.

Max glared at him. "Seeing as how I happen to be the only one who's successfully gone up against the Red series, maybe I should be giving your masters some lessons," she snapped.

"As I recall, you had the assistance of a Red implant. That won't be the case this time."

"Then what makes you think I can succeed where your others have failed?" Max retorted.

"You have an incentive that none of them had."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

In answer Lydecker smiled. "First, you meet your team." He left the room without waiting to see if she was following. Max glared at his back as she snatched a small hand towel from a rack and wiped the sweat that was running down her face before following him.

When they reached the door that led to the training ground, Lydecker waited for her to catch up to him. He glanced over at her and then pushed open the door to the outside. Eight X series soldiers were lined up in two rows of four, standing at attention.

"At ease." Lydecker barked and they relaxed their stances. "X5-452, this is your Tac team. You will have five days to get them into the best possible shape for the mission. That includes mental preparation to face the Red series, as well as physical conditioning. The team will be housed with you in Barracks Five and will be at your disposal 24/7. Whatever training facilities and weapons you require will be made available to you. Do you have any questions?'

"None come to mind." Max said flippantly. Lydecker glared at her and she added a belated "Sir," with an ironic emphasis that he noted.

"Team, you are to proceed with normal training routine until your CO returns. 452 come with me." Lydecker turned and walked across the training ground in the direction of several clustered buildings that Max recognized as the Manticore medical complex. She followed silently.

When they reached the complex, Lydecker pushed open the entrance doorway and flashed a pass. The receptionist nodded and pressed a button that opened the double doors behind him.

"Where are we going?" Max demanded as she followed Deck through the halls of the Manticore hospital building. They reached a pair of double doors labeled Isolation Unit and Deck placed his face in a retinal scanner. The doors opened and Max followed him through them. Lydecker walked over to an observation window and waited for Max. She let out a gasp as she realized who she was looking at in the bed beyond the window.

"What have you done to him?" Max demanded with a snarl in her voice as she stared at Logan through the isolation room window. He was unconscious, his face was almost colorless, and tubes fed into his body at numerous points. A myriad of machines softly beeped and whirred, and a white coated lab technician sat at a console in the corner, monitoring their readouts.

"I'm keeping my part of our bargain." Lydecker replied.

"I don't remember bringing him here being part of the deal. I don't like it."

"You didn't actually think we'd allow our technology to be shared outside of Manticore did you? " Lydecker said calmly. "It's this way or no way."

Max just glared at him. "If anything happens to him, you better believe that you're going down, Deck. I'll personally make sure that you die a long and painful death."

"Those emotions of yours are going to get you killed, Max. I suggest you get them under control or you aren't going to make it through the mission alive." Deck's words hit her like icy whips reminding her of the devil's bargain she'd made with him. "Not to mention, that the welfare of your boyfriend here depends on you keeping your end of things up."

Max glared at him but refrained from commenting further. Her leashed fury was evident in her posture and her eyes, which almost scorched Deck with their intensity.

"Don't you have a team waiting for you, soldier?" Deck snapped.

"The name is Max and don't forget it." Max turned and left. Deck remained standing outside the observation window with a thoughtful look on his face. He glanced once at Logan's unconscious body and then turned away himself, heading back to his office.

End of Chapter Six