PART SEVEN : " Latency "
In the parking lot of SciTech, unknown to Max or the agents watching her, was a common mid-sized dark brown Ford Fairmont. The car was chosen explicitly due to the fact it was unremarkable in color and design to hold anyone's attention for longer than a brief glance. The man inside the car was in the shade of trees also sufficient to make him unidentifiable even in the uncommon sunshine of the Puget Sound weather.
He noticed Max come out of the building and get on her motorcycle. He also watched as the men wait until she rounded the corner before starting their engine. Probably not amateurs, but time would tell. He waited until they also rounded the corner before following at a discrete distance.
* * * * *
As he drove, White felt the conflict within himself. He felt near absolute loyalty to the Conclave, yet now that loyalty didn't seem as complete as it used to. He did not doubt in the slightest that they were planning to discharge or eliminate the unfaithful of their own, those who weren't completely loyal; including his son. Again he thought to himself, if it was for the good of the Conclave, but truthfully Ames was kidding himself. He couldn't see any benefit to this. Even if it weren't his own son, he felt instinctively that their orders were sloppy on this issue. It didn't make sense to him.
His cell beeped, and he drew himself from his internal perusal. Glancing at the caller-ID, he answered; "White here."
His subordinate reported; "Agent White, she has left SciTech and is currently passing Totem Lake; heading North on 405."
White considered the update. "I'm on my way, keep tailing her and let me know if she pulls off the highway." White hung up and put the cell back in his coat pocket. He pulled onto Interstate 5 and headed towards the 520 interchange. It's time to settle this matter once and for all.
"I couldn't agree more." The voice from behind him announced. Slamming on the brakes, Legion once again found himself with White's gun barrel aiming his direction. The car slid to a halt in the middle of the highway, but there wasn't enough traffic to make a difference anymore. Not nearly as many people owned vehicles in this part of the country, and even those that did couldn't often afford gas to use the automobile consistently.
Ames didn't bother to ask how the man had managed to hide in the back seat without his knowing. "Stop doing that, or next time I pull the trigger just because it annoys me." Ames waited a couple seconds, then holstered his weapon.
The man called Legion laughed "You've got spunk, kid." he drawled. "But I know what else you're thinking too." He smiled, amused by White; "You're thinking about betraying the Conclave. Betraying them to save your son."
White considered momentarily of drawing his weapon again and eliminating this threat, but he decided to hear the man out. "You're out of your mind."
Legion raised his eyebrows; "Am I? I don't think so. In fact, you're much closer than I; so tightly wound and with personal issues that remain oh so unresolved... but let's get to the heart of the matter, shall we? Your anger at your father isn't even his betrayal of the Conclave, is it?"
He leaned closer to Ames; "In fact, that's why you despise Transgenic X5-452 so; he dwelt on her... devoted his time to the project that created her; at the expense of your mother, your brother's sanity... and your childhood. But then the deep down 'bottom of the barrel truth' is that you felt he betrayed you personally. Leading you to believe in the Conclave so completely then abandoning it and you for alternative ideals. Ring a bell, Mr. White?"
Ames White pulled off to the side of the road, turned and looked at Legion with a dark hatred that burned bright in his eyes. "This discussion has ended. Get out."
The man in Ames back seat chuckled, and said "No, Mr. White. I have something further to impart. Regardless of whatever you decide to do in the Conclave, you will either terminate 452, or bring her to me. I do so find it degrading to actually have to threaten you but make no mistake; if you don't accomplish this, your son will be dealt with harshly and permanently and you will sadly discover that you have absolutely no capability at all of stopping this from happening. Either kill her, or bring her to me."
The command echoed in the car with an eerie, uncommon reverberation.
In one swift movement Ames gun left it's holster and he fired it twice into the man's forehead. The back of the window shattered as the bullets blew through it, but the man in his back seat remained sitting and unmarked. As the man reached forward, Ames fired twice more. Again, there was no indication that the man had been shot. He took the gun easily from Ames hand, and laid it on the seat next to him, away from Ames.
"Stop that. You're going to hurt someone." Legion reprimanded, as one might a small child.
"What the hell are you?" Ames demanded. It suddenly occurred to him that he might be wrong about this man not being a transgenic. He had heard that a few of them had developed some kind of aging syndrome, but this man didn't seem diseased.
"Call me a manifestation of will. Or perhaps a presence, if you prefer." He got out of the car and stood by Ames' window for a moment. "Perhaps I'm a vampire..." the man chuckled. The chuckle died as he continued; "Did you know that you had a sister? In fact, your father's first born daughter was married to Donald Lydecker. She was killed by the Conclave in 1995 as a warning to your father. But he did not take heed, though he pretended to for some time after. Make no mistake, Mr. White. Your failure will be your son's sentence. Try not to allow that to happen. Eh?" He tipped his hat and began walking back along the highway.
Ames drove off, furious at the man, at the Conclave and most of all at X5-452. Today seemed to be filled with revelations. He hadn't known about a sister; Sandeman had never mentioned her. But somehow he believed the man, just as he believed the man's threat. If it weren't for his son, Ray... but he had to be careful for now.
He peeled off onto Highway 520 from I-5. He didn't know how the man had pulled off that little trick in the back seat, but he had to reorganize his priorities temporarily. Legion had put him behind schedule and he needed to make up for lost time.
His cell rang, and he pressed the connect button venomously. "White." he snapped.
"She's stopped at a house in a small wooded community called Kenmore." the agent informed White, reporting the address.
"Observe but don't interact. And get me the name of the owner." White ordered, then hung up.
With a little luck, he'd catch up to her before she escaped again. On the other hand, Ames White didn't believe in luck. Only results.