Mole circled the perimeter of Terminal City. He unhooked one of the cameras and slipped off the casing. Inside the wires was a small piece of metal, undectable to the basic human eye, but to a transhuman it was obvious. Mole grumbled to himself before ripping it from it's snug position. He dropped it in his jacket, figuring Max would want Dix or Luke examine it to find out the make. The others he'd smash happily. He took a long drag from his cigar then puffed twice. "Stupid, bloody Familiar..." Mole walked on cursing White and the Breeding Cult as usual.
Max was angry. Shocking, Alec thought to himself. It's a wonder her face doesn't freeze in a permanent scowl. That made him chuckle at the thought of Max's face stuck in the expression it was at the moment. Max turned, her furious gaze on him.
"You think it's funny someone has blocked our only link to the outside world?"
"First, it's not our only link. Stop being such a drama queen. It's not one of your strong suits, no matter how many times you practice it."
Max narrowed her reyes and started to advance towards him predatorily.
"Leave your fight for a time we actually need it. Mole is taking care of the situation."
"He already did."
Mole entered the room, offering a small disc to Dix. Mole grinned, lighting his scaly features somewhat horrifically. Max looked like the wheels were turning in her head after she caught sight of the scrambler. Of course, she wouldn't share with anyone else what she was thinking. Alec finally asked her, "What's up, Maxie?"
She stopped her pacing and turned towards him.
"I just can't figure out why White would do this? He knows we'd find them with no problem."
Dix had put on a sort of tiny magnifying glass over his eyes.
"It's a 636 government issue scrambler, kind of new, but fairly common."
"So others can get it?" Max asked.
"On the black market, probably. It would be pretty simple."
Max sighed and connected gazes with Alec. He nodded slowly, sighing.
"So we have another group trying to block us out of the States. That's wonderful."
Max glanced at Dix. "Is there anyway we can track this back to the buyer?"
"Not very likely, but Luke and I can try."
"All right. We'll meet back up here at 1900 hours."
The group agreed and each went their separate ways.
Lucy giggled ackwardly at the surprising silence of the Mess Hall. Everyone seemed to be off performing specific duites except for her and Joshua. Joshua shot her a wolfish smile that did nothing to reassure her. It wasn't that she disliked Joshua, she hardly knew him. She wasn't repulsed by his doggish features, either. She just wasn't comfortable. She hadn't been comfortable since she was six. She hardly remembered feeling safe. It was a foreign feeling and now she was thrown into talking to a creature she didn't know. It was times like these that Lucy really despised her father with her entire being. She started to tap one foot, her leg shook up and down. She twisted her birthstone ring around her finger, a gift from her mother at her high school graduation. She'd worn it ever since and twisting it gave her a small sense of peace. Joshua finally spoke, "How you know Big Fella?"
Lucy pulled her knees up to her chest and clasped her arms around them.
"Max lived with me for a few months in '09."
"After she escape?"
"I guess. She disappeared after the Pulse hit and I never knew what happened to her."
"Max disappear a lot. You get used to it. Joshua did."
Lucy smiled sweetly. "I guess I will. Tell me about you, Joshua."
Joshua looked like he was blushing. It was kind of entertaining to see his features pink.
"Joshua loves paint."
"Do you have any pictures?"
Joshua nodded emphatically. "Joshua paint you. Joshua number 736."
Lucy shook her head, the thought of Joshua staring at her to make a likeness made her extremely uncomfortable. But Joshua made puppy dog eyes at her, literally, and she found herself caving in. "Okay. What do I have to do?"