Chapter 5 – Another Mission
Timing - approximately 1 month after "In the Heat of the Day"
Setting is the interior of Director Renfro's office. Max is standing
at attention.
"Are you feeling well X5-452?"
"Ma'am, The doctor reports my health and that of the fetus are within
parameters. And, I am feeling no ill effects from the procedure."
"Wonderful. I want to commend you on the work you have been doing with
the younger soldiers, X5-452. I have seen great improvements in their
capabilities both individual and within their groups. You know they
look up to you and the others that have experience of outside
missions."
"Thank you ma'am!"
"X5-452, the reason I called you here today is to inform you of your
next mission."
"I am ready ma'am."
"Great. I am going to show you a tape now. The tape consists of 10
segments broadcast nationally over the last six months. The speaker
on these segments will be the target of your next mission. Why don't
we watch this tape and I will detail your mission afterward? Please
sit here."
"Yes Ma'am!"
Max sat and watched 10 segments each lasting no longer than 60
seconds, each detailing the atrocities of Manticore, each segment
narrated by "Eyes Only." Max sat, seeing Logan's determination and
his stubbornness, each segment more vicious than the last, each
segment revealing more and more of the real goals of this supposedly
secret society. All the information presented was the truths Max
herself, or her siblings had supplied to Logan over the year they had
been together. Max sat there, dreading the end of the tape, knowing
what her next mission was.
"Well, X5-452, as you can see these lies are not information the
public needs to hear. We must put a stop to this. As far as we know,
"Eyes Only" is based in northwest United States or southwest Canada.
He is an expert computer hacker and he has a network of assistants
that use their skills to get information from police and government
operatives. We want you to find "Eyes Only", destroy his computer
network and bring him in, dead or alive. Here is the file. Please
review it and develop a plan of attack. Submit it by 5 pm today and
be ready to leave in the morning. Do your have any questions?"
"From what I know of computers and the ability to track a hacker, this
may take some time."
"Put a timing plan in your report when you submit it. You will be
required to report back each month for medical observation of your
fetus, of course, so you can give me updates at that time."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"You are dismissed, please leave the report with my assistant by 5 pm
this afternoon."
"Yes ma'am. Thank you for the opportunity."
Max leaves the office and returns to the barracks. Her group is
currently on the training field so the barracks will be quiet in order
to put together her plan. Her plan, what would that plan be? How
could she ever put on paper what it would be like to go back to Logan?
How could she be near him again? She hadn't exactly left him on good
terms. Would he even want to see her? She had to warn him, get him
to stop his messages. Maybe that would be enough. No, they wanted a
body. She couldn't kill Logan and she wouldn't bring someone else in
his place. Maybe Logan could help, maybe...
She wrote up her plan, albeit fictional, and she submitted it within
the proper time frame. Later that evening Alec joined her in the high
place.
"Alec, I have been given a mission."
"No, not this week, you will miss the overnight. We are progressing
well and... Max, What is wrong?"
"I have been given this mission... I will be outside. I won't be
coming back."
"Max, no! We are close; the kids are open to options now. If you
leave, our momentum will stop. Manticore will always be around."
"I have given these kids all the knowledge I have. I have told them
they have options. They need to decide for themselves. They have
more information than we ever had. But I can not provide the
trigger."
"You mean Eva? One of them has to be killed in order to start their
reaction?"
"Something has to initiate the domino effect. It is not a decision
that you wake up in the morning and say 'today is the day we mutiny.'
I don't know what or when the trigger will happen and I can't risk my
baby's life on if it will ever happen. I have to look after him."
After some silence Max continues, "Renfro told me this baby is the
future of Manticore. I have to make sure that future never happens.
This is my part."
Alec approaches her and puts his hands on her shoulders.
"Max, I will miss you."
"Alec, Logan and I..."
Alec, getting upset, interrupts her, "Max, you don't love him. You
told me so."
"Alec, I told you I don't remember loving him. I don't remember the
emotions, but that does not mean that I can stay away from him. Logan
is like a magnet to me. I remember more and more each day, what we
did together. How we met, where we went. He saved me a number of
times and he deserves to be saved too."
Alec takes her in his arms and kisses her. Max eventually returns the
embrace and the kiss deepens. When they separate their lips, Alec
says, "I want to be saved too Max."
"Alec, you need to save yourself first."
"I will find you Max. When I leave, I will find you." He walks away
and climbs down the wall to the barracks.
Max is left alone, "I love you too Alec."
---------
The next morning, Max is signing out at the guard station. Director
Renfro approaches. "Good morning X5-452."
"Ma'am, just signing out."
"Yes, I received your plan, reviewed and approved it. I don't want
you to forget to return in one month for Medical observation."
"Yes ma'am. That was in the plan. I will comply."
"Also remember, keep that baby safe. Do you understand?"
"Definitely. Safety of the fetus is high priority."
The director has slowly moved closer to her throughout the discussion.
Now looking directly in her eyes, "X5-452, we will see you in a
month."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Dismissed"
Max leaves the compound. Renfro watches her walk away. "Yes, X5-452,
you will be back."
---------
Time lapse and scene changes to Seattle. Max is talking to herself and her
baby.
"Well baby, welcome to Seattle. Are you ready to put plan A into
action? What? You are scared that it will not work? But, hoping
that it will? Maybe he loves me again. It has been almost six months since
our last encounter. He has probably forgotten that I pissed him off
and stole information from him. Sure... But, here I sit, on top of
the space needle waiting for the 'right time' to meet him. I should
just go for it. Take him on; make him listen. No... I can't make
him. If he doesn't, that's it, go to Plan B. Baby, you need to stop
all those flip-flops. I just fed you. You shouldn't be hungry. Your
not scared are you? Just don't do any weird flip-flops while we are
there! I don't need to get sick in his apartment. Well, here we go."
----------
Max walked up to the door to Logan's apartment.
"Quiet baby. Logan never liked it when I came in through
the skylight. So the front door it is."
She knocks, waits and knocks some more. "I don't think I was made for
this waiting thing." She says as she jimmy's the lock and enters the
apartment. The rooms are dark, except for a blue light from the
computer room. She walks toward the blue light.
She enters the room and sees him working. "You know Logan, if you
would answer your door a girl wouldn't have to pick the lock."
"Max, I would have answered the door if I wanted to see you. Since I
don't, please go away."
"Logan, that's not very nice. I've got some news."
"Look!" He turns around now. Max sees his eyes. The blue is ice
blue and definitely no sparkles. He is very mad. "What are you doing
here?" Max physically backs up at his attack.
"I... uh... am... on a mission..."
"A mission. Look Max, I no longer want to be the first stop on your
mission parade. I would rather not be a stop at all. I do not want to see you again. Now go!"
In response to Logan's anger, Max raises her voice. "Logan. This
time you are my last stop. You have been saying some awful things about Manticore and they don't like it. I came to..."
"So, I am your mission! Are you going to kill me here or take me in?
Well which is it?"
"Look, Logan... ah... I..."
"Either kill me or leave. I want nothing else to do with you Max."
Yells Logan.
Max yells as well. "I am just here to warn you Logan. Be careful."
She turns then leaves. She doesn't hear Logan's last comment. "Why
should I? I am already dead inside, why not outside as well?"
As Max comes out of the building, Logan is watching her from above.
She is leaning against a wall across the street. He doesn't see the
tears dripping from her eyes. "Well baby, Plan A is a bust. He is
really mad. I guess I figured he would be mad, but he didn't even
listen. It's OK... really... OK... no tears... enough.... Plan B will
now begin. We're going to stake out the Crash."
-----------
Max is outside the Crash watching who is coming out. She sees
Original Cindy and follows her for a while. Cindy slows and Max jumps
into the shadows. Cindy turns and yells into the darkness. "OK, I
know someone is there. I know how to defend myself so don't even think
you can take me. Anyway, I got no money so other than me there's
nothing to take."
Slowly, Max moves out of the shadows. Cindy stares and backs away,
then turns and walks away quickly. Max follows her. Cindy stops and
turns around again. "Go away. I do not believe in ghosts. You will
not frighten me tonight."
Max answers quietly. "Cindy, I am not a ghost."
Original Cindy is crying now. "You can't be here. Logan told me you
died. Why would he lie? He told me you were shot in the heart. You
died in his arms. You don't come back from that."
"You do when you die on Manticore property. Cindy, they gave me a new
heart."
They embrace, Cindy is crying. From the embrace Max says, "Yes I am
here and alive."
When they break apart Cindy says, "Come with me, you can tell me
everything... except you probably want to go see Logan first. He
really took it hard, he..."
"Cindy, I've already seen Logan. He doesn't want to be anywhere
near me. I need a place to crash for a day or two. Will you let me
stay?"
"You always have a place to stay Boo. Lets go, we can talk there."
They take off to the apartment.
When they arrive, Cindy begins, "Max, tell me everything, but start
with the reason you think Logan won't want to see you!"
"Does his saying 'Max, I don't want to see you ever again give me
reason enough to think he doesn't want to see me?"
"Max, the man cried in my arms two years ago when he told me why you
weren't coming back. It took him six months before he came out of his
apartment. Bling and I took turns going over there until Bling told
him 'to get the hell up and make his own breakfast! Once he did get
out of bed he isolated himself from everyone. He pushed us both away.
It has been over a year since the last time I checked on him and he
has never made an effort to see me. He loves you inside and out.
There is nothing you could do to hurt him or to make him hate you."
"Except to steal from him and walk away leaving him with an emotional
open wound to fester for the last six months." Max then described the past two
years, from waking up remembering nothing but Manticore, to her
mission at Logan's, to her fateful day of heat and the strength that
gave her to decide to change.
"You're pregnant? Max, that is wonderful!"
"Yes, pregnant. Wonderful? Yes and no. This baby has been described
to me as the future of Manticore. In a months time, when I don't show
up to report for observation, they will come looking for him."
"We will be OK. You have hidden in Seattle for years."
"That's my point. They know I have ties to Seattle now. I need to
get a pass and documents so I can move on, set up somewhere else."
"Look Max, you are NOT going to stroll into my life after two years
and expect to skip back out after two days. Anyway, what do you know
about taking care of a baby"
"Well, nothing now, but I thought it would come to me within the
gestation period. How do other mothers do it?"
"Other mothers are not brought up as soldiers, they are brought up in
families, playing with dolls, not guns and knives. And some young
girls get to help their mothers by taking care of their younger
siblings, like me! Come on Max, you are going to need help; I can
help. We need to stick together."
"Well, you are probably right. But I don't want to put you in any
danger. I have already ruined enough lives, I won't have you on my
conscience too"
"Look Max, I will sign a non-responsibility document if you want, I
don't care. I will not let this baby down because you are its only
parent!"
"OK, OK, I give. But if there is ANY sign of you or I being watched,
I am leaving."
"We are leaving, Max, WE!"
"I am serious Cindy. Manticore will not react lightly to the loss of
their next generation. Until he is born, they will have to take me
alive, but if they know you are involved they may not feel obligated
as such. You have to understand this. If this is going to work, if
we are a family, I have to know where you are, whom you are with and
if anyone followed you. Understand?"
"Yes Ma'am, I will be a model citizen... Max, seriously, I
understand. We can use cell phones, set up emergency codes, and
arrange a safe house. Do you think I learned nothing from you before?
While you were gone, I took self-defense classes and learned how to
hold my own. I know it is better to run and hide than to fight. Max
we can do this. We will be better together than apart."
"You are probably right, but we have to have a plan. Do you agree?"
Cindy nods. "OK Lets start now. I will get a better job. We will need
money..."
Plans were made and agreed upon. They knew once the baby was born
they would have to move around and change identities in order to drop
off the Manticore radar screens. They would have to find a
trustworthy doctor to help deliver the baby, issue proper ID's and
then conveniently forget to enter the info into the database. They
planned, discussed and continued to plan; all the while the baby grew
and developed. Everyday, he took on more of the traits and abilities
of the X7 variety. Max knew this would be a special child, one with
the strengths and abilities of its Manticore genes and one with the
special ability to love and be loved. She would make sure of it.
This baby would be a new generation, one that would forever end the
reign of Manticore. For his abilities, his strengths and his heart,
Max would name her baby Zach.
A/N: Hope you are enjoying the story so far. I have a few more twists and turns
In store for all those of you who were able to get past my warnings.
Maxie.