by: iluvaqt@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: As per default chapter.
iluvaqt's Notes: Thank you all for your supportive reviews. I'm glad you're all enjoying this story.
Chapter 3 -
On the road out of Portland
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Zack stared at the road ahead. Less than 24 hours had passed since he had emerged from his shallow grave. The first thought that had passed through his mind was, had he died? Who dreamt of waking up being buried alive? The second thought was how much did Lydecker know? And would he be able to escape Gillette and get to the others?
Glancing in the rearview mirror he could see the city lights fading behind them. He had this knot in his gut that only two women he knew could manage to inflict. Max with her bull headedness, and the other was her closest sister, Jondy. Just thinking about her, he could feel a painful stab in his chest. He swallowed and balled his fist, remembering what Max had said earlier.
"Jondy? Did you call her? What was her number? Think, Zack. Her life depends on it." [1]
Her words were accusing, and he'd lashed out in kind. Her tone had cut deep, not to mention what she said. Good thing she knew nothing of how terrified he was at not being able to remember Jondy's number. Or how loud his blood was pounding in his ears. He'd kept his distance from Max for that very reason. If it hadn't been for Logan, Lydecker would have gotten Tinga. Zack hated to think about what would have happened if they'd waited for total recall.
Max had been right though. What he'd done had set off the chain of events that had led to this. Killing Vogelsang, Lydecker almost getting Max, and giving Lydecker the locations of the others. It was his fault. Not that he'd go back on his decision of killing Vogelsang or turning himself over to Lydecker. He'd always take responsibility for his actions. Which is why he was personally seeing Tinga over the boarder. It had been too close. With Max, he'd been in control of the situation. She'd had the advantage of a busy market place, plenty of decoys, and they had time to make a plan of escape. With Tinga, dare he admit it, but it had been a stroke of luck they'd gotten there in time.
He heard it in Syl's voice. She was mad at him. Maybe she didn't know that he was responsible, but he was the one who was telling her to move. So her irritation, even if she didn't know it was well founded, was directed at him. She'd told him repeatedly how much of an effort she'd made to make this new identity work. And how much she loved her job. Maybe in a couple of weeks she could go back. Just make up a story for her absence. Family emergency, health crisis, something, it was salvageable.
Unlike the wreck he left in his wake that seemed to follow him no matter how far he went. He thought it was ironic that both his strengths and weaknesses were made at Manticore. The skills that they breed in him, he used against them. And two of the women they created, were his Achilles' heel. They could trip him up, push him within an inch of his self-control, blind him into seeing things that weren't smart and worst of all, fool him into lowering his defenses. Even if it were just for the tiniest second, he would feel like he was bearing his soul and he hated it.
Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't realize that Tinga was talking to him.
"Zack, did everyone check in?" Tinga glanced in the side mirror. The taillights of Logan's Aztek where only faint dots in the distance now. Soon she'd lose sight of them.
"When we got your call, only Syl, Zane and Krit had checked in. Why?"
"No reason," she said offhandedly.
Tinga looked out the window again, wondering when she'd see Case again. What if Charlie couldn't accept who she was? What if he'd ever forgive her for leaving them behind? Even though she knew it was for the best, she couldn't help the ache in her heart. She couldn't help wondering if she'd always be on the run. If that were true, she might never see her family again. One thing she knew for sure, and that was that to protect them for now, she had to run.
"There was a reason you asked, Tinga. What is it?"
He was still a little irritated that Tinga felt the need to question Max. He'd made it clear it'd be just the two of them. Squaring his jaw, he refused to dwell on the fact that Max had defied him again. Worrying about Max had gotten him in enough trouble. And despite his dislike for the man, his head told him that Logan or no, Max wouldn't leave Seattle unless she wanted to. Not for him, not by order…well, maybe if Lydecker decided to lockdown the city again… but the odds of that happening again where a million to one. In a way, he couldn't blame her for taking the chance. Sure, it was crazy to stay right where he found her last, but crazy was what Lydecker didn't know Max was.
Tinga glanced over at Zack, he was tense but at least he wasn't beyond talking. She remembered the last time he'd checked on her. He'd been in a rotten mood. He had stayed for all of thirty minutes, dropping by when she'd been looking after a few kids from mother's group. He'd shared a coffee, confirmed she still had the contact number and left again. Not that she'd been all that upset. Had he been around longer, he might have uncovered a secret she wasn't quite ready to share yet. Case had been at kindergarten at the time.
"It's just that Syl mentioned to me that Jondy forgot the contact number…" That was a lie, but she couldn't remember the exact reason Syl had explained as to why Jondy had lost it. Or maybe it was the fact that Zack had been mentioned. Omitting his name seemed like a very smart idea. Being grilled by the French Inquisition wasn't high on her 'To-Do-list'. The more she thought about it, the more she wished she'd kept her mouth shut.
"She lost…."
There was a cracking noise and Tinga cringed. She was glad that it was steering wheel and not her sister's neck, or her own… "She would have caught the hack. It's been playing for the past four hours…"
There was another crack and Zack knew it was time to loosen his grip or they'd be walking to Canada. And then there was that little issue with getting back to San Francisco after he got Tinga safely over. "Check the glove compartment."
"What am I looking for?" Tinga spotted it, the second she broke the lock and opened the compartment.
"Hand it over," Zack demanded.
Dropping it in his open palm, Tinga wasted no time giving him what he wanted. She knew better than to provoke Zack when he was in a dark mood. And between the way he was punching in numbers and the uncomfortable angle to his jaw, she guessed this was a particularly bad one. And it could get ugly real quick. She made a point to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the ride. She seemed to have been a part of enough chaos for one day.
A few hours later, they crossed the boarder and Zack got rid of the SUV. Passing through one of the truck stops, he hotwired a motorcycle and took off with Tinga hanging on for dear life. The guys in the bar were either out cold or too drunk to notice.
Unlike Zack, she didn't have a passion for going fast. The fact that she was wearing the helmet didn't give her much comfort. She probably kept her eyes closed the whole time. Not that, that gave her any illusions as to how fast they were traveling, she could feel it.
It was still early when they separated. Tinga stood watching a motorcycle peel away. The wheels spun for a second, before gripping the dirt and tearing off, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. She had to get cleaned up. Turning around, she headed into town. Hopefully someone would need a baker or a kitchen hand. She wouldn't ask for much, just a place to sleep and some food to eat.
She was a little relieved Zack had seemed completely pro-occupied, or he might have noticed the mark around the ring finger on her left hand. Pulling the ring from the pocket of her pants, she slipped it back on. Humming and smiling to herself, she walked along the road. A sign by the side of the road read, 18 Penticton.
Just as soon as she got word that Lydecker had stopped sniffing around Portland, she'd go back for Charlie and Case. It was time her husband learned the truth about the woman married. It was the only way she knew they could possibly make a life together work. It was stupid to have believed she could stop running.
At a motel near the Oregon border
"Go slow, sis. Seriously, I got all day." Zack leaned against the metal booth, and tossed another quarter in his palm. He watched the metal catch the light as he flicked it up with his thumb and caught it again.
Syl knew the next time Zack paid a visit; it'd be more than just coffee they'd be getting into. She wondered whether she should try a Jondy and drop off Zack's radar… then again, that was the reason he was so annoyed. Jondy had ditched the contact number and moved. Now, Zack was going after her. "I'm telling the truth, Zack. I don't know where she is. All I know is that she's safe. After the broadcast, she did call me. She's fine."
"I don't care if she's tanning her butt on the Interstate 5, I need an address. Come one Syl, I can read you like a book, you're not telling me something. Don't make me have to head across state…"
"Fine, you want to know the truth?" Syl felt her chest constricting painfully. She promised Jondy she wouldn't tell a soul, but Zack sounded like he would beat it out of her if she didn't give him something. "She's in trouble, Zack. She moved to Las Vegas about three months ago. I don't know her address, but I have a cell number and her home number. And I swear, that's all I know."
"What kind of trouble?"
For a second there, she thought Zack actually sounded worried instead of pissed off. "She wouldn't say, she just sounded really weird the last time we talked. Look, you might be the big boss, but I swear, you hurt her and you'll wish you stayed at Manticore."
Syl regretted the later part of her threat, the second it left her lips. She hadn't meant to sound like a cold bitch, but she needed Zack to think like a human being and not an ass. She had a feeling that Jondy was feeling incredibly vulnerable right now. The last thing she needed was Zack pulling into town and playing supreme commander - more to the point, supreme pain in the butt. Shooting off the numbers to him in rapid fire, she hung up the phone before he could ask any more questions, and before she said anything else she might regret.
Afterwards, she let the phone ring. Luckily, Krit was out or he'd wonder who was calling and get involved in something that was none of his business. Then they'd have another issue to argue over for a week. Nope, she was damn glad she was alone tonight.
Zack swore and hung up the phone, he knew he'd get nothing more out of Syl. Well, not without a detour though Idaho, and he just didn't have the time or care, to do that right now. Dropping a five-dollar bill by his empty plate. He picked up his unopened bottle of beer and headed out. He still had a long way to go.
Riding on the open road, with nothing but darkness for miles, he had time to reflect on the last time he had seen Jondy.
Jondy's apartment, San Francisco
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Jondy woke up to find Zack standing by the window. He was fully dressed. From the angle of the sun, she could tell it couldn't be more than 5.30 in the morning.
"Do you have to be somewhere?" she asked sadly.
Zack's jaw tightened and he gave her a cold look. "You should get out of town or at least lay low for awhile. I've got to keep moving."
She was shocked by the hard edge in his voice. His body didn't contradict his tone and he gave no hint of the affection he showed her mere hours before. Jondy couldn't find her voice to speak. By the time she did, he'd already walked out of her bedroom.
"Zack?" she called. Gathering the bed sheets around her, she hurried after him. "Zack, wait." When she reached the front door and stumbled into the hallway, there was no sign of him.
On the street
He hovered under the shadow of an oak tree in the park, watching her building for a long time. Her face stayed in his mind, the hurt in her clear gray eyes. He wished he had never given into what she'd stirred. If he'd kept his head, if he'd just walked away, it wouldn't have boiled down to this. But then there was a small voice telling him something else.
It was beautiful. You've never felt that way before. She enjoyed it, and you did too. Don't deny it.
Shaking his head, Zack pounded his fist into the tree trunk in frustration. He had to pretend it didn't happen. He had to. There's no way he could face her again if he looked at her, and she looked back at him the way she had last night. Better to let her hate him. They couldn't stay together. It just wouldn't work. If he continued down the road his feelings were trying to take him, he would end up compromising everything. Then he'd not only be endangering Jondy, but the others too.
Reluctantly, he left the park. Getting on his bike, he headed out of California. Determined to put as much distance between Jondy and himself as possible.
On the road to Las Vegas
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Zack remembered that for days afterward, he'd done nothing but lounge around at Zane's place. He'd been bad company. A grouch, as Zane had called him. He couldn't tell Zane what was bothering him either. He couldn't say, 'Oh yeah, remember Jondy? We slept together and I made sure that I was the one to walk away.' If his brother didn't fall over from shock, he'd be sure to get knocked for a six. No, either way Zack was positive Zane would have made sure he got his ass kicked. First for sleeping with their 'sister' and second for hurting her.
Finally, something came up to distract him. After checking in with a few of his cyber sources, he learned that a guy in Seattle was asking questions about kids with barcode tattoos. And about a woman who worked as a nurse, in Gillette, Wyoming. The questions were enough to send him straight to Seattle. Two days later, he paid the guy's place a visit. His concern wasn't unfounded. It turned out that Max was the one paying him to do the searching, and that her PI's efforts had brought Lydecker right to her doorstep.
But stubbornly, she refused to leave Seattle. And when she found out that he knew where the others were, she'd demanded that he tell her. She hadn't changed one bit. She was still as stubborn, as she was beautiful.
Even when he tried to give her good reason for his actions, she'd regarded him as if he were the one making her life miserable, and not Lydecker.
"They're soldiers... And so are you. The only person you can rely on, Max, is yourself. Everything else is just a lie. It's phony sentimentality. And it will get you killed." [2]
The words she said came back to him. The thoughts that had plagued him after he walked away, leaving Max standing in the railroad yard, staring after him.
"You're still back at Manticore. Maybe I'm chasing a sentimental lie but at least I'm trying to get away from it," she said defensively. [3]
I'm not, Max. Far from it. I want what you want, but this is reality. They'll always keep hunting us, and as long as they are, I'm going to do everything I can to protect our family. He wished he could have told her exactly how he felt. How much he wished he didn't have to spend every minute of the day on the alert. That he wanted a normal life, with family, someone to love... But she wouldn't understand, she didn't understand, so there was no point. She was living in a dream. Their reality was too dangerous to go pretending it wasn't.
Even while talking with Max, he hadn't realized how much he needed to get back to Jondy. How much he needed to know that she was okay.
"I can get us to San Francisco, and we'll split up there." [4]
His heart had skipped a beat the moment what he said registered in his brain. Max didn't notice the slip, nor did she see any significant in his suggested destination. Thankfully, all that she'd picked up on was the later part of his sentence.
Thinking back, all he could recall was how he'd managed to push all the wrong buttons with his siblings. It seemed lately all he was doing was being the bad guy, giving the orders and making the hard decisions. He'd meant to get back to Jondy sooner, but so many other things had taken precedence. Losing Brin, turning himself over to Lydecker to save Max. Surviving Manticore for two and a half months…
For a while he had forgotten. He had forgotten about his responsibility, his family, Jondy… he'd forced himself to forget, to protect them from Lydecker. He had even forgotten Max. If it weren't for the childhood bond he felt with her, he wouldn't have remembered her. Stumbling past a gas station, he'd noticed a picture of a black ninja on the cover of a motorcycle magazine. It brought back the memory of first time he saw her in Seattle. From the day of the escape he'd kept his distance, knowing she would never understand the way things had to be. If she hadn't found out where he'd been staying, he might have continued his role as her watcher. Getting too close to her, he had allowed himself the luxury of letting her in. His mistake.
Confiding in Max, he had jeopardized Tinga, Jondy and Zane. Which is why he needed to get to Jondy now. Syl said she was in some kind of trouble and Tinga had been acting strangely.
The sooner he saw her, the better he'd feel. Little did he know, a lot had changed since he'd left her three months ago. And Jondy hadn't forgotten or forgiven him.
____________
[1] "Dark Angel" Episode #113 - The Kidz
Are Aiight
[2] "Dark Angel" Episode #105 - 411 on the DL
[3] ibid
[4] ibid