"Nothing's Worse Than Cold Casserole"
by: iluvaqt

Disclaimer: as per default chapter.

Part 11: Till Death

The smoke clouding the narrow passage was thick and heavy on her lungs. Max ducked lower and hurried toward the atrium. Crossing an archway, she was about to pass through the cross section when a TAC soldier spotted her and started shooting. In a desperate game of hide and seek, she tried to keep out of his line of fire. Narrow hallways and limited turns, things weren't working to her advantage. Great. First, I get trapped in a rat maze looking for my double and now I have Mr. Smart on my tail. She ran softly down a passage on her left and waited. After a few seconds, she saw a shadow pass by. Thinking she'd finally lost him, she poked her head around the corner. Nice, Max. He was coming back, and headed her way. Planting herself against the wall, she leaned her head back and planned her escape.

On the other side of the base - sheltered from view by the burning buildings - the emergency-landing pad was swarming with reserve soldiers. Renfro stood with the commanding officer and agitatedly checked her watch.

"Ma'am, the base is secure. None of them will get out…"

"Captain, I don't care about the ones locked up in the barracks. Get Lydecker! And where's the Major?"

A soldier approached and reluctantly gave his report. "We tried to check his office and the main lab but the halls have collapsed. If he got out, he'd be here by now."

"In the morning, check for the body. In the meantime, Captain, you better make sure that no one gets out of here alive," Renfro ordered curtly.

The Captain gave her a sharp nod and turned to the waiting soldiers. "Delta and Beta main gate, Omega with me. Move out!"

Speeding up the mountain trail, Krit had one hand on the wheel while using the other to push the truck into four-wheel drive. "Are you sure this is the fastest route?" he said uncertainly for the third time.

Syl stopped tapping her fingernails on her knee, an angry glint flashing in her eyes. If Krit hadn't been concentrating on dodging tree trunks, he would have noticed the look and made a run for his life. He knew all too well what happened when she got upset. Syl ground her jaw and hissed, "Ask me that again and I'll show you just how fast we can go!"

Logan held up his receiver and tried moving it around. Looking at the single bar left on the screen, his brow furrowed in agitation. "The reception up here just about zip. It'll drop out soon, can we slow down for just a second?"

"No!" Krit and Syl yelled in unison.

Krit knew why Logan needed reception, but blow the satellite downlink if they couldn't get it. If they were too late, that'd be a lot worse than meeting with a little friendly fire.

"Right," Logan muttered. Slow down, or don't. Your call. Not that I get much input anyway. Working as quickly as he could under the less than ideal circumstances; he strapped the receiver to the back of Krit's headrest and started typing more commands into his laptop. Hacking into a Korean satellite, he requested aerial maps of the mountaintop. He didn't like what he saw. "Trucks moving towards the front and back of the site. All the buildings are on fire. It's hard to make out which is the main building. And the smoke is clouding the satellite image. We'll have to cut through somewhere else. Looks like the groups are converging on the gates."

Syl started rummaging through her bag on the floor, and pulled out some thick leather gloves. They could jump the fence if they had too, but considering the likelihood that one of them could be injured, a premeditated escape route could be useful. She'd cut through the fence and short circuit the power feed if someone hadn't done it already. "Where'd Max say they were?"

"Watch tower. But do you think they'd have stayed there? It's too open. High but restricted and way too vulnerable." Krit swung the wheel repeatedly dodging the trees and potholes. "When'd they make this track? The stone age!"

"Just quit whining and drive faster."

Logan couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips and Syl whirled around in her seat. She shot him a death glare and Logan only grinned harder. "I think what our lovely navigator forgot to mention that this track isn't on the map." He almost started laughing again when he caught the look that Krit sent Syl.

Syl stuck her tongue out. "I've been up this way before, just not in a truck."

"Do that again and I'll make sure you accidentally bite it off," Krit smirked. "So what? On foot?"

"Guys, hold up," Logan shouted.

They'd all been so preoccupied in their various thoughts that they hadn't noticed how close they were to their destination.

"I can smell it," Krit said crinkling his nose.

"I hope they're out of there already," Syl said quietly, moisture springing to her eyes as the ash and fumes hit her sensitive senses.

"Signal's gone. We'll have to go on what we have. About 800 metres ahead is the parameter fence, east of gate D. The forest on the other side of the fence will give us cover up until about 300 metres from the facility buildings."

"That's all I care about. Let's move." Krit cut the engine and jumped out of his side. Rounding the truck he dropped the tailgate and started picking up his equipment. He threw Syl her vest and picked up their comms.

Syl passed Logan his earpiece through the window and fitted hers. "Radio silence until we find Max and the others."

Logan nodded, and moved to get out but Syl stopped him. "We need you here. Besides, if something goes sideways and you get caught in the middle, Max'll kick all our asses."

Krit slung his rifle over his head and tilted his head to Syl. "Ready?"

Syl tied her long blonde hair into a tight ponytail and smiled. "Always."

Inside the main building, Max was hidden in the thick smoke circling against the ceiling. The solider below crept forward, searching for her. She was holding her breath, she'd last another couple minutes but she didn't want to wait it out if she didn't have to. Come on, she begged silently.

Four more steps and he was right under her. Pushing against the wall with both hands, she let her legs swing down with graceful control. In a split second, she had him in a headlock and twisted sharply. Letting him slide to the floor, soundlessly, she dropped down and let out the breath she'd been holding.

Max didn't even breathe in before Zack came pounding through the heavy smoke. She grabbed him as he attempted to brush past her. "Where are you going?" she demanded angrily.

Zack threw off her grip and glared at her. "Stay out of it, Max."

Say out of it! Stay out of what? She wanted to scream at his fast retreating back. There was no way she was letting him run headlong into trouble. She had to stop him before he did something stupid, like kill her clone. Although, something in her gut was telling her that wouldn't be what Zack was thinking.

Outside, Sam had run across the field to the bunkhouse. She'd kept to the shadows the buildings provided, until the cover ended. There was over 400 metres between where she stood and the bunkhouse. The field was completely open with an overhead spotlight circling the entire area. Hoisting the rifle she'd taken from the TAC soldier, she lodged the butt against her shoulder as a steady. Moving out a few paces to her left, she dropped to one knee and fired two shots at the spotlight. After several sparks, the field was blanketed in semi-darkness. She didn't waste anytime in reaching the bunkhouse door.

Throwing the rifle strap over her shoulder, she pulled at the door handle. It was locked. She didn't know what would make her think it wouldn't be. Standing back, she wondered how on earth she was going to get in.

Will heard the rattling from above. He stayed huddled in the corner, crouched on his bunk. The solider had probably coming back. But it wasn't the usual time. Maybe he was in trouble.

The man only came twice a day, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. The only other voice he heard was from the gray box on the desk. It would ask him questions or show him things every now and then. His teachers had said it was called a computer.

She didn't have the access code, and trying to blast the door might injure Will. Frantically, she began smashing the butt of the rifle down against the lock. "Will? Will, are you down there?"

Will sat up, his eyes wide. He would never forget her voice. She would talk to him late at night, when he couldn't sleep. Tell him stories. Even during the day, when it was really quiet. He'd feel her right there next to him. "Sam?" he called timidly.

Sam heard her name, so softly she almost thought she'd imagined it. She started pounding harder. She couldn't keep this up. She was right out in the open and with the noise she was making, someone was bound to notice sooner or later. "Will, please open the door," she shouted.

Will got up and went to the door. He'd seen the guard do it plenty of times, and he knew the code by heart. Seconds later, she came bursting through the door. She wasn't a dream, she wasn't his mind playing games with him. She was real. She felt real, her arms around him, her soft hair brushing his cheek. He awkwardly returned her embrace. He wasn't sure how he was meant to hold her.

Her eyes swimming with unshed tears, she smiled up at him and gripped his hand. "We've got to get out of here." She paused, wondering. "If you knew the code, why didn't you escape?"

Will gave her a puzzled look. "Escape?"

"You know. Why didn't you try to get out?"

"That's bad. We are not allowed to go out without permission," he said with absolute sincerity.

Sam grit her teeth and wouldn't let the tears in her eyes fall. "Come on, we've got a new mission and you're allowed to come with me."

Will nodded and her grip. She almost couldn't stand it. In his eyes, she could see a little boy, lost and afraid. His face hadn't changed all that much – his strong jaw line, those electric blue eyes, the dusty blonde hair falling in soft waves around his ears and his proud lush lips. He'd filled out a lot and grown a few inches taller. It had been at least 3 years since she'd seen him last. How could life have been so cruel? To take her only friend, her only love away from her? Same boy or not, Will would always be in her heart. Now, it was her turn to protect him. All those years growing up, he'd always taken the fall for her, stuck up for her, and looked out for her. No matter what, she'd give her last breath if it meant he would finally be free.