She gave up on trying to remember and began wondering what had become of Logan. She thought, I hope he didn't get that message. I hope he didn't come and I hope he's all right. Oh God, if I find out he got that message and - and - I'll never forgive myself. I will never forgive myself for any of this. If I wasn't so damn touchy and impulsive this would never have happened. God I hope he's all right.
The door to the bedroom opened and an elderly man entered the room. He walked with a spring in his step and didn't appear to be more than sixty. His skin was slightly bronzed and was a subtle contrast to his snowy white hair, unlike the pre-Pulse Bob Barker. His eyes were gray and sharp, darting around and taking everything in within the blink of an eye. If Max didn't have the vision she did, she would have missed his surveying of the room. He grinned down at her and made his way over to the bed, careful to keep his distance. Max decided that he couldn't be her attacker, but maybe his employer.
"Who are you?" She asked.
The man chuckled. "My name is Martin Price. If you want to be formal, it would be Sergeant Martin Price. Well, former anyway."
Max knew she had heard the name before, but couldn't recall where. "What's going on? You the guy in charge? Who's doing it?"
"You are a smart girl." Martin smiled. "But not smart enough it seems. It has been my marksmanship."
"It was you who took me out in that house? You?"
"Don't let appearances fool you, my dear." Martin said. "I'm very skilled. I heard you coming up the stairs and down the hall. I was prepared and you weren't."
"But why would you do it? Why kill those people? It doesn't make sense."
Martin shrugged. "An old friend asked me to help him take care of some troublesome people."
Suddenly, something flickered in Max's mind.
She was still in Manticore and only about six years old. Lydecker entered the classroom and introduced a man... Martin Price. He gave them a lesson on Remington rifles.
"What is it?" Martin frowned. "I don't like being out of the loop."
"You were in Vietnam." Max spoke slowly as she remembered. "You were the top sniper. You met Lydecker later in the army. You've been using your military experience to kill those people. Lydecker's behind this, isn't he?"
"You're X5." Martin said quietly. "I only gave one lecture at Manticore and it was to the X5s. They would be the only ones to remember."
Max shook her head. "Why would you do it? From what I learned about the war, you were a hero. You actually saved people, you helped. Why start working for the bad guys?"
"My country, my government, they aren't the bad guys." Martin told her. "The people, the informants of that cyber terrorist Eyes Only, they are the bad guys."
"They must've loved you in the army, taking in everything they told you and accepting it as the truth. Too bad you never figured out the lie."
"And I suppose you have." Martin said. "I've got many years on you, girl, and I've seen a lot worse than you have. Tell me, have you seen a real battlefield? Not a simulated one? Have you seen your fellow soldiers fall at the hands of the enemy? I'm seventy-five years old, I'm sure I've seen more of this brutal world than you have."
Max glared at him. "Have you been tortured and dissected by your supposed friendlies? Have you seen your brothers and sisters murdered for a cause that will never matter? You may have lived longer than I have, but you have no idea about the things I've seen."
The phone began ringing shrilly and Martin moved to the door. He stopped before leaving and turned back to Max. "It seems we'll have to finish this conversation later. In the meantime, I have to give a briefing."
Max wanted to yell something at his retreating figure, but couldn't find the words. She tried to ignore the anger that was bubbling in the pit of her stomach and began formulating an escape.
A/N: If you remembers my first author's note about the calculator, Martin's age is why I had to use one. I wasn't sure if the Vietnam angle would work or not. I may be a year or two off, but I think it works out all right.