An Unauthorized Genetic Experiment: episode two.
Author: Chippewa Livingston Archive: Please ask Disclaimer: I claim no affiliation or ownership of characters or material related to Dark Angel.
5. Combat flashback
We followed Nathan's red ponytail, and Asha's blonde bob. That's where we found everyone else. The TV in the living room wasn't state of the art, but the sound was clear.
". . . the police spokesman said that many leads are being pursued in the fatal Friday night fire at a veteran's hospital in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains. Unofficial sources suggest that some of the more dramatic bursts of flame are the result of explosives."
The picture switched from the well-groomed anchorwoman to a helicopter's eye view of burning buildings. Familiar burning buildings. I could just make out the fence at the edge of the trees.
"In the three days since the fire, investigators have recovered an unknown number of charred bodies. . ."
'Roxanne's' fingers were digging into my arm. Her grey eyes were fixed to the TV screen. I watched her lips move. "Could have been us."
She was right. That place was the closest thing we had to home. Even if we were running away.
". . . The FBI is asking that anyone having information that might lead to members of the S1W terrorist organization to call this number. . ."
The TV went black. Asha dropped the remote control on the couch.
"That's enough depressing stuff," she said. "If you want me to stay at my own party, you leave the news OFF!"
"Those poor people," said Nathan's girlfriend. "That's just horrible."
Asha glared at her. "I feel bad for them too, Mikah. But they are just as dead if you watch the news or not. Besides, they probably set fire to it themselves. Imagine all the money you save if you don't have to take care of sick people."
"You have no compassion." Mikah got to her feet and shook the wrinkles out of her skirt. "I'm going to go check on the food."
"Pray for the dead," said Asha to Mikah's back. "Fight for the living!"
Nathan shrugged, and told me "That's my sister. She manages to get pacifists to fight with her."
"I do not!"
"What do you think, Roxanne?" Nathan smiled.
"Me and politics don't get along," she said with a fake brainless smile and a toss of her curls. "I just get confused and change the channel to a nice movie. I'm much more interested in what Mikah has been cooking. It smells good!" She draped her coat over the back of a chair, and I got to watch her faded blue jeans disappear down the short hallway into the kitchen.
"How about you, Jack?" Asha flopped into a big chair and put her cowboy boots on the coffee table. "Who do you think would bother to torch a hospital?"
"I'd have more of an opinion if I watched any TV." I tried to think of something to say that wouldn't reveal Manticore, and the rest of my unit, in flames. "Aren't hospitals supposed to be a safe place?"
"Me, I'd like to think so." She made a gesture of tossing something away. "What do you do for a living?"
"Lifting and carrying." It was my turn to shrug. "Construction, but if I pick up a tool, I'd better be handing it to someone who is qualified to use it."
"Did you grow up in a bad neighborhood?" She watched me intently. I glanced over at Nathan. He seemed to be trying to fade into the background.
What? "Okay, I guess. It all seems normal while you are in it, you know?" Doesn't matter now, it's all gone up in smoke.
"Micah is really good at capturing small details in her drawings, Jack. I'm trying to figure out why a nice guy like you managed to pick up that many scars."
"Auto accident," I said, for the second time that day.
"When?" asked Nathan suddenly. "Did it happen after dark?"
"I don't want to talk about it." I wondered how I could make these people change the subject.
"If I had to guess," offered Asha, "I'd say that someone with that set of marks has been shot, beaten, and had some reconstructive surgery done on one knee."
**
I took off my boots and socks, and took my keys and change out of my pockets. Quiet was good, and necessary. The hallway was still empty. I left the things in a pile under the pay telephone.
It was a quick, quiet dash to the door *next to* the room I was interested in. Luck was with me. The door was unlocked, the room was empty, and there was a connecting door.
I closed the door noiselessly behind me, and put my ear to the connecting door. Breathing, maybe six people.
I turned the know, and swung the door open. A woman in a dark suit raised her hand as her expression shifted from boredom to surprise. "Look out!"
I turned to look. Male, dark suit. He pivoted to swing a shotgun to point in my direction.
The world was a very small place, with only three things in it. Me, a .45 pistol, and Mr. Shotgun.
I made one good shot, chest level, before the tasers hit me.
Sometimes, you need to scream.
***
"I think you are mistaken, Asha. One day, I'll have to tell you my life story." I tried to get breathing back under control. "Some other time."
"Hey, leave him alone." Nathan stepped between us. "I didn't invite Jack so my sister could ask nosy questions."
"Right," she said. "Let's go check on dinner."
Author: Chippewa Livingston Archive: Please ask Disclaimer: I claim no affiliation or ownership of characters or material related to Dark Angel.
5. Combat flashback
We followed Nathan's red ponytail, and Asha's blonde bob. That's where we found everyone else. The TV in the living room wasn't state of the art, but the sound was clear.
". . . the police spokesman said that many leads are being pursued in the fatal Friday night fire at a veteran's hospital in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains. Unofficial sources suggest that some of the more dramatic bursts of flame are the result of explosives."
The picture switched from the well-groomed anchorwoman to a helicopter's eye view of burning buildings. Familiar burning buildings. I could just make out the fence at the edge of the trees.
"In the three days since the fire, investigators have recovered an unknown number of charred bodies. . ."
'Roxanne's' fingers were digging into my arm. Her grey eyes were fixed to the TV screen. I watched her lips move. "Could have been us."
She was right. That place was the closest thing we had to home. Even if we were running away.
". . . The FBI is asking that anyone having information that might lead to members of the S1W terrorist organization to call this number. . ."
The TV went black. Asha dropped the remote control on the couch.
"That's enough depressing stuff," she said. "If you want me to stay at my own party, you leave the news OFF!"
"Those poor people," said Nathan's girlfriend. "That's just horrible."
Asha glared at her. "I feel bad for them too, Mikah. But they are just as dead if you watch the news or not. Besides, they probably set fire to it themselves. Imagine all the money you save if you don't have to take care of sick people."
"You have no compassion." Mikah got to her feet and shook the wrinkles out of her skirt. "I'm going to go check on the food."
"Pray for the dead," said Asha to Mikah's back. "Fight for the living!"
Nathan shrugged, and told me "That's my sister. She manages to get pacifists to fight with her."
"I do not!"
"What do you think, Roxanne?" Nathan smiled.
"Me and politics don't get along," she said with a fake brainless smile and a toss of her curls. "I just get confused and change the channel to a nice movie. I'm much more interested in what Mikah has been cooking. It smells good!" She draped her coat over the back of a chair, and I got to watch her faded blue jeans disappear down the short hallway into the kitchen.
"How about you, Jack?" Asha flopped into a big chair and put her cowboy boots on the coffee table. "Who do you think would bother to torch a hospital?"
"I'd have more of an opinion if I watched any TV." I tried to think of something to say that wouldn't reveal Manticore, and the rest of my unit, in flames. "Aren't hospitals supposed to be a safe place?"
"Me, I'd like to think so." She made a gesture of tossing something away. "What do you do for a living?"
"Lifting and carrying." It was my turn to shrug. "Construction, but if I pick up a tool, I'd better be handing it to someone who is qualified to use it."
"Did you grow up in a bad neighborhood?" She watched me intently. I glanced over at Nathan. He seemed to be trying to fade into the background.
What? "Okay, I guess. It all seems normal while you are in it, you know?" Doesn't matter now, it's all gone up in smoke.
"Micah is really good at capturing small details in her drawings, Jack. I'm trying to figure out why a nice guy like you managed to pick up that many scars."
"Auto accident," I said, for the second time that day.
"When?" asked Nathan suddenly. "Did it happen after dark?"
"I don't want to talk about it." I wondered how I could make these people change the subject.
"If I had to guess," offered Asha, "I'd say that someone with that set of marks has been shot, beaten, and had some reconstructive surgery done on one knee."
**
I took off my boots and socks, and took my keys and change out of my pockets. Quiet was good, and necessary. The hallway was still empty. I left the things in a pile under the pay telephone.
It was a quick, quiet dash to the door *next to* the room I was interested in. Luck was with me. The door was unlocked, the room was empty, and there was a connecting door.
I closed the door noiselessly behind me, and put my ear to the connecting door. Breathing, maybe six people.
I turned the know, and swung the door open. A woman in a dark suit raised her hand as her expression shifted from boredom to surprise. "Look out!"
I turned to look. Male, dark suit. He pivoted to swing a shotgun to point in my direction.
The world was a very small place, with only three things in it. Me, a .45 pistol, and Mr. Shotgun.
I made one good shot, chest level, before the tasers hit me.
Sometimes, you need to scream.
***
"I think you are mistaken, Asha. One day, I'll have to tell you my life story." I tried to get breathing back under control. "Some other time."
"Hey, leave him alone." Nathan stepped between us. "I didn't invite Jack so my sister could ask nosy questions."
"Right," she said. "Let's go check on dinner."