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.
Chapter 7. Friend of a friend, or whatever
Asha and her brother crowded into the kitchen with Mikah and Roxanne.
Now was my chance. We'd entered the front door, without being sure of an escape route. I followed the little hallway to its end.
The wooden door wasn't locked, and opened silently. The screen door behind it squeaked, and I looked down at concrete steps to the lawn. The small back yard was surrounded by weathered wooden fence, which we'd seen as we approached. I listened for just a moment, and identified two dogs in the next yard. No other signs of life. Rain was beginning to fall, so I let myself back inside.
I got to the kitchen just as Nathan was leaving.
I took the top plate off the stack of multi-colored ceramic dishes. It was a strange yellowish light green. I didn't care. Stir-fried vegetables, rice, some sort of curry, and two slices of bread hid the color.
'Roxanne' looked up at me as I came into the dining room, and patted the chair next to her. No expression. She might as well have been back in a classroom at home.
"You okay?" I whispered as I set down my plate.
"Just hungry, that's all." She stabbed her fork into some harmless vegetable.
Mikah and Nathan started a discussion about who wasn't here, and why. I glanced at Asha. She was being quiet, and carefully focused on her fork.
***
Maybe I was being stupid, but I was trying to calculate the odds. There were a dozen X-5s in our unit, and we were working out of Gillette, Wyoming, as of eight weeks ago. The two of us never went back.
Lydecker probably sent out at least four Xs to find us. They wouldn't be from our unit, of course. Whoever they were, they would still be out here. I wondered if they would try to go back. Didn't matter. We got sent out on missions all the time. It was pretty certain that some of the soldiers we knew weren't at the spot marked "X" when the fire happened.
I wondered why that didn't make me feel any better.
***
A movement caught my eye. Asha slid her chair back, and pulled something out of her pocket as she stood up. She frowned at the sleek, candy-colored Japanese phone, and pushed a button.
"Excuse me for a couple of minutes," she muttered. "I need to make a call."
"Anyway," continued Mikah, "Brun said she was working late trying to finalize the training program for those kids."
"This is good," I interrupted, and held up half a slice of bread. "I'm going to get some more. Do you want anything?"
'Roxanne' shook her head, and I walked through the kitchen, back into the hall. Quietly.
Asha had her back to me, and the cell phone to her ear. "So, who are they?"
"The picture from your phone is pretty crummy. This is going to take a while." A soft voice, from somewhere else. I had to listen hard.
"Just tell me. Do I need to be worried?" She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"They aren't federal agents, if that's what you mean. My search came back negative on that."
"Yeah, but who are they, Logan?"
"Asha, you came to the wrong boy if you wanted a miracle. Give me some time, okay?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
"I'll call you when I find something." The voice paused for a moment. "I've got something else you might be interested in. The architect of the things that burned just happens to have an office about an hour away from you."
"Really?"
"I know that breaking and entering isn't the smartest thing for you to be getting into, but we might be able to find out what that place was really built for."
Asha turned slightly, and I ducked back into the kitchen.
"Great. Give me the address." I heard the sound of pencil on paper.
I grabbed the last slice of bread, and slid back into my seat.
I tried to decide what to tell Roxanne. Asha was clearly *very* curious about the two of us. Which side was she on? Why was she interested in a burning "veteran's hospital" anyway?
Author: Chippewa Livingston Archive: Please ask Disclaimer: I claim no affiliation or ownership of characters or material related to Dark Angel.
Chapter 7. Friend of a friend, or whatever
Asha and her brother crowded into the kitchen with Mikah and Roxanne.
Now was my chance. We'd entered the front door, without being sure of an escape route. I followed the little hallway to its end.
The wooden door wasn't locked, and opened silently. The screen door behind it squeaked, and I looked down at concrete steps to the lawn. The small back yard was surrounded by weathered wooden fence, which we'd seen as we approached. I listened for just a moment, and identified two dogs in the next yard. No other signs of life. Rain was beginning to fall, so I let myself back inside.
I got to the kitchen just as Nathan was leaving.
I took the top plate off the stack of multi-colored ceramic dishes. It was a strange yellowish light green. I didn't care. Stir-fried vegetables, rice, some sort of curry, and two slices of bread hid the color.
'Roxanne' looked up at me as I came into the dining room, and patted the chair next to her. No expression. She might as well have been back in a classroom at home.
"You okay?" I whispered as I set down my plate.
"Just hungry, that's all." She stabbed her fork into some harmless vegetable.
Mikah and Nathan started a discussion about who wasn't here, and why. I glanced at Asha. She was being quiet, and carefully focused on her fork.
***
Maybe I was being stupid, but I was trying to calculate the odds. There were a dozen X-5s in our unit, and we were working out of Gillette, Wyoming, as of eight weeks ago. The two of us never went back.
Lydecker probably sent out at least four Xs to find us. They wouldn't be from our unit, of course. Whoever they were, they would still be out here. I wondered if they would try to go back. Didn't matter. We got sent out on missions all the time. It was pretty certain that some of the soldiers we knew weren't at the spot marked "X" when the fire happened.
I wondered why that didn't make me feel any better.
***
A movement caught my eye. Asha slid her chair back, and pulled something out of her pocket as she stood up. She frowned at the sleek, candy-colored Japanese phone, and pushed a button.
"Excuse me for a couple of minutes," she muttered. "I need to make a call."
"Anyway," continued Mikah, "Brun said she was working late trying to finalize the training program for those kids."
"This is good," I interrupted, and held up half a slice of bread. "I'm going to get some more. Do you want anything?"
'Roxanne' shook her head, and I walked through the kitchen, back into the hall. Quietly.
Asha had her back to me, and the cell phone to her ear. "So, who are they?"
"The picture from your phone is pretty crummy. This is going to take a while." A soft voice, from somewhere else. I had to listen hard.
"Just tell me. Do I need to be worried?" She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"They aren't federal agents, if that's what you mean. My search came back negative on that."
"Yeah, but who are they, Logan?"
"Asha, you came to the wrong boy if you wanted a miracle. Give me some time, okay?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
"I'll call you when I find something." The voice paused for a moment. "I've got something else you might be interested in. The architect of the things that burned just happens to have an office about an hour away from you."
"Really?"
"I know that breaking and entering isn't the smartest thing for you to be getting into, but we might be able to find out what that place was really built for."
Asha turned slightly, and I ducked back into the kitchen.
"Great. Give me the address." I heard the sound of pencil on paper.
I grabbed the last slice of bread, and slid back into my seat.
I tried to decide what to tell Roxanne. Asha was clearly *very* curious about the two of us. Which side was she on? Why was she interested in a burning "veteran's hospital" anyway?