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.
15. Contact
Covertly, 'Roxanne' and I followed Asha to her car. She had parked the little beige Chevy in a disused lot on the other side of some trees. The bumper sticker said "Visualize World Peace." The license plate was white with blue lettering and a picture of a mountain: Washington state.
We picked up our pace a bit, circled around our target, and cut her off just before she could reach for the door handle.
"What did you find?" asked 'Roxie', without hesitation. She grabbed Asha's right wrist. Standard procedure: keep her from reaching a weapon.
"We're sorry about this," I said softly. I opened her jacket, and took the pistol out of her waistband. "But we've got to know what you know."
"Don't scream," continued 'Roxie', as she pinned the blonde to the side of her car. "Jack is quick, and if you're good, we'll let you go."
"We need to know what you found," I said. I took a step back, so I was out of reach, and so was the little pistol.
"I didn't find anything!" Asha squirmed, then gasped. 'Roxanne' was clearly tightening up on that nasty joint-lock. "I went through a bunch of useless files, then my friend called and told me to leave."
"What kind of useless files?" demanded my partner-in-crime.
"Who are you two, anyway?" protested Asha from her position face-first against the car. "I'm doing a research paper on government architecture. College course, okay?" I decided that was a stupid lie, intended to distract.
"I wasn't aware that college students needed firepower, these days." I hoped that Asha would give us something we could work with before anyone else showed up, or a certain hostile transgenic ripped her arm off. I certainly didn't want to shoot her.
"A girl can't be too careful."
"What were you looking for?" I asked. I considered just grabbing her keys, dumping her in the back seat and driving off.
"Why don't you just hand me over to the black shirts in there?" snapped Asha. "They can arrange drugs and electroshock. What have you got?"
'Roxanne' grinned like a fiend. "Talent," she whispered.
"We don't work for them, Asha. If they spotted us, there would be drugs and electricity for everyone." I regretted that confession as soon as I'd made it. If things didn't go well, I'd have to figure out how to get rid of her body.
"If you don't work for them, and I don't work for them, why are we fighting?"
"We're paranoid," explained 'Roxie.'
"Believe me," Asha said to the window she was leaning against, "I'm not working for the government, and I'm not after the two of you."
'Roxanne' let her eyes close for a moment. I knew that she was listening to Asha's heartbeat and breathing. Transgenics are really good at spotting lies, especially if we have body contact at the time.
If 'Roxanne' let her go, I'd know we could trust Asha, at least for the moment.
Author: Chippewa Livingston
Archive: Please ask
Disclaimer: I claim no affiliation or ownership of characters or material related to Dark Angel.
15. Contact
Covertly, 'Roxanne' and I followed Asha to her car. She had parked the little beige Chevy in a disused lot on the other side of some trees. The bumper sticker said "Visualize World Peace." The license plate was white with blue lettering and a picture of a mountain: Washington state.
We picked up our pace a bit, circled around our target, and cut her off just before she could reach for the door handle.
"What did you find?" asked 'Roxie', without hesitation. She grabbed Asha's right wrist. Standard procedure: keep her from reaching a weapon.
"We're sorry about this," I said softly. I opened her jacket, and took the pistol out of her waistband. "But we've got to know what you know."
"Don't scream," continued 'Roxie', as she pinned the blonde to the side of her car. "Jack is quick, and if you're good, we'll let you go."
"We need to know what you found," I said. I took a step back, so I was out of reach, and so was the little pistol.
"I didn't find anything!" Asha squirmed, then gasped. 'Roxanne' was clearly tightening up on that nasty joint-lock. "I went through a bunch of useless files, then my friend called and told me to leave."
"What kind of useless files?" demanded my partner-in-crime.
"Who are you two, anyway?" protested Asha from her position face-first against the car. "I'm doing a research paper on government architecture. College course, okay?" I decided that was a stupid lie, intended to distract.
"I wasn't aware that college students needed firepower, these days." I hoped that Asha would give us something we could work with before anyone else showed up, or a certain hostile transgenic ripped her arm off. I certainly didn't want to shoot her.
"A girl can't be too careful."
"What were you looking for?" I asked. I considered just grabbing her keys, dumping her in the back seat and driving off.
"Why don't you just hand me over to the black shirts in there?" snapped Asha. "They can arrange drugs and electroshock. What have you got?"
'Roxanne' grinned like a fiend. "Talent," she whispered.
"We don't work for them, Asha. If they spotted us, there would be drugs and electricity for everyone." I regretted that confession as soon as I'd made it. If things didn't go well, I'd have to figure out how to get rid of her body.
"If you don't work for them, and I don't work for them, why are we fighting?"
"We're paranoid," explained 'Roxie.'
"Believe me," Asha said to the window she was leaning against, "I'm not working for the government, and I'm not after the two of you."
'Roxanne' let her eyes close for a moment. I knew that she was listening to Asha's heartbeat and breathing. Transgenics are really good at spotting lies, especially if we have body contact at the time.
If 'Roxanne' let her go, I'd know we could trust Asha, at least for the moment.