"Can't Deny Destiny"
Chapter 2 "Destiny Revealed" Rogue Angel
Disclaimers and such. see Chapter 1
*****
The next day in hotel in Seattle
At nine AM the next morning Jondy, Liz, and Faith sat waiting in the hotel room. There was a soft knock and Jondy, sans ski cap, opened it. "Surprise," she said with a smile on her face.
"Jondy? Why didn't you tell me it was you?"
"It was fun watching your reaction. You weren't the only one I did it to... Come in."
Max entered and looked at Jondy. "Who else did you do that to?" she asked.
"Us," Faith said.
"But we didn't have to think about it over night," Liz said.
"Faith? Liz?" Max said smiling.
The four girls all embraced in a large group hug.
"Told you she wasn't dead," Jondy said to Faith with a huge grin on her face.
"How did you know?" Max asked.
"Krit and Syl."
"Are they here?" Liz asked intently.
"It's just us," Jondy said coolly.
"Were you the one in LA?" Max asked.
Faith looked to Jondy. But Jondy feigned surprise. "In LA? Why would we be in LA?"
"Her," Max replied, pointing to Faith, "You got caught on a tape."
"Shit. The perimeter huh? I knew I forgot one," Jondy said dropping the innocent act.
"How did you find out?" Faith asked without looking to Max.
"A guy from LA named Angel, he's a contact of a friend of mine... He sent the tape, to see if my friend could explain how Faith jumped a twenty foot razor wire fence."
"Twenty? I thought it was fifteen," Jondy said trying to remove Faith from Max's scrutiny.
"Angel and some of his friends want me dead," Faith said. "Some bad things I did in the past... But they don't forget or forgive very easily."
Max watched her, inspected her.
"Max, if she was really a bad person I wouldn't have gotten her out," Jondy said. "I know to keep Nomlies in the basement."
Max winced at the statement but then she realized that Jondy did not know that she had freed all the Manticore creations, she had merely used it as an analogy.
"I trust you, Jon." Max said.
"Good. We have other things to discuss," Jondy said.
"Are you going to tell us why you had to bring us here?" Faith asked.
"Yeah... You guys will want to sit. And hear me out too, it's a bit of a reach."
The three sat down at the head of the bed and Jondy sat at the foot.
"So, I'll start from the beginning as all stories should. A year ago I met this man, a blind man. He said he had gifts and I heard him out. He told about a prison where they train children to kill that took it's name from mythology, Manticore, he called it. He said I was a child from there and I had escaped. My instinct said to kill him and leave, but I stayed. He told me that destiny had a plan for me and some others like me. He had a vision about four girls from the prison who fit this like... Plan. He described these four girls: one has the appearance of a being from Middle Earth, one has no junk in her body, one became the Chosen One, and one is in love with an otherworldly king. These four girls had similar appearances, skin tone and heights were different but all had dark hair and eyes. Except for one whose eyes had blue and brown in them. He told me more and that I'll get to later, but these four clues agitated me. I began to look them up.
I struggled to find what Middle Earth was. Finally, I heard about a book series called The Lord of the Rings, great story by the way. Anyway, these books took place on a place called Middle Earth and it had creatures called Elves. Elves are identifiable as tall, lithe beings who are natural trackers. They also have ears that come to a point, that would be these bad boys. The next one I figured out was the Chosen One. In the book store where I did some extra research about Elves I found a book about demons and vampires and the such and those chosen to destroy them, the Chosen Ones. I contacted the Watcher's Council in England and found out about Faith. She was MIA at the time so I moved on.
The next one I figured out was Max and her lack of junk. She possesses no Junk DNA, each gene and chromosome has a purpose. I had to break into Manticore to find that one out. I nearly got caught. But the last one, I still don't get. I knew by this time who the last was by appearance only. It had to be Liz, but the part about being in love with a king... Is it true?"
Liz's mouth hung open, she closed it and opened it twice. She finally managed to speak. "My boyfriend is an alien and he's the king of his planet."
Jondy laughed. The other girls were still comprehending what Jondy was saying.
"So what's the significance?" Max asked.
"Yeah, so a blind dude told you a bunch of shit that just happened to be true. Big deal, what does it mean?" Faith demanded.
"I'm not finished. He also said that these four girls chose directions that became their own. North, East, South, and West. I went to Canada initially, Faith went to Boston, Liz to Roswell, and Max made her way slowly to Seattle. Some of us moved, but we had our distinct way we went."
"Still seeing coincidence," Faith said.
Jondy sighed. "Fine, I know I'm not the storyteller that Ben was. Short and sweet, these four girls were chosen to fight a massive evil of some sort. End of story."
The three sat quietly.
Jondy closed her eyes. "Part of me didn't want to find you, let it pass and let us live our lives. But something changed my mind." Jondy pulled a book from her bag. "This book was written in the thirteenth or fourteenth century." She opened the book to a marked page. She tossed the book and it landed in front of the trio, facing them.
They looked down and saw four girls, them, fighting knights in black armor. The drawing matched them exactly. Max flipped the page. It had a drawing of the markings on the girls, the barcodes and the tattoos.
"I thought I was dreaming the first time I saw the book. But it is not a recording of past events but of times to come. It took me months to translate the book. The Enemy, as the book called it, did not ride horses and were dressed in black armor because the Monk who had the visions and created the book thought their appearance was too gruesome to draw."
Faith flipped back to the first page with the four. "Who is the Enemy?"
"I don't know. I was hoping one of you would have an idea."
"Aliens?" Liz asked quietly.
"Demons?" Faith suggested.
"Nomlies?" Jondy whispered.
"Familiars?" Max offered.
"Or something we've never seen," Faith added coolly.
"Looks as if we've had our own battles to fight." Liz said.
Jondy stood. "If you don't want to try to find out what this is and why us, I understand. In the night stand there's tickets to go anywhere, feel free to go home and forget about all of this. If you want to stay, be back here at sunset. If you don't show, I won't hold it against you... But tomorrow at noon you have to be here, the four of us are going to spend some time together. That's an order." She exited the room.
Max got up and ran to the door, when she opened it, Jondy was nowhere to be seen. "Fuck," she said slamming the door.
Faith leaned back in the bed. "I ain't got nothin' better to do. I'm in."
"That's a cop out reason to do it," Liz started, "if you're going to do it, do it for the cause, not for boredom."
Faith wiped the grin off of her face.
Max turned. "Is she mad at me?"
Liz and Faith look at her. "Who?"
"Jondy, is she mad at me?"
"For what?" Faith asked.
"Anything. I mean, she just left."
"The whole ride from Roswell she was talking about you," Liz said.
"Yeah, she refused to believe you were dead," Faith added.
"Then why is she being so distant?" Max asked.
Liz lifted the book and showed Max. "Because she's asking you to fight them. You heard how guilty she sounded. She... She's..."
"She's being our CO. She knows about Zack being dead. She's allowing us to choose our mission and remain detached so we choose, not her," Faith said.
Max sat on the bed. "She thinks Zack's dead?"
Liz's eyes go wide. "Zack's dead?"
"No," Max said. "But he's not Zack anymore. He lost his memory and was reprogrammed by Manticore to kill a friend of mine. He lost his memory again and my friend got him an alias. He's now working on a farm."
"I wish I could see him again," Liz said.
"Maybe someday," Faith said glaring at Max, she knew that the whole story hadn't been told.
"I've got to get back to work," Max said. "I had a friend cover for me. You two will be ok, right?"
Liz nodded and so did Faith. Max exited.
Faith took a deep breath. "I've got some energy to burn, want to spar?"
"I haven't fought since the escape. I don't know if I can remember how to."
"Come on, we've got eidetic memory. You might be a little out of shape but you'll remember," Faith said with a grin.
"I am so not out of shape," Liz replied throwing a pillow at Faith. They got up and cleared a spot and began sparing.
Jam Pony Bike Messaging
Max wheeled in and found Original Cindy almost instantly.
"So who was it, Boo?" Cindy asked, pulling something from her locker.
Max sat down on the bench and looked up. "Jondy."
"The infamous Jondy?" Original Cindy asked looking to her in disbelief.
"That'd be the one," Max said.
"I would have thought you'd be much more excited to see her, you talk about her enough," Cindy said sitting down next to Max.
"I am, I'm very exited... But I might have to go away."
"Go away? For how long? A week, a month..."
"Forever."
Original Cindy's eyes went wide but then she put her arm on Max. "You spent how much of your life lookin' for this girl, is she what you thought she'd be?"
"Exactly."
"Then go with her."
"But I'd leave everything behind."
"All you'd leave is a piss poor job, a boy you can't touch, and a best friend who knows you'll hate yourself if you don't go."
"I would, wouldn't I?"
"Yea. So go up to Normal, give him the finger and be with your family. You know how to reach me."
"We're not leaving for a while."
Original Cindy smiled. "I know... But go to them now. And I'll see you later."
Max and Cindy hugged and then Max walked up to Normal.
"Don't you have work to be doing, Little Lady?" Normal asked in his snooty tone. "Or should I give you some?"
"A family thing came up and I have to go. I don't know if I'm coming back. When can I pick up my last check?"
Normal had not expected that response. "I... Uh... Tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow then." Max said and she left Jam Pony.
Back in the hotel
Faith landed some blows early on, Liz's reaction time was off. Faith started taunting Liz. Liz began to react quicker, she finally laid a blow on Faith that launched her across the room.
"I'm so sorry." Liz said covering her mouth with her hands to stifle a laugh.
Faith started laughing and took Liz's hand to stand up. "That's more like it." Faith pushed Liz back and began round two.
The girls matched blows and attacked each other with lightning quick moves. After about half an hour they stopped, sweat just began to glisten on them. They both laughed. "My friends back in Roswell would go crazy if they just saw me do that. What about yours?"
"Friends? Don't got any and everyone who knows me knows I can do that. Never that fast, because I always held back, but something like that. I took these muscle relaxant pills along with the Tryptophan. It made it so I couldn't react as fast as I could."
Liz looked to her sister. "How long ago did you stop with relaxants?"
Faith rubbed her shoulder. "In prison the let me stay on the Tryp because it kept me alive but they took me off everything else."
There was a knock at the door. The two girls tense, the door opened and Jondy entered. She was surprised to see the two of them there.
"What are you doing here still?" Jondy asked crossing to her bag.
Liz and Faith look at each other. "We've already decided," Faith said.
"And we're in," Liz said.
Jondy smiled and hugged her sisters. "Did Max say anything?" she asked softly.
"Nothing," Faith said.
"She's in. She just had to go quit her job," Max said from the door.
Jondy turned and smiled and the two girls embraced.
"What about you, Jondy? Are you in?" Liz asked.
"Oh no, sorry. I just came for the plane tickets," she said grinning. "Dumbass question, duh."
"A yes or no would have been sufficient," Liz responded.
"What now?" Max asked.
"I say Liz calls her boyfriend and he uses one of the plane tickets and flies up, we get some more of our family together, and we have a huge ass party," Faith said.
"It would blow everyone's cover," Jondy said.
"Shit, you are Zack's successor, aren't you?" Max said putting her arm around Jondy.
"Burn! Fine. Liz, call your boyfriend. He gets one ticket. And I'll put a message on the alert line, whoever's near can come. No guarantees but we'll probably get Syl, Krit, and uh, Zane at least."
"Why the dramatic pause before Zane's name?" Faith asked grinning.
"We're kinda not talking, but I don't want to talk about it," Jondy said.
Max covered for Jondy. "And yeah, I know how to get a hold of Jace. She escaped before the meltdown."
"Brin came by the Crashdown, where I work, about a month ago. She gave me her number," Liz added.
"Great, now if we could only get Zack too," Faith said sharply.
"Back off," Jondy snapped, "It's not Max's fault that he's not with us."
"I think it is," Faith said again.
"Another word from you and I'll drag your ass back to prison. Is that clear?" Jondy said coolly. "Or maybe call your little friend Buffy? I wonder if she knows you've been sprung?"
"Fuck you," Faith retorted but she did not press the Zack issue further.
Jondy went to her bag and pulled out a phone. She put on the headset for it. "Krit. Dial," she said into the phone.
She began to walk around the room. She stopped. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself. Is this Jondy?"
"Better believe it, bro."
"What have you been up to?"
"Not much... Is Syl around?"
"Yeah, you want to talk to her?"
"No. I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm the CO now. You can stop covering for him... I'm going to do my job."
"Zack's dead then?"
"No, he's just been compromised. I've assumed responsibility of the unit now. And my first act as CO is to have you come to Seattle."
"Why Seattle?"
"Well, Liz, Faith, Max and I are already here."
"Max can't be there, she died in our last op."
"Zack shot himself to donate his heart to her, she is very much alive. She's actually staring at me now."
"She's... Can I talk to her?"
"Can you get to Seattle?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Where are you coming from?"
"San Francisco."
"How long have you been there?"
"Probably right after you left."
"What you doin' in my old haunts?"
"Syl, Zane, and I have been heading a Manticore camp. To introduce them to the real world. We're using Alcatraz."
"Sounds great."
"It is."
"So you can relay the message to Sly and Zane too?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know how to reach Dax?"
"Wow, no. I haven't heard from him in four, five years. Grix either."
"Thanks anyways."
"No problem. We'll be up tomorrow, early."
"Bye." After a beat she spoke, "Disconnect." Dial tone rang in her ears.
"They're coming?" Max asked.
"And they didn't know you were alive."
"I didn't know how to get a hold of them," Max said meekly.
"You, Dax, and Grix. None of us know how to get a hold of you three," Jondy said putting her hand on Max's shoulder.
"Not true," Faith said. "A few months before I went to California I met up with them. I have their number, they're traveling together."
"Great." Jondy took her headset off and handed it to Faith. "Reach whoever you can. I'm going to go make reservations for them all. If you have to leave messages be discreet. Not too much info, give a return number, it's on the note pad in my bag."
Max caught up with Jondy as she was heading back to the room. "You can stop moving for a second."
"I can't. I've got to get all of this situated and safe."
Max smiled. "You're doing great."
"I'm nowhere near as efficient as Zack."
"And about him, how did you know? How do you know all that you do?"
"I've been in the shadows following each of the group since the escape. Zack was much less discreet, I'd follow him in the shadows. I was in Seattle when the Steelheads did what they did to him and I was a few feet from you when you and your boy made the decision to send him to the farm."
"And you never made yourself known?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I didn't want to compromise anyone's situation. And just so you know, Zack does have his memory back. I called him this morning after my shower. He's coming."
"He is? He tried to kill Logan."
"I know. I've talked extensively with Zack over the last few months. He remembers feeling for you, and not liking Logan, but he has realized that he was brainwashed. If he kills Logan it's because he doesn't like him," Jondy said the last sentence with a grin on her face, "And boy, does he not like him."
"Why not?"
"Are you that daft?"
Max scrunched her face. "Yes."
"He loves you, Max. He has since we were young. He favored you more than the rest of us. He didn't give you the number because he didn't want you to get discovered."
"He never... He's my brother."
"He is but he isn't. I... Don't repeat this."
"I won't."
"I've been in love with one of the twelve who escaped."
"Zane?"
"Yeah."
"He's your brother?"
"He's not my biological brother. We're not all biologically related, it's by camaraderie that we're tight. What I don't want you to repeat is that I'm still in love with Zane... Even though..."
"Tell me about it."
Jondy grabbed Max's hand and led her to a bench. They sat. "After you fell into the ice and Zack was captured, everyone, minus Faith, gathered. Grix had been reported to have been killed but he faked it and he managed to escape too. Thirteen total, not twelve. They hid the true numbers... But anyway, I broke us up then, not Zack, but me... I started it. But I told everyone to go in small groups or solo but stay close. Tinga, Liz, and Brin; Dax, Grix, and Ben; Krit and Syl; and Zane and Myself. Faith was gone already, and you and Zack were...
Anyway Zane and I went to Canada first. Stayed there until we heard about Zack's escape. We came down to rendezvous with him. He ordered us apart, and we didn't know any better. I went to 'Frisco and Zane went to LA. We would still meet every weekend to see each other. When I turned sixteen our relationship changed. I was dating a prick who tried to push our relationship too far. Zane came to my rescue and kicked the shit out of the guy. His dog even took a bite. I kissed him in thanks, then we really clicked.
We got intense and went to the dark side, we started boosting cars together. Then stripping the cars, then.. Yeah well, Zack came around again and noticed our closeness. He told me that he was locating everyone and if I was to be second in command I should act like it. So I broke it off with Zane. He cleaned up and became a mechanic, I started tailing Zack and found everyone's locale.
When your Eyes Only friend made that cable hack, I called in and then fled back to Canada. Zane met me there and we had a fling before I decided to treat him like shit to protect him. After the heat calmed down we went back to our normal lives. So that's where we are. I can't be with him but I can't stand to be without."
"I can't touch..."
"I know." Jondy said softly. She put her hand on Max's shoulder and they shared a moment. Then they got up. "We've better get back," Jondy said and they left the bench.
Chapter 2 "Destiny Revealed" Rogue Angel
Disclaimers and such. see Chapter 1
*****
The next day in hotel in Seattle
At nine AM the next morning Jondy, Liz, and Faith sat waiting in the hotel room. There was a soft knock and Jondy, sans ski cap, opened it. "Surprise," she said with a smile on her face.
"Jondy? Why didn't you tell me it was you?"
"It was fun watching your reaction. You weren't the only one I did it to... Come in."
Max entered and looked at Jondy. "Who else did you do that to?" she asked.
"Us," Faith said.
"But we didn't have to think about it over night," Liz said.
"Faith? Liz?" Max said smiling.
The four girls all embraced in a large group hug.
"Told you she wasn't dead," Jondy said to Faith with a huge grin on her face.
"How did you know?" Max asked.
"Krit and Syl."
"Are they here?" Liz asked intently.
"It's just us," Jondy said coolly.
"Were you the one in LA?" Max asked.
Faith looked to Jondy. But Jondy feigned surprise. "In LA? Why would we be in LA?"
"Her," Max replied, pointing to Faith, "You got caught on a tape."
"Shit. The perimeter huh? I knew I forgot one," Jondy said dropping the innocent act.
"How did you find out?" Faith asked without looking to Max.
"A guy from LA named Angel, he's a contact of a friend of mine... He sent the tape, to see if my friend could explain how Faith jumped a twenty foot razor wire fence."
"Twenty? I thought it was fifteen," Jondy said trying to remove Faith from Max's scrutiny.
"Angel and some of his friends want me dead," Faith said. "Some bad things I did in the past... But they don't forget or forgive very easily."
Max watched her, inspected her.
"Max, if she was really a bad person I wouldn't have gotten her out," Jondy said. "I know to keep Nomlies in the basement."
Max winced at the statement but then she realized that Jondy did not know that she had freed all the Manticore creations, she had merely used it as an analogy.
"I trust you, Jon." Max said.
"Good. We have other things to discuss," Jondy said.
"Are you going to tell us why you had to bring us here?" Faith asked.
"Yeah... You guys will want to sit. And hear me out too, it's a bit of a reach."
The three sat down at the head of the bed and Jondy sat at the foot.
"So, I'll start from the beginning as all stories should. A year ago I met this man, a blind man. He said he had gifts and I heard him out. He told about a prison where they train children to kill that took it's name from mythology, Manticore, he called it. He said I was a child from there and I had escaped. My instinct said to kill him and leave, but I stayed. He told me that destiny had a plan for me and some others like me. He had a vision about four girls from the prison who fit this like... Plan. He described these four girls: one has the appearance of a being from Middle Earth, one has no junk in her body, one became the Chosen One, and one is in love with an otherworldly king. These four girls had similar appearances, skin tone and heights were different but all had dark hair and eyes. Except for one whose eyes had blue and brown in them. He told me more and that I'll get to later, but these four clues agitated me. I began to look them up.
I struggled to find what Middle Earth was. Finally, I heard about a book series called The Lord of the Rings, great story by the way. Anyway, these books took place on a place called Middle Earth and it had creatures called Elves. Elves are identifiable as tall, lithe beings who are natural trackers. They also have ears that come to a point, that would be these bad boys. The next one I figured out was the Chosen One. In the book store where I did some extra research about Elves I found a book about demons and vampires and the such and those chosen to destroy them, the Chosen Ones. I contacted the Watcher's Council in England and found out about Faith. She was MIA at the time so I moved on.
The next one I figured out was Max and her lack of junk. She possesses no Junk DNA, each gene and chromosome has a purpose. I had to break into Manticore to find that one out. I nearly got caught. But the last one, I still don't get. I knew by this time who the last was by appearance only. It had to be Liz, but the part about being in love with a king... Is it true?"
Liz's mouth hung open, she closed it and opened it twice. She finally managed to speak. "My boyfriend is an alien and he's the king of his planet."
Jondy laughed. The other girls were still comprehending what Jondy was saying.
"So what's the significance?" Max asked.
"Yeah, so a blind dude told you a bunch of shit that just happened to be true. Big deal, what does it mean?" Faith demanded.
"I'm not finished. He also said that these four girls chose directions that became their own. North, East, South, and West. I went to Canada initially, Faith went to Boston, Liz to Roswell, and Max made her way slowly to Seattle. Some of us moved, but we had our distinct way we went."
"Still seeing coincidence," Faith said.
Jondy sighed. "Fine, I know I'm not the storyteller that Ben was. Short and sweet, these four girls were chosen to fight a massive evil of some sort. End of story."
The three sat quietly.
Jondy closed her eyes. "Part of me didn't want to find you, let it pass and let us live our lives. But something changed my mind." Jondy pulled a book from her bag. "This book was written in the thirteenth or fourteenth century." She opened the book to a marked page. She tossed the book and it landed in front of the trio, facing them.
They looked down and saw four girls, them, fighting knights in black armor. The drawing matched them exactly. Max flipped the page. It had a drawing of the markings on the girls, the barcodes and the tattoos.
"I thought I was dreaming the first time I saw the book. But it is not a recording of past events but of times to come. It took me months to translate the book. The Enemy, as the book called it, did not ride horses and were dressed in black armor because the Monk who had the visions and created the book thought their appearance was too gruesome to draw."
Faith flipped back to the first page with the four. "Who is the Enemy?"
"I don't know. I was hoping one of you would have an idea."
"Aliens?" Liz asked quietly.
"Demons?" Faith suggested.
"Nomlies?" Jondy whispered.
"Familiars?" Max offered.
"Or something we've never seen," Faith added coolly.
"Looks as if we've had our own battles to fight." Liz said.
Jondy stood. "If you don't want to try to find out what this is and why us, I understand. In the night stand there's tickets to go anywhere, feel free to go home and forget about all of this. If you want to stay, be back here at sunset. If you don't show, I won't hold it against you... But tomorrow at noon you have to be here, the four of us are going to spend some time together. That's an order." She exited the room.
Max got up and ran to the door, when she opened it, Jondy was nowhere to be seen. "Fuck," she said slamming the door.
Faith leaned back in the bed. "I ain't got nothin' better to do. I'm in."
"That's a cop out reason to do it," Liz started, "if you're going to do it, do it for the cause, not for boredom."
Faith wiped the grin off of her face.
Max turned. "Is she mad at me?"
Liz and Faith look at her. "Who?"
"Jondy, is she mad at me?"
"For what?" Faith asked.
"Anything. I mean, she just left."
"The whole ride from Roswell she was talking about you," Liz said.
"Yeah, she refused to believe you were dead," Faith added.
"Then why is she being so distant?" Max asked.
Liz lifted the book and showed Max. "Because she's asking you to fight them. You heard how guilty she sounded. She... She's..."
"She's being our CO. She knows about Zack being dead. She's allowing us to choose our mission and remain detached so we choose, not her," Faith said.
Max sat on the bed. "She thinks Zack's dead?"
Liz's eyes go wide. "Zack's dead?"
"No," Max said. "But he's not Zack anymore. He lost his memory and was reprogrammed by Manticore to kill a friend of mine. He lost his memory again and my friend got him an alias. He's now working on a farm."
"I wish I could see him again," Liz said.
"Maybe someday," Faith said glaring at Max, she knew that the whole story hadn't been told.
"I've got to get back to work," Max said. "I had a friend cover for me. You two will be ok, right?"
Liz nodded and so did Faith. Max exited.
Faith took a deep breath. "I've got some energy to burn, want to spar?"
"I haven't fought since the escape. I don't know if I can remember how to."
"Come on, we've got eidetic memory. You might be a little out of shape but you'll remember," Faith said with a grin.
"I am so not out of shape," Liz replied throwing a pillow at Faith. They got up and cleared a spot and began sparing.
Jam Pony Bike Messaging
Max wheeled in and found Original Cindy almost instantly.
"So who was it, Boo?" Cindy asked, pulling something from her locker.
Max sat down on the bench and looked up. "Jondy."
"The infamous Jondy?" Original Cindy asked looking to her in disbelief.
"That'd be the one," Max said.
"I would have thought you'd be much more excited to see her, you talk about her enough," Cindy said sitting down next to Max.
"I am, I'm very exited... But I might have to go away."
"Go away? For how long? A week, a month..."
"Forever."
Original Cindy's eyes went wide but then she put her arm on Max. "You spent how much of your life lookin' for this girl, is she what you thought she'd be?"
"Exactly."
"Then go with her."
"But I'd leave everything behind."
"All you'd leave is a piss poor job, a boy you can't touch, and a best friend who knows you'll hate yourself if you don't go."
"I would, wouldn't I?"
"Yea. So go up to Normal, give him the finger and be with your family. You know how to reach me."
"We're not leaving for a while."
Original Cindy smiled. "I know... But go to them now. And I'll see you later."
Max and Cindy hugged and then Max walked up to Normal.
"Don't you have work to be doing, Little Lady?" Normal asked in his snooty tone. "Or should I give you some?"
"A family thing came up and I have to go. I don't know if I'm coming back. When can I pick up my last check?"
Normal had not expected that response. "I... Uh... Tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow then." Max said and she left Jam Pony.
Back in the hotel
Faith landed some blows early on, Liz's reaction time was off. Faith started taunting Liz. Liz began to react quicker, she finally laid a blow on Faith that launched her across the room.
"I'm so sorry." Liz said covering her mouth with her hands to stifle a laugh.
Faith started laughing and took Liz's hand to stand up. "That's more like it." Faith pushed Liz back and began round two.
The girls matched blows and attacked each other with lightning quick moves. After about half an hour they stopped, sweat just began to glisten on them. They both laughed. "My friends back in Roswell would go crazy if they just saw me do that. What about yours?"
"Friends? Don't got any and everyone who knows me knows I can do that. Never that fast, because I always held back, but something like that. I took these muscle relaxant pills along with the Tryptophan. It made it so I couldn't react as fast as I could."
Liz looked to her sister. "How long ago did you stop with relaxants?"
Faith rubbed her shoulder. "In prison the let me stay on the Tryp because it kept me alive but they took me off everything else."
There was a knock at the door. The two girls tense, the door opened and Jondy entered. She was surprised to see the two of them there.
"What are you doing here still?" Jondy asked crossing to her bag.
Liz and Faith look at each other. "We've already decided," Faith said.
"And we're in," Liz said.
Jondy smiled and hugged her sisters. "Did Max say anything?" she asked softly.
"Nothing," Faith said.
"She's in. She just had to go quit her job," Max said from the door.
Jondy turned and smiled and the two girls embraced.
"What about you, Jondy? Are you in?" Liz asked.
"Oh no, sorry. I just came for the plane tickets," she said grinning. "Dumbass question, duh."
"A yes or no would have been sufficient," Liz responded.
"What now?" Max asked.
"I say Liz calls her boyfriend and he uses one of the plane tickets and flies up, we get some more of our family together, and we have a huge ass party," Faith said.
"It would blow everyone's cover," Jondy said.
"Shit, you are Zack's successor, aren't you?" Max said putting her arm around Jondy.
"Burn! Fine. Liz, call your boyfriend. He gets one ticket. And I'll put a message on the alert line, whoever's near can come. No guarantees but we'll probably get Syl, Krit, and uh, Zane at least."
"Why the dramatic pause before Zane's name?" Faith asked grinning.
"We're kinda not talking, but I don't want to talk about it," Jondy said.
Max covered for Jondy. "And yeah, I know how to get a hold of Jace. She escaped before the meltdown."
"Brin came by the Crashdown, where I work, about a month ago. She gave me her number," Liz added.
"Great, now if we could only get Zack too," Faith said sharply.
"Back off," Jondy snapped, "It's not Max's fault that he's not with us."
"I think it is," Faith said again.
"Another word from you and I'll drag your ass back to prison. Is that clear?" Jondy said coolly. "Or maybe call your little friend Buffy? I wonder if she knows you've been sprung?"
"Fuck you," Faith retorted but she did not press the Zack issue further.
Jondy went to her bag and pulled out a phone. She put on the headset for it. "Krit. Dial," she said into the phone.
She began to walk around the room. She stopped. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself. Is this Jondy?"
"Better believe it, bro."
"What have you been up to?"
"Not much... Is Syl around?"
"Yeah, you want to talk to her?"
"No. I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm the CO now. You can stop covering for him... I'm going to do my job."
"Zack's dead then?"
"No, he's just been compromised. I've assumed responsibility of the unit now. And my first act as CO is to have you come to Seattle."
"Why Seattle?"
"Well, Liz, Faith, Max and I are already here."
"Max can't be there, she died in our last op."
"Zack shot himself to donate his heart to her, she is very much alive. She's actually staring at me now."
"She's... Can I talk to her?"
"Can you get to Seattle?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Where are you coming from?"
"San Francisco."
"How long have you been there?"
"Probably right after you left."
"What you doin' in my old haunts?"
"Syl, Zane, and I have been heading a Manticore camp. To introduce them to the real world. We're using Alcatraz."
"Sounds great."
"It is."
"So you can relay the message to Sly and Zane too?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know how to reach Dax?"
"Wow, no. I haven't heard from him in four, five years. Grix either."
"Thanks anyways."
"No problem. We'll be up tomorrow, early."
"Bye." After a beat she spoke, "Disconnect." Dial tone rang in her ears.
"They're coming?" Max asked.
"And they didn't know you were alive."
"I didn't know how to get a hold of them," Max said meekly.
"You, Dax, and Grix. None of us know how to get a hold of you three," Jondy said putting her hand on Max's shoulder.
"Not true," Faith said. "A few months before I went to California I met up with them. I have their number, they're traveling together."
"Great." Jondy took her headset off and handed it to Faith. "Reach whoever you can. I'm going to go make reservations for them all. If you have to leave messages be discreet. Not too much info, give a return number, it's on the note pad in my bag."
Max caught up with Jondy as she was heading back to the room. "You can stop moving for a second."
"I can't. I've got to get all of this situated and safe."
Max smiled. "You're doing great."
"I'm nowhere near as efficient as Zack."
"And about him, how did you know? How do you know all that you do?"
"I've been in the shadows following each of the group since the escape. Zack was much less discreet, I'd follow him in the shadows. I was in Seattle when the Steelheads did what they did to him and I was a few feet from you when you and your boy made the decision to send him to the farm."
"And you never made yourself known?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I didn't want to compromise anyone's situation. And just so you know, Zack does have his memory back. I called him this morning after my shower. He's coming."
"He is? He tried to kill Logan."
"I know. I've talked extensively with Zack over the last few months. He remembers feeling for you, and not liking Logan, but he has realized that he was brainwashed. If he kills Logan it's because he doesn't like him," Jondy said the last sentence with a grin on her face, "And boy, does he not like him."
"Why not?"
"Are you that daft?"
Max scrunched her face. "Yes."
"He loves you, Max. He has since we were young. He favored you more than the rest of us. He didn't give you the number because he didn't want you to get discovered."
"He never... He's my brother."
"He is but he isn't. I... Don't repeat this."
"I won't."
"I've been in love with one of the twelve who escaped."
"Zane?"
"Yeah."
"He's your brother?"
"He's not my biological brother. We're not all biologically related, it's by camaraderie that we're tight. What I don't want you to repeat is that I'm still in love with Zane... Even though..."
"Tell me about it."
Jondy grabbed Max's hand and led her to a bench. They sat. "After you fell into the ice and Zack was captured, everyone, minus Faith, gathered. Grix had been reported to have been killed but he faked it and he managed to escape too. Thirteen total, not twelve. They hid the true numbers... But anyway, I broke us up then, not Zack, but me... I started it. But I told everyone to go in small groups or solo but stay close. Tinga, Liz, and Brin; Dax, Grix, and Ben; Krit and Syl; and Zane and Myself. Faith was gone already, and you and Zack were...
Anyway Zane and I went to Canada first. Stayed there until we heard about Zack's escape. We came down to rendezvous with him. He ordered us apart, and we didn't know any better. I went to 'Frisco and Zane went to LA. We would still meet every weekend to see each other. When I turned sixteen our relationship changed. I was dating a prick who tried to push our relationship too far. Zane came to my rescue and kicked the shit out of the guy. His dog even took a bite. I kissed him in thanks, then we really clicked.
We got intense and went to the dark side, we started boosting cars together. Then stripping the cars, then.. Yeah well, Zack came around again and noticed our closeness. He told me that he was locating everyone and if I was to be second in command I should act like it. So I broke it off with Zane. He cleaned up and became a mechanic, I started tailing Zack and found everyone's locale.
When your Eyes Only friend made that cable hack, I called in and then fled back to Canada. Zane met me there and we had a fling before I decided to treat him like shit to protect him. After the heat calmed down we went back to our normal lives. So that's where we are. I can't be with him but I can't stand to be without."
"I can't touch..."
"I know." Jondy said softly. She put her hand on Max's shoulder and they shared a moment. Then they got up. "We've better get back," Jondy said and they left the bench.