A/N- Okay , I didn't realise how long this chapter was! 43 pages, plus an epilogue! So you get part tonight and part monday.
A/N2- The chapter title(s) are taken from Avril Lavigne's song, which seemed strangely appropriate in this case.
Certain scenes were chopped for NC-17 content; they will be up in full on my site soon for those who wish for a little… extra.
Chapter 24a- All this time you were pretending…
He paced the room like a caged lion, growling to himself as the small room that contained him was ill-equipped to let him leash his full anxiety in the cramped space.
He knew full well that it was almost time, and that made his steps hasten as he stomped back and forth trying to pace out his frustration.
He was down to counting down the seconds and knew that all over the facility transgenics were doing the same.
It wasn't that Dek was particularly averse to spending the night with a willing woman, in fact he was— Oh, who was he kidding? He was annoyed that he had to spend time with Feen whilst some Lothario made out— and possible more— with Drew.
His Drew.
Dek cracked his knuckles, tempted to go and find this guy that she had ended up with and show him what the resident 'bad boy' was capable of.
It just wasn't fair! After everything that he had gone through— dammit— that they had all gone through and now this! At that moment he could have happily put his fist through Renfro's chest, watching gleefully as the sardonic expression fell from her stone-face and pulled out what passed for her heart.
Taking calming breaths Dek twitched heavily as the shrill bell sounded throughout the barracks signalling to those on the enforced seduction lesson that it was time.
Time to go meet their designated partners and…
It was with a heavy heart that Dek walked out of his cell, the door slamming shut behind him with enough force to shake the windows.
--
"Well?"
"In a minute!"
Techie sighed as he regarded his furious girlfriend. She had insisted that he come to her room before he headed to the other girl's cell. He had been at a loss as to why Feen hadn't done anything except glare at him since he opened the door and then told him to go. He was still trying to figure her out, which was why he was procrastinating.
For all of the time that he had spent with her, and also at these torturous 'girl talks', he still didn't have much of an idea what went on in her head. Mostly he was glad about that as what came out of her mouth was enough to scare him at the best of times; but right now he wished he had at least a small part of Emma's empathy.
Feen folded her arms, her red hair fluffy around her face as she glared at him.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?"
It suddenly struck him that she was fidgeting, something she only ever did when she was nervous. Although why she should be nervous was beyond him, it wasn't as if he was looking forward to—
With a metal groan, Techie almost slapped his own head.
Of course, she was upset that he wasn't more upset about this whole breeding thing.
He stared at her for a second.
He had seen the other start to pair up and declare their intentions and affections, but what exactly were he and Feen?
They weren't lovers, were they in love? What did she think he was to her and what did she think he thought and… He was getting a headache.
"I don't want to go," he said slowly, "I'd rather stay here with you. There's no girl that I have ever looked at before and none I want to be with like I do you."
He reached forward and took hold of her hands, watching the unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "You know that, right?"
Feen shook her head mutely, "You never say. I'm always the one that pushes and makes the effort, you seem content to go along with it but I was worried that you only did it because you were scared of me, t-that you don't really like me like that and you were glad to have an excuse to go with another girl."
Techie looked at her in astonishment; he had never thought that she would feel anything like that. Feen was always so calm, collected and in control. The idea that she was insecure about his feelings was something that he had never even considered.
Her confidence permeated the very air that she lived in and he was hard pressed to reconcile that with the uncertainty that glimmered in her expression.
"I like you, I care about you. If I didn't want to be with you then I'd hide more," Feen laughed damply at that, "and believe me, I know how to hide by now."
"You like me?" Feen bit her lip. "I like you too, lots."
Techie leaned forward and captured her lips. The kiss was soft and sweet and just that little bit possessive and when he pulled away he was happy to see the sadness had left her eyes and they twinkled again.
"I better go," he said, letting his reluctance infuse his voice and was rewarded as Feen smiled.
"Yeah, have fun," she added hurriedly, "but not too much."
Techie laughed and left her cell with a grin.
--
Sunny tensed as the knock sounded loud in the quiet of her cell. It wasn't that she didn't like Mets, the guy was great and sexy and all, but he wasn't exactly… She sighed. He wasn't what she wanted.
"Come in!" she called and waited for the tousled dark hair to poke its way around the door.
As the door creaked open she was surprised to see it wasn't the right dark hair.
"Biggs?"
"The one and only!" he smirked and shut the door behind him.
"What are you doing here? I thought Mets--"
"Disappointed?" he cut in and she shook her head, a grin blossoming on her face.
"Relieved," she gave him a mischievous look and leapt to her feet, grabbing his collar and fusing her lips to his.
Biggs eyes widened at the sudden feel of her soft mouth against his and then his eyes closed and he pulled her closer. The simple kiss had brought a fire to his stomach and lower and he pulled away to gasp breath. Sunny smiled shyly up at him and he glanced hungrily at her swollen lips.
"More," he muttered and their lips met once more, kissing deeply. Biggs wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her closer, feeling the softness under his hands. So nice and perfect, she fit into his hands just the right way, not too skinny, like Max, but soft and curved, like a woman should be. His tongue asked politely for entrance into her mouth and she opened her lips allowing him inside. They circled slowly in each other's mouths, neither wanting the moment to end. Eventually they were forced to break away.
"Damn, you're beautiful," he whispered still holding her close.
"It's the genes," she giggled as she fought for breath, more emotionally than any physical need—after all she was in the top ten at the Tank.
"So," he drawled, "wanna copulate?"
Sunny stared incredulously at him and then burst into delighted peels of laughter.
Biggs pouted, "I was serious!"
--
Hazel-haired Mouse had been expecting to copulate with the delectable 2IC and occasional CO of Special Ops, it was a privilege and an honour to have been chosen to mate with him—even if she was now deathly afraid of 452—and she had been looking forward to it. This was why she wasn't happy when the door opened and someone else walked in.
Mouse glared up at Mets, "But I was under the impression that I was 494's designated seduction partner."
"Change of plan," Mets shrugged. "You got landed with me, is that a problem?"
Mouse eyed him, letting her eyes drift from his fine silky hair to his Italian looks and fine chiselled features, down his strong sculptured chest and lean legs. He was much better looking than 494 and he didn't have a scary girlfriend. That was a bonus.
She shook her head, her face flushing as her lips curved, "That's fine."
Mets noticed the once over she gave him and a cocky grin graced his features.
"Well what's say we try this seduction thing then, Cara?"
His purred voice sent shivers down her spine, "You already have."
---
"Slow down!" giggled Chance as Pix's lips made their way down her collar and pushed off her shoulder.
"Uh uh!" Pix shook his head, "If I slow down, we'll get interrupted."
"Interrupted?" Chance tugged off her shirt and dropped it on the floor.
"By Renfro," he kissed her shoulder, "Or Biggs," and slipped his fingers under her bra strap and tugged it down, his lips following its slow descent. "Or a frigging earthquake."
"Hmm, really?"
"Uh huh," he murmured against her smooth skin, "it's a conspiracy, we get to make love and something will try to stop us, if it's not Renfro wanting a status report, it'll be Biggs wanting to know why I'm corrupting his baby sister."
"C-corrupting?" she hissed as he found a sensitive spot on her inner elbow.
"Hmm, just our luck, interruption," Pix brought her hand up to his mouth and nibbled on her fingers, "intrusion," he bit on her thumb, "or invasion."
Chance pulled her hand away and giggled at the intense look on his face, "Invasion?"
"It could happen," he teased and pushed her shoulders back until she was lying on the bed and stole her giggles with his lips.
Chance pushed him back and gave herself enough room to sit up and kneel on each side of his legs. She tugged off his shirt and pulled his hands to her hips, letting him rest them there so she could run her hands over him. As she touched his soft skin over rippling muscles she gave thanks to whoever made him such a sculpture of perfection, hell if she looked it up, she could probably find a name.
She bit back a giggle at that and nipped at his throat eliciting a moan from Pix.
As Pix felt her sharp little teeth nick his skin he though back, but he could recall, even with his transgenic memory of anything that he had done in the past 19 years that would merit his being handed such a perfect package of sensuality and innocence as Chance. In fact, now that he thought of it, his actions should possibly have given him a harridan like Renfro—the shudder that ran through him then was one third the idea of Renfro and two thirds what Chance had just done to his ear. Once again he marvelled at having her in his arms. But right now it didn't matter how, just that she was there and nothing had ever felt so right.
Chance let her mouth and tongue follow her fingertips in caressing his skin tracing the contours of his body, committing each detail, each curve and each flaw— if indeed there were any— to memory. A fine sheen of sweat from their actions made him taste salty and purely male and she loved it.
Pix rose up on his knees and pushed her back again, leaning over her body, returning the favour of touching and tasting her, brushing across her body like a whisper driving her to whimpers and throaty moans that did delicious things to his insides.
Pix made quick work of disposing of their clothes and then he paused looking his fill at the woman beneath him.
Her gorgeous brunette hair was strewn over his pillow in waves of silken chocolate and her deep eyes stared up at him with love, devotion and an absolute trust that shook him to his core.
"I love you," he breathed and her answering smile made him shudder.
"Love you too," she whispered and reached up to kiss him lightly changing the mood from hurried urgency to soft exploration. More sensual than seduction….
---
B.J. folded his arms as he leaned against the door in a blatant show of unease and schooled his face into a smirk as he stared at the girl that sat nervously on the bed.
"Don't worry Anna, I'm not about to jump you."
"I never thought you would," she snapped back and shifted around on the bed until she found a comfortable seat.
B.J. rolled his eyes, "Makes a change."
"Can we just drop the hostility please, try for a minute!" Anna asked.
"Whatever," B.J. shrugged and sat on the floor tilting his head back against the cold wall and closing his eyes. "Wake me in two hours."
Anna stared at the boy as he breathed deeply, his long lashes making half moons on his cheeks. He was good looking, all Xs were in unique ways and B.J. looked like an angel; the real kind with wings and a halo. His lightly pink face always looked so healthy and fresh, his deep blue eyes glittered with whatever mood his was feeling and his full lips were a girls envy— even when they were curved into a smirk.
He had a long lean body with his corded muscles very much in evidence. When he sat back, his face relaxed and shirt sleeves rolled up so his forearms with their dark dusting of masculine hair were very much evident, he looked like a high-school girl's fantasy.
And he hated her.
Anna swallowed past the lump in her throat and hurt in her heart and was ashamed to feel tears in her eyes.
They had been such good friends, before that… thing. He had smiled at her every day and listened to her. He had helped her in everyway possible and was always there for her, he shielded her from the rest of the kids who didn't really like her and stood up for her.
She hadn't realised how much she had relied on him until he was taken away to Psy- Ops and there was no one around to stop them from picking on her. No one cared that she was upset or would try to tease her into a smile or cared why she was in a bad mood and they all blamed her for him being in Psy-Ops and then, when he came out, they blamed her for his being different. And to make matters worse, he had turned his back on her.
And it was all her own fault.
Anna brushed the tears from her face angrily as she gazed at his prone form. She'd been a bitch and she knew it, but he'd always taken it and she hadn't really thought that he'd stop. Until she went too far.
A sob caught in her throat.
B.J. looked up at the muffled sound and was horrified as tears spilled down Anna's face.
"Anna?"
"I'm sorry, okay?" she snapped. "I w-was hurt and in pain and you just w-wanted to go on and on about how great it was and all I wanted was a friend t-t-to tell me that it'd be okay and y-you didn't! You didn't understand and then you went away and it was an accident and imissedyou," she sobbed, "I missed you!"
B.J.'s jaw dropped, "What?"
Anna sniffed loudly and swiped her face with her fist.
"We were friends, you were my only friend and then you were gone!"
"Not by choice!" he bit out and raked a hand through his hair. "I didn't particularly want to go to Psy-Ops, Anna!"
"I didn't want you to go, it was an accident," she pleaded.
"Right," he scoffed. "An accident. Why are we talking about this, it happened, its over!"
"No!" she cried, "It's not over, you won't talk to me, at least not civilly and I don't want you to hate me!"
Her shoulders shook as she let the sobs overwhelm her.
B.J. slammed his back against the wall as he listened to her cry. It had been a long time since Anna had cried around him and even longer since he had been this close to her. Since that fateful day he had avoided her like the plague but had thought that, even if she noticed, she didn't care. Well, it looked like he had been wrong.
"I don't hate you," he said quietly.
Anna glanced up at him, "You don't?"
"I wanted to," he sighed. "For the longest time I wanted to hate you and I guess… at least for a while I did."
He paused and stared at the ceiling. "But I got over it quick, it wasn't your fault."
"You stopped talking to me."
"Just because I didn't blame you didn't mean that I wasn't mad, Anna," he said firmly. "What you said was out of order and it frigging hurt. I hurt."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah," he said mirthlessly. It was the same old story, she said something, he reacted, she snapped and he got hurt and then she would apologise. Nothing changed.
"No, I-I'm sorry for what I said back then," her tears had stopped as she regarded him. "I wanted to hurt you but I knew it wasn't true."
"Can we leave it?" B.J. didn't want to rehash the whole thing again.
"Please?" Anna slipped off the bed and kneeled in front of him. "I know that I say it a lot and I know that you don't believe me because I screw up so much but you mean a lot to me, you always have. I tried so hard to get into Special Ops because I knew you would be and I thought that if we had to spend time together we'd be friends again."
B.J. stared at her incredulously. "What?"
Anna chuckled damply, "You were the only one who was ever nice to me; everyone else hated me and wouldn't put up with me. But you were always there like my own Saint and then when you came back from Psy-Ops and wouldn't talk to me it was so hard to find reasons to go on. I had no friends, no family and no fun. I missed you and so I watched you."
"Watched me," B.J. repeated carefully.
"I watched you get edgy and bitter and I felt so guilty, and I watched you go from sweet to sarcastic and it killed me. Then you started to work harder and so did I, when Loughran announced the Special Ops program I saw that gleam that meant you were going for it and so did I."
"Dammit, Anna!" B.J. said amazed and sat back.
"I wasn't going to tell you, ever!" she confessed and pushed her hair away from her face. "But B.J., I know I don't deserve it, after everything but please can we at least attempt to be friends?"
B.J. looked at the girl with the tear-stained face, her eyes open and vulnerable reminding him of the young girl that stood shaking in the corridor asking him the same thing. He held the power of happiness over her then and didn't know it when he had crushed her world. He knew now, but would that change anything?
B.J. raked his eyes over her.
----
"Just move it over!"
"No way, I'm not letting you get that—watch it!"
"Oh come on, just let go a little!"
"No!"
"Ouch your nails are digging in!"
"Baby! To the left!"
"Ok, now that's not natural."
"Put your arm down then."
"Like that?"
"I'll smack you!"
"Promises, promises, aha!"
"No, don't!"
"Almost… there."
"No!"
"Got it, one… two… three, I win!" Zan crowed loudly and Emma folded her arms across her chest.
"That's the last time I'm playing thumb war with you!"
Zan chuckled, "How about I let you win next time?"
She narrowed her eyes before her face spilt in a grin, "Jerk!"
"I wonder how the others are getting on." Zan sat back in his chair and stared at the cell door.
Emma closed her eyes and let her feelings extend, "Everyone is calming down I think; there are a few upset but for the most part its okay."
She sighed in relief.
Zan moved over and sat behind her pulling her into his chest with a grin. "That's great; at least you don't have the urge to implode right now."
Emma giggled and moved back into his embrace, "So what do we tell Renfro tomorrow?"
"That copulation between 148 and 219 was successful—why ruin a good line with the truth?"
Emma bit her lip and he felt her tense, "Em?"
"I just hope that she doesn't find out the truth or we'll all be in trouble. I-I don't think I could handle going to Psy-Ops again."
Zan clutched her tightly, "Don't worry Emma, I wouldn't let you. Now sleep for a while, you seem exhausted."
Emma turned on her side and snuggled against Zan's broad chest, content that there was someone to watch out for her.
---
Drew watched idly as Link flattened himself against the corner of the room. She wanted to giggle in amusement at the abject fear on his face of being in the same room as the feared Psycho of Seattle, 633.
Honestly, brutalise one or two Trainers and they avoid you forever.
Of course having that reputation meant that she was usually left pretty much alone by the other Units which was fine by her. She'd never really been much of a social body anyway.
All she really wanted was a good book and to curl up somewhere warm to relax. She grinned at the thought of any of her Unit hearing that from her, they'd think she was a clone.
The truth was that she had finally found her niche, and it was right there. She had two best friends now – Max and Dek— and one incredible guy who was devoted to her and for the first time in her life she was accepted and respected by her peers, instead of being thought odd or scary. Well, okay she was still thought of as scary but that was more a standard than a hindrance. It was actually quite funny.
A shuffling made her look up at Link who was staring at her out of the corner of his eye, too afraid to even start to make seduction plans.
She flexed her muscles and watched him tense, a fine sheen of sweat appearing on his bottom lip.
Drew bit her lip—oh, this was fun!
----
Carrot pushed the door closed and edged Tara back until she was standing against the cool iron, his body mere millimetres away from hers.
"Got ya!" he growled and Tara's body gave an involuntary shiver, causing Carrot to have the most delectable vibrations to run through him.
Anything even vaguely resembling will power was thrown wholeheartedly to the wind and, as Tara's back collided with the solid iron door in her cell, their mouths met in a ravenous connection of teeth and tongues.
Carrot seemed to be taking the opportunity to thoroughly explore Tara's mouth, as if committing it to memory. His tongue danced with hers as if he hadn't tasted her in months and the urgency caused her own tongue to undertake a frantic battle to gain control. It was a battle of wills that neither minded losing.
It was clear, as Carrot bit tantalisingly upon her lower lip, that come hell, high water or naked pictures of Director Renfro, this was going to happen.
Her missions and his insecurities had interfered enough with their mating and this time they were going to complete the mating process.
By the end of the night they were going to own each other.
Carrot dragged off her t-shirt and threw it aside, discarding the necessary garment before seizing her wrists, causing short-lived mewed protests at her hands being denied the privilege to roam over his body.
But protest soon turned to stifled moans of pure pleasure as his lips and teeth grazed her jawbone with tiny nips and kisses, before turning his attention to her neck, biting hard and sucking to cause red marks, a display of his possession, quickly soothed by his wondrous tongue.
Tara felt her nails dig into his t-shirt and she wrenched off the offending shirt so that she could reach his skin and do some exploring of her own, not even caring how her hands had escaped his captive grasp.
Carrot, meanwhile, began to run his tongue agonisingly slowly over her exposed chest, eliciting a cry of shock mingled with an overwhelming amount of pleasure when once again his teeth were engaged in stimulating her already tingling senses. This sweet torment seemed to go on for a heavenly eternity, before the delectable sensations of licking, sucking and biting were repeated on her right hand side. With one final, deliciously slow flick of his tongue she felt him release his grip on her wrists, and trail his mouth and fingers ever lower, though keeping a precautionary hand upon Tara's hip, having already felt her legs begin to tremble.
Tara pushed him suddenly so that he stumbled and looked up at her with a heated gaze.
"Wh--" his voice was thick and she grinned wolfishly before grabbing his hand.
"Bed," she commanded and dragged him over to the small cot which really wasn't up to the job of holding two furiously mating transgenics and gave way sometime during the second time.
Not that they noticed.
----
The girl stared at Techie who was blushing wildly.
"Uh, sorry 886, I didn't mean to say that."
"NO, no, I-it's fine. Really," he swallowed wondering how on earth he ever got cornered into this.
"So… um 835, D-director Renfro said that we are to choose names during this… thing. S-so what do you want to be called?"
She shrugged her curly blonde hair rustling around her shoulders, "No idea."
Techie glanced at her; she seemed sweet enough, totally clueless. She'd be what Alec called a Bimbo or airhead, although that wasn't nice. She seemed more nervous than he was and that was saying something.
"Uh, how about Barbie?"
She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "No. Something a little less… dumb? I did really well on Heuristics and Aerial procedures."
"Oh, y-you like flying?"
She nodded, enthusiastically, "Uh huh, I was going to part of the Blue Jays."
The Blue Jays were the Manticore equivalent of the Air Force. They had all been taught to fly during "recreation" time but the Blue Jays were those with special proficiency at it, they were the elite aerial unit of the facility.
"Wow," Techie hated to fly. He, along with Emma, refused to get into the air as often as the rest of them. But at least he hadn't thrown up over the controls. "Well, how about Jay then?"
"Jay is good," she smiled shyly and then blushed. "Are-aren't we supposed to be seducing?"
"The truth is Jay that uh… well, I… uh."
"Is this to do with 555?" Jay asked. "I see the two of you around a lot together."
"Yeah," Techie nodded. "She's my, uh… mine."
"She's scary," Jay giggled. "So I guess we won't be kissing or anything."
"Sorry," he shrugged.
"That's okay, I kind of like 133 anyway."
"Mets?" he said without thinking and Jay frowned.
"Who?"
"Uh, we… Special Ops and Unit 8 chose names earlier- he's called Mets. I'm Techie."
"Mets," she tried it out. "I like it."
Techie grinned.
If by her liking Mets, he didn't have to make out with this girl and risk Feen's ire then so did he!
----
Dek had been surprised when he had walked into Feen's cell to see her sitting on her bed staring at the ceiling.
He never really spent much time with her, not even when he had been in her Unit. He knew that she was best friends with Chance and got on with Techie to a certain extent depending on who you asked, but he had never really had cause to talk to her before.
"Before you say anything, I think you should know that I have no interest in mating, copulating or otherwise with you," she startled him as she spoke and he shrugged, his hands deep in his pockets as he turned his amused gaze to her.
"Uh huh."
Well, neither did he.
"I like Techie, he likes me," she suddenly looked fierce, "and if that tramp 835 touched him I'll break her into tiny pieces."
"Good to know," Dek bit back a grin even though he was slightly impressed. So Feen was prepared to stand by Techie, was she? Well, that was good.
"So I decide," she carried on, "that since we won't be doing anything, it'd be a waste of time not to do anything and so I… could use your help in my med classes."
Dek started, "Say what?"
This wasn't what he had been expecting at all. Not that he had wanted to make out with the redhead but for her to ask him to tutor her? Well, that was new— but welcome. Being part of Special Ops meant that they were well ahead on the training that the others received, even those in Unit 8. It was nice to share that sometimes.
He didn't need to let her know that.
Feen bit her lip, "I know that you excel in medical discipline and I excel in Computers and Information Tech but I am lousy at Field Med. I hate all that messy stuff. So you can help me as the more experienced soldier." She nodded satisfied with her reasoning.
Dek watched her for a second suddenly realising what it was that attracted Techie to her. She had fire and drive but at the same time was so damn unsure of herself; he could see her vulnerability in her eyes as she asked him for help. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and flopped onto the bed.
"What the hell, I don't have anything better to do."
---
Skye raised an eyebrow and glared at Flex who occupied her bed.
"So you march in here, declare you are my seduction partner but you're tired from kicking the crap out of Victor for the privilege and could do with some sleep."
"Pretty much," he yawned, careful to keep his smile from her eagle eyes. She was dangerous, especially when she smiled like that. But he couldn't help it, she was so much fun to rile, it was like gently teasing a playful tiger-- you were never sure when it would roll over and let you scratch its stomach or maul your hand off.
Skye smirked, "You are an arrogant ass, you know?"
"What is it with you Manticore girls and your fixation on asses? Max is always threatening to kick Alec's ass, Drew always offers to kick Dek's ass. Feen says she's going to bounce Techie on his ass, it's very unfeminine."
"Bite me!"
"On the ass?"
Skye slapped his head and he raised his hands to defend himself. "Hey, don't mess the hair!"
"Fool!" she grinned and slid onto the bed next to him, curling against his warm body.
"So are we gonna get naked?" he asked bemused and she rolled her eyes.
"Like you could seduce me, fancy-boy, you are so not in my class."
He raised an eyebrow, "Is that a challenge?"
Skye opened her mouth but before she could say anything Flex rolled over quickly, pinning her underneath him.
"Off fool!" she glared and he chuckled as she wriggled under him.
"Ooh, do that again!"
"Don't make me hurt you!" she tried to keep her tone harsh but couldn't help the amusement creeping in.
Flex lowered his head and his eyes danced as he rubbed her nose with his own, "Oh please do!"
He cut off any reply as his lips touched hers.
----
Cece really wasn't sure how she felt about this seduction program, although her heart had leaped into her throat when she had first figured it out and she had brief fantasies of being paired with Alec, her long time crush.
Of course, that wasn't tactically advantageous as Max would probably have ripped her head off for even looking at him.
But still.
She'd despaired when she had been paired with Carrot and abruptly agreed to exchange with Tara.
There were very few people that she would have done that for but she both respected and liked Tara who had never looked down on her or made her feel like a bitch. That was probably helped by the fact that Tara wasn't really around much when she had accused Max of making Alec go to Psy-Ops and therefore making an enemy of the Raven-haired girl and her fast friends like Drew: the psychopath.
So, she had exchanged and was now sitting here with X5-310, otherwise known as Harley, a broad dark-skinned transgenic with a come-hither smile and perfect teeth, nibbling on her ear.
He had obviously taken the Seduction lesson to heart and when he had spoken to her she felt tingles right down to her toes. He was great looking, he was sexy— okay, he wasn't Alec—but then there was only one Alec. She could have done worse than Harley, she supposed as his hands unbuttoned her shirt and slid his mouth down her jaw.
Her mind switched off as he pushed her back on the bed and went to work fulfilling his assignment.
He was doing all the right things to make her insides quiver and her breathing grew ragged as he took her to new heights. His delighted smile dragged a matching one from her, making the act more intimate and suddenly it was more than just copulation.
They made short work of their clothes and Cece became an enthusiastic participant in the exotic dance, drawing teasing looks and enticing gasps until Harley took command; and as she finally threw her head back and keened, Cece swore she felt the ground move and something explode.
"Did the earth move for you too?" Harley teased and she giggled, trying to catch her breath.
As her breathing settled down and her mind returned to her, Cece heard a dull roaring in her ears and her eyes snapped open. That wasn't her imagination; that was real.
"Was that you?" Harley asked confused.
Cece shook her head. "It came from outside."
"The bell?" he groaned as he got off her and Cece hissed.
"You okay?" he asked worriedly. "Did I hurt you?"
She smirked at him, "Only in a good way."
Harley chuckled and then sniffed quickly, "Can you smell—"
"Fire!" Cece leaped to her feet, ignoring her nudity and hurried to the door, before she could pull it open the locking mechanism slid home and they were barred in.
Harley stood on the bed and stared hard out of her little window, "It looks like one of the buildings is on fire!"
"So lockdown is standard procedure in case of a fire," Cece shrugged and made her way back to the bed, grabbing her discarded shirt.
Harley bit his lip, "You sure you're okay, 20-Cece?"
Cece smiled at him, he was so damn sexy when he was being shy. "Come back down here and kiss me already."
Harley hurried to obey and Cece melted into his touch, thinking how much she could get used to this when there was another explosion. She dragged her lips away from his and they exchanged glances.
"Okay, that didn't sound right."
---
Aiden wrenched his pants back on and handed X52- 926 her t-shirt. The pretty Chinese girl bit her lip.
"What is it, 344?"
"Aiden," he reminded her with a smile and she coloured prettily. "I don't know but two explosions aren't standard."
The young girl, who he had named Lou, pulled her clothes on quickly and tried to straighten her long, black, dishevelled hair.
"What do we do, Sir?"
Aiden glanced at her, she was a sweetheart and had been so excited at being chosen to pair with one of the elite Special Ops— let alone the 'aide', or third in command, of the group— that he had a heck of a time to get her to relax enough to make sure that it was something that she really wanted and not just what she expected. She looked at him in almost hero-worship and it was a little unsettling.
Aiden bit his lip, "If the facility is under attack they will let us out to fight for them, we need to be ready."
"What if we aren't under attack?" she asked innocently and Aiden raked a hand through his hair.
Then they were screwed.
---
Coco smashed the hinges of the door with the metal bunk and grinned as the iron buckled. Maybe it was because they were soldiers, or maybe it was the animal on her, but something about destruction really made her feel better.
"We're so going to get into trouble," Steve sighed as he hefted the other end of the heavy bank and they rammed the door again. It shuddered.
"Two massive explosions, Steve," Coco said quickly. "I don't know about you but that says 'attack' to me, the system automatically locks down and they'll be too busy defending the facility to let us out."
Steve nodded, that made sense anyway. He sighed.
"Again!" Steve rammed the door and felt it buckle more on the hinge side. "If I pull a muscle you get my physiotherapy bill!"
"Wimp!" Coco gritted her teeth and pulled back. "Again!"
----
"So climbing the walls is a literal thing for you?" Chance teased as Pix looked over his shoulder and grinned at her.
He was standing on her bunk and pulling on the window bars. "They have to come off!"
"Why?" she giggled as he leaned back and pulled again, his muscles straining. "Don't you think you've exerted yourself enough tonight?"
She was feeling deliciously alive and just wanted to curl up with him and rest before they did it again. Once they had heard those two explosions and Pix had seen the dancing flames over the facility his face had taken on a strange look and he had handed over her clothes and told her to get dressed. Now he was pulling on the window bars and scratching at the concrete.
Pix flopped back down on the bed, blowing a strand of dark hair out of his eyes as he stared at her. It was at times like this that he wondered about those brought up in Seattle. It wasn't that they were innocent, by any means, but they seemed to have developed this certain naivety that often confused him and Max.
Like the Seduction lessons. Whilst Flex and Biggs laughed about getting some action and the pairings, Pix and Max had immediately become concerned and sceptical of the motivations, expectations and ramifications of the program.
It could have been a factor of being brought up at the Wyoming facility where all of the Trainers actions and programs seemed specially designed to damage them in some way—especially him and Max— and they had grown up to expect that from their superiors.
But whatever it was about those in Seattle who seemed to miss some of the more subtle power plays they had always gotten along quite well. But for Max and Pix who were, now, naturally sceptical, they found the occasional lapse of anything resembling cynicism in the others, quite frustrating.
"Chance," he bit his lip before continuing. "Back in Wyoming after a particularly lame prank I was sentenced to data input in one of the offices. I spent a whole day putting numbers into the computer. But you know me; I had to snoop to see if there was anything I could use for a trick."
"Trust you," she giggled as he kissed her.
"I found a memo talking about something called 'Scorched Earth' policy. What it means is that if one of the facilities is compromised, or under attack Manticore wants to be able to deny the existence of the program. To do that they need to get rid of the evidence."
"Us?" her eyes widened and the playfulness dropped from her face as she realised what he was saying. He winced, it was necessary but it was like kicking a kitten.
"That first explosion could have been us under attack, so could the second. But if they haven't let us out to fight by now that means that exposure is a risk—a risk that they can't afford to take. We are expendable as far as Manticore goes and I think we're all in trouble."
The teasing light was gone from his eyes as he stared at her seriously.
"We need to get out," she hissed and stood on the bunk, grabbing the bars. Pix nodded and stood by her side holding on to the metal.
"On the count of three."
---
Coco and Steve grinned as the door buckled again under their onslaught and finally gave way enough for them to grasp the edge of the metal frame with their hands.
Steve gripped the top edge and pulled downwards as if peeling the door away from the frame and Coco let her fingers help as the metal groaned and bent. When there was a gap in one corner of the door big enough for Coco to wriggle through she turned to Steve.
"Okay, I'll head to main command and open the doors, meet me in the main quad in twenty minutes."
"I'll need to find Skye," he reminded her as he gave her a leg up.
"When the doors open Max and Alec will muster the forces and gather the troops," she said confidently.
Steve nodded, accepting and agreeing with her confidence in their COs. "Now, go!"
She pushed away from his hand and wriggled through the small opening, her upper body catching on the sharp metal edges that tore her shirt. She fell through the rest of the hole, tucking into a small ball and rolling into the hallway.
As she touched the floor the sirens started to ring, signalling to everyone that wasn't already aware that there was a fire. It blared loudly down the deserted halls and echoed shrilly.
Coco had to stand on tiptoe to see Steve's worried face through the torn door.
"Go!" he called over the noises the fire- alarm was making, "see you in twenty minutes in the yard."
"Count on it!" she grinned, blowing him a kiss as she sprinted down the hallway towards command.
---
Pix felt the bars begin to give way under his hands and cautioned Chance to stand back. With a final tug the iron rungs cracked away from the stone and, in a shower of dust and grit, Pix held them in his hands.
He coughed from the dust and dropped the bars on the bed. Then he wrapped Chance's sheets over his hand and punched out the glass from the remaining frame, making sure to catch all of the shards so that they didn't cut themselves when they crawled through. A stiff breeze flowed through the window reminding them that Seattle nights had turned chilly. He held his hand out to Chance and gave her a lop-sided grin.
"Come on, baby, let's get outta here."
Chance waited for him to slip through the hole and find a foothold on the outside drainpipe before dropping to the ground a storey below. He held his arms out with his usual mischievous grin, "I'll catch you, lady fair!"
Chance rolled her eyes at his theatrics and crawled through the hole, grabbing onto the drainpipe and sliding down to stand besides him.
"Not a damsel in distress!" she teased and he placed a kiss on her nose.
"Of course not!"
"What do we do now?"
Pix considered, "I can bet that one of the others is heading towards the command centre to open the doors."
"But we were all locked in," Chance protested.
Pix laughed, "You think that would hold Max? Or Alec?"
Chance chuckled thinking of Max being locked in. The girl was nothing if not resourceful.
"Good point," she conceded.
"So, if the doors open then we'll need to marshal forces to get out."
"Biggs," Chance bit her lip and Pix grabbed her hand.
"Let's go find him, then."
Chance reached up to kiss him quickly before they hurried off to search for their family.
Pix just hoped that Biggs wouldn't notice the bite on Chance's neck.
---
Mets helped Mouse on with her jacket and pulled her close for a warm hug, after a few seconds of stiffness she eased into the embrace and let her hands curl on his shoulders.
"Uh… thank you, 133," she said hesitantly. "I was nervous about all of this."
Mets smiled down at the dark curls, "Its all right 901, I know that this is a bit overwhelming."
He sat her down on the bed next to him and smiled at her.
"S-so do you think we'll be in lockdown long?" she stammered, trying to avoid his knowing smile. It was one thing to know that she had just copulated with the man; it was another to remember in exquisite detail the things that he had made her feel.
She blushed as she looked at those hands that had brought her to such dizzying heights.
"Hey, Mouse?"
"Mouse?" she frowned and Mets grinned sheepishly.
"Well they did say that we needed names, and you have the cutest nose, Mouse seemed to fit."
"Mouse?" she wasn't convinced. "What about you?"
"Mets," he shrugged at her questioning face. "Don't ask."
"Okay," she replied softly.
They both looked up as the fire-alarm began to ring.
TBC…..
Monday. I'll put the review replies at the end of the Epilogue for ya. way too tired to put them here.