Rainbow Connection Chapter 10: Deception, a dark angel fanfic

RAINBOW CONNECTION

by Newly Human

Synopsis: Inside the facility, Kaia gets caught off guard. Friendship, intrigue, action, and most importantly… hope.

Timeline: The following takes place in between seasons 1 and 2.

Disclaimer: Dark Angel the series and all it's characters belong to Fox, Cameron/Eglee Productions and other respective owners. I don't mean to infringe so please don't sue. Kaia Kilbourne and the plot are mine.

Authors Note: I've got a lot of assignments coming up, but I'll try to be quick with the next few updates. I know it's torturous… that's kinda the point. -- Newly Human

CHAPTER 10
Deception

"Oh no," Krit heard Logan mumble to himself.

"What?" He asked. "What did you find?"

"Just came across a memo sent out this afternoon." Logan explained. He ran his hand through his hair nervously. "It says that from tonight the usual guards are being pulled from patrol."

"And?" Krit asked, sensing that it was not going to be good.

"And..." Logan continued. "A contingent of X5's is being put in their place."

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"What is this all about?" Kaia asked, walking towards the waiting soldier. She tried her best to appear confident and not in the least bit worried, despite the fact that she was scared out of her mind. Stupid security guards she could handle, but not an X5 who could snap her neck before she had a chance to take her next breath.

"Just a routine check ma'am." He assured her as he took her security pass and ID to look at.

She could tell that he was covering up his growing suspicion with that casual comment. Kaia waited as he continued to look at her photo, then up at her to compare the images.

"Is anything wrong?" Kaia asked, wishing he would hurry so she could get out of there.

"No ma'am." The X5 looked up and flashed her a charming smile. Kaia couldn't help but be charmed. Manticore made them so damn good-looking.

"Just trying to be thorough." He explained, cockiness creeping into his voice.

Logan had replaced Dr. Howard's picture with her own, so Kaia wasn't worried about not looking like who she was pretending to be. Nevertheless, the way the soldier continued to scrutinise the photo made her nervous. She suddenly realised he was sizing her up. The soldier was buying time as he assessed her, trying to determine whether or not anything was out of place.

Kaia gathered her strength.

"I don't have all night, soldier." She complained. Kaia gave the X5 a bored look. She was supposed to be senior, after all.

"There are other corridors you need to be patrolling…" She lectured, leaning closer to read his barcode number from the front of his uniform. "…X5-494."

He was visibly taken aback by her sudden attitude and snapped to attention. "Yes, ma'am."

Kaia held her hand out. When he didn't respond she raised her eyebrows expectantly at him.

"ID?" She reminded him.

"Oh." He quickly handed her the passes and gave a salute, all traces of arrogance gone. Suspicious or not, he had no reason to keep her there, and he wasn't about to question an authority figure. Manticore didn't make them to be independent; they made them to follow orders.

"Sorry, ma'am." He apologised, eyes firmly fixed on a point in the distance.

"Thank you." Kaia replied flatly. She turned and briskly continued down the hall, trying to hold her air of authority. X5-494 watched her curiously for a moment, then disappeared around the corner.

Kaia let out the breath she hadn't even realised she was holding. She heard words in her ear.

"I'm ok, Logan." She assured the worried voice. Kaia sighed deeply. "I can't believe that worked."

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Security Control Room, Manticore

Richie had finally located a baseball game broadcasting somewhere in the area. Unfortunately, the image constantly bounced and blurred, and in the end Richie could only make out the green shape of the field and little else. He moved in closer to try to make out the commentary, but that too only came in bits and pieces, making absolutely no sense.

Frustrated, he started giving the monitor a thumping on its side.

"Hey!" Pete stopped him. "That's expensive equipment you're damaging."

Richie leaned back, looking like he had given up. "There are more expensive things." He said, nodding towards one of the monitors Pete had been watching. On it, two X5's were marching down a corridor carrying out their patrol duty.

Pete rolled his eyes. Richie was always a little jealous of the Manticore soldiers, though he never admitted it. Pete continued looking over all the other screens. Everything was still, apart from the occasional guard or X5. Suddenly, some movement caught Pete's attention. Someone in a white lab coat had just entered one of the laboratories.

"Who's that?" he asked Richie, who had decided to give the baseball game idea another try.

Richie glanced over to where he was pointing. The long dark hair looked familiar.

"Must be that new surgeon. Howard, I think her name is." Richie remembered.

Pete was busy pulling up the entry logs on the computer.

"According to this she left 5 minutes ago." Pete informed.

Richie sighed. Did he have to do everything? He looked further down the log list and pointed.

"There," he said, tapping the screen. "She came back in. Steven verified."

"Oh." Pete relaxed.

"What's with all the hard questions?" Richie observed. "You looking to get a promotion now that Fred's gone?"

"I'm just on edge." Pete explained. "Those X5 rogues came back yesterday. What if they decide to come back again tonight?"

"Nah." Richie brushed it off. "Three nights in a row? They wouldn't dare."

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"What time is it?" Logan asked Krit anxiously. It seemed like this was taking forever.

Krit looked at his watch. "1:30." He reported. "Syl should be in place by now."

He spoke into the comm. link. "Syl, what's your status?"

No answer.

"Is it the interference?" He asked Logan.

"I'm not sure." Logan responded, checking into it on his laptop.

Krit tried again. "Syl? Report!"

"I'm here." Syl's voice came over the link. She sounded distracted.

"Is everything ok?" Logan asked.

"Yeah." Syl answered casually, but she didn't sound like her usual self. "Everything's fine. I'm in position, standing by."

"Affirmative." Krit ended the transmission.

Logan gave him a curious look. The whole exchange had sounded odd to him. Krit just shook his head; he was just as confused as Logan.

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Kaia moved through the rows of lab benches and towards the connecting office. When she got to the smaller room she didn't even bother turning on the ceiling light. Instead she headed straight to the desk and flicked on the table lamp. Kaia sat down in the large chair and looked around at the desk in front of her. The lamp's glow was just bright enough for her to work on the nearby computer, but it also cast some light on the papers that were strewn everywhere on the table. Reports lay open, half mingled with others.

"Wow…" Kaia whispered to herself. "The doctor's messy."

She turned to the computer and started working. Kaia still had to find where they kept the Nemacol. Luckily, her computer skills were just as good as Logan's.

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In the Control Room Pete was watching Kaia through the monitors.

"What's she doing?" He wondered aloud.

"She's a doctor… Probably something doctor-y." Richie was still distracted by the baseball game. The reception had gotten slightly better and he could see dots where the players should be.

Pete didn't respond. His eyes lay fixed on the small figure working furiously on the computer. Suddenly, something in the corner of the screen drew his eye. The room was quite dark, but he thought he saw something in the shadows. Yes, there it was again. Someone was hiding there.

Pete leaned in closer, as if that would make the picture clearer. He saw the figure start to emerge from the shadows and approach Kaia from behind. With a blur the figure had wrapped an arm around Kaia's neck. Soon Kaia was slumped over in her chair. Dead or unconscious, Pete didn't know. Speechless, Pete grabbed Richie's shirt roughly, pulling him towards the monitor to see for himself. Richie's cries of protest were cut short when he laid eyes on the slumped body. They watched as the darkly clad figure went around to the other side of the desk and looked up at the security camera. Pete and Richie stared helpless and dumbstruck as the blonde girl pulled the surveillance camera's cords and the screen went blank.

It was Syl.