Title: Total Recall, Chapter 17

Author: CSIphile/redwing

AN1: Thank you yet again, reviews are appreciated and read with enjoyment! Please keep it up.

AN2: GO PATRIOTS! 2004 Super Bowl champs!

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Chapter 17: Code 946

"Team One…report."

"Ready."

"Team Two…report."

"Ready."

Alec listens as the mission commander checks on each group poised at different areas around the AmGen headquarters, just outside the fence line. When he finally gets to Max and Alec, Team Four, Alec responds that they are ready.

Taking a deep breath, he looks over at Max, who is crouched like he is outside the fence, in practically the same spot they were for the recon job. They are covered by dense brush, no one -- not even their mission companions -- can see them. They are waiting for Team One to shut off the security system so they can get in. This time, it will be easier; no need to avoid sensors or other complicated security measures, giving Alec more time to get a message to Terminal City. They have 15 minutes to copy and wipe the hard drive clean. Based on what Alec saw last time, it should only take him 10, leaving him five to get into Dix's system and get off an email. Tight, but he's confident he can do it.

"Ready?" he asks her.

"Yup."

Reaching out, he grasps her hand lightly; they can't speak freely or their voice activated mics would send any conversation they have through everyone's headsets.

"Ok, T-minus 30 seconds."

Alec rolls his eyes at the CO pretentious use of "t-minus," and Max has to hold back a laugh.

Pretentious or not, 30 seconds later, the lights go off on the cameras, and the two transgenics move -- following the same path they had a few weeks earlier. The others enter at different locations, planting bombs.

 Once they easily access the CEO's office and computer, Alec whips out a mini-disk and quickly starts downloading every file stored in the company's vast server array. Max is watching the door and turns to him, nodding.

He nods back at her, still clear. Complete silence -- that was the agreement; their only communication is through Manticore-taught hand signals and a few signals they came up with themselves.

Moving away from the door, Max walks around the desk and sees that Alec's downloads are right on schedule.

"Come on," he is whispering at the computer, when a sudden explosion rocks the building. Papers go flying and expensive pieces of artwork crash to the floor. The two transgenics stay standing though.

Looking at a destroyed original Manet, Alec shakes his head. Coulda fenced that for a small fortune.

"The hell!" Max screams, and looks at her watch. "They aren't supposed to blow for another five."

Talking into the mic, Max asks the CO what happened.

"We encountered some resistance -- not a problem, 452 -- carry on."

Repeating Alec's earlier gesture, and rolling her eyes, Max looks at the other transgenic who is giving her a similar expression. She raises her hands and swiftly gives him a message regarding their CO.

Jackass.

Brown noser, he responds.

Self-important prick.

Alec almost laughs at that, but stifles the sound. Instead, he tells her to cut it out, and shakes his head.

"Almost done…almost done," he hisses, and his transgenic hearing picks up screaming through the headset, coming from elsewhere in the building. She must have heard the same thing, because Max moves quickly to the door, shaking her head. Not their floor.

Yes! He motions and pulls out the disk, placing it back in the case and in his pants' pocket for safe-keeping.

That task accomplished, Alec accesses the Internet and easily navigates to a hidden webspace -- entering all the appropriate codes, gaining access. He looks up at Max and sighs heavily….

"Here goes nothing…."

…And starts typing.

Dix happens to be at the computer terminal when a beep alerts him that someone is accessing the contact site. Sitting straight up, he waits; they weren't expecting an order anytime soon.

Alec is typing their predetermined message as fast as possible -- it's not long, and rather cryptic, but hopefully Dix will recognize it for what it is. A call to arms.

Alec presses the send button…

…and the lights go out.

"Shit," he hisses.

"Please tell me you got it out." She is intentionally vague.

"God, I hope so. Let's get out of here."

Just as they clear the building, several C4 bombs go off in the lower levels, collapsing the entire facility on itself.

Turning around, Alec notices Max has stopped and is standing in the grass, watching the buildings behind her burn. The orange glow around her makes Max appear as an angel. Alec smiles at that, and touches her shoulder, indicating retreat.

She nods, and they head to the rendezvous point, hoping that their message was sent and received.

Dix eyes the 'Inbox,' for lack of a better term, as he has been for the last ten minutes. The entire time lost in between confused and curious.

Squinting his face, he sighs slightly. Lost in his thoughts, he misses the other person coming into the room. Until they place a large hand on his shoulder, and Dix nearly jumps right out of the chair.

"Damn, Mole! Do I need to put a bell on you?"

Mole gives him a look. "What is up your ass, buddy?"

He purses his lips and turns to the screen, tapping lightly on the blinking email. "That."

"That? What about 'that'? Isn't it a supply email?"

"No."

"No?"

Dix shakes his head. "No. It's weird though. You know that all the contacts and suppliers have to email us from the same IP address every time, 'cause otherwise I can reject the email and send it off into cyberspace, never to be seen again…"

"Was it a hack?" Mole interrupts.

"No, let me finish, would ya?" Mole waves his hands for Dix to continue. "Anyway, whoever sent it knew not only where to find the Web site, but all the codes to send the email. It wasn't hacked, it was just…entered."

"From where?"

"Don't know. None of our regular contacts, and the connection was lost before I could check. The only way to know is to open the thing."

Mole contemplates this for only a second before giving his vote. "Open it."

"Mole, if I open a virus, the whole shebang could be destroyed."

"Open it -- I have a feeling."

Dix sighs and turns back to the computer bank. "Ok, I'm opening potentially a program-destroying email on a 'feeling'. They teach you that at Manticore?"

Mole pokes at him lightly, grumbling, "Just do it, would you?"

Squinting, Dix clicks the 'accept' button and waits for the whole thing to shut down. Surprised when it doesn't, the email opens without incident.

Leaning forward, he reads the message:

D-

We have previously lost cargo, found, stuck in transit in Boise. Trying to get through government red tape, some confusion for a while. What we have would help with the troublemakers, the younger ones anyway.

Try to contact you again in three days. Might have more news then, this place is a pit, someone should really just nuke it, a Code 946, perhaps.

"That's it?" Mole says, and throws his hands up before something occurs to him. "Wait…we have supplies coming through Boise? And what's a 'Code 946'?"

"No, we don't, and…." The little man says, reading the message again, slower. "Holy shit!"

At Dix's use of the epitaph, Mole turns to him. "What?"

"I don't know how they did it, I really don't. But it's Max and Alec." Dix starts furiously typing at the keyboard, running through screens so fast, Mole's head damn near spins off.

"Wha…?" he starts, before realizing what Dix already had. "Oh, man. I love that guy. Smart…very smart. 946 is 452 and 494 added together."

Nodding, Dix turns back to him. "They are in Boise; my guess is the facility is disguised as a juvenile detention center….'What we have would help with the troublemakers, the younger ones anyway'. And man, I think they want to bring down Manticore again. I'll start researching detention centers in Boise -- shouldn't be too hard now that I know what I'm looking for. Probably call Logan and have him start looking at other places across the country. If they want to take down Manticore, we have to do some serious damage. Just blowing up one facility won't do a damn thing. We need to get to the core, expose the whole mess."

"Agreed. I'll let the masses know."

Dix nods sort of at the lizard's retreating back, calling to him at the last minute. "Mole! The email originated in….oh God…Beacon Hill, Washington State."

"HERE? They were that close?"

"Yeah."

Mole just shakes his head and heads out to inform the rest of TC: Max and Alec are alive and coming home.

tbc……………………………….