Title: Total Recall, Chapter 25
Author: CSIphile/redwing
AN: Thank you to everyone! Nearing 200 reviews, that's astounding! Please, from the bottom of my warmed little heart, keep up the reviews. I love reading them.
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Chapter 25: Thank You, Come Again
He walks out of the lab room and shudders slightly. That had to be the most unpleasant thing he'd ever been forced to do, and Manticore made him do a lot of things. But he couldn't exactly refuse to give up the goods; that would certainly send up a red flag and get him shipped to Olivet right quick.
Then again, compared to what they have to do to Max to get her half of the genetic equation, he got off lucky. Again he shudders; he can only imagine what the geneticists are going to do to the embryo's DNA.
Your embryo, Alec. YOURS and Max's. Something that could grow into a child if Manticore isn't allowed to play Frankenstein.
Until now, it hadn't occurred to him that it's not just a fetus, it's a baby -- their baby that is having its DNA twisted and turned into something unrecognizable even to him.
That's a baby -- my child. Not a fetus, not an experiment. A baby, his mind screams at him, but Alec is forced to push it away. He can't afford to contemplate the words, because if he does, Alec isn't sure that he won't try to stop Manticore. He can't assign parentage to it, can't get attached to the idea of a baby.
Rubbing his hands together unconsciously, Alec turns the corner and runs into Jake, who is looking distinctly worried.
"Ah! I found you."
"You knew where I was," he replies tersely. Alec may be helping the guy, but he doesn't have to be friendly.
"Come on, we have to get you to IT," The smaller man says, and turns back in the direction he came, assuming Alec will follow like a lost puppy.
Of course, Alec does. "Now?" he asks.
"Now or never. The firewall is undergoing maintenance, so it's the best time. You have just barely 30 minutes." Jake pushes open the double doors from medical into the hall.
"Ok," Alec says, and looks over his shoulder at the doors swinging from their exit, wondering how Max is.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She lies on the table and stares at the white tiled ceiling -- anything to keep her mind off what they are doing, which is proving to be harder than she thought. At first it wasn't bad; Brady was fussing around doing whatever he needed to do. But when she felt a pinprick of pain, the reality of what was going on was driven home.
They are harvesting her eggs. Her eggs. To create a life that doesn't want to exist, that isn't meant to be right now. They will take her eggs, fertilize them with Alec's sperm and create a baby, who is then destined to have its genetic code screwed with in an effort to create an army even faster.
She bites her lip, stifling the tears that threaten to flow, stopping her from putting a halt to it all and exposing her true nature. She is allowing these….scientists…access to her body, violating her in the worst way. And she is permitting it by lying prone, when in an instant, both the doctors and nurse could be on the floor, dead -- never allowed to continue the process. Max hates herself right now. She has become what she hates, what she pictured her mother as so many times; a woman who essentially sold her body.
For her entire life, she has hated herself, detested where she came from -- a test tube -- and wondered how a woman in her right mind would do this, would give up a child for a small fee. But she isn't doing it for money, Max is doing it to preserve her freedom, and everyone else's, but the principal is the same, regardless.
She sucks in a deep breath when she feels another internal prick. She doesn't know exactly what they are doing, but she wishes they would hurry the hell up. Luckily, her wish is granted.
"You're done, 452. Head to your quarters and rest for at least 6 hours. There might be some bleeding, but that's normal. If it's heavy, come back," Brady says with little emotion.
She knows he is a good guy, but it's all she can do not to punch that blank expression off his face. "Yes, sir."
She gets down slowly, noticing some soreness in her abdomen, and walks slowly to her room, sinking into the cot and finally allowing tears to stream down her face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alec walks into the near empty communications center and sits at the instructed terminal. Jake has assured him that the cameras would be off in the room and any communication would not be recorded in the database. Manticore backs up of all systems weekly, which doesn't require anyone being here and demands a shut down of some of the security procedures. Alec isn't sure how they are stopping the cameras or tracking, but he can only hope it's been done. He is leaving a lot up to other people and faith, something he doesn't relish, but in the back of his head, Alec is planning an alternate scenario, one that at least gets him and Max out of here in one piece.
Quickly he gets into the TC email system and sends out a short message…
Dix pops his head up when he hears the audible tone indicating that he has a message. He notices the IP points to Boise, and for one second he wonders if it's Manticore and they'd caught them, but a review of the subject line proves him wrong.
Project 946 as scheduled.
Taking a deep breath, he opens the email and smiles.
D-
Hope you there man, supposedly this is a secure line…but its Manticore. I've only got 30 minutes, hit me back.
The transhuman calls out to Mole and begins typing back….
Alec is relieved when an email is returned to him from TC.
946-
Am here, been waiting buddy. Glad to hear the rumors of your death were overstated. Got your gift, interesting info. We have a thought, Logan working on a Senator. Good ol M "explosion".
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D-
You read my mind, need to do it fast though, running out of time here, can't explain. 36 hours enough time? We can organize those on the list.
Also, senator needs to confirm they will be free, even if it is to just stay where they are. No new "facilities".
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946-
Should be. Checked with L, he's contacted S and looks good, apparently S is high in the government. Planning military force to stop any M interference. He agreed to do what he can for residents, has hope 'cause of Seattle. Can you contact me again?
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D-
Probably not. Tell L and S that we will plan for 4 am Tuesday morning. Won't be able to contact you before, we will just assume it happens. I'm forwarding more info to you…R&D stuff that should help.
Alec glances at the clock; he has maybe 10 minutes left. Long enough to get a last message out if Dix emails him back soon.
946-
Great, that'll help. Here's to hoping it works and we see you guys soon. TC misses you both.
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D-
We miss them too. Good luck. Be sure to destroy this supplier email, you never know around here.
He may be trusting Jake with his life, but he refuses to allow them access into TC. For all he knows, his communications are being tracked and the email traced. With that, Alec logs off the computer and exits the room, a grim expression on his face. He hopes that Dix and Logan can take care of their end, otherwise it could be just him and Max against Manticore. Not a good place to be.
As he turns the corner, he runs into Jake for the second time that day. The man's neutral expression doesn't reveal if his end of the plan went well or not.
"494."
"Sir."
Alec stands at attention; they can be seen now, but not heard.
"Successful dealings with your next mission contacts. You should be all set. Four am Tuesday, meet your handler in the training area, he will brief you."
"Yes sir."
"Please inform 452 also, she is in her quarters."
Alec looks at the man -- it's not the words, but the tone he says it in. Something is going on. "Yes, sir. I'll do that ASAP."
"That would be preferable 494."
Now Alec is concerned. What if something happened in medical? A millions thoughts fly through his head and he tries not to look like he is panicked as he heads towards the barracks.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He pushes open her door without knocking and sighs at the picture in front of him. She is curled into a tight ball, facing the gray concrete wall. Listening carefully, he can tell she is sleeping by her breathing pattern. She is still wearing her city camos and t-shirt, lying on top of the meager covers, her hair still in the high ponytail from training that morning.
Closing the door behind him, he calls her name softly. No need to scare her.
"Max…"
While Alec had been waiting for Dix's email, he had amused himself by checking out the Manticore security system. Honestly, for a facility holding 50 plus supersoldiers, it wasn't all that great. There were cameras in the halls of the barracks, but not the rooms themselves.
When she doesn't answer, he moves closer and sits lightly on the edge of the bed, leaning slightly to look at her face. He is surprised when she doesn't even wake up.
"Max…"
This time he gets a murmur from her. "Yeah…."
"Hey, wake up." He shakes her slightly.
She mutters something even he can't hear, but rolls over and opens her eyes. In that instant, he sees the pain written all over her face.
"Max? What's wrong? What did they do?" Quickly his eyes scan over her body; there is no outward explanation for the anguish on her face. That expression is practically killing him inside.
"What do you think they did, Alec? They stuck a needle in me and they…they took my eggs. They took them and they will create something with our genes, and use it to test whatever is on the agenda today."
Alec has to hold back tears and gathers her in his arms, whispering in her hair. "I know, baby. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry you had to do that."
"I thought I could, I mean, really they aren't even babies. But…they could be. Someday. They could be our children, Alec, and instead they are a science experiment. I became what I always hated, what I hated my mother for. For giving me up to be tortured."
He pulls her away slightly. "You had no choice, Max. You aren't doing this voluntarily -- it's to save a nation, save our people. The ones who are here now."
She gives him an inscrutable look and places her head on his chest again. "I know… logically, I know that. But at the same time…I feel like I'm abandoning something, and it doesn't even exist."
"I know, Max -- and I'm not trying to be callous here. I had the same thoughts you did, but we need to forget it for now and concentrate on the mission at hand. Stopping this nightmare so they can never do this again."
He feels her slowly nod her head. "Alec, I'm scared. I'm terrified that once we expose this mess, the government will just come in and take over again. Start over with all the Manticore research."
He smiles slightly. "Oh, they won't be able to do that."
Again she pulls her head away and eyes him curiously. "Why?"
"Once the military gets here to prevent a "fire," Jake and I are going to destroy the hard drives -- all the R&D, personnel files, everything. The other sites will be doing the same. There won't be anything left to start over with. The senator Logan knows is going to have everything from the HQ destroyed."
"Good, very good." She pulls away again and leans against the wall, legs dangling off the side of the bed. He shifts slightly and matches her position.
They sit in silence for several minutes before her small voice breaks in. "I'm sorry for…earlier."
"What? Don't be sorry, Max, don't ever be sorry for being human."
She gives a sarcastic laugh. "Nice, funny. I just…this is war and I'm crying over some lost eggs. Just seems silly now. This isn't me, Alec, when did I get all emotional?"
"Max, you've always been empathic towards others, but never allowed your own feelings out. It's what you have done the entire time I have known you. You try so hard to do the right thing for everyone else, regardless of how it impacts your life. And I know you don't want to hear it, but that's part of the reason why your life seemed to suck so hard. It was your own damn fault."
She looks at him sideways. "When did you get so wise?"
"About the same time as you realized you can't save them all. We've changed since TC, Max. I've grown up a bit even."
"Never thought I would see that happen." She smiles at him.
"Yeah, me neither." He throws his hands up and smiles. "Who knew."
"I did."
His head snaps back down at her. "Max, you hated me. Actually I don't think hate is accurate. Despise, deplore, loath, maybe wish a slow and painful death."
"At one time, sure. Didn't take long for me to realize that eventually you would become a great leader, Alec. People trust and respect you, even after the whole hunt-a-transgenic incident. I understand you were doing what you had to to survive, and that you had no real commitment to me or anyone. I couldn't expect you to want to save the world. That was my mission, not yours." She shrugs.
"Yeah, but I didn't exactly make it easy to trust me, did I?"
"No, you didn't."
"When did you?" He turns to her.
"Huh?"
"When did you finally trust me?"
She tilts her head at him slightly, and he can tell she is thinking. "I began to see signs of the real Alec during the merlady rescue. You were honestly concerned for someone besides yourself. But I really started to trust you after you were arrested." She pauses and her expression changes to one of sadness. "I told you the one thing Logan never knew."
"You never told him about Ben?" He can't hide the surprise in his voice.
"No, I couldn't. I felt so guilty. You were the first and last person I told."
"I'm glad you trusted me, Max, but that's one hell of a burden to carry."
She shrugs again. "I managed. But after I finally let it out, I felt better. You know?"
"Yeah."
She pauses. "This is it, Alec. Make or break."
"Yup." He tilts his head against the wall behind them.
"You remember the deal?"
He does, how could he not? They had essentially made a suicide pact: if it comes down to it, they would rather die than stay here under Manticore rule. "Yeah, I remember."
Again they lapse into silence, still side by side, each of them staring at the concrete wall opposite them, lost in their own thoughts. Alec is debating the odds of them actually losing their lives in this. Probably pretty good actually, since this has to be the least precise mission he's ever attempted.
'We'll make it," she says. "We have to."
Alec grabs her hand and squeezes lightly. "Yeah. We will." He sighs audibly; he's been in her room much too long. "I have to go. See you tomorrow."
"Ok."
Alec stands slowly and she follows him to the door. Right before he opens it, her hand on his bicep stops him. "I love you, Alec."
He turns and pulls her into a tight hug. "Me too, Max. Me too."
After several minutes, he regretfully pulls away from her and smoothes back some errant hairs. Without speaking, he opens the door and walks out. All Alec can hope is that isn't the last time he will touch her, feel her warm, soft skin, her silky hair.
tbc……………………….