Author's Note: I would've uploaded this chapter yesterday but the site insisted on being difficult.
The Gift of Daylight
Chapter 8: The Double-Double Cross
Location: Outside Terminal City. Seattle, Washington.
Time: 10:30 AM PST
"I've got a visual. They've stopped at the harbor. Is that the all-clear sign, Rogue Two?"
"Looks like it, Isaacs." Rogue Two clicked a button on his walkie-talkie and leaned into it. "Rogue One, this is Rogue Two. Target is at the rendezvous point, I repeat, target is at the rendezvous point. Do we have permission to move in?"
"One second. Okay, I see them, Rogue Two. Move your squads in. We'll trail you."
"I told you the Elements would come through," Isaacs said matter-of-factly.
"They're still cocky little kids to me," Rogue Two shot back. He then clicked a button on his walkie-talkie and brought it to his mouth. "Roger that, Rogue One. You heard the man," he ordered his driver.
The black hummer approached the parked Durango cautiously, then came to an abrupt stop ten feet behind the target vehicle. Its doors flew open and four armed men in military clothing jumped out in a tight formation with their guns drawn. A black limousine trailed behind and mimicked the hummer's action. Out stepped four more men in the same uniforms with the same weapons, pausing eight meters behind the first squad.
Rogue Two led his squad towards the Durango, holding his hand up to halt their advance when he was close enough. His squad lowered themselves to one knee, scopes focused on the exits of the Durango.
"Mars?" Rogue Two called out towards the parked SUV.
"I'm right here, Rogue Two. Calm down," the driver of the Durango stuck his arm out the window and waved to them. The door creaked open— and out stepped Zeke. "I've got 452 with me," he said with a smirk, gesturing to the back of the Durango. Through the presidential tinted windows, Rogue Two made out two figures in the backseat. A blond man, and a struggling brunette.
"You're alive," Rogue Two stated, surprisingly. "When we got the call to rendezvous, the base was in disbelief. You were assumed dead."
"You assumed wrong," Rianne stated dully as she climbed out of the Durango, standing beside Zeke. The Caucasian girl and Asian boy measured up evenly in terms of height. Zeke knew she hadn't grown five inches in ten hours, Rianne was most likely hovering off the ground. Show-off.
All eight of the soldiers seemed relieved, lowering their guns and standing at ease. "Who else is with you?" Rogue Two asked.
"This is it. Rianne and I are the only ones who made it out. We lost our entire team," Zeke declared bitterly, a twitch was visible at the corner of his lips. "599 was compromised, we didn't have time to go back for him."
"And Seth?" Rogue Two questioned immediately.
"KIA," Zeke said quietly.
"I see," Rogue Two replied, falling into a tense silence. He seemed to take this news with some surprise. "The Priestess is going to be very upset when she returns."
"She'll get over it," Zeke retorted quickly. "Where is she now?"
"Had to make a trip to the dam to up the security. She's on the first flight back. Are those handcuffs tight?" Rogue Two gestured at Max and Alec.
"Are you kidding me?" Zeke looked offended to even be asked that. "Do I look like an idiot to you, Rogue Two?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Rogue Two snorted.
Zeke narrowed his eyes into angry slits. "You're way out of line, Sergeant. I'll have your rank pulled faster than you can say—"
"—Enough," Rogue One interrupted. "Transfer 452 into the limousine," he told one of the soldiers.
The soldier nodded and made his way over to the Durango. He led Max out into the middle of the circle and forced her to crouch, while the soldiers kept their guns locked on her. "Captain, we've got another one," the soldier declared. He went back to fetch Alec, leading him to crouch beside Max. Their hands were bound by handcuffs, and their expressions were of pure distaste.
"Who's this?" Rogue One asked, coming from behind Alec and kicking him below the left shoulder. Alec jerked forward, his face almost meeting the dirt, but pausing in descent as he regained his balance last second. Rogue One chuckled, his rifle was cradled in both hands, and the barrel was positioned firmly at Alec's temple. "Not so tough now, are you tranny? Want to try something, pretty boy?" he challenged, goading.
Alec didn't reply, he simply kept his eyes focused on the ground.
"That's X5-494, he tried to interfere with our escape," Zeke explained.
"And you didn't simply kill him?" Rogue Two asked incredulously. "Stupid kids," he muttered lowly under his breath.
Rianne's hearing picked that up. And by the look on Zeke's face, she knew he had too.
"Our orders were to kill 452 only," Zeke shot back defensively. Asshole.
"Then it seems like you didn't complete your mission. Not to worry, our orders are also to execute 452 immediately," Rogue Two commented, cocking his rifle. The others set their fingers on their triggers to which Zeke raised his hands upwards to stop them.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Did I say Seth was KIA? I meant MIA," he corrected himself hastily.
"If the Priestess wants to know where her son is, 452 will need to be bullet-ridden free with the ability to talk and form proper sentences," Rianne added. The two Elements were standing off to the side, outside the circle of soldiers.
"Rogue One?" Rogue Two turned around to face his superior, clearly confused as to what to do.
Rogue One didn't seem as confused; he knew his orders and the priority. "The Priestess will want to know what happened to her son. She'll want to see you two, your last report is well overdue."
"Yeah, no kidding. Better get back to HQ," Zeke muttered, stifling a yawn and stretching his arms. He led Rianne back to the Durango but she paused in step, and spun around.
"Oh yeah, there's something else Zeke and I have to add to our report," Rianne declared suddenly.
"What's that?" Rogue Two asked distractedly, fidgeting with the safety on his rifle. The soldiers had nudged both Max and Alec into a stand, and were marching them towards the limousine.
"... The accidental slaughter of Rogue One and Rogue Two's squads," Zeke stated quietly, over the buzz of rapidly approaching motorcycles.
Rogue Two didn't pick up Zeke's words, and neither did anyone in his squad for that matter. They were too distracted by the four approaching motorcycles kicking dust, two people to each cycle, and a shooter behind each driver.
Rogue One looked up from his watch and squinted to see who was approaching in the distance. When the sound of gunfire overtook the sound of motorcycle engines, Rogue One's eyes widened and comprehension dawned on him. "Ambush!" Rogue One bellowed over the noise. "Alpha formation, alpha formation!" he shrieked.
But it was too little too late. The Familiars were too surprised and unorganized to get into proper and effective defensive positions. One of the motorcycles seated Syl and Krit. Being the better shooter, Syl set the rifle on Krit's shoulder and started taking out as many soldiers as she could, her rifle spilling bullets. The other three cycles seated Logan and Joshua, Gem and Dalton, and Brin and Mole respectively.
And in that instant, Max and Alec exploded into action.
Their loose restraints proved simple to escape from. Mindful of her sore shoulder, the young soldier beside her was her first victim, doubling over in agony as Max swung her fist viciously down and back into his stomach. In the same motion she plucked away the rifle that had suddenly appeared in his hand, twisting around to fire a shot at the older soldier as the younger collapsed on the ground.
Alec went straight for Rogue One, seizing the man by the soldiers and slamming him roughly against the hummer's mirror. Rogue One was as durable as any Familiar, but he lacked in the speed department and paid for it. Alec blurred, dodging fists left and right. One nicked him in the jaw but he kept moving. A window of opportunity opened and Alec took it. He caught Rogue One by the neck and clamped down on the man's air pipe. Two seconds later, the unconscious squad leader slumped to the ground. "That's Mister Pretty Boy to you," Alec muttered.
Logan kept the motorcycle steady on track as they fastly closed in on the familiars. Behind him, Joshua braced himself and wobbly stood up. "Ready big guy?" Logan called out behind his shoulder.
"Ready," Joshua grunted in response.
The motorcycle ripped through the formation and Logan fought to keep it balanced as Joshua lept off and tackled two of the soldiers to the floor. Max ran over to Joshua to help him out, but by the look of it, Joshua didn't need any help. He grabbed both soldiers by the neck and slammed their heads together. He rolled out of the way, just in time to avoid Brin and Mole riding in.
Mole seemed to be having a ball firing his shotgun wildly at the remaining and scattered familiars. "Hell yeah, now this is what I call taking action," he shouted gleefully at Brin, who was focused on driving the motorcycle.
Brin didn't respond, just grinned.
Meanwhile, Zeke and Rianne stood off to the side by the Durango, looking mock surprised. "Oh wow, Rianne, did you see this coming?" he asked, more fascinated with his nails than the fight.
"Certainly not, Zeke," Rianne replied dully, stifling a yawn. "Totally unforeseen."
"Yeah, I'm so dazed with confusion," Zeke said dully.
And in a flurry of hands and arms, it was all over. Five familiars were unconscious, and three were dead.
"Clear?" Max shouted as the dust finally began to settle.
"Clear," Logan called out, stomping his foot on the ground and turning the motorcycle off.
"Clear," Krit called out, standing over a dead Familiar.
It took a few seconds before they all checked in.
"No one in our squad dead or missing any arms and legs. Wow, old Deck would be proud," Alec commented with a grin, dusting his shirt.
"Gee, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside," Mole retorted.
"Clemente really came through for us," Max interrupted, observing her group. "He'll keep the government at bay but we gotta keep our end of the deal and fix this bitch. Now there are eight uniforms so that's more than enough for us. Dalton, Joshua, Mole, and Logan are staying at Terminal City, they'll take the motorcycles back."
Joshua had already argued this point to Max, as had Logan, and they both lost significantly. Joshua simply grunted tentatively in response, while Logan frowned. Mole was already puffing another cigar, looking nonchalant as ever as he nodded.
"Syl, Krit, Brin, Gem, Alec, suit up. Someone dump the three bodies," she commanded.
Krit and Brin went off to do that while the others began stripping the soldiers of their uniforms.
"Man, they're going to wake up with a nasty surprise," Alec said with a snicker as he held up a pair of military pants.
"Load them up into the Durango, we're taking them back to Terminal City. Zeke, Rianne, you two okay?" Max casted a sideways glance at the two, they had been uncharacteristically quiet. Well, Zeke had at least.
"Oh yeah, Max, your two POWs are unharmed," Rianne stated. "Cocky little kids?" she mouthed, looking amusedly at Rogue Two's unconscious form. "That'll show you."
Zeke, on the other hand, didn't seem half as pleased as Rianne. "The faster we get to HQ, the better. We need to help Elena."
In the time since Zeke's interrogation, a lot had occurred. For one, Max had extracted a bit of information from Seth that had proved very interesting. Seth admitted to Rianne that the Conclave was deliberately poisoning Elena for the mission's purpose. Rianne, in turn, told Zeke, who told Max. It was betrayal of the highest level, Zeke had shouted during their discussion at Terminal City. It was because of this deception that Davis and Zeke ended up on the mission, and in turn, Davis had lost his life. Seth would be detrimental to the mission so they left him behind. But the two Elements agreed to help Max and tag along. Well ... technically, as Zeke had pointed out many times— they weren't exactly helping Max. It wouldn't be anyone's fault if they were delivering their prisoners and a group of transgenics accidentally got the jump on them. Then, due to that, the transgenics accidentally found HQ's location through the navigational equipment in the hummer and accidentally reached HQ.
Needless to say— a lot of accidents were occuring today.
The Conclave's influence plus Max's insistence that she could find the cure opened the barricade for a few seconds, enough to let the Durango and a few motorcycles through. Though at a price. Now they had to find the cure and they had to find it quick. As far as anyone was concerned, the plague was connected to the transgenic blithe. Reputations had to be cleared and lives had to be saved before anyone could call this mission accomplished.
"Right," Max replied. As the others got changed, Logan pulled Max off to the side to talk. The two of them hadn't spoke since Max had hatched this plan. Now, before they were ready to enter phase two, Logan could no longer keep silent.
"You know I don't like this plan," Logan said gravely, taking her by the hand and squeezing it.
"I know," she said, concern etched into her features. "But we don't have a lot of choices, and if we wait any longer, we won't have any at all." She then eased up, smirking as she observed the situation. "I'd kiss you, but I need to keep my head in the game," she echoed an old line. "That, and you might drop dead."
Logan smiled wryly, not sure if he wanted to finish this word game. He made up his mind. "Just ... come back." Pause. "Though," he pointed out, "the last time I said that—"
"—I know how the story goes," she cut in, hushing him gently. "Take care of Josh, Zane, Zack, and Terminal City for me, will ya?"
"It'll be there when you come back with the cure," Logan assured.
"Good. You better get going," he nodded over to Mole, who had loaded one of the motorcycles into the back of the Durango and had occupied one himself.
"Max, be careful," Logan warned. There was something else in the look he was giving her. At first Max guessed it to be worry, and that was common, but now she was picking up a strong dose of ... fear?
"Always," she said, peering at her group. "I've got a good crew with me," she assured.
Logan casted one last look at her, then turned around and trudged over to the Durango. Two minutes later, they were completely out of sight. Max sighed before inhaling some clean ocean air, that is, if they could consider Seattle harbor to be clean. "Let's go, people, we don't have much time!" she announced to them as a whole. "And Alec—" she called out, looking very irritated.
"Yeah Max?" Alec looked up, loosening his belt.
"Get changed somewhere over there," she stabbed her finger in the limousine's general direction.
He grinned and walked off.
"Okay team, get ready to move out."
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Location: Outside Seattle, Washington.
Time: 12:40 PM PST
The trip was considerably longer than Max expected, maybe because she was itching in anticipation to get things over with. Riding in the limousine with Rianne, Zeke, and Alec proved to be entertaining to some extents. Alec was teaching Zeke how to play poker, and Rianne was watching boredly. The three were huddled in a triangle at the corner. Krit and Syl were at the front of the limousine, one driving and the other navigating.
Brin and Gem were trailing closely behind them in the hummer.
While waiting for Zeke to make a game decision, Alec peered at Max from the corner of his eye. "So Max, what's the plan?"
"We've been over this a few times, Alec," she said wearily, peering out the window and watching the scenery fly by.
"Refresh my memory. What do we have so far?"
"So far? We go in quick and quiet in cuffs. They'll put is in separated cells most likely. Zeke and Brin will take the passage to the Priestess' office. Syl, Krit, and Rianne, will push through the back and to the Command Center. Gem'll watch our backs and keep the engine running in case we gotta blaze fast. We'll be sleepers until Rianne comes to get us. Quick in, quick out, no one will ever know we were there."
"That's if we're not detected," Alec pointed out.
"We won't be," Max put in firmly. "The soldiers were randomly picked at the last minute by the Priestess. She's not going to be there, and she's the only one who knows who she assigned the mission to."
"You think she's not going to be there," Alec pointed out, persistent as ever.
"Worst case scenario? She will be," Max demanded, annoyed. "Then we'll take her with us if it comes to that. Most important thing is not to trip the alarm. If they have one."
"Oh they have one," Rianne tossed in. "But I can disable that no problem when we're at the command center."
"Good, how about the rest of the plan? You know, in case it really does go sideways?" Alec asked.
"It won't," Max retorted.
"You're making this up as you go, aren't you?" Alec inquired with a tilt of his head.
"You know me," Max said with a grin.
"Yeah, I do. Hey kid, hurry up already, it's poker, not chess," he glanced at Zeke.
"I'm not a kid, and, royal flush," Zeke set down his cards triumphantly. "When we get back to T.C., you owe me two boxes of cheeze-its."
Alec stared wide-eyed at Zeke's cards, then shook his head. "Um, I have a Full House, that's worth exactly the same as a Royal Flush."
"It does not," Zeke protested. "You liar, you just said that—"
"Tie game," Alec announced, swiftly sweeping up all the cards with one hand and neatly arranging them in a single deck.
"HEY," Zeke bellowed.
The two soon engaged in a bickering match which Rianne had to referee.
On second thought, the trip was definitely going was to be a long one, Max noted silently.
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Location: Fudgy Buddy Factory in Seattle, Washington.
Time: 1:30 PM PST
The entrance to the factory was modest, as any factory would be expected to have. There was a Fudgy Buddy logo splashed above the light blue metal double doors. The factory wasn't just one building, it was a building beside a building beside a building beside an apartment. There was a large plot of empty desert land that stretched half a mile west and served as a parking lot. The structures were newly painted to look old, as if the residents wanted it to mesh with the empty background. All in all, it looked like a small colony. They had better not trip the alarm because the close proximity of the buildings made it easy for Familiars to swarm the right places.
Max and Alec had their hands loosely handcuffed and waited quietly in their seats as the limousine approached the factory.
"All right, Zeke, break it down for us," Max spoke up.
"Will do, boss. We're going to pull up to the front. Rianne, Krit, and I will lead you and Alec into the building. Keep your head down, Krit, just in case someone spots you. Syl, you'll keep driving and lead the hummer into the parking lot, park both cars there. Then take your partner and enter through the back door of the second building, which is left wide open. Wait in the cafeteria with your friend, it's on the second floor, eighth door on your left," Zeke was talking quickly, occasionally stumbling on his words. "If things go sour, play it cool and threaten to pull rank. Then demand to see the Priestess. They'll take you into her waiting room, which is next to the room Brin and I will be digging around in for the files."
"Why would rank be so important?" Alec asked from the side.
"Because everyone's preparing for the New World once the Coming wipes out—" Rianne paused, "that is, they think the Coming's going to wipe out humanity," she promptly corrected herself, a little embarrassed for that slip up. "Everyone wants a nice place in the new hierarchy. Rank is super important at the moment," Rianne explained.
Alec nodded. "Hate to bust their bubble."
"How many Familiars should we be expecting?" Max asked.
"The large building there is the old factory, which is now a training facility. It houses prisoners only and the cleaning crews who live there. Probably six maintenance men wandering around but we're not likely to pass through there. The living areas are empty in the afternoon because everyone's at work. There might be twenty or so familiars still wandering around. The main building we're coming up to is the command center. Fifty to sixty max in that one. The last building tucked behind the apartment's a school. It's 1:40 so school's still in," Rianne explained coolly.
"Whatever you do here, just ... don't hurt the kids," Zeke said with slight hesitation.
"We won't," Max assured. "And Alec and I?"
Rianne spoke up. "The Priestess will be here in an hour, maybe longer if her flight's delayed. That's more than enough time for Syl, Krit, and me to get Elena out of the medical ward and Zeke and Brin to get the files you need. They'd recognize your face anywhere, Max, that's why we need to keep you in the cell. You've got Alec as company."
Alec grinned.
Max sighed.
Rianne continued, "When the Priestess arrives, she'll have an escort of about four soldiers. Something to look out for," Rianne shot them all a glance. Syl and Krit were listening in closely from the front. "Zeke and I need to give our reports together so the facts don't contradict each other. You'll be summoned into the room with us, Max, but she won't want to see Alec. Syl and Krit can free him then, there'll only be one or two guards watching over Alec. Should be no problem. Just play along when we give our report, and when you get the chance, just ... knock the Priestess out or something. We can take the back exit out her office and lock her in. They wont know anything happened until it's happened," Rianne concluded triumphantly.
It was, at face value, a very sneaky plan. It had its risks, but for the most part, it was fail safe.
"Keep one of your friends to watch our vehicles," Zeke reminded.
"Gem's got that covered," Syl piped up.
"Then all the bases are covered," Max closed.
"Any last words?" Alec looked around.
"No, it's not like we're going to die," Max snapped.
"That's not what I was trying to say. Unless, of course, you're predicting we die," Alec stated with a grin. His grin faltered at the sight of her world famous venomous glare. "Hey hey, just trying to lighten the mood. Besides, we'll have about an hour and half of quality bonding time in the detainment cell together," he nudged her on the shoulder.
"Don't remind me," Max swiveled around to face the door as the limousine came to a smooth stop.
A group of Familiars with trench coats and black gloves approached the car and watched the car closely. One man reached for the door and opened it.
"Let's get this bitch over with," Max said, chewing unnoticeably at the bottom of her lip. "Into the belly of the beast," she stated.
"—And out of the demon's ass," Alec finished for her.
Zeke nodded, pushed the door wider open, and exited. Here we go.
"Welcome home," the first man greeted, a stern expression on his face.
"Good to be home," Zeke replied.
"Yes, welcome home," a strange voice from behind the group of familiars said.
That voice sounded oddly familiar to Zeke.
The group of Familiars parted and another man stepped forward. Zeke's eyes widened and his voice caught in his throat. He heard his heart beating in his ears and his pulse quicken to an unhealthy pace. Oh crap.
"Fe'nos Tol," the man in the grey trenchcoat greeted. "Good job, Zeke, mission accomplished."
"Yeah," Zeke managed weakly, stepping to the side to let Rianne out. Zeke shot a panicked glance at Rianne, who returned it with a simple, unreadable frown. But underneath it, Zeke could make out how alarmed she was. Rianne didn't blow their cover, and neither would Zeke. The two Elements stepped to the man's side and stood tensely as Max and Alec exited the car.
"I knew we'd get you eventually," the man greeted, flashing Max a toothy grin. "452, what a surprise, nice to see you again."
By the twitch in Max and Alec's features, they were just as shocked.
Max paled and clenched her fists so tightly they turned bright ivory. Play it cool. "Wish I could say the same," she muttered. Somehow, Max knew this entire thing couldn't be that easy. Nothing in Max's life was truly easy.
"Hi, White."
Author's Note: Major Conclave ass-kicking action next. I feel like getting revenge for Tinga, damn Renfro.