Part fourteen

Pin the name to the barcode

It felt good to be inmidst of nature for a change. Where there were no people you could almost pretend everything was all right in the world. The ranch she was approaching didn't seem to be a brown spot among the green, instead it blended in, part of a whole. Max hoped Zack was all right, Logan had indeed found a great spot for him.

Eerily, as she got closer, the place looked deserted. Max felt the adrenaline rush and proceeded to look for Buddy and Mary who had taken Zack in as a farm hand. Room after room, nothing. The bedrooms looked like somebody had packed in a big hurry. Damn. She had hoped the transgenic craze wouldn't have reached this remote place. At the same time she was reminded of Cape Haven, of the way people in a small town could turn into a lynch mob when faced with the unknown or when threatened.

Finished with the house, Max proceeded to check the rest of the compound. There were none of the usual farm animals around, either. Her best bet for finding either Zack or Buddy would then be the next town. Involuntarily, she raised her hand to her neck, checking for the barcode. It had probably appeared again in full. Damn. Things were not going well at all.

Drawing closer to the center of the small town, she discovered why everything else had seemed left behind in a hurry. Several dozens men and women were gathered in front of the church, armed to their teeth. In their midst, Zack, Buddy and Mary. Damn, damn, damn.

Everybody was speaking at the same time, the sheriff trying in vain to calm down the spirits. She remembered Zack telling her how on the first day of the escape he had felt that everybody around was an enemy. This time he would have been right.

The angry mob was made up of normal people, some obviously interrupted while doing household chores, as was evident in their apparel Nevertheless, their number turned them into an enemy to be feared, as Max ruefully recognized.

She tried to approach unnoticed, blending in. It wasn't too easy a task, considering that she didn't really look like a typical farmhand. Seeing some of the odd looks she was receiving, she decided to stand more to the side. It wasn't as if she could intervene right now.

Angry shouts often overlapped the general murmur of the crowd, drawing cheers or approving nods from the rest of the people.

„Harboring a transgenic is a felony."

„How could you? You have endangered our children!"

Buddy barely managed to get a few words in before he was shushed by the masses.

„You have known  him for a few months now and never until now did it cross your mind he might be the slightest threat".

„Don't listen, they'll say anything to save their skins." Appreciative comments and shouts could be heard all around.

Why was Zack quiet?

„I say we get rid of the plague once and for all." The man's voice vehemently rose over their heads.

„He hasn't actually done anything wrong..." a more plaintiff one attempted to oppose.

Good, at least part of the crowd was still reluctant to use extreme force. For a moment, Max was tempted to say something, steer the discussion in the right direction, but seeing only grim faces around, she remembered in time that there was no real discussion possible here. Besides, she needed to remain unnoticed.

The sheriff finally intervened. „I'll lock them in and call the authorities. Then we'll see."

Multiple gun mouths trained on them, the three headed for the small jail of the town. Funny, Max observed, remembering Logan's rant on society when they had first met, except for the cars, it all seemed like it would have happened two hundred years ago. If the pavement had once been intact, now half of it was a dirt road.  Several people had arrived on horseback, unwilling to use precious gas foranything else but impending apocalypse.

Max sighed, resigning herself to recon. There was nothing she could do now with all those guns cocked, ready to shoot at the slightest move. She had to wait for nightfall. In the meantime she needed an escape vehicle, since the Ninja was not large enough and too loud not to attract attention. Carrying around civilians was not her idea of fun anyway.

As she retreated towards the houses at the edge of the woods, hoping to swipe a car unnoticed, she couldn't help thinking of Logan. What had happened to her? If he were here he would be all over her to save Buddy and Mary. The two were Logan's contacts and had been kind enough to take Zack in, knowing at least some of his dark secrets. Granted, money must have played a role, too, but they looked like the honest type. She would have been enthusiastic about getting them out, too, a while ago. Now she only wanted to get Zack out and everything behind her. Whatever had made her so cynical and downright mean? Cindy wouldn't have missed the occasion for a „friendly" slap on the back of her neck.

Maybe they had all been right and Alec was wrong. Maybe it wasn't just about staying with your own. Yes, shit happened. Like Annie's death. She refused to think further. But how could she expect the norms to accept the transgenics if they segregated themselves on purpose? When had she begun thinking of them as „norms" anyway? Damn, once this was over, it would be time for a serious reevaluation.

Moving stealthily through the empty streets, she spotted it. There it was, a jeep, parked rather far away from the populated areas. Mindful of the alarms she was used to in Seattle, she approached it carefully. But no, the door was unlocked. It even had the keys behind the mirror. Wow!

She looked around, wary of unpleasant surprises. Darkness was setting, but there were still many people around in town, she would have to wait a bit more. As if on call, she felt the dreaded pang in her lower body that announced another bout of seizures. Shit. This was so nnnottt the tttimmmee.

She cowered between the seats and swallowed a handful of tryptophan.  Maybe it would pass enough for her to take action. Yeah, right! Lately she had been having a streak of bad luck. Or was it just bad planning as Zack would say? Anyway, why would it stop now?

She woke up half an hour later, all sweaty and weak, but at least she wasn't seizing anymore. The lights in town were all out, everything was quiet. That didn't mean that it had been right to just crash in a partially stolen car where anybody could have found her. She was in serious need of focus lest she should blow the whole escape and evade scenario.

Despite the antiquated air about it, the jail wasn't a piece of cake to get in. Several guards were standing in the way. No choice then, she had to kick ass again. The first two went down quietly, at a second's interval between them. The third had seen her though and had drawn out his gun when a shout from the cell diverted his attention.

„Max !"

That was enough for Max to take him down without much ado. Buddy had recognized her and Zack had a funny look on his face, too. She bent to search for the keys, but had to take cover, somebody was coming. Throwing the keys to Zack who grabbed them with ease, she retreated behind the heavy door. The sheriff and his deputy were hit hard by the metal door and fell down motionless.

„Max, quick !"

This time it was Zack calling. She forced a smile and helped Buddy out of the cell.

„They messed you up pretty well, huh?" she asked instead of a formal greeting. „Zack, hurry up, more are coming," she insisted, half annoyed, half happy to see him. Remembering Zack's call, she turned towards her former CO. „You know me?"

„You're Max, you're in my group."

She smiled broadly. „Yeah, let's go." Helping the two civilians out the window, Max headed for the jeep, urging the two inside, „Go. Quick."

„And you?" Buddy was concerned.

„We'll manage, just go." As much as their interest touched her, they needed to hurry.

Mary was the one to break the ice. „Max, thanks. And Zack, don't let them fool you. You're a good guy".

Max looked at Zack, he did seem slightly embarassed as he replied, „Thanks. Just go."

She ignored the pang in her heart at those words and once the jeep had disappeared behind the trees, she concentrated on the situation at hand. Somebody was already following the jeep as far as she could tell, but the mass of the search party had followed Zack and her. She still thought Mary and Buddy had enough of a headstart to get away. Anyway she wasn't about to endanger the two by staying with them.

Angry voices grew nearer, lights could be seen through the trees. They would be found in a matter of seconds unless they got to the Ninja. To top it all, she felt another seizure coming. Quickly she signaled Zack to head for the woods before he could notice something was wrong. They split up in silent understanding.