I know that is has been a long time since I uploaded a chapter. Don't ask, I just got lazy. It has been a boring summer. Anyway - Now here is chapter twelve, and I hope you enjoy. Please don't sacrifice me to the Fan Fiction gods if I didn't put in the name you wanted. The winner of the polls actually turned out to be the one I had in mind in the first place, so things worked out.
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Chapter Twelve
Eve's POV
I made my way back to my room, with my mind on X8-405. At certain moments I could pick out each individual animal inside him from his facial expressions. I saw the feline when he cocked his head to the side, I recognized the wolf when I spoke of his siblings. The alpha male buried inside him surfaced in automatic protection of his pack, and it was rather amazing. And when he smirked at me in defiance, I caught a bit of a teenager in that grin. When I think about it, it makes me sick at the realization that I saw the animal more often than the teen.
Every time I looked at him I saw feline, though. His brown eyes with hints of yellow mixed with his mussed golden hair, along with his tanned skin immediately made me think of a lion. His features weren't controlled and almost harsh, like Zack's, but soft and nearly intellectual. I could tell he was wise just by gazing at him.
As I sat myself at the computer, I closed my eyes tight, willing his image to leave my mind. I had to concentrate at the task at hand, and the task at hand was the psych report. I soon realized that these files were buried behind codes and virtual locked doors. And much more than the others. I came to one password station in which I had to type in three words that opened up the psych menu. I found myself blindly reaching for my software, and automatically uploading the random letter generator. I had to work quickly so as not to be suspected by any site managers. I typed in the codes to activate the hack, and closed my eyes. Finally a quiet ding was heard, and I yelled out my victory. I can't imagine how much I must be confusing that boy.
I searched through the psych menu, and found the X8 page. Once in, I accessed the 405 information, and commanded it to download onto my hard drive. As soon as it was completed logged off. Being in that Manticore site made me surprisingly nervous.
All I could do to calm my nerves was to take a deep breath before diving into the records. A deep breath and... Godiva chocolates. Yes, that couldn't hurt. I bounded over to my secret snack stash in the back of my closet. Upon finding the little golden box, I opened it and popped a truffle in my mouth. After returning the candies to their hiding place, I strode back over to the neglected reports. I savored the sharp taste of dark chocolate on my taste buds and began speed reading through documents.
More than once my eyes fell on statements of his affection towards his siblings, and how he was overly compassionate. The actual objective was near being labeled as a failure, except for the fact that 405 was recently a model soldier, and great example towards his comrades. As the words soaked in, my eyes went back to the word 'recently'. Hmm, I wonder what that means. I skipped the ending of the evaluation and searched for his behavior history. There has to be something there that would be of interest. At the bottom of the page I found the icon labeled "Psychological Background." Clicking on it, I was bombarded with multiple icons and another extensive report.
After going over the information, I found what I was looking for. Seems that when he was younger, he was quite the rebel. At approximately eight years of age he attacked a drill sergeant for beating the youngest male X8. While the sergeant was "relieved of duties", X8-405 was given shock therapy for striking a superior and connecting to a soldier on a personal level. Near the end of document there was a connection to another section of the archives. Clicking on that, another page of small black letters came into view. I sighed loudly, bored with my research.
I let out a gasp. Bold lettering jumped out at me, telling me more than enough about this boy. "Previous escape attempt." I read out loud, reading with newfound motivation. At the age of ten, X8-405 led the group X8 to the perimeter fence during morning drills, and proceeded to attack and disable five military guards, and attempted to climb the fence. Upon alert, the technicians on base activated the electrical current in the chain link fence, disabling and burning the group. After treatment, X8-405 received psychological and physical punishment for the act, and was reinstated as commanding officer to the X8. Since the incident he has been performing at peak condition and obedience to superiors. He has been taken off his eight-year probation, and is more than ready to be put in fieldwork. Separation of the X8 has been cautious, due to the emotional attachments within the class. None of the class has been notified of the separation.
Well, well, this can only help me. Seems that Manticore has been plotting against them, and is anticipating resistance. I can't blame them, from the way his eyes grew fierce at the mention of his siblings. I excitedly printed out the document and did a little victory dance on my bed. Soon collecting myself, I straightened my clothes and exited the bedroom. I passed by the living room, hearing Max and Zack argue about the situation and complications. I stopped in my tracks, having an inner debate on whether or not to tell them of my discovery. I chewed on my lip, and came to the conclusion that it couldn't hurt to just go ahead and talk to 405.
I walked the few short steps to the guest bedroom, peering inside to be ready for any unexpected out bursts. It was almost a peaceful sight, with him just laying there on the bed, everything in the room calm. As I took a step inside he immediately snapped his eyes open at the movement. As I moved closer, I made sure to track where his eyes were going. He watched me like a cat stalking its prey, always aware and sort of creepy. His eyes slid from my gaze down to the papers in my right hand, back to my eyes, then down my body and back up again. I sucked in a breath, then mentally cursed myself for displaying fear. Gathering my wits, I leaned my face over his, placing my nose just inches from his, and smiled wickedly, regaining dominance. Just as I suspected, the close proximity caught him totally off guard. I let myself stay still for a few moments, staring him straight in the eyes and taking in his scent and composure.
"Hello friend." I said lightly. His brow furrowed in confusion and he looked at me completely lost. I rose back up to my full height and laughed happily at my accomplishment. I took a deep breath and got back to business. "So, I've been reading up on you..."
"Again?" He asked, a smile playing on his lips. "I thought you had everything you needed just from the previous illegal hacking." He grinned evilly at me, obviously trying to get the upper hand in our little conversation. No way am I gonna let that happen.
"Oh we did, this little thing is just an added bonus." I declared, ruffling the papers in my hand. He clamped his mouth shut, and continued to glare at me. "You see this is your personal psychological report from Manticore, and boy, did I find some things interesting." He tried hard to hide his surprise, but I could see it clearly. "Let's see... Here!" I pointed to a sentence on the document. "Previous escape attempt..." 405 sharply turned his head away from me, not letting me see his emotions. I can deal with that. "Also you once attacked a guard for beating up your little brother. Then there were those five guards that were taken down during your escape at age ten." I leaned against the wall, trying to alleviate some of the tension from the room, trying a new tactic.
"While I do realize that you received therapy for your so-called 'emotional flaws', I'm wondering if you still hate Manticore. After all, you did try to escape once, and you understand what they are doing to you and your family is wrong." I cocked my head to the side, letting a red curl fall in my face.
He turned his head towards me, carefully masking all emotions from his eyes. "Get to the point, if there is one." He grumbled eyeing me.
I shrugged carelessly and looked around the room, trying to appear relaxed. "Well, put the pieces together. You hate Manticore and care about your family, and obviously want to get them out of there." He sighed impatiently, raising his eyebrows. "So did X5, Zack successfully got most of them out of Manticore. Now you are in the company of two X5s, not to mention the top two, and a revved up girl performing at your level. You are among allies. We haven't tortured you or interrogated you, we can help."
"What are you suggesting?" He narrowed his eyes at me, paranoid of my every intention. Some one needs to switch to decaf.
"We can help you escape. We can get you the proper materials to disappear into the outside world forever. Why don't you just keep going south and never look back?" His expression suddenly turned to what looked like saddened anger. It seemed a bit strange on him, and I took a step closer to him, my arms crossed in front of me.
"What, and leave my home? Manticore is my home, because my family is there and I can't abandon them. That would be betrayal." He met my eyes, awaiting my response. So, he can't leave his family. A plan formulated in my mind, and I felt a wicked grin form on my lips. I started to work out things in my mind, and grew more and more excited at the idea. I glanced at the kid, and he looked a little puzzled.
"Why do you look like that? What are you up too?" He asked, and I just waved my hand in dismissal. I took a deep breath, calming myself and pushing the thoughts racing in my head to a back burner.
"So, who all is back there that you are going to return too?" I asked cautiously.
"Who do you think? My siblings, of course." He rolled his eyes at me, and I just rolled my eyes back at him.
"Duh, stupid. I mean any particular brothers or sisters? Zack only protected about half of the X5 class." I raised my eyebrows at him teasingly and he scowled back. I frowned at him, discouraged by his damned attitude. Fine, if he doesn't want to be friendly, I can deal.
His shoulder slumped somewhat, seeming to admit defeat. He took a deep breath as if preparing for pain. Closing his eyes, he rested his head back on the pillow under him. "There are ten that seem ready to make an escape. They are decidedly disloyal to Manticore. I make six males, and five females who are the rebels in our class. My second in command and the best of us are among them. My SIC is more than ready. Zoe has been-" His eyes snapped open as he realized his mistake. He bit his bottom lip in punishment for letting me into his mind so far.
I smiled in triumph, placing my hand on my hips. "So you guys did give each other names like the X5 group. What were your reasons?" I pulled up a nearby chair, trying to coax him into relaxing so he will start telling me things.
The X8 gritted his teeth, not wanting to give up such personal information. "Well... At the start of the defiance, a few of the youngest girls felt we should have code names to confuse the guards. Cobe, an older X8 suggested we use nouns, like cloud, pine, and moon. The girls insisted on human names. So one night," He glanced at me nervously, trying to decide whether or not to stop. I didn't move, just looked at him calmly. "...One night Nel, the youngest female, came to the barracks with a magazine she stole from a nurse. It was some woman's magazine, and we flipped through pages looking for names."
I smiled at him, and he looked away. I can't be mad at him, it must have taken a hell of a lot for him to tell a stranger that. "What's your name?" I asked. He sucked in a breath, pausing in indecision. "Oh come on," I said impatiently. "You cannot stop there. You told me your siblings' names. It won't do you any worse to tell me yours."
He looked down at his chest. "My family picked it for me. They said it described me. It's... Leo." I grinned despite myself. It most certainly did describe him.
"How'd they come up with that?" It was sort of obvious, but I wondered how a bunch of soldier kids would know of its meaning.
"In the back of the magazine there were these things that predicted your future by your birthday. It gave a small description of each, and they said it was mine. We also knew that Leo is the Latin name for a lion, and I supposedly resemble one." I gazed at him for a few moments, contemplating what to say.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Leo." He looked up at me from the bed. "My name is Eve." He nodded briefly, still staring at me.
"Eve? What are you doing in here?" I spun at the sound of Uncle Zack's voice, to be greeted with his stern CO face. He looked angry with me, his eyes darting from me to Leo and back again.
"Gossiping." I answer in a voice higher than I would have liked. I turned a bit to get Leo into my view. He was glaring challengingly at Zack, who was returning the look whole-heartedly.
"Come on, Eve." Zack said without looking at me, grabbing my upper arm. He began urging me out of the room. "I need to talk to you for a minute. Let's go." I walked out after him, still being led around. He took me to my room, and sat me down on my bed.
He began pacing back and forth after shutting the door tightly. I knew he was getting ready for a lecture. He had me sit so he would appear to have dominance. Raking his fingers in his hair, he turned sharply to face me. "Eve, I don't want you talking to him. We can't trust him, he's Manticore. I don't know what their new tactics are back there. Plus, I can't have you getting close to him, or bonding on any personal level."
I felt rage start to burn inside me. "What?!?" Why?"
"Well, I'm not sure what we will do with him if he's loyal to Manticore. He might have to be... taken care of." I felt the words sink in, and I stood, gaining back some control. I stared Zack down, fists clenching at my sides.
"Are you saying you are planning to kill him?" I asked in disgust. Zack tore his eyes away from me, and I saw a flicker of shame inside those gray eyes. I saw the reasoning behind it, but I refused to accept it. Then I remembered my little plan from earlier.
"I'm sorry Eve, but there is no way. He knows where we live, he knows about you and Max."
I smiled to myself, going through my idea again in my head. Zack looked at me, thrown off by my sudden change in attitude. "Zack, when I was talking to him, he talked about his brothers and sisters just like you do. He told me that he would rather go back to Manticore to them than abandon them and just leave now for Mexico. I found in his psych report that he attacked a guard for striking his littlest brother. Also," I handed Zack the papers as he sat on the edge of my bed absorbing my discoveries. I pointed to the key words. "He tried to escape when he was a kid. Nearly got out, too. He hates Manticore, Zack. We can use this to our advantage."
He eyed me for a few seconds. "What are you suggesting, that we help him run?" I shook my head.
"No. He would never do that, I told you so. He won't make a move without his brothers and sisters. He says that ten are ready to escape, and his SIC has given him consent in the matter."
"Eve, what are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that we should form an X5/X8 alliance, and break them out of there."
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TA DA! I'm so sorry that this took forever. And you are going to hate me even more, because I'm going to Camp for a week on Sunday the 15th. Well, I'm gonna sacrificed to the fan fiction gods now, huh? This chapter took forever, yes. I have discovered that I can only write while listening to CDs. The end of this chapter was to Limp Bizkit, the middle to Blink 182, and the beginning to Linkin Park, I think. Anyway, I'm sorry, and REVIEW! Or the next chapter will take even longer! BA HA HA HA! LUV YA