Disclaimer: This is getting old. Everyone knows who I own and who I don't.
Black Ice
By Be Boring
Chapter 8: Tell Me a Story
A week of darkness wasn't the best way to improve your mood, as Zack was quickly discovering. Many people couldn't even call in their packages, so business at JamPony was ridiculously slow and everyone's income was suffering from it. Only messengers were allowed to move between sectors, so at least the line was short, but it was so dreary wherever they went. The only light came from candles lit inside houses and apartments, or the trashcan fires of the homeless outside. The only positive outcome of the blackout was that Ben was trapped. Zack knew that if it weren't for that, he would have been long gone.
He didn't even bother to say hello, he simply started right in on his business once he had stepped into Ben's hotel room. "Please tell me you didn't get that baby from Montana."
Ben rolled his eyes and walked over to where Paige was now crying at the intrusion. "So what if I did? Is it important? By the way, nice to see you too."
"Was White involved?"
With Paige now curling up comfortably in his arms, Ben shrugged noncommittally. "I can't really remember if he was there or not. I don't even remember if any familiars were there at all, much less White."
Zack crossed his arms angrily. "Did you or did you not take that baby from a group of people who may or may not have been familiars who were running through the woods after it?"
"Yes."
"Did this occur near Lakeside, Montana?"
"I believe I may have passed through a town by that name."
"Did you see Max there?"
Well, that explained everything. Max had told him about what had happened. "Yeah, I saw her. What does that have to do with anything?"
Zack stared at the baby, who looked quite content with Ben holding her. "I need to know what your reasoning was for taking a familiar baby. There were other people around that could have taken her, as they were obviously trying to do, so what possessed you to join in that chase? Don't bother lying to me, I'm not in the mood to stand for it."
Ben set Paige back in her nest and stood up to face Zack. "I wanted my shot at those familiars, but I couldn't do it with Max there so I took the baby. She's just bait, as soon as I've had my fun with those familiars I'll drop her off somewhere safe."
"Why doesn't it surprise me that it was something along those lines?"
"Don't worry about it for now, it's not like I can reel them in without resources, which is where I'm at right now. With no electricity, I can't even put a report of an abandoned baby on the news. For now I'm just stuck being a babysitter."
That had been at the beginning of this dreary week. Zack went over the Yum Yum Tree Hotel at least once a day, if not two or three times, to check on Ben and make sure he wasn't getting into trouble with that baby. Amazingly enough, he seemed to have bonded with the girl on some level. Brin liked to hold her, but when she started crying, the only person who could console her was Ben. This upset Brin a little, but she shrugged it off by joking that she wasn't planning on having kids soon anyway. They had kept the entire situation quiet from Max, Jondy, and Alec. Zack knew that the fewer people who knew about this, the better, at least until the baby was gone. He didn't want Max to know that Ben had been involved in the debacle in Montana.
"You're thinking about Ben again, aren't you?" Brin asked quietly as they lounged around JamPony. For once, every package had been delivered and now everyone was just sitting around without anything to do. Normal wouldn't let them take off early, which was absurd because even if a package was called in, it wasn't like he would need everybody to go on the run.
"I can't help it. He made so much progress back on the farm, it's like he's forgotten all about it. How can he just go straight back to what he was before?"
Brin sat down across from him at the tiny table where he was musing. "Well, the way I see it, if he could just change back into what he was before, it stands to reason that he could change again into what he became afterwards. I see more of that good side of him whenever he's dealing with the baby. Maybe that baby is the best thing for him. I know his motives for getting her were exactly what you didn't want, but I think she's having a good effect on him. Unfortunately, that baby has a home somewhere, even if it probably is with a bunch of familiars who will raise her to hate us."
Zack rolled a quarter across the table, reaching out and grabbing it before it rolled off the edge. "I'm just worried about the familiars coming after her while the electricity is out. They might have been able to track Ben here without his knowledge, and as much as he wanted the chance to kill them, I don't think he'll have much luck if they surprise him."
"Hey, one of you slackers, hot run!" A package nearly the size of his arm landed in his lap, which he picked up and looked at in disgust. Great, just when he thought he was done for the day.
Ames walked past JamPony for what felt like the millionth time. This was the only lead he had to find Kay, so he took every opportunity he could to eavesdrop on 452 and her friends, but it didn't take long to figure out that they hadn't seen her. He was sure they would have talked about it at least once over this past week, but her name never came up. He still remembered the look on 452's face when she discovered that Zack had thrown Kay in with him during her heat. Maybe Kay didn't feel like facing her just yet. Still, his instincts were screaming that she was in Seattle somewhere.
"No, I can't come to Crash tonight. Logan really wants to make dinner tonight to make up for how distant he's been lately." Ames threw himself around the nearest corner as 452 and some other young blonde woman he'd never seen before walked into sight.
The other woman looked at 452 curiously. "Distant? You haven't said anything about that."
452 shrugged, looking down at her dismally blank clipboard. "That's because I didn't want to say anything until I knew what it was about. I think it's one of his big projects, but whatever it is he's been acting weird lately. As long as he makes up for it and doesn't stay like this too long, it's not too big a deal, but I hope he doesn't make a habit out of pushing me away."
Who's Logan? He hadn't heard that name before. Well, I may as well go along and see if I recognize him. Maybe it'll be helpful. This was easier said than done, however, because following 452 without her noticing was much more complicated than he had expected it to be. He had to sneak from alley to alley as she powered along on her motorcycle because of the way she kept looking around her as she drove. He could only assume that it was automatic because of her training, but it made things difficult for him. Keeping up with her, staying quiet, and remaining out of sight could have been turned into an entire career for how much work it was. He wished he could have taken a car, but she would have noticed that right away, so he was reduced to running around in dank alleyways like the creatures he used to chase. It wasn't until they were nearly there that he realized they were approaching his father's old house. Ames had actually lived there for a brief time before he was sent off to Brookridge Academy, but it was hardly recognizable now. Like the old, worn, rotting homes around it, this house was in a serious state of disrepair. Apparently this Logan guy didn't have the time to do basic fix-ups.
Once 452 was inside, he went around the side of the house and peered in the living room window. He could see an impressive collection of computer equipment on a desk in the middle of the room, but the occupant of the house was out of sight. Shapes were moving around in the kitchen, so he went around the house and peeked in that side. The moment he saw Logan cutting up a few carrots, he recognized him. He had been involved in the incident with 453, and he had been the Eyes Only correspondent that Wendy talked to when she was looking for Ray. Well well well. Connections to the most influential and informed man in the city. I think I know who Kay's been talking to.
Kay was nearly at her wit's end. An entire week of blackness with no way of moving on with her search for Paige was really starting to take its toll on her. Her nightmares had taken an entirely different turn, which included the deformed and bloody Ben from her earlier dreams running off with Paige and yelling at her that he was finally taking what should have been his. Bling had learned not to wake her up, because with her nerves strung so tight she nearly took his head off the first time he tried. After that, he left her alone. She knew she was becoming short-tempered with Logan for their lack of progress, which was unfair because she knew it wasn't his fault, and she also knew her foul mood was affecting how he acted. He had finally yelled at her the day before because he knew Max was becoming frustrated with him pushing her away. According to him, she was completely ruining every day for him.
Now she was wandering down a street a few blocks away from Bling's apartment. Moving was the only way she felt at ease anymore, and even then it wasn't like she was very relaxed. Even the minor act of walking helped distract her from the wave of desperate and ghastly thoughts that consistently crashed through her exhausted brain. Every horrible scenario that she had ever pictured was now ten times worse with the time that had passed. Paige had already spent half of her short life separated from her mother. When she got her back, would Paige even remember her? You mean if you get her back. That little voice only made her feel worse every time she thought about her daughter. Shut up. I will get her back, just you wait and see.
"Miss, stop right there!"
Kay turned to see three sector police standing ten feet behind her with their guns raised. Just great, this was the last thing she needed right now. "Can I help you, gentlemen?"
"Let us see your neck."
Why is this even an issue now? I thought we were far past this. Of course, she knew there was a good possibility that with her insufferable luck, she had managed to come across some anti-transgenic cops. She turned around and pulled her hair to the side, showing her barcode clearly under the light from the cloudy sky, which was the only dependable light source for miles. When she knew they'd had a good look, she turned back and let go of her hair. "What is this all about?"
One of the men stepped forward while pulling his handcuffs off of his belt. "It's policy to bring in new transgenics to have them cataloged as a citizen of this city. We feel it's important to know who all of you are."
"Look, I'm not a citizen, I was just passing through when the blackout hit, so I'm just temporarily stuck here. You're never going to see my face again after the power's back on."
"I understand that, miss, but for the time being we still need to register you. We don't know how long the blackout is going to last, so I think it's just best for everyone if we know who you are for as long as you're here."
Kay studied him skeptically. He looked like a nice enough guy, even though she knew most of the sector police were scumbags. Maybe she hadn't run into transgenic haters after all. The only thing she didn't like was that he was still holding up the handcuffs. "You can put those things away, I'm not going to put up a fight, and believe me, if I wanted to it would be only too easy to escape while wearing those cuffs. Just understand that I want this business over with fast, I have other plans today." Liar, the little voice sneered. You were just going to sit around and mope.
She sat in a chair at the station and watched one of the cops dig through his desk. "I know I've got that translation paper around here somewhere. Dammit, I hate reading these barcodes."
"I'll make it easy for you. 330084852358. That's X5, if you didn't know."
He grabbed a slip of blank paper and a pencil and said, "Could you repeat that?" Once she had done so, he pulled out a rather thick book and flipped to a page marked "X5." She could see all of her old family's barcodes listed there. Max's was at the very top of the list. He copied her barcode down again on that page. "Age?"
"Twenty-three."
"Current address?"
"Is that really required?"
"Yeah, but we never actually get anyone's real addresses. We've checked them all out and discovered they were false."
"Well then, you can tell your superiors that I did the same thing. Just make up an address off the top of your head, you're more familiar with the area than I am. Will there be anything else?"
"Yes, we like to find out if you've ever been on any assassination missions in Seattle."
"No."
"Very well, you're free to go."
Kay walked out of the station rolling her eyes. "Could they have wasted my time any more than that?" As it began to drizzle outside, she pulled the hood of her jacket up. She never noticed the two familiars heading for the station behind her.
All three cops looked up when the two burly men stepped in. It was pretty obvious right away what they were, no one could walk around with muscles like that and not appear suspicious. One of the men, a tall man with reddish-brown hair and a strong jaw line, stepped forward and held out a picture. It was a fuzzy photograph copied from a television shot, but the woman in it was still recognizable. Even though her hair was red and curly in the photo, it was still pretty apparent that it was the X5 they had just released.
"Where is this woman? I'm told that you have an index of every transgenic in the city. She is wanted for the murder of the former mayor's daughter."
The same cop that had been talking to Kay opened the book immediately to the X5 page. He knew very well that these were not people to mess with. "We just have her other information that I'm sure you already have, but this address isn't real. She refused to give us her actual location."
The other familiar, a shorter, stockier man with a thick mane of dirty blonde hair, spoke this time. "Is there anything you can tell us about her that might be useful?"
"Well, her hair isn't that color anymore, it's blonde right now. She was wearing a hooded jacket and jeans, but that's pretty typical of everybody. She just left a couple minutes ago, so she couldn't have gone far. Other than that, there's nothing I can tell you."
The second familiar nodded, smiling as he reached behind his back to grab something that the cops couldn't see. "You've been very helpful, gentlemen, but I'm afraid we can't risk you telling anyone we were here." Before they could react, he pulled a gun out from behind his back and fired three perfect shots into the foreheads of all the cops.
Jacob, the redhead, stared down at the three bodies on the floor. "That wasn't bad, but you hit the last one a little to the left."
The shooter, Curtis, shrugged and put the gun back in its place. "At least I can actually hit a person standing at point blank range, unlike some other people I know."
"Very subtle," Jacob sneered. "Well, we know the girl is in this sector, and with any luck we'll be able to follow her to wherever she's living and capture her at our leisure. Let's go."
It didn't take Kay long to realize she was being followed, familiars weren't nearly as quiet as transgenics. She turned the nearest corner and burst into a run, leaping up onto a dumpster and giving one more good jump to land on the roof of a small antiques shop. She waited for them to turn the corner and also start running as they realized that she had caught onto them, then she jumped back down to the ground on the opposite side of the shop from them. After backtracking all the way to the station and taking another longer route to Bling's apartment, she was satisfied they hadn't been able to follow her. A bike she'd never seen before was sitting outside the building, but she walked straight past it and headed inside and up the stairs.
"No, ma'am, I'm sure that no one has opened this package before now," came a frustrated voice from her hallway. She was halfway up the stairs to her floor when she heard it, and it made her stop dead in her tracks. Nah, it couldn't be. My luck couldn't be that bad, could it? She crept up the steps much more quietly this time and paused just outside the door to her hallway so she could look through the window. No one was there, but she could see an open door just down the corridor. If she hurried, she might be able to make it to Bling's apartment before he came back out. Taking a deep breath, she sprinted soundlessly down the hall, screeching to a halt just as Zack stepped out of the open door directly in front of her. If she had thought the silence was thick when she'd first seen Logan again, it was nothing compared to this. They both stood there in shock, staring at each other with their legs still braced from having to stop so quickly.
Kay was the first to move again. In one swift motion she dodged around him and raced to Bling's door, unlocking it and running inside before Zack could react. Don't follow me, don't follow me, don't follow me, she pleaded silently. Zack was absolutely the last person on earth she wanted to see right now. Where's Bling? I can get him to answer the door if Zack follows me. However, it appeared that Bling wasn't home, because all the candles had been put out, giving the apartment an extremely gloomy appearance because of its lack of windows.
"Kay, open the door," Zack said gently from the other side. Did his voice sound strained? She couldn't tell. She listened to him breathing deeply on the other side, then he lightly knocked on the door, making it vibrate against her back. "Please open the door, Kay, we need to talk."
Fury bubbled up inside her so abruptly that she had no idea where it had come from. "Talk? You think we need to talk? Actions speak louder than words, and you made yourself pretty clear last time. I don't think there's anything to talk about."
"Please don't be like that. Look, I know what I did was wrong, but I think I deserve the chance to make it up to you."
"If you really want to get what you deserve, I'll open this door up in a heartbeat and give it to you. If I were you, I wouldn't want this door opened." She hadn't even realized the suppressed rage she still had about that particular incident. Apparently the saying "out of sight, out of mind" was true. Now that he was here, she wanted to rip him apart.
"How about you let me come in and say my piece, then I'll let you beat the crap out of me. Does that work for you?"
"Only if I get to twist your head off afterwards and shove it up your—"
"Let's see how you feel after I've talked first before we think about that," he interrupted quickly.
Kay couldn't believe she was doing this, but she reached out and turned the doorknob slowly. She stepped back and let the door swing open of its own accord, feeling her stomach lurch at the sight of him. This really was the last thing she needed right now. Her daughter was missing, being chased by a cult that planned to suck all of her life's blood out of her, the electricity was out, and now she had to deal with this? Sometimes her own rotten luck amazed her. "Come in before I change my mind," she ordered sharply, staring at a family photograph of Bling's hanging on the wall next to the doorway. Just because she had agreed to talk to him didn't mean she had to look at him.
Zack stepped past her, making sure to give her plenty of room so that she couldn't lash out at him, and wandered around to the other side of the table as she shut the door. He knew the little table wouldn't make much difference if she decided to come after him, but he still felt safer with it between them. "Like I said before, I know what I did was wrong, and I know there's nothing I can do to make up for it. I just did it out of anger, if I had been thinking clearly I would have realized there had to be something else going on than you betraying us. I guess I just didn't know how to respond when I saw you two lying there on that bed when I was imagining a completely different scenario. I went off the wall, and I know I hurt you deeply. I can't say I blame you if you never forgive me, but you've got to believe I'm sorry. Even if you still want to kill me, you need to believe that I regret what I did. I think that may very well be the worst thing I've ever done to my family. I love you, Kay, whether you want me to or not. You're family to me."
She was shaking by the time he finished speaking. Zack wasn't particularly talented with comforting words, and he certainly hadn't said anything that made her feel better. He loved her and thought of her as family? What kind of sick bastard would set up his own sister's rape? Heat cycle or not, that's what it was. A tear slipped down her cheek as she glared at him. "You son of a bitch, you think that was enough? You think that makes up for everything? You don't even know everything you put into motion! I'm sure that if you did know, you would have been smarter than to try and talk to me. If you knew everything, you would have run for the hills the second you saw me!"
He didn't even try to get away as she leapt straight over the table and slammed into him, forcing him into the wall behind him. He made no attempt to defend himself when she started pounding away at his face, screaming every insult she could think of at him. Kay knew she was taking all her frustration from her current situation out on him, but wasn't it his fault anyway? If it hadn't been for him, Paige wouldn't exist today to be kidnapped. She wouldn't be at odds with him right now, she would still be close with Max and Brin, and she would probably be back together with Ben. How could he ever expect her to forgive him for everything he had put her through? She continued hammering away at him, hitting every inch of him that she could. He wobbled on his feet, but he still stayed standing. He knew she had to empty herself of the torn emotions he had placed in her so long ago. If that meant she killed him or permanently damaged him, so be it. It was what he deserved.
As she started to feel the severe burn of overuse sear through her arms, Zack's face flickered in front of her eyes and changed smoothly into Paige's. She paused in mid-punch and gasped, blinking her eyes furiously until she was looking at Zack again. She threw in a few more good punches, then suddenly her baby's face returned. Her earlier thoughts came back to her. True, if he hadn't thrown her with Ames then Paige wouldn't be alive to have been kidnapped, but did she really want to turn back the clock so that her daughter never came into this world? She stood trembling in front of Zack, staring at him with a mixture of wrath, confusion, pain, misery, affection, and dismay at what she had done swimming through her eyes and across her features. Another tear escaped the confines of her eye and ran over her cheek, only to fall off her chin and land on her jacket. Finally, the dam broke. Her tears gushed out shamelessly as she wrapped her arms around her body and hugged herself miserably.
"Why did you have to do it? Of all the things you could have done to test my loyalty, why did it have to be that? Don't you know what that did to me?"
Zack stepped tentatively away from the wall. He felt like a truck had hit him, he'd forgotten how strong Kay was, but he knew that if he didn't act now, things might never improve between them. He hesitantly reached out and rested a hand on each of her shoulders, then, when she didn't jerk out of his grasp, he pulled her against him and held her while she cried. She shuddered at the contact, but finally wrapped her arms around his ribs and leaned against him, feeling some of her pain drain slowly away. No one had held her like this since she'd lived on the farm, and she had forgotten how much she missed it. Holding Paige was one thing, but having someone hold her and rock her comfortingly like a child was relief on a whole new level.
Kay finally stepped out of the hug and wiped briskly at her eyes. Once her hands were away from her face, she took in the damage she had done to Zack. Instead of making her feel better to see him as a bloody, pulpy mess, she felt incredibly guilty. She grabbed some paper towels from the counter and reached out to dab at the already congealing blood around his mouth, but he took the paper towels from her.
"You don't have to do anything, I don't deserve it. I can clean myself up. What do you want me to tell Brin when she asks tonight about what happened to me?"
She hadn't even thought about that before. "I don't know, be creative. I'm not ready to see everybody just yet. I wasn't even expecting to see you."
He nodded, not even questioning the fact that she wanted to remain hidden for now. "Am I allowed to visit every now and then, or is that too much too soon?"
Kay cringed at the thought of having to face him again after her inner turmoil from this incident boiled over. "Don't make any plans to see me for now. I'd rather just be alone."
He nodded again, and then headed for the door. Just before he went out, he turned and gave her a weary parting smile and walked off. Kay slumped down into one of the kitchen chairs, still breathing hard from exerting herself so much. By this point, she was starting to wish that the other X5s had killed her as kids when they had the chance.
Ben wasn't quite sure how he felt about the past week. On one hand, it had somehow been the most relaxing week he'd had in a long time. He was usually always on the move, this was the longest he had remained in one place for several months. Paige also had a calming effect on him when she wasn't upset. He felt very similarly as he had when he was with Kay; it was as though he didn't really need anything else to make his life complete. Maybe he didn't really need to kill for the Blue Lady. Maybe he had misinterpreted everything he had grown up to believe. On the other hand, Zack was doing his damnedest to make his life a living hell. He had his own doubts about his plan to use the baby as bait, but hearing Zack criticize him for it only made him want to carry it out anyway just to spite his brother.
Brin was another high point of the week, but seeing as how Zack was usually right behind her, Ben wasn't able to enjoy her visits as much. She chose to ignore the fact that he'd opted to stay away from the family and kill instead. Rather than hold anything against him, she took the opportunity to chat with him like they were back on the farm. Sometimes they small talked, other times they had serious conversations about their lives, and at still other times they had philosophical discussions about the universe, the nature of human beings, and the meaning of life. It made him feel good to stretch his imagination again and come up with strange theories for the why's of the world.
That night when she showed up, she gave him a wonderful piece of news. "Zack isn't feeling too well tonight, so it's just us." That brightened him up immediately. She plopped a large piece of pizza in front of him. "I cooked it over a trashcan fire, so I'm not sure if it will have an aftertaste or not."
"It doesn't matter, I eat anything," Ben said quickly, and then took a large bite of his pizza. It wasn't bad, even for not being cooked in an oven.
Brin sat down on the bed near Paige, smiling down at the little girl, who was gazing off into space and giving odd little squeals from time to time. "Hey Ben, here's a puzzle for you. What do babies think about?"
Ben pondered it for a moment, then smiled and prepared himself to tell a tiny story. Just because they both knew it wasn't true didn't mean it wasn't fun. "Well, first of all, the human mind works in a circle. We are born true geniuses, but the process of growth makes us forget everything, so we have to learn it all again. For instance, it's common knowledge to all babies how human emotions are set up, which is why they are so good at getting us to cater to their every need. They lose this particular art as young children, when suddenly they aren't so cute anymore, and they redevelop it as senior citizens. Have you ever been able to turn down an old man on a walker?" Brin laughed and shook her head, then hushed and let him continue. "Babies also understand everything there is to know about love. They immediately love anyone who takes care of them, but that's something else they lose as young children and don't get back until they are adults. That's why you love your family, but you fall in love with your soul mate. That love for your family sticks with you as you grow, so it's just there almost without a reason, but you have to learn to love someone new. It's the inner baby that decides who you love, because when you're with that person then the little baby inside you will pop up and suddenly you'll feel that love come out of nowhere. It happens so fast, it feels like you fell into it. Hence, the term 'falling in love.'"
Brin chuckled as she finished her pizza. "I don't know where you come up with this stuff. It's probably one creative mind like you that made all of Greek mythology. Maybe you should write a book, you've got a wonderful imagination. I swear, if I wasn't old enough to know you were making it up off the top of your head, I'd believe you."
Ben nibbled on the crust of his pizza thoughtfully. It was so strange, with the way his mind took off with him when he was telling a story, it almost felt like he believed every word that came out of his mouth as well. What if I'm wrong? What if that's what I did as a kid? He pushed that thought away forcefully, turning his mind instead to the little story he'd just spun up. He hadn't meant to go off on that tangent about love, but it made sense to him. He naturally loved Brin because he always had, but it had been very different to fall in love. Why was he having all these musings on love lately? He hadn't bothered with it for years, and lately it seemed to have been pushed away from him as well, but now he was thinking about it again. Maybe it had something to do with taking care of a baby, he didn't really know. He just wished it would stop. Love was the last thing he felt like dealing with again.
Author's Note: I would say read and review, but since no one seems interested, I guess I'll settle for just continuing to post the story. There's no sense in quitting since I've already finished it.