Summary: Zack phones Jondy to get her to come and help rescue Max at the beginning of 'And Jesus Brought a Casserole'. Jondy turns up with three friends to help take down the DNA lab, but their past catches up with them at a very bad time.
Sorry it's taken so long for me to update but I've been really busy. Thanks to Gamegirl452, Black Rose9, Rouge-X5 and ZombieGurl98 for reviewing.
Friends and Family
Chapter 3 - Brotherly Love
Jondy was careful to avoid any sudden movements and she sensed that her friends had also frozen. It had been two years since she had last seen Zack and now she observed him over the barrel of a gun. He hadn't changed a bit. He still looked and acted like the perfect soldier he was born to be.
"Zack, chill, these are my friends," Jondy tried to reassure him.
"I don't care who the hell they are, just get rid of them or else I will," he threatened.
Jondy hesitated for a moment, half expecting her friends to interrupt, but they had obviously heeded her warning and stood silently behind her.
"They're here to help us rescue Max. I asked them to come. Don't worry, you can trust them," she told him calmly.
Jondy's gaze shifted briefly from Zack to the two people standing either side of him. She hadn't seen either of them for 11 years, but she knew them instantly. She had spent the first nine years of her life with them and had dreamed of finding them again ever since the escape. Syl was her big sister and Krit, her little brother. So many years of wondering and wishing and here they were. But right now she had to concentrate. Zack was a threat and her eyes snapped back to him.
"Oh, I can trust them, can I?" Zack sneered. "I've never met them before, but I should just go ahead and trust them. They could be spies for all I know. They could even be from Ma . . .," he stopped himself just in time. The less the strangers knew the better. He couldn't believe that Jondy could be so reckless. He expected this sort of thing from Max, but never from Jondy. Sure she was a little wild, but she had always been so very careful, and now here she was being completely irresponsible.
Sam had realised what Zack had been going to say, and silently debated his course of action. He could say something, although Jondy might feel inclined to cause him serious bodily harm later on, or he could keep his mouth shut. So ... no contest then!
Before Jondy could respond to Zack's outburst, Sam unexpectedly took a step forward, with his hands raised to show that he held no weapons and offered no threat, and said calmly, "it's ok, we know about Manticore and we want to help."
Jondy groaned inwardly. This was really not going to help at all. Sure enough, Zack's finger tightened on the trigger and a look of fury crossed his face.
"Do you even know what you're doing any more Jondy?"
Her eyes flashed in warning. "I trust them," she said through gritted teeth and Zack understood. The cat DNA in her was ruling and her message was clear. Back off.
"Umm, sorry to interrupt, but I think we're all here for the same purpose, to rescue Max," said a quietly spoken man standing a little way from the others. Jondy's eyes had passed over him briefly when she had first entered the warehouse. Her initial assessment had been that he was more geek than soldier. She took a closer look now and saw the deep concern which was etched into his pale face.
"Hi," she smiled, "and who are you?"
"He's a friend of Max's. He's helping," Zack told her curtly.
Jondy's eyes slid back to Zack.
"So it's ok for Max's friends to be here, is it? I bet that he didn't get a gun in his face when you first saw him." Jondy was furious now.
"I probably would have, if he'd been conscious at the time. Anyway, I'm Logan," he said by way of introduction.
"Look I think the practical solution would be to talk about this with a little less passion, ok?" Krit suggested.
Krit had never seemed as tough as the others back at Manticore. He preferred to talk his way out of trouble if possible, but he could be as ruthless as the rest of them if the situation called for it. It was clear to him that Jondy cared deeply about the people she was with, but Zack was clearly too annoyed to see it.
"No. They go now," Zack ordered stubbornly.
Syl had been silent since Jondy and her gang had arrived. Like every other member of her family, she had spent years searching for her siblings, and she was thrilled that one of her younger sisters was standing right before her. Her gaze took in Jondy's long brown hair, tied tightly back in a pony- tail, her beautiful, tanned face. She was taller than Syl had expected.
Syl had also taken the time to study Jondy's friends. The taller of the boys stood just that little bit closer to Jondy, his green eyes sparkling, clearly enjoying her performance. But there was more to it than just admiration. He loved her. Syl was a good judge of character, and she was pretty sure that someone who had so little control over their basic emotions could never deceive a super soldier like Jondy. Actually, Jondy's female companion was the most interesting of the group. She actually looked bored! Even when Zack had his gun pointed at them, she still looked unconcerned.
"I think that they should at least tell us their names first," Syl said.
"This is Fay Edwards, Sam Frost, and Radar McManus," Jondy quickly said before her brother could speak. Logan raised his eyebrows.
"Quite a gang you have there," he acknowledged.
"You've heard of them?" asked Zack puzzled.
Logan nodded.
"Yes. Well we have here an expert in infiltration, a highly skilled con artist, who's also got some pretty good computer skills, and, if I'm not mistaken, you're Daniel Frost's son," he said to Sam. "You've got even more underworld contacts than I have." Logan sounded impressed.
"Well, they sound nice and trustworthy," said Zack sarcastically.
Jondy had just opened her mouth to retaliate when Fay decided to make her own contribution to the discussion.
She had been fairly bored for a long time now. She was here to rescue her best friend's sister, not get bitched on by some tough nut blond dude who thought he knew what was best. Time to be radical. Her hand moved rapidly to her belt, where her third favourite knife was concealed, and before anyone could move, the knife flashed across the room and imbedded itself in the wooden balcony, missing Zack's head by a fraction of an inch. Transgenics were fast, but even Zack didn't have time to react. He was amazed that a normal person could throw a knife that hard, with that much precision.
Fay stared at Zack fearlessly.
"If I wanted you dead, you would be. But I don't. I came here to save my best friend's sister, and that's what I'm going to do. You know nothing about me and I know nothing about you, except that you are called Zack and you had a crappy childhood. I say that you chill out, give us the benefit of the doubt, and let us get on with helping to save your sister."
Zack thought for a moment then came to a decision.
"Right. You can stay and help. But if I so much as think you're double- crossing us, I'll kill you," he told her menacingly.
"I was counting on it," she replied nonchalantly.
Just then a cell phone went off and Logan snatched it up. Everyone stood awkwardly until Radar finally walked over and removed Fay's knife from the wood. He casually threw it back to her. He then turned to Zack.
"We've brought our own weapons, good stuff. Are you set?" he asked.
"Yes, but we don't know much too much, except that Lydecker hasn't left the city with Max yet. Logan's in touch with some of his contacts. That should be one of them getting back to him right now."
"Our bikes are outside with more of our gear," Jondy told him.
Zack was just about to tell her to go get them when Logan finished his conversation and hung up.
"That was a contact of mine. Military convoy just swooped in on some motel in sector eight," he told them all.
"Then let's go," Zack ordered.
The group turned to leave and then all hell broke loose.
Sorry it's taken so long for me to update but I've been really busy. Thanks to Gamegirl452, Black Rose9, Rouge-X5 and ZombieGurl98 for reviewing.
Friends and Family
Chapter 3 - Brotherly Love
Jondy was careful to avoid any sudden movements and she sensed that her friends had also frozen. It had been two years since she had last seen Zack and now she observed him over the barrel of a gun. He hadn't changed a bit. He still looked and acted like the perfect soldier he was born to be.
"Zack, chill, these are my friends," Jondy tried to reassure him.
"I don't care who the hell they are, just get rid of them or else I will," he threatened.
Jondy hesitated for a moment, half expecting her friends to interrupt, but they had obviously heeded her warning and stood silently behind her.
"They're here to help us rescue Max. I asked them to come. Don't worry, you can trust them," she told him calmly.
Jondy's gaze shifted briefly from Zack to the two people standing either side of him. She hadn't seen either of them for 11 years, but she knew them instantly. She had spent the first nine years of her life with them and had dreamed of finding them again ever since the escape. Syl was her big sister and Krit, her little brother. So many years of wondering and wishing and here they were. But right now she had to concentrate. Zack was a threat and her eyes snapped back to him.
"Oh, I can trust them, can I?" Zack sneered. "I've never met them before, but I should just go ahead and trust them. They could be spies for all I know. They could even be from Ma . . .," he stopped himself just in time. The less the strangers knew the better. He couldn't believe that Jondy could be so reckless. He expected this sort of thing from Max, but never from Jondy. Sure she was a little wild, but she had always been so very careful, and now here she was being completely irresponsible.
Sam had realised what Zack had been going to say, and silently debated his course of action. He could say something, although Jondy might feel inclined to cause him serious bodily harm later on, or he could keep his mouth shut. So ... no contest then!
Before Jondy could respond to Zack's outburst, Sam unexpectedly took a step forward, with his hands raised to show that he held no weapons and offered no threat, and said calmly, "it's ok, we know about Manticore and we want to help."
Jondy groaned inwardly. This was really not going to help at all. Sure enough, Zack's finger tightened on the trigger and a look of fury crossed his face.
"Do you even know what you're doing any more Jondy?"
Her eyes flashed in warning. "I trust them," she said through gritted teeth and Zack understood. The cat DNA in her was ruling and her message was clear. Back off.
"Umm, sorry to interrupt, but I think we're all here for the same purpose, to rescue Max," said a quietly spoken man standing a little way from the others. Jondy's eyes had passed over him briefly when she had first entered the warehouse. Her initial assessment had been that he was more geek than soldier. She took a closer look now and saw the deep concern which was etched into his pale face.
"Hi," she smiled, "and who are you?"
"He's a friend of Max's. He's helping," Zack told her curtly.
Jondy's eyes slid back to Zack.
"So it's ok for Max's friends to be here, is it? I bet that he didn't get a gun in his face when you first saw him." Jondy was furious now.
"I probably would have, if he'd been conscious at the time. Anyway, I'm Logan," he said by way of introduction.
"Look I think the practical solution would be to talk about this with a little less passion, ok?" Krit suggested.
Krit had never seemed as tough as the others back at Manticore. He preferred to talk his way out of trouble if possible, but he could be as ruthless as the rest of them if the situation called for it. It was clear to him that Jondy cared deeply about the people she was with, but Zack was clearly too annoyed to see it.
"No. They go now," Zack ordered stubbornly.
Syl had been silent since Jondy and her gang had arrived. Like every other member of her family, she had spent years searching for her siblings, and she was thrilled that one of her younger sisters was standing right before her. Her gaze took in Jondy's long brown hair, tied tightly back in a pony- tail, her beautiful, tanned face. She was taller than Syl had expected.
Syl had also taken the time to study Jondy's friends. The taller of the boys stood just that little bit closer to Jondy, his green eyes sparkling, clearly enjoying her performance. But there was more to it than just admiration. He loved her. Syl was a good judge of character, and she was pretty sure that someone who had so little control over their basic emotions could never deceive a super soldier like Jondy. Actually, Jondy's female companion was the most interesting of the group. She actually looked bored! Even when Zack had his gun pointed at them, she still looked unconcerned.
"I think that they should at least tell us their names first," Syl said.
"This is Fay Edwards, Sam Frost, and Radar McManus," Jondy quickly said before her brother could speak. Logan raised his eyebrows.
"Quite a gang you have there," he acknowledged.
"You've heard of them?" asked Zack puzzled.
Logan nodded.
"Yes. Well we have here an expert in infiltration, a highly skilled con artist, who's also got some pretty good computer skills, and, if I'm not mistaken, you're Daniel Frost's son," he said to Sam. "You've got even more underworld contacts than I have." Logan sounded impressed.
"Well, they sound nice and trustworthy," said Zack sarcastically.
Jondy had just opened her mouth to retaliate when Fay decided to make her own contribution to the discussion.
She had been fairly bored for a long time now. She was here to rescue her best friend's sister, not get bitched on by some tough nut blond dude who thought he knew what was best. Time to be radical. Her hand moved rapidly to her belt, where her third favourite knife was concealed, and before anyone could move, the knife flashed across the room and imbedded itself in the wooden balcony, missing Zack's head by a fraction of an inch. Transgenics were fast, but even Zack didn't have time to react. He was amazed that a normal person could throw a knife that hard, with that much precision.
Fay stared at Zack fearlessly.
"If I wanted you dead, you would be. But I don't. I came here to save my best friend's sister, and that's what I'm going to do. You know nothing about me and I know nothing about you, except that you are called Zack and you had a crappy childhood. I say that you chill out, give us the benefit of the doubt, and let us get on with helping to save your sister."
Zack thought for a moment then came to a decision.
"Right. You can stay and help. But if I so much as think you're double- crossing us, I'll kill you," he told her menacingly.
"I was counting on it," she replied nonchalantly.
Just then a cell phone went off and Logan snatched it up. Everyone stood awkwardly until Radar finally walked over and removed Fay's knife from the wood. He casually threw it back to her. He then turned to Zack.
"We've brought our own weapons, good stuff. Are you set?" he asked.
"Yes, but we don't know much too much, except that Lydecker hasn't left the city with Max yet. Logan's in touch with some of his contacts. That should be one of them getting back to him right now."
"Our bikes are outside with more of our gear," Jondy told him.
Zack was just about to tell her to go get them when Logan finished his conversation and hung up.
"That was a contact of mine. Military convoy just swooped in on some motel in sector eight," he told them all.
"Then let's go," Zack ordered.
The group turned to leave and then all hell broke loose.
