Part Eight - Mirror Image Madness

ALEC

They all stood around me in Original Cindy 's apartment still trying to absorb what I had told them. Biggs had gone after Max. Biggs. Not me. They couldn't understand what would possess Max to call Biggs over me.

"What's the deal, man?" Jake asked me in confusion. "Why aren't you with her? What's Biggs doing there? I don't get it."

"It's a long story. The short version is: Max and I fought. She obviously didn't feel comfortable asking me for help. The end." I said in a huff, still miffed that my best friend had gone after Max without saying a word to me. "I just don't get why Biggs didn't say anything."

Sketchy piped up. "Oh, um, I was supposed to tell you he left town and would be back in a few days. Sorry."

I looked at Sketchy in disdain. "Like that helps now."

"Sorry, dude."

"Whatever. The thing is, Biggs called for backup. Knowing Max's state of mind when she left, and considering she didn't call me to begin with, I think it's safe to assume they're in a lot of trouble. There's no other way she'd have agreed to ask for my help.

"So we do this. I told Biggs we'd meet them in Olympia . Dockside. Pier 27. There's a canning warehouse just off the side of the pier. That's the rendezvous point. You guys ready for this? It could get messy. We are talking about White here. He's a nasty son of a bitch and he won't hesitate to take us out."

Jake, Steve and Tanner nodded. Without another word, I left the apartment, my friends following close on my heels.


We drove in silence. Every so often, I looked over my shoulder. It began to annoy my companions.

"Alec! What the fuck, man? You're so jumpy I'm getting nauseous!" Steve asked me finally. The others muttered in agreement.

"I think we're being followed." That shut them all up.

We sped up a bit and the uneasiness faded. After a couple hours of driving, my stomach voiced it's disapproval. It was time to stop for food.

"Hey guys, there's an exit up ahead. I'm starving. Let's eat." Straight and to the point. When it comes to my stomach, I don't fool around.

We pulled up at a gas station some three miles off the main highway. It was secluded and pretty much empty, save for a lone truck and a small Volkswagen Beetle. We hurried inside the diner and sat down in a booth.

A waitress, whose nametag identified her as "Maggie", poured us four cups of coffee. I gave her my sexiest grin and said "Maggie, what's a pretty girl like you doing in a joint like this?"

She blushed and smiled. "Tryin' t'make ends meet. What kin I git you fine fellas t'day?"

"We'll take the house special." We said at once.

Maggie laughed. "A'right. Four house specials comin' up!"

When she had disappeared behind the counter I turned to look at my friends. Before I could open my mouth I noticed something strange. Maggie had her head down and was speaking quietly into the telephone, looking furtively in our direction every couple of seconds.

"Guys," I said quietly. "Get up, walk outside and don't look back."

Without questioning me, they rose from the booth and filed outside. Once outside, Steve turned to me and asked. "What's the drama, Alec?"

"I think 'Maggie' was verifying our location." I replied. "Whatever happened, she was acting very suspicious. And I've still got the feeling someone's after us. I don't like it."

"With good reason." A voice called over my shoulder.

I spun around staring in disbelief. "Holy Mary mother of God!" I let out, reeling from the sight in front of me.

"I'd have said, 'Blue Lady give me strength', but yours will do." came the reply.

Jake, Steve and Tanner stared in shock. "Alec, what the fuck is going on?" Tanner asked as he looked from me to the stranger and back again.

"You."

"You got it, little brother. Me. I've been looking for you." Ben raised his gun and pointed it at me.


"I don't get it. You're supposed to be dead." I said, taking a step back from my brother. My mind was on overdrive, trying to come up with a plan that would allow me and my friends to make it through this ordeal alive. Brother Ben had been a psycho serial killer before Max had killed him. She did kill him. She's tortured herself enough over it. It had to have actually happened.

"The miracles of Manticore, little brother. You should know by now that they can raise the dead." Ben looked at me with an evil glint in his eye.

This is not happening. My psycho brother is not here, he is not talking to me. "What do you want?" I asked, already knowing his answer.

"Well, little bro, orders are to bring you home. Dead or alive. I'm wondering if it will be easier to drag a dead body or a restrained live one." My eyes narrowed at this. He wants to play, does he?

"Bring it on, asshole." I said maliciously. "You've caused me enough shit to last a lifetime. I think it's time I did the world a favor and took you down once and for all. But how bout we fight fair. Man to man. Drop the gun. Let's see if you can take me."

The entire time we had been talking, Ben had seemed oblivious to the others. This proved beneficial. Tanner seemed to have caught on to the fact and had come up behind Ben, poised and ready to strike. Jake was at the ready off to the side. And Steve had stepped away from us, slowly, and was in a position to attack from any angle. My friends were well trained and I knew they had my back.

Ben put away his gun. We squared off. Before his first punch came at me the thought going through my mind was Shit. I hope Max and Biggs are ok. And then the fight began in earnest.


Ben sent a punch toward my face. I pulled back at the last second and grasped his fist, twisting hard. He grunted in pain. I smiled. Ben may have been back at Manticore for the past year or so, but I still had years of training on him and knew I could take him down. But I decided to let him play for a bit. Besides, I was going to enjoy watching him suffer.

He kicked at me but I jumped. I swept my foot out in a snap-kick and caught him low, Ben staggered backward. He clambered to his feet and surged at me, punching out at my stomach. Damn, that hurt I was being lax in my counter-attacks. It was time to up the stakes.

I slammed my fist into his side, blurring in fury. Ben never had time to recover. My hands had a life of their own, propelled on by years of pain and suffering I had endured because of my brother.

"This is for the escape in '09 when I endured months in Psy-Ops because of you and your unit." I snarled as I pummelled his torso repeatedly.

"And this is for my vacation in Psy-Ops after you decided to play amateur dentist." I kicked him just under the knee, snapping it. He fell to the ground.

"And this" I bit out, as rage fully ignited within and I aimed a punch at his face, "is for torturing Max with the guilt of your death." My fist collided with his cheek and bones cracked beneath the skin.

Ben somehow climbed to his feet. He threw a calculated punch at my face. I ducked, lowering my head and missing his hand by millimetres. He's a resilient son of a bitch.

Ben must have been waiting for that. He caught me across the jaw as I raised my head. My jaw cracked under the force of the blow. Fuck! Get a grip, soldier! Focus!

Tanner had waited to see how I would manage. Seeing my pain, he stepped in. Thank you, Tanner. Thank you, thank you, thank you. He ran up behind Ben and jumped, propelling both his feet into the center of Ben's back. He flew forward and fell on his face. I pounced but Ben was fast. He rolled out of the way. Jake took the opportunity to drop a knee into Ben's stomach. The air hissed out of his lungs and he was momentarily incapacitated.

I was tired. My jaw hurt like a bitch and the small cuts and bruises that littered my flesh stung. Steve had Ben in a lockhold, Jake was sitting on his stomach, the short gasps coming from my brother were an indication of the damage he had sustained from our fight.

Tanner stood over him, his gun drawn and ready. "Alec, we gonna take him out?" I bit my lip, uncertain. Of course I wanted to take him out. Not only had I suffered for years because of Ben, but he'd been sent to bring me back to Manticore, dead or alive. If that wasn't a betrayal, what was?

"What are you waiting for, man? We should just shoot him and get it over with. He's a liability. If he gets out of here alive he might come after us again. That's not a chance I'm willing to take." Steve and Jake nodded their agreement.

"You guys don't get it. If we kill him and Max finds out about it, she'll never forgive me. On the other hand, if we let him go, he might come back and kill us. If that happens, it won't matter if she forgives me or not. God, I hate having a conscience! Damn you, Max!" I screamed in frustration.

"So what do you suggest we do, Alec? We're kinda out of options here." Jake eyed me warily.

"We take him with us." It was the only acceptable alternative.

"Fuck, no!" my friends shouted in unison.

"Don't argue with me. We'll settle this when we find Biggs and Max. We take him with us. Jake, Steve, go into the gas station and get some supplies. Rope, tape, chains and a lock if they have them. Tanner, we're going to empty the trunk. Gotta make room for our new passenger."

They returned a short while later with the items I needed. I proceeded to tie Ben up, tape his mouth shut and wrap the chains around his upper arms. Locking them securely in place I took one last look at my brother and said "Sorry, Ben. Lights out." And with that I cuffed him hard over the head with my gun and he slumped unconscious.

Less than a quarter of an hour later we were back on the road, heading toward Olympia . With any luck, we'd be there before sundown. Hang in there Biggs, Max. I thought. We haven't forgotten you.

TBC

Part Nine

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