AN: You learn more about the two new characters here. I hope you all enjoy this! I have a number of the chapters written already. I just don't want to post them all up before I'm finished writing the story. I'll probably post once a week. Maybe more. I guess we'll see.
Chapter 1 – Answers and More Questions
"I hate car rides."
"We're not in a car. We're in a van, brat."
"I hate van rides too."
"Gee, is it because you're so restless all of the time? Go put together a gadget or something. Sketch out an idea. Something."
"Why? We're almost there."
"Brat, I'm gonna kill you when we get there. Stop being difficult."
She smirked. "You won't kill me. You love me too much."
"Yeah? Push just a little more and we'll see about that."
There was a whole minute of silence before she said, "Colin?"
"Yeah, brat?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, kid."
"…how much longer until we're there?"
He glared at her then turned on the radio. Glancing suspiciously at her, he noticed how her eyes were dancing with amusement and reached over to turn the volume up.
She waited a moment then lowered the volume a bit. "How are we getting into this Terminal City place? I mean, I'm kinda thinking the transgenics won't just let us drive in there. They've probably got pretty good security being military-trained and all."
"One of us will have to find a way in and convince them we mean them no harm. The other will scout the city," he told her without taking his eyes off of the road.
With a sigh, she said, "Let me guess. I'm doing the scouting job. I ALWAYS get stuck with the scouting job."
"You wanna establish contact then you go right ahead. You know as well as I do that you're horrible with the whole people thing."
"Fuck you."
"Rather not."
"I'll establish contact. You scout."
"Fine, brat. You fuck this up and you'll be the one to tell your parents what happened."
"Yeah, yeah. Once we get past this damned checkpoint you can let me out if you want."
He smirked. "You just wanna get out of the van."
"And you want me out of the van," she said with a grin.
"True."
They reached the checkpoint three minutes later and Colin handed the police a bunch of papers. They were quickly handed back and the van was waved through.
Ten minutes later, Colin pulled the van over to the side of the road. "Go on," he told her.
She grinned, leaning over to hug him then jumping out of the van and running to the back. He followed her out and to the back.
"You have your phone right?" he asked, putting his right hand in his jean pocket while scratching his head with the left hand.
"Yeah, in my pocket," she told him, handing her backpack to him as she climbed into the back.
"Need help with the ramp?" he asked, taking his sunglasses off and sticking them in the pocket of his jacket.
"Yes, please," she said. He jumped in to set up the ramp so she could get her bike on the road.
"Have some money?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Your papers?"
"Yes."
"Your –"
"I have everything, DAD."
"Just making sure."
Once the ramp was set up, she rolled the bike down and gave him a hug before pulling out her own sunglasses and putting them on. Colin handed her the backpack she'd left in the dirt by the side of the van, which she slung securely on her back before getting onto the bike. "I'll call you tonight," she told him.
"You better. By the way, what kind of interesting shit's going down in Seattle?" he asked as she started the bike.
"Oh, that. The transgenics are holed up in Terminal City and the cops and National Guard have them surrounded. It's what you'd call a siege, I suppose," she told him right before speeding off down the road.
His mouth dropped open and he fumed as he shoved the ramp back into the van, closing up the back. He climbed into the driver's seat, slamming the door hard before starting in the same direction she'd gone.
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"Hey, Mole. What's going on today in the freakiest of Freak Nations?" Alec called out in a chipper voice, a bounce in his step as he walked into HQ.
He stopped when he realized nearly everybody was staring at him. "What'd I do now?" he asked as Max's eyebrows raised.
"You find a female in here stupid enough to sleep with you or something?"
"Now, Maxie, I'll have you know that I was quite the catch back in Manticore," he told her.
"Uh huh," she said disbelievingly.
"Hey! Wait a second! What does that have to do with anything anyway?"
"It doesn't but when you walk in here all happy like that when we're in the middle of a siege and rapidly running out of resources, one assumes you got laid."
He smirked. "Jealous?"
"In your dreams."
"Oh, a whole lot more happens in my dreams, Maxie," he said with a wink before walking quickly over to the supply list before she could whack him. "Damn, we're really starting to run low, aren't we?"
"Yeah, too many transgenics, not enough time to prepare for a siege…we need to come up with a solution and soon."
Alec frowned in thought then walked to the door. "I'm gonna look around. See if I can come up with anything."
She scowled as a drop of rain hit her nose. "Fucking Seattle! Stupid transgenics couldn't have settled somewhere not so rainy. I hate the rain!" she muttered before zipping up her hooded sweatshirt and pulling her hood up over her head as she sat on her bike, looking at the police and military stationed at the broken gate of Terminal City.
She'd already ridden around the perimeter twice, the most she allowed herself without really being noticed. They were doing a good job at keeping everybody away from the transgenics home. Sighing, she debated on her best plans. She could just walk up and reveal her papers, which would leave her the problem of what to do with the transgenics. She could try to sneak in, again leaving her with the problem of the transgenics but not revealing to the military and police that she was present. Or she could reveal herself to the transgenics in some way.
"What to do, what to do…"
Her nose wrinkled again as water hit her cheek. Tugging at her hood so that it covered more of her face, she looked more carefully at the scene in front of her. Her eyes narrowed and her body stiffened when she spotted somebody from her past.
"Well, well, looks like Ames White is now in Seattle, huh?" she said to herself. "Given up torturing little girls and boys in your quest to be the superior part of the human race? Now you're just hunting down people created by your father? You are definitely something to write home about. Or call. Later. Maybe after I torment you a little."
Her decision made, she rode her bike up to the police line and pulled out her ID. "I'm Special Agent Tegan Armstrong. I have orders which require me to be in there," she told the office, while pointing into Terminal City.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid I can't let you go in there."
"And I'm afraid you have no choice," she told him, pulling out a bunch of papers and showing him the Presidential Seal. "Orders are straight from the President."
"Um…I…"
"Why don't you go get whoever's in charge so I can speak to them?" she suggested, taking off her sunglasses and smiling sweetly.
He nodded then frowned as if forgetting something. "Don't move!" he warned.
"Uh huh." She smiled again, putting her sunglasses in the pocket of her sweatshirt.
Ames scowled as he noticed the girl on the motorcycle speaking to the General. He appeared to be arguing some point but the girl would just gesture to the papers in her hand.
Finally, the General backed away and gestured the girl through. Ames frowned and started forward towards them.
Suddenly, she turned to look at him, grinned, and waved. He growled as she revved the bike's engine and flew into Terminal City. He chased after her until he got to the border, where if he passed he would probably end up shot and facing the inability to explain why he was still walking.
Cursing, he longed for something to throw. Hard. Preferably at somebody. He'd recognized the girl's face from years ago. She'd grown into a strange mixture of her mother's and father's faces but there was still that annoying mischievous quality about her…a mischievousness which loved to see him thwarted in everything he did. She'd been doing it for years since the last time he saw her. She had left just enough clues so that he knew it was her.
If the Conclave found out she had gotten into Terminal City he was in big trouble. He had to figure out a way to remedy this situation and quick.
Alec had been walking for at least an hour, coming up with possible plans to get resources. Of course, he'd have to do more research into whether or not they were plausible not to mention safe when he got back to his office. Then he'd have to run the best ones by Max.
He was startled out of his planning by the loud rev of an engine. He watched in shock as a girl streaked down the road on a motorcycle then skidded to a halt five feet away from him. She pushed her hood back, running a hand through messy dark hair before glaring up at the sky. In the back of his mind, he registered that she was probably the most striking girl he'd ever seen.
"Nasty rain. Stupid fucking Seattle," he heard her mutter before she looked at him.
"Hello," she said. "You're not trying to shoot me yet so I guess you're the one I should talk to."
They both looked in the direction of angry shouts. "And fast," she added. "My name is Tegan Armstrong. My family sent me to help your people."
He frowned. "Why would your family help us? Haven't you been watching the news? We're not human. We're not even animals. We don't have souls. If you don't watch out we're going to be stealing your job and your daughters…sons too I suppose."
She laughed. "Well, I have no children so no worries there. My family employs me and doesn't particularly care for strangers. And we have something in common," she told him, reaching up to remove one of her contacts.
His mouth nearly dropped open when he saw that her eye was an odd mix of human and cat. Reaching into the front pocket of her backpack, she pulled out a case for the contact and stuck it in before taking the other out and doing the same with it.
A bunch of transgenics surrounded them, guns out, just as she finished. "Alec, you okay?"
"Just fine. Put your guns away. She's cool."
"Transgenic?"
"Something like that," he told them. "I'll go with her to HQ to talk to Max. You can all go back to your posts."
He waited until they had all gone before approaching her. "Nice bike."
"I know. Max is the one in command right?"
"Yeah, you could say that. I'm her second."
Tegan nodded, thoughtfully. "So let's go. I wanna get my bike stowed somewhere dry before it starts to pour. Same with myself."
He climbed onto the bike behind her. "Make a left up ahead then go straight until the middle of the third block. Stop there. We'll figure out where to stick your bike when we get there."
Max was staring down in frustration at the maps spread out in front of her when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Even as she turned around she knew it would be the person her instincts had earlier told her was coming. Standing slightly behind Alec was a tall girl. She was thin and somehow delicate looking with eyes that looked oddly cat-like. Those eyes were looking around HQ with disdain.
"Wow, your equipment doesn't even rate third-rate! Where'd you find this junk?"
Max bristled. "You think you could find better in post-Pulse Seattle with no money and without raising suspicions?"
"Find? Probably not. Build or improve on? Without a single doubt."
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"Tegan Armstrong and my family sent me to help."
"Why?"
"Once you are all safe you'll be in the position to help us," she told Max. "Well, if you want to. Free will and all that. But we'd appreciate it."
She looked over at the computer system, fascinated. Walking over, she bent down to examine it. "You know, if you redirect this to here you'd increase time efficiency by ten percent."
Max watched as Dix and a few other transgenics good with machines and computers wandered over to see what she was talking about.
Tegan glanced back at Max before she explained. "Have somebody find out about the Pride Corporation. You'll get some of your answers that way. Until then, put me under guard or something. Pretty boy over there is nice to look at. Might distract me," she said with a leer. Pausing, Tegan shrugged. "Of course, put a decrepit piece of machinery like this in front of me and I'll be MUCH more distracted."
Max couldn't stop the grin that appeared when Alec's shoulders slumped at the thought of a pretty girl being more distracted by machines than by him. "Alec, watch her. I'm gonna go see Logan."
Alec grumbled but nodded as Max left HQ. "How pathetic is this? A soldier reduced to babysitting duties," he muttered.
Tegan, who had turned back to the computer, looked back at him briefly. "Hey, it could be worse there, buddy. I could be old, ugly, and fat. Or you could be stuck with latrine duty or something."
Logan grinned triumphantly as he managed to get onto the Net. He bent down, kissing his keyboard.
"Wow, never thought I'd be jealous of a computer."
Logan jumped, looking over to see Max leaning against a wall watching him with a smile. "Max! What's up?"
"There's a new girl in HQ. A weird one. Need you to check up on her. Pretty sure she's not Manticore."
"Name?" he asked, eager to help.
"Tegan Armstrong. She said to look up The Pride Corporation."
Frowning, he typed it in. "Why does this sound so familiar?"
Max shrugged and looked around. Logan, Sketchy, and O.C. had settled into a building close enough to the outskirts of Terminal City that the toxins didn't seem to effect them. It was, like most of the buildings, completely neglected and falling down.
"We really need to start fixing the buildings up," she absently commented. "At least enough so that they don't collapse on our heads."
Logan grunted in response, his gaze rapt on what his computer screen was showing him.
"What IS that?" Max asked, looking over his shoulder.
"The Pride Corporation's headquarters apparently. Located in New York State, it is probably one of the largest non-military facilities in the country. Maybe even the world."
She stared at the picture of a large steel building in the middle of the woods. "Almost reminds me of Manticore."
Logan called up more information. "They apparently own a vast amount of property. Not only in the United States but in Africa, Australia, Europe, and Asia also. The Armstrong family founded the company. Nicholas and Aya. There are some pictures of Aya available…a very attractive woman. None of her husband. Private family. Three children – James, Sean, and Tegan in that order. All work for The Pride Corporation, which is mostly split into two smaller companies. Tara Laboratories, which was started by Aya – who, by the way, is apparently a brilliant scientist – and Armstrong Securities, started by good old Nicholas."
"Let me guess," Max said, with a small frown. "She works for the Securities part."
Logan pulled up information on Tegan. "Mostly but it seems she floats around. And it looks like she's started her own company under The Pride Corporation umbrella. She's a multimillionaire in her own right – owning several advanced technological patents. Seems she inherited her mother's brains."
"Any connections to Manticore or the Conclave?"
"Not that I can see. A bunch of government connections including one very big familial connection to the President but all of it is in opposition to our friend the Senator."
Max growled. "She said I'd get some answers but all I've got are more questions!"
"I'll keep looking," he said with a sigh.