Timebomb Central
Chapter 12: Expectations
Thank you to Roon and the others at TER for the support.
The two women were stunned into a moment of silence. Angel moved to quickly to reassure Alec that what he had heard was no accusation.
"No, That isn't what we meant. You've done it all subconsciously. Somehow you have tapped into a part of you even Manticore didn't know about." The guilt on his face broke her heart and it wasn't going to be of any use to start pointing fingers at this stage of the game.
" I think that maybe, somehow, Hope has managed to bring that latent ability to the surface now so it isn't so latent." Mia also tried to calm him. She gave him a sheepish grin. "You managed to surprise me before, I really underestimated you and you're actually pretty strong. Your self defense is pretty impressive... I guess that's the survival instinct kicking in."
He watched the open faces of the two women. They weren't blaming him, they were just musing on how this new development might be related to the whole thing. He relaxed a bit and joined them in their contemplation. "Do you think I could help Max?" Alec let the hopeful thought bubble out.
Mia shock her head after contemplating for a moment. "No, the sort of thing they have done to her isn't pretty. I've had training and I can't break it. You may have ability but it is raw and untrained. Only someone like Hope, who has really strong telepathic ability and the skill to use it, is going to be able to help her. "
Angel chimed in. "You have abilities that appear to be stronger than a lot of people that were in psyops. In fact, I am surprised that they hadn't picked up on it at Manticore. Possibly something traumatic made you repress it successfully enough."
Probably one too many trips to psyops for psychotic assessment, most likely. Alec let his grim memories of Manticore's psychological unit rise to the surface. Anger wasn't far behind them.
The rattling of the instruments on the sterile trays around them made Angel and Mia nervous. Alec appeared to have dropped into a trance and the look on his face was murderous. Angel looked to Mia to get some idea of what was happening but the nervous shrug of confusion was her only answer. Angel stepped forward, raised her hand and slapped him hard. It was hard enough that her hand was stinging and throbbing. His head had barely moved but his eyes were starting to register the room around him once again.
Mia face reflected the fact an idea had popped into her head.
"You won't be able to help Max directly but there is something you might be able to do..."
She was sick and tired of this. First they drugged her, now they thought that they had the right to hold her against her will. Enough was enough. These imbeciles thought she feared their weaponry. Her brain assessed the weakest link. This would be a piece of cake. She began to focus, group work had always been a little trickier. A small frown creased her brow, something wasn't right. A fogginess was partially masking the minds surrounding her.
The footsteps outside in the hall heralded a new arrival to the quarantine area. Temporarily distracted by this, Hope let her attempt falter. As the grim man who appeared to be in charge rounded the corner, the armed guards lowered there weapons and stepped away from her. For an instance she thought this might be her chance, until a voice in her head caught her unawares.
"Naughty, naughty." The voice was masculine and held a hint of a smirk. Her head shot up and her eyes searched the approaching men to assess the source. She couldn't reach who ever it was mentally, they had successfully camouflaged themselves. She felt at a loss. Her weapon of choice successfully disarmed.
When he stepped forward, she remembered his face. She remembered his mind too. And how complicated it was inside there. He hadn't had it easy in psyops either. The amount of mental scarring in there was horrendous. She didn't pity him, they all had battle wounds, some were just less obvious. Alec stood before her stone faced. He wasn't too happy either by the looks of things.
"I want you to let me go." She was blunt and to the point. They had no right to hold her.
"Sorry, can't do that." There seemed to be genuine look of regret on the man's face, but it masked something more. "You're a danger to yourself and the people around you." He paced away from her obviously thinking hard. He stopped suddenly and spun around.
"Why'd you take the guard down?" His question wasn't what she had been expecting. She'd been thinking he'd go along the line of trying to find out her name, some softening questions to get her guard down. Instead he was heading for the real questions. Somehow that made her feel a little bit better. The subterfuge of social conversation was much more dangerous than honest .
"I wanted you to know I was still here. I don't like being ignored." Her simple answer brought a small smile to Alec's face.
"Oh, we knew you were here. But be warned throwing a tantrum isn't the best way to get my attention. Especially the ways things have been going around here. People are enough on edge and someone is likely to snap."
He ushered her into a room with more comfortable looking seating. Moving across to a tray with a jug of water and glasses he offered her refreshment. She didn't need to be psychic to know that he was trying to convince her of his good intentions. He wanted something from her, she couldn't read what but she was sure he'd tell her in his own time. This gave her something to work with. If she was of some use then she could bargain with him.
She took the glass he handed to her and watched him over the rim as she took a sip. He wasn't old, but he appeared to be aged. Somehow something had happened here to take these Manticore soldiers from youthful soldiers to battle hardened men in such a short space of time. He paced like a big cat back and forth across the faded linoleum before finally he settled into a chair in the middle of the room. He looked her in the face for the first time since they had entered the room.
"What is your name?" He let it slip out even though he had been avoiding it. The smirk on her face told him she had been expecting the question. As much as he liked her to feel comfortable he didn't want her feeling too comfortable and definitely not to feel in control of the situation. Making a mental note to not be so predictable, he smiled winningly at her and saw her smirk falter. "We gave you a name, but I am sure you'd prefer to be called by one you had bestowed on yourself." He felt her surprise that they had thought of a name for her.
"I haven't got one." She shrugged but there was some pain behind her nonchalant expression. "I didn't need one. I have a designation and that has been alright up until now." She almost sounded sulky when she spat it out at him. A petulant child who wanted to be heard but up until now had be largely ignored. This wasn't going how she wanted it. She didn't have the control that she was used to and it freaked her a bit. Not knowing what someone was thinking made her feel vulnerable. Not knowing what was in the mind of someone who had you captive and was possibly your enemy was worse.
"Well, designation are all well and good, but here," Alec waved his hand around to indicate T.C. "Here, we are individuals not some number in a group of thousands." He had piqued her curiosity. A twinkle in her eye sparked. 'We've given you the name Hope but if you don't like it we can find you another."
"Where is here...who are you people...what the hell do you want with me?" The rapid fire questions came out before she could stop them. Her hands covered her mouth as she realised how he had dragged out of her the need for knowledge. She didn't like to show weakness but without any torture he had caused her to drop her guard. She waited for him to take the advantage, but instead he smiled and pulled his chair over closer to hers. Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees he seemed to be considering what he would tell her.
"I have a friend. A very good friend, who isn't doing so well." He began the back story telling her of the deaths and the confusion and how it had all come to be this far away from the walls of Manticore. Then he told her of his own experience and how Mia has managed to free him.
The name rang no bells, but the number. She saw the images. She remembered that barcode. They had made sure she would never forget it. And associated in her mind with this face was one thing, pain and suffering. They had run before she had been born but she had still known it was their fault for the pain she was forced to endure, it had to be someone's fault. Manticore had told her who to blame.
With a look of pure hatred on her face, Hope faced Alec. The windows around them began to shake as Hope let a rage pass through her. Her voice came out in stereo.
"Tell me why should I help a traitor?"