Chapter 13b. Reluctant hope
Jace stared at the man standing in front of her with a sheepish expression on his face. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"What?"
"You have to guess," he said stubbornly.
"You bought it, why do I have to guess?" she replied somewhat petulantly. She was making a big deal out of this, but she was embarrassed, dammit.
B.J. had been acting oddly around her, at least oddly for him, for the past few days and she was at a loss as to what had caused it.
What with Zack constantly hanging around Emma to try to make her feel better and the imminent arrival of several of her siblings, she was more than a little on edge. The only normal one was Zan and he seemed to be getting more distracted each day that they awaited Jondy's arrival.
Zack decided that the best thing for Emma would be to have a few transgenics around who knew what she was going through and Jondy had the same sort of DNA. Of course Jondy had asked Ash if he'd join her and Zack had called Ben.
Who had refused to come.
It had shaken her to see Zack so on edge after that telephone call. Ben and Zack had never got along very well but recently there seemed to be an extra level of tension that no one could understand or penetrate and Jace was wondering what had happened to that sweet little boy who told them stories and kept them all entertained.
She hated surprises which was why she was currently glaring at B.J. who held something behind his back and asked her to guess what it was.
"You are taking all the fun out of this," B.J. said with a pout. "I bought you a present."
Jace blinked. "Oh." That was different. What did men buy women? "Flowers? Chocolates?"
"You're X5," B.J reminded her.
"Guns, ammunition?"
B.J. smiled and held out his hands. "This!" He thrust something small and furry into her hands and Jace immediately looked down to see big black eyes staring balefully up at her from amidst a ball of black fluff.
"It's a cat," she said blankly.
"It's a kitten, actually," B.J. corrected.
She stared at the tiny kitten and then back up at B.J. "It's a cat."
B.J. nodded, pleased. "Isn't she adorable?"
Jace looked at him like he had lost his mind. "You bought me a cat?"
"Yes."
Jace looked at it again. "Why?"
"Why not?" B.J. shrugged.
Jace took a deep breath. "It has no redeeming properties; it has very little aesthetic appeal and no ornamental value. There is not enough substance to constitute any nutritional benefit and we're too close, genetically, for me to consider consuming. It takes time, effort and expense to maintain for very little return. They smell, they shed and are rarely housetrained."
"It reminded me of you."
Jace blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
B.J. hid a grin. "I saw her in the pet shop and she looked up at me and blinked with the cutest brown eyes that I have ever seen and then she yawned and I lost my heart. She was adorable and somehow slinky and sexy at the same time."
"I worry about you."
"She was sweet and cute and then, when I went in to pick her up, she smiled at me and just when I was sure that she was perfect, she reached out… and savaged me." He pulled back his sleeve and showed five long, deep red gouges up his forearm. "I had to have stitches."
Jace ducked her head and looked with new interest at her pet. "Did you do that?" she asked it, feeling somewhat ridiculous. However the kitten gave her a look that seemed to scream satisfaction and Jace could almost see it raise an eyebrow as if to say "yeah, and?"
"She reminded you of me?" Jace asked and B.J. could no longer suppress a smile.
"Yup."
Jace nodded. "She is acceptable."
"You're welcome." B.J. felt pleased and let it show in his grin. "So, what are you going to name her? I was thinking Mely?"
"Mely?" She wrinkled her nose and then shook her head. "I'll think of something," she said and they both looked up quickly as Zan raced into the room.
"Come quick!" he cried. "There is something that you have to see."
Jace and B.J. followed quickly into the dining room and saw Emma and Zack staring at the T.V. set.
"What?" B.J. asked nervously. "Did they run out of Coke or something?"
"I wasn't sure what we were seeing so I hit record," Zack explained as he fiddled with the VCR.
"Ohh!" B.J. groaned. "You recorded over bikini killer biker chicks!"
Emma and Jace shot him identical disgusted looks and he shuffled his feet.
"Never mind."
He watched as Zack hit the play button and a flicker of blue and red bands flashed over the screen.
…Willows is such a man. You've seen him, smiling at political fund-raisers, kissing your children and pretending to be an upstanding member of the community.
"So?" B.J. asked disgustedly. "It's that weird Eyes Only guy."
He has ties to Renfro enterprises and Sandoval construction as well as major outlets in several Wyoming helo-cop factories.
"Okay, got my attention!" B.J. said as the two names jumped out at him. He sat on the sofa by Emma who took his hands. Hers were icy in his palms and he rubbed them together to try to warm her.
… whilst men are gunned down in public. He is paid to ignore and bury the deaths of five eminent scientists who refused to stop the Tylenol2 complaints coming through. This is medicine that you are feeding to your children which ages and destroys tissue, increases asthma and tuberculo5. Eyes Only will stop this, we are closing in on your operation. This message will repeat every hour upon the hour until you are stopped and the Tylenol2 is taken off the market. This must never happen again. Those responsible are on notice. Their power and privilege will not protect them. They will be held accountable. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin...via the Eyes Only informant net. Peace...out.
Zack hit stop and they all turned to each other.
"I don't get it," Jace admitted. "It seemed to have nothing to do with Manticore."
"I didn't hear it at first either," Zack said. "Let's tune out his voice."
"Please do," Zan said as he edged on the sofa.
Zack turned down the volume on the set and played it back. This time there were distinctive beeps within the message.
"Morse code?" Jace asked as she listened hard.
B.J. blinked and opened his hand, flapping it open and closed in time to the beeps. He closed his eyes and ignored the odd looks of the rest of the group.
"Something in session," he said quickly trying to translate and keep up. "Initial con-gress at Tuesday 08-00 lo-cation." His hand flapped faster as the beeps got quicker. "Pro-ceed with cau-tion to bill board… five. Instruct-ion will be gimm… given. Repeat, time to come home. Meet for initial con-gress at Tuesday 08-00, bill board 5. This is a code 9…4…6. Message out."
He opened his eyes to their open mouthed stares.
"Did I know you could do that?" Zan asked in amazement. They had all been taught how to decipher Morse code and humans were even capable of quick translation so the Manticore version was subsonic and harder for anyone other that the supersensitive… and dogs… to hear. They were able to hear the high pitched squeaks and clicks but they had to write it down in order to interpret the subsonic beeps and buzzes. He had never seen anyone able to do it in their head.
"What, I can't have layers?" B.J. grinned. "I was main tech, if you'll remember. I did get in to Special Ops."
"I always wondered why," Emma teased, suddenly feeling lighter than she had in months.
Zan suddenly broke into a huge grin and started to laugh out loud.
They stared at him in muted shock. Zan had almost completely withdrawn over the past few weeks. With Zack helping Emma and B.J. annoying Jace he had been the odd one out and had retreated to silence. They could tell that there was something bothering him but as none had ever really been close to him, they felt uncomfortable asking personal questions.
Now as he threw his head back, they felt a release of tension in him that had all of them grinning.
"Has he finally cracked?" Zack asked. "I knew that hanging with you guys for too long was detrimental to your health."
"She's alive!" Zan managed through his laughter. He leaped to his feet and grabbed Emma, planting a huge kiss on her cheek. "I knew it! I just knew it!"
"O-okay," Jace said slowly, thinking that Zan had obviously been in Psy Ops one too many times.
"No, don't you get it?" Zan sped over to her and grabbed her hands, eliciting a squeak of protest from the black bundle in her palm. "She's alive, she made it out and she's safe. Safe, Jace, safe!"
"Good for her," Jace said firmly and moved back, cradling the kitten against her body. "Her who?"
B.J., who was busy glaring at Zan, suddenly clicked with what he was saying. "946! Of course."
Zack gave them both a look. "And 946 would be?"
Emma beamed. "Max!"
"Uh, not to burst your bubble, and all, but Max was 452."
"Duh!" Emma rolled her eyes. "The code she issued on destruction of Manticore was 452 plus 494. Max and Alec equals—"
"Safety," cut in Zan with another happy dance. His blond hair flew behind him as he swung Emma up and around and his face almost glowed with the force of the smile. "Safety, health and happiness."
Jace folded her arms. "You are all crazy; you do know that, don't you?"
"I don't care what you say," Zan said happily. "I get to see my C.O. soon."
"After we decipher the message," B.J. pointed out and he, Zan and Emma immediately sat at the table and wrote out the message, word for word as B.J. had recalled it.
Zack moved over to Jace.
"Why would they assume that Max sent that message? I mean, sure she's important to us, but to them? As for 946 being for her and Alec… whoever he is, it just seems…"
"Odd?" Jace admitted. "What if the message was a phoney, with that White guy behind it?"
"Would Eyes Only let him use it that way?" Zack wanted to know.
Jace looked at her C.O. and shrugged. "Unknown, sir. I haven't had a chance to talk about it to either B.J. or Zan. Have you spoken to Emma?"
"Not about anything substantial," he said darkly. "But whilst they are making inroads into the message. I think we should have a word with Eyes Only."
"Do you think I should call the team in?" Jace asked. "Syl and Krit could take it apart in seconds."
"These guys have had ten years training extra," Zack reminded her. "Let's use their talents while we can."
Jace froze. "Are you planning to leave them?" Her heart pounded at the thought.
"It's easier when we aren't all together. Remember?" he prompted. "Ease of target in smaller groups. With Jace and Ash on their way, that makes seven. Seven transgenics for whomever to take in and take up. I will not sacrifice my crew that way. We'll split up and scatter."
"But—"
"That's an order, soldier!" Zack said, almost in disbelief that she would contradict him.
Jace stood up straight and let her eyes blank over. "Yes, sir." She turned smartly and would have walked away if he had not caught her arm in a bruising grip.
"Insubordination is not sanctioned, soldier," he snapped, his eyes cold.
"Discipline noted, sir. Taken on board, assimilated and accepted. Sir," she spat and wrenched her arm away, storming off with her kitten curled against her arm.
>>>>>
"So, Coco, it is wonderful to finally meet the woman that Jason has waxed rhapsodic about."
Coco smiled broadly, hiding the hint of panic she felt at the unusual situation under a veneer of calm acceptance. "I'm sure he's been too kind."
"Not at all," Jason leaned over to plant a kiss on her cheek. "I told the truth."
Her eyebrows rose. "Really."
"Not everything, of course," he hastened to reassure her and gave the other woman a grin. "Coco is very deep."
"Oh, lovely." The woman lifted her tea cup to her lips and held Coco's eyes with her own steel grey gaze.
Coco grabbed her own cup and wished that it had something stronger in it.
Like arsenic.
She was sat on the sofa amidst a very very full house full of screaming children, boisterous adults and precocious teenagers. She had a migraine and an itchy trigger finger.
How the hell had she managed to get herself embroiled in this, she had no idea.
No. She did actually; and it was all the fault of the blond sitting at her right hand side.
"Oh, come and meet the family," he had said. "My niece's christening party is next week. You can meet everyone."
Wonderful idea. Meet all his family.
Including his mother.
His scarily overprotective mother.
Madeline Ashton-Price was a formidable woman who reminded Coco somewhat of Director Renfro- a comparison she could well have done without. She had ash blond hair with tinges of grey at the crown, held back in an austere bun at the nape of her neck. She was slim and well toned, obviously a regular at the gym, and managed to command all five children and twelve grandchildren with something akin to military precision. Her husband, Walter, didn't stand a chance against her and Coco was beginning to know how he felt.
"So, Coco, what is it that you do?"
"I… recently left the military," Coco decided on the truth… as far as it went.
"The military?" Madeline raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Indeed?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Coco ignored the snarl in her tone. "I was actually on manoeuvres when I met Jason and after we became acquainted I realised that I no longer desired such a nomadic existence and resigned."
"I didn't realise that you could resign from the military."
Coco allowed herself a smile. "My unit was special."
"And what are your plans for the future?"
Coco swallowed. "My plans?"
She watched nervously as Madeline hid a smirk at the tone of panic in her voice and Coco frantically looked elsewhere for inspiration.
There were screams coming from the other room as the children ensconced in there began to ignore the television and concentrate on each other as a form of entertainment. Raucous laughter came from the garden where some of Jason's in-laws convened over a pint of something she wouldn't have touched in a Haz-Mat suit and cackles emerged from the kitchen where the wives had taken up residence. She was firmly in enemy territory and all of a sudden Coco grew annoyed with the interrogation.
She was prime-time kick ass bitch who could bounce this woman to Texas and back.
What the hell did she have to be nervous about? It wasn't like she was Renfro, for goodness sake.
Coco leaned back against Jason's chest and let a smile of her own edge through. "I have every intention of continuing to work. Most women need employment to keep things sharp and in focus."
Madeline's eyes narrowed. "Some women find focus, drive and pleasure in tending to their family."
"We have no immediate plans of starting a family," Coco intersected smoothly and felt a slither of glee as Madeline's eyes clouded with the realisation that Coco wasn't as pliant as she had assumed.
"Really?"
"Yes," she stated firmly. "I'm a firm believer in establishing a secure base before allowing infiltration. A solid relationship through time and effort before we attempt procreation should enable a greater harmony and bond with which to instruct and guide our progeny."
Jason grinned. "I love it when you talk military."
"That sounds very… rigid," Madeline pursed her lips.
"Structure is essential in any situation in order for it to be a success," Coco maintained.
"I see." Madeline leaned back regarding Coco with interest. "Jason, perhaps you would be so good as to fetch us the fairy cakes from the kitchen."
Jason looked from between his mother and his fiancée, not sure if leaving them alone was a good idea.
Coco gave him a lazy leer and he got to his feet, safe in the knowledge that she could take care of herself.
Madeline waited until Jason had left the room before turning to Coco.
"You aren't the milk-miss that I thought you were so we won't mince words. Jason is the baby…my baby and if you hurt him, I will ensure that things go very, very badly for you."
Coco sat up and cocked her head at Madeline, regarding her silently. She may be over fifty but there was a core of steel about her and suddenly Coco felt that she was looking into a mirror image of herself in years to come. She could image that loyalty to those she loved would make her as ruthless and almost "Refro-ian" in her attempts to safeguard the happiness of those she cared for.
Madeline wasn't scary, she needed to be reassured that Coco would appreciate and take care of Jason.
Well, that she could give.
"I could snap your neck without breaking a sweat, I could kill you twenty three ways without leaving a mark and yet I won't… because that would hurt Jason. And anyone who hurts my Jason will be beaten to death with a shovel."
Madeline sat back and sipped her tea, a smile curving her lips. "I'm glad we understand each other."
"Perfectly," Coco smiled back and settled back.
Jason came back in carrying a tray and looked at the satisfied smiles of the two most important women in his life.
"Everything okay?"
"Perfectly," they said in unison and Jason became a little afraid.
"Hey Unca Jay-sun!" screamed a voice from the other side of the room.
Coco winced and imagined every dog in the vicinity felt that shrill scream as painfully as she did.
"What is it, Sandy?"
"Bear gone!" the ginger haired brat raced over. "I was watchin' Beear and it all went gone!"
Coco shuddered at the butchering of grammar in that statement and Jason lifted the child into his arms.
"Poor Sandy. Uncle Jason will make it all better." He looked over at Coco. "She was watching Bear in the blue house or something on tv, there's probably a commercial or something."
"And I care because?"
Madeline hid a laugh behind her hand as she excused herself to go get more tea.
Jason smiled at Sandy. "Uncle Jason will put a vid on for you." An imp of mischief made him add. "Here go to Aunt Coco."
He handed the small child to Coco before almost running away.
Coco stared at it in horror. "Jason?" she was ashamed to hear her voice tremble. "Jason, it's a… small person." She looked down at the big brown eyes, regarding her measuring.
"Shoo."
The thing giggled.
"No, really. Shoo."
It giggled harder and laid sticky hands on her skirt. "I likes you."
"Jason!" she yelled.
Jason's head appeared in the doorframe, his face pale. "Coco, it's Eyes Only."
Remembering the broadcast that had resulted in the destruction of her home, Coco leaped to her feet, managing to catch the child before it tumbled to the ground. Wondering what to do with it, she tucked it under her arm and raced to the other room.
The television was blaring away and Coco noted with absent antagonism the deep blue of Eyes Only's eyes. He was blathering about some Senator's misdeeds and she nearly dropped her giggling cargo when Renfro was mentioned.
It was then that she felt a twitch in her left eye and she realised that there was a message hidden beneath the top layer. Coco had never been on the electronics team, preferring to stay in the limelight as much as possible. She had no idea what the beeps meant and knew that she would have to wait for the next broadcast—in an hour—to catch what was being said.
There was a squeak of protest from underneath her arm and she looked down to the forgotten child she was squashing
"Ahh!" She slowly lowered it to the floor and gave a sheepish smile.
The child merely giggled and ran away laughing about her new "Anty" whatever one of those was.
"Coco?" Jason whispered. "Everything okay?"
Coco shook her head distractedly. "There was message hidden in the—" she gestured towards the television. "I think it's about home… uh, Manticore."
Jason bit his lip, a slight feeling of unease as she referred to that place as "home". He wasn't aware of everything that had gone on there, but knew enough to know that it wasn't home in any traditional sense of the word. Unless, of course, you had horns and a pitchfork.
"What can I do?" he spread his arms wide, a masculine gesture of frustration at not being able to do anything to relieve the suffering of his fiancée.
Coco slid to the sofa and rubbed her hands together in nervous apprehension. "He's repeating it ever hour. I should be able to make head or tail of it with another run through."
"I could get someone to record it for us?" he offered as he sat down, taking her hands in his and rubbing them between his, not surprised to find them icy cold.
Coco nodded and gave him a small smile "Thanks."
"Hey," he said with a rueful smile. "Gotta be good for something, right?"
Coco leaned her head against his shoulder going against her upbringing and showing momentary weakness to him. She knew that he occasionally felt somewhat impotent when it came to her self-sufficiency and knew that in order to smooth their way it would take a certain amount of compromise on both their parts.
Jason reached up and ran a hand through her hair. "I'll make us coffee, huh?"
He felt her lips curl against his shoulder and she sighed. "Just what I need."
He kissed her forehead once and rose to get her what she needed and she watched him go with the certain knowledge that what she needed, truly needed, was just walking into the kitchen.
>>>>>>
"So the human body has the ability to regenerate itself, so the burning question is of course… Ryan?"
The tow-haired boy shot upright, obviously not having heard the question. "Uh… yes?" he hazarded.
The teacher rolled her eyes. "Perhaps if you paid a bit more attention to me and a little less to Miss Alcott then you'd actually pass your SATs with something other than dumb luck."
The class tittered at his embarrassment and Isacar grinned himself at how easily the boy had allowed himself to be cornered by the teacher and made a fool of in that manner. He glanced over to the other side of the class where his sister was busy chatting with some of her many new friends and enjoying being the social butterfly.
He shook his head in bewilderment at why she would enjoy people over books and settled back to read the one under his desk.
"Okay, so now we are going to dim the lights and watch the documentary broadcast that was recorded this morning on the regenerative cycle of human skin-cells. Damon, please."
The burly youth jumped off his chair and switched off the light— much to Isacar's annoyance—and hopped back to his seat.
Isacar huffed in irritation as the rest of the class hollered and cat-called with the darkened room, showing their overwhelming immaturity. He knew that he could read if he so chose—one of the great things about being a transgenic with feline characteristics—but it was the point of the thing.
He didn't see why he had to forgo his reading pleasure to attend to someone else's idea of what his education should be—he got enough of that in Manticore.
He slumped down in his seat and tried to ignore the somewhat amorous activities of his fellow students and tried to concentrate on his book. He managed to block out the majority of the slurping of those making out on the back rows and the giggles of those who were watching but couldn't quite drown out the whispered conversations.
He turned the page in annoyance and stifled a yawn; which was when it happened.
There was a sudden crackle from the screen and the documentary faded to black.
"What the he—" the teacher bit off her statement, remembering that she was in a room with impressionable minds… that knew more swearwords than she did.
"Boo yay!" yelled Dudley Affred. "Spies Only!"
"That's Eyes Only—doofus!" Cody Trellis rolled her eyes and twirled her oft chewed hair around her equally chewed fingernails.
Icarus didn't bother to look up but noted the glare of red and blue that flashed across his page.
He tried to concentrate on the words on the page and not those coming from the screen.
This is a Streaming Freedom Video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city.
Isacar rolled his eyes at the posturing of this guy. Give him two hours and enough software and he could hunt the guy down. He reread a paragraph that didn't make sense.
You've seen him, smiling at political fund-raisers, kissing your children and pretending to be an upstanding member of the community.
Isacar yawned; political scandal, harbinger of death, source of all evil, blah blah blah. He flicked his page over.
He has ties to Renfro enterprises.
The book dropped to the floor and Isacar froze. No way did that say what he thought it just said.
and Sandoval construction as well as major outlets in several Wyoming helo-cop factories.
Isacar's heart pounded in his chest and he looked over to where Icarus was looking like she had seen a ghost. Her face was pale and she seemed about to be heavily sick as they both stared at the screen.
Now that he was paying attention he could hear a higher frequency beeping above the normal message and he tried to translate as fast as he could; only managing to catch the tail end of the message.
This message will repeat every hour upon the hour
This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin...via the Eyes Only informant net. Peace...out.
"Peace-out!" laughed half the class and the teacher called for silence as the program resumed.
The excitement had buoyed the whole of the class into higher spirits and the teacher was hard pressed to garner any attention for the rest of the lesson and she switched off the video in resignation.
The whole class, that is, except two ice blond students, sitting on opposite sides of the classroom frozen in pure, unadulterated terror.
When the bell rang the class filed out as fast as possible and only Isacar and Icarus remained in their seats, almost glued to them in horror.
Isacar was the first to move and he slowly bent down to pick up his discarded book. Icarus flinched as he moved so very slowly and she got to her feet.
"Oh. God!" She used an expletive that she had heard a friend use, not knowing what it meant but knowing it expressed exactly what she felt.
"This isn't good," Isacar said, somewhat redundantly.
"Did you catch the underlying message?"
Isacar nodded haltingly. "It was for real. They made the code and everything. They said it…it's time to come h-home."
"I am home," Icarus wailed plaintively, tears springing to her eyes. Do they think that they can just… just…?"
Isacar quickly wrapped his sister in his arms and stared, white-faced at the blank video screen.
"We have to show that to the others, Flex, Skye, Nyx."
"No, no, no!" Icarus cried. "It'll ruin everything."
"We have to allow them the choice at least!" he said, far more harshly than he had intended. He went over to the recorder and removed the video, handling it gently.
Icarus moved quickly and laid her hand over his. "Please." Her cool blue eyes, filled with water pleaded with him. "Just throw it away."
He swallowed. He'd like nothing better but…
"Let's get Nyxie and Zeph, we'll have a vote."
Icarus nodded and followed her brother as they went to decide their fate.
>>
Nyx stared at the ugly plastic scales with the deepest concentration. She was well aware that even the slightest deviancy from the recipe would render her cake a dismal failure and there was no way on this earth, or any other, that she was going to fail at something that Icarus could do with her eyes closed.
Not that she was in competition with the blonde of course: the annoying, ever sunny, typically friendly and overwhelmingly arrogant blonde; who was beginning to be the bane of her existence.
Not that she was bitter, of course, not her. Nyx was beyond that and she was far more mature than the irritating-
Crack
Oops! She almost gasped out loud but was able to stifle it with a panicked look. Nyx looked around quickly, hoping that no one would notice the huge split in the plastic scales as she moved away quickly.
Damn cookery class anyway.
Nyx scowled heavily as she made her way back to her stool. Being a part of the upper-years at this school ensured that she was away from her self-appointed siblings for the better part of the day but also meant that she was alone for the majority of that day.
It wasn't that she couldn't have friends—after her amazing intervention on Isacar's behalf, she had been inundated with interest, both male and female and she was well aware that what she lacked in social skills, she more than made up for in intrigue and mystery.
The point was that she was ten years ahead of all of these teenagers in terms of maturity, intellect and interests. Who wanted to talk about make-up when they could converse on the mechanics of the universe? Of what interest were boys and their fancy cars when she could bypass the security and electronics of the worlds most sophisticated harrier jets and fly them herself?
In her experience, teens were frivolous, fanciful, and, to be brutally honest, a compete waste of time.
Which was why she insisted on sitting by herself and getting her work done as fast as possible.
She glared at the mixing bowl and wished herself a million miles away. So intent was she at ignoring her class, it was several moments before she realised that she was eavesdropping on the two girls behind her.
"—so, I told mom that I so didn't want to take this class and she said that it was, like, mandatory, and I was, like, so what? And she said that it was way useful."
"Yah ha?" The other girl's tone was openly sceptical.
The girl's smirk could be heard in her voice. "After all she said that a way to a guy's heart is through his stomach."
"That's ridiculous," Nyx said before she could help herself.
"Excuse me?" the girl said and Nyx turned.
"The way to a guy's heart is directly through his ribcage. No knife is long enough to penetrate both stomach and aorta; only a broadsword or perhaps an epee. The best way to a heart is with a twelve inch knife, preferably with a serrated edge, through the third and fourth ribs on the left."
The two girls stared at her for a long moment and Nyx bit her lip in sudden consternation and shrugged. "Just my opinion."
She was wondering whether or not to make a run for it when the two girls suddenly burst out laughing.
She sighed in relief as they clutched each other, tears of laughter running down their faces.
"Oh. My. God," one giggled. "You are hilarious."
"Thanks," Nyx said as she turned back to her pudding.
She wouldn't tell them that she had been serious.
"And Miss Nyx, how is your recipe coming along?" her teacher appeared suddenly and gave her a beady-eyed stare that reminded Nyx somewhat of a large insect.
"Depends," she said icily, not liking being watched like a bug under a microscope.
"On what?" Madam Guest asked curiously.
"On whether the bio-hazard department is nearby." She lifted the rock-hard cake mixture onto her spoon and wrinkled her nose.
The two girls behind her burst into fresh giggles and Madam Guest sneered.
"Honestly, Miss Nyx, I would have assumed that you could at least follow orders."
X6-099, why the hell don't you just follow orders? Think you're a cut above the rest, do you, you little bitch?
We'll make you pay.
All you have to do is follow orders and no one gets hurt
No one gets hurt
Follow orders
"Didn't help those at Nuremberg." Nyx's voice was colder than ice and her eyes froze even the determined teacher, who silently backed away and wished she hadn't bothered.
Nyx shuddered, staring down at her shaking hands, her stomach churning with unnamed emotions.
To her utter relief it was only minutes before the bell went and they were dismissed.
She cleaned up her area and threw her dismal attempt at dessert away, wincing at the thud as it hit the bottom of the waste disposal unit. She threw her bag over her shoulder and looked up; only to have her heart thud as loudly as her discarded pudding at the two pale, terrified faces at the window.
Trouble was brewing.
She pushed open the door and stared at the twins who suddenly resembled soldiers in a way that they never had before.
Isacar was leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded over his chest and his eyes as cold and dead as any trained X-series.
Icarus' demeanour was a far cry from the sweet blonde who had been irritating Nyx before. Now she seemed two steps away from hammering out the entire drill series and starting on fight formations with half the staff, her eyes on super-alert.
Nyx stepped out of the classroom and eyed them, unaware that her own spine had straightened.
"Report," she stated calmly.
"We have a problem," Isacar said without preamble and pushed away from the doorframe.
"Status?"
"Code yellow," Icarus reported. "Possible breach of security and definite contact issues…" she trailed off. "There's something you need to see."
"Get Zeph," Isacar ordered Icarus. "Meet us in tech room 12 in ten."
Icarus nodded quickly and snapped, "I'll be there in five."
Nyx and Isacar didn't wait to watch her walk away.
"Let's move out."
tbc...
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Challenge
Anyone who has been on my site knows that I do little manip/pics to go with chapter headings and also that there are only a few chapters to go in this series. The final Chapter is called "Exit, Stage left" and will have all of the transgenic back together (we hope- proving they don't die on me, which is possible). I would like to issue the challenge for someone else to do the manip for that chapter. The one I love the most will not only get their pic prize of place but will also get a SNEAK PREVIEW of the last chapter and, who knows, maybe even a cameo in the finale. Interested?
Entries sent to me care of fayth82 at yahoo dot co dot uk and if you want the real names of those I used for the Xs then email me for that. Good luck.
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Geminangel- Cheers pet, I must admit that Anna is growing on me, I didn't actually like her too much at the start.
Angel of Darkness231- It was a two-parter- basically my way of saying I have no idea when to shut up and have to half the chapters I do write.
Bluejean452- Thank you very much and I'll see what I can do about that showdown.
Sigma1- LOL, Max as a facilitator of character- it works so well. I think Ralph maybe had her own system of making others do her work- who knows? As for the woman, I have a few ideas.
Pinkflipflop3- hey there! Glad that yopu like it, more upcoming—as soon as I get my ass in gear, obviously.
Aku-neko- Hey sweets, My brother said there was a huge delay in reading the thing form which sucks big time, but I'm sure it was worth the wait. Why are clams happy and who has taken the census? They leave out all of the suicidal clams and the abject poverty of the surrounding shellfish.—ahem. Anna and Annoy? Hmm, could be. I think Ralph and Anna have this unique relationship, but still I wouldn't want to be Anna for a while.
Meri42- Love that you have an Anna camp…is that like boot camp?
Kim- LOL, hearty? That is such a good word for Annoy!
Lotamoxie- Anna the Grinch? Oh that could work! Imagine her creeping into White's room at night and stealing his toys…oh wait- she did! LOL.
Nevanroy- mY ritting is shaky from bein held captVe by rabid fans who are Poking me with StICks. HOt poKerS Are hOt. Send chocolate.
Pixie Wildfire- Ben/Max/Alec? Nice little threesome there. You with Ben? Hmm, you'd have to submit to a voluntary medical including full dentistry exam. Also you'd have to change your name because we couldn't have a "Pix"ie with Ben… too much confusion and Chance would get jealous.
Toniboo- cheers pet. Ann and BJ aren't even in the same state!
Elle6778- I have to have one redeeming feature and we have to have Annoy as a class name. Remember sarcasm is not just for Christmas, but for life.
Mae- A devoted reader, a wonderful reader… who doesn't review (walks away muttering about ingrates)
Feenian- I wouldn't insult cats, although I am told that if you skin a cat- off topic, anyway. I'm sure I can find plenty of people for them to love.
Sarah- I know that that part was all Anna but it does shift the plot along some, trust me I know what I'm doing.
Moonlite star- I know, can you believe I had new characters at this juncture. I swear I'm crazy. I bet I'm tempted to write this woman's story as another new fricking story. Grrrrrr… that's it, I'm on plot-bunny strike.
Guest type person- I could be messing, but you never know with me. Actually I'm not sure about that either. Anna cares about Ralph, in the same way I do… ahem expect her to be killed off then (JOKE) see all questions answered
Starlight angel- cheers pet, glad you like it.
SGOU- short review for you angel? I think Anna could have passed on the fact that she had named him—he'd have found it amusing. All questions on our mystery woman answered in the next instalment… probably, you know what I'm like. Wow, you had a few questions didn't you? To answer… yes, yes some, yes, possibly and yes.
Ganko- hugs back atcha. Anna is doing really well for someone I was going to kill of several times in both this story and in Moving Ahead. Talk about 9 lives!
L80bug- I know my week is up but I have a damn good reason… but it's a religious reason so I'm sure that you don't want to hear it. Just wish me luck for Saturday. Ben/ Drew is intriguing, I'm as stuck as you!
Elfie- A little goes a long way and Anna was due a little introspection- in fact she was due a resurrection for all the times she scraped out of being killed. Anna and Annoy would make such a psychotic couple- Ben and Drew would have nothing on them.
Ladybug- ok, ok, ok I feel poked!