A/N- FINAL CHAPTER OF PRESSING ONWARDS!
Wow, this has been one long ride and I want to thank everyone who has joined me on this epic voyage. There are a lot of loose ends, i know and we might MIGHT see a sequel but it won't be until way in future. I have to write Coming to Terms before i get massacred by rabid fans.
There will be a few chapters of Surging Forwards left, but this half is done. BTW- the song "Whisky girl" is by Toby Keith, who i in no way own.
Anyone who wants towrite any using my characters just needs to ask. Big thanks to my beta Itay for all his hard work!
PLEASE READ-- I want to BEG for reviews from everyone who has ever read part of this series, I would liek to see how many people have read original characters. so even if you just leave your name and one word i would appreciate it!
Chapter 15 Cat's in the cradle.
The white corridor was shrinking, the walls closing in as Ames White stood in front of Anna, arrogance seething from every single pore like a wave of deliberate malice.
She was frozen by the fear in Ralph's eyes, held captive by White's strong arm, the body of the woman in the cell at her feet, the woman that Anna hadn't been able to save.
White demanded that Anna do something but Anna couldn't hear him, his voice sounding thick. Like molasses.
He yelled sounding like a cow under water and she shook her head, not missing the sudden despair in Ralph's eyes.
Anna watched him as he casually reached over and sliced Ralph's throat, and let her go; her little body dropping like a stone in slow motion. A pool of warm blonde hair was gradually turned red by the trickle of blood from her wound and Anna's hands trembled.
She hadn't been quick enough to save her.
The walls throbbed like a living heartbeat and White sneered as the whole corridor began to vibrate. Anna stumbled backwards only to be stopped by a wall that hadn't been there before. She spun around to slam her hands on the white stone in frustration before turning back to where White had been. In his place was another wall. She was surrounded, caged in a box, a white box and all around her was the echo of maniacal laughter.
She hadn't been quick enough to save herself.
She screamed but there was no sound and as she slammed her fists against the walls, she slipped.
She looked down at her hands and saw the blood—Ralph's blood—coating her fingers and palms. Ralph's blood was on her hands. She backed up, her eyes fixed to her hands as the blood began to run down the walls.
White laughed. "Couldn't save her, couldn't save yourself, could you, 291?"
"I'm Anna," she corrected desperately.
"A number is all you'll ever be, 291. You think your little friends want you around? They were glad you left that place. You can't even be kind to that small bitch that follows you like a loyal lap-dog, even when you would sacrifice her." White grinned hideously as the blood began to pool at her feet.
"No."
"I'll kill her for you."
"She's dead," Anna said numbly as Ralph's eyes went grey and filmy.
"I'll do it again," White replied triumphantly, "and then you can be alone, just as you wanted. I'll kill her for you. You'll like that, and then I can put you in a cage where no one will ever disturb you again."
The blood was rising in a tidal wave and was already at her knees and rising. "I'm not going back in a cage, never."
"Then I'll put her in one." Ralph was suddenly in White's arms again, alive and terrified.
"No. Ralph!" Anna tried to reach for her, bobbing in the waist height blood.
"Anna!" she screamed.
"No!" Anna watched helplessly as White dragged the girl away by her hair. She pounded on her cage as she heard the girl's screams growing louder and louder.
She started to place her hands over her ears but, coated as they were in blood, the very idea was abhorrent. "I'm coming, Ralph."
She was failing. The blood was around her shoulders, touching her hair.
"I'm coming." She jumped but missed the rooftop.
She was drowning in the blood of the dead.
Failing.
Drowning.
"Ralph!"
Anna woke in the dark, heart pounding, hands clenched and cold sweat dripping from her forehead.
For a moment she simply lay there, shuddering and scared while the dream faded.
She had been in Manticore for most of her life and it followed her wherever she went, but this was the first time that she had a nightmare about something that happened on the outside.
She'd learned to accept her actions and their consequences, but it was the terrified look on Ralph's face that haunted her this time. She had told White that he should go ahead and kill her; that she didn't mean anything to Anna other than an annoyance.
She wasn't sure if she was lying or not and that was what ached. Did she care about Ralph? Or anyone? Was she capable of it?
Anna bit back a whimper as she shivered, her hands icy against her upper arms as she rubbed herself, trying to warm herself up.
Move, whispered a voice and she staggered to a sitting position, draping her arms over her knees and cradling her body in a loose embrace.
With a brief glance at a sleeping Ralph she rested her head on her knees and fought to catch her breath.
Of course, she knew why the nightmare had hit her with such intensity.
White had almost won.
For someone who had been bought up to believe that she was the best of the best and that no one could ever take advantages of her; it was demoralising to know that there was someone who didn't have the same genetic enhancements who could so neatly make mincemeat of her.
In that corridor she had been cocky, thinking that two transgenics could beat White any day.
The fact that they had only won by the narrowest of narrow margins; and it was only pure luck that had Annoy hitting one of the pipes covering White and his cronies with boiling steam allowing them to escape—barely—had more than stuck in her mind, filling her with the kind of fear that she hadn't felt since Manticore.
Once her trembling had subsided, Anna shifted over to look down at a sleeping Ralph. Her face was so young, innocent and free of stress while she slept and Anna felt something inside her move as she looked at the young girl.
"Sorry," she mouthed so quietly that the wind snatched the words before they could be heard.
There was a faint moan from the other side of the camp and Anna looked over to the woman who was waking up.
She edged over and sat looking at her as the woman's eyes fluttered open.
She looked panicked as she didn't recognise where she was and her hands fluttered agitatedly.
"Shh, you're safe," Anna soothed.
"Not… safe," the woman struggled to say. "Never safe. Must…run."
"Yeah, like you'd get far," Anna scoffed. "I pulled you out of White's place; you're as safe as you can be right now."
"Really?" the woman's eyes were intent of hers.
Anna shrugged. "No reason to lie."
There was a sheen of tears in the woman's eyes as she sighed, relaxed and smiled. "Thank you."
"Yeah, whatever," Anna said, uncomfortable with the praise. "How are you doing?"
"Well. Tired but… better. Thirsty."
Anna grabbed her water bottle and held it up to the woman's mouth for her to drink.
She leaned up, propped up by Anna's arm as she sipped, her eyes searching the clearing and alighting on Ralph.
"Is she your daughter?"
"No," Anna snapped.
"Sorry," she seemed to shrink back into herself and Anna cursed herself for not being able to keep her temper.
"I hate children almost as much as I hate animals," she said truthfully. "Now I want to know about you. Who are you and why did White want to stop you from leaving so badly?"
"I'm Maria," the woman said quietly, her eyes darting every which way. "I—I– don't know why White wanted me so badly."
"Uh uh, wrong answer," Anna spat, knowing full well that the woman's shifty eyes proclaimed her a liar. "Tell me."
Maria bit her lip and grimaced in discomfort as she shifted. "How do I know that this isn't just another test? Some way of helping White? I'm sick of being part of his agenda."
"Do I look like I give a crap about your issues, lady?" Anna sat back on her heels. "White isn't the be-all and end-all of life. I have an agenda too and it starts and ends with killing his ass. Now you'll tell me what I want to know or I'll hurt you. It is as simple as that."
The woman blinked. "I find that honesty oddly refreshing."
"Colour me stunned, now what were you doing there?"
The woman took a breath. "I was captured because of what I did."
"Did?" Anna looked her over. "What did you do?"
The woman looked down at the ground and then back up at Anna. "I gave birth… to a mutant."
>>>>
Jason hadn't been kidding when he said that living with a transgenic was a life-altering decision. He was used to the odd blank looks when he mentioned some cultural reference that she didn't understand; he was even somewhat used to the marathon sex which left him aching all day. But he wasn't sure he could get used to waking first thing in the morning to see a beautiful, sylph-like creature doing arm curls with the sofa; it was unnerving to the extreme to realise that she could rip off his head with one arm and not something that he liked to think about before he had had his coffee.
"Babe, do you have to do that now?"
"Yes," she said. "By the way, you need to Hoover under there." She placed the leather sofa down again and turned to smile at him.
"Do it yourself," he said as he turned over and tucked his head under his pillow, knowing full well what was coming next.
He had a moment to brace himself before he felt the indentation of Coco leaning on the bed and poking him in the ribs.
"I will work and earn cash, I might even cook, but I refuse to be some domesticated woman. Clear?"
Jason turned back over pouting. "Ah and I had such great hopes for seeing you in an apron."
Coco replied to that as only she could and hit him hard with the pillow.
"Ouch, okay, I give!" he surrendered with a laugh and held his hands up as she kissed him.
"Good," she said menacingly. "At least you know your place."
"Right here." He leered and then noted her absent smile. "You okay, babe?"
"Sure," she turned back to him and gave a small smile.
"Liar," he called her on her bluff. "C'mon, spill."
Coco sat back. "The first half of my life was spent training to kill people like you. I spent it with creations like me, but I always wanted to be so much more. With you I am so much more and yet I miss them. Half of me misses them," she corrected. "Half wants to go back and find them, find Cece and Skye, Steve and the rest and yet the other half of me knows that as soon as I go back to them… I'll become one of them again."
Jason bit his lip. "I'm not sure I understand."
Coco sighed. "I'm a soldier and with the guys I am a soldier and a transgenic. I fight for them; I would kill, and have killed for them. They are my family and my life and have first priority because that's the way we were made. With you I am more than a soldier, I'm a woman too. You are my family and my priority but that's my decision. With you I have everything I want and I…" she shifted. "I'm not saying this right."
Jason regarded her for a long moment. "I think I get it. It all comes down to choice. You were given your family, you were handed your friends and told that that was the way things were. You had no choice in that. In coming here, in finding me you have a choice. Free will, Coco, it's what separates us from the animals."
Coco smiled sadly. "I'm not too different from those animals. My D.N.A—"
"Is unimportant to me," Jason replied soberly. "I don't care if you are half woman, half chicken."
"Chicken?" Coco raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I'm flattered at that."
"You know what I mean."
Coco smiled softly. "I know."
"But I wouldn't care if you suddenly grew claws and feathers," he paused. "Of course, it would freak me out and I'd require months of therapy, but I could handle it."
Coco burst out laughing, slapping him wherever she could reach. "Idiot!"
Jason grabbed her hands. "All I'm saying is that I'm glad that you choose to be with me rather than bow to instinct and run back to your family. If you want to be with them then I'll follow you, but if you'd rather stay here and see how it plays out before going back then I'm all for that as well."
Coco felt like he had hit exactly upon what she had been worried about. "I'm just worried that if I go to them I'll get dragged into whatever melodrama is currently playing at Chez Transgenic and end up pushing you away."
"I'm harder to get rid of than that, babe." He kissed her knuckles. "So do you want to stay here with me?"
Coco thought about it. What did she really want when it all came down to it? Did she want to be suspect to the whims of her crazy relations? Did she want to have the feelings and emotions that came with Jason or was she content just to fade into the background and be another transgenic in a whole host of them?
"I'll stay," she decided slowly. "Keep an eye out on the media and maybe go back when things are more certain."
Jason smiled. "Okay."
"Okay?" she frowned. "Just like that?"
"Hey, I know who wears the pants in this family."
"Just don't forget it!" she growled and joined him in the bed, kissing him noisily.
"Coco?"
"Hmm," she said as she trailed kisses along his jaw line.
"What will your family say when they find out that you are not only dating a non-transgenic, but marrying him?"
Coco paused. "I have no idea. Max would be okay, actually she and Tara knew about you the first time I met you. We had quite the girly chat."
"Really?" smirked Jason, not seeing Coco dressed in fuzzy pyjamas having a girlie night.
"Yeah," Coco smiled at the memory and continued. "Max likes ordinaries; she had a friend back when she was a kid, some lab technician. Anyway she would be fine. Cece and Skye would probably wonder why and think me a bit weird. Steve would probably want to give you the third degree and Flex and Aiden would want to sit down and laugh at you for a while." She inclined her head as she thought. "Alec wouldn't like it and BJ would be furious. The rest wouldn't care much."
"BJ?"
"Max named him Big Jerk because he tends to open his mouth before thinking about it."
"Nice."
"Yeah," Coco drew him in and kissed him deeply before pulling away. "Oh, except Anna, she hates ordinaries and would probably beat you. I miss her."
Jason stared at her oddly. "You miss a girl who'd like to beat me up?"
"Anna happened to be one of my best friends. She was excessively unpleasant. Didn't like animals, children or people; hated ordinaries but then she wasn't too fond of transgenics either."
"Sounds charming."
Coco's lips curved upwards. "You know something? She really was."
>>>>
Anna blinked. "You did what?"
Maria bit her lip. "I gave birth to a mutant. They didn't tell me that's what it was but it was pretty clear once it was born."
"You skipped a whole bunch of steps!" Anna said shrilly waving her hands. "A mutant? You mean a transgenic, don't you?"
Maria gaped. "How did you know that?"
"Intuition," Anna said flatly. "Let's start from the word 'Go', huh?"
Maria sat back, resting her head on the bunched up jacket she had been using as a pillow. "I was a student nurse back before the Pulse. I wanted to go to medical school but there was no money. My parents hadn't been wealthy, we were farmers."
"All hail the corn-fed," Anna interjected when Maria paused again.
She took a deep breath. "Anyway, one day whilst I was training, I got this email asking for voluntary blood donations for a couple of bucks. I needed some cash so I went and donated. I was contacted a few days later by some guy who said that he'd found something in my blood make-up that he was documenting in his senior thesis. He asked if I could come meet him."
"And you did?" Anna's voice was scathing and Maria seemed to shrink in on herself.
"I'm not stupid," she maintained. "I was hard up and wondered if maybe he'd ask for more samples for cash."
"Mercenary."
"Realist," Maria argued, some colour coming to her pallid cheeks. "Anyway, I met him at the student's diner and he said that there was a special component in my blood that he had been searching for. He said that he'd pay good money if I would take part in some experiments."
Maria stopped, as if thinking back to that time and Anna could see the ghost of regret pass through her eyes.
"I asked what kind and he got evasive and kept telling me that it was for the good of mankind. He creeped me out so I said no."
"Just no?"
Maria nodded. "He thanked me for my time, handed me his card and said if I ever change my mind that I should call. Ever."
Anna watched her carefully. "When did you?"
Maria smiled ruefully. "When my meagre savings were wiped out by the pulse and the Med association came a-knocking for my loan repayments. Everything that I had worked so hard for was at risk. I needed cold hard cash and I needed it now. I called and he was welcoming," Maria laughed cynically and somewhat sadly. "I know why." Tears sprang up in her eyes and her voice grew thick.
"Once I explained my circumstances he was more than happy to help. He offered me a place to live for a year, food, clothing and… twelve thousand dollars—enough to pay off my loan and have enough to set me up until I could get back on my feet. It was too good to be true."
Anna took a deep breath realising that Maria was about to cry. "Enough of the waterworks, lady, what's done is done. I need you to tell me everything."
"I'm trying," snapped Maria. "I need you to understand why."
"Newsflash, I don't care why," Anna stated in her usual brusque manner. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions and all the whys in the world won't make us wise."
"Profound," Maria spat, wiping tears away. "Have a heart."
"Never needed one before," Anna smirked. "Spill."
"I asked what I had to do and he told me. At first I was horrified, to just have a baby for them and hand it over? I asked what possible quality in my blood would make that a good idea."
"Something in the blood," Anna muttered.
"He said I was low risk to certain infections," she sighed. "At first I said no; I couldn't just hand over a defenceless child but then he told me that it was a kind of adoptive agency. They paid women to have children for a specific purpose; that these children had destinies that would benefit us all. He promised that the children would all be together, they'd grow up as family units and be trained to be the best that they could be. He said they'd go to a home that would give them everything that they could ever need, which would be more than I could ever grant them."
Anna's blood turned cold.
Adoptive agency.
Manticore.
Specific purpose.
Genetically enhanced soldiers.
Destinies.
Warfare.
Family units trained to be the best that they could be.
Units, training.
Everything they could ever need.
Except love. Safety, care and kindness.
"Right." Her voice thick as if her throat had closed up. "So you agreed."
"The streets and debtor's prison or twelve thousand dollars—which would you have chosen?" Maria snapped, looking viciously at Anna.
Anna shook her head. "Then what?"
Maria looked away. "I was treated well, looked after by the best doctors and given whatever I wanted. It wasn't until the baby was born that things seemed wrong."
"Go on. How did you tell?"
Maria glared. "No matter how tired you are from pushing; no matter how you ache from labour you never forget when the child you have carried comes out with a tail."
Anna blinked. "Tail?"
Maria nodded sadly. "I screamed and then they got nasty, taking the baby away before I could see it. They told me later that I hallucinated but it was a lie, I know what I saw. They forced me to give birth to a mutant… a freak!"
Anna winced.
"I spoke to the other mothers and they said that they had noticed weird things with their pregnancies; one woman swore that her belly grew five times its size in one night. Another woman vowed that she had felt six legs. One girl, barely sixteen, showed us scratches of claw-marks… from inside her belly. It was a nightmare and no one would believe me. The man told me to keep my mouth shut or they'd shut it for me. I was scared. Monsters inside me, who would beli-"
"So you ran?" Anna cut in.
Maria closed her eyes. "I'm not proud of myself. But I did what I had to, until one day I couldn't hold it in anymore; the nightmares over the years had gotten worse. At first it was just me giving birth to a baby with a tail and then, as the years went by I dreamt of them ripping themselves out of me, clawing their way free and eating me. It was driving me insane. I went to the police; the chief of police and told him about the blood and the tests and the babies. He believed me." She looked at Anna incredulously, as if even after all this time she couldn't believe that anyone would. "He called people and someone came and asked me questions. He even showed me a picture of the man who'd taken me in. They released me and told me that they'd be in touch. Two days later I was attacked on the streets, drugged and taken to that place. I've been there ever since."
Anna watched her thoughtfully.
"Don't suppose you have a cigarette?" Maria asked damply. "I could do with the hit."
"Don't smoke," Anna answered. "The papers I saw said that you captured in April of this year, you've been there five months."
"Feels like years."
"It also said you were born in '05, which would make you too young to have been a nurse during the pulse." Anna stared at her. "You're lying."
>>>>
"Stop!"
The tall dark-skinned woman froze, her whole body going into alert. "What?"
"Just stop getting more gorgeous every time I look at you." Hands wove around her waist and pulled her up against a very warm male body that dropped to plant a kiss on her neck.
"Charlie!" she giggled and wriggled away from him, holding her flour, covered hands in front of her. "Quit that, I have to get this batch in the oven before opening."
"But you taste too delicious," her husband smiled. "All I want is a taste, Penny."
She felt a sudden pang in her chest. It came from hearing her name on his lips like that. Penny may have been the name that the orphanage gave her, but she had been born as Tinga and Tinga she would always be.
Of course, Charlie had asked her why she had named her bakery 'Tinga' and she had told him that she remembered her childhood nick-name of Ting and he thought it cute; but wouldn't use it.
"Is Chase ready for school?" she asked, side stepping the hands that reached for her again with a coquettish smile.
"Just putting his shoes on." Charlie managed to corner her and grab a few more kisses before she could stop him and she dissolved into giggles as his hand ran up and down her ticklish sides.
"Charlie!"
"Mmmm," he mumbled into her shoulder.
"Mommy?"
They broke away from each other to see Chase standing by the door with his shoes in his hands.
"What is it, angel?"
He held up his shoes. "The laces are in a knot."
Smiling ruefully at his wife and her hands covered with flour, he dropped to one knee and took the shoes in one hand, trying to undo the tangle.
Tinga smiled at her little family and dusted off her hands. With a quick glance at the clock she realised that she had far more time than she thought until the shop opened and she decided to take advantage of that.
Taking Chase into the lounge, she placed him on her knee and surveyed the puzzle that he was in the middle of doing.
It was a large jigsaw of a castle and Chase seemed to be picking it up quickly.
In fact, Chase was advanced in most things; she knew that his intelligence was far beyond his age group and his skills grew in leaps and bounds. She had to remind him not to go so fast and watched with unease when he raced the other children, far outstripping them.
Charlie was, of course, thrilled at the thought of a little Olympic genius but Tinga was becoming slightly nervous.
It was too early to worry needlessly about things but even now he was exhibiting odd symptoms of early transgenic abilities.
He had never been sick a day in his life, he had boundless energy and caught on things faster than anyone. He could program the VCR and computer and took his father's watch to pieces to see how it worked.
She would have to have a talk with him soon and it was one more secret that she would have to hide from Charlie.
She reached for a glass of milk she had left on the side and slowly sipped it, thinking of her husband.
Speaking of the devil, Charlie appeared in the doorway with the unlaced shoe dangling from his fingers. "Here ya go, sport."
Chase laughed and sat down to put his shoes on whilst his father sat by Tinga on the sofa.
"Penny for your thoughts, Penny?" he teased and even though she had heard his quip a hundred times it still made her smile.
"Just thinking how lucky I am to have you both."
Charlie smiled, touching the glass she held. "Maybe later we could get together and have lunch?"
Tinga eyed him. "I thought you were away this weekend?"
"I could postpone," he leaned over and kissed her neck sensually. "Punters will still be there tomorrow."
She held the glass away from his roaming hands and laughed. "But the sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back."
"Hmm," he was distracted by her skin and neither heard the shrill sound of the phone until the sound of Chase answering pulled at them.
"Hello, Smith residence."
Charlie laughed indulgently at Chase's grown up voice and even Tinga cracked a smile as she sipped her milk.
Chase listened for a moment and then turned around. "Mommy, it's for you. It's a strange man who says he's found your Maxie."
The glass slipped to the floor, smashing into pieces.
>>>>
The deep male voice hummed the lyrics as he threw the towel over his shoulder. "She's my little whiskey Girl
My Ragged-on-the-edges girl
No Cuervo Gold Margaritas
Just ain't enough good burn in tequila.
She needs somethin' with a little more edge and a little more pain
She's my little whiskey Girl. Ah, but I like 'em rough."
"Yo, Spatoni, if you keep singing like that, you good for the next round of karaoke at the Fiver."
The singer smiled deeply and placed his welding tool on the desk carefully. "Thanks, Dee."
Dee grinned at him, pushing her jet black hair away from her eyes as she tucked her hands into her overalls. "Never woulda figured you for a country boy."
He let loose with a full blown grin, white teeth showing against heavily tanned, if grease streaked, skin. He pointed at the shiny red car he was working on. "Give me a fast car, open road and radio full of Clint, Toby and Hank and I'll show you a good time."
Dee blushed and was about to respond when the boss yelled out over the noise of sparks and welders.
"Spatoni?"
He looked up. "Yeah?"
"Phone."
He placed the towel over his neck again, swiping at his filthy hands on the frayed ends and rubbing at his sweat soaked face. Making his way to the head office he stopped briefly to swipe his thick boots on the rug before walking into his boss's space.
"Ain't no damn answering service," Howard said gruffly as he gestured to the phone. "Ain't you got an answering machine at home, boy?"
Looking down from his impressive height of six foot five, he shrugged at his grey haired boss.
"Nah, don't be holdin' with no new fangled contraptions."
Howard's eyes narrowed as he caught the gleam of mischief in his grey eyes. "Watch it, boy. Your ass isn't too big for a whupping."
Howard left with the sounds of deep chuckling in his ears.
The green plastic phone was hanging on the edge and he picked it up. "Hey, Spatoni here."
"Zane, It's Zack."
His large hands froze and he forced himself to visibly relax. "Hey Zack. Checking in?"
He raked a hand through his sweat slicked hair, hoping to goodness that Zack was just calling to check in. If one of them was dead or if Zack was going to bug him to move again, he take that Chevrolet and drive it through big brother's thick head. He was quite happy in his small town, fixing cars and watching his own back, thank you very much.
"Not really."
Damn it all to hell and back in a Lydecker shaped basket. Zane cursed inwardly. "So what's the news?"
Sometimes he got really annoyed at Zack's stoicism and need to use one word where an explanation would be more welcome.
"There's a situation and… and…oh shit."
Zane's eyes grew wide and he lost all of his smart- ass commentary in the wake of the truly unusual spectre of his brother losing his calmness.
"Zack, what is it?"
"Max. I found Max."
It was only his transgenic reflexes that aided Zane in not dropping the phone.
As it was he fumbled it badly and cursed in the six languages that he knew fluently as he sought to recapture the elusive object.
"Zane?" the dismembered voice called before Zane could gain purchase on the phone again.
"Did I hear you right?" Zane asked quickly. "You found her?"
"It was a mutual thing."
Zack seemed to have gone back to his usual laconic self, mused Zane at the short reply.
"And?" he prompted.
"Found Max."
"Yeah," Zane said, irritated. "I got that part. What happened? Is she okay? Where is she?"
"Accident, yes and here."
Zane slowly counted to ten in English… and then in French, German, Aramaic, Hungarian, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. He breathed deeply.
"Thank you for that truly illuminating answer, Zack."
"Come to Seattle again. Meet me in that old apartment that Ben showed us last time."
Zane grinned. "Yes, sir."
Zack put the phone down before he could say anything else but Zane was too pleased to be annoyed at his brother's lack of manners.
They had found Max—finally. Their family was almost complete again.
He walked out of the office with a huge smile on his face.
"Hey, Howard?"
The man turned with an unlit cigar in his hand. "What?"
"I need some time off—family emergency."
"Again?" Howard said sceptically.
Zane nodded knowing that Howard was thinking of the time about eight months ago that he had vanished for two weeks to break Max out of Manticore. If it wasn't for his dog, he wasn't sure if he'd have come back.
"I'll be a couple of weeks maximum."
Howard nodded. "Good thing it's a slow period, ain't it? Finish the Chevy and get gone."
Glad to have such an understanding boss, Zane picked up the welder and turned back to the cheery red Chevy.
Dee pouted. "You cruising off again, Spatoni?"
"Family emergency."
Dee's eyebrows rose. "Again?"
"Hey." Zane spread his hands. "What can I say? I have a weird family."
>>>>
"You're lying."
"I'm not!" Maria shot up. "I was born in 1985. I was twenty-one when the pulse hit. They never even asked me my age. It was in '05 that he first approached me."
"He?"
"Sandeman… I forget his first name." Maria voice began to croak with the effort of talking and sniffling at the same time. "He was a mature senior student, late thirties maybe early forties, scary eyes and wild brown hair. He had the kind of 'mad professor' look down pat. Guess that should have been a dead give away, huh?"
Anna said nothing for a long moment and just watched. "So White captured you because you had the blood cells that Sandeman was looking for. He wanted to know why you were so resistant to the viruses inherent in delivering transgenics."
"Yeah, great," Maria said nastily. "I got tortured to make way for freaks."
"You got rescued by a freak," Anna spat and watched Maria's eyes grow wide. "So shut the fuck up."
"You're a mutant?"
"Transgenic," Anna corrected. "I'm gonna dump you in the nearest town, get your ass to a hospital because I don't give a shit what happens to you from here out. But just remember who saved your ass, bitch. Oh, and think on this—it was your greed and desperation that caused us to be born; you and every mercenary slut who opened her legs for medical science and a place in the sun. We never asked for any of that…oh," she added almost as an afterthought. "That luxurious place for your kids? Concentration camp for kiddies. Thanks mom."
Maria began to cry but Anna had used up all her patience and ignored her, looking into the distance to distract herself from this selfish woman in front of her.
"Sorry," she wept. "I didn't know."
"Somehow that doesn't make it any better," Anna replied bitterly.
"But he told me that you'd all be all right."
"He also told you that you'd be giving birth to an actual human baby," Anna retorted. "You believed anything he said after that? Bonus points for proving Darwin right. You really did descend from a monkey."
"He was so believable. He said that he had facilities for this all over the world," she sobbed. "I mean the guy was rich, okay, he was handing out cash like it was chocolate."
"Wait, wait, wait., back up. Facilities all over the world?"
Maria sniffed. "Yeah, he was always on his phone, speaking French and German and a load of other languages I don't know. He talked a lot to a woman called Renfro about, uh, some centre in Europe that they were fixing as a deuxieme asile?"
"Second haven?" Anna frowned, her French not as good as her other languages.
"He also said something about a place in Russia and a red army."
"The Reds," Anna breathed, her attention caught. "A worldwide army."
"God, this is like something about of a bad movie. This isn't real life," Maria rocked slowly backwards and forwards.
"This is as real as it gets. But you'll be out of it soon."
Maria's eyes went wide.
"Oh, relax. I'm not gonna kill you," Anna snapped. "First light, you go to town and, for hell's sake, keep your mouth shut this time, huh?"
Maria nodded frantically. "I promise."
"A word of warning. If things are going to go down the way I think they are, it will all get a hell of a lot realer soon enough. Think about what you've been through and who is to blame. It isn't freaks that have held you captive, it isn't mutants who have tortured you and it wasn't humans who saved you and made damn sure that you didn't die. You see that girl there?" She pointed to Ralph and Maria nodded. "She was born to be a fighting machine. She was tortured as a child and forced to learn to kill people under threat of murder and pain. She has been beaten and experimented on more than you and just as she was getting used to it, her home was burned down and she was pushed into this world where people like you hate her and want her dead. None of this is her fault, and yet she risked her life to save you last night and stayed awake, exhausting herself so you didn't die on her watch, and you have the temerity to stand there and tell me that she is a monster?"
Maria cried harder at the disgusted look on Anna's face proclaiming her intense hatred for the woman at her feet.
"At least she's never sold her flesh and blood for a cup of soup and a warm pillow."
Maria's sobs grew louder until Anna heard Ralph rustling in her bed.
"Anna?" she muttered sleepily.
"I haven't had coffee yet," Anna warned her, her eyes still intent on Maria.
"I'll make it," she said, far more subdued than Anna could ever remember her being.
But, of course, the events of yesterday were as clear in her mind as they had been in Anna's.
"Don't say anything about this to her," she said lowly to Maria. "Not about freaks, mutants or monsters. If one word passes your lips I will carve you up and leave you for White to find."
Maria's eyes grew wide as Anna got up and moved away, her hands trembling with the force of her anger.
They forced me to give birth to a mutant… a freak six legs
Scratches of claw-marks… from inside
A nightmare
Monsters inside me
I dreamt of them ripping themselves out of me, clawing their way free and eating me.
She wasn't a freak; wasn't a monster. Half human maybe, but at least she had never sold her flesh and blood for cash.
She heard Ralph pottering around their things, clanking cans and bottles, earnestly making breakfast and the sound soothed her.
She turned, leaning against the rough bark of the tree and watched her blonde side-kick as she ran through the smooth mechanics of the morning routine.
It was odd how used she had become to Ralph's presence in her life. The little things that used to annoy her had become almost comforting. She actually didn't mind the chattering, sometimes it was even amusing.
She found the presence of someone else in the night to be quite comforting on occasion and she thanked Manticore that she didn't have to do her own cooking.
Ralph was still pale from the events of yesterday and Anna felt quite a pang at her own actions.
Maria's words about desperation leading her to accept the words of a madman and leaving her child to die had guilt pressing against Anna's heart as she watched the small child she had taken in. She would never have left the girl there with White and couldn't shake the feeling that Ralph wasn't as sure of that. Of course, she had as much as told Ralph that she was expendable.
No wonder the poor girl looked shaken.
Anna made her way over to the girl as she placed the metal coffee pot on the tripod and set fire to the dry leaves she hade made into a triangle.
"Works better if you add some smaller twigs on top."
"I know," Ralph said quietly and Anna winced at the fragility in her tone, a far cry from the confident girl who had told her that she would come with her come hell or high water.
"We need to talk about yesterday."
"I didn't break camp," Ralph said. "I did what you said and checked the periphery and I … took care of the camp. I didn't even spark a light. He came on me from the back. I didn't even see him." There were tears in her voice, but her head remained bowed to the ground. "I didn't disobey you. I'm sorry that I screwed things up, but it wasn't on purpose." her voice diminished to a whisper. "Please don't leave me here."
Anna closed her eyes, a suspicious heat burning behind them. "I—I, I think we should," she paused as Ralph's hands began to shake. "Stop that." she ordered.
"Sorry," whispered Ralph tearfully.
"Damn it, I hate it when you cry."
"Sorry," Ralph's voice was so quiet that even her transgenic hearing had trouble picking it up.
Anna dropped to a crouch and grabbed Ralph's chin, raising wet eyes to her own. "Stop it. What happened wasn't your fault and I don't blame you for it, no matter what my foul temper says."
Ralph swiped at her face with a closed fist. "Really?"
"Yeah," Anna said tiredly. "You followed orders and things went pear shaped. It wasn't your fault and I don't blame you. In fact—" she took a deep breath. "I… apologise."
Ralph stilled. "What?"
"I told you that if anything happened to you that I wouldn't step in. No matter what and that you were on your own."
Ralph nodded sadly.
Anna pursed her lips and looked away. "I'm a loner, kid, you know that. Manticore made me that way for a reason. Doesn't mean I won't step up to bat for you."
Ralph watched her. "Will you?"
That was the question. Would Anna put herself out for someone else? Would she take on the responsibility that came with the young girl? Or would she be like Maria and turn her back on her own kind, to save herself?
She wasn't like that.
"When I told White to kill you; that you meant nothing to me… it was a lie."
There was a sudden silence that seemed to echo through the trees at that confession. "I wouldn't have let him kill you, but I had to say that to distract him and make him drop his guard. It was vital but—" Anna frowned. There was something that she wasn't saying to Ralph and she wasn't sure how to come out with it.
"Manticore always told us that we were expendable," she said finally. "We're not. I don't want you to think that you're expendable because of something I said when I was being a bitch."
She watched as Ralph rubbed her stomach. "You don't think I'm worthless then?"
Anna shook her head. "No."
There were more tears in Ralph's voice as she spoke. "Manticore always said that the mission was more important than we were. My Unit ran when the flames hit and they left me alone to burn and… and the ones I did escape with, they were fine with leaving me alone. I'm sick of people abandoning me." She looked up and Anna was horrified to see the pain deep in eyes too old for her face. "I don't feel worthless but everyone treats me like that and pushes me away. I want to be like you," Ralph brushed her tears away almost fiercely. "I wish I was like you and people didn't matter. I wish I didn't care about anyone or what they thought. People hurt."
Anna couldn't swallow the lump that materialised in her throat. "Shi…" her voice trailed off.
She knew exactly how the girl had felt. It had been a while since she was in Ralph's position but she could recall exactly what it was like to have the people that were supposed to love her turn her away; first BJ and then the rest of the Unit when he was taken away. She had tried to make them like her again. She had gone out of her way to take their patrols or cover for them, but all she got was the cold shoulder and their unwilling thanks.
It had been months and even years of rejection before she had turned inwards, not letting anyone in and becoming the woman that she was now.
She had learnt the hard way that people were not to be trusted, but that didn't mean that she didn't long for someone who she could trust, who she could like and let in. But it was too late now.
A rejected child made for a lost, lonely and bitter woman.
Cynicism was one of the hardest habits to shake and her fierce protection of herself and her heart would never be easily penetrated. She was a bitch and no matter how much self-discovery she tried for or how much she analysed herself she knew that it was too late to do anything about the bitterness that surrounded her.
But it wasn't too late to stop someone else from going down the same path.
She reached forward and grabbed the blonde transgenic and pulled her into her arms, rocking instinctively as she knew Max or Tara would have done in her place. Ralph broke into noisy sobs onto her shoulder and Anna just held on tightly, her own eyes shining, trying to atone for past mistakes that couldn't be undone.
>>>>
Syl rubbed idly at the tension headache that was cropping up again.
"It is illegal to kill students. It is illegal to kill students. It is illegal to kill students," she repeated her mantra.
"But how often do we worry about illegalities?" Krit said with a grin as he slung his leg over the back of her sofa.
He had been waiting for her when she got home from school and had dinner ready.
However, the only lunch she was interested in was a liquid one and she nursed the whisky and attempted to correct essays. She hoped that the grades would get better with every sip.
They didn't.
"Hah, hah," she deadpanned and threw her pen at him. "As role model to the children I teach it is my duty to at least present a facade of respectability." She paused. "No matter how much I want to kick their ignorant, skinny little asses to hell and back."
Krit pouted. "Oh, what have the little angels done now?"
"I would like to take Mack Dreyfuss and introduce him to the anomalies," she bit out as she picked up her reports files and pulled at the red chewing gum sticking four of the papers together. "No, I would like to give him to Lydecker and then take him out with a harvest mower."
"Nice," Krit winced. "Not very creative."
"I would carve him into little pieces and then I would post those pieces to his mother with a note saying "Even Darwin would agree"." She continued as if he had never interrupted. "He is without doubt the most heinous child in creation."
Krit reached over to the glass she held in one hand and pulled it away from her. "Mack Dreyfuss isn't at the top of your worries list."
"No," Syl sighed and rolled her head on her shoulders.
"Have you heard back?"
She shook her head quickly and looked out of the window.
Krit made a sympathetic noise but said nothing. He knew how much she hated pity and wasn't going to say anything that would have her picking up the sofa and throwing it at him.
Again.
As it was there was little that he could say. What had occupied Syl was the notion that she could start to teach older children; preferably ones who had got out of the 'let's paint a bulls eye on the girl's back because they have cooties' phase.
She had submitted her application for collegiate studies in the hopes that her dual degrees in psychology and sociology would stand her for a lecturing poison in college.
She had been expecting to hear from the Dean of a local college sometime in the next week.
Which was why they both jumped when the phone rang.
Syl stared at it. "Shit."
It rang again. And again.
"Uh, aren't you gonna pick it up?" Krit said in amusement.
"Sure!" Syl jumped up and picked up the receiver. "Hello, Sylvia Crayford here."
"Syl. Zack."
Syl rolled her eyes as her shoulders slumped. "Tarzan, Jane."
"What?"
"I'm kinda waiting for a phone call big brother, can't this wait?"
"No."
Krit frowned at her initial greeting but when she spoke again his eyes widened and he jumped up as if expecting Zack to walk in any moment. Syl grimaced at him.
"So spill and then get off my line."
"Fine. Found Max, come to Seattle. Succinct enough for ya, Syl?"
Syl didn't say a word as her jaw had dropped, resembling some of the smarter ones of her students. "Say what?"
"Ben's apartment in Seattle." There was a minute pause. "And tell Krit."
Syl opened her mouth to deny that Krit was there but Zack had already put the phone down.
Krit looked at her shell-shocked face in concern. "Syl?"
She looked back with wide eyes. "Guess who's home?"
>>>>
"You found Max?" Jondy yelled into the receiver. "No shit?"
Zack winced from his end of the phone. "Do you have to yell?"
Jondy looked towards the bar where the latest addition to their nightlife stood, screaming her lungs out to the moshing crowd.
She grinned. "Trust me, its better not to hear what's going on here. But seriously, you found our Maxie-girl?"
"Yeah, come to Seattle. Okay? The place Ben found."
"Okay," she paused. "Are you okay with this, Zack?"
She heard the hesitation on the end of the line.
"She's surrounded by people… transgenics," he clarified and then bit out. "She's practically putting down roots. It's not safe."
"With so many out, maybe she doesn't need safe. She needs strength."
"That's what she said," Zack added shortly.
Jondy waited patiently knowing that she was the only one who Zack ever confided in. It came as a result of hanging out in the hottest bar in San Francisco and listening to drunk and freaks all night moaning about their on-again, off-again relationship with their mother/ brother/ girlfriend/ boyfriend/ therapist. She was a damn good listener.
"It's dangerous for our kind to remain stationary," he finally said. "But she seems to have made it work. She commands respect."
"Max?"
"Yeah," he laughed, also thinking of the dark headed girl who pouted her way into people's affections as a child. "She does a good job from what I can see. That's why I want you all down here. I need you to see her and try to convince her that the only way forward is to scatter."
Ah. Jondy had wondered why he was recalling them. It couldn't be that he finally wanted them all together and in one place. No, it had to be so that he could inflict his rules and regulations on more of them. Jondy felt a wave of pure frustration at her brother and had to smother it before she exploded at him and his rigidity.
"Well, maybe," she hedged, "maybe Max has already decided what she wants."
"Her… decisions show her lack of taste. Just come, Jon, okay?"
And with that Zack put the phone down, leaving Jondy to wonder what he meant by that comment.
>>>>
The elderly couple watched as he loaded the last of his things into the truck.
"Will you be okay?" she said worriedly, her silver hair glistening in the bright sun as she clasped her husbands hand.
Ash turned around and gave her a bright smile. "I'll be fine, Martha, don't worry. I'll only be a few weeks and then back here as fast as I can. In fact, I'll probably be back before the wheat comes in."
"Good," muttered Joe. "I need all the hands I can, come harvesting."
Ash nodded at the two people who had been almost like parents to him since he had arrived on the Iowa farm. He patted the hood of his truck with his usual humour. "Gracie will get me there and back safely."
"Damn truck," Joe said gruffly, masking his emotions behind the hard exterior. It was one of the reasons that Ash felt so comfortable around him. "One day I gotta meet that brother of yours," he stated. "I'll give him what for, ordering you halfway across the world at a moments notice."
Ash imagined the confrontation between his boss and best friend and the brother who thought he owned him.
He laughed.
"Yes," Martha said sweetly. "I want to meet Zack too. Tell him to come over and I'll fix him pie."
And she probably would, too. Martha was so sweet she'd offer to feed half the world if she could and wouldn't hesitate to tell Zack to take it easy.
Zack might bristle against Joe's gruff demeanour but even Lydecker himself would be wrong-footed by the sweet Martha Haywood. Despite her seemingly scatty attitude and adorable ways, she had a way of wrapping you around her finger without you realising it.
It had come as a shock when the young Ash had found himself not only working for the Haywood's but also living with and caring for them.
Joe said that it had been an equal shock to find himself married to Martha. If she were a man she would rule the world, eradicate hunger, poverty, war and make sure that everyone washed their hands before meals.
Lydecker could learn a thing or two from her.
"Why do you have to go now?" Martha said, looking up at the sky. "It looks like rain."
"Family emergency," Ash shrugged. "I should go now to avoid traffic in town."
"Damn city slickers," Joe spat and Ash hid a grin at the thought of the Iowa town of population 600 being called a 'city'. For a brief moment he toyed with the idea of taking Joe to Seattle and showing him a real city, but declined on the basis that he couldn't take that much cussing.
"Well, you drive carefully, now," Martha smiled gently. "I've packed you a lunch, in the front seat and remember to take your vitamins."
Ash slid into the front seat. "Yes, ma'am."
She waved and he pulled away. "Bye now. Have a nice trip and I hope it's nothing too serious."
"Just come back!" Joe hollered.
Ash laughed as he pulled away from the farm… his home.
He only hoped he'd see it again.
>>>>
The sounds of the night drifted up to Dek as he sat on what he now considered "his place" on the rooftop. He could hear revellers below celebrating the return of lost loved ones, beloved Unit members and cherished COs. The cacophony of laughter, cheers and conversation flittered up to his ears and he closed his eyes, trying to shut them out.
He was in no mood to make merry.
Oh, he was glad enough that BJ had made it back, he was happy to see both Emma and Zan, and he was glad that Flex had returned. But there was something that had kept him from joining in the laughter at Cece's hormones; that kept him from reminiscing on Pix's practical jokes and held him back from teasing Alec over Flex, Zack and Zeph's attachment to Max.
Drew wasn't there.
Actually, he was kind of disgusted with himself that just because he had never lived without Drew didn't mean that he couldn't live without her.
With each day that passed when he didn't hear either from or about her, it seemed that he would have to learn to live without her and it was killing him.
Dek turned up the collar of his worn leather jacket to ward against the cold that was insistent on creeping deep down into his veins. He wrapped his arms around his knees and shivered as the chilly breeze ruffled his hair, momentarily contemplating having it cut.
He had originally let his dark blond hair grow long as a sort of passive rebellion against Manticore. Now, on the outside, it was just far too much bother to worry about cutting it off—plus it covered his barcode; a good thing now, or so it appeared.
Why on earth he was thinking about something as ridiculously unimportant as that was beyond him, unless it was just to fill up his day so that he could avoid thinking about Drew.
Not that it worked.
There was a yell from far below that caught his attention momentarily but it faded as quickly as it had been captured and he glanced back up at the glistening stars, cursing his insomnia.
Maybe he should go and put himself on one of the security rotas that he pushed Aiden into; at least it would give him something to do.
He was about to start enumerating ways he could get out of the morning meeting when he felt it.
Slow prickles along the base of his spine, itching in his fingers and a throbbing on his neck, just above his ever-cursed barcode.
It was like every nerve ending was suddenly on fire and every inch of his skin crawled like a million fire-ants marching in formation.
His heart pounded and the ice-cold wind rushed over his face even before he realised he was moving. His feet slammed onto the concrete as he reached for the roof-door, wrenching it open with so much force that it shattered against the outer wall, sending shards of rotten wood splinters flying through the air, narrowly missing him.
He barely noticed his surroundings as he blurred down the stairs scattering an upcoming group of X8s like mini-skittles. He ignored their curses as he barrelled out into the night air, heading for central command.
Even the battle-hardened guards on security and guard duty took one look at the approaching transgenic and stepped aside, even opening the doors for him when it was abundantly clear that he wouldn't take the time to do so himself.
He raced into central command and took the dais in one jump, his hand reached for the door to Pix's office…
And stopped one inch from the handle.
He couldn't bring himself to touch it, even though his whole body cried out for him to open that door; to find out the truth.
Dek's breathing physically hurt his chest as he stared at the wood willing himself to broach it.
Open it.
He wouldn't.
Open it.
He couldn't.
"Hey, Dek."
His heart froze and one, jagged breath was dragged unwillingly from his lungs.
He turned slowly.
"Hey, Drew."
And there she was; long dark hair cascading over one shoulder, tight jeans encasing long, lean legs, leather jacket and black shirt. His gaze lifted to her face, her teeth biting her lower lip in uncertainty and eyes suspiciously damp.
A tremulous smile touched her lips and his heart began to beat again.
"Oh, god, Drew!"
He opened his arms and she ran into them, tucking her head under his chin like she was made to fit there, and breathing deeply of his scent.
Dek buried his face in her silky hair and inhaled, drinking in the familiar scent of cinnamon and berries that reminded him of warm winter afternoons.
Drew felt his hands tremble as they held her tightly.
"Missed you," he mumbled into her hair and she laughed damply.
"Yeah, me, too."
She pulled back slightly to look into his deep blue 'need-you' eyes and was more than taken aback to see them swimming in tears.
"Dek?" She reached up, touching his face in wonder, brushing away the errant tears with her thumb.
"I—I—," he stammered, searching for the words but settled for drawing her close and bending his head as she tangled her fingers on his hair and raised her lips to his.
>
Ben watched from the edge of central command, half shrouded in dark shadow and watched Drew and Dek's tender embrace.
His jaw was tight with suppressed emotion; his hands jammed into his pockets to stop them reaching for someone's neck.
His deep green eyes glittered with an unnamed emotion as Dek pulled away from Drew.
"'Oh, Drew,'" Ben mocked sotto voice. "'I have something to tell you.'"
As he watched, Drew took a step backwards and gestured as Dek shifted from foot to foot.
"'I have something to tell you too,'" Ben continued in a higher octave. "'But you obviously need to go first… or need the bathroom.'"
Dek jammed one hand into his pocket and pointed with the other.
"'No, you go, I can hold it.' 'Are you sure? I know you have premature ex-planations?'" Ben grinned evilly.
Drew took a deep breath and blurted something out. Ben raised an eyebrow and improvised.
"'While you were gone, doofus, I've been sleeping with a gorgeous transgenic called Ben who is suspiciously like Max's boyfriend—except sexier. We've fallen in love and I'm dumping you for him.'" Ben's voice dropped sadly. "'We were happy and I hate you, doofus.'"
He watched as Dek stilled and swallowed, glancing at the floor whilst Drew waited nervously. Her hand reached out for Dek, only to drop millimetres away without making contact.
Ben continued, more subdued. "'He's a far better man than you, doofus, and we'll be happy. Don't be sad, doofus.'"
Dek suddenly looked up and spoke sheepishly.
"'It's all right, Drew. I'm only jealous. You see, I'm actually gay.'"
Drew stumbled and gestured to Pix's office where they had left Max only moments ago.
"'I knew it!'" he adlibbed. "'All the signs were there; the Poofy hair, the weirdly matched clothes and effeminate ways. Even Max noticed that you speak in a squeaky way and have an unnatural relationship with hair gel!'"
Dek shrugged his shoulders in a bashful manner and Drew punched his shoulder.
"'That's why you were checking out… Zack's ass, jerk!'" Ben slyly added but as Dek grabbed Drew's hands and pulled her close, cradling her cheek and stroking one long strand of hair behind her ear, his face fell and he grew quiet again, silently cursing them and his luck, before melting back into the shadows again.
>>>>
Anna had dropped Maria as near to the hospital as she could without being seen and walked away from the woman as fast as she could, without a backwards glance.
She was more than glad to be rid of that woman and all she stood for.
Leaving Ralph to gorge herself at the local café with a promise to be back, Anna headed to the nearest payphone. A quick snap of some wires had her into free mode and she dialled the number of the only working payphone within hearing distance of Terminal City that she could remember.
The phone rang and she waited.
Hundreds of miles away in Seattle a small boy looked at the ringing phone and inched forward to pick up the receiver.
"Yeah?" he inquired nasally.
"Is this a transgenic?" the voice said without preamble.
"Who wan's ta know?"
"X5- 291 and your superior."
The small boy snapped to attention. "Sorry ma'am."
"Who is this?"
"Uh…Rat, Street-rat," he said the name that most people had yelled at him his few months out of Manticore.
"Well…Rat, I need you to go to central command and get whoever is in charge... Pix probably. X5-418 or maybe Feen, X5-555. Tell them that Anna has some vital information to impart. I will call back in ten minutes. Got that? This is imperative."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll go now!"
Anna grimaced as the phone was dropped hastily into the cradle and she placed the receiver down, thinking deeply.
Obviously, this whole thing was far bigger than any of them had ever suspected. What with White working against whatever it was that Sandeman was doing and now bases and branches of Manticore spreading all over the world, what had been a simple 'eliminate White' ideal had suddenly become so much more.
Why was Sandeman gearing up for an all over the world army? What was the purpose of the people White was working for and what did it have to do with certain blood immunity?
More to the point, what was she going to do about it, if anything?
The old Anna would have shrugged her shoulders and walked away, not really intending to do much. But the new Anna, the Anna that had been forged by the incessant chattering of Ralph, the Anna that had been held helpless under White, the Anna that had seen the face of true evil in a file as long as her arm and twice as dangerous; this Anna would not, could not, stand by and let this happen.
Not when it could be within her power to stop it.
We can be more than what they made us. We are more than a designation.
"Yeah," she whispered and redialled.
The phone was answered on the first ring.
"Anna?"
She frowned trying to place the voice. "Max?"
"Hey, girl, you okay? We've been worried."
Anna closed her eyes glad to hear Max's voice, even if they never really got on. She felt a sudden urge to be back there, surrounded by people who knew her, even if they didn't really like her. She wanted to pour her heart out to Max and explain what was going on, what had happened and what she felt; all of the changes that she was going through.
"I—," she started but the words got stuck as tears welled up in her throat.
"Anna?" Max said, concerned.
"Good to hear your voice," she managed. "Things have been… shit."
Max laughed and Anna's burden was lifted somewhat. "When are you coming home?"
"I'm not and I have something to tell you."
Once she started the story she couldn't stop until every last piece had been extracted. She spoke about White capturing her in the abandoned warehouse and about the tests that she had sabotaged. She explained about the children and was relieved when Max told her that they'd arrived. She told her about Ralph and had Max laughing at some of their altercations. She then told her about the facility and Maria and, for the first time, she voiced all of her fears about being like the callous woman only to be relieved by Max.
"No, you were never like that, Anna. None of us were ever given the chance to deal with social issues and we're all learning. We make a mistake…that's the human part of us. Don't cling to mistakes or what we could have done. Manticore told us that it clouds the mission, but what it does is cloud the emotions and stops us going forward and that's what we have to do. Our lives at Manticore are over now, Anna. We need to press onwards… on to a new life, a new way of being and a new way of living. Don't let Manticore hold you back. Live, change and move forward."
Anna nodded slowly, taking Max's words into her heart. "Ever pressing onwards?"
"Yeah."
There was silence as they both took in what was being said, and what wasn't.
"Are you coming back now?"
"No," Anna quickly outlined her plan to Max and waited for the approval that came in torrents. Max filled her in with the information that she had gleaned from her various sources in Seattle and they compared the two, coming up with more detailed plans.
It wasn't until the sudden onset of shivers told her that the temperature had fallen did she look up to find that night had fallen and she realised that they had been talking for hours.
"Shit, I've left Ralph at the café," she said suddenly and Max laughed.
"The poor girl will think you've left her there."
"No, she won't," Anna asserted confidently. "But I have to go, now," she paused. "If you see B.J. tell him that I said 'hi', okay?"
"Will do."
"Bye then."
"Bye."
A pause and then. "Anna?"
"Yeah?"
"Stay safe, sister."
Anna closed her eyes at the reminder of family. "Thank you, Max."
She placed the receiver down slowly and walked over to the café where Ralph was still waiting nervously.
"Hey," she said as she slid into the booth. "Anything good here?"
"Pancakes," Ralph smiled, relieved beyond measure that her faith hadn't been mislaid. "Add maple syrup and they are good."
Anna nodded and sat back silently.
Ralph waited as the waitress brought over more coffee and she placed an order for more food, jus watching Anna as she though things through.
Once the food had arrived Anna seemed to come out of her slump and stared at Ralph.
"So, what now? Are we going after White again?"
Anna shook her head. "As much as I want to kill his ass, we have bigger fish to fry."
Silently hugging the 'we' to herself, Ralph pushed pancakes towards Anna. "And?"
"How are you at languages?" Anna gave her a sharp look and Ralph preened.
"Now in foreign languages I excelled. I may puke at the sight of blood but no one could best me at linguistics. 12 fluent, 6 pigeon and twenty variations. Pick it up in a snap." She clicked her fingers.
Anna smirked. "Good thing I'm taking you with me, then."
Ralph broke into a huge smile. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"Sandeman expanded his operation. Worldwide."
"Worldwide Manticore?" Ralph's eyes were wide. "Ouch."
Anna picked up her fork and stabbed the pancakes. "Mmm, good."
Ralph waited for Anna to explain. And waited.
Anna held out until it looked like Ralph would burst before swallowing and saying simply. "It's got to stop. I want it done. Every injury and injustice is to be stopped and I want answers, dammit. I want to know if this barcode comes with an expiry date. I want to know why he mixed the kitty cat with the canine. I want to know what he was thinking. I want to know how he did it and more than that, I want to know why."
Ralph was impressed. "So what are we doing?"
Anna eyed her for a long moment. "We are going to Europe… to find Sandeman."
Ralph's jaw dropped. "We are? And then what?"
"We are going to stop Manticore, once and for all."
The End.
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Major thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed for this fic. The props to my original characters has not only been surprising but inspiring. Your reviews have given me the confidence to start my own book, knowing that you like my style and the characters that I create—THANK YOU TO ALL.
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SGOU- The trouble is that there are so many characters and so many different scenarios that we are reacting to that its hard to fit in some of our favourite moments. The Flex/Skye one was sprung on me but fast became my fave scene of all that. Had to pair Drew with someone and the Dek/Drew-ers had more creative threats. Ahh Manticore's less serious threat of 'threaten everyone with Pink transgenics in a Barbie kind of way' shame it didn't go down well, because I would have caved. I love the Greeks watch for more of them in SF.
Angel of darkness231- How about this one? Even longer! Aren't I good to you?
Mae- Awww babe, so sorry you have bad allergies. My dad likes to take the hose out to cats. Hope you had great hols.
Ladybug- Way past time! LOL.
Ganko- I did add that specifically—I'm mean that way. Poor Pix…of course it could be worse for him. Here are some 09ers for ya to feast on and enjoy!
Lyndsay- Ben and Ice-cream—oh I think I can imagine. In fact I've probably had some of the same dreams. Been/Dek and Icecream. Going to go away and drool now. EEE! I got someone hooked on Eve Dallas! Those books are fab aren't they? I adore Rourke, he's delicious in an icecream kinda way. And the way she fights with her computer is classic!
Starr Light1- Well you'll love the next part of SF then, meetings galore.
Moonlite Star- I love the Greeks, gotta say I have a huge crush on Isacar despite the fact that he is 13. I adore him! Family reunions do rock…unless you are my family in which case you just have a head like one.
L80bug- I know I can't believe we are done with this half, it's been a wild ride I have to say! The trouble is that there is so much story left to write, I'm starting to feel like George Lucas—he of the never-ending "trilogy". If you remember a lot of the kids got sent away with various older ones, like Cece's Harley, so look forward to seeing them too.
Amelya- Thank you pet, and thanks for reviewing. You like Drew and Ben? They do mix well together don't they?
Blue Angel37- Everyone has to love Mr Darcy! He's just gorgeous—in any incarnation. We are family… damn now I have that song in my head. I think that Deck and White have other things on their mind and didn't even notice the broadcast! Dumbasses. As for ending the story…
BR9- Hope you had a great Birthday sweetheart, more SF soon.
Kim- oh lord, can you imagine putting Isacar with BJ? Or Zeph and Mole? How scary would that be? Aiden has a wonderful surprise from all of us that love him.
Lotamoxie- you were right, Drew and Ben are some of the last to get reunioned. Ohh Ben and Alec gotta write THAT scene. Now. Yes Aiden and Nyx are gonna be a pairing- what do you think to that?
Meri24- thank you pet, glad you like. Ugh Aiden and Cece- gross.
Tonibo- am I going to do another sequel? Uhh possibly not. There is a lot more to say but I do have other DA fics to write. I might come back to this one day.
Brett- I've find that with dialogue it helps to say it out loud. I'm always talking to my computer as a character. It's like acting without the stage fright. Good luck with it!
Mae- boy are you excited or something?
RoxyRoo- Thanks pet, ooh no, not Icarus, somehow that would be wrong, considering she is only 13. Now Nyx, she's a nice age and Flex's favourite!
Sakura- LOL. Honey if you want to fight with Nyx, you can have Aiden. Thanks for the kudos, hope you liked this one too.
Pinkflipflop3- I hope that this chapter wasn't a disappointment, it doesn't have the Greeks, but every Anna fan will enjoy. A Dek/Ben showdown sounds nice.
Messymissy- Cheers pet, Zan is so much happier once he finds Max and I think she'll have more men vying for her attention than she knows what to do with!
Pixie Wildfire- Chase is obviously one of the less smart transgenics. There are very little men stranger than Lydecker and he accepts sweets. shakes head sadly at youth of today, before going off to run with scissors
Fadingphantom- Good luck with those exams- what are you taking? Nope, there is something brewing between Nyx and Aiden- ain't it cute? Hehehe Pix is in charge- didn't expect that! Hope you liked this and yes, Pride and Prejudice is taking over the world which is. A. good. Thing. Imagine lots of Mr Darcy!
BlueJean452- Cheers pet, there will be plenty of BJ/Jace etc in SF, not here since this is now done!
Aleja21- Thank you pet, hope you like the next SF.
Geminangel- They are cute, aren't they? I'm kinda collecting all the sequels/prequels and parallels to Pride and Prejudice at the moment, call it something of an obsession.
KrzyRiver- Hey well done for reviewing and THANK YOU. LOL, I think I'll have to give Aidan lots more work to do, especially if it gets you to review wink That picture of Tara is actually a very very young Elle McPherson. Looks odd doesn't she?
Sigma1- I'm glad you are happy with that. LOL, poor Ben, we who have little connection with reality have to stick up for each other! Thank you for the pic you did!
Crazy-Vampire Slayer- Hehe Pix in charge- getting a kick out of that.