Facing Death
By: lfbrox
Story: Set in early second season. Logan can walk (just because I like him to). And lots of transgenics are on the run and the other X-series are all out too. Lydecker, Renfro and White are the enemies – as a team this time.
Rating: R
AN: Here you go. Another update. Sorry it took so long. But I'm finished now. Only one chapter left to go. And that is already done and waits to be posted. But I'll give you a little time to read this one first. So enjoy.
Thanks Sammi for the betaing. I'll let Santa know that you've been a really good girl this year.
Also thanks tor everybody who e-mailed me and begged me to continue. Here you have it. Enjoy and drop me a review.
Chapter 16: Painful memories
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Let's say that the mission as far as Lydecker is informed has failed. And now we must carry on without him. He's on his way to the cave with a team to collect 452 and bring her to the reindoctrination lab. I don't expect him to arrive here. Call me when you're done. We need to talk." Renfro said and hung up.
"Well Deck. You said you'd give your life for your kids. I grand you your wish." Renfro said to her empty office and with an evil grin she began plotting her next move.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cave:
"Wow. You guys sure know how to get yourself into trouble." Logan commented after Max and Alec finished telling him what happened.
"Yep. We're good at that." Alec quipped, glad that this time the trouble wasn't his fault.
"But we're even better at getting out of trouble." Max added.
"You've got that right. What's the plan?" Logan asked her. They needed to get out of the cave as quickly as possible. Even though his motives for doing so were far more carnal at this point.
"Find an exit and get the hell out of here." Max told him with an irritated look. What other plans could they possibly have at this point?
"Short and simple." Alec added unnecessarily.
"Can you show me exactly where the entrances were before they closed?" Logan asked Max, totally ignoring Alec.
"Yes. Come with me. Alec, go and check on the teams." Max said and walked with Logan towards the south-east entrance.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Woods outside the cave:
"Sir. There's a black limousine parked on the side of the road." One of Lydecker's soldiers informed him, motioning towards the car. They were deep inside the woods. The road they were traveling on had been built by Manticore and had a secret entrance. No non-Manticore person could know about it and no tourist would be so far off track to land here. Especially not with a limousine.
"Turn off the lights and go slow. Draw your weapons, open the door and stay alert." Lydecker ordered, pulling out his own gun. They slowly approached the vehicle, making sure no other car was parked inside the woods. Lydecker knew instantly that this was a trap. A limousine parked on a secret government road with lights on and no one in sight. But he needed to find out who it was, and if it was an enemy who wanted to interfere with their mission then he needed to kill them. He was a Colonel of an US military force after all.
They stopped their black SUV a few feet away from the limousine and Lydecker motioned for the team to get out and approach the vehicle, while he followed behind them. Slowly they moved closer to the car, ready to fire at anybody who attacked them.
But before anybody could even react they were being shot at by a group of sharpshooters that had been hiding in the treetops. It only took a few seconds for the sharpshooters to take out Lydecker's whole team, leaving Deck standing alone with dead bodies surrounding him shooting aimlessly into the treetops.
After a few shots he stopped, knowing that they were not going to kill him. Knowing that they had the order to let him stay alive for a little longer. The door of the black Limousine slowly opened and a man in his thirties with an expensive suit and a smile on his face got out.
"Colonel Donald Lydecker. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." White greeted him while walking closer to Lydecker.
"Who are you?" Deck asked, pointing his gun at White.
"Ames White. Why don't you put that gun away and we talk a little?" White suggested and held his hand out for Deck to shake it.
"And why don't I just pull the trigger and we forget the talking?" Lydecker said, still aiming the gun at White.
"I guess Elizabeth was right. You really aren't very pleasant." White said and pounced at Lydecker, taking the gun from him with incredible speed and, before Deck knew what was happening, moved back to where he was previously standing holding Lydecker's gun in his hand.
"Not very pleasant and apparently very slow." White said, showing Lydecker his gun. "I was thinking about just snapping your neck with my own hands – make it more personal. But killing you with your own gun sounds good to me too." White explained, pretending to debate which way of killing Deck he preferred.
"Who are you?" Deck asked again. This wasn't an ordinary bad guy. He was faster and stronger than a normal human being. And he mentioned Renfro. Something told Deck that this guy and the people he worked for – or with – meant a lot of trouble for his mission.
"Ames White. I already told you." White replied with mock innocence.
"What do you want? And who are you working for?" Lydecker asked.
"I want you dead. And I'm working towards a better world, a perfect future." White answered his questions.
"And how is my death going to help you achieve your goal? How is Manticore helping you to create a perfect future?" Deck asked, focusing on getting more information out of White rather than thinking about his imminent death.
"Your death is just a nice side effect of our little project Lydecker. You're not important." White explained.
"What project?" Lydecker asked.
"Well. I guess since you will take it with you to the grave I might as well tell you. I'm part of a movement called The Familiars. Our goal is to erase the world from unworthy beings. For centuries we have bred selectively to create better human beings. Hundreds. Thousands of super-humans. But it's not enough to create a better world. The process of selective breeding is a slow one. With the help of Manticore technology we can speed up the process of purifying the world and get rid of the dead meat overpopulating the world. We need physical perfection and a healthy, obedient mind-set. The key is X5-452. Her lack of junk DNA is the key to physical and mental perfection. If we can eliminate her flaws and work on her behavior then that altered DNA could serve us as a sample to create hundreds of thousands of her kind. And then we will be ready when the day of The Coming arrives." White finished.
"What do you need the other kids for?" Deck asked, already putting two and two together and seeing how Renfro fit in all that.
"They are all flawed. But they are all special too. We need to experiment and find out just where to alter the DNA to create the perfect sample. 452 and the rest of the flawed kids in the cave have something in common. One gene sequence that is unique and separates them from the others you created. It may have some bad side effects, but if we are able to detect where the flaws come from and where the uniqueness is then there is no stopping us from our goal." White explained, not bothering to lie to him because he knew that in a minute Lydecker would be dead.
"Manticore technology is further developed than any scientist today could imagine. But even we couldn't find out why it is that 452 has no junk DNA." Lydecker informed him, trying to irritate White.
"Yes. I know. But you are ordinary flawed human beings trying to unravel the mystery of the human DNA. With Manticore and The Familiars working together you can expect us to unravel the mystery in no time. All the Familiars were created through selective breeding. We are better. We are stronger. We are more intelligent. We are the beginning of the new tomorrow. We are the future." White answered, clearly annoyed with Lydecker. It was time to kill him.
"How does Elizabeth Renfro fit into this?" Lydecker asked, knowing this might be his last question.
"There's not only genetic engineering Colonel. There is also genetic manipulation. We can help Elizabeth to see The Coming. She will live longer than any other normal human. We have a deal. And you are not a part of it." White explained, raised Lydecker's gun and pulled the trigger.
"Sorry Lydecker. But we're done talking." With that White dropped the gun next to Lydecker's dead body and went back to his Limousine to drive to Renfro and report Deck's unfortunate death to her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cave:
"So? Anything?" Max asked after Logan finished inspecting the south-east entrance for any sign of a mechanism to open the cave.
"No. That is some kind of work. Whoever did this must have put a lot of thought into it. It isn't some sort of improvised prison. Someone really planned this well Max." Logan said, turning to Max.
"Great. So this is another one of Manticore's evil plans to get me back. Only this time they planned it really well. Why are they so crazy about me?" Max said in exasperation.
"Well Max. There are about thousand reasons why I'm crazy about you. So I could only take a wild guess why they want you so bad." Logan said with a wink.
"Smooth Cale. Really smooth. But could we get back to our plan of getting outta here?" Alec asked from behind them.
"Did you escape from Manticore for the sole reason of interrupting private moments?" Max asked in annoyance and turned away from Logan to face Alec.
"Yeah. I guess that was the plan." Alec replied with a sweet smile, pleased to see that now he was annoying both of them.
"All the teams have finished their searches." Zack said, approaching from behind them.
"And?" Max asked, now focusing on Zack and ignoring Alec.
"Nothing. No exit. No mechanism to open the cave entrances. Looks like we're stuck." Zack informed them as the teams regrouped in the middle of the cave.
"Great." Max said and walked over to the young soldiers who looked at her expecting new orders.
"You. What's your name?" Max asked the older X7 with whom she had spoken before.
"X7-287 ma'am." The X7 answered and stepped forward.
"Right. You don't have names. So 287 tell me: Who is your commander? Who gave you the order for this mission?" Max asked him, deciding to leave the 'pick your own names' game for later.
"Colonel Lydecker is our commander ma'am. He and director Renfro send us out on this mission." The X7 answered.
"Because you're special?" Max said, not the least bit surprised to hear Renfro's name. When she was in Manticore Renfro seemed to have a special interest in her, and in finding Eyes Only. And, now that she had them both, Max wondered what the other X-series kids were doing there. They hadn't been used as bait. But why were they there? What did they have to do with her or Eyes Only?
"What is the mission prospective 287?" Max asked, doubting they had been informed of the real reason for the mission.
"We were set out in the woods and had to regroup according to the new coordinates ma'am." 287 replied.
"And then?" Max asked.
"We are supposed to be transferred to a differed base ma'am." The X7 answered.
"Right. We had that before. So what do you do now?" Max inquired.
"We stay put and wait for new orders ma'am." 287 replied obediently.
"Good. Then I'll give you a new order," Max said, motioning with her head for 287 to get back in his line. Then she stepped back so all the soldiers could see her.
"It's called escape and evade." Max ordered, then turned to look at Logan, Alec and Zack who were standing behind her. They all nodded their heads, encouraging Max to go on and give it another try, even though it could turn out to be a waste of valuable time. If Max could convince them that Manticore was the bad guy and that they didn't belong there then they would be out in no time. And even if the Manticore troops attacked them they still stood a pretty good chance of overpowering them.
"Me and Zack, ahm X5-599. We lived longer outside of Manticore than within. We were still kids when we got out – even younger than some of you. We escaped because Manticore made a mistake. They let us see too much, they let us hear too much and they let us think too much. We were obedient because we were scared. We saw what happened when you don't obey. And we also saw what happens when you don't function like you are supposed to. My bother Jack had a seizure. He was taken away. We have never seen him again. After that we were even more scared because a few more of us had those seizures. That fear held us together. We were like a family. Everybody in my unit was like a brother or sister for me. So when my seizures got worse and I couldn't hide them any longer Zack initiated the escape. To save my life and to save the lives of my brothers and sisters. After the escape we separated so it would be harder for Manticore to find us. We were all alone and young and had to deal with a world that was unknown to us. We learned it the hard way. We learned how the outside world; the real world works. We lived normal lives, more or less. We dealt with our flaws, we made our mistakes. But we also made our own choices, our own decisions about our life. And you can too. But you don't have to do it alone. We'll be there for you. We'll help you find your way. Live your own life, make your own choices. But we have to get out of here first. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it." Max finished. Out of thoughts, out of words.
She knew she could've done better. Knew that those kids were raised as soldiers and therefore needed facts more than story telling. She knew Logan would've been better with the facts part about how bad Manticore was; he was good with words. But she also knew that they needed to hear it from her. So now she was standing there. Waiting for a reaction she knew she would probably not get.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Observation point:
"Damn. Now I missed the speech." White said sarcastically, entering the observation point just as Max finished.
"Ames. I suspect you come with good news." Renfro said and turned her chair to look at him.
"Yes. And from what I see down there I guess you need some good news for a change." White said, gesturing to the X-soldiers lined up looking at 452. "Unlike 452, Lydecker won't cause anymore problems."
"Good. Then let's deal with this mess here." Renfro said and turned back to look through the hidden glass front of the observation point. "I guess we can forget all theories about 452 finding her true calling as a CO and soldier and returning home to base voluntarily."
"True. I guess we have to let Mr. Hyde out to play. We will find out what is so special about 452. And if she is the only one." White said, having preferred that plan from the very beginning. Why waste time watching and analyzing them when you could cut them up and have scientific proof?
"Is the lab set up?" Renfro asked him, glad that the waiting and watching was over.
"Yes. Everything is ready. When do we move them?" White asked, eager to get things going.
"Get secure transportation. We need to do it while it's still night. The sleeping gas works within fifteen minutes of exposure. It lasts for about 2 hours. We'll release it as soon as the transportation is here." Renfro said, dismissing him to take care of everything while she kept on watching the cave.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cave:
"Any questions?" Max asked; nobody had spoken to her for almost ten minutes since her little speech.
"Ma'am?" A young X8 asked carefully, raising her hand.
"You don't need my permission to speak. What's your name?" Max asked in a softer tone.
"My designation is X8-149 ma'am." The young X8 answered. She was one of the youngest of the group, about the same age Max and her siblings had been when they escaped.
"Okay. Your question?" Max encouraged her to speak freely.
"Ma'am. What are we going to do on the outside? What purpose do we have when we are not soldiers? We are meant to fight and defend our nation from our enemies. Who is defending the nation if we desert our unit?" The young X8 asked, and Max was shocked what Manticore had made out of this little girl.
"You can do anything you want. You will go to school, learn new things. Learn how to think on your own without obeying orders. You will create your own purpose in life. You can create your own destiny. You generate your own future by the choices you make, you'll see. But before the seeing comes the feeling that there is more to life than what you are living." Max answered and, before she could ask her if she had understood, another kid-soldier stepped forward.
"Ma'am. X8-358. How do we know that the outside is a better place? You said you had to learn it the hard way. Have you accomplished your mission of creating your own purpose and destiny?" The boy asked her.
"I'm learning every day. I discover new things about the world and about myself. It took me a long time to get where I am today. I still suffer from my past. I still haven't completely let go of my memories from Manticore. So when the pain comes back I let it hurt. And each time it's a little weaker. Every time I thought I couldn't go on, life has proved that I have underestimated my capacity for pain. Sometimes I wish I'd lived differently, but I didn't. Things are constantly getting better. Sure there are setbacks here and there, but I don't give up. Not ever. Cause nothing is truly learned until it is lived. And I'm giving you the opportunity to learn everything you can. Now let's turn this damn cave upside down until we find a way outta here." Max said a little exhausted and emotionally drained.
But the way the kid-soldiers yelled an enthusiastic "Yes ma'am" and spread out to find an exit, Max deduced that she must have done the right thing. Must have said what they needed to hear to spark their curiosity about the life outside of Manticore.
Max was just about to turn around and walk back to where Logan and the others were standing when a familiar voice stopped her.
"No matter how many of your little speeches you give, 452, you won't find an exit." Renfro's voice echoed through the loudspeakers.
"Renfro. I was expecting to hear from you sooner or later." Max said casually.
"I guess that proves that the good can be clever too, huh?" Renfro replied just as casually.
"Who knew lunatics could be so witty?" Max shot back, not knowing where Renfro was going with all the small talk. "What do you want Renfro? Why are you keeping us here?"
"A little impatient are we?" Renfro asked.
"I ran out of patience a while ago." Max answered and motioned to Logan, Alec and Zack to continue the search while she talked to Renfro. The fact that Renfro had contacted her indicated that they didn't have a lot of time left.
"Well in that case, don't worry. You won't be staying here for much longer. We have plans for you. But, by all means, continue searching for that exit. It's very entertaining to watch." Renfro said, seeing Alec, Zack and even the ordinary but infamous Eyes Only coordinate the search efforts.
"Good to know that our audience is satisfied. So where are you taking us?" Max asked, trying to buy some time and get more information.
"Don't worry. The lab is not very far. It's a short ride." Renfro said, and had to smile at Max's shocked reaction at the word 'lab'.
"Lab? What do you want to find out that you don't already know? Haven't you cut up enough of us already?" Max asked, exchanging glances with Logan who looked extremely worried by now.
"No. Not all secrets have been lifted. As you have so rightfully put it earlier, you are all flawed. You have defects. Yet even with said flaws you have survived without being caught or killed, so far. Somehow your DNA is special. I want to know if it is because of your flaws or despite your flaws." Renfro explained, having no problem letting 452 know what the mission was all about.
"Is this about my lack of Junk DNA again? You really think you'll find the answer by cutting me up?" Max said, feeling slightly more confident now that she knew what Renfro's plan was.
"How else? You are more valuable dead than alive. Seeing you alive has only let us discover your flaws so far. I want to find out where your strength comes from. And it can't be something obvious, seeing how weak and vulnerable you were when it came to Mr. Eyes Only." Renfro said, amused by the way Max nervously looked over to where Logan was standing.
"Well I guess a cold-hearted bitch like you can't understand that my ability to be weak and vulnerable at times is where my strength comes from. You can cut me up any way you want to. But my lack of Junk DNA is not the reason why I managed to succeed every time Manticore wanted me back in a cage." Max explained.
"No. It was Lydecker's poor execution of the plan to capture you and your alliance with Eyes Only. But see, that exact alliance helped me catch you. Love makes you weak. With love comes attachment and with attachment comes fear. Your fear of losing him led you to make the wrong decision. To stay, when you should have let go and run. It's that weakness that made you unable to make the hard decision, and look where that got you." Renfro shot back.
"What do you know about love? To allow myself to love this man was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life. To let my guard down and allow myself to feel. To accept my feelings and follow my heart has cost me more strength than any fight I've been in. Cause in a fight I know what to expect. I can control it. I know I'm good at it. I know I can win. Love was an unknown factor in my life, but I leapt and took the risk. I discovered the unknown and realized that the known is the prison of past conditioning. To love this man has made me stronger. The fear of losing him made me fight harder. My attachment to him made me believe in myself and my purpose in life. You won't find any of that in my genetic make-up." Max finished, all the while looking at Logan with tear-rimmed eyes.
Renfro was quiet. She didn't know what to reply to that. She has seen all the kids stop what they were doing to look at 452 with big eyes. Seen that 452 really meant what she had said. And judging by the expression on Cale's face and the looks he gave 452, he felt the same way. Renfro decided not to push it any further. If the kids weren't convinced before, they sure looked like they were now. 452 had promised them a better life and now they started to believe her. She needed White to hurry up and get the trucks for their transportation ready. She didn't know exactly why, but her inner voice told her that things could go awry if she let her soldiers spend any more time with 452.
"Okay guys. Go back to work, let's find that exit." Max said after her voice had steadied enough to talk. After all the kids had gone back to work she quickly moved over to where Logan, Alec and Zack were standing.
"Alec, Zack go and help them. Make sure they don't miss an inch." Max ordered and when the guys had left – Alec with the group on the left and Zack with the one on the right – she turned to Logan.
"Well, that wasn't exactly the way I planned on telling you." Max said, stepping closer to Logan.
"Max, it's not important where or how you tell me. The important thing is that you do." Logan replied, closing the last bit of distance between them and kissing her softly.
"I do. I love you Logan." Max whispered against his lips.
"And I love you. That's all that matters." With that said he resumed the kiss, deepening it almost instantly, not caring a damn bit where they were or what could happen next. All he knew was that she loved him and he loved her.
xxx
"Sir?" The young X8 that was speaking to Max earlier whispered.
"149 right?" Alec asked, looking down at the boy.
"Yes sir. I have to inform you of something." The young boy whispered again. Alec had no idea why he was whispering, but he bent down slightly, pretending to inspect the bottom of the cave wall, and nodded at 149 to continue.
"I was searching in X5-599's group on the other side of the cave sir." The young boy whispered, turning around to see that 599 wasn't watching them before he continued. "I think he found the exit sir. There is a loose rock on the floor of the cave, covered with a pile of sand. When he lifted it up slightly the wall lifted up too sir. He didn't lift it up completely sir but put it back down and covered it up again. Then he looked around to see if anybody saw him. What does that mean sir?" The X8 finished and pretended to inspect the wall in front of him while waiting for an answer.
"Okay. Go back to your group and keep on searching. Don't say anything to anybody. Looks like we have a traitor among us. I'll talk to Logan and Max. I'll give you a sign when we make our move. Then you open the door and lead everybody out. Got that?" Alec asked, already working on a plan.
"Yes sir." X8-149 said and quickly made his way back to his group, making sure X5-599 wouldn't notice, while Alec walked over to where Max and Logan were standing, still fused together.
"Ahm guys. Hey guys?" Alec said, trying to get their attention and failing miserably. They seemed to be in another world. He was happy for them but thought it was highly inappropriate in the situation they all were in. And for that he hated them. He was Alec – he was the screw up. And now he had to be the voice of reason.
"Stop it." Alec said, pulling Max away from Logan. "You have enough time for that once we're outta here. But now you have to listen to me." Alec whispered through clenched teeth. He wanted them to focus but he didn't want to draw attention to himself either. He made sure Zack was still busy searching the cave – or pretending to search the cave as Alec now knew – and started telling Max and Logan everything 149 had told him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Observation point:
"The trucks are waiting outside. We still have 3 hours before sunrise. I guess we're all set then. We can release the gas and put them out." White said, entering the observation point.
"About time." Renfro said and called for Officer Cook.
"Something wrong?" White asked, seeing that Renfro was not really focused on her task.
"No. Nothing's wrong. I had a little chat with 452. Pesky little thing. I can't wait to have her strapped on a table." Renfro said and looked away from White when the door opened. "Cook. Get ready to release the gas. Maximum dosage.
"Yes ma'am." Officer Cook saluted and left the room.
"Ames. You take the trucks and go to the exit and coordinate the transport." Renfro said and once again stared into the cave where everybody was quietly working on finding the exit.
White said something before leaving but she didn't even hear it. She just stared into the cave. Something 452 said had stirred up memories. Memories from a past she always pretended had never existed. Memories from a time where she had made the mistake of being weak and vulnerable herself. A time where she had learned that sooner or later the world will break your heart. A time where the fear of losing someone had overwhelmed her. A time where she had lost someone. A time where she had thought the pain would kill her. And now that time had passed she realized that the good memories eventually hurt the most.
Without giving it a second thought she reached for the microphone that allowed her to speak to the cave.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cave:
"452. Last chance for you to give one of your little speeches." Renfro said but this time her voice was without the usual superiority.
"Why is that?" Max asked, stepping into the center of the cave just as they had planned.
"You have had enough time to find your way out and succeed yet again. But this time you have failed. Time is up. We will bring you to the lab now and then we will see what I can find in your DNA and what not." Renfro said, hatred evident in her voice. No one knew that the hatred she felt toward Max was based on the memories the X5 provoked in her. But no one needed to know that. No one needed to know that she was only human too.
Max knew something would happen soon and knew she had to act quickly. She motioned for Alec and Zack to come to her side while Logan positioned himself near the still closed exit. Little X8-149 quietly moved toward the mechanism that would allow him to open the cave wall that led into freedom.
"Renfro I want you to look at us. Manticore technology at its best. And that has nothing to do with our DNA. Do what you have to do. But you won't find anything. And when you don't, I want you to remember what I told you – and maybe then you will be able to understand that not everything can be done by mixing genetic codes and altering DNA." Max said and stepped back a little so Alec and Zack were standing in front of her.
She bent down and picked a big rock off the cave floor. Then she slowly turned toward Zack.
"And maybe one day you will understand too, 599." Max said, disappointment, anger and hurt evident in her voice. Zack slowly turned around, trying to figure out why she had called him 599 but already knowing that his cover was blown. Still, he braced himself and turned around to face her. Then everything went black for him as Max knocked the rock full force against his head.
"He's out." Alec said, checking on Zack, who lay unconscious on the floor.
"Good. Let's do the same." Max said and headed towards the now opened exit where Logan was busy ushering the young soldiers out. They were trained to be careful and alert. They knew that there was probably someone waiting for them on the outside. But they were ready and willing to fight their way through it.
"Okay. Let's get outta here." Max said to Logan and they both disappeared into the tunnel.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TBC
AN: Did you like it? Hate it? Please leave a review. Please. I will post the next Chapter in a few days. And trust me. It has everything in it that you guys want. I'm looking forward to the end so let me know you are still here. Thanks.
lfbrox