Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters obviously do not belong to me. I am writing this purely for non-profit entertainment. Yada, yada! No infringement intended, so don't sue me!
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You all made me really happy! So far, this chapter the most reviews! --Jumps about like mad--
Honeyx5-452 – Thanks for your review and for putting me on your favourite list. -Grins happily-Hehe! You are so going to kill me when you see the length of this chapter! I promise to try to shorten it in the future!
angelofdarkness78 – Thanks for your words. Made me feel better immediately! I read your stories – laughed like mad at the fairytale ones!
Gabbie760 – Thanks for your review. Joshua was brought in so soon as I thought Max needed a friend! And also, I have a 'plan' for the story.
Alana84 – Thanks for your review. Hmm… I am not sure Max and Alec have much of a friendship at the moment! However, keep tuning in as it will surely happen later on:)
Iridescent Twilight – Thanks for your review. Don't worry about 494, it is not THAT bad! I was relatively kind to him –wink-, as you will find out!
NoAngell – Another new reviewer! Thanks! Gosh, I hope it is not TOO similar to Left Behind, much as I like that story myself! Retrieved has a different aim and characters, as you will find out in a few chapters ahead. Keep on reading!
Now on with the story...
RETRIEVED - Chapter 5: Trick & Treats
494 sat up in his bed, cursing grumpily at the unholy noise created by the kids in Bugle Corps. Someone should lynch those kids, he thought irritably. He dragged himself off his bed and looked around. Dawn has just approached, bathing the dorm in an eerie glow of orange light. All around him, unit 6 scrambled off their bunks. As usual, they immediately started arranging their bunks; bring it into order for the morning inspection.
A sudden howl of laughter from the bunk beside him started 494. Surprised, he turned around to face 511, wondering what 511 found to be so amusing at this time of the day. Still on his bed, 511 was staring wide eyed at 494, clutching his belly as he gasped in laugher. The rest of the unit, startled at the commotion, turned their attention to their CO. 531 gaped at the sight that greeted her and clapped a hand to her mouth, trying to smother a giggle. Across the room, 480 just stared in disbelieve. The rest of the unit tried to keep their faces straight.
The effort was apparently too much. They all broke out in hysterical laughter.
494 frowned at the uncharacteristic behaviour of his unit. Turning to 511, he glared and snapped irritably, "What's so funny?"
Eyes watering with the effort of keeping his laughter in control, unsuccessfully of course, 511 pointed wordlessly at 494's head.
Dreading what he would find, 494 raised his hand apprehensively to his head.
Not finding what he expected when his hand came into contact with his head, he swore loudly, "WHAT THE FUCK! WHO did this?" He yelled, eyeing each of his unit members.
Unit 6, not knowing the answer to his question and not wanting to incur their CO's wrath, clamped down on their laughter instantly and quietly shook their head. 511, knowing how pissed off his CO was, decided that it would be more beneficial to his well-being if he stopped laughing too.
His keen perusal of his unit members told 494 that they were not responsible for the atrocious crime. Frowning in confusion, he wondered who would do such a thing?
His now silent unit was standing motionlessly, awaiting his next words. 494 could see the apprehension in their eyes and felt uncomfortable for being the cause of that look. He did not mean to make them fear him. Like the way they feared the guards.
Resigning himself to the fact that he would have to face the day in the ridiculous state he was in, he barked out, "Well, what are you all waiting for. Fix your bunks and lets get moving," He turned back to his bed and started pulling his sheets into place, still fuming quietly. As his eyes rested on his pillow, he understood what had happened.
Unit 6, sensing their CO was not in his finest mood, decided wisely to continue their silence, keeping their mirth to themselves. Once they completed their morning routine, they fell into two neat lines and walked briskly towards the mess hall.
494 had expected the reaction he got from the rest of the transgenics in the mess hall. He could clearly hear the sniggers and the giggles around him. He could even hear the X6 brats at the other end of the room. Straightening his back, he pressed his lips together in a grim line and continued across the room
Who came up with this stupid idea of a diabolical joke? Wait till I catch whoever that did this. He would wish he was never born! 494 thought vindictively. His mind was coming up with the many ways of retribution for the crime committed against him.
494 frowned. What he didn't understand was how it happened. And how did he miss the telltale signs on his pillow before he went to bed? He berated himself angrily. Since he was quite sure that his unit were innocent, it must be the other X5s. The X6s bunked in another wing and it was highly unlikely that the X4s would bother to waste their time on these sorts of tricks. Looking around the mess hall suspiciously, he thought, You wait…I'll FIND you if that's the last thing I do!
Max looked up from her breakfast as the door to the mess hall opened and Unit 6 filed in, one after another in a well ordered line. No surprise there, with a CO like 494, she thought.
"Talk of the devil," she muttered under her breath as she caught sight of 494. She immediately averted her gaze by reflex.
Her eyes snapped back up as she looked at him again.
She gaped. Her spoon dropped into her bowl of goo with a plop as the muscles in her fingers went slack when she took in 494's appearance. Then her lips stretched into a grin. They actually went ahead and did it, she thought, shaking her head in amusement. Better still, they succeeded. She heard a few not so subtle sniggers around the mess hall as the other transgenics saw what she saw. She watched as 494 made his way across the room, his posture stiffer and more rigid than usual.
A sudden jab at her side brought Max's attention back to her table. Matt was sitting next to her on the long bench and table. His own plate had been wiped clean of the tasteless goo. Max grimaced, wondering how could he finish the stuff.
He was looking at her suspiciously, in his 'I am your 2IC, so confess your mischief' look.
"Is there something you are not telling us, Max?" he asked softly. Matt, Val, Gab and herself were seated together at one end of the Unit 4 table. Matt had noticed the myriad of expressions crossing Max's face as 494 walked in. He remembered that Max was never too fond of 494. Not that he blamed her. 494 had always found ways to taunt her whenever they are within hearing range of each other. And that was saying a lot considering their enhanced hearing.
Hearing Matt's question, Max's eyes widened almost comically as she said. "Of course not. What makes you think I am hiding something from you all?" She blinked innocently at her 2IC. She looked at Gab and Val for support. They just shrugged, not wanting to take sides.
Matt smiled knowingly. Yeah right! "Hmm, I suppose it was just coincidence that you went missing again from the dorm the last few nights. And it was also coincidence that you borrowed Val's contraband a couple of days ago," he said, raising his eyebrows at Max, challenging her to refute his words.
Knowing she had been made but not wanting to give in so soon, she said, "You know I train at night. And the hair removal kit was for my legs, if you must know,"
Joining in the conversation between Matt and Max, Gab teased, "Tell me you are not responsible for what happened to the poor guy. We all know how much you love him," He looked intently at his training partner. Finally registering the obviously satisfied smile on Max's face, he stared at her and stated incredulously, "You didn't!"
Truthfully, Max said, "I did not put it in his bed, honestly," She grinned. Well, she didn't but she knew someone who did.
Looking at her sceptically, Matt said, "Yeah, right"
Gab groaned and shook his head. She is in so much trouble, he thought.
"You know he's going to kill you if he finds out, right? You will be in so much trouble," Val said, voicing Gab's thoughts, a worried frown marring her features. "He is the CO of Unit 6, and you know Manticore only picks the best for that position. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of his attention,"
Max snorted in derision, "The best my foot! I don't care if he's the CO of the entire Manticore. And what do you mean, 'if' he finds out? There's not a chance in hell he would have a clue how it happened! Not unless someone tells him!" She gave her friends an enigmatic smile.
Val, Matt and Gab continued staring at Max with a worried look in their eyes.
Not having the privilege of being included in the conversation the rest of Unit 4 were puzzled at the looks on the four transgenics' faces; Three worried and one smiling. Carefully looking at each of them, 735 asked suspiciously, "What have you all done now?"
The four transgenics shrugged innocently. 735 rolled her eyes and shook her head as she stood up. Maybe some things are better left unknown, she thought. She looked at Max and noticed the gleam of excitement in her eyes. She hoped that whatever the newest member of her unit did, she would be smart enough to stay of out trouble.
The bell rang shrilly, signalling the end of their allocated time for breakfast. The transgenics started to make their way out of the mess hall towards the training grounds. Unit 6 was just right behind Unit 4.
Perfect, Max thought gleefully as she rubbed her hands together. This is definitely going to be a treat! As the exited the mess hall, she deliberately dropped back to the end of the line formed by her unit, bringing her just in front of 494.
Discreetly, of course.
Making sure that she caught his attention while they continued their march down to morning drills, she taunted, "Bad hair day, 494?" She looked over her shoulders, not wanting to miss the expression on his face.
494 had half expected this when he saw 452 inching not-so-subtly towards him. But that does not mean that he will put up with it, he thought in irritation. The last thing he wanted was to give her ammunition to attack him with, although he understood the temptation to do so after all his jibes at her in the past. Knowing fully well how ridiculous he looks with half his hair missing, 494 glared at her and snarled, "I am guessing you want one too? It could be arranged. With pleasure,"
Shaking her head, Max fingered her hair and said, "Nope. I am quite happy with the way mine is right now, thank you,"
Pretending to inspect her almost non-existent finger-nails, she said thoughtfully as she glanced at him under her lashes, "Assuming you did not do this to yourself, I bet that you must have really pissed someone off for this to happen. Hmm, I wouldn't be too surprised actually, considering the things you say sometimes," She looked up in time to see him snap his head towards her at her words.
A seed of suspicion began to grow within him as he considered what she just said. Thinking back, he knew that he did not knowingly piss anyone off. The only person who had that effect on him was 452. However, he could not see how she could have possibly done it without being caught. Searching her eyes for clues, he said testily, "Are you saying that YOU are responsible for THIS?"
Keeping her expression bland, with a slight hint of pity, Max advised not-so-helpfully, "Maybe if you quit making your trademark smart-aleck comments, your hair would still be intact. And anyway, IF I was the one who did it, how could you not have caught me in the act, with all the extra training you got on me?" She tilted her head questioningly. She was really enjoying this, she thought. In front of her, Matt turned back to give her a subtle glance, quietly warning her. She ignored him. She was going to have her fun while she can.
Frowning, 494 sneered, "I don't remember taking a class on how to spot such low, sneaky, underhanded, childish tricks,"
"Does that mean that even with all your additional training, you are implying that I could actually be better than you at something?" Max mocked him as they stepped out into the training grounds. A cold breeze blew against them, not that they noticed. Engrossed in their conversation, both Max and 494 had dropped to the back of the line. The rest of the transgenics started falling into neat lines, each with their own unit. Sergeant Hales, as usual, were at the front of the training grounds, impatiently waiting for the transgenics to arrange themselves into the standard drill formation.
Not wanting to end the conversation yet, 494 had stayed at beside 452 at the rear row instead of standing in front of his unit as he usually does. Let 531 lead for once, he thought. Turning his attention back to Max, "Are you saying you did this, 452?" he asked menacingly, hissing under his breath. He caught the twinkle in her eyes. Could she have done it? She wouldn't…
Would she?
"If you are so good, you would be able to answer that question without my help," She hissed back. Max was not going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her accept or deny the accusation. Let him wonder. God knows he deserved some grief.
"EYES-FRONT!" Sergeant Hales yelled as he noticed the two distracted transgenics. His eyes narrowed as he spotted 494. What does that kid think he was doing, Sergeant Hales thought irritably.
"X5-494!"
"Sir!" 494 answered smartly. He knew what was coming. Straightening up even more, he braced himself for the expected tongue-lashing from the drill sergeant.
"As the CO of a unit, you should know that you have to set a good example to your unit. That hairstyle is highly irregular, and will definitely not be tolerated by Manticore. You know this, so what's the meaning of this?" Hales snapped out, pointing a finger at the transgenic's head.
Staring straight ahead, 494 answered, "Sir, I was trying to shave my head when the shaving device malfunctioned. There was not sufficient time for me to find a replacement before breakfast. Hence I was not able to complete the task, Sir!"
A few bursts of sniggers from the rows of transgenics elicited a very loud, irate, "EYES-FRONT! What's so funny!" by Hales. The sniggers died down instantly. The Manticore masks slammed down uniformly on each transgenics' face. Silence descended on the training ground.
Eyeing 494 suspiciously, he said, "Very well. You are excused from drills this morning. Go fix that abomination. NOW!"
"Sir, yes, Sir!" 494 snapped out, swivelling on his heels to leave.
As he stepped out of formation, he looked at 452. Although she was staring straight ahead expressionlessly, he could the suppressed laughter in her eyes.
The suspicion resurfaced in his mind.
She can't have possibly done it, he thought.
Can she?
494 cursed his disability to find out the culprit behind the so-called joke. He fumed silently as he thought of what awaited him now as he walked towards the grooming centre.. where Manticore used to shave their heads.
HeREALLY hated that military buzz cut.
Manticore celebrated the 18th month's anniversary of Max's return to her birthplace by an announcement of a new exercise – Advanced Interrogation.
The X5s were taught the theories behind interrogation techniques and resistance methods in the last few months. Now it was time for the practical training. The objective of the exercise was to give the transgenics a chance to demonstrate what they have learnt on the topic of torture resistance. It was to be conducted in the Psy-Ops labs. When the X5s were informed of this during one of their morning drill trainings, the silence were deafening. Even an Ordinary would not have a problem hearing a pin drop on the training ground.
A couple of weeks after the start of the exercise, Max began to notice the state of some of the transgenics released from the exercise. Some came out almost comatose and had to be carried back to the dorms. Some was sent to Med Bay. The nights were the worst. Not being able to sleep due to her shark DNA, Max could hear the cries from nearby dorms as they thrashed in their beds in the throes of their nightmares.
Then one morning, in the training ground, Hales called out the dreaded command, "Unit 4. Proceed to Psy-Ops for Advanced Interrogation."
Max stepped forward with the rest of unit 4. As they entered the passage which leads to Psy-Ops, Gab fell back next to her.
"I don't like this. Have you heard what they are going to do to us! Its torture!" Gab said with a worried expression. He too had heard the screams. He and Max had heard the cries all the way from the gym. They had clenched each other's hand tightly as they tried to block out the horrible sound.
"I know, Gab" She said softly, not wanting the rest to hear her call Gab by name. Val and Matt were in front of the line, nowhere near them. "It's just another exercise, like the classes where they taught us to resist interrogation. Remember? They said it's all in the mind. Don't let them get to you. You can do it." She reached out for his hand and gave it a squeeze.
They approached the lobby of Psy-Ops. Ronalds was waiting for them.
"Attention!" 735 snapped out a salute. The rest followed suit.
"At ease soldiers. You know why you are here." Ronald paused, looking at their expressionless faces. He knew that the following training will change the look on their faces. He knew Lydecker and the Committee was disappointed at the results from the last few weeks. Some of the X5 prototypes broke down only after less than 24 hours of interrogation, a dismal performance. Most of them lasted twice as long as that. A select few, number of which could be counted on one hand, exceeded expectations by not breaking down at all. He would be interested to see the results of this unit. This was the last X5 unit to be tested. He hoped he would have better results for his superiors after this batch of exercise.
"This is the scenario. You and your unit were sent by a government agency to a hostile territory to retrieve a disk containing damaging information on an agency. Once retrieved, your mission was to keep the disk safe in a high school, in the Physics laboratory. Your cover would be as high school students, from another high school, visiting a science exhibition at the first high school. Understand?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" unit 4 answered in unison.
"The disk was successfully retrieved. However, you were captured by the hostiles. The rest of your unit successfully escaped with the disk. You were then brought for interrogation. This is your exercise – You cannot divulge information which can compromise the mission, your unit and the government agency. You need to resist by whatever means available to you. Remember, this will be as real as it can get. The interrogators will try to force you into giving them the information they desire. Resist them."
He took in their faces. Still blank. He started stepping back.
"There will be no time limit to the exercise. It will stop when we are satisfied at your performance, or when you fail. Remember, in reality, when you fail, there is no need for the hostiles to keep you alive. You will be dead. In this exercise however, if you fail, you would be sent for Psy-Ops re-evaluation and re-take the exercise until you succeed. Failure is not an option. Exercise starts now."
The transgenic tensed.
The door slammed open as a TAC squad barged in towards the transgenics. A pair of them to each transgenic. The transgenics struggled and fought. Most succeeded in knocking the TAC soldiers down, and then proceeded to help their less fortunate unit members.
More TAC soldiers entered, this time with tasers. Unit 4 faced them, ready to fight.
They did not stand a chance.
One after another, the transgenics from unit 4 each fell down under the shock from the tasers. Max lay down on the floor in spasms. Still conscious, her eyes sought Gab's. She saw him, unconscious, being dragged away by two of the TAC soldiers. Hoping that her friend would be alright, Max closed her eyes and let the darkness envelop her.
t.b.c.
A/N: So what do you think of this chapter? Like it? Don't like it? Or want me to re-write it (please don't say that! Took me forever to write this!)? Please review and tell me!
Oh by the way, if you like MA stories, and if I have not put you off yet, I have just posted another one – its called Remember. Please check it out and tell me what you think!