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: To those who reviewed the last chapter – THANK YOU SO MUCH! After all your wonderful reviews, I am a bit apprehensive that this chapter may not live up to your expectations. It has a slightly different feel to it. But tell me what you think, 'kay!
Honeyx5-452 – Thanks for your review. I knew you were going to say something about the length of the chapter 5:) I actually split this chapter into half! But then I realised that it is not much shorter. But please don't let it put you off. Forgive me for not naming 494 yet, the story so far doesn't seem to allow it.
GuessTypePerson – Thanks for your review! Glad you find it interesting. Keep on reading and reviewing!
NoAngell – Thanks for reviewing! Really glad you liked it! Read on to find out if they all made it. Just keep this in mind, okay – things are not always what they seem.
angelofdarkness78 – Another Max supporter! You are right. Girl kick ass! About the chapter length, this is actually half a chapter. The original somehow grew into 6000 words and I didn't think anyone would appreciate that length! Thanks for reviewing again!
X5-459 – Thanks for reviewing. Glad you liked chapter 5. Hope you like this one too!
Iridescent Twilight – Are you psychic by any chance or you have been reading my mind! Tell me what you think of this one. Thanks for your review!
Angel of Darkness231 – Thanks so much for your review. Its good to know that the reader like you appreciates the story. I deliberately did not place Max and 494 in the same unit, thinking that it will make things more interesting. As for your story, if by attention you mean reviews, a wise woman (angelofdarkness78 btw) once said to me to not worry, as I have the very same problem.
Alana84 – Yeah, I feel bad even when I was writing it. But 494 had it coming! Lol! Thanks for you review!
Lin – Thanks for reviewing. As for Gab, you have to read to find out!
Aur – Thanks for reviewing. MA relationship is going to be rocky for a while!
RETRIEVED - Chapter 6 – Bite Me
When Max came to, she found herself strapped to a chair in the middle of the room. She still felt disoriented from the effect of the tasers. And drugs, she realized, blinking her eyes against the blurriness. She was in a white room. White walls, white ceiling and a person in white was standing not too far away, staring contemplatively at her.
He moved towards her, narrowing the gap between them. Max eyed him warily as she tested the strength of her bonds discreetly.
The person in white suddenly grasped her hair and yanked her head back. "Who are you working for?" he questioned abruptly.
Nothing but silence greeted him. Max was busy trying to focus on his face, rather unsuccessfully. Her head was still spinning, which was not helping her vision. She noticed, however, that he was wearing a lab coat with the Manticore emblem stitched over the pocket. Wonderful! My interrogator. Must be a psy-ops lab tech, she thought. The interrogation must be starting already.
"Tell me now, where is your unit? Or you'll be sorry," asked the tech, his twitching hands caught Max's attention. A black rectangular device with a dial and a button was in his hand. She wondered what it does. She had seen similar devices during her reindoctrination when they just captured her. She knew that the presence of one of those devices did not bode well for her.
Outwardly Max rolled her eyes and kept silent. He stared back at her with a look of mild boredom. Suddenly, he raised his right hand and smacked her across her face. Her head jerked back painfully.
"Where?" He asked again.
Annoyed now, Max spat out, "Find them yourself, dick-head!"
The lab tech applied pressed a button on the rectangular box. A jolt of electricity coursed through her small body. She shook in spasms.
"Where is the disk?"
"Hey, your mother never taught you the word 'please'?" Max grinned. SMACK. Max's head snapped to the side. She could feel a trickle of blood from her nose. She licked her lips, taking in the coppery taste of her own blood.
"Tell us. Where is the disk?"
Silence. Defiant glare.
Another electric shock jolted her. Max's body jerked at the current. Well, you can try your best, you shit. I had survived months of torture before, she thought.
38 hours, and four lab tech shifts later, they were still at it. Max had no sleep or food all that time and she was beginning to feel worn out. She wondered how long they were planning to keep this up.
"Let's try again, shall we. Tell us the location of your unit and the disk."
"Piss off, asshole!" Max glared at the tech. The tech shook his head.
"Never learn, do we!" He took out a crinkly metal clamping device.
Max cringed inwardly. What! Clamp? This is not good. Not good at all! She forced herself not to struggle. They had used the clamp before on her during her first 3 months in Manticore. The isolated pain in the fingers was excruciating. Max jerked away involuntarily as he approached her. The tech, with the help of a guard, grabbed her hand and latched on the device to her fingers.
"Now, are you ready to tell us what we want to know?" The tech asked, holding the handle for the clamping device.
"You wish! What? You need to torture kids for kicks! How pathetic!" Max answered defiantly.
The tech squeezed the clamp.
PAIN!
Max shut her eyes and gritted her teeth against the horrible feeling in her fingers, trying to block out the pain. It felt like they were trying to cut off her fingers. Slowly.
Keeping the pressure on, the tech asked "Tell us. Where are they? Where is the disk? Who are you working for?"
"Bite me!" Max snarled.
Pressure on her fingers increased.
"Tell me what I want to know and I'll ease off" he said, almost gently.
Max glared at him.
And spat.
The tech wiped her spit off his cheek.
Pressure on the clamp increased, cutting into her fingers. Max felt her blood seep out between the metal.
"Give it up!" he insisted.
"Jackass!"
Max felt the metal grinding the bones in her digits. The pain was so bad that she felt like she wanted to throw up.
It's all in the mind, she thought. Repeating it like a mantra. This is not happening to me. She tried to detach her mind from her body as was taught in their classes. She closed her eyes. It's all in the mind.
Come on Max, you can do it. Focus! She forced her mind to retreat.
494, 531, 480, 511 and 501 ran head to head, away from their pursuers. Their feet pounded rapidly, but lightly against the soft green grass. Out of the corner of his eyes, 494 could see the rest of his unit to his left and right, also running towards the woods in front of them. He could feel the 'bullets' hissing by. One of his units was already down, hit by the synthetic bullets. These exercise bullets, although wouldn't normally penetrate the skin, would explode upon impact. It was actually a capsule which contains some sort of chemical which renders the victim immobile when it comes in contact with skin.
Damn, they are fast! 494 gave a backward glance at their pursuers, those X6 kids, who were rapidly closing in on them. For someone so young, they definitely moved fast. 494 gritted his teeth as he stretched further to lengthen his steps, hoping that they could outrun the X6s. He highly doubted it. The heavy vest which all of unit 6 wore slowed them down. The vest was another one of Manticore's brilliant training ideas.
SHIT! We have to do something. We need to stop them, he thought.
Entering the woods, he signalled to 531, his 2IC to go ahead with the rest of the unit and to take command of those in the front. Turning to 480, 511 and 501, he signalled for them to spread and hide, setting up an ambush. Quickly, the X5smerged with their surroundings.
As the unsuspecting X6s entered the woods, 480 swung down from the tree over them, kicking the last two X6s at the back of the head. He grabbed their weapons and started shooting at a few other X6s. The rest of the X6s turned around, just to be attacked by 494, 511 and 501, which appeared out of nowhere.
The X5s and X6s faced off. The X5s were stronger, but the X6s had the advantage of numbers.
494 was fighting one of the X6s when another came at him. Sheswung her rifle at him. He lifted his arm to protect his head, which now thankfully was back to its usual state prior to that hair incident. 494 still did not know who was responsible for it.
CRACK!
He heard the crunch of bone in his arm and the sharp flare of pain in said arm. He rolled his eyes. Great, he thought. Just what I needed. A freaking broken arm. Without another moment's pause, he swung his leg at the X6, bringing her down.
He quickly disarmed one X6 with his un-injured arm, and shot a few of them in the chest, rendering them immobile.
He hated to shoot these kids, but what other choice he has? Its them or us, he thought, rushing over to help 511 who was trying to fight one X6 while another one clung on his back, intent on strangling him.
Back in the labs…
Max, you can do it. Focus! She repeatedly tried to force her mind to retreat.
And felt her mind receding away from her body.
When she snapped her eyes open, she no longer feels the pain. Her expression once again set in a stony mask. But this time there was a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
The tech took a step back. Confused, and slightly unnerved by the sudden change. He took a breath. She is restrained, and there is more than one armed guard here, he thought.Somehow, it did not make him feel any better.
He approached her again, carefully.
"Where is the disk? Who are you working for?" he asked again, yanking her head back by her hair.
Max just stared at him with those eyes. No other movement. Not even a twitch.
The tech pressed the shock button on the remote, sending a continuous jolt of electricity through Max's body. Her body jolted with the force. But her face gave no indication that she felt it.
"Fine" The tech said, grabbing a vial of liquid and a syringe. He pulled the liquid from the vial into the syringe slowly, making sure the transgenic in front of him noticed his actions.
"Another chance. Tell us and we will stop. Or you won't know what hit you,"
No answer. Max felt like this was happening to someone else, just that she happened to be in the body. She smiled, a feral smile which didnot reach her eyes.
She did not even feel the stab of the syringe as the tech jabbed it into her arm. She knew she should feel pain right now. A LOT of pain. She guessed that the syringe contain some neurological agent, designed to increase the sensitivity of pain receptors so that it reports a much enhanced feeling to the brain. Under normal circumstances, a feather light touch on her skin would feel like a painful scrape on an open wound. This must be a new Manticore concoction. She was not subjected to this in her previous stay in psy-ops. Good thing shewas not feeling the full effect, she thought.
Practically detached from her full senses now, Max could hear a faint sound of an alarm blaring in the distance.
"We have been doing this in shifts for the pastfour days. She's not telling us anything." The tech explained to Ronalds, who just came in to check on the progress for the third time. They were outside the interrogation room, in the corridor, watching Max through the one-way glass.
"Anything yet?" Ronald asked, looking at the girl who was still strapped down. 452 had been silent each time he came. He was surprised at the length of time she held on. The rest of her unit has already completed the exercise. In one way or another.
"No" The tech answered, unsure whether to tell Ronald of his thoughts. Ronald had ordered him to continue when 452 did not show any sign of breaking 2 days ago. 2 days were the usual limit that they were working to for most of the X5s, some 3 days. He was worried that 452 may be too damaged.
"What did she say?" Ronalds asked.
"I'll show you the recordings" The tech moved towards the computer panel on the outside wall and started the video recording. The images started playing back on the screen.
Ronald almost smiled when he heard 452's words. She is a feisty one. Just what we expected from a '09-er, he thought.
"What did you give her?" Ronald asked when he saw the scene where Max was injected.
"The neural receptor enhancer. She didn't react to it at all even when we cut her!" The tech scratched his head. He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to tell his superior what was on his mind.
He decided to risk Ronalds wrath, "Sir, I think we should stop. I think she has somehow separated her mind from body. Or else she is a hell of an actress. Short of physically mutilating her, I am not sure what else to throw at her. We have tortured her for almostfour days now. She's not sleeping, eating, drinking and most definitely not talking."
Ronald nodded. He needed to report this to Lydecker. Lydecker seem to have a particular interest in this one. Better to not cause her undue harm.
"Send her back. Wait. Get her to Med Bay first for check up"
Cursing Manticore generally and X6s in particular, 494 made his way to Med Bay, cradling his left arm. He took the shorter route through the building, wanting to get it over with as soon as he can, not very keen on being in the Med Bay. He was just there a couple of weeks ago after Advanced Interrogation, and did not look forward to being there again. Or ever.
Somehow, he managed to get through that exercise without 'betraying' his mission. The exercise was not easy for him. Being in the psy-ops lab itself brought back memories which he preferred to keep buried. Memories of the torture they inflicted on him almost five years ago. All because a bunch of traitors decided to chicken out of training without a second thought for their fellow soldiers.
He was approaching a corner when he heard, "… Short of physically mutilating her, I am not sure what else to throw at her. We have tortured her for almostfour days now. She's not sleeping, eating, drinking and most definitely not talking." Pause. Then, another voice "Send her back. Wait. Get her to Med Bay first for check up". He heard footsteps receding away from him.
FOUR DAYS? I was only in there for 50 hours when they gave up and let me go. Not sure I could have survived any longer, he thought. Pricked by curiosity to find out the identity of the girl, he turned the corner.
Psy-ops interrogation labs, 494 noted with disgust. The sight of that place made him feel slightly ill.
He glanced through the glass into the familiar looking room as he passed. He saw a young girl, face obscured by dark hair, being released from the straps. She was clad in the standard issue Manticore garb, which has seen better days. 494 could see the blood streaks staining the front of her shirt. She was staring downwards as she got up on unsteady feet, one guard holding each of her arms. They led her towards the door.
494 stood aside to let them through. As they passed him, the girl looked up. Straight into his eyes.
494 felt a shiver up his spine. The large dark brown eyes werefull of an unidentified expression but clearly contain a certain feral gleam. Theybored into his. It was not the look of a defeated soldier. 494 could see the dark shadows under her eyes, slightly sunken cheeks, stained with dried blood and the caked blood on her hands.
It is that '09-er, 452, he realized. And what did they do to her hand? Did they go as far as to break her finger? 494 felt slightly ill at the thought.
The guards continued forward, dragging 452 between them.
He walked towards the Med Bay, trailing behind the guards and 452.
The Med Bay ward was set up like a dorm, with rows of beds covered in white sheet. The sterile room smelled of antiseptic. Some beds were already occupied with transgenics with various ailments. Generally broken body parts, as their genetically enhanced immune system prevents them from getting pretty much all viral and bacterial illnesses. 494 noted that the only transgenic who was awake, apart from himself and 452, was another X5 from unit 4. Must be recovering from Advanced Interrogation, he thought.
A nurse was working on 452's hands and face, cleaning the numerous cuts and wounds with wads of cotton soaked in antiseptic solution. 494 walked towards the empty bed next to hers. As he approached, 452 gave no indication that she noticed his presence.
494 could see that the nurse was trying to get 452's attention with no avail. Then apparently giving up for the moment, she stood up, "Stay here. I am going to get some fresh bandages" he heard her say to 452, laying her hands gently on 452's shoulder.
After the nurse left, 494 sat down on the bed next to hers. He lookedat her silently, at first. She was staring straight ahead, not paying him or her surroundings any attention.
"Tsk…tsk…452, what have you done now? Got punished trying to escape again?" He taunted, waving a hand in front of her face.
Silence.
"Missing your so-called freedom much?" he tried again.
Silence. The little bitch is ignoring me, he thought, beginning to feel a tingle of annoyance. Annoyance, for some reason, was the feeling that he always seemed to associate with this particular transgenic.
"Hey, I am talking to you! What? Cat got your tongue? Or psy-ops decided to relieve you of it since you don't need it?" he prodded insistently.
Still no reaction from the silent girl in front of him.
Max could hear a very irritating noise next to her. I know that voice, she thought. She tried to struggle back to consciousness. It was hard. She buried her mind so deep that she was not sure she could wake up. She pushed herself forward. The voice was growing closer, louder. More irritating. She could almost make out the words now. A little bit more, Max. Try a little harder, she coaxed herself.
494 felt himself growing more annoyed. 452 was not responding at all. He decided to try a different tact.
"I suppose you ratted on your unit in the interrogation, huh. Cannot be trusted with important information now, can you?" he said, knowing fully well it was not true. "You turned traitor… That's what you '09-er's do, isn't it? Traitors. Deserters. Betrayers. And that's why you have nothing to say,"
"494, that's enough. Back off" 494 heard someone said. He turned and saw the boy from unit 4. 481, the 2IC, he thought. He plastered a cocky grin on his face.
"Or else what? What do you care anyway, 481. She is a traitor. Running away when things got a bit too hard, never even took the time to think of the rest of us. You want her to rub off on your unit as well?" 494 retorted, looking at him. He wondered if he had crossed the line when 481's lips compressed tightly in anger.
Suddenly 494 saw a blur and felt himself pushed down hard onto his bed, a hand gripping his throat. He gasped.
Max had heard enough. She was angry. All the torture during interrogation could not even penetrate her shield, but 494's words was enough to finally shock her awake. It was like a kick in the gut. She was not a traitor. She was not a deserter. She was not a betrayer. She was just pissed. As the haze in her mind cleared, she began to feel her painful limbs.
She saw 494, the creep who captured her. The one who took away her freedom. The one who put her here and gave them a chance to torture her. To HURT her. She couldn't stop herself.
She just reacted.
She launched herself at him, her arm snapping out to grab his neck, pushing him onto the bed. She had his neck in a death grip, her knees on his thighs holding him down. She tightened her grip, intent on silencing him. Forever.
494 reacted. He grabbed her wrist with his uninjured hand, trying to pry her hand away. He gasped for breath. He couldn't move; his legs were pinned and his other arm useless. His bewildered eyes locked onto her angry, flashing ones.
"Let go!" he rasped, forcing the words out of his throat. He was beginning to fear for his life. This 452 was not sane. He struggled, desperately trying to free himself from the transgenic who literally had his life in her hands.
Matt blurred towards them. He grabbed 452 around her waist, trying to pull her away from 494. She did not loosen her grip.
"452, let him go. He's not worth another round of psy-ops." 481 said, trying to get through to her. He tugged. Leaning in closer to her, "Max! Stop it!" he whispered very softly into her ear, so soft that the other transgenic cannot hear.
Hearing her name, Max turned to Matt, finally registering the presence of her unit. She looked back at 494 in disgust, and released his neck, backing away from him.
She suddenly felt very tired, and in a lot of pain. Her head, her ribs and her fingers. She looked down at her bloody fingers. I feel so weak, she thought. Her knees buckled.
Matt caught her before she could fall, lifted her and gently lowering her onto her bed. What did they do to her? Was she in Interrogation all this time? He wondered. When he and 735 was brought to the Med Bay 2 days ago, he thought they were the last ones from their unit. 735 was released yesterday. He sat at the edge of her bed, looking at her. Her eyes were full of pain, and he could see a sheen of tears in them. He reached out to smooth her hair out of her eyes, catching a teardrop coming out of the corner of her eyes. She looked at him and smiled weakly.
"Thanks. You are right. He is not worth it. I guess I have to get that looked at," She said wearily, looking at her hands. Pause, then noticing that Matt was in a hospital gown, she asked, "Are you alright? How's everyone?"
Shit! He couldn't tell her. Not right now, Matt thought. Outwardly he shrugged, a wry grin on his face, "I'll survive. I am just being discharged back to our unit. I think everyone else were discharged as well. Everything's okay,"
Max gave him a weak smile. Then remembering the last moments before she was dragged off to psy-ops, she asked in a worried tone, "Have you seen Gab?"
Matt looked away. He had dreaded this. He did not know how to tell her what he saw as they brought him out of the lab yesterday.
A worried frown marring her pale features, Max asked softly, "Matt? What's wrong? Where's Gab?" She was getting scared. What was it that Matt didn't want to tell her?
Matt turned back to her, noticing the fear on her face.
"Matt! Tell me!" she asked desperately.
t.b.c. (I am trying for the cliff-hanger effect! Is it working? Tell me what you think!)
A/N: I know its self-promotion but if you like, you might want to check out the new story I posted. It's called Remember.
A/N: Also, I am now a certified review addict. Please review or I might expire! And no, I am definitely not kidding! –- grin -- Please?