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 so much for your reviews! I noticed that quite a number of you are not too happy with Zack, but read on and tell me how you feel after this chapter!
Angel Of Darkness231 – You are trying to look innocent while asking such a 'private' question? LOL! The answer is…nope, not yet. You'll know if they did! Thanks for reviewing.
Kungfuchick – Ah, Zack seems to be annoying a lot of readers in this fic! Sorry! And yep, Max and Alec are cute together. Thanks for reviewing!
Calistra – Pig-headed men normally are like that, don't you think? Read on and you'll see if he makes it. Thanks for your review!
Iridescent Twilight – Welcome back! Hehe! What's wrong with my cliffies .:pouts:. I work so hard to stop JUST right there, lol! You will find that things will get better for Zack in this chapter, kind of! Thanks for reviewing!
GuestTypePerson – Thanks for your review. You definitely sounded hyper, lol! Did you get a job? What mood are you in today then? Hehe!
Sarah – Thanks for reviewing. So many fics, so little time, that's what I always think! I wouldn't worry too much about the Zack stuff, you soon see why .:winks:. You have an uncanny way of guessing what I focuses on in the story!
Dory Shotgun – Okay, too late to change Scrib to Scribe now, lol! Though it's a good idea! Lydecker is not really turning over the controls, but just giving them more involvement in Manticore. It's something Sandeman wanted (somewhere in the earlier chapters!). Thanks for reviewing.
Darkangelgirl – LOL! I should have let you write the next chapter, your theories are good! But what I have gone and done was something a bit different, you'll find out soon! Thanks for your comments!
Steph – Thanks for reviewing! Stuff relating to Jondy and Gab will come up later, but I think it'll be difficult to slot Zack in now into that relationship. :grins:
Alana84 – Logan is in for it; you'll see in this chapter! As for Zack .:sighs:…More MA moments coming up! Thanks for reviewing!
Lakegirl08 – Zack is being himself, really uptight! I have no plans on bringing Ben in because there's too many characters to keep track of already, LOL! Your other questions, you gotta read and see! Thanks for reviewing!
Toniboo – So sorry for the crappy chapter, lol! I think I know what you mean, but I was just dying to move them all and sort Zack out! Hope this chapter is a bit better! Thanks for reviewing!
Lotamoxie –You got a point with the X7s and X8s. By my calculations, the X7s should be just around 5 yrs old and the X8s are fetuses, so they're in a sort of 'nursery'. I kind of slipped their bit in somewhere in this chapter. Thanks for pointing it out!
Mae – Nah, that's not evil. Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!
Sirena1 – Gosh! I can't believe you read it all in one go. Must have taken you ages! Glad you liked how I did the MA in this one. As for the beta…believe me, I know I have a BIG problem with grammar, but I don't think anyone would want to beta a 100,000 word story! I had tried to get one when I first started this, but she sort of lost interest .:sighs:. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Eva – Thanks for your review. Read on to see if you like the way I moved things forward in this chapter.
Angelofdarkness78 – Aw, you'll survive school. Next year, you'll look back and think that the 8th grade is easy, lol! The fun of fanfiction – we can make Logan do whatever we want him to do, hehe! As for Zack, I'm feeling a bit bad because he seemed to have generated a lot of negative responses in this fic. I like the guy, personally, but somehow…:sighs: Anyway, I still haven't got any idea on the possible MZ fic, but I'm thinking on it. :grins:
Mel11 – Hehe! Glad you liked the cliffie. You'll see soon if it works. Thanks for reviewing!
L80bug – Thanks for your review! Keep on reading!
Spanishwon2123 – Zack is not insane, LOL! He's just lovably lost and confused because Manticore was different from when he left it. And Max too. Not to mention the poor guy had been rejected. I feel sorry for him actually :smiles sheepishly! Thanks for reviewing!
Supernateral – Thanks for your review. Hmm…can't tell you yet if Max and Logan would meet, but read on and see!
Chapter 25 - Escape
(by elle6778)
Taking a very deep breath, filling his lungs to its full capacity with air, he released the catch on the small pod of knockout gas.
The rest of the transgenics swivelled around at the hissing sound, exclamations of surprise bursting from their lips. Before they could register what was going on, Zack forced the door open and jumped out, ignoring the commotion behind him.
He knew that he did not have much time. The gas would knock out the guards at the back but not the ones who were sitting with the driver in the separate compartment. Furthermore, it would have only a limited effect on the transgenics due to their tolerance towards chemical weapons. It would take their system just ten minutes to produce a counter-agent. And those minutes were all Zack had to make a run for it.
As the driver was not aware yet of what was happening, the truck was still moving when Zack's feet hit the asphalt. Not wasting another second, he blurred off to the side, making a beeline towards the forest which lined both sides of the highway.
He cursed inwardly as he noticed the school bus not too far behind, but continued to run.
Max could not believe her eyes was telling her.
She had been sitting in the bus taking to some of the X6s when she suddenly saw a familiar figure streaking past at the side of the road. A quick glance through the front window of the bus showed her that the back door of the truck was open, smoke pouring out of it.
Zack, she thought frantically.
The guards in the bus, who had obviously seen what was going on, picked up their radio and made an urgent call to Lydecker. The bus pulled to the side of the road.
She could see that the truck had pulled over as well. Two of their guards rushed to the back presumably to check on the transgenics. She could see Jace and her unit as they staggered out, coughing. Jace looked as if she was about to give chase in the direction Zack went, but was stopped by the guard. Max could see her arguing with the guards.
Then Max rushed towards her own guards. "Let me out," Max demanded.
One of the guards looked at her in surprise. "I'm afraid I can't do that. Lydecker's orders. We are sending out a TAC team."
Max swallowed her urge to strangle the guards for wasting time and said urgently, "As if any of you could catch him now, not to mention that by the time the TAC team arrives, he'll be gone."
The guard in charge hesitated for a while before picking up the radio again. "Sir? One of the soldiers is asking to go after the escapee. Her designation…" he looked at Max in question.
"452," Max supplied, impatiently tapping her foot.
"Her designation is 452," he paused and listened for a while, then said, "Understood, sir."
He put down the radio and turned to her. "You go and we'll follow you. Don't try anything funny."
Max gave him a curt nod and rushed out of the door, not looking back to check if they were following her. She knew that there was no way they could keep up with her.
Zack's adrenaline pumped through his system as he ran through the bushes, ducking fallen branches and swerving to avoid soft spots. He had not counted on the school bus carrying Max and more guards to be so close behind. Now there was a higher risk of him being caught.
He continued to run for a few minutes more before he detected an almost imperceptible sound of another pair of running feet behind him.
Shit! It must be another X5, he thought irritably. There was no way any of the normal guards would have found him so fast. But from what he could hear, there was only one of them.
Another ten minutes passed and Zack could still hear the footsteps behind him. It was not getting closer but it was not growing any further either. Damn, the soldier is persistent, he thought furiously. Making up his mind, Zack decided that he should stop and confront whoever it was. He would have no problem handling one soldier.
He slowed down and brought his steps to a halt, barely breathing hard as he turned around. His eyes widened as his pursuer came into his view.
"Max…" he exclaimed, looking stunned.
Skidding to a halt in front of him, Max pinned him with a hard look. "Zack. Please don't do this."
Regaining his composure, Zack said, also in a hard tone, "Of all people, you should know why I'm going this. Let me go, Max."
"I can't," she said with regret in her eyes, reaching out to grab him.
Zack stepped to the side and pushed her away.
Max tried again to grab him just to be rewarded with a punch.
Irritated at being hit, Max snapped, "Fine, then. If that's how you want it."
She swung around with a kick which Zack barely blocked. He grabbed the feet which Max used to kick him and twisted it, throwing Max to the ground.
Pushing herself up, she swung her feet in a large arc, sweeping Zack's feet from under him, bringing him down. Zack rolled over and smashed an elbow to the side of her head, making her hiss in pain.
Forcing herself to ignore her throbbing head, Max scrambled up and got close enough to knee him in his stomach, knocking the breath out of him.
Pausing, her feet and arms set in a fight stance, she spat, "They're going to come after you anyway. And they won't stop until they find you. Why make it hard on yourself, Zack?"
"I would rather run and hide all my life than be caged up like animals with no freedom. There's nothing for me in Manticore. But I don't expect you to understand that, even after what we all had through together," Zack said bitterly, accusation in his eyes.
The barely audible sound of pain hidden behind Zack's accusing look got to Max. As the will to fight him left her, she fell silent. Memories of their time together suddenly rushed through her mind. She remembered how Zack had taken care of her when she was a child, what Zack had gone through to get them out seven years ago, how he had been recaptured almost two years ago, and how unhappy he had been since then. Zack had given so much to her, and the only thing he had ever asked from her was something she could not give him. Because she had given it to Alec. Was it fair for her to force him to remain just because Manticore wanted him? Zack had never fitted back in as she and Jondy did. And Max realised that he probably never would.
Sighing, she said in a resigned tone, "There's nothing I can say to make you stay?"
Zack shook his head slowly. "If you ever valued what we had before, please don't make this difficult. I'll go with or without your consent."
Max felt her throat constrict. She stepped towards him and looked up into his eyes. "I'm sorry things didn't work out. I hope you'll be happier out there," she said softly. Reaching out, she wrapped her arms around him.
Zack stiffened for a moment before he relented and returned her hug, pressing his cheek against her head. "Goodbye, Max…and take care," he whispered into her hair.
Max squeezed her eyes shut as she felt his arms loosen.
When she opened her eyes again, he was gone.
Lydecker was waiting for them when they arrived at the new facility.
When the transgenics had gotten off the bus and the truck, they fell into formation, standing at attention. As usual, Max stood in front of the X6s. She noticed that Dana, Alec and Mole were standing not too far away. Her lips twitched in amusement as Alec winked at her.
"Welcome to the Seattle facility. Now, X5s, you will report to X5-494 to be sorted into your own cells. X6s, your CO and X4-43 will show you where to go. And the rest of you follow him," Lydecker said, gesturing to Mole.
Then he turned to look at Max and Jace, looking far from pleased. "452 and 798, be at my office in an hour."
"Yes, sir!" Max and Jace replied simultaneously, knowing what was coming. Lydecker wanted to grill them about Zack's escape. Max suddenly felt nervous, a feeling which she had forgotten to associate with Manticore for a while now. She glanced at Jace, who looked just as anxious.
Grabbing their stuff, the transgenics made their way to the nearest building.
Alec fell into step beside Max, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. "Hey Max," he greeted, spotting the bruise on her jaw.
"What's eating you?" Max asked, her eyes searching his.
His lifted his hand and traced her jaw. "What happened?"
Max smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. "I got in the way of something really stubborn, and that's my souvenir," she said, reluctant to talk about Zack.
Alec gave her a disbelieving look. "Right. And I should believe that?"
Max blinked innocently. "You don't believe me?"
"Max, I'm serious," he said firmly. "Come on, tell me who did this and I'll make mincemeat out of him."
Max sighed in exasperation. "I can take care of myself, Alec," then, at his unrelenting look, she continued, "Okay, fine! Zack ran off and I went after him."
Alec's mouth fell open in shock. "What? He escaped. Again?"
Max nodded. "And I think Lydecker wants to talk to me and Jace about it."
"That's not good."
"I know. I'll probably get thrown back into reindoctrination for letting him escape," Max said mournfully.
Alec shook his head. "I don't think so."
"Why not? I basically made a mess out of it."
He grinned. "Because you're too irresistible, even to Lydecker," he said, trying to make her feel better. There was no way of telling what Lydecker might do, but there was not much point in dwelling on it.
Max rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on his arms. "I'm serious, Alec."
He stopped and laid his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Me too… And another thing…"
"What?" she asked as he moved his face closer to hers. The butterflies in her stomach begin to flutter.
"Can I kiss it better for you?" he murmured against her jaw.
"Alec!" she said in an admonishing tone.
But she did not push him away when he gently pressed his lips to her bruised skin.
It was an understatement to say that Lydecker was angry.
Max watched as Lydecker paced the length of his office, occasionally shooting her and Jace contemplative looks. Then, suddenly he stopped and sat down on the edge of his desk.
"So, who wants to go first?" Lydecker bit out.
Jace spoke up. "Sir, we were sitting in the truck when it suddenly smoked up. We realised after a while that it was knockout gas. We were disorientated for a while before our immune system kicked in, but by then, the door had been opened and X5-599 had gone. I got off as soon as I was able to walk, intending to chase after him, but the guards stopped me."
"452?"
Max swallowed, thinking that if Lydecker found out that she lied, she would be dead. "Our bus was not far behind when it happened. I saw 599 running into the forest and asked to be let out to go after him. As you know, you told the guards to let me go, provided they followed close behind. I was chasing 599 for a while before I realised that they had not manage to keep up. Then I caught up with 599 and we fought. But I was unable to restrain him, so he got away," she said, hoping that her story sounded believable.
Lydecker gave her a look which unsettled her. Then he sighed and finally said, "Very well. I supposed we would have to send out a retrieval squad sometime when everything here is back to normal. You're dismissed."
When Max closed the door behind them, she exhaled a sigh of relief. "That was lucky," she exclaimed.
She looked up to find Jace giving her a suspicious look. "What really happened, Max?"
Startled at the question, Max forced herself to appear nonchalant as she replied, "I've already explained it in there."
"Right," Jace said, not convinced. Then she brightened slightly, "Well, at least he's where he wants to be now. Out there."
Max nodded, smiling tightly.
Logan was sitting at his computer, preparing his next broadcast on Manticore when the door to his penthouse suddenly burst open. Quickly pressing a few keys to lock his computer, he turned around to see White striding towards him angrily.
Logan swallowed, forcing himself not to panic.
"What's the meaning of this, Cale? Do you take me for a fool?" White gritted out between clenched teeth. His hand snaked out and fisted in Logan's collar.
"What?" Logan stuttered nervously, his eyes flicking side to side as if hoping that help might arrive to save him from White's rage.
"The so called facility in Wyoming is a fake! That's what!" White snarled, releasing Logan and shoving him away in disgust.
"That's not possible! I've checked over and over again. The data all points to that place being the active facility," Logan exclaimed, bewildered at the news. He rubbed at his neck, hoping that it would not bruise. White had quite a grip.
"Cale…it's empty. Care to explain that?" White asked, his eyes flashing dangerously.
Logan fell silent as his mind whirred. "What could have possibly happened? Everything pointed to Wyoming a few days ago," he muttered, a frown between his brows.
"I don't need to remind you of our deal. So far, you have turned up nothing substantial," White growled threateningly, moving towards the door. "Fix it, or else…" he left it hanging.
Logan paled and averted his eyes, not wanting to see the expression on White's face.
The sound of his door opening for the second time in the last fifteen minutes brought his head up.
"Logan?" a tentative voice called out.
"Asha, this is not a good time. Can you come back later?" Logan said tightly, noticing another person with her. His gaze went back nervously to White.
"Don't hold up anything on my account, Cale. I'll be in contact," White said dismissively, striding out of the apartment without glancing at the two new arrivals.
When the door slammed shut, Logan turned to face Asha.
"Are you okay?" Asha asked, concerned. She had heard the raised voices before she came in.
Logan nodded. Then pulling himself together, he asked, "What's up?"
Still looking worried, Asha said, "Oh, just came by to tell you that we might have a lead on the old man."
Logan glanced at the unfamiliar guy beside her.
Understanding his unspoken question, Asha said, "He can be trusted. S1W's new recruit."
The dark-haired guy with green eyes stepped forward and offered Logan his hand. "I'm Gabriel. You can call me Gab," he said with a smile.
Logan shook his hand. "So, what made you join S1W?"
Gab shrugged and grinned, "Well, someone has to do something about the way things are nowadays, right?"
Logan chuckled and turned to Asha. "So, what have you got for me?"
"A few of us had been watching those areas that you got on the list. We've spotted someone matching the description you gave us in one of the locations. Not too sure what we should do next, though."
"You got pictures?"
"Not yet. But we will soon. Gab and I will go there tomorrow," Asha said.
Logan nodded, "Good. Let me know when you got it, so that we can confirm if it's the right guy."
"Okay," Asha said, then hesitated before asking again, "Are you sure you're okay? The guy just now…"
"I'm fine. Don't worry," Logan interrupted quickly, not wanting to talk about White. He was beginning to fear that he might have got himself into something he might regret.
"Okay then. See you soon," she said, walking towards the door.
"Be careful."
Alec laid down on his bunk and sighed. It had been a long day for him, organising hundreds of transgenics into the new facility. And there were more to come, apparently. Lydecker had told him to expect the arrival of a younger series of transgenics, the X7s in a month's time from another facility. He needed to organise something for them as he did for the older ones, but they would need dorms, not single cells.
In the course of this project, he had met many new people. People that in the past, he would never had thought to speak to. The pretty nurses, the doctors, the guards and of course, the rest of the transgenics. Smiling, he thought that Manticore had finally made a right move in reorganising the structure. And everyone knew that without the transgenics' input, the transfer would have been a nightmare to organise.
He was particularly pleased with the sleeping arrangement, having done that himself. Grinning, he wondered what Max would think of the latest revision he had made to the plans. Max only knew that the cells housing Unit 4 and Unit 6 were located in the same hallway, but she did not know that he managed to make sure that they had adjoining cells.
He heard the sound of a metal door clanging shut as the guard on duty called out, "Lights out!"
The lights went out, but seeing in the dark was not an issue for him. Silently, he got off his bunk and brought it up to be hooked onto the wall. He dipped his hands into his rucksack, rummaging for his contraband miniature automatic diamond blade.
Placing himself in front of the wall which separated his and Max's cell, he brought the tool to near the wall and pressed the button at the side. The disk whirred silently as he brought it to the wall, slicing the mortar between the concrete blocks.
Max rolled in her bunk and stretched, yawning as she did so. She was tired today after everything that had happened and she was glad that it was finally time for bed. Closing her eyes, she drifted off slowly.
Until an unwelcome scraping sound yanked her rudely from her sleep.
Disgruntled, she sat up in her bunk, frowning. Blinking sleepily, she looked for the source of the noise. When she found it, her eyes widened, sleep temporarily forgotten.
A rectangular piece of the wall opposite her bunk was being pushed towards her.
"What the hell?" she muttered, getting off her bunk, curious.
As the block came further into the room, Max saw a pair of hands following it. Her eyes narrowed as an idea of who it might be popped into her head.
Her lips twisted as a familiar head emerged from the hole in the wall.
"Hey, Max. Waiting up for me?" Alec said as he pulled the rest of his body through. Brushing the dust off himself, he stood facing her, grinning cheekily.
Max shook her head as she tried to suppress her laughter. "Alec. There's something called a door which you can use, just in case you didn't know. And the last I checked, it's not locked."
Alec shrugged. "I know, but it's faster for me to get to you this way, not to mention more fun."
Eyes twinkling with mirth, Max said, "So now that you're here, what do you want?"
Alec stepped towards her, a predatorial look on his face. "What do you think I want?"
Max opened her eyes wide, looking very innocent as she sidestepped his arms. "A nice little talk?"
"Could do, but this is the first time we're in a place with a bed. And guess what? We're alone," he said, waggling his brows.
Max raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "So?"
"I have something to show you."
"What?" she pretended not to understand, but inside, her heart was thumping in anticipation.
"Max…come on..." he finally whined, giving up on his innuendos.
"Tsk…tsk…Alec, you cannot always give in to you animalistic urges," she admonished light-heartedly.
"Oh yeah? Look who's talking about urges. You attacked me three years ago when I was helpless to defend myself, stole my first kiss, leaving me high and dry and scarred for life," he said, pointing at her accusingly.
Max rolled her eyes. "Isn't it strange that you're coming back for more then?"
"No one wanted me after that incident. My reputation was ruined," he said, a baleful look on his face.
Max could not help it. She laughed. "Alec…you're…" Unable to continue, she doubled over, laughing hysterically.
"This was definitely not what I pictured when I decided to come here tonight," he muttered darkly, watching as she continued to convulse with laughter.
Then he grinned as a thought came to him. "Okay, I'll give you something to laugh about," he said threateningly.
He proceeded to tickle her.
"No! Alec!" she protested breathlessly, trying to squirm away from him, falling back onto her bunk as she did so. Clenching her hands into fists, she started pounding him.
"It's payback for laughing at me," he growled. He grabbed her hands and held it to the mattress.
Then suddenly he stopped moving and just gazed at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
Max blinked at his sudden change of mood. "What?" she asked nervously.
He gave her a small smile. "I remember that the first time you kissed me, not counting your heat, was when we were playing like this."
Max's heart melted at his words. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she said softly, "You're going to be the death of me, Alec."
She pulled his head down to capture his lips in hers.
t.b.c.
A/N: HA! No cliffie this time! Hehe! So how did it go? Actually it occurred to me that this would be a good place to end the story, lol! But hang on! Too many questions still unanswered! Review and let me know what you think!