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: I know, I know…I'm late again. I have been hunting for a job, so I had to go for 5 interviews last week… . Hope you enjoy it. More action but the next chapter we'll be back to relationships…
Thanks to Sirena for beta-ing!
Mel11 – Hope you can forgive me again for the long wait (grovels). My life's been a mess the last one week. Thanks for reviewing.
Roxyroo – Hehe, yeah, but I'm late again, and I hope that this chapter is enough to make up for it. Thanks for reviewing.
Calistra – Thanks for reviewing. Yeah, Zack have to work with the others, he have not much choice.
L80bug – Thanks sweetie. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Darkangelgirl262 – Thanks for reviewing. Yeah, things are not going so well for Cammy and Dani, so for some of the others either. You'll see. I'll have a look at your fic as soon as I can.
Toniboo – Hmm…not sure I can say that Max and Alec is going to be okay, hehe! You'll see! Thanks for your review.
Lotamoxie – Alec's a smart cookie, so he had to be able to tell that Zack was trying to evade something (grins). Yeah, it's about time the familiars and the transgenics meet. More adventures to be had! Thanks for reviewing.
Eva – Sandeman die? Hmmm…what an idea! Lol! I can't tell you now, but you'll see in future chapters. Thanks for reviewing.
Angelofdarkness78 – Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like the way Zack sort of got out of his predicament with Alec and Max here. I'll update the MZ in a few days time. I've been having lots of interviews for job, and is a bit busy this couple of weeks. But after that, I'll be updating much more often!
Supernatural – Thanks for reviewing!
Alana84 – Yeah, it's good that Zack's letting go of Max, otherwise it's going to remain awkward between the three of them. Glad you liked the action. More of it this chapter but it'll be different in the next one (winks). Thanks for reviewing.
Kungfuchick – Thanks for reviewing! You'll see who those guys are soon (grins)
Angel Of Darkness231 – Thanks for reviewing! What? What did I do this time? Anyway, here's the update. I hope you won't decide to plot murder against me when you read through it (backs away from violent reader…)
Lakergirl08 – Thanks for reviewing. Hehe! I just thought that the cliffie was appropriate! You'll see soon if you've guessed right (winks)
Spanishwon2123 – Thanks for reviewing. Hope you've got your homework all sorted out, lol!
Victoria – Thanks for reviewing. (Blushes) I'm glad you think so and I hope that you'll like the rest of the story!
Retrieved - Chapter 32 – White
(by elle6778)
"Let him go!" Zack shouted, his eyes hard. "Or I'll slaughter this piece of junk," he threatened as he tightened the chokehold on the enemy soldier he held in his arms. The soldier wheezed painfully as he tried to struggle out of Zack's grip.
The pale-skinned soldier with a hard face was sneering at them with a maniacal gleam in his eyes, quite unperturbed by the scene in front of him or the fate of his comrades.
And he was holding the tip of a sharp hunting knife to the throat of an unconscious Sandeman.
With no sign of fear, the soldier laughed at Zack's threat and said mockingly, "Or what?"
Zack looked calm when he replied, "I suppose it's no great loss to me if he fell dead right now." He tightened his grip on the chokehold
The soldier in his arms renewed his struggles as he rasped for Zack to stop.
Alec held up a hand, signalling for Zack to halt when he looked as if he wanted to snap the soldier's neck. "Who are you?" Alec asked Zack's hostage.
"Someone better than you bunch of mutated, inhuman filth," the soldier who was holding Sandeman spat out before his comrade could reply. The way he looked at them told them that he really believed what he was saying. With pure utter disgust.
Max rolled her eyes. "Gee, there's no need for name calling. You're not so normal yourself, considering the way you fight, so I gather that you're not the S1W. So who…or shall I say, what are you?" she asked, voicing the questions which was on everyone's mind.
The soldier sneered. "The S1W are useless fools. We are your betters. Your superiors."
Max stared at him disbelievingly. Is this guy for real? "Right. Whatever you need to tell yourself. And just in case you haven't noticed, mister, you're outnumbered four to one here," she pointed out lightly.
"And so? You wouldn't dare to come near me with Sandeman in my arms," the soldier retorted confidently.
Alec gave him a condescending look. "Gee…Hiding behind an old man. And you call yourself our betters?"
Suddenly Sandeman stirred, drawing everyone's attention. The pale soldier tightened his grip, eliciting a groan from the old man.
"Sandeman!" Kelpy yelled out, making a move to step towards the old man.
Taking a step back and pulling Sandeman along with him, the soldier clucked and said in an admonishing tone, "Uh-uh…Not another step."
Kelpy stilled and the rest held their breath as Sandeman's eyes flickered open. As he focussed on his captor's face, the old man's eyes widened. "Ames," he breathed out, his eyes revealing a mix of surprise and apprehension.
The transgenics frowned in confusion. How did Sandeman know the guy? Was he another one of Manticore's project that had gone wrong?
"Ames?" Max parroted as her brow creased. Gesturing to the soldier Max asked Sandeman, "You know him?"
His eyes still fixed to the grim looking soldier, the old man said with sadness in his eyes, "Yes. Ames Sandeman. My son."
As the transgenics stared at the pair in shock, the soldier exploded in rage. Shaking Sandeman, he shouted, "I'm not your son, you traitor! I'm Ames White! White! Not Sandeman! I'm no son of the one who betrayed the Conclave! Is that clear?"
Max frowned. "Son? What the hell is going on here? If you're really his son, then what the hell are you doing to your own father?" she demanded of the irate soldier. Her eyes bore into his, demanding answers.
White's face was pale, his lips compressed thinly as he appeared to struggle with his temper. He must have realised that he had said too much, because he looked as if he would not say another word anytime soon.
Sandeman's soft voice filled the silence. "Listen to me, Ames, what the Conclave is doing is not right. Can't you see that?" he pleaded.
White looked at Sandeman with disgust, but he did not say anything.
A sudden movement behind the transgenics caught their attention.
As Max turned around, she found herself knocked over by a strong shoulder. Swearing out loud as she hit the ground, she realised that one of the soldiers must have regained consciousness. Bouncing up, she saw a large female soldier rushing towards Zack with a gun in her hand.
"Zack!" Max shouted out a warning as she rushed towards him.
Dragging a staggering Sandeman, White shouted out an order to the female soldier, "Thula! Take them down."
Giving White a brief nod, Thula aimed her gun at Zack, apparently not caring if she hit her own men. Her finger pressed against the trigger.
In trying to dodge the oncoming bullet, Zack loosened his grip on his captive. As soon as the soldier was released, he wasted no time in leaving Zack, speeding towards Alec.
Alec had concluded from the way White had been moving that he had been trying to get a reluctant Sandeman to go with him. Trying to stop them, Alec blurred towards them. However, before Alec could reach the pair, White delivered a hook punch to the back of Sandeman's head, effectively knocking the old man out cold.
Gritting his teeth, Alec tried to get to Sandeman but found his path blocked by a soldier. He recognised the soldier as the one who had been held by Zack not long ago.
"Move away, buster, or you'll be sorry," Alec warned as he clenched his hands into fists. He had had enough of being thwarted today.
Unperturbed, the soldier sneered. "Filthy transgenics," he spat out.
Alec rolled his eyes. "Can't you come up with something more original? All that lack of vocabulary is beginning to make you sound even more stupid than you look. Okay, let me spell it out slowly. I said move… but you're still here, so I'm afraid you won't like what I'm about to do next. And don't say I didn't warn you," he said before blurring straight at the soldier.
The soldier held up his gun, a triumphant grin appearing on his face when Alec came directly into the path of fire. Just before the soldier squeezed the trigger, Alec feigned to the side and leaped sideways, his feet skimming high against the trunk of a large tree.
The sound of gunshot rang out, but by then Alec was no longer in front of the soldier. He was to one side, kicking off against the trunk to propel himself towards the back of the soldier. The soldier barely had time to turn before the momentum of the kick carried Alec swinging directly at his opponent's head. There was a loud crack when Alec's foot impacted with the soldier's head, instantly breaking his neck.
Turning his head side to side, Alec cracked his neck as he grinned in satisfaction, surveying his work. That satisfaction did not last long, however. Looking around him, he saw Zack fully engaged in a fight with Thula and Max fighting yet another soldier who had regained consciousness. He noticed with relief that the two of them seemed to be doing well against their opponents.
He continued to scan the area and then suddenly stilled as a chill ran up his spine.
Where were Sandeman and White? Oh, shit, this is not good, he thought, a feeling of dread washing over him.
At that instant, having taken care of her opponent, Max ran towards him. Zack was about to do the same, and then he paused, glancing around. He had obviously realised that Sandeman was gone. He gave Alec a questioning look.
"He's gone," Alec said numbly. He looked pained, disappointed in himself for his failure to ensure that Sandeman remained safe. He had issued the orders, and he should have made sure that he had remained with Sandeman. Sending Cammy, Tom and Dani with Sandeman had been a stupid idea because they had much less experience dealing with these sorts of things.
This was his first major failure in a mission he commanded.
Max opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She had never seen Alec like this before in all the years they had known each other. Swallowing hard, she said reassuringly, touching his arm, "Alec, we'll find him."
He did not acknowledge her action. Instead, he clenched his fists and took his anger and self-recrimination out on the tree next to him, punching the trunk repeatedly. Blood began to trickle down his hands but the pain did not register. The pain within was far too great.
Concerned, Max tried to grab his hand. "Stop it, Alec!" she yelled but he pushed her away roughly.
As Max staggered back, watching Alec in shock, Zack ran towards them.
Noticing his nemesis' presence, Alec snapped at Zack, "What are you doing here? I thought you had somewhere else to go?" Zack was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.
"Alec…" Max started.
Interrupting her, Zack said harshly to Alec, "Look, shit happens in missions. You don't need to take it out on us. And you've got to know that it's not your fault."
Max gaped. She could hardly believe what she had heard from Zack.
Apparently, neither could Alec. He stared at Zack, unsure what to say.
Noticing their reaction, Zack said uncomfortably, "Look, I'm not saying that because I suddenly feel the urge to get friendly with you. It's just what I've learnt being a CO myself." Zack knew that now that Sandeman had been captured, what the old man had told him last night was becoming more urgent. Now was definitely not the time for him and Alec to be at each others throats. Or for Alec to have doubts about his abilities.
Slowly, Alec said, "Right." And then, uncharacteristically at a loss for words, he threaded his hand through his hair in a show of discomfort, looking away.
Max broke the silence. "Come on, Alec. We need to find the rest to see if they're alright. And we need to get out of here before the rest of White's goons wake up."
Straightening, Alec said listlessly, "Alright, let's go get them." His eyes travelled to Cammy and Dani. It was his fault that they were lying there hurt and bleeding. Now, whatever he did, he had to make sure that he would get them out of here safely. His eyes hardened as he stiffened his resolve.
Max looked at him, worried that he was showing no signs of picking himself out of his funk. Instead, Alec seemed to be withdrawing more and more into himself. She exchanged a glance with Zack, who just shrugged and told them that he would go around the cabin to look for Kelpy and Tom.
Alec and Max went to Cammy and Dani, methodically inspecting the two injured transgenics. After a few minutes, they managed to wake Dani.
"Max?" the young girl rasped painfully. Her neck bore signs of fingerprints, Max noted with fury. White and his soldiers obviously did not discriminate between adults and children.
"Shh…Don't talk. Can you get up?"
Dani nodded as she pushed herself up with Max's help.
"Thanks," Dani said gratefully. When her eyes met Alec's, she froze, taken aback by the blankness in his eyes. "Alec?" she queried tentatively.
Beside her, Cammy stirred, taking Dani's attention away from Alec.
"Hey, girl," Max greeted softly.
Cammy snapped her eyes open and jack-knifed into a sitting position. "Max! Alec! Where's Sandeman?" she gasped, looking around frantically.
Flatly, Alec said, "You can stop looking. He's not here. They've got him," His face was an emotionless mask.
Cammy stilled as her eyes rounded in distress. "No…" she whispered weakly. Caught up in her own anguish, she did not notice the stiff manner with which Alec held himself.
Sliding her hand around Cammy, Dani said reassuringly, "Cammy, we're going to get him back."
"Sandeman's in danger and we failed our mission. Lydecker relied on us to protect Sandeman and look what we've done!" Cammy wailed as her eyes welled up. She buried her face in her hands, "How could we have done this?"
Cammy's words were like knifes stabbing into Alec's heart. What she had just said was exactly what he felt, but he had enough to deal with without having her break down like that. His face setting into a hard mask, Alec rapped out, "Snap out of it, soldier. You've got to pull yourself together. Falling apart now is not going to help."
All heads turned to him in shock. None of them had ever heard Alec addressing anyone that way before.
Alec ignored their shocked expressions and continued to stare at Cammy. Pressing on, he said in a stern voice, "Is that clear?"
Cammy nodded. "Yes, sir," she said in a small voice as she averted her eyes.
Max's lips compressed into a tight line as she glared at Alec. Pulling him away from Dani and Cammy, she hissed, "What the hell was that all about?"
"Don't know what you're talking about Max," Alec replied levelly.
"You don't have to talk to Cammy like that," she said, trying to read his eyes. But all she encountered was a blank, expressionless stare.
Giving her an uncompromising look, Alec said, his voice hard, "She's a soldier, Max. Breaking down and crying is not going to help anything. And if she carries on like that, she would upset Dani as well. I just said what I did to snap her out of it."
Max gave him a reproachful look, "That was way too harsh, Alec."
"It worked, didn't it?" he threw back, getting angry that Max was challenging his decision. But he tried to clamp down his anger, knowing that all of them were just out of sorts because Sandeman had been kidnapped in their watch.
She was about to tell him that his tone was not necessary when Zack came running back with Tom in tow.
"We can't find Kelpy," Tom said breathlessly as he skidded to a stop in front of Alec.
"Kelpy's missing?" Cammy asked, looking as if she was about to break apart. At Alec's stern look, she choked back her sobs and straightened herself.
Seeing the exchange between him and Cammy, Max shot Alec a furious glare.
"Maybe White's got him," Zack suggested. As he caught the stony expression on Alec's face, Zack stilled. He recognised that look. It was a look he himself had sported on occasions when his authority was challenged. Then he saw the way Max was looking at Alec. Sighing, Zack decided that he would let them deal with it themselves and turned back to Dani and Cammy.
"What for? I thought the S1W only wanted Sandeman. What do they need Kelpy for?" Dani asked, confused.
"They're not the S1W, Dani. They're some other thing, much too strong to be ordinaries," Max explained. "I think maybe they decided to take Kelpy as well. They have seen him blending."
"For research purposes," Cammy uttered numbly.
"Enough of this. We need to get out of here. The question is how," Alec said, changing the subject. There was no use dwelling on all those stuff now. Their immediate priority was to get out of there, he thought, trying not to think of the word research in relation with Kelpy.
"I know how! Lydecker's coming," Tom said, brightening suddenly as he recalled the phone call he had made half an hour ago.
Zack stiffened. "Why's that?" he asked tightly.
"Sandeman ordered me to call Lydecker when we ran out the back of the cabin," Tom explained.
"I hope that's them," Alec said as the rumble of vehicles reached them.
Alec had mixed feelings about Manticore's presence. On one hand, having them there meant that they were safe. On the other hand, as he was the highest-ranking officer there, Alec would have to explain and take responsibility for what had just happened. Although protecting Sandeman was not his primary mission, Alec knew that that did not matter. The way he saw it, he knew that what mattered was that he had been present and therefore held the responsibility for the situation they were in. In part, anyway.
Max glanced at Zack worriedly, knowing that what she was about to say would probably be completely futile, but she still had to try. "Zack, please come back with us," she urged. She knew that if Zack continued to refuse to go back with them, she and Alec would have to remain with him. However, she really wanted to be involved in the search for Sandeman and Kelpy.
The word no was at the tip of Zack's tongue when Sandeman's words last night came back to haunt him. He knew that he could not refuse what Sandeman had asked him, and the only way he could carry out Sandeman's request was to go back to Manticore.
He had no choice.
Sighing heavily, Zack said with reluctance, "Alright."
Alec's head snapped towards Zack, surprised that he had given in so easily. Alec looked at Max to find her giving Zack an equally shocked look. Obviously she had not expected Zack to agree to go with them. He turned back to Zack to find the other transgenic staring back at him with an unreadable expression. Alec wanted to ask him what was really going on, but changed his mind. There would be time for that later.
Shrugging, Alec said, "Well, at least that's one less thing for us to worry about."
Right then, three SUVs pulled up into the clearing, their tyres crunching against the gravel noisily.
Lydecker and several members of the Manticore TAC team poured out.
As the TAC team fanned out, Lydecker stepped towards the transgenic. Studying them with piercing eyes, he barked, "Where's Sandeman?"
Alec held Cammy back when she tried to go to Lydecker and stepped forward himself. "Sir, he had been captured by the enemy," he said.
"494, I was not aware that you or 452 have been deployed on this mission," Lydecker said. And then his eyes landed on Zack, who stared back at him insolently. Turning back to Alec, Lydecker said, "But I can see that 599 is here as well. Am I correct in saying that you and 452 have carried out that mission successfully?"
"Yes, sir. 599 had agreed to return to Manticore with us," Alec replied.
"Good work, both of you. And what happened since then? Was it just a coincidence that all of you ended up here with Sandeman just as he was attacked?" Lydecker asked rather sceptically.
"We've been here since last night, sir," Alec admitted.
Lydecker raised an eyebrow but decided not to comment. Instead, he said, "Seeing that you are the highest-ranking officer around, I suppose you took command earlier?"
"Yes, sir," Alec answered levelly, his blank expression not showing his apprehension. He knew what was coming, and he dreaded it.
t.b.c.
A/N: A rather depressing ending, I'm afraid. Leave me a review and tell me what you think! You can even yell at me for being late again (grins).