Chapter 4
Tao was not stupid, he was considered a strategic and logistical genius of the DA-5 and within the Union. Nevertheless, he had not given much thought at first when their new partner could not be found the next day. Tao did not want to imagine how the man felt in the current situation, especially considering his uncontrolled mutation. M-21 had long been a single-fighter and unlike Tao who had always relied on Takeo, he had no person to trust since his last comrade died.
Sometimes when M-21 talked about his deceased comrades, Tao felt something like envy rise within him. Although he wouldn't say he was jealous of a bait, but could he too care about a comrade enough to willingly sacrifice himself for his protection? He had never even thought about it before. Somehow, it had always obvious to take care of himself only. Even his contact with Takeo had never been very tight ...
Tao shook his head and the confused thoughts in it. At the moment there was a more urgent problem to solve than his own life philosophy. M-21 was missing, for almost two days. Tao could have disguised if it was just a few hours, but two days were much too many. Now Krantz had noticed it which was bad … to put it mildly.
The good thing was that Krantz had only found out at noon today, and he saw M-21 as Tao's property and as such his problem alone. But his absence was sure to delay their assigned work, so it was important to locate the gray-haired man as quickly as possible. Takeo had climbed up to the observation point to keep an eye out. Tao, on the other hand, tried to track the chip of M-21 for the 7th time.
It might have been useful before that the chip was old and malfunctioned, but now its inability to capture M-21's coordinates was an issue.
"Come on," the Hacker murmured, watching the laptop count. Maybe he should make a new chip? Or at least something that works and only he could locate it, not the Union? Before he could follow the thought, the laptop beeped and Tao nearly jumped in excitement. He had received a signal!
"Takeo I got him" he contacted the Sniper over a secure connection. At the same time, he scanned the chip for his GPS signal.
"Where is he?" Takeo said slightly distorted from the small channel "Tao?"
"He's ... here," Tao responded slowly and with more irritation in his voice than he wanted. "The signal came from the base" Confused, he stared at the displayed coordination.
Takeo paused for a moment, then said something which made Tao's blood freeze in his veins "I have not seen Shark and Hammer for quite some time"
The chair fell clattering to the ground as Tao jumped up, this time really. "I'll give you the coordinates" he said narrowly into the transmitter and left the room as fast as he could.
"Tao don't be silly, wait until I'm there!" Takeo reminded him and Tao could hear a door slam.
"No time," replied the Hacker as he switched off the transmitter and jumped down the stairs. Shark's interference would easily explain M-21's disappearance. Shark hated M-21, just out of the fact that he was a bait, and it went against his conviction to see Krantz or Tao make such a big effort on someone like him, and he was deeply sadistic. If he really was the reason for M-21's disappearance, then it might be too late already.
Tao reached the basement and ripped open the door. The first thing he saw was a lot of blood and a curled figure lying near the wall. Then he saw Shark and Hammer. The second one was sitting in a chair stuffing some food as per usual, and Shark was standing next to him. Both seemed surprised by Tao's sudden appearance.
"Oh, you're looking for your toy?"
Tao did not respond to Shark's hateful tone. He forced his face to a well practiced, blank expression.
"Is he alive?"
"Don't know?" Shark shrugged, "When I last checked, he was still"
"Tell me one good reason why should I not call Krantz right now," growled Tao "so that he can tear your ass."
Shark giggled. It was that disgusting sound that Tao knew well from whenever Shark was highly amused "Krantz will not do anything" He leered "it's your toy, is it not?"
"Actually" came a cool voice "You are wrong Shark" It was Takeo who had spoken. Tao held a relieved sigh when he saw the Sniper. Shark had seemed willing to risk a trial of strength, and Hammer too looked seriously offended that someone was interrupting his fun.
Takeo raised his stinging look at Shark. The two men stared at each other. "Sure, M-21 is Tao's toy, but incase you have forgotten, Tao needed him to finish our assignment on time." His scathing look wandered over Hammer and then at M-21 "Like that, the bait can not be used in the near future, which in turn means that the order will be delayed. Think about the rest yourself."
Shark's smile froze. Hammer came to his help, "The bait had sneaked off the base this morning without permission. A small beating is not so wrong, is it?"
"A small beating," Tao now replied icily, " .it. Its useless for now!" So the two did not know the M-21 had left the base much earlier than this morning?
The ardent grin of Hammer's face had disappeared by this time, and Shark looked as if he were going to explode. "Take your toy then!" he walked over to M-21 and kicked him.
"Enough Shark, stop!"
"I just want to wake it up," Shark mocked and raised a fist "Wake-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e" Tao's electric shock had hit him before, he could hit his target, and Shark jumped four feet up before landing back on his feet "What the hell?!" He screeched furiously at Tao, tearing the black cables from his arm.
Tao was not sure himself. But he knew that he was incredibly angry at the moment and wasn't willing to bother wasting thoughts about Shark actually being stronger than himself or the potential consequences of this rift.
"I am done with you, and your interferences in my work." Tao took a threatening step towards Shark "I need the bait for the mission because you two idiots can do nothing else than eat whole day and knock silly jokes. If you were atleast able to take over his work I would not have cared, but even for that you" he waged a finger directly at Shark "are too stupid." Shark's mouth was hanging open now "Move your ugly ass off already Shark before I do something I might regret." A heavy hand on his shoulder stopped his tirade before things could escalate anymore.
"I think Tao has been clear," said the Sniper calmly, pulling Tao back. "You should go to Krantz and explain him the reason of delay before we lose more time."
Hammer rose and stomped to the door. His face was as furious as Shark. Tao and Takeo cleared the way for them, and the hacker walked up to the curved figure, even though he would have preferred to run. M-21 had not stirred since his arrival and Tao hoped that the man was just unconscious
"You know" he heard Shark speak behind him "The bait was only half as interesting as all the innocent people I could only kill because of you, Takeo"
"What are you talking about?" Takeo's voice sounded incomprehensible.
Tao felt an icy knot in his stomach. Not that, not now.
"You've already understood." Shark laughed shrilly but not for long. Takeo's fist landed directly on his face and sent him flying to the opposite wall. Tao braked his comrade with one of his cables before he could go even further on Shark.
Shark wiped his face, and giggled madly. "You did not really believe the Union would allow a civilian to recognize us again, right? You're so incredibly naive and so gentle when I think about your sister ..." Shark did not manage to finish the sentence. Tao gave him a second shock, stronger than the first. Shark screamed, this time from pain. This was going in a very bad direction.
"I said enough," Tao spat. "I have no time for that. Move your ass out of here!" He could feel Takeo fighting his cables wildly and pulled them tighter. Shark had murder written on his face and seemed ready to launch on them any second. Tao wondered if there was going to be death match between them right there ... Then, fortunately, Hammer decided to follow Tao's lead and literally dragged Shark out of the room. Tao could hear Shark growling curses all the way as they climbed stairs.
Only when there was complete silence, did he loosen the grip of his cables on Takeo. The Sniper snapped and turned.
"Why did you stop me?" He hissed at Tao, his fists trembled with rage.
"You know why" Tao replied, hating that his voice trembled. Because they were not allowed to leak up. Because they had to help M-21. The other man shook his head and took a few steps back. Then, faster than Tao could see, he had disappeared slamming the door behind him. Tao was alone with M-21.
"Shit," Tao whispered and rubbed his hand over his forehead. "Shit, shit ..." he repeated again and again, trying to calm his fluttering nerves. That was just too much at once, and he needed Takeo right now by his side. He had known about Takeo's small rescue missions, and had even talked about civilians with him every now and then. But that Shark killed them all ... was only logical in hindsight, from the Union point of view. Tao scolded himself, he should have thought about it before.
He had also just ruined all those years of rapport with Shark and Hammar by humiliating them in front of Takeo, and for a baitat that. He had needed the upcoming days to be peaceful for the Elder given mission, but with the tension within DA-5 now, things were looking bleak …
Tao shook his head. Now was not the time for self-reproaches. M-21 needed help. He knelt down beside the battered figure without caring about the blood that soaked his clothes. Carefully he touched the gray-haired man at the shoulder.
"M-21?"
No reaction. Tao shook him carefully. M-21 body twitched faintly and he gasped. Tao felt a touch of relief. "M-21 what ... ARGH"
Tao could not speak any further. M-21 had pushed him to the ground. His hand was clenched around Tao's neck, choking him. The man gave a strange sound, and Tao realized with fright the M-21's iris was almost white and the pupils were incredibly thin.
"M-21!" Tao gasped and clutched his wrist. Had he transformed his hands? M-21 handle was surprisingly strong, but not too strong for Tao if he want to break it. He did not know what M-21 was doing, but the man did not seem to recognize him.
"M-21" Tao tried to persuade the other "come back to your senses!" Should he attack him? The decision was taken away as Tao felt a cool air dive, and before he could understand, M-21 eyes had rolled back and he tilted to his side. Before Tao and behind M-21 stood Takeo. He had knocked out M-21.
"I'm sorry" muttered the Sniper.
"Me too" The Hacker straightened up and rubbed his neck. With a queasy feeling, he watched as M-21 claws pulled back until nothing could be seen.
~.~.~
They had brought M-21 into the room with the server equipment and put him on Takeo's camp bed. His injuries were manifold and all of them bore Shark's mark, with some exceptions that were probably from Hammer. The arms and legs did not seem broken, but M-21 had a few big bruises that worried Tao as they seemed to be a sign of internal bleeding. Neither of them had enough medical knowledge to adequately provide for such an injury.
They could badly cut open M-21. Their only choice was to clean the external wounds, wrap up his chest for the broken ribs and put a breathing mask on him to supply more oxygen and hope that his regeneration abilities were strong enough.
They did not speak a word, and the silence was hard between them. In the end, Takeo grabbed a couple of straps and they both tied M-21 more or less to the bed. Tao felt bad about it, but if M-21 would want it, he could tear the straps with some effort. It was just a precaution to see if he was fully conscious.
Then Tao got coffee for the two of them, an absolutely horrible mixture, but their only alternative to water. They sat down so that they had M-21 in view and drank the coffee.
"It's not your fault," Tao began cautiously after a while. However, his own voice did not sound very convincing. In his mind, he was plagued with guilt at the thought of the uninvolved people he had already killed.
Takeo ran his hand tiredly over his face. "Are you sure? My actions gave Shark a reason to kill them. I brought these people to death by my thoughtlessness"
"You tried to save them" Tao played unhappily with his cup "The Union does not spare any witnesses. Maybe not right then and maybe not even through the DA-5, but Union would certainly have killed them one way or the other. You just tried to give them a chance to survive."
The Sniper looked at him hesitantly, then averted his gaze"...Do you think Shark found them all?"
Something in Tao heart moved hearing his desperate query. Was this the care for comrades that M-21 always talked about? He shrugged helplessly "If you want, I'll search the database later if we have more access, but I would not insist that there are survivors"
"Yeah, not with Shark. Ugh, somehow accustomed to waking up like this" a third, weak and rough sounding voice spoke. Tao and Takeo started and looked at M-21 simultaneously. The man had woken up and Tao sagged with relief. Though M-21 eyes were barely open, Tao could see that his pupils were back to normal and the iris had regained the familiar stormy gray.
"What's going on?" M-21 frowned, as he tugged at his shackles without breaking them. Takeo came forward to unleash him as Tao observed his state. The second the bindings were removed, M-21 shot up straight on his bed, and Tao was sure that he would regret it immediately. He crashed on M-21 side to support him as the man twisted in pain. Instead of being thankful, M-21 growled at him
"Stay away!"
Ok, that was enough. Enough stress for one day. Tao did not even try to soothe M-21. He ignored the snarling and sat with his back against the bed headboard, folded his arms behind his head and sighed deeply. M-21's growl lowered and the man looked uncertainly over his shoulder. Next, Takeo made himself comfortable on the bed and stretched out his legs casually. They had simply strangled M-21 protests.
M-21 pulled the breathing mask from his face and stared at his hands. Tao and Takeo let him take his time.
"Is Shark still alive?"
"Yes" Takeo answered.
M-21 grunted and gave a series of very interesting abuse words dealing with Shark's appearance, intelligence and possible origins. Then the man turned his head to look at Tao and narrowed his eyes.
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"I attacked you"
"You can remember?"
M-21's face reflected uncertainty. "I'm not sure ... then I did attack you?"
Tao nodded "I'm fine. Mot missing any body parts, see?" he added quickly.
M-21 acknowledged this with a bitter laugh "Not yet" He let himself sink back again, hissing with pain.
Tao turned around so that he could support himself with his arms on the metal frame of the bed. There was no point in saying that everything would go well. That would be a lie and they knew it. Takeo brought M-21 a water bottle and helped him take a few sips. Tao played around the oxygen supply, he wanted to contribute small amounts of a light sleep gas, which worked well with modified humans.
"Where were you?" Tao asked the question, which had caused them all the trouble.
"At the ruins where those Noblesse brats had been" the man replied softly, "I have spoken to one of them and given them information. If everything goes well, the Union will soon get the kickoff we need."
"Woah," Tao inadvertently slipped out, though his first reaction was something more in the direction: Are you tired of life?
"Listen M-21"
Takeo screwed the bottle "Regardless of what you did. The next time you move your ass out of the base without telling us so we can support you, I'll kick you myself that you'll not be able sit for the next three weeks."
"Why do I have the stupid feeling that my own preach just falls back on me?" The gray-haired man sneered, but did not sound quite as sharp as usual. Tao and Takeo watched his eyes flicker again and his whole body relax, and without resistance M-21 let Tao take over the breathing mask. Tao screwed back the gas supply. Hopefully it would suffice to keep M-21 asleep.
"Do you think he understood?" Takeo asked him skeptically.
"I think so" Tao stood up and covered M-21 "But we can remind him again when he wakes up"
The fact that they were talking about M-21's health rather than fretting over the risk involved in the serious and apparently careless treason he had committed, told them how deep they all were in this, and how okay with it they were. Either union was getting screwed by them soon, or they were. Either way, Tao didn't seem to mind much.
~.~.~
Later in the night, they were welding a few processors together - Tao thought all the available processors were useless - when the alarm turned on in one of the already standing systems. Tao left everything lying around and switched on his laptop to see what was going on. What he saw made him take an alarmed deep breath, then obsessively pick on his laptop.
Takeo found Tao with his nose in the screen, giggling to himself.
"…Tao?"
"Yes?" Tao leaned back with a wild swing.
"Everything ok?"
"The headquarters of the 12th Elders just blew up."
"What!?" Takeo blinked and turned his head to look at the sleeping M-21
"You don't think he …"
"I have to mirror the data on the server of course, can't have it lost can we?" Tao could not resist a wide grin "I guess we are on the offensive now"
I remember being promised that it would not take long … well I have lied LOL No really I sorry (a little bit). Blame the write blockade! Yet I've managed^^ This chapter marking the start of the secret operation of the trios and it forcus on Tao's shift of heart. I won't promise when I will manage to update the story, I won't promise when I will manage to update the story.
PS: And a big THANK YOU to my helper!