…and ruthless efficiency.
The morning sun was bright enough to wake the dead, and if that didn't do the job then the coffee was guaranteed to do it.
Alec grimaced in distaste as his taste buds revolted. He stared down at the grey sludge and wondered whether he had possibly been related to it once upon an ancestry.
The council had convened at an obscene time in the morning to talk over a few of the more pressing matters of Terminal City.
Headed by a grinning Pix who sat by a curiously blushing Chance, the council of Terminal City were curious as to the identity of the four people sitting to one side, two all business, one eager but distracted and one… half asleep.
Pix stood up. "Okay guys; this second general meeting of the council is to let each of us know what is going on and implement a few ideas and changes."
"Changes?" Mole glared at the four Xs. "What kind of changes?"
"The council recognises Max, Alec, Dek and Aiden as part new representatives of Terminal City."
"Oh, we do, do we?"
"Yes." Feen eyed Mole and he glared back.
"What the hell do we need new Xs for?" he snapped.
"I'd kick your ass," Dek moaned, his head leaning back against the wall. "But I'm far too stiff. So I'll give you an IOU. Memo to me: Maim you later."
Feen swept her hair back from her face ignoring Dek as she riled indignantly. "Hello, do you not know who they are?"
"Should I care?" Mole sniffed.
Max tried to get Feen's attention before she gave it away, but it was to no avail as the bubbly woman opened her mouth.
"452 and 494 ringing any kind of bells here?"
There was deadly silence as all heads swung to Max and Alec.
"Are you telling me that that pint sized princess over there is 452, the 452?"
"Manticore's best!" Feen chirped.
"Thanks Feen," Max sighed and rubbed her neck.
"You taking over?" Jay asked in delight to Pix's consternation.
"No," Max stated categorically. "Pix is the man for the job, I much prefer to work back stage on things. Pix has my full confidence and total assistance."
"For which I am grateful!" Pix sighed, wishing that he could just hand the reigns over to Max totally.
"Max was never one for the limelight," Alec added.
"You're 494?" Gem shifted slightly and massaged her protruding belly.
"Yeah," Alec looked down at her stomach. "Uh, that's not mine… right?"
There was a shout of laughter as the unease in his voice came through and he was slapped hard on the back by Max.
"It'd better not be."
"No, this was a remnant of Renfro's sex education program."
"Well, we won't have to worry about her anymore," he said with some satisfaction.
"Why not?" Mole asked curiously.
"Max killed her."
Max's stomach clenched at the casual way he said that and she straightened her shoulders. "Well, she pissed me off."
The chameleon, Kelpy, looked at her with such adoration at that statement that she blushed and scratched at her hand. "Okay, so Pix?"
Pix took the cue and continued. "Although Max doesn't want to lead she's coming on board as a consultant if and when needed."
"Like now?" Jay raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm, Pix was telling me that he's been having some trouble getting the word out about this place to other transgenics who might be in trouble."
"We have a team who goes out to spread the word," Jay pointed out, sitting back in her hair. "But there's only so much you can do to find people who have a degree in not being found."
"True," Dek smiled at her causing her to blush a little.
Aiden shook his head wondering at the effect that his friend had on women, and totally missed the speculative look that Gem gave his butt as he bent over to pick up some fallen papers.
"Plus, we have to remember our friend, Ames White," Max added. "The last thing we need is that ass making a comeback."
"I was wondering if we need some kind of failsafe," Aiden said. "I mean when me and Dek fought the arrogant ass he was strong, if not stronger, faster and better… than Dek."
"Hey!"
Aiden ignored Dek's indignant outburst. "What if he managed to slide his way in here? If, as Pix said Anna told him, he has as big a hate for us as we do him, then if he gets someone to infiltrate we could be in a world of hurt."
Max nodded, telling them that she, too, had considered that aspect of things. "All due respect to the job that you guys have managed to do," she nodded to Dix and Jay, "But Terminal City isn't exactly the safest place as yet."
"We've only just started up here," Mole reminded them, his hand going to his pocket for his cigar lighter.
Gem slapped at his hand. "No smoking around the chronically pregnant and the terminally annoyed!"
"Harpy," he snarled.
"Gecko!" she replied.
"Children?" Pix said sweetly. "I don't have enough valium in stock to be dealing with you two this early. We'll recess for a smoke break once this is sorted out, okay?"
Max muffled a laugh and continued on through Mole's grunts of annoyance. "I was wondering, like Aiden, if we should have a first drop."
"Not familiar with the term," Jay admitted.
"It's a standard deployment, whereas a unit has a point of contact to assuage identity before allowing potential enemies access to the stronghold."
Everyone looked at Luke who shrugged in embarrassment. "So I take a break from trench work to read the books."
Max grinned. "Luke is right."
"You mean that was in English?" Dek frowned. "Three syllables or less please."
"How the hell did you ever get into Spec Ops?" Alec asked in bemused exasperation.
"My charm, apparently I work wonders with the ladies." Dek waggled his eyebrows.
Alec scoffed. "Yeah."
Dek just smiled enigmatically. "Isn't that right, Max?"
Max ducked her head, fighting the blush that threatened and everyone found somewhere else to look as Alec glared murderously at the unrepentant Dek.
"What Luke was saying is that we send the Xs to a holding place where we can verify that they are transgenics before allowing them the location of Terminal City," Aiden said cheerfully into the silence.
"Like where?" Dix asked, interested in this part of things. He adjusted his monocle and peered at Max who chewed her lip.
"Somewhere out of the way, easy to get to that we can pass along in code that only Manticore… Manticore!" She said with a flash of inspiration.
"Say what!"
Max leaned forward, bracing her hands on her knees. "Think about it. Manticore is abandoned, as far as we know."
"It is," Alec said shortly.
Max gave him a curious look but continued. "It's a place we all know and can get to. We can station one person in there that people report to and they can hand over a… token of some sort so that when the transgenic makes their way to Terminal City we know that they have been verified by our intermediary. That way we minimise the threat to security and have some way of tracking who we have here."
There was silence as they all thought over that.
"Okay," Luke said slowly, "but uh, how are you gonna get the message out? I mean our teams are doing their best but we just can't find everyone."
Max sat back. "No idea. Anyone?"
"We could sky- write it," Pix said with a hint of his own grin.
"Or place it on billboards," Aiden agreed with a laugh.
"No, no, write it on the side of cattle!" Dek clapped his hands. "Symbolic and yet, unusual."
"Excuse me," Max said, "I thought I had brought Spec Ops not kindergarteners."
"Pah!" Aiden waved his hand.
"I go with sky-writing." Chance said with a smile.
"Please don't encourage them," Max begged despite the smile on her face.
Dek chuckled. "We could have cats and dogs deliver it with those little collar things."
"Like St Bernard dogs!" Aiden added with glee.
"How about I put a collar on you?" Max sassed.
"Oh, baby, not in front of Alec," Dek leered waggling his eyebrows.
"I have no qualms about killing you," Alec snapped as he pulled Max onto his lap. "Dismemberment is just one of my many skills."
"Quit it!" Max was adamant this time. There was something, if only she could think.
Out of the corner of her vision she could see Aiden pulling puppy eyes and Dek mimicking a baying hound. She reached out with one hand and slapped them both upsides the head.
"Jeez, Max!" Aiden said rubbing his head. "I swear you have eyes in the back of your head!"
"Only eyes?" Dek questioned as he massaged his own aching cranium.
"Eyes?" Max frowned and suddenly her own beautiful brown orbs opened wide. "Eyes!" she slapped the table. "Dammit, you guys are pure Manticore-blessed geniuses!"
Aiden looked dubiously at Max. "We are?"
"They are?" Feen was openly doubtful.
"Yes!" Max punched the air in triumph.
"I knew that," Dek leaned back smugly.
"What for?" Chance wanted to know as she played with the buttons on Pix's shirt.
"For giving us the answer. Eyes. Eyes only." Max's face spread into a large grin. "I'm going to pay an old friend a long overdue visit."
>>>>
Of course, it was quite a stretch to say that Eyes Only had been a friend of Max's. In point of fact, she held quite vicious feelings towards him after he attempted to wine, dine and bed her and Tara at the same time.
Tara had been sent undercover to find out if he had any ties to Eyes Only and had disappeared without a word for weeks. Max was eventually sent in as a genetic specialist assigned to do a series of interviews with Cale to find out what was happening. What was happening was that Logan Cale was Eyes Only and Tara was fearful of her newfound relationship with Carrot if she were assigned to seduce Cale.
Cale had been only too happy to acquiesce until Max had arrived and diverted his attention somewhat.
Therefore it was with no trepidation and much annoyance that she found herself on the penthouse doorstep of Logan Cale at a ridiculous time in the afternoon.
"Are you sure we aren't wasting our time?" Alec stage-whispered as she knocked loudly on the door.
"Probably not," Max said. "He's an arrogant ass with all the social skills of a diseased leper but he has an ego the size of Lydecker's head. He'll be flattered that we want to use him."
"Okay," Alec shrugged and gave a faint grin as he heard the squeak of wheels coming towards the door. "He needs oiling."
The door creaked open and Alec looked down into the upturned face of Logan Cale.
His unshaved beard was verging just on this side of bohemian without falling into "wild-man of Borneo". His eyes were hidden by thick rimmed glasses and his blonde hair stuck up with abandon.
This was Eyes Only? Alec was not impressed, to say the least.
"Amy? Amy Glasser?" Logan blinked as he recognised the gene spicing technician he had interviewed a little over a year ago. He had tried to further the relationship but she had seemingly vanished.
"Funny story there," Max said with a fake smile. "May I introduce my friend, Alec McDowell. Alec this is Logan Cale."
"Charmed," Alec said deadpan.
"Likewise," Logan returned equally as stoically.
"Can we come in?" Max asked and Logan wheeled himself aside so that she could enter, followed closely by Alec.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this… You weren't upset by the interview I hope?" In truth, the publication time of the article went out much later than he had originally hoped it would. There was a breaking story of a possible cover up arson on a Veteran hospital not far from Seattle's sector 12.
Of course, his own pet transgenic, Carrot, had informed him that it was no vet hospital but transgenic central right here in Seattle.
Logan had been beside himself for days… until it registered that Carrot was getting somewhat annoyed— as evidenced by the crumpled enamel cups in the waste bin.
Carrot did seem to have a shortened temper these days, especially since he had inadvertently let slip to Logan that his friend, Cece, was with child.
Just think, a real opportunity to observe the birth of a second generation genetically enhanced human! The possibilities were endless, let alone the awards and funds that could be procured once his papers went out. Money that could be used to help Carrot and his friends.
Of course, Carrot wouldn't see it like that. He'd see it as proof that Logan was after Tara and he most assuredly wasn't.
He wasn't completely stupid after all. Why on earth would he form designs on a woman who could snap him in half with as much effort as it took him to open a can of beans?
Never mind the fact that her boyfriend was six foot six of pure muscle and annoyance… towards him!
He looked up at Amy Glasser and wondered why it was that some of the most beautiful women in his life had boyfriends that wouldn't look out of place in a surfer convention. This Alec was too pretty boy for his liking, and probably had as big an IQ as shoe size.
"Hey, you asleep?" Alec said and Logan blushed as he realised that he had been staring off into space.
"No, ahem. So what do I owe the pleasure?"
Max sat herself on the edge of is desk and leaned back effecting a very casual demeanour. Her hopes were not to scare him too much…yet.
"The thing is, Logan, I'm not exactly who you think I am."
"You're not a gene specialist?" Logan blinked.
"Not exactly," Max grinned.
"Amy?"
"Actually it's Max. Or X5-452, if you'd prefer," she shrugged, carefully watching him.
"X5…" his jaw dropped as realising set in. "A transgenic!"
"Two!" Alec waved his hand.
Logan raked a hand through his hair and sat back in his wheelchair. Another transgenic, he couldn't believe it! Amy Glasser, the sweet researcher was a genetically enhanced soldier from Manticore… unless there were other places that he didn't know about.
"Manticore?"
"Where else?" Max arched a brow. It wasn't as if there were hundreds of agencies capable of creating genetically engineered soldiers with animal DNA.
Logan cleared his throat. "Right."
"Can we cut to the chase?" Alec whined. "I'm bored!"
"Behave already!" Max admonished. "I was just getting to it."
"Can't we just tell him that we know he is Eyes Only and we need a favour in return for not killing his ass?"
Logan gaped at the casual reference to his demise. "Eyes Only?"
"Hello, obvious much!" Alec said and Max gave him an odd look.
He shrugged. "Buffy re-runs. Did I mention I couldn't sleep at night?"
Max's shy smile was his reward as it sent sharp shivers of joy through his stomach.
"Fascinating as this all is, what does it have to do with me?" Logan wanted to know. "I know of Eyes Only—"
Max sighed as he attempted to deny the accusation. "You know I was actually sent to find Eyes Only all those months ago along with my friend. We discovered it was you and yet we never actually turned you in for the chop. And believe me, Logan, Manticore were far more than willing to chop you… into little pieces and feed you to the basement people." She lunged forwards and placed her hands on the arms of his wheelchair, leaning into his face. "Now I cut you some slack, did you a little favour and now its time to pay up."
"That's not how a favour works," he managed to croak, somewhat less sarcastically than he had wished.
"Hail Prince of the Obvious," Alec drawled and Max suddenly went still.
"Well, how's about this then," she leaned closer and her voice went down into a tremulous hiss. "I want you dead in the worse kind of way. I have reason to believe that you were instrumental in the death of my brother Seth. If I find proof, there will be nothing— nothing— that you, or anyone else, can do to stop me. I will hunt you down and I will delight in removing each and every one of your extremities whilst keeping you alive through the process. I will gut you and let you watch your entrails slowly crisp to nothing before you die of extreme agony and I will smile through the whole thing. There is nothing I'd like better than to do the world the favour of removing your skid mark from its presence forever, you son of a bitch." Max reached up a hand and tapped his pale face, making him shudder in horror. "It's in your best interest to keep me happy. A happy transgenic doesn't contemplate murder to the same degree."
She stepped back, ignoring Alec's sharp look and concentrated on Logan's shaking hands.
"Now, Mr. Cale, would you like to do us a favour?"
Logan worked his throat a few times and finally just nodded quickly. Max gave a scary facsimile of a smile. "Good, show me your computers."
Logan wheeled around, his sweat-soaked hands slipping on the wheel and making his legs bang into the wall.
Alec walked over to Max. She was standing stock still staring after the shaking form of one of the most feared cyber-terrorists on the continent.
"Nice threat," Alec said softly.
Max shrugged. "It was effective."
"In the same way as an atom bomb on an ant hill."
"Overkill?" She looked up at him and then they both stared towards the room where Logan was busy unlocking the door and trying to get himself inside. "I really want him dead."
"Fine, fine," Alec held up his hands. "But when he's dead, can I go home?"
Max smiled at his whining and moved to kiss him, only pulling back when she heard another thump as Logan misjudged the distance between the coffee table and the door.
"Look at him," Alec said, "He's like a trained monkey."
"Without the training," Max sniped. "Besides I said what I felt, people are always on at me to attack."
She followed Logan as Alec stared after her puzzled.
"Uh, Max, honey, people are always on at you to use tact."
"Tact is for people not witty enough to be sarcastic," Max grinned. "Besides there is a lot to be said for a good old fashioned filleting."
There was a crash from the computer room where Logan had overheard her words and they walked in to see him fumbling at the console.
"W-what did you want?"
"A transmission," Max leaned back against the door. "I need to hide a message inside an Eyes Only transmission. Morse code at a sonar level audible to dogs and transgenics. I need it trace-free and repeated every hour on the hour all day."
"So you'll need a good cover story to justify the continued coverage," Alec pointed out.
"Yes I know," Logan said exasperated. "Who's the Cyber-journalist here?" His arrogance was toned down and he blanched a little at Max's careful look.
"Yes, that would be you," Max said slowly. "Prove it."
Logan swallowed. "I have a transmission about a senator involved in Police bribery and corruption. I was holding out for more proof but I can broadcast as soon as needs be."
"Right," Max sat down by him, noting absently the way Logan tensed. "As soon as you have things up and running, I'll deliver the message."
"To attract people's attention, mention that the senator has links to Renfro enterprises and Sandoval construction. That should give transgenics a heads up that this is something to do with them," Alec added and Max gave him an approving look.
"Wow, you're smarter than you look—" Alec preened "—of course, that's not exactly hard when you look like a dumbass."
Alec sagged and Max smirked behind her hand.
"Actually," Alec cleared his throat, "that reminds me, have you had any contact with other transgenics?"
Logan froze.
"Take your goddamn time, why don't you?" the young man said, his voice deeper and older than his years, his barely contained rage evident.
"Why hello, Seth," Logan said. "Forgive me—from now on, I'll just sit by the door, waiting for you to stop by, unannounced."
"What?" He did a double take, too surprised to deny association with the man. "You're that Zack!"
"Yeah. You got my little brother killed. We all have issues with you. But right now we have the chance to save another of our family so we put aside the fact that we all want to kill you and you help us and maybe save your own skin in the meantime, okay?"
"I'm not sure how I can help. I mean it's not like they'd just let me walk in and out," Logan said.
"Or roll," the scary one – Ben— gestured to his chair with a smirk and Logan fought the urge to yell at the man.
"You know, it's bad manners to bring up another's disability."
"It's bad manners to send my brother to his death. Deal with it." His grin held no humour.
"Haven't really had time to go job hunting," Carrot snapped. "You know, what with being on the run and all."
"I'm sure with my recommendation it would be easy to get Tara her job back."
Had he had contact with any transgenics? He couldn't turn around without falling over the damn things! They were like buses, didn't see one for years and then poof they all came at once. In fact, he was sick of them, coming in and threatening him, rearranging his life, threatening him and eating all his pasta.
Oh and did he mention threatening him? From Seth's barely concealed rage, Zack's thinly veiled sarcasm, Ben's uninhibited psychosis and Carrot's totally transparent contempt, he was just about at his wits end.
Then along came Alec who he just knew was going to be a bigger pain in the ass than them all combined.
What was it with transgenic men that made them so damn annoying? Was he destined to be stuck around the tall, tortured brooding types? And why was it that they always got the best looking girls? Logan let his gaze slide along Max's legs and sighed.
Maybe he should start to brood some more.
"Roller boy?" Alec waved a hand in front of his face. "Should we be worried about these sudden black outs of yours?"
Logan swiped at the hand and wished to punch the face it was attached to.
"No, I know of no transgenics."
A lie. But Zack had told him in graphic terms what would happen if he ever let slip that they had been around and once they had left to find their sister, Logan was more than happy to forget that he had ever heard of them.
Carrot was another matter, but Logan was more interested in getting Max and Alec out of his apartment quickly than letting the whereabouts of his pet transgenic go free.
He cleared his throat. "I'll set up the message."
>>>>>
Pix leaned against the console with Chance tucked under one arm, watching the multitude of screens in command. They were not alone.
In fact, it seemed like every transgenic in the place was standing behind them intently watching the screen.
Max and Alec had left over two hours ago and had called not twenty minutes ago to let them know that the broadcast was ready to go live.
Aiden and Dek sat at one console blissfully unaware of the myriad of appreciative female glances from all quarters as they engaged in a thumb-war tournament. Dek's hair flopped into his face and he brushed it back with absent annoyance as Aiden twisted his fingers into dexterous positions.
Techie and Feen were seated at one of the tables that had had to be dragged up specially for this one time performance and whilst the devoted redhead watched, her technologically minded friend wrapped his hands around copper wire intent on discovering some property of the broken radio that would render it once again usable. Mole stood to her left like a devoted watch dog puffing away at his cigar ignoring Gem's disapproving glances.
The crowds of transgenics almost twitched with nervous anticipation and when the crackle of static let them know that the broadcast was incoming Pix almost believed that he could feel two hundred indrawn breaths.
The screen in front of Luke crackled to life and a pair of dark eyes amidst a sea of black, blue and red bands stared dispassionately at them.
This is a Streaming Freedom Video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city. There are certain men who believe they can rule with impunity. Their actions, no matter how vile, are immune from consequence because they command enough cash to keep it that way. Senator Karl Willows is such a man. You've seen him, smiling at political fund-raisers, kissing your children and pretending to be an upstanding member of the community. He has ties to Renfro enterprises and Sandoval construction as well as major outlets in several Wyoming helo-cop factories. What you haven't seen is the back hand slips to Chief of Police Frederick Heisman who turns the other way whilst men are gunned down in public. He is paid to ignore and bury the deaths of five eminent scientists who refused to stop the Tylenol2 complaints coming through. This is medicine that you are feeding to your children which ages and destroys tissue, increases asthma and tuberculo5. Eyes Only will stop this, we are closing in on your operation. This message will repeat every hour upon the hour until you are stopped and the Tylenol2 is taken off the market. This must never happen again. Those responsible are on notice. Their power and privilege will not protect them. They will be held accountable. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin...via the Eyes Only informant net. Peace...out.
There was silence in transgenic central as the message was assimilated and Luke calculated the hidden message that had audible to them all, just under the voice of Eyes Only.
"Shi-it!" Dek breathed as the screen returned to black. "Humans will be too interested in the cover story to check the odd buzz underneath."
"Nice mention of Renfro and Sandoval," Aiden added, "Let's us know we have the right broadcast."
Pix leaned over, "Can you transmit the underlying code to us all, so we know what it is that we are looking at here?"
"Sure," Dix tapped away and fed information from Luke into the computer. "Translation…now."
Beep Beep Beeep. This is a Streaming Freedom video Bull…. Beep. This is a code 946, repeat code 946. Regroup in session. Initial congress at Tuesday 0800 location. Proceed with caution to billboard 5 and instruction will be given. Repeat, time to come home. Meet for initial congress at Tuesday 0800, billboard 5. This is a code 946. Message out.
Beep beep beeeep.
"Sounds like an answering machine message," Mole grunted.
"A tad cryptic?" one of the anomalies frowned.
"Oh, come on, where did everyone meet Tuesday at 0800?" Dek asked.
"Tech room 610, for health check and check billboard 5 for assignation," the anomaly nodded. "So she's telling us to head to Manticore?"
"Only transgenics are gonna know where to go," Jay pointed out in her usual manner. "Even if White manages to get to the code he won't have a clue what the significance of Tuesday 0800 location means."
"And if what Max say is true, Lydecker won't know either because he was located at Wyoming and not Seattle."
"Are we covered?" Feen asked.
"Let's hope so."
Aiden clapped his hands, "So who are we sending to wait in that cold dark hellish place of memories for the trannies to come home?"
Several pairs of eyes carefully didn't look at him and Aiden sagged.
"Dammit."
>>>>>
Logan switched off the machine, tuned out the scrambler and turned to Max and Alec.
"I'll have it repeat every hour upon the hour."
Alec saluted ironically. "Appreciate that."
Max trailed her fingers along the desk and stared thoughtfully at the lack of dust on her fingers. "You told Alec that you hadn't seen any transgenic and yet you didn't seem too surprised to see us, roller-boy."
"I hide it well," he deadpanned, still lightly unnerved by her.
"Hmm," Max obviously didn't believe him and her voice emphasized that.
"You said that there were more of you in hiding, whereabouts would that be?" Logan asked innocently.
"Oh, south of 'What the hell makes you think we're telling you?'" Alec said. "That's just off 'I wasn't created yesterday.'"
Max couldn't help the grin the crossed her lips at that.
Logan cleared his throat nervously. "Well, is there any thing else I can do for you guys? Already ready to help our friendly transgenic community."
Max rolled her eyes and turned to leave, which was when the door opened abruptly.
"You know, I don't appreciate the summons," Carrot snarled as he walked in straight past them without looking. He headed into the kitchen and the two stunned transgenics could hear pots clanking and cupboards opening.
"In fact," the dismembered voice continued, "I'd really like to never hear from you again. That being impossible, whilst you are such a tight-ass jumped up megalomaniac, I respectfully request that you limit your directives to one an hour or, so help me God, I will learn how to set my beeper to stun," and with that Carrot materialised in the doorway holding a sandwich the size of a small encyclopaedia. "You got that, Lo—"
He trailed off as he saw them looking back at him equally stunned.
Logan switched his attention quickly between them. "Uh, Carrot, this is…uh."
"Max!" Carrot's face broke into wreathes of smiles.
"Ah, you know each other." Logan's voice proclaimed that he wasn't as happy about that as the two of them obviously were.
"Yeah, oddly enough," Alec said irately, "He's a transgenic; ya know, one of those you've never met."
"Ah." Logan went silent and watched as Max embraced Carrot with a huge hug. The red-head towered over her, every inch of his six foot six frame emphasising how tiny she was.
"Okay, we have to stop feeding you!" Alec said as he followed Max's hugs with one of his own. Carrot grinned.
"What the hell are you two doing here?"
"Needed a favour off your friend, Roller-boy," Alec pointed over his shoulder. "Who, incidentally, thinks you're forgettable."
Carrot rolled his eyes in disgust. "No friend of mine. He offered us a heads up on any known transgenics and a job for both me and Tara if I became his lap dog."
"And a place to stay!" Logan cut in, in indignation. "Rent free I may add, you also get grocery money and enough to keep your friend in comfort."
"Friend?" Max raised an eyebrow.
"Cece came with us."
"Classy!" Max sighed and ignored Alec's delighted grin.
"So you have Tara, Cece, any others?" She asked tentatively but her heart sank as Carrot shook his head.
"Other than—" he broke off "—uh, not really."
Alec frowned and followed Carrot's gaze to a fascinated Logan who was eagerly eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Ah, right." Alec walked over, a saunter in his step, and quickly grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.
"HEY!" Logan yelled as Alec spun the chair around with panache and pushed it into another room, the wheels spinning faster than Logan could stop them. They watched as the chair disappeared from sight and a crash was heard. Alec firmly slammed the door and beamed at Carrot.
"Hey!"
"Hey!" Carrot laughed. "Oh, we so missed you guys."
"Good to know," Alec nodded. "So, you were saying?"
"Oh yeah, we picked up a basement type with an excess of canine DNA, called himself Joshua."
"Joshua!" Max's face lit in the most beatific expression that both Alec and Carrot were stunned.
"Hey, how come I didn't get a smile like that?" Carrot demanded and Max leaned up to buss his cheek.
"Great, Dog-boy." Alec rolled his eyes as he remembered the huge dog-man. He had made his acquaintance when he trailed Max, suspecting that she had run away from him. Instead he had found her talking to a man the size of a small country with excessive canine features and the sweetest disposition.
"Be nice about Joshua," Max said. "Or it'll be you in the dog-house."
"Yes, ma'am," he said with a delicious smirk which had Carrot rolling his eyes at them.
"Ah, I didn't miss that!" he said in amusement. "So what favour did you ask of the wheeled-one?"
"Broadcast with locator tags in," Max explained as Alec snaffled Carrot's sandwich. "Eyes Only has helped us send the message out to reconvene."
"Excellent!" Carrot breathed. "Tara is going to be so pleased, she's been aching to see you guys. Life with Cece can get a bit…" he trailed off as if he had just thought of something funny. "Oh, you know Cece!"
"True," Alec agreed and nodded. "I grew up with her and damn she was weird at times."
"Where is the new HQ?" Carrot asked trying to ignore Alec's decimation of his lunch.
"We are sending them to Manticore first to be verified and then onto a place in mid-Seattle called Terminal City."
"Terminal Dump-heap," Alec said around a mouthful. "It's a dive!"
"It's a dive that we are to call home," Max reminded him as she snatched his sandwich and passed it back to a grateful Carrot. "It's in the middle of Seattle but everyone pretty much avoids it. Get Tara and Cece and come over, bring Joshua under cover of night."
"Yes, boss." Carrot saluted and spun on his heel, walking away smartly leaving Alec staring forlornly at his lost lunch.
"Yo, Carrot." He turned to Max's beaming grin. "It's good to see you again."
"You too," he smiled and left quickly.
Max and Alec did not linger in Logan's apartment and, apart from hoping that he had not broken anything too serious, paid no attention to the curses that emanated form the other room as they left.
Max felt the overwhelming need to burn off some tension and agreed to meet Alec back at Terminal City whilst she blew off some steam on her baby.
The sleek black machine felt good as it roared between her legs and she pushed it as hard as it would go, feeling the wind in her hair and the taste of freedom inherent in the air.
She pulled to a stop two hours later outside a dilapidated old building and pushed aside a broken board to get inside.
She had been to Original Cindy's place once or twice before when she had been without Alec and found the constant hum of noise a comfort.
She smiled at a small kid playing with a truck outside the door and knocked loudly.
"Yeah, jus' a minute!" called her friend and Max grinned.
"Special delivery for one Original Cindy!"
"Max?"
"Yeah."
"Get your ass in here, boo! Door's open."
Max pushed open the door and walked in, to the smell of hairspray. She almost chocked on the thick air.
"Damn, girl, you spray it thick," she said.
"Spray it thick, keep it slick," Original Cindy appeared in the doorway, dressed up for a night out in tight lime green lycra pants and tank top.
"Ouch, looking sharp!" Max complimented and slumped to the sofa as O.C. grinned.
"Yo Cindy, you gonna let me… Oh hey, Max."
Max blinked.
"Sketchy." She turned to O.C. and looked from the tousled hair male to her very decidedly lesbian friend. "Uh something I should know about?"
O.C. glanced at Sketchy. "His apartment is being fumigated so I said he could crash for cash."
"But I have ta clean," Sketchy sighed. "Hey, where did Monty Cora disappear off to? I didn't realise you two were tight."
"Alec is my…whatever." Max cleared her throat. "He's back home for now and we have something of a family crisis. Any chance you guys could let Normal know I won't be in for a coupla days?"
"Sure things, boo," O.C. said. "But guys and family troubles? Sounds like you got a rough couple of days coming up, suga."
Max leaned back on the sofa and thought about trying to help Pix run Terminal City at the same time as trying to organise and full scale reunion of every major transgenic as well as tracking down two megalomaniacs intent on decimating her and hers. "Tell me about it."
"Men ain't nuthin' but trouble. Make ya wanna change teams, boo?"
"Not quite, but close," Max waggled her eyebrows and laughed at Sketchy's expression.
"What's kicking?" O.C. asked as Max's face fell.
"Me and Alec had a few issues to sort through, ya know how it is." Max shrugged. "Things will get back on track soonas."
"Good, I hate ta see my boo all down and shit."
Sketchy opened his mouth to agree when the TV which had been flickering in the background suddenly lit up and a pair of eyes centred the screen.
"Hey, it's Eyes Only."
"Yay," Max yawned.
"I've seen the show," O.C. said unimpressed and Max felt a rush of affection for the woman.
"The guys at work were all dissin' on Eyes Only, sayin' that that Manticore place that burned down and let out the superfreaks was really just a V.A. hospital."
Max almost choked. "Say what now?"
"Couple of months ago he did this hack about some superfine superfreaks cruising out of the woodwork, all nuthin'," O.C. dismissed.
"No way! He's on the level!" Sketchy insisted and picked up a tabloid left on the table. "Says right here they're out there, looking to feed."
"Cable hack and news-crap." O.C. shook her head. "Now I know, fool, that you'd believe anything but I thought zombies were too much even for you."
"Not zombies. Creatures made in labs. Some look just like us; some don't. They all got barcode transmitters on the back of their necks so they can beam information about us to the main headquarters."
Max resisted the urge to raise her hand to her own barcode and placed her shaky hands on her knees.
"Wigga, you faded. News said it was some terrorist group called SW1 that burned the place down and killed a bunch of vets. Period point blank."
"Cover up!" Sketchy said.
"Cover this," O.C. grabbed the paper and slapped him upsides the head with it. "And stop reading this trash, before you ruin what's left of your brain cells."
"As entertaining as this is, I gotta bounce." Max sprung to her feet hoping that her collar was up high.
"You not coming to Crash?"
Max shook her head. "Not tonight, boo, got a little something to do."
"Yeah, his name's Monty Cora," O.C. just shook her head as Max flashed her a grin and left. "It's such a shame to waste that on a male."
"She is one fine sista," Sketchy agreed.
O.C. glared at him. "You wanna scam on my girl go right ahead. But equal rights work both ways, fool, now go clean!"
>>>
When Max finally made her way into Terminal City it was growing dark and the sentries were out in force letting her know that Pix was working fast in implementing the plans that they had both decided upon.
She walked into command, nodding at the very few faces that she recognised and headed for the office. She heard a familiar crackle of laughter and opened the door to see Carrot laughing with Dek and Aiden.
Tara stood to one side and Max smiled as she came forward for a hug.
"Max!" Tara said warmly. "I have missed you."
"You too." Max had always felt warmly towards the elegant med-tech and even envied her composure and sense of style. "How have you been?"
The blonde smiled sweetly. "Better for being here. No doubt Carrot told you how beholden we were to Mr. Cale. I must admit that being so obligated was grating to our dignity."
Max nodded as she remembered with fondness Tara's odd way of speaking. She often seemed like someone from a different era and Max always found it refreshing.
"So, have you been okay?"
"We've been coping." Tara nodded. "Cece was taken off by Alec as soon as we arrived. I assume that she finished with him by now."
Max grinned. "I'm sure she'll be happy to be here in Terminal Dump-heap."
"I think she'll be more relieved than you expect to be surrounded by like minded people." Tara gestured towards Gem and Dek sitting at one side.
Aiden smirked. "If Cece finds pleasure in being near Dek then she's obviously changed more than we think."
Tara smiled secretly. "I wasn't referring to Dek. No offence."
"None taken," Dek said with obvious affection.
A voice came from the doorway. "Huh, the day Dek takes anything seriously is the day I take up the Little Miss Manticore award."
Max turned to smile welcomingly, if a tad falsely, at Cece but upon seeing her, her face dropped.
Cece placed her hands on her hips and touched her swollen stomach protectively as silenced reigned all around. "Well, say hello then."
Max stepped back in horror and gestured to her mid-section. "What the hell happened to you?"
Cece rolled her eyes. "It's called a baby."
"D-did you do it on purpose?" Max gaped.
"No." Her icy tone seemed to slap Max back into reality and she straightened, keeping her eyes on the bump mistrustfully.
"Well, that was careless," Dek managed, also staring at the belly suspiciously.
Cece's eyes narrowed at him. "So's pissing off a pregnant transgenic with overactive hormones, swollen feet and a PHD in how to kick your ass. Back off, buster, I'm not in the mood. I have intense food cravings and… and… I need to go to the bathroom. Again!" She turned around and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Dek stared at the door. "Well, she's still a ball of sunshine!"
"God, I hope the kid gets his personality," Aiden shuddered.
"You two are so insensitive!" Gem cried and burst into tears before racing after Cece.
Max closed her eyes briefly and turned calmly to Pix, closing his gaping jaw with one finger. "First item; mothers and babies unit."
Pix nodded frantically and grabbed a scrap of paper. "Mothers and babies unit. Gotcha."
Dek leaned over and added his own slice of wisdom. "My advice? Spike the water supply with Prozac. I think we're all going to need it."
And somehow, Max couldn't bring herself to disagree.
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Hey all. Very very sorry to say that somehow seems to be making it it's life's work to annoy writers. The rumour circling now is that writers are not allowed to post replies to reviews within the stories, or will pull all stories/membership and authors off the site. Since there is no method for allowing responses on the review page this means that the reviewer doesn't get acknowledged for his/her words.
Trust me this pisses me off more than you.
Until the rumour is confirmed/denied I will give them no chance to pull me off the board. So sorry to everyone who usually gets a proper response and has to settle this time around.
If you wish to correspond or wish to ask a question please join faythfic yahoo group or email me personally.
With thanks to:
Angel of Darkness231
Crazy Vampireslayer
Lotamoxie
Elle6778
Lynn-50670
Moonlite star
Ronda TIW
Sigma1
Aku-neko
Grey Daze's Nirvana
Toniboo
Crimson Reality
Mystic Fayth
Chaosti
Keekee
Ro
Kim
Sarah
Caboodle
Messmissy
Fadingphantom
Ganko
Whoisbrett
Bluejean452
Meri24
Pixiedust13
GuestTypePerson
Jynx
Fangedangel
Geminangel
Chicita
Pixie Wildfire
XxInsanityXx
Electricgurl
EminemIsCool (if you say so)
AngelKougaeri
Zo
And of course my beloved Em.