Many thanks to all 40 who reviewed, you really helped, so this is dedicated to everyone who reviewed last chapter!
Coming to the end of it all now and boy, howdy it's an odd feeling.
There have only been one or two people who have submitted pictures for the last chapter but there is still plenty of time to do so if you'd like.
POLL-- WHICH CHARACTER WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE OF?
Chapter 17 Craving refuge.
Lydecker glared at the television as a heavily made up Senator spoke to the press hounds.
"Since the transgenics escaped onto our streets several months ago, the crime rate has spiked twelve percent in the city of Seattle alone. In Portland, an unknown viral agent has claimed the lives of thirty-nine citizens. This is more than just a coincidence."
"Idiot," Lydecker shook his head in disgust. "Can you believe this inbred minion? He has no idea of the scope of what he is dealing with."
"These creatures are violent; many of them are diseased. This committee wants to know — the American people want to know — how many of them are out there? How do we contain the threat they pose?"
Bill watched as Lydecker gripped his hands into fists. He scoffed. "Isn't that what you think of them? That they're dangerous, you want to contain them just like he does."
"They are my kids." Lydecker's voice was cold. "I just want them back where they are safe."
"Safe from what? Being attacked? Did you ever see Max's file?" Bill countered angrily. "She is no safer in there than she is out here."
"The people responsible for what happened to Max have been punished."
"Suspended with full pay?" He laughed bitterly. "My heart bleeds."
"They were trained for war!" Lydecker shouted. "We made them to withstand things like that. Max is so strong because of what she went through."
"Adversity builds character?" Bill sneered. "Go sell your line to the media, Deck, you are as bad as," he looked at the screen, "Senator James McKinley."
There was a brief silence as both men seethed at the other.
It was broken by the crackle of static from the television and twin bands of red and blue fading across the screen
"This is an Eyes Only cable hack, lately every crime in our city is being labelled as one committed by a transgenic. Do not believe everything that you hear—"
"Who the hell is this guy?" White said as he walked in. "And how the hell does he know so much about your supposed 'secret' organization?"
"I don't know," Lydecker said thoughtfully. "He does seem to have advanced information."
"Maybe even direct from the source?" Bill added quietly.
White rounded on him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"If I were transgenic and the whole world was after me," Bill explained, "I'd go to the one person that champions underdogs. I'd go to someone sympathetic to my cause," he pointed at the screen, "someone that people listen to."
Lydecker and White turned to stare at the eyes on the screen.
"Finding Mr. Eyes Only has suddenly become top priority," White offered smoothly as normal transmission resumed itself.
"Why are you here?" Lydecker asked suddenly. "I thought you were checking out a lead?"
"I was," White sighed. "I've been subpoenaed."
"It was just a matter of time," Lydecker grimaced. "That fool McKinley wants to blow the whole thing wide open. What is your official position?"
White bristled. "That is none of your business. It's confidential, classified and—"
"Denial, huh?" Lydecker interjected smoothly. "Let me guess; maintain ignorance?"
"Shouldn't be too hard," Bill said under his breath.
"Officially, they don't exist."
"Good," Lydecker agreed. "Keep it that way."
White's whole demeanour stiffened. "I don't need you telling me what to do."
"Yeah, you're not his real mom," Bill scoffed and turned back to the screen as another red-faced politician came on talking about the transgenic threat.
Lydecker watched him carefully. "I think you have too much free time on your hands."
Bill froze. "Then let me go home."
"No." Lydecker smiled. "I have an assignment for you. Some way that you can help us."
"My mission in life," Bill said with obvious bite.
White smirked. "Newsflash. It is now."
Lydecker folded his arms. "I need an emissary to go to 452."
"I have no idea where she is," Bill retorted impatiently. "Like I've said a million times."
"Let her come to you."
"Shall I send telepathic waves through the air to her?" Bill asked mock seriously. "Oh, wait, telepathy was only for the tele-coercive team. Couldn't have the regular transgenics realise that you thought of them as meat."
"I was thinking more of the direct approach."
"Right," White scoffed. "Put a want ad in the paper. Wanted: one female transgenic, answers to 452. Please come home, Billy misses you."
"It's Bill, and screw you, ass-hole," Bill rolled his eyes at the suited man.
"I was thinking a little less subtle."
"Less?" Bill blinked. "You can be less subtle than this guy." He poked his thumb over his shoulder at White.
Lydecker merely smiled. "I managed to get hold of an old buddy of mine, dropped out of Military school and went into the media."
"No," Bill said adamantly when he realised what it was that Lydecker wanted. "No."
"A simple televised broadcast asking for Max to come back to you," Lydecker smiled. "Sentimental crap that women eat up."
"Max won't buy it."
"No, she'll realise that it's a threat. Come back or we kill Bill."
Bill froze. "What if she doesn't see it? Max was more an outsides kind of girl."
Lydecker grinned evilly. "Then you'd better hope that she window shops the electronics stores."
>>>>
Pix glared at the screen as if it were personally responsible for all the evils in the world.
It probably wasn't, but it wouldn't hurt to be sure.
It had been a bitch of a day starting with the fact that it was raining so heavily that the drains were overflowing and causing an almighty stench to flow through Terminal City, making it almost uninhabitable for those transgenics with a super sense of smell.
Secondly, there were more "breakthroughs" on the news about the horrors of transgenics and what they did to the populace, including a report about a supposed virus- carrier who plagued China town a few months ago. Carrot had grown white with fury when he heard that and had gone off to vent his frustration on the local rat population with a golf club.
It was cold, it was miserable, reminding him somewhat of Wyoming and he was stuck indoors.
Again.
And that was what was really the problem. Pix wasn't the all-American track star or the beefy European hitchhiker type, but he did love the outdoors in the way that most of those with feline DNA did.
He wanted to go for a walk without having to worry about hauling his coat around his ears to cover his barcode. He wanted to slink across the rooftops without having to duck and dive those stupid hover drones and, more than anything, he wanted to get out of this slimy, stinking, rat infested, dung hole!
He slammed his hands onto the keyboard and winced as something went crack. He looked around surreptitiously to see if anyone had noticed his wanton destruction of badly required property.
No one was paying attention to him. They were too busy monitoring what filth was coming out of the speaker, out of the news and into Terminal City.
Some of the younger children had heard the news reports and one little X8 had burst into tears at hearing that she was classed as a monster.
She had tearfully asked Cece if that meant that she had to sleep under her own bed and only the devastated look on her face stopped Cece from bursting into laughter at that innocent comment.
She had tried to soothe the poor girl but with more and more news items coming up, it was hard to shield them all.
Alec had finally come up with the idea of gathering all of the children together to help him form a school of sorts so that the children wouldn't forget the basic safety and defence training that Manticore had insisted upon. He was joined by B.J., Jace, Emma, Gem and Zack, who didn't mind helping out.
They had all withdrawn to a large warehouse in the centre of Terminal City and were spending the day clearing it out.
Max was out with her ordinary friend, O.C.; Carrot was attacking rats; Techie had found a friend and was trying to explain to him why circuits were better than people; Tara was setting up a medical centre with Joshua; Chance was helping Feen in the kitchens; Flex and Skye were taking their kids to find supplies along with Aiden who had volunteered to help; Biggs and Sunny were monitoring their supplies over at the weaponry base and he had no idea where Dek and Drew were and wasn't sure he wanted to go there.
That left him, alone, going stir crazy.
"Hey... Uh, Pix right?"
Maybe not quite alone.
He turned to see the slightly more unnerving version of Alec.
"Hey, you're Ben?"
Ben nodded. "You know, I actually remember you from Wyoming."
Pix blinked. For a moment he had actually forgotten that the '09ers had come from Wyoming. He had been so used to thinking of them as 'outsiders' that it hadn't dawned on him that he was from the same place.
"That right?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah." Ben sat on the edge of the table and raised an eyebrow at the smashed console.
Pix shrugged, trying not to blush as he pushed the board slightly to the left, wincing at the rattle it made.
"Are you destroying property again?" Zan asked, coming up behind the pair.
"Hey Zan, you know Ben?"
"Sure," Zan reached over and shook his hand. "Didn't you get fastest time in Escape and Evade in obstacle course D?"
Ben smiled. "Yeah, it was a breeze."
"I broke a leg twice on that damn corner by Lydecker's bluff."
"Didn't everyone?" Pix said rubbing his leg with the remembered pains.
"Not Maxie," Ben said loyally. "I think she was so damn light that she coasted around the corner."
"She was particularly tiny, wasn't she?" Zan said with a fond smile.
Pix laughed. "Max would kill us if she heard anything that even slightly reminded her that we thought she was tiny."
"Too true, small but vicious," Zan agreed.
"Anyhow, Ben was telling me that he remembered me from Wyoming. What do you remember and do I need to apologise for it?"
Ben grinned. "Nah. I think we were doing Escape and Evade in the out woods, behind C base."
"C-base," Pix grinned fondly remembering all of the tricks that he had pulled there.
Zan rolled his eyes remembering all the times that Pix got sent to Psy Ops and solitary for the tricks that he pulled there.
Ben grinned as he recalled the memory. "Trainer McCarthy, he really was a son of a bitch and made us do the course barefoot. Everyone had third degree lacerations. Then the day before we had Evac with those dogs, someone rubbed raw meat all over his pants."
Zan's face lit up. "Oh, yeah."
Pix recalled that as being one of his best ideas. He had been stuck on laundry duty for some mild misdemeanour and had found Trainer McCarthy's trousers in the laundry basket. He'd put them in the tumble drier with the left over sausages from lunch and placed them in the Trainer's room.
"I can still hear the screams," Pix said nostalgically.
"You were a damn hero, man," Ben laughed as he remembered the evil Trainer trying to get the dogs off him.
"Oh, I got so much better," Pix said as he thought of some of the things that he had got up to whilst in Seattle.
"I wouldn't have said 'better'," Zan interrupted recalling on more than one occasion when he had been the object of the brunette's pranks. "More sophisticated, maybe. More dangerous, definitely."
Pix looked at Ben and both nodded. "Better."
Zan rolled his eyes. "Fine, you wait until he dyes your eyebrows blue and then you say that its better."
"Actually, I have some ideas," Pix let the sentence trail off.
"You'll have to let me in on it," Ben said with a half-shrug and Pix was pleased to see him extending the hand of friendship.
"Sure." He looked around. "Of course, if you can get me the hell out of here, I'll be your slave for life."
"Claustrophobic?" Ben asked with sympathy.
"Stir-crazy," Pix said, rubbing his head.
"How would we tell?" Zan said, leaning on the edge of the desk.
"Hey, talking of crazy, I heard you were with Drew."
Ben stilled.
Zan laughed, noticing the way that the man seemed to freeze, waiting for something. "I am surprised you survived. She can be more than a little scary."
Ben hid a smile. "I can hold my own in the scary-stakes. Besides," he looked down. "She grows on you."
"So does fungus," Pix replied feeling sorry for the man, he exchanged glances with Zan. "But I wouldn't want it around all the time."
"I don't get a choice anyway," Ben said sadly. "She's back with Dick." He said the name in distaste.
"Have you spoken to him?" Zan asked kindly.
"No and I want to about as much as I want colonic irrigation."
"Ouch," Pix winced.
Zan looked away. "I know how you feel, man."
"Yeah?" Ben was interested.
"I like…liked a girl but she was hot on someone else. It sucked ass."
Pix knew that Zan meant Max and knew that the blond still had problems with Alec because of his love for the tempestuous brunette.
Zan shrugged. "I guess it is ladies choice though. You can't make someone love you."
"All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in."
All three men looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Ben stared thoughtfully at Zan. "So, I'm guessing the girl was Max… right?"
Zan gave him a rueful grin, shades of his previous humour still on his face. "How'd ya guess?"
Ben shrugged. "The only dark haired girls I have seen around are Max, Drew and Chance. If it were Drew you liked, you'd hate me. If it were Chance—"
"I'd kill you," Pix added merrily.
"Could have been a blonde?" Zan said questioningly but Ben shook his head.
"You don't strike me as a blonde kind of guy."
Zan sagged slightly. "Yeah, it was Max."
"Was, or is?"
"Doesn't matter whatever the tense." Zan shrugged. "Max and Alec are pretty tight still."
Ben whistled, a gleam in his eyes. "I bet that sticks in your ass, since, you know, you knew her first."
"Hell, yeah," Zan agreed. "I was prepared to risk all out war in Manticore for Max. I wasn't sure which annoyed me more, the fact that Max only thought of me as her brother or…"
"Alec?" Ben offered. "Because he sure bugs the crap outta me and I hardly know the guy!"
Pix laughed. "Oh, wait until you get to know him."
"Then you can loathe him properly," Zan added cheerfully.
"He's not that bad!" Pix protested.
"So when the whole of Unit 8 decided to blame Max for Alec being in reindoc? Or when he and Max had that huge ass fight?"
"Which time?"
"Wow," Ben smirked. "I didn't realise there was so much dissension between Max and Alec."
"The trouble is," Zan confided, "that Max is a sweetheart and Alec is an idiot. He does something or says something and manages to screw it up spectacularly and yet she forgives him."
"Good thing Alec isn't in command," Ben's face was a picture of innocence. "Imagine having to take orders from him."
"He's second in command," they informed him.
Ben just looked at them with an innocuous smile. "Says who? Manticore? I thought you guys were beyond all that. I mean, I was great at Escape and Evade, but I have to say that it doesn't translate real well to the real world. He might have been A1 at Old 'M, but is he any use out here? What is he in charge of out here?" Be smirked. "Max?"
Pix and Zan looked at each other pensively, not sure what they were thinking, but each wondering if Ben had a point. Except for his recent idea of getting them jobs, had Alec been much of a 2IC in recent times?
"You know," Pix said hesitantly. "Sometimes it feels like Max is in charge here and I'm the 2IC."
"I see that, too," Zan was quick to agree.
"Perhaps you need to take over some things then," Ben suggested. "Put your foot down sometimes. In the real world you have to speak up or be shouted over."
Pix rubbed his hands on his jeans and stood up straighter. Ben was right; he was supposed to be the leader here. Maybe it was time he did more than just pretend to listen to Alec.
"That means that I can get the hell out of this dump for some fresh air, right?" Pix asked hopefully at his two new friends.
"Fresh, in Seattle?" Zan wrinkled his nose.
"Sure, we can sneak you out of Terminal City right under their noses," Ben leaned over. "We have to be really sneaky."
Pix rubbed his hands together. "Sneaky is good, sneaky I can do."
Ben smiled. Yeah, me too.
>>>>
Aiden grinned as Skye and Flex lifted Galen to look in one of the larger skips on the east side of Terminal City. They were on forage detail, trying to find anything that could be of use to the transgenics.
So far they had sent Isacar and Icarus back twice with things that could be used. Zeph was having far too much fun racing ahead and exploring all of the structurally unsafe buildings and giving Skye a heart attack every time she heard a creak.
Aiden was currently far more interested in talking to Nyx when the opportunity arose and trying not to let Flex see him doing it.
He could just imagine what would happen if Flex realised that Aiden had designs on the stoic Chinese transgenic and he liked his liver where it was, thank you very much.
He smiled at the girl at his side and she ducked her head, kicking at something on the ground.
"Hey, Aiden," Icarus said from behind and he half-turned.
"Yeah?"
"Were you really 2IC in your old squad?"
"Not in Special Ops," Aiden corrected. "But back in Atlanta. Yeah. Then when I made Spec Ops, Max had me as aide—hence my name."
"Cool," the blonde gave him an appraising look and raced off as Flex called her.
Nyx glared after her. "I thank Manticore that we are not related by blood. I think I would have been disassembled for mutilation of a sibling should we have been joined back there."
Aiden agreed. "She is slightly on the perky side, isn't she?"
"Perky isn't the word that I would have chosen," Nyx added dryly. "Although the word does begin with a 'p'."
Aiden just grinned. "They do say that you can't choose your family."
"An erroneous and irrelevant argument to use with transgenics since we have actually chosen our own family. Or had them chosen for us," she muttered looking at the blonde as she danced around Flex.
"If looks could kill—" Aiden trailed off as she shot him a look.
"Thank heavens Manticore never tried to cook one of us up with that skill," Flex said as he wandered over. "What has Icarus done to provoke such distaste, Nyxie?"
"She breathes and I'm not convinced it's a good look for her," Nyx replied promptly.
Flex's lips twitched. "Well, because she offends you so much, how about you and Aiden go check the med complex over there?" He looked at Aiden. "If you don't mind?"
Aiden tried not to look triumphantly like someone had handed the cat the keys to the aviary. "Nah, we'll be okay. Shall we?"
Nyx nodded and headed over to the complex.
Nyx wasn't sure what to make of Aiden. He was attractive and quite clever. He also seemed very interested in her, which she was attributing to good sense.
The fact was, though, that he was not only older than her but he was also a member of Special Ops. Not just any member, but aide, which was almost third in command.
So why was her interested in a low grade X-series like herself?
She gave him a glance out of the corner of her eye and saw him doing the same. They both looked away quickly, a blush spreading over more than one cheek.
The medical facility that Flex had assigned them was deep within Terminal City and had the derelict look that the majority of buildings thereabouts had. It had seemingly been looted, if its ramshackle appearance was anything to go by, and there was a faint smell of something not quite right with the place.
The lighting had gone years ago and since it had few windows, Aiden was glad of his feline sight.
The hallways were filled with debris and abandoned trolleys and files, which scattered the floor like paper paving stones.
"Advanced Recombinant Genetics," Aiden grimaced as he read the title on one of the doors. "Sounds cosy.
Nyx merely smiled and continued down the hallway.
"Hey, look at this." Aiden pointed to a door that had a large symbol inscribed on it. "A winged pole with…eesh intertwined snakes?" he shuddered. "Grim."
"It's a caduceus," Nyx informed him. "A symbol used by doctors in the last few centuries. It was actually the magic wand of Hermes, the messenger of the Greek gods. He was said to be the inventor of magical incantations, conductor of the dead and protector of merchants and thieves." She traced over the engraved symbol with her fingertips. "The link between Hermes and medicine was said to have originated around the seventh century AD when he was associated with Alchemy—the idea of turning iron into gold through mystical means—Alchemists were known as the sons of Hermes or Hermeticists. Although there was some debate over the origins of the word since caducity and caduceus imply senility and temporality whereas the medical profession espouses renewal, vitality and health. In fact…" she trailed off, noticing for the first time that Aiden was staring at her in rapt fascination. "Lecture over."
Aiden pushed the door open and entered the medical lab, letting her get her equilibrium back before turning to her.
"That was pretty impressive."
She shrugged, unaccustomed to the praise. "Since Isacar called us the Greeks I thought it would be prudent to read up on some of the things associated with our namesake. The Greek gods were pretty fascinating."
"Yeah, I find the Greeks kinda appealing myself." Aiden gave her a knowing look and she felt herself fighting another blush.
Why the hell did he have the ability to make her feel like this? Was it something in his DNA that specifically gave him the skill to make her imitate a tomato?
She cleared her throat. "Right. So, anyway, if this is some big medical facility then maybe they have supplies that Tara could use."
"Maybe," he said, peering into a beaker filled with green gunk. "Or maybe Dix, or Techie, could use some of the electronic gear." He took a sniff and recoiled. "Urgh! Smells like Renfro's perfume."
Nyx shifted uneasily looking around. She was still uncomfortable with being disrespectful to authority. Even if that authority was dead and a bitch.
She spotted a locked filing cabinet and edged over, picking up a paperclip and twisting it into a long thin piece of wire. She set to work on the lock, listening out for the telltale click that would indicate that she had caught the locking cogs inside.
Aiden watched her work whilst he grabbed a duffle bag from his back pocket and started to fill it with some of the cleaner beakers and test tubes for Tara.
He shifted a pile of papers aside and exclaimed in delight. "Hey, new motherboard. Techie will be ecstatic."
Nyx frowned, even as the drawers clicked open. "Are you Special Ops are really as friendly as you seem?"
"Say what?" Aiden delicately wrapped the electronic device in the paper that covered the desk.
"I was aware that both Flex and Skye were reasonable close even before they found us and Skye was upset at the death of her brother. But I couldn't understand how you could all be so very fond of each other." Nyx tried to elaborate. "I was not…close to my unit at all and we were designated at a much younger age than Special Ops."
"Well," Aiden thought about it. "I guess because we all knew that we were the best in our fields, there seemed to be no need for competition in the way that we had in our old units. Plus, I guess, we were older so there weren't the unhappy social issues. That's not to say that we don't have our arguments." He winced as he recalled some of the major ones that they had over the years, especially Max and Alec.
"Skye and Flex are especially devoted. Is there anyone that you are especially close to?"
Aiden thought about that for a moment. "We have relationship doubles and friendship groups even within Special Ops. Max and Alec were always regarded as a twosome but Max and Drew, Max and Pix and Max and Zan were considered best friends. Dek and Drew were always seen together, even when Drew went off with Mets for a while. Emma and I always got on but she was too emotional once we got here so she formed friendships with Tara. Pix, Dek and B.J. were the terrible trio, full of jokes and witticisms. Carrot and Tara make the sweetest couple, along with Pix and Chance. Sunny and Biggs were never in dispute about their relationship although Techie and Feen came as a total surprise."
"Did they not get along before?" Nyx asked curiously.
"Not so much," he grinned as he recalled Techie recoiling in fear at the brash red-head's attentions. "She scared the crap out of him. I used to be 2IC to B.J. and Anna's squad and I knew that there was something there but that it would never happen. Coco mostly was best pals with Anna and Skye, forming one of the bitch cliques of Special Ops with Cece as runner up. Zan was hung up on Max but was fast in with Steve and Biggs and, I guess Dek and I are the best of friends."
"Who do you like the least?"
"Can't say I ever understood Cece. She irritated me."
"But you liked Emma?"
There was an odd note in her voice and Aiden smirked.
"Jealous?"
"No," she said quickly and then peered at him from under her lashes. "Do I need to be?"
Aiden let the bag he was holding drop and sauntered over to her in a lazy gait that had her heart racing.
"Now why would you think that?" he purred as he reached her. He placed one arm on either side of her head against the filing cabinet so that she was trapped between his arms.
He moved even closer and Nyx looked up into his dark eyes seeing something pass over them that she hadn't the experience to name. She could feel his breath drift over her lips, warm and comforting.
Aiden smiled against her lips as her eyes drifted closed and he angled his head to descend.
Nyx inhaled as their lips touched for the first time.
There were no explosions, no stars and no fireworks. His lips were chapped and hers were dry from the cold air outside. There were no birds singing or choirs playing.
It was simple; a touch of his mouth on hers.
And it was perfect.
His hand came up to caress her cheek and she leaned in, opening her mouth instinctively for more.
His tongue darted in, tasting and exploring, mapping out the uncharted territory and Nyx felt something inside her melt.
She wanted it to go forever.
"Have you guys found anything?"
Aiden spun away from Nyx so fast and was over the other side of the room before Skye cleared the door.
She looked slightly suspicious at Nyx's flushed face and Aiden's sudden interest in the ceiling.
"Everything okay in here?" she asked curiously.
Nyx nodded, not quite trusting her voice.
"G-ood," Skye looked from one to the other, a smile playing around her mouth. "Did you find anything?"
"Glasswork for Tara and um…files, mainly." Aiden cleared his throat, affecting a smile for Skye.
"Anything interesting in the files?"
Aiden wondered if Manticore had put any bloodhound in Skye's DNA.
"Anything at all?"
Or maybe a little more bitch DNA than any of the others.
"Just reading them," he said with an insincere smirk. He picked up the nearest file and flipped it open. "See; reading. Reading about… Shit."
His face fell into the most serious mask that Skye had ever seen on him and she lost the teasing smile.
"Aiden?"
He said nothing as his eyes scanned over the pages, flipping one and another over before reaching for another file.
The two women watched him as a frown appeared on his face.
"Aiden, for hell's sake, say something!"
Aiden placed the file down and leaned back against the bench.
"Let me get this all straight in my head, okay?"
"Okay."
Aiden began to pace. "Twelve thousand or whatever years ago, a bunch of men got together—probably drunk— and decided that human kind wasn't long to be the superior species on the planet. They decided that they'd help evolution along by forming superior sub-species through breeding those humans who had special abilities: athletes, intellectuals and the like. This we discovered through the files that Anna found—right?"
"Right." Skye picked up Galen who had wandered in after her.
"They formed a special club called the conclave and devised a test that people had to pass before they could be initiated into it. Snake bite type thing."
"Why snakes?" Skye said to Galen. "Nasty things."
"I assume because the cult of bunnies wouldn't inspire the same sort of reverence and fear," Nyx offered dryly.
Aiden glared at them. "Can I finish?"
"Go on," Skye offered magnanimously.
"Fast forward hundreds of years later and half want to advance with the use of modern technology and half don't. Max and Carrot found that stuff at Sandeman's place."
"Still with you," Skye said wondering where this was all going.
"One guy we know as Sandeman discovered that the conclave members all had a specific DNA or blood work matter that made them immune. He tested his son who was about to be initiated and found that he didn't have the gene and would die. So he tried to change the minds of the conclave, stating that pure chance was no way to start a master race. After some random comment he starts up Manticore, breeding the perfect race of people through scientific means. Military is prepped and interested in the idea of super soldiers and so fund his work. According to Anna he visits blood banks and approaches women with the gene he needs to surrogate the babies. Once the kids are born he takes them and trains them in the good old Military way. Okay?"
"With you so far."
"Here's where we get sketchy. The conclave knows and tries to get Manticore shut down. No dice. So the conclave strikes back and tries to off the competition—us. After the big fire and our being out, it's easier to try to destroy us. But we are faster and better and so, as part of their plan, they set the public on us."
"Makes sense," Nyx said, not wanting to interrupt his flow. "Divide and conquer through misinformation and hysteria."
"But we missed out on phase one: eradication through viral infection."
Skye shook her head. "Anna said that they were going to try something like that with her and a guy named Cyril," she pointed out. "Its not news, Aiden."
"Yes it is," he held up the file. "They based the virus on the specific gene sequence that Sandeman had uncovered, so that everyone who didn't have that particular gene sequence would die. They didn't think that Sandeman would dare inculcate the gene sequence in his… abominations. They didn't think he would betray them that much. This paper talks about their excitement at finding the right virus.
But the first trail failed; failed so spectacularly that they had to evacuate the whole city because of an escaped Bio-toxin, killing hundreds of ordinaries. The Pulse happened before they could finish the virus and when all systems shut down, it escaped."
Skye gaped. "Are you saying—?"
Aiden swallowed. "They were the ones to poison Terminal City and they did it because of us."
Before Skye and Nyx could take that on board, Aiden dropped the next bombshell, its echo resounding all around.
"And they plan to do it again."
>>>>
"Sir?"
Lydecker looked up from his files to see Otto and Mendez standing in front of him, their arms behind they back in a proper gesture of respect to the veteran and their superior.
"What can I do for you gentlemen?" he asked as he placed the papers down showing that he found them worthy of his time.
Otto cleared his throat. "We have something that we thought you should see, sir."
"Anything to do with our resident… complication?" his eyebrow rose quizzically.
"No, sir," Mendez said quickly. "This has nothing to do with him. It's good news, sir."
"Excellent." Lydecker rubbed his aching head. Between fighting through hours of paperwork and trying to anticipate what the transgenics would do now, as well as pacify and utilise Bill Maclay and keep an eye on Ames White, he was developing a 24 hour headache.
He just wasn't as young as he used to be.
He stood up and placed the vital papers aside. "What is it?"
The two men led him into one of the rooms off to one side and closed the door.
Lydecker was intrigued by their level of secrecy.
"After glancing over the notes that you requisitioned for us from Manticore," Otto began, "we have been able to anticipate, if not predict patterns of behaviour and have actually captured five transgenics this week."
"Which is far more than we were able to do previously," Mendez added. "As per your orders they have been shipped to… the location you specified."
Lydecker nodded in appreciation at their complicity.
"But we wanted to find some other way of discovering those transgenics who were more reticent at revealing themselves."
"Bring it home, boys," Lydecker asked for clarification.
Otto proudly turned to a small computer console on the table and showed Lydecker the white and blue figures walking around on it.
"What am I looking at?"
"It's a thermal imager. Fifth generation," said Mendez. "Very high sensitivity."
"Now tell me why I should care," Lydecker said, not unkindly.
Otto looked at him nervously. "As we were going over the files we discovered several areas that differentiate transgenics from humans. One of these was that Transgenics either have a much higher core body temperature or much lower. Higher because they have mammalian DNA or colder because they have reptilian DNA. Desert moles are required to have warm blood to adapt better to humid conditions and Arctic rats to stay for long periods in sub-zero temperatures."
Lydecker nodded. It had been one of the few parts of their basic genetic makeup that he was asked to specifically train and develop. Long hours on the outside in thin clothes enabled the transgenics to get used to extremes in temperature and to force them to use their body's own natural predisposition to the weather to adapt.
"This machine is set up to scan the courtyard of the facility," Otto said. "See, humans are outlined in pale blue because the settings have been altered to reflect anything that is not 98 degrees."
"Now we'll aim it at the enclosure where we're keeping an X-series we picked up this morning in Wisconsin."
Lydecker watched as the clear outline of a small boy came on the screen in bright white.
"Set the thermal imager at 98 degrees, point it in a crowd—"
"And it picks out the transgenics," Lydecker smiled. "You boys have earned yourselves a bonus. Requisition as many of these as you can and get them out ASAP."
"Yes, sir," Mendez said with a salute.
"Do we inform Agent White?" Otto asked. "He might try to use them for nefarious reasons."
Lydecker grinned. "Let me tell him."
Otto nodded. "Very good, sir.
The two men left to carry out Lydecker's orders and left him in the room staring thoughtfully at the imager.
>>>>
Pix closed the file and stared up at Aiden who returned his serious look.
"If this gets out—" Pix began only to be interrupted by Alec.
"We'll be scheduled for our own nuclear attack. They'll wipe us out."
Aiden had asked Pix to call an emergency meeting as soon as he had finished collecting the files informing them of the conclave's plans.
Pix had recalled everyone who wasn't in the field and he had read the report out to them all.
Special Operations, Unit 8 and the '09ers were all sat in the stiflingly small conference room looking more than faintly disturbed at what they had heard.
Pensive faces lined the table.
Despite all of their differences and the way that they had each been raised, at this point they were all united in their tribulation.
Well, almost all.
Pix frowned at Alec for interrupting. "Thanks for that, Alec. Glad we're all on the same page."
Alec blinked at the tone of Pix's voice even as Ben hid a smirk.
"Why us?" Cece asked rubbing her stomach obliviously. "Surely this points to the cult, right? Won't they be mad at them?"
"The cult will put a spin on it," Aiden filled in for her. "As far as Joe Public is aware, the conclave doesn't exist. We do. This file basically says that the conclave wiped out the humans by mistake in trying to get rid of us. I can't see them being so cut up about it."
"End justifies the means," Zack added sardonically. "Sacrifices and all that."
"But the conclave would have to expose themselves," Chance said nervously. "Americans won't stand for them. They oppose and try to destroy anything that calls itself superior to the US of A. Have you guys not seen Independence Day?"
"Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic," Ben contradicted as he raked a hand through his hair studiously ignoring Drew and Dek who sat together at one end of the table.
She had tried to catch his attention when she walked in but he wasn't prepared to see her just yet, at least not with Dek.
"But a millennial breeding cult?" Dek folded his arms and leaned backwards on his chair. "Isn't that a little too…George Lucas, even for your average American to believe?"
"But we're not dealing with your average American," Carrot pointed out. "The files we found pointed out that the people who are manipulating the media and those in power are part of the cult."
"Not all the media," Tara said quietly.
There was a brief silence before several people groaned at the same time.
Max, Alec and Zack looked at each other.
"Eyes Only…again?"
"He is our best lead. He has a direct line to the people and, personal differences aside, they do trust him," Carrot sighed. "If only he wasn't such a pompous suck-ass."
Jay blinked. "What's a suck-ass? That one passed me by in common verbal."
Carrot just grinned and shrugged. "I made it up. But he is one."
"He's easily manipulated, which is what we want," Zack said brusquely. "He'll do as he's told."
"Is he a graduate of the Zack dog-school of training?" Ben scoffed. "Sit. Stay. Roll over."
"Play dead," Zack glared at him.
"You first," Ben retorted quickly.
Alec tried to hide a grin. At least he had found another person who disliked Zack as much as he did; pity it was Ben who he could stand even less.
"Guys!" Max held up her hand. "We don't need this right now."
Pix straightened shooting a look at Zan. "Max is right. But will Logan listen to you? Wait, why would he listen to you?"
Max frowned as she thought about it. "You know, I never actually asked you how you knew Eyes Only. He swore that he had no idea about any other transgenic." She glanced from Jace to Ben and back to Zack.
"That's what he said to us too." Carrot and Tara nodded in unison.
"We scared him," Zack said with a nasty smirk. "Must have been all that talk about death and destruction that did it. Either that or Ben who threatened to carve him up."
"Huh," Alec looked at Ben with a new interest. "He has a habit of being intimidated and threatened by us."
Ben shrugged. "It was no more than he deserved. We wanted to find Maxie and Manticore."
"What?" Max frowned, something feeling wrong in her stomach. "You knew I was in there?"
"No!" Zack hurried to reassure her. "It wasn't until after you and lover-boy met Ben that time. Ben called for us all to meet up and told us 'bout you."
"Oh," Max felt that something inside her ease off. She had seriously thought for a moment that they had known that she was alive in Manticore and that they had left her there to be hurt and harassed by Lydecker and his minions.
It had been something that she had always feared. She knew that Jondy had seen her fall under the ice and so couldn't have known that Max made it out alive, even if she had been recaptured.
But there was always some part of her that whispered incessantly that she had been left behind on purpose and that they knew exactly where she was.
It was more than a slight relief to have that belief refuted.
"We went to Eyes Only to help us to find Manticore's base in Seattle," Zack continued. "He had surveillance photos of the area and satellite pictures to help us pinpoint likely areas where the new holding facility was."
B.J. frowned thinking that through. The '09ers had known where the Seattle base was. They wanted Max out. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together and make an explosion.
"So you found us?" Emma said carefully, knowing full well what every single member of Special Ops was thinking.
"How else would we have incapacitated the facility?" Jace said.
There was silence so thick and painful that you could almost taste the hostility present in the air.
"You set fire to the facility?" Flex's voice was suspiciously calm but there was a hard edge that everyone who ever had the misfortune to see him annoyed recalled with uneasy clarity.
Ben and Zack exchanged glances but Jace seemed impervious to the undercurrents racing through the room and the sudden drop in temperature.
"Of course. We targeted the DNA labs to create the diversion and then we planned to break Max out."
Max crossed her arms over her chest as if defending herself against what she was hearing. "What?"
"Did you see them burn down the place?" Skye spat, her eyes hard and angry. "They torched it and us in it!"
"An unfortunate measure we had not anticipated."
There was a collective gasp.
"Unfortunate?"
"I'd say!"
"What the f—"
"What the hell gave you the right?"
"Who died and made you Lydecker?"
Jace blinked. "What is the problem? You made it out."
"Not all of us!" said Sunny with a shudder her mind turning over her last moments in the burning wreckage; the image of Mets' still hand imprinted on her memory.
"We had no idea that they'd implement the scorched Earth policy," Ben defended, folding his arms across his chest in a defensive posture. He wasn't happy to remember about that time.
"So that makes it all right?" Skye demanded. "You didn't know?"
"Hey!" Drew stood up, gaining Skye's attention. "Lay off 'em, okay. They didn't know… none of us could have known what would happen."
"Steve is dead! Mets is dead!" Skye shouted. "Ignorance does not excuse that."
"But we're out." Aiden interjected quietly. "I think that both Mets and Steve would agree that freedom is worth any sacrifice. Don't you?"
"I'd like to have given him the choice!" Skye choked. "It's all very well to say that Steve wouldn't have minded the sacrifice but he's not here to disagree, is he?"
Flex reached up and pulled her back down into her seat. "Exactly what were you thinking?"
Zack's eyes were cold and hard. "We wanted Max out."
"She had the opportunity to go," Alec pointed out just as coldly, "and yet she chose to stay."
"No!" Ben leaped to his feet. "She stayed because you made her. I was there, she was going to come with me but you blackmailed her into staying."
"Is that true, Max?" Pix turned to her, his expression unreadable. "Were you going to go?"
All eyes were on the brunette who stared them down. "I'd agreed to go with Ben." Max verified, feeling the gasps from Special Ops and Unit 8 as if they were knives. "He needed me. He was on his own and needed me."
For a moment it felt like she was back in Manticore with everyone staring at her for allowing Alec to be taken into Psy Ops. Her stomach turned and her hands clenched into fists as she stared into Pix's eyes.
Other than Alec and maybe Zack, Pix's was the opinion that she valued the most.
Maybe it was because he'd seen her back in Wyoming. He'd watched and been by her side when she had been thrown aside like garbage. He'd been there with her when they'd tried to kill her and he'd watched as neither of them tried to escape that day in the lake.
He knew and he understood what she had been through, what she had sacrificed, and he had never— NEVER—turned his back on her, not even for a second.
No matter what anyone else thought or did, Pix had been on her side, the first to defend her and she appreciated that more than she had ever said.
The deep blue eyes were deep and fathomless but slowly turned warmer until he nodded in understanding. He would have done the same.
The vice around Max's heart eased and she took a shaky breath, nodding her thanks.
Drew stood up and walked around the table to stand by Max, shaking her out of her reverie. "Skye. If Steve had made it out and one day turned to you and asked you to go with him, you would have gone. Biggs, if Chance had asked, you'd have done the same. If it had been Dek, I would have gone too. No one judges us for that."
"Loyalty counts!" B.J. maintained.
"Do you hate Anna?" Alec asked and everyone fell silent. "How about Coco? Neither of them are here."
"We were inside," B.J. said through gritted teeth. "That was different."
"You think I would have just left you all there?" Max demanded. "I know what was done to us all after the '09ers left. I knew that if I escaped too I would have to come back for you."
"Max the saviour," Cece mocked.
"Can it, Cece!" Biggs roared. "Is the baby messing with your already overactive bitch-gland? I swear one more nasty remark and I'll forget that you're pregnant and toss you outside myself."
"You and what army?" Cece retaliated.
"That'd be me," Zan spoke for the first time. "Lay off Max."
"You were an '09er too," Zack said, ignoring the others as he stared hard at Max, "in case you've forgotten."
"Exactly who are we pissed at now?" Emma said tearfully. "I've forgotten."
Aiden walked over and placed an arm around Emma's shoulder getting a glare from Zack for his trouble.
"B.J.," Max said and waited until he looked at her. "Do you think I would have left you?"
He looked down for a moment, remembering all the times that Max had stuck by them, all of her chances to escape when she had remained. He shook his head.
"No."
"Look, maybe their plan was ill advised and not thought through," Sunny assuaged. "But the end result is here. We are out, despite the casualties. I think that Mets and Steve would rather have us together and happy, than blaming each other for their deaths. Do we want to divide on this? Where else do you have to go, who else will accept you? Be pissed at the '09ers, be pissed at Max. But when it comes down to it, who do you love, who do you trust? Are you willing to give that up for 'what ifs'?"
Her quiet words reminded them all of what they did have. They had each other; no matter their fights and arguments, they belonged together.
"Is it time to hug and make up now?" Zack asked sarcastically.
Alec, Ben and Zan all opened their mouths to shout him down but were pre-empted, by Emma of all people.
She lurched out of her chair and grabbed him by the arm, marching him out of the room before they could draw in breath and they all heard the sharp sound of a sudden slap, loud in the air.
Ben and Jace winced and Max bit her lip, expecting to hear Zack roar with anger.
Silence.
Pix shrugged. "Well, if that's all that over and done with, maybe we should get back to discussing what to do about the threat from outside."
"I still say Logan is the best way to go," Carrot offered, his eyes on the door Emma had vanished through.
"So, someone should take him the files and ask him…politely, if he'll twist the broadcast for us?" Tara suggested.
"Someone who hasn't threatened him with bodily harm," Sunny requested with half a smile. "Or death and dismemberment."
"That rules out me," Ben said happily.
"And me," Max repeated sheepishly.
"Me too," Carrot scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
Jace gave him a calculating look. "Really?"
Carrot shrugged, his face red. "He pissed me off."
"Yeah," Tara said raising an eyebrow at the woman who was staring at her man. "Some people do that."
B.J. touched Jace's arm. "We could do it?" he offered. "Although I have no idea where he lives or what he looks like."
Pix grimaced at the thought of the quick-tempered B.J. on an ambassadorial mission to save them. They really shouldn't let him out… out—outside!
"Hey, how about I go?" Pix said quickly with a half-grin.
Alec shook his head. "It's a risk to send you out, Pix. You have all the details of Terminal City."
Ben cleared his throat and Pix sat up. "Are you saying that I'd spill about Terminal City, if I were caught?"
"No," Alec was taken aback by the attack. "I just meant that you were valuable."
Max shook her head, a tender smile on her face. "We wouldn't want to risk you, Pix. What if White is out there?"
Pix counted to ten. "I'm sure that you don't mean to be patronising, Max, so I'll let that slide. But I'm leader of Terminal City… or do you want the job after all?"
Max shook her head slowly, eyes intent on him. "No."
"Then, as leader here, I say I go."
"I don't agree with that," Alec said, concerned about Pix leaving the facility with White and Lydecker on the loose. Actually he wasn't comfortable with leaving the job to anyone but himself.
"Objection noted, and disregarded," Pix gave him a short smile. "I'm going."
He gave Ben a pointed look from under his lashes and it took Ben several seconds to catch on.
"Yeah!" he grimaced at his slow uptake. "Pix should definitely go. Uh, Logan appreciates authority and Pix has the sense of humour thing that I think would appeal to him. Probably see him as less of a threat—"
Pix glowered.
"—wrongfully, but he doesn't know that," Ben added quickly. "Pix should go."
There was a bang under the table.
"I agree," Zan seconded with a quick smile, rubbing his bruised leg. "Pix needs the air—exposure—uh, Pix should go."
Pix rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the support, guys."
Alec looked dubiously at the three of them, his eyes lingering on an oddly triumphant Ben. "Well, if you really want to?"
Pix regarded Alec seriously. "Yes. Call it an executive decision from the top." Sensing that Alec really was concerned and wasn't just trying to push him out, Pix thawed a bit. "This is an Ordinary, okay, I'll be gone an hour tops."
"Have fun," Ben cheered. "Pick us up some beer."
"And grape nuts," added Zan, smiling at Ben who peered at him suspiciously.
"Are they actually made of grapes?"
Zan shrugged. "They just sound cool."
Pix laughed. "You know, I think the trouble with reality is that there is no background music. I think our conversations would go something like—"
"Bohemian Rhapsody?" suggested Ben.
Dek leaned over to B.J. "Do you get the feeling we've been usurped?"
"Yeah," B.J. pouted.
Pix just stood up, grabbed his jacket and the files, shoving them into the inner pockets of his coat. His step quickened as he realised that he would be outside soon.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Max worried her lower lip. "You will be careful, right?"
"I'll be fine, Mom!" Pix rolled his eyes as he walked out of the door. "It's just ordinaries. How bad can it be?"
Alec watched Pix walk out the door and turned to Ben. "Did you goad him into doing that?"
Zan stood immediately. "Oh, so Pix can't make his own decisions, right?"
Alec shrugged, not wanting to get into it with everyone around. "Whatever. I'm just saying he was pretty hostile."
"And you were so supportive."
Alec glared at both Zan and Ben before stalking off.
"Do you think we made him mad?" Zan asked.
Ben shrugged. "You know what they say; if you aren't on someone's shit list, then you're not doing anything worthwhile."
Elfie- Who can we put Ben with then? Anna? How scary would that be?
Susamaroos
Alecygoodness22
Electricgurl
Moonlite star
Sweet tweety06- I'll forgive you. It's nice to see you again. How are your fic's going?
Lotamoxie
Blackrose9- No plans for a Bulli resurface right now, but we will have to see!
Kim- LOL, yeah I did post PO before I did this so it's kinda outta sync, but that makes it more fun! No one's dead…yet.
Mae- LOL, I made you squeal!
Allison lightning
Angel Of Darkness231
Rowenna Luna
JG- Hope it was worth the wait!
Toniboo
Mystic Fayth
A reader- Drew and Max get along so well it would have been a shame for the Dek thing to come between them. Glad it didn't.
PrecariousEm
Fluorescence- Techie and Isacar make such a great team, don't they?
Grey daze's nirvana
Ro- I take it you like Ben then?
Eden- Bena dn Alec seem to be a big favourite here. So glad. I love their banter.
Feenian- Hey babe! Wondered if you'd fallen off the planet or just off the ship! You want a happy ending? From ME! I thought you said that you had read them all? LOL. See what I can do.
SakuraAkira365
Abandon structure- so sorry that I almost caused you to die in horrific, horrible ways, but hey at least you like the story. I love your screen name btw. Love, Jerk.
Werrieanna- I really, really would like to say that this is it, but I have more than sneaking suspicion that this could go on…and on, and on and on. The teams will get funnier and yeah, Lydecker doesn't stand a chance!
Crazy-VampireSlayer
Elyra "Darkwynde" Haliwell
Spuffyshipper- I am so glad that you enjoy it so much. Supernatural is great isn't it? I love Dean and his sarcasm is just so Alec! Glad that you exhibited great taste in being a MA shipper, now all we have to do is get you away from the Spuffy-ness and you'll be great! (A devoted Spillowist!)
Original Proxy
Sigma1
Lynsi
Geminangel
Mely's the Name- LOL, so you want Alec to win? Hmm, I could see that somehow. Poor Ben. I love Tcehie and Isacar, I had no idea that they would work so well. I was actually thinking of Zeph and Techie, but Isacar seemed to be there instead.
Blueean452- You have a habit of falling out of your chair. Maybe you should get one with stabilisers? LOL.
Pinkflipflop3- Ahh, someone who loves BJ. I will have to have more of him in the next chapter then.
Meri24
Alea21
Princess Incognito.
also to those who offered to beta for me and my own excellent beta Itay!