Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters do not belong to me, but the plot is mine. This fan-fiction had been written purely for entertainment purposes. No infringement was intended and no profit had been made out of this.
A/N: Once again, thank you for reviewing! More action coming up, and I hope that you'll enjoy it.
Irresistible Rivals - Chapter 3
(by elle6778)
The facility they congregated in used to be some sort of lab, but it had since been converted into their Operational Base. Little cube-shaped air purifiers were stuck at various spots on the white walls and the benches which at one time used to house test tubes and lab equipments were now covered with computers and all sorts of electronic devices.
The transgenics just stared at the screen, their expression a mix of shock and bewilderment. The hum of machines and the clicking of fingers on keyboards around them went unnoticed.
"The head honchos at Unitech will not be too happy to hear this," Zane commented gravely, scratching him chin.
Eva took her eyes off the screen. "That's one problem. With the guy dead, how are we going to get the completed blueprint? As far as we know, what we downloaded should only be the work in progress version. Unitech wanted us to keep an eye on him so that we can learn more about the project," she added, her expression broadcasting her worry.
Max groaned. The mission had been fine until some idiot decided to kill their source of information. Now they would probably have to go back in to dig amongst his stuff. Great!
"We only caught the top of the shooter's head as he exited the room. It's a male. The transmitter wasn't in place yet when he entered the room, so we can't see his face," Jack said. Then he gestured to the guy behind the computer. "Mack's trying to refine the image. I don't know, maybe we can catch his reflection somewhere."
"I doubt that'll work," Mack, the only Ordinary in the room, said. "Most of the surfaces in the room are non-reflective. Well, those in the camera's range anyway."
Max compressed her lips. If only she had stayed a little longer in that room, they would know who the shooter was.
Eva must have read her mind. "It's just as well that you're out by then. Or else he might have tried to hurt you," she said as she tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
Max snorted in derision. "Gun or not, I think I can handle him."
"You were unarmed, Max," Jack pointed out gently, almost hesitantly. Then he ploughed on. "The odds are not good, even for a transgenic."
Max scowled but did not say anything. Had it been anyone else who had said that, she would have argued. But this was Jack, the quietest of all of them, and the last thing she wanted to do was to hurt his feelings.
"What are we going to do now? We were counting on being able to spy on the guy and now someone has gone and wasted him," Zane said, scratching his head this time. "What about the information on Max's pen drive?"
Jack pointed in the direction of another IT room. "Those guys are working on it now. We'll know if it's of any use to us in a couple of hours. All we know is that this is only part of the engineering drawings. We were counting on the surveillance to give us more leads."
"So which part do we have now?" Zane asked.
Jack replied, "Davies's expertise is mainly energy related, so I think he must have been hired to design the power source. I'm guessing we have the plans for that."
"Is that all?" Max exclaimed incredulously. "So we're nowhere near the whole weapon."
"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Eva said with a sigh. "The guy who's organising the contract knows what he's doing. He split the whole weapon into parts and contracted different people to design each part. It's quite likely that he's the only one who knows how to assemble it."
Max frowned. This was more complicated than she had thought. "Who is it?"
"We don't know. The guy went through a whole lot of middlemen before it even got to our contact. That's why Davies is so important," Eva explained. "We could have traced the stuff backwards."
"That's just great. It sounds like a dead end," Max remarked with a scowl.
Jack shook his head. "Not necessarily. We can go back in. There must be clues as to who this guy is."
Max groaned.
Zane yawned. 'Well, I'm going to catch some shut eye." Then, pausing mid-stretch, he asked, "Heard anything from the rest yet?"
Pressing a few buttons on the keyboard in front of Mack, Jack replied absently, "I heard from Zack earlier. Syl and Krit are still with him. They're working on finding some of the physicians who can help Brin. Not sure about Tinga and Jondy's location. They haven't reported back today. Seth has completed his mission and will be back in a couple of days." Then with quick glance at Max, Jack continued, "He asked for you. I told him you were out on mission."
Grinning impishly, Zane teased, "Aw, Seth misses Max. How sweet."
Shooting him a murderous glare, Max snapped, "Shut up."
The on and off thing between Seth and her had started about half a year ago, during one of her heats. Seth had been there and one thing led to another. She and Seth were never like siblings, but more like friends even back in Manticore. So it had not been too weird. But she had never felt comfortable talking about it to the rest of their siblings, and having Zane tease her about it was the last thing she wanted.
But Zane being Zane did not give up so easily. "Ah, I get it. So that's why you're so cranky. Suffering from a case of withdrawal, huh?"
"I thought you were going to sleep. Better move soon, those wrinkles are showing," Max said nastily.
Zane glared at her. "I'll-"
"Leave her alone, Zane," Eva ordered in an attempt to prevent a brawl.
Zane ceased his verbal teasing but waggled his eyebrows at Max.
In turn, Max rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, grow up, will you!"
At a nudge from Mack, Jack turned back to a refined version of the video recording. "Guys, this is the best we can get for now."
"Someone sure knows how to mess things up," Max grumbled as she watched the screen. The only visible part of the shooter was the back of his head and his shoulders as he turned to leave the room.
Then she frowned and peered closer at the screen.
Was it her imagination or was there something familiar about the shooter?
"He looks familiar," she said.
Jack gave her a questioning glance. "We still can't see his face, Max. What's familiar about him?"
"I don't know. I can't quite place it," Max said, irritated at herself for not remembering.
"The place was packed. It's not impossible that you might have seen him earlier in the night," Eva pointed out.
Max nodded. "Yeah, I guess." She was not convinced, though.
"Go get some rest," Eva advised gently, patting Max's shoulders.
As usual, Eva was being the mother hen, Max thought with amusement. Knowing that it was useless to tell Eva that she did not want to go back yet, Max resigned herself to do as she was told.
494 stood at attention in front of a very displeased Renfro.
"This is unacceptable, 494. The information on the weapons blueprint is incomplete. Explain yourself," she ordered.
His years of training made it possible for him to remain calm while he replied, "Ma'am, I have downloaded everything on the terminal as ordered. There was nothing to suggest to me at that time that the information was incomplete."
"And Samuel Davies?"
"Eliminated," he replied crisply.
Renfro's lips tightened into a thin, lipstick-covered line. "I see. Which means that we have no way of finding out where is the rest of the information."
494 held his tongue. What he really wanted to do was to ask where she got her information from. Surely her source should have told her what to expect. As for the assassination, that was part of his orders, which incidentally, had been signed by Renfro herself. What did she expect him to do? Ask Davies if any information was missing from his drive before killing him?
Now, she was looking at him as if that would provide any answers to their problem. 494 resisted the urge to return her glance, instead, he kept his eyes focussed at an invisible point two metres in front of him.
"The mansion has been cordoned off, I heard," she finally said.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied. The police had arrived just after he left.
Renfro appeared to be deep in thought. Then she said, "You will return to the mansion. There must be some leads there."
494 agreed. "Yes, ma'am."
"You will need a partner on this one. Take X5-511 with you. I believe that he's your regular mission partner? Good. You will leave tomorrow morning."
After a few more 'yes's, 494 snapped a smart salute to Renfro and finally left the room.
Closing the door behind him, he allowed himself to exhale freely.
Rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully, he started to make his way to the mess hall. So, he was going back in tomorrow with 511. It annoyed him that it was necessary for them to return. After all, he prided himself on the success of his missions.
But he knew that this one went sideways through no fault of his. Even a transgenic like him could not tell that the weapons blueprint was incomplete without actually studying it. If anyone was to blame, it would be Renfro's sources.
What was the point of him thinking about it now? Hell, he could not care less about it. Renfro was the one making the decisions.
All he has to do was to follow orders.
Easy.
The sky was just turning dark when 494 and 511 were dropped off a couple of miles from the mansion. When they arrived at the building, the police had already left. They approached carefully, keeping in mind the fact that there should still be some security present in the place.
They were not particularly bothered normally. Security guards were not a problem if you were a transgenic. But they have been warned to keep a low profile.
In a flash, 494 made it from the perimeter wall to the nearest balcony. A agile leap later, he was two floors up, pulling himself over the ornate cast iron balcony railings.
494 crept stealthily along the narrow ledge, his feline reflexes helping him to keep his balance. Two storeys below, he could see a black shape streaking across the lawn to the security hut. Like him, 511 was dressed in snug-fitting black, long-sleeved turtleneck and black combat trousers to help them blend into the night. Both of them have backpacks strapped across their chests.
When he arrived at the window to Davies's study, he reached for the device in his left pocket.
"511, you got the perimeter alarms?" he spoke softly into his comms.
"Affirmative, 494. It was a piece of cake. The guards were asleep when I got here but I sprayed them anyway. Disabling the alarms? Way too easy. So the place's all yours now," 511 replied.
"Thanks, man," 494 said as he held the glasscutter to the window.
A minute later, the double glazed window panel has a new opening the size of 32-inch plasma screen television. 494 smiled in satisfaction. That should be big enough for him to jump through safely if things got heated up inside. Anyway, 511 has his back, so there should not be any unexpected surprises.
It was dark inside, but he did not have any problems seeing what was around him. The wall on his left was lined with a row of polished wood cabinets. The other wall was clear bar a large crooked painting on the wall. The computer terminal sat on a desk between the two walls.
494 sighed. It was going to take some time for him to find the information, especially since he had no specific target. The information was likely to be kept in some filing system in the cabinets and the computer terminal, he figured.
He started at one side of the room. Left to right, he decided. The panel slid open silently when he pulled at it, displaying papers filed in alphabetical order. He flipped through it rapidly, his eyes scanning for any information that might be relevant. What he needed was some leads as to where Manticore could find the rest of the blueprint.
Nothing, he thought as he pushed the cabinet shut and moved on to the next one. A couple of folders caught his attention and he put in his backpack. Manticore could go through it more thoroughly, he thought.
Just as he progressed to the next cabinet, he thought that he saw something out of place. Backtracking, he went back to the junction between the second and the third cabinet. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. A small shiny black object about 5mm in diameter was stuck between the cabinets, next to a nail. It was very well hidden. Without his enhanced eyesight, he probably would not have spotted it.
Understanding too well the purpose of the object, he turned away from it quickly.
"511?" he called out, his voice very quiet.
"Yeah?"
"Can you see me on any of the surveillance monitors?" he asked, hoping for an affirmative answer from 511.
511 went silent for a while. Then he replied, "Negative, 494. No cameras in the room you're in. What's the problem?"
Oh hell! "I think I found a bug," he said gravely.
"You think we've been compromised?"
"Almost certain. I need to move faster before whoever it is who planted this bug arrives. Keep a good watch around you."
"Copy that, 494."
494 went on to the third and thankfully, last cabinet. Stuffing another folder which looked as if it has potential for useful information, he then moved to the computer and switched it on. Come on, come on, he thought impatiently as he waited for the machine to boot up.
Once it was on, he went straight to the root directory and scanned it rapidly. Although he knew that it was unlikely, he just needed to confirm if there was something more in there that he had missed in the first round.
He was only halfway through when 511's voice came through his comms.
"494, we've got company."
Without looking up from the screen, 494 said, "How many?"
"I got visual on one. He's heading right to the house."
This was all he needed; complications. Renfro would rip him into pieces if he did not turn up with some useful information this time. Never mind that he had actually followed her orders to the letter the last time. "Can you stall him? I'm almost done," 494 said tightly.
"Affirmative, 494."
He went back to scanning the screen, scrolling through the directory as fast as he could. It seemed that he had managed to get most of the stuff last night. He frowned, wondering where else could it be kept. Perhaps it was in some hidden directory.
Realising that he would not have the time to crack any codes the computer might have, especially considering that he was being monitored by some unknown party, 494 made a decision.
Extracting a toolkit from the pocket next to his right thigh, he began to unscrew the back of the computer casing. A few moments later, he slid the hard-disk out of its compartment and dropped it into his back. Those techies back at Manticore could analyse it to their heart's content, he smirked.
Satisfied that he had taken all he could, 494 turned to leave.
A small sound behind him made him turn around abruptly, his body poised for a fight.
And then he froze.
His eyes rounded, unable to believe what his eyes were telling him.
The girl from the party, the one dressed in white and smelled like citrus and flowers had just walked out from what appeared to be a hidden opening behind the crooked painting. This time, she was not dressed in white. Like him, she was covered from head to toe in form-fitting black, an attire most suited for covert work. Her hair was down, curling softly around her face, making her look very young an innocent.
She was also staring at him, the incredulity on her face probably mirroring his own.
What the hell was she doing here?
The scent of citrus and flowers which had preceded him wherever he had gone last night at the party, the tiny black bugs and the sleeping guards began to make sense. There was no doubt in his mind that she was there on some covert business. And right now, she has a full backpack with her. It was likely that she was here for the same thing that he came for.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in a hard voice, at the same time as she snapped, "Who are you?"
They glared at each other silently, neither of them willing to answer the questions.
He watched as she inched away from the painting, shutting it with a click behind her. 494's eyes narrowed. She obviously did not want him to gain access into the room. What was in there?
Her chin lifted as she watched him warily. "So it was you after all."
He frowned. "Me after all? What are you talking about?"
"You wasted Davies," she said coldly, her eyes not leaving him for a second as she continued to inch away from him.
494 stiffened at the accusation. "And it was you who planted the bugs," he said needlessly, gesturing around the room.
She rolled her eyes. "Smile, you're on candid camera," she said flatly.
His brow furrowed in confusion. "Huh?" What was she going on about?
She let out a sigh. "Never mind," she muttered.
Enough of the idle conversation. "I'm asking you, who are you working for?" he asked, his tone threatening.
She raised her eyebrows, completely unfazed. "Or what?" she challenged.
He could not help but admire her guts, but then again, she did not know that he was a genetically engineered super-soldier. But if she did not tell him what he wanted to know soon, she might find out the hard way.
"I don't want to hurt you. So for the last time, who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded to know.
To his irritation, she merely snorted dismissively. "Yeah, like I'm going to go around telling everyone the very last detail of myself. But hey, why don't you go first and then we'll see? Who know? I may feel generous enough to introduce myself."
"Oh, I though the saying is 'ladies first'?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, there's also this thing called equality. Or haven't you heard of it? And I'm not telling you anything."
"Fine, it's your call," he said just a fraction of a second before he lunged at her, intending just to pin her down. Then maybe she would talk.
To his surprise, she saw it coming and sidestepped the attack.
He turned to face her. Not bad, he thought.
They circled each other warily.
Her legs came up suddenly in an impossibly high roundhouse kick. 494 ducked, but her boots managed to graze the side of his head, its force making him stagger sideways. Two more spinning kicks in succession came towards him. He immediately lowered himself and returned with a kick of his own, sweeping her feet off the floor.
She fell and instantly rolled back up onto her feet, seemingly unaffected by the fall.
Alec frowned. She's good. Very good, he reluctantly admitted. Whoever she was, she had been trained well.
494 heard her fist coming towards him before he saw it. He raised his hand just in time to block her punch. Lowering his hands quickly, he grabbed her arm before she could retract it and twisted it behind her, bringing her face to face with him. She gasped when he used the force of his body to push her down onto the desk.
"Enough?" he asked, his breath fanning the strands of dark hair which has fallen across her face.
"You wish!" she growled.
They were pressed tight against each other. 494 told himself to ignore the generous curves pressed against him and the subtle scent of citrus and flowers as it drifted up to him. Then he increased the twisting pressure around her arm, watching her wince in pain. "Give up?"
"Bite me!" shesnarled. Thenshe suddenly shifted back and slammed her body hard against his.
Caught by surprise, he fell to the floor. She could not have done that without dislocating her shoulders, he thought in puzzlement. And then he felt a small bump beneath him, just where he landed and quickly got up to look.
When he saw the red button on the floor next to the desk, he almost groaned. Hell, a silent alarm, he noted with a grimace. There goes their low profile mission.
The girl had seen it too. Her eyes were wide as the implications sank in.
Both of them started to speak into their comms at the same time.
"Silent alarm tripped. Evacuate now," he said into his. He glanced quickly at the painting hiding the inaccessible room. He guessed that he would not have a chance to look in there now. Probably nothing left in there anyway. The girl had been in there for who knew how long and would have taken everything by now. His eyes went to her backpack and a thoughtful expression crossed his face.
"The idiot tripped the alarm. We've got to go," she said into hers.
He glowered at her. "Who're you calling an idiot? You're the one who pushed me onto the alarm, lady."
"Don't call me lady," she snapped irritably.
He smirked. "Yeah, I guess it's quite inappropriate."
"Oh, shut up! You've messed things up enough."
He gave her an incredulous look. "And I'm supposed to appreciate your interference?"
"I got here first, alright?" she pointed out. A smug expression flashed momentarily across her face. "You're too late."
His eyes went to her backpack and then quickly back to her face. Smirking, he asked softly, "Is that a challenge?"
"You can read it however you want." Then she walked to the window. Glancing over her shoulders, she said with a saccharine sweet smile, "Thanks for the exit, by the way."
He opened his mouth to retort, but she had already jumped out of the window.
t.b.c.
A/N: Ha, now they know that there's a little bit more to each of them than just pretty faces. (Grins) Send me a review to let me know what you think of this chapter!