Chapter 2: This should scare you

She sighed as she flicked through the channels in boredom, nothing decent was on so she was forced to sit and wait. Last night had been amazing, downright earth-shattering, he gave as well as he got and even more; his stamina enabled them to spend the late part of last night into the early morning in a physical bliss. When his stomach growled loudly, he grinned sheepishly and went to buy them something to eat and here she was waiting for him.

Her hand stilled midair, eyes opening with surprise and disbelief; she raised the volume of the TV and listened:

CHANNEL EIGHT ANCHORWOMAN: "It's been six days since the brutal attack on police officers at the hands of the so-called 'transgenic'... "

She clicked again

CHANNEL SIX ANCHORMAN: Police officials are still refusing to comment on the shocking footage, exhibiting...

"Oh… this is bad… this is so, so very bad" she muttered.

"What is bad?" asked Biggs as he locked the door behind him, dumping their late breakfast at the bed.

"This" as she pointed at the TV


" Yesterday the attorney for the officers addressed the media at a press conference.

ATTORNEY: As soon as we find the parties responsible for unleashing these transgenics, we'll be seeking damages in the tens of millions."

Biggs grabbed the remote and clicked on the remote, shutting off the TV.

"Why were you saying 'this is bad'? Do you even know what is a transgenic?" he asked as he unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite.

"C'mon Biggs, we all know what Manticore was really about. Mixing human DNA with different animals to create the perfect solider. Well looks to me the early experiments weren't so successful" she took a sip of her coffee and looked at him. He seemed nervous, on edge as if waiting for the other shoe to drop in anytime now.

"How come you know so much about Manticore?" he asked, shoulders tense and eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Through the guy that interrupt my favorite scene in every god-damn movie. Eyes Only. You know he was the first to expose the location of Manticore and conveniently a children hospital burned down at the exact same time. Me thinks the children hospital was just a coverage for Manticore." She said the last part in a shrug as if unsure of her theory.

"Eyes Only?" he questioned puzzled.

"Yeah, some guy with a hero complex; trying to save the world by exposing bad people to the public or whatever. Whenever the urge hits him, he makes his statement through a cable hack, the same hack that will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and according to him and I quote 'and it is the only free voice left in this city'. Like we give a shit" she tossed her sandwich wrapper in the waste bin and stood to face him.

"So what are you? X4, X5?" she didn't notice but her tone hardened like her eyes, her whole posture screamed authority.

"X5-511, Ma`m" he stood straighter, eyes emotionless; staring blankly at an imaginary spot past her shoulder.

"Why in the hell you would call me Ma`m?" she question flabbergasted.

"You outrank me, Ma`m" still the same blank mask.

She sighed "At ease, solider" and with that his shoulders relaxed, his eyes returning normal; full of life and mischief.

"You said last night you were passing through, any particular destination in mind?" she asked him as she opened the faucet to wash her hands, her voice dimming slightly from where he stood.

"Seattle, Ma`m. But now there is a superior officer here, I'll wait for your orders and follow you." He still stood tall but far more relaxed than earlier.

"Follow me?" she asked stupidly.

"You ranked at the top of the Chain of Command back in Manticore. You are an Alpha ma`m, it is my job to follow your orders"

"An Alpha? Believe me Biggs I ain`t one" she sighed.

"Ma`m?"

"I am an 09-er, Biggs a traitor. The ones you were taught to loathe." She explained.

"With all do respect Ma`m. You used to be an 09-er, and Renfro declared you fit for duty 8 years ago. You are one of us and will remain so" he said with much conviction. So she was the one that was captured and returned home to us, didn't recognize her. he thought. How could you when all you saw of her back at Manticore was her back and all you heard was rumors, a voice suspiciously coming from inside his head, said.

"Where is your CO? Aren't you suppose to follow him?" she waited for his answer.

"He was on a retrieval mission outside the compound when the fire started and I haven't heard anything from him."

"Your unit?"

"Three of us didn't make it, two were on a deep cover mission and I don't know about the rest" his eyes shone with sadness.

"So why Seattle?" she laced her boots and stood to face him again.

"I got word that it's transgenic center over there, so I am heading there to check it out" he looked puzzled as why she was dressed.

"Let's make a couple of things clear. Under no circumstances, you don't call me ma`m. To anyone but us we act normal and stop looking at my ass" she said and he had the decency to blush.

"So we are going?" he asked hopeful.

"Let's head out early, buy us a couple more hours" she headed toward the door and turned to look back at him "Hey Biggs"

"Yeah?"

"Name's Vada"