Chapter 13: Friend or Foe?
Director's Office, Manticore
Just then, a commotion at the door diverted their attention as 452 barged right past the guards posted outside the Director's office. She was clearly upset. Before she had a chance to say anything; however, she saw Lydecker, and everything she was going to say was suddenly forgotten.
The guards burst through the door as well, with the intention of restraining the out-of-control transgenic, but Lydecker stopped them moments before Max would break their arms.
"I'll handle it from here," he told the soldiers as they took out their tazors. "Go back to your posts."
The soldiers looked at Renfro, who simply nodded. They reluctantly put their tazors away and left.
Lydecker turned to Max, who was clearly confused by his presence. He withheld a smile as he could see from what she had just done that she had not broken. She was still Max. "Why don't you follow me back to my office...Max."
Max briefly looked over to Renfro before nodding. What she had to say to the Director could wait. She was still trying to process the emotions going through her right now as the possibilities of what Lydecker's presence could mean materialized. Not only that, but Lydecker's presence reminded her of everything else that had happened in her life, unlocking the rest of her forgotten memories. It even reminded her of Logan and the last moments she shared with him before she died on Manticore grounds. Her memory of Logan reminded her of all her other memories of Logan. Her old life was fresh in her mind, as if everything had just happened yesterday. It was quite overwhelming.
Lydecker led the way to his office. His papers and belongings were still there, as he didn't have a chance to clear out when they decided to take him out, and no one else had bothered to clear the office space. He closed the door behind him and told Max to take a seat. Max did so and waited patiently for his explanation.
"So I see you're alive and well," Lydecker began.
"Why are you here?" she asked, clearly not as patient as she imagined.
Lydecker sighed, "Not very patient, are we?"
Max crossed her arms, knowing the news wasn't exactly going to be good. "For your sake, I hope you're not giving me a reason to snap your neck in less than a minute."
"Max, they wanted me back."
"And clearly you agreed!" Max observed in disgust. "You said you wanted to take down Manticore! How could you just come back?!"
"I told you the vision I had. They're giving me a chance to make that vision real, Max, and they need my guidance. I'm the only one experienced enough with all of you to know your strengths...and weaknesses."
"So am I suppose to fear you again now that you're back to being the bad guy?"
"Max, I'm not here to make your life miserable."
"It's too late for that. You told us destroying the DNA lab would bring Manticore down! All it did was create a breeding program."
"Yes, I read about that. I'm sorry Max."
Max froze. The colonel was...apologizing?
"I don't need your apology," she scoffed, still being stubborn.
"Max, I only joined under one other condition."
"And what might that be?"
"That I was given control over the search for the escapees – a search, which I promise to you will not exist."
Max looked at Lydecker now in disbelief. "You're...letting them go?" she asked in surprise. "How do I know you're not lying?"
Lydecker chuckled before replying, "Why would I lie to you about something like this?" Lydecker had decided on the night they blew up the DNA lab together that his kids had earned their freedom. He knew his kids – they would not expose themselves. They were good at keeping secrets, and Manticore was a secret that needed to be kept. He trusted them with it. There were enough genetically enhanced super soldiers to go around. They could be spared...for now.
"I don't know. To get me to go along with some plan of yours that I have yet to realize?" she accused.
Lydecker reclined in his chair. "You're never going to trust me."
"Why should I ever trust the enemy?"
"If you want to go back to being enemies, soldier, that can easily be arranged."
Max glared at the colonel, but he had a point. She was just too stubborn to admit it. "What do you want?"
"Why don't we start by why you came barging into the Director's office in the manner you did?"
"She was unfairly punishing someone from my unit, preventing him from training with us today."
"You know soldiers don't have a say in that."
"Class A treatment for putting salt in coffee?" she questioned.
Lydecker sighed. That does sound a bit harsh. "Did she have any other reasons?"
Max looked away as she muttered, "Me. She wanted answers I didn't give her, so she tried to extract it from him."
Lydecker understood now what had happened, having heard about the pressure The Committee placed on Renfro. Renfro wanted to know how Unit 9 was doing so well. With Max being Max, when Renfro asked, she didn't tell Renfro a thing.
"You're not going to tell me either, are you?" Lydecker questioned.
"Wouldn't you rather figure it out yourself, Don?" she challenged.
Lydecker revealed a small smile. "I would, and I prefer Deck."
There was a brief silence before Max spoke again.
"Tell me something...how is...Logan?" Max asked suddenly, her voice revealing the sadness she felt.
Lydecker sighed, not wanting to be the one delivering the news, but if Max was going to be a good soldier, she needed to move on and forget the past. She needed to make amends before it was too late. "After you died...he didn't take it too well. He spent months grieving, and when he couldn't take it anymore, he jumped off the top of his building three months ago."
Lydecker knew she would want proof, so he ran an Internet search with the obituaries posted on the Seattle Post dating back from when Logan jumped.
Max covered her mouth in shock and horror. She had feared Logan would attempt suicide when he lost his ability to walk, but he didn't because she had been there for him. Now he did because she wasn't there. She sunk into her chair as grief hit her unexpectedly. A tear slid down her cheek, as she was lost in her memories of them together.
Lydecker said nothing, allowing her silence to grieve for her loss. A few minutes later, Max had composed herself. Now was not the time, especially in front of Lydecker, she reminded herself. "So I guess this is it then. As soon as I walk out of here, we go back to playing our roles," she stated without emotion. Her mask was back in place.
Lydecker nodded. "It's the only way things can be, but Max, just so we're clear, I won't let anything happen to you that you don't have coming your way," he promised.
Max knew he was referring to situations like that of her sister Tinga. She nodded in appreciation and stood up to leave. "Deck, I'm sure you know that if given the chance, I don't intend on staying, and no amount of Psy-Ops will change that."
Lydecker nodded, "I know, and I'm sure you know I'll be doing everything in my power to stop you."
Max smiled slightly, "I know." Although they were enemies, they could still be acquaintances...to some degree.
"One more thing, Max."
Max turned again to face him.
"How long did they keep you in Psy-Ops?"
Max was taken by surprise and didn't know if she wanted to reply, but she knew he would eventually find out from looking it up in her file anyway. "Seven months."
Lydecker just nodded. "Hmm..."
Max shrugged and left. There was nothing she could do about it now.
Rec Room, Manticore
It was the middle of the week and Unit 9 was exhausted. After seeing how well they functioned as a unit, as well as individuals, the trainers just kept pushing them harder and harder. It was pre-determined by now that Unit 9 would easily defeat Unit 2. The trainers were now training them to catch up to the other classes. Some of them even were thinking of going as far as teaching them things from Class Alpha, but only after a few more weeks of practice – perhaps before the Skills Assessment Period.
All Unit 9 wanted now was a break from work.
"God I'm tired," Dart announced. "I don't ever remember working this hard," he complained.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Tri agreed. "That's coming from former Class Alpha members."
The others rolled their eyes, but agreed. "You don't mean to say Class Alpha is easier than this class, do you?" Fin questioned.
"Well, the techniques are more complicated in Class Alpha," Dart explained. "Right now, they're just working us to death with a bit less complicated techniques."
"Well, I think I prefer complicated and less work than more work and less complicated," Ammo stated, massaging his sore muscles.
Gai sighed. "From the looks of it, they're preparing us for something."
"Well, the Skills Assessment Period is coming up," Viper pointed out.
"That's true. But do you think they might actually be preparing us for Class Alpha?" Joy questioned.
"Of course they're preparing us for Class Alpha."
Everyone turned to see who spoke. Some couldn't mask their surprise when they realized it was Kev. Kev had been passing through, or so it seemed, and had decided to input her opinion. Kev just shrugged and walked away, continuing along her way and keeping a smile to herself.
"Did Kev just speak to us?" Nic asked, surprised.
"That...she did." Ammo confirmed.
"Think she's warming up to us?" Cody wondered.
"It's Kev. Who knows," Tri answered.
"Anyone know where Max is?" Fin asked. She had been missing these few nights.
"Maybe she's with Alec," Gai mused.
"I don't think so," Joy stated. "She's been a bit down lately, kind of as if she were grieving."
"You think something may be wrong?" Nic asked. "She hasn't been picking on me as much, now that I think about it."
The others laughed and agreed. "Well, if something is wrong, it'd probably be best if we left her alone," Viper suggested. "I don't think she'll want us to bother her about it."
The others nodded in agreement.
"I've been hearing rumors that Colonel Lydecker is back with Command," Fin reported, starting a new topic.
"I can confirm that rumor," Nic declared. "I saw him while I was sneaking some supplies out of the closet."
"Why were you sneaking supplies out of the closet?" Cody asked suspiciously.
"Oh...just stocking up," Nic replied with a wink.
"Promise me if you plan on pranking Max, do it sometime after she's feeling better," Joy tried.
"What makes you think it's going to be Max?" Nic asked, looking offended. "She's our CO!"
Everyone looked at Nic in disbelief.
"You're not going after Renfro after you just got out of solitary for pranking her, Nic. We all know you fear the colonel more than anyone else, so it has to be Max. You're still mad you didn't manage to prank her," Ammo explained.
Everyone gave Nic a look that was starting to make him feel slightly guilty.
Nic sighed. "Alright, alright! I won't do anything until she's not so grumpy," he said in defeat.
Cell 421, Manticore
Max had returned to her cell everyday for rec hour, wanting some time to herself. She held her knees to her chest, wishing to curl up into a ball and disappear. Tears slid silently down her eyes as the realization that the person she cared for outside the most was gone. The news about Logan was not easy, and she was still trying to cope with it. All she could think of were the memories they shared. She even remembered the dream she had of them together after the downfall of Manticore. It was so vivid. She never realized how much losing someone could bring her so much pain, and right now, her heart ached from a kind of loneliness she had never quite felt until now.
Her door slid open and close. Max sighed to herself – she knew only one person would have the guts to come to her when she was in this state. She held herself tighter when Alec placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"You want to talk about it?" he gently asked, taking a seat beside her.
Max shook her head and rested her head on her knees again, so Alec just sat with her in silence.
After a while, she finally spoke. "How'd you know I would be here?" she asked him.
"Well...you weren't in the gym or pool. You weren't in the rec room. You weren't above the climbing wall star gazing with your other quiet friend. You weren't in your secret 'high place' overlooking the rest of Manticore. You weren't hiding in any other place I could think of, so I finally checked here."
"So you didn't know I was here."
"Pretty much."
Max wiped her tears away and looked into Alec's eyes. They reflected a sadness she had never seen before. They were usually cheerful and heartwarming when he was with her. Now they showed concern.
"Alec...I just found out someone I really cared about died," Max began. "He was my reason for leaving this place, and now he's gone...because of me. He killed himself thinking I was gone," she cried.
Alec brought an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. "Shh...it's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything about it anyway."
"I know...but...I just can't help but feel it is my fault."
"I know, and that feeling probably won't ever go away." He paused briefly before speaking again. "I loved once too, and when she died...it was my fault," he told her sadly.
Max turned to look at him now, seeing the pain in his eyes.
Alec sighed as he told a story he had told no one else at Manticore because it had hurt too much. "I was on a deep cover mission about a year ago. My cover was a piano teacher for the target's daughter. I fell in love with his daughter, but I didn't realize it until it was too late. I went ahead with my orders and placed a bomb under her father's car. It was meant to explode when he would drive her to school, taking them both out. I tried to stop her from getting into the car. I told her everything – that I was just there to do a job. I had betrayed her trust, and the look she gave me when I told her everything...it tore my heart apart. She pushed past me and tried to stop her father from getting into the car. Manticore drove up and detonated the bomb anyway, dragging me back to Manticore. I never found out what happened really happened, but I'm fairly certain she was caught in the blast. I don't think she could have survived." Alec's voice was wavering as he finished up his story, with the pain of the memory threatening tears.
"...what was her name?" she asked quietly.
Alec took a deep breath, trying his best to control his emotions. He was grateful Max didn't notice, or at least he thought she didn't notice. Finally, he found his voice again. "Her name was Rachel...Rachel Berrisford."
"May she rest in peace," Max whispered.
There was a moment of silence before Alec asked, "What was his name?"
Max was silent for a moment before finally replying, "Logan...his name was Logan Cale."
"May Logan rest in peace," Alec whispered back.
The two then spent the rest of the night together in silence as they mourned the lost. It was the closest they could have to a funeral at Manticore, and so it would do. By the time Reveille came, Max and Alec were ready to let go of their losses and move on.
Sector B Forest, Manticore
The day finally arrived when Unit 9 would go against Unit 2. Unit 9 had been given the morning off of training the day before since the exercise was scheduled to span 6 hours in length. All of them were well rested but wondered why this exercise would take so long. When the exercise was explained, it was clear that Manticore was not only stacking the odds against them yet again, but Unit 2 would appear to have the advantage.
Rather than giving them a standard military combat training exercise, they were given a mission that was more like a puzzle, requiring various skill sets – skill sets in which Unit 2 just happened to specialize – to complete the mission objective. The mission objective was to recover sensitive data lost when a plane was shot down. The only information they had to begin with was the base from which the plane took off. All of it was fictitious, but the clues were planted for them to find if they knew where to look.
After both teams were given a laptop, some explosives, a GPS, a lockpick, a dart rifle with limited ammo, flint, and a knife, the six-hour time limit began. Only one team could accomplish the objective, however, so if the other team recovered the data, the exercise would be over.
"This is soooo not cool," Gai complained. "We're trained to be soldiers to fight – not find missing data."
"Hey, we're given explosives!" Ammo said excitedly. "Maybe we'll get to blow things up!"
The others rolled their eyes.
While the rest of Unit 9 was busy exploring what tools they had been provided, Max and Kev were already discussing a plan of action.
"Hey Cody," Max called out. "Can you log onto the mission servers and see if any digital files are available?"
Cody nodded. "I'll get on it," he replied as he took the laptop from them.
Cody logged onto the Manticore server and then again onto the mission server. All missions that had digital files were found on the mission server. The mission server would link them to another server that had been programmed just for their mission. Once Cody found their mission, he clicked into their folder and was rerouted to a welcome login screen for the military base the plane flew from.
"We have the military base," Cody informed them. "I can try hacking their radar tower database and see if I can follow the plane's path."
"OK, get on that. We won't be able to do anything until we find out where the plane crashed," Max ordered.
Kev went to go take a look at the equipment they were given. While they had nothing to go on, perhaps the tools they were expected to use would give them an idea of what to prepare for. "Ammo, why don't you take care of the explosives, flint, and knife, if we're ever to need them?"
Ammo grinned and scooped the explosives up into his arms and pocketed the knife and flint. "Gladly."
"Gai, take the GPS. We'll probably need it to find the site location," Kev suggested.
"Nic, you can take the rifle. Who wants the lockpick?"
"I'll take it," Joy offered.
Kev nodded and handed Joy the lockpick.
"The radar tower indicates the plane took off and left the base, but then it goes out of range. There might be a distress call logged. I'm looking into it now," Cody informed.
"Good. How are we doing with supplies, Kev?" Max asked.
"It's distributed. We have explosives, a knife, a flint, a dart rifle, a lockpick, the laptop, and a GPS," Kev replied.
"OK. Once we have a location, Gai will take us to the location," Max said.
"Found it...at least I think I did," Cody declared.
"Think you did?" Nic questioned.
"Well, I narrowed it down to a 1 mile radius. I found a distress call dated roughly two and a half hours after take off. Using the speed of a standard military cargo plane to calculate the distance and considering the effects of enemy fire, I determined a 1 mile radius. Maybe if I had more information, like how it was shot down, then I would have a better location, but we usually have birds to locate crash sites – something Manticore is not giving us the luxury of because it's supposed to be 'top secret'," Cody explained.
"1 mile will have to do. It's better than nothing. Let's move out," Max stated.
"We'd better hurry before Unit 2 beats us to it," Dart suggested.
Cody grinned mischievously before replying, "I don't think we'll have to worry about them. I switched out the real data with some phony data. They'll be searching 300 or so meters from the actual site."
"How do we know they didn't do that to us already?" Joy asked.
Cody shrugged. "I checked the log and searched for deleted files as well as other logins but there were none. Then again, they might have covered their tracks better than I can imagine, but – not to brag or anything – I am a pretty quick hacker," Cody said proudly as he cracked his fingers.
Some grinned and others laughed before heading out. "The coordinates you gave me – it looks like we're heading towards the river. I don't like the looks of this," Gai observed.
"Well, maybe Fin will get a chance to take a swim," Nic predicted.
Of course, the data planted would ensure that the "crash site" was on Manticore grounds – it would be a while before Manticore would allow them off Manticore grounds, if ever. It also meant that the site wasn't too far from where they started. Unit 9 made their way to the crash site, with Gai leading them.
"We're entering the 1 mile radius now, heading northeast to reach the center." Gai informed.
"Tri, perhaps you could check to see if there's any signs of any wreckage," Kev suggested.
"I'm on it!" Tri said cheerfully as she scaled a tree. "I see something," she shouted down below. "It's about half a click east of here. No signs of Unit 2, so I think we're good."
Everyone smiled as their hopes increased for completing the mission objective.
"Alright, east it is," Gai said as he led the group east.
Half a click later, they discovered a burned site with several scattered pieces of metal. Clearly not a complete helicopter, but it was clear what it symbolized – a crash. A 'dead' co-pilot was also discovered among the wreckage.
"What exactly is this sensitive data we're looking for?" Viper asked as they all searched through the 'wreckage'.
"A database," Max informed.
"Where's the pilot?" Kev asked as she surveyed the wreckage from afar.
"Good question," Ammo said as he noticed the pilot was missing.
"Perhaps the pilot survived and hid the database somewhere," Fin pointed out.
Nic groaned, "Aww...why couldn't it just be here?" he whined.
"Because then it'd be too easy, and we all know how Manticore just loves to challenge us," Viper replied, annoyed. "Quit being a baby."
Gai was busy observing for tracks, and it wasn't long before he spotted one. "Hey guys, I think we found our pilot. There are some broken branches and worn leaves north of here. They can't be ours since we came from the west."
"Great. Let's go then," Max said.
"We'll run into a river if we go in this direction. Seems like an ideal place to store information," Gai commented.
Fin smiled, "Looks like I'll get that swim after all."
As they approached, it was clear that they were not the first to arrive. "Damn it," Ammo muttered. "I can't believe they beat us to it!"
"Look closely. That's not Unit 2," Joy observed. "I think it's Manticore posing as an enemy unit trying to collect the data."
"So we have to take them out?" Tri pondered.
"Have no fear, Nic is here!" Nic exclaimed as he held his rifle up. "I'll just take them out with these darts."
"There are six of them. Don't miss – you don't have any extra rounds," Max reminded.
"Of course. I didn't pass Advanced Marksmanship with flying colors for nothing," Nic grinned. "You know that."
Max rolled her eyes. Nic almost had as big of an ego as Alec. "Just concentrate," she said dismissively.
As promised, Nic took them out with no problem. They were about to head towards the site when they spotted another enemy. "I thought you took them all out," Max scolded.
"Sorry...I didn't see that guy. He must have been hiding. Besides, I'm out of darts," Nic replied, not at all too apologetic. "Oh great. There's another over there."
They all looked in the direction he pointed. "We can't let them discover the bodies," Kev stated. "Viper, Dart, can you neutralize them?"
The two nodded and headed off in separate directions while the rest of the unit advanced towards the river where the enemy had been searching. The 'pilot's' body could be seen a bit further downstream, having been washed away by the gentle currents. Blood marks covered a set of large rocks, making it obvious where the pilot had been before floating downstream.
Tri climbed to the top of the rocks and could see a hole at the top. "There's a hole here. The pilot must have dropped the database into the opening to hide it. I can hear water running though, so the river runs through this area as well. We don't know how deep it is down there."
Everyone turned to look at Ammo, who was grinning now as he got the explosives. "Well, I guess it's my turn."
Tri hopped off the rocks as Ammo strategically placed the explosives around the rocks. Everyone stood back as Ammo tried to start a fire with the flint and knife. After several more tries, he finally lit the explosives and blurred away.
A few seconds later, explosions rocked the area and the rocks tumbled, allowing them access to the once closed-off area.
"We're going to have to speed things up," Kev commanded. "Unit 2 will have heard that. They'll be on their way here now."
"I guess I'm up." Fin carefully climbed to the rocks and lowered herself into the water. It was certainly deep – she couldn't feel the bottom. "I'll be back soon," she said before taking a deep breath and disappearing into the watery depths below.
Viper and Ammo returned and reported that the enemy units were out cold. Unit 9 waited patiently for Fin to resurface, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings with hopes that there were no more enemies around.
Four minutes passed and Fin still wasn't back. Her latest record was seven and a half minutes. When the timer hit the six minutes mark, Unit 9 shifted uneasily as their anxiousness increased. Just as seven minutes was reached, they heard Fin resurface, taking in a big breath of air as she did. "I found it."
They all let out a sigh in relief as Fin revealed a waterproof case. "It was wedged a bit tightly between some rocks. Took a while to shake it loose," she explained as Tri grabbed her the box and handed it to Cody before helping Fin out of the water.
"I'll unlock it," Joy offered as she made her way to the box, taking out the lock picking tools she had taken earlier in the mission. Cody held tightly to the box as Joy worked with the tools. Within moments, it was unlocked and the database was seen inside.
"Mission accomplished, team," Max declared with a wide grin. "Great teamwork everyone!"
Everyone cheered as they all headed back to base. Unfortunately, they didn't get very far when a voice stopped them in their tracks.
"Hand it over," 813 demanded. It was Unit 2's CO.
A/N: Soooo sorry for the wait everyone! I've been sooo busy in Hong Kong. We have so many group projects! -- So we have so much work to do...as a result. Another huge thanks to my beta mars494! Thanks for reading and re-reading this chapter for errrors:-) And for anyone celebrating the Mid-Autumn festival, I hope you're enjoying it! I sure am!
Thanks for all the reviews you all left! They were a joy to read! This time around, I'm curious as to what you all thought about the Lydecker/Max scene and the MA scene. Please comment!
Thanks for reading and please review!
For my anonymous reviewers:
Canaria: Heh, welcome! Wow, when I start a story, I generally skip the author notes until the final few chapters...Thanks for reading my author notes! lol I'm glad you err found them enjoyable, somehow...-scratches head- Rarely do I hear /that/ kind of compliment, haha. More MA scenes to come - that's for sure. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoyed this update!
Kim: Mwahaha, the ending was meant to be a cliffhanger. It's my favorite one I've written for this story so far. I can just imagine the tension in the air when Max walks in and sees Lydecker, haha. What an awkward moment! But you should have your answers now with this chapter. I hope you liked it! Definitely more MA scenes to come in the coming chapters, since Logan is out of the way now...Thanks for reading and reviewing!
ME: Heh, I can't help but wonder if you're the same person I remember being on the DA communities years ago. Are you? Lol, of course, you may have no idea who I am talking about...Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you're enjoying this story! I hope you enjoyed the update!
random person: Ah, I hate not having Internet. I'm not sure I could survive without it! I'm glad you're still interested in reading my stories. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you find a way to read the updates and don't get discouraged if you get too far behind. You have my sympathies for the Internet situation.
rebecca: Heh, well my bad. I must be insane. I'm glad you "LOVE" it then. :D Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you love this update as well...
