Its briefly occurred to me that I've gone 6 ½ months without updating. Fear not I have not forgotten this story. I just have…well other than working with 'daciavu73' to beta the story when she has the time (that and she's fabulous as she is very much a perfectionist) for it. So I figured if you all are still interested in this, which I hope you are, I will still update and finish this off. I do have plans for another DA fic for m/a only it'd be snippets…sexy snippets but little ones like that. See how it goes. Thank you to that that have favorited or selected me before I always love to see those emails pop up.
So without further ado…!
Season 5 ep.11
Third POV
The Recon group returned back to the grounds of TC. Opening the van door to lift a still unconscious Brin from the van, Alec carefully placed her in Krit's arms so he could carry her to Medical. It was imperative that the drugs were out of her system before Brin's final reindoctrination would start.
Krit ran to the medical unit as fast as his legs could carry him with the dead weight of his sister in his arms. He wanted confirmation that the toxin he injected into her was out of her system, pronto.
He really hated this idea from the get-go. But like Max, he didn't really see any other choice. It wasn't like she would just walk away from the Phoenix Project. They were essentially kidnapping her from Ross, and in the process, making sure Ross believed she was dead.
Now he'll do all he can to make sure she survived what was to come.
Kicking open one of the double doors to Medical, he ordered the medical staff, "Do whatever you gotta do to make sure she's stable!"
Everyone scrambled to prepare for the procedure. But Doc seemed a little perturbed, "Hey soldier boy! You can't come in here and order MY staff around. This is MY domain."
Krit had just placed Brin on the gurney as he glared at the Doc from his prone position over Brin. "I don't really care about protocol right now. Just keep her alive and you'll have no problem with me."
Alec and Max arrived behind Krit within seconds. Alec took in the situation with a glance. His transgenic hearing already picked up most of the conversation before he walked in. He could see Doc wasn't happy at all, so he made the hand gesture to stand down, "Doc, let it go. This X5 is special to Max and Krit. Just overlook Krit's brusque manner and get on with it."
The order from their alpha male was enough for Doc to let it slide for now, but she didn't have to like it. She quickly used a needle to draw a sample of blood from Brin's arm. She passed it to a tech, an X4 named Tigress, with a little more cat in her DNA than most. One of Manticore's anomalies that had the advantage of very high intelligence.
Tigress quickly dropped a little blood on a slide and placed it under a microscope as Doc checked Brin's vitals. She noticed a swelling bruise on Brin's left eye.
"Who gave her the shiner?" Doc asked.
Alec shrugged a little sheepishly, "I did. After giving her the antidote, she came to and began fighting and I had to knock her out."
Using a stethoscope, she placed the metal disc on Brin's chest to hear her heartbeat and used her watch to count her pulse.
"Heart beat's stable, a little dryness around the mouth though." A concerned frown crossed her brow as Doc ordered, "I need a saline IV. She appears a little dehydrated." Glancing up at Krit, she explained brusquely, "A common side effect of the antidote. Rather have her dehydrated than dead right?"
One of her attendants passed a bag of saline, tubing and needle to the doctor. She quickly and efficiently attached the tubing to the bag, hung the bag on a nearby hook on the wall, attached the needle to the end of the tubing, then poked the needle into a vein in Brin's arm. Brin didn't respond at all to the prick. Probably a good thing right now.
Twisting the butterfly valve on the tube a quarter turn to the left, she squeezed the bag a few times for the saline to move faster into Brin's body.
"Looks like the antidote is working Doc…" Tigress announced from her side of the room, jumping off her stool and removing her latex gloves. "She should awaken any time now judging by this blood sample... and factoring in that our alpha has a mean right hook." She winked at Alec in good humor, causing him to smirk a little.
"Good to know." Doc didn't even look up, totally ignoring the joke at Alec's expense as she pulled out a couple of pairs of handcuffs and attached one to Brin's wrist.
"What the hell are you doing?" Krit practically jumped forward to stop Doc when Max placed a hand on Krit's elbow with just enough pressure to hold him back.
"Krit, she's going to get all violent on us when she first wakes up from this. She'll be in a new place with completely new people. We're the enemy to her, remember? I agree with Doc, this is the best way to make sure she gets her fluids."
Max could see Krit's indecision, but he sighed and she felt him relax a bit.
"Fine… but I'm staying right here until she wakes up."
Doc glanced at Krit in slight confusion, "Staying here won't wake her up any faster."
He grabbed a chair and sat down with a stubborn plop, determined to wait it out, "Don't mind me Doc. I'm not going anywhere until I am certain she's come out of this."
Alec interjected, "I've seen this before Krit, we got here in plenty of time, she'll be fine. And she is going to be mad as hell when she awakes to see you here…the guy that stuck her with the needle, the guy that put the poison in her system."
Krit retorted angrily, "Do you REALLY think I WANTED to do that? Hell, what if we got stuck in traffic Alec? What if you lost the antidote? There were so many holes and what ifs in this plan! So excuse me if I want to be damn sure she's okay due to my actions, got it?"
Max started to say something to reassure Krit and he raised a hand to stop her, "Save it Max. It was my choice to go through with this, I blame no one but me. Just… allow me this moment okay?"
Despite everything, Max finally understood. Krit and Brin had been inseparable when they were kids. Best friends in a sense. They tended to stick together a lot back in the day. She could see that Krit wanted to face this with Brin head-on. That Brin can view this as a betrayal due to their history and her brainwashing that she endured. Yet Krit wanted to show her he would stay by her side like the old days.
"Understood." Max nodded and gave Krit's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She turned to the others. "Krit stays. That's an order. Doc, you'll just have to deal with it. Now, I have to deliver the news to Zack that our sister is in Terminal City. He will probably come here too if I know him as well as I think I do. Call us if there are any changes."
"Sure thing." Krit responded and made himself comfortable and Doc nodded to indicate she understood.
"Come on we need to check in with HQ." Alec whispered into Max's ear as he placed a hand on the small of her back and gently guided her out of Medical.
"We need to let Zack and Syl know that Brin is here and alive." Max asserted, once down the hallway from the medical ward. "Last I heard, Zack was still in HQ, we'll head there first."
Thankful that her mate understood her need to get to her brother, he escorted her to HQ, nodding to different transgenics and transhumans on the way that were busily working on their individual chores that made TC run like a well-oiled machine.
They found Zack at a metal table in the middle of HQ where he was poring over maps and blueprints of Terminal City. A side project for himself to see if there were any structure issues that needed to be repaired within their escape tunnels. A precaution that they knew needed to be maintained every few years to ensure the safety of them. Just in case.
His mind needed to be active and doing things with his hands. This reminded him a little bit of being on the farm. He actually had some decent memories of that time and in some small way, he was recreating that here.
Max's POV
"So when do we get to see her?" Zack asked me after I gave him the news about Brin.
"Give it about two hours. Mia will go in and work her magic first." I advised him. I wasn't too crazy that I had to let Mia have the first 'whack' at our sister, so to speak, but who knows what Ross did to her? We had no clue the conditioning he put her through. Hell we had no idea what kind of mind-frame she was in before she left Manticore and was transferred to the Phoenix Project. She's worse now than when I saw her that night we blew up the DNA lab. She's so cut off…
What the hell did those bastards do to sweet Brin? I hope we can all help bring her back to her old self.
I bit my lip in thought, twirling a strand of hair through my fingers, a stress reaction to all the thoughts going through my head. I knew that Brin would be okay, but it would take work to let her true self come out. To help her be whole again.
I knew she would never be the same Brin we all remember because she has gone through so much more re-indoc than all of my siblings combined. Myself included maybe. I know I'm not the same person that broke out of Manticore all those years ago. So more than likely, Brin won't be either.
To be honest, I really just wanted to curl up on the couch with Alec and our girls and relish that contact. Their presence could soothe me for hours on end. I hated being away from my children so much, but hopefully in the near future, that will change.
However, for now…
"Penny for your thoughts Max?" Zack asked, noting my worried stance. I straighten, releasing my hair and stopped the lip biting. He may as well know my concerns.
"She was in Ross's hands for a long time, and before that with Manticore. All of which makes her a potential flight risk, so we will need to keep her under surveillance for a while."
Zack leaned a hip on the low table and folded his arms. Giving me a long hard look at first, he sighed in resignation. "As much as I hate to admit it, if I were in her shoes, this whole place…" he looked about HQ, "Would be enemy territory. And as such, I would do anything in my power to get out of here as fast as possible. Manticore taught us that. And I'm sure this Ross guy enforced that aspect even more."
I could tell he didn't like thinking about how that was done, all the torture they probably put poor Brin through, and to be honest, I didn't like going there in my head either.
"In her mind frame…I wouldn't doubt it. We're her family…although she might not see us that way right now. Currently, she sees what everyone here was programmed to see for years. We still have to deal with their brainwashed minds to some extent. After all this time, even the current Terminal City residents automatically think 'traitor', 'rat', 'enemy' when I walk by. I think I've proven myself now, but it took time, and it will take time for Brin to get accustomed to this too." I admitted.
"We were the 'rogues'…we became the step children nobody wanted because of our escape back in '09. Now they look to us for guidance because we have more outside experience than them."
I shrugged in agreement, it was true, but right now we needed to focus on Brin. I peered at Zack cautiously, trying to formulate just the right words to convey what I was most worried about. "Look, Ross has her completely brain-washed. Because of this, you do realize she can pretend to go along with us and then ultimately stab us in the back. We won't be able to trust her for some time."
He narrowed his eyes at my phrasing but instead of snapping at me like he normally would have he sighed and went back to his maps choosing instead to either ignore me or accept it and move on. I wasn't sure which.
"Ross, from what we've heard, likes to have obedient soldiers. They're trained for blind obedience, to do what he wants when he wants them to do it. So, for right now, she's a flight risk. Think about it Zack. Wouldn't you be the same way if you were captured by the Phoenix soldiers?"
"As bad as it is for Brin, you're right. It's what we would do in the same situation."
Poor Zack, this had to be hard on him as I watched him avoid eye contact with me and stare sightlessly at the maps in front of him. Despite his gruff exterior, he really cared about our core unit. Kindly I offered an olive branch. "Look… If you want to, you can wait with Krit. He is in her room now waiting for her to wake up."
"I think I'll do that. Thanks." he stated meaningfully. I knew the whole time Alec had a watchful eye on Zack because I could feel him observing us. He didn't trust him around me due to our recent fight in his apartment. However Alec had nothing to worry about as Zack turned away and headed for Medical.
It was barely an hour that went by before I received a phone call from Doc that gave good and bad news. Good news, the antidote seemed to help Brin's body metabolize the toxin out of her system and she's now awake. Bad news, she was raising hell and giving Zack and Krit a hard time. Doc needed my help. I turned to Alec and before I could say anything, he just said, "Go, it's fine. I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to check with Gem about the girls anyway. You have a lot on your plate, so don't worry, I got this."
Giving him a quick kiss in gratitude, I jog back to Medical and walk in to find Brin just kicked a metal tray off a nearby cart. The tray itself flipped over while the instruments on the tray were propelling like missile's in random directions. Most just hit other objects with no problem. One of them nearly hit me in the head which made me stop just inside the door to take in the surroundings.
Zack and Krit had to combine their efforts to hold Brin down while Doc removed the IV from her arm. Once that was accomplished, Brin continued to fight against the two X5 males.
The venom in her voice plucked at my heart and I knew it had to be the same for our brothers.
"I'm gonna kill you for that needle stunt, you 'pathetic wanna be soldier'!" She spat out at Krit as she fought her restraints, which included the handcuffs on her wrists and two males holding down her legs.
"Brin. Trust us. No one here is going to hurt you. We're your family." Krit had tried to use his words to calm her down to no avail. It just made her that much angrier.
"Family? Ha!" Brin had responded in a near evil sounding tone.
"It's going to be okay baby sister. Just settle down." Zack said.
"Sister, my ass. You are NOTHING to me!" Brin now spat toward Zack, "You abandoned me you worthless, spineless son of a bitch! General Ross saved me, so I follow him and NOT you. He's going to tear this place apart! Mark my words. He'll come after me! Get your hands off me. NOW!""
Not giving them time to comply with her demands, she took matters into her own hands as she seized the opportunity to head butt Krit once his face was within range. He jerked away in pain, let out a small growl as he checked his nose for any blood.
Once out of his grip, I knew she would use her free leg to kick Zack, so before she could do anything, I blurred forward quickly and punched her in the face, knocking her out temporarily. My main objective was to simply slow her down, but apparently, the adrenaline kicked in and the action of my fist between her eyes knocked her out cold.
Once everyone knew she was unconscious again, Doc quickly checked her over again while everyone else stepped aside to let her do what she does best.
"Holy Jehosephat Max!" Doc exclaimed, causing me to realize she has probably watched too many pre-pulse Batman movies. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes in irritation. "What is it with you and Alec and the tendency to knock people out instead of talking to them?"
"Hey, you called ME remember? Don't go hating my methods. There's no talking to her right now and you know it. And I'm certain it was the same for Alec earlier. I guess it shows we have lived together long enough to tend to think alike. Now…Let's get her prepped to be moved to the interrogation room."
"Why the interrogation room when she can be questioned right here? Probably safer for her…" Doc asked. It started to perturb me a bit that she kept questioning me, as well as my methods, but I answered anyway. If she kept pushing, I'll pull rank later.
"The two way mirrors in the interrogation room will allow us to watch Mia with Brin. If we bring Mia in here, we can't protect her if Brin goes postal on us again. Mia can fight a little, but she didn't get the same hand to hand combat training we did, and Brin could take her down quick if given the opportunity. And as you can see for yourself, having any of us in the room with her will just make things harder for Mia to do her thing. She won't want to talk with Mia if everyone else is in here to keep her tied down. Mia might be the only thing to get into her head. Sometimes the best way to do that is absence."
I gave the order to Doc, expecting her to comply. My mind was made up and she'll just have to deal. "So unlock the handcuffs for now. And Zack?" I looked to him, "I need you to carry Brin into the interrogation room. Krit, you call Mia and let her know we're almost ready for her."
When Doc unlocked the handcuffs, I held out my hand for them, "And we'll need those too." I informed her. Grudgingly, she passed the metal cuffs to me as well as the key. "For your sake I hope this works." She told me.
Zack carried her out over his shoulder in a fireman's carry as I led the way to Mia's new home for the next few hours. Deciding on a different method of containing her we made sure we sat her down on a metal chair with a pipe along the back of it and tied her arms in place to prevent easy breakage.
"That should hold for a while." I commented.
Krit arrived when we were done and announced, "Mia is on her way. Although…" he began as bewilderment crossed his face as I waited for him to continue, "She said something about having to change her outfit…what is it with women and the need to have a different outfit for EVERY occasion?" he just look stumped.
I roll my eyes, "Not all women. She's definitely not a soldier, but she does have her talents. As long as she gets here quickly, I don't really care what she's wearing. She can wear a balloon outfit for all I care right now."
Zack actually cracked a small smile at that mental image, "An outfit made of balloons? Now that would be funny." His rare smirk caused me to do the same, as well as Krit. We had a small shared moment before I ushered them out.
"Come on guys, we'll watch from the next room."
Third POV
It was about twenty minutes later when Brin became aware of her surroundings again. She shifted her eyes about the room in disdain when Mia sashayed in, dressed in her usual tight dress with a boa, some white 50's gloves that were very hard to come by nowadays, and her heels made a small click clack sound against the concrete floor.
"Hey you!" her cheery voice grated on Brin's nerves instantly as she walked in, shutting the door behind her with a resounding click, then made herself at home in a chair across from Brin. The only difference, Brin, 734, was shackled to hers effectively, the pipe proved to be enough to keep her from being able to break free.
As Mia began to remove her gloves one finger at a time, she made herself comfortable, crossing her legs and asked nonchalantly, "How long has it been since we've last seen each other 734? Three years now?"
"Yeah I remember you. Psy Ops division. You call yourself Mia right?"
"You remember! How sweet!" Mia smiled brightly as she folded her gloves, set them aside and simply interlaced her fingers primly in her lap.
"Girl you're looking good!" Mia complemented. "Must be all that kick ass training of yours."
734 rolled her eyes and snarled, "Trying to get on my good side? First step in interrogation. Is Max going to come in and play bad cop to your good cop? Not like it'll make a difference cause whatever it is you have planned, it's not going to work, I'm not gonna talk. I'm trained to resist your subterfuge. You would be wasting your time and mine. I have better things to do than to while away the time in here with the likes of you."
Mia pouted, "Now that's not fair! We were such good pals back at Manticore." 734 narrowed her eyes at the overly-made-up brunette. "Pals? Really? That's what you wanna believe huh? That was years ago."
"Well I definitely remember you. After Manticore cured you of the progeria and you were brought to me. I have to say you might have been my toughest case ever! So kudos to you girlfriend!"
"I'm not falling for your games. I know how you work. You mess with people's heads." Brin's lip curled in contempt. Shaking her head in derision, she commented, "I can't believe Max would stoop so low that she'd hire a dog and pony show for me. What the hell is she thinking?"
"She cares about you Brin. Isn't that the name she calls you?"
"I'm not Brin anymore, I am X5-734. And as far as Max is concerned, she can kiss my Korean ass! I'm not falling for this mental crap! I know who I am and what I am. I also know who I'm loyal to and it certainly isn't to Max or the rest of her rag-tag bunch."
"Well we have to do something to pass the time til she gets here, so…I know! We'll just girl talk. No biggie!"
"How about un-cuffing me?" Brin clanked the handcuffs for emphasis, but Mia shook her head despondently.
"Sorry kiddo, but can't do that. Max will have my head."
Glaring at her, Brin snarled, "So will I, once I get out of these, and I WILL. Make no mistake, YOU will be the first on my hit list. General Ross will come for me with a battalion of X5's and all of you will just be the corpses that line his way to me."
"Ew! Dark much?" Mia shuddered in revulsion at that mental image.
"Oh you haven't seen anything yet." Brin leaned forward conspiratorially. "Does Max really think that I'll be that weak little woman again? Doesn't she understand that I'm better this way? I'm a stronger person for it. Even General Ross says I'm the best he's seen…for a female transgenic that is."
"Really? For a 'female' transgenic? Well how sexist is that? Geez! You work for a chauvinistic pig!" Mia was aghast.
Brin was seriously wondering about Mia. Her way of getting into her head was not like anything she had dealt with before. This was old school…like REAL old school. Verbally speaking that is. "Listen to me you twit! General Avram Ross saved my life! When Renfro was ready to throw me to the wolves, the general saw something in me and took me with him! I am a better soldier now because of him! My loyalty will STAY with him! Get that through your thick skull. I will NOT turn away from him!"
"Alrighty then…" Mia leaned in to view Brin more closely. "Let's talk about something else. Do you have a boyfriend? I do. His name's Dougie." Her sweet voice grated on Brin's nerves as she kept chattering away like this was a friendly lunch date. "He's so sweet to me…see this bracelet? It's our first year anniversary gift. He was so nice that night. We had candle lights, it was just perfect." She sighed dreamily, "He's SO romantic and he sang to me too. The man has a set of pipes on him when he's not snoozing."
734 snapped her eyes up to her, "Really? NOW you actually think trying to relate to me will work? General Ross knows the truth of feelings. They do NOTHING but get you into trouble. Feelings and emotions are for the weak, you poor pitiful fool!" The words were cold.
Mia rolled her eyes, "Now that is no way to live life Brin." Ignoring her words 734 replied distinctly, "Read my lips you Psy Ops bitch… GO… TO… HELL! General Ross will give you a one way ticket! For free!"
Mia set near puppy dog eyes on her, "Tsk, tsk…sweetie, I hate to tell you but…he has you completely brainwashed. I'm the only one that can de – scramble that head of yours." Mia waved a finger by her own temple.
"No brainwashing. This is all me." She then smiled slightly, before her bitterness started to get to her. "Brin was a weak woman that got too careless. Almost died because of it." She bit her lip to avoid the flashes of Zack coming to try and save her from her memory. In irritation she realized it was like some mental doors were being unlocked involuntarily and she didn't like that one bit.
"Oh I know about that." Mia responded. "Don't you know that even with that tough, kick ass exterior you deserve to live a full life? One that includes a family." A pregnant pause for a moment as Mia delved further into her head. "Don't you want a family?" She questioned, hitting a soft spot within her captive.
734 tried hard to ignore the words, snippets of childhood and teenage dreams of having a family one day crossed her mind. Of envying Tinga for getting that. It's what made knocking her out so easy that day in the back of the hummer when they were taking her back to Manticore. When Renfro changed the game plan on Deck without telling him. Sometimes she still wondered if her little slip up about Sandoval knowing was what caused the spiral of Manticore from Deck's hands that day.
"Your little mind games won't – screw this! You don't know anything about me! Family isn't an option…not for us…hell Zack told me that! My own so called brother!" she bitterly recalled talking to Zack on one occasion before she was who she is now. She gave Zack one last call as she had been running a little late that day. The words cut through her like wheat and she briefly wondered what made them spring from his mouth over the phone line but he angrily disconnected it before she could ask what was wrong. "All I have is a unit with General Ross."
Knowing she was on to something, her eyes narrowed, "Oh sweetie, it IS an option, just relax. Plenty of X5's and more have made it happen. Listen to my voice." Her tele-coercion in full gear as she worked her magic. "Oh wow, there is a lot going on in that mind of yours." Mia commented. Brin tried to stop her, "Listen…." But her eyes were now fully caught up in Mia's. "Yeah…no…" Brin shook her head, trying to get Mia out of it.
"Why won't you let the old Brin out?" Mia asked, quirking her head to the side.
"Isn't it obvious?" Brin asked, raising her head up to view Mia head on, "She's a careless, weak person. I can't have that person in charge up here." She nodded her head up indicating her own frame of mind. Mia saw this and nodded in understanding, the empathy for Brin very clear in her eyes, "It hurts too much doesn't it? As long as you're 734 you are a machine that doesn't have to feel pain... but when you're Brin, yeah you feel pain but you also feel love and joy...remember the happy times?"
734 responded, "I know what you're doing, and it won't work. I…" Mia cut her off, "Brin listen to me sweetie... let the pain go."
Brin shot her head upwards, "Pain is truth, and pain lets you know you're still alive." She pulled against her bonds and hissed, "Pain reminds you how dangerous emotions are. Get out of my head you scum sucking bitch!"
Mia managed to get her eyes focused on her again concentrated harder, "Let….it…go."
"No! STOP!"
"The flip side of pain is what Brin?" She asked, trying to break down further barriers. "Its peace Brin."
Brin shook her head in denial, "I…no…no…I…"
"Don't you want peace Brin? To stop hurting?"
Brin pulled her head up, confused for a second, "But peace only comes when in death. I want to continue my survival, that's why I'm working with Ross."
Mia shook her head sadly, reading more and more within Brin's mind, "There's more to it than that isn't there?"
"No there isn't. Renfro wanted me gone the day after the DNA lab blew up because I failed to capture Max. Got the drop on me instead and caught me off guard. As far as Renfro was concerned an X series should NEVER be off guard. I screwed up and she wanted to 'cancel' me. The General showed up and took a select group of transgenics that day…I was one of them. He saved me from being harvested. He saved my life!" Brin bit out, recalling how thankful she felt that day.
Brin met Mia's eyes, "I owe him my life." She concluded.
"Oh I see, thing is sweetie you don't owe him anything. Ross sees any soldier under his command as 'expendable'." Brin shook her head, "You're a lying bitch." Mia took out a tape recorder, "Sometimes truth is harder to absorb than light…" Mia said before playing the conversation Krit had recently had with Ross. Having recorded every com conversation since the start Mia was quite glad that she was able to bear proof of Ross's cold heart to Brin's loyal side. To show her the truth.
Brin looked to be in shock shaking her head 'no' even as she clearly heard Ross's voice and his harsh words to have her harvested and then cremated. She had no defense for the man now. She was fiercely loyal and he saw her just as another tool to use. Once again she got shafted. First by Renfro now by Ross. "And here I thought Renfro was a bitch. Ross that bastard is worse." Brin commented. "Now Brin smiled and laughed in agreement, "Yeah she was wasn't she…"
"Oh and get this…" Mia leaned in closer, squealing like they were best friends, "It was a guard that shot her." For a moment Brin was stunned before she laughed, "Nice." Mia sighed, "Ain't it so…? Poetic justice."
"Saved me the trouble." Mia giggled in response to Brin's statement. "If it weren't for her position at Manticore I'd a killed her myself after joining the Phoenix Project. She seemed to have her focus elsewhere other than Manticore."
Mia listened before replying, "Well she's gone now honey, you don't have to worry about her anymore." Brin countered, "No…I suppose that's one less bitch off the planet. But it's also why I never got to see 452 again at the facility."
Seeing Mia's confusion she explained, "I begged a guard that was taking me to the General's to tell me what happened to Max that night. He told me she got re-captured after she was shot down. I had been looking forward to seeing her again hoping that Renfro would give her to the General… she was after all a flight risk, but that never happened. Then Renfro gave me to the General...I mean now I see Max but…she seems different…" Brin seemed a bit confused, near bitter.
"Different how sweetie?" Mia asked. Her eyes working their glory, "Like she's no longer as attached to wanting to be around our sib's as we always were. Their body postures were, more separate, more…individualized. It's hard to describe. Stranger yet she's with 493. Which doesn't make any sense. Lydecker found his body in the woods. He concluded that only an X5 could have killed him." Brin was a tad confused now.
Mia found this to be enlightening. "Oh girl we gotta talk! It's not 493, no he is gone, it's his clone 494." Brin found this startling. "Yeah his name is Alec." Mia stated happily. Brin nodded a bit, "At least I knew 493's death was painless. He was always most sensitive to things related to the outside world."
Continuing like she was simply just dishing girl talk, Mia nodded with a small smile, "Mmm hmm. Well Alec is a completely different transgenic than his clone. From what you've described of 493, they may look alike but their personalities are complete opposite. Alec has boorish manners BUT he loves Max and would bend over backwards for her, and Terminal City generally sees him and Max as their leaders."
"I remember 494 from Manticore…never talked to him though." Brin answered. "Especially after he screwed up his last mission and fell in love with his target. Why anyone would follow someone like that, someone that let emotions get in the way of their main objective…and THAT is why emotions are for the weak. They are not for us."
"Tell me more about Ben…what was he like?" Mia pursued, changing the subject back to what they were discussing before. "That was what you called him, right?"
Brin nodded, somewhat in a trance while staring into Mia's eyes. "Next to Tin – 656, he was the next most emotional soldier. 493...Wait…Why do you care?" Brin snapped at her, shaking her head. Trying to get the woman out of her head.
"I sense you two were close…as kids." Mia explained, trying to mentally manipulate Brin to open up more.
"We were sparring partners as kids…" Brin answered as if far away and Mia nodded and motioned for her to continue, "Plus…he had that stupid blue lady thing that he got us all on...for a while anyways..."
"Blue Lady? What was that about?" Mia tilted her head, seemingly in interest and the story began pouring out of Brin.
"Well at the time that's what we called her, and Ben made up stories about her. I learned later while on the outside that she is some kind of religious relic. You see her at churches." Brin explained to her.
"Oh! You mean the Virgin Mary?" Mia asked.
"Yeah that's right…talk about fiction! Who would believe that a virgin woman during that time frame, with no scientific intervention, gave birth? Didn't make sense, therefore it was just a fairy tale." Brin finished.
Mia's hypnotic effect kept Brin talking as she continued, "He was a good kid...not right to be a soldier though. Too sweet...I don't think he would have been ready for the outside world...ever..." Mia shifted her gaze to her in sadness, "Something towards the end...when we were doing training in the woods one day...he was in charge...something in his eyes..." Mia near frowned. "Something like what?" she asked.
Brin almost seemed caught in a flash back, "The prisoner...never had a chance... Be-493, once he thought of him to be a nomilie it was like a switch had been flipped. He wasn't Ben he was 493." Brin supplied. Mia 'mmmhhmmed'. "Cold...calculating...then when it was over... he was Ben again. I knew I had to do that to stay strong." Brin confided.
"I 734, am stronger than Brin, she would never have lasted in Manticore nor with Ross. I am the stronger one."
Now Mia had what she needed.
"Oh well I get it..." Mia rolled her eyes to the ceiling, "I've been going about this all wrong...it's like Brin is a completely separate person to you... well now..." she rolled up her sleeves, "Let's get this puppy barking huh?"
"I'm NOT going to let a weakling get me killed." Brin protested. "So give it up!"
Mia leaned forward and stared Brin in the eyes, "Oh don't worry honey... she won't..." Brin's eyes widened in horror as she began to struggle against her restraints, "The hell?" Mia intensified her skills, "Come back to me Brin..." Brin tried to protest again, "Stop!" Brin tried to fight her restraints but her will was lost within Mia's eyes. "Stop!" her protest was feeble against Mia's penetrating gaze. "C'mon Brin girl, we need you here...come on out."
"Brin is not...Brin is weak. If it weren't for her 452 & 494 would have been caught. She gained a measure of control when she saw them again and prevented me from acting as I should have! She's a WEAKNESS!" She raised her head up as she yelled it out.
"Come out and talk Brin... we have a lot to catch up on sweetie." Mia cajoled, breaking through Brin's mental barriers, "Bring... her... out...NOW."
"I…can't…too painful…" Brin started to cry out in pain, all the emotions she put behind closed doors hitting her all at once like a freight train. The vast emotions like a tidal wave of water she couldn't control, it hit her hard. She began crying out in pain as some of her more painful memories came to. "Come on out sweetie its safe here…I swear." Mia said. "I can't, I can't!" Brin cried.
"Brin we need you…" Mia spoke in low tones, the wave lengths soothing compared to Brin's higher toned, getting hysterical voice. "But people get caught…they get killed!" Brin tried, "No they don't, you're just as good at the fighting Brin... we need BRIN!" Mia told her, "But 734 doesn't make errors...I do. I got Zack hurt, I...I got both Max & Zack caught by Lydecker. I'm a lousy soldier…" Brin started to break.
Her voice now growing slightly hoarse from crying out, "No baby, that wasn't your fault... you had progeria. You couldn't help that, besides they got away. They worry about you so much…" Mia told her. "No, I got careless, I…" Brin became stuck in a flash back as Mia pulled more memories with her tele-coercion forward.
"Max needs her sister back, all your siblings do." Mia said. "Let everything else go. Let the pain go…it wasn't you…let it go." The words soothed Brin, her sweet voice calming down Brin's state of mind.
"Max...she'll never be able to forgive me for the things I've done...I remember what I did to her...or rather my fight with her. She tried to give me a chance and I threw it back in her face." Brin finally began to see everything as she used to, 734 started to merge with her in synch. "She's still here waiting Brin... she will welcome you." Mia smiled.
"How do you know?" Brin asked, tears in her eyes. "She loves you Brin... she wants you back... and I swear she'll love you like a sister again."
Max POV
I was so glad I had Mia go in there, she got through to Brin in a way that we, as her sib's, could not. "We should go in now." I leave without waiting for a response. Opening the door to where Brin and Mia are I go over and take off the bonds holding her to the chair. She stood up and hugged me, "I am so sorry." She cried into my shoulder.
"I'm sorry we didn't get you out sooner. We thought you were dead." I explain.
"No Ross took me in when Renfro was ready to 'cancel' me." I closed my eyes, "I know…I heard." I pointed to the window. She nodded, "Thank you." I hugged her tighter. "Come on you need to see the rest of the group. Lots of catching up to do." I tell her.
We walked out and saw everyone waiting. She ran to Zack and enveloped him in a big hug, "I am so sorry."
He hugged her fiercely, "No Brin, I'm the one that's sorry. I let Manticore have you and I didn't do anything more to stop it."
"No, I got you captured and nearly sold as livestock." I could see where this was headed, "Agree to disagree and be done with it." I told them. Brin smiled, "Max, I think maybe she should stay here for a while. No trips." Daniel who had walked by the scene warned. I saw Brin shoot her eyes to me.
"He's right. We faked your death so Avram wouldn't come after you. I think it's best if we settle you in and keep you here for a while." She knew what that meant. She was on probation for a while. Just as a precaution till things blew over and we knew this wasn't some kind of trick that managed to get past Mia or the rest of us.
"Syl why don't you, Krit, and Zack get Brin adjusted here." They nodded, "What about you little sister?" Brin asked, "I have my girls to get back to. You're an auntie." I smiled with pride as I left off to see my daughters.
However the moment I returned to see them Alec gave us all kisses before saying, "I'm gonna talk to Dix." I was baffled for a moment and only hoped that it wasn't that important.
Minutes into the interrogation
Alec POV
I was stunned to find myself approached by Deck during the interrogation of Brin. He motioned with his head to follow him in a completely opposite direction from where I was going. I had intended to provide moral support for Max but the look in Deck's eyes told me he couldn't wait. Sighing loudly with an eye roll, I followed my former CO.
Getting far enough away from the others, I had to ask him, "What is it?"
"We need to take Avram out before he comes and takes us all out. It's how we trained your units and I'm sure he's done the same." I was stunned to hear these words. They came from out of nowhere it seemed. "And where the hell is this coming from if I may ask? What? You wanna get even with the man for what he did with your wife? Your career?" I asked him.
"Not just that, but for the crap that he's going to put you and yours through." Deck pursed his lips together, his eyes squinting up at me. I hated that.
Plus I didn't like the idea that he knew something we didn't. Or rather saw something we preferred not to. I raised my eyebrows in question, "How do you figure that?"
"Do you really think that he'll let you win? Avram is a sadistic son of a bitch that needs to learn the truth of things the hard way. If you want to prevent this war from happening then help me with my plan. Max doesn't need to know." Deck said.
Doubtfully, I folded my arms. "And what exactly is your plan?" I asked.
"To discredit him. As long as we can do that he'll be harmless against us. He'll lose his funding and be shut down. His career will be over so there wouldn't even be a chance of him getting someone to help him. This position of where he is in life is all of his 'called in favors', anything that he's ever asked for in life, returned." Deck told me. I bit my lip momentarily wondering how much of a bad idea this was.
"IF we do this… cause right now, I'm not saying we are, but IF we do this...we do it my way." I tell him. "I have the information needed to figure out our first move." I near laughed, "No you see I'm not going in on this, I'm not risking couching my ass just so you can have your brass ones in charge."
His eyes met mine with a mildly confused expression before understanding...and rolling his eyes, "Max will not find out until everything has been dealt with. Besides your couch isn't that uncomfortable...or so I've heard." Deck stated, "Yeah I'd rather be in my bed, with my mate every night." Deck nodded, "I understand. You're in charge." I nodded, "Let's get started then. First off how were you even planning on catching him? The man has four transgenics as his body guards and four right hand men, which is odd because none of them were at the meeting we attended with him."
"They were there...out of sight out of mind." Deck muttered.
"Lovely so how do we get past eight transgenics without raising a fuss for a day at least? I can't imagine the maneuverability to get around them." I mutter, trying to figure out a way to actually get the general.
"Slip something into his drink." Deck advised, "Granted you'd have to have someone on the inside." his gaze went in the direction of Brin, "She wouldn't do it and what's more I don't think Max or the others would LET her go do it. Transgenic she may be but versus five other transgenics..." he saw my point.
"Who else is on his body guard team?" Deck asked me. Truthfully other than Brin we didn't know, "Got no idea. Only Brin would know - but she's in there with Mia right now." I halt Deck before he can leave.
"I understand that you're under a time crunch since Brin's back, but 734 will give the answers we need." Deck answered. It didn't seem that he cared much for her mental recovery, nor that she was still a flight risk after this. Brin, like any one else taken from Ross's bunch would need to prove that they wouldn't up and run back the first chance they get and spill anything worthwhile from the inside.
"Brin knows what 734 knows, wait till Mia's done with her, she's Psy Ops for cripes sake." I state in an effort to stop him. "I can't take that chance." Deck tried to move again but he was nothing compared to an X5 male.
"You're not going anywhere near Brin till Mia gives the okay." I felt like I was now protecting her from him. How odd. The very woman who would have no trouble skinning me or her family alive for Avram and here I was protecting her from Deck. It was almost ironic how this was working out.
"Just give it a few hours." I amend. He turns around long enough before I grab him in a strong hold grip and effectively knock him unconscious, "Believe me that was for the better. We both know you wouldn't have let up even for a few hours and I'm not keen on babysitting your ass till Brin's Brin again." I tell his unconscious body. "Not to mention it'd just be easier to throw you at your place unguarded for a few hours till you wake up." I muttered to myself.
Hauling him over my shoulder I throw his form onto his own couch. "Sleep tight." I mutter.
Grabbing my phone I rang for Dix, "Hey I need you to run a few info taps for me. Think you can start up some hackin'?" I asked Dix, "Sure thing Alec." he replied without any hesitation. I gave him the names and basic information he would need to start the hack and tap. Shutting my phone off I left from Deck's little apartment back to the interrogation room.
Now time to see how Brin is doing...heading over to where Mia was with her I see she already has people, her sib's watching her progress. "I'm guessing you're glad I had that two way mirror installed huh?" I grinned. Max's sib's were watching with baited breath for a response from Brin that would indicate she was herself again. "It's handy." Zack threw at me, "I'll take it." I state.
Walking in I ask, "You think there's any way we can suss out who the other body guards or right hand men are?" I hoped it would be a quick endeavor.
Alec POV
Getting to HQ I rounded up the steps to Dix, 'How's the info tap goin'?" I asked. "Great, I have a list populating as we speak. It's just long and my computers are a tad outdated.
"Need that list of those closest to the general. Body guards and right hand people. They should be four a piece." I tell him.
"Okay things are looking up..." I watching his hands type away at speeds that Logan himself would have felt envious of. "Got them." I saw a list of right hand men pop up, "Wonderful." I thank the little mutant before dashing into the opposing room to Brin's.
"Krit I need you." he slowly walked away from the scene, "Man never let me get on Mia's bad side. I think she could literally get me to jump off a building if she wanted me to." he stated eerily, "And with her 50's demeanor she would sound cold, deadly and a tad psychotic doing it." I somewhat agree.
"Anyways I need you for a mission for me man." he shifted his focus to me, "What kind of mission?" he asks, "The kind that could potentially end the start of a war." his brows rose up. Or start one...I mused in my head.
"I need you to pose as one of Avram's right hand men. His third is your twin. I just need you to knock him out long enough to slip the general a little something to help him sleep. I can pick him up at his place, or where ever he drops off at. You give me a five minute window to get in and out." his eyes widened momentarily. "My twin is by his side?" he remarked.
I nodded, he laughed. "What's so funny?" I asked.
"You don't see the irony or the humor in the fact that we seem to be the good versus evil mirroring one another. He had evil Brin, he has evil me, we now are getting back good Brin, and you already have good me." I open my mouth to retort when I found I had none, "That's...I..." I scratched my head as I went over it in my head before frowning, 'Just can you do it?" I ask him.
He smiled, "Yeah I can do it. How hard can it be to pretend to be an emotionless killer?" I raised a brow, "Just don't tell Max about this. She's not in the loop yet. I want to make sure this doesn't blow up in my face first." he nods, "if it weren't for the fact that I kinda like you as a brother now, I'd say screw you. But you've proven yourself over time so sure." I thank him.
"Thanks man I really appreciate it. But first and foremost we need a window to present itself so you can take out your twin for a couple of hours. I'll talk to Daniel on somethin' that'll be enough to knock him out for at least six hours." Krit stopped me, 'Won't this enrage Avram, make him want to start the war?" I grin back.
"If all goes well, Avram won't do anything. He'll be too busy fleeing the country. You mess with transgenics, prepare to lose." Krit agreed with me as we headed in separate directions, I needed to talk to Daniel now.
Finding him in the lab, I signal him over, "What's up?"
"I need to know if you are aware of any drug that can knock a transgenic out for at least six hours. Now I know you had a thing back in the day with the Manticore doc we used to have, she must have said something." I ask.
He huffs before darting his head around in a 'we can't be caught talkin about this' motion before pulling me over to a cornered area, "Depends on how you want the transgenic to catch it. Injection, air born, drink, food." he rattles the list off.
"Drink. Airborne too expensive to try and get ahold of, injection, there'll be a mark left behind. Maybe not after a day or two but it will be there. Food takes longer to digest than liquid does. It would have to be out of his system in a day, at the most." I tell him. He bites his lip before holding his chin up with his hand before smiling, "I know just the liquid agent for this." I smile, "lead the way." I tell him.
"It's a combination of these four liquids and that powder to give you what you need." he shows me the components, "Okay when can it be ready in completed liquid form?" I asked him. "Give 'em two to three hours and then come back." I nodded and walked out.