A/N: I'm so excited where this story is going! Thank you all for reading and those who reviewed it is greatly appreciated! also I know I wrote 2149 but the time frame they are in is actually 2150..but since they haven't seen a calender the characters believe it to be 2149... it will be correct later on.. Just letting you all know! Enjoy!
An hour or so later in 2149,
"Dad, is Kate going to make it?" Maddy asked as Kate was barely breathing but still alive. Since the time Mira left the hives had spread and she was now covered head to toe in hives and her breathing had taken a slow decline.
"No, she's just having a rough go. Once Mira is back and we give her some meds she'll be fine" Jim assured Maddy as he kept a constant check on her vitals, she looked to be barley breathing. The sounds of footfalls made Taylor and Jim stand up with their weapons ready to fire when they heard Mira speak.
"It's us, I'd like it if you didn't shoot" Mira called.
Taylor opened the door letting Mira and Guzman in before closing the door and locking. The two came into the room with two large duffel bags and dumped them on the floor. Mira unzipped one of the bags and tossed them all a rebreather each which they put on immediately, started breathing with relief as the clean filtered air went into their lungs.
Mira pulled out a medkit and knelt down beside Kate's prone body and injected the woman with antihistamine mixed with small dose of adrenalin to perk her up before placing the rebreather on Kate's face. The woman's breathing immediately improved and a few minutes later she was sitting up, looking drowsy but recovering.
"I don't miss these things" Jim said through his rebreather.
"Better than breathing in the filth out there, we should be thankful Wallace isn't a stingy bastard. We have everything we need. I have to judge sizes so no complaining. The ID's are as Legit as we could get in short notice but Kate's won't past muster. There are no photo records or any records of her in the core for whatever reason" Mira said she tossed everyone their new clothes as they would stand out in their terra nova wardrobe and fatigues.
"What did I miss?" Kate asked joining the conversation as she felt light headed but better than she did a few minutes ago.
"You ID won't get you through the Sector gates. So you're probably better off staying in this sector. Also when you are outside try and not draw attention to yourself. Your ID works for public transport but if you are flagged down by a sector cop you're done. It's best you stay in this sector" Mira said to Kate, she handed out ID cards to them.
"Ok, not like I even know where I am or where to go" Kate said.
"Never been to Chicago?" Jim asked.
"No but I hear you can get a mean hot dog" Kate said.
"Not in this day and age. Food shortages the city is eating ration cubes" Guzman said.
"Yummy" Kate replied dryly.
"Why do we have to move?" Maddy asked.
"Some private security company is looking for us. Well Sheriff and the Commander in particular along with sketchy descriptions of the rest of us. but it's enough to go by if we are all standing around in a group. A surveillance camera that still functions in this part of town picked us up as we left the alley" Mira told her.
"I recommend we keep the plex and the sensor gear with us but weapons and everything else will have to be stashed here. The area is being roughed up by a security team looking for you sir. Not Military some sort of private security company, they have a Phoenix insignia" Guzman said.
"Ok" Taylor nodded as he reluctantly undid his shoulder holster and pulled the gun and holster off placing it into one of the duffel bags with their old clothing.
At least Mira had gotten clothing in the right size, black jeans and steel blue t-shirt and a good quality leather jacket. Jim was wearing same black jeans and green shirt with a hoodie and another leather jacket but in a different style to Taylors.
Kate was wearing a pair of grey skinny jeans with a navy hoodie with grey tank top and a long grey scarf wrapped around her neck several times her hair was out of its ponytail and carefully tucked into the scarf, she hoodie over her head covering her face and the colour of hair. She pulled the long sleeves down so they covered her hands. Maddy was in similar attire just different colours, maroons and dark blue jeans.
"My 'friend' and I use that term loosely informed me of where my daughter is. I think our best option is to split up into pairs" Mira said.
"Maddy you go with Kate" Jim said.
"What?" Maddy asked she had assumed she would go with her father.
"Whoever these people that are looking for us. Know to look for me and Taylor. You're safer with Kate and plus she needs a knowledgeable guide" Jim said as he saw the panic in his daughter's eyes at not wanting to be separated. He didn't want to leave her side but he also didn't want her picked up by the police or whoever was looking for them.
"He's right" Taylor told Maddy. He looked to Jim "Jim, you're with me. Guzman you're with Mira. Kate with Maddy. We'll split up go separate ways to lay low, we have less chances of being discovered separately. Keep in contact every two hours between those hours keep them switched off as they can be traced" Taylor explained a specific code they should always use before they make contact and three safe words for if they are in trouble or about to be captured so they wouldn't be lured into traps.
"Kate, here's more Antihistamines the shot I gave you should last 48 hours but just in case" Mira said as she handed her the small container of pills and a couple small bricks of money.
"Thanks, I guess we'll see you all back here in 46 hours" Kate said as she halved the bricks giving some to Maddy to carry and squaring the rest away on her person. She and Maddy said their goodbyes and left the building from a side entrance as they had decided to stagger their departure.
"Two female targets left the building. Calloway, Hendrix they are heading your direction. Remember we want them alive and preferably unharmed" Doherty said into his comm to his men. Mr Russell wanted the group alive and brought to the new Hope plaza where all 'Terra Nova' projects were being researched.
"Copy that" Calloway replied.
"We will wait for the other four to exit and pick them up one by one." Doherty said as he read his life signs detector hiding in the shadows across the street. He knew it was going to be an easy pick up and relished something to do than patrolling the building like everyday security teams. He like the others were ex special forces they needed a little excitement in their lives and today they were going to get it.
"Try to relax Maddy" Kate said as she looped her arm around Maddy's pulling the girl close as they walked down the street. She could help but notice how deserted the streets were for 7pm at night with exception of a few homeless people. Kate kept her eyes scanning the area as she had a bad vibe, it wasn't until they passed a homeless bum that she noticed his shoes. She frowned as they were military boots, that didn't bother her except for how polished and not scuffed they were. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him mumble to himself. She looked around trying to see what they were being led into so she changed their direction and pulled out her comm. unit and started typing.
"We aren't supposed to be check in for another hour" Maddy reminded her.
"We are being watched right now, I think whoever is looking for us has gotten lucky" Kate said in a low voice to her as she sent a message 'Position Compromised. E&E'. She just hoped it wasn't too late. She pocketed her comm.
"What about the others?" Maddy asked.
"I sent word. If they get caught we'll figure something out don't worry. Give me the backpack with the gear" Kate told her, Maddy passed the back she had been carrying to Kate. "Just act cool and be ready to run like a bat out of hell" she told Maddy.
"I have the targets in sight, don't worry boys we got this one" Calloway said over his comm. to his team. He smiled and rolled his eyes at Hendrix as they got the easy job. The two women come towards them were tiny little things in comparison to them. He wished they had two guys to beat on but he drew the short straw as two stepped out of the shadows in front of the two women in their sector police outfits.
"Hold up there ladies. Hoods down and let's see some ID" Calloway said in an authortative tone. The two women looked freaked ut at him coming from the shadows but relieved as he was in a uniform.
"What's the problem officer?" the one in a navy hoodie asked innocently as she and her friend pulled down their hoods. He now had a better look of her red hair and grey eyes with pale skin that was slightly red from an allergy as he saw the hives slowly disappearing. The other had dark brown hair and brown eyes with an lightly tanned complexion.
"There was a quarantine put on this sector an hour ago. Now ID" Calloway said he motioned for Hendrix to take the woman in the Maroon hoodie. He liked redheads and this one looked ready to be a handful. The redhead handed him a card. He barely took the card from her hand when she kicked him hard in the groin hard and disarmed him of his gun while he fell to his knees in pain.
"Should of said 'please' you Drongo" was the last thing he heard before the woman smashed him in the face with his gun.
Kate turned to Maddy and watched as she took care of the soldier with a more complicated combo of punches and throwing the man to the ground knocking him unconscious.
"Damn girl!" Kate said admiring Maddy's skill as she fleeced the comm. unit from the soldier she had attacked. She put the ear piece in her ear and heard the chatter. She looked around at the moving shadows and grabbed Maddy's arm. "Ok time to run" she told Maddy.
"I thought we said to stay in contact every hour-" Jim read his comm. as did everyone else.
"Damnit looks like my 'friend' sold us out. ID's won't work, we are screwed even if we make it out this building" Mira said as she typed a reply to Kate telling her not to use their ID's.
"Tell them to 'Go to Ground and ditch their comm'." Taylor told Jim who was also furiously typing. Their day was not going well.
"It's lucky they have the gear, Kate and Maddy have a better chance out there then we do here" Guzman said as he looked out the battered curtain. "I count five people on the ground and that's what we can see"
"What are we going to do?" Mira asked.
"Split up like we planned but Jim and I'll take the sewers. There should be an access tunnel in the basement" Taylor said.
"Calloway and Hendrix are down, we are in pursuit of the two targets"
"Damnit, ok listen we are going to storm the castle boys. Get into position, remember we want them alive" Doherty said as he looked to his second and wondered how two of his men were beaten up by two women.
Kate pulled Maddy into a side alley and kicked in a door to another abandoned building she pushed Maddy in and closed the door behind them. They were both completely out of breath, Kate leaned against the door and pressed her ear to the door listening to the outside while listening to the chatter in the ear comm.
"I'm shaking"
"It's the adrenalin don't worry it'll pass." Kate said as she listened to the comm chatter and typed off messages to Taylor and the others. Letting them know the building was being stormed.
"I can't believe I kicked ass" Maddy said as she looked at her shaky hands, she did all the training but never thought in the moment she could use it.
"Yeah you did me proud. Kind of made me look bad for going for the cheap shots" Kate said tongue in cheek. She held her finger to her lips motioning they be quiet as the incessant chatter told her the men searching for them were running up the street they had been on before making their detour.
"Looks like we are all taking a trip down to the basement, we better hurry we have 5 seconds before the building is stormed" Taylor said as the four of them were running down the stairs as quickly as they could but not fast enough as they heard soldier's storm the building. They had pulled their sonic rifles from the vent and put it on a low setting.
Terra Nova,
Alicia with Reynolds help packed away the plex screens in the command centre. Reynolds and Reilly had already done all the heavy lifting and moving tables and chairs to one side of the room and tying them down so the wind wouldn't be able to pick them up. If the storm turned out to be an extreme event. The storm clouds had already started to roll in looking rather dark and brooding.
"Ma'am where will you be during the storm?" Reynolds asked, she squashed her ire at Reynolds' awkwardness in asking and how his eyes drifted to her stomach. She knew he was only showing concern but it really annoyed her that people believed she had lost half a brain or something and had forgotten she was pregnant.
"The infirmary, don't worry Baz is making sure all the windows are boarded up nice and tight. It will be the tertiary shelter for the stragglers and the two patients Elisabeth isn't ready to move" Alicia told Reynolds.
"Yes Ma'am" Reynolds said as he and Reilly continued to work, Elisabeth appeared at the door with a concerned expression on her face.
"Any word from the others?" Elisabeth asked as she came into the room.
"No, I've sent them several messages. Malcolm believes the storm may have already hit them or there is magnetic interference from what they were going to investigate. They'll be alright. It's safer in the jungle than here as we'll feel the brunt of this storm as we are out in the open." Alicia assured her.
"Well I guess they do have Mira, she has lived in the jungle for many years" Elisabeth said more to convince herself that they would be ok.
"Exactly, they are good at beating the odds" Alicia said.
In 2149,
"What's happening?" Maddy asked in a low voice as she had caught her breath. Now her heart was pumping out of fear of being captured and for her father and the others still in the building. Kate was listening to the action on the comm. units and been giving Maddy updates except for the past 2 minutes she had been silent. The silence was killing her.
"Taylor and the others have been captured alive with minor injuries on both sides. They are taking them back to the base. Wherever that is" Kate said with a sigh as she pulled out the ear comm. and her comm. unit, she dropped it to the floor stomping them to pieces.
"Why did you do that?!" Maddy exclaimed.
"Relax, they can track our comm. units you should do the same to yours. If we destroy them they'll have more trouble finding us" Kate said, Maddy dropped her comm. unit and stomped on it.
"Ok what now?" Maddy asked.
"We hang here for a few hours as the soldier's whoever they are have lost us." Kate told her as she opened the back pack and pulled out a flashlight turning it on to inspect where they were. She started looking around and realised it was an abandoned restaurant and they were in the back area before the kitchens and the restaurant floor. It had been completely ransacked and by the layer of dust and filthy of shelving the place had been closed for years.
"It should be safe and once they figure we've left the area they'll move on. We can use the time to figure something out" Kate said as she and Maddy moved through the restaurant. Thunder sounded making Kate search for movement.
"Storms are pretty frequent" Maddy explained.
"Right, I hate this whole ghost town thing" Kate said as she found a set of stairs going to another level. When they reached it she found it was a large room filled with broken tables and chairs scattered around. She pointed the torch at the ground and moved to the window opening the tattered curtain to the side to peak outside. It was a good vantage point as she could see the whole street. She pulled up a stool and perched on it so she could keep an eye on the street. She looked to Maddy who was standing around not sure of what she should do.
"Pull up a stool opposite me and keep an eye in that direction while we talk this out situations" Kate told her, Maddy nodded and did as Kate told her to.
Terra Nova,
"The storm is coming in faster than the techs predicted" Reynolds said as he walked down the stairs of the command centre next to Alicia. The clouds were dark and thunder was sounding at a regular pace, the wind had also picked up dramatically as the stairs they were walking down were swaying slightly in the wind.
"Ok, Reynolds you and the other soldiers start getting the civilians into the shelters. I'll be in the infirmary setting up the plex screens in Doctor Shannon's office as a temporary command centre. Also make sure all the scientists are accounted for. I want everyone in the shelters in the next hour. Dismissed" Alicia told him.
"Yes Ma'am" Reynolds said as he snapped to attention and left her to go on with his job. Alicia headed towards the infirmary, she took one last look up at the sky hoping Taylor and the others were alright.
In 2149,
Taylor sat in a white nondescript interrogation room with a metal table and two chairs. One of which he was seated in not feeling incredibly comfortable. He didn't know what happened to the others except they were in the building somewhere. He looked at the two way mirror noting the blood on his face from the head wound he had sustained in the fight.
The only door into the room opened and Taylor sat in his chair and watched in surprise and Clayton Russell came into the room. He hadn't seen the man in over 13 years when he retired from the Army as Colonel. He had changed a lot his hair greyer, he wore a well tailored suit and walked like a man with a lot of power.
"Taylor, long time" Clayton said with a smile as he held out his hand. Taylor took the hand and shook it as he thought it best to play along.
"Clayton, you look well" Taylor said.
"Thank you, I was shocked to see you in 2150 I thought you'd be in Terra Nova"
"I'm not entirely sure how I ended up here myself but yet here I am" Taylor said sticking to the story he and the others agreed on. They would pretend they had no clue how they got here and not acknowledge Kate or Maddy if they were thrown into the mix in the hopes they would be cut loose as civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then they would plan their escape. They first needed to play stupid and assess their situation and where they were being held. Taylor hoped they would all be interrogated then shafted into one room where they could exchange information.
"Walk me through it." Clayton said.
"One moment I was out with my men and Mira looking at the old site where we had the Terminus and next standing in 2149" Taylor said.
"There were two other people with you. Two women" Clayton prompted.
"They were in the alleyway when we arrived. They didn't come from my end" Taylor said.
"But they helped you? Then proceeded to escape the net we set out to catch them. I have two men in the infirmary with broken bones" Clayton said. Only two, Kate must be slipping… Taylor thought his face staying neutral as he betrayed nothing.
"Chicago is a dangerous city" Taylor offered.
"Indeed, especially outside the dome. It's good to see you again" Clayton said smiling at Taylor like old friends seeing one another again. Taylor couldn't help but be suspicious of that friendship as he was in an interrogation room instead of an office being offered a drink. The lack of hospitality spoke volumes.
"I have to say I was planning this trip home but you think I'll be able to get out of this room and stretch my legs?" Taylor asked.
"James Robert Shannon. Born and raised Chicagoan, Police officer for the last 20 years until you broke the population control regulations and assaulted the officers searching your housing. You broke out of Golad Prison, stowed away to Terra Nova. Came back and destroyed Hope Plaza with a bomb killing over 60 people and injuring a few hundred not to mention the damage to the city property. Now tell me how did you manage this feat?" The man sitting opposite Jim asked as he placed a plex on the table between them. Jim tried not to rise to the bait the interrogator had dangled out there. Infering that he was a terrorist to make him angry insulting his patriotism, Jim knew he had to keep his cool.
"I don't know how I got here" Jim said plainly.
"Are you here to contact your terrorist cell?" the man asked.
"I don't have a terrorist cell, because I am not a terrorist" Jim said.
"Right, so blowing up Hope Plaza was just a misfortunate accident? You just accidently set off a bomb before accidently running back through the fracture before it collapsed. Because we have footage of it all and we will happily overlook it all if you tell us how you got here. Otherwise you'll be locked away for a very long time in a very dark hole" the man told him.
Mira stood in a large office with a window overlooking the city dome. After the van they had been transported in had come to a halt the four of them had immediately been separated. She had expected to be thrown into a cell or an interrogation room not brought to the large office of Clayton Russell who was apparently an ex-soldier turn entrepreneur who had money in philanthropic ventures along with the revival of the Terra Nova project.
The door opened and Mira turned to see Clayton Russell the man in all the photos in the office shaking hands with important people. They had only met once when he recruited her for the Phoenix Group's mission. He was a silent member of the group using a representative to do all his dealings thus he wasn't killed in the explosion that killed the other backers.
"Miss Boisseau, a pleasure to see you again. Do take a seat" Clayton said as he gestured to the guest chair opposite his desk.
"I prefer to stand" Mira said eyeing him with caution as she wanted to be sure she wasn't falling into another bad situation.
"So be it. Can I offer you a drink?" he asked as he poured himself a glass of whisky. Mira shook her head as she folded her arms and moved to the window and looked out at the beautifully preserved buildings and the slightly polluted air as rich people went about their days. A second later, Clayton joined her with his drink. "I was surprised that you made it back and overjoyed as this means the fracture isn't collapsed or destroyed. Tell me how did you get back here? the fracture is supposed to untethered" he said.
"I wouldn't know. One moment I was in Terra Nova the next I was here" Mira told him.
"Ok that's a common theme I'm hearing. So tell me about the two other women in the group that slipped my security team."
"I don't know them. They were in the alleyway we appeared" Mira said sticking to the story. She would have sold Taylor and the others down the river but Kate was tied into their fates so if she screwed them Kate would be screwed. One woman who had a way of coming back from the dead and making a person sorry they were alive. She was not going to mess with Kate.
"Really, so you are on their side now? Even though I have been raising your daughter Sienna and providing everything else you asked for her since you left?"
"I did my end of the job, it's not my fault your army was inadequate to the task. Now I want to see my daughter" Mira demanded.
"She's on her way now. Tell me how you got here again? in more detail." he said.
"Taylor and the others wanted to look at the old site where the Terminus used to be to clear out the foliage that had grown through the area. Dr Wallace has repaired the Terminus and Lucas wants to attempt opening the fracture. I'm not a scientist so I don't know how I got here. Like I said before one moment I was there and the next I was here" Mira said.
"Indeed and that is why I believe it's time you received some rewards for your efforts and retired" Clayton said, Mira looked at him.
"what's going to happen with Taylor and the others?"
"They are none of your concern"
"Humour me, you know I won't talk I have my daughter's future to think of" Mira said, Clayton gave a shrug as he saw no harm in telling Mira she was on his pay roll. She knew better than anyone that it was best to stay loyal to those who paid your bills.
"He and the other two men will be kept here for scientific research. Don't worry about them. As for you, you have an 8th birthday party to organise in your new home and life. I'm no longer in need of your services but I do expect to be invited to the party" He said with a smile as he pulled out a small yellow envelope from his inside coat pocket and handed it to her. "You'll find the keys to your new home, ID card and a sizeable bank account to keep you and your daughter very happy in a dome for the rest of your lives." He said.
Mira looked inside the envelope at the too good to be true situation she had landed herself into. It felt like a trap which made her wonder what Clayton Russell was up to. It was all too easy. She pocketed the envelope taking it at face value as she only needed his trust for the next 48 hours. Once she found Kate and Maddy they would plan a way to rescue the others and get the hell out of 2150.