It was through a crack in the wooden boards that Jondy could glimpse the silent night. There were no stars to meet her vision as she sat, huddled in a chair by the boarded-up window. The young woman only encountered a never ending darkness- and knew, here in the unsettling silence of this house, that she stood at the abyss edge, peering into a sightless chasm- one that threatened to swallow her whole…
-she had to get out- she had to leave.
Run.
… once again.
She would not stay here. Not after today, not after before.
A tear glinted in the moonlight as it rolled down one soft, painfully angular cheek.
There was an achy listlessness inside of her. She was wounded from battle, frustrated at her immobility and scared by her entrapment: her inability to gain any control over her actions.
Jondy did not believe in destiny and yet could not shake the uncanny feeling that her life- thus far- had been ordained by a higher power. People – normal, regular people- did not experience life in a manner such as she; they -despite their mediocre abilities and struggle to live- at least had choice and a modicum of control over their actions. They were not held prisoner by the exploits of others as unlike she they had been born with the gift of free-will. Perched by the dilapidated windowsill, beseeching the stars, Jondy felt she had none. She could only strive for such love, each effort as fruitless as the next.
A sigh escaping her, she unfolded herself and leapt from her post, standing tall with determination. She could not stay here, under the beck and call of the sleeping figure in the next room. And yet, she did not have the nerve to do away with him- she after all, owed him her life. She would just have to find her own way out, Jondy decided with a small grin, gingerly moving around the living room in order to inspect her surroundings. She had always liked a challenge. Then, she would hitch a ride to Chicago and find Zane.
The snap and click of the light switch echoed emptily off the linoleum in the dark room.
No electricity.
Boarded up windows.
It really was the house of a condemned man, Jondy thought grimly. Limping over the dusty plastic floor to the stove, her eyes adjusted under the darkness. The ignition sparked blindly when she pressed the button. No flames flared on the gas stove as she turned the knob. She stood listening absently to the blank firing of the ignition in the darkness.
Maybe her life had been a series of blank rounds, Jondy mused- she had been gifted with a never-reached potential. She had always fallen short- or sought to save herself. It was a strategy that involved calculated risk and knowing the probability of those she loved would get caught in the crossfire.
Zane had saved her from her own worst self, she knew. He had removed her self-imposed limits and given her an out to discover better sides to herself. When he had strolled into her bar in San Francisco, his ivy green eyes pensive and his dark unruly mop of hair every which way, she had known him instantly. Their connection was one a human could not fathom. It was primal, visceral and there always. They were each other's peace in a turbulent world. And they always would be: they were made for each other.
The hack had told them to go to ground. So they did. The bond- the fire that had existed between them as unit mates in Manticore- reignited and burnt fiercely under conditions of freedom. Jondy had defied her parents. Zane had defied Zack. Together, they defied the whole damn world and lived for the first time in their short lives. They orchestrated heists in Vegas. Taught martial arts to kids in Harlem. Bootlegged alcohol in the South. All the while, Jondy had pushed aside her feeling of impending doom, and for the first time, in a long time, was truly happy.
Then, the rest of their kind had been let out into the wilderness of the land of milk and honey- and they hadn't been the only ones. Zane and Jondy had tried to ignore them- the different other ones like them - and to live normal lives. It was only when the bombs started falling on Seattle that the two rouge X5's became submissive to the transgenic cause.
Decisively Jondy released the button as if burnt and turned, hearing the rhythmic breathing from the corridor cease. Her heart thrumming and her ears straining, she sent a desperate plea to the Blue Lady: please don't let him wakeup, please. After a few painful moments of statuesque stillness and concentration, she later heard Lydecker's snoring resume. Releasing a relieved breath, Jondy set about her task.
With sharp eyes, the X5 scanned the kitchen contents hidden by the cover of nighttime darkness. It was best to be armed: she knew Lydecker would sleep with his weapon nestled safely in the cavity between his mattress and pillow - she needed a weapon for her own protection. She quickly searched the cupboards, before moving onto open a dilapidated utensil drawer where she found much to her joy a lengthy and sharp looking knife. Jondy wondered idly if he had ever woken up with a blade pressed snugly against his throat. Taking it from the drawer, Jondy hid the knife on her person glancing down at her bare feet as she placed a hand to the frosted glass window. Grimacing, the young woman shrugged to herself- she had run bare foot in winter once before. She could do it again.
Moving deftly over creaking floorboards, Jondy came across the broken freezer and opened it's door, looking past empty boxes and wads of photos (all old and yellowing of a beautiful woman). Jondy rifled through its contents quickly in hope of finding some petty cash and couldn't restrain her grin when she pulled out a roll of old-looking fifty dollar bills. A flutter caught the corner of her eye and she saw one of the photos, old and ancient, float to the dusty floor. Unable to believe her eyes, to reconcile this image with the one she had always known, Jondy slowly bent down in bewilderment. Her hand stretched out shakily as she brought the image to her eyes. It was a young Lydecker with a woman. Only because she knew the truth, could she see the ghost of her features in Max. There was blazing hearth in the background, rumpled blankets. She had breasts Jondy had only ever dreamt of. And he- god- he-
The cocking of a gun shook her from her shock.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Jondy turned, coming face to face with a furious Lydecker and when her eyes spied the pistol aimed at her rather flat chest, the incriminating photo fell from her fingers to land face down on the floor in the moonlight unobserved.
Jondy kept her eyes fixed on the gun pointed at her as she attempted to reign in her anger at Lydecker's arrogance before her temper got the better of her. Swallowing, she forced the Colonel's threat of termination to the back of her mind. She knew he wouldn't fire the weapon: it would be tactically premature- he needed her alive to achieve his goals.
"I'm outta here," she announced to the Colonel resolutely. Stepping toward Lydecker in the grimy kitchen, Jondy raised her chin in challenge as she surreptitiously slid the roll of fifty-dollar bills into her trouser pocket before taking time to score a point, "I ain't yours to keep any more, Lydecker."
Lydecker's gaze narrowed whilst his mind raced. After the lengths he had gone to get the disrespectful rogue away from White, she would be working for him now - no questions about it. He kept his aim steadily targeted at her chest and removed the safety on the weapon. He was prepared to fire if he had to and if it meant incapacitating her as a last resort, so be it; he refused to let her get away from him again. The tactician within the Colonel yelled at him to execute a contingency plan and Lydecker knew he only had one way to neutralize the threat her mentality now posed to his mission; he must trigger her subordination.
It was time to execute Plan A.
"You have been in enemy captivity for six months," Lydecker argued stepping closer to the nineteen year old, noting the flash of defiance in her eyes, "you can hardly stand- you are weak Jondy, how do expect to outrun Ames White?"
He watched his barb sink its claws when her face visibly paled at the mention of White.
"I can fend for myself," Jondy retorted hoping she appeared not to miss a beat.
"It would be tactical suicide-your systems were crashing less than twenty-four hours ago," Lydecker shot back, widening his stance with the aim of dominating the space they both inhabited in a ploy to reaffirm at the girl's subconscious level her subordinate position in the chain of command. Manticore statistics indicated that tried and tested methods gleaned more effective results when it came to his kids. And Lydecker knew that psychological warfare would always be his preferred method of control when it came to her cohort.
"Do you really think we have been able to destabilize the Familiar network to such an extent in your absence- that they won't be able to conduct an effective search for you?" The Colonel continued calmly, assertively, "Ames White's agenda is fixed firmly on the elimination of Max- and therefore he is not finished with you, Jondy."
Swallowing bile that rose to the back of her throat at his words, at his arrogance- she was a hundred times stronger, faster and smarter than the old man- Jondy drew on her inner reserves of determination, growling low in her throat, "you bastard, get the hell out of my way!"
Ignoring the anxiety that was building in the pit of stomach, Jondy executed her offense with precision. Kicking out her uninjured leg and striking the butt of Lydecker's handgun, she sent it flying upwards into the air and caught the weapon in one fluid motion. Stuffing it into the back of her trousers, the X5 shouldered past Lydecker, pushing her surprised childhood commander to the floor with a thud.
Jondy made her way to the front entrance of the house, her intention to get as far away from Donald Lydecker as quickly as she could. She didn't care that at 3 am most places that would shelter her in Gillette would be closed. She didn't care that it would be next to freezing outside. She didn't care that once again she would be alone. She knew her odds of survival on the lam were high- the others had been living their lives that way for over ten years.
Jondy didn't count, however, on the hand that would catch her forearm in a vice like grip or the strength with which Lydecker would slam her bodily into the door jam. When Lydecker got up in her face, however, a familiar sense of trepidation ran down Jondy's spine, rooting her to the spot. She remembered the experience of being berated by her Colonel all too well. What froze her was her knowledge of the consequences: month long stays psy-ops, weeks of solitary confinement, beatings, disappearances. It was immobilizing.
Lydecker relished the fear he saw come flooding back into the girl and chose to press his advantage. Reaching behind her, the Colonel lifted the gun and knife from her person. For his strategy to be successful he and she needed to be on equal footing. He pointedly threw the offending weapons to the other side of the hallway. They landed with a clatter on the wooden floorboards, echoing throughout the dilapidated house. In one simple glare the Colonel conveyed his opinion of the ineptitude of the X5 before him, watching her shrink away from him with relish.
"Do you really think I would just let you walk out of here?" Lydecker demanded in low cold measured tones. His proximity to her was such that he could smell her scent as he dominated her personal space. "You hold valuable information on key enemy figures- don't think I bought half of that bullshit you fed me this morning- you have a lot of intel – important intel – locked away in your head that you're not telling me-" Lydecker growled, calling her bluff.
"I've told you everything!" Jondy cried desperately as she made to fight him off and the Colonel was inwardly surprised to see her distress. "I did what you wanted Lydecker- I delivered my end of the bargain-"
Fury laced through Lydecker's insides at her display. There was no bargain: they were at war.
"Shut your goddamned mouth!" Lydecker roared, pinning Jondy to the door jam as he glared down at her. "You do not talk when I am speaking!"
The X5 had to bite back the sob that threatened to spill from her throat.
"NO," Lydecker shook her- hard, abandoning all attempt at restraint, ignoring her glassy eyes. "You fucked up." The words came out in a hiss, his cold rage palpable. "You got caught. You let Ames White desecrate billions worth of R and D." At his sneer Jondy felt color rise to her cheeks. "You are a disappointment and you-"
"Let-me-go!"
In one panicked move, Jondy pushed Lydecker away from her forcefully. A well-aimed kick to his chest sent her former mentor flying into the wall with a thud and the X5 chose to make her get away once and for all.
Attempting to run as fast as she possibly could down the unlit hallway, all Jondy found she could accomplish was a mere jog. It sobering how weak her body was, but the fact served to strengthen her resolve- her only objective was to get the hell away from Lydecker and find her husband.
Still catching his breath after having the wind knocked out of him, Lydecker watched the young woman as she stood before his thrice-bolted door frantically working her way through the complex electronic security system protecting the house. Approaching slowly, Lydecker caught up with Jondy at the steel-reinforced front door, taking in her stricken expression with a small sense of discomfort.
"I have to go to Chicago," Jondy was muttering feverishly to herself as she worked at keying in the security code to exit the safe house, struggling to push Lydecker's barrage of reprimand from her mind. "H-have to find Zane."
In that moment Lydecker understood the gravity of her fragile mental and physical state. Most importantly, he foresaw dire consequences for their cause if she were to go on the lam.
It was time to execute Plan B.
"Jondy," Lydecker spoke gently as he reached out and placed a hand on the shoulder of the five foot two X5. His grip tightened when she tried to shrug him off.
"Stop." He ordered quietly, watching her key in logarithm after logarithm. In the past, adopting a strategy of rapport building over direct authoritarian rule and engaging with the 09 X5's independent steak had proved successful. "Stop."
She turned her bruised face to him slightly in acknowledgement.
"I want what is best for you." He told her hoarsely, taking her shoulders in both hands as he turned her to face him, in an effort to change tactic and appeal to her intellect. Her inner distress was visible to his knowledgeable gaze. "Believe me, I have always wanted what is best for you kids-"
At his words a sudden fury erupted in Jondy that sent her heart thumping loudly in her ears.
"I don't care." Jondy hissed removing Lydecker's hand with force. She knew she had broken at least two of his fingers.
Lydecker felt her contemptuous glare pierce him like a bullet to the head and as the Colonel took in the girl's flushed features, a cold stubbornness set his jaw.
"I don't give a damn what you wanted for us! To you we were an 'independent group design testing cognitive learning and physical endurance related to the accelerated advancement of individual and unit overall-capability and out-put'," Jondy quoted the Manticore literature harshly. "We were an experiment parameter, pushed harder stronger and faster than any of the other X5 units!"
The X5 let out a bitter bark of a laugh.
"You never wanted 'what was best for us'." Her scorn was palpable. "You never gave a damn, Colonel Lydecker. We're a science project to you. You wanted the glory of saying we were yours- that you owned us."
Lydecker was genuinely stung by the accusation and the truth her words drove home.
"You see from a child's eyes. You kids have no idea how much you mean to me. How… special you are to me." How could she be so obtuse? To fail to see the lengths he would go to in order to protect them? "I saved your life Jondy."
Remaining intent on his objective, Lydecker chose to explain himself and to make her see his actions from an adult perspective.
"You and your brothers and sisters were the best of X5. You, Max and Zack the cream of the crop." He held up a hand as the young woman opened her mouth to argue with a heated glare. "Do you remember that night- that night you came to my office- you asked me to see Max in the infirmary?"
Jondy swallowed her furious retort and nodded, she had been so scared that night, terrified that Max- her sister and best friend in the whole world- would meet the same end as Jack.
"I stayed up with her the whole night, did you know that?"
Jondy lowered her gaze. Max had never spoke a word about the night she had almost died from neurological complications due to poisoning from Manticore designed bio-warfare agents.
"I did that, Jondy, for you- because I knew how much your sister meant to you." Lydecker saw the surprise in her face when her eyes flicked back to meet his. "I know- I shouldn't have shown favoritism- but you were the youngest and one of the brightest. I gave a damn- I'll always give a damn- I care about you Jondy."
At hearing his well-calculated phrasing, Lydecker saw something small spark within the X5s luminous eyes, an emotion akin to need. Lydecker knew from his detailed knowledge of X5-210's psychological reports and of her subsequent life post-09, that above all else she sought approval. It was a desperate desire, which he knew she equated with feeling 'loved'.
It was a need- a weakness- he sought to exploit.
"I know I was hard on you kids," Lydecker told the nineteen year old calmly, his gaze intense. "But I only sought to make you realize your potential- your purpose in this world…"
He paused wanting her to realize the truth of what he said and saw her gaze soften.
"And you have accomplished that Jondy." Inflecting pride into his tone, he observed her unconsciously stand taller at his complement despite the distrust that radiated off of her. "But you are severely injured. You are letting emotion cloud your rational judgment. Sleep here tonight. One night." Lydecker vowed. "You will be safe here to rest up. In the morning we will discuss your options… no strings attached."
Lydecker watched as she turned her face away from him, furiously analysing his words for any trap or double meaning. He suspected strongly that she wanted to trust him, to believe him after what she had endured in captivity. He knew her training, however advanced, had not prepared her for what White had dealt out.
"We are on the same side here Jondy." He reminded the X5 calmly, taking in her gaunt features. "We both want the enemy eliminated and this fight over… Isn't that what you want? To go back to the life you had in San Francisco? To Zane?"
A pained expression crossed her tired face and Lydecker saw Jondy nod almost imperceptibly. He was affirmed in his agenda- he knew it was catering to her needs.
"Where is he?" Jondy demanded, looking up at Lydecker beseechingly, her sky blue eyes big and glistening with tears.
She felt a deep frustration when the older man pursed his lips.
"Please," she choked out, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Tell me where he is Lydecker."
"I told you," Lydecker barked, not one used to repeating himself. "Zane is conducting a classified mission abroad- at my command." He drove the point home; "I have full operational control over the unit on the ground and can issue orders for any… restructure of command I see fit."
He let her digest this information for a moment and watched a stray tear run down her cheek.
Softening his tone and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he added, "I can't tell you anymore than that. He is not in Chicago but I will make sure that you'll see him soon." Lydecker sensed he almost had her compliance. "We have the same objective here- we both want the Familiars and White eliminated- isn't that right?"
"Yes," she vowed resolute, unshed tears brimming in her eyes.
Lydecker watched her face, assessing her willingness to hear him out. He chose to express his annoyance at her disrespect.
"Then I want you to remember Jondy, 'there is no 'I' in 'team'', although you fucked up your mission soldier, you owe me your life. We are a team so you will show me the goddamn respect I deserve, is-that-understood?"
He would establish a modicum of control over her behavior.
Jondy's gut twisted in disgust and she saw red at Lydecker's manipulation. Adrenaline flooded her system, her words coming out in a low growl.
"I just want to make one thing clear Donald: I don't owe you a thing. You son-of-a-bitch."
It was pride that dictated her action and the memory of her missing big brother Zack. Shrugging out of his vice like grip for a second time, Jondy yanked open the heavy steel reinforced door and bolted.
The cold wind of Wyoming winter blasted into the small house, her last words carried by the breeze.
"You need me!"
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