No rest for the wicked
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1 through F › Dark Angel
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Adult ++
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6
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Category:
1 through F › Dark Angel
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
6
Views:
8,034
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Dark Angel, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Betrayal
A/N: This update has been delayed by lack of motivation, my final exams and the various downtimes of AFF. I apologize and proudly present the third (or forth if you include the prologue) of No rest for the wicked. Enjoy, rate and review.
Chapter 3: Betrayal
Somewhere in Seattle
Following Ertai through several dark corridors which lead to Terminal City, Alec was tormented by his bad conscious. His situation had never been worse: there was absolutely no way to deactivate the nano-machines, threatening to kill him in the cruelest way except betraying Max. If he betrayed her, he would be completely in Volrath’s mercy, alive but without friends and forced to serve a lunatic. Sacrificing himself to keep Max and the others safe could be the right thing to do, but his instinct of self-preservation was much too strong to even consider this option.
“We should reach Terminal City in about five minutes,” Ertai said, yanking him out of his thoughts, “you should get ready for your mission.”
“I think I’m as prepared as I could get,” Alec snapped, “betraying ones friends can’t be made easier!”
“Bad conscious,” Ertai chuckled, “I was once like you filled with a sense of right and wrong and completely loyal to my comrades. This changed the day when Manticore burned down: I knew we had to escape and tried to make sure that every member of my unit could flee.
Unfortunately, I waited so long that a part of the building collapsed, pinning me to the ground before I had the chance to escape. I wasn’t strong enough (neither physically nor psychically) to free me and hoped that my unit would come back to safe me. But I waited in vain and would have burned if Volrath hadn’t appeared and freed me. Once we had left Manticore I swore that I would never again be too weak to safe myself.
Without any other options I followed my savior to Seattle and joined the Cabal. As a result I have access to as much Serum as I need to greatly enhance my psychic abilities. So giving up my friends made me stronger while loyalty almost killed me. If you have problems with your conscious, you should push your feelings aside and continue with your mission.”
In the meantime they had reached a deserted laboratory, filled with dust, broken vials and empty boxes. Looking through one of the spare windows, Alec saw the shadowy outline (it was still raining heavily) of several familiar buildings: they were back in Terminal City.
“Excellent,” Ertai said, “you will go out their and complete your task. I’ll stay behind and cover your escape.”
Confused, Alec scanned the room for a door but found only solid walls. His partner seemed to read his mind, he advanced one of the walls and after a few moments a door opened which had been perfectly disguised as a part of the wall. Without further hesitation, Alec drained one of his Serum vials and stepped out into the rain, still troubled by his bad conscious.
* * * * *
Command Center
“Excellent work Max!” Logan said, “Once I have decoded them these discs hopefully will give us a clue who is behind these attacks.”
“It was hard enough to get them,” Max replied wearily, “I was almost captured by about 20 heavy-armed soldiers and had to jump out of a window in the sixth floor to avoid them. And, worst of all, I couldn’t find Alec or even a clue where he is kept.”
“Quite touching that you care so much for me, Maxie,” a voice behind her replied, “but this time I managed to get off by myself.”
A battered, soaked but smiling Alec had appeared behind her, obviously wanting to surprise her.
“Alec!” she cried, “Where have you been? How did you manage to escape? Who is behind these disappearances?”
“Not here!” the X5 replied in a whisper, “they have spies in Terminal City! We talk later, follow me!”
Max followed the other transgenic out into the rain, wondering what he had found out.
* * * * *
Outside
Alec led her to the ran-down part of Terminal City, where she had desperately tried to find him in the morning. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around to face her.
“Ok,” he said, “no one should overhear us here. Now you can ask your questions!”
“Who is behind these attacks?” Max asked, “And how are they doing it?”
“They call themselves the Cabal,” Alec echoed, “I don’t know why but they want to capture us. Perhaps they are pals of White and want to vivisect us. But the most important thing is that they have spies inside of Terminal City.”
“Did you find out, who is working for them?” Max asked, worried, “many transgenics are unhappy being trapped here and would do everything to get out of Terminal City even betray their brethren. I have to know who is loyal and who’s not!”
“Thank god, you have your good pal Alec,” her fellow transgenic replied with his typical smirk, “I know an X5 who is working for them, ME!”
Before she could react, he slammed into her, knocking the wind out of her. Another blow hit her between the rips sending her to the ground. When she could breath again she found herself pinned to the ground.
“Well,” Alec said, “that was much easier than I thought. You disappoint me Maxie!”
Max simply snarled and managed to push the distracted Alec off her, paying him back with a forceful blow into his smirk. After a quick series of kicks it was Alec who was going down and Max who pinned her enemy down.
“You treacherous bastard,” she snarled, “Are you trying again to save your worthless skin? Once I’m finished with you there won’t be anything left to save!”
“Oh, come off it!” her opponent replied, “I’m not falling for this bad girl number. Besides, who said that you have won?”
Something invisible knocked into Max, shoving her away from Alec, who took the chance to land an uppercut, slamming her against a wall. Before he could take further advantage of the situation, she snap-kicked him into the rips, knocking the wind out of him and gave her the badly needed time to recover.
“Surprised by my newfound powers, Maxie?” Alec taunted, “A gift from the Cabal to make sure I would finish my mission. And now, I’ll finish you!”
Suddenly, Max found herself lifted into the air, as though her opponent’s outstretched hand would really grip her throat. It dawned her that the X5 had somehow gained psychic abilities similar to the familiar boy she had encountered when trying to rescue Ray White. Her musings where cut short when Alec slammed her into a wall and everything went black.
* * * * *
Logan was worried. He had tried to find Max for about half an hour to tell her that he had already decoded part of the disc and found out that some mysterious organization with connections to Manticore, called the Cabal was apparently behind the disappearances but had been unable to find her. By now he was searching the run-down part of TC where they had been looking for Alec and the attackers this morning and it seemed like he was finally successful.
Although the heavy rain made it difficult to see things clearly he had spotted someone who looked remarkably like Alec, accompanied by a smaller figure. Approaching them Logan realized that the X5 was carrying someone and talked to his companion. Before he could sneak near enough to hear what they were talking about, his quarry moved towards one of the deserted buildings and disappeared into the rain. When Eyes Only reached the spot where they had headed to, he found nothing but a solid wall.
* * * * *
Somewhere in Seattle
Max was slowly regaining consciousness only to found herself shackled to the wall in a cell. Two other people were in the room: a massive Latino with an evil smile on his face and, looking remarkably serious, Alec. When her gaze fell onto the traitor, she had the sudden urge to strangle him, to make him pay for his treachery. While she was trying to kill Alec with scowls, the Latino approached her.
“Welcome 452,” he said, “I see you haven’t been permanently damaged by our eager friend back there. Allow me to introduce myself: I’m Volrath, agent of the Cabal and soon one of the most important members in the Council. I must admit that it was surprisingly easy to get hold of you, after all I’ve heard about you extraordinary abilities, I expected more resistance.”
“I must have some kind of animal magnetism for lunatics,” Max snarled, “They always try to get me. The only difference is if they want to kill me or just need me for their experiments!”
“Tough luck, 494, ”her captor replied, “you should know that there is no rest for the wicked and that they can’t resist a challenge like capturing the most famous transgenic.
Personally, I’m using you to improve my position inside the Cabal and my supervisors will be thrilled by your capture. I think they want to find out, why the familiars are so interested in you. If you survive their research you will join your friends in the restored Manticore. Well at least some of them!”
“What do you mean?” she asked, “why only some of them? What are you planning, you sick bastard?”
“It’s nothing personal, “Volrath echoed, “The Council has decided that the transhumans should be killed during a staged attack of Terminal City. The public opinion will presume the transgenics are dead and we can continue operations without further meddling. But at the moment you should worry about yourself……….. ”
Before he could finish his threat, Alec interrupted him, sounding anxious:
“Sir, may I remind you of our deal?” he said, “I fulfilled my part of it. Now, you have to make sure that I’ll be still alive tomorrow!”
“Of course,” the Cabalist replied, “It will only take a moment………… there you go.”
“Thanks,” the treacherous X5 replied, “but how did you do this?”
“Due to a special implant Polito gave me, I can use mental commands to control nanites,” Volrath replied, “a really useful gift. At the moment these wonderful, little machines will dismantle you in 48 hours unless you’ll fulfill several more tasks for me! Don’t look so shocked 494! Did you really think that I would trust you so easily?”
“48 hours?” Alec yelled, “you ruthless maniac, how long are you going to play this game? I won’t be your toy!”
“You should be careful, 494,” the Cabal agent said, his voice as cold as a grave, “One more word and I’ll order the nanites to kill you here and now! Only to get things straight: You already are my toy and I can do whatever I like with you, as long as you don’t find anyone who can disable the nano-machines in your body. Since only Polito can do this and she has vanished three years ago your chances are around zero!”
Their argument was cut short by a blond man entering the room:
“Sir,” he said to Volrath, “several unconscious guards have been discovered. It seems like we have intruders in the building!”
“Damn,” Volrath cursed, “Your friends are coming for you, 452, but you shouldn’t get your hopes up. Once I’m finished with them, they won’t be able to help anyone. Ertai, 494 come with me! We’ll stop her would-be rescuers!”
* * * * *
Logan wondered how long it would take until their luck ran out. Up to now everything had worked out perfectly. Once he had found the hidden door he hacked the code panel (which had been surprisingly easy, perhaps the Cabal thought no one could even find it), gathered a tag team for this search and rescue mission and entered the building.
The corridors had been deserted and the few guards they had encountered had been knocked out before they could sound an alarm. Right now they were hiding in a dark corridor next to the holding cells, waiting for an opportunity to free Max. When the door opened and Alec and two other transgenics left, Logan knew that now was the time to act. Signaling his companions to stay hidden he approached the cell door.
“Max? Are you in there?” he asked as loudly as he dared.
“Logan?” Max replied, her voiced muffled through the massive door, “how did you get in here? Can you open this door?”
“I don’t know,” Logan admitted, “the code lock is extremely complicated. If I had a few hours, it wouldn’t be a problem but I don’t think we have this much time. Hmmm, there could be another way: Max, stay back! Joshua, toss me the C4!”
“This won’t do any good,” Max echoed, “the door is too massive to be destroyed by C4!”
“You’re right,” Eyes Only replied, while planting the explosives, “but the hinges aren’t. In a few moments you’ll be free!”
Logan retreated and triggered the bombs. With a surprisingly faint sound the bombs ignited, destroying the hinges and causing the door to fall out of its angles. Joshua immediately broke Max shackles, freeing the captured leader of Terminal City.
“Thanks, guys,” she said, “now we should get out of here.”
* * * * *
Volrath was fuming: without a decent security system in these tunnels it would take ages to find the intruders. The Cabal agent wondered why Horne had stopped the installation of cameras and relied on the hidden entrances to the underground. He made a mental note to solve this issue once he had replaced Horne before he concentrated on the task at hand.
“There are three possible ways back to Terminal City,” he stated, consulting a map, “we should split up and check each of them. Ertai, you take this one, 494 this one and I will cover the last exit. Use extreme violence if necessary but leave 452 alive; the Council needs her to find out what the familiars are up to. Each of you takes three guards with him to cover and now get moving!”
Checking the corridors with his team, Volrath once again regretted the every captured transgenic was send to the Council. A group of X-series would be much more effective than human guards. Without them he would have to rely on his own abilities when capturing 452 but he was confident that he was able to defeat even a superior number of rebels.
After about fifteen minutes of searching, his light-sensitive eyes registered movement at the end of one corridor.
“There they are,” he said to his companions, “take no chances, kill when it’s necessary. I’ll ambush them! Give me five minutes to get into position, follow them and then attack!”
When the Cabalist moved through the shadows, his spine tingled with anticipation.
“I’m coming, 452!” he muttered, “and you should run!”
* * * * *
A corridor
Max followed Logan through the tangle of corridors, hoping that he knew the way. She wondered if the idea to split up into three different groups had been a good one. Her would-be boyfriend had argued that this tactic would likely fool the Cabal agents and enable at least two groups a safe passage to Terminal City. Although Max had doubts about the efficiency of the plan, she had accepted it due to the lack of promising alternatives.
Until now everything had worked out perfectly and they had met no resistance but the X5 worried about the continuity of this luck. Only Logan was with her, who would be not much help against Volrath and his transgenics lackeys. Her musings where cut short when she noticed movement ahead of them. Signaling Logan to stop, she crept forward, staying in the shadows.
Realizing that the movement was caused by three persons, probably looking for her, Max decided to start an unavoidable fight at her terms. A hit into the neck knocked one attacker out and a second one dropped unconscious to the floor after being kicked into the stomach, causing him to crush into a nearby wall. Before Max was able to attack the last Cabal agent she was again lifted into the air.
“Hello, Maxie!” Alec said, “Good to see you again!”
“This time I’ll kick your ass, traitor!” she snarled, “your pathetic psychic tricks won’t save you!”
“I think you’re missing a point Maxie,” the male X5 retorted, “you’re the one who is paralyzed. But if you need further proof that you’ll loose again, I’ll be happy to satisfy your need!”
Unable to defend herself, Max could only watch when Alec used his telekinetic powers to slam her into a wall. The world blurred around her and she almost lost conscious.
“I’m sorry, Max!” Alec said, apparently considering her unconscious, “I don’t want to do this but I have no choice. No one except Volrath can control these things in my veins and if you had escaped, he would have killed me instantly. I don’t expect you to understand it but…….”
His monologue was cut short by the unmistakable sound of a loose safety trigger. Alec tried to whirl around but froze suddenly. Max guessed it was the cold feeling of a gun on his skin that had stopped the treacherous X5 and silently thanked Logan for buying her the needed time to get back on her feet.
“Don’t try any tricks, Alec!” Logan warned, “Or I swear I will kill you! Now, get away form her and surrender!”
“Hey Logan,” Alec replied, apparently unimpressed but obeying his attacker’s commands nevertheless, “nice for you to join us. I must admit that your sudden appearance complicates my plans. A gun in the neck can be quite disturbing but you should have shot me down immediately because now I had enough time to do this!”
Max anger at Alec grew tremendously when she watched Logan’s pistol leaving his hand and slamming into her would-be boyfriend’s face, causing him to stumble backwards. She used the caused distraction to tackle the cause of her anger.
“Missed me?” she asked while hitting the other X5 with a brutal uppercut, “Now I’ll give you the beating of your life!”
Before Alec was able to reestablish his defense or even using his psychic abilities she kicked him into the balls and ended the fight with another uppercut which knocked her opponent out.
“Good fight,” Logan said, grimacing at the pain caused by a huge bruise in his face, “What are you going to do with him?”
“I’ll take him back to TC” she stated while lifting Alec’s limp body, “But now we should finally get out of here!”
* * * * *
Another corridor
Volrath waited patiently until the renegade transgenics where in position, while considering several attack plans. He was convinced that every step you take should be carefully planned, simply because this contemplation reduced the chance for disaster. He decided to use the surprise caused by his sudden attack to take out as much rebels as possible and to continue fighting until the rest of his team arrives and finishes the job. Usually he would have retreated after the first strike but this time he considered his chances good enough not to miss the fun.
The first part of his plan worked perfectly: As soon as the rebellious transgenics were beneath him (he was dangling from the ceiling, concealed in shadows) he dropped into their mid and immediately knocked out an X5 with an uppercut. Before the stunned rebels could react he chose a new target, a female X6, and attacked her with a flurry of weak but fast blows.
However, he wasn’t able to finish her of due to being grabbed from behind by a massive hound-like transhuman. An ordinary transgenic would have been in serious trouble, but Volrath knew how to outsmart this brute. In a fluid movement he managed to get his feet back to the ground and kicked himself off. The resulting momentum vaulted him over his attacker’s head, freeing him while outbalancing the transhuman. Using this opportunity, the Cabal agent sent his opponent to ground with a few well placed kicks and blows.
“You’re not even trying!” he taunted, hearing the rest of his team arrive, “You should have stayed in the toxic excuse for a city where you hide your stinking hides!”
Apart form stating the obvious his statement also provoked two X6s to make a coordinated attack on him. One attacked his flank while the other one tried to hit him with a low level attack. Volrath vaulted over the opponent in front of him, thus avoiding the blows and sending one of his enemies to the ground with a blow into the neck.
The Cabalist began considering his plan a complete success, due to the arrival of his team who join to melee. However, his triumph was cut short by a metallic sound which he identified as the sound of a grenade hitting the ground. A blinding flash lighted the area, affecting him more than anyone else due to his light-sensitive eyes. When he regained his vision all rebels had vanished even the unconscious ones and his teammates lied spread-eagled on the ground, apparently knocked out by the transgenics.
Unbelieving, he wondered how long he had seen only whiteness. The flash bang had disoriented him so much that he wasn’t able to stop them and these incompetent humans had been no match for the pathetic rebels. Once again he cursed Nicole Horne: A decent security system or even a task force of transgenics would have stopped this disaster. He could only hope that 452 had been captured by Ertai of 494 otherwise this issue could get very embarrassing and dangerous for his ascension inside the Cabal.
“The Council isn’t going to like this,” he stated, shaking his head, “And Horne will certainly use this against me!”
* * * * *
Horne’s office, several hours later:
Nicole Horne was furious: This pathetic usurper Volrath had not only disobeyed her by leaving 494 alive but also showed the rebels the now destroyed way to Terminal City, making their mission more difficult or even impossible. He dared to blame the lack of security system in the tunnels for his failure. She had to suppress a smile at this part of his report: Marek and his team were stationed in these corridors and a complete security system would have proved their existence and probably would have earned her a death sentence due to high treason (the Council had ordered that all captured transgenics had to be transferred to the new Manticore).
This affair seriously endangered Horne’s ambitious plan to become the head of the new-founded Manticore. In her position, it was extremely dangerous to show any forms of weakness due to the competition between herself and over Cabalists. Her rivals would certainly complain about her lack of control over her subordinates and perhaps even use this situation to have her assassinated.
Murder wasn’t unusual in the higher ranks of the Cabal: Horne herself had escaped one assassination attempt and had responded by assassinating her greatest rival, who had been behind the attack. As a result she had become director of AESIR co-operation which was one of the most important positions inside the Cabal. This time the Council had thanked her for removing an apparently incompetent member, who hadn’t been able to remove his rivals.
Today, she feared a similar fate if there would be one more mishap during capturing the renegade transgenics. Although she still had many friends in the Council and Volrath was the only rival who had the wits to replace or kill her, she felt trapped. Maybe she could blame him for the setbacks and accuse him of high treason, which usually led to the execution of the accused.
Her musings were interrupted by the voice of her rival:
“Ma’am,” he said, “Although we have suffered a few minor setbacks there’s no need to…..”
“SILENCE!” Horne interrupted, “You don’t even realize the consequences of your pathetic rebellion! Not only 452 escaped, you also showed the rebels how we enter Terminal City and gave them the opportunity to collapse these corridors. The Council debates to dismiss us which would be a death sentence for all of us. Someone would have us assassinated to impress the Council by removing incompetent members. We NEED to regain their favor, so unless you have useful suggestions hold your tongue!”
“As a matter of fact, I have!” Volrath replied calmly, “452 will try to find a way to remove the nanites out of 494’s body, although he betrayed her. To do this they’ll have to find Polito and we can follow them due to a special emitter I implanted into 494 while he was unconsciousness. If they find her, we’ll capture them and the Council will be thrilled. Otherwise we can still get two of the leaders, a success which will hopefully mollify the Council. Do I have your permission to continue the operation?”
“Yes, you have,” she replied, surprised by this new and promising plan, “But you must not fail! This is the last chance we’ll get, fail and I’ll kill you personally before the Cabal can do it! Now, go and prepare everything!”
When Volrath had left the office she addressed Ertai, who had been present but completely silent during the rest of the conversation.
“I always knew that I can’t trust you!” she stated, “But I must admit that I was surprised by your participation in Volrath’s little rebellion. Normally, I would have you executed but this time I’ll give you the chance to make up for your mistake. You’ll make sure that Volrath doesn’t try to betray me during the mission. If you are successful, you’ll stay alive. Otherwise I’ll have to find a new Psy-Ops. Now, be gone and prepare for the capture of Polito!”
Alone, she considered her situation: She was convinced that Volrath would betray her and would try to deliver Polito himself to the Cabal. Horne wasn’t sure whether she could trust Ertai or if he would be able to stop Volrath. She decided not to take any chances: She would order her personal X5 tag team to follow them, just to make sure that she could claim the coming success. Maybe she should order them to kill Volrath, so she could finally get rid of this bothersome transgenic.
Smiling, she picked up her cell phone and dialed a number:
“Get ready, Marek!” she said, “I have a mission for you!”
* * * * *
Somewhere inside the headquarter of AESIR
An apparently ordinary employee of AESIR looked up from the laptop she had used to read the personal notes of Nicole Horne. Then she took her cell phone and dialed a certain number.
“It’s me!” she said, “Get me Polito! I’ve got interesting information for her.”
* * * * *
Chapter 3: Betrayal
Somewhere in Seattle
Following Ertai through several dark corridors which lead to Terminal City, Alec was tormented by his bad conscious. His situation had never been worse: there was absolutely no way to deactivate the nano-machines, threatening to kill him in the cruelest way except betraying Max. If he betrayed her, he would be completely in Volrath’s mercy, alive but without friends and forced to serve a lunatic. Sacrificing himself to keep Max and the others safe could be the right thing to do, but his instinct of self-preservation was much too strong to even consider this option.
“We should reach Terminal City in about five minutes,” Ertai said, yanking him out of his thoughts, “you should get ready for your mission.”
“I think I’m as prepared as I could get,” Alec snapped, “betraying ones friends can’t be made easier!”
“Bad conscious,” Ertai chuckled, “I was once like you filled with a sense of right and wrong and completely loyal to my comrades. This changed the day when Manticore burned down: I knew we had to escape and tried to make sure that every member of my unit could flee.
Unfortunately, I waited so long that a part of the building collapsed, pinning me to the ground before I had the chance to escape. I wasn’t strong enough (neither physically nor psychically) to free me and hoped that my unit would come back to safe me. But I waited in vain and would have burned if Volrath hadn’t appeared and freed me. Once we had left Manticore I swore that I would never again be too weak to safe myself.
Without any other options I followed my savior to Seattle and joined the Cabal. As a result I have access to as much Serum as I need to greatly enhance my psychic abilities. So giving up my friends made me stronger while loyalty almost killed me. If you have problems with your conscious, you should push your feelings aside and continue with your mission.”
In the meantime they had reached a deserted laboratory, filled with dust, broken vials and empty boxes. Looking through one of the spare windows, Alec saw the shadowy outline (it was still raining heavily) of several familiar buildings: they were back in Terminal City.
“Excellent,” Ertai said, “you will go out their and complete your task. I’ll stay behind and cover your escape.”
Confused, Alec scanned the room for a door but found only solid walls. His partner seemed to read his mind, he advanced one of the walls and after a few moments a door opened which had been perfectly disguised as a part of the wall. Without further hesitation, Alec drained one of his Serum vials and stepped out into the rain, still troubled by his bad conscious.
Command Center
“Excellent work Max!” Logan said, “Once I have decoded them these discs hopefully will give us a clue who is behind these attacks.”
“It was hard enough to get them,” Max replied wearily, “I was almost captured by about 20 heavy-armed soldiers and had to jump out of a window in the sixth floor to avoid them. And, worst of all, I couldn’t find Alec or even a clue where he is kept.”
“Quite touching that you care so much for me, Maxie,” a voice behind her replied, “but this time I managed to get off by myself.”
A battered, soaked but smiling Alec had appeared behind her, obviously wanting to surprise her.
“Alec!” she cried, “Where have you been? How did you manage to escape? Who is behind these disappearances?”
“Not here!” the X5 replied in a whisper, “they have spies in Terminal City! We talk later, follow me!”
Max followed the other transgenic out into the rain, wondering what he had found out.
Outside
Alec led her to the ran-down part of Terminal City, where she had desperately tried to find him in the morning. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around to face her.
“Ok,” he said, “no one should overhear us here. Now you can ask your questions!”
“Who is behind these attacks?” Max asked, “And how are they doing it?”
“They call themselves the Cabal,” Alec echoed, “I don’t know why but they want to capture us. Perhaps they are pals of White and want to vivisect us. But the most important thing is that they have spies inside of Terminal City.”
“Did you find out, who is working for them?” Max asked, worried, “many transgenics are unhappy being trapped here and would do everything to get out of Terminal City even betray their brethren. I have to know who is loyal and who’s not!”
“Thank god, you have your good pal Alec,” her fellow transgenic replied with his typical smirk, “I know an X5 who is working for them, ME!”
Before she could react, he slammed into her, knocking the wind out of her. Another blow hit her between the rips sending her to the ground. When she could breath again she found herself pinned to the ground.
“Well,” Alec said, “that was much easier than I thought. You disappoint me Maxie!”
Max simply snarled and managed to push the distracted Alec off her, paying him back with a forceful blow into his smirk. After a quick series of kicks it was Alec who was going down and Max who pinned her enemy down.
“You treacherous bastard,” she snarled, “Are you trying again to save your worthless skin? Once I’m finished with you there won’t be anything left to save!”
“Oh, come off it!” her opponent replied, “I’m not falling for this bad girl number. Besides, who said that you have won?”
Something invisible knocked into Max, shoving her away from Alec, who took the chance to land an uppercut, slamming her against a wall. Before he could take further advantage of the situation, she snap-kicked him into the rips, knocking the wind out of him and gave her the badly needed time to recover.
“Surprised by my newfound powers, Maxie?” Alec taunted, “A gift from the Cabal to make sure I would finish my mission. And now, I’ll finish you!”
Suddenly, Max found herself lifted into the air, as though her opponent’s outstretched hand would really grip her throat. It dawned her that the X5 had somehow gained psychic abilities similar to the familiar boy she had encountered when trying to rescue Ray White. Her musings where cut short when Alec slammed her into a wall and everything went black.
Logan was worried. He had tried to find Max for about half an hour to tell her that he had already decoded part of the disc and found out that some mysterious organization with connections to Manticore, called the Cabal was apparently behind the disappearances but had been unable to find her. By now he was searching the run-down part of TC where they had been looking for Alec and the attackers this morning and it seemed like he was finally successful.
Although the heavy rain made it difficult to see things clearly he had spotted someone who looked remarkably like Alec, accompanied by a smaller figure. Approaching them Logan realized that the X5 was carrying someone and talked to his companion. Before he could sneak near enough to hear what they were talking about, his quarry moved towards one of the deserted buildings and disappeared into the rain. When Eyes Only reached the spot where they had headed to, he found nothing but a solid wall.
Somewhere in Seattle
Max was slowly regaining consciousness only to found herself shackled to the wall in a cell. Two other people were in the room: a massive Latino with an evil smile on his face and, looking remarkably serious, Alec. When her gaze fell onto the traitor, she had the sudden urge to strangle him, to make him pay for his treachery. While she was trying to kill Alec with scowls, the Latino approached her.
“Welcome 452,” he said, “I see you haven’t been permanently damaged by our eager friend back there. Allow me to introduce myself: I’m Volrath, agent of the Cabal and soon one of the most important members in the Council. I must admit that it was surprisingly easy to get hold of you, after all I’ve heard about you extraordinary abilities, I expected more resistance.”
“I must have some kind of animal magnetism for lunatics,” Max snarled, “They always try to get me. The only difference is if they want to kill me or just need me for their experiments!”
“Tough luck, 494, ”her captor replied, “you should know that there is no rest for the wicked and that they can’t resist a challenge like capturing the most famous transgenic.
Personally, I’m using you to improve my position inside the Cabal and my supervisors will be thrilled by your capture. I think they want to find out, why the familiars are so interested in you. If you survive their research you will join your friends in the restored Manticore. Well at least some of them!”
“What do you mean?” she asked, “why only some of them? What are you planning, you sick bastard?”
“It’s nothing personal, “Volrath echoed, “The Council has decided that the transhumans should be killed during a staged attack of Terminal City. The public opinion will presume the transgenics are dead and we can continue operations without further meddling. But at the moment you should worry about yourself……….. ”
Before he could finish his threat, Alec interrupted him, sounding anxious:
“Sir, may I remind you of our deal?” he said, “I fulfilled my part of it. Now, you have to make sure that I’ll be still alive tomorrow!”
“Of course,” the Cabalist replied, “It will only take a moment………… there you go.”
“Thanks,” the treacherous X5 replied, “but how did you do this?”
“Due to a special implant Polito gave me, I can use mental commands to control nanites,” Volrath replied, “a really useful gift. At the moment these wonderful, little machines will dismantle you in 48 hours unless you’ll fulfill several more tasks for me! Don’t look so shocked 494! Did you really think that I would trust you so easily?”
“48 hours?” Alec yelled, “you ruthless maniac, how long are you going to play this game? I won’t be your toy!”
“You should be careful, 494,” the Cabal agent said, his voice as cold as a grave, “One more word and I’ll order the nanites to kill you here and now! Only to get things straight: You already are my toy and I can do whatever I like with you, as long as you don’t find anyone who can disable the nano-machines in your body. Since only Polito can do this and she has vanished three years ago your chances are around zero!”
Their argument was cut short by a blond man entering the room:
“Sir,” he said to Volrath, “several unconscious guards have been discovered. It seems like we have intruders in the building!”
“Damn,” Volrath cursed, “Your friends are coming for you, 452, but you shouldn’t get your hopes up. Once I’m finished with them, they won’t be able to help anyone. Ertai, 494 come with me! We’ll stop her would-be rescuers!”
Logan wondered how long it would take until their luck ran out. Up to now everything had worked out perfectly. Once he had found the hidden door he hacked the code panel (which had been surprisingly easy, perhaps the Cabal thought no one could even find it), gathered a tag team for this search and rescue mission and entered the building.
The corridors had been deserted and the few guards they had encountered had been knocked out before they could sound an alarm. Right now they were hiding in a dark corridor next to the holding cells, waiting for an opportunity to free Max. When the door opened and Alec and two other transgenics left, Logan knew that now was the time to act. Signaling his companions to stay hidden he approached the cell door.
“Max? Are you in there?” he asked as loudly as he dared.
“Logan?” Max replied, her voiced muffled through the massive door, “how did you get in here? Can you open this door?”
“I don’t know,” Logan admitted, “the code lock is extremely complicated. If I had a few hours, it wouldn’t be a problem but I don’t think we have this much time. Hmmm, there could be another way: Max, stay back! Joshua, toss me the C4!”
“This won’t do any good,” Max echoed, “the door is too massive to be destroyed by C4!”
“You’re right,” Eyes Only replied, while planting the explosives, “but the hinges aren’t. In a few moments you’ll be free!”
Logan retreated and triggered the bombs. With a surprisingly faint sound the bombs ignited, destroying the hinges and causing the door to fall out of its angles. Joshua immediately broke Max shackles, freeing the captured leader of Terminal City.
“Thanks, guys,” she said, “now we should get out of here.”
Volrath was fuming: without a decent security system in these tunnels it would take ages to find the intruders. The Cabal agent wondered why Horne had stopped the installation of cameras and relied on the hidden entrances to the underground. He made a mental note to solve this issue once he had replaced Horne before he concentrated on the task at hand.
“There are three possible ways back to Terminal City,” he stated, consulting a map, “we should split up and check each of them. Ertai, you take this one, 494 this one and I will cover the last exit. Use extreme violence if necessary but leave 452 alive; the Council needs her to find out what the familiars are up to. Each of you takes three guards with him to cover and now get moving!”
Checking the corridors with his team, Volrath once again regretted the every captured transgenic was send to the Council. A group of X-series would be much more effective than human guards. Without them he would have to rely on his own abilities when capturing 452 but he was confident that he was able to defeat even a superior number of rebels.
After about fifteen minutes of searching, his light-sensitive eyes registered movement at the end of one corridor.
“There they are,” he said to his companions, “take no chances, kill when it’s necessary. I’ll ambush them! Give me five minutes to get into position, follow them and then attack!”
When the Cabalist moved through the shadows, his spine tingled with anticipation.
“I’m coming, 452!” he muttered, “and you should run!”
A corridor
Max followed Logan through the tangle of corridors, hoping that he knew the way. She wondered if the idea to split up into three different groups had been a good one. Her would-be boyfriend had argued that this tactic would likely fool the Cabal agents and enable at least two groups a safe passage to Terminal City. Although Max had doubts about the efficiency of the plan, she had accepted it due to the lack of promising alternatives.
Until now everything had worked out perfectly and they had met no resistance but the X5 worried about the continuity of this luck. Only Logan was with her, who would be not much help against Volrath and his transgenics lackeys. Her musings where cut short when she noticed movement ahead of them. Signaling Logan to stop, she crept forward, staying in the shadows.
Realizing that the movement was caused by three persons, probably looking for her, Max decided to start an unavoidable fight at her terms. A hit into the neck knocked one attacker out and a second one dropped unconscious to the floor after being kicked into the stomach, causing him to crush into a nearby wall. Before Max was able to attack the last Cabal agent she was again lifted into the air.
“Hello, Maxie!” Alec said, “Good to see you again!”
“This time I’ll kick your ass, traitor!” she snarled, “your pathetic psychic tricks won’t save you!”
“I think you’re missing a point Maxie,” the male X5 retorted, “you’re the one who is paralyzed. But if you need further proof that you’ll loose again, I’ll be happy to satisfy your need!”
Unable to defend herself, Max could only watch when Alec used his telekinetic powers to slam her into a wall. The world blurred around her and she almost lost conscious.
“I’m sorry, Max!” Alec said, apparently considering her unconscious, “I don’t want to do this but I have no choice. No one except Volrath can control these things in my veins and if you had escaped, he would have killed me instantly. I don’t expect you to understand it but…….”
His monologue was cut short by the unmistakable sound of a loose safety trigger. Alec tried to whirl around but froze suddenly. Max guessed it was the cold feeling of a gun on his skin that had stopped the treacherous X5 and silently thanked Logan for buying her the needed time to get back on her feet.
“Don’t try any tricks, Alec!” Logan warned, “Or I swear I will kill you! Now, get away form her and surrender!”
“Hey Logan,” Alec replied, apparently unimpressed but obeying his attacker’s commands nevertheless, “nice for you to join us. I must admit that your sudden appearance complicates my plans. A gun in the neck can be quite disturbing but you should have shot me down immediately because now I had enough time to do this!”
Max anger at Alec grew tremendously when she watched Logan’s pistol leaving his hand and slamming into her would-be boyfriend’s face, causing him to stumble backwards. She used the caused distraction to tackle the cause of her anger.
“Missed me?” she asked while hitting the other X5 with a brutal uppercut, “Now I’ll give you the beating of your life!”
Before Alec was able to reestablish his defense or even using his psychic abilities she kicked him into the balls and ended the fight with another uppercut which knocked her opponent out.
“Good fight,” Logan said, grimacing at the pain caused by a huge bruise in his face, “What are you going to do with him?”
“I’ll take him back to TC” she stated while lifting Alec’s limp body, “But now we should finally get out of here!”
Another corridor
Volrath waited patiently until the renegade transgenics where in position, while considering several attack plans. He was convinced that every step you take should be carefully planned, simply because this contemplation reduced the chance for disaster. He decided to use the surprise caused by his sudden attack to take out as much rebels as possible and to continue fighting until the rest of his team arrives and finishes the job. Usually he would have retreated after the first strike but this time he considered his chances good enough not to miss the fun.
The first part of his plan worked perfectly: As soon as the rebellious transgenics were beneath him (he was dangling from the ceiling, concealed in shadows) he dropped into their mid and immediately knocked out an X5 with an uppercut. Before the stunned rebels could react he chose a new target, a female X6, and attacked her with a flurry of weak but fast blows.
However, he wasn’t able to finish her of due to being grabbed from behind by a massive hound-like transhuman. An ordinary transgenic would have been in serious trouble, but Volrath knew how to outsmart this brute. In a fluid movement he managed to get his feet back to the ground and kicked himself off. The resulting momentum vaulted him over his attacker’s head, freeing him while outbalancing the transhuman. Using this opportunity, the Cabal agent sent his opponent to ground with a few well placed kicks and blows.
“You’re not even trying!” he taunted, hearing the rest of his team arrive, “You should have stayed in the toxic excuse for a city where you hide your stinking hides!”
Apart form stating the obvious his statement also provoked two X6s to make a coordinated attack on him. One attacked his flank while the other one tried to hit him with a low level attack. Volrath vaulted over the opponent in front of him, thus avoiding the blows and sending one of his enemies to the ground with a blow into the neck.
The Cabalist began considering his plan a complete success, due to the arrival of his team who join to melee. However, his triumph was cut short by a metallic sound which he identified as the sound of a grenade hitting the ground. A blinding flash lighted the area, affecting him more than anyone else due to his light-sensitive eyes. When he regained his vision all rebels had vanished even the unconscious ones and his teammates lied spread-eagled on the ground, apparently knocked out by the transgenics.
Unbelieving, he wondered how long he had seen only whiteness. The flash bang had disoriented him so much that he wasn’t able to stop them and these incompetent humans had been no match for the pathetic rebels. Once again he cursed Nicole Horne: A decent security system or even a task force of transgenics would have stopped this disaster. He could only hope that 452 had been captured by Ertai of 494 otherwise this issue could get very embarrassing and dangerous for his ascension inside the Cabal.
“The Council isn’t going to like this,” he stated, shaking his head, “And Horne will certainly use this against me!”
Horne’s office, several hours later:
Nicole Horne was furious: This pathetic usurper Volrath had not only disobeyed her by leaving 494 alive but also showed the rebels the now destroyed way to Terminal City, making their mission more difficult or even impossible. He dared to blame the lack of security system in the tunnels for his failure. She had to suppress a smile at this part of his report: Marek and his team were stationed in these corridors and a complete security system would have proved their existence and probably would have earned her a death sentence due to high treason (the Council had ordered that all captured transgenics had to be transferred to the new Manticore).
This affair seriously endangered Horne’s ambitious plan to become the head of the new-founded Manticore. In her position, it was extremely dangerous to show any forms of weakness due to the competition between herself and over Cabalists. Her rivals would certainly complain about her lack of control over her subordinates and perhaps even use this situation to have her assassinated.
Murder wasn’t unusual in the higher ranks of the Cabal: Horne herself had escaped one assassination attempt and had responded by assassinating her greatest rival, who had been behind the attack. As a result she had become director of AESIR co-operation which was one of the most important positions inside the Cabal. This time the Council had thanked her for removing an apparently incompetent member, who hadn’t been able to remove his rivals.
Today, she feared a similar fate if there would be one more mishap during capturing the renegade transgenics. Although she still had many friends in the Council and Volrath was the only rival who had the wits to replace or kill her, she felt trapped. Maybe she could blame him for the setbacks and accuse him of high treason, which usually led to the execution of the accused.
Her musings were interrupted by the voice of her rival:
“Ma’am,” he said, “Although we have suffered a few minor setbacks there’s no need to…..”
“SILENCE!” Horne interrupted, “You don’t even realize the consequences of your pathetic rebellion! Not only 452 escaped, you also showed the rebels how we enter Terminal City and gave them the opportunity to collapse these corridors. The Council debates to dismiss us which would be a death sentence for all of us. Someone would have us assassinated to impress the Council by removing incompetent members. We NEED to regain their favor, so unless you have useful suggestions hold your tongue!”
“As a matter of fact, I have!” Volrath replied calmly, “452 will try to find a way to remove the nanites out of 494’s body, although he betrayed her. To do this they’ll have to find Polito and we can follow them due to a special emitter I implanted into 494 while he was unconsciousness. If they find her, we’ll capture them and the Council will be thrilled. Otherwise we can still get two of the leaders, a success which will hopefully mollify the Council. Do I have your permission to continue the operation?”
“Yes, you have,” she replied, surprised by this new and promising plan, “But you must not fail! This is the last chance we’ll get, fail and I’ll kill you personally before the Cabal can do it! Now, go and prepare everything!”
When Volrath had left the office she addressed Ertai, who had been present but completely silent during the rest of the conversation.
“I always knew that I can’t trust you!” she stated, “But I must admit that I was surprised by your participation in Volrath’s little rebellion. Normally, I would have you executed but this time I’ll give you the chance to make up for your mistake. You’ll make sure that Volrath doesn’t try to betray me during the mission. If you are successful, you’ll stay alive. Otherwise I’ll have to find a new Psy-Ops. Now, be gone and prepare for the capture of Polito!”
Alone, she considered her situation: She was convinced that Volrath would betray her and would try to deliver Polito himself to the Cabal. Horne wasn’t sure whether she could trust Ertai or if he would be able to stop Volrath. She decided not to take any chances: She would order her personal X5 tag team to follow them, just to make sure that she could claim the coming success. Maybe she should order them to kill Volrath, so she could finally get rid of this bothersome transgenic.
Smiling, she picked up her cell phone and dialed a number:
“Get ready, Marek!” she said, “I have a mission for you!”
Somewhere inside the headquarter of AESIR
An apparently ordinary employee of AESIR looked up from the laptop she had used to read the personal notes of Nicole Horne. Then she took her cell phone and dialed a certain number.
“It’s me!” she said, “Get me Polito! I’ve got interesting information for her.”