A Taste of Everyday -- Chapter 17
Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Zane, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Rena/X5-120, etc.).
About four months later...
I was definitely apprehensive at the very least as I walked back to my apartment from work. Zack had called and told me that he was coming by to check in. That’s not usually a sign of good things. I should definitely know that fact by now. I mentally shook my head. Get with it, Rena. Maybe it actually is good news. Maybe the fuckhead who is chasing after us and almost got Zack’s sis decided to take a nap on some subway tracks somewhere.
“Watch where you’re going, you dumb bitch!”
“No problem,” I said sweetly to the drugged up idiot who missed me by a mile. “I’ll watch where I’m walking if you lay off the stuff. Deal?” I laughed a little when I heard the loser snort in disgust and I walked up the front steps to my apartment building and went inside. I took the elevator up to my floor and then walked down the hall towards my apartment, pausing before I got my key out of one of the pockets of my parka. Yep, Zack decided to save me the trouble and let himself into the apartment. Considerate of him, I guess. I unlocked the door, took off my parka, and ‘accidentally’ threw it to where big brother was sitting on my couch. He caught the thing, naturally. Damn. I feigned innocence. “Oh, Zack. Hi. I didn’t know that you had let yourself in.” I tried really hard not to laugh at the skeptical look Zack gave me before he threw the parka back to me. I caught it and hung it up in the coat closet in the living room. “Seriously, what’s up?”
“The usual,” Zack said. “It’s good to see you, Rena.”
“Likewise.” I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. I knew that look. “Okay, where are you parking my sorry butt this time? Back to Ohio? Maybe Indiana again?”
“Actually, I’m moving you a little out of the region,” Zack confessed. “I want to relocate you to Montana.”
Huh? “Montana?” I repeated. “Zack, are you crazy?”
Zack shook his head. I think he knew how I’d react. Smart guy, isn’t he? “Yes, Rena, Montana. I want to relocate you to a town called Vaughn. It’s about twelve miles or so northwest of Great Falls and it’s located near where route 200 and I-315 meet, so it’s easily accessable. It’s not going to be as bad as you think that it’s going to be.”
“Yeah, I’ve only lived in shithole towns in freezing cold states before,” I remarked. Montana was a little too close to Wyoming for my liking. “No big deal.”
“I know,” Zack said quietly. He didn’t miss my meaning.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. I took a deep breath. “So, how are things in your...I guess necks of the woods? Seriously. How’s everybody?”
“Everybody’s fine,” Zack said. “They’re doing well.”
“Cool,” I said. I hesitated for a few seconds. “Zack, this might sound pretty crazy, but have you seen 121 around at all?”
“No,” Zack admitted. “I’ve actually had contact with Ben’s twin and the last time that I spoke with him, he said that he hasn’t found any of his unit mates. Sorry, Rena.”
“It’s cool,” I said. “I knew the chances that you would have seen her were slim to snowball’s chance in hell.” I shrugged. “I’ll deal. Speaking of which, how soon do you want me to clear out of here and head over to Montana with you?”
“As soon as you can,” Zack said.
It was my turn to frown. “Why? Is everybody’s new favorite King Jerkoff on my tail?”
“No, but he was on mine right before New Year’s,” Zack answered. “He knew my face, maybe he was able to get his hands on a picture from some files recovered from Manticore before it’s destruction, I don’t know. All I know is that him and a friend of his who’s every bit as strange and as dangerous as he is were able to spot me and if one of the others hadn’t also spotted me at the time...you get the picture.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Okay, I can kind of understand why you would want me to evac pronto. Give me a sec.” I went into my bedroom and grabbed my duffel bag and began to pack. I looked up at Zack, who was now standing in the doorway to the room. “Do I have enough time to duck back into work to tell my boss to go fuck himself? I figure this time if I’m going to bail out suddenly on a crappy job with an equally crappy boss, I might at least stick it to the jerk and make it worth my while.”
Zack shrugged. “I guess, but make it quick and don’t physically hurt him.”
“Will do,” I said. I smiled sweetly. “Wow, Max really is a good influence on you.” Zack glared at me and I just laughed. “You never will change, will ya big bro?”
“That’s not likely to happen anytime in the near future,” Zack concurred. He watched me zip up my bag and swing it onto my shoulder. “Done?”
“Yeah, as soon as I grab my bike and helmet and put my jacket back on,” I agreed. I did just that and I followed Zack as we walked our bikes out of my apartment. Once we were outside again, we got on and I led him over to where...I guess you can now say where I used to work. I stopped my bike, turned off the engine, jumped off of it, walked inside the building, went straight over to my boss' office, and barged in completely unannounced. The guy was snapping at one of the night employees. What a jerk. The boss, I mean, though the guy getting the verbal beat-down looks kind of shifty himself.
“...and how do you even presume to--what in God’s name do you think you’re doing here, Emily?” my boss roared. “You were supposed to have left more than twenty minutes ago! And what the hell do you think you’re doing coming into this office like that? You must have some nerve!”
“Actually, I’ve got plenty of nerve and the reason I came in here all nice and unnanounced like this is because I’m gracious enough to let your shady ass know that I’m quitting effective immediately,” I said cheerfully.
“What do you mean, you’re quitting?”
“I mean I’m quitting as in I’m never coming back into work ever again, see you around, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, bye-bye, and go fuck yourself,” I clarified. I waved to the jerk and then leaned over to the guy that I had just given something of a reprieve from the verbal abuse. “By the way? I don’t know if you’re new or not because I didn’t work the night shift but if you are, try not to let him con you into working overtime and if you do, be sure to check your pay stubs to make sure he didn’t cheat you out of your overtime pay. He used to do that all of the time to me.” I smirked and turned around and left and went back outside to where Zack was waiting for me. “Okay, I’m all done in there and I left him all nice in one piece.”
“That’s a relief,” Zack said dryly. He waited for me to get back onto my bike and restart it. “We’re in for a long ride. If you want to stop and get a little bit of sleep before we get there, let me know.”
“Thanks,” I said. I started to head out, but I hesitated and looked back at the office. Zack had started to go, but he turned around and came back when he realized that I wasn’t right behind him.
“What is it?” he asked, lifting the visor on his helmet. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” I said. I lifted my own helmet visor, suddenly feeling tired. “I was just wondering how much longer I’m doing to have to do this relocation deal.”
Zack put a hand on my shoulder. “Just hang in there, little sister. If we’re all lucky, it won’t be too much longer.” We smiled at each other before we put our helmet visors back down and headed out towards the highway. I really hope that Zack’s right about it and that I won’t have to keep moving for too much longer. What I wouldn’t give to see my brothers and sisters again, even the twin that I hadn’t seen since I was days old at best. I felt deep down that I would see all of them again. I also couldn’t wait until I could see Brianne again. I missed her as much as I missed my siblings. All I have to do is keep holding onto hope that I’ll have all of my family back and to keep waiting. It’s as simple as that.
The end!