Together -- Chapter 52

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, 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 (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Becky walked silently up to where Maggie was standing a safe distance away from the house that 662 was staying in the next night. “How’s everything looking?”

“She still hasn’t left the house yet,” Maggie said. “Maybe she’s having a late dinner or something. I have no clue. How are Max and Zack? What’s their status?”

“They’re going to split tonight,” Becky said. “They’re going to head across the border over to Vancouver and stay there until 662 is safely away from Seattle.” She shook her head. “This is completely insane. Their family is going to be safe if either someone tails 662 around the country 24-7 so if one of them is living where 662 is going, that X5 can be given the heads up or if and when we somehow convince 662 to abort her mission.”

“I don’t envy you,” Maggie said. “I’m glad I’m not the commanding officer.”

Becky smiled a little. “Manticore’s over so technically I’m not anybody’s commanding officer anymore.”

“You know what I mean,” Maggie said. “Even if they had decided to replace you as our C.O. when they evaluated all of us a few years ago, we’d still have looked up to you and followed your lead. You really are our big sister. Remember Unit 2 and how after they had been evaluated Lydecker replaced 193 as C.O. with 089 but even though he did, they always seemed to go to 193 when they were in trouble or needed help with anything? That’s how we feel about you. You know that.”

“I do. It really means a lot, Maggie,” Becky said.

Maggie nodded. “You all set for your shift?”

“I am,” Becky said. “I even have a taser in my pocket.”

“Can’t you just take her down with a non-lethal shot?” Maggie asked. “Tasers are practically guaranteed, but between a taser and a gun, while the taser is much more effective at subduing us than a non-lethal shot from a gun, the taser is also the easiest for us to avoid when it’s being shot at us.”

“You heard what Lydecker said to us yesterday. A sustained hit with a taser could short out the chip that’s in 662’s head and return her to normal,” Becky said. “If I get the chance to use the taser, I’ll take it.”

“What’s stopping you from going into that house and doing that now?” Maggie asked.

“I need the element of surprise,” Becky pointed out.

“True,” Maggie said. “Anyway, I’ll get going back to your place. Call me if you need me.”

“I will,” Becky said. She watched Maggie go and sighed before she focused on the house in front of her.

“Think we’ll actually make it as far as the border this time?” Max joked to Zack as they were strapping their bags to their motorcycles.

Zack shrugged. “I hope so. Let’s try to get into Vancouver and settled into a motel for the night by two in the morning, two-thirty at the latest. I don’t know if you’re going to need to sleep tonight, but I will.”

“If all goes according to plan, that shouldn’t be too hard to get done,” Max said. “It’s only about nine-thirty now and it’s supposedly about three hours by car or bus to Vancouver from Seattle.”

“You’ll be back in Seattle again,” Zack promised. “I’m not going to force you to not come back here if you want to come back.”

Max smiled. “Thank you. I do want to come back here when this blows over. I hope it does.”

“So do I,” Zack said. He grabbed his helmet. “Ready to leave?”

“Ready as I’m gonna get,” Max said. She and Zack jumped on their motorcycles and left the safe house.

Becky stiffened and zoomed in as she watched 662 leave her house. She saw 662 take off the backpack that she was wearing and check whatever was inside of it before putting it back on and continuing on her way. Becky nodded to herself and followed her.

She’s on the move. I hope she doesn’t go near the safe house. If she does, I hope that Max and Zack have already left for Canada! I don’t want anything to be messier than it has to be.

Becky continued to follow 662 and waited for a few minutes from across a street while 662 went into a fast food place to get some food. She took out her cell phone and dialed Jeff’s number. “It’s me.”

“Where are you?” Jeff asked.

“Outside the crummy fast food place on 12th street over in Sector 5,” Becky said. “I’m tailing 662. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened yet. I just wanted to check in while I had the chance to do it.”

“Okay. Don’t forget to let me know if you need anything,” Jeff said.

“I will, don’t worry. Are you nearby right now?” Becky asked.

“Not exactly, I’m back at my place,” Jeff said. “I could be there in just minutes on my bike if you need any help.”

“Thanks, Jeff,” Becky said.

“You’re welcome,” Jeff said. “Take it easy, okay?”

“I’ll try,” Becky said. “I’ll talk to you later.” She disconnected and turned back to the fast food restaurant and continued to observe 662.

It’s nice to have somebody who’s not related to you in some way be that concerned. Jeff really is a great friend. He’s got to be one of the best if not the best friend I have outside of my family.

Becky looked back up when she saw 662 leave the fast food restaurant and continue on and continued to follow her. She’s heading north. Crap, Max and Zack had better have left by now!

“Great,” Max said angrily. “This would have to happen to us. Only I would pick up a nail when trying to leave town. Something always happens. Rain or shine or whatever, something always has to happen to us. It’s got to be written in one of those unwritten books somewhere.”

“Stay calm,” Zack said. “It’s not that bad.”

“But you still wish that Zane was here?” Max said. She was only half-teasing.

“That would be handy, but they did teach all of us to be able to make at least some mechanical repairs before we left Manticore the first time around,” Zack said. “We could either find a place to get a new tire and then we could have it on the bike in minutes or we can hide the bike and call Becky or Jeff or Maggie or Alec and have them come and get it later and then you’d just ride on my bike up to Vancouver. Do you know if there’s any place where we could make the repair up ahead that’s close by? If there isn’t within a reasonable range, we’re going to have to leave your bike behind.”

“Damn,” Max said. “There is a place up ahead about a mile that’s closer to the beach. I’ve used them before. Is that close enough or should we ride on your bike and hide mine?”

Zack thought about it for a few moments. “That should be good enough. Let me call Becky and let her know what the slight change in plan is.” He took out his cell phone and speed dialed Becky’s number and held the phone in one hand as he wheeled his bike alongside Max with the other. “Becky, it’s me.”

“Zack, are you on the road yet?” Becky asked. She sounded worried.

“What’s going on?” Zack said.

“I’m watching 662 tonight. She’s on the move and heading north. Where are you guys right now?” Becky said.

“Max blew a tire and we’re heading to a repair shop less than a mile from our current location,” Zack said. “It’s close by the ocean, if that helps.”

“I do know which place you’re talking about and it might right now, as long as...shit, she’s heading west towards the ocean. Get there now and hide until she passes. She’s going to be too close to your location,” Becky said.

“Got it,” Zack said. He disconnected and turned to Max. “We’ve got to hurry. Becky said that 662 is heading this way.”

Becky followed 662 out to the beach. She could just make out the repair shop ahead of her on her right. The beach was pretty much abandoned. Nobody wanted to be around the water in late November. She froze and zoomed in on something that she’d seen in the corner of her eye.

Damn, that’s Max and Zack! I hope that 662 didn’t see them! Though if I did, she almost certainly saw them, too.

She looked ahead of her and saw the 662 had indeed seen them. Without even a smile or a sigh, 662 took off her backpack and began pulling out the contents. Becky quickly recognized them as the pieces of a sniper rifle and she felt her heart sink. She took a deep breath and walked up to 662. “It’s been a long time, 662.”

“We’re here,” Max said. “I—oh, no. Zack, down there on the beach.”

Zack zoomed in and saw 662. “Damn, she’s spotted us.”

“Becky’s not going to do something, will she?” Max said.

“She’s got no choice,” Zack said. “I guess all we can do is hope that 662 doesn’t kill her.”

“We’ve got to do something,” Max said. “We can’t just let Becky face off against 662 alone.”

“If we need to,” Zack promised. They continued to watch the two X6s.

662 jumped and turned around and blinked in surprise when she saw Becky. “405? It really has been a long time. What are you doing here?”

“I’m just around, like you seem to be,” Becky said. “No specific purpose just yet. How about you? You look like you have something to do.”

662 nodded. “I’m carrying out my mission as ordered. I am to capture all of the remaining rogue X5s and if I am unable to establish contact with base, I am to terminate the X5s on sight. I haven’t been able to contact the base since it was attacked, so I am going to terminate 599 and 452.”

“662, I’m afraid that you’re going to have to abort your mission,” Becky said.

“What?” 662 said. “I wasn’t told that I had to abort my mission. I know I haven’t been successful since I started my mission after the attack on the base, but that shouldn’t be cause for me to abort it.”

“662, the base wasn’t attacked. Not by outside forces, at any rate,” Becky said. “Director Renfro betrayed us all and burnt it down herself. If it wasn’t for X5-452, we would all have died in the fire.”

“You’re lying,” 662 said. “If you’ll excuse me, 405, I have to complete my mission.”

“I have no reason to lie to you, 662,” Becky said. “There’s no more Manticore and there’s no mission anymore for you to complete.”

“You’re lying,” 662 repeated.

This is not good. Please, just listen to me and stop! “X6-662, as your commanding officer, I am ordering you to abort the mission,” Becky snapped. If she’s a robotic soldier, maybe she’ll respond to being treated like one!

“You are no longer my commanding officer, 405,” 662 said. “After I recovered from my brain injury, I was reassigned away from your unit.”

It’s still your unit, too! “Nobody ever told me that,” Becky said coolly. “Nobody even had the decency to tell me that you were alive. And I no longer go by my designation if I can help it, 662. My name is Becky.”

“You can go by whatever aliases that you choose, 405,” 662 said. “But I still need to complete my mission. You were my commanding officer and so I am offering you the courtesy of leaving unharmed so that I may complete my task.”

Becky felt her heart break in two. “I’m sorry, 662, I can’t let you complete your mission.”

“I can’t let anybody interfere with the completion of the mission,” 662 said.

Becky whipped out the taser and hit the button, but 662 jumped out of the way, kicked the taser out of Becky’s hand, and hit Becky, sending her flying a few feet down the beach. Becky got up and went flying at 662, but 662 tossed her aside.

“You’ve gotten better than the last time I sparred against you,” Becky said.

“I’m much better than you ever will be, 405,” 662 said. “Now stand aside so that I can complete my mission.”

“I can’t,” Becky said. She attacked 662 again. 662 blocked a few attempted punches before she kicked Becky and sent her down the beach again.

“Becky’s getting her ass kicked,” Max said as she and Zack watched Becky and 662 continue their fight. “Do you think that you can get a shot off at 662 from here, Zack?”

“With the gun that I have on me now? It’s possible, but the trickiest part is being able to shoot without killing either 662 or Becky by accident,” Zack said. He took out the gun and tried to aim it at 662.

662 looked up and saw Zack taking out his gun and reached down to grab her rifle, only to have it kicked from her hand and then be sent several feet down the beach as a result of Becky’s foot coming in contact with her stomach.

“It sucks when it happens to you, doesn’t it?” Becky said as she moved it to hit 662, only for 662 to block her attack and hit her again.

“You have no reason to interfere,” 662 said.

“Oh, come on,” Becky said. “Can’t you see the family resemblance? Everyone else can.”

“You and 599?” 662 said.

“His name is Zack,” Becky said as she barely managed to avoid getting punched.

“Choosing your flesh and blood over me, your former unit mate,” 662 said.

Becky felt her stomach drop. “I didn’t choose him over you, 662, I chose you both. And you are not the sister that I knew.”

“Sister? Sister? We were unit mates, not family,” 662 said.

“The old 662 would disagree with that,” Becky said. “I wish that you were her.”

She attacked 662, but was constantly beaten back. 662 would hardly let Becky get an attack in, no matter how hard she tried. Nothing got through to 662.

“I thought you were better than this, 405,” 662 said as she stared down at Becky, who was lying on the beach, exhausted and breathing heavily. “I thought you could handle fighting me. You always have before.”

“That was...before you turned...into...a cybernetically...enhanced living robot,” Becky gasped. She tried to get up but didn’t have the energy to. “662...please...don’t kill them. Don’t kill any of them.”

“I’m sorry, 405,” 662 said. “I have to.” She turned and walked back to where her rifle was laying on the sand. She picked it up and took aim.

“No!” Becky yelled desperately. She felt a sudden surge of adrenaline, jumped up and went flying at 662, kicking the other X6 hard in the head before 662 could block it, sending the younger girl tumbling to the ground. She looked over and saw her taser lying in the sand, grabbed it, hit the button, and nailed 662 with it before she could react. Becky watched 662 trying to get to her despite the electricity, but she held the button down until 662 finally collapsed onto the sand and stopped trying to get to her. She sighed, released the button, and passed out, completely exhausted.

“She’s not going to do it,” Zack realized. He felt his heart sink when he saw how exhausted Becky was becoming after that long of so intense of a fight. “Becky’s not going to be able to convince or defeat 662.”

“She’s got to be able to,” Max said. “Huh, 662 is letting Becky live?”

“Maybe there’s a part of her still alive after all,” Zack said. He froze. “Max, run—wait, Becky’s up?”

“She took her down,” Max said. “She got her with the taser. She did it, Zack.”

“I hope the she’s okay,” Zack said as they saw Becky collapse onto the beach. They ran down to them and Zack knelt down next to Becky. “Becky? Wake up, baby sister. You stopped her.”

“I did?” Becky mumbled. She opened her eyes and saw 662 lying on the beach. Her eyes widened when she saw that 662 was not moving and didn’t appear to be breathing. “Oh God, I killed her! I killed my little sister.”

“Shit,” Max swore. She ran over to 662 and started doing CPR.

“I killed my own sister,” Becky said. She felt Zack hug her and started sobbing. “I killed my own sister. How could I have done that?”

“Wait!” Max yelled. “She’s got a pulse. She’s breathing on her own.” She quickly moved back to where Becky and Zack were.

662 slowly sat up and groaned. She blinked when she saw Becky sitting with Zack and Max, all bruised and cut up from the fight and felt tears in her own eyes. “Becky? Oh my God, what did I do to you?”

Becky couldn’t believe it. “662? Is it really you?”

“I’m so sorry I hurt you,” 662 sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I wanted to kill your big brother and his family.”

Becky felt herself grinning and managed to get the energy to crawl over to her little sister and hug her. “It’s okay, 662, everything’s okay now.”

“Can you...can you call me something else?” 662 asked. “I don’t want to go by my designation if I can help it, either.”

Becky thought for a moment. “Do you like Felicia?”

“I do,” she said. “That sounds neat.”

“It does,” Becky agreed. She hugged her sister again. “Welcome back, Felicia.”

TBC