Together -- Chapter 75

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.).

“I had the day off,” Stephen said to White as they sat down at a table at an upscale restaurant in Seattle not far from Logan’s old penthouse. “How about you?”

“I don’t have to be back at work until two,” White replied. He ordered a drink each for him and Stephen and waited for the waiter to leave before resuming the conversation. “This place looks nice.”

“Yeah, it’s one of my favorites.” Stephen nodded in agreement. “I try to eat here at least once a month. So, how are things in your world?”

“Personally, very good,” White said. He grinned. “Wendy’s pregnant again.”

“Congratulations,” Stephen said. “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“Not yet,” White admitted. “We’ll be able to know in a month and Wendy and I both want to know if it’s a boy or a girl. I’m hoping for a boy and Wendy wants a girl. Typical, but that’s how it is. Speaking of which, how’s your daughter?”

“Carrie’s fine,” Stephen said. “She took Belinda’s death very well. She’s a great kid. I can say that both as her father and a fellow Familiar.”

“It’s too bad you had to kill Belinda,” White said sympathetically.

“Yeah, I know,” Stephen agreed. He shrugged. “We thought since Carrie turned out so well that when the Conclave told me that the time was right for us to start on baby number two, that baby would be fine as well. But our second daughter was stillborn, I still have no idea why, so the Conclave decided that Belinda was of no further use to us after all so I killed her. I’ll tell Carrie exactly how her mother died in a few years after she’s been in the school for at least a few months. I’ve got no worries about how she’ll take it then. I’ve got complete faith in her.” He saw the look on White’s face and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, buddy. Your father was nothing more than a fluke. He was the exception that proved the rule. Every family has to have one black sheep, even the Familiars.”

“Thanks, Stephen,” White said gratefully.

“That’s what friends are for,” Stephen said. “If you need any advice, just give me a call.”

“I might just do that,” White told him. “What else is going on with you?”

“Plenty of things,” Stephen said. “I’ve been mostly busy with other business that I’ve been carrying out at the request of the Conclave. This and that, you know how it goes. Between that, my day job, and being a single parent to a three-year-old, I’ve barely had any free time lately. Speaking of business, how have things been going with your line of work? How has the hunt for the freaks been going lately?”

“Things picked up a little bit after we exposed their existence, but that didn’t last very long,” White said with a sigh. “It was a small increase, but it only lasted for about a week. These transgenics are definitely well trained. I believed that we would be catching more of the X-series females because a good chunk of them, most of the X3, X4, and X5 females, had been placed in Manticore’s breeding program that was instituted shortly after the destruction of the DNA lab and had given or were about to give birth to their foul offspring, but out of all of those females and newborns, I only caught two mothers, both X3s, and their babies and I came close on an X5 and her twin spawn.” He shook his head regretfully. “The X5 could have been potentially a big help because she was the twin of a unit mate of 452’s, but instead of capturing and bringing in 452, I’m guessing she was convinced by somebody, I’m guessing X5-494 since it turned out that he was that X5’s commanding officer, to let 452 help her and they mounted a successful rescue mission.” His expression got angrier. “On top of that, the X6 that I believed that I had chased to its death back in August turned out to be still alive. I don’t know how. She must have fallen onto or into something when she missed the other roof.” He laughed bitterly. “Needless to say, we don’t have 452 in our possession yet.”

“Even these freaks must have some luck,” Stephen pointed out. “Don’t worry, it’ll run out sometime.”

White’s cell phone rang. “Just a moment,” he said. He looked at the number, glanced at Stephen, and then answered the phone. “Fenos’tol.”

“Fenos’tol,” the woman’s voice on the other end replied. “Are you with anybody?”

“Only Brother Garrison,” White said. “What is going on?”

“Something that I believe is well within the capabilities of the two of you,” the woman assured him. “The Conclave has decided that it is time to make a serious move against the transgenics. The exposure of their existence last month was one major step. It is now time to make another one.”

White nodded. “I agree. Did the Conclave want anything specific to be done or is this entirely in my hands and the hands of those that I choose to help me in this endeavor?”

“It’s entirely your call,” the woman said. “Call me back when you and Brother Garrison have come up with a plan. Fenos’tol.”

“Fenos’tol,” White replied. He disconnected and put his cell phone back in his pocket and turned back to Stephen. “It seems as if we have some business to discuss. The Conclave wants to make another serious move against the transgenics. They didn’t say that there was something specific that they wanted done. They left that in our hands.”

“I see,” Stephen said. “Well then, I guess all we need to do now is order some lunch and put our heads together.”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” White agreed as he motioned for the waiter.

TBC