Together -- Chapter 8

Disclaimer: All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) 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.).

Notes: Takes place immediately before chapter 41 of  “Dysfunctional.”

“I pinpointed Zack’s location to A Wing, right here,” Becky said to Max the following night. She pointed to a part of the map she’d drawn earlier in the day. “Unfortunately, that wing of the building seems to be under heavier security than this one.”

“I guess we know who’s winning the ‘Piss Manticore Off The Most Contest,’” Max remarked.

“Right,” Becky agreed, smiling. “I occasionally have a few classes down in that area of the building, so I have some opportunity to do recon, which is what I ended up doing today.”

Max nodded. “We’ve got one piece of the puzzle down. Now we’ve got to find the rest and put ‘em together.” She bit her lip. “Do you know if Zack’s cell has security cameras in it?”

“I’m not sure,” Becky confessed. “The hallways in that wing do, but as for the individual rooms? I don’t know yet. Communicating with him is going to be the trickiest part of the whole business. I have a feeling that once we establish communication, the actual getting you two out of Manticore again will be easier.” Becky bit her lip. “But we’ve also potentially have a wild card in play.”

“What do you mean?” Max asked.

Should I tell her that Zack told me about Eyes Only? No, I won’t yet. “We’ve been picking up occasional Eyes Only broadcasts on the TVs in the rec rooms,” Becky admitted.

“So?” Max said quickly. “I’ve been living in Seattle for the past two years or so. We get a lot of them here.”

“All about Manticore?” Becky asked quietly. “Max, you know as well as I do that we’re one of the Government’s dirty little secrets. If the secret gets out...I don’t know what will happen, but it couldn’t be good and it will most likely be directed at us. And I don’t mean just you, me, and Zack, but all of us. X-series, transhumans, anomalies, everyone.”

“Damn.” Max shook her head. “Logan...”

“Something you should tell me?” Becky wondered, though she knew, or had a feeling that she knew, what Max was going to say.

“I know Eyes Only,” Max confessed. “His name is Logan Cale. He and I...well, were starting to get involved.”

“He must really l—have feelings for you,” Becky said. She shook her head. “But that not withstanding, Max, he’s not thinking rationally. He’s not focusing in on the big picture. While it is admirable that he’s so devoted to you he thinks the rest of the world can go to hell, and what woman wouldn’t want that quality in a man, he’s in a situation where if what he’s doing backfires, not only would he be responsible for your possible death or extended vacation in Psy Ops, but he’d also be responsible for the loss of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of lives.”

Max sighed. “You’re right.” She smirked. “You know, that sounds like something that would come right out of Zack’s mouth. You’re a lot like him.”

Becky grinned. “Maybe it’s a C.O. thing.”

“Maybe,” Max said.

“Am I interrupting something, ladies?” a voice spoke up.

Max and Becky whirled around to find 494 in the room with them. “What the hell are you doing here?” Max demanded.

“I left my watch here,” 494 told her, pointing to where his watch lay on the floor near Max’s bunk. “Funny to find you here, 405.”

“We’re old friends,” Becky said coolly. “What do you want, 494?”

“Alec,” Max interrupted. “I named him Alec.”

“Very appropriate,” Becky commented.

“You planning on busting Max and her brother out of here?” Alec asked.

“Were you listening in on the conversation, you ass?” Max snapped.

“You know, I could turn you guys in to Director Renfro...” Alec began to say.

“But you won’t,” Becky finished.

“Hey, cool your jets, 405,” Alec said.

“The name’s Becky,” Becky informed the male X5. She glared at Alec, who flinched. Max looked impressed. “You will not say a single word about this, or I swear I will make sure you won’t be saying anything for a long time. And I’m not even mentioning what Max will do.”

“Why shouldn’t I say to Renfro?” Alec shot back, though he had much less conviction. “My butt’s still in some need of saving after this mission I botched months ago.”

Becky’s glare never wavered. “Why shouldn’t I tell Renfro that you and Max aren’t copulating like you’re supposed to?”

Alec sighed. “Fine. I won’t say anything to Renfro.”

“Better than that,” Max said sweetly. “You’re gonna help us.”

“Help you?” Alec wondered skeptically. “How?”

“You know this facility a lot better than either of us,” Becky pointed out. “You’d probably know how to get around the security cameras in A Wing, right?”

“Yeah, I do,” Alec admitted.

“Let me know tomorrow as soon as you can,” Becky said. She turned to Max. “I’ll contact Zack as soon as I can after that.”

“And I thought X5s were supposed to give orders to the X6s,” Alec remarked, amused.

“Not when it comes to playing dirty like this,” Max said.

“Women,” Alec muttered. He left Max’s cell.

“Nice job getting Alec to back down like that,” Max told Becky.

“Thanks,” Becky said. “I once heard one of the guards back in Wyoming say that looking into my eyes when I’m in a bad mood is like looking into the barrel of a gun: all you see is gray steel and you know you’re going to be at best in severe pain when all’s said in done.” She shrugged. “Hell, I could even scare Lydecker occasionally.”

“You could?” Max looked surprised. “I didn’t think anything could scare Lydecker.”

“There aren’t a lot of things that can,” Becky agreed. “But...sometimes, like when we’d be in the tank or in lineup, or after one of us was taken away for something...Lydecker would look at me and almost shiver. I don’t know what he was scared of.”

“Who knows,” Max said. “You should blaze now.”

Becky nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow with news from Zack.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Max said.

TBC