What's Next? -- Chapter 3

Disclaimer:  The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, 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 see,” Caroline was saying to one of her subordinates the next day. “I think that…” She looked over and saw Dennis gesturing to her. “Excuse me, lieutenant. Keep at it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the soldier said. He saluted her and walked away.

Caroline walked over to Dennis. “What’s going on?”

“Video conference call right now,” Dennis said. He looked serious. “It’s the president.”

“Is this going to be good or bad?” Caroline wondered quietly as she followed Dennis into one of the tents and sat down next to him at a table in front of a laptop. Dennis typed a few commands and a window popped up showing a webcam view of the Oval Office. “Good morning, Mr. President.”

“Good morning, General Murphy, Colonel Robinson,” the president said. “How are you both?”

“We’re fine, sir,” Dennis said.

“I called you to discuss several matters,” the president said. “First things first. I will be flying out to Seattle on Air Force One this afternoon to visit the Terminal City site.”

“I see, sir,” Dennis said. He wasn’t sure how to react to that. “Is this a simple visit or is there more to it?”

“There is more to it,” the president said. “After many discussions with my advisers concerning the events of the last week, or really of the last year or so, I’ve decided to open negotiations with the transgenics and officially bring them into the general population.”

Dennis and Caroline managed to hide grins. “That’s tremendous, sir,” Caroline said. “How are these negotiations going to work? Are they going to start after you get into the city or do you need either General Murphy or myself to open the negotiations for you?”

“If you would let the transgenics know that I will be arriving and would like to open negotiations with them, that would be helpful,” the president said. “Do you believe they will be receptive to the idea?”

“I haven’t heard anything that would indicate the contrary, sir,” Dennis said. “They haven’t made any moves against the units stationed here and their actions in uncovering the plot involving Ames White and his cohorts indicate to me that they are on the same side as us. I think that they will welcome the idea of negotiations.”

“Good,” the president said.

“Is there anything else, sir?” Caroline asked.

“Yes, there is,” the president said. “It concerns the two of you.”

“What is it, sir?” Dennis asked.

“We’ve managed to uncover a pretty good amount of information concerning Manticore, as both of you are aware of,” the president said. “It’s a pretty fair amount of information considering that the database was destroyed in the fire. We recently uncovered some information that was for some reason locked in both of your files. It was covered in quite a bit of security.”

Caroline managed to put a curious look on her face, though she was extremely nervous. “What is this information, sir?”

“You two were both recruited while you were both attending West Point to donate reproductive cells for a medical research project in Casper, Wyoming, correct?” the president said.

“Yes,” Dennis said. “I was approached by one of my weapons instructors about the opportunity. I did need the money so I agreed to it.”

“I was approached by an old family friend,” Caroline said. “He was in charge of the military units that guarded the facility and he knew I needed money, so he asked me to make a donation. I was told it was to test a medication that promoted cell regeneration.”

The president nodded. “That research facility was a front for Manticore. Both of your donations went straight there.”

Dennis and Caroline feigned shock. “You’re kidding me,” Dennis said. “We…donated to Manticore?”

“You did,” the president said. “Not only that, but according to the information that was unlocked, your donations were used to create soldiers 330417291599 and 330768235405, otherwise known by their designations X5-599 and X6-405. They have known aliases, as I recall.”

“Zack and Becky,” Caroline said. “You’re telling us that they are our son and daughter?”

“Genetically, yes,” the president said. “This information will most likely get out to the press. I want both of you to be prepared for it.”

“Thank you, sir,” Dennis said.

The president smiled. “I’ve known you for several years, General. I’ve always had the greatest respect for you and your work. I wanted to give you this courtesy.”

“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it,” Dennis said.

“About you, Colonel Robinson,” the president said.

“Yes, sir,” Caroline said.

“We’ve uncovered some other information in your file as well,” the president said. “You were in a car accident on February 25th, 2013, correct? Among other injuries, you sustained massive head trauma that left you in a coma for four months and resulted in partial amnesia.”

“That’s right, sir,” Caroline said. “To this day, I still can’t remember anything from the month before the accident.” I’ve had so much practice with that lie, I can say it in my sleep!

“Colonel Robinson, the accident wasn’t an accident. It was a hit ordered by Colonel Donald Lydecker, the then head of Project Manticore, on you,” the president said.

Caroline faked complete shock. “Wait a second, Donald Lydecker? I’ve known the guy my whole life! I never totally liked him, but he was my oldest brother’s best friend and he wouldn’t do something like that to me. He respects my brother’s memory too much to do something like that.”

“Apparently, you accidentally discovered some files on Manticore that belonged to your ex-husband, who was also a part of the project until its end,” the president said. “You had discovered the existence of…X5-599 and Colonels Lydecker and Nelson were worried that you would discover X6-405’s existence and possibly try to recover her from Manticore.”

“I would have,” Caroline said softly. “That sounds like something that I would do.”

“Does this have any impact on our positions here, sir?” Dennis asked.

“No,” the president said. “You will both remain at your current positions. Like I said, General Murphy, I respect your work and I know that you will continue to do fine work even under these circumstances. Yours and Colonel Robinson’s handling of the Terminal City situation has been absolutely exemplary so far and I see no reason that it will continue at any less quality.”

“Absolutely, sir,” Dennis said. “When do you want me to talk to the transgenics about negotiations?”

“This afternoon, if it’s possible,” the president said. “Work out a time and place with the transgenics, preferably sometime tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be arriving at the Terminal City site around eight tomorrow morning local time to tour the area.”

“Very well, sir,” Dennis said. “We look forward to seeing you then.”

“So do I, General Murphy,” the president said. “I’ll be seeing you then. General Murphy, Colonel Robinson, thank you for your time.” He nodded and then the connection was disconnected.

Dennis closed the laptop and turned to Caroline. “This is it.”

“Yeah,” Caroline said. “It’ll be out in the open soon.” She smiled nervously. “I hope my family takes it well. I know that Jenny will be fine with it because she likes Zack and Becky and she’ll be happy that she’s related to the two of them, but I don’t know how my dad or Danny or Pete will react to this news.”

“I guess we’ll find out when we find out,” Dennis said. “Speaking of the kids, we should give them the heads up on this.”

“Right,” Caroline said. “Do you want to call them or should I?”

“You can call them,” Dennis said. He smiled. “It’s your turn.” They both laughed.

TBC