Over the next week, Liz and Alec discovered that Liz was right and the energy on her arms and hands disappeared. But not completely, Liz could still feel it coursing through her body. So during the times when they could get away without being missed they would go so Liz could practice her powers. Alec would keep lookout while examining what Liz was doing. It took her a little bit of time to get the hang of it but eventually she was able to change the color of things and change the temperature of stuff, not quite to boiling or freezing but there were temperature changes. She had yet to be able to undo a lock, something that would have aided her in her escape, but she could tell her powers were increasing so it was only a matter of time. For now she was happy that she was able to control them, a task she was glad to perform when her and Alec found out that they were going to be sent on another mission.
So a few hours after receiving their orders Liz was in her room putting on the black field uniform when the door suddenly burst open, “Liz are you…woah!”
Alec spun around to turn away from her half nude form as she yelled. “Alec! Don’t you knock!”
“Uh, sorry.” He said. Alec closed his eyes trying not to think of all of the skin he had seen, which was a lot since she had only been wearing her black combat pants. “I thought you would already be ready.”
“Well obviously I wasn’t.” Liz snapped. She quickly hooked her bra and pulled on her tanktop. Next came her long sleeve shirt, “Okay, it’s safe. How much did you see?”
Alec turned slowly around and saw that she was indeed fully dressed, “Nothing, it was all a blur.”
Liz breathed out a sigh of relief, “Good. We better get going.”
She grabbed her small backpack and the two headed out. They were going by helicopter again but this time they were going to the mountains. There was a private laboratory of a company who did genetic research much like Manticore’s. Not wanting the competition, Liz and Alec were to slip inside, set up some bugs and download their files, to see how far along they had gotten in their research to see if they jeopardized Manticore. If they did, another mission, one with a larger unit would go back to destroy the lab. Liz was thankful it wasn’t another assination, just a simple information recovery. She looked over at Alec as they walked, “I guess I should take it as a good sign that they are trusting me more since we don’t have a surveillance team following us.”
“Yeah, but I’d take the surveillance team over the toxin any day.” Alec commented.
“True, but it’s a step.” Liz said looking at the situation in a positive light. She lowered her voice as she finished, “Then I’m out of here.”
“Yeah, out of here.” Alec muttered cheerlessly as they reached the helicopter.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The helicopter dropped them at the bottom of the peak that the lab was located on before departing. The lab’s security was tight, so tight that if the helicopter stayed for longer than a few minutes, it would be picked up and the mission would be a failure. That was why Manticore had wanted to send a small team. After they were done they were to proceed to a cabin farther away than the drop off point, call the success of the mission in and be picked up.
It was a four-hour hike up the mountain but it was easy climb for the two of them and they made good time. Through the trees they could see the lights given off by the laboratory. They knew that there were guards all over the place so they were silent, only communicating through hand signals. When they reached the perimeter fence, Liz pulled out a small signal jammer and aimed it at a nearby camera before pushing the button. The red light on top flashed as it did as it was supposed to, the signal that it emitted caused the cameras to loop what had previously been recorded over and over so that they would not be seen. With that task completed, using their enhanced muscles, they jumped the fence. It was cleared easily and as soon as their feet hit the ground they made their way to the building.
Although it was a smooth surface they managed to scale it until they got to the roof. They didn’t have to bother with climbing equipment thanks to their transgenic abilities. It was one of the reasons that Manticore made them that way. Alec led the way to an access panel that once removed, would allow them entry to the building. They quickly got it off and checked their watches. They knew the guards patrolling schedule and one had just past one minute ago, which meant they had nine minutes until the next one would pass. They dropped inside. They both had weapons drawn as they did just in case a guard was close by that shouldn’t be. Thankfully there wasn’t.
Following the blueprints they had memorized on the trip there they wound through the corridors and down the stairs until they came to the office of the head director of the lab. The lab was locked with several high power locks that would only be opened by the keyless entry pad located next to the door. The director and a few other high-ranking officials of the lab were the only ones to have the code so they would have to bypass. Which they could do thanks to Op-Tech.
Alec pulled out one of his own gadgets to do the job. His looked like a small remote or cellphone because of its number pad on the front. Alec pulled out a small wire and placed it so it was touching the key panel before he tapped in the appropriate numbers and the device started doing its job. Within thirty seconds it had deciphered the code and it appeared on the device’s small screen. Alec tapped in the code and the locks disengaged.
They hurried inside and shut the door behind them. Once they did they knew it was safe to talk. Alec checked his watch and said, “We’re down to seven minutes, I’ll take the computer, you copy the hard files.”
Liz nodded and the two got to work. The computers were already booted up so Alec pulled up the appropriate files and started pulling out all the disks he had stashed in his jacket. As he started copying all of the research files, Liz went through the filing cabinets. She bypassed all the employee files and other things and went straight for the research ones. There wasn’t much since Liz figured they didn’t want them to fall into the wrong hands and kept most of the information in the computers. She finished making copies of them before putting them in a folder and sliding them into her pack.
She headed over to Alec and looked over his shoulder, “How are you doing?”
“Almost done.”
Liz looked over the screen trying to read the files but Alec’s efficiency and the speed of the computers made it hard. A few more minutes and he pulled the last disk out and secured it back in his jacket. He then pulled another disk and loaded in another program that would send all further files saved to be sent discreetly to Manticore through the computer’s modem. The lab techs working on them would never know.
Once he was done he returned the computer to the way he found it and the two left. They had one minute left before the next patrol would come by and they needed to get out. They were halfway there when they turned the corner only to find a guard staring at them from his position thirty feet away. Alec moved quickly to intercept him but not before the guard was able to trigger an alarm he had attached to his radio and the hall was consumed with the alarm lights and sounds. They stepped over the unconscious guard and hurried back to their exit. But they didn’t make it.
Alec and Liz were a hundred feet away when half a dozen guards cut them off, all shooting at them. They moved to back track but found that way was cut off in the same fashion. Liz saw a door and shot out the lock before she grabbed Alec’s arm and dragged him into it. Acting on instinct Liz placed her hand over the lock and concentrated with her powers. It heated up the metal and melted the damaged lock. “Okay, now how do we get out of here?”
Alec looked around before spotting a possibility. There was a dumbwaiter, probably used to move equipment back and forth between this lab and the one underneath, off to the side in one of the walls. “You’re going to go down that to the next floor and get out. I’ll be right behind you.”
Liz moved over next to it and looked at the small elevator then back at Alec, “Why don’t you go first, then I can melt the door so that they can’t follow.”
“Don’t worry they’re not going to follow.” Alec said looking over the rest of the lab, getting more ideas. He could also see that Liz wasn’t going to listen to him.
“What are you…” Liz didn’t even get the words out of her mouth before Alec scooped her up, and dropped her through the door of the shaft. She reacting as quickly as she could and caught herself before she hit the bottom. She crawled out of the door and yelled into her comlink that linked her to Alec. “When I get my hands on you.”
“Liz get out of there, the guards are concentrating on this floor, so go out the nearest window. I’ll be right behind you.” Alec yelled back.
Despite being furious with him as well as concerned she listened to him and found the first window that would open before slipping out of it. She was almost to the fence when there was an explosion, right in the lab where she had left Alec. “ALEC!!!”
***
She got up from where she’d been thrown by the blast and started heading back to the burning building to get Alec. She only took a few steps before she was grabbed from behind. She grabbed the arm that was wrapped around her neck and threw her assailant over her head. When he hit the ground she heard a familiar voice, “Damn it Liz are you trying to kill me?”
She looked down at Alec’s face as he got up. She felt relieve wash over her then anger. “What did you think you were doing in there? You couldn’t have gotten yourself killed!” She yelled then her voice softened as she looked him in the eye, “I can’t do this without you.”
Alec was surprised by her words and was about to say something when a bullet whizzed by them and struck the ground close by. That event brought them back to what was going on around them. He grabbed her hand and started racing for the fence. They made it unharmed, jumped and ran off into the woods.
Part 21
“We’ve got about three hours until they pick us up.” Alec stated as he disconnected the call. After the hike down the mountain, they had found the house and he had immediately contacted headquarters for a pickup. They needed to get back before their time was up. They didn’t want to get stuck up there and not be able to get the antidote to the toxin.
“Fine with me, the longer we’re away from that hellhole the better for me.” Liz said. She dumped her pack on the couch and decided she might as well explore the small cabin. Not that there was much to explore, the cabin was pretty much one room with a living area and cooking area with a bed on the other side of the room. She opened the only other door she saw besides the one that led outside and squealed.
Alec jerked his head in her direction, “What?”
“The bathroom, there’s a tub in it.”
“So?” He said as he came up behind her to look inside.
“So I’m going to take a bath. You know Manticore’s not really into the luxuries. Now I just have to find something for bubbles.” Liz said excitedly as she started looking through the barren cabinets.
Alec watched her and couldn’t get over how she could be excited over something as simple as a bath. Then the vision of Liz soaking in the tub flashed through his mind and he felt himself getting excited. After Liz was done he had a feeling he was going to have to take a cold shower.
“AH HAH!” Liz squealed again pulling out a small bottle of shampoo. She had found a small toiletry kit hidden in one cabinet obviously left there for someone who was passing through on a mission who needed to clean up. She reached around and turned the faucet on with full blast hot and put in a small amount of the shampoo in. Like she knew it would, bubbles started to form. She was about to pull her shirt up over her head when she realized that Alec was still there, “Huh, a little privacy?”
“Sure.” Alec said before slipping out of the bathroom and shutting the door.
As soon as she heard the door click shut, Liz started to strip. First she pulled her long sleeve shirt over her head and then pulled off her pants. Next to go was her tanktop and undergarments before she turned off the water and climbed in. As she sunk in and was enveloped in the warm soothing water she couldn’t help but vocalize her pleasure.
Alec’s head shot up from where he was looking through the pantry for something edible when he heard something from the bathroom. Did Liz just moan? He couldn’t have just heard that, after all it was just a bath. He didn’t get why girls were so into that stuff. He wished she hurry up because he wanted to talk to her, find out what she meant when she had said that she couldn’t make it without him. Did she mean she couldn’t get out of the hairy situation they had been in without him or more? He would have to wait to find out because he knew if he tried to go back in the bathroom, she’d probably try to kick his ass.
Liz soaked in the tub enjoying her bath and let all of her thoughts swim around in her head. She had let her guard down when she had spoken her thoughts to Alec. But she had been scared when she saw how close he had been to getting killed. She knew he had done it to protect her but she was still upset. She knew that Alec would ask her about it. She had seen the questioning look in his eyes when she had said it. And he was too much of an up front person to not ask her about it. So now she had to decide what to say.
She had realized a while ago that she cared about Alec, as more than a friend. At first she had blown it off as just pure physical attraction she had felt when she was in heat. After all Alec was very good looking, to put it in tame terms. To put him in more descriptive terms, he was gorgeous with his hazel eyes, annoying smirk, and awesome body. When she figured out that it wasn’t purely physical, she said it was because she had been lonely and cut off from other people. But the attraction was still there when she had been able to be around others. Granted they weren’t great company but she was still around people. So that was when she figured out that she had fallen for Alec. But she had kept her feelings to herself. And now she figured that at least part of them would come out. How would he react to it?
Deciding there was no more procrastinating, Liz got up and toweled off. After all they only had a few hours until they were going back to Manticore and she wanted to get it out before they got there. She pulled back on her clothes except only pulling on her tanktop and carrying out her long sleeve shirt. She saw Alec standing by the kitchen, “I was looking for some food.”
“Find anything?”
“Not much. Feel better?” Alec said studying her. She looked like she felt better. He could see some moisture still clinging to the skin left bare by her tank top.
“Only about a thousand times.” Liz answered. “Shouldn’t have to wait long if you want to take a shower.”
“I will in a little while.” Alec stated.
“Okay.” It was the last thing said between the two for some time as they figured out what to say. Then Alec finally broke the silence. “What did you mean back there? When you said you couldn’t do it without me?”
“Every morning I wake up in the one place in the world that is pure torture to me.” Liz said starting to explain. “Knowing that I’ll see you and be able to talk to you soon gets me going in the morning. If you weren’t there, I’d probably go insane. That’s what I meant when I said I couldn’t do it without you.”
Her statement surprised Alec. She had basically admitted to caring for him. But how much did she? Did she care about him, even love him as much as he did her. “So what does that mean? What do you want?”
Liz looked at him, his eyes, cheeks, nose, lips and decided to do something she had wanted to do for a very long time. She leaned in, and kissed him. Her lips soft, gentle, and the kiss full of question.
He saw her coming towards him, he saw her lips move towards his, and he was in shock when he actually felt them. It was tentative, and unsure. Her lips brushed against his, but she didn’t feel him respond so she pulled away, looking up into his wide hazel eyes. She swallowed unsure, not knowing if the reason he didn’t respond was because it was her, or because he was too shocked by what she did? She saw the questioning look in his eyes, and decided to try again. This time she leaned in, and kissed him with more force.
Alec felt her lips on his again, this time more demanding, but this time he reacted. His arms came up and pulled her towards him. His mouth moved against hers, and heard a small moan, as she pressed her small body against his. His mind then got some focus and he pulled back, “Liz… what are you…”
She stopped him with a finger to his lips. “You asked me what I wanted…” She smiled seductively at him, and he swallowed hard. “And it’s you.”
Part 22
You asked me what I wanted…” She smiled seductively at him, and he swallowed hard. “And it’s you.”
Her voice was raspy, seductive and before she had a chance to let reason into her brain, she crashed her lips against his again. His mouth was hot and urgent over hers, almost instantly taking over the kiss. The fact that she had initiated it gave him that much more fever to reciprocate. He had waited for a sign that this was really what she wanted, that she knew what she was doing. When she arched towards him pushing her breasts against his chest, it was all the reassurance he needed. His hand found it's way up her back and laced itself inside the tiny tank top she wore. He untangled them so that he could reach further up and pulled the tight braid out of her hair. He had wanted to run his hands through her soft hair for so long that he wasn’t going to deny himself the pleasure of it now.
Alec thought of her words and knew he should ask her to explain more. But with the feel of her body pressing against him, her tongue moving against his, and her hands going up his shirt and now roaming over his bare chest, he was quickly loosing his reasoning power.
Liz’s thoughts were the same way. She knew they should stop, figure out whatever was between them but she couldn’t. She wanted this time with him, away from Manticore, Lydecker, and everything else. She felt herself quickly losing herself in him, her senses were drowning in the man before her, and she couldn’t think of a better way to die. If the need she felt to have him around before was great, the need that was growing in her for him now was overpowering. His hands traveled down over her heated skin, down to her hips, pulling her closer to him, and she moaned at the contact. The feel of his skin against hers, but she needed more.
Her hands moved to her top and soon his were there, helping her pull it over her head then her bra was quickly discarded as well. She was about to cover herself but his hands found her. His palms covering her breasts, squeezing them, his mouth moving to the tender skin of her neck. Her head fell back, her mouth opened moaning, her back arching.
Liz's hands traveled Alec's back, and she arched her spine, tilting her head back so he had better access to her neck. He planted kisses all along the soft skin there, leaving, Liz was sure, more than a couple of hickeys and several scrape marks from his teeth. He caressed her with his fingertips, driving her wild, before using a rougher touch to make her moan. He rubbed the pads of his thumbs over the hardened peaks of her nipples, before leaning down and pulling one into his mouth.
"Alec! Alec, yes..." Liz was nearly mindless with wanting by this time already. Their desire for one another was like a fire fed by the only thing that could put it out. The only way to fill their need for one another, was by touching, kissing. But with every touch, Liz and Alec just seemed to need one another that much more. Every kiss made their desire that more intense. They were both sweating, shaking. It was primitive in a way.
Liz knew she'd tried to restrain herself when in a heated makeout session with Max especially when the whole thing with the orb had happened, she had been scared that she’d hurt him. But she didn’t have to restrain herself at all with Alec. Something told her he preferred it that way. And something about him made it impossible for her to hold back. It was like they had been building up to this from the moment they'd met. She'd wanted him so badly, despite her dedication to Max. She'd fought that fact for a long time but mindless as she was with passion, she experienced clarity where her feelings for Alec were concerned that she'd never had before. And she wanted him, wanted to take what she’d been denying herself.
There was no denying that Alec wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. He was every bit as wild and primitive in his passion as she was. He, too, had always had to restrain himself with lovers. He probably could have ended up killing one of them if he'd just let himself lose control like he was doing with Liz. She'd probably have a dozen bruises by this time tomorrow. And even the fellow transgenics he'd had encounters with would probably have been uncomfortable with his lack of control. That's Manticore for you, nice and repressed. There was no repressing himself now, even if he'd wanted to. Alec knew he'd wanted her long before now, he'd just always been able to call upon his better sense to keep from acting on that want. "Liz, I want you so badly..."
He reached down to undo her pants, and saw his hands were shaking and it took him longer than it should have. Liz reached up with one hand and caressed the back of Alec's neck, brushing her fingertips over his barcode. With the other hand she stopped his hand on her waist and began tugging at Alec's jeans even before she'd gotten them unfastened. "Yes, Alec...I want you, too."
Finally, the pants came unbuttoned, and Liz and Alec both pushed them down Alec's hips. He moved away for just a moment to pull them off completely, along with his boots. Then he went to work on Liz’s clothing. His touched changed to gentle as he unlaced her boots and pulled them off. He pressed her back so she was laying on her back on the bed as he undid her pants and pulled them off along with her underwear. Wanting to be rid of the rest of his clothing he pulled off his underwear and kneeled in front to gaze at her.
Her long, silky hair he'd always found sexy was fanned out behind her, her eyes were almost black with desire while her lips were puffy from their kissing. He moved his eyes down to her perfect breasts, the same ones he had accidentally seen only hours ago when he had barged into her cell. She had a trim body, fit and tanned despite how much time they spent inside, her skin that he now knew was so smooth and soft. He moved his gaze down to the little junction between her legs and he could smell her desire. She was perfect in every way.
Liz had always known Alec was gorgeous. His face was sinfully attractive, and his eyes. There wasn't an inch of Alec that wasn't perfect in every way. From his biceps, to his abs, to his thighs, to his… Liz felt silly when her eyes widened at the sight of Alec's erection. But she couldn't help it.
Later, neither remembered who moved first, but suddenly their moment of silent appraisal was over. Tentatively, their lips met and all the passion inside of them just exploded. They fell back upon the mattress, with Alec on top of Liz. He trailed his hands over every inch of her lovely skin, as she mimicked his movements. When his hands went back to her breasts, she gasped, and reached down to grasp him in her hand. Alec had to grit his teeth against the sensations that flooded him when she did that. His whole body went still as she began to stroke him.
Suddenly, he pulled away, out of her reach; not sure he could handle her touch at that moment. Instead, he began a trail of kisses down her body. Liz moaned. "Alec...Alec, please..."
He couldn’t help but smile as her fingers clenched the bed sheets beneath them; they were so taut he couldn’t believe they hadn’t ripped. He felt Liz quiver everywhere his lips touched her skin. And then he was kneeling between her knees, parting her thighs so his hand could slip between them to caress her. Liz nearly shot off the bed.
The need to slip himself inside the moist folds he was touching was so great, it nearly undid him. Liz was going crazy beneath him. He wanted her begging by the time that he finally joined them. By that time, he figured he would be ready to beg himself. Alec spread Liz's thighs wide, grabbing her legs under the knees to hold them apart. Then he leaned over, replacing his fingers with his tongue darting it inside her body before moving upwards and using it to tease her clit. He'd barely done this when Liz suddenly went rigid beneath him, her eyes flying open. "Alec!"
And then she broke. She felt like pleasure was coursing like waves through every nerve of body. It took her a few minutes to recover but when she did she felt need all over again. She needed him inside of her. "Alec... Alec, please..."
Alec saw the urgency in Liz's expression and could no longer hold to his intention to draw out the madness of their lovemaking. Liz was pulling at him, trying to draw him up on top of her, and with a groan Alec complied. He rose up over her and took position between her parted thighs. He kept his hands hooked under her knees, so that her legs were drawn up with him, opening her for him completely. With one smooth, fast motion, he thrust completely inside of her, and he felt something rip. Her hips bucked against him and she whimpered loudly. That was when Alec realized that Liz had been a virgin. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I never thought to,” Liz said.
“I could have been gentler.”
“It doesn’t matter now.” Liz said as she leaned up and kissed him before letting her tongue claim his neck. He felt her hips move underneath him and took it as a queue to move. Her hands ran over his hardback muscles as he moved within her. Her legs wrapped around him, begging him to go deeper.
She reached for his behind, and squeezed, making him lose his rhythm as he impaled her. His breath quickened as he caught her ear lobe with his teeth, lightly biting down, but not hard enough to break the skin.
From that moment on, Alec's body started to move with its own will. Faster, harder, deeper. He couldn't have stopped if he'd wanted to. Meanwhile, Liz could only moan his name again and again. Alec's weight was pinning her down so that she couldn't even move her hips to meet his thrusts. She could only lie there, nails digging into the flesh of his lower back, his buttocks, as Alec drove her into oblivion.
"Yes, yes..." Liz repeated, nearly breathless, until her moans became screams as her climax hit her. Her whole body shook with the effect. Alec growled, the primitive pleasure of having satisfied her making his kiss rough as he placed his mouth over hers, swallowing her cries. Liz's orgasm just seemed to continue, and not moments after it had begun, Alec began to climax, as well.
"Liz!" He grabbed her hip with one hand, bringing the other up to fist in her hair once again, holding her to him in a kiss as he began to seek completion. The both of them were moaning and crying out each others' names by the time Alec thrust into Liz for the last time, shaking as he emptied himself inside of her. He mumbled incoherently into her shoulder, collapsing on top of her. Liz lay beneath him, trying to catch her breath.
"Alec..." She turned so that she could plant a light kiss on his brow. He felt her hands start to move over his shoulders, and he tensed slightly, a sharp intake of breath coming from him, as they moved over the skin.
“What’s wrong?” came a soft, concerned voice from under him.
He moved up slightly, bracing himself on his arm to look down at her. Her legs having moved back around his waist, keeping him where he was. “Nothings wrong,” he told her. Seeing the happy look on her face, the content look in her eyes. That and the fact that she actually wasn’t looking like she was going to kill him at that moment, made him not care about the small amount of pain.
She looked up at him, and then looked at her hand. Her eyes focused on the red beneath her nails. “Oh my God…” She gasped as she realized what she did. “Alec… I’m sorry… I...”
He cut her off with a soft kiss, and then pulled away, “It was more than worth it.”
Her eyes widened, “Um, we didn’t use…anything.”
“For one, remember birth control in the food, Secondly, there’s a very slim chance that you could get pregnant without being in heat, only if we went at it for a few straight days, not that I’m not all for that.” Liz slapped his shoulder lightly as he captured her lips. This time when they pulled away Liz asked, “Alec, if I can get away, I want you to go with me.”
Alec looked down at her, and took a deep breath, “Liz…”
He smiled down at her, and moved his hips slightly, watching her mouth open, a small gasp coming from her. Her eyes opening again to look back up at him, as he spoke. “After this, do you have to ask?”
Liz smiled back at him, “I just wanted to be sure, I mean you don’t know anything but life in Manticore and having to go on the outside permanently could be scary.”
“It’s not like I’m some naïve drone who doesn’t know what’s out here.” Alec stated. He withdrew out of her and rolled over on his back. But he didn’t want to loose contact with her so he pulled her along with him. One of his arms was wrapped around her.
“True.” Liz said snuggling up against his chest. She smiled against the toned muscle as she felt the hand wrapped around her start to play with her hair. “I just love you too much to leave you there.”
She felt Alec’s body go ridged underneath her and became confused. “Alec? What’s wrong?”
“You love me?” Alec asked still not quite being able to grasp what she had said.
Liz’s eyes went wide when she realized that she had indeed said she loved him, as he kept staring at her she slowly nodded. She studied his face to see what he was thinking. She knew he cared about her but did he love her back? “You don’t have to say it back Alec. But I do love you. Some time during these last few months it developed slowly to where I practically didn’t know. But when I thought you were in that lab when it exploded, I knew it.”
Alec watched the fear come into her eyes at the thought of what had happened, he hadn’t meant to scare her like that but in a way he was glad he did. It had brought what they had just done on. “Liz, I feel the same way. It scares the hell out of me, especially after what we found out but I can’t help but love you. I hate to admit it but there were times that I was scared that you’d escape and I’d never see you again.”
“So how are we going to work this?” Liz asked. “I mean it’s not like Manticore encourages their soldiers to date within their units.”
“We’ll just keep it a secret until we get away.” Alec said. He leaned over and kissed her gently. “We’ll make it work.”
Part 23
Alec and Liz spent there remaining few hours of freedom in each other’s arms. They made love again, at a slower gentler pace before taking a shower. They had just made themselves more presentable when they heard the familiar chopping sound of the helicopter approaching. Alec leaned over and gave Liz a quick kiss, the last one that they would share for some time and the two headed out to meet up with the helicopter.
They were quiet on the trip back, not trusting to act like they were supposed to if they spoke, and they soon found themselves landing back at Manticore. Like before they were first led to the infirmary and supplied the antidote then it was on towards Lydecker’s office. But that’s not where they end up. They went to an office a few doors down and when they entered were met with the sight of a stern looking woman with short blonde hair sitting at the desk. A plague on her desk stated the name Renfro. “494, 435, come in.”
They walked in and stood at attention in front of her desk, she stood up and walked around to the front of it. “I’m sure you’re wondering why you were reporting to me, and not Colonel Lydecker. The Colonel is away from the facility at the moment and we wanted your reports as soon as you came in. I trust everything went well.”
“Yes, ma’am. 435 and myself recovered all the files regarding their research and uploaded the file export program before leaving. We did run into some problems when security became aware of our presence but we were able to escape safely with everything intact.” Alec reported before handing over what they had collected from the lab.
“Excellent job. I have read the Colonel’s reports on both of your missions since 435s capture as well your record before 494. Superior performance. That is why I hate doing this.” Renfro stated before leaning over and pushing a button on her desktop. Half a dozen soldiers, regular and X5 entered the room and surrounded Alec. They had the element of surprise on him and before either of them new what had happened, Alec was detained. Liz looked on in horror and was about to intercede when she saw Alec motioning for her to stay. So she stood there helpless, as he was drug out of the room. When the door shut behind them, Renfro spoke, “Until further notice you are reassigned to unit Alpha. 494 has been placed on the inactive list while he evaluated in PsyOps.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Liz managed to answer despite the sudden dryness in her mouth that had occurred at the mention that Alec had been sent to PsyOps. Why would they suddenly send him back? “Permission to speak freely?”
Renfro took a moment to eye her before speaking, “Permission granted.”
“I was just curious why 494 had been assigned to PsyOps.” Liz stated trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. She didn’t want him in there. Not after the hell that he had experienced the last time he was in there. Not with knowing what it was like herself.
“It has come to our attention that 494 might possibly suffer from a genetic defect that could lead to a mental illness. We were made aware of this defect when reports that his twin, 493, had committed several ‘unusual’ and vicious homicides since his escape. We wanted to determine that 494 did not have the same mental illness that his twin had been inflicted with. He shouldn’t be in there for more than six months.” Renfro explained as she continued to study Liz, “You are also one of the escapees, in 493’s unit, do you have any idea why 493 would have turn what seems to be insane?”
‘Gee, could it be from growing up in here?’ Liz thought but answered, “No ma’am. I had no contact with any of the other after our escape.”
“734 said the same thing. Hopefully our testing on 494 as well as 493 will shed some light.” Renfro stated. “It is unfortunate that 493 was in the state that he was in when we secured him.”
Renfro saw the confusion in Liz’s eyes and added, “Oh forgive me, I forgot to tell you that we were able to locate 493 but he was deceased. It is with remorse that I inform you of this.”
Liz barely heard Renfro as her words sunk in, Ben was dead. Her sweet soft-spoken brother was dead. He was no longer around to tell stories or make shadow puppets. She knew that she hadn’t seen him in ten years but she still felt his loss. She came back to the scene in front of her just in time to hear Renfro. “We were hoping to obtain the rest of your unit and after reindoctoritation, rebuild your old unit. But it looks like you will be one short.”
‘Two’ Liz couldn’t help but think as she remembered when Lydecker gunned Eva down as they tried to escape. But she just answered as she was supposed to. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You are to report to your new unit first thing tomorrow, dismissed.”
Liz left the office then and headed towards her cell, as she did she tried to figure what to do next. Alec was locked away from her, she had to get him out somehow but first she had something to do. And she knew just how to do it. She changed her course and headed instead for Alec’s room. Once there she let herself in and shut the door behind her. Manticore didn’t believe in them being able to lock their doors so getting in was easy. She walked over to his cot and propped it up so she could get underneath. Alec had loosened one of the bricks there and she slid it out. Behind it was all of Alec’s stores for his scams. All of the pills and other contraband he sold to the guards as well as the money he had collected. She stashed it in her uniform before replacing the brick and leaving.
Her next stop was to find the highest-ranking guard that Alec sold to. . After finding out about the scams, Liz had started giving her meds to Alec so that he could sell them too. Following that he had told her all the details of his scams, who he sold to, who got what, everything. And she was going to use that information to her advantage.
It took some searching but she finally found the man she was looking for. Giving off the appearance of confidence, she walked right up to him. “I need a favor.”
“I’m not here to do you favors.” He stated.
“I think you will” Liz said pulling out a little baggy and dangled it in his face.
The guard’s eyes widened in shock but quickly tried to cover it up. His face turned serious. “I don’t have any business with that or you.”
“Oh not according to the facts I’ve got. I happen to know you have a little obsession with these little pills.” Liz stated then moved to look him right in the eyes. “And with 494 in PsyOps for an unknown period of time who do you think you’re going to get your supply from? Me. But I might not be so willingly if I can’t reek the added benefits of the agreement.”
The guard seemed to think it over before nodding. “What do you need?”
“First off, I need you to take me to the morgue, I want to look at the body of the X5 they recovered.” Liz explained. She handed him the baggy and he directed her down the hall. They went down into the basement and Liz couldn’t help but cringe when they passed the cells that housed Manticore’s failures, the nomalies. She hated the thought that Ben was down here, it was the place he was most scared of. They approached the door and the guard stepped aside. “They’re just about to do the preliminarily autopsy so he’ll be laid out on one of the tables. Try to hurry.”
Liz nodded, took a deep breath and entered. Although transgenics had a higher body temperature, she felt chilled. As she hugged herself she realized that it wasn’t from the lower temperature of the room but wariness of being in the room. She saw that most of the stainless steel tables were empty, only one was occupied and was covered with a sheet. It had to be Ben.
She walked over to it and prepared herself for seeing him then pulled the sheet back. As she did, Ben’s face came into view and she was taken aback. She had to remind herself that it wasn’t Alec lying there dead. But where that thought made her feel better, it also saddened her because it forced her to accept that the guy who she had been raised with as a brother, was dead. That it was his lifeless body lying in front of her. She felt tears falling down her cheeks, she couldn’t hold it in. “I know what they said, that you killed those people but I know that it was because of them. That it was this place that did it to you. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you in some way.”
She brushed the tears away and said, “You were a good soldier Ben. And although they’re so close, the nomalies aren’t going to get you.”
She reached up and covered him back up . As she did she whispered, “Goodbye Ben, just remember you still have siblings who love you.”
Liz turned then and felt the need to get away as quickly as possible. She reached the door and followed the guard back to the main level. She didn’t have to report to her new Unit until the morning so she decided to spend some time in her cell. When she got there she extracted all of the pills and cash from her clothes and hid them out of sight. She then lay down and started to figure out how to get her and Alec out of there. It was going to take awhile, longer than she wanted but she was going to do it.
Part 24
Over the next few weeks Liz planned and calculated her and Alec’s escape. It was taking longer than expected because most of the units were out on missions. As a matter of fact, half of her own new unit was out on a mission but she had been kept there. She had a feeling that Renfro did not trust her like Lydecker and considered a liability. And because there were less transgenics, the guards had less to watch over. But she was cut some slack from the guards she had under her scams. She did her training as much as she was expected to and on her off-hours she worked on her powers. They were increasing in power and she could now pop locks. So now she just had to wait for the right time and they were out of there.
She missed Alec. She missed his smile, she missed seeing his face everyday, she even missed his smartassness. It wasn’t fair that once they found each other they were split apart. She wanted to be with him. To lie in his arms like the one night that they had. Even one kiss would satisfy her.
She was walking through one of the corridors when an X6 approached her and told her that Renfro wanted to speak to her. Curious as to why she headed towards the area that housed the offices. As she moved towards Renfro’s office she had to pass Lydecker's. She had not seen Lydecker since her and Alec had received their orders for their last mission. At first the guards had told her that he had been spending a lot of time away from the base as he was attempting to lock down the location of another one of the X5 escapees. Then they told her a rumor that he’d fallen out of favor of the committee who were the head of Manticore and shortly after was reported to have killed Agent Sandoval, one of his underlings. Liz didn’t know what to believe but kept her nose to the ground to find out more.
She knocked on the office door and heard Renfro order for her to enter. As she did she saw that Brin had also been called and her curiosity was peaked. She moved to stand next to her sister and waited to see what was going on. The platinum blonde walked around them studying them as she said, “X5-656 was undergoing experimental treatment for a genetic anomaly that was diagnosed when we first recaptured her. Unfortunately because of Lydecker's interference she is now deceased.”
Liz felt like her heart clench at her statement. 656 was their oldest sister, Tinga and she was dead. The guards hadn’t even told her that she had been recaptured, she must have been taken to a different facility. Liz was starting to feel like she would never see any of her siblings again, at least not alive. Within a few weeks she had already lost two so what would the next few weeks bring? She glanced over at Brin and noticed that she didn’t seem surprised to hear of Tinga’s capture.
“I'm sorry for your loss. I... I know how much you were both looking forward to having your sister back at Manticore.” Renfro said as she came back around facing them. But for all of her concern, just like when she had informed her of Ben’s death, Liz could tell she didn’t give a damn about how they felt. But she didn’t say anything about it. Only nodded along with Brin’s words. “I was, ma'am. Thank you for your condolences.”
Liz was surprised when she thought she saw sorrow in Brin’s eyes. Could there still be a part, no matter how small, of her old self in there? Maybe she wasn’t a lost cause after all. A minute later Renfro dismissed them and they left.
When they were away from the offices Liz stopped Brin, “Were you on the mission that captured 656?”
“Yes.” Brin answered simply.
“Why wasn’t she brought back here?”
“You heard Renfro, she needed treatment, treatment that she must not have been able to get here so she was taken another one.” Brin explained.
“Do you know what this anomaly was?”
“Probably had something to do with her being able to pass her transgenic genes on to her son.”
“She had a child?” Liz asked surprised.
“Yes, we captured him and decided to use him as bait to draw 656 out. It worked but 599 and 452 interfered and he was able to escape.”
Liz took in what she said and couldn’t believe she had heard it. They had used Tinga’s son against her, to try and capture them both and bring them back. But Zack and her sister Max had stopped them. She wondered if they knew Tinga was now dead. She looked up and saw Brin staring at her, “Are we done?”
“Yes, I was interested in 656’s capture, thank you.”
Brin nodded before stepping past Liz. As she did, she bumped into Liz’s shoulder. The moment that she came into contact with Liz, Liz was hit with flashes.
“We've got teams sweeping the compound, but according to control, there's no one out there.” Brin informed Renfro who was sitting in front of her.
“Yeah, that's because they hacked a fake feed into the damn surveillance system.” Renfro stated.
The scene changed suddenly and Liz focused on it.
Brin was in one of the corridors. Liz recognized it as one by the genetics lab. She appeared to be fighting someone. The person she was fighting was about the same height as her, with shoulder length curly black hair and big brown eyes. She wore black battle gear. She knocks Brin down and handcuffs a leg and a hand of Brin's to a nearby bar. “Someday you'll thank me for this.”
“You have no idea what you're doing. That's us back there.”
“No that’s us out there!” The girl said pointing out the window. Liz could see it was dark out and could hear alarms signaling intruders were on the base. The girl looked back down at Brin, “Come with me.”
“Never.” The girl only looked onto her sadly before taking off.
The flash suddenly ended and Liz found herself alone in the corridor. She rested her back against the wall and tried to figure out what the flash had been of. She was sure it hadn’t been a flash of the past, Brin looked like she did now and there had not been any alarms like the one she had heard since Brin had been back. Even during the times she had been off base. So did that mean she had seen the future? It had to be. So what should she do with this information?
The girl in the flash seemed to care about Brin, could she be another one of their sisters? But which one? That she didn’t know, all she did know was that the diversion she had been waiting for was coming. She would just have to sneak out of her cell each night and be prepared when it came.
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A few hours after lights out Liz used her powers to turn her clothes from blue to black so that she would blend in easier. Next she put her hand over the lock and undid it. She stuck her head out and made sure that the hall was empty. It was and she started moving down the hall. She stayed in the shadows and away from the cameras. It would do no good if she got caught by one of the surveillance cameras. She’d probably get taken down to solitary and wouldn’t do her or Alec any good.
She made her to one of the corridor intersections and saw that she was directly across from the X7s barracks. Not being able to resist she took a peak. Inside were younger duplicates of her and her siblings. There was a little Krit, Syl, Jack, Brin, Max even her. It made her understand how Isabel and Michael must have felt when Lonnie and Rath had come to town. It was strange seeing them. They were the same age that they had been when they had escaped. She wondered if the X7s ever thought about leaving like they had. Did they dream about what was over the walls? Had they came up with their own names?
She shook herself out of musings and moved further down the hall. She hadn’t gone that far when alarms started going off. Knowing she didn’t have much time, she hurried towards the genetics lab.
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