This is my first Fanfic, be gentle with the reviews, we have romance for all, action, and drama, so hold onto your seats, but things will alternate, so leave me alone.
Weapons: This is a complete listing of every gun that is used at any
point in this fanfic, use in case you�re wondering what in hell I�m talking
about!
M-249: Machine gun, heavy, used on a bi-pod system for firing, fires
5.56-mm rounds
H&K MP5: A powerful submachine gun firing 9-mm rounds, used by anti-terrorist groups, SWAT teams, military forces, quite popular.
H&K MP5k: A shortened version of the popular submachine gun,
smaller, the weapon is more easily concealed.
H&K UMP .45: A powerful submachine gun firing .45 rounds, working
under a different form of firing than the popular MP5, rumours are that some may
replace aging MP5s with it.
Ingram MAC-10: Uzi-style submachine gun, fires .45 calibre rounds in
semi-auto or full automatic fire.
M4A1: New model carbine, toted as replacement to the popular M16, fires
5.56-mm rounds, very light for a carbine, can be fitted with an M203 grenade
launcher.
FN FNC: An assault rifle, new model, range of 600 meters, fires 5.56-mm
rounds.
HK PSG-1: Tactical sniper rifle firing 7.62-mm rounds, range of 600
meters, one of the most expensive rifles in the world, starting for more than
10,000 US dollars.
Mossberg 590: Pump-action shotgun used by the US Marines and various
police agencies, very rugged and reliable
H&K CAWS: Newly designed gas-pumping shotgun, using a magazine
system to load, part of project for a new close-assault weapon for the United
States military, project was abandoned, but weapon still exists.
USAS-12: Another gas-pumping shotgun, capable of accepting both drum and
box magazines for weapon, reported to be highly accurate and reliable, with
multiple types of fire selection.
Beretta 92FS: Weapon adopted by the US military, fires 9-mm rounds,
high-capacity magazines, favoured because ammunition is interchangeable with
that of the MP5
FN Five-seveN: Army pistol with high piercing capabilities through body
armour and car doors, uses a high capacity clip of 20 rounds, uses 5.7-mm
rounds, low-recoil has been noted in it's use
P14-45: Powerful handgun, clone of the Colt .45, but doubled ammunition,
and much higher accuracy and reliability according to reports.
H&K Mk. 23 SOCOM: Variant of the USP designed for Special Forces
work, but a tad bulky.
H&K USP Tactical: A handgun, fires .45 calibre rounds, can be fitted
with silencer in this Tactical form of the weapon, favoured by Special Forces.
Walther P99: A new model of the Walther pistol, used by the hero James
Bond in the last two movies, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is not
Enough, fires 9-mm rounds or .40 calibre rounds.
Gillette, Wyoming
10:30 PM, May 5th 2007
I
thought that getting my legs back would be a good thing. I�d seen it all, two
tours of action in violent parts of Africa, three tours in the Middle East, than
while stationed in Korea some kid pulls out a homemade POS gun and changes my
life then and there. Stupid kid shot my spine, the hit cost me my goddamn legs,
but I gave the kid six shots from my gun, getting revenge before I blacked out.
I woke up two days later, seems that the bullet had pierced my spine and taken
out part of my spinal cord, imagine it, a tough-as-nails well-trained two-meter
tall 260-pound Delta Force soldier stuck in a bloody wheelchair.
�We�ve
taken a look at your spine through an MRI, it seems that with the damage that
bullet did after it pierced and migrated, you will never walk again, I�m sorry
Robert.� I couldn�t believe it, my military career, ended at the age of
twenty-six, I�d only been in action eight years, but I was one of the best
soldiers my CO�s had ever seen, and I was ready to shoot myself. So was my
friend Jon, he�d taken grenade flak in his spine and was in the same position
till that damned Lydecker came along.
�Tough
break, barely into your career, and an injury puts you out for good, we have a
program for people like you who suffer from this kind of thing, we believe it is
possible for you to walk again, but the risk is extreme.� He said as he sat
down next to me as I shuffled paper behind a desk, the only thing a fucking
cripple like could in the this kind of situation.
�I
don�t care if it makes me into a freaking vampire, CAN IT BE DONE?� I
replied, I didn�t need my chain jerked around, especially after what I�d
been through, waiting for weeks in the military hospital as they compared my
results and what options were available to me, to discover all they could do was
shit-all.
�It�s
a long and arduous process, but after you will feel your legs again, hell,
you�ll feel better than you ever felt before, we plan to use gene sequencing
to repair your spine, and then some�� He said as I leaned back, well as much
as one could do in a freaking chair with wheels.
�Goddamn
it, I DON�T CARE, just fix my goddamn spine, and I�ll join whatever unit
you�ve got in mind, and whatever add-ons you�ve also planned.� Lydecker
took that as a yes, and two weeks later he flew me and three others who also had
taken irreparable spine injuries into Manticore, only to find out how much of a
change we would be getting.
�It
will be hard at first, but the primary gene splicing should be over in three or
four days, by then you will be able to walk, and you will experience something
that no human has ever felt before, a profound feeling of pure health, because
your body will be able to restore itself from ANY injury, but let�s not get
ahead of ourselves, it is a deadly procedure, but you people are tough, I�ve
read your files, we, the Manticore group, believe this can be done.� He
continued on how this would all work out for the next few days, and how the
experience could be a bit �unpleasant, but I still didn�t care, neither did
the others, we all wanted to do what we had done before our accidents, and
better dead than a desk job for another thirty years and a shitty pension after
that.
I
could not believe the pain I felt those first few days, I didn�t even know you
could experience what I felt, but it was a good kind of pain at some points,
reminding you that you were alive, and could take that kind of shit. I�d been
shot eight times before the accident, but I had always survived, I was tough,
but this gene stuff was beginning to wear me out. After three days, the pain
started to subside, and I felt my body come ALIVE, my feet and legs started to
tingle, I looked at this small gash I had on my right leg, it bound itself in
less than two seconds! After two more days of getting up and walking, running,
and just plain kicking things, Lydecker talked to us again, this time, it got a
little more disturbing.
�It�s
good to see you all recovering, but as I explained, there was more than one step
to this procedure. We are going to do even further gene splicing, to enhance
your speed, your strength, your senses, your agility, and further sessions to
guarantee your new healing abilities are stabilized. But if you want to make
sure you keep your legs, you will have to take this deal, we don�t know what
will happen without further procedures, and if you walk out right now, the genes
may continue working, or you may lose your legs, and you will be as you
were�� He had us, we sure as hell couldn�t say no, we wanted our legs
back, and this slimy bastard made the extra sessions a package deal, we took it
on, but we didn�t know just far those lab rats would take it, before they
stopped fucking with our bodies.
The
pain was again unbelievable for weeks, my insides felt like they were tearing
themselves apart, but I held on, barely for some days, but only for the reason
that I wanted my life back. It was a full two months until the �alterations�
were completed, and Lydecker hadn�t been kidding, we were faster, stronger,
practically invincible with our healing powers, and our senses were unbelievably
acute. But there was a price, two of the others didn�t survive the process,
they just couldn�t take it, and kicked off in the middle of the night. I found
out the level of changes they had made to me, and I couldn�t believe it. The
reason I could heal from any wound and my spinal cord was regenerated was thanks
to a highly modified gene, that altered my entire body to fight off foreign
invasion, I survived the deadliest neurotoxins, and my lungs could purify VX gas
so I could breath it, bullets were consumed by my blood and bodily fluids. My
bones were stronger than Titanium, they were so dense I punched right through a
steel door without breaking anything, and not even feeling it. My strength
levels were enhanced beyond measure, the scientists had apparently decided that
since ants can lift 100 times their body mass, it would be pretty nifty if they
could do something like that for us �Trackers� as the project me and other
guy who survived it, Jon, but after alterations to make sure our bodies didn�t
reject the muscle augmentations, we could still lift things that were like 40-60
times our body mass, we never pushed it beyond there, we just couldn�t do it,
but I once managed sixty-four, but never again. My speed was up, I could muster
the speed to dodge thrown objects with ease, run up a wall, but not even close
to the level of those X5 kids we heard so much about, plus our agility was
thrown in with that, reflexes improved, so I could out-fight any normal man, but
still far behind X5 kids, but hey, they couldn�t kill us, we outmatched them
in the strength department with ease, and they couldn�t kill us. Senses were
moved up as well, my eyes could zoom in from half a mile away, compensate for
night, my hearing was improved, but was painful at those rock concerts
obviously, my sense of smell was like weird, I could smell anyone and remember
their scent forever, it was handy for tracking targets obviously when Lydecker
torture-tested our bodies through every conceivable test he could imagine. They
bumped my lung capacity, I could hold my breath for two minutes and thirty
seconds underwater, but the Manticore kids beat us out there, and they were like
seven years old! For months he tested us, trained us to be the best we could be,
soon we found out our objectives as he told us at our seventh month at Manticore.
�Those
X5 kids, we need people who can track them down if they try to escape, your
abilities would be most valuable in that department, it would be too easy for
them to escape I believe should something happen. That and tracking any target
in general, that�s why we codenamed your project Trackers, you are the first
two to survive this process. However more people will be joining you, you will
be commando squads that can attack any complex and destroy it, find any target
and eliminate him, but let�s not get ahead of ourselves. The scientists have
deducted that the reason that you two, out of twenty previous �volunteers,
survived the process, your healing genes maintained stability after the first
treatment, making the later changes possible. You should be proud, you are truly
the toughest men that have ever come under my command, but now your first target
has been found, there is a secret project in China, they are attempting to
replicate our Manticore technology, your objective is to infiltrate their island
base off the mainland, acquire all information they have on this, and destroy
the complex. You will train for several weeks here, but have ample time off to
relax, but training will commence in two days, so we can prepare the facilities
for this kind of training. After he explained, Jon and I talked for a while
wondering, they were kids, why is Lydecker so paranoid about them escaping?
We
decided to find out by ourselves, so we managed to get into their part of the
complex, and observed it, and couldn�t believe ourselves. They beat those kids
down, they turned them into killers, they DISSECTED some of them to find out why
those kids suffered those seizures, four of them dead from the seizures before
they figured out that they needed Trytophan to stabilize the condition. One of
kids had been spliced with the healing genes Jon and I had, but his body tore
itself apart, after analyzing the results, they concluded that there was no way
to re-engineer the genes to allow for implantation into X5, so they dropped it,
Lydecker was not happy, he was counting on those healing genes to solve any
problems that the kids had, but he simply told his scientists to find ways to
correct genes in those kids without killing them, he could simply order up a new
batch of kids if he had to. After a week of watching those kids, and what
Lydecker ordered his men to do to them, we knew we couldn�t abide what he was
doing.
�Lost
in thought again?� Jon whispered to Robert as they downloaded all information
on Manticore onto a set of high-capacity storage disks, making sure they wanted
to know every last detail about Manticore.
�Just thinking if I had known what we were getting into when Lydecker asked us to come to Manticore, would we have done it?� Robert replied in the same whispered tone as he felt his muscles tighten, his senses confirmed that no guards were coming, it was an odd feeling, knowing everything about your immediate environment, but Robert ignored it.
�Anything to get fully functional again, I could still have a gratifying sex life, I found that much out with that more than friendly nurse in the Seoul hospital, but sex without fighting is like a car without gas for me.� Jon replied as they loaded in the fifth disc and continued the download, two dead guards were at their feet, the two less than lucky men had blundered upon the two as they had been stealing the information.
�You and sex, what is it with you and sex?� Robert mused as the download continued, and they remained wary of intruders, Robert detected no one, but his hands tightened on his MP5, and his hand found comfort as found the Beretta 92S strapped to his spine, and the Walther P99�s in his shoulder holsters.
�I�ve found the key to happiness, that�s what.� Jon replied with a grin as he loaded in the last disc to finish downloading all of the Manticore data.
�Just keep your mind on what we�re doing.� Robert mumbled as he sniffed again, looking for any signs of guards or others.
�Fuck, when we get out of here, you have got to get laid, you�re more uptight than ever.� Jon mused as the last disc finished recording, Jon took it out, added it to a small pack they had for the discs, then flipped the fire selectors on their submachine guns to three-shot burst mode.
�Let�s just hope we can get those kids out without any complications, sex can come after.� Robert said cutting of Jon from delving any deeper into his personal sexual experiences as the two stalked silently to the X5 barracks.
�You are absolutely no fun you know that?� Jon shot back as they continued towards the barracks.
�Talk fun when this is over, now be
quiet, do you want us to get caught?� Robert whispered harshly as they went
along a long corridor odd, there are usually at least a half-dozen guards
around here.
�That�s a bit too late.� Jon said as his eyes flickered behind them. The six guards that were usually on patrol were right behind them, each of them with levelled MP5s at the two.
�I suppose we�re in deep shit for stalking around at night and heading towards a restricted area?� Robert remarked sarcastically as his head half-turned, but his hands remained gripping his own MP5.
�You two will come with us back to your own barracks, or we will open fire.� The lead man announced, as Jon heard a crescendo of safety switches flicking off.
�Didn�t Lydecker tell you anything about us?� Jon snapped as he wheeled about faster than the guards could react and fired as Robert came about with his own submachine gun tracking targets. Jon�s aim was flawless thanks to his steady hands and enhanced vision, three 3-shot bursts ripped through the faces of the first three men, dropping them instantly. Robert�s own aim was more hurried, and he released a pair of three-shot bursts that shredded the face of the first man he set his sights on, and exploded the neck and throat of the second man. The sixth man was moving in when Robert snatched up a knife from his combat vest and threw it, it sliced right into the man�s left eye, he slumped over dead as the knife bored through into the brain.
�Guess not.� Robert said coldly as he chambered a fresh round into his MP5, as Jon checked for any more men.
�Why didn�t we smell them?� Jon asked wondering why their canine-like senses had failed them.
�It doesn�t make any sense, we should have smelt them from a mile away, what�s going on?� Robert said concurring with Jon as they checked visually, and then continued.
�The only way we couldn�t have smelt them is if� oh shit!� Jon snapped as he realised what was going as he looked up at the ceiling.
�The damn air conditioning! They must have set it to maximum, they must have detected us hacking the network, they must be organizing a massive contingent to kill us, these fuckers were here to buy time!� Robert snapped as he slammed a fist into the wall, and not surprisingly to him, his fist cored through the concrete wall a few inches, his enhanced strength was astonishing, as was the resilience of his body, but he set that aside.
�They still can�t stop us, they still need more time before they can call in the firepower to kill us, this was a move to buy time for sure. If we hit them now we can destroy them while they are grouping together, then we can butcher their reinforcements.� Jon said as he chambered a fresh round of his own, and two bolted towards the X5 barracks.
�Then why do I have a bad feeling about this?� Robert said as they continued to run towards the X5 barracks.
�Could that be the reason perchance?� Jon said as they halted immediately as he pointed at thirty guards, each of them armed with either a Mossberg 590 shotgun or an MP5 submachine gun.
�You have one chance to surrender and put down your weapons, otherwise we will open fire.� One of the men said as each of the submachine gun and shotgun barrels found a target.
�You have one chance before we make you waste your sorry asses, get the fuck out of our way.� Robert snapped back as he brought his own MP5 up and targeted the man who had given the order.
�You don�t stand a chance, you are outnumbered fifteen to one, are you insane?� The lead man snapped at Robert, irritated at Robert�s response.
�You doubt many things, such as the idea that your brains are about to have an out-of-body experience.� Jon responded as he snapped his own MP5 up, and allotted targets in his mind.
�You are insane, surrender fire or you will die!� The lead man snapped, but Robert and Jon held fast, until a flick of two triggers started everything.
Robert and Jon moved fast, each releasing a trio of three-shot bursts, putting down six men as they leapt to cover, smashing through doors to empty classrooms meant for the X5. A few rounds of return fire had tagged them, Jon had also caught a few pellets from a shotgun burst, but their bodies were healing rapidly, as they prepared to engage the Tac soldiers again.
�Ah yes, why fight fire with fire when you can use flak grenades instead?� Robert mused as he pulled out a pair of flak grenades and pulled the pins. He counted down one second, then came out of the doorway and then threw them with incredible force towards the Tac soldiers. The grenades detonated right above the Tac soldiers, raining sharp shrapnel down upon them, tearing through six men and wounding half a dozen others.
The distraction was all Robert and Jon needed as they came out from their cover and fired quick bursts, killing a man each time they fired. Some of the guards kept up their fire but the two moved at such speed as they charged the guards that what few rounds caught them did little to them, it would take more than 9-mm bullets to slow down such huge men. The two leapt into the centre of the remaining Tac soldiers, hands and legs flashed out and dealt punishing blows to anyone who was still conscious, knocking them out, and in several cases, crushing the heads and snapping the neck.
�Alert, Alert, X5 barracks area under attack, all available Tactical teams to the X5 barracks, activating security systems.� A voice drilled out from the speakers, and door after door was heard slamming shut, Robert and Jon knew that their mission was now impossible.
�They�ll have a hundred men on our asses by the time we break through all those doors, we can�t pull this off.� Jon snapped as he changed his MP5 magazine and sniffed, searching for new threats.
�Like hell we can�t, we can take them.� Robert snapped back as he changed his own MP5 magazine, and proceeded towards the first security door and kicked it, his foot had the strength of hundreds; the door was smashed down with little effort on Robert�s part.
�There will be dozens if not hundreds of men waiting for us, even we can�t take that kind of punishment, we have to go.� Jon said catching Robert�s arm and pulling him back.
�You�re right, we�ll get them out of there though, one day we will destroy this place.� Robert said concurring with Jon as the two took off towards the vehicle garage, shooting down anyone who got in their way, and ripped the axels and engine off of Lydecker�s SUV on their way out for fun.
�We�ll be back, Lydecker will pay for what he does here, no child should be forced to undergo what he does to them.� Jon said as they drove out of Manticore in a stolen Hummer, a series of explosives they had planted earlier had destroyed a half-dozen other vehicles and a helicopter to guarantee an easy escape.
�But first, you�re getting laid, no ifs ands or buts.� Jon said as they sped off, no pursuit was evident, but Jon was flooring the gas pedal regardless.
�Shut up and drive, you can get laid if you want, I just want to get out of here, and then come back and blow this place to hell.� Robert replied as he buried his face in his hands my fault, should have planned around all of that, you fucking idiot, you failed those kids, and Lydecker�s just going to turn them into killing machines.
***************
9:17 PM, March 25th
2020
Thirteen
years I�ve been fighting Manticore and I�m still no closer to accomplishing
the goal Jon and I set out to complete, fuck this sucks, we figured we
could�ve organized enough to go back in 2010, but I guess it�s just
Murphy�s law at work. I haven�t seen Jon since 2016, we were supposed to
meet up at least twice a year to trade info and equipment, this is odd, five
years and not a word, could they have gotten him? No way, he�s not as strong
as I am, but he�s faster, we always joked that he got more cat DNA and I got
extra ant DNA. I haven�t aged at all surprisingly, still look the same as the
day I was altered, plus side was I lost all my scars because I guess my body saw
that stuff as flaws, but somehow I managed to keep the tattoo, handy. I�ve
only saved several X5�s from Lydecker�s hands over the years, after they saw
me fight and take damage, they nearly shitted themselves and ran, convinced that
I was after them. At least those kids managed to get out on their own, according
to contacts Jon and I had, twelve of them escaped that night, the scent of an X5
was unique, which provided useful for tracking them, keeping them safe is hard,
they�re as mobile as I am in some cases. Well, perhaps I will have some luck
in Seattle, rumours have been consistent of some very odd fighting going on, and
reported superhuman characteristics on several occasions. Lydecker might be
hanging out around here though, he may think the two of us are dead, but no
point in convincing him otherwise. Looks like the depression is just as bad
around here as everywhere else in the Pacific Northwest, guess I�ll have
�fun� finding the X5�s, but then again this job is hardly about fun,
it�s about filling a responsibility and paying off a debt IN incurred a long
time ago. Robert thought to himself as he rode on his Harley-Davidson T-Sport
motorcycle through the city.
***********
�For the last time, he�s not my boyfriend, I�m just going over there to pay him a visit, Logan is just a good friend.� Max said blowing off Original Cindy�s claims of going to see her �sugar daddy� as she threw on her jacket oh god I really am bad at hiding it these days.
�Sure, and I�m thinking about jumping
Normal for some sex.� Original Cindy replied as Max started to walk away my
homegirl has it bad for rich boy.
�Then I guess you�re bisexual, cause
it�s nothing more than a nice friendship and business arrangement.� Max shot
back as she left Crash, only to stop dead in her tracks.
There they were, the three Red Series that had
fought Max in the garage of the courthouse, stepping out of a nearby van. Shit!
Gotta move Max thought as she leapt onto her bike and revved up the engine,
the Reds started to run towards her, but she had already peeled out on her Ninja
650, the Reds were not about to give up pursuit, so they piled back into their
van and gave pursuit.
**************
Robert was parking his T-Sport at a nearby
bar, ready to go for a few drinks before he found a temporary residence, until
something caught his eye.
A girl went by peeling out like a rocket on
her cycle, a Kawasaki Ninja 650, and a van is chasing her, Robert decided to do
his civic duty, and once again use his powers for good, what right do those
fucks have chasing down some girl? Robert thought as he revved his engine
back up and followed the pursuit, shadowing them. Whoever the girl was, she made
the mistake of turning into a blocked-off alley, she was about to turn her
motorcycle around when the van turned in and blocked off her path, Robert slowed
his own motorcycle down and got off, saw a building overlooking the alley, and
smiled.
************
Shit,
nice going Max, you really screwed yourself this time, you�re in a dead end
where the only way of getting out is dumping your most prized possession, which
is a real bummer. Max
thought to herself as she got off the bike and flipped up the kickstand, letting
it sit as she saw the Red�s get out of the van once more.
Only
chance of survival, I use all the things they taught us about killing quickly, I
don�t want too, but it�s the only way I�ll get out of this one. Max
thought as she readied herself into a fighting stance, her eyes flicked upwards
for a brief second, and noticed a figure on the rooftop of the building on her
left side.
He jumped down from twelve stories above and
absorbed the impact easily, his legs bent to absorb the shock as cement cracked
beneath his legs. Both sides, Max and the Red�s, stared at him with jaws wide
as he stepped to Max�s side.
�Either you get back in the van now and
leave, or I make you, your choice.� Max looked at him, puzzled by how anyone
could just jump down like that without breaking something, but the three Red�s
filled with adrenaline and confident that they could defeat this mystery men
approached regardless.
�Let�s rock and roll.� He said, but one
of them pulled out an Ingram MAC-10 and fired at him, not caring about him, just
wanting Max, they had no need for the stranger before them.
A burst of twenty rounds clawed into him,
pitching him over as the rounds cored through his chest, and then he lay still.
Fuckers,
they shot a man dead because he wanted nothing more than to protect me, I�ll
show them! Max
thought snarling with rage as she prepared to kill the Red closest to her.
Before she or the Red�s acted, the man rose
up from his apparent grave and sprang into action. He leapt to his feet with
ease and grabbed the Red closest to him and gave him a triple fist combo
followed by a high kick that sent him flying into the wall, bricks cracked from
the impact. The two others were stunned, and Max took advantage of it, kicking
one of them, landing six or seven hits with unbelievable speed, and swept his
legs out from under him.
The third was about to smash her down with a
fist, but the mysterious man grabbed him from behind, picked him up, and threw
him into the side of the van.
The second Red was getting up from the brutal
assault that Max had inflicted upon him, but she knocked him down again, Max
brought her foot down in a blow on the Red�s left leg that snapped the femur
like a twig.
The first Red was getting up from the stranger�s sneak attack, and landed a couple of solid blows to his chest, and a kick to his head, but it all hit bone, and his bones didn't break.
Time
to pay for your arrogance in thinking you could nab this X5 Robert
thought as he a made a fist that connected with the Red�s own, and crushed the
Red�s fist. The Red looked at his mangled hand, Robert took that as an
invitation to land a blow that crushed the man�s esophagus like a soggy piece
of cardboard. The Red dropped, gasping for air, but died less than twenty
seconds later.
The other two stumbled back to the van and
drove off, they were probably going to get reinforcements, bring in some heavy
guns to make sure they killed Robert when they fought next. It wouldn�t have
been the first time that he had nearly died, one time Robert remembered having
taken four clips from MP5�s. Robert remembered nearly dying that night, But
less than four hours later he had found the men who had shot him and returned
the favour, only they didn�t have the benefit of a supercharged regenerative
capacity.
Max was shocked, this mysterious and very
massive man had just killed one Red and severely beaten another, and not one
bead of sweat was on his forehead, not one drop of blood came out from his
chest, his torn shirt showed no hidden bullet jacket.
�Who the hell are you?� Max asked as she looked at him, scared as what he
might do to her.
�The name is Robert, I am a Tracker.� Robert replied rather matter-as-factly, as if anyone knew what a �Tracker� was.
�You�re going to have to be a bit more specific than that, or you can get what that Red got.� Max said raising an arm in a ready position to deal him a blow.
�Trackers are another Manticore project, let�s just say that you X5�s are not the only ones who considered rebellion against Lydecker and carried it out.� Robert answered as he stood there, towering over her by more than a foot.
�I see, and do I have any proof that you are not working for Lydecker, after all you could probably disable me right now and not even work up a sweat.� Max said backing away from him.
�How about the fact that I haven�t
knocked you out and hauled your ass to a waiting Manticore vehicle.� Robert
replied through a rather annoyed tone.
�I�m going to need more than that.� Max replied as she prepared to strike a
blow should Robert move to disable her, though she knew how after how easily he had dealt with the Red�s, that it would most likely be futile to try.
�Your name is Max, your group gave each other names when you were seven years old when you were on a mission in the woods for escape and evade in which you avoided your pursuers for ten minutes during a secret meeting of the entire X5 section.� Robert said, listing off a meeting he had overheard with Jon from three hundred meters from the X5 position, silent in the underbrush of the forest.
�We never told anyone that, we made
ourselves forget it, I only brought it back to mind after I escaped Manticore,
how would you know that?� Max asked, wondering how Robert knew some of her
most intimate details about her time at Manticore.
�I was there, well not exactly, three hundred meters downwind of you I was listening in on your little meeting, that was two days before Manticore went into lockdown because of the attack I launched on your barracks.� Robert explained as his hands dropped to his sides, hoping he could convince Max to listen to him.
�I see, any other proof that you don�t work for Lydecker?� Max asked, she was detecting a genuine speech from Robert, but she wasn�t sure quite yet.
�In 2009, twelve X5�s escaped, in 2012, you were living in San Francisco with a family of three, you left three months later after Lydecker started prowling around the area.� Robert answered, remembering when he had spotted Max and made sure she stayed out of trouble until she left San Francisco. Max remembered the event, and nodded in approval.
Max looked at him, studying him, he
stood a foot taller than her, and he had been told by women that he was
handsome, but he never really cared, it�s not like I�m going to get any,
I always scare women away, can�t say I blame them though.
Who is this guy, I�ve seen Grizzly Bears smaller than he is, and no one stands up to twenty .45 rounds without a bullet-proof vest. Then again, who the fuck could throw a Red Series across the alley without working up a sweat, leap from a building, land and keep perfect balance, and those were some moves he had in that fight. Max thought as she studied her mysterious rescuer, he stood two meters tall, had crew-cut brown hair, green eyes, his face looked like it had been chiselled, no marks anywhere and was handsome with strong features. His body spoke power, the T-shirt underneath his leather jacket bulged from muscles, and his face was cold, his expression that of a serious man, he did not seem to be bothered in the least that he had just killed a man.
�It�s not safe here, I don�t know what
assets those Reds have, I think we have a lot to learn about each other, but we
should do this elsewhere, I know someone who can help, he would be most
interested in you I imagine�� Max said as she circled him, his eyes met
hers, she is quite beautiful, intoxicating even, but Robert could
tell in her eyes that she saw him as good looking, nothing more.
�Alright, let me just grab my bike, I�ll
follow, and by the way, the next time a Red series squad attacks, make sure you
don�t hit dead ends.� Robert said as they started to leave the alley.
�Shut up, I don�t need to hear it, Logan
will give me enough hell over this anyways!� Max snapped at him as they
mounted their motorcycles and took off.
They both speed up, and ten minutes later,
they arrive at the rich end of Seattle, not exactly a big place after the pulse,
and arrive at the penthouse of one of the more prestigious buildings. As they
rode up the elevator of the building, no words were exchanged, as if the two had
agreed to a vow of silence until all could be explained. They walked into
Logan�s penthouse apartment with a casual gait.
�Logan, I found someone you may want to
meet.� Max said as she walked towards a room where Robert sees a man in a
wheelchair absorbed in his computer, he�s wearing glasses and has somewhat
spiked hair, and a bit of scruff on his face, seems the poor boy never heard
of a razor Robert thought. Logan looked up at them and spoke as his eyes met
Robert�s and examined Robert�s body.
�Max, I thought you weren�t going into
heat for another two weeks, so why�s this guy with you?� Max gave him a look
of complete disgust, he may be good looking, but the only man I�m even
considering around here is you Logan, pick up on it already.
�Can it, this guy just kicked the ass of a
Red, and killed another, allowing me to brush off the third, Robert here is from
Manticore, and has proved that I can trust him, which means you can as well, I
assure you.� Max said pointing at Robert�s towering form.
�Interesting, do you have a barcode or an
implant on the back of your neck?� Logan said as he wheeled up to Robert and
looked at him, Robert took a step or two back so he could address them, then
began to explain it, then realized how long that would take.
�It�s very complicated, so maybe we should
take this from the top, but it�s a long story, so here is the lowdown�� he
passed him a small case, containing the a copy of the CD-Blues he and Jon had
made of the Manticore database.
�Look at those CDs, it�s everything you�ll ever need to know about Manticore projects.� As Logan loaded one of the CDs into the drive of his computers, Max stepped up behind him, and brushed his shoulder, then his neck.
Things
are going on between those two, Robert thought as he watched Max�s hands ease onto Logan�s
shoulders as Logan accessed the information on the CD he had loaded in.
Could
you at least blink? Max
thought as she lightly massaged Logan�s shoulders, but Logan was doing his
best to ignore it, but she knew he knew what she was doing.
She�s
just pitying you Cale for taking the illustrious role of protector of mankind,
she has about as much romantic interest in you as going back to Manticore. Logan
thought as he felt Max lightly massage his shoulders as he opened a file
labelled �Active Trackers� and the contents spilled across his screens.
Things
are going to get interested from here on in. Wonder if Max noticed that police drone that
caught the fight, I would probably have hopped off and maintained a silent vigil
if I hadn�t noticed it floating around, but I�ll tell her about that later.
I�ll deal with these people now, maybe
Logan can find out whatever became of the Tracker program, were there any more
like me and Jon, or did they just give it up and focus on test tube kids?
I�ll find out soon enough I guess. Robert thought as Max and Logan
read the data spilling on the screen, Max gasped, they must have found something
important, and her hands dug into Logan�s shoulders. This should prove
interesting Robert thought entertainment bargains were dead, but the way
these two act around each other, I could get a real-life
romantic comedy out of this deal, not bad at all.
My
god, who is this guy? Logan
wondered as he read Robert�s military and medical files, and then looked back
at Robert. No way, there has to be another explanation, might as well ask. Logan
thought as he fomented words and questions to ask this mystery man who had saved
Max�s life.
