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Nights had always been the worst time for Julie. Alone in the dark she couldn't stop her mind, it worked ceaselessly, filled with more questions than anyone could possibly fathom. And tormenting her with memories that no one should have to endure. At 2am she decided to try and out ride the demons.
~*~*~
IT STOOD ACROSS THE road, she may have been watching it for hours or seconds, she didn't know, she didn't care. Time was immaterial tonight, the New Orleans fog had reduced the world to just her, below a lamppost, and the house across the street. Like an island that would offer shelter if only she were brave enough to cross the water. Ryan was home.
There was an internal war occurring and she just had to ride it out, she could wait until it was over, patience was her strong point. Eventually one side would win and she would know whether to follow her head, or that poor denied organ that was her heart.
Concealed inside Ryan watched. Something prevented him from going to her. She seemed a world away. The dim streetlight filtering through the fog gave her a mystical quality, if he moved she might float away.
With the coming of dawn, she finally moved, unfolding with feline grace and taking a few steps forward to cross the road. He held his breath but at the last moment she changed her mind. As he watched her ride away he knew a decision about him had been made, he just wished he knew how to change her mind.
The night had an eerie loom about it. No moon, no stars and the wind blew the bayou fog over the land. Logan’s heart felt as cataclysmic as the night. Watching Meghan and Maksim earlier was about all he could obtain. Their laughter still burned his ears and his heart felt broken in a thousand pieces. He resisted going in, feeling the isolation whether he was in the lab or outside.
Meghan for some reason was putting a barrier between them. Could Maksim be her lover from her time? It sure looked it as happy as they both seemed. Looking in the doorway he could see them down the hall in the kitchen. They were in conversation that looked pretty much like two lovers planning a lover’s weekend.
‘Oh this is ridiculous! I should have never opened my heart so soon to her! I should have known this wasn't going to work!’ Letting out a mountain of air his shoulders slump, he just felt miserable. ‘Yeah she was right when she called me stupid earlier! Was she playing a game the whole time with me? Feeling her needs in this time while she was away from her lover. How foolish he let himself become! Showing so much affection! How was I so blind to think she was falling in love with me? Maybe because she told me she loved me! But now... I can see I was so very stupid!’
Kicking a pebble on the ground he thought, “so be it!” It was over before it hardly began and I’ll probably live longer if she goes back where she came from anyway. Immortal! Tracers! Crystal weapon! Antidote! What more can I stand? And a small voice that came from the depths of his soul said...a broken heart!
"Do you know what you are doing here?" Maksim questioned Meghan.
"I have my reasons, Maksim, though you may not understand. I did not want to make
Logan immortal. I had no choice. Immortality is a hard thing to live with." Meghan spoke with sadness.
Maksim knew this was not easy on Meghan, but he has to do this, otherwise their whole race would be endangered. Even the lives of Meghan and Logan, were at stake.
"Meghan, I know this is cruel, but you have to leave Logan and come back with me to our time. The Tracers are eliminating all our people. Only small groups that have gone into hiding have survived. I know Logan is the only one who can concoct an antidote to counteract the poison, but we are running out of time here. You can do more good in our time than staying here. Logan can fend for himself here and I will leave him some gadgets for protection." Maksim emphasized the enormity of the situation.
"I can't leave him Maks, I didn't think it would be this hard, I really didn't." She sighed.
"Why isn't anything easy anymore?" The question was rhetorical but she knew Maksim would have an answer. He always did.
"You let down your guard Meghan, so much, that even now you can't see what's really important. Logan will always be here, if he loves you that much then he won't just disappear."
"But what if I can't come back? What if things really are as dire as you say? How can I leave him if there's even the slightest chance that I won't see him again?" She looked up at him earnestly, and while he towered over her she wasn't intimidated, had never been intimidated by this man who had been her closest friend for a lifetime.
"Meghan I'm not lying to you." he spoke softly, his voice low yet strong. "Our people are dying and they need you now more than ever, they need you to reassure them that it'll be okay. Even if it won't, even if there's absolutely no hope they need you to take away the fear," she was weakening, he could see it and while he hated to exploit it, he knew that for her sake and for the sake of their brethren, he had to press on. "Which is why we're leaving tonight, with or without the antidote." His words were final and invited no argument.
"The Tracer that was here...you know there are more to follow." She worried about leaving Logan to deal with that, because whether Maksim accepted him or not Logan was one of them now.
"He was a rogue individual who'd strayed from the pack, he happened on you by pure mistake. It's not Logan that they want. It's you. When you leave, chances are they'll follow." He didn't think she fully understood the danger she was in, she commanded an army, was the leader of their clan, and yet she was totally oblivious to the threats she revealed herself to.
Maksim understood that she could defend herself; he knew that better than anyone. He knew that were they both to engage in combat against each other it would be difficult to judge the outcome of the victor. He also knew that she was his sister, not only through the brethren but also in his heart and she was the only family he would ever have. He had vowed a very long time ago to protect her against all eventualities. And he wasn't about to turn his back on that now. Not even for love. "We leave tonight," he reiterated.
If there was one thing he was sure of, was that he was a professional. Which was why Logan refused to chase after Meghan and was bent over his microscope. The compound that he saw beneath the lens didn't compute. The elements involved may have been a lot more sophisticated than those he was used to, but he could still recognize the basic arrangement, unfortunately, what it told him, didn’t look promising.
The Waxen Formula was built up of numerous proteins and chemicals, each tightly woven together to create an essentially harmless compound. Harmless to all but immortals, it seemed. When he added a trace of his own blood to that of the Waxen, it disappeared no sooner than it had hit the glass sheet. The Waxen, acted as yeast to sugar. It ate immortal blood. It was quite unlike anything he had ever seen before, and Logan had seen a lot during his service with Mercury.
He had broken down the chemical to reveal something that he didn't want to face. His discovery showed him that creating an antidote was almost impossible. He was well on his way to rebuilding the waxen and had found counterparts to combat most of its power, but nothing conclusive and nothing that would fight death. What he had so far would merely slow down the process but would by no means stop it.
It seemed that on leaving the dart-gun the waxen became electrically charged, there was nothing that Logan possessed that was strong enough to conduct that charge. He needed to divert the charge of the Waxen into the formula he had built to act as an antidote, but everything he had tried to use so far had shattered and fizzled into uselessness. The charge was too great and even horsehair couldn't conduct it. There was nothing stronger he could use, he had tried everything.
Meghan stood at the doorway; Maksim was nowhere to be seen. Logan breathed a sigh of relief, happy to see her alone again. And then he thought of how he would tell her of his discovery and a bleak look returned to his eyes.
"I've broken down the waxen formula and identified each of its basic components, but the antidote is incomplete." he tried to explain but was finding it increasingly difficult to face her disappointment.
"You have the rest of the day. Make it work." She suggested, not understanding what he couldn't say.
"It's not that easy. The waxen is electrically charged and I need to transfer that charge to the antidote, but we don't have anything strong enough."
"Then find something strong enough."
He sighed, wondering how he could face losing her, because he knew she had to return to her time, to her people. He knew that he could never ask her to hide with him because he understood that she would never run away. He understood it all, he just wasn't ready to accept it yet.
"Please try, for me." She softened her tone as if sensing the direction of his thoughts.
"I'll work on it." he conceded, turning his back to her, knowing that there was very little more he could do, but refusing to give up. She would have been disappointed in him if he did.
Logan worked all on finding the missing element he needed. He tested all the elements: chemicals, fibers, inorganic tissues and organic tissue. He tested all the plants, herbs and flowers. He found a few components in the Chrysanthemum and the remaining components in the root of Witch Hazel.
Excited, he scrapped some residue from the root and also from the flower. He put them together in a glass beaker, added some solution and set it on the burner, to heat up.
A few minutes later he dipped a dropper into the beaker and suck up some of the mixture. He then, dropped a drop of the stuff onto a glass slide, already preset with the waxen and other antidote chemicals. He looked into the microscope and watched as the new added chemical interacted with all the others.
Logan’s excitement level rose, the new chemical seemed to be attacking the electrical charge. Then suddenly his excitement deflated, the chemical had fizzled out. He’d failed. He thought he had it this time. The Witch Hazel root and the Petals from the Chrysanthemum were the right components but they would need to be hybrids. No one had thought to grow these two together, if they’d had he would’ve been able to counteract the electrical charge in the waxen serum.
Logan sighed deeply, got up and went to find Meghan to inform her of his failure. He found her sitting on a bench in the garden.
“Meghan,”
“Logan, have you found the last component you needed?” she asked hopefully.
Logan nodded and Meghan jumped up, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.
“Thank you, thank you, Logan. You have no clue how much this means to me,” she said as she continued hugging him.
Logan briefly hugged her back then took her arm from around his neck and gently pushed her away from him.
Meghan looked at his solemn face and asked, “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you happy? We now have the antidote and can save our people.”
Logan shook his head. “I found the chemicals I needed, but...” he sighed, “it won’t work.
The two chemicals need to be grown together, not apart. Unfortunately, in this timeframe no one has thought to do it.”
Maksim wandered into the garden and saw Meghan’s ashen face. He’d heard Logan’s last statement and asked, “What are the two chemicals?”
“The Witch Hazel Root and the Chrysanthemum,” replied Logan.
Meghan excitement returned and she grabbed Logan’s hand. She new herbs and flowers, she’d studied them under her mother and after, under many renowned healers for centuries.
“Are you absolutely sure it’s those to two?” she asked.
Puzzled at her mounting joy, he nodded.
“I know where we can get what you need, but it means traveling to my time. It’ll be dangerous. Maksim tells me there are Tracers everywhere. That our brethren have diminished considerably. You’ll have to come with us, of course. There’s a very sophisticated lab that houses all the hybrids...you can finish the antidote there.”
"No! He can't go, not yet!"
Julie stood in the doorway, when the pair spun to face her she appeared just as shocked at the desperation and anger in her tone as they did.
Logan gave her a good once-over; she looked awful, completely strung out. As she regained her composure Maksim appeared behind her, staring curiously at the leather clad stranger. Making eye contact Meghan shook her head discreetly; he melted away without Julie ever having suspected his presence.
"Why can't he go Jules?" Meghan asked, shortening Julie's name the way she'd heard Logan do.
‘Because he's half of my family, and I don't want to be alone,’ she thought.
Aloud she stated a different truth. "Deaths are easy, faking a death is more complicated. I've only done it once, I'll need his help."
Logan looked at the two women. One needed his emotional support, even if she didn't want to admit it, and he needed the other. The fact was he'd just been assuming that Julie would clean up after him as she used to. It wasn't fair, she shouldn't have to work alone doing this and he needed to be sure his adopted sister would be all right when he left. Turning to Meghan he gently took her hand.
"Julie is right, I have things to fix here that can't possibly be done all in one day. You should go back with Maksim and sort out your problems while I stay and clear up mine. I'll get everything ready with the antidote so I just have to add the missing ingredient when you come back. It's better this way, we won't be distracting each other."
A time window opened as Maksim keyed in the co-ordinates on his "watch" that looks harmlessly like a time-keeping device but it is also the key to their time. All healers have a similar gadget but only Meghan and he has the co-ordinates. It is also a communication link through which they can contact one other.
"Meghan, come, the time window can only be maintained for 58 seconds," Maksim motioned Meghan to follow as he stepped through the window. Meghan with tears threatening to fall left a box with Logan and silently disappeared into time.
"Good luck and take care..." Logan whispered hoarsely.
Maksim and Meghan stepped out of the time-window into a battle. They dropped to the ground just in time to avoid being hit by a stray dart. They rolled to safety and drew their crystal weapons. Breathing heavily, Meghan motioned Maksim to check his right while she checked her left. Her back against a wooden drum, Meghan sidled her way to the left. Keeping low she quickly peeked around the corner.
Her quick peek gave her the needed information on what was going one. They had been betrayed! By one of their own, no less. Meghan seethed and trembled with anger. She peeked again to be sure she wasn’t wrong. She wasn’t. Standing beside one of the Tracers, was Cynthia, one of her trusted Lieutenants. One of her people was lying on the ground, but he didn’t seem to be hurt.
She looked over at Maksim and with hand signals told him who had betrayed them. Anger leapt into her friend’s eyes as well as promised retribution. He nodded to Meghan and they both jumped out from cover, firing. Meghan hit the Tracer standing beside Cynthia in the chest and he disintegrated. Maksim put his weapon on stun and shot Cynthia, who fell silently to the ground.
Meghan then dropped to the ground and rolled left dodging yet another dart from a Tracer that had just materialized. She rolled to her knees and fired. The Tracer tried to get out of the light beam but was too late, he vanished. Maksim walked over to Cynthia, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Meghan knelt beside the fallen man and managed to wake him up.
“Captain Holden, are you all right?” she asked as the Captain slowly sat up.
Captain Holden looked at the woman beside him and instantly went into military mode.
“General O’Leary, you’re back. I’m fine Sir. I heard Lieutenant Davis, that is Cynthia, plotting with a Tracer. She was giving him information on our outposts, when she gave them this one, I immediately contacted Captain Harry and he got his people out before Cynthia got here. I came so that it wouldn’t look deserted, but she got me by surprise and stunned me,” said Captain Holden as he bent his head in shame for being caught by Cynthia.
Meghan looked at the man with some consideration, could she trust him? What if he had been in league with Cynthia, it was awful, but anything was possible, better to be safe.
"Holden, you won't take offence to me asking you to report to main control. We need the full story documented."
"No offence taken General, I completely understand."
"Good, best that we get it over with."
Meghan signaled Maksim to follow and crystal weapon in hand, she walked behind Captain Holden as he took the lead down the corridor. She suppressed a tired giggle as a thought crossed her mind, 'Welcome home dear Meg, the all wise, all knowing, fearless leader!' Oh well, at least her life couldn't be described as dull.
Captain Holden opened the door and led the way into the office. Meghan passed him and seated herself behind the desk. She motioned Maksim to tie Cynthia up and put her on the couch. She turned her gaze to Cap. Holden, who immediately stood at attention.
“At ease, Captain,” she said. “Now, tell me what’s been happening in my absence.” Cap. Holden cleared his throat and looked straight ahead.
“When the Tracers attacked home base and after you and the others went through the time-window, I ordered all our people into hiding except for the Officers and the soldiers. We killed those who had breached the time-lab, but some of them followed you though. As soon as they did, I activated the self-destruct of the time-window and went into hiding myself. In the beginning, I ordered Lieutenant Davis to call in all outpost Captains and told them to find safe havens for the civilians in their sector, and then to hold their posts until further notice.”
As Cap. Holden continued his report Maksim came up behind him. In the palm of his hand he held an oblong crystal the size of an egg. He pressed a purple button and the crystal turned the color of soft amber. Meghan, who was watching him, gave a slight nod and Maksim held the crystal over Captain Holden’s head. The amber color flickered a few times then was steady.
Over the Captain’s head Maksim nodded to Meghan letting her know that Holden was telling the truth, that he was loyal to her.
Meghan’s mood lightened and she inwardly sighed in relief.
It had been only a few short hours since Meghan left but already it felt like a gaping hole had been ripped in Logan's life. She'd been with him constantly since his conversion to immortality. Although it had only been a short while it felt like she'd been his forever. Not that he HAD to see her; it was just that now even if he wanted to he couldn't. His control had been removed and he hated it with a passion.
Julie sat on a counter in the corner of the lab quietly watching him; she was slowly eating an ice cream, savoring the rare treat. He was missing Meghan, to a degree she could understand. Watching him strengthened her faith in the decision she'd made to forget Ryan; just look at what emotional attachment was doing to Logan. He was the best field man she'd ever worked with, always alert, coolly detached in that special manner he'd trained her to adopt. Just look at him now! Love was bad; love had turned Logan into the field equivalent of jelly. When every drop of her icy goody was gone she padded across the floor to where Logan was sitting.
"Alright! That's enough mooning around. The fridge is empty of all chocolate and instead of being interesting you're boring me to death! Soon you'll be going to this great new life where you get to live forever. Things are going to be fantastic for you. I want some quality secret agent wisdom from you before Miss Wonderful beams back and sweep’s you off to Utopia. Considering your future I have no remaining sympathy for you. Logan my friend, it's time for fun, we have your death to plan!" she said as she rubbed her hands together.
Ryan hadn't seen Julie in an age, he hadn't really expected to, but her absence still played on him. In fact he was almost ready to cruise every street in New Orleans looking for her. When such thoughts entered his mind he had to check himself and reign every single idea of retrieval back in. She didn't want to see him; she'd made that perfectly clear. He'd left everything up to her; despite the words being unspoken they were both aware that whatever happened next would be her call. And she appeared to want to forget everything about him. That hurt, after all, he'd never considered himself that repulsive before.
Unfortunately for Julie, Ryan was an excellent detective and he was fully aware that by leaving things as they were he was not fulfilling his duties to the maximum. He still knew very little about her, what he did know was that she wasn't everything she said she was. And that was a potentially dangerous situation for his city to be placed in. She could, to all intents and purposes be anyone: an international terrorist for example.
Of course he didn't really believe that. He knew very little about Lizzie Simpson, what he did know had nothing to do with her background and a lot to do with the person that she had revealed herself to be. Ryan knew that she was rational, calm, strong and independent. He also knew that she was passionate, and that on given the opportunity her passion could become all consuming and more potent than any drug. He wanted to be the one to unleash it. He was not about to let her throw that passion away, not for anything. Ryan resolved himself to finding her, slamming the coffee cup he held firmly on the desk as he did so, sloshing the dark liquid all over his case files. He frowned slightly, as he held up a piece of paper, letting the coffee drip off of it. The paper had just been handed him by one of the clerks, he hadn't had time to read it as of yet. Nothing on the page computed, it was all written there, fact for fact and yet, it’s importance didn't register.
It seemed as though there was someone in town he was meant to be keeping an eye on, and he recognized the name but for whatever reason couldn't place it. What he did place was the impending sense of danger that the report forewarned.
~*~*~
LOGAN LIFTED HIS HEAD and messaged his neck. He was elated; he’d finally broken each chemical of the waxen to its natural and separate form. He’d mixed the antidote together and now, all that was left to do was to wait for Meghan’s return with the Hybrid Witch Hazel-Chrysanthemum to add to the potion. He looked outside and saw that it was night. He’d worked day and night for almost a week now. He let his gaze wander around the lab and spotted Julie in one corner. She was sleeping on the cot he’d put there because he couldn’t seem to sleep in the bed he and Meghan had shared before she left.
Logan sighed and got up, he silently walked over to Julie and hunkered down.
“Jules,” he said softly.
Instantly Julie’s eyes popped open, alert and ready for anything.
“What’s wrong?” she asked as she sat up and scanned the room.
“Nothing,” said Logan as he smiled tiredly. “Just wanted to let you know it’s done.”
“Done?” she asked. “Oh, the antidote. It’s ready?”
“Yeah, I just need to add the hybrid when Meghan gets back,” he replied as he sat down next to her on the cot. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. He was so tired and his back ached.
“Here lie down and rest for a while,” said Julie as she got up. “I’ll keep watch and wake you in a few hours.”
Logan was so tired he didn’t even argue. He just slid down on his side and fell asleep. Julie wandered out to the kitchen, made some coffee and sat down in the little breakfast nook. After the first sip her mind started working and she thought about how she and Logan were going to fake his death. Reaching across the table she grabbed some paper and a pencil and started writing down what they would need.
‘Explosives, Detonator, Dead body, (note: no family, no fingerprints).’
She put the end of the pencil of her mouth and read over the list. Was something missing, was there something she was forgetting...a phone rang and Julie jumped. It rang again and she realized it was her Sat. She got up and went over to her jacket to retrieve it. “Laurence here.”
“Laurence! What the hell is going on!” yelled Gaspard. “Why haven’t I heard from you? You’ve had two weeks already to find Logan. Have you found him?”
Julie was surprised Gaspard was calling her. Usually she only talked to Leon when on a mission. And the last time she talked to him, he’d told her not to trust Gaspard.
She agreed with Leon's idea completely, what he didn't know was that she'd never trusted Gaspard, and had always limited what he knew about her 'true' self. What should she do? He would probably know if she was lying, he seemed to have that skill in common with her. The problem was she couldn't very well give Logan to Gaspard. Nothing for it, a half-truth was the only way to go.
"Sir, I was waiting for solid confirmation before reporting directly to you, I didn't want any information leaks. I have a fix on the approximate location of Dupré. I'm planning to search the area within an hour."
It WAS true, she was going to ask Logan if he wanted take-out after he'd napped a while. Better to flatter and pander to Gaspard than to irritate him.
"I'm glad to hear that. You understand that in these uncertain times I need to be sure who my allies are. The walls have ears Julie, do you understand?"
What? The man was off his nut! Total madness and he was in control of the most powerful foundation in the world. She lowered her tone to match his whisper.
"Yes sir, we must watch ourselves and who we trust. I am ever your loyal servant, when I have located Dupré I shall bring him to you and we shall discover to whom he has betrayed us."
"That's my girl, but I don't think I should leave you alone with a danger such as Dupré. I'm coming to New Orleans; I'll be there in two days. Until we are together be safe my love."
Julie sat stunned as the dial tone rang in her ear, physical repulsion made her gag. 'Be safe my love?' The man had gone truly insane! Her mind raced, Meghan wasn't back yet, they had nothing ready but now the plans would have to be rushed. The man was a very real problem, after she called Leon, she would have to tell Logan Gaspard was coming to New Orleans.
~*~*~
IT HAD BEEN ALMOST a week since her return and Meghan was very tired. The Tracers had stepped up their attacks. She had managed to spirit away most of the civilians to safe underground havens, but some were still missing. She was also worried, for 3 days ago; she had sent Maksim to retrieve the hybrid from the arboretum, in the Capital and he had not yet returned. The Capital was crawling with Tracers; they had captured it a few hours before she’d arrived.
They were now down to only three manned outposts, the three that Cynthia hadn’t known existed, and so, couldn’t tell the Tracers about them.
Meghan heard a crashing sound outside the office. Alert, she immediately grabbed her crystal weapon and crouched down behind the desk, her eyes fixed on the closed door. The doorknob slowly turned and the door swung open.
Maksim stood in the doorway and surveyed the room.
“Meghan, it’s me,” he said calmly.
Meghan held on to the desk and pulled herself up. She dropped her weapon onto the desk and sat back down in the chair. The relief that Maksim was safe showed on her face and in her eyes.
“What took you so long, Maks?” she asked.
“I had to go in stealthily, I almost got caught a few time,” he replied.
Maksim looked her over thoroughly. He noted the healing wounds on her arms and her right cheek.
“What happened while I was gone?”
“We had a run-in with a few Tracers yesterday. They’d breached the North perimeter, but Cap. Holden and I managed to keep them at bay until the soldiers were able to ambush them from behind.”
“How did you get those wounds?” he asked darkly.
“One of them got a little to close and I had to fight him hand to hand,” she explained motioning him to sit down.
“Did you get the hybrid?”
“You know I did. I always get what I’m after,” he replied. “How’s Cynthia?”
“Ah Cynthia,” sighed Meghan, “she’s belligerent, angry that she got caught, mad at me because I’m not dead. You know she wants to take my place, don’t you? She said she was the better suited to lead our people, that the Commander had no right to choose me. That I was nothing but a foundling compared to her who was raised by the Commander.”
“And you know she’s wrong. The Commander chose you because you are the best. You have the mind and ability to lead, which is something Cynthia lacks and she knows it.”
“What are we going to do with her? I don’t want to have to kill her, and we can’t banish her.”
“Why not send through a time-window?”
“That’s an idea, but to which time-frame? She’s a powerful being with power to control minds. We can’t send her to a time where she could control humans for her own gain.”
“I just thought of something,” said Maksim. “When we were in training, didn’t the commander once talk about an ancient scroll that stripped an immortal of his powers?” Meghan thought back to their training days and her photographic memory rewinded to that particular time. ‘Commander, how is it that some immortals have power like we do and others don’t, like Henry?’ asked Meghan.
‘A long time ago, Henry used to use his power to hurt others he didn’t like. He even once killed a fellow immortal just for bumping in to him. The council decided to strip him of his power. They sent a few others me and to capture him and bring him before the council. They read an ancient incantation from an ancient scroll and his powers were removed,’ explained the Commander.
‘Does the scroll still exist?’ asked Maksim who’d been listening intently.
‘Yes it does,’ replied the Commander, ‘it’s hidden behind one of the portraits in the council chamber. Don’t ask me which one for I don’t know; only the council members know. Now, back to...’
Meghan opened her eyes and fixed them on Maksim.
“It’s behind one of the portrait in the council chamber,” she said matter-of-factly. “It means going back to the Capital. Can you do it?”
Maksim nodded, “I’ll leave right away.”
“No,” said Meghan, “first you’ll eat and then get some rest. It’s better to travel at night, less chance being spotted.”
Maksim nodded, got up and left to find some food.
Night came and Maksim left, ready to fulfill his duty, not only to his people but also to Meghan. He was bone tired, had managed only an hour’s sleep before his friend had to disturb him. It seemed that Cynthia was acting up, telling stories that weren't hers to tell.
What worried them was that she had mentioned a rebellion within the brethren; she herself was proof enough of one rebel.
Maksim had spent most of the day, scouring their lands for anything that might justify the statement and had come up with nothing. Now that nightfall was here he was forcing himself to move on. He was accomplished and knew how to work over his fatigue.
What seemed like hours passed before he reached the Capital. It was still dark, although the city's lights brightened the sky to a purple haze. The streets were busy despite the late hour, people rushed everywhere, and the scent of food permeated the air making his mouth water. He found himself a seat at a counter and motioned for the cook to take his order.
Maksim had never been able to work on an empty stomach; he was a big man who needed the fortification to run his body and his mind. He had begun to formulate a plan on the journey, but he needed to eat before he would be able to think it all over clearly. People seemed to mill about him, a mish-mash of cultures and races. Above him flight-vehicles slowly made their way through the non-existent traffic system. Maksim adored the city, it made him feel at home, offered him the comfort of knowing that somewhere in the middle of it all there were people just like him, people who were as lost as he was, as without family as he.
Before the Tracers had found their place in this society it had been beautiful, restful. Now one constantly had to look over their shoulder. He hated that. He hated not feeling safe in a place that he loved so much.
He twisted his fork into the pasta that had been placed before him. Brought it to his mouth and then savored the unique flavor. Bite after bite his consciousness grew, in his mind he reviewed his plan, filling in all the holes and amending weaknesses until it was almost foolproof. The only weakness that he couldn't override was the heavy security at the council; the fact that it was still night would mean that he had a better chance of slipping through but it was unpredictable. He only hoped that he could pull it off, for Meghan's sake. Because he knew that the sooner this was over the sooner she could get back to Logan, and without him it had seemed that she was only half of the person she used to be.
She did her job efficiently and without flaw but as a person she was incomplete. Maksim knew that the sooner they could solve their problems the sooner he would have his best friend back. He refused to consider that she might forsake it all for love. When he had finished, he pushed the plate away, tossing his coins on the counter and walking back into the crowds.
As he found his way to the council, the density of people thinned out and the closer he got the more alone he became. As he stepped up to the door, he took note of the number of guards in the reception area. Four. Perfect, not so many that it would be impossible to fulfill his task.
He slipped in slowly, pushing quietly, entering the foyer unnoticed and working his way to the side of the building. He took a small device from his pocket and flicked it open to reveal a small keypad, an electronic screen and a series of wires. He then pinpointed the building's security alarm. After thoroughly examining it, it became clear that while there was nothing he could do to disable it he could plug activate it. He attached his device to it using the wires, entering in the digits he needed on the keypad. Lights began to flash and sirens sounded, the security guards jumped into action. The mechanical voice informed them that the breach was on the tenth floor, eight floors above where Maksim knew he needed to be.
At the same time Maksim was distracting the security members of the council, Meghan was under attack. Another of their outposts had been taken out, the lives of four had been lost and five more hung in the balance. No one could tell her why and it bugged her that she hadn't been able to stop it form occurring. Cynthia knew nothing, and Meghan was pretty sure that if she did, she wouldn't tell them anything anyway. What Cynthia did reveal was the dire danger they were in, how could they protect themselves against unknown forces.
It was obvious to all, that the Tracers had instigated the attack, but they were cunning and resourceful, and had not yet revealed themselves. The leak within the brethren remained unfound and as the need for safety grew so the clarity of their future lessened. They could do nothing because it seemed that every move they made was already anticipated. It was deduced that the mole was someone high in rank and it hurt Meghan to know that someone had betrayed them. She could trust no one, Maksim was absent and she was on her own, not even Captain Holden could help her now. She stepped out of her makeshift barricade and into the turmoil; the morning sky had become red, shimmering with the evil of death. She set her jaw and walked on into the quiet.
Everything was silent, as if anticipation of the end had taken the breath from the land. There was no bustle, no play and no laughter. There was only nothingness, due partly to the evacuation of the civilians and partly because of the fear that chased the shadows. She stood in the middle of what had been the village meeting place, examined what stood around and what was fallen to the ground. War and the fight had been brought here; it sickened her to see it. It wasn't right that it should look like this, nothing was right anymore. But Meghan was faithful to her people, to who she was and she refused to give up without a fight. She would save them, even if it meant she would have to forfeit her own life. Even if it meant, never seeing Logan Dupré again.
She had the hybrid, could save her people with it, if only she could leave them. But that time wasn't now, and God help, her but she couldn't do this on her own. She needed Maksim. She needed Logan.
A battle cry tore through the silence; she spun to face it, ready to defend herself at all costs. A blow struck her shoulder, shooting pain through her arm and to her heart. Meghan shook it off and spun away, kicking out to her attacker's lower back, causing her to stumble forward. Meghan caught a quick glance of the Tracer before she found herself knocked to the floor by sheer force.
Her attacker hit her across the face, slamming her head back against the hard ground, making her see colors before her eyes. She strengthened her resolve, rolling sideways from the Tracers grasp and knocking the dart from her arm, breaking the vile as it fell beneath her feet.
The Tracer looked lost for a minute, but she shrugged, "No matter, you're not as invincible as you think you are Meghan O'Leary."
"Want to bet," Meghan said as she leapt into the air and delivered yet another kick to the Tracer. But her attacker was as strong as she and quickly recovered. They stood; ready to fight again circling each other, awaiting each other’s move.
"So I can't kill you, I can beat you down. Your weak, you'll always be weak as long as you have impure blood." She spat out, slicing the side of her hand into Meghan's forearm and stepping back again.
"Weak? I'm not weak, Tracer, I'm very real." Meghan countered stepping into the center of the ring they'd created and hooked her leg behind that of the Tracer's bringing her to the floor. The tracer flipped herself up, back onto her feet and dusted a streak of dirt from her black latex jumpsuit.
They didn't speak again, merely fought, matching each other blow for blow, taking advantage of every mistake the other made until an upper hand was gained. Finally it seemed the Tracer would win, she had Meghan pinned to the floor, was too strong for Meghan to overpower.
"Now, it's time." The Tracer whispered as she pressed her knee to Meghan's throat, restricting her airway until she couldn't breathe. Darkness threatened and Meghan prepared herself for it.
And then it seemed to lift, for whatever reason Meghan didn't know, she was fighting for air, her eyes strained and blurry. She heard a scream pierce the air and the silence settled again. Someone knelt down by her side, bringing her to an upright position, rubbing a hand over her back.
