DISCLAIMER: All DARK ANGEL characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee (Cameron Eglee Productions) and DARK ANGEL itself belongs to FOX.
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Both II
By Valjean
Chapter 9
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It had been a long time since Alec flew a jet, and in fact he'd only logged a few hours of actual flight time during training, most of his experience coming from simulators. But he couldn't very well trust the controls to the man tied up next to him in the cockpit, so he knew he didn't really have much choice.
However, the X5 knew that getting the plane off the ground was a hell of a lot easier than landing, which is why he put the craft on autopilot and opened the operations manual once they were west of the Mississippi.
Berrisford watched him closely.
"Somethin' you wanna ask?" Alec finally said, acutely aware of the man's hostile gaze.
"What are you?" Berrisford said. "Exactly? I know you're one of the children who had their DNA altered, but what series?"
"Don't you read the newspapers?" Alec said. "I''m X5." His innate pride at his status showed through in his voice, but Berrisford didn't share his enthusiasm. Alec noticed, and his lips quirked in a rueful smile. "Let's just say I consider myself genetically empowered."
"What they did to you children was unconscionable," Berrisford said. "For a long time after Rachel--" His voice broke, but then he gathered himself and continued. "For a long time after Rachel was injured ... after she died ... I hated you. Then the Terminal City siege occurred. You and others of your kind became headline news, and a lot of Manticore's dirty secrets were exposed. Oh, I always knew about the illegal genetic experiments on human embryos, but child abuse doesn't begin to cover the things I read you were subjected to. Brainwashing ... physical torture ... deprivation ... propaganda ..."
"Manticore wanted to build the perfect soldier," Alec said, as he leaned forward and adjusted one of the jet's controls. "What they got was me, and others like me. But I wasn't perfect enough for 'em, so they tried to fix me ... make me into something I wasn't."
"An assassin?" Berrisford said.
Alec nodded.
"But it didn't work?"
"Depends on how you look at it," Alec said quietly.
"What do you mean?"
The X5 closed his eyes, then looked away, speaking to the window. "Rachel's dead, isn't she?"
*****
The flight to Seattle took approximately 6 hours. One hour out from the airport, Alec turned to his reluctant passenger and broke the long silence that had fallen between them. "If I have to, I'll land this myself. But our chances of not ending up strewn over the landscape would be a whole lot better if you gave me a hand."
Berrisford looked down at his restrained wrists.
"If I untie you," Alec said, "will you behave? Because even if I'm in the middle of a descent I swear to God if you try anything I will kill you."
"I don't want to die," Berrisford said. "And I'm not a fool."
Alec chewed on his lower lips a moment, thinking hard about something that had been kicking around in his mind for the past couple of hours. Coming to a decision at last, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a knife, then leaned over and sliced through the cords holding Berrisford's wrists to the armrests. Watching the man rub circulation back into his hands, Alec waited a few seconds, then flipped the knife over and offered it handle-first. "I need you to do something for me," he said, his voice deep, rich, and determined.
Berrisford stared at the blade.
"Lydecker implanted a transceiver under my skin," Alec said. "I don't care that he knows I'm headed for Seattle. That was a given anyway. But once we land, I don't want him following me, endangering Max and anyone else who helps me."
"Under your skin?" Berrisford said, his sharp eyes narrowing. "And you want me to cut it out for you?"
"I'd do it myself, but I can't really reach it," Alec said calmly.
"Where is it?" the older man asked, accepting the weapon, his eyes at the same time raking the young transgenic's body.
Alec took a deep breath, realizing he might be making a huge mistake but seeing no other way. "In my neck," he said. "Behind my left ear just below the skull. I know 'cause I wasn't wounded there but there were stitches when I regained consciousness."
"Your neck?" Berrisford said, touching the sharp edge of the blade with his thumb. "Simon, do you realize I've fantasized about slitting your throat a thousand times over the past three years? That and worse."
"My name's Alec, not Simon, and I can imagine, yeah."
"And you'd trust me with a knife at your throat?"
"Like I said, I don't have much choice," Alec replied. He reached under the plane's seat and pulled out the first aid kit he'd found earlier. "If I try'n do it myself, I could bleed to death."
"You could bleed to death anyway," Berrisford said. "I'm not a doctor, or an expert on anatomy, but that's a tricky area to work in."
"Manticore's going to send another X5 after you," Alec said. "You know that don't you?"
"I know."
"You lucked out this time ... them sending me first. But if they send Devon, or Keema or Jewel ..."
"What are you saying?"
"Do this for me, and me and mine will protect you," Alec said. "We've got people ... connections ... We can make you disappear."
"I don't want to disappear."
"Then we can guard you."
"You really do need my help, don't you, son?"
"Yes," Alec replied. Then he smiled humorlessly. "Ironic, ain't it."
"Turn around," Berrisford said, gesturing with the knife.
Alec complied, trying to relax as the man swabbed the spot where the incision would be made with alcohol. "Do you see it?" he asked.
"A faint scar, just healed," Berrisford said. "Brace yourself."
Alec's grip on the chair arm tightened as he swallowed hard. "Do it," he said.
He felt the icy tip of the blade touch his skin, the pressure followed by a sharp pain and the feel of blood trickling down his neck. He tried to not make a sound -- didn't want to give Berrisford the satisfaction -- but a faint grunt still escaped his lips.
"You're right," Berrisford said, pulling on something with his fingers while tears of agony filled Alec's eyes. Then the man held up a small piece of metal with wires sticking out of both ends. "A micro transceiver," he said. "And a very sophisticated one at that. They had you tagged like a prize piece of livestock."
"That's what I am to them," Alec said through gritted teeth, glancing at the device then closing his eyes again. "You done?"
"Not quite," Berrisford said gently -- and suddenly Alec felt the edge of that blade on the soft part of his throat.
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