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“Ninety-nine
bottles of beer on the wall, you take one down and pass it around…”
Alec sang, as he lay spread across the couch
in the living room of the S1W safe house.� “What comes next?”
he slurred.
“Ninety-eight,
and if you ask me again…” Asha responded.
“Oh, c’mon, ninety-nine is my favorite
verse!” Logan responded.� He turned and high-fived
Alec.� “But I got a new one for you…I had a bottle of white wine
and Pinot was his name-o…P-I-N-O-T, P-I-N-O-T, P-I-N-O-T and Pinot
was his name-o…”
“Ninety-nine
bottles of beer…” Alec began again, singing over Logan‘s tuneless number.
“Bed.� It’s time for bed,” Asha interrupted.
“Not
bed…bathroom…” Logan replied, launching himself off the couch.�
He staggered slightly, reaching for the wall to steady himself.�
He walked slowly in search of the toilet.
Asha sat in the chair, listening to the combination of Logan being sick in the bathroom and Alec singing
the same verse of his song over and over.� Finally, the toilet flushed
and she could hear Logan making his way to the bedroom in the back
of the house.� She picked up her cell phone and dialed.
“Max?”
Asha held her cell close to her ear.� “Yeah,
Alec and Logan are with me.� Yeah, it’s all fine…no…no, I think they’ll be staying here.�� Alec said something
about an APB, held them up, so they didn’t get to the church yet…But
to be honest, they’re totally bombed.� Yeah, stinking drunk…Okay,
I’ll tell them…yep…in the morning.� I’ll tell him.� Night, Max.”
Asha snapped the cell phone closed.
“Max
pissed?” Alec asked quietly, his singing over for the moment.
“Yeah,
I’d say so, something about not having enough
sense to realize when it was or was not a good time to ‘get your drink
on’ I believe was the quote.� She didn’t know you were coming out today?”
“Knew I was.� I think Logan was a surprise.”
Banging
and thumping sounds came from the rear of the safe house.� “Just
a second,” Asha told Alec.� “I think I’d better go see what’s happening
back there.”�
A street near Terminal City
Max
snapped her phone closed.
“Everything okay?” Ginger asked.� “We can go back if
you need to.”
�Nope,
that was Logan‘s friend, Asha.� She called to report that she found Alec and Logan
outside, too drunk to get back. They�re staying with her overnight,�
Max sighed, her voice filled with exasperation.
�Doesn’t
sound all that bad, you know.� Maybe they just needed an evening to
pretend they�re regular guys who can go and have a beer.� Nothing happened,
right?�
�No,
nothing happened.�
�So
should we keep going and shock the pants off Original Cindy, or do you
think you need to get back?”
Max
sighed. �I don�t know.� If they’re with Asha,
I�m sure they’ll be fine…let’s go.� I’ll deal with their sorry butts in the morning.�� She
pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up.� �Besides, I can’t wait to see
the look on her face!”
Clemente’s Home, Seattle
Ramon
Clemente lay in the dark, wide-awake.� When
the phone rang, he grabbed it instantly.
“Clemente here.� Any news?”
“No, sir,” replied Matt Sung’s voice.�
“There’s been no sign of Cale since he was spotted in that bar�”
“That
was four hours ago!” Clemente nearly
shouted.�
“A
neighbor reported a disturbance at his old apartment.� We sent someone
to check it out.� Nothing.”
“Listen
to me.� I got word tonight that some of our fine citizens are threatening
to march on the Mayor’s house and stay there until the Mayor agrees
to invade Terminal City.� And if he won’t do it, they’ll do it themselves.�
I don’t know how much longer we can control this city.� If Eyes Only keeps winding Seattle up, we could have a massacre on
our hands.� Find Cale.“�
He
slammed the phone down in the dark.
S1W Safe House
Asha made her way down the dark hallway to the bedroom.� Logan sat on the bed, trying to remove
his shoes, which were held firmly in place by the exoskeleton foot pieces.�
Asha smiled.
“Just
lie down,” she told him.� “Won’t be the first time you’ve
slept in your clothes on a job.”
Logan gave up and flopped backwards onto the
bed.� “Alec still out there?”
“Yeah.� Why?”
Logan removed his glasses, dropping them on the
floor beside the bed.� “Told me earlier he’s
thinking about bailing out of Terminal City.� Making a run for it.”
“Why?”
“Says he’s bored.� But I think there’s something more…”
Logan’s voice faded as he passed out.
Asha picked up the glasses, folded them, and set them on the windowsill.�
At the doorway, she paused to look thoughtfully at Logan.� Then she turned out the light
and went back to the living room.� Alec was lying on the couch, eyes
closed.� Asha took the chair next to him.� �
“Hey,”
Alec mumbled.
Asha sat silently in her chair for a minute.� “Listen, going over
to the apartment…that wasn’t really about wine and boxers, was it?”
“What
do you mean?”
“I
mean, seeing Logan…drunk…sitting in the chair…I can’t
imagine he’d do that for fun, even if you had been drinking.� Something’s
wrong, isn’t it?”
Alec
pushed himself up on his arm so he could look at her.� “Yeah.”
“Did
something happen?� Is it the toxins in Terminal City?� That virus?”�
Asha asked anxiously.
“His
transfusion’s wearing off.”
“That’s
terrible,” Asha exclaimed, her distress
apparent.� “He hasn’t told Max,” she said.� It was a statement,
not a question.
“You
know they’re back together,” Alec said.
“Yeah…he
told me,” Asha said quietly.
“Yup.� Made up, got rid of the virus�”
“And
now this,” Asha finished.
“That’s
Manticore for you,” Alec said sleepily.�
“Manticore giveth,
and Manticore taketh away.� Gotta love it.”
Almost as if he were dreaming again, the
Berrisford swimming pool flashed in front
of his eyes, followed by the cold, windswept graveyard and the name
that haunted him carved into gray stone:� Rachel Berrisford.�
Alec
sat up immediately.
Asha, watching him, said gently, “What are you doing out here?�
I can’t imagine that tying one on is a part of the typical Manticore
battle plan.”
Alec
sat up the rest of the way, sliding his feet onto the floor.� He sighed
and leaned forward, his head in his hands.� After a moment, he turned
his head so he could see her again.
“I’m
dying in there.”
Asha moved over from her chair to the couch, sliding her arm around
his shoulders.� “The toxins?� Are they hurting you?� I thought
the transgenics were immune.”
Alec
laughed, then leaned back. Asha’s arm slipped from his shoulders.
“No,
not actually dying, but staying in there…it’s stifling me…sucking
the life out of me…I don’t know what my job is, what I’m supposed
to do…”�
Asha nodded.� “I was feeling that way in San Francisco…had to come up here, to
get away.”
Alec
didn’t answer, his eyes staring off into the distance.
“So,
are you leaving?” Asha asked as she reached
over to take his hand in hers.
Alec
shook his head, trying to clear away the old thoughts.� “I don’t
know.� Don’t know why I’d stay.� Not sure where I’d go.”
Asha reached for him, pulling him into her arms.� “Well, tonight,
you can stay here.”
Alec
didn’t answer. Instead, he slipped further into her embrace.� He leaned
her back on the couch, his body covering hers.� He smoothed the hair
back from her face and began to kiss her deeply.
Max and Original Cindy’s Apartment, Sector
5 � August 27, 2:00 AM
Ginger
reached up to knock on the door.� Her knuckles had tapped twice when
the door swung open.
“Hey,
sugah,” Original Cindy said, smiling.�
“Come give Original Cindy some love.”� She pulled Ginger toward
her, laying a deep kiss on her lips.
Ginger
pulled back.� “I brought you a present.”� She reached back
and pulled Max into the doorway.
“Max!”
Original Cindy shouted as she pulled Max into a hug.� “Ain’t
this a treat.”
“She
needed a little TLC, and I figured one of your world-famous pedicure/manicure
combos might do the trick.”
“Come
here, boo…let me see what you’ve done to those nails,” Original
Cindy said as she lead Max into the apartment.� “I see Original
Cindy has her work cut out for her.”
Max
crossed the room and dropped down onto the couch.� Original Cindy sat
down next to her.�
“What’s
up, boo?”
Max
just shook her head.� “Sorry for crashing your date, but I had
to get out of there.”
“Logan givin‘ you trouble again?” Original Cindy asked.� Ginger
sat down on the stool near the kitchen counter.
“Nah,
things are great with me and Logan.� You know me…I’m not a leader;
that was never my gig.� I want to be out here kickin‘ it with my crew.”
“Lots
of things changed, Max.� Life out here ain’t
the same either.� Sketchy mighta been instigatin‘
the crowd outside Jam Pony, but people got a hate for the transgenics
that ain’t pretty,” Original Cindy answered.� “But, Original
Cindy doesn’t believe in lookin‘ back…you gotta go forward,
boo.”
“Yeah,”
Max sighed.� She turned and stared out the window into the dark sky.
“You
got that hot bath you promised me, honey?” Ginger asked.
“Sure
do, sugah.”
“I’m
gonna slip in and give you girls some time
to talk,” Ginger answered, as she got up and headed toward the
bathroom.
Original
Cindy waited a moment, then began again.� “Things
are bad out here, boo.� You ain’t missin‘
any fun days.� Normal is beyond weird with the transgenics
comin‘ and goin‘
at work.� People here…they ain’t…it’s
like they just waitin‘ for the siege to end
so they can get in there and ethnically cleanse all your asses.”
Max
turned to look at her.� “It’s that bad?”
“Much
worse than when you all went in there.� It’s like folks just been stewin‘
and waitin‘ for their turn to go after you
all.� In some ways, the police are your best friends, holdin‘
‘em all back.� Seems like it’s
turn of the century again, havin‘ to fear
for lovin‘ who I do…”
Max
got up and walked over to the refrigerator.� She got the milk out and
poured herself a glass.
“Where’s
Logan tonight?� You leave him to hang on his
own?”
“We
do have our own lives, you know,” Max said.� “Can’t
expect him to spend every moment tending to my needs.”
“Needs?� You got somethin‘ you need to tell Original
Cindy?”
Max
smiled, taking her glass of milk and going to sit back down on the couch.�
“Well…yeah…we…”
“You
kicked it, didn’t you?� You have got to tell Original Cindy all!”
Max
smiled, blushing slightly.� “It’s…it’s nice.”
“Nice?”
“It’s
great…it’s…I’ve never felt like that before.”
“Oh,
sugah,” Original Cindy cried as she pulled
Max into a tight hug.� She held on for a moment, then
released her.� “So what’s got you so down you ran away from him?�
Cause I don’t buy you needin‘
a night away.”
“I
just…I just reached my limit with them.� Mole is questioning me, undercutting
me at every turn.� I can’t stand it any more.� I…I told him if he
wanted so badly to be in charge, then he could…and then I left.”
“Sounds
like you need a manicure and a good night’s sleep, boo.� You sleep on
it and then we’ll see if it doesn’t look better in the morning.”
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Seattle � 7:00 AM
Early
the next morning, Alec and Logan stood just inside the iron fence, hats
pulled down to their eyebrows, old flannel shirts covering the clothes
they had worn out of Terminal City the day before.� Both had dark circles
under their eyes.� Alec yawned repeatedly.� Logan massaged the bridge
of his nose under his glasses.
“Okay,
Metro Medical, bar, your apartment…safe house?” Alec asked.
“Some
of that sounds familiar…” Logan answered.
“Was
there a guy named Pinot involved?”
“Could
be,” Logan answered as the nun they had met the previous day opened
the back door of the rectory.
“The
donations are in here,” she called to them.
Father
Destry himself was there to help, and the
loading went quickly. “Well, that’s the last of it,” he said
as he walked down the steps of the church with the final box filled
with canned goods.
“Thanks
again, Father.� Everyone in Terminal City has really appreciated your efforts
here,” Logan said as he took the box from the priest.� “And
thanks for getting us out of this jam.”
“And
what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?” the priest replied.
“Micah…Chapter six?” Logan asked.
“It’s
a good model to follow, Logan.� ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it
to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it
to me’.”
Alec
stared at the priest.� “Members of what family?”
“You�re
all members of God’s family, Alec.� Don’t ever forget that.� Please,
let me know if there�s anything else I can do for you. And say hello
to Max for me.”� The priest shook their hands and left.
Alec
and Logan carried the last two boxes to the church gate, where a battered
old van was parked.� “Dove Ministries” was written on the
side of the van in flowing letters above a picture of a soaring dove
and the words, “Come to me, all ye who hunger.”� Asha
sat in the passenger seat of the van, next to an older woman in plain
gray clothing and a large wooden crucifix around her neck.
“Pretty
cool of the Father to hook us up with the soup kitchen that just happens
to give out free food every Friday at the back door of Terminal City,”
Alec said, setting the box inside the van with a thump.
“That’s
for sure,” returned Logan, closing the van door.� “Ready?”�
“Hey,
do you, uh, think I could meet you guys in fifteen minutes or so?”
Alec asked.� “I have a couple of things out here that I need to
finish up.� No big deal.� I’ll be right behind you.”
Logan flashed back to the night before, and the
small gun in Alec’s bag.
“Actually,
no, I think you should come with me,” Logan said quickly.� “Safety
in numbers.� Or is it something I could help you with?”
Alec
sighed.� “Yeah, probably, but you can’t go all sanctimonious on
me.� Especially now that I know you’re some kind of Biblical scholar…”
“I
remember what I read,” Logan replied, slightly annoyed.� “What’s
the errand?”
Alec
shifted from one foot to another, looking anywhere but at Logan.� “I
saw a nice little cycle downtown yesterday…I thought I might go see
if I could ‘borrow’ it for a little while. If I’m going back to Terminal City, I’m going to need to ride once in
a while.”� He looked defensively at Logan, as if expecting a lecture.
Logan paused, then laughed.� “I think the need for speed must have been
genetically coded in you X5s.� Look, it’d be a lot easier if you picked
up the bike and put it in the van.� When we get to Terminal City, we’ll figure out how to get it inside.�
Okay?” Logan asked.
“Agreed,”
Alec answered, heading down the street
Logan climbed in the van.� Asha
twisted around in the passenger seat to look inquiringly at him.� “Everything
okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,”
said Logan, watching Alec turn the corner and disappear.� “He’ll
catch up with us.”
“You sure?” Asha asked.
“Not
entirely,” Logan admitted as the van pulled away from the curb.
Max and Original Cindy’s Apartment � 7:15 AM
Max
poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down
on a stool at the kitchen counter.� She looked up as Original Cindy
walked into the room, pulling her robe closed around her.
“Hey,
again, I’m sorry for crashing your date,” Max apologized.
“Not
a big deal, girl,” Original Cindy answered.� “You needed out
of that place, and no matter what, this is always your home.”
Max
sighed.� “I’d love to stay…that nasty place is never gonna
feel like home to me.”
Original
Cindy walked over and slipped her arm around Max.� “But you know
you have to go back, don’t you?� Original Cindy knows it’s hard, but
given the givens, you’re all they’ve got.� They need you, boo.� And
Mole ain’t ever going to make it as a leader of that ragtag army.”
Max
set down her coffee cup.� “Yeah, I know, but it’s not what I expected.”
“Life
rarely is.”
“Hey,”
Ginger said as she walked out of the bedroom.� “You’re dressed…just
give me a minute.”
“No,
you stay, Ginger,” Max replied.� “I’ve got some unfinished
business with Mole, but you stay here, let Original Cindy pamper you
a bit.� I’ve got…I’ve got work to do…”
Max
slipped off the stool and turned to hug her roommate.� “Thanks,
boo.� You take care.� Someday we’re going to get back to normal � and
I�m not referring to our slave-driver boss either!�
“Word,”
Original Cindy agreed.� “Besides, who’s going to deal with those
drunken sailor boys if you ain’t there?�
Max
laughed.� “Yeah, that’s going to be worth the trip back.� Have
fun today, and I don’t want to see you back before lunch tomorrow, Ginger.”�
With that, Max pulled open the door and headed back to Terminal City.
END
OF ACT III
>>
ACT
IV
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