Maximum Ride Fan Fiction / Maximum Ride Fan Fiction ❯ If I Asked You To, Would You Kill Me? ❯ An Issue of Trust ( Chapter 19 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Irene Sharda
Derringer learns that he must place some trust in his new family, just as they have learned to trust him. Meanwhile, Ari is starting to close in on his prey...

Non Anime: Maximum Ride Fan Fiction / Maximum Ride Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Sci-fi / Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.23.2008 | Updated On: 05.23.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.4K | Visits: 198 | Status: Work In Progress

Chapter 19
“Wait! So you're telling me that this compound, Delta 6, is directly beneath us?!” Max looked at him incredulously.
Derrin flashed his amber cat-eyes daringly at her as he bit into his third hamburger. “That's right, chére. About 20 feet below your shoes.”
Nudge bit into her own hamburger. “How do people breathe down there? Does the air go through the rocks and dirt and stuff? They must get really stuffy in there. Or maybe they have really good air-conditioning? But then it would be like a freezer down there. I wonder—”
“No worry Nudge, because there's no people down there. The place is entirely automated. It's like a giant computer mainframe and has only one external output station. This is used by any workman who is sent to do a diagnostic check on the place, fix any loose screws, that sort of thing. However, with the right computer expertise you can access a wealth of info about Itex, the government involvement, the whole shebang. All of the other locations connect to this place. If we hack into it, we can know what they know. “Derringer explained.
“Where are we exactly?” Iggy asked, having finished eating and listening to the rain pouring outside their cave.
Derrin undid the band in his hair and let it down, trying to get it to get it to dry. It cascaded across his shoulders and down his back, in wet tangled scarlet locks. “We're in a little middle-of-nowhere place in northern part of Montana, close to the US border.
After he and Derringer had found Gasman and Nudge, their new big brother showed them to a cave where they could stay the night. The storm soon broke right after they started the fire, a true thunderstorm that blew raging winds, thunder, and lightning. Rain was coming down in sheets and the cold began to set in. Derringer had been concerned about Max and Angel, but Iggy assured him that they were on their way back, and would be here soon. Still, Derringer went out in the storm to the shore in order to flag them down. The three returned minutes later, just as Ig had predicted. Unfortunately, they had returned water-logged and freezing. Derrin didn't mind his wet pants and just removed his soaked t-shirt and put on his leather jacket. Iggy and Gazzy took off their own shirts and gave them to Max and Angel, who changed in the back of the cave. The shirts fit almost like dresses on them, so they laid their pants and shirts near Derrin clothes, close to the fire.
It turned out that the two had found a little tiny town about 15 miles away. There was a small diner there, who had freshly thrown away a bunch of overdone and partially eaten food. The flock didn't mind, and just tore off the parts that were bitten or too burnt.
As they sat near the fire eating, Derrin began explaining this place that they would soon be dealing with.
“The security in this place is top notch, one of the best mechanized security systems in the world, so we'll have to split. Some of us will have to fight off the machines, while the others get the information from the computer. Now which of you are really good with computers?”
Everyone who had been looking at him, turned and looked at Nudge. The girl smiled and waved, her brown eyes twinkling. “That's me!”
Derrin smiled back at her, “Well, at least that's one of us. Angel, you and Total are to flank Nudge at all times, you're going to be our last line of defense. Gasman, you'll be their immediate cover, you keep close to them and make sure they aren't hurt by any stray danger. Max, Iggy, and I will be the outer line of defense and do most of the fighting. If anything happens and everything heads south, we'll meet up back here. Got it?”
Max crossed her arms, “I have a question. How do we get in there, if it's 20 feet below the surface?”
He smiled slyly, “Now, that's the easy part.”
He handed her his jacket, and walked right out into the rain.
The rest of the flock looked at him like he was absurd, as he ran to a tall pine next to the shore where they landed. Running his hands over the trunk, he commenced in hitting several of the various knobs on the bark in a particular sequence.
Suddenly, they felt a shudder going on beneath them. It was like the whole ground was quaking!
Angel held on to Total, “W-What's that?” she asked in fear.
The dog licked her face lightly, “It's okay, darling. Derringer knows what he's doing…I think.”
Iggy put his fingers to the ground, and using his newfound power, was able to see everything that the others did. However, he too didn't understand it. What has happening out there?
The sand near the particular tree shifted, and out of the ground arose a box-shaped building with double doors, like that of a large shed or barn, but made of metal and shining steel!
After the building had arisen about a head higher then Derrin himself, it stopped, as did the earth quaking as well. The rain pitter-patted on the cold metal of the building's sides, as the two double-doors shifted open.
As soon as it had stopped moving, the redhead rejoined the group of openmouthed winged wonders. He looked at them with mock confusion, “What? You asked me how you get down there.”
They still looked up at him with incredulity. Iggy gave him a questioning grin, “How did you know to do all that?”
He hunched his shoulders, “Been here before.”
“How? I mean how do you know about all of this? Delta 6, the security system, all that? Have you worked here in the past or something?”
“No”
“Then how—?”
Derrin shook his head, an edge of impatience on his voice. “No, I've never worked for Itex. I just know, and that's all you need to be aware of.”
Iggy closed his mouth, and backed off as if struck. The tension was getting stronger and Max felt it was time to change the subject.
She gestured towards the door. “So, you're telling me we just stroll on in there, and take whatever information we need from the computer?”
Derringer shook the water from his body in an animalistic fashion. “Yeah, pretty much. Except once you pass the doorway, the scanners will know we're not authorized and start shooting up the place with automatic laser canons. An alarm will also be triggered that will cause the entrance to close and trap us down there until security from the company, probably Erasers, comes to investigate. This means that we have less than ten minutes to get in, get the info, and get out.”
Max nodded in affirmation, “Alright, let Angel and I get our clothes back on. We'll be ready in a few minutes.”
Derringer had to do a double-take, “You don't mean we're doing it tonight? Max, everyone is tired, we should wait until tomorrow.”
She shook her head, “Fang can't wait. It's already been almost two weeks since he was captured. We need to pickup the pace, and if that means we lose a couple hours of sleep, than so be it.”
He put his hand on her shoulder, “Max, I know we have to find him, but my instincts tell me we shouldn't do it now. I have a feeling about this night, tonight is a star-crossed night. If we do this, something's going to happen, something for the worst, I know it.”
She shifted from under his touch and flashed her determined eyes at him. “Well, my gut feeling is telling me to do it now, and that is my decision as leader, unless you wish to challenge me on that too?”
Derringer could tell she was stubborn on her decision, and wouldn't be moved for anything he had to say. He just hoped that his sixth sense was wrong and that everything would go smoothly. “It's your call, chére. I'll go along with it, but I'll let you know now—I don't like it.”
She nodded at his statement then turned to the rest of waiting flock. “Nudge, you help Angel out. Gasman, you and Total pack up our stuff. Iggy, you—where is he?” she looked around to find the boy missing.
Angel pointed to the entrance, “He went outside, while you were talking.”
She shrugged, “Oh well, I was going to tell him to leave out anyway. And you can join him, Cajun…”
She looked to see that the man was nowhere in sight. Angel pointed to the door once again.
Max waved her hands in the air in exasperation, “I give up!”
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Iggy sat outside in the rain, feeling the raindrops slide down his bare skin. He felt a hand on his shoulder, as someone sat down beside him.
“You're going to catch a cold like this.”
He hunched his shoulders in indifference. “What about you Derringer? You've been out thrice, and you don't seem to mind.”
He sighed, “Look, I'm sorry I was rough with you before. I…”
The blind boy turned from him, “Just go.”
The Cajun noticed the especially bitter tone in the boy's voice. “What's up frére? Something wrong?”
The fifteen-year old turned and looked at him, his clouded eyes flashing in anger. “Wrong? Something wrong? Derringer, we've made you a part of this family. We've put our trust in you. Yet, you don't give any in return!”
He felt Derrin recoil slightly at his livid words, but continued anyway. “I put my hopes and dreams in your hands when you were helping me. I opened up to you, things I haven't even told my own family! Yet, it seems that I know less about you now, than I did before! There are too many coincidences and unanswered questions that you haven't even tried to answer! You blow them off with your charm and debonair; that might work on Max, but not on me. How do you know all these things? How did you come to have superhuman powers? How did you know about this place, or about the code to use with the tree? How did you know about the School, the Institute, Erasers, or what's been done to us? Don't you know that our past hurts? My past hurts a whole lot, and to have someone to understand at least a little bit, is a little scary, but also a relief. But you've never opened yourself up to me, like I have to you. You're carrying a huge load on your back. I can tell. Let me help you, like you helped me. You say this so often, but I've never asked you this question until now…Don't you trust me?”
The rain continued to drip-drop on the ground, hitting hollowly on the leaves of the trees and making converging ripples in the rough water. The two sat in silence as Iggy waited for an answer. The water ran down his face and his tense features, as he sat still, his emotions on the edge. He watched Derrin's countenance with his mind. It seemed that a dark cloud had come over the man's features, one that had nothing to do with the cold rain and winds.
As the period of silence slinked on, Iggy began to have second thoughts. Maybe, he should have been easier on him. The man was now his brother, he did deserve some privacy. However, before he had a chance to apologize, Derringer broke the silence himself…
His voice answered heavily, with an air of grief and anger. “Did you ever think that it would hurt me? That I have been through things that might even make you squeamish? You can't fully understand me Iggy, since you've had the flock all this time. I've had no one, a loner not by choice, forced to recluse myself from a humanity I'd been taught to shun, yet trained to encompass and assimilate myself within. It's hard for me to just “open up”—I've built too many walls up around myself, locked and padlocked the doors to my heart. I can be there for you, but I don't think it can go both ways.”
Iggy smiled in sympathy, “You can't seem to get it.”
Derrin looked up at him with shadowed eyes. “Get what?”
Ig held out his hand, offering to help him up. “That you aren't alone anymore. That no matter how many walls you put up, no matter what your mind keeps telling you. We will be here for you. We are your family now, and its okay to let us in, if only a little. It was wrong of me to try to pressure you; I'm sure that in time you will tell us of your own accord.”
Derringer pushed the wet red hair from his face, and looked up at him with bewildered eyes. He saw the hand reaching out to him, and was again reminded of how much the young teen had developed in his powers. How he had put his trust in him to lead him out of the darkness of his disability even without having any reassurances whatsoever.
The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, the rain drizzling over his lips. He thought he understood so well. Yet, maybe…he was just beginning to.
Iggy looked at his big brother, as the man grabbed his hand firmly. However, when their skin touched, he was suddenly hit by a singular distinct image as clear as day. It was the path to an old, worn down house. One, old-fashioned in nature, but sturdy, and it was hidden by a forest of pine trees. It was so sudden and fresh in his mind-vision, that he let go and took a step back in fear.
The image disappeared and he could “see” Derringer once more. He at first looked worried, but then grinned in sympathy and put his hand on his shoulder. This time, there were no sudden interferences and images. “You okay?”
He breathed a small sigh, trying to bring logic into what he'd just seen. “Yeah…I'm fine. I just thought I saw…something.”
Derrin raised an eyebrow, “Something…or somewhere?”
He looked up at him incredulously, “What did you do now? Is this another new ability or something?”
“Not really, it's just that if a person thinks on an image so intently that it consumes their vision, when you use your touch ability, you see it as well. The image you saw is the place where I stayed there last time I was out here. It isn't much, but it's a good shelter and was well away from the immediate area here, as well as from any civilization that would bother it. It's a Civil War Era house that's been abandoned for who knows how long, probably once used on the underground railway. It's across the US border and in a forest in the Canadian province of Alberta. It's about 120 miles away, but it's only about six minutes of a brisk run or a fast flight.”
He clasped Iggy's hand tightly. “Ig, I have a bad feeling about this, so I thought of this place as an extra precaution. Know you know the way there, so if anything happens to me or Max—”
The boy let go and stepped back as if stung. “What? N-No, I-I-I can't. I don't know how to lead. Nothing's going to happen, I—”
The man grabbed his shoulders and shook him soundly. “Iggy! Snap out of it! You'll be okay! I KNOW you can do it! I know it. You just have to know it. You have to be prepared with the fact, that there may come a point in time that I won't be there. Max won't be there. The little ones are going to look to you, and you have to be prepared to take that role, no matter what you may feel.”
Iggy trembled slightly, but not because of the ice cold rain that continued to drench him. “But…I'm not strong like you. How can I…?”
“Iggy, you taught me a lesson today.”
The fifteen year-old looked up at him. “What?”
Derringer smiled lightly, “You reminded me, that sometimes you have run for it; you can't always hide. You have to face things head on, rather than hide it behind a smoke screen.”
He got down on one knee, making himself appear shorter and more vulnerable than his sightless little brother. “I promise you. When this operation is over, I'll tell you everything, holding nothing back. But you stay strong for me, okay? Is that alright with you?”
The teen wiped the rainwater from his face and took the guy's hand to help him up. “You have a deal.”
Shaking hands once on it, they were on their way to head back inside, when they ran into Max, fully dressed, coming out followed by the other three kids and dog. She put her hands on her hips in impatience. “I was just about to go get you two. Come on, we're ready. Let's move out.”
She handed both Derrin and Iggy their shirts, though it made little difference since everyone was soaked.
Derrin took it and slipped it onto his shoulders. “After you, chére.”
She smiled at him consciously and took the head. She understood Derrin's need for caution, but Fang needed them. They had taken too long already. The flock would be fine, there was no need to worry.
As Iggy took her left flank and Gazzy, her right, Nudge, Angel and Total were behind her, and Derringer took the rear.
The group proceeded in that formation, into the deep dark depths of Delta 6…
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Jeb sat in his office alone, waiting for the phone to ring. He needed some kind of word from Sephiroth and his task force group!
Fang had been gone too long to have gone without a new supply of plasma. If he didn't get blood in three days, he would die. However, it had been almost a week since his escape. He was either dead, laying in some ditch somewhere…or he had found some hapless passerby and renewed his food supply.
However, even if that's true…that bullet in his chest will kill him eventually if flies too far. Oh, why must the boy always be so stubborn! He's putting my projects on the line by deciding he want to go off and risk death. Now what good is he going to be dead?! Well…at least we could examine him better then ever on an autopsy table. But I wanted to at least see him live his life out, the ultimate trial experiment…
RINGGG!
His hand flew to the phone faster than lightening. “Batchelder”
“Sir, this is Lisle.”
He sighed, “I'm waiting for a call here. What is it?”
“Well sir, just reporting in that there has been no word or sightings of the subject in the media.”
Jeb thought on that, “So, he's not dead yet and he hasn't killed anyone…Has there been any reports of anyone matching him in any of the hospitals? Blood transfusions, that sort of thing?”
Lisle was quick to answer, “Nothing so far, sir. And we've been working on Virgo, but she won't tell us anything. Are you sure she didn't just get ambushed? The tapes—”
“I don't care about the tapes, but I know Fang. He's good, but not that good. He had help. Keep pressing her, and if necessary give her to the Erasers.”
“But sir—”
“Is there anything else?”
“No, but—”
He hung up unceremoniously, and then dialed another number. The line only rang once before the voice at the end of it picked up. “Sir?”
“Sephiroth, first are there any new developments?”
The silvery-white haired alpha male Eraser responded solemnly. “We traced him all the way to the border of Arizona. He tried to fly a ways but eve the breeze caught his scent. We've been scrambling our forces to scour the area and making our way through the state. So far he's been taking a straight path, so we aught to catch up to him soon.”
Jeb sat back in his chair and read over his notes, “Well step up the search. I think Fang might be hiding out with someone, specifically someone with medical knowledge and practices at home. I've been looking at his test scans, and I can tell his mind is not balanced. It seems as something is emerging from it; almost like there is a war within it. I need you to find him fast, before something happens and we have a big cover-up operation that would turn into a big mess.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Call me about any developments. I have to go check on Aki's team.”
“Yes sir, and Aki might actually succeed this time, saying he has my Viper with him.”
Jeb nodded in agreement. “She's a handful. After she finishes with her mission with Aki, maybe I'll send Viper out there to aid you.”
He actually heard a slight laugh in response. “She would be welcome sir, but I'll have things wrapped up by then.”
“Well, let's hope so. And give me a daily report, would you? I'm tired of having no word from you for days.”
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."
"Whatever, just get it done."
Jeb hung up the phone, letting the Eraser get back to his work. He never did understand what they thought they were doing when they created Viper. The woman was a born psychopath, plain and simple. He didn't know how Sephiroth could stand her, let alone love her. But the two were a known pair, even among all the doctors and personnel. He guessed it was the old “opposites attract” factor at work once again.
RINGG!
He picked up once again, “Batchelder.”
“Hello, Father.”
Well, speak of the devil….
“Yes Ari, did you get my message?”
“Yes, we have been on the look out for him, but I doubt he'll find his flock so fast. They're not even in the area. And I think—they've already found a replacement.”
Batchelder sat up at that. “What?”
“Oh, nothing…the little bird-children have just taken in a new member, that's all. Listen, I'm going to have to call you back and tell you all about it in my report. We're about to…move out.”
Jeb sighed, “Just remember my rule Ari, and don't make a mess that I'll have to clean up.”
“Whatever you say, father. I remember.”
The line suddenly sounded a click then went dead. He hung up as well, shaking his head.
Sometimes I worry about that boy. Maybe it's about time I tell him about Anne, if he doesn't already know that is. Well, Max has adopted another into her flock…that's something I didn't see coming. I wonder who it is, and why? Is she starting to trust again? So soon? I wonder how Fang will take it. I won't tell him right away, it might upset his already unbalanced mind. However, the first thing to do, is to find the little winged vagrant, before he does something he comes to regret…