Wake Me Up When September Ends -- Chapter 2

[parallax23]

Chapter 2:  Timing is Everything

May 2021 

The drive out of Seattle had been surprisingly quiet, not in a serene way, but one of restless awkwardness.  The city lockdown had finally been lifted and things were still tense.  No one could go back to the ignorance of transgenics, but they had interrupted their lives enough over it.  Slowly, there was an uneasy crawl back into daily activity from the days before they knew, but now with more suspicion in their steps than they ever thought possible even in these times.  For those who knew better, there was always calm before a storm.

Asha hadn’t said much since they cleared the checkpoint that afternoon.  She and Logan were posing as a couple going on a weekend retreat to his family’s cabin.  Her presence was used to explain away the extra bags in the backseat which actually contained supplies for Terminal City.  They were doing a good thing.  Then why did they both feel so lousy?

Leaning against the front of Bessie, Logan stared up at the starry night sky and wondered if things would get worse before they got better.  Not just for the transgenics, but him and Max.  There was so much distance between them now that was more than physical.  Lies and fairy tales of happily ever after had been the downfall of his first marriage.  He was good at overlooking the chinked armor, crumbling castles and the princesses that didn’t want to be saved.  There was an old saying about those who failed to learn from the past – that they were doomed to repeat it.

He let out a sigh and shifted his feet anxiously.  He had been told he could never walk again, and he had proved them wrong.  The past had also taught him that nothing was impossible.

It was a beautiful night – warm, cloudless, and serene.  It was exactly the kind of night outdoors Asha imagined sharing with Logan, if she was honest with herself.  The circumstances weren’t the kind she was hoping for though.  He was pining away for another woman and completely oblivious to her standing right there next to him.  She stole a glance of him staring off into the distance, beyond the road and the trees, and it almost seemed as if he was looking right at Max.

“When was the last time you spoke to her?” Asha asked quietly.

Her voice was like a splash of cold water, bringing him back into the present time and place.  He paused and looked down at his shoes.  “Two days ago.”

“Must be hard… The whole world threatening to close in on them… I can’t imagine how difficult this is for her,” Asha told him.  “For any of them.”

Logan looked up at her.  His eyes were still full of longing and a touch of lifelessness.  The only time she had seen him like this was when Max had been at Manticore.  “No.  It’s not.  You’ve got to love the irony.  Sandeman made them to protect humanity and all people want to do is destroy them.”

All Asha could do was nod thoughtfully.  It had been a lot to process when Logan told her about Ames White and his breeding cult loonies.  Then again, it shouldn’t have been that surprising since Asha’s life had turned into The X-Files since Max’s return. 

She had left out the breeding cult aspect when she appealed to the other members of the S1W to help smuggle supplies to the transgenics, to Max and Alec who had saved them from a life of incarceration.  The breeding cult was just too much to deal with on top of everything else.  Even some days she had a hard time with it.  Maybe she would clue them in later if they really needed to know, but for now helping renegade government experiments loose in Seattle was enough.  Asking them to save the entire world?  She didn’t look forward to that conversation.  Asha wasn’t surprised that none of the developments seemed to bother Logan.  It was just another thing that made all other mortal women pale in comparison to Max.

Logan sighed and pulled out the cell phone from his pocket to check the time.  “Guess it’s taking longer to get here than we thought.”

“How long do you think this’ll go on?” inquired Asha, crossing her arms in front of her chest.  She wanted to reach out and tell him that sometimes taking up a cause greater than oneself meant giving up everything.  But she had a feeling that he already knew that.

He didn’t look at her.  He turned his gaze toward the half-built concrete structure that was supposed to be a train station someday before it had become too costly and fallen to the wayside of memory.  Suddenly, the steel door gave a shudder that Logan almost missed due to the old blinking floodlights still attached to the building.  Before Logan or Asha could move closer to investigate, a loud sound erupted and the door flew open to reveal Luke covering his ears and Alec snatching a handgun from another tall X5 male with shaggy brown hair and a big blue-green eyes.

“What the hell was that?” demanded Alec, smacking the other man across the back of the head.  “Why not send up a flare to the state troopers while you’re at it?”

The other X5 gave him a sideways glance.  “You’re only pissed because you didn’t get to do it.”

Alec shrugged, and then turned his attention to Logan and Asha.  “Fine evening for indoor fire practice?”

“Hey Logan!” said Luke with a warm smile and a small hand wave.  He didn’t move closer to Asha, whose eyes had revealed her surprise at his appearance before pushing the thought aside. 

She could tell he had seen her shock, but she gave him a reassuring smile as she approached him and offered her hand to shake.  “Hi, I’m Asha.  You must be Luke.  Logan’s told me so much about you.”

Not to be ignored, the handsome X5 stepped between them and took Asha’s hand before Luke could, then planted a kiss on it.  “I’m Nico.  And I must say that none of Alec’s stories do justice to you.  He neglected to mention that you were a unique creature unlike any other.”

Asha and the others rolled their eyes.  She pulled her hand back quickly.  “You know that Alec already used that line on half the women in Seattle?”

“Tough crowd,” Nico muttered and stepped away from her.

“How was the tunnel?” Logan asked, hoping to get back to business.

Alec shrugged.  “Dark, dank, rat-infested…  It was like we didn’t even leave Terminal City.”

“We’ll have to set up some lights to show the way, but it’s good to go,” Luke added.  “We got turned around a few times.”

“Hey, those were strategic detours,” Alec said defensively.

Nico laughed.  “Whatever you say, Marco Polo.”

“Anyway, do you have those supplies, or will I have to jack a convenience store?” Alec quipped as he playfully showed off the gun in his hand, but no one found it amusing.

“They’re in the car, sorry to spoil your fun,” Logan told him, opening the car door and trunk.

“Thanks,” Alec said, putting the gun in a box and then taking it out of the trunk.  “We owe you big time.”

Logan shrugged and smiled.  “Think nothing of it.  It’s nice to know we’re making the world a better place, one box of band-aids at a time.”

“How’s it looking out there for us?  White’s been too quiet, and there haven’t been as many people on TV praying for god to wipe us off the planet,” Alec said.

“The media is trying to downplay it, but word has gotten out about the regenerative abilities of transgenic blood.  If you thought it was bad when you were abominations, wait until you’re the walking messiahs,” Logan told him.

Alec grimaced.  “Great, then we’ll be even more screwed.  So, this is going to get worse before it gets better?”

“Sounds about right,” Luke chimed in.

“Anything else?” asked Alec.

Logan almost lost his nerve, but drew in a deep breath.  “Yeah.  Tell Max that I can come by next Saturday for dinner.”

Alec gave him a small nod.  “I’ll let Josh know to set another place.”

“You know Asha, I have this great soup recipe—”  Nico began.

“It’s hot water and Top Ramen, but he puts an extra bouillon cube that makes it taste sort of like there might be chicken in it,” Luke informed her.

Asha laughed while Nico shot a dirty look at the transhuman.

I’m starting to think that I should’ve brought Dalton along… He’s probably got better skills with the ladies, Alec thought ruefully and grinned.  Then he looked at Asha and Logan, and could tell this wasn’t exactly a picnic for them either.  They could have just walked away, but they didn’t.  “Well, we better get going.  We won’t forget this… Transgenic memory and all that.”

“Hey, what are friends for if not to help you undermine the federal government and provide you with free Doritos while doing it?” Logan asked.

The transgenics’ faces lit up with delight at the thought of more junk food.  Asha couldn’t help smiling too, and wondered how anyone could truly hate them for merely existing.  Was that how White and his breeding cult felt about humans?  Irony always did run deep in the world.

_________________________________________________________

Where is she? 

Ames White sat anxiously in his car.  He hated waiting.  Patience was hardly a virtue he bragged about.

He looked at his cell phone for what must have been the hundredth time that night.  No calls.  They were going to make him sweat it out.

The failure of the Phalanx was the last straw with the Conclave, even though that wasn’t his fault.  He had told them not to underestimate her.  The entire thing had been disgraceful, especially after almost having been killed by some creature his father had cooked up in a Petri dish.  Over two millennia of selective breeding had been bested by less than half a century’s worth of gene splicing.  Technically, Sandeman was a mad genius thanks to his Familiar breeding, and as the creator of the transgenics it just proved that selective breeding was the true winner in the end.  Somehow Ames had a feeling that the Conclave wouldn’t see it that way.

They hadn’t contacted Ames after collecting the Phalanx.  It had been both a blessing and a curse.  He had only been berated by those inferior human government fat cats for mishandling the situation, but in the end they let him keep his job since no one else seemed keen on taking it.  That didn’t really matter as much as it should have to him though. 

Waiting to hear from the Conclave had been the excruciating part.  He had failed them.  He had failed to clean up his father’s mistakes.  What would they do with him?

Then that morning he received a phone call from Helen, who instructed him to meet her at Pier 17.  He had met her many times before, so she could tell him the Conclave’s will.  She had also been his teacher at the academy in his younger days, if he was going to be sentimental about it.  This wasn’t like being called into the principal’s office to hear that his father had broken tradition, broken the laws of their people and become a traitor to their cause by working to create a way to survive the test without merit.  This was about him.  Helen would let him know if the Conclave would be replacing him or even worse, casting him off and issuing a warrant for his death like they did to his father.  Damn 452 for ruining everything yet again.

A pair of headlights cut through his thoughts.  He quietly watched the car park alongside his own, and when the engine was cut off he exited his vehicle.  Helen emerged from the driver’s seat.  She had come alone.

Though it was late spring, there was a chilly breeze rolling in with the tide at night.

“Fe’nos tol,” Ames said as confidently as he could, masking his unease with a sober expression.

“Fe’nos tol,” she replied in a toneless voice.  “Brother White, I think it goes unsaid that the Conclave is not pleased with the current situation.”

White’s face remained expressionless.  “Understood.”

“However, the Conclave believes that the situation can be worked to our advantage.  As long as she’s stuck in that rat hole, she’s useless to the humans.  You will keep your current position.  Since the situation requires more observation, it isn’t wise to start moving too many pieces around.  We are so close to the commencement the Coming, nothing will stop it.  Once all the humans are gone, we can take care of the transgenics personally,” Helen explained.

“Got to love the irony,” White said with an evil smile.   “Sandeman created the transgenics to protect mankind and all they want to do is kill the freaks.  If we weren’t worried about exposure, we could have gotten rid of them ourselves.”

Helen didn’t react.  “The Conclave is only letting you retain your position because the time is drawing near.  However, you will be working with Thula and the Phalanx to contain the transgenic threat.  Brother McKinley has been put in charge of this situation, but if things go awry—”

“I understand,” Ames said roughly.

She simply nodded.  “The Conclave will not tolerate another failure.  It’s starting to look suspicious.  First, you did not wish to kill your wife after your son was born.  Next, you lost your son to 452.  Then there were your successive failures at keeping her in your custody… Your family’s history isn’t working in your favor either.”

White sneered.  “Are you questioning my loyalty?”

“I’m not, but others are.  Some are saying that perhaps the apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” Helen replied.  “I suggest you follow orders carefully unless you want to end up sharing a cell with CJ.  The Conclave will keep in touch.”

Ames White stood there silently and watched her get back into her car.  As she drove off into the night, he felt the frustration swell inside of him.  Once she was out of sight, he turned to his car, ready to explode with anger.

How dare they question him?  How dare they compare him to that old fool and accuse him of working with Sandeman?  The memory of Ray also tore at him.  Family had been his ultimate downfall.

His fury built to a point that it had to be release before he exploded.  He needed to lash out at something.  Suddenly, he felt his foot colliding with his car, that stupid government issued nitwit mobile.  He kicked it again.  And again. 

Physical pain was an illusion of the mind.  Emotional pain?  It was haunting, lingering, resounding.  It was the mind crying out in pain.  Suddenly, Ames White knew exactly how to he would make 452 suffer for what she had done.  All he had to do was bide his time.