Alex flexed her cramped hands. She had spent hours twitching her fingers at Ellie's flickerboard and now she followed her down the hall towards the cafeteria for dinner. Humans stared as she walked by. The two guards following her kept their distance. Ellie just smiled cheerfully, greeting the people that passed as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Alex's forced smile felt more like a grimace, but she held it, trying to look non-threatening as they walked.Ellie pushed open the metal fireproof door. She smiled and invited Alex in. The room was packed with people, which was expected at dinner time. Their chattering quieted a little as she appeared, but after only a few moments the volume surged upward. Alex was not comforted knowing she was the new topic of conversation. Jack stood up amongst the crowd and waved his arms over his head. He didn't really need to wave so much, he wasn't hard to miss since he was so tall and hairy. Even more so now Jack reminded her of those pictures of
Ellie smiled and bumped shoulders with her. "I've never seen him smile so much."Alex shook her head. "Nah, it's probably just the beer.""Nope, nope. I've known that man a very long time and he can hold his liquor. It's definitely you.""What about Brooke? Didn't she make him happy?"Ellie choked on her sip of beer and spit it back into her glass. "How do you know about that?""You can see it in their faces when they're around each other. And he told me just a little when we were out on the road. How long were they together?""It's kind of hard to say. They dated for a while before he was taken, then a little bit after he came back. He just broke up with her before he left on this trip. So kind of off and on for the last six years."Alex remembered their conversation about the girl he wanted to marry. She still wasn't over him. And now Alex was in the way. She wasn't trying to be, but Jack kept fawning over her and that had to cut Brooke pretty deep."Hey Ellie, you're a scien
Alex rubbed the sleeping sand out of her eyes. Her head throbbed as if it had been struck by a train. She flapped her arms out with a sigh. Last night was blurred, but not forgotten. She drank a little too much. No. She had been given too much to drink and then interrogated. She felt bad for yelling at Jack, but at least she had not given up her secrets. How could he even try that? That wasn't a way to earn someone's trust.The red numbers of the digital clock read "15:23". She'd been asleep all day. Alex stretched her cramped muscles, feeling lazy, but it felt nice to have some down time. Her next step would be to figure out how to use her new contacts to help find Lexi. There were no leads right now, but maybe they could help, if they weren't too busy interrogating her. Her body ached, but it felt as if it was getting better. Alex rolled up carefully, letting herself fall off the bed on to her feet. She showered and dressed, but took her time since she wasn't sure what to do next.
Jack had a feeling deep down in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't indigestion or a hangover. It was fear. Fear of what? He was just here flicking up his report on Alex on the flickerboard. Wait, Alex? The Link pulled, it called to him. The fear grew. A flash of a grinning man, one of Jimmy's brutes, popped into his head. He didn't take time to think anymore, he only acted.He jumped from the chair and dashed through Operations almost mowing over three people in the process, sending papers flying and shrieks of dismay in his path. He darted down the hall, past slow walking humans, and around a series of corners, letting the Link reel him in.Jack slid around the corner. Two men lay sprawled out on the floor, one cradling his wrist, and the other his balls. Two more men had been knocked askew and were on their knees in the process of getting back up. He recognized two as the guards posted outside her door. Jack saw Alex over the shoulder of a man holding a knife.?He could feel her fear
The humans in Operations watched Alex as the party came through the doors. Jack was in front of her, but their eyes drilled through him, almost painfully. She dropped her own eyes as if she was a bad child come to receive punishment. They marched straight through Operations and into a conference room on the other side.Janice waited for them, her arms crossed over her bosom. She leaned back in her chair and gazed over her charges. Jack filed in, then Alex, and finally Jimmy. The rest of the guards stayed outside with the door closed. Alex held the sleeve of her shirt over the gash in her arm."I told you she was dangerous." Jimmy clenched his fists.Janice gave him a look that put him in his place. He hung his head, as if he too, was being scolded."This..." Janice said with meaning, "is unacceptable.""I'm sorry. I will take my belongings and leave. You ca" Alex began, trying to take responsibility."No, this isn't her fault. Sh" Jack took a step forward."She's a hybrid, of co
The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Ellie patched up Alex's arm and wrapped up her wrist. She was so excited to show Alex and Jack the spikes on the monitoring systems. Something about the Link and their actions were "causing the data points to coincide," whatever that meant.Alex sat with her back propped up with pillows on the bed in the room. She didn't really want to call it her room. It wasn't. It was Janice's. Papers lay scattered across the bed. She flipped through the documents the humans had collected on Henry Truex. There was very little evidence of Alex. It looked like she vanished after the age of twenty one. Her file contained a few pictures and arrests from her early years as a human rights activist, but not a single scrap of information on Lexi. Good.She scanned the pages one by one into her memory, trying to find connections that their computers and analysts didn't see. The Truex Research Center showed up a couple of times in money transfers from personal acco
Jack woke from his dream. He had been chasing something, couldn't remember what. It seemed important. He had been weighted down, something slowing him, like a great big weight on his chest. Oh well, a dream's just a dream.He still felt weighed down. And the air smelled strangely sweet, like honey. Not sugar sweet, but musty sweet. What a strange smell for a room full of men.His hand moved over something soft and silky. Hair? Oh man, how much did he drink last night? If this was Brooke, he would never forgive himself.The room was dark. One of the other men in the room snored soundly. He ran his fingers through the sleeping girl's hair. Her head lay on his chest, a gentle weight. Her breathing steady and quiet. The hair was long and straight to the touch. Please don't be Brooke, please. It didn't smell like Brooke, she was more of a cinnamon smell, or at least she used to be. It had been a long time, maybe she changed perfume or shampoo or whatever it is that made girls smell so good.
Jack looked her in the eyes. "It's just the Link?"Alex shrugged. She wasn't sure. "Probably. It's like a drug. When I'm around you, I practically feed off it. I crave it. Do you think Ellie can reverse it with a genetic fixer thing?""Might be possible." Jack's hand dropped to her thigh. "But do you really want to fix it?"Her bottom lip trembled as the feeling of fire coursed through her. Alex turned to face him, her knees on either side of his legs now. She planted her hands on the back of the office chair, shifting her weight so that it rocked back. Alex looked down at his smoky blue eyes. Definitely the Link. This wasn't normal. No one could make you feel this good. It was just chemicals messing up her brain. It was a distraction, she needed to get this reversed and quick. But in the meantime-Alex kissed him, letting her tongue slip between his lips. She pressed her chest on to his. Jack's hand slid into the back pocket of her jeans. The other pulled her thigh closer. Their t