Suddenly, Leo's mind turned to Annabelle. What would her fate be? Had she been captured as well? Was she being held in a similar room somewhere, experiencing the same pain? Or, was she back with her father? Would she go on with her boring life with only a few brief, soon-to-be-forgotten memories of the man who had done the impossible, and who she had once commanded to dance?
He had never trusted anyone during his life, but Annabelle had been different. He barely even knew her, and he had trusted her with the darkest knowledge of himself.
Then, a sense of crude hope came over Leo. He suddenly grew confident that Annabelle would try to rescue him. If there were any way she could help him, she would try. He had no information to lead him to that conclusion, but the certainty persisted. Annabelle would find him. He wasn't dead yet, and there was still a chance to escape.
"I hope you're out there, Annabelle," Leo whispered to himself.
As he spoke her name, he heard a scream of pure terror. It tore through his mind like a bullet, piercing every part of his thoughts. He thought it sounded like Annabelle, but it couldn't be, could it?
Then, Leo's heart skipped a beat as the sound of several booming explosions came from the next room. Adrenaline began to course through him. Was someone trying to rescue him? Was it Annabelle?
His frenzied thoughts were spurred into further reckless imaginings when the door facing him opened, and three people entered. They moved around him quietly and quickly. When his vision adjusted to the light, he saw that they were carrying rifles, wearing the black uniforms of station security troops, and they were systematically clearing the room of any threats.
After a few seconds, one of them shouted: "Clear!" Then, a short, stout man emerged through the door, walked up to Leo, and spoke.
"I'm Director Sullivan, Head of Station Security. What's your name? You read like you don't have any implants. Where is your I.D. Implant?"
The barrage of questions and the miraculous nature of the man's appearance shocked Leo. He had a hard time formulating a response because of his shock, and also because his jaw was broken.
"Umfh numph. Toophem ouh," was all he could manage as an answer.
"Fuck!" Sullivan yelled as he turned to one of the other men. "O'Reilly, get medical in here. He's got something wrong with his jaw. That or he's drugged to Neptune and back."
O'Reilly closed his eyes before replying. "My communications are fried, sir. Give me a minute." He then left hurriedly through the open door.
Sullivan watched O'Reilly go, then continued speaking. "Seems like everyone wants your head, buddy. I would really love to find out what the hell you did... Lucky for you, there's no time for that."
Then, Sullivan turned and left. The other two men stayed put in the corner and eyed Leo with a mix of curiosity and disdain. Leo stared back at them until two people dressed in green uniforms rushed through the door.
There were two people in the medical team; a young man and an older woman who immediately began barking orders.
"Perform a full-spectrum scan."
"Yes, ma'am..."
The young man began to wave a small, circular medical scanner over Leo's body and revealed his findings as he went. "Broken jaw... Ruptured testicle... Extracted tooth... Internal bleeding..."
The woman looked down at Leo with kind eyes. "Damn, they tore you up pretty good. It could've been a lot worse, though. I've seen these guys' handiwork more than a few times. It usually ends with them cutting you open and draining your blood from your femoral artery. Good thing they didn't get that far, huh?"
"I've been worse," Leo grimly replied. He was only slightly surprised when the words came out clearly.
"What the hell?" the young man exclaimed as he started scanning Leo again. His arm flapped back and forth rapidly as he continued in a confused tone. "Shit... Remember how I said he had a broken jaw? Well, he doesn't anymore. His testicle isn't ruptured either, and I'm not reading any internal bleeding now. What the fuck?! Look at his mouth!"
A look of surprise came over the woman as she peered at Leo's mouth, which he had shut as he felt a new tooth growing to replace the one that had been pulled.
"Open your mouth!" the woman commanded, and Leo reluctantly obeyed.
The woman's eyes went wide, and Leo saw fear grow within them. "The tooth... There... Um, there might be something wrong with your scanner. The radiation readings in this place were off the charts a few minutes ago. It's probably fried... Try a different one."
Leo looked the woman dead in her eyes. "Your scanner isn't malfunctioning. It's just me. I heal a little faster than normal... I had some upgrades a while ago."
The woman looked at Leo skeptically. "What kind of upgrades?"
Leo held her gaze. "I don't even know how it works, to be honest. I feel fine, though. I don't need any more treatment."
Neither the woman or the young man looked ready to accept Leo's explanation, and both looked like they were thinking how best to study Leo to figure out the cause of his miraculous healing.
Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and a black-clad, auburn haired woman stepped through, followed closely by Director Sullivan.
"Is he gonna live?" Sullivan demanded.
The chief medic turned to him and seemed to struggle with how best to answer the question. "Uh, yes, I guess. He is going to live. Our scans are showing that he's just fine."
"Why the hell was he mumbling..." Sullivan complained as he threw his hands into the air. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. Everyone out. He's in the care of Idi now. You two! There are a few casualties in the reactor room. Take care of them. Jerree, go to the lab room with O'Reilly. The prisoners in there are getting a little riled up. Knock them out and make sure they're gagged. Get them ready for extraction to the brig."
As Sullivan gave his orders, his team moved quickly to obey and left the room in a flurry of movement. The auburn-haired woman stood still, though. She stared at Leo as everyone else rushed around her, not breaking eye contact even to blink.
Sullivan followed his team out, speaking as he did so. "I trust I've been of assistance, Idi. He's your problem now. Please get him off my station. I'll leave a guard outside the door, just in case..."
"Thank you," the auburn-haired woman replied as Sullivan stepped through the door and shut it behind him.
She stared at Leo for a long moment, and he coldly returned her gaze. The way Sullivan had treated her could mean only one thing: She had a higher rank than him.
As the woman stared at him, his heart began to race. She was an operative of the Council. She had to be, and she was there to take him into custody. He had imagined that his torture at the hands of Thrall was an unfortunate situation, but the Council would be more cruel and inventive in their torment than any run-of-the-mill psychopath could dream of being.
"Fuck you!" Leo screamed as pure rage began to overcome his senses. The fate that he had fought against for 200 years was now becoming a reality. The Council had him.
"Hi, Leo," the woman kindly replied, which was undoubtedly a tactic to manipulate him. "I see you are aware that I'm an operative of the Council, and you hate me for that. Rightly so, I might add. Truth be told, I hate myself more than you ever could.. Still, over the next few hours, you will see for yourself that I am not your enemy, and I am not a tool of the Council. I am not here for the reasons you think I am."
"Fucking Council..." Leo spat. "I'd rather that sick weirdo was in here with his pliers than listen to your rehearsed bullshit."
She accepted his comment blandly, then continued. "Idi isn't my real name, you know. My real name is Alice. Alice Draem... Does that name ring a bell?"
"No, bitch, should it?"
Alice moved closer to him, keeping her eyes locked onto his as she moved. Slowly, she squatted down so that her eyes were level with his.
"Do you remember Ganymede?"
Leo was caught off guard by the seeming non-sequitur. Ganymede? He had been on the moon just a few weeks before the disaster, bu
t he had fled when he learned that the tide of the war had turned, and the Origin Council would soon arrive there.
He remembered the children playing in the streets and running through fields of grain. He remembered the women shopping in the stores without a care in the world except for finding the new, hottest fashions. He remembered the men in the bars, laughing as they argued over the reasons for one football team's failings or another.
In spite of the war, Ganymede had been gloriously full of life, and when he learned that everyone he had seen smiling, laughing, and crying there had had their life taken from them, it had disturbed Leo to the core.
As those thoughts flashed through his mind, Leo angrily answered. "Of course I do. Everyone does. Why the fuck do you think I hate the Council?"
Alice's face changed after he spoke, and he saw guilt and regret come over her. He recognized the emotions on her face easily, for he had seen them many times on his own.
Alice's voice was quiet when she continued. "Did you know there was a survivor on Ganymede? Someone who lived through the incident there?"
Leo didn't know what she was getting at. "A survivor? Well, I heard rumors of one. The Ganymede Operative... Everyone was talking about her..."
Alice extended her right hand and placed it upon Leo's shackled arm, her face smeared with terrible sadness. She still hadn't broken eye contact.
"I'm that woman, Leo. I pushed the button and released the weapon that killed billions on Ganymede. I had no idea what I was doing, no idea of what I was releasing. I thought it would knock everyone unconscious, maybe, or disable all of the New Republic's weaponry. The Council didn't tell me what it was, only that I had to release it. Had I known what would happen, I would have ended my own life rather than follow through with my orders."
Leo sat in silent shock as she continued.
"A part of me knew the truth, I suppose. I had thought about it a lot... Hell, I had nightmares about it the night before the mission. But, I convinced myself that it would be a peaceful weapon. I hoped it was something non-lethal, but, looking back, there were signs. Deep down, I should have known better. Deep down, I knew that the Council would stop at nothing to win that war. I knew something terrible would happen when I pushed that button, and I pressed it anyway."
Leo stared back into her sad eyes. What she was telling him was almost unbelievable. He was well familiar with the Council's lies, and if Alice was telling him one, it was unlike any that he had ever heard.
Leo finally broke his silence. "Why are you telling me? Why did you do it?"
Alice blinked several times before she answered, and Leo saw that tears were gathering in her eyes.
"We were getting overrun, Shonn, and I. The rest of our team were either dead or captured. We held the ground where the payload was, but we hadn't yet released it. The New Republic was staging a counterattack, and it was only a matter of time before we would be captured or killed. And then, the payload would be in the hands of our enemy. We debated what to do, and in the end, I did it. I did it to save him. I loved him. I loved him so much, and the only way I could save him was to release the payload..."
Leo was lost for words. What kind of a wild game was the Council playing?
Alice took a deep breath. Then, raw emotion tore through her voice. "If I could go back, I would. But I can't. I did it. Then, I watched as the man I loved came apart in my arms. Like ashes in the wind, I watched his life fall apart. He died, just like everyone else on Ganymede. Everyone except me..."
Leo couldn't help but feel slightly entranced as Alice told her story. He didn't know why she was telling him that story, there, when she could have simply knocked him out and dragged him back to the Council.
Leo was lost as he tried to understand the Council machinations that were at play. Why had they sent Alice, of all people, to capture him? Leo looked closely at her. He could see the look in her eyes. It was the look of one so haunted by their misdeeds that the ghost of them permeated every facet of her being. He could see the weight of her guilt pulling her downward.
After a deep breath, Alice continued. "When I realized the totality of what the Council, and what I had done, the horror of it nearly drove me insane. Had I retained a bit more of my senses, I would have turned my weapon on myself and ended my own life then and there. But instead, I was numb with shock, and I did nothing. I couldn't move, and I couldn't think. The magnitude of what I had done paralyzed me to my core."
"You should have killed yourself..." Leo stated with disgust. "I would have..."
Alice nodded. "Yes, I should have, but I didn't. The Council found me as I sat there, frozen in shock, and they took me to a research ship. They wanted to know how and why I had survived when everyone else on Ganymede had died. So, they studied me, just like they studied you. I don't know how long your imprisonment lasted, but mine was just over two years. And I escaped in the end, just like you did."
"How?" Leo asked. In spite of his seething hatred, he was now genuinely curious.
Alice's lips upturned into a cynical smirk. "Well, Leo, you know how kind and benevolent the Council can be. In all their senseless benevolence, they learned all they could from me, cleared me of all crimes, and sent me to the outer colonies. They were even kind enough to make me a taxation enforcement officer. I lived that pointless life, drowned in guilt and whiskey up until a couple of weeks ago."
"Didn't have to kill anyone to get out, huh? They just let you go?" Leo asked bitterly.
Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe they wanted to hide me, and maybe they wanted to keep me from killing myself so they could study me more later... I don't know."
Leo sighed with disbelief as Alice continued.
"You know, I used to trust the Council. I believed in them. That trust and belief got a couple of billion people killed, including the love of my life. Now, I hate the fucking Council!"
Leo grunted in frustration. "Really? Do you hate them? Then why are you working for them?"
Alice gritted her teeth. "When the Council sent me a recall order a few weeks ago, my first instinct was to run, to escape them, and to disappear amongst the stars, but a profound idea stopped me. They wanted to have a personal audience with me, and I didn't care enough about living or dying to deny it to them."
Leo listened intently. He tried to assure himself that he was only doing it to gain information, but in reality, Alice's story had entranced him. It could all be lies, true, but to what end?
Alice's face had fallen into even further depths of sadness and regret, but Leo saw something else slowly grow as she continued. It was determination.
"When I finally met with them, they apologized for Ganymede, Leo. I'm not going to try to convince you that the Council has a heart, because I think they are as cold-blooded as people can be, but they did apologize."
"Bullshit!" Leo roared.
Alice nodded. " Maybe... But then, Leo, do you know what they did? They told me that they had a new mission for me. My first reaction was to decline any part in their vile schemes, just like yours would have been, but when they told me about the mission, my mind was changed."
Alice finally removed her hand from Leo's, then leaned closer. "Can you imagine what kind of mission they would have to describe to overcome my hatred for them? Can you imagine what would convince me to not just help them, but to travel here, find you, and ask for your help?"
Alice stopped speaking, and Leo knew her question was not a rhetorical one. He struggled to find an answer as his instinctive thoughts of hatred and escape ran through his mind.
"My help? I'll never help the fucking Council..."
Alice said nothing. She just looked into his eyes. Leo's crude instincts melted away when he looked back into hers, and at that moment, he knew that she wasn't lying. He had always been good at reading people, and when he looked at Alice, he couldn't see the slightest hint of deception.
He had looked into the eyes of many Council operatives, usually as he watched them die, and all of them had h
ad the same odd, glazed, and robotic look. However, when he looked at Alice, he didn't see a cold-hearted operative. He saw a real woman, stricken with grief and desperate to make amends.
Leo saw the resolve in Alice strengthen as she tensed her shoulders and set her jaw forward. "Together, you and I have killed billions, Leo. Well, most of the murders were mine, to be fair, but you've done your share of killing."
Leo accepted her claim as fact. "What's your point?"
Then, Alice smiled, and her smile was one of such pure hope that Leo felt his heart open, if only by a minuscule amount.
"Leo, you and I are going to save the entire human race from a murderous ex-Council member. We are going to do it together, and when we succeed, you will have your freedom. If you help me, your crimes will be forgiven, and you will finally be free! No more warrants. No more operatives. No more hiding. No more running. This is your chance to become whatever you want to be, Leo, and it's my chance to finally do something good with my life!"
Leo was shocked by her offer. It had to be a lie. "Bullshit, Alice."
Alice nodded. "Yes, it could be. We could both be getting played..."
Her admission flummoxed Leo. "Why, then? Why are you here? Why go along with it?"
Alice closed her eyes. "Because I want to make things better, Leo. I want to be able to look back at my life and feel a little pride, rather than just wonder why I never killed myself after Ganymede..."
Leo felt his heart open a little more. He could understand exactly how she felt. "I hear you, Alice. I get it. But, what if you're being fooled into making things worse? What if this is just another goddamned Council scheme?"
Alice opened her eyes and stared piercingly into Leo's. "Because, if it is, then they picked the wrong patsy. I don't trust the Council, and if I find out that this mission is anything other than what they claim it to be, I'll blow it up. They're letting me operate independently. They don't have any surveillance on me. I'm going to do what I think is right, and that's it! Fuck what the Council wants! I'm going to do what's right!"
"Shit.." was all Leo could manage in reply.
The Ganymede Legacy Page 15