by Palladian
Pausing a moment to consider that, Lex swallowed a little water, then turned to Riss. “What is it that they say happens to the people that they experiment on?”
Riss' brow furrowed. “They call it a body event, and it seems they're different for each person. Some people’s physical bodies change radically, some only a little, or sometimes all of the changes are internal. Many of the people that they've experimented on die as a result, but apparently the chances of survival are slightly better if you're a woman,” she said, looking meaningfully around the table.
“They still don't seem to really know what they're doing,” Riss continued. “Their theory about why we can do things most people can't is that we've either inherited some capability or that somehow during our lives our bodies learned to adapt in very different ways than most people's have had to. That's why they keep giving us the gene therapy protocols, thinking that our bodies are more likely to adapt to it than the average person, and probably hoping one day they can reliably replicate the process.”
Lex just thought for a moment, looking at her knuckles whiten as she held onto the edge of the table, the heavy tablecloth wrinkling in her hands. “OK,” she said after a while, “so I'm running against the clock. I'll figure out a way for us to escape, but I can't handle everything. Casey, I'd like you to be in charge of logistics. Find a way for us to get transportation away from here without having to use credit cards or identification, if possible. Figure out how to stash some basic supplies for that day. Think of everything we might need, and figure out how to get it ready. Can you take that angle?”
Casey nodded, the movement quick and sure. “Not a problem.”
Lex then looked to Riss, sitting to her right. “Riss, can you figure out a way for us to communicate secretly while we're in the facility? At least daily would be best. I'd also like for you to be our researcher. If anyone needs to find out anything, they should pass it along to you to find out. Also, we'll need new IDs and credit cards. Can you take care of arranging that?”
“I'll figure it out,” Riss replied while typing into her computer.
“Good. Please work together on anything that needs it, because we know Riss can't leave the facility other than for a job, at least until we all get out together.” She looked at Riss and Casey then, and they both nodded back at her.
“In the meantime,” Lex continued, “I want to start team practice a few times a week. I'm not sure how this is all going to work yet, but we're going to have to be prepared for just about anything, and we should be comfortable with how everyone else thinks, fights, and reacts by the time we're ready to go. Serena,” she said, turning to the other woman, “you're more than welcome to join us for the team training. Actually, I'd be grateful if you did, since it wouldn't look like we're trying to leave you out.”
“I'll try. It sounds like fun, anyway,” Serena replied.
Lex looked back at each of her companions for a moment, taking in Serena's serious look, Riss' matter-of-fact gaze, and the concern in Casey's eyes. Fortunately, the food arrived at that point, so after the waiter had situated everything, they all began to eat dinner, Lex mostly picking the mango slices and pomegranate seeds from her small salad and ignoring her entrée altogether. After a short while of silent eating, Serena turned to her.
“I forgot to ask until now,” she said, “but you said you'd think about what I could do about my family and the business and that stupid man they want me to marry. Did you come up with anything?”
Lex had been fishing some headache medicine out of her purse, and took the pills before answering. “I thought of a few things, but the best one requires some effort on your part. Do you want to go over it, or do you want to hear the options that wouldn't require much or any work on your part? I have to admit, though, they're not as foolproof.”
Serena thought for a moment, then replied, “Tell me your best idea and then I'll figure out if I need to hear any of the others.”
“All right, but I need some information from you first, to be sure it's going to work. First of all, did you go to college?”
Serena shrugged. “Yeah, I got a business degree from Columbia. I managed to do OK, even though I was never really very interested in school.”
“Good. My second question: is there someone that you can trust completely, hopefully with your life? Maybe someone you met at school, someone who'd have the same type of degree, experience, and preferably some interest in running a business. Someone who could be discreet and wouldn't mind being the power behind the throne.”
Serena's eyes narrowed as she smiled. “I'm beginning to see where you're going with this. Yes, I do have a friend like that, one of the reasons I made it through college at all, actually. Chris and I used to go trolling for guys together, but he also forced me to study with him so that I could stay in school and keep hanging out together. He's a hell of a lot more discreet than I am, now that I think about it.”
“All right, this is my best plan for you. Since your parents seem to want someone with the family name running the company, find that you suddenly have an interest in it. Get them to name you to a position where you can have some influence and eventually take over, but make it clear to your parents that you're going to need a competent lieutenant because of your obligations to the team here.
“Then get Chris on board. Let him know he'll be running things but needs to keep you in the loop because of your dad's wishes. Also, tell him that he's going to be in charge of an internal hostile takeover to throw out your dad's chosen guy and that if he can, he'll be in charge of the whole thing and you'll be a figurehead.
“Be at the office a couple days a week and be seen, wear cute business suits, maybe go to a couple of meetings—be sure to bring Chris with you, if you do—sign some papers. Eventually, your dad will retire and leave running the business to you—at which point you've hopefully gotten rid of his guy—and you can pretty much allow Chris to run it from there on out. It's probably smart to continue to be involved enough to be seen though, so keep that in mind going forward. What do you think?”
Serena looked excited, smiling broadly. “It's more than I wanted to do originally, but it sounds like it'll work like a charm.”
Lex gave her friend a pleased nod. “Also, since we have no way to know how in league your parents and our sponsors are, you might want to 'forget' the phone they issued you when you talk to Chris about this, and keep your plans as much as possible just between the two of you.”
“Can I come to you for more advice, if I need it?”
“Sure, but be careful of what you ask where they're listening to us, so that hopefully no one will be able to figure out what your plan is.”
They fell silent after that, Lex trying to eat a little more but being mostly unsuccessful between the pain in her head that chewing caused and her unstable stomach. While discussing escape details over dessert, something occurred to Lex.
“Casey,” she said, looking over at the other woman, “there's one thing I forgot about. You're going to have to figure out what you want to do about Lou.”
As she said it, Lex winced at the look on Casey's face as she went white and her mouth opened with a gasp as if someone had punched her in the stomach.
“I didn't think…you're right, though,” she said hoarsely, then swallowed.
“He could probably come along with us if he wants to, but we'd have to get a new identity for him, too, to be safe.”
“Who's Lou?” Serena asked, her eyebrows pulled together.
Everyone was silent for a moment, and Lex looked at Casey. The blonde pulled herself together after a few seconds, but her eyes darted left and right as she looked at everyone else for a moment, then shook her head.
“He's my boyfriend,” she admitted.
“You dog! You have a guy, and you didn't even tell me,” Serena said, appearing both surprised and happy.
“I didn't intend to tell anyone, well, except Lex, but since they're always listening in on us…” Casey tr
ailed off, shaking her head.
Riss interrupted then, to Casey's obvious relief, saying, “Sorry to cut in, but we've got about five minutes left of usable audio to cover our conversation, so if there's anything else, we need to cover it before the time's up.”
The pain in Lex's head had backed down somewhat to a dull ache, but she still found it hard to think. After several seconds, however, one thing floated to the top.
“We're going to have to figure out how to fund this,” she said, “I don't have any ideas at the moment–”
“I can take care of getting any money that you have in the bank to follow us,” Riss said, nodding at Lex, “but I'd recommend you both having a few hundred dollars on you at all times to be ready for our initial run. I'm going to have to rely on you two for that at first, since I don't currently have any access to cash.”
Lex and Casey both nodded. “No problem,” Lex replied.
Casey took a notepad out of her purse while asking, “What sizes do the two of you wear?” She noted all the information down, then started asking about what kind of bag they preferred and a few other particulars.
“One last thing,” Riss interrupted after a while, eyeing the countdown on her computer, “I'll let you know how we'll be communicating as soon as I can, but in the meantime, think about what you want your new names to be. If you can't think of one, I'll have to open the phone book and point, so I suggest choosing one yourself. OK, ladies, start an inane conversation on my countdown mark.”
Riss silently counted down on her fingers, then pointed to all of them. Serena began by saying that she should have checked out the drinks menu, and Casey replied that although she'd enjoyed her dessert, it had been a bit small, so maybe she should order another one. Lex watched as Riss gathered her equipment back up and packed it away in her purse. Chiming in on the conversation where she could, Lex fought a feeling of weariness that had moved in on top of the headache and nausea that hadn't quite gone away. Some time later, she finally made her way back to the car with great relief, stumbling a little on the way, and glancing up with a smile at Casey as the taller woman held her arm to steady her.
Lex somehow managed to fall asleep on the way back the facilities and dreamt of standing at a window. She found herself clutching the sill, because when she looked out where she thought there should be a landscape, she only saw a featureless blackness, as if the window she hung onto for dear life had just been drawn on a chalkboard. Then, when she looked behind her to find out about the place she watched from, Lex again saw a featureless blackness. After this, the window itself began dissolving into the darkness and Lex fell, but with no yawning sensation in her stomach; it felt as if she simply floated in the nothingness.
Lex later remembered thinking as she floated, or fell, that you couldn't have something unless you started with nothing first, and that she would figure out what to do. With that in mind, Lex woke up suddenly and blinked, recognizing the front lights of the facility. She took the offer of Casey's arm and went slowly inside and to bed.
Somehow, this was the thought that kept Lex going as everyone worked hard to get ready for their escape. Maybe she didn't have the plan now, but it was going to come to her; all she had to do was to be patient. She tried hard to silence the internal voice that liked to point out that she might not have that much time left, and continued focusing on the solution.
Several days after dinner out, Riss had stopped by Lex's room one evening to ask her something about the report they'd turned over about computer security for the facility. While they talked, she'd managed to slip another note in Lex's pocket, telling her to check her e-mail the next day exactly at 5:30. So, when Lex curiously opened it the next day, she found an e-mail from Riss.
“Hello, All,” she'd written. “I've set up a self-unraveling system of e-mail for communications that no one should be able to tap into. Anything you write or receive between 5:30 and 5:35 in the afternoon will auto-delete at 5:36:00. The messages will leave no trace in any of MSI's systems, so respond quickly and memorize any information you get. If you miss anything, ask for a re-send the next day. Questions? Ask me. -Riss”
Lex nodded, looking at the clock. Since she had two minutes left, she wrote to Riss and copied Casey, congratulating Riss on a good job, reminding her to follow up if she needed more information from her or Casey, and asking about the name-changing deadline. Lex hit send quickly, and then watched until her clock turned 5:36, and sure enough, the sent e-mail and the one from Riss disappeared as if they had never been. The e-mails began flowing over the next few days, with Riss requesting information about the other two women's bank accounts and Casey giving status updates on travel and logistics. She'd set up lockers for them at Union Station and stocked them with things for their eventual journey, and managed to slip the two of them locker keys over the following few days.
After a week or two, Lex sat at her desk one afternoon, waiting until she could check her e-mail. She'd been reading the headlines in the local paper to pass time, but one caught her eye. “Arsonist Vows Revenge,” which included a photo of the eventual burnt-out hulk that Lex and her team had pulled hundreds of people safely out of.
Her eyebrows rose as she read the text of a letter that had arrived at several local news outlets, purportedly from a self-proclaimed serial arsonist.
“My life has been ruined by…” Lex frowned as the text cut off briefly. The explanation the newspaper gave was that the accusations the arsonist made were potentially libelous, to which Lex shook her head with irritation.
“…but I will get my revenge against them by continuing to incinerate these firebomb death traps they have people living in. If this happens to hundreds or thousands more, maybe someone can understand the daily agony I live in. For those who may want to stop me, I warn you away, since my next effort will be even more foolproof. If you try to rescue any of those who are doomed, you will go up in flames yourselves.”
Lex's mind began racing as she stared out her window at the water, so much so that she nearly missed her e-mail window. Hurrying to check it, she found no big items that day, so she sent out one of her own.
“Hey, All: How do you feel about 'dying' in a fire? I'm still trying to firm up the details, so this may not work out, but I wanted to let you know that I may have a lead. I'll let you know as soon as I have anything solid. Thanks to both of you for your hard work. - Lex”
As soon as she closed her e-mail, Lex re-read the article again, and then called Clara. The phone rang until she got the woman's voicemail, so she left a message.
“Clara, it's Lex. I wondered if you'd seen the ‘Arsonist Vows Revenge’ story in the headlines today,” she asked. “Take a look if you haven't. I don't know if there's any precedent for a request like this, but if the arsonist strikes again around here, can the team get involved? I think we can get the people out of the building again, but I'd like to have a free hand in dealing with the situation and all the resources I request. Let me know what you think when you have a moment. Thanks!” She hung up then, still staring at the article in the newspaper.
Busy with work and escape preparations, to Lex the next few weeks flew by. New IDs and credit cards had been procured for everyone due to Riss and Casey's efforts, and everything had been hidden in the lockers with the rest of their gear. Lou had decided to come along as well, so all preparations had been made for that, too.
At some point during the preparation stage, she received an e-mail from Casey that read, “Going out of town this weekend to figure out how to say goodbye to my relatives without telling them what I'm up to. Hope you're managing to do the same, Lex.”
Thinking along those lines, Lex scheduled dinner with her two sisters the following weekend. No one had seen her younger brother for years or she'd have invited him, too. Also, she'd been lucky enough to have been invited to a brunch some of her old friends had planned a few days later, but the thing she remembered most as she looked back at that time was the dinner with her sisters.
She'd chosen a family-run Italian restaurant near the suburban Virginia neighborhood she'd grown up in, although she'd had to take a cab for a few miles to get there. But since her older sister, Mia, didn't live far from her parents and her younger sister, Daisy, still lived with her parents, it had seemed the reasonable thing to do at the time.
Lex smiled when she saw the two of them, and while Mia gave her a tight-lipped approximation of a grin, Daisy smiled back at her. After looking over at Mia, however, Daisy glanced away, her smile fading. Lex still couldn't help grinning as she unwrapped her scarf and coat in the warmly welcoming restaurant.
“So, how are the two of you?” Lex asked after she'd settled in at the small round table, covered with a red checkered tablecloth. They'd ordered their food, as well, Lex picking a simple dish of pasta in red sauce.
Daisy looked over at Mia, but the other didn't notice since she'd begun speaking. “Oh, Alex, the children have been so trying this week–”
Unable to stop herself, Lex broke in. “Please, Mia, I know I've asked this before. Call me Lex.”
Mia stared at Lex momentarily, as if seeing her for the first time. “I'll never understand why you're sticking with that dreadful high school nickname.” She sighed and shook her head as if put out before continuing. “Anyway, Lex, my youngest is teething, so the other two seem to think it's a license for running around the house screaming…”
Lex ate quietly, listening to Mia's trials. To her pleasant surprise, the food tasted excellent, with just the right amount of garlic in the sauce. Occasionally, Lex would look over at Daisy and grin. Daisy couldn't seem to help returning the look, although she usually tried covering her lips with a napkin when she did.
“So, how are things after college?” she finally asked Daisy.
Her timing had been strategic, as dessert arrived, knowing it would probably keep Mia busy for a while, and she watched her older sister devour some tiramisu out of the corner of her eye as she listened,