A Phoenix By Any Other Name (4/8)
Title: A Phoenix By Any Other Name
Character/Pairing: Wash/Taylor
Word Count: Total for all chapters ~21000; this chapter ~3550
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Language, Mild Violence
Spoiler Alert: All Season 1 episodes
Summary: Waking up is, in itself, a surprise, but Wash is even more surprised by the help she gets with her efforts to get home.
Author’s Note: Long chapter - didn’t make sense to break it up, though. Closing in on completion, but may not be able to post again until Sunday or so. Baby Girl is in growth spurt mode, which means slightly less me time! Meant to say in the initial author’s note, the Taylor/Wash relationship is the one described in my earlier story, Our Ghosts Stay With Us. It might help to read that one first, but it’s by no means a necessity. Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Phoenix Group Camp, The Badlands
3 Days Later
Alicia wakes up to the sounds of the camp outside the tent, sounds she has become accustomed to over the last few days. She looks over at Mira’s cot and shakes her head when she sees that it’s empty. If they want this whole thing to be believable, they really need to not make such an obvious show of trusting her.
As she sits up, her handcuff clinks against the bed frame. She really can’t wait until that thing is gone. According to Mira, that will happen any day now. Thinking back to three days ago, she wonders if Mira and Carter are going to make good on the scheme they presented to her, or if it was just bullshit.
The plan itself is risky, and Alicia thinks that the motives behind it are somewhat questionable. But if it gets her the hell out of here, she doesn’t give a damn. She’s still surprised by how willing Mira is to trust her; Carter was less so, but he seems to have come around. It’s pretty clear that they all still really don’t like each other, but an uneasy détente has descended, a begrudging respect in the air.
It’s a simple plan. In the middle of the night, Mira lets Alicia escape, Carter meets Alicia one click south of the camp with a few weapons, rations and a mode of transportation, and Alicia takes off for the nearest Terra Nova outpost. When they laid the plan out for her, Alicia just looked at them like they were insane. It wasn’t because it’s not a workable plan. The plan is fine. But as much as she wants to go home, she couldn’t understand for the life of her why they were willing to put this plan in motion for her.
She finally just asked them straight out, once it became clear that the why of it wasn’t in their rehearsed explanation. Mira’s reply had been simple: they, the Sixers, were going to play both sides of the fence. They will work for the Phoenix Group until Lucas opens a portal back to their 2149; until they turn on the Sixers; or until it becomes clear that a new portal will never be opened.
At the same time, Mira and Carter will provide intel back to Terra Nova. Mira rather bluntly told Alicia that she and Carter figured that between returning Alicia in one piece and then spying on the Phoenix Group, all of the Sixers, including Mira and Carter, would earn some sort of asylum or amnesty for themselves in Terra Nova. Alicia’s reply had been simple: I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise you anything. That had apparently been enough.
It certainly made clear why Carter had been so worried about being able to trust Alicia. The Sixers would have a hell of a lot riding on her endorsing them and making clear how far they went to help her escape.
Mira will be paying the biggest price. Not only will the Phoenix Group be displeased by her inability to manage one prisoner, but also, in order to make the escape believable, she’s going to have to let Alicia render her unconscious. Alicia offered to do it with an injection if Mira would get her the drugs, but Mira insisted it will be more believable if Wash beats the crap out of her.
Alicia thinks it’s a pretty decent plan all the way around, and she can appreciate the reasoning behind it. She’s also more than a little uncomfortable being this close to Lucas. She’s not strictly afraid of him, but she does know that he wouldn’t hesitate to finish her off given the opportunity. As far as she’s concerned, she really doesn’t want to hang around to give him said opportunity.
When she gets back to the colony, she’ll have to get Boylan to give up the communicators he used in the past with the Sixers. Mira is getting her safe frequencies to use in order to connect with the Sixers from Terra Nova, frequencies the Phoenix Group doesn’t use. Since Boylan will need to make good with Nathaniel over his past communications with the Sixers, Alicia has no doubt Boylan will be very cooperative.
One thing Alicia can admit is that a small, deeply immature part of her can’t wait to take Mira down. But wait she must, until they get to what Mira terms “the right time,” when Mira and Carter feel like she’s been here long enough for there to have been a believable show of minding the prisoner. Alicia has warned her more than once that the right time better damn well be soon, because her patience is wearing thin.
Raised voices outside Mira’s tent suddenly get Alicia’s attention. She looks towards the entrance, but no one enters. Looking down, she notices a wash basin and water on the floor, sitting next to a bottle of water and a piece of bread and some of the fruit that she’s been subsisting on since the first day here. Being allowed to get cleaned up and stay that way had been one of the conditions she’d placed on agreeing to the plan, hence the wash basin. That condition had gotten an outright laugh out of Mira. Today, she’s back in her own clothes from the colony, cleaned for her by one of Mira’s people.
After getting cleaned up, Alicia sits back on her cot and eats her breakfast, waiting for Mira to return. Half an hour later, she hears Mira’s voice outside the tent, instructing someone to keep an eye out. A moment later, Mira comes into the tent, looking more anxious than Alicia has ever seen her, and she doesn’t waste any time telling Alicia what’s going on. “You’re going tonight, sneaking out of here at 1:30, meeting Carter at the rendezvous point at 2.”
“What’s happening out there, Mira? It’s more active than usual. And not that I’m not sick as hell of waiting, why is tonight suddenly the right time?”
Mira flops down on her cot, her demeanor around Alicia almost comically relaxed at this point. “To answer both of your questions, the powers that be have finally figured out that Terra Nova has a recon team with eyes on this camp, so we’re moving the camp first thing tomorrow morning - so, you go tonight. For the record, Carter and I both spotted the recon team about ten minutes after we made camp.”
“Well, now I know why you haven’t let me out of this tent. Me getting spotted would’ve likely led to a rescue attempt, and then I’d be no use to you,” Alicia pauses, and Mira gives her a short nod in acknowledgement. “Do you have the communication frequencies I’m supposed to provide to Boylan?”
“I’m getting them put on a chip right now. It’ll be small enough for you to hide it somewhere…safe.”
Alicia rolls her eyes. “Can’t wait.”
Chuckling, Mira gets up. “The guard’s going to be outside all day, and someone will be by shortly to take you to use the bathroom. I’ve got to go help get things packed up and mobilized for the move. The sleeping tents will be just about all that’s left up by nightfall. Sorry, but you’re going to be on your own all day today, Lieutenant. Hope you don’t get too bored.”
“Don’t worry. I can spend my time thinking about ways to annoy you on our last evening together. Should be fun.” Alicia smirks at Mira, who is, by now, used to Alicia being a smart ass.
Echoing Alicia’s earlier sentiment, Mira replies, “Can’t wait,” and exits the tent.
Alicia leans back on her cot, a slight smile on her face. It falls as she thinks about how long this has taken. She understands, to an extent, that Mira and Carter wanted to put on a good show of looking after the prisoner, that she needed to be kept for at least some period of time, but enough is enough.
She needs to get home, she needs to see Nathaniel again. The fact that he likely doesn’t know she’s alive continuously eats at her, almost to the point where she’s making herself sick. The last time she was this worried about him, missed him this much, was when he’d first come through the portal and was trapped here alone. Forgetting her handcuff, she tries to jump up to pace, but the restraint immediately pulls her back down, making her swear under her breath.
She closes her eyes and runs her free hand through her hair. Knowing it’s going to be a long, tedious day, Alicia rolls off of the cot to do the improvised pushups she figured out how to do while cuffed. At least she can burn off some energy and kill some time.
Terra Nova
Jim is waiting for Taylor when he and Dunham come roaring through the gate after two days OTG. They’ve managed to get through checking on nearly half of the southern outposts already, and they’ll be headed back out tomorrow.
A dusty Taylor hauls himself up out of the driver’s side of the rover, and Jim approaches, knowing Taylor will want an update on the colony and on Reynolds and Reilly’s progress with the northern outposts. “Welcome back, Commander.”
“Thanks, Shannon,” Taylor looks over at Dunham. “Take it easy the rest of the day, son, and I’ll see you here to head back out at ten hundred hours tomorrow.”
Dunham gives Taylor a quick salute. “Yes, sir. I’ll see you in the morning, sir.” He heads off towards the barracks area.
“Any report from Reynolds, Shannon?” Taylor shoulders a bag and motions to Jim to follow him to the command center.
Jim falls into step next to him. “Yes. They hit their nearby outposts already, came in last night. There was little damage to the communications systems, but, for the most part, all the supplies are gone.”
Taylor nods, mounting the steps to the command center. “Not surprised. It’s similar at all the outposts we already checked. They must have left the communications intact thinking they’d be useful in the future.”
“Reynolds thought the same thing.”
They enter Taylor’s office, and Taylor heads to his desk, dropping his bag next to his chair. He leans back against the desk. “Did Reynolds and Reilly already head back out?”
Jim follows Taylor, coming to a stop in front of the desk. “Yes. They loaded up what the recon team requested, and they’re on their way to the northernmost outpost to meet up with them. Mark said they’re going to wait for the recon team, just to be able to check on them face to face, to be sure they’re all OK to stay out there.”
“Sounds good. Anything else going on, Shannon?”
“No, it’s actually been pretty quiet. Work is progressing on the repairs and clean up. Those crews should be done in the next week or so,” Jim pauses, hesitating, “And Taylor, Elisabeth wants you at our house for dinner tonight.”
Taylor is clearly about to decline, so Jim continues, “If you want to argue, talk to my wife. I’m just the messenger. When she told me, she muttered something about making it doctor’s orders if necessary. She’s worried about you, Taylor. Just let her feed you tonight, OK? To sweeten the deal, Maddy’s the one doing most of the cooking. And her food is actually good.”
Taylor looks stubborn for a moment, and then his expression softens. “All right, Shannon. I’ll be there. What time?”
Jim gives him a relieved look, clearly happy he won’t have to tell Elisabeth that Taylor had said no again. “Seven.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Looking forward to it, Taylor. Zoe said something about you needing another hug, so, you know, be prepared for that too.” Jim gives him a smile and turns to head out.
“Shannon?” Jim turns back. After a moment, Taylor says, “Thank you, and thank Elisabeth for me in advance. I do appreciate the concern.”
“No problem, Taylor, and I’ll pass that along to Elisabeth.” Jim nods and disappears out the door.
Looking around his office, Taylor suddenly feels the desire to take the rest of the day off. He grabs his bag and heads out, thinking he’ll stop in the market to get flowers for each of the Shannon women. If he’s going to go over there tonight, he knows he needs to try to shoulder off the guilt and the melancholy for the night.
As he often does these days, he slips his hand into his pocket to grasp her tags, and he can’t help but think that she’d be pissed at him for sitting around feeling sorry for himself. With that thought in mind, he walks towards the market, determined to actually attempt to be good company tonight.
Phoenix Group Camp, The Badlands
It’s after one in the morning, and Alicia, now released from the handcuffs, stands up in Mira’s tent, stretching out her back. Mira is perched on her own cot, giving Alicia the same last minute instructions she’s given her twice already.
The chip with the frequencies for Boylan’s communicators is tucked away, contrary to Mira’s implication earlier, in a perfectly comfortable tear in the lining of the black jacket Mira gave her to slip on. They’d thought about getting her some sand colored clothes, to serve as camouflage, but there is almost no moon tonight, and her black clothes will actually blend in well.
“Wash, are you listening?” Mira sounds irritated. “I just asked you a question.”
Alicia looks a little sheepish. “Sorry, Mira. I’m just getting focused. It’s going to be a long night.”
Mira gives a sardonic laugh. “For you and me both.”
“Mira, we can still do this with drugs instead.”
“No. It’s fine. At least I get to hit you first.” They’d agreed this evening that Mira needed to reopen Alicia’s lip, get some blood on her hands. That way, if they check Mira’s hands and test the blood, they’ll be more likely to believe that a real altercation took place. And, if Alicia gets caught, the split to her lip will corroborate the story.
Alicia chuckles. “Speaking of which, it’s almost time, isn’t it?”
Mira smirks but then grows serious. “You better be worth the trust we’re giving you, Wash. Carter and I both have a hell of a lot to lose here. We’re risking everything, and truthfully, you’re risking nothing.”
“I know that, Mira. And I don’t know if I’m worth it, but I know you don’t need to worry about me betraying you. I won’t,” Alicia takes a deep breath, “Now let’s get this show on the road.”
With that, Mira nails Alicia in the mouth, splitting her lip wide open again. The blow actually makes Alicia see stars for a moment. She spits out some blood. “Damn it.” Once her head stops buzzing, Alicia looks up. “Good one.”
Mira just smirks, but Alicia can see anxiousness and fear behind the expression. In that moment, she decides that she has a way she can make Mira realize that Alicia herself has something to hide as well, that she has a secret she can give as a sort of guarantee. She just hopes that Nathaniel will understand why she decided to share it.
After wiping her lip clean, Alicia looks back up to catch Mira’s eye. “Mira. Look, I know you and Carter are putting a lot of faith in me, and that it could cost you a lot if I screw you over,” Mira’s eyes narrow, “But I’m not going to. You know I can’t promise you anything with regard to whether or not we’ll welcome you back in Terra Nova, but I will promise you, I do promise you, that I’ll never give you up to the Phoenix Group or Lucas, and neither will Nathaniel.”
Mira scowls at that. “I believe you for you, but you really think you can keep Taylor from it?”
“I know I can.” Mira looks incredulous, so Alicia goes on, “I’m going to tell you something, Mira, something only three people outside of Nathaniel and I know.”
“OK, you have a secret. How will that change anything?”
“This secret is something big, something people who want to hurt us could exploit.” Alicia takes a deep breath, “One month ago tomorrow, Taylor and I, we, well…”
“Spit it out, Wash.” Mira is starting to sound impatient.
“We got married, Mira. We decided that if Hope Plaza ever got wind of our relationship and decided to challenge us about it, we’d be better positioned to fight back if we were married. Right now, the only people who know are Malcolm and two of our soldiers. No one else in the entire colony knows.”
Mira stares at Alicia, clearly shocked by her admission. “But you still had separate housing. We know that because I searched his house and your house.”
“Yeah, that was an issue between us. We couldn’t decide how open to be in the colony. With everything going on, we’d just temporarily tabled the issue. Somehow, moving in together was scarier to us than getting married.” Alicia shakes her head.
“Well damn, Wash. That is not what I expected, but I can definitely see how it could be exploited. And it would make Lucas even crazier than he already is.” Mira still looks dumbfounded.
Alicia nods and glances at her watch. “You told me yours, and now I’ve told you mine. And it’s after 1:30, so I guess this is it.”
As Alicia bends down to get her jacket, Mira says, “You know, you didn’t have to tell me that, Alicia, but I appreciate the trust.”
Alicia nods. “Are you ready for this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be to get beaten up and not fight back. And by the way, Wash, tell Taylor I said congratulations.”
Alicia laughs, and then she shoots Mira an apologetic look before throwing her elbow hard into Mira’s face.
Five minutes later, Wash slips out the back of Mira’s tent, and she’s booking it away from the camp. She is surprised by how bad she feels about leaving Mira unconscious and bleeding in the tent, but she knows it had to happen.
After dodging a few Phoenix patrols, she arrives at the place where she was told to meet Carter, a grouping of large rocks about a mile from the camp. The patrols stopped at about half a mile out, so she feels sure they are far enough out.
She picks her way through the rocks until a voice makes her jump. “Hey, Wash.”
“Damn it, Carter, you scared the crap out of me.”
He laughs softly. “Good to know I’m actually able to sneak up on you. Come on, follow me.”
She does so, tracking his path through the rocks, until they get to the end of them, with nothing but arid land between them and the beginnings of the forested area. In the shadows, she sees the dim outline of a motorcycle, one suspiciously similar to the ones they use in the colony.
“Yes, Wash, we stole a few of these when we left. That’s why it looks familiar. We’re just letting you steal it back.”
Alicia rolls her eyes even though she knows he can’t see it in the dark. She remembers that the bike usually has saddlebags. She walks over to it, and she sees that they’re there. “What all do I have?”
He opens the bag on the right side and pulls out two guns, one a pulse weapon and the other a conventional handgun. He passes them to her with two holsters, one for her thigh and one for her shoulder. She straps the stun weapon to her shoulder and the other to her leg. “There are extra ammo clips in the bag, along with a decent knife. The other bag has water and a small amount of food. You don’t have too far to go, so it should be enough.”
She throws a leg over the bike and hits the ignition. In the low light from the power gauge on the bike, she can see his face. “Thank you, Carter.”
He hands her a pair of protective glasses. “Don’t thank me, Wash, just come through for us.” She nods and slips on the glasses as he says, “The outpost is due south of here, but once you’re to the forest, kick southwest for a few clicks and then go back to the east. We went through some slasher territory with the convoy. Since we need you to make it home in one piece, it’s probably best that you avoid it. If you push hard, you should get to the outpost by mid-morning, even with the detour.”
“Will do. Be careful, Carter, you and Mira both. And tell her I said I’m sorry about the headache she’s going to have. Hopefully, I’ll be talking to you soon.” With that, she guns the bike and takes off, quickly disappearing into the inky night.
On to Part Five
Character/Pairing: Wash/Taylor
Word Count: Total for all chapters ~21000; this chapter ~3550
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Language, Mild Violence
Spoiler Alert: All Season 1 episodes
Summary: Waking up is, in itself, a surprise, but Wash is even more surprised by the help she gets with her efforts to get home.
Author’s Note: Long chapter - didn’t make sense to break it up, though. Closing in on completion, but may not be able to post again until Sunday or so. Baby Girl is in growth spurt mode, which means slightly less me time! Meant to say in the initial author’s note, the Taylor/Wash relationship is the one described in my earlier story, Our Ghosts Stay With Us. It might help to read that one first, but it’s by no means a necessity. Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Phoenix Group Camp, The Badlands
3 Days Later
Alicia wakes up to the sounds of the camp outside the tent, sounds she has become accustomed to over the last few days. She looks over at Mira’s cot and shakes her head when she sees that it’s empty. If they want this whole thing to be believable, they really need to not make such an obvious show of trusting her.
As she sits up, her handcuff clinks against the bed frame. She really can’t wait until that thing is gone. According to Mira, that will happen any day now. Thinking back to three days ago, she wonders if Mira and Carter are going to make good on the scheme they presented to her, or if it was just bullshit.
The plan itself is risky, and Alicia thinks that the motives behind it are somewhat questionable. But if it gets her the hell out of here, she doesn’t give a damn. She’s still surprised by how willing Mira is to trust her; Carter was less so, but he seems to have come around. It’s pretty clear that they all still really don’t like each other, but an uneasy détente has descended, a begrudging respect in the air.
It’s a simple plan. In the middle of the night, Mira lets Alicia escape, Carter meets Alicia one click south of the camp with a few weapons, rations and a mode of transportation, and Alicia takes off for the nearest Terra Nova outpost. When they laid the plan out for her, Alicia just looked at them like they were insane. It wasn’t because it’s not a workable plan. The plan is fine. But as much as she wants to go home, she couldn’t understand for the life of her why they were willing to put this plan in motion for her.
She finally just asked them straight out, once it became clear that the why of it wasn’t in their rehearsed explanation. Mira’s reply had been simple: they, the Sixers, were going to play both sides of the fence. They will work for the Phoenix Group until Lucas opens a portal back to their 2149; until they turn on the Sixers; or until it becomes clear that a new portal will never be opened.
At the same time, Mira and Carter will provide intel back to Terra Nova. Mira rather bluntly told Alicia that she and Carter figured that between returning Alicia in one piece and then spying on the Phoenix Group, all of the Sixers, including Mira and Carter, would earn some sort of asylum or amnesty for themselves in Terra Nova. Alicia’s reply had been simple: I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise you anything. That had apparently been enough.
It certainly made clear why Carter had been so worried about being able to trust Alicia. The Sixers would have a hell of a lot riding on her endorsing them and making clear how far they went to help her escape.
Mira will be paying the biggest price. Not only will the Phoenix Group be displeased by her inability to manage one prisoner, but also, in order to make the escape believable, she’s going to have to let Alicia render her unconscious. Alicia offered to do it with an injection if Mira would get her the drugs, but Mira insisted it will be more believable if Wash beats the crap out of her.
Alicia thinks it’s a pretty decent plan all the way around, and she can appreciate the reasoning behind it. She’s also more than a little uncomfortable being this close to Lucas. She’s not strictly afraid of him, but she does know that he wouldn’t hesitate to finish her off given the opportunity. As far as she’s concerned, she really doesn’t want to hang around to give him said opportunity.
When she gets back to the colony, she’ll have to get Boylan to give up the communicators he used in the past with the Sixers. Mira is getting her safe frequencies to use in order to connect with the Sixers from Terra Nova, frequencies the Phoenix Group doesn’t use. Since Boylan will need to make good with Nathaniel over his past communications with the Sixers, Alicia has no doubt Boylan will be very cooperative.
One thing Alicia can admit is that a small, deeply immature part of her can’t wait to take Mira down. But wait she must, until they get to what Mira terms “the right time,” when Mira and Carter feel like she’s been here long enough for there to have been a believable show of minding the prisoner. Alicia has warned her more than once that the right time better damn well be soon, because her patience is wearing thin.
Raised voices outside Mira’s tent suddenly get Alicia’s attention. She looks towards the entrance, but no one enters. Looking down, she notices a wash basin and water on the floor, sitting next to a bottle of water and a piece of bread and some of the fruit that she’s been subsisting on since the first day here. Being allowed to get cleaned up and stay that way had been one of the conditions she’d placed on agreeing to the plan, hence the wash basin. That condition had gotten an outright laugh out of Mira. Today, she’s back in her own clothes from the colony, cleaned for her by one of Mira’s people.
After getting cleaned up, Alicia sits back on her cot and eats her breakfast, waiting for Mira to return. Half an hour later, she hears Mira’s voice outside the tent, instructing someone to keep an eye out. A moment later, Mira comes into the tent, looking more anxious than Alicia has ever seen her, and she doesn’t waste any time telling Alicia what’s going on. “You’re going tonight, sneaking out of here at 1:30, meeting Carter at the rendezvous point at 2.”
“What’s happening out there, Mira? It’s more active than usual. And not that I’m not sick as hell of waiting, why is tonight suddenly the right time?”
Mira flops down on her cot, her demeanor around Alicia almost comically relaxed at this point. “To answer both of your questions, the powers that be have finally figured out that Terra Nova has a recon team with eyes on this camp, so we’re moving the camp first thing tomorrow morning - so, you go tonight. For the record, Carter and I both spotted the recon team about ten minutes after we made camp.”
“Well, now I know why you haven’t let me out of this tent. Me getting spotted would’ve likely led to a rescue attempt, and then I’d be no use to you,” Alicia pauses, and Mira gives her a short nod in acknowledgement. “Do you have the communication frequencies I’m supposed to provide to Boylan?”
“I’m getting them put on a chip right now. It’ll be small enough for you to hide it somewhere…safe.”
Alicia rolls her eyes. “Can’t wait.”
Chuckling, Mira gets up. “The guard’s going to be outside all day, and someone will be by shortly to take you to use the bathroom. I’ve got to go help get things packed up and mobilized for the move. The sleeping tents will be just about all that’s left up by nightfall. Sorry, but you’re going to be on your own all day today, Lieutenant. Hope you don’t get too bored.”
“Don’t worry. I can spend my time thinking about ways to annoy you on our last evening together. Should be fun.” Alicia smirks at Mira, who is, by now, used to Alicia being a smart ass.
Echoing Alicia’s earlier sentiment, Mira replies, “Can’t wait,” and exits the tent.
Alicia leans back on her cot, a slight smile on her face. It falls as she thinks about how long this has taken. She understands, to an extent, that Mira and Carter wanted to put on a good show of looking after the prisoner, that she needed to be kept for at least some period of time, but enough is enough.
She needs to get home, she needs to see Nathaniel again. The fact that he likely doesn’t know she’s alive continuously eats at her, almost to the point where she’s making herself sick. The last time she was this worried about him, missed him this much, was when he’d first come through the portal and was trapped here alone. Forgetting her handcuff, she tries to jump up to pace, but the restraint immediately pulls her back down, making her swear under her breath.
She closes her eyes and runs her free hand through her hair. Knowing it’s going to be a long, tedious day, Alicia rolls off of the cot to do the improvised pushups she figured out how to do while cuffed. At least she can burn off some energy and kill some time.
Terra Nova
Jim is waiting for Taylor when he and Dunham come roaring through the gate after two days OTG. They’ve managed to get through checking on nearly half of the southern outposts already, and they’ll be headed back out tomorrow.
A dusty Taylor hauls himself up out of the driver’s side of the rover, and Jim approaches, knowing Taylor will want an update on the colony and on Reynolds and Reilly’s progress with the northern outposts. “Welcome back, Commander.”
“Thanks, Shannon,” Taylor looks over at Dunham. “Take it easy the rest of the day, son, and I’ll see you here to head back out at ten hundred hours tomorrow.”
Dunham gives Taylor a quick salute. “Yes, sir. I’ll see you in the morning, sir.” He heads off towards the barracks area.
“Any report from Reynolds, Shannon?” Taylor shoulders a bag and motions to Jim to follow him to the command center.
Jim falls into step next to him. “Yes. They hit their nearby outposts already, came in last night. There was little damage to the communications systems, but, for the most part, all the supplies are gone.”
Taylor nods, mounting the steps to the command center. “Not surprised. It’s similar at all the outposts we already checked. They must have left the communications intact thinking they’d be useful in the future.”
“Reynolds thought the same thing.”
They enter Taylor’s office, and Taylor heads to his desk, dropping his bag next to his chair. He leans back against the desk. “Did Reynolds and Reilly already head back out?”
Jim follows Taylor, coming to a stop in front of the desk. “Yes. They loaded up what the recon team requested, and they’re on their way to the northernmost outpost to meet up with them. Mark said they’re going to wait for the recon team, just to be able to check on them face to face, to be sure they’re all OK to stay out there.”
“Sounds good. Anything else going on, Shannon?”
“No, it’s actually been pretty quiet. Work is progressing on the repairs and clean up. Those crews should be done in the next week or so,” Jim pauses, hesitating, “And Taylor, Elisabeth wants you at our house for dinner tonight.”
Taylor is clearly about to decline, so Jim continues, “If you want to argue, talk to my wife. I’m just the messenger. When she told me, she muttered something about making it doctor’s orders if necessary. She’s worried about you, Taylor. Just let her feed you tonight, OK? To sweeten the deal, Maddy’s the one doing most of the cooking. And her food is actually good.”
Taylor looks stubborn for a moment, and then his expression softens. “All right, Shannon. I’ll be there. What time?”
Jim gives him a relieved look, clearly happy he won’t have to tell Elisabeth that Taylor had said no again. “Seven.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Looking forward to it, Taylor. Zoe said something about you needing another hug, so, you know, be prepared for that too.” Jim gives him a smile and turns to head out.
“Shannon?” Jim turns back. After a moment, Taylor says, “Thank you, and thank Elisabeth for me in advance. I do appreciate the concern.”
“No problem, Taylor, and I’ll pass that along to Elisabeth.” Jim nods and disappears out the door.
Looking around his office, Taylor suddenly feels the desire to take the rest of the day off. He grabs his bag and heads out, thinking he’ll stop in the market to get flowers for each of the Shannon women. If he’s going to go over there tonight, he knows he needs to try to shoulder off the guilt and the melancholy for the night.
As he often does these days, he slips his hand into his pocket to grasp her tags, and he can’t help but think that she’d be pissed at him for sitting around feeling sorry for himself. With that thought in mind, he walks towards the market, determined to actually attempt to be good company tonight.
Phoenix Group Camp, The Badlands
It’s after one in the morning, and Alicia, now released from the handcuffs, stands up in Mira’s tent, stretching out her back. Mira is perched on her own cot, giving Alicia the same last minute instructions she’s given her twice already.
The chip with the frequencies for Boylan’s communicators is tucked away, contrary to Mira’s implication earlier, in a perfectly comfortable tear in the lining of the black jacket Mira gave her to slip on. They’d thought about getting her some sand colored clothes, to serve as camouflage, but there is almost no moon tonight, and her black clothes will actually blend in well.
“Wash, are you listening?” Mira sounds irritated. “I just asked you a question.”
Alicia looks a little sheepish. “Sorry, Mira. I’m just getting focused. It’s going to be a long night.”
Mira gives a sardonic laugh. “For you and me both.”
“Mira, we can still do this with drugs instead.”
“No. It’s fine. At least I get to hit you first.” They’d agreed this evening that Mira needed to reopen Alicia’s lip, get some blood on her hands. That way, if they check Mira’s hands and test the blood, they’ll be more likely to believe that a real altercation took place. And, if Alicia gets caught, the split to her lip will corroborate the story.
Alicia chuckles. “Speaking of which, it’s almost time, isn’t it?”
Mira smirks but then grows serious. “You better be worth the trust we’re giving you, Wash. Carter and I both have a hell of a lot to lose here. We’re risking everything, and truthfully, you’re risking nothing.”
“I know that, Mira. And I don’t know if I’m worth it, but I know you don’t need to worry about me betraying you. I won’t,” Alicia takes a deep breath, “Now let’s get this show on the road.”
With that, Mira nails Alicia in the mouth, splitting her lip wide open again. The blow actually makes Alicia see stars for a moment. She spits out some blood. “Damn it.” Once her head stops buzzing, Alicia looks up. “Good one.”
Mira just smirks, but Alicia can see anxiousness and fear behind the expression. In that moment, she decides that she has a way she can make Mira realize that Alicia herself has something to hide as well, that she has a secret she can give as a sort of guarantee. She just hopes that Nathaniel will understand why she decided to share it.
After wiping her lip clean, Alicia looks back up to catch Mira’s eye. “Mira. Look, I know you and Carter are putting a lot of faith in me, and that it could cost you a lot if I screw you over,” Mira’s eyes narrow, “But I’m not going to. You know I can’t promise you anything with regard to whether or not we’ll welcome you back in Terra Nova, but I will promise you, I do promise you, that I’ll never give you up to the Phoenix Group or Lucas, and neither will Nathaniel.”
Mira scowls at that. “I believe you for you, but you really think you can keep Taylor from it?”
“I know I can.” Mira looks incredulous, so Alicia goes on, “I’m going to tell you something, Mira, something only three people outside of Nathaniel and I know.”
“OK, you have a secret. How will that change anything?”
“This secret is something big, something people who want to hurt us could exploit.” Alicia takes a deep breath, “One month ago tomorrow, Taylor and I, we, well…”
“Spit it out, Wash.” Mira is starting to sound impatient.
“We got married, Mira. We decided that if Hope Plaza ever got wind of our relationship and decided to challenge us about it, we’d be better positioned to fight back if we were married. Right now, the only people who know are Malcolm and two of our soldiers. No one else in the entire colony knows.”
Mira stares at Alicia, clearly shocked by her admission. “But you still had separate housing. We know that because I searched his house and your house.”
“Yeah, that was an issue between us. We couldn’t decide how open to be in the colony. With everything going on, we’d just temporarily tabled the issue. Somehow, moving in together was scarier to us than getting married.” Alicia shakes her head.
“Well damn, Wash. That is not what I expected, but I can definitely see how it could be exploited. And it would make Lucas even crazier than he already is.” Mira still looks dumbfounded.
Alicia nods and glances at her watch. “You told me yours, and now I’ve told you mine. And it’s after 1:30, so I guess this is it.”
As Alicia bends down to get her jacket, Mira says, “You know, you didn’t have to tell me that, Alicia, but I appreciate the trust.”
Alicia nods. “Are you ready for this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be to get beaten up and not fight back. And by the way, Wash, tell Taylor I said congratulations.”
Alicia laughs, and then she shoots Mira an apologetic look before throwing her elbow hard into Mira’s face.
Five minutes later, Wash slips out the back of Mira’s tent, and she’s booking it away from the camp. She is surprised by how bad she feels about leaving Mira unconscious and bleeding in the tent, but she knows it had to happen.
After dodging a few Phoenix patrols, she arrives at the place where she was told to meet Carter, a grouping of large rocks about a mile from the camp. The patrols stopped at about half a mile out, so she feels sure they are far enough out.
She picks her way through the rocks until a voice makes her jump. “Hey, Wash.”
“Damn it, Carter, you scared the crap out of me.”
He laughs softly. “Good to know I’m actually able to sneak up on you. Come on, follow me.”
She does so, tracking his path through the rocks, until they get to the end of them, with nothing but arid land between them and the beginnings of the forested area. In the shadows, she sees the dim outline of a motorcycle, one suspiciously similar to the ones they use in the colony.
“Yes, Wash, we stole a few of these when we left. That’s why it looks familiar. We’re just letting you steal it back.”
Alicia rolls her eyes even though she knows he can’t see it in the dark. She remembers that the bike usually has saddlebags. She walks over to it, and she sees that they’re there. “What all do I have?”
He opens the bag on the right side and pulls out two guns, one a pulse weapon and the other a conventional handgun. He passes them to her with two holsters, one for her thigh and one for her shoulder. She straps the stun weapon to her shoulder and the other to her leg. “There are extra ammo clips in the bag, along with a decent knife. The other bag has water and a small amount of food. You don’t have too far to go, so it should be enough.”
She throws a leg over the bike and hits the ignition. In the low light from the power gauge on the bike, she can see his face. “Thank you, Carter.”
He hands her a pair of protective glasses. “Don’t thank me, Wash, just come through for us.” She nods and slips on the glasses as he says, “The outpost is due south of here, but once you’re to the forest, kick southwest for a few clicks and then go back to the east. We went through some slasher territory with the convoy. Since we need you to make it home in one piece, it’s probably best that you avoid it. If you push hard, you should get to the outpost by mid-morning, even with the detour.”
“Will do. Be careful, Carter, you and Mira both. And tell her I said I’m sorry about the headache she’s going to have. Hopefully, I’ll be talking to you soon.” With that, she guns the bike and takes off, quickly disappearing into the inky night.
On to Part Five