Chapter 03: The Broadcast Aires

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"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city," said the man on the television screen. At least it sounded like a man: it was impossible to tell the gender of the speaker, because only their eyes were shown, bordered by a marquee displaying the words. "Streaming Freedom Bulletin."

The television screen then proceeded to show a man being gunned down in a dark alley by another man, dressed in dark clothing. The screen paused as the killer turned, barely showing his face. "The man you see here works for SD-6, the man he killed was an innocent employer of his. The reasons why this man was murdered have yet to be discovered, though there is nothing that will justify the assassination of an innocent citizen."

The television screen flashed back to the eyes and marquee. "SD-6 claims to be a government organization, but their actions suggest otherwise. Journalists who have attempted to expose him have been gunned down in the street. Their blood is the ink of our modern news. Those who've opposed SD- 6 have vanished. All of that is about to change... SD-6: you can't hide any longer. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin...via the Eyes Only informant net. Peace...out."



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"This is bad," Arvin Sloane said, pausing the television screen with a click of a button. "This man is causing us some serious problems, and he must be stopped." Sloane motioned toward the screen, the 'Freedom Bulletin' still suspended.

"He calls himself 'Eyes Only,'" he continued, as he began to pace up and down the head of the table. "And because of a failed mission." he paused briefly to glance in the direction of Sydney Bristow and Marcus Dixon. ".he has acquired our desired security tape, causing him to believe we are America's enemy."

He paused to set his hands on the table, and look at those sitting at the table. "Of course this isn't true. SD-6 is, and has always been, a valid branch of the government. Eyes Only hasn't been told the entire story, and we hope to eliminate this 'problem' before he causes further problems for SD-6."

He stood upright again and adjusted his tie. "Sydney, are you sure there isn't anything more you can tell us that will aid us in finding this girl? There still remains many questions about this unidentified enemy who seized the tape from you."

Sydney looked up at Sloane. "I told you everything I could in the de- briefing," she explained quietly, still disappointed in her failed mission.

Sloane nodded. "This girl is a mystery. Obviously we know she works for Eyes Only, and has some extraordinary fighting and jumping abilities, but her identity still remains a mystery. Have you anything to say, Jack?"

Jack Bristow, who had remained silent through the meeting, stood up and cleared his throat. "The only way we're going to figure out who Eyes Only is, is through this young girl. I think we should figure out a way to lure this girl to us, then bring her in for further questioning."

"Set up a sort of trap, you mean?" Dixon asked, catching on.

Jack nodded. "Precisely," he agreed simply.

Sloane turned to face Jack, a sly grin decorating his face. "What exactly do you have in mind?"



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"So that the tape you stole for yo' boy?" Original Cindy asked Max quietly in an amused tone after watching the Eyes Only broadcast from Jam Pony.

"Sure is," Max was barely able to answer before Normal came barreling into the room.

"Come on people, this is not Happy Hour!" their boss yelled, papers flying off the clipboard he held in his hand. "Do I pay you to watch television? I don't think so! Bip bip bip!"

As he shouted this, the twenty or so employees who had gathered around the television set to hear the wise words of Eyes Only, began to scatter and resume their messenger routes.

"That man is so deep!" Sketchy said in reference to Eyes Only, full of admiration as he picked up his next package and began heading out the door to deliver it.

"If you ask me, he's nuts," Normal answered, although it was obvious Sketchy wasn't speaking to him. "The man needs to get a real job,. quit making up problems in the world."

Max just rolled her eyes as she threw her clipboard down on the counter. "That was my last run," she announced happily. "OC, you up for Crash tonight?"

"Girl I am ALWAYS up for Crash," OC yelled out. "It's about time you finally decided to join us for some beer and pool."

The girls continued talking as they made their way over to their lockers.

"I know," Max replied, almost apologetically as she spun the combination dial on her locker. "Been busy these days."

OC let out a heavy sigh. "I hear ya girl," she agreed. OC had just opened her locker when Alec came speeding around the corner. "Whoa boy. what put you in such a mad rush?" she questioned.

Alec didn't pause to look at her as he furriedly spun his combination dial. "Hot date. tonight," was his simple reply.

Max rested her hands on her hips. "I thought you had a 'hot date' LAST night," Max interrogated. ".And I know you Alec: two dates in a row isn't your style. You like to make the girl wait. It gives you a sense of power." She tilted her head to the side and gave him a suspicious look.

Alec paused to flash his mischievous grin at her. "Who says it's the same girl?" he asked slyly.

OC rolled her eyes. "Playa, you gon get yoself in trouble one day," she lectured. "And when I see a pair of girls putting the smack-down on yo ass, I'm just gonna laugh and say 'I told ya so.'"

Alec just continued grinning and went back to his locker. Just then Max's pager let off a few beeps, indicating someone had paged her.

Before she could look down and check the number, Alec turned around to face her. "I would bet any amount of money that it's Logan," he said confidently.

Sure enough, Max saw Logan's phone number flashing on the screen.

"I knew it!" Alec yelled triumphantly, throwing his stuff into his locker and slamming it shut. He paused and looked at Max, a thoughtful expression adorned on his face. "Max, tell me, truthfully: does anyone else ever call you? Or just Logan?"

Max folded her arms. "Shut up," she said in an annoyed voice.

Alec shrugged after slinging his back-pack over his shoulder. "Just a question," he said, still grinning. "Seriously, does anyone else even KNOW your pager number?"

Max just sighed in annoyance and went back to grabbing her things. As she began walking away from the two and towards the payphone, she could hear Alec asking Original Cindy, "Do YOU even have her pager number?"

After punching in Logan's number, Max waited only a matter of seconds for hearing the familiar voice on the other end.

"Max?" Logan asked as he answered the phone.

"Got your page," she said in reply.

"Good news; the broadcast is already in effect. A couple of minutes ago, Matt Sung got a call from a man named David Aires, and forwarded the call to me. He's a worker at SD-6: he says that he's willing to help me bring them down, now that he knows the truth about them. Apparently he's suspected something for a long time, and this has just confirmed it." He paused a second, letting the information sink in.

Max smiled. It was weird, she felt good knowing she'd helped Logan start bringing down a large corrupt corporation. Now if only they could do the same for Manticore.

"With my instructions, he dug into his computer and found some valuable information regarding the Alliance," Logan continued. "This is inside information: stuff I can't get. He's willing to get it to me, as long as it doesn't endanger him and his identity remains anonymous. There's gonna be a drop-off tonight: an abandoned building on 18th street. I was hoping you'd be my backup.?" he asked hopefully.

Max sighed internally, although she knew she couldn't say no. This job could be dangerous: who knew if they guy was really on their side or not? "I'm in," Max said after a moment's hesitation. "But on one condition: I go in, and you be MY backup."

She could hear Logan's grunt of protest. "But, I.." he started.

"Look," she cut in, "You're the one who is all worried about us being careful. If this guy pulls a gun on you, I'm not gonna be able to stop him very quickly." She tried to persuade him.

"Fine," Logan tried to sound angry, but Max could hear the grin in his voice. "But still, be careful. Meet me here around 8:30 tonight, I'll have everything ready to go. He wants to meet at 9."

Max nodded, although Logan couldn't see her. "Okay," she confirmed. "I'll see you then." With that she hung up the phone and walked back to grab her stuff at her locker.

Max smiled when she realized Alec had left.

"Let me guess," Original Cindy asked. "No Crash tonight?"

Max's grin immediately fell. She had momentarily forgotten about her plans with OC and the gang. Before she could rush in with her apology, OC jumped in. "Don't worry bout it girl, I know, you got stuff to do."

Original Cindy tried to sound supportive, but Max couldn't help but feel guilty about the slight disappointment in her voice. "You sure?" she asked, almost apologetically.

OC nodded. "Yeah, we understand: you gotta do what ya gotta do."

Max smiled. "Maybe I can hook up with you guys later. This job shouldn't take THAT long."



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A few hours later, Max was attempting to break the lock of the old warehouse on 18th street. After realizing the lock was rusted over, and her attempts were pretty much useless, she spotted a window and decided to try her luck with that.

After knocking the window out, Max dove through it and into the building, rolling to her feet safely. "I'm in," she announced over her radio.

Logan, who was in a van about a block away, replied. "Good. He said to meet in the storage area. I pulled an outline of the building; it should be somewhere near the back of the building."

"I'll see what I can find," Max said, taking in the information. Stepping over fallen chairs and other random pieces of furniture, Max saw a large set of double doors. As she pushed them open, her hands wiped off a layer of dust.

"Looks like this place hasn't been used since before the pulse," Max noted as she walked through the doors and into an incredibly large area.

"This is it," Max spoke confidently. "But I don't see anyone."

"He should be there soon," Logan confirmed after checking his watch. "I'm gonna go radio-silent; I don't want this guy to know I don't 100% trust him. Radio me if you need anything, or if something goes wrong though."

Max rolled her eyes at Logan's protectiveness. "Gotcha," she said, and clicked her radio off.

Max stepped farther into the room and began surveying everything around her. The room was two stories high, and both to her right and left against the far walls, were a flight of stairs, leading to a small balcony that wound all the way around the room. The only exits through the room were the one she had just came through, and a small door on the wall across from her.

Max's genetically enhanced hearing heard the man before he entered.

"David Aires?" she asked presumably to the man that entered. He was older, in his fifties or so, with gray hair and a stern expression. His eyes were cold, as though they held many dark secrets.

"Yes," he said simply, with a light nod. He gave her a puzzled look. "I thought I was meeting a contact of Eyes Only's." he said as more of a statement than a question.

Max folded her arms. "You are," she responded. "I'm the contact."

He shook his head. "But I talked with a man on the phone."

".And you're talking to girl now," she finished sarcastically with a fake smile. "Now, if you don't mind, I have places to be, so lets get this as fast as we can. Now, do you have the information?"

"No." he said simply.

"No?" she repeated, placing her hands on her hips angrily. "That's why we're meeting. so you could give Eyes Only the information, REMEMBER?" She stared at him in disbelief, wondering if this guy was incredibly forgetful, or if this was all a trap.

"I'm not here to trade information," he said, taking a slow step towards her, letting his voice trail off. "I'm here to figure out who exactly Eyes Only is, and why he's causing so many problems for SD-6."

As soon as he said this, an African-American man, followed by the girl Max had ran into at the security system headquarters burst through the door. Both held guns, aimed directly at Max.

"Dixon, Sydney, just in time." 'David Aires' said.

Max rolled her eyes. 'I should've known this was a set-up.' she thought to herself.

She flashed the three a sardonic smile. "Figured I'd be seeing you again," she said, nodding towards Sydney.

"Too bad there's no security team to distract us this time," Sydney said as she tossed a third gun to 'David Aires.'

Before Max could shoot out another sarcastic remark, the other man stepped in. "Jack," Dixon said, causing the older man to turn his head in the direction of the voice. "She's wired." He then stepped forward and grabbed the small radio that was clipped to Max's waistband.

"Watch your hands, buddy," she threatened as he grabbed it from her. "Jack? Hmm I thought you said your name was David Aires?.." Max asked sarcastically in a pouty voice.

"You've got two minutes," Jack said, ignoring her complaint, "to tell us everything you know about Eyes Only: including his name and location."

Max tilted her heard. "Sorry to disappoint you guys, but you ain't getting anything outta me," she said, taking a step forward to look Jack in the eye.

"Don't move," he said icily.

"Oh sorry," she said, her voice coated in fake innocence. With that she spun and punched Dixon in the stomach before round-house-kicking the gun out of Sydney's hands. Before she could do anything else, Jack jumped in and shoved his gun against Max's back.

"I said DON'T MOVE," he commanded again, more angrily, not removing the gun.

"Sorry, listening isn't my best skill," Max retaliated sarcastically.

By this time, Sydney had recovered her gun, and both she and Dixon had their guns ready, in case Max were to try anything else.

Jack sighed. "I didn't want to have to resort to this." he said reluctantly. "Dixon, get the syringe."

Dixon nodded and reached into the pocket of his suit to reveal a small box.

Max rolled her eyes. "You're gonna drug me? VERY original guys." she commented, trying to think a way out of this situation, or a way to warn Logan to get outta there. But there wasn't exactly a lot she could do with three guns aimed directly at her.

Dixon opened the box, filled the syringe, and passed it over to Sydney.

"I gotta tell ya, guys: I'm a little disappointed. I really thought you guys could be a little more creative than a standard drugging," Max said with a mock dissatisfaction.

As Jack pressed the gun against the side of her head to ensure she wouldn't go anywhere, Sydney shoved the needle into Max's arm.

"Sweet dreams," was the sarcastic voice of Sydney that Max heard before the room started spinning and everything went black.

 

 

 

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