DAY TWENTY 21:37PM

Invisible Orchestras

Father Donnelly got the change ready. Suki pulled up to the drive-thru window. She took the tray of drinks, passed the money from the reverend to the guy in uniform. 

As the car pulled away, Suki said, "I'm sorry."

Donnelly popped the lid on his tea and took a sip. "I appreciate the apology, but... Well, you put our lives at risk." 

Suki drove out onto the road. Scorpio was quiet in the backseat, napping or maybe meditating.

The Father continued, his voice calm but with an edge to it. "What if they had moved on us sooner? Before he removed the implant? How would you have apologized over the sound of that SWAT team shooting-first-and-asking-questions-later? Remember I've seen these cells of theirs at work before, too." Of course he had survived then, thanks to Max. Of course it was thanks to Max that they were after him in the first place. 

"That wasn't LEGACY at the motel. They won't use another cell. Max has been burning their fingers every time they reach out to grab him, so they will go to an outside source. They'll be trying to exploit Max's reluctance to retaliate against uninitiated players. That's why I let those boys-and-girls-in-blue live back there."

Donnelly hadn't been sure that she was going to. Watching from the shadows as the armored van swerved into the parking lot, as the soldiers spilled forth and stormed the room they had been in only moments before. She had taken that strange gun out of her satchel and it had started to glow... But once Suki had identified the team leader, she got them out of there, quick and quiet. 

"I feel sorry for you," Donnelly said. "That you have to think like this. 'Players'... My God, the life you must lead."

Suki glanced at him, a flicker in her eye like a whip about to crack. The younger girl she had heard on the phone earlier today would have said something nasty to the priest. A mean comeback. Things were different now. She looked back at the road. 

Donnelly could tell Suki was honestly trying. And he knew that he was trying to provoke her, letting his stress pull his leash. He was worried about the church, about the sudden shifts, about Mayganne. He tried to keep his voice relaxed. "Okay, explain to me how that near miss back there helped us."

Suki took a sip from her coffee. Before Max she had never tried the stuff. 

"Max will be hunting his hunters. Now we know who that is."

DAY TWENTY 20:00PM

Prelude To Extinction

"How'd you know?" Scorpio asked Suki. She had her back turned and was looking at the window. That last call had taken her for a loop; she had been talking to her younger self. Or a version of her that was of her younger self. But, she had thought she heard the rattle of a subway car as well. 

Father Donnelly was sitting on the edge of the bed, reading something from the drawer. It was a Gideon Bible. It was a comfort thing, since he knew everyone falls back onto a device they know in times of trouble.

"You knew," she said. "But, it's been a part of you for a long time, you'd just forgotten about it." 

"So what you're saying is that you knew all along that they were on to us?" Donnelly asked. He stood up and dropped the bible down on the bed.

"Frank was LEGACY as well," Suki said in a fond recollection. "We didn't know until FACTOR VERIFY that it was embedded." 

"Then why did you let it continue?" Scorpio asked. He held the bloody knife in his hands.

"It was the only way to find Max," Suki said.

DAY TWENTY 18:45PM

Reflected 

Simon splashed water on his face and stared into the mirror. 

Maybe this will do it… 

He patted his face dry with the towel. Pulled the black sweater on. He looked tired. He needed to look fresh, look hungry, for the men and women he was about to lead. It was his third tactical operation in his time with the agency. 

Maybe this time. 

He imagined the moment. Apprehending the criminal. Seeing his team surround them, weapons poised like cobras, shouting. This time it would be Fujimoria. Seeing her taken down, swallowed in a controlled whirlwind of body armor and restraints and orders, the spirits of law and justice descending upon her, a 21^st century ritual sacrifice. 

And I will feel it. 

This time, maybe, the hole in him will close. The open, aching part of him. The micro-void in his heart, like the black hole at the center of the galaxy. All his achievements and successes swirling about, a shining and triumphant spiral of commendations, awards, congratulations. He had stopped so many bad people. Prevented so many bad things from happening… 

And it will finally be over. 

Maybe this time everything won’t turn into ghosts. Maybe this time the arrest will hold onto him, will convince him. Maybe this time it will make everything different. He will know, without a doubt. He will have made things right. Made them better. 

Maybe I will leave then. Travel. Date. Go to school again. 

LEGACY had transmitted the coordinates. Protocols had been agreed upon for the hostage. The tac-team had been assembled and were awaiting briefing. Suki Fujimoria was to be apprehended and used as a means to get to Max Cube. The files Logollos had passed on about Cube were suspiciously brief: corporate espionage, terrorism, anti-government activism. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Who is Max Cube? 

Simon adjusted the sweater. A final look into the mirror. 

Who is Simon Light?

DAY TWENTY 14:56PM

The More They Stay The Same

 "...who's this..." the voice on the other end of her cellphone asked. Suki was glad to get a call; she had snapped it up on the first ring.

"Suki," she replied. The static was heavy with interference. She picked up her tone. "Is the Professor there?" 

"Suki?!" the voice on the other end questioned. There were layers upon layers of static and interference but the voice was faint and there. "You're.... kidding me.... you sure?"

"Put the Professor on!" Suki said, her voice urgent and sharp like a butcher's knife, making Donnelly look at her. 

"You.... wrong number.... Suki?" The voice was distant and echoing like a banshee.

"What?" 

"My name is Suki," the girl on the other end replied. "You dialed my cell!"

DAY TWENTY 14:13PM

The More Things Change 

Three people were gone. At least, ones they could remember. Carmen, Farah, and Art.

Johannesberg’s hair was now long and pony-tailed. 

Rajinder’s brand of cigarettes was different.

Alice was still dying. 

And the cottage had changed.

It looked different, the layout was different. The decorations were different. It wasn’t the cottage that Hank had visited as a boy. 

The cottage had changed. But Alice was still dying.

Hank shifted on the stool, tucked in amongst the bushes, watching the laneway through the trees. The rifle rested at his side. He was glad to be on watch; he couldn’t relax inside anymore. 

Susanna crept up behind him, making enough noise to avoid startling him. 

“I brought coffee,” she said. 

“Leave me alone,” he said.

DAY TWENTY 13:22PM

Optional Damage

"Stone, there's a parcel for you here," the desk clerk called over to him. Stone was in the middle of paper work, trying to tie up some loose ends on some previous cases before focusing on the new ones. Besides, it seemed the feds were all over this one. 

Stone glanced over to the desk and saw a gray delivery suit and a baseball hat standing there. He shoved his frame from the table and got up.

"Expecting anything?" his partner inquired. Riveta glanced over and back at her partner. "You know the chief will have your head again if it's anything from Cbay." 

"Not really," Stone replied and smiled. He walked past the row of desks to the front counter.

"I need you to sign here and here," the delivery man said. He held out a clipboard and a pen at Stone. 

"Don't you guys use those electronic keypads these days?" Stone asked.

"Boss doesn't like them, he says they are too impersonal," the delivery man said. He looked at the signature and smiled. "Need your I.D as well." 

Stone chuckled; here they were in a police station and a delivery guy is asking him for I.D. Well, stranger things have happened.

Stone showed his badge and a smile. "Satisfied?" 

The delivery man smiled and nodded, and handed the parcel over to Stone. "Have a good day."

"You too," Stone replied. He took the package over to his desk. On the very thick envelope was his name and the police station and department. Before he even opened it, it felt like a laptop inside. 

Max exited the police station, ditching the baseball cap into the trashbin right outside the door. He had a huge smile on his bruised face.

DAY NINETEEN 21:18PM

Match Made In 

Max closed the lid to the laptop. "Ok, I've gotta make a run for some coffee." He looked around the motel room; there was no one else there. 

The cellphone rang again. He let it.

DAY NINETEEN 20:59PM

Point And Match

"Craptacular," Max said. He butted out a cigarette and glanced at his watch. He was dying for a coffee, since his head had begun to hurt.

DAY NINETEEN 20:33PM

Return of No Point 

Small specks of snow began to fall from the sky; not enough to warrant a shelter, just enough to let them know that winter was still here. 

"Shit," Suki said. She looked at all of them and shook her head. "It's worse than I thought."

"What do you - waitaminute..." Donnelly looked around at the others. "What's happening?" 

Suki frowned. She snapped the cell phone closed - no signal to the Professor either. "I told you, there's some sort of threshold event occurring. Or is about to occur. Or just occurred." She looked to Scorpio. "Somewhere in that LEGACY-tailored brain of yours is the all the data on your ex-team's shift protocols. Frank had it stored in his, you gotta have it buried somewhere in yours."

"And so what if I do? How did this Frank-guy remember these whatever-you-called-them?" 

"We need any stable reference points we can get if there's a shiftstorm happening - safe-houses, phone numbers, records, contacts, anything. Or we could all get lost." Suki smiled, with a hint of sadness. "Frank's recovery involved a warlock, a tattoo-artist and a bungee-jump..."

Father Donnelly looked around, scanning the rest stop. The barren trees, the faux-wood exteriors of the washrooms, the picnic tables gently frosted with white, all slow-cooked in the orange of the lamp-post. 

His voice sounded high-pitched when he finally spoke. "Where's Mayganne?"

DAY NINETEEN 19:33PM

Point Of No Return

Small droplets of water began to fall from the sky; not enough to warrant a shelter, just enough to let them know that spring was finally arriving. 

"Fuck," Suki said. She looked around at them all and shook her head. "It's worse than I thought."

"What do you mean?" Donnelly asked. 

"Means there is a lot more brewing here than the Professor informed me about!" Suki said. It was the first time Scorpio saw the woman snarl. And it scared the hell out of him. "Fuck, this is bigger than Version Orion."

"Version Orion?" said Scorpio. The mention of that name stirred something in his memory, but he couldn't quite place it. 

Suki tried the cellphone again, her thumb dancing over the keys and bringing it up to her ear. She shook her head. "There must be several major shifts going on; whatever has happened has caused a shitstorm in the plureality."

Donnelly glanced at Suki. Even though he had just met her a few hours ago, he knew in his gut that she was a good soul. He chuckled at that thought. 

"Max is lying low isn't he?" Mayganne inquired.

"Max doesn't lie low," Suki replied. "He stirs the pot."

DAY NINETEEN 15:33PM

Vector

"Thank you for meeting with me, Agent Light," Greg Logollos said, taking a seat across from the young man. He looked crisp and clean in his expensive three-piece suit. At the tables surrounding them other patrons of the Azure restaurant carried on their own quiet conversations. A background whisper of deals and bargains and secrets.

Simon tapped a key on his PDA, opening a file to take notes. "You have some information regarding a current investigation?" 

Greg poured a cup of coffee from the urn on the table and offered it to Simon.

"No thank you. I don't drink coffee." 

Greg smiled. "No, of course not. But yes, we do feel we can be helpful in certain matters, yes." Something about the man's smooth tone made Simon miss the gruff detectives from the other day. "LEGACY has always enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with all of the agencies such as yours. What is the current slang? The Alphabet crews? We've worked with the FBI, CIA, CSIS, NSA, DEA, MI6-"

"I understand, Mr. Logollos. Please, I don't have a lot of time." Things hadn't quieted down since he was first tapped to check out some potential terrorist activity. The diner, the building downtown - some sort of makeshift hostel based on the remains - both burnt down. The mutilated bodies, complete with a small arsenal of cutting-edge gear, splattered inside the warehouse. The body of Lon Lugerelli, killed execution-style. The appearance of the Fujimoria woman, taken off their watch-lists over five years ago when she was reported dead. The body of Aaron Quipton, found in an apartment along with signs of a kidnapping, killed by an as-yet-unidentified energy weapon. The action-movie-car-chase-gunfight on the interstate four days ago. A strange and violent set of tracks that Simon was trying to follow to whatever beast was stalking his territory. 

Greg nodded. "Indeed. Agent Light, you're aware of the recent incident at our research facility. We believe it is directly connected to your current pursuit of Ms. Suki Fujimoria for questioning in a number of deaths and incidents of arson."

Simon arched an eyebrow. "Connected how?" 

"In a number of ways, possibly. Most importantly, we believe that she is currently trying to locate the man who is the cause of all the recent... chaos."

"That's a man I would be interested in meeting. What's your interest? This person was somehow responsible for the damage to your facility?" 

Greg nodded. He sipped his own coffee. For a moment he stared at the liquid in the cup. "Our principle concern is this man's recent attempts to sabotage an ongoing experiment being conducted by LEGACY. An act of corporate espionage, if you will."

"Who is he?" 

"His name is Max Cube."

Simon shrugged. "Should I know the name?" 

Greg studied the agent for a moment. "I thought you might."

"We'll need everything you have on him, of course," Simon said, tapping his PDA. 

"Of course," Greg nodded. "I am pleased to be able to inform you that we have a lead on the Fujimoria woman."

"Really?" 

Greg leaned in closer and explained to Simon that an employee of LEGACY was currently being held hostage by Fujimoria, and that by using some classified satellite technology and an employee genetic-tagging system, they were in the process of locating them.

Greg smiled. "We'll have coordinates for you within 24 hours."

DAY NINETEEN 4:07AM

The Universes In My Coffee Cup
 
"You shouldn't be here," Suki said to Scorpio in a matter-of-fact tone. Scorpio could tell by her voice that she wasn't being smug; it sounded more like a teacher to a pupil. 

Scorpio looked at the woman and smiled; it was the first time it felt genuine. "I have no other options left. You made sure of that."

"No, you SHOULDN'T be here," Suki emphasized as she placed her coffee cup down on the table. The roadside diner was nearly empty at this time of the morning, except for a trio of truckers sitting at the counter and a young couple sitting a few booths down. 

"What do you mean?" Scorpio questioned. He hadn't touched his coffee; it sat in front of him black and cold. He couldn't drink anything since his mind was racing over the past few days. However now his curiousity was piqued about what she was going to say.

"First answer a question. And then I will explain it to you," Suki replied. She had taken the sugar packages and some creamers from the bowl at the far side of the table and placed them beside Scorpio's untouched coffee. "What do you remember of your life?"

Images and memories of his past came popping through his mind. As if a switch had gone on in a theatre and the movie began to roll. He remembered growing up an orphan, going from foster home to foster home. He remembered his first kiss with Jenny McRae underneath a huge oak tree in a park. He remembered while in college he was approached by a man in a black suit and how he joined the LEGACY fold. He also remembered his first kill, a middle-aged woman who was supposed to be responsible for the loss of many lives. He shook the last image away like someone brushing dirt off a jacket. "Standard stuff, why?" 

"Look at this coffee cup," Suki said as she pointed at Scorpio's untouched coffee. "Imagine this to be a version of reality; better yet your version of reality as you see it."

Scorpio nodded. Because, after all, it was just coffee. 

Suki brought up a sugar packet and tore one end and held it before her. "Now think of each of these individual crystals inside this packet as variables. And when added to this reality here, it changes."

She poured the contents of the packet slowly into the cup, making sure that Scorpio was watching the sugar dissolve as it sank into the depths of the dark liquid. 

"That reality is different now. It became different when we added variables. Instead of a dark bitter world, we now have a little flavour," she said with a slight smile. Scorpio watched with interest. "These variables change when added into the fold; it changes the world but you can't see it. It changes everything, but still it's unseen."

She placed the empty packet down and brought up the cream and she added just a tiny drop. "Now think of this as Max. See what happens to the coffee. It changes. It's not dark anymore but has gained a speck of colour. And watch what happens when more is added. So this reality changes. 

"A dark unseasoned version, spiced up with variables and changed by an introduction of another element to change it completely," Suki said.

"And?" Scorpio asked. 

"Just think of yourself as a variable, changed by the introduction of an element," Suki told him.

DAY EIGHTEEN 14:34PM

The Next Agenda 

Donnelly sat at her bedside. She looked so pale. She almost seemed faded, like an old photo. He finished his prayer.

The reverend had been praying a lot, both with others in the renegade church and by himself. Last night he had even tried praying to Odin. Standing out in the woods in the dark, remembering the mighty, terrible figure looming over him, wounded and wise. Donnelly had just improvised something, and his whispers had sounded like wind in the trees. He had started by asking for Odin's guidance, and protection, but eventually he had started talking, thoughts streaming from him, wishes and hopes. He had described the dream he'd always had of a beautiful cathedral, its doors open and welcoming. He had begged the Allfather to lead them to a world where they were safe, where Alice was better, where she and Max were married and happy, or where Max had never come to them. 

One of his prayers, to his God, had been answered. Mayganne was back. And another of his prayers as well; she had some answers.

While the Father had tended to the dressings on the cuts and bruises on her face, she had told him about her capture by LEGACY and her rescue by the mysterious woman, Suki. 

"I think we can trust her, Mother," Donnelly said to the unconscious woman. "She seems to know a lot about Max... She wouldn't even come with Mayganne to our sanctuary, so its location wouldn't be compromised..." He sighed, and took hold of Alice's hand. It was hot. Better than cold, he figured. "Mayganne says she needs to find Max. We have his cell number. But I'm going back to the city; I need to meet her before I give her the number."

He glanced down at the satchel he had packed. He had gotten everything ready before coming to see Alice. He knew his resolve might weaken. Mayganne was already outside in the car. The handgun was in his pocket. 

"I'll be back, dear girl," he said, leaning in to kiss her forehead. Here eyelids, for now, were still. "Maybe I'll find out what's happening." And when he thought of everything that had happened - fleeing the city, learning about LEGACY, Luger being a traitor, doing the ritual with Max to kill the hit squad, meeting Odin - tears formed in his eyes. And suddenly he was thinking about everything, all the ways the world kept changing, all the faces of everyone in his church, the fear that they carried with them always, the sister he no longer had. And he was crying, leaning down, his face against Alice's shoulder, sobbing. All the words of all the sermons he had told falling like red snow through his mind, melting into nothing against the burning ache inside him.

When he finally left the room, Hank was waiting outside. 

"I'm against this,  Father," Hank said as Donnelly passed him. His voice was tense.

The reverend rounded on the younger, larger man. "I really don't give a shit what you think. You just keep everyone here safe until I get back." 

Eyes wide, Hank was silent as Father Donnelly went downstairs.