Devon Alone IV: The Legacy of Tears by Nicole Mayer

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DEVON, ALONE. PART IV
The Legacy of Tears (7/9)
by Nicole Mayer

Danziger slammed his fist against the wall, furious. He'd been doing an awful lot of that lately, but this time felt perfectly justified for his actions. This *room*, as they called it, made a mockery of the justice system. For all intents and purposes, it was a cell. And Danziger didn't even know what they wanted with him - he'd barely seen anyone since he and Yale were hustled away from Devon Adair's body.

"We have some questions for you," was all he'd been able to get out of the security officers before they'd locked him away. And since then, Danziger had been told over and over, "We're terribly busy right now, but we will get to you when we can." He was treated with contempt and disgust by the variety of personnel who claimed to be 'caring for' him.

The mechanic had verbally protested over such treatment. "Am I a prisoner?" he yelled the previous day.

"You are under investigation pertaining to the assault of a Council member," he was finally told. Damn, why had he punched Blalock? That was obviously the only thing they could pin on him, and Danziger now knew that the Council only needed one reason, no matter how insignificant, to pull anyone in for good.

He was worried about Yale. The cyborg's very existence was illegal, and only the Adair family had managed to protect him all these years. But now that he was under the employ of another family, Danziger wondered if such loyalty would be forthcoming.

And there was the little matter of Yale's unauthorised scans of Devon's body. With the treatment Danziger was now receiving, he had no doubts that the Council was aware of their unofficial investigation into her death.

He fought the urge to smack the wall of the 'cell' again, mostly because his hands hurt. There wasn't a great deal to do in the room of four white walls and not much else. Devon had also spent days in one of these while on trial for attempted murder.

He almost laughed at that one. They'd both been in trouble for injuring Dison Blalock. Didn't the Council get the hint - the man was bad news.

Although if Blalock *was* now a Replica, then perhaps the Council had realised that the original man wasn't worth having around. A submissive Replica was so much easier to handle, although *something* was obviously tampering with his programming or trying to correct the errant emotions. Danziger himself had seen evidence of that.

He remembered Blalock clutching at his head, and the confused glassiness in the man's eyes. For some reason, the memory felt familiar to Danziger. Almost as if he had seen it before, happening to someone else... Danziger shook his head, knowing it would come to him sooner or later.

The hesitant opening of the door jolted him from his reverie, and a very unexpected person appeared.

"Morgan Martin?" asked Danziger, not entirely sure if he had the name right. The other man nodded, and extended a hand, albeit nervously. Morgan had been reviewing the security footage and had every right to fear a caged John Danziger.

"I'm here on the request of Ms Kassidy Quinn," he began formally. Danziger jumped up. Kassidy! That meant she was back! He'd spent quite some time worrying about her - where she was, and what she would do if she discovered he was missing. More than that, he longed for her company.

"How is she?" Danziger asked.
"She's fine," reassured Morgan, and went on, "but she's worried about you. Luckily, though, I was able to put her fears to rest. You're in trouble, Mr Danziger, but not critically so."

Danziger asked the question that had been burning in his mind ever since the bureaucrat walked in. "So what are my chances of getting out of here?"

Morgan smiled, for this was his line of work. Slick negotiations and working deals for the underlings were his forte, and he could be extremely good at it when need be.

"I'm working on that right now," he said. "I'm sure I can cut a deal for you."

"And what about Yale?" Danziger had to ask. In the short time he'd known the cyborg, Danziger had developed an immense respect for him.

Morgan momentarily paused before saying, "Ah, yes, the one you were brought in with. Unfortunately, he is scheduled for deactivation. Really, it should have happened years ago. I don't know what the Council was thinking, having one of *those* still operating. They're criminals, and who knows what a Yale could do if they were free to roam the stations? I wouldn't want to get in the way..."

"Martin," broke in Danziger, purposely omitting formality. He struggled to hide the outrage in his voice. "The prejudice against Yale units is highly outdated. This one that I know is perfectly safe. I want you to tell Kassidy that, and do everything you can to abort the termination."

Morgan paled. "I can't do that!" he stammered. "Don't you know what that would do to *my* reputation? I'm hanging by a thread as it is! If it were anyone but Kassidy, I wouldn't even be here."

Wrong move. "What is it," Danziger asked, a dangerous note in his voice, "that makes Kassidy so special?"

Morgan heard the challenge and decided to avoid it. "That doesn't matter," he said. "We need to get you out of here before it's too late. For me as well." His final words were a whisper, and only then did Danziger notice the obvious fear in his eyes.

"What, you think they're gonna turn *you* into one of them?" he goaded. Morgan visibly jumped.

"You know about that?!"
Danziger silently cursed the monitors he knew were witnessing the encounter, so he covertly motioned for Morgan's legal pad. Painstakingly he pointed out words (or letters) one by one, hoping that the bureaucrat could keep track of the stilted message.

'Replicas. Council plot. Station domination. You next.' Morgan's eyes widened as he began to appreciate just how necessary it was to get Danziger, and Yale, out alive, especially to save his own skin. Or more accurately, his own mind.

"I'll see what I can do," Morgan promised. "Now let's get down to basics, beginning with Dison Blalock."

And Danziger told his story.

***

"John!" Kassidy shrieked happily, hurling herself across the waiting room to embrace him and bury her face in his chest. "Oh John, I was so worried...I'm sorry about everything...I love you..." She hugged him tighter than ever.

Danziger was a little confused. He thought she was leaving him, but her performance indicated a complete turnaround of her emotions. He willingly hugged her back, excited and happy.

He was free. Morgan had managed to work a miracle, throwing meticulous details to the Council and proving that they didn't have a real case against him.

Yes, he had punched a Council member, there was no denying that. Danziger faced a severe fine and a mandatory anti-violence course for that one.

But of the other allegations...it was Yale who'd carried out the scan on Devon's body. Danziger had, in Morgan's words, merely wanted one last moment with a departed friend. Was that a crime? Had the Council really become so ruthless?

And in the presence of the public (for many friends had attended Danziger's preliminary hearing), the Council was eager to cut off such allegations. "It was a misunderstanding," they hastily revised. "Charge dropped."

Yale, however, was not so lucky. Sensing his own impending doom, the cyborg had attempted to openly state his findings and as a result was rapidly subdued. Morgan was working actively to avoid his termination for as long as possible, and Danziger was praying that the delay would hold until they could overthrow the Council. Or die trying.

They were close now, and as Danziger held Kassidy in his arms, he believed they could do almost anything. But there was still one more thing to do before he could devote his life back to the Resistance.

"I need to see Yale," was the first thing Danziger said when Kassidy stepped back a little. Morgan was obviously surprised, the shocked expression knocking the traces of jealousy at Kassidy's reaction right from his face.

"John," (they were on first name basis by now) "that might not be a good idea. I recommend you leave this place and lie low for a while. The Council isn't convinced that you're innocent, and while they can't come out and say anything, you can be sure they're watching you."

"I don't care," said Danziger bitterly. "I need to talk to him." So amidst vocal protests by both Kassidy and Morgan, Danziger was granted his wish.

Yale looked old and tired, and it seemed that every year of his extended life had caught up with him. Yet he still carried the quiet dignity that set him apart from others, and the sense of a man who had accepted his inevitable fate.

"I'm glad to see you, John," he said from his own small, white room. Yale had recordings of old-style prisons with dirty grey walls and decided they were infinitely preferable to the stark, painful brilliance of cells of the present.

Danziger shuffled awkwardly on his feet, not quite knowing what to say. He was going free, and Yale was scheduled to die. It wasn't fair, especially since they had both been in on it. he shouted internally.

Finally, Danziger spoke. "I'm sorry," he offered. "Don't be," Yale replied. "Just continue the work. If we can do that, then Devon's quest was not in vain. Someday, the truth must come out."

"Devon," repeated Danziger. "Are you positive it wasn't a clone we saw in the freezer?" But in his heart, he already knew the answer would be no.

"It was her," Yale said gravely. "But there is one other interesting fact I neglected to mention," he revealed. "I only discovered it myself when reviewing the data. That body - Devon Adair - has been dead for at least two years."

"What?" Danziger said even as his mind raced ahead. So if the real Devon was murdered, two years ago...then who the hell had he known?

"My God...She was a Replica!"

End 7/9

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