HOPELESS

THIS NEW STORYLINE IN THE NANOCORP SAGA IS THE MERGE AND DIRECT CONTINUATION OF "A LOVE FOR A LOVE" AND "A SECOND BYLINE". HEREIN

YOU WILL FIND MAXIMUS, TERRY, CORT, BUD, BIEBE, AND ALEX ALONG WITH

VARIOUS OF THEIR WOMENFOLK.  Oh, yeah, and Sid, too!

By Stacey and Jo

(Stacey writing: Terry, Biebe, Alex...

 Jo writing: Maximus, Bud, Cort, Sid)

PART ONE:

There was a knock on the door and Bud, casting a glance back toward the living room, went to answer it. Cort still lay on the couch, his arms folded over his head, and Maximus stood rigid in front of the TV, waiting for the possibility of Caroline's reappearance. Bud drew in a long, slow breath. This would be Terry. After the news about Rachel, it would, of course, be Terry. Too much... too piled all atop each other. One thing after the other. He himself was still dealing with Rachel's death. He'd watched over her like a big brother for a long time now.

Pausing, his hand on the knob, he let the breath slowly out. Terry and Dee both would have to be devastated by the news. More pain to deal with and at a time when so much was on the line, so much needed to be handled. He opened the door, expecting to see Terry and Dee's faces but there, close behind them in the yellow light of the porch's bulb stood someone else. His glance passed quickly over the familiar couple, resting on the third, and his jaw clamped tightly in on itself. Oh, God, he almost moaned inwardly then his eyes shot back, locking on Terry's with a huge and pained silent question.

Alex held his breath as he saw the big man standing in the doorway. Another one. Shit, just how many of them were there, anyway? he wondered to himself, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He still hadn't gotten used to seeing his own face staring back at him with Terry, and now here he was staring at someone else who looked almost identical to himself.

"Bud," Terry said, nodding to the man, his eyes peering over his shoulder past him towards where Cort lay on the couch.

"How is he?"

"Physically or emotionally?" He, too, turned to look at Cort. "Take your pick, Terry. He's had it...both ways."

Terry sighed, walked past Bud through the doorway, Dee at his side, and over to the couch. "Oh Cort, we're so, so sorry," she told him quietly, still wiping back her tears.

Alex hesitated a moment before coming in the house. He took one last drag of his cigarette, flicked it out onto the sidewalk and followed the other two into the living room, where he got yet another surprise. He nearly stumbled backwards over a coffee table, his eyes wide with shock as they went from seeing Bud, to Cort to Maximus.

"I'm dreamin', right? I mean," he chuckled, nervously, trying to get his balance, "this can't possibly be what it looks like."

Maximus, startled from his intense study of Gladiator, turned quickly-appraising eyes on the speaker. He and Caroline had watched nearly all of Russell's movies on DVD back at her pink house in the country. This man was unmistakable. "Alex?" he said, cocking an eyebrow. "Alex Ross?"

"I know you, buddy?" Alex asked, tilting his head.

Terry had nearly forgotten the reporter was with them. He turned to face Bud and Maximus' bewildered looks. "Picked this bloke up along the way. Seems Sid might have pulled out more than we knew about."

Maximus turned and took several steps toward Alex, his bearing unconsciously that of the commanding General. "I always thought, Alex Ross, that you were a better character than your movie. Tell me, did Sid pull you out before you became a white rabbit?"  He asked the question seriously, waiting for a serious reply.

"White... rabbit?" Alex asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. Alex chuckled, shaking his head,  "And I thought the other two were nuts, but this guy takes the cake!" he said to no one in particular. "Look, buddy," he told Terry, backing away towards the door. "Either you explain what's going on here or I'm out the door. Story or no story. And don't give me that fairytale mumbo-jumbo about me being in a movie, either."

Terry looked at the others, "Anyone got a copy of his DVD?"

"I think I've got one here somewhere," Bud responded, beginning to run his fingers along the edge of a shelf. "Ah, here it is. Rough Magic."  He looked at Maximus gravely. "All right if I take out Gladiator for a moment so we can get this guy straightened out?"

Maximus stared at the screen, moving his body enough from in front of the TV that Alex had a direct line to it. That was not his intention. He was not thinking of such a thing at all. His mind had returned entirely to what scene Gladiator was on now. He was speaking to Cicero through the bars of the gladiator training pen.  Sighing, he nodded affirmatively.  She was not there. Not in that scene. Was she all right? Where would she have gone?

Bud knew it cost Maximus a lot to let go of his only connection with Caroline even for a moment. "Thanks," he said, bending to change the disks. "This probably won't take all that long."

Alex couldn't help but notice how much the actor in the movie Maximus had been watching looked like the man. He stood, shaking his head again in disbelief. Actors! Huh! I knew it!

Terry came up and stood beside him as Bud skipped to the part in the movie where Alex first appears onscreen. He watched Alex's reaction, when he saw himself on screen... in the hotel in Mexico.

Alex's heart beat faster, he opened his mouth, but nothing came. He pointed at the screen, turned to Terry, who just nodded, then looked back at the screen again. "Tha... tha... that's me! But h... how?!" he stuttered, watching again as the "Alex" on the TV tossed down a coin to a little boy on the street below his balcony.

"It's like I was trying to explain to you back in the bar, mate... Sid found a way to warp us all out of our movies and into the real world," Terry told him.

Alex quickly turned back to Terry, then looked around the room at Cort, Bud and Maximus. He pulled at his collar, feeling beads of sweat starting to form on his neck and forehead. "H... hot in here, ain't it?" he stammered, as the room began to spin around him. Suddenly, he fainted, falling backwards onto the carpet with a thud!

"Well, that went well," Terry commented, then told Bud, as he stooped down and grabbed one of Alex's arms, "Help me get him up off the floor, Mate."

 
Bud looked at Cort. "Couch's already taken," he said mildly. "Guess we could prop him on the recliner." 

So that's what they did. Cort had not even removed his arms from over his face this whole time. That worried Maximus, who crouched now beside him, touching his shoulder lightly. "Cort?" he murmured.

Cort flinched at the touch, moving his arms just enough so that Maximus caught a quick glimpse of tear-streaked cheeks. When he settled his arms back in place again, his jaw and mouth were uncovered.  His chin trembling, he whispered hoarsely, "All this time. We struggled so all this time. Over and over. Now she's gone."  His arms dropped and he turned, looking at Maximus with red-rimmed eyes. "How can she be gone, Maximus? How?"

Maximus dipped his head down, hissing a breath in. He knew Cort's pain, knew it all too well, knew it well enough to know there were no words, none that were good enough, none that gave a sufficient reason for unbearable pain. He squeezed Cort's arm slightly. "I am here, my brother. We shall work on this one together." 

Bud had gone to the kitchen to wet a towel for the second time this evening. Handing it to Terry, he asked, "So where'd you come across him and how much does he know?"

"Stumbled across him down at the explosion site last night," Terry told him, taking the towel from him, and placing it under Alex’s neck. "He approached Dee and me, fishing for a story.  The bloke has no clue of how he came to be. I suspect Sid may have just... dumped him. We tried to explain things to him earlier tonight, but without a warp machine for a proper demonstration, it proved a bit difficult."

"Looks like he may have gotten a glimmer of it... now," Bud offered as Alex began to moan and turn his head a bit. "Story, eh? He some kind of newshound?" 

"He's a hound, alright," Dee chortled.

"He and Nolia here have become good mates, as you can tell," Terry grinned. "Apparently he works for one of the local papers... the Morning Herald or some such." Terry bent down, placing the wet towel under Alex's neck, causing him to moan again.

"Gonna have a nasty bump on the melon," Terry told him, then stood back up and turned to Bud, "We should probably alert John as to what's going on, if you haven't done that already. Has he checked in recently?"

"Haven't heard from him. Not since we've been in the safe house. He should be in on this, though. He doesn't even know yet about Rachel and Cort, much less this guy."  He glanced over at Maximus by the couch. "What about Caroline? Is he aware she's alive?"

He rubbed his hand almost viciously across his chin. "Fuck it, Terry! How the hell're we ever going to get her out of the damn movie? Our warp capacity is gone, completely gone!" He slammed a fist down on the back of the recliner, shaking Alex. "It's not at all like going into The Quick and the Dead to get Rachel. We can't do that anymore. What now? Can you fuckin' tell me what now?"

"Short of finding that bloody nanotech bastard, Sid, and forcing him to warp her out, you're guess is as good as mine, Bud," Terry sighed, "Go ahead and get a hold of John, fill him in on the situation. Ask him to get his arse down here. Maybe between the three of us we can figure something out."

Bud went into the kitchen to call John. He figured he didn't need to tell Biebe about Rachel where Cort could hear. "John, Bud here. Listen, I'm going to make this short. You're needed at the safe house... now. Terry's here with Dee and, you ready for this, Alex Ross. Yeah, him. I have no fuckin' idea. He doesn't either. Upped and passed out when I played a bit of his DVD.  No, he's not a detective. Least I don't think he is. Not here, not now. Works for the paper. Yeah, I know, I know. Yes, Maximus is still with me. Caroline's alive, John, and you'll never guess where Sid's stuck her. Damn! How'd you figure that one? No, that's not all. Yeah, I know it's more'n enough but it's not all. Rachel's dead. You there, John? Yeah, that's what I said. Died in Australia. Cort's here on the couch, kinda banged up, but here. How? Sid, that's how. Fuckin' robot dropped him on the doorstep. Hope? That's another story. Cort says she's grown now. Yeah, you heard that right. Hope's a woman. Where? If I fuckin' knew that, I'd go get her! Could be anywhere. Yeah, right. Just get over here."

He stuffed the phone in his pocket, pushed through the swinging kitchen door, and stood just beyond it, surveying the room. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes a moment. Alex... Cort... Maximus. Any one of these had problems enough to occupy him and Terry full
time. Yet there they were, all three, right there in the same room.

John Biebe hung up his cell phone and quietly walked back into the bedroom. Shit. He couldn't believe Rachel was dead. He walked around to the side of the bed, gently stroked his girlfriend, Amber's bare shoulder. She stirred, a satisfied smile spread across her pretty face.

"Mmmm...," she moaned, then slowly opened her eyes. "What's up, John? Why are you dressed?"

"Something's come up. I need to go. I'll give you a call later," he told her, then leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips.

She sighed. "Be careful," she told him. "Promise me you'll come back to me, John Biebe... in one piece."

He smiled, "I will, sweetheart," he told her, turning to leave, "Amber... I... " he couldn't get the words out, to tell her how he felt.

"I know. Me, too, John. Me, too."

John grabbed his duffle bag from the closet and headed out to his SUV and drove off into the night.

A half hour later, he arrived at the safe house, knocked on the door.

Terry was tending to the still-bleary Alex, so Bud answered the door. "You're here," Bud stated, despite its obviousness. "Come on in." He held the door wide so John could see into the living room. Dee was hovering near the end of the couch, watching Cort, who lay with his eyes closed, his jaw locked tightly. Maximus had once again put in the DVD of Gladiator and was replaying the end of the Tigris fight where he knew Caroline had been.  "Welcome to the party," Bud said tiredly, with a wave of his hand to take in the group.

"John," Terry said, nodding at him. "Sorry to have to drag you here, but we really could use your help."

"Sid," John spat the name out in disgust, "We've got to make him pay for this, Terry. If it's the last thing we do. He can't get away with this... not this."

Terry looked grimly around the room, thinking for a moment. They each looked as though they had been through hell and back. Shit. How the hell were they supposed to find someone who could go anywhere, anytime he wanted without blinking an eye. And without a warp machine, Caroline was pretty much stuck in the loop of the movie forever.

"Anyone have an idea how we might go about doing that?" Terry asked the room. "Unless any of you happen to know of where we might get our hands on a warp device, we're pretty much fucked."

Cort opened his eyes. "Mikol's warp in Kamen," he sighed. But he knew that entire section beneath the Czech castle had been pretty much blown to bits. 

"That was a whole different technology, Cort," Bud said, "and it nearly killed you. I don't think we could risk it even if it were still there."

"I'd risk it," Cort whispered, covering his face again.  He had nothing to lose, not now, and even speaking the word Kamen had brought memories from there of both Rachel and Henri flooding into him. An animal-like groan escaped his lips and he turned his face into the back of the couch.

Maximus looked away from Gladiator toward Cort, his hands clenching and unclenching.  Never, not ever, had he wanted to run his sword through anybody, not even in Rome, more than he wished to plunge it into Sid.

"Seems to me the thing to do would be to find this Sid fellow and force him to pull her out, since he's apparently the only one that can do it," Alex suddenly blurted out.

"Might as well find a needle in a haystack," Dee replied, sarcastically, "Be a hell of a lot easier, and more fun, too."

"At this point, I see no other option, though," Terry told them. "Question is, how?"

"Could hire a detective," Alex chimed in again, a dopey grin on his face.

"Listen, Ross," Bud growled, "I don't think you really have any fuckin' idea of what we're talking about. Feel free to offer suggestions when you figure out who the fuck you are yourself!"  Bud was in no mood to humor the newcomer.  "Getting out of a movie originally was one thing, and we had the technology then to do it. But now we have nothing! It all went up with NanoCorp. This is serious business, newshound, and you have NO idea who Sid is or what he's capable of. No fuckin' idea AT ALL!!" 

He slammed his fist into the wall and every eye, even Cort's, turned toward him. Cort, still in shock from what had happened in his own life, had not really centered in on what was going on with Maximus. Now he looked at him, "What is it, Maximus? What's happened? What do they mean about not getting her out of the movie?"

"It's Caroline, Cort. She didn't die in the explosion. Sid sent her into Gladiator. Alone. She's there...alone."

"My God, Maximus! We can't leave her there!"

"What can we do about it?" Maximus sighed heavily. "The equipment is all gone, by our own hand."  He failed to note Alex's interest in that statement.

Bud, however, did not. "You're in this now, Buster, and on our side, whether you like it or not. You got that? No stories. No nothing." He glared at Ross.

"Easy there, big guy," Alex said, putting his hands up in mock-surrender. "Don't think my editor would believe me if I even attempted to explain the stuff I've heard here tonight."

Bud's glare did not diminish. "You even think of it, Ross, and the next headlines of that shitrag will be about the greasy spot you've become."

"Calm down, Bud. I'm sure our new friend here doesn't want to cause any trouble for us, do you, Ross?" Terry told him, then lowering his eyes, glared at Alex.

"Course not. Just tryin' to help," Alex said, as he sat back in the recliner, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the floor.

Maximus was staring at Alex. "How can he be out of his movie and not know Sid?" he asked Terry. His gaze shifted to Ross. "How? How are you not aware of him?"

"No clue, Mate," Terry replied, "Could be Sid pulled him out before any of us. Trial-run, so to speak. Must have figured Alex was expendable, not as important to his master plan as the rest of us, so when his little experiment worked, he just dumped him off somewhere."

Maximus stared even harder at the rather offended Alex. "Expendable, eh? And what do you have to say about that, Mr. Ross"

"I'd say I don't know this Sid guy but I already don't like him."

"Believe me, you would not like him," Maximus affirmed. "But you say you have no memory of being taken out of your movie? You never saw Sid? Were you, then, the first? You were Sid's... experiment?"

"Look, buddy, I never even knew I was in a movie 'til you showed me. Still not sure I'm not in some sort of crazy drunken nightmare," Alex told him, shaking his head.

"How did you get here then?" Maximus pursued. "Where do you remember being before you were in this city? Was there no sudden... transition... for you, anything that did not fit, did not seem right?"

Alex thought for a moment, trying to remember back to when he first came to this town. "Myra," he said flatly, "I remember Myra. Then... nothing, just hazy fogginess, gut-wrenching... nothingness." Alex sighed, rubbed his head again. "That's when I woke up, on the side of the road in my car. Guess I'd been driving all night or something, pulled over to get some shut-eye. Figured Myra and I had a fight, broke up, and I left. Just figured I had gone out and gotten drunk, which is why I couldn't remember anything."

Maximus smiled slightly.  "I was drugged," he said, "and when I woke up I thought I was still in Rome. Sid had taken great pains that I should think myself there.  So I cannot fault you, Alex, for not understanding what had been done to you. I am sure it was much the same for all of us."

"My heart stopped," Cort murmured to no one in particular. "I arrived at NanoCorp and my heart stopped."  He looked at Bud, knowing how he had watched over Rachel during that time.
 
Bud saw it in Cort's eyes. "I know," he said quietly.

"Oh, God," Cort moaned, his cup of grief overflowing again. 

"If you don't mind me asking," Alex said to Cort, quietly, "What happened to you tonight? I mean, does it have anything to do with what happened to NanoCorp?" He quickly glanced over at Bud, making sure he hadn't pissed the big guy off again.

Bud, looking grim, answered for Cort, his voice low, barely audible except to Alex. "Sid caused his wife's death and kidnapped his daughter. Cort himself was injured falling into a ravine when he tried to get to his wife."

"Oh, Christ," Alex replied. "So, that's why you need to get into the movie there, then? To get her back?"

"No, that is not why," Maximus responded quietly. "We have no idea where Sid has taken Hope. It is my...lady...whom he has sent into this movie."  He'd paused the DVD where Caroline was watching him leave the arena after the Tigris fight. Touching her face on the screen with a fingertip, he repeated, "My lady."

"We'll get her back, Maximus," Bud growled. "I promise you that. Whatever it takes, we'll get Caroline back."  He looked at Cort. "And Hope, too." His gaze traveled on to Terry. "We will, Terry. We've damn well got to!"

Terry nodded, "No matter what it takes," Terry agreed, wrapping his arm around Dee's shoulders and pulling her close. It had been a long day for them all and it was showing on each of their faces. They needed rest, both for their bodies and their minds. Terry looked over at Maximus. The man was standing with his hand pressed against the screen of the television, his eyes filled with sadness and longing. "We should all try to get some sleep," he told them. "Get a fresh start in the morning. We won't do Hope or Caroline any good if we wear ourselves out to complete exhaustion."

"You're right, Terry," Bud nodded. "Alex, you stay right where you are. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Not yet. I don't know if Sid has any idea you're here in the city or how he would feel about it if he finds out.  And you're not getting anywhere near a computer." He didn't trust the man at all at this point.  "Terry, Dee, you're welcome to stay here if you like. You can have my bed. I'm camping out here in the living room to keep an eye on Cort and this one." He tipped his head toward Alex. "Just wanted to let you know you could if you want. You, too, John. There's that unused cot in the storage room.  Do whatever you're comfortable with."  He knew he himself would probably sleep little tonight, not with so much on his mind, not with needing to make sure Cort didn't crash.

Alex was about to state his objections about how he didn't need a baby-sitter, but the look on Bud's face told him that he'd better just keep his mouth shut and settle in for the night.

"Thanks, Bud," Terry told him, "I think it might be a good idea under the circumstances if we all stick together for now, get an early start in the morning."

John nodded, "Agreed."

"Alright then, we'll see you all in the morning," Terry said, standing to head towards the bedroom with Dee. As he walked past Bud, he stopped, his voice low, "Make sure he gets some rest tonight," he told him, motioning towards Maximus, who hadn't taken his eyes off the TV screen.

After Terry, Dee, and John had left the room, Bud came to stand close beside Maximus. "It's a DVD, Maximus. She's in the loop of it. You'll be able to watch her in it whenever you want. Rest now, my friend, all right?  In the morning we'll put our heads together, see what we can figure out."  He picked up the remote that lay atop the TV and pressed a button, making the screen go black.

Maximus winced as though physically struck, but without a word about the movie he went to the couch and squatted beside Cort. "The night is long, my brother," he whispered, "but light comes in the morning. Dim though it may be, it is yet light. Think of your daughter. She remains out there somewhere and needs to be found.  Think, if you can, of what we must do.  I shall be at your side. This I promise you." Then he stood and walked to the door as Cort watched him with silent, damp eyes.

Bud fetched a couple of blankets, handing one to Alex, and with a grunt settled himself on the floor across the doorway.  "Damn watchdog," he mumbled to himself, not closing his eyes as his gaze moved back and forth from Alex making grumbling sounds in the recliner to Cort's silent form on the couch. "Fuck you, Sid...fuck you to hell." 

ON TO PART 2

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