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Like anything else, being the Renegade has its ups and downs. Some days, it’s amazing, fulfilling work. He feels like he’s really making a difference. This, Beck thinks as the force of the blast sends him backwards, is not one of those times.
When he comes to, the area is quiet. He guesses he should be grateful for the lack of bystanders, but if anything, it sets him on edge. It doesn’t feel right. He doesn’t feel right. His head is pounding and there’s a ringing in his ears. With a grunt, he gets himself standing and immediately has to brace himself against a wall as the world spins around him.
The sensation passes, and Beck can take a better look around. The damage to his surroundings is minimal, and as he suspected before, there are no other programs to be seen. The only one who has suffered major damage, it seems, is him. Thank Flynn for small miracles.
Even with the area so quiet, Beck double checks the area and finds a dark corner before he sheds the Renegade’s armor. He feels exposed without the white suit- vulnerable- but he can already tell that getting back to Tron’s will be an ordeal without adding in the risk of capture.
Still, he underestimates how much of an ordeal it will be. He tries to mount his lightcycle but finds he can't keep his balance. On foot, he barely gets fifty feet before the world starts spinning again and he needs to take a break. There's no way he's making it past Argon’s limits. He needs a change of plans.
He slides against the wall of a nearby building, his head in his hands, and contemplates his next step. He needs to find a safe area, run a system diagnostic and hope the solution is an easy fix.
The garage is closest, but there's no way he can show up in this condition and expect Mara and Zed not to say something. He's not ready to answer their questions. He's on thin enough ice with Zed as it is.
Going to a medical center is out of the question. He’s fairly certain that a medical program could fix his code without accessing the rest of his disc. In fact, there's probably a rule about it, but he isn't a hundred percent sure and he’s not willing to take that risk.
He's still trying to figure out a third option when he hears someone say. “Beck?”
He startles at his name, not only at the unexpectedness of it, but at how it sounds: distorted, tinny. The ringing in his ears is getting worse.
“Beck?” The voice repeats.
This time he looks up, and is glad he ditched the suit, because standing in front of him, is Paige.
“Oh, hey,” He tries to sound casual, but the words feel thick in his mouth. “What’re you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question. It’s past curfew.”
“Lost track of time,” Beck mumbles.
“You should work on that. You beat the games once, but I wouldn’t count on it a second time.”
Beck stares at her. “So… you’re not sending me to the games then?”
“Not yet,” Paige says. She puts her hands on her hips. “But that could change. So I’d get a move on if I were you.”
As he struggles to stand up, Beck realizes he’s been sitting for too long. Any adrenaline he had in his system is gone. No sooner is he up on his feet than his knees buckle under him.
Paige throws her arm around his shoulder and hoists him back up. “Beck?!”
She sounds alarmed and Beck can’t blame her. He screws his eyes shut against a sudden wave of dizziness. “I’m fine…”
“How did you end up like this?”
Normally Beck would have had a witty answer at the tip of his tongue, a convenient excuse, but he’s finding it harder and harder to think straight. So he shrugs. “Don’t remember much… there was a detonation…”
Paige doesn’t seem surprised, and it occurs to Beck that that’s why she’s in the area- to investigate. This wasn’t some clandestine meeting- this was work. There are probably soldiers on back up nearby. Beck needs to leave. Now.
Which is easier said than done when Paige is still supporting him. “let go of me… I’m fine.”
Paige shakes her head. “I think it’s better if I accompany you.”
But she lessens her grip. And Beck takes one stumbling step. And then another. And then the world goes black.
When Beck wakes up, he is aware of two things. One: Everything hurts. Two: He has no idea where he is.
He can only vaguely remember what he was doing before he blacked out. There was a blast and then… Paige?
Paige. His heart rate quickens. If he was with Paige… but no. He tests his hands and they’re free, so he’s not restrained, and it doesn’t feel like he’s in a cell.
Gingerly, he sits up and takes a look around. No, he’s definitely not in a cell. He’s in someone’s quarters, but not anybody’s that he recognizes.
The room is small, neat, and sparsely furnished. His gaze rests on a small table across the room where a soundboard and a framed photograph of three medical programs sits. One of them is Paige.
So he’s in Paige’s quarters- but why?
As if on cue, Paige appears in the doorway. “You know, when I said you should look me up when you got back to Argon, this isn’t what I meant.”
Beck manages a small smile. “Well I had to get your attention somehow.”
“You’re lucky I found you when I did,” Paige says. “You came pretty close to deresolution. You must have hit your head pretty hard in the blast.”
Beck nods. His head is still throbbing. It’s not hard to believe.
“Do you remember anything before the detonation?” Paige continues. “A suspicious program, perhaps?”
They both know she means the Renegade.
Beck shakes his head. “Not really. Like you said; I hit my head hard. It’s all pretty blurry.”
“Right,” Paige nods. If she suspects anything, it doesn’t show on her face. “Well, if you do, you know who to call.”
Beck looks around again, and decides its time to ask a question of his own. “What made you bring me here? You could have just dropped me off at a medical center and left.”
Paige shrugs. “This was closer.”
“So you fixed me up yourself?”
Paige doesn’t answer, so Beck smiles and teases her. “I think you just couldn’t bear to leave me behind. I knew you had a soft spot.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Paige is blunt. “You were injured, and the only witness to an explosion. You were useful.”
“There’s the occupation talking,” Beck says.
“Careful, I could still turn you in for breaking curfew.”
“Fair enough,” His eyes travel back to the photograph and the soundboard. He wants to ask about the photo- who were the other two programs? Where were they now? But instead, he asks the easier question. “You play?”
The question catches Paige off guard, but her gaze follows his to the soundboard and she answers. “Sometimes, but not often. It’s not really in my programming.”
“You weren’t programmed to be a soldier either,” Beck says. “Maybe we’re meant for things beyond our programming.”
Her lips purse, and Beck knows he’s said the wrong thing. “What?”
“Someone said something similar to me once.” Paige says.
“And?”
Paige shakes her head. “It didn’t end well. For anyone.”
There’s a warning in her voice, and Beck backs off. He’s in her quarters after all; this is her court. “…. So, am I free to go, or…”
“You’re not a prisoner,” Paige says. “But I’d like to take another look at your disc before you leave, make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
“Right, of course,” Beck nods, and hopes his voice doesn’t betray his anxiety.
He’s sure she just wants to look at his code; make sure it’s fixed. But she could just as easily access his memory files, and it would be justified. She’d said it herself; he was the only witness to the explosion. But he’d also healed him before- as the Renegade- without any further investigation. And she has no reason to suspect him, right?
“Well, are you going to hand it over?” Paige asks. She seems amused.
“Yeah, sure,”
He hands his disc over and holds his breath as Paige brings up lines of code, examining them. Her hands move over the display effortlessly and Beck catches a glimpse of a different Paige, the one before the occupation.
Eventually she gives the disc back without further questions and Beck exhales.
“Everything looks good; you’re free to go,” she says. “I’d take it easy for a bit though. It might take a cycle or two for the code to stabilize. I’ll see you out. It’s easy to get lost here; wouldn’t want you to take a wrong turn.”
It takes Beck a moment to realize that there’s another warning there and another moment to put the pieces together. Of course. Paige’s quarters would be on Tesler’s base. And Beck’s never hidden his distaste for Clu. Not for the first time this cycle, he wonders if she suspects something. And if she does, why isn’t she acting on it?
“Thanks,” He says. As they leave, he gives the soundboard one last glance. “Hey, maybe next time, you could play for me.”
She doesn’t immediately dismiss him, which Beck considers a victory. One of these days, he’ll figure her out. One of these days, they’ll be on the same side.