Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any scenes you may recognize from the third book.

Angel cleared her mind and tried to focus on the plan. At the moment, she was having difficulties. It had been hard to go through with the first step, and she imagined that the deception would only grow more and more painful until her true allegiance was revealed. Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy were locked in the back of the van while she rode in the passenger seat, on Jeb's lap. It was hard for her not to cringe away, since he looked and smelled like the School. But his thoughts were jumbled, unclear. He was trying to block her out, but wasn't doing a very thorough job of it.

Flock… dream of… school… Total… freedom… plan… break… can't…

His thoughts were shaken and she couldn't get a grasp on what they really meant. It surprised her that Jeb was readable at all. She remembered her last terrifying encounter with him, when she had been captured for the first time. It seemed like so long ago, even though Angel knew it had only been a few months. And she hadn't gotten a single thought. But now she could, and they weren't making any sense.

Jeb shifted his legs slightly and cleared his throat. Angel twisted around on his lap to face him. She could see Ari's face in the back, but she ignored him. He watched her hungrily.

"Angel, sweetie…" Jeb trailed off, seemingly unable to find words. She remembered to make her eyes big and innocent. Angel didn't need her mind to manipulate people; her big blue eyes were often just as effective.

"Angel, we don't want to hurt you."

"Good," said Angel, making her voice clear and crystalline. "I don't want to hurt you either."

Jeb blinked, surprised. Angel smiled at him. I would like to hurt you, she thought, still smiling. But that's not part of Max's plan. Maybe later. Jeb still looked a little startled, but that was part of the plan. She needed him to believe that she thought she was powerful, that she was maybe even a little bit crazy. That way he would believe her, believe her when she said-

"I want to help you. You're doing what's right for me. Max and the flock won't listen to me anymore."

Angel opened her mind to Jeb's thoughts again. There was an air of surprise about them, but she still couldn't make out more than singular words.

Angel… flock… turned… dream… plan… help…

That was a little bit easier to interpret. Jeb thought that she had turned away from the flock! That was exactly what was supposed to happen. The last three words were a bit harder. She didn't really know where the word "dream" worked in. It was a dream come true for her to help him with his plan? That was a strange expression for an evil scientist, strange even for him just to think. That wasn't it. There was more going on here than Angel knew. More going on that Max had anticipated. But Angel was going to stick to the plan. That's what Max had said. Stick to the plan.

"That's great, Angel, sweetie," Jeb crooned. Angel almost flinched at the sickly sweetness in his voice, but she suppressed her reaction just in time.

"The flock isn't doing what's best, anymore," Angel continued. "You need to get rid of them. For their own good."

"And everyone else's." Jeb finished, sounding satisfied. Angel felt a little bit sick inside, that he truly believed this, but she held it in. He needed to believe her. Everyone had to believe her. Even the flock themselves, since no one knew about their plan except for her and Max. It had hurt so much to watch Nudge and Gaz and Ig be loaded into that truck, not knowing where she was. She knew they would worry about her. She knew how much pain it would cause them. If she wanted to, she could even read their thoughts to find out exactly how much despair they were feeling. But Angel would never do that. That would hurt her as much as it hurt them.

And they didn't even have Max yet. But they would, soon. Max and Fang would come back looking for them, and they'd know what happened. They would track them down; Angel had noticed the obvious tracks Jeb had been leaving. There was no discretion concerning where they were going. They wanted Max and Fang to come. And they would.

As though Angel's thoughts had summoned her, an agitated scream came from the air above them. Angel didn't have to look to know it was Max.

Author's Note: So I never planned to write this, I was just having a little block on my other story and started writing to try to clear it out. Instead, I got this. I already have a second chapter written, so please review and let me know if you'd like it up. Also, please check out my chaptered story, Until the End of the World, which should be updated shortly, seeing as I don't seem to be suffering from writer's block anymore.