Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, or the characters.

A/N: Thanks for those who read and reviewed.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

"Fill me in," Alec sighed, in utter satisfaction as he sunk in to his trusted chair. He needed all the comfort he could get, if he was hustled into a meeting this early into his arrival. Seriously, it was only 24 hours what could have possible gone wrong to warrant attention, before he could get over the jet lag. "And if it's anything to do with roller boy or Max, I don't want to hear It." he really wasn't in the right frame of mind to handle Max and Logan drama.

"Brynes, Hoyt and Cage, have been active since Friday," Fox decided he'd be the one to break the bad news to his friend. It was a given that if any of the Familiars became active, then trouble was sure to follow and its name was White.

So much for a cat nap, "Does Max know?" Alec asked, wanting to know how much still needed to be handled. Brynes was pretty harmless, in the sense that any trouble he could cause was probably manageable, as for Hoyt and Cage, when in their prime of destruction, they could make Transgenics think reindoctrination was barely a slap. Combine those two with White and you have a gigantic pain in the ass for Alec.

"She's been swamped with General Kent since you've been away, so we haven't told her yet." Luke was the one to answer, as he brought Alec all the photographic and textual evidence they had found. It hadn't been his idea to keep Max in the dark about it, but he'd complied because Cage was the last thing she needed to deal with after the last time.

Would Max be pissed off about being kept in the dark, most definitely? Would she blame him for it, probably? Did it add to the headache that was about to come on? Hell yes. "How active?" flipping through the folder, but unable to make any sense of it, his mind just too tired. It would stay that way until his ass got a bed, and had blacked out for at least 4 hours.

"Brynes' purchased an old military installation out near McCord Air Force base, as well as become the chief stakeholder for Rainer Research institute," Fox pulling out the necessary visual evidence from the abandoned file. He wasn't oblivious to Alec's exhaustion, but facts were they needed to nip this in the bud and fast. "All seems to be above board with them, but we're keeping an eye on both compounds."

"What about Hoyt and Cage?" Not happy about the fact that Fox began with Brynes, instead of the two radicals. Buying a military installations and research institutes was big, but he also knew what kind of damage Hoyt and Cage were capable of and it was beyond horrendous.

Alec was definitely onto him. "They were meeting with someone, twice Brynes' was along for the ride. Turns out mystery man is none other than Dr. Wyatt." From the clenching of Alec's jaw, it was easy to assess that he'd gotten the bad news loud and clear. No-one had distrusted that sleazy bastard more than Alec, but at the time they had no other options but to trust him.

Sometimes he wished giving Max the benefit of the doubt didn't come back to bite him in the ass. But he couldn't really blame her, with Wyatt's clear history and Logan's backing of the man, it was a losing battle to argue with her. When he found that bastard he was going to rip him limb from limb, "What was his excuse."

"Nothing. By the time we got to his clinic he was already dead, no brainer who got to him first," Nicole finally broke her silence. She usually loved to prove Max wrong, but on this one, she just couldn't point a finger because they'd all accepted her decision even though they were against it from the start.

Now, it was quite possible Familiars' had Max's and countless other transgenic medical records. Not forgetting a research institute and military installation. It was now certain, those bastards were planning something and if the stolen medical records and research institute were anything to go by, it was biologically linked. "Did they take anything?"

"These are pictures from the second last meeting they had," Nicole, pointed out, "Cage walks in without briefcase, and 30 minutes walks out with briefcase. Wyatt wasn't exactly a rich guy, so I'm guessing it wasn't a payoff." unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice. She was a smart mouth not her fault; she blamed the genes since her big brother was the biggest smart ass around.

Alec was biting his thumbnail, meaning he was thinking something else. "What's going on in your head princess?" Mole was the one to vocalize what everyone was thinking

"Are we sure that Wyatt was the guy they were meeting," he asked, pacing because it got him thinking more fluidly. "How come after all those meeting and being virtually a shadow, Wyatt gets careless on the last one?"

"So what you saying all the other times were someone else?"

He knew it sounded a lot like he was defending Wyatt, but something just didn't add up. First, like he said, why would he be a sneaky and cautious slime ball for all the meetings, but flake out on his stealth on the last one? And if he was collaborating with them the whole time, why would they kill him? The guy had a lot of knowledge on transgenic physiology, and would probably be asset rather than liability. "It's possible," was his muttered response as he left them mentally for a few seconds, before returning in solider mode. "Nicky go talk to Clemente, see if he can let you in on Wyatt-"

"-What's up with Wyatt?" Max voice filled the room. "And why the hell is there a meeting I don't know about?"

It was bound to happen, but he didn't think shit would hit the fan this early in the game. "Mole, Fox, Luke could you guys give us a minute," might as well get over and done with it.

***

"Would you quit yelling Max," massaging his forehead, hoping to get rid of some of the tension. It took about oh; a second after Alec finished telling the events, before the violence started. The smack upside the head was even harder than usual, combined with the yelling, his head was about to explode.

Max stopped pacing, and glared, "it's either shout or kick your ass."

"Maxie be reasonable, how the hell is this, my fault? I just got here; I've been dealing with hard headed jackass for the last 24 hours, just like you've been doing. So we're sailing the same boat." His statement could either get him hit again, or calm her down some. He doubted the latter but, hey a guy could hope right.

Surprisingly she deflated, letting go of a deep breath and stopping the pacing. "So what are you thinking?" ready to go back to being rational. The only reason she'd lashed out, was because she was pissed at being kept in the dark, and Alec was the closest target.

"About Wyatt, or Ed, Edd and Eddy?"

Max rolled her eyes, but elaborated anyway. "Both."

"With Wyatt it's either he double crossed us and got double crossed in return, or we gravely misunderstood the guy which I hardly doubt," a glare was of course his reward for the dig at Max's trust in the guy. "As for Brynes, Cage and Hoyt… they are White's sidekicks, so if they are scrambling it's likely they are preparing a welcome home party for daddy.

"Have the hot properties been checked out?"

"Fox already handled it, nothing out of the ordinary but they've set up surveillance just to be on the safe side."

Something was fishy, but Max couldn't put her finger on it. "These purchases were just to open to not be planted, pretty boy, this smell too much like a set up."

He agreed with her logic, "it could be a distraction, or it could be legit but keeping an eye out wouldn't hurt."

***

"I hope you're calling with good news, Cage," was the greeting he received once the other side picked up.

"Wyatt got jumpier than we thought, but we took care of him," flipping through the files, Cage allowed himself to smile, "We secured what we needed, so everything's going according to plan."

"Good. How are things going on Hoyt's end?"

"He found something in Canada, turns out you were on to something after all."

"And the girl?"

"We have someone keeping an eye on her, ready to move when needed."

"Are they on to you?"

"Well they think they are."

"Very well," a sigh came through the receiver, "Don't call me again until you are through with your task."

Cage nodded, "of course. Fen'stol."

"Fen'stol."

TBC

This as you can tell are events that led up to the prologue. if anything is confusing please ask i'll be happy to clarify. And as always...

Reviews would be lovely. Constructive Criticisms is welcomed. Flames … "to each his own".

More soon