I sincerely, truly, hate my life, I thought as I dashed through the German streets.

So, right now, you're probably thinking, for God's sake, we've heard this all before! Yeah, you hate your life, it sucks, you're on the run, move on with the story, Max, come on. And by the way, why the heck are you in Germany?

Okay, you're half right. I have said this before. But my life before was much better than it is now. And as for the Germany part, well, I'll let you see for yourself.

-Flashback-

I opened my eyes, slightly bleary, and sat up. I grimaced at the taste in my mouth as I ran fingers through my matted hair in a feeble attempt to comb it through. Giving up, I dumped some water in my mouth from a bottle, swished it around, and spat, relieving myself some of the morning taste.

I sighed. It was a new day. Whoop de freaking do.

Max! Good news!

It was Jeb, and I was instantly intrigued. It wasn't often that he actually brought good news. So? It is? I asked.

Well, good and bad news.

I should have known. Spit it out already, then.

I know who your second voice is.

You're kidding, I replied, my eyes widening. How? When?

Last night. I put the Director's office under surveillance. She thinks that it's extra security, but only I know that it's a camera to watch her.

So who's my voice number two?

Max, I would have thought it obvious – the Director. Marian Janssen is your second voice.

My heart stopped beating. Oh, my God.

Of course. Why hadn't I seen it before? The smug hints, the encounters between the two of us – she always seemed to be behind everything. I had passed it off as her status as Director. Now I knew why.

She was the one controlling me – the one pulling all of my strings.

Jeb could feel my shock. Max – you can't get her out of your head.

Why is she doing this to me? I asked, ignoring his comment. Revenge?

I felt his mental sigh. I don't know, Max. Revenge, spite, cruel enjoyment – only time will tell.

I'll kill her, I vowed, knowing it wasn't true even as I said it. She's destroyed my life.

It may be necessary.

WHAT?! I shrieked. What do you mean, 'it may be necessary'? KILL her?

Silence.

Jeb. Jeb, I swear to god, if you don't answer me right now I'll kill you instead. Answer me, damn it!

Yes, Max.

You mean I have to kill her. The anger seeped away, replaced by horror and clear understanding.

Look, Max, I'm sorry –

Can it. It won't help. I ended the conversation and wrapped my arms around my knees. I felt like howling, but contained it, slowly wiping any emotion from my face. Three guesses who I learned that from.

Killing. I'd done it before, but that had been an accident, and besides, Ari had come back to life eventually. But never had it been premeditated, I'd never woken up one morning and decided to kill someone in cold blood.

That wasn't me. I couldn't do that.

But what was I supposed to do? Sit and waste away until my expiration date kicked in, knowing that I had left my flock on horrible terms?

I don't think so.

I won't do it, I said, not caring if Jeb could hear me or not. I won't kill her. I'll find another way. I'm going back to my flock if it kills me. Where is she?

He sighed. Germany.

Perfect. I had been headed there anyway, to attempt to stall my second voice from killing my flock. Maybe this would make it easier.

I sure hoped so.

-End flashback-

So there you have it. Why I was in Germany, and why my life officially freaking sucks.

It had been a cinch to get from England to Germany, especially with super speed. Now, I was facing the problem of just how I was going to convince her to deactivate the chip – and more importantly, how I was going to stop her from killing my flock.

I hated being in a country that didn't speak a language I understood. It made me feel like everyone could be talking about me and I would never know. Unsurprisingly, there weren't many people that traveled past the Itex fortress. They had probably purposefully started a rumor along the lines of 'haunted house'.

Well, they were pretty much right.

Unfortunately, this time there weren't any marching experiments that I could join in order to sneak inside. The yard was mostly empty, except for a few stray Animins that patrolled the borders. I had no doubts that the Director had ensured that the electrical field was replaced above the walls, so just flying in was out. I was tempted to see just how high up the field extended, but I valued life much more.

Then, I had a flash of brilliance. God, I am a freaking genius! Okay, not really. My amazing, flash-of-intuition plan was to wait – not here, but at her home. She had to come out of her stone fortress eventually – and when she did, I would be waiting back in her likely huge house.

Okay. That image was kind of creepy. But hey, if it works, who am I to complain?

Hey, Jeb! I shouted mentally. Can you get me Janssen's address?

No need to shout, he grumbled. Piece of cake, it's in her database. She lives here. He gave me the address, but you're crazy if you think I'm going to write it here. That's the last thing I need – a bunch of Maximum Ride fans crashing her place in protest. Funny, but no.

Operation Take-Down-Evil-Psycho was a go.

Surprisingly, Marian Janssen did not live in a huge house, like I thought she would. She lived in a pretty non-descript apartment in Berlin. She probably has bigger and better places all around the world. I mean, come on, she wants to rule the world. You know the woman has money.

I tried the door to the building, but it was locked. I glanced at the intercom, wondering who would hear me if I spoke into it. I grinned as an idea came to mind. Pressing the button, I called into the speaker, "Cable!" A loud buzzing noise sounded, and the lock clicked.

Too easy.

I ascended the flight of stairs just inside the door and climbed up to the third floor, to room 303. The landing reeked slightly of sweat and unwashed bodies, and my nose wrinkled slightly. Even in the dim half-light of the building, I picked out the peeling numbers that read 303. Bingo.

I dug in my pocket for my lock picking tool and inserted it into the knob. Within seconds, it was open. For the first time, I felt a sense of dread creeping into me. I was cautious, yeah – I'm not stupid – but something was wrong here. This was way too easy.

I swung the door open quietly, scanning the entire room for anyone that might be lurking in wait for me. Seeing nothing, I shut the door without a sound, still listening intently. Then, my heart skipped a beat. There it was. The unmistakable sound of someone breathing. I froze, not moving a muscle.

"Hello, Max," said a smug voice. "I thought you might come here."

I whirled. Marian Janssen was stepping out from behind a shelf on the other side of the room, a smile curving her lips triumphantly. I couldn't believe that I had fallen for this. She had known. She had known all along that I would do this. I was just the mouse in the maze, running blindly for the prize that didn't exist.

"You're too predictable," she continued, beginning to walk towards me. "You'll do anything – anything – to save your flock, and now it's going to be your downfall."

"What are you talking about?" I asked her suspiciously.

She laughed once, quietly, stopping when she was face to face with me. "You're not as bright as we meant you to be, Max. If you were, you would never have come here. You would have stayed in England, relatively safe. Or at least safer than you are right now."

My mind was racing, reviewing escape routes, analyzing what she'd said for any hidden meanings. But at the same time, one small part of it had frozen when she had said the word flock.

"I want you to deactivate my chip," I said, changing the subject. "Now."

One blond eyebrow raised. "Maybe you aren't a complete failure," she assessed, meeting my defiant stare. "Figured it out, have you? That I'm the voice in your head?"

"You've been torturing me for over a year," I said, my voice shaking with suppressed anger. "What the heck could you get out of that?"

"It was an experiment, Max," she said coldly. "You should have guessed that by now."

"End it."

"It's not that easy," she replied. "You see, you and your flock are threats. We are saving the world, Max, but you obviously can't comprehend that. We have to save humans from themselves, and if we must sacrifice lives for that cause, we shall. You are standing in our way."

"Damn right I am," I answered. "But three billion lives? That's not saving, that's mass genocide!"

"If that's what it takes, I'll do it!" the Director exclaimed. "Animins can be dispatched on my signal to this apartment to take you in. Your flock will be sent a message that we have you in custody, and when they come to save you, we'll get them too. You all must be retired."

Marian Janssen continued, unable to resist listening to the intoxicating sound of her own voice. "It was clever, what you did, leaving your flock. I thought the plan was nearly destroyed. But, as you can see, some remnants of it were recovered." She smiled slightly.

"Actually, that's another question that's been nagging at me," I said, my voice light. "Why Fang?"

She laughed again. "Max, I would have thought it obvious. I needed you out of the way. If you were driven enough to kill Fang, you would destroy yourself. With their leader out for the count and the second in command dead, the flock would be destroyed, and Itex would be free to finally save the world." Her eyes turned cold. "You are necessary casualties."

I whipped the Glock out of its spot in my bag and aimed it at her, eyes narrowed. "Deactivate the chip," I ordered. "Or I'll shoot."

"You won't," she challenged, but I could see the first real flicker of fear in her eyes. "If you kill me, you'll never deactivate the chip."

"But I won't have an annoying voice in my head anymore, either," I replied. "And if I don't, I can go back to my flock. So you see, I really don't have a problem shooting you."

She took an unconscious step backward. "You wouldn't."

"I seem to remember that it was you, not me, who was falling through the air not too far from here," I reminded her. "I might not have Nudge with me this time, but I'm pretty sure I can lift you up on my own. If you'd rather me do that than shoot you."

"Alright, alright!" she exclaimed. "Just don't shoot." I kept the gun trained on her all the same. She hadn't followed through with anything yet. She didn't need to know that I actually wouldn't do it. Right now, it was getting me what I wanted.

"One more thing," I continued, on a whim. "I want files. I want to know who the flock's parents are."

"I can't give that to you," she disagreed.

My finger tightened on the trigger.

"No, really, I can't!" she pleaded. "They're not here. I don't really live here."

"Then deactivate the chip already."

She moved into the sitting room and picked up a device from an armchair. It didn't look like anything special – just a black remote. She pressed a button, and I flinched, ready for it to be a trick and a remote to some kind of bomb – but nothing happened.

"What did you just do?" I asked warily.

She grinned. "I hope you enjoy Itex, Max, because that's where you're headed."

"No!" I exclaimed, realizing what she had done - she had called the Animins.

"But before you go," she continued, "let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Valencia Martinez. Ring a bell?" She tapped a finger on the remote she had used. "She met a man named Jeb Batchelder at a bar. Things went a little too far, and there you were. Just a mistake."

"No," I whispered.

She looked straight into my eyes, calculating my reaction. "She didn't want a baby, and neither did he. Itex was a savior to them. We gave them an opportunity, told them that you would be a very special child. She agreed. When you were born, she never saw you. She didn't want to. She didn't love you, Max."

"NO!" I shouted, clenching my fists reflexively.

BANG.

I stood for a second, stunned, staring at the gun I had temporarily forgotten was in my hand. Slowly, I looked up, dreading what I would see.

Marian Janssen lay on the floor, spread eagled, with a hole through her stomach and a bright red stain seeping across her crisp white shirt. Her eyes stared at the ceiling, glassy and unseeing.

"No," I breathed. "Oh, no, no, no, no, this isn't happening. Oh, my god." I stumbled backwards, as far away as I could get. "I'm sorry," I whispered, but it was too late for her to hear me.

The next thing I knew, I was on the street – running.