Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, they belong to Fox.

Rating: PG

Note: I really don't know very much tactical stuff. So some parts of this story are kinda vague. Use your imagination.

Luck

Here we are on a plane going to South Africa to rescue Max. I just hope I don't lose anyone else to the Reds. We have two hours left to our destination. Lydecker told us to rest, we'll need to be sharp.

"Zack are you asleep?"

"Not anymore."

"Sorry. Never mind."

"No, not never mind. What's up Jondy? Are you ok?"

"I'm sorry for getting all mad at you before."

"It's ok." I realized Jondy was worried and scared for Max, and for all of us. "It'll be ok Jondy. I won't let anything happen to you, or Max, or any of us. Don't worry."

"Team 2, go." Jondy said over our ear pieces. Jondy and Syl were coordinating everything with Lydecker's help. "Good luck."

"What have I told you about luck, Jondy?"

"Yeah well it can't hurt any. Now go."

The truth is, we need all the luck we can get. We're breaking into a secure military installation that's probably expecting some kind of attack.

We crawled through air vents and snuck through corridors. Krit and Zane stayed close. Since the South African's would prefer female biosynths, none breached the perimeter with us. We could here the diversion battle going on one the other side of the complex.

"Here, this is where Max should be if intel was correct," whispered Zane infront of a door. The door was lock with an ID card lock and password. We easily bypassed that.

"We're in," announced Krit.

I wasn't prepared to see what was in the room. Max was curled up in a corner. She was wearing a blue hospital gown. All over her arms, legs, and face were cuts and bruises. She probably had more cuts under her gown. Max was barely awake.

I went over to her and gently picker her up. "Let's go."

We got out of the building just as easily as we got in. The diversion team was doing a very good job. There were a few doctors on the plane and they checked Max over as soon as we got her on the plane.

"How is she?" Lydecker asked the doctor.

"We've fixed her up as best we could, but we need to get her back to Manticore to make sure there's no serious problems," the doctor replied.

Jondy was slightly confused. That didn't answer Lydecker's question. "So, she's ok?"

"Physically, yes."

"What do you mean, physically?"

"Her physical injuries we can heal. But she went through a lot there. I don't know if she'll be emotionally fine." With that the doctor handed Lydecker a folder documenting all Max's injuries.

I looked over Lydecker's shoulder and read the file.

Max had several cuts that looked like they had been surgically cut and sown back up. Most of her cuts looked self-inflicted during attempts to escape. I didn't understand why the doctor said she might not be emotionally sound until I read the next part. The doctor wrote that the location of some of her bruises implied that she had been raped. Before I could read any more there was a loud crash from the apartment Max was in.

"What's going on?" Lydecker asked as we walked into the room.

Max was standing against the wall. She looked like she'd fall over if she tried to move. The look on Max's face was one of terror and confusion. "Stay away from me!" She yelled.

I noticed one of the doctors had a needle filled with a sedative. I motioned to Jondy to discretely take it while I approached Max.

"It's ok Maxie. You're safe."

"No, it's a trick."

"It isn't Maxie. Please trust me. I wouldn't lie to you."

"How do I know it's really you?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"No."

Of all the things I've not told Max, I never lied to her. At that point Max lost her balance and fell. I was quickly at her side. Max wrapped her arms around me and started to cry. Jondy quietly walked over and slid the needle into Max's arm. Max easily slid into a dreamless sleep from the sedative.

"Zack, what did they do to her?" Jondy whispered. This wasn't he Max either of us knew. All I could do was shake my head. I couldn't answer Jondy's question, only Max could.

***Like I wrote above, I'm not good at I'm not good at tactical stuff if I was, then the story would have been longer