Finding the light

by max333

new problems arise when the government calls a reclaim on the 'Manticorian's', claiming their government property. new players come in to wreck havoc while old players seem to be behind the new ones. all that on top of raising a family, and keeping the peace within and outside of Terminal City. our beloved leaders sure have their work cut out for them before the struggle is over.

10. the old switchero with Mia in the mix

Sey77: protective Alec is my next favorite to horny Alec or possessive Alec. Lol

recicup: no cuticles please! lol

And yeah I know it's been a long time. Other than getting inspiration for finishing off the ending and developing a co-writer within 'daciavu73' since she's been doing more than beta'ing for me. I have no excuses other than schedules conflict. Enjoy, read and please review.

Season 5 ep.10

The ride to the Phoenix Project base was completed in tense but determined silence. Daniel in the driver's seat of their van, Alec in the passenger seat and Krit hidden in the back with the computer surveillance equipment, out of view from any passers-by.

The plan was fairly simple. Lure Krit's twin away from the others, knock him out, strip him down so Krit could wear his clothing and keep the twin unconscious until Krit completed his mission within the base.

Oh and get Brin out and convince Ross that she's dead.

Well it sounded simple in theory, but they all knew going through with it would put Krit's acting skills to the ultimate test. However, Krit wanted this done as much as Max and Zack did. He wanted his sister home as well and would do whatever it took to do so.

"Okay guys, we're here." Daniel announced as he pulled the van down a trail in the woods across the street from the Phoenix base, keeping the vehicle out of sight from any cameras or motion sensors around.

"Eagle One to Home Base, everyone on standby?" Alec asked, using a com-link in his ear to communicate back to Max and Dix.

"Affirmative Eagle One, 472's radio frequency is now jammed, so if he tries to call for help, the only ones that will hear it will be us. You have the go-ahead but proceed with caution." Max's voice came through crisp and clear, giving Alec a little courage.

"Copy that, going to radio silence until our clone is incapacitated. Out."

Tapping the com-link in his ear, Alec shut it off as Daniel caught Alec's eyes.

"Ready to be the bait, oh fearless leader?" Daniel joked as he passed a GPS device to Alec. As 494 took it from him, his teeth flashed white in the dark van in a grin. "Always ready…let's roll. Krit, you stay in the van until we bring your twin in. Daniel, I'll lure 472 to you. You know what to do when he gets close."

Daniel and Alec jumped out of the vehicle and met on the passenger side. Alec smirked as he surveyed Daniel in his military camo. He reached out with a finger and smudged a bit of the dark make-up on Daniel's face, "Dude that camouflage make-up might actually be an improvement on your ugly looks."

Daniel lightly smacked Alec's finger away and snapped, "Shut up, I have to stay hidden in the woods, therefore blend in, hence the make-up."

Alec cheekily answered, "Yeah… right." He started to walk away and raised a finger as an afterthought, "Just do yourself a favor and watch out for bears out here. They might mistake you for a tree. Hell, an owl might land on your shoulder and take a dump."

Alec snickered at his own joke as Daniel sighed, "Screw you… Let's get this over with already… or are you too chicken to approach the gate? Could that be why you're stalling?"

"Watch and learn my friend. Watch and learn." Alec mumbled as he headed back down the trail that led to the street and Daniel left in the opposite direction and climbed a tree to get a better view of what would happen next.

Once Alec made it to the end of the trail that led to the street, he crouched behind a large tree and powered up the GPS device. Luckily, they shot a small implant into Krit's clone the last time they knocked him out cold, placed right under his shoulder. When he woke up, he'd never know why his shoulder ached, but it helped the TC transgenics to keep up with his whereabouts.

Like right now. Apparently 472 was standing guard on the west side of the base, whereas Alec was across the street from the east side. Meaning he'll need to use the foliage for cover as he made his way about a half mile to the other side of the compound before making any kind of appearance.

Using his blurring skills, he made it to the west side quickly and crouched behind a bush this time, checking the GPS again. Then he peered over the foliage and used the Manticore given night vision to zoom in and find Krit's clone.

He knew first he had to find a way to draw the twin closer to him first. Glancing about, he found a rock on the ground, picked it up and threw it to where it would make a clatter against the fence and draw 472's attention.

"Come on buddy…you sense something now go check it out. We all know you're not worth anything as a soldier if you don't." Alec muttered under his breath.

And it worked. 472 turned his head at the sound, his eyes narrowing. He began to walk toward it as he reached up to the radio on his shoulder.

"472 to base, suspicious sound coming from the west fence. I'm going to check it out. Stand by for radio confirmation."

"Copy that 472, standing by."

Little did the soldier know that it was Zack that answered from the Terminal City HQ. 472 needed to believe he was speaking to Lane. Who better to fake Lane's voice that his own clone?

472 used an id badge in his vest pocket at the entrance of the west gate to slide through the reader and open the door. Pulling out a gun, he pointed it toward the sound he heard as he stepped out.

At the same time in the van, Krit played damage control as he heard Lane's voice yelling, "472, answer me damn it. Get your ass back to your post! Why are you exiting the west fence soldier? Over!"

"472 to base… I heard something outside the gate and I'm checking it out. Probably just some small animal, but I need to be sure. Stand by."

"Copy that 472, but I'm watching you." Lane warned.

Krit rolled his eyes. Once he takes over as his twin, he'll have some explaining to do.

Back at the west entrance, 472 kept his gun cocked as he found the rock that hit the fence causing his brow to furrow in confusion. He scanned his surroundings until he heard a hiss.

"Psst, over here… dumbass!"

472 swiveled, gun outstretched toward the sound. Who would dare call him that?

Actually, besides Lane, there's only one other person that would possibly say that.

"494? Is that you?" 472 called out into the gloom as he stepped up to the street, keeping his gun steady as he remained on high alert. Alec stayed in the shadow to draw him closer.

"I can't believe you of all people became Ross's bitch." Alec taunted, purposely goading 472.

Krit's clone crossed the quiet street and scanned the foliage with his X-5 vision, still holding the gun in front of him with two hands as he replied calmly. "We're soldiers 494, this is what we do. Or at least what YOU used to do. You betrayed us. Our entire unit was supposed to be here together and you defected you worthless son of a bitch."

As 472 got closer, Alec darted quickly behind another large tree, trying to move them closer to the van, he just had to keep 472's attention on him.

"Come on man, you and I are not that different you know. As a matter of fact, we were once pretty close. Or as close as Manticore would allow us to be. You hated Lane as much as I did and now you're actually taking orders from him? Why the change? Are you his bitch too?" Alec provoked once again, hoping it might cause 472 to do something stupid.

472's booted feet barely made a sound in the foliage as he found the path in the woods. Staying alert and keeping his gun hand extended, he talked normally, knowing 494 can hear him just fine. He huffed out a breath, "He's our alpha, not much choice. And you're a traitor. But if you decide to join us, then I won't have to kill you. Just leave that bitch 452 and join us again like old times." He decided to turn the tables.

"By the way, considering how you like giving me such a hard time about following Lane's orders, what about you following the orders of a niner? Now THAT my friend shows me you have no balls left taking orders from a traitorous female."

Alec had to stifle the urge to knock some sense into him. He was getting tired of people trash talking Max, but instead he did his job so he squelched his normal protective urges to complete his objective.

"Join you, or you kill me? Hmmm… you think you can do that? Come and get me, I dare you to try!" he taunted.

At that, 472 shot one bullet just above Alec's head. He had to duck and cover at the next tree.

"You missed." Alec panted in the excursion and adrenaline from being shot at, but purposely taunted his past brother in arms. "You've lost your touch …Brett. Isn't that what we used to call you?"

"I'm 472 to you, the name Brett means nothing to me."

He shot again, Alec ducked as wood splinters exploded above his head. He took off running, causing 472 to chase after him through the woods. Blurring as fast as he could, Alec made a beeline for the tree he knew Daniel was hiding in, high above their heads.

472 blurred right behind him and then skidded to a stop in surprise as Alec stepped out from behind Daniel's tree, hands out, showing he has no weapons.

"At least you can still run. Kudos to you on that one Brett. Need to work on those marksmanship skills though, but with lots of practice, you'll get better. Oh…by the way…look up." Alec mocked openly, pointing above his head.

472 warily checked quickly in the direction Alec indicated just as Daniel jumped and landed on him. Catching the heavier man in an automatic reaction, they both fell to the ground with Daniel on top. Daniel smiled, "Nighty night Brett." He socked 472 between the eyes with a closed fist, effectively knocking him out while Alec quickly took the gun away from the now prone soldier.

"Krit, come on out….You have two minutes to get out of your clothes and into his…" As Krit jumped out of the van and began to strip while Daniel stripped down 472, Alec tapped his com-link to turn it back on, "Target acquired. 472 is out like a light. Phase One is now complete."

"Good job guys! Let's move on to Phase Two." Max advised.

"On it!" Alec assured her as he helped Krit straighten his clothing, then announced, "Okay, give Krit his training wheels back, we need the radio turned back on for him to talk to base. Dix, that's on you man."

"Done!" Dix declared. And it proved out because Lane was yelling into his radio, "472, where the hell are you? I'm hearing shots fired…we're coming over."

Krit grabbed the radio, "False alarm, it was just a bear. He's gone now and I'm heading back."

"You better have a really good explanation for what you did because Ross will have your head for leaving the compound without back up."

Alec shooed Krit away with a hand motion, showing Krit he needed to get some distance from them to stop the Phoenix troops from finding their hiding place and their knocked out soldier.

Alec and Daniel together dragged 472's limp body to the van and threw him in. Alec jumped in behind him and pulled the door closed quickly as Daniel got in the driver's seat, in case they had to make a quick getaway.

"Hey Alec?" Max's voice came through clearly in his com link as Alec tried to get comfortable in the passenger seat. He rolled down his window for a little air.

"Yeah?" Alec asked, slightly winded from the run through the woods and then dragging dead weight into the van. His higher basal temperature wasn't really helping right now either.

"I made an executive decision."

"You did, huh? And that would be?"

Before Max could reply, a head popped up in the passenger door's open window and a cheery, "Hey you!" caused Alec to jump in his seat in shock.

Upset that someone snuck up on him, and not one bit happy about who it was, he exclaimed, "DAMN! What the HELL is she doing here?" Totally pissed off, he glared at the newcomer, none other than Ms. Psy Ops, aka Mia herself.

She pouted at Alec's harsh reaction, "Aw Alec, are you still mad at me for persuading you to cage fight?"

Daniel had just made it to the driver's seat after double checking to make sure their prone soldier was secure. Curious about the newcomer, he asked Alec, "What cage fight?"

No one listened as Alec replied, "Persuaded? Hell no, you whammied me with your psychological mojo is what you did. Which incidentally caused me to go home that night with bruised balls."

Mia giggled, "And you should thank me because now you're with the woman that gave you the bruised balls. So technically, it's very possible that I made you face your attraction to Max."

"What cage fight?" Daniel asked again and this time Max explained over the com. "Mia is from Manticore Psy-Ops, whose 'talent' is tele-coercion. So she basically manipulated a few of Alec's brainwaves to convince him to fight in a cage fight set up for a mob to bring in big bucks. Bottom line, he needed to throw the fight but his stupid alpha brain wouldn't let him do that so I had to kick his ass."

"Correction Maxie, you kicked my BALLS."

"Same diff." Max sniffed, "Anyway, we need Mia to whammy twin Krit to make him think he did things like chase a bear in the woods and take Brin to the morgue…those little details she has to make Krit's twin believe. You need to fill her in on what she should tell him."

Mia jumped up and down excitedly and clapped her hands in glee, "Neat! We work together again!"

He pointed his finger under her nose, "No more whammies Mia. I swear I will…"

Alec suddenly tilted his head to the side and Daniel watched the two curiously, each head cocked the opposite way as if they were looking at each other in a mirror. Before Daniel could say anything, Mia smiled and held her hand out to Alec with a cheery, "Hi! I'm Mia!"

He nodded, smirked and shook her hand, "Alec…nice to meet you."

Daniel guffawed from his seat. "Oh that's hilarious! You just wiped his mind?"

Alec turned back to Daniel in confusion, "Wiped my…what?" as Mia made slashing motions with her hand across her throat to warn Daniel to not ruin what she just did.

"Wait a minute…" Alec shook his head and blinked a few times, then turn fiery eyes in Mia's direction, "You just put the whammy on me again? If you can't fight your own battles girly girl without all this mojo mind crap…"

Then Alec suddenly went quiet again, Mia still standing outside with her own head tilted, both were quiet until Mia said "Hi! I'm Mia! Max sent me here to help you out!"

Alec smiled and nodded, "Cool, jump in!"

"Hooray!" Mia jumped in place and clapped again, getting into the van through the sliding back door, careful to not wake their sleeping prisoner.

"Hey Mia, next time Alec gets all commando on me and mine, can I call you to assist?"

"Hold up, what are you talking about?" Alec asked, confused that everyone, including Max, was giggling. "Aw man, you did it again? Max! Are you going to make her stop or do I have to blindfold and hog tie her?" the giggling continued.

Krit quickly made his way back to the edge of the forest just as Lane and three other X5's came running toward him.

And one of those additional X5's was none other than Brin herself, staying behind and just to the right of Lane.

All four soldiers stopped and pointed their rifles at Krit. Krit raised his hands in surrender, "Hey, no need for that guys. It just turned out to be a bear!"

All four kept their rifles steady. Krit met the eyes of Lane as he continued, "Come on man, this isn't fair. I had to check that out, you know it. Lane! Get your head in the game. You know you would have done the same thing."

Krit didn't know how long he could keep this up before they all decided to shoot first and ask questions later. His eyes pleading, he stared down Lane, and tried to ignore Brin. 472 wouldn't give a rat's ass about Brin except as another soldier. So even though everything within Krit wanted to establish a connection with her, he had to play the part of 472 and keep his eyes on the leader instead in order to not blow his cover.

"Come on man, I told you I was checking out a noise. What kind of soldier would I be if I didn't?"

After several tense seconds, Lane sighed and lowered his gun, then with a wave of his hand, he indicated the others do the same.

Lane got in Krit's face and pointed a finger under his nose. "Tomorrow you're on latrine duty for not getting back-up first. It's for your own good. And maybe you'll learn from now on to get help before leaving the compound. Is that understood?" Lane demanded.

Krit stood at attention, the old ways coming back easily as he clicked his heels, stared straight ahead and announced, "Yes sir!"

"I can't hear you! What was that?" Lane yelled in his face and Krit raised the volume in automatic response, "Sir, yes sir!"

Satisfied, Lane gave a slight nod. "At ease." He told Krit, then turned to the other soldiers still waiting for Lane's orders. "Okay guys, fall out. Return to your posts."

With an inward sigh of relief, Krit fell into step with the others, finding himself next to Brin as they made it to the west entrance of the compound.

Resisting the urge to try and connect he remained silent making sure he followed her trail closely as the other soldiers eventually went back to their designated posts and he continued following Brin into the compound at Corridor #4.

Walking along behind her she eventually noticed the presence, "Is there something you need?" she asked, her voice cold and emotionless.

"Gotta hit the head." Krit muttered as he prepared the needle for injection, keeping it concealed as she turned around to face him.

"Then you're going the wrong way because the …"

He blurred the action, bringing the needle and syringe quickly to her neck, but X5 to X5, she caught his blurring hand only to get the needle jammed into her as his force was greater than hers. "Wh - " she went to scream out when he jerked her around, held her in an arm twisting choke hold preventing her from moving her upper body as he quickly inserted the needle, plunging the liquid into her jugular vein.

The lack of oxygen forced her body to release the hold on his needle wielding arm as she tried to use her legs to kick out. Fortunately the drug's effects were almost immediate and whatever force behind her kick was rendered useless. Her leg flopped like a wet noodle behind her instead, barely kicking as she went down fast.

Removing the needle from her neck, he capped it quickly and stuck it in his shirt pocket. Checking to make sure the coast was clear he bent down and whispered in Brin's ear as she was losing the last trace of consciousness, "You'll thank us later, I promise."

He grabbed her walkie from the shoulder harness and pressed the button.

"X5-472 requesting medical attention, stat! X5-734 had a severe seizure and is not breathing."

"What's your location 472?"

"Hallway 4B, west end. Over."

"We're on our way, ETA under one minute, over and out."

While waiting for the compound's medics to arrive, he looked down at Brin's prone form and made another promise, "Don't you worry little sister… your big brother is getting you outta this place. Whether you like it or not."

Krit heard rapid footsteps heading his way, with Ross and Lane following. Knowing the protocol, he quickly stood at attention. As the medics began to work furiously on Brin, Ross stood in front of Krit, glaring at him.

"Report!" Ross ordered,

"I was walking through the area sir when X5 – 734 seemed to be having convulsions. I called for immediate back-up." Krit explained.

Staring straight ahead, Krit resisted the urge to gulp nervously. Ross stared at him a little too intently for his liking. Finally Ross turned away to the medical team. The head of the team was a doctor they had on staff and he asked the doctor curtly, "What is it? Is she salvageable?"

The doctor checked her pulse points, turned her face over to check for any deterioration, anything that might indicate what had happened, his voice cold and clinical. "No signs of life. No signs of any wounds or blood loss. A severe enough seizure could cause her immediate death if not treated properly at the onset."

The doctor eyed Krit critically from his position by Brin's head, "472, what did you do when you first found her?"

They had never told him to stand at ease, so he was still at attention, staring straight ahead, "Sir! I entered the hallway, she was already in a full blown seizure. She was on the floor having convulsions. When I got to her, her pulse had stopped and she was already dead. I then called for back-up."

"You didn't perform CPR?" Ross asked, incredulous.

"No sir. Not without your permission, SIR! I am following orders. You, yourself, stated SIR 'No lifesaving heroics without your say-so'."

"So you didn't try to save your comrade at all?"

"Sir no SIR! I am your soldier SIR, yours to command SIR, I have no feelings, my only objective is to follow your orders, SIR!"

Satisfied, Ross smirked and nodded, "At ease 472."

Krit placed his feet shoulder width apart and clasped his hands behind his back. Breathing an inward sigh of relief that he passed this test.

The doctor stepped over Brin's body, then stood before Ross.

"General Ross, I can complete a full autopsy for you and…"

Ross raised a hand, cutting the doctor off, "Not necessary. If my soldiers have some genetic deficiency such as this, then I don't need them in my unit. She's only useful for her organs now. Harvest her organs, cremate the body."

"But sir, I…"

"Listen to me doc and listen good. I don't give a damn what YOU want. You are paid to tend to whatever I tell you to do. Now, have your team take her to the morgue. Harvest the organs, throw the body into the crematory. Is that understood, DOCTOR?"

On a sigh in defeat, the head doctor nodded, "Yes sir."

The medical team placed Brin on a gurney and wheeled her away. Krit knew he only had a short amount of time to get to Brin before her body was dissected, but he also didn't want to look too eager either.

Ross turned to Lane, "600, take over."

Ross walked away as Lane said, "Come on 472. Second time tonight I have to order you back to your post."

He started to fall into step with Lane and said, "I really got to hit the head. I was actually heading there when I found 734 convulsing."

"You can use the facilities at Command."

"Come on man, I'm about to explode here…too much water I guess, but I have to go!"

Lane stopped and faced Krit, irritation all over his countenance, "Fine, go, but you have five minutes to get back to Command or so help me, I will report you."

"Fine, see you in five." Krit took off down the hallway leading to the bathrooms, which was incidentally the same hallway Brin was taken down. Once he saw Lane was gone, he bypassed the bathrooms and headed to the morgue. Once he arrived he peered through the glass to see Brin was inside alone. At least for now. Thankful that the compound didn't feel the need for security doors within the compound, he pushed through the double doors and quickly got to work.

"Oops, Brin you're about to be cremated, the organ harvest is now done." He smirked to her prone form. "You'll find this funny at some point in the future. We'll look back on this one day and laugh our asses off."

Krit scanned a folder that contained reports that the doctor on staff had written. Memorizing the hand-writing, he grabbed a new organ harvest report and began to fill it out. He tapped the com-link hidden in his ear.

"Max, I don't think this is going to work." He remarked worriedly.

"What's the problem Krit?" Max queried.

"Well when the doctor sees this report, he's gonna know he didn't complete this and the alarm bells will go off."

"I see. Hey Alec, you there?"

"Yeah, I heard you guys. We can try to send Mia in to whammy the doctor. Actually doing it though is a different thing."

"Mia? Who the hell is Mia?" Krit interjected his question as he looked around to make sure no one was coming. "And does Dix have the cameras turned off in the morgue?"

"Yes he does." Max answered, "And Mia is someone I called in that used to work in Psy Ops. She can make people think they did things they didn't do, or make people do things they don't want to do. Just trust me on this Krit…Hold on guys, I think I have something here…"

Krit continued writing up the report as well as listening for newcomers. He checked his watch as well, "Hurry up guys, we can't keep Brin for too long."

"We got it!" Max's voice came back into the conversation. "Dix looked over the schematics and there are underground tunnels. Krit, I need you to go down there and meet Mia and bring her to the morgue."

"What? I can't leave Brin. What if someone comes in and starts hacking while I'm gone?"

"We'll monitor her from where we are. We see you and her on the camera feed. Please Krit, time is of the essence here."

"I am NOT leaving Brin. Max, I don't defy you often, but I'm not leaving her behind, I'll take her to the tunnel with me. Have Alec meet me there too. I'll pass Brin to him and bring Mia up. Are you sure about this Mia person?"

"Yes, she'll cover your physical tracks Krit. While we handle the digital tracks. Go ahead and get Brin, take the stairwell on the southwest corner all the way down, about three flights, then follow the tunnel until you meet with Alec and Mia. Alec, the entrance to the tunnel is actually in the patch of woods you are in. Look for a large oak tree."

"Um, yeah Max, there are about FIVE THOUSAND of those! Can we be more specific?"

"This one will actually have a door in the trunk. You, Mia and Daniel spread out and check the ones nearest to you. Your X5 vision should be able to make out any inconsistencies in the tree trunks. Check only the oaks. I'm sure you guys know which is which right? One of the first things we learned as kids. Alec, once you find it, escort Mia in and take her to Krit. And retrieve Brin. Oh, and I can't stress enough that Mia's usual chatter will need to be squelched."

"Oh I'll happily tell her to shut up, no problem there!"

"Alright fine. Let's make this quick." Krit announced as he placed the report in the folder. He turned back to Brin and squeezed her shoulder. "Okay little sister, we're busting you outta here."

He sat her up, and then picked her up in a fireman's carry. Approaching the morgue door, he made sure no one was coming as he snuck out with his burden and headed to the stairwell at the end of the hall.

"Look for a door in a tree…seriously, does this sound too much like that movie 'The Princess Bride'?" Alec asked as he inspected the trunk of one of the trees.

"The what?" Daniel asked from a few feet away as he checked another tree.

"Seriously, you guys need to watch more movies. Aha, I think I found it!" Alec ran his hand carefully over a trunk. He placed pressure on a knot hole and the door opened.

"Okay Mia, get your butt over here. Let's get this trade off done. You are going to be a busy little psy ops girl tonight."

Mia carefully picked her way over to Alec in her stiletto boots. Alec's look of irritation wasn't lost on her.

"Mia, when you are asked to go on missions, please change your shoes into something more comfortable."

Once she made it to where Alec was standing, she huffed, "Silly, then I'd have to change my whole outfit. I didn't have time for that."

"Well from what I can see in here, it's all concrete, and your boots will make a clickety-clack that will tell everyone we're in the basement, so take your shoes off."

"No way. I'd rather walk on my tiptoes so the heels won't make a sound."

"I outrank you, this is an order, take off your friggin' shoes or I will take them off for you. The noise it will make will put all of us in danger."

She tsked him, "So rude Alec." She admonished kindly, "Didn't Manticore teach you decorum or at least give you manners?"

"Guys!" Max's voice came through the com-link in Alec's ear, "Stop this. Mia, take your shoes off. Alec is not doing this to make you day horrible, he's trying to protect you."

Mia had her own com-link now and heard every word. She pouted but said, "Okay Max, but if I get a bruise on my foot due to the rocks or I'm bitten by a rat, I'm not going to be a happy camper."

She bent down and unzipped her knee high boots, one at a time and removed them. She intended to carry them and Alec shook his head, "Nope, hand them to Daniel. You'll get them back when you come back."

She glanced over to Daniel uncertainly, but he smiled at her, his usual charm coming forth, "Nothing will happen to your shoes Mia. Unfortunately we don't have a spare pair of sneakers or else I'd offer them instead. I'm sorry, but it's for your own protection."

On a sigh she passed the boots to Daniel. Satisfied, Alec opened the door in the tree trunk a little further and bowed, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "After you. Ladies first."

Mia stepped inside, followed by Alec.

Krit began to wonder if he took the wrong tunnel until he heard arguing between Alec and a female.

"I swear to God Mia, if you don't shut the hell up…"

"Alec, you need a little more refinement and OUCH, I just stepped on another rock."

"Consider it penance for whammying me up there…TWICE I might add. AND for the cage fight whammy as well as my trip to Psy Ops when you did it again after my twin died. As far as I'm concerned, you deserve it."

"Aw Alec, in Psy Ops it was simply my job. It's not like I hurt you."

"You screwed with my mind, which I personally consider a form of mental rape. Don't hold out hope that I'll forgive you any time soon. I'm only bringing you into this because of Max. Just do your job."

Krit finally saw them and couldn't hide the smirk on his face.

"Apparently you two know each other pretty well." He stated as he met up with the duo. Alec just gave him a glare, then got to work on taking Brin from Krit. With Alec placing Brin over his shoulder the same way Krit had, he just warned him, "She messes with people's heads and memories. Watch yourself. And you…" he pointed at Mia, "Just do what you do with the morgue doc and make him think he did the organ harvest and put the body in the crematory. Head back, both of you, as soon as it's over."

Without further explanation, Alec hurried back down the tunnels with his burden on his shoulder, carrying her easily as if she was simply a bag of potatoes.

Leaving Krit and Mia alone.

Krit gestured back the way he came, "Okay, let's get this over with and get out of here. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to. Consider me your body guard while we're here."

"But I can't walk very fast, I keep stepping on things that hurt my feet."

Thinking fast, Krit picked her up over his shoulder, just like he did with Brin earlier, surprising Mia. She let out a squeak, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Protecting your feet until we get to the linoleum in the compound. Now you have to be quiet." He quickly ran back down the corridor and Mia held on to the back of his shirt for dear life.

"Thank you…you have a lot of gentleman in you."

"Yeah don't tell anybody. It will ruin my rep." He whispered.

He made it back to the stairwell. Seeing it was metal he asked, "Do you think you can walk yourself up the stairs? It's metal, nothing should hurt you."

"Yes…thanks…Krit is it?" Mia asked.

"Yeah, Krit. We'll talk later, just get your ass up there and do your thing."

He had placed Mia on her feet and she frowned, "Language from you too. What is it with the military X5s and their use of cursing?"

Krit shrugged, "Comes naturally I guess. Let's go."

Once they made it back to the floor they needed, Krit tapped his com again, "Dix, shut the cameras off in hallway 4C and in the morgue."

"Got it." Dix announced and then stated, "The doctor is heading to the morgue now. You better get in there quick.

Krit opened the door slightly and peered down the hallway, seeing the doctor coming toward the morgue. He waited until the doctor, opened the morgue door. Using Manticore sign language, he indicated to Mia to be quiet and stay put as he exited the stairwell and quickly made it to the door. The doctor was about to press the red alarm button but Krit blurred to him, put him in a chokehold and counted to eight seconds, releasing him to slump down on the floor.

Stepping out to retrieve Mia, he brought her to the doctor.

"Hand me some smelling salts." Mia stated, "I'm sure it's in one of the drawers. I need him awake to do what I need to do."

Krit began rifling through the drawers quickly and sure enough, it the third drawer, he found the smelling salts. He snatched it up and knelt next to Mia, passing the salts to her. She waved it under the doctor's nose, the ammonia having a quick effect as the doctor blinked. Before he could say anything, he met Mia's eyes. Krit watched in fascination as Mia tilted her head and kept the doctor spellbound.

"X5-734 is being cremated now. You have completed the organ harvest and filed your report."

The doctor nodded and answered, "The organs were harvested, sublime specimens."

"Only the best for the Phoenix Project, hm?" Mia prodded as the doctor agreed, "Best specimens I have ever seen."

"Good, they're part of your inventory. Where is 734's body now?"

"Being cremated as we speak."

"And now you need to take a little nappy-poo. Get yourself some sleep, you're exhausted after all that work. Let me help you up."

She and Krit assisted the doctor to his feet. Once he was steady, Mia patted him on the shoulder, "Go to your bunk and get some sleep. You'll wake up feeling completely refreshed."

He yawned and stretched, "Yeah, I am tired."

"Oh and… forget you ever saw me."

He nodded again, "Okay."

"Good! Nighty night!"

The doctor just walked away in a daze. Krit raised a brow, "Wow, that's really gonna work?"

"Of course it's gonna work silly. I'm the best at what I do. It's fun!"

"Well let's get outta here, or else the fun will end. Come on!"

He checked outside the door again and found no one was coming. This was all turning out to be easier than he thought! He grabbed Mia by the hand and pulled her along the corridor to the stairwell again. He opened the door and led the way down again. Once at the bottom, remembering Mia's shoeless feet, he turned, bent down and picked her up again. This time she wasn't surprised, but said, "Thanks for this Krit. My feet really thank you."

"No sweat. Doing this is much quicker than making you walk. And I want outta here as quick as possible."

After a few minutes he made it to the end of the tunnel, and climbed the stone steps up to the tree in the woods. He pulled open the door and stepped out, finding Alec and Daniel had already pulled 472 out of the van and propped his upper body against a tree. It simply looked like 472 was napping against a tree. Krit saw that Brin was out cold. Concerned, he lowered Mia to the ground and asked, "Did you guys revive her?"

"Yeah, shot of adrenaline mixed with ethelmodyne to the heart…she came to and began fighting, I had to knock her out with my own fist. She'll have a shiner when she comes around again."

"And my boots?" Mia asked. Alec smirked, "Boots? Oh those! I threw them in the lake about a mile down the trail."

"What?!" Mia shrieked but Daniel produced her boots to her, "He's just kidding Mia. His sense of humor leaves something to be desired. Here you go. And we need you to whammy 472 over there. Krit, fill Mia in on tonight's events so she can program 472's mind to think he did it all."

"By the way…" Alec raised a finger in afterthought, "How did you get here?"

Mia rolled her eyes, "I have my own car. I have it hidden behind a billboard and covered in tree branches. I'm X5 too and know at least a few things about camouflage."

"But not enough to realize you need to shut up when in enemy territory."

Mia let that go as Krit filled her in on the night's events. Finally she told them, "Okay, go ahead and get out of here. I got this. I'll send him back to Command and he won't remember a thing about any of us. Go, get Brin to safety."

"Sounds good to me!" Alec announced, "Come on guys, let's book it outta here ASAP."

"You got that right." Daniel agreed. Krit crawled in the back of the van and pulled Brin into his arms in a loving brotherly way as Daniel drove off with Alec riding shotgun, "You think Mia will get into her head and pull Brin out?" Daniel asked Alec in the front. Alec looked back, "I hope so…if she can help pull me out of my funk when Rachel died then she has a good shot with Brin." Alec admonished.

"And frankly, that's the only good thing I can say about Mia." Alec mumbled as the van pulled away and headed home.