~Part Twenty-Five~

An American Family

Zack ran a hand through his hair, for about the fifth time that morning.  His ignored cup of coffee sat next to his elbow, already cold. He glanced up from the papers he'd been studying and caught sight of his sister and Cale lingering by the windows. The military half of Zack's mind read all the tactical exposure risks . . . Way too easy for a sniper . . . Zack shook his head. He'd been immersed in plans and strategies all night.

Make that his whole life. It was what he'd been trained to do – what he'd been made to do – and Zack knew it was what he had to do to stay on the outside and stay alive. Somebody had to make sure that he and his siblings had lives of their own. The escape had been his idea, so it was his life that got sacrificed for the job. Zack wondered if he'd become as obsessed as Lydecker about the escape. But if he ever lost sight of the goal...

Like you did with Maeve, his mind taunted him. Zack mentally chastised himself for that. He'd damn near sacrificed them all for that one. He'd lost his head and only managed to get it back in the game in time to save his ass. How could Max not see that she'd lost her head with Cale?

But it was no use going there. Zack knew his sisters were as stubborn as he was. Jondie, Tinga, Max . . . the three of them were ready to chuck everything out the window for a norm. Secretly, Zack admired their ability to let go completely and allow someone else into their trust.  Perhaps that was part of the reason he'd been so bitter around Cale – even why he'd lied to Max about Logan's 'death' in that SAC base explosion – he wanted someone else to feel the way he did. He didn't want to be the only one who wasn't allowed to have feelings. If you had feelings you had a weakness and Zack was determined that his only weakness would be the safety of his siblings.

And his son.

Zack's heart clinched at that thought. There was somebody out there that was part of him. A living, breathing, tiny little Zack. An innocent little Zack. But only if they could get to him in time. Zack's fist tightened around the paper that was in his hand, crumpling it into a ball. He'd be damned if his son had to live the kind of life he'd had.

Zack grabbed his backpack and pulled his cell phone out. Punching in a number he turned his back to Max and Logan and waited patiently while the number rang three times. He left his message and hung up. When he turned around, Max was standing right behind him and Cale had disappeared into the kitchen where Bling had been making breakfast.

"Who were you calling?" she asked, the hurt look in her eyes that came every time they covered this little sore spot. She had a pretty good idea just who he'd called, but she wanted to hear his answer.

"Reinforcements," he answered brusquely.

"Maybe I aughta call Jondie," she said in an even tone.

"No."

"Why not? She's – "

"She's managed to slip off of Deck's radar and I want to keep it that way. It was only two years ago that we slipped her and Cale's brother out of the country."  Max was silent, so Zack continued. "I don't want to pull her back here and risk exposure. We're going all the way in, Maxie, if somebody saw her. . ."

The phone rang, and Zack snatched it off the table before Max could see the caller ID number on the display. "Hello," he barked. There was a long pause and then he spoke again: "Good, and bring Syl with you."

"Who was that?" Max demanded as soon as he hung up.

"Krit. He and Syl will be here in two hours."

Max didn't even bother to mention that it seemed Krit knew where Syl was, yet Zack wanted to keep her completely in the dark. She just left the room.