Logan held the bag of ice to his head as he leaned against the wall. Max was ignoring him and sat two feet away staring at Jacen. He wasn't feeling guilty anymore for giving away information on Krit even though he could sense Max was still mad about it. All he felt was elation that she had chosen to stay with him.
On the couch in the center of the room was where Wren lay. Her feet stuck out over the end as she laid with her head resting in Jacen's lap as he stroked his hands through her hair. Max could hear them talking but decided to tune out and give them their privacy even though a nagging in the back of her mind was jealous of the attention Wren was receiving.
Looking up into Jacen's deep, blue eyes Wren asked, "You've always been looking out for us haven't you? Even when we were young you were looking for ways to escape. That's why you're so dedicated to finding Zack isn't it?"
The small smile on Jacen's face melted away and he nodded, "I would think that's pretty obvious by now. It's only a matter of time before we'll be staring down the barrel of a gun and I don't want that for you or any of us. That's why I planned to escape so many years ago."
Wren pulled herself up and sat next to Jacen, "Then why are we still working for Manticore?"
A wide grin spread across Jacen's features and Wren noticed how attractive he was when he smiled, Max also noticed from across the room, "We aren't anymore."
Wren's dark eyes deepened and she brushed her hair away from her face, "I don't think I understand."
Jacen was staring off at Max but he wasn't really seeing her. He was focused on his thoughts and plans which were still laid into his mind, "We take them to the drop point and we leave. It'll be a smack in Lydecker's face that we did what he thought we couldn't do by bringing them in alive. Then that open palm will be a closed fist when we leave."
Following in the direction Jacen was staring off to, Wren found Max. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Max look at her with a look of shock on her face. Wren knew that she had hear what they had said and a sweet smile crossed her lips at the thought of bringing Max into Manticore. Jacen shook himself out of his daze and looked out the window, "Shouldn't be too long before the others are here. I think when they arrive we should head off to base and wait for Zack to come rescue them."
Wren slowly stood up and brushed herself off, "I guess I'll go check the other rooms to see if there's anything we could use here."
Jacen looked up at Wren and smiled, "Sounds good. Thanks for listening."
In a quick movement Wren bent over and kissed Jacen's cheek, "No problem. I'm always here for you." With that she moved off into Logan's bedroom.
It was instinctive for Jacen to touch the side of his face where Wren had just kissed. It was something she had done only once or twice before and Jacen wasn't entirely sure if it was just a kiss or if it was something more but it was something he wouldn't let bother him when there were so many other things troubling his mind. He found his eyes roaming the room as he looked for something to occupy his time. He glanced at Logan who was still nursing his head but more importantly his ego at having been knocked out by Zack. A gut feeling told Jacen that Logan felt for Zack the same way Zack felt for Logan, as an enemy in a competition for Max's interest. To Jacen it seemed like Logan was in the lead.
Jacen's eyes flashed from Logan to Max who had stood up and was stretching her back. He unintentionally sized her up as he did with everyone he came across but he found himself noting other things in his mind besides any possible threats. Jacen logged the short lived feeling he had away to examine at a later time. Only a few feelings had driven him at Manticore and attraction wasn't one of them. Even still Jacen felt no remorse for what he had planned for Max and the other X-5.
He moved a bit to the side as Max sat down on the other couch cushion a few inches away from him. Her eyes seemed to reveal a great pain and sadness that only someone like them could have. Jacen's eyes however were quickly freezing to hide any emotion as he always did when talking with anyone but a member of X-6.
"So where's this base of yours?" Max asked innocently.
Jacen knew he shouldn't say anything but he didn't have anything to fear either. As long as Logan was around then she wouldn't be running anywhere. "It's an old federal check point about fifteen miles east. Back before the pulse it was used as a waypoint for buses carrying inmates to Oregon State Penitentiary. Sort of like a gas station and small office building with a little bunker underneath. Not very secure but it's a nice secluded place."
A small smiled formed on Max's lips and in her eyes, "I see you do your homework."
"Why take chances?" Jacen countered. He knew she was only asking questions out of curiosity and boredom since she was still giving Logan the cold shoulder. Using his peripheral vision Jacen could see Logan staring at them but his face hid any emotion he was feeling. Jacen decided then that Logan must have had practice in dealing with pain to hide his emotions as well as he did.
"Will Lydecker be there?" Max asked, her voice tinged with sadness but also hope.
"No. He's not getting involved with this mission for some reason. I kept getting the feeling that he didn't want this mission to go through which leads me to suspect he isn't the all powerful ruler he wants us to think. You'll be handed over to Caine and Freedon. They'll take you back to Manticore while we search for the others."
"Freedon and Caine? Who are they?" Max asked as her curiosity rose.
"That's right. Classes were completely segregated before you left. They are the only survivors of X-4. Completely loyal to Lydecker through and through. Then there was X-3 and rumor has it they were wiped out. I think they were nomilies." Jacen shook his head and corrected himself, "Anomalies."
"And X-7?" Max asked eagerly in hope of learning more about her past.
"That I don't know. They might have moved on and already be out in the world taking missions. None of us know for sure. Maybe at a different facility."
"How do you know so much about what goes on at Manticore?" Max asked inquisitively as she swung her feet onto the couch and crossed them in front of her to look directly at Jacen.
Jacen smiled as thoughts and memories surfaced in his mind as he replied, "Seth is one of the most stealthily people I've ever seen. He can get in and out of nowhere without being seen. At Manticore he would follow scientists or guards when we were getting examined or out on patrol."
"Are there any others at Manticore now?" Max added, totally enraptured with Jacen's every word.
"Yes, three others classes are there. Two full classes and one small class. All of them are younger than each other by a few years. They were the last to be born before X-5 escaped and most of the funding for Manticore was cut. After that most of the teachers and scientists were sent elsewhere." Jacen looked as if he was about to continue but then stopped himself and looked back at Max.
Max looked back at Jacen and finally had to ask the question that was nagging in her mind, "If you're not going back to Manticore then why take us back? You know why we want freedom."
Jacen could sense the sadness in his voice but he remained stoic, "Each one of you will not only prove to Lydecker that we are better than he is and it will serve as another stab at Zack for what he did to us. I would do anything to make Zack pay for the ten years we spent at Manticore because of him."
Nodding sadly Max decided not to pursue the subject. She still held hope that Jacen would let them go but she knew he wouldn't do the same for Zack. It was then that Max heard a soft whirring noise from outside the window. She looked around Jacen to see a hover drone floating just outside the window and staring in at them. Jacen noticed Max staring around him and turned around to see the hover drone.
Wren came out of the back rooms carrying a duffel bag over her shoulder of things she had found in the apartment that could be useful in some way. She accidentally dropped the bag as she saw the hoverdrone for the first time. The camera quickly turned to her and then backed away and sped off into the night.
Leaping off the couch Jacen started gathering their gear, "Anyone care to clue me in on what that was?"
Max got up as well and moved over to Logan, "It's a hoverdrone. It's used for security throughout the city. Manticore maybe?"
Jacen shook his head and silently cursed to himself, "No. I broke the security door downstairs. It must have just been responding to that and saw the broken windows. Either way we should be ready to go when the others get here."
Max lowered down in front of Logan and for a moment the two just stared into each others eyes. Logan's went from regretful to hopeful as he watched Max's eyes shift from forgiving to almost loving. She gently lifted Logan up and helped him into his wheelchair. As Max stood up straight she again caught his eyes as he stared up at her. She could sense his hatred for the wheel chair but also something more. Something in his eyes that was meant only for her and it made her feel like crying. Not out of sadness or of joy but out of the emotion that he gave her in just one look.
She quickly stepped next to Logan and looked away from him trying not to break down in front of Jacen and especially not in front of Wren who eyed her constantly. Max couldn't see why but she could feel a hatred for her emanating from her. It scared her that someone could hate her that deeply and yet she didn't know why.
Jacen was busy pushing the remaining zip cords into a duffel bag along with the vests and harnesses when the door to the penthouse opened and Mira stepped in followed by Jared and Terrence. The first thing Jacen noticed was the dried blood that Jared was brushing off from several small cuts on his face. The second thing he noticed as looks of disappointment and sadness on their faces.
Max watched as Jacen stepped over towards them with a smile on his face that she assumed was to comfort them from the loss in their recovery of Krit which was obvious from the looks on their faces. She watched as the smile faded into a deep sadness and then watched in utter fear as Jacen's jaw clenched shut and his hands gripped tightly into fists. His eyes became cold and despondent and focused somewhere that only he could see. He said a few words to Mira and she left with Wren out into the hallway. Terrence shortly followed after briefly saying something to Jared.
He was still fuming as he walked over to Max. Jared stood near the door with a look of shock and uncertainty. Max's eyes scanned back and forth as she tried to analyze the situation and a quick glance down to Logan revealed that he too was confused by what was going on.
Jacen walked around the living room in heavy steps. His arms were straight down his side and he looked like he was looking for something to hit. Something to vent upon and completely destroy. Max nearly jumped out of her skin and she felt Logan almost jump out of his wheel chair as Jacen slammed his fist into the wall and it broke through. He pulled his hand out of the wall and slammed it in again. Over and over until there were almost ten holes in the wall.
He then turned and it seemed his anger was still raging but Jacen struggled to keep it under control. Max could sense that the anger was laced with a great sadness and suddenly she knew something was wrong. Something that even she didn't want to happen. Jacen stepped over towards Max, his fists still clenching and unclenching. His jaw set firm.
"Get up. We're leaving now." Jacen stated in a low growl. It sent a shiver up Max's spine and it was the first time she truly feared Jacen.
"What's wrong," Max asked with a worried look on her face.
Jacen had almost turned around but at the sound of her voice he swung back around causing Max to flinch at what she thought would be a strike from his fist. However, Jacen just stared into her. "Thomas is dead. Zack killed him while trying to escape."
Suddenly Max phased out from where she was as visions of Zack flooded to her. She could hardly believe what she was hearing even though she knew it to be true. Just an hour earlier she had stopped him from killing Wren but instead he killed Thomas. She felt ashamed to even know Zack. It was moments like this that had created her loathing for guns.
She was snapped out of reality at the sound of Jared's voice, "Will someone be visiting you tomorrow?"
Max shook her head and was about to question what he said when she noticed that he was speaking to Logan, "My trainer comes in every afternoon. Why?"
Jared looked back and saw Terrence bringing up the tracker from their van as well as some other equipment they were dropping off in order to accommodate for their new burdens. He then looked back at Logan but not before glancing at Max, "You're staying here. She's coming with us."
Max instantly clung to the arm of Logan's wheel chair not wanting to go. Jared noticed her apprehension and spoke in a soft, understanding voice, "It's either that or we take him a long and he's sent where you go. I don't think you want that for him."
Logan was about to object when Max put a finger to his lips and kneeled in front of him, "Don't say anything. Just don't. I don't want you to get hurt too. It's better this way and I'm not going to hear otherwise." Logan nodded at her and wondered who she was trying to convince.
Max was about to turn away when suddenly she turned back and kissed Logan. He almost pulled back at the touch of her lips but was quickly consumed with desire as he kissed back. It was a moment he wanted to last forever but before he could say anything Jacen was leading her into the hallway and Jared was wrapping his arms and legs to the wheelchair with a leftover zip cord.
She couldn't help but lick her lips at the thought of Logan but Max was instantly plunged back into her current situation as she felt a pair of handcuffs wrap around her wrists again. She looked to Jacen with a questioning look on her face, "I know you want Zack. So how is disappearing going to help you?"
Jacen kept his eyes forward as they stepped onto the elevator, "He'll find us the same way we found you." Jacen held up her arms and the chain between the handcuffs rattled. It was then she realized that they held a tracking device and that was why they had left the scanner at Logan's apartment.
Glancing back at the doorway Jared turned to Logan and knotted off the cord and stood back smiling. Logan looked up at him and was about to question when Jared shook his head. "You're a lucky man Logan Cale. I know you will but try not to worry about her. If I know Jacen she'll be back soon unless she tries to stop him. The question you'll have to ask yourself is whether or not she'll try and stop Jacen to save Zack."
Jared didn't even stay for a reply but walked out the door and closed it behind him leaving Logan suddenly alone and still shocked by what had happened in the past two minutes. His first instinct was to lick his lips at the thought of Max's lips pressed against his but his second thought quickly shattered his vision of Max. He knew Max would try and save Zack.
On the couch in the center of the room was where Wren lay. Her feet stuck out over the end as she laid with her head resting in Jacen's lap as he stroked his hands through her hair. Max could hear them talking but decided to tune out and give them their privacy even though a nagging in the back of her mind was jealous of the attention Wren was receiving.
Looking up into Jacen's deep, blue eyes Wren asked, "You've always been looking out for us haven't you? Even when we were young you were looking for ways to escape. That's why you're so dedicated to finding Zack isn't it?"
The small smile on Jacen's face melted away and he nodded, "I would think that's pretty obvious by now. It's only a matter of time before we'll be staring down the barrel of a gun and I don't want that for you or any of us. That's why I planned to escape so many years ago."
Wren pulled herself up and sat next to Jacen, "Then why are we still working for Manticore?"
A wide grin spread across Jacen's features and Wren noticed how attractive he was when he smiled, Max also noticed from across the room, "We aren't anymore."
Wren's dark eyes deepened and she brushed her hair away from her face, "I don't think I understand."
Jacen was staring off at Max but he wasn't really seeing her. He was focused on his thoughts and plans which were still laid into his mind, "We take them to the drop point and we leave. It'll be a smack in Lydecker's face that we did what he thought we couldn't do by bringing them in alive. Then that open palm will be a closed fist when we leave."
Following in the direction Jacen was staring off to, Wren found Max. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Max look at her with a look of shock on her face. Wren knew that she had hear what they had said and a sweet smile crossed her lips at the thought of bringing Max into Manticore. Jacen shook himself out of his daze and looked out the window, "Shouldn't be too long before the others are here. I think when they arrive we should head off to base and wait for Zack to come rescue them."
Wren slowly stood up and brushed herself off, "I guess I'll go check the other rooms to see if there's anything we could use here."
Jacen looked up at Wren and smiled, "Sounds good. Thanks for listening."
In a quick movement Wren bent over and kissed Jacen's cheek, "No problem. I'm always here for you." With that she moved off into Logan's bedroom.
It was instinctive for Jacen to touch the side of his face where Wren had just kissed. It was something she had done only once or twice before and Jacen wasn't entirely sure if it was just a kiss or if it was something more but it was something he wouldn't let bother him when there were so many other things troubling his mind. He found his eyes roaming the room as he looked for something to occupy his time. He glanced at Logan who was still nursing his head but more importantly his ego at having been knocked out by Zack. A gut feeling told Jacen that Logan felt for Zack the same way Zack felt for Logan, as an enemy in a competition for Max's interest. To Jacen it seemed like Logan was in the lead.
Jacen's eyes flashed from Logan to Max who had stood up and was stretching her back. He unintentionally sized her up as he did with everyone he came across but he found himself noting other things in his mind besides any possible threats. Jacen logged the short lived feeling he had away to examine at a later time. Only a few feelings had driven him at Manticore and attraction wasn't one of them. Even still Jacen felt no remorse for what he had planned for Max and the other X-5.
He moved a bit to the side as Max sat down on the other couch cushion a few inches away from him. Her eyes seemed to reveal a great pain and sadness that only someone like them could have. Jacen's eyes however were quickly freezing to hide any emotion as he always did when talking with anyone but a member of X-6.
"So where's this base of yours?" Max asked innocently.
Jacen knew he shouldn't say anything but he didn't have anything to fear either. As long as Logan was around then she wouldn't be running anywhere. "It's an old federal check point about fifteen miles east. Back before the pulse it was used as a waypoint for buses carrying inmates to Oregon State Penitentiary. Sort of like a gas station and small office building with a little bunker underneath. Not very secure but it's a nice secluded place."
A small smiled formed on Max's lips and in her eyes, "I see you do your homework."
"Why take chances?" Jacen countered. He knew she was only asking questions out of curiosity and boredom since she was still giving Logan the cold shoulder. Using his peripheral vision Jacen could see Logan staring at them but his face hid any emotion he was feeling. Jacen decided then that Logan must have had practice in dealing with pain to hide his emotions as well as he did.
"Will Lydecker be there?" Max asked, her voice tinged with sadness but also hope.
"No. He's not getting involved with this mission for some reason. I kept getting the feeling that he didn't want this mission to go through which leads me to suspect he isn't the all powerful ruler he wants us to think. You'll be handed over to Caine and Freedon. They'll take you back to Manticore while we search for the others."
"Freedon and Caine? Who are they?" Max asked as her curiosity rose.
"That's right. Classes were completely segregated before you left. They are the only survivors of X-4. Completely loyal to Lydecker through and through. Then there was X-3 and rumor has it they were wiped out. I think they were nomilies." Jacen shook his head and corrected himself, "Anomalies."
"And X-7?" Max asked eagerly in hope of learning more about her past.
"That I don't know. They might have moved on and already be out in the world taking missions. None of us know for sure. Maybe at a different facility."
"How do you know so much about what goes on at Manticore?" Max asked inquisitively as she swung her feet onto the couch and crossed them in front of her to look directly at Jacen.
Jacen smiled as thoughts and memories surfaced in his mind as he replied, "Seth is one of the most stealthily people I've ever seen. He can get in and out of nowhere without being seen. At Manticore he would follow scientists or guards when we were getting examined or out on patrol."
"Are there any others at Manticore now?" Max added, totally enraptured with Jacen's every word.
"Yes, three others classes are there. Two full classes and one small class. All of them are younger than each other by a few years. They were the last to be born before X-5 escaped and most of the funding for Manticore was cut. After that most of the teachers and scientists were sent elsewhere." Jacen looked as if he was about to continue but then stopped himself and looked back at Max.
Max looked back at Jacen and finally had to ask the question that was nagging in her mind, "If you're not going back to Manticore then why take us back? You know why we want freedom."
Jacen could sense the sadness in his voice but he remained stoic, "Each one of you will not only prove to Lydecker that we are better than he is and it will serve as another stab at Zack for what he did to us. I would do anything to make Zack pay for the ten years we spent at Manticore because of him."
Nodding sadly Max decided not to pursue the subject. She still held hope that Jacen would let them go but she knew he wouldn't do the same for Zack. It was then that Max heard a soft whirring noise from outside the window. She looked around Jacen to see a hover drone floating just outside the window and staring in at them. Jacen noticed Max staring around him and turned around to see the hover drone.
Wren came out of the back rooms carrying a duffel bag over her shoulder of things she had found in the apartment that could be useful in some way. She accidentally dropped the bag as she saw the hoverdrone for the first time. The camera quickly turned to her and then backed away and sped off into the night.
Leaping off the couch Jacen started gathering their gear, "Anyone care to clue me in on what that was?"
Max got up as well and moved over to Logan, "It's a hoverdrone. It's used for security throughout the city. Manticore maybe?"
Jacen shook his head and silently cursed to himself, "No. I broke the security door downstairs. It must have just been responding to that and saw the broken windows. Either way we should be ready to go when the others get here."
Max lowered down in front of Logan and for a moment the two just stared into each others eyes. Logan's went from regretful to hopeful as he watched Max's eyes shift from forgiving to almost loving. She gently lifted Logan up and helped him into his wheelchair. As Max stood up straight she again caught his eyes as he stared up at her. She could sense his hatred for the wheel chair but also something more. Something in his eyes that was meant only for her and it made her feel like crying. Not out of sadness or of joy but out of the emotion that he gave her in just one look.
She quickly stepped next to Logan and looked away from him trying not to break down in front of Jacen and especially not in front of Wren who eyed her constantly. Max couldn't see why but she could feel a hatred for her emanating from her. It scared her that someone could hate her that deeply and yet she didn't know why.
Jacen was busy pushing the remaining zip cords into a duffel bag along with the vests and harnesses when the door to the penthouse opened and Mira stepped in followed by Jared and Terrence. The first thing Jacen noticed was the dried blood that Jared was brushing off from several small cuts on his face. The second thing he noticed as looks of disappointment and sadness on their faces.
Max watched as Jacen stepped over towards them with a smile on his face that she assumed was to comfort them from the loss in their recovery of Krit which was obvious from the looks on their faces. She watched as the smile faded into a deep sadness and then watched in utter fear as Jacen's jaw clenched shut and his hands gripped tightly into fists. His eyes became cold and despondent and focused somewhere that only he could see. He said a few words to Mira and she left with Wren out into the hallway. Terrence shortly followed after briefly saying something to Jared.
He was still fuming as he walked over to Max. Jared stood near the door with a look of shock and uncertainty. Max's eyes scanned back and forth as she tried to analyze the situation and a quick glance down to Logan revealed that he too was confused by what was going on.
Jacen walked around the living room in heavy steps. His arms were straight down his side and he looked like he was looking for something to hit. Something to vent upon and completely destroy. Max nearly jumped out of her skin and she felt Logan almost jump out of his wheel chair as Jacen slammed his fist into the wall and it broke through. He pulled his hand out of the wall and slammed it in again. Over and over until there were almost ten holes in the wall.
He then turned and it seemed his anger was still raging but Jacen struggled to keep it under control. Max could sense that the anger was laced with a great sadness and suddenly she knew something was wrong. Something that even she didn't want to happen. Jacen stepped over towards Max, his fists still clenching and unclenching. His jaw set firm.
"Get up. We're leaving now." Jacen stated in a low growl. It sent a shiver up Max's spine and it was the first time she truly feared Jacen.
"What's wrong," Max asked with a worried look on her face.
Jacen had almost turned around but at the sound of her voice he swung back around causing Max to flinch at what she thought would be a strike from his fist. However, Jacen just stared into her. "Thomas is dead. Zack killed him while trying to escape."
Suddenly Max phased out from where she was as visions of Zack flooded to her. She could hardly believe what she was hearing even though she knew it to be true. Just an hour earlier she had stopped him from killing Wren but instead he killed Thomas. She felt ashamed to even know Zack. It was moments like this that had created her loathing for guns.
She was snapped out of reality at the sound of Jared's voice, "Will someone be visiting you tomorrow?"
Max shook her head and was about to question what he said when she noticed that he was speaking to Logan, "My trainer comes in every afternoon. Why?"
Jared looked back and saw Terrence bringing up the tracker from their van as well as some other equipment they were dropping off in order to accommodate for their new burdens. He then looked back at Logan but not before glancing at Max, "You're staying here. She's coming with us."
Max instantly clung to the arm of Logan's wheel chair not wanting to go. Jared noticed her apprehension and spoke in a soft, understanding voice, "It's either that or we take him a long and he's sent where you go. I don't think you want that for him."
Logan was about to object when Max put a finger to his lips and kneeled in front of him, "Don't say anything. Just don't. I don't want you to get hurt too. It's better this way and I'm not going to hear otherwise." Logan nodded at her and wondered who she was trying to convince.
Max was about to turn away when suddenly she turned back and kissed Logan. He almost pulled back at the touch of her lips but was quickly consumed with desire as he kissed back. It was a moment he wanted to last forever but before he could say anything Jacen was leading her into the hallway and Jared was wrapping his arms and legs to the wheelchair with a leftover zip cord.
She couldn't help but lick her lips at the thought of Logan but Max was instantly plunged back into her current situation as she felt a pair of handcuffs wrap around her wrists again. She looked to Jacen with a questioning look on her face, "I know you want Zack. So how is disappearing going to help you?"
Jacen kept his eyes forward as they stepped onto the elevator, "He'll find us the same way we found you." Jacen held up her arms and the chain between the handcuffs rattled. It was then she realized that they held a tracking device and that was why they had left the scanner at Logan's apartment.
Glancing back at the doorway Jared turned to Logan and knotted off the cord and stood back smiling. Logan looked up at him and was about to question when Jared shook his head. "You're a lucky man Logan Cale. I know you will but try not to worry about her. If I know Jacen she'll be back soon unless she tries to stop him. The question you'll have to ask yourself is whether or not she'll try and stop Jacen to save Zack."
Jared didn't even stay for a reply but walked out the door and closed it behind him leaving Logan suddenly alone and still shocked by what had happened in the past two minutes. His first instinct was to lick his lips at the thought of Max's lips pressed against his but his second thought quickly shattered his vision of Max. He knew Max would try and save Zack.
