Disclaimer: If I owned any characters from DA, Logan would be sitting next to me right now, probably in his boxers - or less!! ;). I do own Major Andrews, but I am willing to negotiate a trade for Logan.

Spoilers: Post "Rising", but before "The Kidz Are Aiight". Will contain spoilers from "Pollo Loco" and "Hit a Sista Back" in upcoming chapters.

A/N: Special thanks to Blackwolf and Zig for helping me out on a couple of key points to the story, and 'Meka for her wonderful beta-ing expertise!

Reviews keep me going! And because of the wonderful reviews that I got last time, I am writing this part even quicker!!
__________________________________________________________________
The Enemy Within

Chapter 8
Life and Death

The man sat in the musty room, thumbing through the newspaper. It was early yet, not even 6 am. Candles were the only radiance, and even then the room was barely aglow. He didn't need the light; his eyes were designed to excel in the dark. Scanning on the first page, he came across a title that immediately caught his interest. Instantly intrigued, he read through the article, his face becoming grimmer with each word. It was not good news. The article explained how a local journalist's apartment had exploded into flames the day before, and cause was now under heavy investigation. Although no one had been seriously harmed, the resident was now missing. The editorial went on to give some more information about the fire, but he had stopped reading. Looking up, he stared out the window of the unfinished building. He had to go check on her, even if it could put both of their lives in danger. He needed to make sure she was all right.

Outside, the sun was just barely beginning to peek out at the city, and it looked like it was going to be a glorious morning in Seattle. Too bad his mood was now as dark and bleak as the pre-dawn had been just moments before.

_______________________________________


Around three am, Bling had finally succumbed to sleep. His mind tormented him as he dreamt, however. In his nightmares, there were faceless soldiers with eyes that were the color of the deepest pits in hell. These men were chasing Max, Logan and himself. Neither of them seemed to be able to outrun their attackers, and Bling felt himself growing more sluggish with every step. The soldiers caught up with Logan first, and sat him down on the cold hard ground. Logan pleaded for his life as the merciless soldiers shot Logan execution style from behind. Max gave out a feral cry, and jumped toward the man, but they were too quick for her. The drama was repeated in the same fashion with her, and soon Max was dead. Blood sprayed everywhere, onto Bling's shirt, face, hands and chest. Abruptly, Bling's own legs gave way from under him, and he could run no more. The assailants walked slowly up to him and forced him into a kneeling position on the cool, hard ground. This time, however, they didn't walk behind their victim as they did for Max and Logan. They stood directly in front of him, holding their deadly weapons tauntingly in his view. He shifted his gaze up to the grotesque form standing in front of him, and he saw no mercy there. He was going to die. The evil form gave him a wicked grin and pulled the trigger. Bling saw the gun buck wildly as the loud gunshot deafened his ears. He felt an intense and sharp pain, and everything became blindingly white. Then, there was nothing but black.

Bling sprung up on the couch, trembling and slimy from sweat. He slowly forced the last dregs from his horrible dream out of his mind and sat unmoving for minutes. That allowed the previous day's events came rushing back to him - Logan being sick; Max turning herself and Logan into Manticore; the detonation of the bomb at the penthouse; the drive to Logan's cabin (which was untraceable back to Logan); spending the afternoon and much of the evening setting up the computer equipment and getting settled in. After he had finished getting the laptop and camera paraphernalia up and functioning, he'd fallen exhaustedly on the couch in the living room, expecting sleep to come immediately. Unfortunately, his mind just wouldn't shut down and his thoughts kept drifting back to Logan and Max. Then he had that horrible dream. He knew it was because he was worried about them, worried that he couldn't save them, and that something would go horribly wrong and one or both of them would end up dead. He tried not to dwell on it. He told himself over and over to focus on what needed to be done, and to quit playing the 'what if' game. Now the morning sun shone through the windows, and he was secretly grateful for the light. He couldn't quite shake the fear that had seeded itself in his stomach, the fear that this would become very bloody before it was all over, and the knowledge that his own life was now in grave danger for his part. He knew that this line of thinking wasn't helping anyone, least of all Max and Logan; unfortunately, no matter how much he berated himself to be positive, his mind just wasn't listening.

_______________________________________


Logan lay battered and barely conscious on the cot. Andrews had kept him up all night, throwing question after question at him. At first, Logan answered each one with a sarcastic blip, but after a while it became too painful to even talk. Andrews had backhanded him in the face with every mock. Then, the Major had moved down to torture his stomach, giving him a swift punch for every unanswered inquiry. The pain had become more intense and searing with every blow, but through it all, Logan refused to give any information about Max or the other X-5's. Finally, thankfully, Andrews had given up about ten minutes ago. As he walked out of recovery room, he sneered at Logan and told him that he would be back, and that the next session would be worse than this one. It hurt like hell and took all of his strength, but Logan mustered up an answering smirk and said that he was looking forward to seeing him soon. Of course, in reality, that was the furthest thing from the truth. He could barely see out of his now puffy eyes and his stomach was tender and undoubtedly black-and-blue in multiple places. It was difficult to breath through his nose because it was so swollen, and he briefly wondered if it was broken. Logan licked his dry lips and tasted the metallic taste of blood, and felt the indentions of several deep with his tongue. He was tired, hungry, sore, beaten and he knew this was just the beginning. He wouldn't let himself sink into pity though, he would just keep thinking of Max. Knowing that she was now living in her worst nightmare strengthened his resolve to get her out again. Andrews had wounded him severely physically, but that was nothing compared to the pain in his heart of knowing that Max was back at Manticore.

_________________________________________


The man walked with a purpose down the street, ignoring the pedestrians and bicyclists around him. He had no time for them. The sooner he got to her apartment, the better. It was necessary to talk to her, make sure she hadn't- and wouldn't- make any foolish mistakes and get herself into trouble. The voice inside his head told him it was too late, that trouble had found her this time and made her it's prisoner. He tried ignoring it, but he couldn't. He had an unshakable feeling that it was true.

_________________________________________



In a cold cell some hundreds of miles away, Max sat on the hard floor with her knees tucked under her chin. She was rocking back and forth almost hypnotically in the silent chamber, lost deeply in her own thoughts. She was heavily drugged, and it was causing her to fade in and out of reality. At times, she was acutely aware of her surroundings, taking everything in and committing it to memory. Other times, she was reliving key points in her past, every vivid detail playing like a movie in her mind. Now, her eyes were glazed and heavy, and she was once again gone from the present world...

...She looks at Eva, dead on the floor, blood oozing from her chest. Her eyes swing to Lydecker, and in that moment, her hate for him almost consumes her...

...Snow. Bright, white snow and several trees. It's cold, so cold. She doesn't have time to stop and think about it. Escape or die. She falls, and ice water surrounds her. At first her body is shocked, but she quickly gets over it. There are perks to being a super soldier, she thinks briefly. She opens her eyes and sees men running over her, then she quickly gets out of the water and runs. Runs for her life...

...She's out! After all this time, all the fright, the hatred, the confusion, she is free! She feels something deep inside her, some emotion, but she doesn't know what it is. It's making her smile, and at the same time, there is another feeling there too. She doesn't know what to do, how to act from this point out. Now the only person that she has to take orders from is herself. But she can't help but wonder about the others...

...Hiding underneath the stairs with Lucy, everything weird in the world. All the power is out and upstairs; she hears the yelling and screaming. She needs to get out of there, soon...

...He's lying there, so still. She feels guilt, remorse. She could have saved him from this, from being shot out on the street like that. Now, he's barely hanging on. She goes to the window and sees a man up there, sees the weapon in his hand. She strolls over to his bed, and unhooks him from his monitors and IV. Rolling him calmly down the hall, the room behind her explodes into a spectacular light. She can feel the massive heat from it on her back, searing her skin...

...Zack. Zack's alive and in front of her. He hasn't changed a bit and he is now telling her goodbye. She feels a deep pang in her heart knowing it may be a while before she sees him again, and she regrets the unemotional reunion they are having Deep down, she wanted to feel like family with him, and it was anything but that. He's still a soldier...

...Lydecker. Face to face after all these years. He doesn't even realize who she is. Now, she sitting right next to him, feeling like a helpless little girl all over again...

...She watches as Logan's useless legs sag from under him and they toss him off the building. Running as fast as she possibly can, she hurls herself off after him. He's got her hand!! She grabs on tightly, his thread to life as they come crashing through the window...

..Brin, so sick and helpless. Is that what's going to happen to her too? They must give Brin back to Manticore, though that's the last thing Max wants to do. She hopes that Brin can forgive her. She promises that they get her out of there. They will...

...She has to leave him. She doesn't want to, and she doesn't know exactly why. She just knows that something wants her to stay with him so badly. He can't go with her. She rushes back to the car, and kisses him hard. He kisses her back. She looks into his eyes, and regrets what might have been...

...Logan's on a hospital bed once again so motionless. She gives him her blood, gives him life. She dreams with him. Don't let go, she whispers...

...Zack gave himself up for her. She still can't believe it. He just can't be dead, just can't be...

...She looks at her best friend, afraid of what she will think now that she has told her about her past. When she hugs her, Max cries in relief, and hugs her back tightly...

...Logan stands in front of her. Stands! She feels so much for him, but she is so scared. They're just gonna have to go slow...


Max snapped back to reality, focusing back on the bars in front of her. Abruptly, she stood up to begin pacing in the cell, mumbling to herself. "Have to stay focused. Have to stay alert. Have to," she repeated over and again. The sound of her own voice was little comfort, but the quiet around her was driving her slowly mad. She felt disoriented and out of sync; her body's movements seeming awkward and uncoordinated. If she kept sitting on the floor, she would just sink further into her own private delusions. She couldn't afford that. In the distance, she heard a door open and footsteps began thumping. There was more than one person coming. As the sounds grew nearer, she stopped pacing and stood at the front of the cell, trying stoically to act as if she was feeling fine. Lydecker and three of his goons came to stand opposite her on the other side of the bars. He gave her an endearing smile and she nearly puked.

"What can I do for you," she asked innocently, her voice sounding thick and slurred even to her own ears.

One of the guards stuck his hand through the small space between the bars and plunged a needle into her forearm in one swift motion. Almost immediately her legs gave out from under her, and she sank to the ground. Lydecker opened the cell door, and gingerly picked her up off the floor.

"Max, it's time to answer a few questions," he said gently. "Come with me."



_________________________________


Original Cindy was worried. It was bad enough that Max hadn't come home the past two nights, but when she heard on the news this morning that Logan's apartment had been destroyed in a fire, Original Cindy almost went out of her mind. Max had not answered any of her pages, and Logan wasn't picking up on his cell. Gut instinct told her that her best friend was in a heap of trouble, but she didn't know what to do, or even who to go to. A knock on the apartment door interrupted her thoughts, and she jerked her head up.

"Who the hell? It's barely eight on a Saturday morning." She mumbled as she crossed the room. She cracked the door open and sucked a shocked breath.

"Is Max here?" the man demanded, making no time for pleasantries.

"She told me you were dead," she said.

He said nothing. After a moment, Original Cindy opened the door further, signaling that he could come in.

"Well, Sam...actually, it's Zack, isn't it? What can I do for you?" she asked, and waited for him to answer.


__________________________________


A/N: Okay, since this is pre "The Kidz Are Aiight", we didn't know what happened to Zack at this point. Well, in my little world, he was never captured by Manticore after the helicopter crash.

Also, I had a bit of a time writing this, so if it sucks, I'm sorry!