A/N: Yay! Chapter six! Posting is possible again! Yaaaaaay! Well, I hope you enjoy. Next chapter coming real soon!



Max was staring at Theo. There was a long silence and Max still said nothing. She only nodded.

"What's wrong with her?" Max finally spoke up.

"You saw the file." Theo said. "Everything is wrong with her. All those experiments... Manticore changed her for the worst."

"Is there any way at all that we can help her?" Max asked.

"I don't know. I wasn't exactly trained in genetics and medication." Theo said. There was a little bitterness to his voice, like that maybe if had been trained that way, he could help.

"What were you trained for... exactly?" Max asked. Theo didn't answer. He only looked away, waiting for Max to change the subject. "So, where is she?"

"I have a vague idea." Theo said.

"Just a vague one?"

"Hey, I can't be expected to know where she is all the time!" Theo snapped.

"What is with you?" Max asked.

"Nothing."

"Tell me." Max insisted. "We can't save her if you can't save yourself from whatever the hell is eating you alive."

"She's eating me alive." Theo mumbled.

"What?"

"It's her!" Theo screamed. "Every time I try to be a brother to her, she says she has no siblings and she runs away! She hates me, damnit! That's why she never looks at me... she never thinks of me as a brother! I'm just God damned Theo! Not family... just Theo!"

"That's not true." Max said quietly.

"Really?" Theo said hotly. "Name one time you ever heard her say that she had family."

"I..." Max stuttered. It was true. She had never heard Ire refer to her siblings as siblings. She never even mentioned them. It was like they were nothing but names to her.

"Thought so." Theo said bitterly and sat on the couch, fuming. Max gave him a few minutes to calm down. They needed to find ire before she did anything rash.

"We should go." Max said quietly. "We have to find her."

"Yeah... yeah..." Theo mumbled then stood up.

"So, where do you think she is?" Max asked.


***


Ire pinned the guy up against the wall and snarled at him.

"Give me the pretty bullets... NOW!" Ire demanded.

The man nodded as best he could, which was very hard because Ire was holding his throat. His face was turning read and beads of sweat were forming on his face. He choked to speak, but gave up. He reached into his pocket and spilled a small box of bullets on the floor.

"There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Ire said and threw him down. The man clutched his throat and greedily breathed in air, coughing once and again. Ire scooped up some bullets and examined them.

"These are shells." Ire growled. The man only shook his head, he was too terrified to speak. "It isn't smart to try and screw someone over who can kill you."

The man reached into his pocket and tossed a small box of bullets at Ire's feet. Ire bent down and opened the box. She pulled a full clip out and loaded her gun, then she threw the box behind her.

"Nice doing business with you." Ire said and aimed the gun at the man's heart, then shot.


***


"Are you sure she's going to be here?" Max whispered to Theo.

"Most likely." Theo whispered back. "She's going to need a refill."

Theo signaled Max to be quiet, then pulled a gun from his jacket. Max's eyes widened, but she had no time to object. Theo kicked the door down and stormed inside. After seeing nothing, he put the gun back in his jacket and walked forward. He walked to the dead man and looked down at him.

"Is he?" Max asked.

"He's dead." Theo said.

"How did... why?" Max got out.

Theo bent down and picked up one of the empty shells.

"Over bullets." Theo said and dropped the shell. Then he stood up. "He's dead over bullets."

"Where is she now?" Max asked.

"She could be anywhere." Theo said.

"Well, where would she most likely go?"

"I don't know." Theo said. Max put a hand on his shoulder.

"Think like a brother. It'll help." Max told him.

"I got it." Theo said.


Max and Theo walked through the hallway of the abandoned apartment building. The only people that lived there now were homeless people and some stray animals occupied the place too.

"Are you sure she's going to be here?" Max asked as they climbed the stairs.

"I'm almost certain." Theo said.

"Why is this one different from the other buildings we were in?" Max asked.

"Well, this one will have Ire in it." Theo said.

They reached the landing of the stairs that led to the floor they needed. Theo turned the knob, but it was locked. He slammed against it, but he didn't have any luck.

"Let me." Max said and pushed past Theo, then kicked the door down; it went flying forward.

"You pack a punch."

"I try."

Max and Theo stepped into the eerily quiet hallway and perked up their ears. Down the hall they heard a few murmurs and footsteps. They walked down and got to the apartment.

"Ready?" Max asked. Theo nodded and Max kicked the door open.