Chapter 14

Several showers later all three allies found themselves sitting in Logan's apartment, an
intensity burned into their features. The only visible movement was the occasional repetition
of closing eyelids. Both Sky and Max's hair was damp. "They were after me...it's my fault."
Max looked to Sky then Logan. Her statement mirrored the guilt she felt. In trying to protect
Sky she had only managed to heap her misfortunes upon her newest assignment. She didn't want
to think what might have happened if they had taken her down...if they had gotten to Sky.
The look on Logan's face at the thought of his dead sister-in-law would have been to much
to bare. The pain he would have lived through all over again, just because she failed. She
had never failed Logan before, but what if she did. What would happen then? The thoughts of
change, resentment, regret, frightened her.

Sky's eyes widened. She turned sharply. "Why would the Reds be after you?" Max's confession
had taken her by surprise. She had been sitting...engrossed in thoughts...asking herself why
she went out? Of course she knew why...she had to live. You just couldn't hide forever. She
needed to support the orphanage she had been forced to leave. She needed to feel apart of it,
but at what cost? She looked up to meet questioning glances.

"How do you know..." Logan shook. "Alright that's it.." he sighed.. "I need to know what's going
on." He looked at Sky...so many emotions consumed him. He wanted to protect her, and at the same
time wanted to strangle her for not confiding in him. Was it a question of trust? He didn't
understand. "Stop lying to me." Logan pleaded. He was disappointed that she had kept to
herself...it hurt...they had been close friends once, and now, things were quite different,
to the point of being awkward. "Let's just get everything out now."

"It goes both ways Logan.." her eyes darted to Max. She sighed "Look there are things you
don't need to get involved in, things that I have to take care of alone. I'm not pulling you
into this."

"I'm already part of this Sky...being your brother-in-law, not to mention your friend makes me
a part of this." She shook her head, a guilt weighing upon her insides for an unidentified
reason. She stood up and softly walked to her room. Logan's eyes widened in anger and looked at
Max. She only met his glance. Before he could say anything, a sound was heard in the opposite room.

Sky rested her hand on the closed box. She swallowed. The wedged pieces of wood seemed to haunt her
in a way, revealing another kind of Pandora's box. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Logan
straining to see past the half-closed door. She sighed and stared at the chip in her hand, rolling
it in her hand. If she took one step out of the door she would drag Logan and Max down with her.
Anything that happened after that would be on her shoulders. But it was too late. They were already
apart of her situation. Logan was right..and there was nothing she could do to regress..

Sky emerged from the room concealing the chip in her hand. She continued to roll it, if for nothing
else but to calm her thumping pulse. Logan looked at her questioningly as she tossed it onto the
table. It rolled slightly and Logan picked it up, examining it closely.

"Where did you get this Sky?" His eyes widened with understanding.. he thought, but in times like this his curiosity took over. He had a need for control..he
craved it, sometimes blindly.

"On our last mission.." Sky swallowed hard trying to cage the images that flooded her mind when
she remembered...everything...she sighed looking at him, begging him not to make her remember,
not to dredge up the memories..

Logan looked down. He had to know.. "It's alright Sky...take your time..I understand."

An anger raged within her 'how dare he! How dare he dig within her soul, prying into corners
that formed her pain'...and even worse...he expected her to just spill out her passions in
front of a stranger. "No.." her voice was cold. "You don't understand...not until you've seen
the only thing that you ever needed slaughtered in front of your eyes...until you've felt your
love's blood on your hands as he begs you to let him die. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! You never watched
everything you've ever loved or known just die. You've never felt the chaos dance around you,
mocking you. You've never watched as hope died to you...You don't understand." Her voice cracked
as she looked down.

Logan was silent..he didn't know what to say, how to help. He looked to Max, but she never
returned his glance...she seemed to be flashing back as well.

Sky just shook her head and continued.. "On the last mission we had...during the attack. I was
in the hut standing as a defense for the people inside. I saw...the men just kept
coming...they outnumbered us...we fought..but they were unstoppable. Every blow, shot...never
phased them" Sky's words were choppy, forced, dictating as her stream of consciousness continued.
However it was becoming harder to keep in control, becoming harder not to be consumed by the hurt
" They killed my friend..Natalia..she struggled...managed to cut him in the back of the neck..they
both went down. I reached her too late." Sky closed her eyes at the thought of her confidant.
Her breathing became heavier.

Max's face was filled with compassion. She felt a connection to Sky. They both had lived through so
much, were so alike. In a way, it felt like Sky was a sister...a long-lost X-5...that Max had finally
been reunited with. But in truth they were victims, trampled by the lusts of government..the need
for evolution, bonded by their survival.

"As I knelt down I noticed something sticking out of the man's neck...I don't know why...but I pulled
it out and...it looked like a web of wires...until they wrapped around themselves forming the cone."
She nodded to the object in his hand. "He was a Red. They all were."

Logan nodded. "Do you know how they found you?"

She looked at him gravely.. "We were setup. They knew everything, exactly where to look, how many of us
were there. Someone meant to get rid of us...apparently they've found out they didn't finish the job."

"The men who attacked you the other night..."
"were Reds.." Sky answered Logan's question. He nodded.

"You should have told me Sky. we can help you." Sky only looked away.

"The setup's possible...men and women with your endurance are hard to come by. The expenses the government
thought they could save..might have back-fired since so few passed the tests. At the time rumors had been
flying around about thousands of the military's finest..slaughtered..if the public had found out..it could
have been disastrous for that branch of the military."

Sky nodded. "So they decided to take our lives to save their reputations. These were the breed we tried to
protect." She shook her head in disgust.. "We damned ourselves by just caring. But why Reds? "

Logan shook his head.. "that I'll have to look into, is there anything else you can remember?"

Sky shook her head. "All I knew were the basics of our mission...what the men in charge decided to
let us know. The coordinator told us an organization had kidnapped several key leaders, ones that
weren't known to the public eye, but were important enough to be covered up by the government.
We were sent to retrieve them. It was supposed to be fairly routine...one where everyone walked away."

Logan nodded taking everything in."We're going to get through this Sky...why don't you get some rest.
You too Max. I don't want you walking the streets tonight."

"Aren't you forgetting something Logan?" He turned to Sky. She glanced towards Max communicating
her desire. Logan raised his eyebrow. He didn't know if it was a good idea to fill her in on Max's
situation...it really wasn't even his choice. He looked to Max for an answer.

"It's alright...I trust her." Max managed to smile slightly at Sky. Sky returned the gesture.