A/N Here's the epilogue – you all knew that in Max's world things don't end happily ever after. White's still out there and more trouble is in store but that will be happening in my next fiction. This is just a teaser for what is to come.

Ames White sat at a desk in a cramped office. His left arm was bandaged and he was in a foul mood. He had had X5-452 in his hands only to have her slip away once again. Not to mention the fact that her accomplices had managed to blow up his Seattle headquarters and make a noticeable commotion in the process. Now he had to find and equip a new HQ and fly in new personnel to staff it. The loss of the men in the explosion was a damned inconvenience but nothing more to him, although he had shown the requisite regrets to his superiors when they had exclaimed over the incident. There had been one or two looks askance at him as the only survivor but White had managed to brush off suspicion, explaining that he had followed one of the intruders outside just before the explosion hit. It was a lie of course but he wasn't about to have them wondering how he could escape relatively unscathed from an inferno that had claimed the lives of every other person inside.

White's superiors in NSA had no idea of what he was or who he was really working for and he was going to keep it that way. His status as an NSA agent gave him access to valuable information and intelligence that he would prefer not to lose at present.

There was a knock on his door and he called out "Come in" brusquely. A secretary entered and handed him several files.

"The files you ordered on Donald Lydecker, sir." she explained. White nodded and took the files, waiting until she left to open them and begin reading. For some reason there was something going on with X5-452. He had seen her DNA scan although it made no sense to him, but shortly after his real bosses had given him an order to take her alive. They obviously knew something about her that they weren't telling him but White was not one to let things lie. If there was something he needed to know about 452 he was going to find it out. Maybe she could be of use to him. He knew he wasn't in on the complete picture but he intended to be. If getting to the top meant murder or blackmail he had no problems. They might look on him as simply an enforcer, not intelligent enough for a top position, but he intended to change that.

He had a feeling that Lydecker might be a key to 452. The man had been at Manticore for years and had been intimately involved with the X5 group, especially 452 from what he had found out. Yes, Donald Lydecker was on his list and he intended to find the man and get his information. As well there was the matter of 452's helpers. Obviously she had hooked up with some other transgenics. No matter. He had confidence that he would find her and her friends soon enough. Too bad Logan Cale had turned out to be a dead end. No way a normal human could have gotten her out though, it had to be other transgenics, probably other X5's. He had the list of those unaccounted for and his NSA assignment would give him all the resources he needed to track them down. One of them would lead him to 452 he was sure. And of course there was always Asha. Yes he would be keeping an eye on her, never knew who she might lead him to.

Settling back and smiling to himself he contemplated his next moves confident that he would soon be on his way out of this broken down city and back to the real center of his world, back to where he belonged, in the position he was meant for.

****

Across the city moonlight fell on the sleeping features of Logan as Max quietly lay in bed watching him. She hadn't intended to stay the night but after their last love making session she had dozed off for a while and now she was in no mood to deal with Sector Police out to bust anyone breaking curfew. She smiled as she watched Logan and decided that here wasn't such a bad place to be. She wasn't moving in of course but maybe tomorrow she would drop off a few things, just in case she ended up here late like this.

Yeah that was a plan. Logan murmured and reached out an arm looking for her as he slept and Max sighed happily as she curled back up next to him letting him pull her close.

****

And in yet another apartment Asha slept as Alec watched her wondering about the feelings she stirred in him. Deciding that maybe he had found a friend in an unlikely place he sat quietly waiting for the new day.

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