"Permission to speak sir," she firmly spoke her request as she saluted the man on the other side of the bed. Lydecker lay between them, more pale then usual as machines breathed for him and helped him pump his blood, an oddly serene look displacing his normally strict disposition. He would survive, Kat had shot him straight through the heart with her first shot and punctured his right lung with the second. But Manticore technology handled the injuries with ease, currently growing him new organs. But until they had fully grown, machines would control Lydecker's life force.
"Permission granted soldier," Major Mathews, Lydecker's second in command addressed her. He was young for his position and he was much like Lydecker that way. He was on the fast track to a promotion and she knew by the way he looked at Lydecker he was hoping Lydecker would just die.
"Request an operation, sir." As her training demanded she looked straight ahead, not making eye contact with the Major. She had to do this right. This was an unusual request and she had never heard of any X's to have done such a thing. But with the X-6's things were different. They were trained harder and faster, ready to handle special ops in real world situation by the time they were ten. They were sent near and far with select soldiers to pose as parents. No one suspected a child. No one ever suspected the child.
"There are no operations available as of yet. You will be the first assigned when one does come up." She knew the major was telling the truth. She had been sent on some hundred missions and had accomplished all objectives quickly and efficiently. But now the situation was different she already had an operation in mind for herself.
So she tried to clarify, "I would like to request an operation, sir."
"What do you mean, Raven?" Her own name coming from his lips took her off guard. At Manticore they refrained from being casual with everyone. She had not been expecting this friendly reference to herself. Well that wasn't true. Major Mathews had used her personal name before, opting to call her Raven rather than six-r. He seemed uncomfortable calling all the children by their labels only doing so when Lydecker was in earshot. But it caught her off guard nonetheless, she was uncomfortable with people of authority speaking to her so informally.
"I would like to be assigned to seek out the X-5."
"That is a hefty request..." Out of the corner of her eye she could see his brows furrow in concentration. "And your last operation regarding the X-5 did not go as planned."
Raven would not take that insult in stride, "With all due respect, sir, if the Colonel had not been in the room, six-t and myself would have handled the situation."
"Ah yes, Ty, maybe he should go with you then."
"I believe it would better serve the purpose if I went alone, sir."
Major Mathews, paused, taking her propositions into consideration. Like Lydecker, he too valued her opinion on missions. "Request granted, report to ops o-five hundred hours to gather any necessary equipment. A helicopter will be waiting at o-nine hundred to take you to your destination. Dismissed."
Raven turned about face and marched out the room.
*****
"I'm glad you decided to do this Logan," Doctor Carr said to Logan's back.
"Let's just get this over with shall we?" Logan lay on the padded examination table on his side. The doctor was prepping his back for a necessary spinal tap.
"Now, Logan. This will hurt a great deal..."
"Really, and I thought it would be done with rose petals." Doctor Carr knew Logan didn't mean to be so offensive, he heard the nervous tone underlying the sarcasm.
"I'm doing it now."
Logan winced, clenching his jaw and closing his eyes against the pain. Despite himself, tears developed and fell from his eyes. As the needle pierced his spinal cord the excruciating pain became unbearable. Though he tried valiantly to hold it in, an agonizing scream escaped his lips.
*****
"Kat, are you ... alright?" Zack knew he was never good at comforting but he hated to see Kat like this. She stood facing a wall, holding herself, alone in a waiting room. She did not respond so he stepped closer. "Kat it isn't your fault, you can't blame yourself."
Up close he could see her body was tense. "You can't say it isn't, Zack. She's in that bed because of me," her voice was silent and remorse.
"No, Kat," his voice soothed her and he was behind her now trying to rub some warmth into her arms, "Don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known she would do that."
"I could have not pulled the trigger."
"Please Kat," he drew her into his embrace.
As his strength surrounded her she felt no need to be brave. She pressed her face into his chest and let his shirt soak up her tears. Taking the cue he held her tighter under his chin, stroking her hair. "Max…She did what she did because… that was her daughter."
Her body tensed under him but she did not pull away.
"Or, at least, she believes it was her daughter."
"What do you mean?" her words were muffled.
"Apparently, Lydecker used the genetic codes of both Max and myself to create the X-6..."
"So they are you children?" Zack heard her words but also heard beyond them.
"They are made of me, but Cole is my son and I love him." Beneath his hands he could feel Kat relax once more. Though his kind words were a relief to her, they drew more tears from her eyes. This was what she wanted. She craved his embrace and the solace it gave her soul. This was it. She had to tell him now. By doing so, she was risking a lot: a friend, a protector, a guide, and an ally. But if she held this in any longer she would surely go mad.
Fighting though the sobs she tried to speak to him, "Zack...I...I..." she tilted her head back to see his sapphire eyes. Maybe she could borrow their strength. However when she looked up she saw only pity.
He used two tentative fingers to push back a stray lock of hair from her face, "It's okay Kat. When Max wakes up you'll see she won't be mad. You did nothing wrong." He leaned in and kissed her fore head, just as he saw other lovers comfort their mates, then pulled her back under his chin. This was an odd thing for him. Kat always brought out his protective side more so than others.
'Not now,' Kat thought to herself as she tried to absorb Zack's warmth into her. She would tell him when he wasn't thinking about Max. But she would tell him. She promised herself that much.
*****
A few hours later they all left for Logan's apartment with a still unconscious Max. Zack had swiped some medical supplies to ensure they could in fact take care of her until she reached optimum health. When they got their Zack carried her and lay her on Logan's bed.
"Mass, alright?" Cole asked his mother as they lay her down.
"She'll be fine sweety."
"Wanna play with Mass..." He motioned toward her sleeping body, but Kat held him back.
"She needs sleep. Now lets go eat. Are you hungry? Mommy hungry." Obediently Cole followed her into the kitchen.
Zack was still busy setting up shop, ready to infuse Max with one more liter of blood. After that she should have been awake and in her prime in no time. As he pierced the vein in his other arm he heard Logan quietly, hesitantly enter the room.
"How is she doing? From the Manticore perspective, that is." His voice was still weak as the pain from the spinal tap still lingered. It was a ghost pain that made it feel as though his legs were ablaze with a dull fire. But he knew that was only because nerves in the spine were set off, not the nerves in his legs.
"She'll be fine in a couple hours. I'm giving her one more liter for good measure." He inserted the adjoining needle into the back of Max's hand.
"Haven't you given enough? Is it safe for you?" Zack could hardly believe that Logan was concerned with his well being. Even so, he decided to heal Logan's ignorance.
"We are X-5. Blood regenerates in our body at an exceptional rate when our levels are low. So by draining my blood my body is producing more than enough for Max and myself."
"Ah... I see..." though he didn't really. Most of the splicing that occurred had an internal effect that Logan himself had no way of noticing.
Zack let the silence linger a little while longer before speaking. "We'll have to get her out of Seattle soon."
"Why? Lydecker is out of commission for a while, there is no direct threat."
"Did you think about that before you said it, or did it just come out of your ass?"
Logan straightened at the insult. This went beyond the typical Manticore wit. "Excuse me?"
"You think Lydecker is the only one. If he dies there will be the next in command to take his place. None of this will end until Manticore is destroyed."
"Even with the next man stepping up, it would take a while to get things settled and to begin another operation would it not?"
"Not if they have the X-6 on our backs. They will find us before nightfall."
"Impossible..."
"We are talking Manticore. She has stayed here long enough because of ties she thinks she has with you. You're clouding her mind and holding her back. You will get her killed."
Logan wasn't about to put up with that. "Why did Manticore come searching in Seattle after all this time anyways? Wasn't it you who brought Cole here? Kat following with that tracker implanted in her ear. Excuse me if I'm mistaken but I'm pretty sure you were the one who brought her along to take down Lydecker in some raging show of testosterone."
Zack turned around, still attached to Max, and in a stern voice made his response. "Yeah? At least I had a purpose. She comes running back to you time and again for no good reason. Risking her life for nothing in return. You can do nothing for her," he emphasized the 'nothing', "Don't you realize that the day will come when you and your wheelchair-bound ass will get her in over her head?" Both men didn't care to keep their voices down but they did not reach the point of shouting.
"In case you haven't noticed you were all born, in over your head. Lydecker will seek you out anywhere you might go. With those X-6 around she won't be safe anywhere. Might as well not be safe here." Though Logan tried he could not avoid the argument that was truly the center of his concern: He wanted her to stay here, with him. Zack caught the meaning of his last sentence.
"Logan I would have expected more from you, especially with all that you've done working the informant net. You just want to have her by your side. I thought you would be above selfishness."
"Are you telling me you don't want her to leave with you for your own purposes. I saw you kiss her, Zack, it's obvious you care for her. For a military elite you aren't very covert."
Zack did not falter though he was surprised Logan knew of that stolen kiss. "I can protect her and I won't slow her down. I'm what she needs."
"And you think your Machiavellian mentality will be what she needs. She's lived a hard life and at least she is dealing with it. You on the other hand don't seem to be brave enough to face change."
"Don't tell me what I'm brave enough to face," his lowered his tone like a dog growling, "I've killed better men than you to keep them safe."
"Is that a threat?"
Zack tried to glare him down but to his surprise Logan held his ground. The silence that fell between them was palpable. Max's slow ragged breaths were the only thing that dared make a sound.
Behind Zack, out of both men's sight, Max's eyes struggled to open.
"Permission granted soldier," Major Mathews, Lydecker's second in command addressed her. He was young for his position and he was much like Lydecker that way. He was on the fast track to a promotion and she knew by the way he looked at Lydecker he was hoping Lydecker would just die.
"Request an operation, sir." As her training demanded she looked straight ahead, not making eye contact with the Major. She had to do this right. This was an unusual request and she had never heard of any X's to have done such a thing. But with the X-6's things were different. They were trained harder and faster, ready to handle special ops in real world situation by the time they were ten. They were sent near and far with select soldiers to pose as parents. No one suspected a child. No one ever suspected the child.
"There are no operations available as of yet. You will be the first assigned when one does come up." She knew the major was telling the truth. She had been sent on some hundred missions and had accomplished all objectives quickly and efficiently. But now the situation was different she already had an operation in mind for herself.
So she tried to clarify, "I would like to request an operation, sir."
"What do you mean, Raven?" Her own name coming from his lips took her off guard. At Manticore they refrained from being casual with everyone. She had not been expecting this friendly reference to herself. Well that wasn't true. Major Mathews had used her personal name before, opting to call her Raven rather than six-r. He seemed uncomfortable calling all the children by their labels only doing so when Lydecker was in earshot. But it caught her off guard nonetheless, she was uncomfortable with people of authority speaking to her so informally.
"I would like to be assigned to seek out the X-5."
"That is a hefty request..." Out of the corner of her eye she could see his brows furrow in concentration. "And your last operation regarding the X-5 did not go as planned."
Raven would not take that insult in stride, "With all due respect, sir, if the Colonel had not been in the room, six-t and myself would have handled the situation."
"Ah yes, Ty, maybe he should go with you then."
"I believe it would better serve the purpose if I went alone, sir."
Major Mathews, paused, taking her propositions into consideration. Like Lydecker, he too valued her opinion on missions. "Request granted, report to ops o-five hundred hours to gather any necessary equipment. A helicopter will be waiting at o-nine hundred to take you to your destination. Dismissed."
Raven turned about face and marched out the room.
*****
"I'm glad you decided to do this Logan," Doctor Carr said to Logan's back.
"Let's just get this over with shall we?" Logan lay on the padded examination table on his side. The doctor was prepping his back for a necessary spinal tap.
"Now, Logan. This will hurt a great deal..."
"Really, and I thought it would be done with rose petals." Doctor Carr knew Logan didn't mean to be so offensive, he heard the nervous tone underlying the sarcasm.
"I'm doing it now."
Logan winced, clenching his jaw and closing his eyes against the pain. Despite himself, tears developed and fell from his eyes. As the needle pierced his spinal cord the excruciating pain became unbearable. Though he tried valiantly to hold it in, an agonizing scream escaped his lips.
*****
"Kat, are you ... alright?" Zack knew he was never good at comforting but he hated to see Kat like this. She stood facing a wall, holding herself, alone in a waiting room. She did not respond so he stepped closer. "Kat it isn't your fault, you can't blame yourself."
Up close he could see her body was tense. "You can't say it isn't, Zack. She's in that bed because of me," her voice was silent and remorse.
"No, Kat," his voice soothed her and he was behind her now trying to rub some warmth into her arms, "Don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known she would do that."
"I could have not pulled the trigger."
"Please Kat," he drew her into his embrace.
As his strength surrounded her she felt no need to be brave. She pressed her face into his chest and let his shirt soak up her tears. Taking the cue he held her tighter under his chin, stroking her hair. "Max…She did what she did because… that was her daughter."
Her body tensed under him but she did not pull away.
"Or, at least, she believes it was her daughter."
"What do you mean?" her words were muffled.
"Apparently, Lydecker used the genetic codes of both Max and myself to create the X-6..."
"So they are you children?" Zack heard her words but also heard beyond them.
"They are made of me, but Cole is my son and I love him." Beneath his hands he could feel Kat relax once more. Though his kind words were a relief to her, they drew more tears from her eyes. This was what she wanted. She craved his embrace and the solace it gave her soul. This was it. She had to tell him now. By doing so, she was risking a lot: a friend, a protector, a guide, and an ally. But if she held this in any longer she would surely go mad.
Fighting though the sobs she tried to speak to him, "Zack...I...I..." she tilted her head back to see his sapphire eyes. Maybe she could borrow their strength. However when she looked up she saw only pity.
He used two tentative fingers to push back a stray lock of hair from her face, "It's okay Kat. When Max wakes up you'll see she won't be mad. You did nothing wrong." He leaned in and kissed her fore head, just as he saw other lovers comfort their mates, then pulled her back under his chin. This was an odd thing for him. Kat always brought out his protective side more so than others.
'Not now,' Kat thought to herself as she tried to absorb Zack's warmth into her. She would tell him when he wasn't thinking about Max. But she would tell him. She promised herself that much.
*****
A few hours later they all left for Logan's apartment with a still unconscious Max. Zack had swiped some medical supplies to ensure they could in fact take care of her until she reached optimum health. When they got their Zack carried her and lay her on Logan's bed.
"Mass, alright?" Cole asked his mother as they lay her down.
"She'll be fine sweety."
"Wanna play with Mass..." He motioned toward her sleeping body, but Kat held him back.
"She needs sleep. Now lets go eat. Are you hungry? Mommy hungry." Obediently Cole followed her into the kitchen.
Zack was still busy setting up shop, ready to infuse Max with one more liter of blood. After that she should have been awake and in her prime in no time. As he pierced the vein in his other arm he heard Logan quietly, hesitantly enter the room.
"How is she doing? From the Manticore perspective, that is." His voice was still weak as the pain from the spinal tap still lingered. It was a ghost pain that made it feel as though his legs were ablaze with a dull fire. But he knew that was only because nerves in the spine were set off, not the nerves in his legs.
"She'll be fine in a couple hours. I'm giving her one more liter for good measure." He inserted the adjoining needle into the back of Max's hand.
"Haven't you given enough? Is it safe for you?" Zack could hardly believe that Logan was concerned with his well being. Even so, he decided to heal Logan's ignorance.
"We are X-5. Blood regenerates in our body at an exceptional rate when our levels are low. So by draining my blood my body is producing more than enough for Max and myself."
"Ah... I see..." though he didn't really. Most of the splicing that occurred had an internal effect that Logan himself had no way of noticing.
Zack let the silence linger a little while longer before speaking. "We'll have to get her out of Seattle soon."
"Why? Lydecker is out of commission for a while, there is no direct threat."
"Did you think about that before you said it, or did it just come out of your ass?"
Logan straightened at the insult. This went beyond the typical Manticore wit. "Excuse me?"
"You think Lydecker is the only one. If he dies there will be the next in command to take his place. None of this will end until Manticore is destroyed."
"Even with the next man stepping up, it would take a while to get things settled and to begin another operation would it not?"
"Not if they have the X-6 on our backs. They will find us before nightfall."
"Impossible..."
"We are talking Manticore. She has stayed here long enough because of ties she thinks she has with you. You're clouding her mind and holding her back. You will get her killed."
Logan wasn't about to put up with that. "Why did Manticore come searching in Seattle after all this time anyways? Wasn't it you who brought Cole here? Kat following with that tracker implanted in her ear. Excuse me if I'm mistaken but I'm pretty sure you were the one who brought her along to take down Lydecker in some raging show of testosterone."
Zack turned around, still attached to Max, and in a stern voice made his response. "Yeah? At least I had a purpose. She comes running back to you time and again for no good reason. Risking her life for nothing in return. You can do nothing for her," he emphasized the 'nothing', "Don't you realize that the day will come when you and your wheelchair-bound ass will get her in over her head?" Both men didn't care to keep their voices down but they did not reach the point of shouting.
"In case you haven't noticed you were all born, in over your head. Lydecker will seek you out anywhere you might go. With those X-6 around she won't be safe anywhere. Might as well not be safe here." Though Logan tried he could not avoid the argument that was truly the center of his concern: He wanted her to stay here, with him. Zack caught the meaning of his last sentence.
"Logan I would have expected more from you, especially with all that you've done working the informant net. You just want to have her by your side. I thought you would be above selfishness."
"Are you telling me you don't want her to leave with you for your own purposes. I saw you kiss her, Zack, it's obvious you care for her. For a military elite you aren't very covert."
Zack did not falter though he was surprised Logan knew of that stolen kiss. "I can protect her and I won't slow her down. I'm what she needs."
"And you think your Machiavellian mentality will be what she needs. She's lived a hard life and at least she is dealing with it. You on the other hand don't seem to be brave enough to face change."
"Don't tell me what I'm brave enough to face," his lowered his tone like a dog growling, "I've killed better men than you to keep them safe."
"Is that a threat?"
Zack tried to glare him down but to his surprise Logan held his ground. The silence that fell between them was palpable. Max's slow ragged breaths were the only thing that dared make a sound.
Behind Zack, out of both men's sight, Max's eyes struggled to open.