[authors note] shit this took me forever didn't it? i would give you a list of excuses but that would just delay this another millenia. this isn't my best work, a little slower then usual, but i gotta try and build some tension for the finale...
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That night the silence hung dead in the air. In a new apartment located halfway between Alyssa's and Logan's, Max was trying to rest on the couch and Zack lay in a strange dreaming state. Raven sat on the bed, cross-legged, beside him watching as his eyebrows twitched and his eyes moved beneath their lids.
How did it come to this? She remembered what seemed a life time ago, when she had watched her father like this before, shaking and helpless in a ditch as she fed him his tryptophan all through the night. So how did it come to the point where she was hiding out with her former prey and being chased down by her own brothers and sisters?
Never in her short life did she think that that would happen. Then again, she never thought that she would come to question the very organization that she had called home.
Though her eyes had been opened to the atrocities of Manticore, she still missed her family. Guilt tugged at her heart. She had abandoned them. Wasn't that what she was doing? It didn't matter how much she thought one day she would break them out as well. Right now the truth of the matter refused to be hidden. She had deserted them.
Zack would never leave his X5 behind. It was obvious that he protected them with every breath he took in. And with every breath he let out, he mourned for all those lost to him. Even though they lived their own lives spread all across North America no longer under his control, he still considered them his responsibility. That was what a leader was, they never turned their back on those they had sworn to protect.
Ty, Eden… she missed them all so much, and she didn't want to run anymore, especially not from them. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she hoped her family would find her.
*****
Logan sat on the couch in his penthouse staring out into the night. He stayed away from his computer. What was the point? There was nothing he could do anyways and at this point he couldn't really give a damn about the rest of the city.
What ever happened to the "knight in shining armor" concept? Guess it went down the shit hole when they decided to create transgenic super females.
Outside his window he didn't need Max's sight to see the lights of the helicopters and hover drones scouring the city and upholding this "quarantine". Max may have sworn she would return, but she must not have understood the dire circumstances they were in. The city was surrounded, and hundreds of soldiers were actively searching for them. She barely escaped that time when the city was on the look out for her. But how would she avoid their clutches this time?
It was hard, trying not to let the despair consume him.
*****
The next morning several of the X6 gathered. Ty, Donovan, Eden, Fox and Quince, among others, all sat in the conference room a few minutes before the scheduled time. There wasn't much to say to each other. They all sensed the solemnity of this meeting. The discussion that would follow would solidify their suspicions that their sister and C.O. was now their enemy.
Mathews walked into the room and made his way to the head of the table. "Ty and Donovan have just confirmed the presence of at least three rogues in Seattle. Two of which are of the X5 series. They have both compiled their three dimensional profiles."
He pressed a few buttons and wall behind him came to life with computer generated life sized models of Max and Zack. They all studied the faces carefully, memorizing every major detail that Ty and Donovan had put together. Height, approximate weight, hair color, eye color, jaw line, eyebrows, nose structure… After only moments, the targets were set in their minds.
Except for Donovan. He didn't need to look. In fact he avoided looking at the profiles of Max and Zack, scared of another episode. Besides that he didn't need to memorize their faces, every curve and line of their faces were already burned in his memories from some strange past that he really didn't want to remember.
"The objective of your mission is to capture X5m and X5z and bring them here alive. There is also a third target." Raven's picture appeared on the screen. "Raven, designate X6r, has, to the best of our knowledge, defected to the other side. At best her loyalties remain in question."
'She was a former X6?' Donovan kept his question internal. It would make sense because she is the proper age, but why would she be on the outside? He looked around him and could see the rest shift slightly in their seats. It was obvious that they were uncomfortable.
"She is strong and very capable, but you know her weaknesses. Fill Donovan in on the way there. Because of her apparent dissention it is unclear if there are more of the X5 that have been trapped within the city limits. Raven may have hid this information from us. These are the X5 as children." A press of a few more buttons and the screen separated into a grid showing all the escapees. "Our aging software and knowledge of their genetic make-up have given us a rough approximation of what they might look like now."
One by one, each child's face morphed and aged. "If you believe you see a potential target expose yourself as a threat and their reaction will be all you need to confirm your suspicions."
"How do we know they will fight?" Ty asked as he studied these new faces.
"When cornered they will defend themselves. As you, they were trained to fight." He paused to let that soak in before continuing. "But it is imperative that they are brought in alive."
*****
Lydecker sat in his helicopter listening intently to the conversation in the conference room where he planted the bug. The first part consisted of a simple break of the objective and roll calling the targets… Finally it got the part he was most interested in.
"Donovan spotted X5z entering an apartment in Fogle Towers in the high-rise district. X5m and X6r were also spotted at this location…"
Lydecker motioned to pilot, one of his few trusted men, and the helicopter began to lift off.
"It is highly unlikely they are still in the area, but apartment 1414 may hold clues as to where they are currently."
The conversation continued until Lydecker was thirty minutes away when Mathews voice gave way to static. Now outside the bug's range, Deck pulled the earphones off and rested them on his lap, hoping he had the upper edge in this race.
*****
Max stared out the window. Even the sky seemed to sense the impending danger and hid behind the clouds. In the distance the sun was rising, washing the clouds with a crimson glow.
This was not going to be a good day. Zack had awakened from his concussion an hour ago, but he remained disoriented and weak. Sudden movements, even if he were to just turn his head, would send waves of nausea through him. Every time he closed his eyes the world would begin to topple end over end and he would clutch on to whatever he was close to, like a small child to a mother's skirt. Even when he opened his eyes it would take a few minutes for him to recover, and for the room to come to a full stop. There was no way he would be able to fight a common bum on the street in this condition, let alone someone as lethal as an X6.
Even at full strength Max feared the X6. When she fought Raven that fated day, Max knew she had no hope of winning. Even with the cure of her lack of seratonin, and the additional strength and speed that came with that, Max knew she might only be able to hold her own against a solitary X6, and for only a limited time.
Currently she could hear Raven comforting Zack in the bathroom as he emptied the contents of his long empty stomach once again. They were sitting here, waiting for their doom to close in on them. Max's gut told her to run, but she knew either on the run or stationary, it was only a matter of time.
She wished she was the sky right now.
*****
Just seeing the skyline of Seattle made Donovan want to hold his head. He tried not to look out but it could not be helped. And as he stared into the city he had flashbacks of memories he knew were his own.
The haunting image of Zack holding Alyssa's newly lifeless body and staring straight at him had plagued him as he slept.
The words from the conversation with him as they fought still drifted, unwanted, through his waking thoughts.
'You were stolen from me.'
And he couldn't hope avoid the image of Kat. Strange memories mixed with the events he could remember. Kat smiling down at him, her soothing voice comforting him. Then there was the feel of her skin as he wiped the blood from her cheek in the forest. The feel of her neck giving way and her body going limp…
*****
Lydecker jumped onto the tarmac the instant the helicopter landed at the Seattle base. There was no time to waste. If someone in Gillette were to find out about his unauthorized trip to Seattle he would be useless to his kids. Within minutes, he sat in the back of a van, two of his men driving him down the long empty road from the Manticore complex.
They were frequently stopped at the sector checkpoints, having to confirm each time that they were military. The city was locked down tighter then Lydecker had expected. Even though it barely impeded their progress, Lydecker ground his teeth impatiently.
*****
Ty and the others landed in Seattle and streamed out of the helicopter. They were dressed to maintain a ruse of being teenagers old enough to drive, but young enough so that they could feign ignorance if any of the local police caught them in places they shouldn't have been.
Once out of range of the noise of the helicopter Ty gave his command. "Wolf take Lenk and search the north-east side. Ajax, your with Gira on the north west. Shorn and Mar, south east. Neve and Scrip, south west. Fox, Quince, Eden, Donovan, you're with me. We will be making our way back to Fogle Towers for any further leads. Any questions?"
They all looked at each other, but no one ever had questions. "Good. Move out."
Splitting into their groups, the others put on their tinted helmets and got onto their more maneuverable motorcycles while Ty and those that followed him filed into a dark grey van.
*****
Finally, Deck and his men cleared the last sector checkpoint and were in the high-rise sector. It wasn't long before they parked. He left his men in the van and went into the building himself. He had to look as non-threatening as possible and he wouldn't be able to do that with two armed henchmen tagging along. Besides, with them in the van it would make for a quick get away.
"Excuse me, have you seen any of these people recently?" Lydecker asked the first person he saw, holding up the sketches of Max and Zack as well as an updated picture of Raven.
"No…" He met with the same response over and over again and once more the frustration threatened to topple his hopes. He was losing precious time. Thankfully on the second floor, someone recognized Max's face.
"Uh, yeah, that one," the elderly woman pointed to the sketch of Max, "She looks like the young lady who knows Logan in the penthouse."
"Thank you." Lydecker nodded and rushed off to the elevator.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" the civilian asked after him, but Deck was too hurried to bother answering.
*****
All the Manticore soldiers assigned to each checkpoint were informed of the X6's arrival in Seattle and because of this Ty and the others sliced through the city without so much as a pause. The streets were empty compared to the normally disorganized clutter of Seattle's typical day.
Minutes into their search of the northeast sector Wolf spotted something. "This is Wolf, I think I found something." He put his fist up indicating to Lenk behind him that he was about to stop and when he did Lenk pulled up beside.
After several quick symbols Lenk nodded her head and raced off ahead, Wolf tailing behind about half a block. Further down Lenk swerved her bike onto the empty sidewalk and blocked the path of a solitary man no older then 23. The man stopped in confusion and started to step back only to hear another motorcycle block him from behind.
Keeping his helmet on, Wolf stepped off his bike and pulled out a Colt M1911MEU. The movement drew the man to turn and face him and when he did, the look on his face was one of pure terror. He was trapped. Their was no alley to run into and the truck that was parked at the curb blocking the last possible escape route short of crawling under it.
"Oh shit…" he said holding one hand up while pulling his wallet out with the other, "Oh man, oh man… Here. Just please…" He tossed the wallet with a shaky hand at Wolf's feet, but Wolf just stepped over it.
Lenk, too, was now off her bike and stepping toward the man and he knew it. "Oh God…"
Wolf approached him and raised the gun level with the man's forehead. Seeing his life flash before his eyes the man just collapsed to his knees and whimpered. "Tell me what you want…I'll get it for you… Just please…"
Disgusted, Wolf pulled the man's head under his arm in a headlock and pushed his hair aside to get a clear view of the back of the man's neck. There he saw the barcode that he had caught a flash of earlier. But it was all wrong. Not enough digits. Not even an actual number, just random lines slapped together and tattooed on this guy's neck, and none too clearly at that.
Ty's voice streamed through the com in his ear, "Wolf, report."
"Fucking cheap ink." Wolf muttered under his breath, tossed the guy to the side and signaled something to Lenk. Seconds later they were back on their bikes scouring the streets once more.
*****
Eden, Quince and Donovan rocked with the movements of the van as they rounded another corner edging them closer to their ultimate target. Fogle towers. The ride was a quiet one. Everyone was in their own mindset, preparing for whatever they might face at their destination. Eden glanced over at Donovan, who for some unknown reason, chose to sit isolated in the farthest corner of the van. He looked tired, very tired. In fact all morning it looked like a regular human who had awaken from a disturbed sleep.
He looked up and briefly met her questioning eyes. In that fleeting second of contact Eden was bombarded with a strange mixture of confusion and hatred, uncertainty and helplessness. It did not make sense. What could possibly be bothering him so? Only a few days ago he was Manticore's perfect soldier, now it was almost as if his indoctrination was unraveling before her.
She could not stand to see him so lost.
Within sight of the target building Ty parked the van.
"Quince, Fox, secure the base of the building. Eden, Donovan, you're with me."
*****
Lydecker knocked twice briskly on the penthouse door. Inside he could hear a few shuffling sounds but this Logan was in no apparent rush to get the door. Finally the door opened wide and Logan stood before him. There was a flash of recognition in his eyes, or was that fear? Whatever it was was soon hidden from view. It was obvious this man had hidden many secrets in his life.
There was something familiar about this man, but not having the same photogenic memory as his children, Deck could not place the face.
"Do you know this woman?" Deck held out once more the sketch of Max for Logan to see.
Too quickly for the untrained eye to notice, there was hesitation. But Deck saw and noted the reaction.
"No." Logan started to close the door but Lydecker put his foot out.
"A lady downstairs said she has visited here before."
Deck could see the frustration and hatred in his eyes. "No… I've never seen her before." Why was this man so angry at him? If Deck didn't have the gun at the small of his back he might have actually felt threatened.
"Please. If you know her, I'm trying to help her. She's in grave danger."
"I told you, I don't know who she is." There was no doubt Logan knew who Max was, it was written all over his face.
'Wait a minute,' finally it hit Lydecker. "You're Logan Cale. The journalist. Weren't you in a wheelchair?"
Logan's muscles tensed, he was obviously uncomfortable that he was found out.
"You were there at the conference that the May 22nd movement took hostage. This woman was there as well."
"I…"
Before he could deny once more Lydecker cut him off, grabbing his arm. "You have to understand Mr. Cale. There are killers after her."
"Killers you created…" Logan caught himself too late and cursed himself for his stupidity.
"You know who I am? Then you know about her past." Lydecker forced his way into the penthouse. Strange that he did not deny creating killers…
His cover blown Logan spoke more freely, "I won't help you find her and bring her back there."
"Listen to me, I'm trying to help her get out of the city. I don't want her back at Manticore either."
"What are you talking about?"
"Manticore is being perverted by those in charge. They are trying to rounding up my children-"
"Don't call them that."
Lydecker reworded it. "Recapture the X5 and run some sick experiments on..."
"And you don't think creating genetically spliced kids specifically for warfare isn't sick enough?"
Lydecker paused to absorb the hostility. He couldn't risk this, what may be his only chance to warn Max and Zack and even Raven. Calmly he tried to reason with Logan since it was apparent he wouldn't let go of this revulsion towards him. "Hate me all you want Logan. But Max, Zack and Raven are all in danger unless I get them out of here now. We may not have much time. I can pass the checkpoints easily now, but if Manticore discovers I'm here, our window will have passed."
"They are safe."
"If they are still in the city they won't be soon. The X6 have probably landed already and are searching for them as we speak."
"I don't believe you."
"It isn't up to you to believe me." Lydecker nodded in the direction of the phone. "Let Max and the others decide."
*****
Raven straightened to attention. Her skilled, fast hands, that were changing the bandages on Zack's legs, came to a jarring stop.
"Is something wrong?" Max asked from her seat across the room.
"They're here. I can feel them."
A confusing mixture of joy and fear washed over her, and she tried her best to hide it.
*****
Just inside the lobby, Eden paused midstep. Perking up, she sniffed the air.
Donovan turned to her. "What is it?"
In front of both of them Ty also paused to sniff the air. He turned and met his sister's eyes.
Eden relaxed, knowing with that simple act her brother had just confirmed her suspicions. "Lydecker."
"But Lydecker isn't authorized to be in Seattle…" Donovan looked back and forth between his siblings.
"Exactly," Ty answered, inhaling deeply once more. "It doesn't matter. Fox, Quince…"
"Yeah." They replied in unison in his earpiece.
"Be on the look out for Lydecker as well."
"Lydecker? I thought I caught his scent." Quince replied. Neither he nor Fox were surprised. They all expected Deck would try something like this ever since they were told that Mathews had usurped his position of command. But what could Lydecker do to stop them?
Using the stairs it did not take them long to get onto the 14 floor and into apartment 1414. The room was void of everything but a few detectives with cameras and notepads who Eden easily took out before they even realized others had entered the restricted area.
Alone to conduct their search, they all relaxed, casually walking around the place, dumping out garbage pails and searching piles of paper for any clue to Raven's current whereabouts.
It wasn't long before Eden found herself at a small table with simply framed pictures. No sooner did she see those pictures were her eyes drawn to the face. That kind face, so different from the rigid military faces that surrounded them day in and day out. Picking up the picture frame, she drew he fingertip lightly across the jaw-line of the doctor. "Doctor Munrow?" She looked questioningly at Donovan. "Was she your target?"
Various questions and comments came through their coms when the other X6 heard this.
Donovan froze. Eden was looking at him almost accusingly. She held the same look in her eyes that Ty had when he first learned this truth. He didn't know what to say.
Ty walked between them, slicing through their eye contact, and spoke on Donovan's behalf. "He did not know her. You have just demonstrated why Mathews sent him rather than one of us. Now keep your mind of the objective soldier."
Eden quickly sapped the emotion from her face at the command and she nodded curtly, replacing the picture frame and continuing about the apartment. The others, who were a constant low noise in the background this whole time, were now dead silent as well. Together, with no need for a sound, the X6 mourned for Alyssa all across the city.
*****
Quince signaled to Fox, who quickly came to his side. He pointed down an alley, and Fox peaked around the corner to see what concerned his brother. Pulling back he communicated silently with Fox to plan their course of action.
Fox straightened and in a hushed tone spoke to his commanding officer. "Ty."
*****
"Yes Fox." Ty pressed his finger to his ear, listening to what Fox had to report. Ty nodded a few times, it was habit, and upon hearing all he had to say, he gave his order, "Understood. Proceed."
Ty breathed in heavily through his nose. The whole apartment reeked of blood. Of death. A scent he was all too familiar with. Walking past the shattered window he caught the faintest whiff of another familiar scent and came to an abrupt stop. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly and deeply, singling out the scent he was interested in. By now Eden and Donovan saw Ty's actions and were drawn to him, interested in his findings.
Careful of the sharp edges of glass, Ty leaned out the window and looked around. Like a skilled hunter in the forest, he found evidence of his prey's passing. He pulled the long black hair from the edge of the window. "Sloppy, Raven," he mumbled to himself. 'It's like you want us to find you, sister.'
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That night the silence hung dead in the air. In a new apartment located halfway between Alyssa's and Logan's, Max was trying to rest on the couch and Zack lay in a strange dreaming state. Raven sat on the bed, cross-legged, beside him watching as his eyebrows twitched and his eyes moved beneath their lids.
How did it come to this? She remembered what seemed a life time ago, when she had watched her father like this before, shaking and helpless in a ditch as she fed him his tryptophan all through the night. So how did it come to the point where she was hiding out with her former prey and being chased down by her own brothers and sisters?
Never in her short life did she think that that would happen. Then again, she never thought that she would come to question the very organization that she had called home.
Though her eyes had been opened to the atrocities of Manticore, she still missed her family. Guilt tugged at her heart. She had abandoned them. Wasn't that what she was doing? It didn't matter how much she thought one day she would break them out as well. Right now the truth of the matter refused to be hidden. She had deserted them.
Zack would never leave his X5 behind. It was obvious that he protected them with every breath he took in. And with every breath he let out, he mourned for all those lost to him. Even though they lived their own lives spread all across North America no longer under his control, he still considered them his responsibility. That was what a leader was, they never turned their back on those they had sworn to protect.
Ty, Eden… she missed them all so much, and she didn't want to run anymore, especially not from them. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she hoped her family would find her.
*****
Logan sat on the couch in his penthouse staring out into the night. He stayed away from his computer. What was the point? There was nothing he could do anyways and at this point he couldn't really give a damn about the rest of the city.
What ever happened to the "knight in shining armor" concept? Guess it went down the shit hole when they decided to create transgenic super females.
Outside his window he didn't need Max's sight to see the lights of the helicopters and hover drones scouring the city and upholding this "quarantine". Max may have sworn she would return, but she must not have understood the dire circumstances they were in. The city was surrounded, and hundreds of soldiers were actively searching for them. She barely escaped that time when the city was on the look out for her. But how would she avoid their clutches this time?
It was hard, trying not to let the despair consume him.
*****
The next morning several of the X6 gathered. Ty, Donovan, Eden, Fox and Quince, among others, all sat in the conference room a few minutes before the scheduled time. There wasn't much to say to each other. They all sensed the solemnity of this meeting. The discussion that would follow would solidify their suspicions that their sister and C.O. was now their enemy.
Mathews walked into the room and made his way to the head of the table. "Ty and Donovan have just confirmed the presence of at least three rogues in Seattle. Two of which are of the X5 series. They have both compiled their three dimensional profiles."
He pressed a few buttons and wall behind him came to life with computer generated life sized models of Max and Zack. They all studied the faces carefully, memorizing every major detail that Ty and Donovan had put together. Height, approximate weight, hair color, eye color, jaw line, eyebrows, nose structure… After only moments, the targets were set in their minds.
Except for Donovan. He didn't need to look. In fact he avoided looking at the profiles of Max and Zack, scared of another episode. Besides that he didn't need to memorize their faces, every curve and line of their faces were already burned in his memories from some strange past that he really didn't want to remember.
"The objective of your mission is to capture X5m and X5z and bring them here alive. There is also a third target." Raven's picture appeared on the screen. "Raven, designate X6r, has, to the best of our knowledge, defected to the other side. At best her loyalties remain in question."
'She was a former X6?' Donovan kept his question internal. It would make sense because she is the proper age, but why would she be on the outside? He looked around him and could see the rest shift slightly in their seats. It was obvious that they were uncomfortable.
"She is strong and very capable, but you know her weaknesses. Fill Donovan in on the way there. Because of her apparent dissention it is unclear if there are more of the X5 that have been trapped within the city limits. Raven may have hid this information from us. These are the X5 as children." A press of a few more buttons and the screen separated into a grid showing all the escapees. "Our aging software and knowledge of their genetic make-up have given us a rough approximation of what they might look like now."
One by one, each child's face morphed and aged. "If you believe you see a potential target expose yourself as a threat and their reaction will be all you need to confirm your suspicions."
"How do we know they will fight?" Ty asked as he studied these new faces.
"When cornered they will defend themselves. As you, they were trained to fight." He paused to let that soak in before continuing. "But it is imperative that they are brought in alive."
*****
Lydecker sat in his helicopter listening intently to the conversation in the conference room where he planted the bug. The first part consisted of a simple break of the objective and roll calling the targets… Finally it got the part he was most interested in.
"Donovan spotted X5z entering an apartment in Fogle Towers in the high-rise district. X5m and X6r were also spotted at this location…"
Lydecker motioned to pilot, one of his few trusted men, and the helicopter began to lift off.
"It is highly unlikely they are still in the area, but apartment 1414 may hold clues as to where they are currently."
The conversation continued until Lydecker was thirty minutes away when Mathews voice gave way to static. Now outside the bug's range, Deck pulled the earphones off and rested them on his lap, hoping he had the upper edge in this race.
*****
Max stared out the window. Even the sky seemed to sense the impending danger and hid behind the clouds. In the distance the sun was rising, washing the clouds with a crimson glow.
This was not going to be a good day. Zack had awakened from his concussion an hour ago, but he remained disoriented and weak. Sudden movements, even if he were to just turn his head, would send waves of nausea through him. Every time he closed his eyes the world would begin to topple end over end and he would clutch on to whatever he was close to, like a small child to a mother's skirt. Even when he opened his eyes it would take a few minutes for him to recover, and for the room to come to a full stop. There was no way he would be able to fight a common bum on the street in this condition, let alone someone as lethal as an X6.
Even at full strength Max feared the X6. When she fought Raven that fated day, Max knew she had no hope of winning. Even with the cure of her lack of seratonin, and the additional strength and speed that came with that, Max knew she might only be able to hold her own against a solitary X6, and for only a limited time.
Currently she could hear Raven comforting Zack in the bathroom as he emptied the contents of his long empty stomach once again. They were sitting here, waiting for their doom to close in on them. Max's gut told her to run, but she knew either on the run or stationary, it was only a matter of time.
She wished she was the sky right now.
*****
Just seeing the skyline of Seattle made Donovan want to hold his head. He tried not to look out but it could not be helped. And as he stared into the city he had flashbacks of memories he knew were his own.
The haunting image of Zack holding Alyssa's newly lifeless body and staring straight at him had plagued him as he slept.
The words from the conversation with him as they fought still drifted, unwanted, through his waking thoughts.
'You were stolen from me.'
And he couldn't hope avoid the image of Kat. Strange memories mixed with the events he could remember. Kat smiling down at him, her soothing voice comforting him. Then there was the feel of her skin as he wiped the blood from her cheek in the forest. The feel of her neck giving way and her body going limp…
*****
Lydecker jumped onto the tarmac the instant the helicopter landed at the Seattle base. There was no time to waste. If someone in Gillette were to find out about his unauthorized trip to Seattle he would be useless to his kids. Within minutes, he sat in the back of a van, two of his men driving him down the long empty road from the Manticore complex.
They were frequently stopped at the sector checkpoints, having to confirm each time that they were military. The city was locked down tighter then Lydecker had expected. Even though it barely impeded their progress, Lydecker ground his teeth impatiently.
*****
Ty and the others landed in Seattle and streamed out of the helicopter. They were dressed to maintain a ruse of being teenagers old enough to drive, but young enough so that they could feign ignorance if any of the local police caught them in places they shouldn't have been.
Once out of range of the noise of the helicopter Ty gave his command. "Wolf take Lenk and search the north-east side. Ajax, your with Gira on the north west. Shorn and Mar, south east. Neve and Scrip, south west. Fox, Quince, Eden, Donovan, you're with me. We will be making our way back to Fogle Towers for any further leads. Any questions?"
They all looked at each other, but no one ever had questions. "Good. Move out."
Splitting into their groups, the others put on their tinted helmets and got onto their more maneuverable motorcycles while Ty and those that followed him filed into a dark grey van.
*****
Finally, Deck and his men cleared the last sector checkpoint and were in the high-rise sector. It wasn't long before they parked. He left his men in the van and went into the building himself. He had to look as non-threatening as possible and he wouldn't be able to do that with two armed henchmen tagging along. Besides, with them in the van it would make for a quick get away.
"Excuse me, have you seen any of these people recently?" Lydecker asked the first person he saw, holding up the sketches of Max and Zack as well as an updated picture of Raven.
"No…" He met with the same response over and over again and once more the frustration threatened to topple his hopes. He was losing precious time. Thankfully on the second floor, someone recognized Max's face.
"Uh, yeah, that one," the elderly woman pointed to the sketch of Max, "She looks like the young lady who knows Logan in the penthouse."
"Thank you." Lydecker nodded and rushed off to the elevator.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" the civilian asked after him, but Deck was too hurried to bother answering.
*****
All the Manticore soldiers assigned to each checkpoint were informed of the X6's arrival in Seattle and because of this Ty and the others sliced through the city without so much as a pause. The streets were empty compared to the normally disorganized clutter of Seattle's typical day.
Minutes into their search of the northeast sector Wolf spotted something. "This is Wolf, I think I found something." He put his fist up indicating to Lenk behind him that he was about to stop and when he did Lenk pulled up beside.
After several quick symbols Lenk nodded her head and raced off ahead, Wolf tailing behind about half a block. Further down Lenk swerved her bike onto the empty sidewalk and blocked the path of a solitary man no older then 23. The man stopped in confusion and started to step back only to hear another motorcycle block him from behind.
Keeping his helmet on, Wolf stepped off his bike and pulled out a Colt M1911MEU. The movement drew the man to turn and face him and when he did, the look on his face was one of pure terror. He was trapped. Their was no alley to run into and the truck that was parked at the curb blocking the last possible escape route short of crawling under it.
"Oh shit…" he said holding one hand up while pulling his wallet out with the other, "Oh man, oh man… Here. Just please…" He tossed the wallet with a shaky hand at Wolf's feet, but Wolf just stepped over it.
Lenk, too, was now off her bike and stepping toward the man and he knew it. "Oh God…"
Wolf approached him and raised the gun level with the man's forehead. Seeing his life flash before his eyes the man just collapsed to his knees and whimpered. "Tell me what you want…I'll get it for you… Just please…"
Disgusted, Wolf pulled the man's head under his arm in a headlock and pushed his hair aside to get a clear view of the back of the man's neck. There he saw the barcode that he had caught a flash of earlier. But it was all wrong. Not enough digits. Not even an actual number, just random lines slapped together and tattooed on this guy's neck, and none too clearly at that.
Ty's voice streamed through the com in his ear, "Wolf, report."
"Fucking cheap ink." Wolf muttered under his breath, tossed the guy to the side and signaled something to Lenk. Seconds later they were back on their bikes scouring the streets once more.
*****
Eden, Quince and Donovan rocked with the movements of the van as they rounded another corner edging them closer to their ultimate target. Fogle towers. The ride was a quiet one. Everyone was in their own mindset, preparing for whatever they might face at their destination. Eden glanced over at Donovan, who for some unknown reason, chose to sit isolated in the farthest corner of the van. He looked tired, very tired. In fact all morning it looked like a regular human who had awaken from a disturbed sleep.
He looked up and briefly met her questioning eyes. In that fleeting second of contact Eden was bombarded with a strange mixture of confusion and hatred, uncertainty and helplessness. It did not make sense. What could possibly be bothering him so? Only a few days ago he was Manticore's perfect soldier, now it was almost as if his indoctrination was unraveling before her.
She could not stand to see him so lost.
Within sight of the target building Ty parked the van.
"Quince, Fox, secure the base of the building. Eden, Donovan, you're with me."
*****
Lydecker knocked twice briskly on the penthouse door. Inside he could hear a few shuffling sounds but this Logan was in no apparent rush to get the door. Finally the door opened wide and Logan stood before him. There was a flash of recognition in his eyes, or was that fear? Whatever it was was soon hidden from view. It was obvious this man had hidden many secrets in his life.
There was something familiar about this man, but not having the same photogenic memory as his children, Deck could not place the face.
"Do you know this woman?" Deck held out once more the sketch of Max for Logan to see.
Too quickly for the untrained eye to notice, there was hesitation. But Deck saw and noted the reaction.
"No." Logan started to close the door but Lydecker put his foot out.
"A lady downstairs said she has visited here before."
Deck could see the frustration and hatred in his eyes. "No… I've never seen her before." Why was this man so angry at him? If Deck didn't have the gun at the small of his back he might have actually felt threatened.
"Please. If you know her, I'm trying to help her. She's in grave danger."
"I told you, I don't know who she is." There was no doubt Logan knew who Max was, it was written all over his face.
'Wait a minute,' finally it hit Lydecker. "You're Logan Cale. The journalist. Weren't you in a wheelchair?"
Logan's muscles tensed, he was obviously uncomfortable that he was found out.
"You were there at the conference that the May 22nd movement took hostage. This woman was there as well."
"I…"
Before he could deny once more Lydecker cut him off, grabbing his arm. "You have to understand Mr. Cale. There are killers after her."
"Killers you created…" Logan caught himself too late and cursed himself for his stupidity.
"You know who I am? Then you know about her past." Lydecker forced his way into the penthouse. Strange that he did not deny creating killers…
His cover blown Logan spoke more freely, "I won't help you find her and bring her back there."
"Listen to me, I'm trying to help her get out of the city. I don't want her back at Manticore either."
"What are you talking about?"
"Manticore is being perverted by those in charge. They are trying to rounding up my children-"
"Don't call them that."
Lydecker reworded it. "Recapture the X5 and run some sick experiments on..."
"And you don't think creating genetically spliced kids specifically for warfare isn't sick enough?"
Lydecker paused to absorb the hostility. He couldn't risk this, what may be his only chance to warn Max and Zack and even Raven. Calmly he tried to reason with Logan since it was apparent he wouldn't let go of this revulsion towards him. "Hate me all you want Logan. But Max, Zack and Raven are all in danger unless I get them out of here now. We may not have much time. I can pass the checkpoints easily now, but if Manticore discovers I'm here, our window will have passed."
"They are safe."
"If they are still in the city they won't be soon. The X6 have probably landed already and are searching for them as we speak."
"I don't believe you."
"It isn't up to you to believe me." Lydecker nodded in the direction of the phone. "Let Max and the others decide."
*****
Raven straightened to attention. Her skilled, fast hands, that were changing the bandages on Zack's legs, came to a jarring stop.
"Is something wrong?" Max asked from her seat across the room.
"They're here. I can feel them."
A confusing mixture of joy and fear washed over her, and she tried her best to hide it.
*****
Just inside the lobby, Eden paused midstep. Perking up, she sniffed the air.
Donovan turned to her. "What is it?"
In front of both of them Ty also paused to sniff the air. He turned and met his sister's eyes.
Eden relaxed, knowing with that simple act her brother had just confirmed her suspicions. "Lydecker."
"But Lydecker isn't authorized to be in Seattle…" Donovan looked back and forth between his siblings.
"Exactly," Ty answered, inhaling deeply once more. "It doesn't matter. Fox, Quince…"
"Yeah." They replied in unison in his earpiece.
"Be on the look out for Lydecker as well."
"Lydecker? I thought I caught his scent." Quince replied. Neither he nor Fox were surprised. They all expected Deck would try something like this ever since they were told that Mathews had usurped his position of command. But what could Lydecker do to stop them?
Using the stairs it did not take them long to get onto the 14 floor and into apartment 1414. The room was void of everything but a few detectives with cameras and notepads who Eden easily took out before they even realized others had entered the restricted area.
Alone to conduct their search, they all relaxed, casually walking around the place, dumping out garbage pails and searching piles of paper for any clue to Raven's current whereabouts.
It wasn't long before Eden found herself at a small table with simply framed pictures. No sooner did she see those pictures were her eyes drawn to the face. That kind face, so different from the rigid military faces that surrounded them day in and day out. Picking up the picture frame, she drew he fingertip lightly across the jaw-line of the doctor. "Doctor Munrow?" She looked questioningly at Donovan. "Was she your target?"
Various questions and comments came through their coms when the other X6 heard this.
Donovan froze. Eden was looking at him almost accusingly. She held the same look in her eyes that Ty had when he first learned this truth. He didn't know what to say.
Ty walked between them, slicing through their eye contact, and spoke on Donovan's behalf. "He did not know her. You have just demonstrated why Mathews sent him rather than one of us. Now keep your mind of the objective soldier."
Eden quickly sapped the emotion from her face at the command and she nodded curtly, replacing the picture frame and continuing about the apartment. The others, who were a constant low noise in the background this whole time, were now dead silent as well. Together, with no need for a sound, the X6 mourned for Alyssa all across the city.
*****
Quince signaled to Fox, who quickly came to his side. He pointed down an alley, and Fox peaked around the corner to see what concerned his brother. Pulling back he communicated silently with Fox to plan their course of action.
Fox straightened and in a hushed tone spoke to his commanding officer. "Ty."
*****
"Yes Fox." Ty pressed his finger to his ear, listening to what Fox had to report. Ty nodded a few times, it was habit, and upon hearing all he had to say, he gave his order, "Understood. Proceed."
Ty breathed in heavily through his nose. The whole apartment reeked of blood. Of death. A scent he was all too familiar with. Walking past the shattered window he caught the faintest whiff of another familiar scent and came to an abrupt stop. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly and deeply, singling out the scent he was interested in. By now Eden and Donovan saw Ty's actions and were drawn to him, interested in his findings.
Careful of the sharp edges of glass, Ty leaned out the window and looked around. Like a skilled hunter in the forest, he found evidence of his prey's passing. He pulled the long black hair from the edge of the window. "Sloppy, Raven," he mumbled to himself. 'It's like you want us to find you, sister.'