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Cruel Twists of Fate
8 years later

She pulled the tattered photo from the lining of her purse. Delicately, she rubbed her fingers along the once glossy photo finish. It was long worn away by now.

Time had taken its toll on the picture, but the man in the center of the photograph was still just as clear as when it was first developed. Still just as handsome, still just as gone. With a sigh of pain, she slipped the photo back into its hiding place in her purse. She had no time to dwell on the past.

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Dr. Loren Davis pushed through the hospital doors wearily. "Another day, another ulcer." She said wryly in response to a few hellos from orderlies and nurses. They were accustomed to such greetings. Dr. Davis always appeared haggard, overworked, and unhappy. She looked like a walking advertisement for depression.

"Hi, Dr. Davis," One young candy-striper greeted, bouncing up to block the doctor's way. "There's some *man* in your office." She explained with the air of a tattling, younger sister and a conspiratorial wink.

The doctor frowned. A man? In *her* office? "Oh? Well, I guess I'll have to go see him then, won't I?" Lori asked, side stepping the young woman. Without so much as a 'thank you', she was gone down the hallway to her office.

"Humph." The candy-striper snorted. "Some people are just rude." She remarked turning back to the flower arrangement she was to deliver to an old woman in a room down the hall.

Lori hesitated outside her office door. She'd realized half way there who it must be. He was the only person who would dare to arrive unannounced. He was the only person she really didn't want to see right now. Of course, there was no where to hide. With a sigh of surrender, she stepped through the door. "Good morning, Mr. Lydecker, I was told you were in my office. Do you wish to speak with me about something?"

The man turned in his chair to face her as she entered. He looked as if he was about to say something, but instead turned back towards her desk. "Yes, Dr. Davis, I did want to speak with you."

Lydecker paused as Lori turned around and rearranged the texts on her book shelf. Her hands were shaking. With an imperceptible gritting of her teeth, she turned around. "Go on, I'm listening." As if to illustrate this point, she seated herself behind her desk.

"Why are you wasting your time in a hell hole like this, Doctor? You could do *so* much better." The man continued.

Lori frowned, she'd never taken compliments well. "Now, we get to the ass kissing." She broke in with a displeased smile. Her voice raised a few octaves, easily drifting through the doors to those waiting outside. "One never compliments someone else by making sweeping lies unless they want something. Out with it, Deck." Her voice had not completely lost the friendly, businesslike tone. Although, now it cut with an angry edge.

Lydecker blinked for a moment. He wasn't used to being treated like an imbecile, and he didn't particularly like it. But, he couldn't afford to make her any angrier. "Manticore needs your help, Lori. I should think that considering your family's involvement..."

"You mean *you* want my help. Manticore doesn't want me, not after everything I've done. Anyway, what gives you the impression that I'd want to work for you? My family's dead, Deck. They've been dead for a while now. I don't owe *anything* to them. And, I don't owe *anything* to you either. Nothing." She took a moment to calm herself, her voice lowering back to a more even volume. "Besides, there are rumors about what you do at Manticore. My name is not Frankenstein, I do not fancy myself a God. I don't want to create life, I want to aid those already living. So, if you would excuse me..." She stood and stepped to her door. She wanted, *needed* to cut this meeting short.

"I won't give up that easily, Lori." Lydecker interrupted her. "You can't give up on a family legacy that easily."

Lori turned around, her brow furrowed. "I'll send a security guard in to escort you out of the building. If you bother me again, I'll get a restraining order. I'm not interested in you or your little games. They're your problem, not mine. If you're so eager to find those little snots, you better go look somewhere else. I'm not interested."

She stepped out the door quickly and walked straight into the bathroom to hide. Lori locked herself in a handicapped stall, slowly sliding down the wall until she was seated on the floor. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the cold tiles. What was she doing? Was it wise? Was any of this wise? Lydecker wanted those X5s and for some reason, he thought she knew where they were. If only. All her problems might be solved if she only knew *where* they were. She had searched every database. Every file. Nothing. It was as if they'd all disappeared. Occasionally, some Urban legend about some 'super girl' would reach her ears long after the events transpired. She knew for a fact that there was an X5 in Seattle. She just didn't know who it was, or what it looked like.

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Max parked her motorcycle near the tiny booth in Chinatown. She gave a sidelong glance at a group of punks with multi-colored hair set in spikes. They didn't look like they'd be trouble. Good. She didn't want trouble right now. Her bottle of Tryptophan was almost out. It was time to get a refill. "Do you have what I ordered?" She asked the young Asian woman perched inside the booth.

"Yes, yes. I have pills you order. Wait." The woman bent down, moved a few bottles around, and finally produced the one she was looking for, the one the man had told her to use. "Here. Here pills you order. Money." She held out her hand expectantly.

Max slapped the wad of bills on the counter. She should have just stolen them, saved herself a couple weeks' pay. But, the last time she'd done that, she'd gotten caught. She was feeling just bad enough right now, that getting caught again wasn't out of the question. And, as she'd already decided, she didn't want any trouble today. "Thanks." She muttered. Mounting her motorcycle for the ride home.

A wave of dizziness washed over her, culminating in a terrible headache at the base of her skull. Max sighed, noticing the slight tremor in her hands. She knew what would come next. Maybe she could cut it off at the pass. She opened the bottle of Tryptophan and downed a few pills dry. She was in such a hurry, that she didn't notice the lack of seal on the bottle.

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Lori paused outside the hospital cafeteria. She was hungry, but she wasn't eager to eat. After all, when she ate, she thought; when she thought, she thought of *him;* when she thought of *him*... She shivered and turned away. Not today. She'd wait and eat when she got home. R.X. would be happy for the company.

A slight vibration at her hip threw her off balance. Hesitantly, she glanced at the number on her beeper. Her blood ran cold. She knew that code. Lori bolted back to her office, never noticing the strange looks she got from the hospital personnel. She pressed speed dial and waited anxiously for an answer.

The phone was picked up on the first ring. "Lori?"

"Yeah, R.X., I got your message. What have you got for me?"

The teenage boy paused. "We're out of milk."

"What?" She dropped the pencil she'd been fingering. What was he talking about?

"Milk. We're out of it. I was hoping you could pick some up on the way home. You know I can't get to sleep without a glass of warm milk. So, you'll get some right?"

Lori stared at the receiver in annoyance. What was he doing? That code was only supposed to be used if one of the...."Milk!" She suddenly realized what he was hinting at.

"Yep, Milk. Just don't forget, okay? It's an emergency." R.X. paused, "Lori?" She'd already hung up.

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Lori was trying to move quickly, but not too quickly to the E.R. RX was a paranoid conspiracy nut, but you had to love the screw ball. And, he'd found her what she wanted. One of them was in the building now. It was almost too much to hope for.
She took a deep breath and then rounded the corner of the ER.

She paused in front of the assignment board and headed off to one of the small cubicles. The girl on the hospital bed was beautiful, even in her state. Two doctors hovered above her.

"Lori? What are you doing here?" Dr. Bhakta asked his speech slightly slurred from an East Indian accent.

"I heard you had a seizure case down here. I wanted to take a look."

"Isn't this a little out of you field?" Dr. Sporelli asked skeptically.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to take a look. Does it?"

Neither doctor could respond to this. They didn't want to upset her. She carried too much power in the hospital. "Be my guest." Both doctors exited while casting dirty looks in her direction.

Lori turned to watch them go. When the curtain was again tightly closed, she moved to the side of the bed and lifted the girl's hair. The barcode was clearly visible. She stepped out of the cubicle quickly, moving to one of the nurses. "Becky, I need some transfer orders."

"Transfer orders?"

"The girl over there with the seizures doesn't have insurance, we're going to have to send her to the clinic."

"Poor girl, she'll be lucky to live long if she's forced to go to the clinic. Are you sure?"

"Positive. The sooner we get her there the better. I want to request Eddie to drive, too, if that's okay."

Becky looked up from the paperwork she was now quickly trying to finish. "It won't be any trouble. Nobody ever wants Eddie, he's a little cuckoo." She illustrated this by turning one finger in a circle by her right temple.

The paperwork took an incredibly long time. Lori was growing impatient and nervous with every passing second. If she knew one of the Manticore kids was here, Lydecker would know soon, too. She wanted this girl gone by then. When the papers were finally drawn up, she helped Eddie move her patient to the waiting ambulance.

Lori pulled Eddie aside in front of the vehicle. "I don't want to take her to the clinic like I said. We're taking her back to my place." She slipped a wad of green bills into his hand.

Eddie winked. "I get it doc. A lot of you guys are using these people for experiments now. I've taken probably ten to different doctor's pads. I won't tell a soul."

"Good, Eddie. Good." Lori remarked absently.

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Max was only slightly aware of the happenings around her. The seizure was bad this time. Even the Tryptophan she'd just purchased hadn't helped. The last thing she remembered was losing her balance. She and her motorcycle had tumbled onto the side of the road. There were shouts, sirens.

She had been a little aware of the ambulance that had brought her to the hospital, conscious of her worries of exposure. Now, she was almost positive she was being moved again. But where? A fear spread through her, icy cold. Did Manticore have her? If they did, what then? She couldn't escape like this.

"It's okay, 'Mam. You'll be in my house soon. Lydecker can't get to you there. Manticore won't dare bother you if you're with me. I know I can help you. You're genetic deficiency...I've worked with it before. I'll help you." Lori whispered into Max's ear. Finally, she had one of them. Things were suddenly looking up.

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