A/N    Ok, I haven't updated in ages, but I have to wonder if anyone out there has noticed………..oh well, in case there are some people reading this here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: As per other chapters

Officer Luke Reynolds angrily snapped his cell phone shut. How dare Lydecker criticise the way his men handled the X5. How were they supposed to know that a seemingly fragile teenager would jump off a cliff? It was hard enough to believe that she was sixteen, she looked more like a twelve year old. She came across as so innocent and sheltered – though that's probably what they were aiming for when they made her. He didn't know much about the X5's -  although he worked for Manticore he was part of the street troops. But from the stories he'd heard, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing – there were stories of monsters kept in the basement, and training sessions where kids were held under water for impossible amounts of time…

Luke shook his head – his mission was to recover the X5, not get sucked in by silly children's stories. The sunlight had leached out of the sky, and he returned to the clearing where his men were sitting, looking disgruntled. There was no way they were going to catch up to her before dark fell, she'd be long gone by now.

'Ok men, cheer up. She may have gotten away for now, but sitting around moping isn't going to help anyone. Let's get to the bottom of this cliff and we'll set up camp for the night.

His men slowly rose to their feet and marching singe file, they walked back the way they came, Luke coming last. As they trudged through the silent forest, Lydeckers words came back to him – 'if you stuff this up again, you're all out of a job..'  A shiver went down his spine as he realised the full meaning of these words – the information they all knew was classified, and they wouldn't simply be fired.

Reaching the bottom of the cliff, his men began to set up camp as he pondered the best way to capture the X5.