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The rain pelted down on her fragile looking, but toned body. Her running footsteps barely made a sound on the wet streets, unlike her pursers. The red hair which usually flowed down over her shoulders, reached back behind her like long wet fingers. Bullets whizzed past her ears as she narrowly dodged them. Her handbag, which she had slung diagonally across her torso, bounced against her hip. She felt a burning sensation in her side, but quickly pushed the feeling aside. The need to put as much distance between her family and White's men spurred her on. "She's hit. She won't be able to keep this pace up for much longer," Captain Dean called to his men. White was on his way and Captain Dean intended to be the one rewarded for the capture of X5-210. He saw his prey zap into an alley and grinned. Pointing to a team of men, he bellowed orders. "Cover the roof. She always goes up to escape." He gestured to another team. "You men come with me. It's a dead end alley. She's not going anywhere. White wants her alive, so shoot to wound, not kill." Cameron watched from the shadows. The young woman was quite obviously an X5 that he had heard so much about. It was amazing to actually see one in action. He had expected her to be all muscles and a butch haircut, but this X5 was all soft curves with a look of innocence to completely confuse the mix. Silently he watched the scene unfold before him. The X5 was smart. These men were going home empty handed tonight. Captain Dean swore as he searched the empty alley. He ordered his men to search the dumpster and check all of the doors while he contacted his men on the roof. There was no sign of X5-210. She had disappeared into thin air. Ames White pulled his car up to the group of soldiers. Before he had even stepped out of the car, he knew his men had lost the target. "How long did it take you to lose her this time?" He had become exasperated long ago with this constant chase. She had continuously slipped through his fingers. Captain Dean gulped. "We followed her to this alley, but she disappeared. We even had the roof covered." If they had caught the X5 female, he would be saying I instead of we. No sense in taking all of the blame when he didn't need to. "She won't have gone far, Sir, she's wounded." Ames White shot the Captain a look that made the Captain's blood run cold. "You shot X5-210? Why weren't you using the tasers as instructed? I gave specific instructions on how to handle this particular X5." "She was dodging the tasers, Sir. It was if she could see it coming." Captain Dean hastily tried to explain his actions. "I'll have my men track her." "You won't find her if she doesn't want to be found." White cast his eyes around the grubby alley. "The only reason you found her in the first place would have been because you were too close to one of the other transgenics. Pull your men out. You've lost her. Again." White turned and stormed back to his car. He had a new reason for wanting to catch X5-210. He had a feeling that she knew where to find 'Eyes Only'. He'd be killing two birds with one stone if he caught her. The French wanted to get their hands on X5-452, but nobody said he had to bring her in alive. With all of his dreams of grandeur drowned, Captain Dean reluctantly called his men back. Though he hated to admit it, he knew White had investigated X5-210 until he could almost anticipate her every move. Cameron chuckled as the men evacuated the alleyway and street. He waited a few minutes to make sure it was clear, then he cautiously walked into the alleyway. He stood still for a moment a few steps away from the dumpster. The dumpster creaked and moved forward. Cameron was dumb struck when he got a proper look at the X5 woman. Her blue eyes stared at him suspiciously from her incredibly pale face. Her long red hair, which had been soaked by the rain, clung to her neck and collarbone. The high-heeled boots that she wore gave her height and made her black demin clad legs appear even longer than they actually were. Cameron couldn't tell how old she was as the fitted outfit she wore screamed of maturity along with the flawless makeup and manicured nails. Her face was that of an innocent trapped in a situation she had no say in. "I'm not going to hurt you." Cameron took a step closer only to have the woman take a step back. "I'm a friend." "I've heard that before." The woman never blinked. Her accent would have fitted the elegant appearance perfectly, if she hadn't been soaked to the skin. "Who the hell are you?" "My name's Cameron." Cameron saw the suspicion in her eyes ease slightly before she collapsed unconscious on the filthy ground. He gently pushed the hair off of her face. "I guess I'd better get you to Father. He'll know how to take care of you." Logan and Max had been watching a movie, when Max started to fidget. Logan watched her for a moment. "Are you alright?" He had his arm around her shoulders and could feel that she had suddenly tensed up. Max nodded. "It's probably nothing." She reached into her bag, which she had dumped beside the sofa and pulled out her cell phone. She had switched it off when Jondy had arrived and forgot to switch it back on. She swore when the text message from her sister flashed at her. 911. An address had also been text to Max. Before Max could say anything else, she saw that Logan had already grabbed his jacket and was dialing a number on his cell phone. Grabbing her own jacket, she followed him out the door. "Alec." Logan pushed the button for the lift. "We think Jondy's in trouble. Can you and Asha meet us at…" He looked over at Max, who showed him the address text through to her phone. He read the address out over the phone to Alec. "Meet you there in ten minutes." The lift opened as Logan finished his phone call. "Any idea what happened? I though Jondy was going to visit Joshua and then head home." Max nodded. "She was. I get the feeling she ran into trouble leaving Joshua's. Maybe we should stop off there first." She knew Jondy always parked her car a safe distance away from where Joshua lived. It was a safety precaution she took in case she was ever followed. "You think Jondy got spotted?" Logan knew how careful Jondy was. It didn't make sense. She would never do anything to render her children orphans. Max shook her head. "No, I think someone got too close to Joshua or another transgenic. The first thing Jondy would do is lead the enemy in the opposite direction. It's what she was trained to do, so it's a natural instinct. You can take the girl out of Manticore, but you can't take Manticore out of the girl." They rode silently to Joshua's, each contemplating what fate had fallen Jondy. When they got inside the house that Joshua was staying in, they found the tall transgenic pacing back and forth in his living room. He looked up when the couple walked in. "Jondy ran away. Lots of men chasing her." Max had been right. Jondy had been protecting Joshua. Max reached out and squeezed Joshua's hand. "Don't worry. We're going to find her. I'm just going to move Jondy's car off the street. Is there enough room in your garage for it?" "Yes. I'll go and open it for you." Joshua wanted to find Jondy as soon as possible. Once Jondy's car was safely locked away, Joshua pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up to cover his head. His canine senses could come in handy in the search for Jondy. The threesome met up with Alec and Asha at the address Jondy had text through to Max. Alec was worried. There was no sign of Jondy. "Are you sure this is where Jondy was going to be?" Max nodded. "This is it. She would have left some sort of clue. I'm not getting any answers to the text messages I've sent her." Logan pushed a speed dial number on his cell phone. "Jondy's phone is ringing. She may have turned the volume down so that she doesn't get sprung." Joshua peered into the alleyway. He could hear the phone ringing. Following the sound he headed towards the dumpster. "Dumpster's ringing." Asha opened the lid. "She's not in here. Are you sure you can hear ringing coming from here?" She was still a little uncomfortable around Joshua. "Not inside." Joshua pushed the dumpster aside. "Little fella! Found Jondy's bag." He called out to Max. He could smell Jondy's blood. Somebody had hurt his friend. Max, Logan, and Alec ran over to see what Joshua had found. Logan spotted the puddle of blood on the ground. "She's been hit. Somebody moved her. Jondy wouldn't send Max a message saying where she was and then move." "Are you picking up anyone else's scent?" Max looked up at Joshua who was still holding onto Jondy's handbag. Joshua sniffed around. "Scent stops at the end of the alley. Rain must have washed it away." Alec patted Max's shoulder. "I'm sure she's alright. Jondy's smart, she's got all those kids to get back to." "Yeah, I know." Max was still worried. She glanced up at Logan. She could tell he was worried to. "Where the hell is she? We don't know how badly she's hurt." Logan pulled Max into his arms. "Hey, Jondy climbed up the side of my building with a hole in her side one time, remember. I pity the fool that has her at the moment. Your sister gets pretty grumpy when she's some place she's not used to." "Maybe someone reported something to the police." Asha offered. She wondered if the people around her would put this much effort in if she went missing. "I'll call Matt. Maybe he heard something." Logan made the call on his cell phone without letting go of Max. He had helped out Max's siblings before, but somehow this time it was different. Jondy was family, not just Max's, his as well. Alec waited until Logan finished his call before he spoke. "We can't do anything more tonight. Why don't we all head home and try tracking Jondy when it gets light. Somebody ought to call San Francisco and let Julia know what's going on." Max shook her head. "I don't want to panic Julia and the girls until we actually know what happened to Jondy. At the moment, all I know is that she is alive." "What's the plan?" Joshua looked at the dark buildings around them. He wished he could be some help. "The plan is to find Jondy." Max was running possibilities through her head, but she wasn't eager to share her ideas with anyone but Logan for the moment. Together they could iron out the kinks before letting the others in on the plan. "Who knows, maybe Jondy will be able to get to a pay phone and call one of us." "You might want to let Original Cindy in on what's going on, in case Jondy phones there." Alec placed himself between Asha and Joshua, knowing that Asha was a little uncomfortable around his friend. "You'll have to tell her mother-in-law something." Asha pointed out. "Won't she wonder why it's taking so long for Jondy to get back. She might be expected at work as well." Joshua knew Max was worried about her sister, but he had seen the unusual bond that existed between the two sisters. If Max said that Jondy was alive, then he believed it to be true. "We'll find Jondy tomorrow." He handed Jondy's handbag to Max. Max smiled up at him. "Yeah, we will. Let's get you home." She reached out for Joshua's hand, while keeping her other arm around Logan's waist. They headed back to the car in silence. Each deep in thought about the missing X5. Cameron covered the injured woman with another blanket before sitting down at the dinner table. "She's one of the twelve X5s that escaped back in 09, isn't she, Father." He had always been full of questions when the old man had told him the story of the X5 escape from Manticore. The old man across the table nodded. "It's amazing that she's lasted so long in the outside world." Even now, so many years later, he could still see the child she had been. "Judging by her barcode number, she must be Jondy. I always knew there was a hidden strength in her." "They gave each other names, the X5s that escaped, didn't they?" Cameron was so excited to have living, breathing proof of something that had been a fairytale until now. The old man smiled at Cameron's enthusiasm. "Yes, Cameron. They were determined to prove their independence and individuality right from the start. They relied only on each other and no one else. They made themselves a family, which was something Manticore frowned upon." Cameron gestured over to the bed where Jondy lay, still unconscious. "What was she like when you knew her?" He had seen the young woman out run twenty men, while wearing high heels. She had been more than prepared to take him on, with a wound in her side and another in her shoulder. He couldn't help but admire her. The old man thought back to his time at Manticore. The memories were rarely happy ones. "It's been a long time and she was only a little girl then. She was shy and quiet. Manticore considered her the weak link. She and another of the X5 girls became almost inseparable. They were the same age and had the ability to survive on only a couple of hours sleep." He looked over at the bed to find it empty. Cameron followed the old man's shocked look. "Where did she go?" He looked around the room. "She can't have gone far. Her clothes are in the wash and she's injured." "Be quiet Cameron." The old man could feel Jondy was still in the room. He listened for some sort of movement. The X5s had been taught to hold their breath for extended periods of time, so it was no use listening for her breathing. Suddenly something dropped from the ceiling in front of Cameron. A long pale arm grabbed Cameron by the throat and lifted him into the air. He found himself looking down into a pair of icy blue eyes. "I'll be wanting my clothes back now." Jondy clutched the blanket around her with her other hand. "What sort of pervert steals a wounded woman's clothes?" "The accent's new, Jondy." The old man tried to calm her down, knowing full well that she could break Cameron's neck without trying too hard. "Why don't you put Cameron down and I'll get you something to eat." Jondy glared at the old man. "I don't know you and going by what I just heard, why would I trust anyone that worked for Manticore?" She kept the pain she felt hidden. She needed to keep the upper hand. "You do know me, Jondy." The old man could see Cameron's face starting to turn blue. "Max knows me, too. My name's Sandeman. Some of the transgenics call me Father." The shock registered on Jondy's face as she dropped Cameron. "You're Sandeman?" She stepped over Cameron, who lay gasping for breath on the floor. "You left Joshua in the basement all alone." She circled Sandeman with caution. She had awoken to find herself in a strange house with two men she didn't know and her clothes missing. Predatory instincts kicked in when she or the others in her family felt caged in. Sandeman watched as she circled him, marveling at her cat-like movements. "Are Joshua and Isaac safe?" He had, had to leave Manticore so suddenly that he was unable to take them with him. There was no place for them in the outside world. "Joshua's fine." Jondy stopped circling him, making sure she could see both men. "Isaac's dead. Manticore tortured him after you left. He became hostile and started attacking Sector Police when Manticore was destroyed and everyone got loose." Sandeman sat down heavily in his chair. "Do you know how he died?" All of his creations were precious to him, even though he knew the young woman in front of him would never believe that. Max had told Jondy everything that had happened. On one visit to Seattle Joshua had shown Jondy Isaac's grave. "Isaac attacked Max. Joshua protected Max." Her statement was short and simple, but she could see that Sandeman got the full meaning behind it. "You could have stopped it. You could have protected them." "I had to protect my son." Sandeman looked down at Cameron, who hadn't moved from the floor. "You know Manticore as well as I do. They threatened my family. They had to come first. If you had a child, you would understand that." Jondy wasn't about to let the old man know about her children. There was nothing to prove this man was who he said he was. "Where are my clothes?" Her voice was as cold as the expression on her face. "They're soaking." Cameron finally stood up. "You lost a lot of blood. Why were you being chased?" He summoned up the courage to ask at least one question. "They got too close to Joshua." Jondy leaned back against the wall, still clutching the blanket around her. "It's what I was made for. To be a distraction. It doesn't really help that their boss has a thing for me." "Donald Lydecker has the hots for a X5?" Sandeman couldn't believe it. He had heard of the way Lydecker had referred to that particular group of X5's as his kids. He couldn't believe the obsession went that far. "No." Jondy shook her head. "Ames White. Lydecker made a move to help destroy Manticore when the new director, Renfro, started killing off my siblings." "Out of the twelve of you that escaped," Sandeman chose his words carefully. "How many of you are still out in the world?" He almost expected Jondy to run out of the house despite the lack of clothing. "Brin's been reprogrammed, Ben and Tinga are dead. Zack's suffered a memory loss." Jondy glanced down at the growing red patch on the blanket. "Where's your first aid kit?" Sandeman pointed to the box on the bench. "So Max is still alive." He felt a wave of relief wash over him. His special one. He wondered if Jondy knew how special Max was. Jondy opened the box one handed, never taking her eyes off the men. "She is now. Where's my hand bag?" "You didn't have it on you when you collapsed." Cameron took a step forward. "Here, let me help you." He stopped moving when she flinched. "I'm not trying to hurt you." "It's not in her genetic make up to trust anyone outside her unit." Sandeman pulled his son back towards him. "Don't take it personally, Cameron." Max had stayed at Logan's apartment that night. They had spent all night pouring over a map trying to figure out where Jondy may have disappeared to. They had come to the assumption that somebody had taken Jondy, when no attempt had been made by morning to contact them. Logan's cell phone ringing woke him. He felt as though he had only been asleep for five minutes. "Hello?" Still half asleep, Logan saw Max appear in the doorway. "Logan. It's Sam." The Doctor's voice sounded vaguely panicked. "Is Jessica with you?" Logan beckoned Max over to the bed. "No, Sam. We haven't seen Jessica since last night. Why do you ask?" Sam paced outside Metro Medical, holding his cell phone to his ear, straining to hear Logan over the noise of the traffic passing him. "One of the nurses took a call this morning, asking if anyone by the name of Jessica fitting your friend's description had been brought in with a gun shot wound." Logan saw Max tense up. With her feline hearing, she could easily listen into the call. Logan figured it was probably White trying to track Jondy down. "We'll get hold of her and tell her somebody's looking for her. Don't worry about it." "If you say so, Logan." Sam wasn't so sure this wasn't just another trap. "I'll keep an eye out for Jessica in case this isn't a hoax." "Thanks, Sam." Logan hung up the phone and looked into Max's chocolate colored eyes. "What do you think?" Max pulled her knees up under her chin and hugged her legs. "I think somebody disobeyed an order when they wounded Jondy and now White's trying to find out if she's still alive." "I'll give Matt another call. Maybe someone phoned in a mysterious sighting." Logan pulled Max into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "We'll find her, Max." "I know." Max snuggled into his embrace. "I just hope we're not too late." She couldn't bear to lose another sister. The memory of holding Tinga in her arms was still fresh. Every time she looked at Alec, she felt the guilt of Ben's death. Captain Dean was not giving up. The X5 woman had slipped through his fingers and against White's orders, he had his men doing a building-by-building search. So far they had come up with nothing. He was determined not to go back empty handed again. When Captain Dean had first seen the sketch of X5-210, something had been triggered inside of him. For the most part, this particular X5 avoided being photographed, hence the sketch. He had spent any spare time sifting through reports of sightings and the occasional capture. Just when he thought he had figured out her routine or procedure, she would change it and he would have to start all over again. While Ames White's obsession with X5-210 seemed to be based on lust, Captain Dean's was being the man who caught her and delivered her to Head Office. "Sir!" One of his men called out to him. Captain Dean walked over to where the soldier stood beside an African American woman. "The young lady here says she saw a man carrying a red headed woman over his shoulder last night." Captain Dean looked down at the woman. "Did you see which way he headed?" This was the first spark of a lead they had, had all morning. "Yeah. They headed south." The woman pointed in the direction she was talking about. "I don't know what whack sort of stuff girl friend was taking, but she was dead to the world." Captain smiled at her. "Thank you. You've been most helpful." He signaled his men to change the direction of their search. He was close to reaching his goal, he could feel it. Original Cindy leaned against the wall of the building she had been standing in front of. She watched the soldiers running from building to building. "Alright, Boo. Let's find a pay phone and let Max know what's going on." Joshua walked out of the nearby alley. "We find Jondy after we call little fella?" He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up so that his face was practically covered. "That's the plan, Boo." Original Cindy took hold of Joshua's gloved hand and pulled him towards a pay phone. "I don't think Max is going to be too happy about you walking around this part of the neighborhood." "We have to find Jondy." In Joshua's mind it was more important to find Jondy, than worry about people seeing him and being scared. "I know, Boo, but Jondy would feel bad if anything happened to you, while you were trying to find her," Cindy tried to explain, but she could see Joshua was determined. Joshua patted her shoulder with his free hand. "Joshua will be fine." He kept his head down though while Cindy dialed the number on the pay phone. Max couldn't believe what Original Cindy had just told her. She had pretty much guessed when Original Cindy told her that she had Joshua with her, that he had turned up at the apartment raring to go and find Jondy. She had hoped that Cindy would have tried to talk him out of it. Max had hung up the phone still in shock. "Logan! Joshua and Original Cindy think they've found a lead on Jondy. We've got to hurry, there's a unit of soldiers out looking for her as well." Logan appeared out of the bedroom, their jackets in one hand, a first aid kit in the other. "Let's go then." Jondy sat in the corner of the room trying to get her bearings. There was no phone in the house and Sandeman had threatened to shoot her with a tranquilizer gun if she tried to leave before she had healed properly. Normally, Jondy would have ignored the threat and made a run for it. Unfortunately, the amount of blood she had lost made her movements slower. The idea of being tranquilized didn't appeal either. Cameron and his father had taken turns watching Jondy. She still refused to let either one near her and had insisted that they provided her with some clothing until her clothes were clean and dry. Cameron sat wondering how anyone could still look gorgeous as Jondy did, dressed in sweatpants and an old jumper. He had on more than one occasion last night, seen her feline DNA in action. Every time he tried to get near her, she practically hissed at him. He wondered what he'd have to do to make her purr. "Cameron." Sandeman had woken to see the look on his son's face as he watched over Jondy. "She's not a pet. We can't keep her." He had a feeling that her family was probably looking for her. He turned to Jondy, who was still glaring at him as she had been last night. "Why don't I get us all some breakfast." He wasn't surprised that she hadn't slept. "How are your wounds?" "Healing," Jondy snapped. She couldn't see why Joshua spoke so fondly of this man. She knew Max was looking for her, but as she had no idea where she was herself, she had no way of letting her sister know. She had managed to get the men to keep their distance, but she wasn't sure what they were capable of. In her weakened state, she wasn't about to find out. Sandeman wondered who else would be looking for the X5. He had risked a lot for the safety of his son. Having this particular X5 in his home could only bring them trouble. "As soon as you've healed sufficiently, Cameron will get you back to your family." Cameron had been trying to think of a way to get Jondy to stay. His father was right though. Jondy wasn't a pet and she obviously didn't want to be there any longer than she had to be. "No problem. I'll go and get your clothes. They should be dry by now." Jondy stayed put. She wasn't eager to reopen her wounds. The quicker she healed, the quicker she would get out of there. "I'll find my own way home, thank you." She wasn't about to lead anyone to her family. Cameron wasn't about to argue with Jondy. He had a bruise around his throat where she had grabbed him the night before. Slowly he moved out of his bed and went to fetch her clothes. He paused in the doorway and turned to face Jondy. "You were never a prisoner here." He felt the need to make a last minute attempt to reassure her that she was safe with them. "What would you call it then?" Jondy snarled. "I'm told I'm not allowed to leave until you two say I can. You take my clothes and your father threatens to shoot me with a tranquilizer gun if I try to leave the house. Gee, was I supposed to think this was a five star hotel?" Her voice was thick with sarcasm. Sandeman could see Jondy's point. He had been surprised to get home last night to find his son had found an injured X5. "Go and get Jondy's clothes, Cameron. We have kept her here long enough." He realized trying to keep her there against her will, would only result in one of them getting hurt. Max followed Joshua closely. She was torn between getting Joshua off of the streets, back to the safety of his home and finding her injured sister. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Joshua nodded. "Jondy went this way, wasn't walking though. Other person that was in alley must have been carrying her." Max frowned. "How can you tell that? I thought the rain had washed away the scent." Joshua pointed at the ground to a small patch of dry blood. "Jondy's blood." He pointed to his nose. "Not Jondy's scent. Other person in alley scent. Must walk this way a lot. Scent is fresh." "Max." Logan pulled his car up beside Max and Joshua. "Alec just called. Someone tipped the tracking team they were heading in the wrong direction. They're heading this way fast." It had been decided that Logan and Original Cindy would follow Max and Joshua in the car, just in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Alec and Asha were following the soldiers to make sure they stayed on the false lead Original Cindy had given them. "Joshua." Max looked up at her friend urgently. "Can you speed this up." "Already here." Joshua pointed towards a little house nearby. "In there." He took hold of Max's hand and dragged her towards the house. Max pulled Joshua to a stop and knocked on the door. She didn't need to ask if Joshua was sure that Jondy was inside. She could sense it herself. She listened for someone to approach the door before she drew her leg up and kicked the door. She spotted her sister instantly, leaning against the wall, her arms wrapped round herself. "Sorry we took so long, but you didn't exactly leave a trail of breadcrumbs." Joshua raced into the house behind Max. As Cameron went to stand from where he had been knocked to the ground by the flying door, Joshua growled at him. He looked up to see that Jondy wasn't moving from her position against the wall. "You alright." He walked over to her and picked her up without waiting for an answer. Joshua halted when he saw the old man across the room. "Father?" Max turned to get a good look at the man Joshua was talking to. "This guy's Sandeman? You mean we've been trying to track him down and he's been in Seattle all this time?" She threw her hands up in the air. "Of course he has, cause my life just isn't weird enough already." Sandeman walked towards Joshua who was cradling Jondy in his arms as though she were a porcelain doll. "Joshua." He reached out and stroked the transgenic's head. "You made it out." He cast a glance at the two X5 women. "You made some good friends by the look of it." He didn't have to ask to know the women cared about Joshua. Cameron stared in amazement at the part man part beast towering above all of them. What surprised him most was the lack of fear Jondy showed nestled in his arms. "He was the first?" Sandeman smiled. "Yes, son. Joshua was the first." He looked over at Max. He would have recognized her anywhere. She still had that look of innocence and distrust in her beautiful brown eyes. "And this is Max." Max threw Sandeman a filthy look. "As much as I'd love to talk about old times, not to mention the questions I want answers to, we've gotta move. There's a military unit heading this way and they're not out for a Sunday morning jog." Logan ran into the house. "Time to move. Alec and Asha are just in front of the troops." He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of screeching tyres. "Time's up. Joshua give me, Jondy." Joshua tossed Jondy into Logan's waiting arms. "Father and son coming to." He took hold of Sandeman's arm and pushed him gently towards the door, collecting Cameron on the way. Logan's face was the picture of confusion as he carefully placed Jondy into the back of his car with Original Cindy. "What happened in there?" Max climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. "I'll explain later." She pulled Logan into the car as a soldier appeared and took a swing at him. "Company's arrived." Logan elbowed the soldier in the gut, causing him to move back enough for Logan to shut the door. Shots were being fired at the small vehicle. Other soldiers approached the car, but found themselves flying backwards. Joshua was pulling the troops off of the car and tossing them away as though they were pieces of lint. "You blaze!" He yelled as he ran back to the van where Asha and Alec were waiting with Sandeman and Cameron. Logan floored the gas pedal and drove down the street with the sole thought of getting his family to safety. He noticed out of the corner of his eye, that the three women in the car with him were watching something behind them. He looked into the rear vision mirror and saw that Alec was swerving the van back and forth to ensure that the troops couldn't catch up with Logan's car. As they watched the events behind them, the foursome saw Asha swap seats with Alec so that she was driving. Alec pulled a gun from somewhere in the van and pulled himself out the passenger window so that he was sitting on the frame. Aiming carefully despite the bullets whizzing past his ear, he shot the tires of the following vehicle out. The vehicle swung slightly to the side before spinning around blocking any on coming traffic. Looking rather pleased with himself, Alec slid back into the van. Max relaxed slightly when she saw they were no longer being followed. Her concern was back on Jondy. "How badly were you hit." Her sister for once looked terrible. Jondy managed a weak smile. "I took one in my left arm and another in my left side. I don't appear to have damaged any major organs." She looked out of the window and saw what direction they were heading in. "Logan, don't head back to your place." Logan watched Jondy in the rear vision mirror. "You don't trust this guy Sandeman, do you?" Jondy shook her head. "There's something off balance with him. His son seemed to want to keep me as a pet which doesn't sit well with me." Original Cindy had noticed the purple bruise on Cameron's neck when they had rushed everyone out of the house. "There's a brother in the van back there sporting your hand print on his neck." Jondy knew when she had collapsed, exactly what her injuries were. When she had regained consciousness, she had been sporting more cuts and bruises that couldn't be explained and she had been fighting the intense desire to sleep. "I'm not exactly sure what those two did to me while I was out. I have had more than my fair share of injuries, but since when do you have to remove every scrape of someone's clothing to dress a side wound and an arm wound?" Max caught Jondy's drift. She quickly dialed Alec's cell number. "Hey, it's me. We may have a problem with our new friends. Keep an eye on them, will ya?" Max turned to Logan. "Got a safe house nearby we can take them to? We can figure out what to do with them after Jondy's had some rest." Logan nodded. "Sure. We'll probably need to redress your wounds too, Jondy." "Hell, I'd settle for a nice hot shower and something to eat right now." Jondy closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep. Max had seen the joy on Joshua's face when he saw Sandeman. She really didn't want to be the one to tell him that the person he called Father couldn't be trusted. On the other hand Jondy had never trusted anyone other than Logan right away. There was always the possibility her sister was over reacting. "Think we can tap the phone when we drop our guests off?" She raised her eyebrow at Logan. "I'm way ahead of you." Logan grinned. "I have a place already set up." He pulled his car over and got out to speak to Alec. A few minutes later he got back in the car. "Let's get Jondy home. Alec will meet us back at my apartment once he's dropped Sandeman and son off." "You know, I can look after Jondy at our crib if you two want some time alone." Original Cindy was pretty sure Jondy would be suggesting the same thing if she were awake. It was Logan that turned down the offer. "Thanks for the offer, Cindy, but it would probably be best if we all stayed at my apartment tonight until we figure out what the hell is going on." They made it back to the apartment building and Logan carried a still sleeping Jondy upstairs and lay her down on the bed in the guest room. Covering her with a blanket, he left the room and started making lunch. "I don't want to alarm you, Boo," Original Cindy stood beside Max watching Jondy sleep. "But is it a good thing for her to be sleeping this deeply and this long?" Max tenderly brushed her sister's hair off of her face. "No." A mark on her sister's neck caught her eye. Leaning forward slightly so that she could see clearly what the mark was. "Somebody's been playingd Doctor." She carefully removed her sister's jacket and rolled up her shirtsleeve. There was a small bruise on the under side of Jondy's arm. "She was drugged and then someone took a sample." Original Cindy frowned. "Then why weren't the soldier boys banging down the door sooner?" Logan appeared in the doorway with Alec behind him. "Cameron's just patched a call through to White. I got the impression that Sandeman doesn't know what his son's up to." Alec's eyes narrowed slightly. "Maybe Cameron's not his son. After all, Joshua calls him father and as far as I can tell, they're not related." "What did Cameron have to say to White?" Max noticed her sister starting to stir. "That little pervert's been touching someone he's not allowed to." Logan was confused by her comment. "He said he had achieved what someone called Captain Dean couldn't. Then he referred to Sandeman as the missing link and said he could deliver both Sandeman and the package tonight." Jondy caught the end of the conversation. "Sandeman knows all about Max's DNA. If White gets him, he doesn't need Max. I'm guessing that either I'm the package or whatever that bastard took off of me while I was unconscious." She rolled her eyes at the puzzled looks coming her way. "I've got way too many cuts and bruises that I can't explain to think he patched me up and let me sleep." She flinched as she moved off of the bed and went to take a shower. Joshua sat outside the bathroom door while Jondy was in the shower. Although he was happy to see Father, he could sense there was danger where Cameron was concerned. He looked up to find Max watching him. "Cameron hurt Jondy, didn't he, little fella." Max sat down beside him on the floor. "We're not sure, Big Fella. We do know that he's helping White so we have to be careful." She saw Joshua's expression change as though he were listening to something. "What's wrong?" She couldn't hear anything unusual. "Strange noise." Joshua pressed his ear against the bathroom door. "Coming from in there." At that moment they heard the shower switch off. Joshua banged on the door. Jondy opened the door whilst holding a towel around herself. "What's the matter?" She felt better now that she had washed the make up off that had been on her face for two days. "Strange noise in there." Joshua walked into he bathroom searching for the noise while Max and Jondy watched him. Finally he picked up Jondy's jeans, which were laying on the floor. "Noise coming from here." He pointed to the top button on her jeans. Jondy reached for the jeans. They were filthy. "He said he had washed them." She muttered more to herself than anything. Taking a closer look at the button, she suddenly ripped it off of the jeans and threw it on the floor. "Crush it." She ordered Max. Max stamped on the button, reducing it to dust. "They've been tracking you. So why isn't White breaking the door down?" "He thinks I'm going to lead him to 'Eyes Only'." Jondy knew something else was behind Cameron wanting her to stay with him. "Every time White lays a trap for me, I get outside help. He assumes it's 'Eyes Only'. I wonder how much Cameron is getting for handing us both over." "I'm willing to go and find out." Max picked up her sister's clothes. "After I've put these through the rinse cycle." If there were anymore bugs hidden in the clothing they wouldn't last long in a washing machine. Sandeman woke to hear voices in the next room. Assuming Cameron had the television on, he rose from his bed and opened the bedroom door. The television was on, but it was Cameron's voice that could be heard the clearest. He was talking to someone on the phone. Puzzled by whom Cameron could be speaking to, Sandeman stood in silence in the doorway listening to the conversation. "No, you listen." Cameron was hissing down the phone. "I gave you twenty minutes to think about it. I've been living like a hermit for the past year and a half posing as the old man's long lost son. I bugged the girl so that you could get both the girl and this 'Eyes Only' guy. I deserve triple what you were willing to pay. I even have cell samples off of the girl to prove she's the right one. Here's the new deal: Either I get triple the amount in cash or I keep the girl for myself. She made it pretty clear how much she despises you anyway." He slammed the phone down. Sandeman couldn't believe his ears. How could he have been so careless? He had been so desperate to find his family that he had believed the first person claiming to be his son. He had no way of knowing where to find the X5 women to warn them that they were in danger and he had no idea who 'Eyes Only' was. Cameron pulled a device out of his pocket to find the location of the bug, but there was no signal. He tapped the device trying to jolt some sort of answer out of it. He had already given White his location in order to have the money delivered. Cameron ran to the door. He had to get out of there before White turned up and found him empty handed. Throwing open the door he found himself face to face with Max. "Going somewhere?" Max kicked Cameron in the mid section, sending him flying across the room. "Bet you didn't figure on us visiting so soon." Sandeman felt somebody grab him from behind and then everything went blank. Cameron staggered to his feet. "White's going to be here any minute. I can only imagine what he'll pay me for handing over you." Max shot him an evil smile. "That asshole wants me dead. You won't get a thing for me and you're out of your perverted little head if you think she's going to let you hand her over to White." She nodded to someone over his shoulder. Cameron turned slowly to find Jondy standing behind him. "Hey, this wasn't personal." He started stammering. "White's offering a lot of money for you. I had to think of my father's future. He's getting old." Jondy spun around and kicked him back across the room to Max. "We know you tricked Sandeman into thinking you were his son. We also know you upped the price for delivery of 'Eyes Only' and myself to White." Max yanked Cameron to his feet. "Gotta figure White's gonna be pretty pissed when you can't deliver either and Jondy shows up in Arizona." She saw her sister smile at the deliberate slip of location. Alec strolled in the door. "Van's packed and ready to go. Want to leave a message for White? It seems sort of rude to crash and run." He left Asha in the van with the motor running and Joshua looking after Sandeman in the back of the van. The three X5s grinned dangerously at Cameron. Cameron started shaking in his boots. This did not look good for him. Ames White calmly walked up to the door of the safe house and kicked it in. He wasn't about to knock politely and allow Cameron to blackmail him further. He shook his head and smiled to himself at the sight before him. Hanging from the ceiling by his tied hands was Cameron. He was completely naked apart from the strategically placed A4 sized piece of paper with the words 'Is this the best you can do' written on it in black marker pen. Apart from the hand print bruise on his neck, Cameron had a couple of boot print bruises on his mid section and two black eyes that had obviously been administered to him very recently. Cameron glared at White, who seemed to be taking great pleasure in seeing him in this unfortunate state. "Get me down from here. They took the old man and they're planning to send X5-210 back to Arizona." White's look of humor changed to one more serious. "Then what do I need you for?" Without any hesitation he pulled his gun out of his jacket and shot Cameron in the head. As calmly as he had walked in, he walked back out to his car and drove away. He was certain that X5-210 wasn't heading for Arizona, but he was equally certain that she wouldn't stay in Seattle for too long either. After 'Eyes Only' had portrayed him as a murderer a few weeks ago, he had to keep a low profile. Ames White knew if he were patient enough, he would get everything he wanted. Original Cindy walked into the living room of Logan's apartment chuckling to herself. "You have got to come and watch this." She waved Logan and Max towards the guestroom. They had dropped Sandeman off at the safe house that Lydecker was staying in. When it was safe enough they would get him across the border into Canada. Any questions they had would have to wait for the moment. On returning to Logan's apartment, Jondy had phoned San Francisco to let Julia and the girls know she was safe and would be home in a couple of days. Joshua had refused to leave Jondy's side and had tucked the redhead into bed and was now reading her a bedtime story. Asha and Alec were cuddled up on the bedroom floor watching the scene with great amusement. They had all seen Jondy read a couple of the younger girls that she had adopted, bedtime stories. The sight of Jondy sound asleep against Joshua's chest while he read to her was so unbelievably funny. Original Cindy grinned at Logan and Max, who were struggling not to laugh. "Only hanging with you peeps would I ever get to see something this strange." Max gave her a friendly nudge. "At least you can't say we're boring." At this point she was just happy they were all safe. She leaned back against Logan's chest and felt his arms circle her waist. Sandeman sat across from Lydecker in the living room of another safe house. "It must have taken every ounce of strength Jondy had, not to fall asleep from the after effects of the drug Cameron gave her." Lydecker shook his head. "She wouldn't have taken the chance of falling asleep even if she wasn't genetically enhanced. My kids don't give in when there's family involved. There's too many people counting on Jondy making it home." Sandeman nodded. "They've changed since I last saw them. They're stronger and more focused, just not on what they were designed to be focused on." "That's not a bad thing." Lydecker was surprised at how much he, himself had changed in the past year. Instead of wanting to capture the X5s, he would give his life to keep them alive. "Why did you make Max different? What purpose did you have for her?" "What makes you think Max is different?" Sandeman's eyes widened when Lydecker threw the test results done on Max at Manticore in front of him. "The answer's right in front of you. What do you need me for?" So this was why they had saved him. Lydecker shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe we don't. Max and Jondy have become rather found of Joshua and he seems to want you alive. Now how about you tell me what I'm looking at in these test results." "Human Perfection," Sandeman replied simply.
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