Disclaimer: Donations for the 'Dleep is buying the rights to Dark Angel fund' can be made to dleep81@yahoo.com . When I reach my money target, I will buy the series. Until then, it's not mine.
A/N: I briefly toyed with the idea of forgetting season 2, but as much as I'm disliking it, it's still part of the DA universe, so I'm going to hang in there and use as much of it as I can. I've pretty much got my story line worked out, but please email me if you have any suggestions or comments. Thanks for the reviews, they keep me writing! I'm sorry for the long spaces between updates. I'm at the mercy of my temperamental computer. Until I can afford to get it fixed, (donations to the above address!) this will have to do.
A world of thanks to my fabulous new beta, Aimee. Without you, my writing would be an adverb-less wasteland!
Thanks must also go to Kyre for her fantastic transcripts. Thank you!
Timeframe: This chapter occurs somewhere during 'Bag 'Em,' but I've fiddled with the episode's timeline.
Reviews: As usual, welcome, encouraged, necessary!
When we last left our hero: Zane had just seen a newscast informing him of the Manticore situation. He said a quick goodbye to Kia and Brianna, and was heading toward Seattle, very worried about Logan.
Chapter Nine: Leashes
*** Seattle, DAY ***
Zane sped into the carpark of Fogle Towers, noting the presence of Logan's car but not knowing if that bode good or bad news for his ally. He abandoned the stolen motorcycle and pressed the call button for the elevator repeatedly in a futile attempt to speed up its arrival.
*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***
"I can't. I have work to do." Logan said with a laugh, strapping on the exoskeleton.
"I suppose I have a few things to do myself." Max sighed, looking up at him from the bed. He was pulling a shirt over his head, and she watched with a small smile.
"How do you expect me to get any work done when you keep looking at me like that?" Logan asked with a smile, sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat up and grinned back at him, unable to resist the look he was giving her, and responding to it with one of her own.
"Breakfast?" he mumbled into her neck.
"It's a little late for breakfast." She whispered back. "But can I see the lunch time menu?" He grinned at her and somewhat reluctantly left the room, heading for the kitchen.
"Hurry. Girl could starve to death!" Max called through the open door.
Logan stared into the open refrigerator, humming softly to himself while planning a meal in his head. His thoughts were interrupted by a crash, and he turned in time to see the door fly off its hinges and fall inwards. It was followed quickly by Zane, who swept into the apartment, walking swiftly from one side of it to the other, ending up in the kitchen.
"Fantastic!" Zane exclaimed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I've just ridden all night, worried to no end, and I get back and I find you with some girl?" His tone was familiar to Logan, it was the same one he'd used when he was angry about Lydecker's phone call.
"Zane, you don't-" Logan began.
"Don't! Don't say anything Logan! You don't know how pissed off I am right now."
"Zane-"
"No! Three days ago, you were moping over Max, going on about how much you loved her, damn, I actually felt sorry for you! But then I'm gone five minutes and you fall into bed with the first slut you meet, dishonouring her memory and your own word!" He looked in disgust in the direction of the bedroom.
"Zane, that's not-" Logan protested, images of knives swimming in front of his eyes. He fervently hoped Zane had forgotten his knife in his hurry.
"Yes it is! I had to hear about the fire on TV. On TV! You know how worried that made me? That you couldn't even check in to say that you were alive? I almost killed myself trying to get back here to make sure you were ok." He paused, and looked at Logan briefly before spinning around.
"Don't ask me why I bothered. I won't again." He spat out, and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door on the way.
Logan walked slowly back into the bedroom, finding Max convulsing with laughter.
"You know, I could have used your help in there." He muttered to Max, unable to see the humour in the situation.
"I couldn't find my clothes!" Max protested "Plus, you need to get yelled at every once in a while." She grinned at him, and he lunged forward and pulled her into a tight bear hug.
"He had a point." She continued.
"Whose side are you on?" Logan asked in surprise.
"Well, maybe not about me being a slut, but you should have called him."
"I was busy." He gave her a wicked grin before moving her hair aside and kissing her barcode.
"Now that excuse works for me, but maybe not for my brother." Logan sighed.
"I'd better go find him." Logan dialled the contact number and left a message. He didn't mention Max, but said there was a good reason for not calling, and that it was important Zane return as soon as he could.
Zane was back within five minutes of the phone call, which made Logan think the X5 hadn't gone far. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Logan's 'explanation' wordlessly.
"Zane, I'm sorry I didn't call." Logan began, and Zane shifted slightly, still not speaking.
"There was the fire, then there was…" Zane began walking back out of the door.
"Zane, I really am sorry." He stammered, annoyed by his inability to explain the situation. Max emerged from the bedroom, fully clothed, and stood beside Logan.
"He promises to make it up to you by cooking us all lunch." She smiled. Zane turned at the sound of her voice, and his eyes went wide.
"Max?!?" Her smile widened as she nodded, and Zane bundled her into a hug, twirling her around.
"Max, you're alive!" He put her back on the ground, and looked from her to Logan, nodding and smiling.
"Apology almost accepted." he smiled at Logan.
"It's fantastic to see you." Zane grinned at his sister. "I probably could have done without seeing quite so much of you, but it's good to see you." Her eyes widened when she realised what he meant, and then fixed on the open bedroom door. Her mouth dropped open.
"I'll get started on lunch, shall I?" Logan broke in, his voice somewhere between a laugh and embarrassment.
"That'd be great." Zane replied, linking arms with Max and starting toward the kitchen.
"Oh, and Logie?" The X5 heard the older man's teeth set at the name. Logan turned, frowning at Max, who was giggling at his nickname.
"Yeah?"
"I'll replace your car tyres. I promise."
*** Rendezvous point, DAY ***
"X6-314 reporting for duty, sir." The X6 stated, saluting. He had lead his group across the bridge toward the armed soldiers, relieved at the familiar sight of uniforms.
"At ease, soldier." The leader of the older soldiers said, turning and nodding at one of his men. He stepped out of the way, not looking back at the group of X series soldiers as his own group of soldiers opened fire.
"Sir?" One of the men approached the leader, looking at him uncertainly.
"Sweep the site. Nothing can tie this place to Manticore. Move." The soldier backed up, barking orders into a small radio.
*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***
"You got beat up by a girl?" Max exclaimed sarcastically at Zane's story. She rolled her eyes and closed the refrigerator.
"Poor baby." She continued, grinning at her brother. "Think your ego will ever recover?" He glared at her briefly, unable to suppress a laugh. The two X5s had been talking non-stop since Zane had arrived back at the apartment, leaving Logan to catch up on his work. Zane had just finished telling Max about his run-ins with both Kia and Brianna.
"I can't believe you made friends with a nomaly." Zane said in disbelief, pulling on a jacket.
"I wish I knew what happened to him. I don't know if he got out." Max pulled on her own jacket, looking troubled.
"Logan!" She called, in an attempt to change the subject. She stalked over to his study and stuck her head around the door. He turned and grinned at her, and she returned his smile.
"Miss me?" He asked in a teasing voice. She crossed the rest of the distance to the chair and lowered herself into his lap.
"Always." She giggled.
"I just talked to Sebastian."
"What has he found out from the briefcase?"
"Not too much. He's working on it." He noticed her jacket. "Going somewhere?" He asked.
"'Bout time I see Original Cindy. She's going to start thinking she dreamed that phone call that told her I was back in the land of the living and breathing."
"I have something for her." Logan pulled a bottle of wine from underneath his desk. "Payback for the help." He partially explained, and Max looked at him, puzzled. He hadn't mentioned his visit from Original Cindy yet, but was sure Max would hear all about it from her friend. He grinned at the thought of her face receiving the wine. Logan was sure she'd appreciate the joke.
"What about work?" He asked, enjoying the scrunched up face she made when he mentioned Jam Pony.
"What about work?"
"Don't you think you should tell your boss that you're back in the 'land of the living'?" Logan asked. Max let out a sigh.
"Couldn't hurt. You trying to get rid of me?" Logan gave her a smile, and pulled her closer to him.
"You're the one leaving." He teased. "Taking Zane?" She nodded.
"Need to find him an apartment. And a job."
"Oh, here." He tossed her his cell phone.
"What's this for?"
"Figured you forgot to pack your pager when you checked out of hotel Manticore. Or in, for that matter." She nodded.
"I think it's at home. Are you going to need me?" She turned the phone over in her hands, looking at it uncomfortably.
"Probably not. You don't like cell phones?"
"It's like being kept on a dog leash. An expensive dog leash." Logan rolled his eyes at her good-naturedly.
"Take the phone. It's not like I pay a phone bill." Max's eyes widened in surprise, a small grin on her face.
"Not like you pay a phone bill? Has the great Eyes Only become corrupt in my brief absence?" He grinned back at her.
"Just resourceful. Some big shot on the take is footing the bill for the phone right now. Quite possibly the electricity too."
"Guess you found a way to punish those guys that are too hard to take down." Max smiled and kissed the tip of his nose.
"I do what I can." Logan smiled.
"Robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. My own personal Robin Hood." She teased.
"He prefers Batman." Zane's voice interjected from the doorway. "Ready?" Max pulled herself out of Logan's lap and started out the door.
"Take care of her, Robin." Logan joked as he watched them leave. Max turned and gave both her brother and Logan an annoyed look.
"When do I get a nickname?" She teased lightly. Logan and Zane looked at each other for a moment, then Logan burst out laughing.
"What? Something funny?" Max demanded, growing more annoyed at the numerous private jokes that Logan and Zane seemed to share.
"Nothing." Zane smiled. "Come on, Catwoman. Let's go save the world."
*** Max and Original Cindy's apartment, DAY ***
"OC?" Max called out, her eyes darting around the apartment, already sure her friend wasn't there. "Must be at work." She explained to Zane, who was wondering around the room, picking up items and replacing them.
"So this is home?" He asked, turning around to face her. She rolled her eyes and shrugged.
"If you can call it that."
"It's great." Zane's eyes shone as he took in all of the personal touches in Max and Original Cindy's apartment.
"You really need to get out more. This place is a dump." Max responded, with a look of disgust around the apartment.
"This place is a home." He countered. Max's expression softened.
"We can check out the other floors if you like. See if there are any vacancies. That is, if you don't mind having your baby sister around."
"Something tells me you won't be around here so much as you'll be in a certain penthouse." He grinned cheekily in reply.
"Something tells me that if you don't shut up, the list of girls that have kicked your ass this week is going to grow. Now stay here. I need to change."
Zane continued to wander around Max's apartment, staring at photos and going through her refrigerator. He put Logan's present for Original Cindy in the fridge, grinning at the joke.
"Hold it right there." Zane spun around quickly at the new voice in the apartment. He recognised her immediately, she was the woman who had put Logan in his place only days before. Original Cindy. He started to smile, which only brought a look of panic to her face.
"This sister knows how to defend herself. You want children? It's probably not a good idea to come any closer." He recognised the tremor in her voice, but her eyes held his, determined.
"This isn't what you think." He began slowly.
"That's good, cause what Original Cindy thinks is you either lookin' to score some cash, or lookin' to score some skirt. Either way, you outta luck. Get out."
"I'm not-" The X5 started, holding up his hands in defence. Original Cindy picked up the object closest to her, a frying pan which suddenly seemed extremely dangerous. Weapons from everyday household objects. Something told him she'd get along wonderfully with Kia and Brianna.
"Cindy…" He began, and Original Cindy's expression became stonier and she lifted the frying pan high.
"That's Original Cindy to you." Max grinned from the entrance to her room, having changed clothes. Original Cindy's eyes widened and she crossed the room quickly, embracing her friend. Zane watched the two women quietly, waiting for them to finish. They broke apart and Original Cindy looked from Zane to Max.
"Brother?" She asked, and Max nodded. Zane looked at his sister in disbelief, which quickly changed to an expression she recognised as one of Zack's favourites.
"Don't start. She knows, and she's not telling anyone." Max explained quickly.
"Max…" Zane began in a warning tone.
"Zane, I didn't take orders from Zack, and I'm not taking them from you. You're not my commanding officer."
"That's exactly what I am." He argued, and the two stood facing each other.
"If you want to be part of my life, then you're my brother. And that's all. I'm not a soldier." She dropped her voice. "I know the risks, Zane. So does Original Cindy. I'm careful." They continued to face each other, each wearing their best glare. Max broke first and gave her brother a smile. "I want you in my life."
"That's a good thing. I don't plan on leaving." Zane smiled back, letting the subject drop. The pair left the apartment, joining Original Cindy outside.
"We all good?" She asked, looking from one X5 to the other.
"Just a little disagreement between siblings." Max smiled back.
*** Jam Pony, DAY ***
"So what should I tell everybody?" Max, Original Cindy and Zane were entering Jam Pony, Original Cindy pushing her bike beside her.
"Let a sister handle this. Original Cindy's gonna get out in front of this thing." She grinned at Max and stepped forward. "Hey, everybody! Look who's back from the dead." She called, receiving cheers and greetings for Max.
"All right! Max! Almost scared me to death." Sketchy came up beside the trio and hugged Max. "This is a joyous turn of events. Now what happened?" Max opened her mouth to explain and to introduce Zane to her friend, but caught sight of Normal. She gave him a sweet smile.
"Well, well, well. Look who's here." Max's smile widened at the familiar sound of Normal's voice.
"What can I say, Normal? Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated." He ignored her and turned around, holding up a package.
"Hot run, Morningside and Everclear." He called.
"Got my name on it." Max persisted.
"No. No, your name is mud, missy-miss. I've heard some lame excuses for missing work, but faking your own death for a three-month sabbatical is a new low." He looked around the room for an available messenger.
"I did not fake my own death. I had a...medical emergency." She searched frantically for an excuse to explain her three month absence, looking quickly to Zane for help. He shrugged his shoulders. Normal looked from Max to her brother, noticing him for the first time.
"Would you care to explicate?" He asked, barely containing his sarcasm.
"A heart transplant." Max replied, deciding to tell the truth. Normal laughed in response.
"That's good. Have you got a note from your doctor, or a prescription for cyclosporine, perhaps? Because I'll need some more proof before I buy that-" Max lifted her shirt with a sigh, showing off the scar on her chest. Original Cindy reached out a hand and covered Sketchy's eyes, and Zane looked down at the floor quickly. Normal gave a sheepish chuckle as Max pulled her shirt back down.
"That's a nice big, uh...scar you got there." He regained his composure. "I suppose this is your doctor?" He raised his eyebrows to accentuate his sarcastic question. Max rolled her eyes.
"Logan's cousin. Zane, Normal, Normal, Zane." Normal grunted, looking him up and down.
"I hope you're not looking for a job. I have enough slackers in my employ." He said to Zane, throwing the package to Max.
"No sir." Zane replied. "I just came along for the ride." Normal's expression softened when Zane called him 'sir.' He shook his head.
"Too bad. Could have used someone with your manners in this place. Max! Does 'hot run' mean anything to you? Bip bip bip!" As if on cue, her cell phone rang, and she gave Normal another sweet smile. She looked over at Zane, who was talking with Sketchy and Random, another bike messenger who'd just returned from a run.
"Yeah?" Max called into the phone, knowing Logan was the only one with her new number.
"I'm looking for Logan." The voice on the other end of the phone was female, and sounded curious.
"Logan's not here." Max responded, keeping her voice steady.
"Who's this?" The female's voice was both wary and accusatory, and Max's defences went up immediately.
"You called me. Who's this?"
"Bip." Normal's voice floated in and Max turned away from him.
"How did you get this phone?" The woman demanded.
"Maybe I stole it."
"Bip bip!" Normal, having become frustrated by Max annoying him, turned to the rest of his employees.
"I need to speak to Logan." The woman on the other end of the phone persisted, and Max rolled her eyes.
"Logan's not here."
"Thanks for your help." The other woman said sarcastically, and the phone went dead. Max shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the Jam Pony crew.
"Max!" Random exclaimed as she approached.
"Hey Random." She replied with a polite smile. "How're things? Did you meet Zane?"
"This is a business people! Bip bip bip! Max! Take this package and get out of here, before I fire you!" Max looked at the others and rolled her eyes as her cell phone rang again.
"Yeah?" Max called, stepping away from her friends.
"So I just had a strange phone call." Max caught herself smiling at the sound of Logan's voice.
"Hmmm. Was it a woman by any chance? 'Cause there's a bit of that going around."
"She told me that my phone was stolen by an angry woman with attitude. Oh, and she mentioned strange bipping noises in the background." She could hear the smile in his voice.
"And you thought of me."
"Actually, you were my third guess." Max rolled her eyes at the joke.
"So what's up?" She asked.
"Apparently there's a massive military action going down in the woods around Manticore." At the mention of Manticore, Max turned away and lowered her voice.
"Same thing happened back in '09. By the time they got their act together, we were gone."
"There's a difference." Logan continued. "You escaped because you wanted out. They ran for their lives. They may not even realize Manticore wanted them dead." Max was silent while she thought about it.
"Max?" Logan asked.
"We'll leave now." She replied, turning back to the Jam Pony employees and catching Zane's eye across the room.
"There's more." Logan continued. "I've got some footage of some kind of message. Lights and stars, same location. Shot last night by an informant. You might want to take a look."
"Be right there." Max pressed the button to end the call, and came face to face with Normal.
"You're not going anywhere, Missy-miss."
"Sorry Normal, it's important. Doctor's appointment."
"What about the package?" She ignored him. He sighed, watching her leave. "It's like she never left."
*** No-Tel Motel, DAY ***
"This is so cool." The girl said, touching Alec's barcode. "Does it say how much you cost?" She giggled.
"A lot more than you, sweetheart." He answered, smiling to himself over his joke. He stayed glued to the television as she persisted with conversation, throwing in answers to her endless questions once in a while. The X5 felt his stomach growl and looked at his watch. Thirteen hundred hours. Alec thought of the strict routines at Manticore and wondered briefly if they'd programmed their eating schedule into him, or if he'd just become accustomed to their meal times.
"Hey," Alec said, handing the girl some money. "Why don't you go grab us something to eat, will you?" He gave her a winning smile.
"Okay." She replied, finding some clothes and dressing. Alec watched her briefly, then turned back to the television.
"Okay." He repeated as she left.
*** Food Mart – Exterior, DAY ***
A group of Manticore children hiding in bushes watched the Food Mart hungrily.
"I'm starving." One of the females groaned.
"Me too." A male agreed, as they watched a man leave the store holding food.
"If I don't get something to eat soon, I'm going to kill somebody." The female continued, watching another girl enter the store.
"They're not gonna give us food. Not without money." One of the other males whispered, looking around for an alternative food source. The female shook her head.
"I'm going in." She whispered determinedly, stepping out of the bushes. The two males followed, and the three of them walked into the Food Mart.
They wandered the aisles, staring at the shelves.
"Look!" One of the Manticore kids whispered, grabbing a box of the shelf. The three children stared.
"A barcode. What does it mean?" The younger male whispered. "Means it's ours." The female said, tucking the box into her jacket. She glanced over her shoulder briefly and saw a woman staring at her barcode.
"Hey, where'd you guys get those? My friend has one just like that." The woman asked as the children continued stuffing food into their clothing. They ignored her.
"That's it. Let's go."
"Hey…" The woman said, watching them begin leaving.
"Hold it." The Food Mart clerk yelled, pulling out a gun. "I said hold it!" At the sight of the weapon, the Manticore children sprang into action, one of the males grabbing the gun and firing it into the wall before wrestling it away from the clerk, while the other male took the money from the draw and the female grabbed more snack food. Still holding the gun, the male transgenic backed up slowly, before joining the others in sprinting away.
*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***
"Any ideas?" Zane and Max were standing behind Logan, who had just pulled up footage of the signal in the sky.
"It's the bat-signal, Batman. Gotham city needs our help!" Zane quipped. Max shot him a glare.
"It's a signal from Manticore." Max explained, exchanging another look with her brother. "We were trained to look for it in case the facility was compromised." Logan nodded, looking from one X5 to the other.
"What does it say?" He asked quietly. Though he assumed each X5 had read and memorised the signal immediately, the pair were still staring at the computer screen. Zane tore his eyes away.
"Regroup. Echo Golf 427952. Friday." He recited without looking at the screen.
"Today." Max confirmed. She looked briefly at her brother, then they both turned and started out of the apartment.
"Whoa!" Logan called, standing up. "Where are you going?"
"Family reunion." Zane grinned. Max rolled her eyes at him. "Race ya." He challenged, and her eyes lit up at the challenge. She looked back at Logan, and her face became more serious.
"Logan, they tried to kill them. Now they want to finish the job."
"You don't know that. They could just be loading them up and shipping them off to a new facility somewhere." He protested.
"See, that doesn't work for me either."
"Fine. You want to go out and save the day? What's the plan?" Logan challenged.
"We go. Save the day. Come back."
"Max..." She caught the look in his eyes and smiled sadly, then stepped forward into his arms. Zane coughed and looked at the ground.
"This is happening because of me." She said softly, looking up at him. "I forced them to go. That's my family. Some of them are screwed up. Some of them don't look like you or me or anything anybody's ever seen before...but I'm responsible for them just the same."
"Now she's mother to an entire army. And all before dinner time."
"Zane..." Logan warned.
"Keep me in the loop." He whispered, handing the cell phone back to her. She frowned at it, unsure of when she'd dropped it.
"Be careful." He whispered, and she looked over her shoulder and gave him a smile as she followed her brother out of the apartment.
*** Rendezvous point, DAY ***
"Agent White, sir, we have a possible sighting, Echo Golf 4278"
"How many?" White asked, turning to face the soldier.
"Six or seven." The soldier replied as a cell phone started ringing.
"All right. Send a unit to check it out." He waved on the soldier, who nodded and walked away, shouting orders into a radio mike. White watched him leave, a scowl on his face, then reached for his still ringing cell phone.
"White." He barked into the phone, listening to the caller.
"Handle it. We don't want local law enforcement involved. The idea is to keep this mess under wraps." He paused, listening to the protest of the man on the other end of the line.
"Well, tell them they can shove their jurisdiction, that this is a federal matter." He pressed the button to end the call as another soldier approached.
"Sir, the report on the signalling operation you asked for." The soldier stood at attention and waited.
"How many?"
"Thirty-eight have showed up at the rendezvous point over the course of the day."
"Continue the signal."
*** Deserted Barn, DAY ***
Alec picked up a food wrapper, then continued walking. He'd seen the kids run from the Food Mart, and groaned at the sight of their familiar movements and appearances. He'd been following the evidence of their raid, discarded snack-food bags and, at one point, a Cheeto. The X5 stopped, looking up at an old barn. He shook his head and walked inside.
"Daddy's home." He said sarcastically, looking around at the group of kids. The Manticore children immediately stood at attention, dropping the food they'd been busily consuming before his arrival.
"X6-787, sir." A male X6 barked out.
"X6-809, sir." The female immediately stated,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." The soldiers in front of him stood at ease.
"What are you bozos thinking, knocking over a Kwik-E-Mart?
"Sir?" X6-787 asked, confused.
"I had a very sweet deal going, and you blew it." He noticed an X7 standing at the wall of the barn. "What's that doing here?" Another of the children followed his gaze.
"He escaped the attack with us, sir." X6-809 answered.
"The attack?" Alec asked incredulously.
"On Manticore."
"Command's been re-established. We saw a signal to regroup last night." X6-787 stated. X6-809 nodded.
"The rendezvous is about six klicks from here, south-southwest. We were just about to move out." She explained.
"Gang, I hate to break it to you, but Manticore was not attacked. They tried to barbecue us." Alec looked at the group.
"Sir?" X6-787 asked, again confused.
"They're trying to kill us. The signal's bogus. It's a trap." He explained.
"If I may, sir...That doesn't make any sense. We're valuable military assets, representing billions of dollars in R&D." The X6 turned to the rest of his group.
"Why would Manticore try to get rid of us?" One of the other soldiers asked with a small voice.
"I want to get rid of you, and I just met you." Alec quipped with a smile.
"We should be going, sir. They're waiting." X6-787 again faced the rest of the group and started giving instructions.
"Okay, what part of 'They're trying to kill you' did you not understand?" Alec exclaimed with frustration.
"All respect, sir, but officers of rank superior to yours left standing orders to regroup when instructed to do so." Alec sighed and gave the soldiers a fake smile.
"Well, far be it from me to violate the chain of command." He said sarcastically.
"Yes, far be it." A voice came from the door. A dark haired soldier stood watching the scene. Alec recognised her as an X5. She shifted her glare to the younger soldiers in the room, and raised her eyebrows at X6-787.
"Fall in." He immediately stated. Alec looked at him, ignoring the X5 female in the doorway.
"You're really gonna do this?" He asked in disbelief. The younger soldiers all lined up with X6-787 in response. The X7 hadn't moved.
X6-787 looked in the direction of the X7.
"Didn't you hear me, soldier?" He asked in a commanding voice.
"Oh, he heard you." Alec answered. "He just can't believe his ears."
"I'm going to have to report you. Both of you." The X6 gave the X7 a final look and looked back to Alec.
"You do that." Alec smiled again, watching the scene in front of him with interest.
X6-787 turned back to the female X5. She gave him a series of hand signals, then turned and walked away. He nodded, and turned back to the soldiers.
"Left face." He commanded, and the younger soldiers turned obediently. "Quick march." He said, and the soldiers marched off in the direction the female X5 was walking.
*** Rendezvous point, NIGHT ***
"We're really lucky, aren't we?" Max and Zane were pushing their bikes to the rendezvous point, and she spoke at a volume barely above a whisper.
"Lucky?" Zane asked, scanning the area for Manticore soldiers.
"We know what Manticore is. Maybe not completely, but we know they're the bad guys. The rest of them, they don't know. They don't know anything else. Here's a bunch of doctors and whackos that have been torturing them their whole lives, forcing them to fight with each other, to murder people…" Max closed her eyes briefly. "And Manticore snaps their fingers…" She trailed off, focussing on a point in the distance.
"Or flashes their pretty lights…" Zane whispered, glancing up at the signal.
"And they come running back for more." She finished. She pointed out the bridge, where a soldier in charge was dragging a dead transgenic away.
"Not if we can help it, Max." She looked at him and nodded.
Zane gestured to her, three short hand signals. She acknowledged them, climbing onto her bike. Zane did the same and pointed out the group of children that were fast approaching the bridge.
Max arrived at the group of kids first, in time to see the looks of concern and confusion crossing their faces as the armed soldiers at the other end of the bridge raised their guns. Zane rode around behind them as Max forced her Ninja into the group of armed men, knocking them to the ground.
"Run!" Zane yelled at the Manticore kids and female X5. The group turned and ran, blurring with speed in the direction from which they had come.
Zane followed Max and the wounded soldier on his own bike, covering the group with a weapon.
*** Deserted barn, NIGHT ***
Alec looked up in surprise at the X5 female, who had just burst into the barn.
"Don't tell me. It was a trap. No, an ambush." He teased lightly, receiving only a glare in response. The rest of the soldiers followed her a moment later, and she looked at them briefly before walking toward the rear of the barn.
"Securing exits." She said shortly by way of explanation, and disappeared from sight.
"Sir, you were right. It was an ambush." One of the young female soldiers explained to Alec, breathlessly.
"They shot at us." One of the males joined him, stopping when the sound of a motorcycle became louder.
"Escape and evade. Evade." Alec said sarcastically. "If you idiots let them follow you…" Alec looked out at the noise and saw Max riding with X6-787, followed by another bike.
"Oh great." He groaned,
"It's them?" The younger male asked from his position at Alec's elbow.
"I wish." Alec replied, and the male looked confused. Max entered carrying the younger soldier, and Zane followed, his eyes scanning the direction they had just come from.
"Get me something to tie his leg off with." She demanded, and Alec stepped in, removing his belt. She looked him up and down while Zane helped her lay the X6 on a table. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked. Zane gave Alec a quick glance, and shaking off the familiar feeling that he was getting from the X5.
"I was about to ask you the same thing. Change your mind about the breeding partner thing?" Zane's face clouded over, and he fixed an angry gaze on Alec. Max caught his eye and shook her head slightly.
"I'd kick your ass, but we don't have time for that right now." She answered, tying off the wounded leg. "Anything here we can use?" She asked Zane, turning back to look around the barn. The X6 made a noise and she turned back to him.
"It's going to be okay." She soothed. "It'll be just a few more-" Max was interrupted by the full force of a body lurching on to her. She struggled in surprise and immediately fought back, throwing punches. The pair wrestled on the ground, neither gaining any advantage, while the other soldiers watched, not understanding what was going on.
Zane circled the pair, trying to distinguish between his sister and her attacker so that he could help, but the two females were moving so quickly it was almost impossible. Alec reached in and grabbed the female X5 by her hair, dragging her off Max.
"Damn, I was hoping that would be your hair I was pulling." He grinned at Max, who was lying on the ground breathing heavily. Zane shot him a dirty look and helped his sister to her feet, and the three X5s stared at the female attacker, now lying face down on the floor. The X6s stood further back, watching the scene quietly.
"Rogue scum!" The female hissed from the floor. She pulled herself onto all fours, and flicked her hair out of her face. Slowly she rose to her feet and turned to face the group. Max's eyes went wide as she recognised the woman in front of her.
"Brin?"