Disclaimer: I own the computer I'm writing on. Everything else belongs to someone else. Well, except for Kia, Brianna, the Phoenix school of Martial Arts, um, any other original characters or places, and Zane's stolen pick up truck.
I'm not a poor struggling student anymore, but I am still poor and struggling, so don't sue!
A/N: Can you believe I've gotten this far? I really do apologise for the sporadic updates, but I swear that between hunting for a permanent job and working three part time ones, I'm really trying. Thanks again to Aimee, my wonderful (though sometimes invisible) beta, and thanks to Abregaza for constantly asking me how this story is going and pushing me to update faster.
Not too much longer to go, people! I'll probably wrap this up somewhere around chapter 16. Thank you for reviewing!
Chapter Eleven: False Sense of Security
*** Phoenix School of Martial Arts, DAY ***
Arriving at his destination, Zane looked at the exterior to the building, replaying in his head his first visit to the centre. He turned off the ignition in the 'liberated' pick up truck that had replaced the 'liberated' motorcycle and climbed out, heading for the entrance of the school.
The centre smelled like sweat and rubber soled shoes, and Zane could easily pick out both Kia and Brianna's scents. He smiled at the familiar feeling the place held, and turned to face the man approaching him.
"Can I help you?" The man asked.
"I'm looking for Br- for Kia." Zane said, stumbling over his words as he caught sight of Brianna talking to a student.
"Kia?" The instructor asked, trying to catch Zane's eye, which was firmly fixed on the tall brunette. The X5 nodded.
"She's not here." Zane's attention was immediately diverted from Brianna and devoted to the man in front of him.
"Not here?"
"Yeah, she's gone. Left yesterday. Left pretty quickly too. Cancelled her classes." Zane's face turned white, and the instructor looked concerned. "Hey, man, are you ok?"
Zane nodded, his mind elsewhere.
Maintain control. Emotion is weakness.
"Were you supposed to have a date or something? She'll probably be back in a few days. She runs off every once in a while." Zane's heart pumped loudly, and he looked at the instructor again.
"How often?" He demanded.
"I don't know. Whenever. Three or four times a year, maybe."
"For how long?" Zane continued to interrogate the instructor, who was growing uneasy.
"Few days, sometimes longer. I really wouldn't worry. Maybe you should-"
"Brianna here?" Zane stared in the direction she had last been, but she'd disappeared from his line of sight. The man looked at his watch.
"Just started class. Under tens. Half an hour." He looked at the X5 with uncertainty, and Zane forced a smile.
"No worries. I'll wait upstairs. I have a key." The man's expression softened in relief, and he turned and let Zane walk away.
The X5 hurried to Kia's apartment, quickly picking the lock and hurrying inside. His senses were immediately on high alert. He surveyed the room, which looked like a fight had taken place. The table was overturned, and things were scattered everywhere. Someone had fought. And left in a hurry. Troubling Zane even more was the smell that lingered in the apartment. Something had happened. He had no idea what. Looking around again quickly for clues as to the state of the apartment and not finding any, Zane pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number.
"Yeah?" Logan's casual voice came over the line.
"I need Max." Zane barked out, his voice barely recognisable.
"Zane?" Logan asked, unable to read the tone of the X5's voice.
"Yes." He said evenly, struggling to keep his emotions in check.
"She's not here. She left the phone here."
"Where is she?" His voice was steady but his tone finally gave him away.
"She's at work. Zane, what's the matter? What's wrong?" Logan explained in a concerned voice.
"Something's wrong. I need to talk to her."
"What is it?" Zane hesitated at answering the question, looking around wildly. "Zane?" Logan prompted, and the X5 shifted uncomfortably.
"It's Kia. She's not here. Left quickly, didn't check in. I need Max." He rushed out in a single breath, stepping into the hall with the phone clutched to his ear.
"I'll try and get her at work. Are you at her apartment?"
"Yeah. There's something else." He hesitated. "I was just inside the apartment, and it was strange. It looked like a fight, but there was this smell. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I couldn't stay in there any longer. It was making me-," He paused. "Well-, I wanted to… I felt like…" Zane gave a frustrated sigh. On the other end of the phone, Logan made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
"Does she run off often?" The journalist asked, and Zane wondered if he'd actually heard a giggle at the other end of the line.
"One of the other instructors said she does it a few times a year." He replied desperately.
"A few times a year." Logan repeated.
"Yes." He exclaimed in frustration and confusion.
"And the apartment's trashed."
"Kind of."
"And there's a strange smell." Another noise, which definitely sounded like a snicker.
"Yes." Exasperated, Zane held the phone more tightly.
"That made you want to…"
"Yes." Logan was clearly laughing, and Zane made a mental note to beat him to death with a blunt object upon their next meeting.
"Zane." Logan gasped out.
"What?" The X5 replied, clearly annoyed.
"How much do you know about X5 females?" He managed to get the words out between fits of laughter.
"I think we've clearly established that I know very little." Zane answered haughtily.
"Well then how much do you know about the reproductive cycle of cats?"
Zane finished straightening his sister's apartment, still shaking his head as the information Logan had told him set in. Satisfied that the smell of Kia's pheromones had been evicted from her apartment, he slammed the final window closed and flopped onto the sofa, closing his eyes lightly.
"Heard you were in town." A voice came from the doorway. Zane's eyes flew open and he sprang from the sofa, spinning around.
"A little edgy, are we?" Brianna raised her eyebrows and gave him a teasing smile.
"Brianna."
"Dave said you were looking for me. Looking to get your ass kicked?"
"As long as it's by you and not a class of under tens." Brianna's grin widened briefly before she replaced it with a look of mock-annoyance.
"They would have enjoyed it so much." He grinned at her joke as she nodded to the door. "Up for a jog?" Zane looked at his watch.
"How about dinner instead?"
*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***
"I can't believe Zack never told him that. I'm so glad I didn't have to explain it." Max said with a groan after Logan finished his story of the events of the afternoon.
"Consider yourself in my debt for fielding that one."
"I'll cook you dinner sometime."
"Like you have tonight?" He asked, eyes twinkling.
"Taking it out of the box counts as cooking." Max replied, biting into her pizza.
"Remind me to have a word to the good folks at Manticore." Logan teased. "They can create a mind-blowingly beautiful genetically superior soldier, but they can't program a couple of simple recipes? Very disappointing."
"Mind-blowingly beautiful?" Max gave him a sexy smile and raised an eyebrow. Logan returned her smile with a suggestive one of his own, his pizza falling from his hand forgotten as he leaned in to meet her lips. He gave an annoyed grunt as the phone rang, and Max moved as if it answer it.
"Leave it." Logan protested.
"What happened to protecting the downtrodden and fighting the good fight?" Max asked in an innocent, yet somehow mocking voice.
"I'm outside of office hours." He grinned as the answering machine picked up the call.
"Logan, I need to speak to you and Max regarding the briefcase." Sebastian's mechanically assisted voice came through the machine, and Max and Logan exchanged a quick look before moving to answer the call. "Please call me as soon as you get this mes-" Logan cut off the machine as Max hit the speaker phone button.
"We're here." Logan interrupted.
"Max. Logan."
"Hi Sebastian." Max said eagerly. "What have you got for us?"
"Are you familiar with the concept of junk DNA?"
"My science is a little rusty."
*** Brianna's apartment, Phoenix school of Martial Arts, NIGHT ***
"Call this gourmet?"
"Cooking was never really big in my family. Having food that's not scorched or burnt beyond recognition immediately classifies it as gourmet."
"Even if it comes from a box?" Brianna teased, taking another bite of her pizza slice. Zane smiled at her from his position on the floor and reached for his third slice.
"Especially if it comes from a box. Bonus points for delivery." He grinned at her.
"Lack of cooking skills, absolutely no clue when it comes to fighting," She looked him up and down. "Or jogging. What exactly do you have going for you?"
"My good looks and natural charm."
"No good looks or natural charm, an inflated ego…" Brianna kept ticking items off on her imaginary checklist, shaking her head in a teasing way. "I really think you're a waste of my time." She sighed loudly. "Too bad Kia's so keen on having you around." She punched him playfully and he caught her fist, slowly leaning closer to her. With a giggle, Brianna interrupted the moment.
"You also have absolutely no subtlety. Give it a rest, Casanova." He grinned, and she raised one eyebrow in challenge, leaping over the pizza and jumping at him. Zane fell backwards to the floor with Brianna on top of him, rolling over so that their positions were reversed. They remained that way, staring at each other before she flipped him easily so that he lay below her once more, and giggled again.
"Dinner's getting cold." She said in an innocent tone, climbing off him and retaking her place on the floor. Zane gazed at her in amazement, wondering if he'd ever understand women.
*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***
"So if the whole junk DNA thing's not possible, why am I wanted by so many white-coated lab geeks?" Max asked as Sebastian finished a lengthy explanation.
"My best guess is that the sample was contaminated. Perhaps your director got this idea in her head and some scientist that knew better was feeding her information to make her happy." Sebastian replied. Max frowned.
"It's not like Manticore not to know their science. There's also some kind of bounty hunter that is convinced I'm the chosen one." Logan shot her a worried look.
"I can arrange some testing right away." Sebastian suggested, and Max screwed up her nose.
"You said it wasn't possible." She argued softly.
"It isn't. I'm not sure what they're looking for, Max. The tests would be a good idea. If there's something there, we'll find it."
"Ahh, tests. Now there's a word that takes me back to my happy little childhood." She exchanged a quick look with Logan and nodded.
"We'll be there tomorrow." Logan said, ending the call.
The pair sat down again, the pizza and earlier, happier moods forgotten.
"Bounty hunter?" Logan asked in his most concerned tone.
"Can we change the subject please? Haven't you got some widows that need saving or something?" She half pleaded, half teased Logan, and he gave her a reassuring smile.
"Actually, now that you mention it, I need your help. A little recon." Max smiled at the change of subject.
"What've we got?" She asked, rubbing her hands together.
"Guy running an underage prostitution ring out of Seattle. I'm pretty sure he's linked with a kidnapping story I've been following." Max sighed, locating the pizza box and attacking another slice.
"Lovely. Why is it that more and more of these guys keep springing up whenever you shoot one down?"
*** Sacramento, DAY ***
"How often do you manage to drag Kia on one of these jogs?"
"Rarely, if ever. That girl could sleep through anything." Brianna replied. Zane laughed, recalling the many mornings he'd pulled her unceremoniously out of bed at Manticore.
"Definitely." He agreed.
"Did you two have lots of sleep-overs when you were young?" Brianna asked innocently.
"Oh. Yeah, kind of." Zane mumbled, remembering the lie and feeling uncomfortable.
"Must've been nice." Brianna said, noting the stumble and choosing to temporarily ignore it.
"There he is!" Zane exclaimed, pointing out the lawyer in the alley. The pair stretched, sneaking looks at the morning do-gooder.
"Like clockwork." Brianna whispered, checking her watch.
"You think that makes it even?" Zane asked softly, not taking his eyes off the lawyer.
"Makes what even?" She asked, pulling her hands above her head in a stretch.
"What he does in the mornings. Does that balance out what he does for the rest of the day?" Zane asked softly.
"I don't understand what you mean." Brianna frowned.
"I mean, he's a victim of circumstance, right? He's a good lawyer. He gets the bad guys off. But he feels guilty. Probably. So it's a thing he's good at instead of something he really wants to do. With the economy the way it is, you gotta take what you can get. He does it because it brings in the money. He's a bad guy by circumstance." He explained. Brianna shook her head.
"Still makes him a bad guy." Zane raised his eyebrows. "Guilty conscience. There's good in everyone. It's just that some people choose to hide theirs. Or ignore it." He nodded a little, understanding what she was saying but not ready to accept it. He stared at the lawyer again.
"Can you be a good person but still have done bad things?" He asked her, studying her face.
"Have done bad things, or do bad things?"
"I don't know. Have done bad things." Brianna's face fell for a minute, revealing a mask of hate and something Zane couldn't identify. He frowned, cataloguing the expression for later.
"It depends on what the bad things are." She answered finally, in a quiet voice.
"Say a soldier, bred for fighting and killing and destruction. Say the soldier killed people. And say the soldier didn't like doing it, so he left."
"Sounds like the soldier chose to be a good person." Brianna concluded, turning to watch Zane instead of the lawyer.
"But say the soldier didn't know anything else. That all he knows is killing. And that he keeps on doing it, because it's in his nature. Can he still be a good person?" Zane focussed hard on his stretching, looking at the ground.
"Are you talking about your father?" Brianna asked gently.
"My brother." He said quietly, trying desperately to recall if the honest answer was infringing on his earlier lies.
"Then I think only you can answer that. You know if he was a good person."
"But that's the thing. I don't." He looked up as the lawyer left the alley and re-entered his house. Zane sank into the bench he had been stretching his leg on.
"Say there was another soldier. And that soldier left for the same reason. Because he didn't like doing it." Zane said after a few minutes of silence.
"Yes." Brianna prompted, sitting down beside the X5.
"But then there were some times when he had to do it again. When bad circumstances stopped him from being a good person. When he had to kill again, or hurt people. Is he still a good person?" Zane held his breath, not daring to touch Brianna.
"I suppose you're right. Sometimes circumstances can stop you from being the good person that you are. But that doesn't make you a bad person." She said by way of answer, watching as the lawyer left his building and set off for work. Zane put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, relieved.
"We should get back. You have classes." He leaned in and kissed her gently.
"Maybe I could skip my first few classes." She grinned suggestively.
"Now would that make you a bad person?" He joked, trying to make light of their heavy conversation.
"A very very bad person." She purred. "Race ya."
*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***
Max pulled her headphones off her head and lowered the book she was reading. "It's no good pacing." She told Logan. "He'll call when the results come through. Find something to do already. You'll wear out the exoskeleton." She warned him before turning back to her book.
"It's just that we've had enough to deal with concerning Manticore. We don't need a reason for some bounty hunter to target you too." Again, Max lowered her book and sighed.
"He's already targeting me. The guy's a loon. I don't know if he's military or Manticore or what. I can deal with him." She patted the empty space beside her on the sofa.
"He put you in a cage." Logan reminded her.
"And I got out." She smiled sweetly, trying to make light of the subject.
"With Zane's help. Maybe we should call him." He suggested.
"Zane or Sebastian?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Both!" He exclaimed, sinking into the sofa when she laughed.
"We can't call Sebastian, he'll call us when the results are in. And Zane already knows what's going on with White." She reminded him gently.
"White?"
"Bounty hunter or whatever he is. Haven't you got a kidnapping case to work on?"
"I'm worried." He said with a sigh.
"Shinpai shinai de kudasai." Max said softly, leaning over to kiss his forehead. He gave her a curious look. "It's Japanese. Please do not worry." She translated, and he smiled, leaning forward to return her kiss.
"I thought Kendra never taught you Japanese," Logan grinned.
"She didn't. I thought my incredible progress would be too hard to explain."
"So since when do you speak Japanese?" With a knowing look, Max took her headphones and placed them on Logan's head, then held up the battered book she was reading.
Let's Learn Japanese! Volume six
"Since about three a.m." She replied with a smile.
*** Phoenix school of Martial Arts, DAY ***
Zane rolled over in the bed, immediately noting the absence of Brianna, and checked the clock on the wall with a sigh. He lay awake, his eyes closed, taking in his surroundings.
With a start, Zane focussed his energy on the new presence in the room. He opened his eyes slowly, preparing himself for a fight.
"Been busy?" His sister's voice came from the doorway.
"Kia!" Zane exclaimed at the sight of her, sitting up in the bed. He took on a stern tone. "Can you possibly imagine how concerned I was for your safety?"
"You look like you've been worried out of your mind." She replied with a sarcastic smile, and he pulled the bed sheet closer around him.
"Why didn't you check in?" He demanded.
"I wasn't expecting you to drop by again. Zack never dropped by twice in the same fortnight." She teased.
"Well I'm not Zack." She dropped the sarcasm at the sight of his angry glare, and took a defensive stance.
"What was I supposed to say? 'Sorry Zane, I have to get away. I'm going through my heat cycle and I've started destroying my house in a futile attempt to stifle the feeling of wanting to sleep with any male within a ten mile radius?' It's not something I'm proud of." She paused. "You know about heat cycles, right?"
"Got a crash course over the last few days." Zane sighed.
"I should have called, but I missed the warning signs. I barely had time to call J- to call my boyfriend before it got too bad. We left right away." Kia finished, and Zane sighed again.
"It's over?" He asked, pulling the bed sheet even closer.
"Yeah." Kia replied, looking at the floor.
"Next time-"
"I know." She cut him off, her eyes still on the floor.
"It's good to see you." The CO said gently.
"Yeah, you too." Kia replied, lifting her eyes to his. "Is everything okay? You left really quickly. I was worried."
"Everything is fine." He paused for dramatic effect. "Max is alive."
"Really? That's amazing! I can't- wow! Can I see her? Can I talk to her?" Zane smiled at the excitement Kia was unable to keep out of her voice.
"Not just yet. Soon. I promise." He smiled, then looked her in the eye. "I was worried, Kia. I'm glad you're alright." He said softly, and she nodded.
"Um, Zane?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we talk about you being in my best friend's bed?"
*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***
"So I'm normal?" Max asked, calling into the speaker phone from across the room.
"As normal as a transgenic can be. The original results were probably contaminated or doctored." Sebastian's voice came through the phone.
"Thanks Sebastian" Logan said warmly, "How's the rest of the briefcase coming?"
"I've decoded some of the information, but it's a little puzzling. I'll let you know when I have something concrete."
"Thanks." He pressed the button to end the call and turned to look at Max.
"So I'm not the messiah. I was really looking forward to seeing where that would take me." Max turned from her position at the window and grinned at Logan.
"You know, I almost feel sorry for her." She said softly. Logan raised his eyebrows. "I said almost." She continued. "I mean, she sacrificed herself for me because she believed in something. Bet she's rolling in her grave now that 'something' was actually caused by an idiot lab tech dropping his jelly donut in the sample." Logan gave her a half smile, then frowned.
"You'd think Manticore would have tested it more thoroughly." He muttered thoughtfully.
"You can bet I would have been given lab rat status if I'd stuck around any longer." She shrugged dismissively. "So tell me about these kidnappers."
*** Phoenix school of Martial Arts, DAY ***
"Leaving?" Kia demanded from the doorway, watching Zane throwing his things together. "You've only been here a week."
"Yeah, I'd best be going." He said softly. "It's actually longer than a week. I was here for a few days before you came back. I'm behind schedule. I'm off on a whirlwind tour of our missing brothers and sisters." Zane smiled at her disappointed expression, and the eager look that followed.
"When can I see them?" She asked in an almost pleading tone.
"Soon." Zane said lightly. "There's still the matter of the X5 you're keeping hidden from me."
"Soon." She answered with a teasing grin. The pair punched fists, and then met in a quick hug.
"Take care, big brother."
"Call me if you have any problems." He replied. "And-"
"Be careful." Kia interrupted, finishing his sentence. "Yes Zack." He swatted at her good naturedly, and she laughed and closed the door. Zane took a deep breath and turned, facing the door across the hall.
***Fogle Towers, DAY ***
"Max, if that's true, then this thing runs a lot deeper than I ever could have thought." Logan said, rubbing ointment into a long cut on her arm.
"How far are we talking?" She asked, picking a twig out of her hair.
"Probably half of the police department." He groaned. "This is going to take some time. You up for a lengthy set of reconnaissance missions?"
"How long?" She asked. Logan looked in the direction of his computer room, then at the ceiling, and finally back to her.
"To crack this case open it's going to take about two weeks." Max nodded, grinning at the challenge.
"I'm going to need a doctor's note."
*** Phoenix school of Martial Arts, DAY ***
Zane stood in front of Brianna, almost shyly, having already explained his reasons for leaving, and preparing for goodbye.
"This is my number in Seattle." He said, handing her a small piece of paper. She turned it over in her hands.
"This is the only way to contact you?" She asked dubiously.
"I'm not really at a fixed address yet. Call the number."
"And if I want to see you?" She asked coolly, with a hint of something else in her voice. Zane hesitated over whether to give her the address for Eyes Only or his genetically engineered sister.
"Jam Pony. Seattle. Original Cindy. Ask her to take you to Max." Frowning slightly, Brianna nodded. "I'll see you soon." He promised.
"Maybe." Brianna replied, walking back into her apartment, leaving Zane staring after her.
"I will never understand her." Zane mumbled under his breath before turning to leave the building.