The moment Zack showed up on the scene, Max and Logan were already surrounded by X6s, field medics lifted Logan onto a stretcher and quickly made back toward the facility.

Max looked entirely lost but as another X6 attempted to revive the clone, Max turned on him. "Leave her," she screamed.

A voice boomed over the speaker. "Do not attempt to capture the intruders. By orders of the Director, return to barracks immediately." The male X6 collected his fallen unit member and turned away from Max and Zack, ignoring them.

Max made a move to follow the Xs that had taken Logan, but Zack stopped her. "He's gone Max, we have to leave before we can't."

Max yanked her arm free, "He's not gone, he's not dead. They're going to save him."

Before Zack could even question how, Max had already made it down the hill to the facility. Cursing everything, including his sister's lost sanity and his own, he followed. Catching up with her, he yelled while she continued to run at breakneck pace. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

"I'm not asking for your help Zack. You wanna save your own ass, leave now," she spat in anger.

He ground his teeth again and almost stopped to a dead halt when he caught sight of Syl. "What the…" Syl had Renfro tied up like string ham, minus the stuffing.

"One bleached mad-scientist as requested. Where would you like it?" She put emphasise on 'it' and snickered as Renfro groaned. Krit hurried down the hall from the opposite end and held a worried expression.

"I just saw Logan wheeled into Op."

Max grabbed Renfro by the neck and pulled her headlong in the direction Krit had just come from, "I think you just came in handy."

The group arrived at the Op room and a startled technician almost dropped his tray as they burst through the door.

"That knife isn't touching one hair till we get one thing straight, he's going to live and you three are going to save him." She announced as two doctors joined the stunned tech. When nobody made a move Max pulled the gun from the back waistband of her pants and pressed it to the Director's temple. "I said, you're saving him. Now move it." She'd collected Logan's discarded gun from outside, she hadn't intended on using it, but she wasn't above issuing force. After all, it was what they had trained her to do.

For a moment the doctors just stood there in bewilderment. Looking between each other and then at Renfro, then to the man who lay on the table. One of them motioned for the other to move and pulled on gloves and picked up some swabs and a scalpel. "I need room, so if you could give us some space?"

Everyone took a few steps back and the audience got incredibly quiet whilst the doctors and technician worked on Logan. Seconds later the lady doctor spoke up, "His right ventricle has collapsed. He'll need a transplant and I know our reserves are empty." She looked helplessly at Max and the other men looked fearful.

Renfro grunted and stomped her foot. Syl moved close to her and whipped off the duct tape. "That any better?" she sneered, "I wondered when you'd decide to pipe up."

"You won't transplant him." She smiled and Zack felt a chill deep in his bones, it was the grin of evil. "He'll need a heart and we don't have any."

"No problem." Max replied, she pushed the cold steel further into the Director's head, "I've got a donor right here."

"You kill me and you've just signed your death warrant." She spoke with complete calm for a woman surrounded by trained assassins. "You won't get out of here alive. I ordered them down once, I won't do it again."

Max knew what she was referring too, and she wished that it wasn't true but they wouldn't make it out of the facility if someone resounded the alarm. "Save him and you can have me," she said simply.

Zack stared at her in disbelief, had she lost her mind? Did she honestly think she'd survive re-indoctrination - that she'd even be the same, the Max knew, the woman he loved? "Max I can't let you do that."

Krit and Syl just stood there looking horrified, they probably couldn't believe their sister would even consider the prospect of returning to Manticore. Well they didn't know what Logan meant to her. "It's not your decision to make Zack and you can't stop me."

"You're not enough, don't think you're so special X5-452. I have another one of you, X5-453 and she's out on assignment at the moment but I can have her doubled at anytime." Renfro replied.

"You might have a clone of me somewhere but nothing will beat the prototype. Take me." Zack placed his gun on the floor and kicked it away. "They go, I stay and you save him."

"No, Zack."

"Not your choice Maxie. You don't get a say. You two get out of here now."

"There are X prototype organs in storage. Transplant him." Renfro ordered the doctors.

Syl and Krit looked at Zack, protest plain on their faces, "We won't be going anywhere." Krit replied defiantly.

"Get out of here now, that's an order," Max barked. Her siblings looked shocked for a moment, then hurt flickered momentarily but they both followed the order. They made for the exit, Syl turned once before disappearing down the corridor. She made eye contact with her sister before Max broke it, focusing her attention back to the operating table.

In the meantime, the tech had left to retrieve the heart, he returned almost immediately with a cooler. The doctors worked on transplanting Logan while Max and Zack looked on.

The first stitch hadn't even been pulled and TAC soldiers burst into the room. Three tasered Max and two zapped Zack from behind.

"No," Max screamed. The tasers had weakened her grip on Renfro and the woman dove away, one of the guards caught her.

"I intend on keeping our deal 452, but I didn't promise anything about the others." She smiled cunningly and spoke to the soldier in command. "Two X5s should be nearing the parameter. Have the fences charged and bring them back." Turning back to Max, she walked toward where she lay on the ground nearing unconsciousness. "Welcome back, 452."

In a dark closed cell, probably in the basement of the facility, Max lay unconscious and alone.

Max rolled onto her side, slowly breaking from her forced slumber. Her body ached and her head pounded from inside her skull. She craved water to soothe her parched throat and something to ease the pain in her churning stomach. Even before she opened her eyes, she knew she was going to cry. She was alone, back in her own selected hell and she had no idea whether her sacrifice had been in vain.

"Nice to see you awake," a voice called through the small barred window. There was no mistaking the voice or the face. "I have something you might like to see, 452." Renfro disappeared from view for a moment, while Max heard the distinct sound of the lock being slid from the catch. "Bring her to the screening room."

Max stood in front of a projector screen and waited. The guard had taken her directly to a small room and she was now alone, waiting for Renfro to make her appearance.

"I told you I'd keep my end of the deal."

The screen came to life and she watched in black and white; a recording of the rest of the operation. Then the tape skipped to Logan being lifted out of the back of a van and left near a park bench, in a wheelchair. The van drove off and five minutes later Bling showed. He sat in front of Logan and checked his eyes, his pulse and then attempted to wake him. After a few minutes Logan came to and said something. Bling gave him a sad look but said nothing in reply. He stood and began to wheel Logan away. Then the tape ended. For the longest moment, she just stared at the blank screen. He was alive. She tried to come to grips with that knowledge. It was real footage of him, it had to be, because it would take more than make up and some doubles to fool a transgenic with superior eyesight. It was Logan and Bling, there was no mistaking his scruffy stubble and tussled hair. His uniquely touching reflective blue eyes and trademark serious look, the 'I'm not kidding around, Max' look.

"How long has it been?" she asked. It wasn't possible that he could have recovered so quickly. It would have been at least a couple of weeks.

"A week. We gave him transfusions for the blood loss and he made a stunning recovery. His body didn't reject the X1 heart as we first anticipated. I'm actually quite impressed at the results."

She felt a painful stab in her heart. It was done, it hadn't been in vain, he was alive. So why did she feel this pain inside and why did it hurt so much?