Wow - Chapter 10 - I'm into the double digits! YAY! hmmm... Well, um, this chapter is being started right after uploading chapter 9 - so I haven't gotten your reviews yet, or votes for our buddy X8's name..... Like I said, I have a small preference for one, but I'll try not to put his name in this chapter just yet. Hell, he might be unconscious through out this whole section.. I'm not sure yet.

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Chapter Ten

Zack's POV

I lifted the X8 off the floor and slung him over my shoulder. I took the kid into the guestroom, where I have been staying for the past few days, and dropped him carelessly onto the king-sized bed. I could pick up the sounds of Logan fumbling around in his office trying to find the old restraints. I started to calculate how long this boy would be out of it, concluding we had about an hour or two before he wakes and finds he's in enemy territory.

So Max led the enemy right to us. I can't really blame her, if I was on the run like her, I'd probably let my weakness get in the way like this. Plus, Eve is worth it, even though Max doesn't really know her. I used to consider Eve my largest weakness, but now she is strength. She inspires me to keep going. If a chimera can grow up that happy, then there is such a thing as hope. In this situation I just don't have the heart to address hope as a weakness.

I let myself look over his uniform. Obviously Manticore issued, despite the fact that there is no labels or badges, and no intelligence at all. He probably had to memorize all the orders and pictures. Let's see... And spying would be a deep cover operation, so minimal contact with commanders until objective accomplished. Most likely he hasn't dropped the dime yet on our location, and the fact that there is a revved up daughter of an X5 that just nearly beat his ass. Now that would be an embarrassment back at Manticore. An individual who is half pure human, half X5, with no military training defeating an X8.

Well, I have no idea how many tracking devices and hidden compartments are in his clothes. I lift his shoulders and start unzipping his outer jacket. I continue with the thin long sleeved shirt underneath. Then I move down to his boots. Combat, of course, and army - issued socks. I notice a small glint underneath his right pant leg. I roll it up a bit to find a razor sharp utility knife strapped to his leg. Well, Lydecker always made sure we were prepared. I move up to his hips and remove his utility belt, checking the contents.

I continue his disarming and inspection, picking up bits and pieces of Max and Eve's conversation. A smile forms on my lips as hear them talking comfortably with each other. Thank who ever is up there that they are getting along. Slight sounds of footsteps approach me and I turn to see Logan holding out the restraints. He catches sight of the X8 and gives me a puzzled look. I turn to also look down at the sleeping teenager. The kid was clad in a black beater and his military black boxers. I turn back to Logan and roll my eyes at his confusion.

"Intelligence." He nods at my short explanation, then hands me the belts and ropes he's gathered. He helps me with a few, and soon the kid is fully restrained with straps on his ankles, wrists, forearms, knees and chest. He looked so helpless it made me want to laugh. There was no way he could get out of this, all the buckles and knots were under the bed or out of his reach. Even Lydecker couldn't train chimeras to get out of this hold.

I see that he has only one semiserious injury, the deep cut above his eyebrow, which has already stopped bleeding and is clotting in accelerated healing. Eve stumbles away from that fight with multiple lacerations on her back and possibly a split lip, and all he gets is a two-centimeter long cut on his brow. Poor Eve, that girl has had quite a night. First she finds that her uncle has been lying to her through out her life, then her long lost mom returns, and finally has the fight of her lifetime.

"Well, I guess that takes care of that." Logan mumbles behind me.

"No, it doesn't." I say shaking my head to myself. I stride over to the boy and lift his head off the mattress. I check his right ear, and see a small dark circle behind his earlobe. "The tracking implant. Bring me a knife and some tweezers."

"Oh God..." Logan moans as he walks off to get the supplies. I realize that it isn't the most pleasant idea of cutting into his head and yanking out an implant imbedded in his tissue. Logan can take it though, I hate to admit he's a strong guy. After a few moments he returns with the knife and tweezers, along with a towel, some water and disinfectant. I have to hand it to him, he's smart too. But his compassion will get him killed some day.

I get to work immediately and pick up the knife and cut a slit in the kid's skin just above the implant. Red blood begins to emerge and I wipe it away quickly and open the wound a bit further. Taking the tweezers, I push them deep into his tissue until I feel the metal meet metal. Getting a hold of the implant, I carefully extract it, making sure not to damage the miniature device.

I wrapped it in the now stained towel, then handed it to Logan, who was frowning at the blood on my hands. He handed me another towel for myself, then pulled a band-aid out from his back pocket, also giving that to me.

After finishing my work I stood and handed the clothes and implant to Logan, then made sure he looked me right in the eye.

"Listen very carefully. I want you to take these and put them in your car, then drive south in a zigzag pattern until you get a good few hours behind you. Then find a river and drop all this in the current. Hopefully it will lead Manticore away from us."

He nodded and walked out with the clothes, I heard him tell Max and Eve he was leaving. In a few moments the door shut, and I let out a breath. I guess sixteen years of a chimera daughter has taught the guy to take orders and not ask questions. Suddenly I realize that I'm letting myself get aggressive, and neither Max nor Eve need that right now. Not to mention emotions will interfere with accomplishing the objective, which happens to be containing the X8.

As I stand alone in the guestroom with the young male, I give myself a chance to look him over again. Without his equipment and uniform I have the chance to see just how well the X8s are trained. Even with his revved up strength it looks like he has been weight lifting frequently. He has strong shoulders, well defined biceps and developed leg muscles. All together, he's in great shape and it makes me wonder if Eve were to fight an X8 that wasn't so built would she win. As I walk around him I notice that his build isn't excessive, and he still has an average teenager look to him, just a little stronger, and he is a bit tall, probably somewhere around six feet. I find myself nodding, and thinking that Manticore did a good job on this certain soldier.

His hair is blonde, with a few light streaks in it. His style is sort of longish, just enough to cover his trademark barcode. I search my memory and recall his eyes being brown, and stare down at him on the bed. He has the Manticore induced attractiveness with slightly tan skin and good face shape. I start to wonder what the X8s are bred to be, because most generations don't get to go so far out away from Manticore. I had always thought that the latest classes were designed with hive minds, only to serve in groups with a human officer. Doesn't matter, we can find out later by contacting that friend of Logan's... Sebastian. He has advanced hacking software, not to mention a previous knowledge of Manticore.

I take one more look at the kid before walking out of the room. It suddenly hits me that we have no plan for what to do. Now that we have him in custody, what's next? Oh shit, I should have just killed him when he first arrived.

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I know my chapters are short, and I'm sorry - I'll try and make them longer as I go. Problem was I couldn't think of anything else that Zack would have to say about the intruder. Anyways, the whole name vote is going well, and Leo seems to be leading... Remember the choices... Rok, West or Leo. I have gotten a few other suggestions for names, which were pretty damn good. But I already put out which names to vote for, so prolly I should stick with them. Remember I had one I have been leaning towards... So don't be disappointed if I don't choose the same as you. REVIEW AND I'LL LOVE YOU!