Disclaimer: If I have to say that I don't own them one more time…

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: Hi people, thanks for the great reviews!  Here's the next chapter.  Not too much action, but there will be next chapter.  Read and review…remember, I write for you!

Chapter 4

Help is on the Way

Lydecker stood beside the phone waiting anxiously.  He looked through the windows of the phone booth, watching the rain run steadily down the glass panes.  Getting out of Manticore had proven to be worse than getting out of a gang after passing initiation.  The committee had attested that they didn't give a rat's ass if he had built Manticore from the ground up.  If they felt he was a threat to any of it, the tables would be turned on him with lightning speed.  They had turned his dream into a living nightmare, and now, he had to do everything in his power to make it right.

The phone rang loudly, jolting him from his reverie.  He reached out slowly, and took the receiver from its perch, placing it to his ear.

"Lydecker," he responded.

"Is this line secure?" the voice on the other end spoke.

"I went through several precautions to make sure it is.  Is there any reason for you not to trust me?"

The voice sighed.  "If I started to list them, we'd be here all night.  What do you have for me?"

Lydecker paused before giving his answer.  "Your girlfriend."

Logan nearly gasped, but he knew it would give him away.  Upon receiving information  that Lydecker had some interesting news for him, he agreed to speak with him in the hopes that it might be about Max.  It looked as though he had been right.  "What?"

"Manticore has 452.  She's—"

Logan cut him off.  "Max."

"I'm sorry?"

"Max," Logan insisted.  "Her name is Max."

"Fine, Manticore has Max.  She's still alive, but she's in bad shape, and she probably won't last much longer.  I had plans to get her out, but it looks like it's going to be harder than I originally thought.  Will you help me?"

Logan swallowed hard.  Having Max back would fulfill every wish he'd made in the past eight weeks.  But he knew Lydecker, and his tendency to pull the rug out from under people.  He didn't want any more nasty surprises.  He didn't want to get his hopes up, only to find out that Lydecker was involved in some scheme to bring Eyes Only into Manticore, and Max really was gone.  He wasn't sure he'd last another emotional breakdown.

"How do I know she's really alive?"

"She's alive.  I've seen her myself everyday for the past six weeks.  Look, I don't expect you to trust me; in fact, I'd be surprised if you did.  But we have to figure this out; the longer she's in Manticore's possession, the less likely chance we have of getting her out alive."

Logan was silent for a moment, taking in the seriousness of Deck's words.  "Ok," he finally decided.  "How are we going to do this?"

He could almost hear the smile in Lydecker's voice as he gave his response.  "First of all, we're going to need backup.  Like I said, this isn't going to be easy.  It took me a long time to get back in the committee's good graces, and I'm not even sure I'm there yet.  They've got me under watch like a hawk.  So I'm going to have to cut this call short.  I'll meet you tomorrow 17:00 hours at a café at the corner of East Main and Wicks.  If you show up at 17:01, I'll be gone, so I'd advise you not to be late."  He hung up, and turned to open the door of the phone booth.  The rain fell hard on him, but he merely ignored it as he approached the green hummer that stood about twenty feet away.  He climbed in and started the engine, before pulling off into the night.

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Logan sat staring at the phone in his hand, the dial tone ringing out loud and clear.  Finally, he placed it back on the receiver, before picking it back up.  He punched in the somewhat familiar number.  Backup? he thought.  I'm pretty sure I know where I can get some of that.  After three rings, a female voice appeared on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Logan…I need your help."

"Sure, anything."

"Manticore has Max, she's still alive, and we're breaking her out."  Logan heard what sounded like a loud clang, and a shout of voices, and then the phone was picked back up.  "Hello?" he asked tentatively.

"Sorry," the voice responded.  "I thought—it sounded like you just said 'Max is still alive and she's in Manticore'."

"I did…and she is.  We have to get her out, and we need your help."

"Wait a minute, who's we?"

"Me…and Lydecker."

"Lydecker?!"

"Yeah, I know.  But right now, he's the only one who knows exactly where she is, and how we can get to her, so we're going to have to work with him.  Doesn't mean we have to like it, just means we have to put up with him.  And we need all the help we can get."

The voice sighed.  "Ok, count us in.  We'll see you in a few hours."

Logan smiled.  "Thanks Syl.  Make sure Krit brings all your artillery."

"Sure thing," she smiled.  "See ya in a little while."  She promptly hung up, and Logan turned back to his computer, and began to pull up all the files that he had accumulated on Manticore and Lydecker since he started his search.  It took a while, but he was finally able to organize them and put them into a folder that he would reference while they were going over plans and strategies.  Now all he could do was sit back and wait.

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Syl pulled her bike up in front of the tall apartment building in what was considered to be one of the 'nicer' parts of the now rundown Seattle.  She looked up at the dark glass windows as Krit pulled up beside her.  As soon as Logan had mentioned Max's name, she had been ready to run to help.  She and Krit had both been deeply depressed over the past few months, believing that they had mutually been to blame for Max and Zack's capture.

Krit knocked his kickstand down, and walked over to Syl, who still sat staring up at the building, its high dark windows soaring over them like ominous warnings.

"Ok," he muttered, "Let's go get our sibs back."

Syl nodded, and dismounted her bike.  They headed inside toward the elevator.

"So did Logan say exactly how we're supposed to pull this off?  I mean, as I remember it, we had a hard enough time breaking into Manticore last time, and security must have been jumped up since then."

Syl shook her head.  "Not really.  He did say something about working with Lydecker though."

"Lydecker?!" Krit spat.  "If you had told me that before we got here, I never would've come."

"I know," she said smiling up at him.  "And I feel exactly the same way.  But this is our sister we're talking about.  It's our fault that she's in there, and if there's even a slight chance that we may be able to get her out, we need to take it."

Krit sighed and nodded, before pulling a long strand of her shoulder-length blonde hair out of her face.  "I can't imagine how Logan must be feeling right now.  I honestly don't know what I would do if it were you back in there."

Syl reached up and pulled him into a hug, taking comfort in having his warm, strong arms wrapped around her.  "Reason number two that we have to get her outta there."

Krit pulled away and looked at her.  "Reason number one being…?"

Syl searched his eyes in all solemnity.  "If we don't…they'll kill her."  They searched each other's faces as the reality of the grim situation at hand settled in, and they barely heard the ding of the elevator as it reached the penthouse floor.

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Logan felt more than heard the presence of the two people in the doorway behind him.

"Took you long enough," he said without taking his eyes off the screen.

Syl grinned.  "Krit wanted to stop for dinner."

"Genetically enhanced super-soldier's gotta eat," he replied as he sauntered over to the computer.  He looked down at Logan's foot, tapping anxiously on the ground.  "Whoa, no exo?  Did we miss something?"

Logan smiled at him appreciatively, surprised he had noticed so quickly.  "Yeah, got rid of it, it was weighing me down."

Krit nodded, knowing better than to press.

"So what you got for us?" Syl piped up.  "What's this about Lydecker?"

"Well, he contacted me via email a couple days ago.  Said he had some news I might find interesting, and gave me a number to call him at.  So I spoke to him a few hours ago, and apparently, Max is still alive.  I don't know how, I don't know why, but she is, and according to him, she's in bad shape.  We gotta get her outta there."

"Noted," Krit acknowledged.  "How's it goin' down?"

Logan shook his head.  "We haven't gotten the actual logistics down yet.  I have to meet with Lydecker tomorrow.  I was thinking to bring him back here to iron out the plans, but I'm not so sure I want him knowing where I live."

Syl nodded.  "I agree.  Him knowing where you live could put you in danger, even after we get Max back.  What time are you meeting him tomorrow?"

"17:00 hours."

"Ok," she said thinking, "Krit and I can go do some recon tomorrow morning, maybe early afternoon, and see if we can find somewhere else to do briefing."

"Great," Logan replied, "thanks.  In the meantime, it's kinda late, if you guys want to crash, the guest room's down the hall.  Make yourselves at home.  I'd offer you something to eat, but since you already stopped for dinner I guess that's obsolete.  Of course, feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen if you want it."

They both nodded.  "Thanks Logan," Syl said, reaching down to give him a hug.

"No," he replied as she pulled away, "Thank you.  You have no idea how much this means to me."

Syl smiled and patted him on the shoulder.  "Don't worry so much, big brother.  She's gonna be fine."

Logan smiled.  Apparently Max isn't the only one who considers me part of the family.  He watched as the two soldiers before him headed off down the hall to the guest room, before turning back to his computer.  He had some work to get done before his meeting with Lydecker tomorrow.  He had told himself in the beginning not to get his hopes up, but after seeing Max's brother and sister, and hearing the willingness in their voices to do whatever it took to get their sister back, he couldn't help but begin to feel little bubbles of excitement fill his chest.  Hang on Max, he thought, we're on our way.

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Syl looked up at Krit sleeping peacefully next to her.  He looked so innocent, as though the first 11 years of his life hadn't been spent in a biosynthetic military boot camp for genetically enhanced individuals.  She sighed as memories of the ghastly place came back to her.  Knowing that if she tried to drift into a restless sleep she would only have nightmares, served to better support her decision to get out of bed.  She stole one last glance at Krit, and then slowly slid out of the bed and out of the room.

Syl had planned on going to the kitchen, grabbing a cup of milk, and maybe sitting and watching the dreary town below them, but the blue light from Logan's computer room stopped her in her tracks.  She stood in the doorway, and watched as he focused on what was in front of him.  He was so bound, so dedicated.  He reminded her of Max at times.

She knocked softly on the wall. "Knock, knock," she whispered.  Logan's head jerked up.  "Sorry," she cringed.  "Didn't mean to scare you."

He gave her a slow smile.  "No, it's okay.  It's just…Max used to do that."

"Oh," Syl nodded knowingly.  "So do you always stay up this late?"

He shrugged.  "Only when it's really important."

The young transgenic smiled at him.  "Which is pretty much all the time?"

"Uh…yeah, pretty much," he laughed.  He paused for a moment.  "Shark DNA keepin you on your toes?"

It was her turn to laugh.  "You know it.  As much as I would like to sleep, knowing that I'll need the rest, every time I close my eyes, I see Manticore."

Logan nodded.  "Subconsciously, your body knows you're getting ready to go back, and not to sound pessimistic, but if anything goes wrong, you might not make it back out."

Syl sat in a chair facing him, and stared off into the distance.  "I'd rather die than go back," she said in a low voice.

Logan placed a hand softly on her shoulder.  "Don't worry, Syl.  We won't let you get caught."

Syl smiled at him, and paused before talking again.  "So enough about my own personal hell on earth.  Tell me about Max."

Logan tensed visibly.  Even though he knew there was a chance that she was alive, her supposed death had taken its toll on him, and it was still very hard for him to talk about her.  "What do you want to know?"

"Well, the last time I was here, we didn't really get to talk much.  So probably anything you tell me will be news to me, I mean, I haven't seen her in ten years.  But I have been kinda curious…how did you guys meet?"

Logan sat back in his chair and sighed, before smiling at the memory.  "Actually, we met while she was breaking into my apartment."

Syl couldn't help the laughter that burst from her.  "Are you serious?!"

Logan nodded, the smile still wide on his face.  "Yep, she had decided that one of my statues was up to Manticore standards, and she wanted it.  I had two guests that I was housing, waiting to put into witness protection, and Max…well, she just dropped into my life."

Syl looked at him solemnly.  "What was the first thing you thought when you saw her?"

The smile dropped from his face.  "The first thing I thought when I saw her…she's beautiful…"

"That's what drew you to her?"

"That was part of it.  See, I grew up in a lifestyle of wealth and luxury, so even before the pulse, I was never really denied anything.  But when I saw Max, I knew getting her would prove to be a demanding challenge.  I knew she wasn't like other girls…there was something about her…she was so…mysterious…"

Syl nodded slowly at that.  "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

He looked at her curiously.  "Albert Einstein."

She smiled and shrugged.  "One good genius can always appreciate another."  A silence descended over them, and Syl broke it.  "Well, Logan, thanks for talking to me while keeping me company.  Usually, Krit just uses it as an excuse to get another meal."

Logan laughed softly.  "No problem."

She stood.  "I feel closer to my sister already.  She's lucky, she's got one of the good guys.  I can see why she likes you so much."

Logan looked up at her seriously.  "She makes my life worth living…there's nothing I wouldn't do for her."

"Well, pretty soon, you'll have her back…just don't forget to invite me to the wedding," she poked him slyly.

Logan's cheeks flushed red.  How was he supposed to answer that?  He did want to spend the rest of his life with Max, didn't he?  Of course, that's not what worried him, it was whether or not she wanted to spend her life with him.  But before he could spit out a retort, Syl disappeared.  He turned and looked back at his computer, deciding to shut it down for the night.  Tomorrow would be a big day.  After his meet with Lydecker, it would only be a matter of time before he got Max out…or died trying.

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post: Ok people, that's it for this chapter.  Thanks for all the GREAT reviews.  I would post more personal answers if I had the time, but I really don't this time.  But you know who you are, and I know who you are, and that's what matters.  Just one thing, my sister read over this, and she said it may seem to some like I was trying to get a Syl/Logan thing going.  Know this: THAT IS NOT THE CASE.  I'm just trying to develop a friendship between two people who are close to Max.  I mean, how would the series look if say, Logan and Original Cindy didn't really know each other…not that they do, but you know what I mean.  So anyways, sorry about the long note.  Next chapter more action.  Finals over at the end of next week, so more time to write.  Thanks again!