AN: See it goes like this … I got an email from someone actually asking about this story, found some old notebooks, typed and update. And pray that RL lets me make the next one sometime this year, J/K really wanting to update now that I know people want to see more. J
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He ducked and weaved in his camouflage fatigues in and out of the trees. He was leading a team of seven through the exercise. He gave some quick hand signals before diving over a line of shrubs and landing in a make shift fox hole next to his S.I.C. He heard a rush of air and turned his head rolling his shoulder to avoid the projectile as it whizzed by his ear.
"Cover me." He popped up out of the fox hole and fired off a full round of ammunition before ducking to re-load and adjust the amber goggles that covered his eyes. All but three of the pellets hit their intended targets. He had to keep up the pretence of being normal as he took a pellet in the shoulder and made a face like it stung, pink spreading where it hit it's mark.
"Nice shot." His S.I.C. winched as he saw his friend take one in the shoulder.
His eyes went wide for a moment as another buzz caught him off guard. He wore and reached into one of the many pockets in his pants fishing out his cell phone. It was the vibrating message alert that had caught him off guard. "Dan I need to check this. Count me out for the rest of this round."
"No problem Zane." Dan flicked Zane a mock salute as Zane hauled himself out of the ditch.
Zane flipped out his cell phone and listened the message under the cover of some tree's. Then he listened to the message again. His leisurely game of paint ball was over along with his weekend of relaxation. He made his way back to the trench he had left his co-worker and best friend in.
"Hey Dan. Something big came up. I gotta jet."
"Ah, Zane I hate to see you ditch out. See you in the shop on Monday."
Zane shrugged, the garage camping trip was through for him. "I may be taking a long weekend."
"Something wrong?" His friend asked concerned.
"Family emergency." Zane sighed and shook his head.
"Anything I can do to help?"
Zane shook his head no. "I'll be seeing you Dan." Zane said by way of good-bye if he never saw his friend again. And with those parting words he took off trudging double time until he reached his Jeep.
Tinga passed the living room of her house surrounded by things that reminded her of her knew family. Charlie had taken Case to the park. Penny needed to tell her family that she had a family emergency that neither of them would understand fully. How do you tell your husband that your twenty one year old sister who really isn't your sister was alone and pregnant and needed your help? She sighed. Penny had to ground herself in this reality and calm herself before her boys got back from the playground.
"Mommy!" Case banged through the front door too soon.
Tinga jolted back to Penny. She scooped up her son into her arms and smothered the young boy in kisses before setting him down again. "Did you have fun Case?"
"Yes Mommy. Daddy and I built a big sand castle like in your princess stories." Case beamed up at her.
"Be a good boy and go wash up before lunch your hands are dirty." Penny ruffled her sons hair before he scampered off to the bathroom.
"Charlie we need to talk." Penny turned to her husband slipping back into soldier mode.
"Penny what's wrong? Does it have anything to do with that strange call you got yesterday?" He leaned in to hug her tightly.
Penny stiffened and nodded pulling away from Charlie. "I need to go away for a while."
"You never told me you had a sister. Only that older brother Michael." Charlie sounded hurt.
Penny sighed. "She's my sister from another mother."
"Like a step sister?"
"Kind of yes. She's only twenty one, she's pregnant, she's alone and she's scared. She asked me to come spend a week or so with her."
"A family emergency." Charlie nodded and sighed. "And you've been through it already. You'll take your cell phone and call if anything goes wrong or if you need my help?"
"Of course I will." Penny smiled and hugged her husband. She'd need to call if she was needed to spend more time with Jace too.
Just then Case ran back into the room displaying his hands palm up to Penny. "All clean." He spun his hands in front of her as if to prove it. Penny smelled soap. Case glowed with childish pride. "What did you make for lunch?"
Penny answered her son then sighed knowing that having to tell him she'd be leaving for a while would be hard, but it was the safest way.
Zack passed the apartment and then stopped abruptly starring at the door with his head cocked to listen. Someone was outside. He blurred to the door and threw it open before the person on the other side had reached it. He pulled the other man inside and looked him up and down deciding weather her was a friend or foe in mere seconds and a nodded greeting won out over attacking him.
Zack scowled at the man who could have only been a year and a half younger then he was. He stood just inside the penthouse door only a few inches shorter then Zack, dressed in camouflage pants and a black tee-shirt. He was wearing a padded vest, knee and elbow pads, combat boots and a pair of amber tinted goggles rested atop his head. Those bright green eyes were still the same and pin straight strawberry blonde hair hung down to his shoulders. His attire was splattered with bright pink paint and some of it still clung to his hair. There was no mistaking who he was.
"You said you needed back up so I took off as soon as I got your message. Sorry I wasn't here yesterday." He tugged at the end of his tee-shirt as he spoke in way of an explanation. "It's good to see you Zack." He ran a subconscious hand through his hair and offered his big brother a coy smile.
"Zane what the hell were you doing?" Zack bit off his question but there was something about his younger brother that always made him smile. He shook his head and the grin was gone.
"The guys at the garage talked me into a round of paint ball at our bi-monthly picnic." Zane tore the goggles from his head and fiddled with them.
"We need to get you out of those clothes." Zack gave Zane a curt manly hug, the two of them patting each other on the back.
Zane quirked a brow. "I thought we had a mission?"
"It can wait. I need to bring you up to speed on the situation that brought us both here first." Zack stepped back and shut the apartment door.
Zane got his first good look at the place and stiffened realizing that a table full of people were looking his way. A built black man, a female doctor, a man in a wheelchair, he had their undivided attention and it was not at all flattering. Their hard gazes made his skin crawl, too much attention. Zane's eyes dropped to the tip of his muddy boots and he began to struggle out of them and the armor. "Who are your friends Zack?"
Zack pointed to each person at the table in turn. "That's Logan Cale, this is his place."
"Nice digs." Zane grinned and nodded politely.
"That's Bling, a trusted acquaintance and I think you remember Hannah."
Zane froze and his head snapped up locking his gaze on the woman. He had been crouched in the midst of unlacing his boots. His reaction came across slowly almost dimwittedly. "No way…"
Hannah laughed softly and nodded then rose to her feet and came to stand in front of Zane. "There was always something calming about those eyes of yours Zane."
She spoke softly but Zane reacted as if she'd screamed and jumped back softly smacking into the wall behind himself landing on his rear, his head thudding against the wall. His eyes rose to meet Zack's as if he needed an affirmation to the truth. Zack caught Zane's gaze and simply nodded.
"How?" Was all Zane could muster after leafing out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
"It'll all come across when I brief you." Zack sighed. They were all getting too much information on each ether for his liking, like Tinga and Jace who he'd both have to re-locate soon. It all seemed to be snowballing too fast for him to control and he hated the threat it was creating for all of them. Zack hated not being in control.
"Hannah." Zane twitched lightly something only Zack and maybe Hannah could have picked up on. A million tiny points of light, all flashbacks, hit the back of Zane's closed eyelids.
"It's alright." It was Hannah's soft voice that reassured Zane but it was Zack's strong grip he felt on his shoulder.
"Yeah." Zane scoffed softly. "No big deal. It's alright."
Zack sighed and nodded lightly offering Zane a hand up. "Come on, little brother. I'm sure I have something that will fit you-"
"I've got a spare set of normal garb in my tote." Zane cut Zack off. "Where's the bathroom in this place?"
Zack pointed Zane in the right direction.
Zane came out of the bathroom moments later dressed in a plain white tee-shirt, acid washed blue jeans and a black leather jacket. He sat on the couch next to Zack pulling a pair of drum sticks from his back pocket and started twirling them. "Who else is here Zack?"
"What do you mean?" Zack cocked his head playing coy.
"I can smell her and it's not Jondy or Syl." Zane kept a 'basic' beat in a 13/17 time signature on the sole of his left boot which was crossed over his knee.
"Max." Zack sighed her name.
"Maxie is here?" Zane's eyes lit up, he had not seen his littlest sister since the night of the escape over eleven year ago.
"Yes and that is what I need to brief you on." Zack watched Zane's hands fly the drum sticks lightly bouncing off the top of the coffee table now. "You thinking of starting a band Zane?"
"Yeah." Zane nodded earnestly. "I want to call it Mythical Manticore." He couldn't keep the smile out of his voice, then he shook his head and scoffed. "It helps keep me focused. So what's the deal with Max?"
Zack sighed and began to fill Zane in on the situation which had brought them both here. Half way through this mini-briefing Zane's hands grew still, the drumsticks falling silent and left forgotten on the table top. He moved to writhing his hands instead. When Zack had come to an end in his briefing Zane spoke up in a hushed voice.
"No wonder you wanted me to change. Me wearing urban camouflage and faux assault riot gear would not have helped her condition any." Zane stole another glance at the people around the kitchen table his gaze falling on Bling. "He does kind of bare a striking resemblance to Braden if Braden was grown up.:
The last time Zane or any of them had seen Braden was in the exercise that injured Braden and sent him to the infirmary preventing him from joining the escape.
Zack nodded. "That's why I used him. Max had begun to question why none of the others were coming to visit her."
Zane nodded and sighed Zack had told him all about the feelings he held for Max, though most of them had an inkling of their feelings towards each other even when they were children. Zane had been one of the three 'go to' guys when they were back at Manticore. The others went to Zack if they had and tactical or protocol questions, they came to Zane with all their emotional issues and concerns, and the girls went to Tinga for all things female related. If they had a question that none of these three could come up with an answer to they took the concern to Ben, he could always explain the unexplainable or irrational things. Zane sometimes hated being a 'go to' guy.
"Do you want me to go in and check on Maxie?" Zane asked the question which did not need to be asked.
"Yes." Zack said in a more normal tone. "Keep her grounded."
Zane simply nodded. Then he ran his hand through his tussled bangs, squared his shoulder and vaulted off of the couch. "I'd ask you to wish me luck but . . ."
Zack closed his eyes for a moment then offered a weak grin up at his younger brother. "You don't need it now."
"Thanks." Zane quipped with a cocky smile as Zack as he offered his brother a backhanded salute and sauntered down the hallway.
Zane stopped just outside of the guestroom door. "Maxie?"
"What is it now?" An exasperated and exhausted voice snapped at him.
"Can I come in?" Zane rapped lightly on the door.
"Fine."
Zane eased open the door and stopped just inside after he had let it close lightly behind him. Max lazily turned her head to the side, squinting up at who she had expected to be Zack. She blinked hard and gasped then shot up off of the pillow.
"Zane?"
"Hey Maxie!" Zane perched sitting on top of the back of the chair, crouched with his feet up on the seat. He couldn't keep the smile from his lips or the sound of his voice. "Long time no see!"
"Zane!" Max flew at him and gave him such a strong hug that he almost toppled backwards off of the chair.
"Max." He held her tightly taking in all that his little sister had become, while making sure that their combined weight did not knock them over. "Enough with the roll call." He grinned down at her running his hand over her close cropped hair and keeping his face impassive, while inside it tore at him. "How have you been?"
"I feel like a truck ran me over." Max sighed.
"That's understandable … your nervous stem must be shot."
Max simply nodded and returned to her place on the bed with a winch she tried to pass of as a sigh. "What about you?"
"I miss Millie." Zane confessed.
"Millie?" Max echoed with a look of slight confusion.
"My German Shepherd." Zane pulled a picture from his wallet to show to Max. "She's going to have puppies."
Max managed a light giggle. "Just like Jace."
"Jace?" Zane raised an eyebrow taking Max's hand. "What do you mean?"
"Yeah." Max's voice was hoarse and her face was pale but her eyes shown with the life and intensity that Zane remembered in his littlest sister. She licked her lips and cleared her throat and then launched into her story. Accenting her words with lavish hand gestures. "Logan was seeing this doctor who used to work for Manticore, long story there … but anyway Jace had been sent out on a deep cover mission to assassinate the doctor for deserting Manticore. At this time the doctor was Logan's only hope so I fought Jace. She collapsed. We found out she was pregnant from a Manticore lab tech named Victor. I talked her into deserting in order to save herself and her child. She's going to have a baby."
Zane smiled warmly. "It's good to hear that Jace finally ended up on the right side of the fence."
"Zane." Max spoke softly. "I'm scared."
"Don't be Maxie, you seem to be recovering nicely and you're safe in Hannah's capable hands." Zane reached out to rest his right hand over Max's left one.
"That's not what I meant … Zack briefed you I suppose?"
Zane simply nodded. "You can't avoid them forever Maxie. These things have a way of working themselves out."
Max sighed. "Careful Zane that's what Ben used to think."
"And Ben was almost always right." Zane nodded his eyes shinning with brief memories of one of his best friends. "There's always been something different, something special between you and Zack even when we were only children."
Max sighed remaining silent and shifting her position on the bed avoiding meeting Zane's gaze.
"He's always cared for you." Zane continued.
"I know that." Max sounded almost exasperated again so Zane let the topic drop, she didn't need any added stress right now. "Jace is going to name her baby after me."
Zane nodded but was quiet for a moment. Zack had conveniently left out everything about Jace in his briefing. He was probably still worried about exposure even within the family. That was the same reason he'd tried to keep them all apart for so very long. "It'll be nice to have a little niece or nephew. Our little family is finally growing."
"We already have a nephew." Max grinned like the cat that had caught the canary, eyes twinkling happy to give away another family secrete with Zack so close by. These were things they all needed to know to survive.
"We do?" Zane asked bewildered. This fell under the category of things that on a need to know basis were not need to know information as far as Zack was concerned.
"Yeah. A little boy named Case, he's Tinga's son. He'll be five soon and he's perfect. Born without a barcode and with about half of an X-5's abilities. It's pretty impressive considering that his father is normal."
"That is great to hear." Zane nodded. He'd have to remember to try and track down Tinga and bring Jondy with him when he paid her a visit.
"Do you know anything about the others?" Max's eyes had grown wide with excitement.
Zane nodded. "Since the escape I've run into Krit and Syl and Ben and Jondy."
"Jondy's alright?" Max squeaked tears springing to her eyes and cascading down her face. "They all made it out alright." She sounded awed but couldn't contain her joy at the same time.
Zane moved to hug her, this should have been a happier moment. "They're fine Maxie, it's alright."
They never heard the guestroom door open but Zack stood just inside of it now. Both Zane and Max stiffened a fraction afraid of just how much of their conversation he had overheard. They broke their embrace quite quickly as well.
"It's time now Zane there's a few things I still need to brief you on." Zack spoke in the clipped tone of a C.O. now.
"What's going on Zack?" Max's tear stained face looked troubled though at least she wasn't crying anymore.
It was Zane who spoke up. "Nothing for you to worry about Maxie." He hugged her again. "Get some rest baby sister." He kissed her on the forehead and then followed Zack out of the room leaving Max to rest.