--Previously in LET--

Joshua paused, looking for the right words, "Max still not Max. Not really." Alec looked at him inquisitively and opened his mouth to speak, but Joshua cut him off with a shake of his head. "She doesn't remember."

"Doesn't remember what exactly?" Alec asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Doesn't remember us.

As soon as she stepped inside the room that was her living quarters, her jaw dropped open. "Wow. All this is mine?"

Alec looked at her in a mix of amusement and sorrow. "Well, not all of it. I live here too."

452 raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You live -- you mean we live here together

You are going to find her, and you are going to bring her in. And if you don't... >> The Senator let the sentence hang in the air for a few seconds. your head. Quite literally.>> The steady pulse of the dial-tone sounded in White's ear, only serving to enrage him further.

With a growl he picked up a paper-weight from his desk and hurled it against the wall, shattering the glass of a picture frame. "This is the last time you screw me over, 452. The last time."

"Yeah. I'm alright. I did just remember something though." She smiled widely as Alec helped her up.

"Oh? And what is that?" Alec asked, amused grin in place.

Max punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't call me Maxie."

"She's back. She escaped and came home." His eyes beamed with a light that had been absent for two months and he smiled. "She's gonna be okay." Physically, at least. An icy glaze covered those previously bright eyes as he spoke his next words. "Keep the teams ready. We're going to get those bastards as soon as possible." Chapter Fourteen: Mistakes and Things Remembered

Chapter 14: Mistakes and Things Remembered

Ames White stood in front of his desk, one hand on his hip, one rubbing his forehead as if in the grips of a terrible migraine. "You failed?" The three familiars he had addressed nodded their heads reluctantly. He sighed before kicking out at one of the men in front of him. "Worthless IDIOTS!" White roared. The man took the impact, stumbled back a bit, but showed no signs of discomfort; only slight annoyance. "For all our selective breeding..." he growled, landing another kick to his fellow Familiar's gut, "...utterly WORTHLESS!" The members of the retrieval team were better, stronger, and faster than White and under normal circumstances wouldn't have hesitated to rip him apart. They knew, however, that White outclassed them in pure rage and fear of failure; two things that made him extremely dangerous.

"Brother White, we tried to - " Raina, the only female of the group attempted to explain. The words were stolen from her with a sharp slap from an indignant White.

"You tried? I was told this team was the best next to the Phalanx," he paused to sneer at the three familiars, "and you can't even track a mentally ill, malnourished,amnesiac?" he fumed. McKinley will have my head mounted on his wall.

"Brother White, allow us to explain." Brenam refused to plead with his temporary superior. As was with most of the Familiars, he saw White as an abomination of their kind - tainted like his traitor father.

White sat on the edge of his desk, his arms folded over his chest. "Please do. Enlighten me," he said contemptuously.

Brenam looked cautiously to his team for guidance. As much as he would love to throw White's failure in his face, the expressions of his team warned him to tread carefully. White had always been unstable - the emotions he possessed were more human that Familiar and they made him weak. They also made him unpredictable and dangerous.

"We nearly caught up with her just outside the city. We know she stole a car, but no one saw the direction she went." Brenam stopped speaking when White snorted.

"I thought you were supposed to be 'one of the most brilliant team leaders in the history of our people,'" he taunted, quoting what one of the female Elders had said when recommending Brenam's team. "I think it should be painfully obvious where 452 is going."

"With all due respect, Brother," Dyman ventured, the word 'respect' tumbling from his lips and leaving a sour taste in his mouth. "If you're implying that 452 is going back to Terminal City, I'd have to disagree with you."

White grinned, but his eyes were aflame with ferocity. "Really? You would disagree with me? Why?" Raina shot Dymen an angry glare and Brenam struggled to keep from cursing under his breath. No matter who the superior was, you didn't disagree with them - especially if they were as volatile as Ames White.

"She doesn't have memories. How would she know where she came from?"

"Ah, there's where it gets amusing. The head scientists here decided that if we could convince 452 that she was a soldier and this was a new base she'd been transferred to, then she'd be...manageable. To a certain extent, they were right." And oh so terribly wrong.

"Do you mean to tell me that your people told 452 about Terminal City?" Dyman was outraged. Any little amount of concern he'd had about using tact whilst speaking with White had flickered out.

"That is exactly what I'm saying. If you'd read the damn case files on 452, you would have already known that crucial fact!" White was beyond anger now - he was absolutely livid. His nostrils flared and the air around him changed, as if it too were trying to cower away from him. The way he held himself commanded attention and two of the three Familiars paled.

Dyman showed no fear - he was one that had little - and stepped up until he was only inches from White. He'd been under White's supervision numerous times before and he'd had enough of taking orders from such an affront to his people. "The Conclave should have eliminated you years ago. You're just as bad as the filth you pretend to hate." Dyman turned and spat just to the left of White, his actions speaking for him. "You made a foolish mistake. She didn't have to be manageable - only sedated. She was even more dangerous in the state you had her in." Dyman knew why White had wanted 452 conscious and 'manageable.' He puffed out his chest in pride and bravado, poking a finger into White's chest. "The only reason 452 escaped was becauseyou kept her conscious so you could exact revenge for your son's death." Dyman snorted. "Idiot. The Conclave had your son killed because of your ridiculous obsession with him. 452 was only a catalyst for what would've inevitably happened. You're weak. You're nothing. You're - "

A shot rang out and blood spattered from Dyman's falling body onto his two team members. Raina eyed White, petrified. Neither dared speak as they regarded their fallen comrade. They knew their fate if they defied him. He was an idiot. No one except a High Elder would speak to White that way, Raina thought silently. I would've shot him myself in a few more minutes. What took White so long?

White turned, eyes glazed with satisfaction. "You will assemble a new team, go to Seattle and find 452. You will bring her back to me unless you want to join him," he ordered, kicking Dyman's lifeless body for emphasis. When neither made to leave, White yelled, "NOW!" Raina and Brenam tried to leave quickly without seeming like they were running - which is what they desperately wanted to do.

"Idiots," White muttered under his breath as he picked up the body and tossed it outside the door of his office. The cleaning crew was used to finding this type of waste in the building. Familiars had rotten tempers. It would be taken care of. White could only hope that his more pressing situation was handled as efficiently.

452 woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. Immediately she froze as she had every time White had entered her cell. Once her eyes focused, she realized where she was and breathed a soft sigh of relief. I'm in 494's room. Alec's room. No, my room. The knock came again and despite her moment of calm, she had an image of White storming in to take her back to Amarillo. She reached under her pillow and closed her hand around the butt of the 9mm she had put there last night. "Who is it?" she called out, trying to keep her voice steady.

"It's Alec. Max, is it okay if I come in?" 452 closed her eyes and let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She released her grip on the gun and got out of bed.

She opened the door, still somewhat cautious, and was relieved to see him. Something told her that it would be customary to embrace him first thing in the morning, but she quelled that urge. Instead, she settled for another ingrained instinct - she snapped to attention, saluted him, and said, "Ready for duty, Sir!"

Alec bit back a growl of frustration at seeing her having prostrated herself before him as if he were her CO and they were still at Manticore. "Don't do that, Max. We don't do that crap here - none of the formalities." He watched in amusement as she relaxed her body and confusion entered her eyes.

"But, this is a military base, isn't it? I mean, that's what I was told." I think I'll like this place - once I remember the damned rules. She saw Alec tense, his hands clenching into fists upon hearing her question. She didn't like seeing him upset, so she hurriedly tried to fix whatever she'd done. "What did I do?"

Alec took her hand in his, his gaze immediately falling on the dozens of scars and scabs on her arms. "No. You didn't do anything. I think it's time for a debriefing." 452 eyed him warily as he continued to hold her hand. "I want you to tell me everything you remember about that," Hell-hole "other base."

452 quickly pulled her hand away, and turned back into the room. Before she did, though, Alec caught the pain evident in her eyes and saw how afraid she was. "I don't want to talk about it," she snapped, grabbing clothes from out of the dresser and stomping into the bathroom.

Maybe I should've gone with the formalities. Seems even with amnesia she's still the same stubborn Max. Alec took a seat on the bed - their bed - and tried not to listen to the sounds of the shower running. Tried not to think of how if things were normal, he'd be sharing the shower with her. Most of all he tried not to think of how the water cascaded down over her skin, making it glisten as if she were doused with thousands of small diamonds - SHUT-UP! He dropped his head into his hands. Damn, this is hard! When he lifted his semi-cleared head, the sight that greeted him only made everything worse.

452 came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. His towel. Try as he might, he couldn't swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. Nor could he take his eyes off of her. Though she'd lost a lot of weight in the two months she'd been gone - too much - she still looked breathtaking.

"Is something wrong?" 452 was truly confused. She knew how she must look - she was too thin, scars covered a majority of her body, though some were fading fast, and she was still wet from the shower. I look like a drowned rat, no need to rub it in.

Alec had the sense to appear guilty and looked away. Then he glanced back and realized that Max was looking in one of his drawers of clothes. "Did you forget something?" He knew he'd seen her take clothes into the bathroom with her.

"Yeah," she replied absentmindedly as she searched through the drawers of the dresser. "Where do I keep my underwear?" she said to herself, digging into yet another drawer full of men's clothes.

"Third drawer from the top, on the right," Alec offered without thinking. Uh-oh. Here come the questions.

452 turned as she saw he was right and smirked at him. "You into women's underwear, Sir?" How did he know? Unless... 452 thought before pushing the thought from her mind.

That wasn't the question I was expecting, but I prefer to answer this one. Alec grinned cheekily, ignoring the 'Sir' she'd attached to the joke. "Nah, I think they'll probably look better on you," he said with a wink. And then she did something he'd very seldom seen her do. Sheblushed. "I - I didn't mean - I'm sorry. We - er...we used to joke around like that. Before you left." Nice one, Alec. Way to use those improvisational skills.

452 pulled out a matching set of underwear and padded back to the bathroom somewhat in a daze. "No problem," she said, forcing a smile she hoped was convincing. Once inside, she wiped at her now tear-filled eyes in front of the mirror. There's so much I don't remember. Alec - this place - my name. Suddenly a blinding pain hit her, like someone had just shoved a needle in her brain. She grasped her head with her hands and cried out as she collapsed to the floor with a thud, barely missing hitting the bathtub's edge.

Alec heard her scream and rushed into the bathroom. "Max!" He knelt at her side and tried to get her attention. Her eyes were wide open, but she wasn't seeing him.

Flashback

"State your designation," orders someone 452 cannot see. The voice is feminine, and though she cannot see who is speaking, she knows who it is - a tall, thin woman with close-cropped platinum blonde hair and a bad attitude. 452 is in a small area cut out of a wall and in front of her is a mirror - all she can see is her own reflection. She's wearing what looks like a hospital gown.

452 yells out, "My name's Max!" The floor and ceiling close in on her until she is forced into a crouching position. She feels weak and cramped, but mostly, she just feels angry.

Again the woman's voice commands, "State your designation."

Staring straight into the mirror which she somehow knows is two-way, she retorts, "Kiss my transgenic ass!" The floor and ceiling shift again and she curls up into a ball.

452 hears the woman speak in a lower voice. "How long can an X5 last without food or water?" A man says that they can last six days, maybe.

"Call me in a week." 452 beats on the glass, yelling out in frustration as doors close and leave her in pitch black darkness.

End Flashback

My name's Max. She looked to her side and saw Alec hovering above her, a worried expression on his face. "My name's Max," she repeated aloud, both to reassure herself and to show him she was okay.

"You're a quick one. Especially since I told you that last night," Alec teased. He stood and held his hand out to her. To his surprise, she took it. Instinctively, Max put her hand up to hold the towel in place as Alec helped her up off the cold tile and led her out of the bathroom.

"I know - I just - It never felt like I had a name until now. I...I had a weird flashback thing." Yes, that would be the technical term. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at herself.

Is she going to fall down every time she remembers something? Alec wondered, recalling the incident the night before. "What did you remember?" Hope seized his heart and refused to let go. Maybe soon she'd be back to normal - well, as normal as a genetically enhanced super-soldier can get.

"Well, being in this creepy box thing that kept closing in on me, for one." She nearly shuddered at the memory. Alec nodded; he knew the place well.

"Anything else?" he prompted, leading her out of the bathroom to sit down on the bed.

"Yeah, actually," she said, scrunching her nose. "Some really bitchy bleach-blonde chick." Alec couldn't help himself - he laughed. "What? Who is she?"

"That would be Director Renfro. She headed up the place where I was trained," Alec said, choosing his words carefully.

Max's brows furrowed in confusion. "If we're all transgenics, weren't we trained in the same place?" Alec's jaw dropped open. "What? What did I say?" This amnesia shit is beginning to get on my nerves. And so is he.

"Well - I just wasn't sure if you remembered who you were - what you are." Max rolled her eyes at him, but then took on a more somber look.

"My handlers at Amarillo told me," she said quietly. When she looked up at him, she saw rage building up in him again, and decided to change the subject. "So, if I wasn't trained where you were, how did I meet this Renfro bitch."

"Well," Alec began, unsure of how much information to give her. "There were a couple of bases for people like us. You kind of went AWOL from one of them when you were younger, and when you were, uh, reinstated a few years ago, you were put in the same place as me. That's where we met." He smiled, definitely looking forward to that explanation.

Max noticed the sparkle in his eyes and saw it for what it was - mischief. I'll have to remember to ask him about that later. "We'll save that story for another time. I know I'm dying to hear it." Suddenly aware that she was standing in front of this gorgeous man in only atowel, she got up and headed to the bathroom to do what she'd originally planned - get dressed.

"So what do you want to do today?" Alec asked through the bathroom door.

"Well, I wanna look around a bit, see if anything can bring me back, y'know?" Max smiled as she inspected herself in the mirror. I definitely have a thing for the color black and leather, she mused. She'd found a pair of black leather pants, a black tank top and she knew she'd seen a black leather jacket in the closet that must be hers. She thought she looked good, since most of her fading scars were hidden and despite her bone-thin appearance. For some reason, she felt the need to look great; due in part to the fact that she couldn't remember having anything other than a hospital gown or army fatigues. The other she didn't want to delve into too much - she wanted to look good for him.

"Sounds good to me. We'll take a trip down to the mess hall for some food, if you think you're up for it." His voice was taunting, as if daring her to say no.

"Oh, I'm ready," she replied, stepping out of the bathroom. She felt a strange satisfaction when she saw the way Alec's eyes roamed freely over her body and had the sneaking suspicion that it was a habitual event.

Alec led her through the bedroom and to the front door. "You ready for the best breakfast you can get in Seattle?" he grinned.

"Yeah, I'm starving! But before all that, mind if we take a trip outside the gates for a few minutes? I left someone out there that I can't wait to see again." Alec's heart nearly stopped at her declaration. Had she picked up someone else on her trip to Seattle?

Struggling to keep his voice from betraying any emotion, he asked, "And who might that be?" She smiled mysteriously and nothing could have prepared him for what she said next.

"My baby."

To Be Continued...