Undisclosed Location
January 15 2022

The blindfold was ripped away from Lydecker's eyes, he blinked a few times to adjust to the light. He tried to move only to find out his hands had been bound behind his back and each ankle was tied to a leg on the old wooden chair he was sitting on.
"I apologise for the secrecy Colonel but given the circumstances I'm sure you wouldn't blame me for my caution" a tall clean cut man stood in front of Lydecker with two bigger men on either side of him
"I was wondering when they'd send someone, you South Africans just never give up do you." Lydeckers head throbbed
"Well last time we were here there was a deal made and you didn't hold up your side of the bargain"
"You got the genetic profiles"
"But not the invitro embryo"
"I did my best, besides, the genetics lab was destroyed months ago"
"Ah but what about 452 she's still around isn't she"
"I told you I don't want my kids involved in neuro implant technology" Lydecker spat
"This is the thanks we get for rescuing you from those freaks"
"Seattle is full of transgenics why her?"
"For starters she's had an implant and lived to tell the tale, then there's her genetics. I have it on good authority that there is something extraordinary about this girl" the man smiled
"If she's got the implant why don't you just track her yourself"
"See it appears that she is not in Seattle at the moment, and I bet you know where she is"
"And you think I'm going to tell you"
"Oh Deck don't worry I'm not going to hurt your kid I just want her ovum, and when we're done with her you can have her back. Or we could just wait until she comes back to Seattle but then you won't see her again. What's a few eggs in exchange for your life and of course we can sweeten the deal with a little extra" one of the big men pulled out a brief case and flipped it open revealing stacks of 100 dollar bills,
"We can get you papers and anything else you need to start a new life somewhere nice or you could set up your old business somewhere, I know how much those kids meant to you, here's your second chance to make the perfect soldier. We could really use your help Deck"
"And I have your word that she will not get hurt"
"You have my word. Now where is she?"
"If we're going to do this, we're going to do this my way with my people" Lydecker scowled

Buddy's Ranch
January 15 2022

An old truck stacked with hay to the point of overflowing slowly made its way up the long driveway, "Zack the hay is here do you want to give them a hand" Buddy called from the office, Zack got up from the lounge and went out side. "Hi Nathan" Zack waved to the blonde, blue eyed guy behind the wheel and strode around the side of the truck only to come face to face with a young girl
"Zack, glad you could join us" she smiled sarcastically
"You didn't think I'd leave you to do this all by yourself did you Leah" he shook his head and climbed up onto the truck.
"Do you want some help?" Max called up from the ground
"Sure" Zack answered, Alec and Logan appeared from behind the shed
"Are you going to introduce us?" Leah jumped down and waited for Zack
"Nathan and Leah, this is Max, Logan and Alec friends of mine from Seattle"
"We've met before" Leah smiled at Alec
"Alright Leah, Nathan and Alec in the shed stacking the bales, Max, Logan and I will be on the truck throwing them down" before anyone could object Zack climbed up onto the truck
"Always the CO" Max smiled to herself
"She does remind me a lot of you Max" Logan whispered to her as they followed Zack

Alec and Leah were stacking the hay as Nathan dragged the bales into the shed "So are you one of them or just in the loop?" Leah asked as she pulled a large bale to the top of the pile
"What do you mean?" Alec looked confused
"Well I'm assuming your one of Zack's Manticore buddies or at least you know about them"
Alec was a bit surprised "The former"
"I thought so"
Nathan came in carrying a bale, he was tallish and a fairly solid build. He was struggling a little to pass the bale up to Leah as the hay stack had gotten about 8 feet high,
"Here let me give you hand" Alec came over to help trying desperately to hold back a smile
"I've got it" Nathan grunted
"You're going to do yourself an injury" Alec shook his head
"I said I've got it!" Nathan shoved the bale up where Leah just shook her head and smiled pulling it into place
The truck stood empty at the entrance of the now full shed, Zack was clearing up the bill with Nathan while the others caught their breath "We are right to go Leah" Nathan called as he climbed up behind the wheel of the truck
"I'm coming" she answered "See you at the club tonight?" she asked Zack as she passed
"I think so" he nodded
"Oh and don't forget to bring your friends" she looked over her shoulder and smiled at Alec who smiled back until he got a threatening glare from Nathan.

The Club, Shelby
January 15 2022

It was pitch black when they pulled up outside the club in Logan's Aztek. Max wriggled out of the back seat followed by Alec, "Lookin good Maxie" Alec shut the door behind him
Max who was wearing her usual jeans and tank wrinkled up her nose "Egh, lets get this bitch over with"
"The tube is in place" Zack appeared from behind the car
"What's the tube for?" Logan looked at Zack then at Max who just shrugged her shoulders
"It's for the floor plans of that storage facility we plan on breaking into" Zack replied matter of factly
"I can get them on my computer" Logan said
"If you haven't noticed you can't get a signal around here, you won't be able to get online. We are going to have to do this the old fashioned way"
"Sounds like you've got it all figured out, so how about we go have some fun" Alec grinned
Logan put his arm around Max and they walked up to the entrance.
The bouncer stood with his arms crossed in front of the entrance, Logan and Max walked up to him "Evening" Logan waited for him to step aside to let them in but he didn't budge, Zack came up behind them "They're with me" the bouncer moved and let them inside

The music was loud and the bar was full so the group found a booth in a dark corner,
"I didn't know there were even this many people in this town" Logan shouted over the noise
Zack leant back and scanned the bar "It's the place to be" he shrugged "There's Tom, the one who works at the storage facility"
Max looked over at the bar where a scuffy looking guy was staring blankly at his glass of beer "Should we go have a chat"
"Not yet" he continued scanning the crowded room
"So when do we get to do some breaking and entering?" Alec asked
"The last police patrol passes the council offices in half an hour" Zack replied without paying to much attention to Alec
"So what are we waiting for?"
"Your partner"
"Max is sitting right here big guy"
"Not Max I need her and Logan to help me with some recon. Leah is going to help you"
"Whoa wait a minute Zack are you out of your mind, Leah the girl that was at the farm today... Isn't it a bit risky sending an ordinary in for a job like this. Alec can handle it can't you Alec?" Max nudged Alec but his attention was on a girl in a mini skirt and knee high boots standing at the bar, Max hit him across the head
"Hey what was that for" Alec rubbed his head
"Not paying attention" Max growled at him
Without a word Zack got up pushed through the crowed to the bar where the girl was standing,
"Hey Zack, what's up" Leah said as he came up beside her
"Have you got everything?" he asked
"Of course I do"
"You didn't tell them did you?" Zack spoke softly so the other people at the bar wouldn't hear
"Tell them what?" Leah pretended not to know what he was talking about
"You know what. Now they want to know why I'm sending you in with Alec. Why didn't you tell them?"
"You wouldn't understand. Just say I've worked there and know the layout of the place" she shook her head
"I probably wouldn't understand, why don't you try me" he looked her straight in the eye
"Just don't tell them alright"
"You tell them then" Zack said sternly
"Why should I they're going to be leaving in a day or two what difference will it make"
"You'll get left out of the mission"
Leah just shrugged picked up a pitcher of beer and headed for the booth with Zack close behind.

Leah set the beer on the table "Mind if I join you"
"Not at all" Alec grinned which earned him an elbow in the ribs from Max
"Damn it" Zack was staring at the corner of the room
"What?" Max followed his gaze, her eyes landed on a group of guys playing pool
"Leah you might want to make yourself scarce"
Leah looked over at the pool table "Damn it, Alec lets go" she stood up and dragged Alec along with her
"Hey what's going on, I thought we were going to wait until after the last cop patrol" Alec stumbled out the door after Leah
"Slight change of plans" she ducked around the corner of the building and pulled Alec around
"Well I'd love to" a sly grin came across his face "but don't we have a job to do"
Leah just rolled her eyes and peered around the corner, two guys came busting out of the Club door "Where'd she go?" one of them asked the bouncer but he just shrugged, the other kicked the wall and went back inside.
"Ok it's clear" Leah snuck behind some cars and came up behind the Aztek, she reached under the back of the car and pulled out a black tube "here" she handed it to Alec.

Logan sat with a confused look on his face "Did I miss something?"
"Nothin to worry about, I think we should go talk to Tom now" Zack sighed Zack leant on the bar next Tom, Max and Logan appeared on the other side of him "Hey Tom how's things at work?"
"Just great got fired yesterday" Tom coughed and sipped at his beer
"That's too bad, let me buy you another drink"

Alec and Leah snuck around the back of the Council offices to the back door "This goes into the copy room from there we should be able to get into the main building"
"You sure know a lot about this place, you got the kit" Alec examined the locks on the door
"I did some work here a few months ago" Leah pulled the lock picking kit out of her knee high boots
Alec raised his eyebrows "I need the rounded one first" he peered into the lock and poked the thin metal rod into the lock and wriggled it around
"The door is dead locked you're going to be here for years"
"Will you just let me do my thing, besides I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas, pass the little flat one will ya?' Alec held out his hand waiting for the flat rod but got nothing "Leah?" he turned around to find she had disappeared
"You looking for this?"
Alec spun around to see Leah holding the door open with a smug look on her face she held out the little flat tool "But... how...?"
"It's called a window" Leah carefully closed the door behind them
"You climbed through a window in that skirt" Alec eyed the little black mini skirt she was wearing
"You'd be surprised what I can do in a skirt" she snuck out of the copy room and headed for the stairs
"I bet I would" Alec smiled to himself and followed her.

Tom's hand wavered a bit as he lifted the mug of beer to his lips "So yooouu want to knowww about seccuridy do ya" he slurred
"It would help" Max watched him cautiously hoping not to wear the effect of one too many beers
"Well there's not muchhhh to tell I'm afraid, it wazzz just me until they brought in those army blokes. Something about some valuable documents coming in or something" Tom smiled at her goofily
"Easy there fella" Max cringed at the smell of his foul breath
"We just need to know how many" Zack pressed
"How many, how many" Tom muttered to himself "Umm I'd say about five guardsss on at a time or was it seven"
"How often do they change?" Logan asked
"Oh evvvery 3 hoursss I think, oooo my head" Tom groaned "Another beer!"
"I think you've had enough" Max waved the bar tender away
"Come on Tom lets get you over to the couch" Zack helped him up and dragged him over to a couch to sleep it off
"Nothing like a drink to get information out of someone" Logan sighed
"Yeah and the best thing about it is they don't remember a thing the next morning" Max smiled
"Hey" a deep voice came from behind them, Max and Logan turned to face the group of guys who had been playing pool earlier
"How can I help you fellas" Max crossed her arms
"I saw you talking to Leah before, you wouldn't happen to know where she went would you?" the biggest man stepped forward
"Nope sorry can't help ya" Max shrugged
"You know what I think" he glanced over his shoulder at the other guys "I think you do know and you're just not telling us"
"You heard her we don't know were she went" Logan stood up so he was eye to eye with the guy
"I wasn't talking to you" the guy spat, another guy stepped forward and grabbed Logan, Max jumped up and punched him in the nose. He immediately released his grip on Logan "That bitch broke my nose" he cried and tried to stop the crimson stream running from his nose, the first guy lifted his fist but paused when Zack pushed through the crowd "There a problem Butch" he growled
"None at all Adam, just having a friendly chat with your pals" Butch smiled

Alec and Leah carefully made their way up the stairs "You sure they don't have cameras?" Alec asked as they neared the town planner's office
"This is a country town most people don't even lock their front doors let alone worry about security cameras" Leah whispered
"This it?" Alec scanned the room, there were a couple of filing cabinets and a large stack of flat shelves
"Yep, I'll start over here" Leah went over to the stack of shelves and started shuffling through the blue prints
"What exactly are we looking for?" Alec opened a drawer and flicked through the files
"The blue prints for the storage facility, the address is 92 Stanely road" She pulled out a plan to look at it more closely "I think I found it" Leah laid the blue prints out on the table. Alec opened the tube and waited for her to drop the rolled up plans in.
"Lets get out of here" Alec swung the tube over his shoulder and led the way. They snuck back behind the cars and placed the tube back under the rear bumper of the Aztek. They were about to turn the corner when Leah pulled Alec back "What's the hurry" she smiled Alec grinned and leant towards her, their lips were about to meet when a bright light almost blinded them
"Get your filthy paws of my girl"
Alec and Leah held up their hands to shield their eyes from the light "Damn it Butch, how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not your girlfriend, I never have been and never will be"
"Oh Leah I know how you really feel about me" Butch turned the torch away so they could see
"Look, it's obvious that she doesn't like you, why don't you save yourself the embarrassment and call it a day" Alec stood in front of Leah
"Why don't you save yourself a whole lot of broken bones and move out of the way" Butch growled
Alec stood his ground "You see that's where I have a problem, if you touch her, you're going to be the one with broken bones"
"Ah Alec I'm all for you being heroic and everything but maybe we should just go" Leah pleaded
"Yeah Alec maybe you should go" Butch smirked
Alec shrugged "Ok" they both turned to leave but the guy with the broken nose stopped Leah
"Don't say I didn't warn you" Alec spun around and elbowed the guy in the nose, he stumbled back. A tall man swung at Alec's head, he ducked and landed a few punches in the man's stomach. The tall man groaned, his knees buckled as he crumpled to the ground.

Max, Zack and Logan sat at the bar waiting "They should've been back by now" Zack glanced over at the door
"You don't think those morons have gone looking for them" Max suggested
"Maybe we should go check it out" Logan stood and the three pushed their way through the crowd.
When they got out of the club there was no one in sight, then they saw a shape flying through the air and landed a few feet away from them. They walked over to find a young guy lying unconscious, they continued around the corner only to find Alec knocking another guy out. He coped a blow in the back of the head from Butch, Max saw another man coming up behind Alec she ran up and kicked him in the jaw he went out cold. Alec was recovering from the punch when Butch raised his arm to put in another one, Zack stepped over and grabbed Butch by the throat and lifted him off the ground. A glint of red flashed in his right eye "I thought I told you to stay away from her" Zack spoke through his teeth "Put him down" Max tugged at his arm fruitlessly Zack didn't budge
"Next time you won't be so lucky" Zack spat, he released his grip and Butch fell gasping to the ground.
Alec picked himself up "Thanks buddy" he patted Zack on the back
"You ok?" Zack looked over at Leah
"Yeah I'm fine" she stepped over several unconscious bodies of Butch's fellow gang members
"Where did that other guy go, the one who grabbed you?" Alec asked Leah as they headed back to the car
She shrugged "Must have ran off when the fighting started"
"Nothin' like a bit of ass kicking to get your evening started. Did you get the plans?" Max asked as the climbed into the Aztek
"Sure did" Alec replied,
"Be careful" Leah whispered into Zacks ear as she gave him a hug "Bye" she waved to the others and went back to the club.
Alec and Zack walked back to the car "How old is she?" Alec asked
"About 19, oh and..." Zack put his hand on Alec's shoulder "...if you break her heart I'll break your head"
Alec's eyes widened at the thought
"Just kidding" Zack smiled
"Just kidding my ass" Alec mumbled to himself and climbed in next to Max.
Logan reved the engine and sped down the road towards Buddy's Ranch.