Disclaimer: I am not making any profit out of this and am using it purely for amusement. The scenes are taken completely out of an episode of Dark Angel (which belongs to Fox, Cameron and Eglee), and most of the dialogue as well.

A/N: Here's the next installment of HG. It's shorter than the others, but I'm trying to rotate the updating of my fics. I just want to finish and I just really hate how I started so many others without finishing this. So, I'm sorry, and I'm trying my best.

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CHAPTER 14

"Josh!" Alec shouted as he walked into Sandeman's old digs where Joshua was living. He wrinkled his nose slightly as his keen olfactory senses picked up the scent of ham hocks and turpentine. If he was gonna have to stay here, some changes seriously needed to be made about hygiene. But, first thing's first, Joshua had to know they were gonna be "lay-low" house buddies for a while.

Joshua glanced up towards the direction of the shout. He paused in his painting and looked frantically around. He had been painting a portrait of Annie. For some reason, he didn't want Alec to see it. He was not ready to share about Annie.

"Where you at Josh?" came the voice again. It sounded like Alec was roaming around the house looking for him. Joshua looked at the painting and back again towards the entrance of the library where he was. He had to think quickly…hide Annie!

"Josh? Josh, you around?" called Alec's voice playfully. He was much nearer now.

"Uh…" he muttered panicked, his eyes darting around the room, looking very guilty. Joshua grabbed the painting from the easel and held it desperately. Unable to find a good hiding place, he settled the painting against the couch, facing away from the door just as Alec sauntered confidently into the room.

"Hey, hey, roomie," greeted Alec as he walked towards his dog-friend. He swung his arms around and clapped them expectantly, a congenial smile on his face.

"Roomie?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I need to hang out for a little while until the heat's off my place." Alec explained to a baffled Joshua. He cocked his head to the side and smiled tightly. "It turns out my dead twin brother was a psycho killer." He shoved his hands down his pockets and shrugged nonchalantly. "Go figure." Anyone related to him would have to be crazy.

He was still smiling, but his eyes had a distant look in them as he tried to assess how Joshua felt about that little tidbit of information. He remembered how he had tried to kill Joshua, too. Once upon a time. Hoped the big guy didn't put too much stock in his past actions.

"Oh." Was all Joshua said, feeling sorry for his X5 friend. But he understood. His own brother, Isaac, had been a killer, too.

"Yeah." Sighed Alec, his thoughts wandering briefly towards Max and what they had shared the night before. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two. They were friends, but it wasn't like they would ever break down in front of each other and reminisce about what it was like to have a murderous brother.

Then in line with his capricious personality, Alec clapped his hands eagerly to break the silence and looked expectantly around the decrepit house. "Where's your TV?"

"No TV." Replied Joshua. He looked around and saw the books on the shelf. "Uh," he mumbled, grabbing a hold of Alec's shoulders and pushing him aside. He took a book from the shelf and slapped it happily against his palm. He walked over to his young friend and tapped Alec's head with it. "Book. You can read?" he asked, a surprising note of sarcasm in his voice. Something he had picked up from Alec.

Alec's expression fell, and he looked like a mutinous teenager. "What are we, living in the Dark Ages?" He swiped the book aside and smiled mischievously at Joshua. "I need my boob tube. Y'know? The hot medium? The vast wasteland?"

Joshua just looked at him, still baffled about what the big deal was with this boob tube.

Alec shrugged at Joshua's expression. "That's okay. Y'know what, I think I know where I can score one." He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and turned away from Joshua to dial one of his contacts. He walked over to the window and glanced out of it, mostly from habit. He checked up and down the streets for any suspicious activity as the phone on the other end of the line rang.

Alec turned away from the window and caught a glimpse of Joshua's newest painting. He immediately saw how Joshua tried to stand casually between him and the painting, effectively blocking his view. Alec glanced suspiciously up at Joshua's reluctance to share. That was no way to be around friends. So, he just stepped over the big guy to give this new painting a full once over. "What'chu got there? A new work? Joshua number 320?" he asked, waving his hand in the air as if seeing the title in lights on Broadway. Or some Art Gallery window. It didn't matter as long as it raked in the dough.

He cocked his eyebrows in appreciation. It wasn't like all of Joshua's other paintings, so of course, Alec's catlike curiosity was piqued.

"Uh…" then Joshua sighed. This was Alec. No use in hiding it from Alec. "Annie."

"Annie." Alec repeated, saying the name as if he were tasting it for the first time. He noticed Joshua's obvious discomfort. He hung up his phone—his vast wasteland could wait a moment longer—this was more…interesting. "Who exactly is Annie?"

"The girl that lives down the street." Joshua mumbled, slightly guiltily.

Alec almost groaned as he understood the implications of what Joshua was saying. He closed his eyes in a studied look of a conscience attack. He couldn't believe he was about to get all Max-like and deliver a lecture to his buddy. He scrunched up his face and scratched his head uncomfortably with the antenna of his cellphone. "Listen Josh," he started, his tone as placating as he could. This was hard. It was like having to tell a kid that he couldn't have his candy because it was bad for his teeth.

"Alec," interrupted Joshua, "She can't see. No running. No screaming." There was a note of defensiveness in the dog-man's voice that made Alec flinch slightly.

Alec still knew that it wasn't a good idea. First of all, a blind girl and a dog-boy? Not exactly the most comfortable of arrangements if you asked him. And secondly…"Oh boy," he sighed. He slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket, expecting a long conversation. "I think we better have a little talk about your little friend, Annie."

"I don't wanna have a little talk!" exclaimed Joshua, his voice uncharacteristically harsh. He nudged Alec away from Annie's portrait and pulled it to him. "I know I have to lay low." He said, his voice impatient. He glanced at his X5 friend over his shoulder as he walked away with Annie's portrait to finish it. "I'm tired of laying low, Alec."

Alec just stood there, quiet for once, letting Joshua go, and dropping the subject. He found himself in the uncomfortable position of walking the thin line between understanding how Joshua felt about laying low and being lonely, and knowing the reality of what lay in store for Joshua and his little friend, Annie.

He had said it to Max. And one day, he'd have to say it to Joshua. They didn't belong with people like Logan and Annie. Why was he the only one who seemed to accept and understand that?

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It was a small side street. But it had the three criteria that Ames White was looking for. It dead ended at a Sector Checkpoint. There were sector guards and hover drones. And best of all, there were plenty of witnesses in the crowd of people loitering about. It was perfect.

He slid his sleek sedan to a stop a few feet away from the Sector gates. He glanced over his shoulder, throwing an arm over the passenger seat. He looked down at the body in the back of his car. "Mule," he called out.

The transgenic had been laying low on the backseat. It wouldn't have done White any good if anyone he knew had spotted him aiding this transgenic prisoner. Now Mule sat up and glanced fearfully around. White looked out the back window, and Mule followed his gaze. "Now you see that fence? All you have to do is get over it and you'll be safe."

"Okay."

"But you have to watch out for enemy soldiers," continued White. He had to make this convincing after all. Not that it was hard work. The damned Transgenic was trusting him already. "Because if they see you, they will try and kill you." He emphasized the threat to the transgenic, knowing it would stay with him. Manticore had taught its creations how to react to threats.

He saw Mule turn around and look at him slightly fearfully. But he nodded his head, understanding the nature of the threat.

"They'll be wearing helmets, carrying guns, and they'll have badges that say Sector Police." White said, his voice softening a little, as if sharing a piece of confidential information with Mule.

"Sector Police." Confirmed Mule.

"That's right."

Mule looked around, assessing the area surrounding the fence. Satisfied at not seeing any of the Sector Police he nodded to himself.

"Good luck." Said White, his voice sincere.

Mule turned around fully to look at the man who was in the front seat. He didn't know why, but he was grateful that he had passed the test that White had given him. He was deeply moved by this act of kindness—the first that he had ever encountered with a human before. "Thank you." Said Mule, his eyes boring into White's, "For everything."

Then with a small nod and a grateful smile, he opened the car door. He pulled on his hood and shuffled out.

White turned to face forward, there was a flicker of emotion marring his features before he compressed his lips and looked expectantly up at his rearview mirror.

Mule walked cautiously towards the sector gate. He was all too aware of the looks that people were giving him.

"Man that's freaky!"

"Whoa!"

"Something's going on…"

He heard the hushed voices—they were always following him.He hunched over a little more and looked down at the ground. He was almost to the fence—almost to safety. Not seeing any of the enemy soldiers, he pulled out one of the corners of the sector fence. It came off its metal hinges easily in his hands, but an alarm began to blare.

He looked up in panic seeing the red flashing lights go off, hearing the incessant sound of the alarm. He had to hurry! He quickly slipped through the opening he had made, aware of the crowd that had gathered behind him.

He was on the other side! He was safe.

Suddenly, a hover drone flew over him, the camera mounted on top aiming for him.

"You have violated Check Point security. Stay where you are!"

Mule flinched. What was going on? He had crossed the fence. He was supposed to be safe! He looked around in fear and apprehension. Two black sector police vehicles arrived, effectively blocking him from escape.

"FREEZE!"

Guns were pointed at him. Mule looked around in panic, fear in his dark eyes.

"On your knees, Freak!"

"On the ground NOW!"

The voices were surrounding him. Cruel, angry voices like the guards from Manticore. The Sector Police—the enemy—was advancing on him, crowding him. Circling him like prey. He was trapped. Dread filled him as he realized that he would not be able to just run and hide.

A sharp pain jolted him as one officer hit him with his nightstick. Mule flinched but didn't fall over. Another officer joined in beating him. They hit him over and over until he fell to his knees. Mule never made a sound. He was used to this from Manticore. Suddenly, he was filled with a quiet anger. He was out of Manticore now, he was supposed to be free!

A knee hit him in the stomach. More blows rained on his back and sides.

Without another thought, Mule fought back. He grabbed the nearest police officer and flung him away. The man flew against the sector fence, crashing against it and slumping forward unconscious. Mule's anger gave him strength. He seized the other enemy soldier and threw him away from himself. The officer hurtled several feet through the air before colliding against a far wall, the impact knocking the man unconscious.

There was a moment of stunned silence from the rest of the Sector Police and the spectators from the other side of the fence.

Mule was no longer thinking straight. He just knew that he was hurt. He was scared. And he needed a way out. He advanced on the next enemy soldier who took a step back from him. Mule didn't care if he was seen as a monster now. He just wanted to leave.

The man raised his weapon, but Mule continued onwards.

The Sector cop pulled the trigger. Mule staggered back from the impact of the bullet. He heard the several screams as the onlookers scrambled away from the gunfire. The pain seared through Mule, burning his shoulder. He had to get out of here. He took a faltering step forward but another bullet embedded itself in him and stumbled back. It hurt but he had to escape. He tried to take another step.

Four more shots rang in the air from the enemy soldiers. Each bullet sent him stumbling, until finally the fiery pain became too much. He lurched forward and fell heavily onto the ground. He felt the roughness of the concrete against his face. Felt the hope drain from him as his vision dimmed. At least he didn't have to run and hide anymore. At least it didn't hurt anymore.

White smiled grimly at the scene, his eyes locked on the side mirror of his vehicle. He had seen everything and was satisfied with the events. His eyes shifted slightly to look at the reflection of the hoverdrone. Yes, everything was going just as planned.

He had painstakingly lined the dominoes, and now he had pushed the first of the row. All he had to do now, was sit back and watch everything fall down. Perfect.

With another smug smile, he left the scene, his car easing between the horrified onlookers.

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