A/n: Thanks for your kind reviews, everyone. A couple I thought needed direct replies…

Original Max A:

My version of Logan is not superman, I thought I'd shown that in the dream sequence. His strength is coming from his love for Max and his determination to get back to her.

Max has always been a girl, but losing Logan is destroying her tough outer shell and leaving her vulnerable. Just wanted to clear that up.

X- 318:

The paperwork is probably guard duty rotas or supply lists, that kind of thing.

I completely made up the computer jargon, I know next to nothing about that kind of stuff.

I'm glad you liked Sim's first law, I'm studying for my physics a level and I have to learn hundreds of the bloody things. Mine makes a lot more sense than most of those.

As for the virus, you'll have to wait and see…

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Chapter 10: Decisions, Decisions.

"Hey, you!" Lydecker had left Jam Pony a few minutes before and was making his way back to his car when Cindy caught up with him.

He eyed her suspiciously, wondering if she was connected to White somehow. "What?"

"You're Lydecker, right?"

"What does that have to do with you?"

"I hear you want to talk to Max. If you're for real, I can make that happen."

"And how can you do that? How do I know you don't work for White?"

"I'm Max's homegirl. Ask me anything about that female, I know the answer."

"Whose arms did she die in?"

"Logan's, of course. As if she'd be seen dead anywhere else."

"All right then. You're not transgenic, miss…?"

"Original Cindy. No, I'm a friend of the family. Come on, I know a safe place we can go to talk."

"We should take my car. My friend can't walk far."

"Your friend? Who's that?"

"His name's Sandeman."

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Logan was still unconscious, dangling from his wrists in his cell when White returned with the most powerful elder in the cult. The familiar kicked the prisoner several times in the leg to rouse him, but it was not until he shouted into Logan's face that his undamaged eye flickered open.

"Wake up, Cale, and show some respect!"

"Oh, piss off, Ames, I already told you I don't know where the transgenics are."

"You were right, he is rebellious. Usually prisoners you work on have told us their life's history by now." The tall man spoke disdainfully.

"Thanks for the compliment," said Logan, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

White swung a punch at his face. Logan's head snapped back at the force of the blow and he swung from his manacles, chains jingling wildly until he came to rest.

"You will not speak unless you are asked a question directly, Cale. Or do you want a repeat of yesterday," he snarled, menacingly.

"And there I was thinking the whole point was to get me to talk." White drew back his arm to hit him again, but the man restrained him.

"Now, Ames, we need him conscious. Preferably with most of his brain cells intact."

"Yes, my lord. As you wish."

"So, Cale, why is it that you're protecting the transgenics?"

"I'm not. Like I keep telling Ames here, I don't know where they are or what their plans might be."

"Hmm. Perhaps you would be willing to prove it. Ames, get him cleaned up and his wounds seen to. If you can perform a little task for me, Cale, perhaps we can come to an arrangement."

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"Take a left here, then the third right," said Cindy to Lydecker. She was nervously sitting in the passenger seat of his SUV, directing him to Joshua's place. Sandeman, an old man with white hair and a walking stick but lively dark eyes, was in the back watching everything with interest.

"Did Cale go with Max to wherever she is? I need his computer skills and his connections for my plan to work."

"Then we're in trouble. Logan… died… three weeks ago."

"He's dead? How's Max?" Lydecker's voice held surprise and concern. Cindy thought she detected a note of sympathy too.

"How do you think? I've never seen her hurt so bad, even when the love bug cure fell through."

"They never managed to get rid of the virus?"

"Nope. That bitch Renfro screwed them over good."

"Was that how he died?"

"No. Logan was trying to stall the airforce long enough to give the transgenics time to escape Terminal City. He was the only loss in the raid."

"He's definitely dead? Did they find the body?"

"Alec found him dying, trapped under the rubble. At least Max got Logan's last messages."

"It's a shame. Cale was a good man to have on your side. Very resourceful."

"Damn straight. If he'd helped me half as much as he did Max, I'd have fallen at his feet. The boy was fine, for a male." Lydecker glanced at her, eyes widening in realisation for a long moment. Cindy smirked. "You missed the turning."

"Damn it," cursed Lydecker, swinging the wheel savagely.

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Max had called a meeting in a sizeable clearing the transgenics had made in the forest for that purpose. Beneath the camouflage netting the sunlight was dappled, creating shifting patterns of light and shade on the animalistic features of the assembly. She stood on a large box in the centre, and took a deep breath as the chatter died away.

"Hey, everyone. I've come across some new information, and I think you deserve to know what's going on."

"I've had a message from Logan. He's alive, but White has him."

The clearing was filled with the sound of voices as the transgenics called out to her.

"How do you know it's really him?"

"What if he's been turned?"

"How did he survive?"

"Where is he?"

"Please, guys, be quiet and I can answer your questions. First, it's definitely from Logan himself. He managed to send an email to a friend of his who passed it on via Bling here. The message contained information only five people in the world know about: myself, Logan, Original Cindy, Logan's friend Sebastian, and Bling. And no way has he been turned, I think we know Logan a little better than that."

"I have no idea how he survived; we can only assume that the familiars dug him out of Terminal City and fixed him up. But we do know where he is. The snake cult's headquarters in the US is Highview College, Washington DC. They're holding him there."

"How did this Bling guy find us?" An X4 called out from near the back.

Time to lie a little. "Logan and I arranged the evacuation plans for Terminal City in case something happened. He knew I'd chosen this as the rendezvous point for displaced transgenics."

"Then that means White knows where we are too, he must have read any emails Logan sent," said Dix, worried.

"Not a chance. Apparently the message was sent in an encrypted form that will take anyone who doesn't know how to read it months to decode. Logan devised it himself, yet another reason to believe the message is genuine," replied Max.

"The question is, what do we do with this information?" There was a long pause.

"I propose we attack the conclave's base and take them out once and for all." Alec's voice was very loud in the sudden silence. "After everything he's done for us, we can't leave Logan to be tortured and killed by White. This way, we can remove the threat and rescue Logan at the same time."

"He saved my daughter's life at Jam Pony, and again in the bombing," said Gem. "I owe Logan everything. I say we go in and get rid of the familiars, give our children a chance to be free."

"I agree." Mole's voice was even more unexpected. "Logan may be an ordinary, but he saved all our asses at Terminal City. I don't like owing ordinaries. We should return the favour. Plus I want to give that bastard White a taste of his own medicine."

"He's our brother," said Jondy. "I vote we go in. White's killed too many of us to let him get away with it."

"All those in favour?" Max asked the crowd.

Almost instantly, every transgenic present raised their right arms.

"That's unanimous. We're going to war." Hold on Logan, we're coming, she thought.

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Logan had been brought back to the computer room where he had hacked into the Manticore files. White entered with the tall man he had met in his cell.

"So, Cale, are you ready to prove yourself to us?"

"Sure, whatever. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to impersonate Eyes Only."

"Huh. Well, I wasn't expecting that one. Why?"

"Because the public trust what Eyes Only says more than the government news. We want them to think the transgenic threat has increased since Terminal City was bombed."

"From what I've seen, the public are pretty down on the transgenics as it is. Why do you want Eyes Only to suddenly change his message? Won't that look suspicious?"

"Not if he says that the transgenics are so angry about Terminal City that they're planning to use biowarfare agents on the population."

"When in fact it's the start of your Coming thing. Now that is sneaky. The transgenics get the blame for wiping out the ordinary population, and other countries decide to kill them off before it starts overseas too."

"Correct. For an ordinary, you're quite intelligent."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

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So did you like chapter 10?

Not much Logan again, I'm afraid, but I think the conversations between Lydecker and OC make up for it. At least they amused me.

I have a busy week next week, chapter 11 may be a little late.

Remember Sim's First Law!