A/N: Yeah, years later and an update. If any of my previous reviewers actually read this, I will be shocked. I'm mostly finishing this off for myself, just so I know I didn't leave it hanging, although I will admit I was quite tempted. I had to renew my interest in dark angel by literally having a dark angel viewing marathon. -sighs- But now I'm interested in DA again, so hopefully I can finish off the majority of the fics I began years ago. :) Thanks to all who reviewed and I'm sorry I left you all hanging. That includes Bob, Blackrose9, beth, huntress k, Jojo, idlehands452, nat452 (heh, here's to your reminder!), Somebody's Dark Angel, and JAK.Wow, that's a lot. :) Here goes nothing:

Chapter 13: In and Out

I thanked Asha for introducing us and helping me out. Asha headed home while I went with Logan, Max, and Alec to the abandoned warehouse. We all piled into a car and quickly made our way through the appropriate sector points to reach the abandoned warehouse. There were two vehicles bearing the "US GOVERNMENT" license plate parked outside the warehouse. Logan pulled up, parking a distance away from them. He then hacked his favorite spy satellite to obtain aerial images of the location.

"Thermal images indicate 6 guards on patrol outside. Another 4 are inside patrolling hallways outside main room. There are several stationary bodies in the main room and several more pacing."

"Piece of cake," Alec grinned.

"Let's get this bitch over with," she said as she hopped out of the car.

Alec and Max silently crept up behind the guards, knocking them unconscious one by one and dragging them out of view. I peeked over Logan's shoulder and watched as the guards gradually stopped moving.

"Perimeter's cleared," Max and Logan both told Logan.

"Guards are still patrolling inside. There's two on the east entrance and two on the west entrance."

"I'll take the east," Max claimed.

"Ok with me if you want to take the hard ones," Alec chimed.

"Just to make sure you don't screw things up." Max replied with a smirk.

Max slipped inside while the guards had their backs turned. These guards were buffer in size, but that only made it hurt that much more when Max bashed their heads together, knocking them out before they even had a chance to register her presence.

On the west end, Alec walked in casually, and unlucky for him, they were just turning around. He quickly slipped into a dark corner, but it was too late, for they saw movement from the corner of their eyes.

They rushed down the hallway and took out their flashlights. Alec sighed and blurred from his hiding place, knocking both of them on their feet. He dealt them some blows to the head to send them to dreamland. Dusting off his hands, he headed towards the door to the main room, only to see Max already there. "Hope they weren't too hard," she quipped.

Alec shrugged. "You know me - I like to take my time and have a bit of fun."

"How are we doing, Logan?" Max asked through her comm.

"Five bodies inside. Not sure which is Kim, but there are two stationary figures in the middle. Perhaps one of them is her."

"Let's find out."

The two entered the room.

"Hey, you're not allowed in --" a guard declared as he saw the two walk in. He wasn't able to finish his sentence, however, as Max knocked him out with a quick elbow to the head. Alec blurred to take out the other guards in the room, with Max following behind him. Fortunately for Max and Alec, White was no where to be seen.

Logan was right about Kim being in the middle, but so was another figure, also bound and blindfolded.

"You Kim?" Max asked.

Kim nodded.

"And who are you?" Alec inquired as he removed the gag from the other captive.

"Henry…Cole," he murmured.

"We'll figure that out later. Let's just get them out of here first," Max interrupted.

Alec shrugged and helped Henry to his feet while Max assisted Kim. They all headed back to the car. Kim was overjoyed to see me, and shocked as well.

"How did you…?"

"Thank Max and Alec, Manticore alum themselves," I explained, introducing Max and Alec to Kim.

"452," Max clarified.

"494," Alec followed.

"Logan's a friend of Asha's. He helped locate you," I continued.

"Thank you all so much. I was certain I was going to die!" Kim told the three.

"Consider yourself lucky to be rooming with a friend of Logan's. I personally wouldn't have come for you."

Kim could tell the X5s were not fond of Manticore staff. I sighed, unsure of what else to say. A silence ensued, until it was broken by Logan who asked about Henry. "So…what's the NSA want with you? Manticore as well?"

Henry, who had been quietly listening this whole time, suddenly realized all eyes were on him and became nervous. "Uh…I was working on a prototype technology nearby the Manticore facility, cybernetics. I never finished, but I guess my name must have turned up on some staff roster. I was a week away from crossing the border into Canada when I was picked up by NSA agents."

"Did you say cybernetics?" Max asked, suddenly curious.

"Yeah…why?"

"Are you familiar with X5-599?"

Henry's eyes suddenly lit up with recognition. "Yeah, he was my project…umm prototype…"

Max's eyes reflected a mix of anger, resentment, pain, and sadness. "That's all we ever are you – projects. Zack…he was my brother."

"Sorry…" Henry muttered. Then he made the connection. "452…599 gave his heart to you. I remember reading his file. Sorry for your loss."

"His name's Zack. You brought him back, but only to kill a very close friend of mine," Max said bitterly.

Henry sighed, "I see you've…met him. Not that it would make a difference, but I wasn't involved in his reprogramming; just his physical being. The nanocytes and the works, that's my doing. The organs, I oversaw that. Psy-ops was in charge of reprogramming him."

They arrived back at Logan's Penthouse. Logan invited Henry, Kim, and I to stay the night since it was already so late, so we kindly accepted his offer. Alec left, seeing he had no more use of being around. Max took off on her motorcycle as well, not too interested in hanging around.

The following morning, Logan set us up with new IDs and passes to get across the border to Canada, which was far more than anyone from Manticore could ask from him, given his relationship with the X5s. Henry left first thing, having had enough of his past catching up with him.

"Kat, you're not coming?"

I shook my head. "I've got some things I need to figure out around here…I think it's best that I stick around."

Kim nodded in understanding. "Well, I guess this is where we say good bye then. Take care…and don't let White get you. He'll be looking for you just like he was me…and if he's good, he'll find you. Be careful."

"I know; I will be. Take care of yourself too." I hugged Kim, not believing it was going to be goodbye so quickly. "Keep in touch, OK?"

"Of course," Kim said. She took her new identification and papers from Logan and left.

"Some business left?" Logan asked, somewhat suspicious as he handed me my new identification.

I shrugged. "I think we'll be seeing each other again," I simply replied. "Max was Sandeman's creation. I was Sandeman's assistant, and if I got anything from him, it was that Max has a special purpose in life. I never fully understood what that purpose is, but I'm sure when the time comes, it'll be clear. She may need my assistance in the future, even though she hates me," I explained casually.

"I think it's best if she doesn't know what you just told me," Logan reminded. "She doesn't need people hurting her again and reminding her of her past."

"I won't get in her way, don't worry. Not until she needs me. You really care for her, don't you?"

Logan seemed surprised by my observation. "It's that obvious?"

"The way you look at her…and the way she looks at you, it's quite clear. Take care of each other. Challenging times are ahead. Thanks for helping my friend out, in spite of our backgrounds. I really appreciate it, and I'll be in touch," I said, leaving Logan in a stunned silence.

Challenging times were indeed ahead, I thought to myself as I headed back to my place to pick up my stuff. It's time to find a new place, and time to claim a new identity.