Tx and apologies to everyone who's been sticking it out despite the major hiatus in updates. It's not for lack of desire to write - it's just that I've been tryint to get everything ready for my move to Mexico (from the UK) and it's no small feat! Good news is I now own a laptop which means that my smattering of to-and-fros now allow for a greater chance at updates! Please excuse the shortness of this chapter and leave me a REALLY long review to make up for it :P. Love to all!

-- Tyler

(PS: Check out the link in my profile for my one and only SPN music vid :P - it's not a ball of cheese, I promise you)

Joshua dipped his head, cocking it to the side in dog-like sympathy at Max's silent form. The X5 female had been sitting, elbows on her knees and hands limply clamped together – eyes dark and blank and staring at the cracked, filthy floor of Central's makeshift quarters.

"You okay?"

Max was silent in response, face set into stony, regretful self-contempt.

Joshua parked his large form across from Max on one of the cold metal chairs, straddling it and resting his arms across the length of its back – content to wait it out.

"I shouldn't have left him." Max finally spoke in a soft, low voice dripping with internal contempt, "I had no idea he'd pull something that dumb-assed."

"Alec did it to save you, Max." Joshua responded gently, "Just lookin' out for Lil' Fella."

"I don't need him to look out for me!" Max snapped, head whipping up to reveal the anger now clouding her features, "Alec's been tripping 'bout watching my back ever since we set up camp here and it was already pissing me off when he wasn't taking the fall for it!"

"We'll get him back." Tank assured her from his corner of the room, "Mole 'n I've already assembled a rescue team."

Max jumped to her feet, "When do we leave?"

"You're not going anywhere." The X5 informed her matter-of-factly as he cocked his head to the side and stabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Molko who was hunched in a chair sullenly, "Since you 'n Alec were so damn trigger-happy to bag this gremlin, you can buckle down to business and get those runes translated. That is what this is all about, after all."

"A: You don't call the shots here," Max had had more then enough of Tanker's self-righteous attitude, and the deadliness in her eyes as she advanced slowly on him suggested as much, "and B: Alec was the one who knocked me out and dragged me handcuffed to New York here, so don't even think about laying this one on me!"

"Yeah well if you hadn't been attempting to channel Wonder Woman again…"

"Guys!" Joshua's remonstrance was, for once, not laced with timid humor, "This isn't helping."

"You know what would be helping?" Mia bounced into the scene, voice still chirpy with its usual zest as she flounced her brown waves over her shoulder, "If someone could convince Mole to go easy on the ammo. He's putting on quite some show for the squad cars."

"What?" Max and Tanker exchanged mortified expressions before breaking into a run and making for the door.

Sure enough, a military perimeter was being formed around TC, with helicopter propellers blaring and ominous black trucks setting up camp outside the gates.

And sure enough, Mole and his sentinels were pumping double-duty, lining TC's turrets with grenade launchers and rifles at the ready.

Tanker squinted up at one of the men hunched over a vicious-looking weapon. "Where the hell did we get rocket-launchers?"

"Come on." Max was already climbing the steps to confront Mole, who was busy issuing orders (and weapons) to a growing line of transgenic residents.

"What the hell is going on?" She demanded, gripping the lizard nomalie's arm tightly and throwing him her patent death glare.

Mole was, as usual, unfazed, "Just tryin' to protect my own here, Max."

"It doesn't have to be like this…" Max began, but Mole's scoff cut her off mid-sentence as he leaned over her, eyes blazing.

"Oh really? Tell that to the death squad yappin' at our heels! Tell that to the team fumigating Central, or better yet," His red-rimmed eyes blinked harshly at Max, "Why don'tcha tell that to Alec? Oh wait – White has his ass!"

"Max!" Dalton's frenzied voice interrupted the escalating conflict as he appeared out of nowhere, bleached blonde hair tousled from the wind that was lashing slender snowfall around them.

"You got a call from someone – says she's got Alec." The boy extended Max's cell phone towards her, and only then did she notice it was missing from the zip pocket of her jacket.

"Thanks." Max stalled on launching the third degree about exactly how Dalton of all people had ended up with her phone in favor of the severity of the situation, holding the phone to her ear, "Max here."

"452." The voice was polite but by no means friendly, "So good to finally make your acquaintance – after all, we've never formally met, have we?"

Max froze. She knew this woman. Flashes of close-cropped hair and smudged white face-paint tinged with red smears were enough to connect the dots in the X5's mind.

"Lemme guess," Max turned away from the questioning expressions of Mole and Dalton as she headed back down the staircase, "You're the Conclave's queen bee."

A miniscule pause in beat suggested the woman had taken that last jibe a little personally, "I wouldn't put it that way. But I am the deciding factor in whether or not 494 retains his life."

Max didn't have to picture the smug face the Familiar woman was likely wearing right just then, "So decide to let him walk – that's of course if you wanna retain your life. I'm just assuming here."

"Oh presuming's the word." The woman responded in a tight, collected manner, "You see 494 is almost as essential to Sandeman's plan as you are. We take him out – I foresee that traitor's scheme going nowhere."

Max raised her eyebrows, "Yeah well do you also foresee me kicking your ass? Cuz trust me, it's in the works."

"Enough of the farce, 452." The Familiar stated coldly, "We want Molko back in our custody. You want 494 in yours. A trade's in order."

Max shrugged, "Sounds great. Where do you wanna do this?"

The silence that followed her flippant acceptance left Max with full confidence that her bait had been swallowed.

"A warehouse just outside of Sector 4." The woman continued, "Follow the signs for Melvine Industrial Estate. You'll know it when you see it."

"And Alec will be there?" Max prodded sharply as she caught sight of Tanker approaching her purposefully and held up a hand to still him in his tracks.

"Certainly. He'll be traded for Molko simultaneously – you're free to bring whatever security you choose."

Max nodded, "Sounds like a date. When do you pick Geek Boy up?"

"You have an hour." The conclave female stated crisply, "No tricks, 452. Remember – we see things before you do."

Max hung up her cell with a slight smile tugging at her lips, "Not anymore."

"So?" Tanker raised his eyebrows at Max demandingly, hands tucked into the pockets of his beige jacket, "You gonna tell me what's the plan?"

Max scowled at him, "You and Alec have got way too much in common."

He shrugged with a sardonic smile as he kept step with Max, "You really should turn down your phone."

Molko glanced up sulkily from his seat as Max marched determinedly into the room.

"You know, I've got friends, okay?" He snapped as she rummaged through a plastic folder dug out from the drawer of a dilapidated desk, "Very powerful friends, and they're gonna come looking for me and they're gonna hunt you down like a…"

"Do me a favor?" Max paused long enough to grace him with a pointed look, "Shut up."

"You shut up." The language expert grumbled, his face dry with the evident displeasure he was feeding off. He leant back in his chair defiantly as Max approached him, slapping the folder onto the desk before him, "What is it?"

"It's the runes." She responded, flipping open the cover to display a stack of snapshots featuring the markings littering her skin, "All of'em so far, at any rate. Get to work – you got an hour."

"An hour?" Molko spluttered indignantly, shoving off from his chair as Max turned to leave, "You clearly have no concept of realistic expectations…"

"You worked at Manticore – neither should you." She replied with a foreboding smile before spinning on her heels once more and nodding at Joshua on the way out, "Keep an eye on him."

Alec couldn't resist the smirk that came over his features as the pale-faced priestess (if a red, tatty robe and a face full of warpaint could class one as such) stalked decidedly into the tin room housing his cage.

"Well, well." He unfolded his arms from their position behind his head and propped himself up on one elbow, "Just can't get enough o' me, huh?"

The Familiar Head drilled unflinching eyes into his own, "You represent a bygone era of advancement, 494. It's hardly something to boast of."

"Ah well see how I figure it," Alec rose to his feet, jacket clutched in one hand and the other waving a finger patronizingly, "is you just can't get over your jealousy issues. I mean, sure – you're bred as strong, as fast, maybe even as smart as my sort but lookswise?" He cracked a smug smirk, "You're one fugly bitch."

"Let me explain something to you, 494." The woman stepped close enough to his cage to rest her fingers on one of the criss-crossing bars, "You understand the notion of destiny, I assume. Do you concur?"

Alec shrugged casually, "Sure, why not? I mean I always figured I was meant for bigger things then sweepin' up the floor with all your kind, but we'll start with that."

"You were created for a purpose." The Familiar maintained her deadpan expression as her eyes followed Alec's mild pacing, "452 was designed to embody clinical perfection…"

"Ahem." Alec cleared his throat loudly, and the woman frowned. He shrugged, "No just uh…you should see her before her coffee."

"Her chemical make-up is class-A – what you might call an accelerated stage of the next human evolution." She continued without missing a beat, "Although Intelligent Design is the actual root of the current war being waged…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up." Alec's complete disregard for her credulity was manifest in the disbelieving crinkling of his forehead, "You're tellin' me God has something to do with all this?"

"People play God, 494." The woman responded tersely, "That's the issue at hand."

"Really." The cynicism was bold in his voice, "And the whole time I thought it was just about whacking Max so you guys could keep breeding or uh…" Alec flailed his fingers in revulsion, "whatever it is you do for kicks."

Her mouth, already a thin, angry line, tightened deeper, "This is no joke, 494. 452 is a threat to everything this Conclave holds dear, and she will be exterminated," She cocked her head to the side at the dark challenge that suddenly clouded Alec's face, "and so will you – if you continue to facilitate 452's interference with our plans."

Alec nodded briefly as he pulled in his lips and appeared to mull over the threat. "'Kay well I'll see your threat – and raise you an army of bad-ass motherfuckers immune to your little poison-knife routine." He smiled caustically, "Your go."

Her blank aura remained, impassive to the blatant mockery being leveled her way, "How about a show of hands?"

Alec's eyes narrowed cautiously, his arms moving to fold across his chest as the priestess tapped her earpiece.

"Bring her in."

Alarm bells pealed in the X5s head, and he took a step backwards to appraise the situation as the room's door opened and a pair of male Familiars appeared, dragging with them a chocolate-skinned woman.

Alec's arms unfolded instantly to curl back into fist-ended trunks of power.

"You bitch."

"Ruffled feathers?" The priestess cocked her head in triumph, "I believe we call this a trump card."

"Yeah the Ace of Blackmail – your favorite." Alec snapped tersely in response.

Cindy was, to Alec's relief, very much conscious and aware – her eye-roll and the jab she elbowed at one of her captors suggested as much, at any rate.

"I'mma smack you silly, Lil' Red Riding Hood." Cindy informed the Familiar woman matter-of-factly before turning to Alec, "My oh my – turns out I'm not the only gate-crasher at this whole 'damn the world to hell' bash goin' down."

"Wait a minute," Alec waved a hand in suspicious displeasure as he stepped closer to the bars between him and his friend, "You actually came here voluntarily?"

"Damn straight." OC responded, then rolled her eyes at the less-then-pleased expression that graced the X5's expression at her words, "Well someone had to bust yo' pretty ass outta here, and my girl is otherwise engaged."

Alec allowed himself a close-mouthed groan of frustration, "Cindy, for the last time, Max 'n I do not need your help."

She raised an eyebrow cynically, "I'll believe that when I see you two gettin' outta one tight spot without me 'n Sketch to back ya up."

"Enough banter." The Familiar snapped with a bland glare for Alec, "452 is doing just fine on her own. She's agreed to hand over Reese Molko in exchange for your release."

"And you're gonna play fair." Alec didn't sound convinced of there even being a remote possibility of such a notion.

"Of course."

"Yeah." Alec threw a smug grin at the wall beside him – a grin that was quickly replaced by a heavy-lidded scowl and aimed straight at his captor, "And cows fly."

"If Manticore had been allowed to fester for a longer period of time?" The woman cast him a jaded smile, "It's likely."

OC turned skeptical eyes on the Familiar, "Lady – you whack. Alec –" She raised her eyebrows knowingly at her friend, "Don't sweat it. Original Cindy got this one under wraps."

"And how exactly do you plan on…" The Familiar priestess had barely begun her cynical statement when the blare of sirens whistled through the window panes high above their heads.

"Jus' callin' in the cavalry, sister." Cindy grinned and then seized the window of time to slam her fist into the woman's face. Alec gripped the bars of his prison in frustration, eyes deadly with the adrenaline surge that pumped through him as one of the male Familiars struck Cindy across the side of her face.

Cindy hit the floor beside the fallen priestess and wasted no time, snagging a keyring from the woman's belt, "Alec!" She hurled it at the bars with all her might before being kicked in the side repeatedly.

The damage had been done, however. Alec caught the keys as they fell and instantly unlocked the cage, landing a glorious knock-out slug into the man attacking Cindy and sending him slamming against the wall a few good feet away.

The second Familiar was on him already – a hulking giant of a man with tightly-bunched muscles and a face full of steel. Alec sized him up in a heartbeat and pivoted back on his heel, launching a bluff kick aimed for the man's kidney and catching him in the jaw with the fist Alec placed in the path of the Familiar's dodge.

The man stumbled back, clearly taken aback by the raw tenacity Alec was throwing into the fight so early on in the game. He cocked his head to the side and spat blood, staring unnervingly at the X5 as though he had grown seven heads.

Alec backed up slightly, reaching out an arm to help Cindy to her feet even she attempted a stand, his eyes never leaving the remaining Familiar even as the sound of Cindy hauling the priestess to her feet none too gently reverberated through the air.

Alec's opponent swung out a fist which he grabbed, pulling the man's torso into exposure and slamming his knee into the Familiar's gut repeatedly (it was Max's favorite move so he figured it would work for him). A final head-butt sent the man sprawling to the ground and Alec seized the day, grabbing Cindy's wrist moments after she had slammed the priestess' head against the brick wall and rendered her unconscious.

"Come on!" Alec pulled OC through the corridor as shouts and gunshots began to fill the air, "I have no idea where I'm going, by the way!"

"Take a left, a left!" Cindy insisted as they hurried past scattered Familiars running from the police brigade storming their hideaway. Alec swerved at her second scream to narrowly dart down a darkened corridor and stumble on an exit door.

"It's…" Cindy began, but before she had finished her sentence, Alec's boot had splintered the door's lock and slammed it open.

"…already open!" Cindy yelled petulantly as Alec half-dragged, half-carried the woman up a flight of stairs and into the back alleyway that greeted them.

Alec appeared more ill-at-ease then Cindy had ever seen him as he glanced quickly around the alley before turning and gripping her shoulders, "You okay?"

"Will you quit worryin'?" She snapped in response, "We gotta beat this scene and fast! Sketchy's round the corner – come on!" With the final words, OC snagged Alec's hand and ran down the lane, ducking low as they came to a bend.

"Hold up." Alec shoved her behind him, pressing both their backs to the wall and hazarding a glance around the corner at the slew of squad cars parked, sirens still blaring, relatively abandoned.

"There he is." Cindy nodded at a beat-up, decrepit Ford hovering anxiously on the curb, "Come on."

"Whoa, whoa, hang on." Alec's hand reaching across stopped her in her tracks, "Street's crawling with feds."

Cindy raised her eyebrows at him, "Original Cindy got a plan."

"Does it involve you getting your ribs kicked in again? Cuz if so we're going with my plan…"

"Just trust me!" Cindy kept her grip on Alec's arm and, ignoring his rabid glare, stalked purposefully towards the waiting Ford, eyes straight ahead and on her target as though she owned the freaking block.

Alec rolled his eyes with a great deal more anger then petulance as he kept stride with his friend, hood pulled up and eyes scanning the ten-foot perimeter around OC for any signs of danger.

She's gonna get us all killed.