AN: I guess it's fairly obvious that updates are going to be much less frequent from now on than they were over the summer, but I do intend to finish this story.

No Alec, Max, or Sarah in this chapter, sorry, but there will be soon.

Chapter 8

Outside the Wright residence, Matt Sung let out a groan of frustration at the same time Brittany did. Going over the school grounds hadn't yielded much besides a few scuffmarks on the blacktop. The teachers on duty had nothing to say as well. They'd all been busy watching the larger crowd of children on the soccer field and had not kept an eye out for the ones who had left the big group for some reason or another. Friends of the victims had offered such helpful tidbits as, "She was getting a snack" and "He went to go wash his hands".

Logan had accompanied Matt to Brittany Morland's house before heading back home to his computer so he could analyze the videos. Logan's cousin Bitsy had not been able to provide them with much information besides the fact that her daughter had seemed absolutely normal when she had dropped her off at school that morning. Brittany's father had had no interest in his daughter since the divorce and Bitsy really did not think that he would have started now. With reassurances of "I'm sure we'll find her", Matt and Logan had backed out and the detective had gone on alone to interview the Harrisons, Lindsey's parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Harrison had been frantic. Mr. Harrison had hired the city's top PIs to search for his daughter. In his opinion, the Seattle Police Department was a bunch of incompetent nincompoops. No offence meant. "Oh, none taken," Matt said. As for information, what they told Matt about their daughter could have filled his entire notepad, if he'd bothered to write down what Lindsey had had for breakfast that morning (scrambled eggs, bacon, buttered toast, and orange juice) or what television program she had watched last night on the flat screen tv in her room (a rerun of some pre-Pulse show called "Hannah Montana"). Basically, the only thing of use they were able to provide him with was exactly what she had been wearing that morning (a pink cardigan over a white blouse and a skirt with pink flowers printed all over it). And that was already visible from the hoverdome video.

The Wrights, on the other hand, were pretty much the opposite of the Harrisons. Jacob's father was on a business trip in Korea and wouldn't be able to make it back to Seattle for several weeks. Former Miss Seattle Caroline Wright requested Matt to keep the interview short because she needed to dress for the dinner party she was planning on attending that evening. Apparently, the primary caretaker of the boy was the nanny, a plain-looking brunette in her mid-thirties with an Irish brogue, nose and eyes red from weeping. Jakey was just fine when she had taken him to school that morning. Happy, even. She had no idea why anybody would do this to the little lad. He wasn't perfect, a wee bit mischievous at times, but still a good child. Aye, the evil in the world. She crossed herself as she ushered the detective to the door.

And so, Matt had come to the interview that he was looking forward to the most. Robert Berrisford, Sarah Berrisford's maternal grandfather. Alec had acted strangely earlier that day and it had to do with that girl. Since Alec wouldn't tell him, Matt thought he would tackle her grandfather. Hey, the transgenic had said they were "family friends". Couldn't hurt to dig around a little.

While Detective Matt Sung was interviewing the families of the four kidnapping victims, Logan was browsing for files with "Berrisford" in them. Immediately, an article with the heading "Rachel Berrisford dies after long illness" 'Funeral will be held for daughter of ex-CEO Robert Berrisford' came up as well as one detailing the accident that caused Rachel Berrisford's fatal illness: "1 Dead, 2 Injured in Car Bomb Explosion".

Logan remembered now. About seven years ago, he and Max had thought that Alec had gone back to Berrisford's house to kill him to finish a job and put himself out of danger, but they had been proved wrong. The male X5 had gone there to find out what had happened to the girl he had fallen in love with during his assignment…two years before.

He hurriedly pulled up the birth records for Sarah Berrisford. Sarah Lynne Berrisford had been born on March 1, 2019 via caesarean section; weight a paltry 3 lbs 6 oz, the result of being 7 ½ weeks premature due to medical complications; mother Rachel Berrisford; father unknown. It was February 2028 now, so…

Logan did the math and gaped in astonishment at the computer screen. Oh. Wow. No wonder Alec was acting more anxious than he would have been for a usual kidnapping. Sarah Berrisford was his kid.

He frowned. And Max knew about her, too, obviously, from the way she had tried to reassure Alec. Logan wondered when he had told her. The two transgenics had become much closer since the declaration of transgenic freedom, but although Logan and Max had never gotten back together, and Logan knew that Alec cared deeply for her and she for him, they had never attempted a romantic relationship…at least as far as he knew. Not that Logan would care if they did. Really.

Over the years, Alec had proven himself as a strong leader while negotiating for peace but a proficient commander and tactician when it came down to the inevitable battle. He had also proven himself as a good friend to Max, Joshua, and countless transgenics, but also "ordinaries" such as Sketchy, Original Cindy, and Logan himself. He had come a long way from the irresponsible happy-go-lucky smart-aleck who seemingly cared only for himself.

Logan made up his mind right then to find Sarah Berrisford—alive—no matter what it took. Sure, he had to find his niece Brittany and the other children as well, but Alec had never asked him for anything for himself. It was always for TC. Well, this was Logan's chance to try to pay his debt for that one major personal favor Alec had done for him—procuring the cure for Max's virus. They could now interact without the fear of Logan keeling over dead, which was a great relief for everyone who knew about it.

With that, the cyber-journalist-do-gooder set his shoulders straight and began pausing and playing and zooming up on the grainy images from the videos he'd gotten from the police to try to find something useful.

AN: Not exactly M/A right now, just definitely not a M/L fiction.