DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters

Chapter 4: A Stupid Mistake

It felt good to be on her baby again. Max loved her motorcycle rides. She felt free as a bird while speeding through the streets atop her Ninja, blurring by the rest of the world. It was like a chase with her; maybe if she sped fast enough, she'd really be able to leave it all behind.

Racing from street to street normally brought a smile to her face with the thrill and the way it made her forget about all her problems. This time, she was especially excited, not only because of the freedom she was feeling but also because of her destination.

Logan had heard from a fairly reliable source that an X5 was in the next sector over. Who would have thought that another X5 was so close!

By now, Max was riding against the night, which was fine by her. She preferred a darker scene for work like this. The sun was completely set, as it had taken Max all day to get back from her isolated location with Zack.

Max felt a slight pang of guilt knowing that she'd left him there, but she knew that Logan would be looking after him, a thought that eased her mind temporarily. Besides, just seeing that Zack was safe was enough for her, and right now, she needed to focus on finding someone else.

Max wondered who she was about to meet. Would it would be another guy? Maybe a female this time! She could always use some more girl power!

Logan's sources indicated it was a male, but Max found herself hoping for the possibility of a girl with short hair.

Max breezed past the border watchdogs, aka the sector police, with her JamPony pass. It was like an all access card she could flash to get her by, no questions asked. It was required for the job that Max hoped she would still have in the morning. She'd bailed the place at the last minute, and had been gone for 2 days straight now without an excuse. She'd have to think of one later.

Right now she couldn't be bothered with work or thoughts of her annoying boss. Now was the time for her to be quiet. Max knew the general area to look in, but it was still fairly large, and she couldn't afford to be seen. She scanned the area, moving around for about half an hour, disappointment filling her at finding nothing. Ugh! Logan, come on, I thought this was the place! she thought to herself in frustration. She should have found something by now. Things were starting to look pretty suspicious. Something about the plan suddenly didn't feel right.

That was when she spotted it, finally! A figure below was moving incredibly fast, and it looked like there was a bar-code on her neck! Her neck- it was definitely a girl, with long hair though. Max was lucky to spot her bar-code at all; at just the right moment when the girl moved, her hair had brushed aside just long enough for Max to see it. But Max hadn't gotten enough time to read it; it was only a glimpse.

"Hey!" Max complained to herself out loud. The girl was leaving it seemed, and fast. Max ran to catch up with her. Keeping an eye on her was difficult; she kept ducking around buildings, in between objects to block Max's view. It was clear she didn't want to be seen. Too bad, Max thought with a smirk, I found you and I'm gonna talk to you.

Determined, Max chased her down until thankfully the girl finally stopped! Max was relieved, until she realized they were in an alley- not exactly a place one would think to run to, since there's nowhere to go. Escape and evade was an instinct with every X5, something ingrained into their head, whether by DNA or their restless training and lectures, Max wasn't sure, but she did know that following an X5 into an alley with little chance for escape wasn't so normal. The hairs on the back of Max's neck rose as worry chased through her. She had to keep her guard up, this was turning out to be very fishy.

Max stayed hidden, trying to keep perfectly still and quiet as she watched the girl in secrecy. Max could only stare as the girl turned around slowly, her eyes facing the exact spot that Max was hiding in. It wasn't a coincidence; the dark gaze was too deliberate in its focus to allow Max the hope of remaining unseen.

Shit, Max thought as she took in the glance, she must have seen me! Max wasn't going to bite, though. She stayed glued in place, praying for something to distract the girl long enough for Max to withdraw safely.

"Come out, it's okay," the girl said, her speech clearly directed at Max.

Max frowned while her expression was still hidden. I guess the gig is up, she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. After a moment, Max made her move. She was caught anyway, there was no use in clinging to the wall any longer.

Max stepped into what little light the alley offered, a confident smirk set on her face. "Hey!" she greeted as though there was nothing at all strange about someone finding her hiding in an alley. "What's up. You know, I really liked your jacket, I admit I was gonna just take it, but I guess since you saw me, it's cool, we can call it a deal, and I'll just be on my way!" She smiled hoping everything would be fine.

Here it is, Max realized- the moment. It was now or never, as most were. She had the opportunity to leave right then.

So why was she hesitating?

Max couldn't bring herself to leave, no matter how badly her instincts were telling her to bolt. She had come all this way and the girl was right in front of her! Max wanted to see the bar-code again. The unknown identity was filling Max with a burning curiosity that held her firmly in place until it could be answered. Who was she? Max didn't recognize her. Her age indicated she was X5… but wouldn't Max remember her if that were true? Maybe she wasn't an X5 after all… Maybe an X4?

While Max was distracted in an attempt to figure out what was going on and who she was, the girl immediately whipped out a stun gun, her actions so fast that Max had no time to get into a defense position. Before Max realized what was happening, a ray of electricity coursed through her, forcing her into a muscle spasm.

Max convulsed before immediately falling to the ground in a slump. Being an X5, it didn't knock her out; she was still conscious. As she lay there shaking and trying to regain control over her body, she was hit with the truth of the situation. She'd been ambushed, it was all a trap, and she was now at a severe disadvantage- injured and outnumbered. Max blinked through the pain, her eyes opening again to see three other figures that she'd never sensed or noticed come out of hiding. Clearly, they had been in the alley for a while, waiting purposefully for Max, their unsuspecting victim, deceptively quiet so that Max would never know they were there. Their easy victim, Max thought, anger filling her as she cursed inwardly at her own failure to fully assess the situation before acting.

"Hit her again," came a voice from one of the 3. Max couldn't see who it was, as their faces were still cloaked in the shadow of night.

The girl obeyed and shot Max with the stunner again. Max should have saved her strength for fighting, but then again, there were a lot of things she should have done that had already turned everything into a huge mess. So instead, she fought to speak, still holding onto the hope that this wasn't really what it all looked to be. "But… your bar-code…aren't you one of us?" Max choked out the last few words.

The girl laughed, the sound eerie and dark in the midst of the quiet dull of the vacant area. No one was there except for the group and Max. Oh, God, Max thought as desperation and defeat started to creep into her mind. Nobody's here… She was completely alone and hadn't the foggiest idea how to save herself.

"One of you?!" the girl repeated with another laugh. "Oh… You must be talking about this ol' thing!" She touched the back of her neck, a wicked smile lighting her face. "Yeah, I figured you'd come running at the sight!" She turned around and lifted her hair to give Max a full view of the bar-code.

Max was furious as the sight flickered in her eyes. It wasn't even an X5 bar-code, just close enough to fool Max at a quick glance of it. Max wanted to kick her ass more than anything, but she felt so weak from the stuns. Every second that passed, Max felt her strength fail more and more. She wondered how much longer she could hold onto consciousness.

While the girl was turned around, she was suddenly struck from behind. Max's vision was getting blurry now from being stunned. She tried to focus on the blurred figure that had apparently come to her rescue, but she felt blind, the dizzying feeling in her head spreading to her sight.

After some focus, Max finally was able to see clearly in front of her. When her vision came to, she saw a hand reaching out to her, and soon she felt the strong grip as it latched onto her tiny frame, pulling her gently to her feet.

Once she was on her feet again and standing completely on her own, Max saw the result of the battle that she'd been too blind to see for herself. Three men were sprawled on the ground, splits and bruises on their skin and completely unconscious. The girl who'd sent a shock of electricity racing through Max was now pressed against the wall, her eyes closed. She, too, was unconscious, and not standing of her own accord; someone was holding her up. Max followed the hand gripping her by the throat to a familiar face. His gentle eyes stared back at her as relief swam in them. "Max, are you okay?" he asked.

Max was slightly embarrassed. She could have handled it. …Well, she should have. She'd gotten herself out of much worse situations before. "Yeah, Zack, I'm fine," she answered him, offering a reassuring smile.

"Let's get you out of here," Zack said, his hand slipping into hers so that he could lead them out of the alley.

Max quickly ripped herself away from his grip. True, for a minute there she'd been hoping for help, but having him drop out of nowhere and save the day had a way of making her feel useless and weak. Zack was always the soldier. She was sure he was going to scold her later for being so foolish. But no matter what he thought, she wasn't entirely worthless, and she certainly didn't need his help now. She had made a stupid mistake, that was all. Max expected him to make it a bigger deal than it really was. Just like all those times when he'd insisted she leave Seattle. He'd been wrong then, she was still safe, no thanks to him, as he'd disappeared predictably. She could take care of herself, and tonight was no exception. She might have had a bad bruise in the morning, but she would've escaped without his help.

Max didn't ask how Zack knew where her Ninja was. She'd made sure to keep it hidden. But it seemed nothing got past Zack. He was silent as he got onto her bike. "Hey!" Max complained, "I wanna drive! This is mine!" What, did he think she couldn't even ride her own bike now?

Zack didn't say anything. He never said anything it seemed! Always thinking inside his head, and Max never knew what he was thinking. She could only guess, and just when she was thinking she'd gotten it right, he would do something unexpected to change her assessment again.

It was quiet for the start of the ride back, uncomfortably quiet. Max knew he was upset with her actions. Fine, maybe he's fine not saying anything, but I'm not gonna wait around for him to explode on me! Too many times Zack kept his disappointment to himself, and Max wasn't going to let him do that tonight. "Zack, I know what you are going to say, okay. I was being stupid. I shouldn't have gone for the bait before really knowing what was going on. I know what you're thinking-No X5 should walk right into an alley-"

"You don't know what I am going to say, Max. And you don't know what I'm thinking, so do me a favor and quit telling yourself that."

Max was silenced by the blunt words. They stung somehow, how they bit through her core. There would always be things about him that she didn't know. But she'd grown up with this man. It hurt to know how true it was, despite how close they were, she really didn't know what went on inside his mind. Clearly, she had hurt him in her words. Max wondered what he was thinking, not just about tonight, about everything.

Did he regret what he had done for her?

No. He couldn't. He never made a decision without completely thinking it through first.

Max was hoping he would elaborate, maybe even give her some insight into what his thoughts really were, since she'd gotten them so wrong. He rarely opened up, even to her.

When he didn't say anything more, Max tried to talk about something else, "I thought you were gonna be at the cottage. I was gonna head over there hopefully with another X5, but I guess it would have been alone-"

"Why would I just sit around alone in some cottage? My mission was you, remember?" He didn't say it condescendingly. He just wanted her to get it.

"I just didn't think you would be rested enough to come with me, and I wanted you to stay safe," Max tried to explain.

"So you were just going to go alone, with no backup, without a clear description; enter a secluded area with no way out, and all because of some source from Logan?"

Max frowned at his quick deductions. "Look, I could have handled it. It was just the three of them."

"They weren't the only ones, Max, there were five others I followed to get there. Trained soldiers, X series. You weren't prepared. I had to take care of them first, otherwise I would have been there sooner, and you wouldn't have had to get shocked." He seemed upset, but not because of Max's actions, more so at himself for not coming to her sooner.

Max silently thought about what he'd done for her, just how wrong she'd been about the whole thing, not even knowing other factors. But her thoughts were abruptly cut off when Zack threw something on the road beside them, leaving it to the ground while they sped off.

"What was that?" Max asked.

"A tracer. They threw it on you before I knocked them out." Zacl had wanted to do more than just stall them. His inner soldier told him to kill them, get rid of all trace. Now the lackeys could easily go back to whoever had sent them, probably Lydecker, and spill everything about Max, most importantly her location. But he couldn't kill them, no matter how many logical reasons there were. Max would be upset if he'd taken their lives. She didn't like hurting people, not even the enemy. Whenever possible, she would let them walk.

Max was pretty disgusted with herself as they rode back. She couldn't believe what a mess it was. This wasn't just an attempt to capture her, or even if it was, the fact that they'd placed a tracer on her meant they had a desire to follow her electronically and know her whereabouts. This wasn't over, even if she'd escaped this time. It seemed to be another one of those problems that she could never get away from. She was always running…

Max tried to snap herself out of the self-deprecating thoughts. She needed to stop thinking about how awful it all was. It was time to start acting like a soldier and listening to her instincts, something she should have done in the alley.

"It was a stupid mistake," she finally offered to Zack, her show that she accepted her actions.

The rest of the ride was silent. Even though Max wanted to find out where her brothers and sisters were, she realized that was her weakness. She never would have acted so foolishly without the weapon of hope working against her. She had wanted so badly to believe that she would be bringing someone back with her this time.

When they made it to Max's sector, Zack pulled over and got off her bike. "I think you know the way from here," he said simply.

Max frowned at his typical nature. It seemed he was going to take off again. "What about you?" Her eyes shone with warmth as she tried to convince him otherwise. Maybe it would work this time. "You can stay at Logan's for a few days if you want. We could go back to that cottage-"

Zack held his hand gently to Max's lips, indicating for her to stop. "We can't just hang out for a couple of days. We both have things to do, we need to keep on the move."

"Just the night or something," Max offered.

"I can't do that right now, Max. I'm finally ready to keep going. Thank you, you gave me that. But if I stay any longer, it'll just cause problems."

Max was getting frustrated. This was typical Zack. She didn't want him to leave. "Wait," she grabbed his arm, "Just…" The request died on her lips as she stared at him, realizing there was nothing she could say to make him stay.

"Goodbye, Max," he told her simply. He paused for a moment, and then did something Max wasn't expecting. He reached out suddenly, his arms wrapping around her in a tight hug, a truly warm embrace. As his arms pressed against her, Max finally felt a part of the emotion that he normally kept tightly bottled inside him. She didn't want him to ever let go as she felt everything he couldn't say. The pain burning inside of him amidst the devotion the warm body against her had for only her attacked her in its truth.

Feeling everything was almost unbearable. Max, for once, had nothing to say. But he knew what she needed to hear, "Don't worry, I'll hang around for a couple of days, on my own, make sure this little setup wasn't part of something bigger. Then I'm gonna head out, check up on the others. You know I've always got your back." He stared at her intently, his eyes mixed with sadness and relief. He stared deep into her brown eyes, his own roaming all about her, trying to grab an image to carry with him as they went their separate ways.

Then he let go, and turned around to walk away.

Max didn't know what else to do, other than stand there watching him leave. The others. It meant that more of her family was out there, on the run, but free from the walls of Manticore.

Right before Zack disappeared from even a transgenic's eyesight, he said something that only Max with her super enhanced hearing could pick up, "It wasn't a stupid mistake."

Max felt a single tear form in her eye, but brushed it aside. This was her life, and painful as it could be, she was used to people disappearing. At least this time he said goodbye.

With that final thought, she pulled on her shades that helped with night vision and hopped onto her bike, headed for Logan's.

Zack couldn't help smiling even though he'd just told her the words that always hurt him more than she knew to say. It wasn't a stupid mistake. It was Max, it was who she was, part of why she was everything to him. Zack was glad she'd gone in blindly, though he'd never tell her. He knew that she wouldn't do it again, she was too clever for that, but she couldn't help but care so much. She cared too much, otherwise she would wise up and not stay in one place, but that was part of why she was so amazing. Nobody cared like Max. She had the biggest heart he'd ever seen, a spirit that was unmatched. No matter what she thought of herself, Zack knew the truth. Nothing about Max could ever be a stupid mistake.

a/n: yeay. fanfiction is finally working again. Updated 4-15-07