Okay, here we go again.

roseyangel: Yep, just love cliffys, can't help it. Thanks to you!

Taeniaea: Thanks to you, too.

Divine Fighter: Of course she will put up a fight. We wouldn't like her so much if she didn't, would we? :)

Tylee17: Thanks for the tip with the reviews, I corrected it. Well, I was a little bit surprised when you wrote that I had to focus even more on my OCs. Don't worry, I will give them more space later but at the moment I try not to forget too much about the main characters. I hope I can make it right. If not, don't hesitate and tell me at once. And Wolf and Kyla? Well, let's just say they will have trouble figuring out what Deck's all about. You'll see. Thanks a lot!

Alan Grey: That's the longest review I got so far. All I could think when I read it the first time was 'whoa! cool!' Thank you very much. Lydecker and Logan will have some encounter later. I always thought the two of them were fun when 'playing' against each other and of course Eyes Only will be a pain in Manticore's ass soon.

About Renfro: No, Sandoval wasn't there just because of Max, as you will find out she's not all 'alone' but of course Max will have to deal with her sooner or later. Same goes for McGinnis. I was thinking about bringing him up but that will probably take some time. He's an interesting character and I'm sure his past with Lydecker could be entertaining.

Alec...let's just say he's gonna have a hard time with his new team mate sooner or later :)

The Wyoming facility never had several hundreds of X5s. If you remember in my first chapter unit two was only about a dozen people and Max's original unit wasn't much bigger. Of course there are now more of them after all those years, certainly more from the newer series but I do not intend to give deck a full bataillon of X-series. You'll see.

Anyway, it's always a pleasure reading all of your reviews and I hope I can keep up the story in a way you all can enjoy reading it. If not, tell me at once so I can get back to the original path!

Thank you all and enjoy the next chapter!

"There has been a convoy of 4 Humvees that left Seattle at a checkpoint in sector 6." Matt Sung sounded exhausted. He had been in the office the whole day which meant he had not slept for over thirty-six hours.

"That's great, Matt" Logan's mind was already making up possible scenarios. Where could they go from there, which were the best routes for a convoy of black ops soldiers, where on this route could they be noticed? "Did you find out anything else?"

"No, I'm sorry. Look, I spoke with the officer on duty myself and it was just as I told you; they showed him some sort of government order and all he could do was let them pass. Sector police doesn't stand a chance against military; they're just much too low in the food chain."

"I understand" Logan answered quickly trying to hide his disappointment. "Anyway, thank you very much, Matt. Now go home to your son, you've already done more than I could've expected."

"To serve and to protect, Logan." This time Logan could almost hear the faint smile in the Asian detective's voice. "Call me if you need anything. Take care."

The line went dead and Logan found himself staring out of the windows of his apartment at the Foggle Towers into another rainy day in Seattle. It wasn't much information his friend had found but it was better than nothing. Lydecker was military and that made his line of approach predictable. He was black ops and nobody, not even the population of the country he was serving should know about him so he would take the shortest and fastest route possible to get in and get out. He went over to his computer – he had put on the exoskeleton the moment he had come back to this place to be better prepared for a possible next attack – and searched for a good map of Seattle and its surroundings. They exited the city through sector 6, which meant they would go…

For the next hour the cyber-journalist was surfing through various charts and maps, called some of his informants who lived in the respective areas and even hacked into some of the stationary security cameras of sector police but he was not lucky. He found security camera footage that showed the convoy and could even make out Lydecker in the first vehicle but that was it. None of his informants had heard anything and there were too many possibilities were they could have brought Max.

"Still not getting any sleep?" Bling's voice made Logan jump and he looked at the tall man in annoyance.

"Didn't your mother tell you not to sneak on people?"

"I wasn't sneaking. You're just too focused on your task." Bling smiled and came closer until he could see what Logan was looking for. "You will need more time. Stay patient. You won't find Manticore today."

"I can't leave her there", Logan objected. "I need to find her as fast as possible."

"You're not helping her if you overwork yourself until you collapse." Bling sighed and looked at Logan sympathetically. "Look, I know you want to find her, but for now you will have to accept that it could take some time, okay?"

Logan looked at him and finally nodded. He hadn't slept all day and his body was beginning to signal him that he needed some rest. He was glad to have a man like Bling at his side. When his trainer/bodyguard had arrived this morning and had started asking questions about the people who had attacked them and where Max was Logan had decided to tell him what he knew about the X5 and Manticore. It had been a risky step but it proved to be the right one. Instead of being furious or disgusted Bling had been enraged to hear something like Manticore even existed. He had assured Logan his assistance and just like when he had told him about the whole Eyes Only thing Logan knew he had gained another ally in his new crusade.

"I'll make you some coffee" the taller man suddenly said and Logan nodded.

"Yeah, good idea. Perhaps I really need a short break.

"You sure do" Bling chuckled.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The two men looked at each other before Logan stood up and took his gun from the desk. Bling drew his own weapon and together they made their way to the door.

"Who's there?" Logan shouted when they both had gotten into position.

"Original Cindy" a clearly annoyed voice answered. "Open the door or this girl will kick it down!"

Logan nodded and Bling carefully opened the door. OC didn't wait too long and pushed the door open and Bling had to step back or she would have run into him. She eyed the two armed men suspiciously.

"Could you tell Original Cindy why the two of you are armed and on the warpath? And when you're at it why don't you tell me where my boo is?"

Logan just looked at her for a moment, completely taken aback. It became more and more obvious where Max had learned all those colorful expressions.

"Bling" he said hesitantly after some seconds. "That coffee you were talking about seems to be a very good idea."

"I think so, too." The tall bodyguard closed the door and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Well?" OC asked in a stern voice and looked at Logan expectantly.

"I think we better sit down" Logan pointed towards the living room. OC shot him another warning glance and then turned on her heel and made her way to the couch. Logan sighed and followed her. This was gonna be a long day. Before he sat down in front of her he had already decided that he would have to tell her everything, too. Yes, definitely a long day. Where was that coffee?

451 shifted uncomfortably in his hospital bed. Seven days. One week. That was the amount of time he would have to spend here before he would be allowed to return to active duty and he already knew he would go crazy after two days and drive the doctors nuts. He had been here for about six hours since they had arrived at Manticore and already he felt sort of antsy. He knew that he would be in pain again without the painkillers they gave him but just waiting for your body to heal was a terribly boring thing for a usually active X5. And he had been lucky; that doctor who had fixed him in Seattle had obviously done a good job or he would be in a far worse condition which would mean even more time in sickbay.

He looked up when somebody entered the room. Perhaps one of the nurses who needed more blood for another test. As if he hadn't lost enough of that already.

The look of surprise on his face was very well visible when he saw 301 approaching but it quickly changed to one of concern when he saw her worried expression. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of antiseptic and blood that still lingered in the air; she hated it like every X5 did. It was a sign of disease and death and their feral side let them hate it even more than a normal human would.

"What happened?" he asked quietly when she stood beside his bed. Her uniform was dirty and she smelled of mud, apparently she had been out in the woods.

"How are you?" She was trying to hide her worry but he knew her too long to be fooled.

"Fine, but that's no answer to my question. What is it?"

She pressed her lips together and her eyes searched the room as if she didn't know exactly if anybody else was there. Finally she looked at him.

"He knows. The colonel…he knows."

"He knows what?" This whole conversation was much too weird for his liking. Was she afraid of him? Why should she?

"About us. The names."

After that neither of them spoke for about a minute. 451 tried to figure out what she just said. Was this a new test? How should Lydecker know? They had been careful, only used their names when they were outside on missions and alone.

"How did he find out?"

"He didn't tell me. But he was angry as hell!"

451 nodded. Of course he was. The names had been the first sign of problems in unit one and now they were deserters. It was different with him and 301, they were completely loyal to Manticore and the colonel, but what difference would that make? In their superior's eyes they had broken the rules and breaking rules at Manticore almost always meant one thing.

"Why aren't we in PsyOps already?" he finally spoke out his thoughts. He dreaded the answer but he also knew that there was no use in denying the inevitable. To his surprise 301 shrugged, an almost helpless gesture.

"I don't know. I told him I would report there but he held me back and told me to start training after my debriefing. I have been out all day and it seems like nothing has changed."

"Perhaps they wait until I get out of here so they can reindoctrinate the two of us together."

"But that doesn't make any sense!"

"I know!" he exclaimed but calmed down quickly. "I don't understand it either."

One of the doctors entered and the two X5s immediately turned their attention towards him.

"I told you that you need to rest, 451" the older man gruffly said to the male X5. "Why do you people never listen to what I say?"

"I'm sorry, sir, my 2IC just filled me in about the latest events."

"Whatever. I want you to leave my patient alone until he is able to leave my sickbay, did I make myself clear?" The doctor spoke in a different tone than their instructors; he didn't yell nor did he seem to be angry but his voice was stern as he looked at 301.

"Yes, sir!" the female X5 replied. "I hope you get out soon, 451. See you."

451 only nodded, not wanting to let the doctor think too much about 301's real purpose there. It was just when his partner had almost reached the door when she looked back and he smiled briefly at her. She smiled back before she left the room and closed the door behind her.

When she was gone 451 frowned. What was the colonel planning? He knew that he and 301 were probably the operators with the most experience but in Manticore's point of view nothing – absolutely nothing – could justify what the two of them had done. Names were used if the mission required it and forgotten as soon as the mission was accomplished. By all means he shouldn't be lying here in sickbay but be strapped down in PsyOps along with 452.

Thinking about his sister led him back to that night she had given him the name he still used when alone with Kyla – with 301.

"Then I will call you Wolf. The way you fight and talk. It's somewhat calm and still strong. Wolf it is."

He hadn't fully understood what had happened that night but somehow he liked that name and he kept it, for years only to himself and then he had shared it with his 2IC during that night when…

He shook his head. It was better not to think about it. Back to the original problem: Why wasn't he in PsyOps and what why did the colonel not put them there?

In the basement below the two X5 Max was struggling against the cold restraints that held her body on the hard table that went for a bed down here in PsyOps. The dim light, all the medical equipment which was usually used to inflict pain and not to ease it and of course the always present bunch of crazy scientists in their white coats…yeah, just like she remembered it, home sweet home.

She had been here before as a child and all the suppressed fears that were connected to this place had resurfaced as soon as she had entered the room. She had tried to escape and attacked the guards but there had been too many of them. She was quite sure she had injured at least two of them badly, perhaps even broken one's arm, but the others didn't even bother in trying to sedate her and instead used their tasers; one or two of those things didn't matter for an average X5 her age but having six of them sending waves of electricity through your body had been too much for her and she collapsed.

When she had regained her senses she had already been lying on that goddamned table with the restraints in place. Her clothes were gone and had been replaced with one of the grey nightgowns she did wear last time when she had escaped that hell. She was still trying to get free but until now she wasn't able to move a single part of her body except for her eyes which were searching for a way of escape.

"You should lay still, X5-452" one of the scientists suddenly said. There were four of them in the room, two men and two women. Apparently the guards had left after making sure she was restrained so she was alone with those wannabe-Mengeles. The one that had just addressed her seemed to be the leader. He looked at her and there was some sort of light in his eyes Max didn't recognize but didn't like at all.

"Bite me!" she spat, eyes full of anger. He just smiled arrogantly and shook his head. The thought that he had probably been one of those who had undressed her when she had been unconscious made her feel like throwing up.

"Don't worry, 452, when we're done with you you'll be as good as new. We have gained much experience with your kind." One of the women showed him something on a clipboard. He briefly looked at it and nodded before he turned his attention back to Max. "I would explain the procedure of reindoctrination to you but I'm sure you remember how it works, right?"

That man was a sadist, Max decided, and he was dangerous too. He kept smiling and definitely had fun. She felt helpless with the black restraints making it impossible for her to defend herself. She wished Logan would be there, or OC or Sketchy, even Normal would be good, just somebody who would distract her and ease the fear she felt. Hell, she would even appreciate if 301 would be there at the moment. But she wouldn't show them she was afraid, not even if her life would depend on it.

"You can kiss my genetically engineered ass!"

"I don't think so." He shook his head and sighed, but it didn't sound tired or frustrated, more amused. "Don't worry; the others were like you at the beginning but they're all right again."

'Others?' Max wanted to ask him, surprised by the fact that she and Brin apparently were not the only '09ers Manticore had caught again but she never got the chance to do so. The other male scientist was suddenly at her side and shoved something into her mouth. It was some sort of rubber gag, perhaps to prevent her from biting herself. She tried to spit it out but he had it secured already. Great! Now she couldn't move and couldn't even talk back properly. This day was getting better and better!

One of the women lowered some kind of metallic item towards her until it touched her face. Max recognized all too well and tried to get away from it as far as possible which of course was a futile attempt. The scientist worked methodically and it was clear this was not the first time she'd done that. When she was finished Max's right eye was held open by some sort of metallic ring. It hurt, her eye started to itch already and Max knew she would not be able close it perhaps for hours.

The second woman was moving the laser towards her. That little blood red laser light she hated so much and saw in her nightmares. She felt that she began to sweat and tried not to shiver. With the laser finally in place the scientists stepped back, leaving Max alone.

"You'll see", the first scientist said in his arrogant mocking voice, "you'll be as good as new after we're done with you."

That last comment made her angrier than anything she had seen or heard that day. She wasn't a goddamned toy he could repair or destroy just for his pleasure. She would make that bastard pay, she would…

That moment the laser came to life. The piercing red light made her eye hurt even more. She clenched her teeth and was glad for the rubber thing in her mouth or she surely would have hurt herself. Then images started to appear before her inner eye. The laser showed her pictures of soldiers in combat, of battles, of men killing and getting killed.

DUTY

A soldier taking a bullet to protect his superior.

DISCIPLINE

Soldiers advancing while under fire, some of them dying.

MISSION

A bunker under attack from a flamethrower, the soldiers in it running out, all of them burning.

Max quickly forgot everything around her. The scientists, the cold room of PsyOps, Manticore, her friends, everything she had ever known had vanished until only those horrible pictures were in her head. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, some of them because of the pain her body felt but most of them because of her tormented mind. She didn't know when she started screaming, if it was after a minute or an hour but she screamed. Even with the gag in her mouth her screams were loud enough that even her brother in sickbay could hear her tormented soul. He closed his eyes shut and trembled, remembering his own time in that hell.

Eventually Max lost consciousness and the laser stopped.

"Not bad for the first session" the leading scientist said after a moment of silence. "She lasted almost an hour."

"You're an ass, Eric", one of the woman retorted with disgust in her voice. He just kept grinning.

"But an effective ass." When she didn't smile he sighed. "You take all of this much too serious, Cassy, just like Vertes did. You'll get used to it. Brian, call in the guards, they can take her to her cell."

"Nothing invasive today?" the other man asked.

"No, we take it slowly with this one; just the laser for now. Don't worry, we have time."

So, Max is back and reindoctrination has started.

Sorry if it seems I like putting her through this - I don't - but it is what Manticore would be doing.

Let me know what you think!!