Taeniaea: Thanks, the fastest again.

Alan Grey: To slit your wrists seems to be a bad idea in my eyes; would make the typing incredibly difficult. No, seriously, your review is what I've been talking about when saying to give me a little kick if you think I'm going in the wrong direction. I have to admit that I haven't been concentrating enough on Logan which clearly lead me into a wrong direction. I don't like changing already posted chapters so I've tried to explain his behavior in this chapter and I hope I got it right. I do understand why you think Logan got undervalued and you are right, my bad! I will concentrate a little bit more on him and I hope I get his character right. And of course I hope you don't stop reading. Thank you for advising me of my mistake.

452max: Thanks to you too. This update took a while longer, but here you go.

smartyangelis: Thanks for your review and for your answers too. I'll decide soon in which direction I will go with the different characters.

Divine Fighter: I think recruiting Logan or even the S1W for Manticore would be more than difficult as they despise this sort of agency. But well, we'll see, there are many different ideas floating around in my head. Thanks to you, too.

JOUNOUCHI sama: Welcome on board! Thanks for your answers, as I said I'll decide soon where to go.

tactless n' loving it: Well, you don't have to wait anymore, here it is ;) Thanks!

penenelliepie: Welcome on board and thanks for answering my questions. You'll see very soon where I'm going with the characters. Hope you'll still be out there then!

roseyangel: Thanks for your answers, too. Like I said before I'm not sure recruiting Logan for Manticore would be even possible althought imagining him working with Lydecker brings a very weird grin on my face :) And Wolf and Kyla, well, let's just say it's not gonna be easy.

Thanks a lot to all of you!!!

Char list:

X5-494 aka Alec Member of unit two and third in the chain of command. He has become sort the unit's unofficial leader as Wolf and Kyla often are on outside missions. He can be sort of a smart ass sometimes but he usually knows when to stop.

X5-439 aka Artemis Member of unit two. She's the sniper of her unit. Her rather calm and controlled self helps the others from getting out of hand too much. Like Wolf and Kyla she keeps her brown hair very short as she thinks it would hinder her otherwise.

X5-526 aka Bear Member of unit two. He's the biggest and strongest X5 in the unit and prefers heavy weapons. Nevertheless he's very gentle and almost never gets angry.

X5-194 aka Blade Member of unit two. The Asian woman is one of the few that could actually beat her CO or her 2IC in a hand-to-hand combat. She is almost obsessed with any sort of blades and usually tries not to use firearms.

X5-367 aka Havoc Member of unit two. The black haired and tanned transgenic is the unit's expert when it comes to explosives. He is almost as calm as 439 and is known for his subtle sense of humor.

X5-210 aka Jondy As children Max and Jondy had been in unit one and escaped together in '09. Jondy got caught by Lydecker months before Max and has joined unit two. She is loyal to Manticore and her unit but this doesn't mean she likes everybody around the base. Eventually she even refers to Lydecker that he 'can be an asshole sometimes'. Nevertheless she chose to stay out of her free will and hopes Max will be in her unit for she deeply cares about her younger sister.

X5-301 aka Kyla 2IC of unit two. Usually paired with Wolf during their missions. The two of them have the most experience throughout the X-series when it comes to combat missions and search and destroy and both of them are very well trained in close quarter combat and hand-to-hand fights.

X5-258 aka Nitro Member of unit two. The young blond man adores every sort of vehicle. He's one of the more unsettled X5.

X5-154 aka Nova The blond transgenic is the medic of unit two. She's one of the smallest X5 but nevertheless can take care of herself just fine. Other than that she's one of the X5 with the most experience in missions outside Manticore.

X5-451 aka Wolf CO of unit two and Max's genetic brother. His intense grey eyes and very short black hair clearly let him look like the soldier he is. Calm and almost always controlled his self-discipline and his knowledge about almost every kind of combat make him a very dangerous enemy.

"Hello, Mister Cale" To see Lydecker's face on the monitor alone almost made Logan feel sick. "I really would like to talk to you in person but I'm afraid that won't be possible. To be honest, your little broadcasts made some of us feel quite worried and there has been some talk going on about eliminating you."

Lydecker looked down at something Logan couldn't see before looking into the camera again.

"While impressing your work has also been a major source of irritation to our operations, one we will not tolerate anymore. Let me show you, what I mean."

The monitor became black for a few seconds and then another video started playing. It was showing Logan at his desk working on something. The disturbing thing was that this video had been taken through a sniper scope and the crosshairs were centered right on his head. After a few seconds the video ended and Lydecker appeared again.

"I hope this has been clear enough. Now personally I would prefer to see you dead but unfortunately my superiors have decided that you might be useful in the future. But I hope for your sake you do understand what will happen if you ever again try to disturb Manticore or its operations."

The video ended and Logan turned off his laptop. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think you have a problem" said the woman standing behind him.

"Thank you Asha, that's very constructive." It had been a week since the incident at the docks and his mood hadn't improved ever since. That video which had been the only thing on the disc Wolf had given him didn't help either.

"You don't understand." The blond woman shook her head and there was an almost accusing undertone in her voice. "Lydecker isn't the problem, Manticore isn't the problem and even those people knowing who you are isn't the problem. You are! Ever since you started your search for Max you have been reacting. The Eyes Only I knew didn't react, he acted. That's why you have been so successful for years and that's also why the S1W still exists; our enemies never knew what we would do next, but you started to let them dictate your actions."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it: When has been the last time somebody got arrested because of one of your broadcasts?"

"It wasn't my primary intention anymore, Asha" he retorted. "We were going after Max and Manticore."

"That's not the point! In the past you chose who, when and how you would attack. You chose your target and your allies and it was you who made all the planning. Now you've started to do what other people order you to do. Where was your backup plan at the docks? How sure could you be you could trust those Red people? You even allow this little video to disturb you! In the past you would've shrugged and moved on."

Logan didn't answer and instead thought about her arguments. Asha finally shook her head.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Logan, but if you are not back to your old self soon you will never be able to reach your goal! When you finally choose to forget about your personal problems and decide to become Eyes Only again, call me."

And with that she left leaving a very reflective Logan behind.

Logan thought about what his friend had said. It was unusual for her to sound so aggressive but he had to admit that she had some points there. Finding Max had been his only goal since the day she had vanished and he had spent every minute to find a way but in doing so he had forgotten to rely on his own strong points and instead had trusted in others, sometimes in people he didn't even know.

Sure, they'd had bad luck, too. According to Zack Manticore never sent more than two X5 on a recon mission and so the six Red Cell soldiers should have been more than enough. Logan shook his head. Eyes Only would have recognized that despite being an X5 himself Zack had been out of Manticore for a long time and things could've changed.

Then Johannessen had told him that his men had only seen one X5 leaving Manticore and entering Seattle. Eyes Only never had trusted in intel he hadn't double checked himself but Logan Cale did.

The more he thought about it the more disputable decisions he remembered and he finally understood why he had made all those mistakes: Since the day he had started his Eyes Only informant network he had never allowed his personal feelings to interfere with his actions as cyber-journalist.

Eyes Only didn't love Max but Logan Cale did and this was what he had forgotten until now. His worries about her had clouded his judgment and when he thought about it perhaps this had also been the case with Zack.

He sighed and looked around. The cheap apartment he had rented under a false name was nothing compared to his penthouse suite but perhaps it would be even better like that; back to the roots. He stood up and went to the small bathroom.

He kept looking at his unshaved reflection in the mirror for several minutes and had to admit that he didn't even look anymore like the Eyes Only Seattle's criminals once had feared. At this thought his gaze hardened and he made his decision.

It was time to become Eyes Only again!

"Look who's back!" Nova exclaimed when Kyla entered the barracks of her unit.

The whole unit two had been sitting in their briefing room studying the latest tactic reports but now quickly got up gathering around her, everyone smiling and welcoming her back. Kyla grinned happily having her friends around her but after the first wave of excitement had subsided she got aware of Wolf standing apart from the rest. She quickly hid her feelings and kept smiling and laughing to the jokes her teammates made about her having been under Cottle's thumb for so long.

Finally when the others had resumed their reading he approached her smiling calmly, clearly glad to see her but nothing more.

"It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back."

The two looked at each other not knowing what to say. After a few seconds both chuckled a little bit embarrassed. What had happened in the infirmary had confused them both. When Wolf had woken up and felt her hand on his neck he had been confused. When he had tried to get up without waking Kyla she had opened her eyes and there had been a moment of awkward silence before she quickly took her hand away. Neither of them did fully understand what had happened and the looks Max and Alec gave him when he returned to his unit didn't help.

"You know", she began hesitantly, "what happened when you…"

"Attention" Lydecker's loud voice from the speaker interrupted her. "Unit two: Report to command, I repeat, unit two report to command!"

The X5s left the room in silence; this was nothing new for them after all. Only Kyla hesitated for a few moments and Wolf noticed it immediately.

"Come on" he ordered her sharply his face a mask of perfect military control again. She quickly followed her teammates and successfully hid the emotions his harsh comment let her feel.

"Listen up" Lydecker began outright as soon as they had reached their destination. "Four hours ago a detachment of unit five operating near Chicago has contacted command stating that they've found something that could be considered as a high level thread. Before they could tell us what it was we lost contact. Since then we haven't heard anything from them. There were four X5 in that detachment."

The big monitor behind Lydecker came to live showing the photos of the four transgenics, two males and two females. Max recognized one of the women. It was X5-798 – Jace – who had chosen to stay behind in '09.

"Until confirmed otherwise the whole detachment is considered compromised. As the rest of unit five is currently deployed overseas unit two will take care of this mission. Search and rescue. You will leave in an hour and get more detailed information during your flight. Any questions?"

"Hostile activities?" Wolf asked coldly. There was no question somebody with a really bad temper had to be behind this. X5s didn't just vanish into thin air.

"Unknown but consider them to be very dangerous. Taking out four X5s usually means a lot of skill and firepower, that's why your whole unit is assigned to this mission. As soon as we get more accurate information you'll be the first to hear about it. Anything else?"

When none of the transgenics said anything Lydecker nodded grimly.

"Bring them home! Dismissed!"

Meanwhile in an abandoned factory building outside Chicago

"What are we doing with them?" a pale man in a dark suit asked.

"Nothing for now" the other one wearing a similar set of clothing answered looking coldly at the four unconscious prisoners tied to metal chairs. Well, three more accurately, one had stopped breathing some minutes ago. "Are you sure they didn't tell Manticore anything."

"Yes, we were able to jam their transmissions before anything got out."

"Good, I will contact the council. They must decide what to do with these rats! Try to find out what they know!"

"With pleasure."

The flight was uneventful and one would even call it boring but it gave the eleven transgenic soldiers enough time to read through what little information they had received before leaving Wyoming.

Apparently the four missing X5 had been on a recon mission in a small town outside Chicago. They had been looking for a wanted terrorist who was suspected to be part of a terrorist cell operating in the north of the United States when they had stumbled across something that seemed to be important enough to contact the Wyoming headquarters directly. And after that nothing.

Max sighed. They didn't know what the other team had found or what why they weren't able anymore to contact their superiors. In other words they were going in almost blind.

She shifted uncomfortably. She had become accustomed to the uniforms, even liked some of them but she would never understand how somebody could feel comfortable in one of those tactical vests. She glanced at Kyla who seemed to go through the reports, too, but Max didn't miss the other X5 glancing at Wolf who sat at the other end of the cabin from time to time. She watched the other transgenic for a while until she had enough.

"Okay, what's going on" she asked in a low voice so only Kyla would hear her.

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me, Kyla, you've been acting weird all day."

"It's nothing" the other woman replied looking once again in Wolf's direction.

"I see", Max sighed, "what did my brother do this time?"

"What? He…" If she would have needed any sort of confirmation the look on Kyla's face would have been enough. "He didn't do anything!"

Max sighed again. "What was it? Was it about when he had slept in your room in the infirmary with his head on your mattress?"

"What? You saw that?"

"Yap. The two of you looked kind of cute."

"Oh, shut up, will you?" The short haired transgenic growled but looked more frustrated than ever. "It has been quite weird when we woke up and we haven't talked about it until today. When I came back to the barracks today I wanted to but then there was Lydecker. And after that he has always been so…I don't know."

"What?"

"Haven't you noticed? He only keeps barking orders at me and all that."

"Hasn't he always been like that when on missions?"

"Not like that. It's almost like he doesn't want to have me near him."

"But you would like to." It wasn't a question, Max knew the answer already. Kyla looked at her almost defensively.

"Like what?"

"Be near him. Come on, you know what I mean."

"I'm not sure. I think so", she admitted after a few seconds. She sounded sad. "But he doesn't."

Max had to restrain herself from laughing. She leaned forward.

"Kyla, everyone with still functioning eyes can see he does." Max grinned. "Hell, I think even Lydecker knows."

"Stop talking trash" the other X5 groaned looking almost depressed.

Before Max could answer Wolf's voice interrupted them.

"Okay, everybody suit up, we'll land in about fifteen minutes!"

Everybody started to move gathering their arms and equipment.

"As soon as we're home again I'll show you I'm right" Max whispered to Kyla before putting on her coat to hide the tactical vest. Kyla only looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.

"Logan?" Original Cindy called out as soon as she had entered the apartment.

"Living room!"

She followed his voice and got aware of a sight she hadn't seen in months. There on the old and worn out couch sat Logan with the computer equipment he had been able to get from his old apartment installed all around him. He stared onto the monitor with a very concentrated expression and was talking into his headset.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, I owe you!" After that he terminated the connection and looked at OC with a sly grin. "Hey there!"

"Hey yourself" OC replied looking at him curiously. "What happened?"

"Why?"

"Well…" Of course she had heard what had happened at the docks and she knew Logan had been more depressed than ever. Ever since Max had been kidnapped he had been but after last week that man had almost been broken. The Logan Cale looking at her now looked almost like is old self. He smiled and that vivid spark in his eyes had returned. "You look better."

"I feel much better, too."

"No offense but: why?"

"Let's just say I had an epiphany" he answered and stood up.

"Care to explain?"

"I was thinking about Max all the time."

"So?" She couldn't imagine how thinking about her boo could have been the cause for their recent failure.

"While thinking about her I forgot that she is not our problem but the ones around her." He sighed and looked at OC. "We were too emotionally and lost our focus, Cindy, that's why we lost last time. I was only thinking about that I wanted her back but forgot thinking about how we would be able to reach that goal. I won't make that mistake again."

"You're kinda weird sometimes" Cindy stated after a few seconds but had to admit it sounded almost logical.

"I know" he grinned, "can't help it. Listen, could you do something for me? I promised Sebastian that he would have those data this evening. And I need you to go to Asha and give her this" he handed her a disc and a memory stick.

OC took the two items letting them disappear into one of her pockets.

"You know" she said faking exhaustion but grinning too, "you were much less bossy when you were depressed."

Logan looked at her suddenly being all serious again. "Cindy, I just wanted to thank you for sticking with me during all that time. I know I've been horrible to be around lately and I just want you to know that I'm very glad you're still here."

"Don't worry, Logan, this girl knows you're a good man inside" Cindy smiled. "You were acting quite strange lately, but well, everything for my boo, right?"

"Yeah, OC, everything for Max. Thank you!"

Ok, I know, this has been rather quiet. Don't worry, they'll have enough problems soon.

Well, you know what to do to keep me updating ;)