Disclaimer: Dark Angel isn't my baby.
Story: Picks up where chapter 4 left off. Then there's a sappy reflective moment. Warning: the moment is Asha's. If that bugs you, sorry. It's a necessary evil.
A/N: I've been trying to update faster, 'cuz I'm itching to get to the fun stuff, too! The action is definitely going to pick up soon. Please stick with it, and I'll do the same. You won't regret it! Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks!

452 bolted down a quick breakfast and headed for the Mission Control Sector, right on time for her appointment. She put on her game face. There was no need to let the upper ranks of Manticore realize that her heart was pounding in her throat with her nerves. It was, as 493 had put it moments before, her first mission. It's not like I've never been on a mission before. That's the reason they had to swipe my memories, right? That wasn't as comforting of a thought as she had hoped.

452 stopped at a thick steel-cased door with a sliding screen at the top that opened from the inside. She rapped her knuckles on the door, and the screen slid open almost immediately, allowing 452 to see a pair of stern gray eyes staring at her.

"State your designation," a gruff voice said from behind the door.

"X5-452, Sir!" she answered promptly.

After a brief pause, the door latch opened, and a soft hiss of air was heard as the huge door itself swung open slowly. The gray-eyed man stood aside and waved 452 inside the room silently.

The room itself was dark and drafty, as if someone had the air conditioner on too high, or a dozen ceiling fans going at once. The sheer intimidation of the whole room was sufficient to make 452 shiver, regardless of the temperature.

In the middle of the room was an area that had better lighting, casting an almost warm yellow glow around, shedding light on a large computer monitor. 452 stopped and looked around, waiting for her mysterious assignment. The gray-eyed man nudged her lightly in the side and pointed to the chair in front of the monitor. 452 shot him a quick, uncertain glance before going up to the curious monitor and taking a seat.

As soon as she sat down, the computer monitor flashed on, and a man's deep voice came through the speakers. "452, welcome. I trust you know why you're here today." 452 nodded, wondering if the man could see her. "Good. Your mission is going to be a solo mission. You will have a single target to eliminate, and once you've eliminated that target, you can come home. Easy enough?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Excellent. There is no exact time limit on this mission, with it being your first one in a long time, but we expect that it should take no more than three days tops. It may take you that long to locate him, but any more than that and we will have to send out a search party for you. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Now. Here's all the background you'll need for this particular case. The target is very well protected. He surrounds himself with powerful friends and has an intricate network of informants. All past attempts to eliminate him have ended very badly, even resulting in death for some cases. He is a wickedly clever man with great resources, and he has discovered Project Manticore. He has made it his Holy Crusade, if you will, to bring Manticore down to its foundations. Not that he has come remotely close, as of yet, but he is sniffing around too much for our comfort, and he must be stopped. This is a top priority mission of security, and the fact that it has been entrusted to you, 452, should be a source of pride. The Grand General puts great faith in you."

The man's voice paused, and a virtual file folder appeared on the screen, slowly rotating as 452 watched, showing the words, "Mission Alpha: 452." The folder opened and released a photograph that enlargened, allowing 452 to see a close-up shot of a pair of intense blue eyes. It looked like a still shot of a video broadcast. The words "Streaming Freedom" ran above and underneath those eyes like banners. That picture tickled something in the back of 452's head, but before she could contemplate it any further, the man began to speak again.

"The target likes to go by the undercover name 'Eyes Only.' You'll have an easier time finding him by searching for his mild-mannered alter-ego, Logan Cale."

Logan... Cale... 452 saw a man's smiling face in her head, a handsome older man, with ruffled light brown hair and whiskers, smiling at her with loving blue eyes, the same blue eyes she saw in the picture, only less intense and hidden somewhat behind a pair of glasses. The face remained in her head for only a second, and then it was gone, but the image made her start.

"Is there a problem, 452?"

The man's deep voice brought her back to reality. "No, Sir!"

"Then you feel ready to accomplish your goal?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"You will be able to successfully eliminate your target?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good. You will be deployed immediately. Your target is located in Seattle. That is where we will take you. But first, we have to immunize you."

Seemingly out of nowhere, out of the shadows of the dark room, men in medical face masks appeared, slowly surrounding 452, making her feel trapped. They led her to an operating table, forcibly tugging her and strapping her down. 452 felt a sharp pain as some foreign chemical was injected beneath the surface of her skin, and soon, her world was getting foggy.

Feeling woozy, 452 absently wondered what they had drugged her with, and why. Time seemed to slow down, eventually freezing, and all logical thought with it. A flash of familiar blue eyes invaded her mind, and then everything went black as 452 passed out.

"This has been a Streaming Freedom video bulletin. Peace. Out."

Logan powered down his broadcasting equipment and put his glasses back on. At the sound of his door opening, he spun around to face the pretty young blond who shared his 'apartment,' Joshua's old home. Logan smiled in welcome.

"Hey, Asha! Where've you been these past few days? Been fighting the good fight with the S1W?"

Asha shrugged. "Yeah," she said nonchalantly. "Just got back from a pretty successful job. We organized a mass protest against police violence, and I think we're getting more support from the public now. The Sector Police and other so-called "law enforcement" officers aren't so happy with us, naturally, but at least most people don't see us as terrorists anymore."

The protest had been taking place for the last three days, but only during the light hours. When the sun set, Asha had been going to her old haunt, Crash, the local bar, to drown her sorrows. But Logan didn't need to know that.

Logan stared intently at her downcast face, nodding and half-listening. "Uh huh..." He sounded unconvinced of something, making Asha jerk her head up warily. Those intense blue eyes made her heart flutter for a second.

"Asha, what's on your mind?"

"Hm? What d'you mean?"

"I mean, what's bothering you?"

"What makes you think something's bothering me?"

"Asha..."

"I'm fine," she said firmly. That blue-eyed stare never faltered. Asha fumbled for a change of subject, and she swallowed the lump in her throat she knew was forming. She lowered her gaze once more. "How's Max?"

Logan's eyes clouded over with emotion for a brief moment. "I don't know," he said carefully. "I hope she's OK, but I just don't know."

"Me too." Liar, she thought to herself. Part of her did hope that Max was OK, but another part, a darker one with primal instincts, savagely wished that Max would never, ever return. The girl held Logan's heart on a leash, only to lead it to pain and suffering. But Logan would never see that she was bad for him. Why does he love her? Why does everyone love her?

It was true. Every man that met her and got to know her, it seemed, found himself completely head-over-heels for the girl. Asha had heard about Max's transgenic 'brother' Zack, and Max's rendezvous with that Rafer boy, from a jealous Logan. Hell, she's even got Alec whipped!

Alec, the playful, womanizing transgenic rogue, would never admit it. Maybe he didn't even realize it himself, but he was Max's as surely as Logan was. Once upon a time, Alec had invited Asha over for a one-night stand, but that was after the two of them had downed quite a bit of alcohol to 'celebrate' the reunion of Max and Logan, that time when they had found a temporary cure to the "love bug" virus. Asha remembered it clearly, the way Alec expertly interpreted her unrequited love for Logan.

"You want Logan for yourself. I mean, come on. You had it all dialed in when Max was back at Manticore, presumed dead. You and Logan, doing your hero thing, spending hours together in his fancy little apartment, all tuned up about the ways of the world. It was a good time for you, right?"

"Yeah, he was thinking about Max every second of every day. He never believed she was dead. And when she came back, he was the happiest I'd ever seen him."

"Yeah, until the virus thing."

"Even with the virus, they never gave up on each other. And no matter how I feel about it, I have to respect that. Because that, my friend, is true love."

"Yeah, right. Have they ever even once said, 'I love you'? No. No. Max... Max would choke on the words. Logan... eh, he'd say it, in an e-mail. 'He's not my boyfriend. We were never even like that. It was never the right time.' No, Logan is a repressed WASP and Max is a... a broken toy. The two of them will never work out together."

It was funny how Alec could know that Asha was an active participant in their drowning-of-sorrows 'celebration' because of her feelings for Logan, and then not even consider why he was so unhappy about Max 'n' Logan "gettin' busy".

"Asha."

Logan's voice tore Asha out of her reverie. She looked up at him quickly, startled. "W-hat?"

Logan looked concerned now. "What's the matter? Why have you been avoiding me?"

"Avoiding you? I haven't been avoiding you."

"You won't even look at me," Logan said dryly as Asha became very interested in the carpet again.

Asha looked up defiantly and met Logan's eyes with a level gaze. "Nothing is wrong. Everything's fine. And soon, you'll find Max and bring her home to Seattle, and everyone will get their story-book ending. Everyone will get their 'happily ever after.'" Her face softened a bit, her eyes still locked onto his, and she placed a hand on Logan's arm gently. "Everyone except me."

She scanned Logan's face for a reaction, but it was blank. He looked a bit nervous, and he opened his mouth hesitantly, on the verge of speaking, when the sound of the phone ringing broke the tension in the air. Logan quickly changed what he had been about to say.

"I... gotta go... take this call," he said as he took out his cell phone.

"Right," Asha said softly to Logan's retreating back as he slipped into the kitchen. Her face fell along with her hopes. Most likely, Logan was taking a call from one of his many informants, putting him one step closer to Max. And one step farther from her. Asha fought back a tear and went to her room to sleep.

tbc...

A/N#2: Just so ya know, I don't particularly like Asha. I think she's kind of annoying, but I tried to separate myself from my opinion when I wrote this. I hope I succeeded in capturing the depths of blondie's heart. Just a quick FYI. Thanks to all the people reading this! Reviews are always welcome.