Necessary Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thanks to Marcus Sylenus, nattylovesu, and 452max for reviewing the last chapter! Thanks so much, reviews give me a muse!

Ex Multus Familia

Chapter 18

"Syl!" Robin's face was pale with shock as she hurried to her friend's side. She and Seth had collected Taylor from the nursery and then headed up to Syl and Krit's room to find out how their mission had gone. They'd been hoping that the warehouse team would find something more definitive, but Robin hadn't been expecting to find anyone injured.

"It's not that bad." Syl pushed at the skin near the wound with grumpy impatience. Being injured bothered her; it hindered her ability to be an effective team member.

"Well, it doesn't look that great." Seth surveyed the room quickly. Krit looked slightly stressed, but seemed relatively ok. There were a few bloodied rags and a bucket of bloody water sitting about.

"It'd still be nice if you could take a look at the wound, Seth." Krit eyed Syl's thigh anxiously. Syl didn't get hurt very often, so it was rather disconcerting. He was used to her being in constant movement and charging ahead of him, so it had been strange to have to carry and help her back to the hotel. Not that he minded, but he was glad Seth was back now.

"You're such a worry wart," Syl said affectionately. She looked up at Seth. "Besides this damn leg, we also need to worry about being exposed. Just in case, we should probably get out of here."

Seth nodded. "I agree. Krit, can you pack your equipment up while I take a look at Syl?" Seth turned to look at Robin. "Would you mind getting our stuff from the room? The sooner we get out of here, the better I'll feel."

Manticore had trained them well in efficiency. Within an hour they had checked out of the hotel, and fifteen minutes later they were on their way to rent a van from a nearby car rental. They figured that since they were going to be focused on the mission, they might as well live out of the van for however long it took. When they weren't sleeping, the van would double nicely as a security, surveillance, and communications center for the rest of the mission. It'd be a little uncomfortable, but it was better than many of the discomforts they had faced in Manticore.

Robin waited with Syl outside the car rental office while Seth and Krit went to pick out the van.

"I'm going to be a liability now," Syl grumbled. It already irked her that it made more sense for her to sit and wait for the guys to pick her up then for her and Robin to just walk with them.

Robin was feeling a strange sense of déjà vu—Syl with a wound was very similar to Sidda. Neither could stand not being useful. And that memory reminded Robin of how she had made Sidda feel useful.

"Nonsense," Robin said briskly. "Someone has to watch the surveillance cameras when we go in; plus, Taylor will need someone to look after her. It's too risky for her to come into the building."

"I would've been more helpful inside," Syl said doubtfully.

Robin shrugged. "Any of us would be. But someone needs to be in the van."

Syl nodded. "Sadly, what're you're saying is very practical." She smiled sardonically. "Good thinking there, soldier."

"Ugh, say that again, and I'll revise my thinking."

Syl chuckled. "Anything to try and get rid of Manticore." She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the bench. "It's hard," she said softly. She glanced at Robin. "I've been out for a long time, and I still have trouble with it. But it is easier to distance yourself from Manticore as an adult; you tend to think more independently anyway. It just doesn't bother you as much because you choose when to tap into your training."

Robin touched Taylor's nose and ran her finger down the soft baby cheeks and over the smooth eyelids. "It was already easier for me to distance myself from Manticore after I had Taylor. She depends utterly on me, and she has nothing to do with Manticore training…and that helps. Having something so important in your life, something that is so separate from Manticore… it gives you a different perspective and focus."

Syl smiled down at Taylor. "I bet it does." She cooed at the baby for a moment. "I can't wait for Krit and I to have a kid of our own."

Robin looked at her, curious. "Why haven't you?"

"Well…" But just then the van pulled up, and they stopped talking about babies. As nice as it was to push Manticore away, right now their training would be useful. After they had accomplished the mission they'd been sent on they could talk about families and children again. Until then they needed to focus.

Apparently Seth and Krit had been talking over a few of the same things that Robin and Syl had.

"Hey, Syl, we were wondering…" Seth turned around in the passenger's seat, wanting to see Syl's reaction to his proposal.

"Yes?" Syl asked. She was leaning against the wall behind the two front seats. They'd specifically requested one with no back seats so that they'd have room to set up Krit's equipment.

"Would you mind being in the van when we enter the warehouse? You don't have to if you don't want to, but as a medic I think it'd be best for your wound."

Syl smiled. "Yeah, Robin and I already thought about that. I'm fine with it, Seth."

Seth glanced from Syl to Robin. "Good thinking, then."

"Hope you didn't think you were the only intelligent person around," Robin said, rolling her eyes at him.

Syl snickered. "He's a Manticore male. He doesn't think, he knows," she said, grinning at Robin.

"Hey, I didn't say that," Seth said, "And you can't generalize things like that."

"You can generalize when it's the truth, can't you?" Syl said. She drummed her fingers on the metal bottom of the van.

"But that's not true," Seth said. "So you just defeated your own logic."

"Not if you're going on Syl's idea of logic," Krit said. He revved up the engine of the van and tossed a lazy smile back at Syl. The fact that she was on the mend was enough to make him happy even in the face of a dangerous mission. "She runs on a different brainwave than the rest of us."

"Proudly, too," Syl said, "Makes life interesting."

"As if it wasn't already," Robin said. She held Taylor's baby carrier close to her side as Krit pulled away from the rental agency and headed out into traffic. "How much did the van cost?"

"We'll be good if we can get tickets back to the States," Krit replied.

Seth sighed and looked down at the rental papers in his hands. "It's not that bad, but we're going to have to be frugal for the rest of the trip."

"There goes the Hilton," Syl said, wrapping her arms around one knee, her injured leg stretched out.

"We'll need blankets and things for in here," Robin said, "If we're planning to sleep in here and everything." She looked up at Seth, wondering if this change of accommodation was going to bother him. Sharing the back of the van with Syl and Krit was going to be a lot different than having their own room.

"We'll stop and pick some up at a store," Seth said. He tossed a wry smile back at Robin. "You can pick them out."

Robin grinned back at him. "I'll buy some good, cheap ones."

"And while you're doing that, I'm going to get in touch with the Cyborg," Krit said.

"You shouldn't call Logan that," Robin reprimanded, "Max wouldn't like it, and besides, he's not really a cyborg."

"No, that's Zack," Syl muttered, her voice bitter for once. Robin glanced at her, guessing she was talking about her brother, Manticore-CO-gone-farm-boy. Robin had heard a few stories about him while she was in T.C., but she hadn't wanted to breach the topic with Max.

"Anyways," Krit said, giving Syl a meaningful look through the rearview mirror, "If Logan and me work together, we should be able to get some schematics on the military building and make sure Sandy's there."

"That's the important part," Seth said with an affirmative nod, "We don't want to waste ourselves on breaking into that building if Sandeman's wife isn't there. It'd be useless."

"So, intelligence about Sandeman's wife is at the top of the need-to-know list?" Krit asked.

"Yeah, and the schematics, like you said, and security details, info on the soldiers, weaknesses," Seth said, his mind already working on how he would use each piece of information. "I'd like to hit the building in a day or two. We'll wait until they've forgotten about the crazy reporter and her camera-man."

"Faithful, loyal, responsible camera-man, thanks," Krit said.

"Oh, shut up," Syl said, wishing she had something to throw at him, "You didn't put up much of a fight about going there."

"I tried, but did you pay me any attention?"

Robin laughed as the two of them started bickering, and Seth looked back at her, the wistful expression on his face telling her that he wouldn't have minded a couple more days at the hotel, pretending they were simply tourists. And to tell the truth, she wouldn't have either.

----------------------------------

"This is just ridiculous," Sidda breathed as she cuddled one of the pillows of the delicate cherry wood loveseat to her chest. She pressed her face into the pillow to hide the huge grin on her face.

The suite they had gotten was lavishly beautiful, like they had walked into Sleep Beauty or Cinderella's castle. The decorations were rich and plentiful: gold filigree work, polished real wood tables, million dollar mirrors, crystal candelabras, fresh flowers on every flat surface, and little handmade clocks that Alec was probably going to walk off with. She hadn't made it past the sitting room, but from the way the Dalton kept streaming appreciative profanities and the total of black market prices that Alec was keeping, she could tell that the other rooms were just as magnificent.

Alec walked back into the light green and gold based room where Sidda was curled up on a loveseat. He grinned and leaned against the doorway. "All right, you can't complain about this."

"I could always complain about the bill," she said, lowering the pillow and avoiding his eyes by looking around the room. "The astronomical, incredibly ludicrous bill."

"The one that we're not going to pay?" Alec said.

"Yeah, that one," Sidda said, smirking at him.

They went "sightseeing" after dark. They'd left the question of room assignments unsettled; Sidda privately thought that Dalton and Alec should share one room while she got the master bedroom, but she had a feeling Alec wasn't going to easily agree to that.

"So what are we looking for?" Dalton asked.

"We're looking, you're keeping quiet and watching for any tails." Alec said, turning to grin at the kid. He had a hold of a reluctant Sidda's hand; he insisted that it was necessary to keep up appearances. Sidda thought it was just an excuse, but she wasn't really going to complain. Holding hands with Alec felt…nice, like she was almost normal.

Sidda felt momentarily sorry for Dalton and then quickly rationalized the feeling. Dalton needed to learn that he couldn't just tag along on a mission and get to do a bunch of fun stuff like he seemed to think they were going to do. Besides, making him learn patience was character-building.

Dalton narrowed his eyes at Alec but didn't complain. At least watching for tails was a valid job. And in the meantime, he'd try to keep an eye out for anything else that might be useful to them. They still hadn't told him what the mission was about, he had ideas, yes, but maybe he'd figure something out from wherever they went.

Sidda and Alec weren't actually searching for their mission target at the moment. What they needed to do was find a house to move to after a night at the hotel; otherwise, they'd have to pay the outrageous bill and their cover might be blown.

"I still think it should be a romantic vacation house," Alec said. "It fits best with our cover."

Sidda looked at him and then removed her hand from his. He didn't need any encouragement. "Seriously? 'Cause Dalton really helps with that image…"

Alec chuckled. "I can't help it that he came along."

"Romantic?" Dalton asked from behind them. "What are we looking for that's romantic?" He moved around so that he was next to Sidda. "What are we doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, unless you'd like to foot the bill for the hotel, we're looking for a place we can actually stay in for a few days. Maybe a house whose owners have left for a couple weeks," Sidda said.

"That's all?" Dalton was crestfallen.

"Yep, sorry to disappoint." Alec shrugged, obviously not very apologetic.

Dalton made a face and fell back behind them again. He didn't really feel like listening to Alec try to convince Sidda into something romantic. He moved closer to the water, looking for any gondolas out there.

"Get too close and I may be unable to resist temptation—I might just have to push you in," Sidda called back. She was telling the truth; it would be way too amusing to pass over. She thought it only fair that she warn Dalton.

"Yeah sure, like I'm afraid of you," Dalton yelled back. But he subtly moved away from the edge.

Sidda laughed; she had noticed his movement. They continued walking along, eyeing the vacation homes that ran along the canal. Unfortunately, most of them were inhabited.

"Looks like we got our work cut out for us," Alec said.

Sidda shook her head. "Oh yeah, because finding an empty house…sooo difficult."

"A lot harder than finding, tracking, and kidnapping an ex-Manticore geneticist," Alec replied. "That's everyday, easy stuff." He smirked at Sidda. "Manticore never gave me any training on house hunting."

"Somehow I think we'll manage," Sidda said dryly.

Dalton suddenly appeared between the two of them and stared up at Alec. "We're grabbing an ex-Manticore geneticist?" he asked, "Dude, that is so cool! I knew that's what we were doing."

"You did not," Sidda said. She frowned over at Alec, blaming him for letting Dalton in on the mission objective. Alec avoided her gaze by becoming very interested in one of the nearby houses.

"Yes, I did," Dalton replied, "You talked about it that night at dinner. I remembered, I just wasn't sure, but now I am." He grinned at her. "So, do we get to beat him up? When are we going to get him?"

Sidda gave his head a gentle shove. "I think you're missing something here, Dalton. We're going to find the bad guy." She motioned to herself and waved a flippant hand at Alec.

"You're going to be a lookout and the coffee-boy," Alec said. He clapped Dalton on the shoulder, almost toppling the teenager. "I like it black with two sugar cubes."

"I'm a French vanilla cappuccino kind of girl," Sidda said.

"That's weird," Alec said, glancing at her, "I had you pinned as a straight espresso."

"Almost, but I like a little sweet with the bitter," Sidda replied.

"Aren't you going to let me do anything?!" Dalton demanded, interrupting them. He stopped and stared at the two of them, eyes narrowed in anger. "I mean, come on, that's not fair."

"Life sucks," Alec said, shrugging. "Get used to it."

Dalton aimed a furious glare at him before pushing past the two X5s, stalking down the path and into the night shadows.

"Someone's going to mug him," Sidda said with a sigh, "Venice mafia members aren't the friendliest."

"Don't worry about him, he'll be fine. They mostly stay in their turfs, and this is no man's land," Alec said. When Sidda flicked an incredulous look up at him, he frowned back. "Hey, I read the dossier too."

"I know," Sidda said, a quick grin darting across her face, "I'm just surprised you actually read all of it." She looked out across the canal beside them, into the warmly lit houses that lined the opposite banks. All occupied.

Alec rolled his eyes. "I was a top Manticore assassin. I've read through lots of things I didn't want to."

"Ah, so that was your job?" Sidda asked, her interest peaking. She stepped over a couple of broken cobblestones. "You were an assassin?"

Alec's face grew hard, and Sidda regretted asking. "You don't have to-"

"No, it's okay," he said, but Sidda could tell by the way he was clenching his jaw that it wasn't. "I did a few solo missions before I botched one, and they put me back on teams for a while."

"Did you like teams better?" Sidda asked. She was curious about the "botched" mission, but she wasn't going to pry while his eyes looked that dark.

"Huh, I wouldn't say they were a bucket of sunshine or whatever," Alec said, "But I guess I made a couple friends, and the missions got me out in the world. That's all I cared about back then."

"What? Being out in the world?" Sidda glanced at Alec as they passed under a street lamp. The warm yellow glow cast patches of light across his face. Not a lot of Manticore personnel thought about wanting to be on the outside after the 09ers left. She hadn't even thought of it until she had gone on her last mission.

"Yeah," Alec said, "Whatever they said in there, things were better out here. I guess I always wanted to be on my own, even when I was a brainwashed zombie kid." He smirked at her, but there was truth in what he said. He stopped and leaned back against the lamp post. "So what'd you do? Cute people to death?"

"Actually, yeah," she replied, smiling back. When he arched an eyebrow at her, she laughed. "I had a…eccentric job." She put her hand one the lamp post he was leaning against and swung around. "They sent me places where they didn't think they could get other people back out of."

"They sent you on suicide missions?" Alec asked as she almost swung into him.

Sidda was surprised by the anger in his voice, but she shook her head. "Nah, they knew I'd probably get out. Everyone at Manticore has a specific purpose. I'm wired to get out of things. It's weird, but it's me, I guess." She switched hands and swung around the pole again, grinning as the momentum spun her. Alec caught her arm before she could do it again.

"What can't you get out of?" he asked, curious.

Sidda lowered her eyes and stepped forward, her free hand pressed against his chest. She could feel his heart beating beneath her splayed fingers, a steady, warm thrumming. He leaned down to meet her, but when his face was inches from hers, she wrenched her arm free and sprang backwards, laughing.

"I really don't know yet," she said, grinning at him. She waved her hand toward the darkness in front of them. "Come on, we still have to find Dalton and the house."

"I think that's going to be my new mission," Alec said as he pushed away from the lamp post.

"Finding a house was already the mission," Sidda said, "I guess you could add Dalton to the mix if you wanted, but like you said, he's not in that much danger."

"That's not what I meant," Alec said, glancing over at her, "And I think you know it."

"No, I don't," Sidda said innocently, "I still don't know what you're talking about."

"I like pushing the limits," Alec said, "And I think I'll push yours."

Sidda stopped walking and looked at him, her hazel eyes locking with his. "I might push back."

Alec smirked. "Do it. I'd like that."