Chapter 15: Trust

Lydecker's Office, Manticore

Max and Nic stood at attention as soon as they entered Lydecker's office.

Lydecker took a seat at his desk before telling them, "At ease, soldiers."

They switched to the at ease position and waited for him to speak again.

"Who wants to explain what that was about?" Lydecker asked, looking at the two X5s.

When neither of them said anything, Lydecker directed his question to Max. "452?"

"Just a team building exercise, sir," she replied.

"321?" Lydecker questioned, giving him the opportunity to provide more details.

Nic never liked the colonel much, and had done his best to stay on the colonel's good side. He had heard too many rumors – none that were too good – about him.

"A team building exercise, sir," Nic confirmed.

"No old tricks, I hope," Lydecker stated, directing his comment to Nic. "Your record indicates you enjoy pranks."

Nic was silent at that, unsure of what to say.

"Well, do you?" Lydecker asked.

"Yes, sir," Nic replied, not willing to risk lying in front of the colonel.

"Pranking your CO is a serious offense, 321."

Max wondered where Lydecker was going with this. She was surprised he had not already gotten to the point. He was certainly the kind of person to do so, unlike Renfro. Max kept her amusement to herself as Nic squirmed under Lydecker's watch. At least she knew someone Nic was afraid of.

"I didn't quite succeed," Nic replied, trying best to calm his fear.

"Clearly," Lydecker remarked, noting the mess Nic was in. "I'll make you a deal, 321. For every prank I catch you failing to pull on your CO, you earn an hour more in isolation. For every prank I catch you successfully pulling on your CO, you lose an hour in isolation. Your sentence starts at 14 hours, and you will report to isolation during rec hour for the next two weeks. If you want to stay out of isolation, no pranks."

"Yes, sir," Nic replied, not quite understanding why Lydecker had just made him the deal he did, unless he was betting that Max would never let herself get tricked into one of his pranks. He would have to change that...

"Your are dismissed 321. Close the door on your way out."

Nic saluted and left, leaving Max with the colonel. Max was surprised when the colonel switched to what she called 'civilian mode'.

"Take a seat, Max."

Max revealed nothing, but she did not like these unexpected changes from 452 to Max. She took a seat, deciding it would be best to just go with the flow.

"I suppose you were going to deal with 321 on your own before I interrupted you?"

Max nodded. "It's not the first time he's tried something. Looks like you still haven't lost your touch," she observed casually, referring to Nic's reaction to Lydecker.

Lydecker's lips twitched a bit before he said, "I hope I wasn't too lenient. I wanted to leave some room for you to make your point, and I figure you will be keeping a close eye on him from now on, so there was no point in anything too...drastic."

"So I suppose I should thank you?" she added with a light undertone of sarcasm. Nic would be trying even harder to pull off a prank on her just to impress the colonel, and they both knew it.

"Just thought it'd keep you on your toes," he replied casually.

"I'm assuming there's an important reason you called me here tonight," Max stated, diverting the conversation back the purpose of the meeting.

Lydecker sighed as he pulled out a folder. "Something's come up...that I thought you might be interested in."

Max glanced at the folder in curiosity, waiting for Lydecker to continue.

Lydecker gave Max the folder, deciding it would be better if she saw the contents instead of him explaining it. As Max opened the folder, her heart sunk. It was her brother Krit, bound and unconscious. Documents followed detailing his barcode, blood workup, and other physical features. Then she saw it – an opening price.

She looked up at Lydecker for an explanation, still not quite sure what this meant. So he gave one. "It came up on the black market today," Lydecker explained. "And that would be one of the reasons why we don't want you running free. He's being sold to the highest bidder. Hell if I know how he got there in the first place, but I did find information on the auctioneer."

She flipped over a few more pages and found a profile of a man in his late forties.

"He runs many illegal operations for overseas clients. Anything he gets his hands on, he sells it for profit. Someone must have placed a request for a Manticore prototype," Lydecker informed with a sigh. "It seems they might get their wish."

"Can't you do something about it?!" Max asked, clearly voicing her concerns.

"I'm holding up my end of the deal, Max. If Manticore gets involved, there's only one way it's going to end – with him back here."

"So why are you telling me this then?" she questioned.

Lydecker was silent for a moment, clearly debating his next words. "Because...Max, I was thinking you might be up for a mission."

Max stared at him in shock and surprise. Lydecker was full of surprises. She almost didn't know the man anymore. There had to be a catch. Nothing came free.

"You just said Manticore wasn't getting involved," she argued.

"I know, and we're not. It will be off the books. No one will be the wiser. I know how important this is to you, and I'm personally not in favor of seeing any one of you being dissected by some foreign scientists...but Max, I can't let you go if I know you're not coming back."

Max froze. There it was – the catch. Strangely, the thought of escape did not register when Lydecker mentioned this mission. All that mattered to her at the time was that her brother would be safe.

"So the question is, can I trust that you will return?"

Max looked up at Lydecker, doing her best to mask her surprise. He was asking for her trust?!

"Just me? Not him?"

Lydecker nodded, and as if reading her thoughts, he explained his reasons, "You have a unit here to lead Max. Of the twelve of you that escaped that night, only you and Brin have survived capture – many more of you died in the struggle. Your unit was considered Manticore's best success, but also its worst failure. There's no doubt all of you who remain would rather stay outside than return here. Once you get a taste of freedom, it's hard to go back. You all lead – led – successful lives, even in this broken world. It may be that I've changed in the past year, but I would rather see those still out there live in peace contributing to society than die fighting for their freedom. I've been in the military nearly all my life, and I've learned that the best soldiers are those who want to be there, not those forced against their will."

Max just stared at Lydecker in disbelief at his short speech. She really didn't know the man anymore. Max knew she could easily lie to Lydecker and take off with Krit as soon as the mission was over, but for some reason, that just didn't feel right. Maybe it was because...Lydecker was finally treating her as a person.

After some more thought, she knew that her brother was what mattered, even if it meant she would have to return here. "I'll do it. I'll be back."

Lydecker nodded and gave her all the information she needed. "It should be an easy mission. Medium security, but mostly technology and not so much manpower. You know what to do when you're done reading the files. You'll have a 72-hour window to accomplish the mission and return to base. Your transport leaves at 0600. 645 will assume command of Unit 9 in your absence."

The only thing Max could think of saying was thank you, and so she did. Max stood up to leave, shaking his extended hand.

"Good luck, Max," Lydecker said.

"Thank you, sir," she returned before heading towards the door.

"Oh, and Max, if you're not back within that 72-hour window, consider my deal with Manticore terminated, and us enemies once again."

Max just smiled and nodded before leaving. "Understood." That was the colonel she knew. He would have nothing to worry about though. She would be back – to her, returning to Manticore would be a small price to pay for her brothers and sisters' freedom.

Lydecker knew the risks he was taking by allowing Max on this mission, but he also recognized how important this would be for Max. If he intended for Max to go on missions on Manticore's behalf in the future, they would need to build a little trust. And maybe then, she won't want to leave so much – she'll realize her purpose in life and put her talents to use for the greater good.

Lydecker sighed – for now, he would trust her as promised, but if she broke that trust, he would go after her as promised. And when that happened, there would be no friendship. She would be considered a rogue, a deserter, and a disobedient soldier.

Los Angeles, California

734 watched quietly from the shadows as a young woman came out of a restaurant after a long day of work. There was no mistake that underneath the innocent façade, the woman was once trained as a soldier. The way the young blond casually walked towards her motorbike would appear normal to the untrained eye, but 734 knew better: the woman was on alert. 734 had found her target.

Jondy didn't know exactly why, but tonight, things didn't feel right. Nevertheless, nothing seemed out of the ordinary – she would have notice. Years of harsh military training just don't go away that easily. Still, she knew that if there was someone out there, the only people good enough to deceive her were from Manticore, and the very thought of that made her uneasy.

As she drove through the empty streets of LA, the feeling faded slightly. The adrenaline rush from riding at full speed soon overshadowed the uneasiness she felt earlier. She often used the nights to reminisce about her family and speculate what they were up to now. After Zack's last visit, she knew that most of them had escaped, living a life on the run just like her. No matter how much she nagged him, Zack never told her anything beyond the most basic and vague details about her brothers and sisters. It was for her own good, he had told her. He didn't think she would able to keep information from Manticore in the event that she would get caught, much to her annoyance.

Perhaps she wasn't that good at overcoming Psy-Ops when they were young, but no one really was – even Zack had his moments of weakness when the Psy-Ops scientists worked on them. They were children – granted, genetically enhanced children – but still children, and no matter how much you tell your mind to block out that pain, a child can only withstand so much. She only wished that Zack would realize how much they have grown. After he made them separate, they all had to learn how to live on their own. She was no longer a child now and was fairly confident she would have been able to keep a secret. But that was Zack, and she was certain even if he realized it, he would allow only himself to bare the responsibility of their safety.

As Jondy rounded the corner of a street and approached her modest post-Pulse apartment, she noticed a slight movement from the corner of her eye, and the feeling of uneasiness returned once again. It all happened so quickly, she wasn't even sure it really happened. She shrugged it off, but remained alert.

734 discretely entered Jondy's apartment through one of the windows. She wasn't exactly ready to end things yet. There was something about what Max said that bothered her. She sighed, hoping she wasn't making a mistake. A few minutes later, the door opened and her sister entered the apartment.

Before Jondy even saw her sister, she knew something wasn't right and threw her things aside, dropping into a fighting stance as she did to protect herself. When nothing happened, she scanned the room and noticed a figure standing by the window. Her feline DNA allowed her to make out her sister's Asian features.

Although still wary of this intruder, she fell back into a more neutral stance. "Brin?" she tried, hoping it was indeed her sister.

"Jondy," Brin confirmed and stepped out of the shadows.

Jondy smiled and immediately ran over to give her sister a hug, catching Brin by surprise. Brin smiled uneasily and returned the hug. Fragmented memories from their childhood leaked through the Psy-Ops induced walls that surrounded her memories of the '09 escape, as well as her life before their escape.

"Zack told me you were one of the ones that made it out! I've always wondered how everyone else was doing. How did you find me?" Jondy asked, not realizing she might have been in danger. The joy of finally meeting one of her sisters made her careless. Fortunately for Jondy, Brin wasn't planning on completing her mission quite yet.

"I...pieced together the ever so vague pieces of information from Zack," Brin lied. "You know our big brother. He never tells anyone anything! It took me forever to figure out where Max lived."

Jondy nodded in agreement. "That's Zack. He wouldn't tell me anything about any of you except maybe your most current jobs," Jondy added with an eye roll. "You found Max?! How has she been?" Jondy asked excitedly. There was no denying that Jondy had missed Max the most. The two spent the most time together when they were still at Manticore. Their shark DNA led to many late night talks. She was almost certain that Max hadn't made it when she fell through the ice. Zack never said anything about her either during his last visit, but he did admit that there were some he just couldn't find, and Max was always good at escape and evade. She knew how to cover her tracks. Jondy wouldn't be surprised if Max managed to hide from Zack.

But then another thought occurred to her. What if Max didn't escape and had been indeed captured? That would mean she was at Manticore, and if Brin found Max before Zack...something wasn't right. Jondy's smile turned to a frown as she once again placed some distance between her and her sister.

With an uneasy sigh, Jondy gave her sister a serious look, "How do I know you're not with Manticore?"

Brin frowned, feigning hurt from the accusation, but in reality, it was more of a disappointment that Jondy had known. Perhaps she said something wrong. "You don't," Brin began. "But don't you think if I were with Manticore, they would have already busted down these doors and taken you away? Don't you think I would have taken you to them without question?"

Jondy sighed, still not convinced. She had had a few run-ins with Manticore in the past, and all of them included a large team of soldiers. Still, there was no sure way to know that Brin was really the sister she once knew. Even the most brainwashed soldier in Manticore knew how to act a part. It was essential for undercover missions.

"No hard feelings?" Jondy asked. "You know I just have to be cautious..."

Brin nodded in understanding, feeling a bit guilty at the same time. "What have you been doing these past years? Glad we left?"

Jondy gave Brin an uneasy look – although she sounded like her sister, the questions she was asking did seem a bit...off.

"Yeah, I'm glad we left. I like being able to choose what to do with my life, rather than listening to orders. I like not having to wake up early in the morning for a long day of training. I like not having to be sawed up by some scientists for research purposes. Please don't tell me you regret leaving Manticore," Jondy stated in disbelief.

Brin frowned and quickly shook her head. "Not what I meant at all!" Brin corrected. Now she knew why she liked being outside. Now she knew why Max still wanted to leave. Psy-Ops had made her forget, but now she remembered, and as bits and pieces of her past life flooded back to her, she knew what she had to do. "I'm glad we left! But there were some hard times in the years following our escape," Brin explained.

Jondy nodded in agreement. Brin had always been one of the more dependent ones in their unit. Tinga always reminded Brin that she needed to be more confident of her own abilities and rely on others less. So Jondy could see why Brin may have found it a bit difficult to adapt in the real world by herself. "I've been staying mostly in California. I've been to Texas and Louisiana, but I didn't like it over there, so I came back here. How about you?"

"I've been doing the same. I've mostly been staying in Seattle, but I did stay in Minnesota for--" Brin stopped as their transgenic hearing alerted them to the faint footsteps of soldiers – a lot of soldiers.

The last thing Brin remembered before the gas entered the building was the look of betrayal on Jondy's face. Brin didn't even get a chance to tell her sister that this wasn't supposed to happen, that she was indeed sent from Manticore, but that she had decided to use this opportunity to flee instead, as Max had suggested.

Although Jondy made an effort to flee, the gas rendered the two X5s unconscious before either of them could get too far.

Cell 421, Manticore

Max went back to her cell after her meeting with Lydecker, reading over her mission files. The mission would be easy, as Lydecker had said. The guy was paranoid and had a high-tech security system, but all she had to do was take out the power supply. Fortunately for her, the guy didn't find it necessary to install a back up power supply. Still, she would probably meet resistance when accessing the power supply, but for someone like her, what are a few goons?

Since her move to Unit 9, she no longer needed the nights to study and "catch up". It gave her plenty of time to start a new tunnel. Although she wasn't intending on using it to leave, it would allow her access to other parts of Manticore, and she never knew when such access points would be useful, so she kept her tunnel. Unlike before, where the hole she had created led to the basement, this tunnel led to an empty storage closet. From there, she was able to sneak around the guards and go to her secret "high place" only Alec knew about. It was an area on the rooftops that overlooked Manticore, allowing her to see things from a different perspective. It also reminded her when she was young and would climb out the window from their barracks to pray to the Blue Lady, and it vaguely reminded her of the times she spent on the Seattle Space Needle. It was the perfect place to burn her files, and so she did, watching the ashes scatter into the breeze. My first mission, she thought. She stayed there the rest of the night, lost in her own thoughts.

Forest A, Manticore

After roll call, Kev was informed that she would take command of Unit 9 in Max's absence. Although Unit 9 revealed nothing, all of them wondered where Max was. They had little time to discuss, however, as their TAC Leader announced that their schedule had been revised today to accommodate another joint field exercise. They would go through their classes in the morning and report to the field at night. It had only been a week since they were released from isolation after their quarrel with Unit 2, so it was a surprise to Unit 9 that they would be engaged in something so soon. Then again, there was only a week or so remaining before the Skills Assessment Period. The day went by quickly as Unit 9 pondered not only about their CO's absence, but also about their upcoming night exercise with the other unit.

When nighttime arrived, Unit 9 reported to one of the larger forests of Manticore. The TAC Leader explained the exercise – it was a simple escape and evade exercise. Unit 9 was the one escaping and evading, while Unit 2 would be the ones tracking, which wouldn't have been too difficult for Unit 9, but the trainers decided to make things a bit harder. Unit 2 had reinforcements – a complete X6 unit of twenty-one soldiers. If they were captured, they were authorized to use any means to escape, short from killing the soldier(s). The exercise would last five hours, and Unit 9 was given a five-minute lead as the timer began.

Kev looked at her unit – they were outnumbered three to one, and everyone knew the chances were not very good. They would just have to survive for five hours. It could be done.

"OK, they're probably going to expect us to split up and go our separate ways – it's the easiest way to avoid capture. But I think this time, it's best for us to divide into our three groups. If we're caught, it'll increase our chances of overcoming the enemy. Strategically speaking, they won't be dividing their groups down to more than six or seven soldiers per group, especially if they think we're going to split up individually or even in pairs. If we run into them, we'll at least have a chance to overcome them. Dart, take your team East. Nic, take your team North. Viper, take your team West. Remember to cover your tracks. We'll rendezvous and regroup 300 meters from the river at our usual spot. Good luck everyone. Let's move out!" Kev ordered.

The teams scattered as Kev headed in her own direction to lay down false tracks to confuse the enemy.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Max sped down the streets of Nevada as she made her way to the facility where Krit was kept. She used some of the money she was given for her mission to rent a motorcycle. Although she missed her Ninja, any motorcycle was better than none. Now she knew why she wanted to leave Manticore so badly those first few days of training. A few months of taking orders to "play along" and it was easy to forget that it's possible to think for yourself. She realized that after staying at Manticore for some time and adjusting to their non-changing training schedule, the yearning she had for freedom eventually died down. She knew it had to be the attachments she had formed, but it brought another question. Had Manticore won?

According to the mission files, Krit was held in the basement of a popular casino, not to her surprise. It would give anyone a good reason to have a high-tech security system, as well as some manpower. She killed the engine of her motorcycle and hid it from view before making her way to the gambling establishment. Using a PDA she had been supplied, she managed to hack into the surveillance and loop the feeds. That would hold off reinforcements as she eliminated anyone who got in her way.

Stealthily, Max crept along to find the power supply. She was surprised, however, when she saw that someone was already fighting off some bodyguards, someone that looked vaguely familiar although dressed completely in black. Syl.

As Max watched her sister in action, she noticed that these guards also appeared to hold superhuman abilities – they were particularly strong and didn't seem to register any pain. Her sister was actually struggling against the three, who had decided now would be a good time to brandish a tazer. As she zoomed in on the back of their necks, she noticed a scar where the implant had been inserted. So much for a simple mission. These Red Series Soldiers were not going to be easy. Just as a jab from a tazer sent Syl down, Max blurred from her hiding spot and kicked the tazer out of his hand, following up with a spin kick to the head. Max didn't wait though, knowing the soldier would not fall from the blow but probably just be a bit dizzy. She jumped over the guard and without a second thought, she held his head firmly and twisted it, snapping his neck. She wasn't one for killing, but she wasn't going to allow another sibling of hers to get caught.

The other two immediately rushed to attack her, seeing their fallen comrade. As Max engaged them in a fight, blocking each blow that came to her, she could see that Syl was slowly recovering. Max ducked when one guard aimed a punch at her, but a tazer out of nowhere sent her seizing onto the ground. Another kick to her stomach and head had her out cold.

Sector A Forest, Manticore

Lydecker headed over to the command tent that had been established to monitor the exercise. He had decided at the last minute that while Max was gone, it would be the perfect time to test Unit 9's abilities to operate under their Second in Command. As Lydecker reviewed 645's profile, there were some things that didn't seem to add up. She was an excellent soldier, so why was she not recognized before? The reports he read also indicated Unit 9 was completely capable of functioning without Max, and he wanted to see it for his own eyes.

Lydecker had handpicked the exercise himself, giving them difficult odds that were vaguely reminiscent to an escape that occurred eleven years ago. He even provided the search units with communications to Base. Of course, he was the only one who knew of the similarity, but if a time came where the results of this match would be useful, he would have the data to prevent another escape. There were many more men searching for the runaways that winter night, but what was lacking in manpower in this exercise would be made up with superior strength and speed. It was, after all, just a test run, so a little variation couldn't hurt.

As the highest-ranking officer, 813 took over control of the X6 unit, unifying them as one. As 645 had predicted, he divided them up into five groups of six or seven, distributing four or five X5s into each of the groups to lead the X6s except for one X6 unit that would be led by the X6 unit's CO.

"Alpha Team to Base," 813 began. "Search units ready. Over and out."

"Base to Alpha, we see 3 groups heading west, east, and north, and a lone soldier with no distinct path," a TAC Leader informed. "Base Over and Out."

"Alpha Team, copy that. Search units moving out. Alpha Team Out."

Base watched as the search units regrouped into six groups of five or six. Two teams were sent east, two teams were sent north, and two teams were sent west. All units were given the order to capture on sight for the lone soldier.

An hour passed as the various groups of Unit 9 continued to backtrack and cover their tracks. So far, they had not encountered any enemies, but at the rate they were going to cover their tracks, it wouldn't be long before their enemy caught up to them.


A/N: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed last chapter. You can probably tell from the long delay that I have been extremely busy. However, I have some good news. Classes are almost over, and the holidays are around the corner. In celebration of this, I will be uploading a new chapter within a few weeks, definitely before Christmas, if not earlier. So you all will not have to wait as long! And...(perhaps depending on reviews received, the more the better, of course), I may upload another chapter shortly after that! So yay for the holiday season.:-)

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks a lot for reading. As you can probably tell, Alec won't be making much of an appearance for a while...Sorry! I know you all are all waiting for more MA scenes, and I promise there will be some coming, just...not quite yet. It'll be all the better when he does appear then, right? Absence makes a heart fonder? For those of you disappointed to see Jondy captured (anyone?), blame those who requested Jondy to re-join Max, heh, not me! I was surprised to receive several requests commenting on Jondy being back at Manticore. So...I made it happen. Good thing I didn't have a set plot for that yet, so I could be flexible...

Special thanks to my beta, mars494. She spotted a timeline error, to my surprise! Way to go on that!

Hope you liked this chapter! Please review! Reviews make me happy...especially after writing 20 page research papers that keep you up late into the night.

For my anonymous reviewers

GambinosBambino: Glad you're enjoying this chapter. Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoyed this update!