Chapter 16: Freedom Run

Las Vegas, Nevada

Max awoke moments later and found her hands had been restrained to a bedpost. As she looked around, she realized she was in a motel. Then a familiar face popped into view.

"What are you doing here?" Syl asked, apparently not happy to see her.

"I'm here to save Krit!" Max exclaimed, not understanding why her sister had restrained her.

"You died! Lydecker said you were KIA!!!" Syl yelled.

Max sighed; finally understanding Syl thought she belonged to Manticore. Well, she wasn't wrong...but she wasn't completely right.

"Syl, I did die. Zack sacrificed himself to save me...he gave me his heart," Max explained sadly. "Lydecker wasn't lying to you."

"Then you belong to Manticore," Syl replied coldly. "You've been there since and now you're here to take him back."

"Syl, I'm not here to take him back, I promise."

"You know I can't trust you. Lydecker says they reprogrammed Brin. How do I know they didn't reprogram you?"

Max sighed – how could she explain this? "Syl, the longer we stay debating about who I really am is less time we have to save Krit. If I were reprogrammed like Brin, I would be telling you why Manticore is so great and why you should come home with me."

"You're only saying that because you're the one unable to move," Syl observed in disbelief.

"Syl, those guards you're fighting, they're not just any ordinary guard."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that when I punched them and they barely flinched."

"They're known as Red Series Soldiers. The client must have put them in place to ensure there would be no interference. They have an implant in the back of their neck that connects to their brain stem, which gives them superior strength and the inability to feel pain. They were after me last year – they've been trying to get their hands on Manticore technology for a while now. I placed an implant in my own neck to fight them off, but that implant allowed Lydecker to find me last year. You're going to need my help to fight them if there are more of them in that building, Syl. You have to trust me."

"I can't, Max. How do I know that you won't double cross me and bring us both back to Manticore?"

"You don't..." Max sighed in defeat. "Syl, a lot has happened since we blew up the DNA lab. Yes, both Zack and me were taken back to Manticore, and yes, it was there that Zack sacrificed himself to save me. So yes, Manticore was the one that brought me back to life, and yes, I've been at Manticore since."

Syl froze as Max admitted she was from Manticore. As much as she knew that was true, the fact that Max finally said it was true did little to help make the situation better.

Max continued, noticing her sister had tensed but chose to ignore it. "Syl, I don't like Manticore any more than I did when we ran." Yet Max felt like that was sort of a lie. "They put me in Psy-Ops for seven months, Syl. I played along, hoping they would ease up and put me back with the others so I could plan an escape again, but things changed. Before I could escape, Renfro gave me a unit – she made me a CO, and I had no choice. I had to lead them well, or they would suffer the consequences of anything I did wrong. At first, I didn't care what happened to them. They were all just soldiers not willing to follow orders from a traitor. But somehow, somewhere along the way, we started getting along, and I couldn't abandon them anymore."

"You made a new family?" Syl retorted in disbelief.

"Syl, try to understand. I did what I had to do. Lydecker came back to Manticore, too."

Syl couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That bastard!"

"Syl! Just listen, please," Max pleaded. "I was ready to snap his neck when I saw him myself, but he told me he came only under the condition that he would take over the search for the escapees."

"Great! So we're running from Lydecker again. Just what I wanted."

"Syl, Lydecker said no search would exist."

Syl laughed, "And you believe him?"

Max was silent for a while before replying, "I do."

Syl laughed again, "You are so brainwashed. I can't wait to hear you start talking about how great Manticore is!" she stated sarcastically.

She got up and was about ready to leave when Max called her back. "Syl, Lydecker sent me here to save Krit, but this mission is off the records. No one knows where I am or why I left. Lydecker never gave me the order to bring Krit in. He just wanted him away from foreign scientist like we do."

"Yeah, yeah...whatever...sis."

Syl closed to door, leaving Max alone in the motel. Max sighed and fidgeted with the makeshift restraints. Her sister could tie a hell of a knot, but Max knew how to get out of knots. They were just hard to untie with no hands.

Sector A Forest, Manticore

Two hours had passed and still none were captured. Lydecker watched the screen as the search units gradually closed in on the three groups. None of them had captured the lone soldier, who appeared to be monitoring the movements of the other groups. Lydecker had assumed by now that the lone soldier was 645, trying to cover the other group's tracks and lure them away.

"How far away are they?" Dart asked as Tri jumped down from a tree.

"30 meters and closing. Two groups are coming from two different directions and closing in on our location. It's like they know exactly where we are."

"Which direction should we head then?"

"They're coming from the south and east sides," Tri explained.

"Then let's head north west. If they find us, we scatter and go to ground. It'll make it harder for them to locate us," Dart ordered.

The other two nodded as they headed off again. They had been covering their tracks for a while, but after realizing it didn't seem to help much, they just continued advancing. Unit 9 had not been informed the search units would be able to communicate as one.

Ammo hopped down from a tree and reported two search units were closing in on them from two different directions.

"We have to scatter. It'll be harder for them to find us. We've only got three hours remaining and there's still a lot of ground to cover," Nic commanded.

"Kev told us to stay together though," Joy protested. "None of us will be able to fight off two groups by ourselves."

Nic sighed, knowing she was right. Their goal was to minimize casualties, not sacrifice members. "Well, we'll stay together for now, but if we're made and we end up in a fight, scatter and go to ground. They'll have to split up if they want to find us, and it'll be easier for us to avoid, and fight them, if we must, if they split themselves up too."

Everyone nodded and continued moving.

Viper's group was not as fortunate – two search units had boxed them in.

"Give it up. You're surrounded," the CO of the X6 unit exclaimed.

"I'm not liking these odds," Viper mumbled as twelve soldiers surrounded the three of them.

They all fell into a fighting stance. "You're dreaming if you think we're just going to give up," Viper declared.

Before a fight could begin, however, Kev blurred out of nowhere and knocked several of the X6s down, including the CO.

"SCATTER!" she yelled as ran into some bushes again to follow her own orders.

No one wasted any time, as Viper's group took off running in different directions while their pursuers split up in an attempt to find them.

Kev could see four X6s were pursuing her. She smirked as she dove into a ditch. They didn't even see her disappear as they ran right past her. She quickly dusted herself off and went to go check on the other groups.

Viper ran as fast as she could, blurring in and out of trees with hopes of slowing them down. As she turned a corner, she hopped over a large boulder and hid until they passed.

Three X6s and an X5 were gaining on Fin as she took off and headed towards the river. Without thinking too much, she took a deep breath of air and plunged into the river, following it downstream to evade her pursuers.

Cody managed to duck into a cave, watching his pursuers pass him. He had never really noticed this area before, but you tend to discover things when you start looking for hiding places. He started venturing into the cave. He would be safe here, for now, but if they ever found him, he would truly be boxed in. He couldn't stay long.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Max finally managed to untie her restraints and took off, hoping Syl didn't do anything stupid. As she headed back to the casino, she reworked her plan. It was no longer going to be as simple as she had hoped, especially with Syl there as well.

Max walked into the casino, pretending to be a drunken guest ready to lose a lot of money. Dressed in some casual jeans and a tank top, she realized how much she missed the girly aspects of life. The Manticore uniform was boring. As she stumbled around with chips in her purse, she examined the security system. There was no way she could do anything unless it was disabled. As if granting her wish, the casino suddenly plunged into darkness. A few seconds later, the back-up lights went on. Max smiled as she realized Syl must have figured out a way to the power supply. She would have to move fast, however, as the security system would be back on line within fifteen minutes, and she would once again have to hack the feed if she wanted to remained undetected on the surveillance footage.

Without wasting any time, she headed down the stairs leading to the basement, but not before knocking out a few goons who tried to stop her. As Max peered around the corner, she saw the same Red Soldiers, from before, dragging in an unconscious body.

"It's another one of them freaks," one of them muttered.

"Well, at least our boss will be pleased. Two for the price of one."

"Wasn't there another one? She'll be back for her friends."

"We'll be ready," the guy smirked. "I can't wait to get rid of that twit – he thinks he can sell our boss' merchandise without asking. They made a deal and there's no way he's backing out of this one."

"Calm down. He'll get what's coming in due time."

Max watched as the guards dumped Syl's body in a room and left to return to their posts. She blurred down the hall and took out the guard posted at the entrance of the door. She tried the door, but not surprisingly, it was locked. She took out her lock picking tools and got to work, opening the door seconds later. Max watched in amazement as she examined all the valuables the man kept in this closet. There were a few exotic creatures as well as many pieces of American art Max would have been able to fence for a fortune. She finally found Krit and Syl locked in small cages at the end of the room. Both of them were unconscious. Krit's heart rate was steady, but from the looks of it, they probably subdued him with a drug to keep him quiet until it was time for transport. Syl was just recently knocked unconscious. She had no idea how she would be able to get both of them out of here undetected. She would need a damn good distraction.

She looked at the exotic creatures around her and smiled. A few parrots stolen from the national zoo – that would be a nice one. She'd release the tiger too, but that might be a bit more risky than she'd like. She found a cart in the corner that had been used to move the...merchandise and put Krit and Syl on it after removing them from their cages. Maybe they'll believe me when they don't wake up in Manticore, she thought bitterly.

She helped herself to a few rare treasures as well as some distractions before leaving the room. She kind of missed being a cat burglar. Perhaps she would have some time to fence these for old times sake.

She stepped out of the room and peeked around, but no one was in sight, except for the guard she had knocked unconscious. She dragged him into the room and restrained him before leaving the room with the cart. She made her way to the elevator and checked her watch. Her 15 minutes were nearly up.

As the elevator arrived, she got on and went back to ground level where the crowds were throwing away their money. She smiled as she released the parrots, some rare birds, and several peacocks. She shooed them into the crowds before discretely pushing the cart with Syl and Krit through a back entrance.

Screams were heard as the animals made a ruckus in the casino. Guards immediately turned their attention to the animals and left their posts. Max checked her watch – her 15 minutes were up and the security system should be back online. She would have to hurry out. She used her PDA to hack the security surveillance feed once again and sent a virus into their system. That would destroy any data they may have stored from her time here.

Fortunately, she ran into no problems on the way out, as the distraction seemed to adequately distract the guards. She uncovered her motorcycle nearby and examined the situation. How was she going to get two other people on her bike? She sighed as she tried to slap her sister awake. There was no way she could fit both of them on the bike.

After a few smacks, her sister grabbed her hand just as she was about to slap her again and flipped Max onto her back. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was. "YOU!" she accused sharply.

Max smiled slightly but knew her presence would be unwelcome. "Look, if it weren't for me, you'd be sold to whomever ordered a Manticore prototype and shipped overseas."

Syl knew she was right and got off her sister, allowing her to stand up. "I'm not going back to Manticore."

Max sighed. "You think I would have woken you up if I was planning on taking you back to Manticore?" she asked, now annoyed. They were supposed to be a family, yet they couldn't even trust each other. Even though she clearly understood the reasons, she didn't like it one bit.

Syl then looked at her sister again. Max had a point there. "Why did you wake me up then?"

Max shrugged. "I couldn't fit two of you on my bike. Someone's going to have to walk."

"Oh, thanks," Syl replied, but now, she was starting to believe Max's story, yet she didn't factor out the idea that Max was just waiting until they arrived back to a safe place before being met with an ambush from Manticore. "We're going to another motel though. And I've got my own bike around here somewhere so I'm not going to be far behind you."

"Look, if you really don't trust me, I'll let you take Krit back and I'll go along my merry way. The mission was accomplished and I don't have to hang around if I'm not welcomed."

Syl sighed. "Max, I'm sorry. I just can't afford any risks. You understand, don't you? If you have time, I would like us to spend some time together...to catch up on things, but I'm going to have to take precautions."

Max sighed. Lydecker had given her seventy-two hours. She still had over fifty to waste. Now that she thought about it, Lydecker had given her a hell of a lot more time than she really needed to accomplish the mission...how generous of him. Well, what better way to spend it then with family?

Max smiled, "I understand. I would like us to spend some time together too, just no restraints, got it?"

Syl nodded reluctantly, but it would be a bit unfair to do that to her sister. She did just rescue them. "Let's go then. I'll lead the way."

Max smiled as she sped off into the night with her siblings. It was great to be back outside.

Forest A, Manticore

As the three-hour window passed, Nic's group was surrounded. The three scattered before a fight broke out and any of them were captured. This led the search units to divide amongst themselves yet again as they tried to capture the three from Unit 9.

Kev watched from the treetops as three or four soldiers pursued the various members of Nic's group. Nic was engaged into a battle, but he easily fought them off and kept running. Ammo disappeared behind some bushes and went the other way as soon as a search unit passed by him. Joy was not as lucky, however, as she was surrounded by two X6s and two X5s. Kev sped in her direction to lend a hand, knocking down the X5s with a large branch she had picked up along the way.

Joy quickly knocked out the X6s and disabled them as soon as Kev arrived, using the distraction to her advantage. Kev and Joy then took out the remaining X5s and continued running.

"I'm going to check on Dart's group. Stay low, and good luck," Kev said before Joy had a chance to thank her.

Lydecker was impressed they had held out for this long against the X Series unit. It also made him uneasy that they still had not captured one soldier. If Max ever did order an escape...and her unit agreed, Lydecker would be in for a challenge. He sighed as he watched Unit 9 scatter.

Thirty minutes later, Kev had caught up with Dart's group and watched as they were surrounded. They immediately took off in different directions and scattered. Tri lost her pursuers after scaling a tree – they ran right under her and didn't even notice she was above them. Dart outran them with ease and hid as they passed him. Gai tripped several of his pursuers as they passed by him and then took off in the other direction.

Kev smiled as she headed towards their rendezvous point, arriving as the fourth hour began. They would only need to last an hour more. As she watched the search units pursue the groups, however, she noticed something she hadn't noticed before. The leaders of each group had comm. units, which meant they were communicating with each other as they conducted their search – as if it wasn't unfair enough, she thought. As everyone arrived at the rendezvous point, she split them up into two groups of five. She would lead one group and Dart was chosen to lead the other group. One group would head northwest while another would head northeast. Since the search units were still divided, they would be easy to overcome if they ran into them, but seeing that they were communicating with each other, Kev knew it wouldn't be long before they regrouped as well. She told them to scatter again if they had to evade the enemy.

"Base to all teams, Unit 9 has regrouped into two groups heading northwest and northeast. Repeat, Unit 9 has regrouped into two groups heading northwest and northeast. Over and out," a TAC Leader informed the search group.

813 quickly reorganized them into two groups of 17 and sent them in the two directions. He was not pleased with the way things were going. Four hours had passed and they still had not caught one soldier. This was going to look bad for his reputation, not that Unit 9 wasn't already succeeding in doing that. Unit 2 rarely did this poorly on escape and evade missions. Then again, it was hard to really compare since they rarely participated on such wide scale exercises. It's possible that the larger numbers were hindering them, right? What they were doing now was certainly not normal, not only for Unit 2, but for the other X5 units as well, and 813 knew that. If 813 didn't know better, he would think Manticore had something special in mind for Unit 9.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Syl arrived at a hotel a few blocks away from their previous motel. She carefully parked her motorcycle and took Krit to their rented room. Max followed suit, relaxing on one of the beds as soon as they entered the room.

"So..." Syl began, unsure of what to say. "How are things?" she tried.

Max shrugged. "Manticore's no different, if that's what you mean."

"You know...you don't have to go back," Syl suggested.

Max sighed. "I know. Trust me, Syl, I've thought about it, I really have, but Lydecker promised he would come after me if I didn't return – and not just me, but all of you too. At least if I go back, he won't be searching for you."

"Max, we've evaded Lydecker for so many years. You still can."

Max didn't doubt her abilities either, but something else was holding her back. "I know...Syl. I just...can't. I have a unit now that depends on me, and we're doing so well right now – hopefully we'll make it out on top."

Syl studied her sister, who had an expression that suggested she was thinking of just more than her unit. "Is it really just your unit?"

Max shrugged. "I've made some friends here and there."

Syl couldn't keep the suspicion off her face as she looked at Max. "Max?"

Max just looked confused as she asked, "What?"

"You like someone," Syl stated as a matter-of-factly.

"NO!"

"Yes you do," Syl grinned, seeing her little sister's immediate denial.

"I just got over mourning the death of a guy I really loved. There's no way I'm getting into a relationship at Manticore. Besides, the guys there think too highly of themselves, being Manticore soldiers and all."

"Right," Syl replied, still not believing her. "So who is it?"

"Syyylll! It's no one."

"Then leave Manticore. Surely your unit doesn't really need you, do they? I mean, they must have come from some unit beforehand and belong somewhere. Manticore wouldn't make new X5 soldiers just for you."

Syl was right in that Unit 9 really didn't need her to be there. Kev was perfectly capable of leading them, but she also promised Kev that they would one day leave Manticore together, and she was not about to break that promise.

"Syl, I promised one of them I'd help them leave too. I can't go back on my promise."

Just then, a groan was heard as Krit was slowly waking up. The two sisters got up to check on their brother.

Sector A Forest, Manticore

As Unit 9 went their separate ways, search units were quickly approaching behind them. It wouldn't be long before they caught up.

Half an hour later, Dart stopped his group as they heard soldiers approaching.

813 emerged within minutes as sixteen others in his group surrounded the five of them. "Looks like you're out of options. Surrender and no one gets hurt."

Dart just smiled. "Where's the fun in that?"

As if reading each others thoughts, Unit 9 blurred simultaneously to attack their opponent, taking out a few of them before running off in their own direction. The search group split up yet again as they tried to track their individual targets.

Kev's group was surrounded roughly at the same time, led by Unit 2's SIC – 702.

"You're greatly outnumbered, 645. You should tell your group to stand down. There's no way you can win now."

Kev's face remained emotionless as she looked to the others in her group and nodded. Within seconds, the group blurred to attack, taking out a few of them before scattering in different directions again. 702 sighed and divided the group into smaller groups again. She too was getting tired of this unsuccessful game of cat and mouse. It was a good thing there was only half an hour remaining.

As Unit 9 scattered again, evading the pursuers at every corner, Lydecker could tell that this little exercise would most likely end in Unit 9's favor. He sighed, hoping in the long run, Max would be on his side. If the X Series couldn't capture this unit, it was unlikely that any of his troops would. They could accomplish so much together.

Las Vegas, Nevada

"Krit, how are you feeling?" Syl asked as she helped Krit to sit up.

"What happened? Where am I?" he asked groggily.

"You're safe," Max replied.

"Am I dead?" Krit asked.

The two of them laughed as Krit shook his head to clear his vision. He was indeed seeing the supposedly dead Max.

"God my head hurts," Krit complained.

Syl handed him a glass of water. "They've been keeping you drugged. You're probably gonna feel a bit out of it for a while."

Krit gulped down the water before asking a bit confused, "Max, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me, Krit," Max replied with a grin. "In the flesh."

"I thought you were dead."

"It's a long story. Why don't you get some rest first?"

"I'll be fine. What happened? Lydecker said you were KIA."

Max sighed as she began telling the story again, starting from when she died to her mission to save Krit. This time, she included all the details she had left out earlier when she gave the short hand version to Syl, hoping to gain her trust. Syl eyed Max curiously as Max described the breeding program and the "jerk" she had been paired with. She could tell from the way Max described this guy though that there was more than meets the eye.

"So about this Alec guy...you said you started to hang out with him after you joined Unit 9. You two friends?" Syl asked curiously.

Max shrugged. "I guess. He's still an asshole most of the time, but we get along alright."

"Well, if you ask me, I think our Maxie here has a crush on Alec," Krit openly stated as he wrapped an arm around Max's shoulder. He certainly seemed to be feeling better after listening to Max's journey through Manticore.

Max's eyes widened as he announced that. "Why does everyone think that?! Even everyone at Manticore thinks there's something going on between us!" she cried furiously.

Syl and Krit couldn't stop themselves from laughing when she revealed that part. If people at Manticore – home to soldiers who aren't supposed to know what love is – thought that, then how is there not something going on between those two?

"There's nothing going on between us!" Max declared stubbornly. "It's all because of that stupid breeding program!"

"Max, you guys hang out way too much for being just friends – you're going to tell me there's not even the slightest attraction?" Krit inquired.

Max didn't respond as she thought about Alec and smiled. Syl and Krit exchanged glances before Krit smirked triumphantly.

"Shut up," Max muttered. "Besides, I'm not sure he wants things that way."

"Oh come on. You said the guy was your breeding partner, and from the sounds of it, he had no problem following orders when you two first met."

"Yeah, well I don't think any guy would have problems following that kind of order." She shrugged then continued, "He didn't exactly have problems not following orders either. Besides, those were just orders. He's a soldier. He doesn't want a relationship."

"You don't know that, Max," Syl replied reassuringly.

Max shrugged and decided to steer the conversation away from her. "So what have you guys been doing?"

"Well, since that DNA lab mission, Krit and I...decided to stay together. It's...nice to have someone you know close by...you know," Syl informed.

Now it was Max's turn to look suspicious. "Family's always nice," she commented casually, watching the two closely.

Syl blushed while Krit smiled dumbly.

"And you two were teasing me about Alec," she laughed as she rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm happy for you two. Were you two together when that...happened?" She was referring to Krit's capture.

"Well...the last I remember I was getting groceries...then everything went black. I think they might have drugged me with a dart or something. I remember feeling a pinch before blacking out," Krit explained.

"When he didn't come home, I tried calling him, but there was no answer, so I tracked his phone and found it in a dumpster. I followed the clues left from there and tracked him down to the casino," Syl explained. "You know the rest."

"How did they know you were Manticore?" Max wondered. "They might have been watching you two for some time now..."

"I realized that," Syl stated. "Which is another reason I've been jumping around a lot lately. I haven't noticed anyone tailing me, but it doesn't hurt to be too safe."

"They might have noticed my barcode," Krit replied guiltily. "It's been a while since I've had it covered...or maybe they saw me fight off some muggers. I guess I should be a bit more careful..."

"We'll both have to be more careful," Syl suggested. "If Zack heard about this...he'd have our heads..."

Max nodded sadly as their big brother came up. "Lydecker may not be after you guys right now, but I have the feeling he's not going to let foreign companies get their hands on any Manticore technology...even if it means Manticore needs to get directly involved. As much as I love you both, I really don't want you joining me back at Manticore. So please...try to stay safe."

"Max, you know you don't have to go back," Krit reminded.

Max tried not to frown – she already had this conversation with Syl.

"I know Krit, and believe me, I would love to stay out here with you all, but I made several promises I can't break right now. I'll find a way back out here, Krit. I promise..."

"I know Maxie...just...take care of yourself, OK?" Krit sighed. "Thanks for saving me, by the way."

Max just smiled. "Anytime. Although Lydecker was the one who allowed me to leave..."

Krit frowned but nodded in understanding. "Tell him thanks as well then. How long do you have out here?"

Max looked at her watch. "He gave me 72 hours to complete the mission. More than enough time, really. My flight doesn't leave for another...43 hours, so I've got plenty of time to just...relax," she answered with a smile.

"Well, let's not waste time! How about a game of pool? I know this great bar..." Syl suggested as she started heading out the door.

The three transgenics walked into the night to share the little time they would have together.


A/N: Thanks to all of you who reviewed! As I will be going on two consecutive tours in China to Yunnan province and Shanghai, I will be quite busy these next two weeks! I assume many of my readers are quite busy as well, yet I do hope when people get around to reading these chapters, a review will be left...even if the chapter is not the most recent chapter available. Of course, everyone is busy during the holiday season, so I hope everyone is enjoying this time of year! For those of you with extra time on your hands which you have used to read this story (thank you!), I hope it has helped make your holiday more enjoyable! Happy holidays everyone, and when I return, I shall leave a brief note about my travels, for those interested. And...if I'm happy with my review count, I'll be uploading another chapter before I start school again in the middle of January...so...you know what to do. ;) Again, special thanks to my beta, mars494, who has helped me proofread and catch yet another timeline error!

Also, I generally reply to all reviews before updating, but due to time constraints, I won't be able to reply this time around, however I promise that when I return from my vacation, I will DEFINITELY reply! So please leave a review! I WILL reply. I am literally typing this up with roughly 12 hours remaining before I have a flight out of here:S Enjoy!