Max leaned back in the flimsy office chair behind her equally flimsy desk, the tips of her toes brushing against the concrete floor. She dragged the tip of her boots back and forth, letting the rhythm echo around the relatively quiet space. Glancing through the wire mesh bracketing her window, she could see that the cops had at least pulled back their positions. Their fingers were still lingering on the trigger though and as hard as it was to admit, Blackwater's decision to remove the transgenics from their line of sight had been a good idea.

'09er,' Max murmured under her breath. The contempt buried behind Blackwater's tone ricocheted through her skull and Max let her weight drop, her soles coming in contact with the floor with a loud thump. 'Stupid ass nickname.'

A quick glance at the clock told her Dylan was going to be in any minute now with a contingency plan. Max ran her fingers through her hair, combing out the tangles. It was something Lucy had done those nights Jack had thundered above them, his voice loud and dripping with booze. The pads of her fingers had been a soothing element in an otherwise chaotic and unknown world. She remembered running as fast as she could, her feet torn up and bloody as she fled from Manticore. Perhaps this could be seen the wrong way but Max was grateful for the Pulse. In a way what many saw as the ruin of mankind had been a boon to her and her siblings. Information was power and the decimation of the vast majority of the computer and communications systems following the Pulse had bought Max some breathing space to blend into the masses.

And right now they think we're the terrorists.

The label tasted bitter on her tongue. Couldn't these people see that they were just trying to get by? That they were more than government-made super soldiers? Granted the recent publicity generated by the Jam Pony siege hadn't exactly been a public relations boon, but it hadn't been a complete nightmare either. Flippin' Normal had somehow been coerced over onto the dark side, Alec had joked one night. If they had been able to change Reagan Ronald's mind, there was no one they couldn't convince.

A mild scuff of a boot alerted Max to Alec's presence. Alec often walked around with a swagger, with purpose. But there was a lightness to his step, an almost predatory prowl that was barely detectable unless you had the means to locate it.

'How's Mole?' Max asked, settling her hands onto her desk and steepling them together. Alec shrugged his shoulders, slouching down into the worn couch positioned along the wall.

'Tough, leather-skinned bastard ain't dead. Verda managed to get the slugs out, knocked him out with some high-class sedatives. Give it a couple of hours before we here yelling over there,' Alec answered casually though there was no missing the relief lacing his words. 'Anything from Colonel Jackass?'

Max raised an eyebrow, looked pointedly down at the phone which remained silent.

'You really think they're gonna just give in?' Alec wondered aloud and Max ground her teeth.

'What? You want to do what Blackwater said and shoot the place up?'

'Did I say that?' Alec retorted. 'I'm just saying that we might have to go in guns blazin' Maxie.'

'Yeah well, let's hope it doesn't come to that,' Max replied shortly.

'I come at a bad time?' Dylan's voice interrupted and Max resisted giving a sigh of relief, ignored the burning stare Alec was sending her way. She waved the tall X5 inside, gesturing for him to close the door behind him.

'No call huh,' Dylan said, settling next to Alec on the couch. Max climbed to her feet, wandered over towards the window.

'Rumsfield might not be taking us seriously,' Dylan ventured cautiously. 'You know that guy hates us. No way is he going to "negotiate with terrorists" and give us what we want.'

'Not to mention the fact that you practically threatened him,' Alec murmured loud enough for her to hear. Max whipped her head around, narrowing her eyes.

'You got something to say Alec?'

'I'm saying that your idealistic worldview is all well and good when we're on the run. But right now we need to be real Max. We're outnumbered. Even factoring in our genetic empowerment, bodies are going to drop-'

'Oh so its idealistic now for me to not send people out to die? To even think that we can solve this without pumping lead into someone?' Max fired back, fisting her hands on her hips. She saw Dylan cut his gaze from one to the other, noticed Alec fold his arms across his chest.

'So the body count is acceptable if we go after one of your brothers? Is that it? Anyone else it's just tough luck that-'

'Don't you even dare,' Max hissed, eating away the distance between them and jabbing her finger into his chest.

'Mole almost died today,' Alec answered evenly. 'How many more of us is it going to take? They think we're fucking terrorists Max! So right now we're non-humans without a conscience and you just know their going to plaster our mugs all over the idiot box, with some kind of warning label attached. Then what?'

Max heaved out a frustrated sigh, angled her head towards Dylan. 'You agree with him?'

Dylan looked slightly uneasy as two pairs of heated eyes swung his way. Straightening his shoulders, he splayed his palms in the air.

'Look you're both right okay? Max you gave Rumsfield a deadline. So once the six hours are up, what next? Do we just sit here on our thumbs and wait? Or do we make some kind of statement?'

Damn this glass half full crap.

'We're running out of supplies Max,' Dylan continued, lowering his voice. 'The natives are starting to get restless. When they came here they expected freedom, not this. You were the one that convinced them we should quit running, make a stand against the ordinaries.'

'Yeah I'm the great and fearless leader,' Max couldn't help but let her bitterness leak through. Huffing out a breath, Max turned back to the window. 'So you got a plan then handsome? Or are you just beauty and no brain?'

Alec stiffened at her words but neither Max or Dylan noticed.

'Well one option we might have is to take a hostage. Gives us leverage, maybe could even buy us some supplies we need,' Dylan offered.

'That's just going to stir up more heat,' Max shook her head, bit her lip. 'No, our target should be Rumsfield if this doesn't pan out. We light the fire under his ass, we can kickstart things our way,' she trailed off.

'You want to take Rumsfield hostage?' Dylan repeated slowly.

Information is power.

The thought spun through her head like a wheel. That was it. That was what they needed. Turning towards the clock, Max saw that they under five hours to do it.

'We're going to take Rumsfield hostage,' Max announced, letting a smirk work its way over her face. 'But not in the way you think.'