Zack was the first one to speak, "Why in the hell do you think he would help us?" His voice was filled with anger and hate.
"Because Manticore wants him dead." Max stated.
"Well they are going to have to get in line and take a number." Kyle said. Michael and Max could see Kyle staring at Lydecker. The glare he was giving him made the ones Kyle had given them in the past look like affectionate smiles.
"Listen, I’m not saying we become best friends with him just that he wants the same thing as us. And that is to get rid of Manticore. He helped me get away. He had someone tracking me. They were using this decked out van as the command post and got to me before Manticore could. He knows stuff that could help." They could tell Max wasn’t happy about being in Lydecker’s company even as she defended her actions.
"He killed Tinga," Liz said coldly, her friends had never heard her voice like that. She couldn’t believe that the man that had been hunting them for years, was right there in front of them. She could see that Kyle and Zack were seething with anger while Syl and Krit hid it better and stood there silently waiting to see what would play out.
"I’m not responsible for the death of your sister and I am here to help. My ex-boss won’t stop until I’m dead and she not just after me, she's after you, too. If you take out the genetics lab along with a couple key points in the building Manticore will fall. Remember soldiers, I know the security and defensive capabilities of that facility like the back of my hand."
Zack noticed everyone was looking at him to make the ultimate decision. They knew Zack didn’t trust anyone beyond his family. He was having a hard time deciding whether to push his hate away and see what he had to say or just pull out his gun and shoot him. He knew that the information he would provide would be valuable so he didn’t do the latter one. The six of them had been around Lydecker enough to be able to tell if he was trying to fool them. He hoped anyway. He was sure that Lydecker knew if he double- crossed them that he didn’t stand a chance in hell of escaping all of them. This could be their one chance to get rid of Manticore once and for all. He nodded his head showing that he consented.
"Let’s do it."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Zack walked up and stared Lydecker right in the eyes. "Don’t think that this makes up for what you’ve done to us."
"The only thing I ever did was try to make you the best soldiers I could." Lydecker said. "If that meant I had to capture you to bring you back to Manticore than that’s what I had to do. I was just doing my job."
"JUST DOING YOUR JOB! That’s your excuse for all of the lectures and the beatings you gave us! For gunning our sister when we were trying to get away from you! For trying to hunt us down like animals for the last ten years! For turning Bren against us! For using Tinga’s son to get to her! That isn’t a part of your job! That is part of you being a ruthless monster!" Liz yelled at him. She could feel Maria holding onto one o f her arms in the attempt to hold her back. She knew her friend could feel her shaking even if no one else saw it.
Lydecker gazed at her for a minute. She saw a flash of recognition in his eyes as he tried to figure out who she was. "Liz, right?"
Liz didn’t answered but he knew he was right. She saw him smile slightly before saying, "I could tell it was you. You always did have a unique way of expressing yourself."
"A trait you tried to get rid of. Several times if I remember right." Liz snapped back.
"A soldier cannot be allowed to let the enemy know what they are thinking." Lydecker quoted a speech that they had heard many times.
"I am not a soldier. Not anymore!" Liz yelled cutting him off. She started to move towards him but Syl stopped her.
"Liz, stop. He wins if you let him do this to you." Syl could see Liz relax some. "As much as we hate him, he has information that we need to get Manticore out of our lives forever."
Liz took a deep breath to calm down. She couldn’t believe how out of control she had gotten. She had tried to control and bury all the anger and hate she’d felt but it had all came crashing back when she had seen Lydecker. The hate she’d felt for Tess was tiny in comparison to what she felt for Lydecker and Manticore. She knew Syl was right and she wasn’t going to give Lydecker anymore opportunity to see how he had affected her.
"Fine. Let’s get started. The sooner we get this done the sooner he’s gone." She turned back and saw the looks of her friends were giving her. They were all worried about her especially Max. He was the only one besides the X5’s to witness how Lydecker had treated them.
They all went back to the table to where the blueprints were located. Zack explained about who her friends were and then they got to work. Lydecker briefed them on the security and the areas that needed to be attacked while Liz watched him closely. He still had the cold look in his eyes that she remembered so well. She’d made sure that her and her friends were sitting the farthest away from him. She had seen him look at Max and the others curiously when he met them. She was going to make sure that he didn’t get his hands on them.
Lydecker finished going over everything and Zack went over the plan. "We’ll head out in Ky’s SUV and the van that Lydecker was using to track Max. It’s has everything that Logan needs to infiltrate the security cameras. Isabel and Maria will stay in the van to help watch the monitors and be prepared to drive if the need arises. Max, Michael, will be just outside in case we need some cover. You guys will stay there and let us handle this. We’re the ones with the right training." Zack knew that there was no way that he would be able to keep Max and the others away if Liz and Kyle were going on the mission. They wanted to help in anyway possible and he knew that they might still need the extra firepower. "The outlining woods go all the way to the fence. The six of us will go over the perimeter fence together here," indicating the area, "then split up. The fence is only ten feet so it will be easy."
When everyone nodded, Zack continued, "After we’re over the fence, we split up into three units to set the charges. Maxie and I will head to the genetics lab, Krit and Syl will go to the control room while Ky and Liz will hit the main computer storage room. When the charges are set you head back out. The computer room is the farthest from all the targets so Ky and Liz will be the last ones over. Try to go back over the fence as near to the same point as we entered. Signal when you clear the fence and Lydecker will detonate. We’ll all meet back at the rendezvous point and head back. Any questions?" They all shook their heads no. "Max is heading out with Lydecker to secure something that we need to get into the lab. The rest of us need to go through our armory and get ready. We move out at 0800hrs. Be ready in four hours."
By the time everyone had separated Liz had calmed down some. She got up and made her way over to where her sister was talking to Logan. She waited for a minute before she approached her. They both reached for another hug.
When they separated, Liz said, "I’m so glad you got out. When Zack told us we were so worried."
"He must have been to accept Logan’s help to get me out."
"Why is that?"
"Zack blames my connection to Logan on why I haven’t left Seattle yet so they don’t get along very well."
Liz laughed at her sister’s statement, "He’s the same way with Max. I laid into him about it earlier so he should lighten up a bit." Liz raised her eyebrow and asked, "So what is your connection with Logan?"
"We’re friends." Max said quickly. She looked over to where Lydecker was waiting with Zack. "Can we talk later?"
Liz smiled even bigger when she saw her sister’s discomfort. ‘It’s nice to be on this end of the teasing for once.’ She let her squirm for a minute more before saying, "Yeah, we will talk later. We have a lot of catching up to do." Max looked kind of worried at what Liz was talking about as she walked away.
After watching Lydecker leave with her sister, Liz went over and flopped down at the table. She felt a lot more at ease once Lydecker left. It took a lot of energy to stay in the same room with the person you fear and despise the most and not do anything.
Part 20:
After watching Lydecker leave with her sister, Liz went over and flopped down at the table. She felt a lot more at ease once Lydecker left. It took a lot of energy to stay in the same room with the person you fear and despise the most and not do anything.
Max could tell Liz was upset, he walked over to Zack and said, "We’re going to go into the office for some down time until we leave. If you need us, we’ll be in there."
When Zack nodded his head, Max made his way over to their friends, "Why don’t we all go into one of the offices to relax for a little while? We’ve got at time to kill. Grab anything you might need." Max headed over to where he moved the jeep and grabbed some blankets and his bag.
By the time he entered everyone had already found their places. Isabel was sitting in the over-stuffed desk chair, Michael was in a recliner type chair with Maria on his lap, Liz was sitting Indian-style on the desk with Kyle next to her with his arms around her. Max felt a twinge of jealousy for a minute until he remembered that they were siblings. It was going to take a while to get used to the idea. He could see that Kyle was trying his best to comfort Liz. Before Max could say anything, Maria spoke,
"Hey Chica, how are you doing?"
Liz shrugged her shoulders, "I don’t know. I’m scared, worried, angry, pick a feeling. "
Kyle nodded, "I just can’t believe Lydecker’s here. It’s like you guys working with Nicholas or Pierce."
"I don’t trust him. I just can’t. He’s done too much." Liz stated.
"Why do you think the others trust him?" Isabelle asked.
"I don’t think they do. At least, no farther than the mission. They trust people less than we do." Kyle added. "Like Liz said, he’s done too much to all of us."
"Do you think he’s lying about helping?" Michael asked. Michael didn’t trust Lydecker from the moment he heard Max say his name. Seeing Liz’s reaction to him, just confirmed the feeling he had about him. Liz didn’t just go off on like that, actually he’d never seen her like that before. Even when she was fighting with Max at Alex’s funeral, she had never been that mad.
"Not exactly, I think the information he gave us is accurate. With Manticore hunting him he has every reason to want to see it gone as much as we do, but it’s a big part of him. He helped create it. I just have this feeling something off. Be careful around him tonight. Watch him. Don't mention anything about our lives and don’t use your powers around him. Zack doesn’t feel it’s a trap but we still need to watch our backs."
"What if Lydecker switches sides again?" Michael asked even though they all were sure of the answer.
"Then he’s the enemy and we’ll take him out," Liz stated. "If he doesn’t then we’re go our separate ways. The plan is a good one and we should be able to get in undetected with Logan’s help."
"I didn’t get a chance to ask how you guys going to get over the fence? Climb it?" Michael asked curiously. Liz could see the question in all of her friends’ eyes.
Liz smiled remembering that although they knew what she was, none of them knew what she was capable of. "We’ll jump it." She explained as she saw their surprised faces. "We have greater elasticity in our muscles. It helps us to jump to greater heights. It’s how we escaped before."
"So that’s why Kyle is so good at basketball." Maria joked then she remembered something, "That’s how you beat up those two bullies back in 4th grade, isn’t it?"
"What bullies?" Michael asked.
"Two 5th grade bullies that were picking on Alex. I went to see if Alex was okay and when I turned around both guys were laying on the ground with Liz hovering over them. That’s how we became friends with Alex." Maria explained.
"You took out two bigger kids by yourself when you were nine?" Isabel asked.
Liz blushed and nodded, "Yeah, they made me mad when I saw them picking on Alex and it was just instinct. I got reamed for that little display especially by my older and wiser brother." She glared at Kyle.
"Well you shouldn’t have done it. It caused unwanted attention to yourself." Kyle squabbled.
"How much older is Kyle than you?" Maria asked trying to break up the two siblings.
"He’s six months older and the youngest of the boys."
Maria questioned them further "So you two didn’t have the same mother?"
"No. Kyle, Jack and Jondy are from the same mother. Max, Krit and I were from another. Each of the host mothers had two to three kids a piece." Liz lowered her eyes at the thought of her birth mother that she had never known. She had wondered if she was even alive or if Manticore had gotten rid of her. Silence followed until Isabel spoke.
"How did you figure it out?" Isabel asked. When they all looked at her funny she said, "What Tess had done?"
Liz and Kyle looked at Maria, "You didn’t tell them?"
Maria shook her head, "No, we were too busy trying to figure out what was going on with you two and explaining about Future Max. After that everyone but Max fell asleep on the way."
Liz, Kyle, and Maria took turns explaining how Maria’s mom and Kyle broke out of the mindwarp and how they rushed to the pod chamber. Liz then explained about the flashes she got from Tess and then Max explained the entire scene that lead to her escape.
"I can’t believe we trusted her. All she carried about was being the stupid queen." Isabel cried. "Alex died because we trusted her."
"Liz didn’t, she never trusted her." Maria said.
"Guys, you couldn’t know. She’s one of you. It was natural for you to trust her. " Liz said.
"Thank you, Liz." Isabel said.
"For what?"
"For everything you’ve done for us. For lying to your family and the Sheriff, risking getting caught to help us, the whole Future Max thing, and for not listening to anyone when they said Alex’s death was an accident. Saying thank you isn’t really enough but I wanted to tell you anyway."
"I just did what I felt was right." Liz said as she fidgeted. Having all the attention on what she had done made her uncomfortable.
Seeing Liz uncomfortable Max cut in, "Why don’t we all get comfortable and try to get a couple hours sleep?" He tossed Isabel and Michael a blanket. Michael laid it on the floor and curled up with Maria while Isabel stretched out in the chair that they had just left.
Max laid out his own blanket and walked over to where Liz and Kyle were quietly talking. As he walked up he heard Kyle ask, "So you don’t think the mindwarp did any damage?’
Liz shrugged her shoulders, "I don’t know. The damage Alex had was because she mindwarped him everyday for a month. She didn’t have to do it to you as much. We’ll just keep a look out and see if the seizures return." Liz stopped talking when Max walked up.
Kyle took it as his queue, "I’m going to go out front and see if they need any help." He got up off the desk, and headed out of the room but not before giving Max a look that said ‘Take care of her.’
Max walked up and pulled Liz to him and said, "I laid out another blanket if you want to lay down for awhile with me."
Liz smiled, "I got a lot of sleep for me the night before yesterday. You go ahead, I don’t want to keep you awake."
"I want to hold you. We could just lay there and talk some more if you like."
Liz could think of nothing better so she got up and let Max lead her to the blanket. They both lay down on their sides and curled towards each other.
Liz signed, "Today has been the longest day."
"Liz, not to butt in but what were you and Kyle talking about?"
Liz looked at him for a minute, "Nothing much. We were wondering if Tess’s mindwarp left any damage on him like it did Alex."
Max knew Kyle wouldn’t like what he was about to suggest but he had to ask, "I could take a look to see if he’s okay."
"No, I think he’ll be okay. He’s trying to come to grips with what she did to him. It takes even more for Kyle to get close to someone than it does me and he felt cared about her."
"Then why were you talking about seizures?"
Liz bit her lip and thought about how to explain. "There’s a couple things I didn’t think to mention earlier. When we were created we came with a couple flaws. Some of us get seizures because our brains don’t produce some amino acids that we need. We’ve kept them in control by taking Triptophan but Kyle and I haven’t needed it since you healed us. I think its why I able to get the flashes without always forming a connection first. Kyle was worried that the mindwarp might have un-did your healing."
"Well if they come back I’ll have to see if I can fix it." Max leaned over and kissed her. It started gentle but like always it heated up quickly. They continued for a little while until Liz pulled back.
"Max, we need to stop. You need to sleep."
Max looked down at Liz and said, "I know. I just want you to stay in my arms where I know you’re safe."
When he finished it dawned on Liz what he really meant by his statement, "You’re worried about tonight aren’t you?"
"Yes, I can’t help it. I’ve tried to keep you out of danger for the last two years and here you are going right in to it. You could get hurt or captured. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."
"I’ll be fine. We know what we are doing. Hell, this is what we were created for." Liz could see that Max still wasn’t happy about it. "Max, I have to do this. I’m tired of hiding from them. I hate not knowing my brothers and sisters because I can’t be with them. I hope you understand."
"I do. I’ll just be glad when it’s over."
"Me, too. Now close your eyes and rest." When he did Liz reached over and gently started brushed the hair out of his eyes. After a few minutes of this he was fast asleep. She waited a little while longer before disentangling herself from his arms and made her way out to where her siblings were. She was going to make the most of the time she had with them. Of course, if they succeeded tonight she would be able to see them and the others a lot more.
Part 21:
When Max woke up three hours later, he found that not only was Liz not next to him but that everyone else was gone too. He got up and headed back to the main room in search of her. When he got there he swept the room and didn’t see her. He noticed Lydecker was back but all his friends were also gone. He walked over to where Logan sat at his computer and asked, "Hey Logan, do you know where Liz and the others went?"
Logan looked up from his computer and answered, "She just went with Syl to change clothes. Isabel and Maria are with her. Michael and Kyle went with Max to get pizza" Max sat down next to him and watched him for a few minutes.
"Can I ask a personal question?" Max asked.
"Sure."
"I noticed you wear braces on your legs and I was wondering what happened."
"Well they're not braces actually. I got shot around a year ago and was paralyzed. They’re an exoskeleton that allows me to walk."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories." Max apologized.
"It's okay. If it weren’t for Max I would be a lot worse." Logan's lips lifted to a half smile before he added, "She saved me when the guy came back to finish me."
The tone in Logan's voice when he talked about Liz's sister didn't escape Max's attention. It was the same way others had told him that he sounded when he talked about Liz. The more he talked to Logan the more he liked him. The two sat there and talked about their X5 girlfriends for about fifteen minutes until Liz walked up. She had changed into a pair of camouflage pants with a dark green T-shirt and her hair was french-braided. She leaned down and gave Max a quick kiss.
"Your sisters powers are a real timesaver." Liz said smiling. After she had changed, she had been in the process of pulling her hair into a ponytail when Isabel walked up and ran her hand over Liz's hair and it was instantly braided. She had repeated the process on Syl’s hair too.
Max just nodded and continued to look at Liz. Seeing her in the fatigues just made what she was about to do even more realistic. He hated that he wouldn't be with her if something happened but he knew she would never allow him to go with her. She was trying to protect him as much as he wanted to protect her.
She sat down on his lap and asked, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, but I hated waking up alone." Max acted like he was pouting.
Liz giggled, "Well I told you I don't need much sleep. I came out here and helped Ky get the weapons ready and caught up with my family." Liz had been in hog-heaven. She got to catch up with Krit, Syl, and Max as well as got to know Logan. She had drilled Max about her relationship with Logan. It took a little while but she had finally got her to cave and tell her how she felt about him. From what she had seen of Logan she felt he was perfect for her sister.
He reached up and started rubbing her neck. When she leaned forward it caused her braid to fall to one side, her barcode caught his eye. He started running his thumb over it wishing he could rid her of it for good but she had told him it couldn’t be removed at least permanently. It reminded him of the V constellation imprint he had in his head. They were both marked to show who they were.
Max didn’t dwell on his thoughts long because just then Max G., Michael, and Kyle walked in. "Pizza!"
At the mention of food, Liz jumped up and headed straight for it. Max stayed where he sat and watched her. His gaze was so intent on her that he didn't notice Lydecker walk up and barely heard Logan say, "How can they eat at a time like this?"
Max just shrugged but Lydecker said, "Wars have been won and lost on the stomachs of its soldiers."
Both guys glared at their girlfriends’ creator/nemesis. "It must be very satisfying for you to see this. Watching your dream in action." Logan stated.
"This is what they were born to do, it's who they are. The perfect soldiers."
"It might be why they were created but it is not all of who they are. They have their own minds and lives. And after tonight they won't have to worry about Manticore interfering." Max snapped. He hated Lydecker implying that Liz was nothing more than a human machine meant to kill.
Lydecker could see how upset his comment had made the two men sitting in front of them. "No, they won't have to worry about Manticore anymore. It’s something they have to do but why are you here? This isn't your fight."
"Liz's fight is my fight. I would do anything to give her the life she wants." Max started but was interrupted when Krit asked, "Who's this woman who is coming after us? Who killed Tinga?"
Lydecker headed over to the table and answered, "Madame X or Renfro is what most call her. She's the new overall director of Manticore." He paused for a minute then said, "When we found out about Tinga's son we were curious about the child and Tinga herself. She took your sister and had some experiments done which ended up leading to her death. She'll do the same to any of you if she could. Her goal is to make any future members of the X-series better by studying the earlier ones."
They all sat around thinking about what he’d said and finished eating. Liz was so busy cleaning up and loaded the vehicles with all their gear that she didn’t notice Kyle, Zack, and Krit lead Max into one of the other rooms. Nor did she notice Maria making sure that Michael didn’t go with them.
Max had a feeling of what was to come when Krit told him that he, Zack, and Kyle wanted to talk to him in the other room. He followed them into the office and waited as Krit closed the door. He didn’t expect what happened next but wasn’t surprised that it happened. One minute he was waiting to hear what they had to say, the next he was laid out on the floor holding his face with Kyle standing over him fists up. Zack and Krit were right behind him.
"That isn’t even close to what you deserve. But if we gave it to you, you wouldn’t be breathing and Liz would never speak to us again." Kyle said.
Max nodded. He knew he had hurt Liz badly and Kyle most of all had seen the effects of it. He deserved whatever they did to him.
"Liz asked us to give you a chance, Max. So we are going to but this isn’t three strikes and you’re out deal. If it were you would have been out a long time ago. You get one more chance and that is it." Zack said threateningly.
"Now we know the whole thing with Tess was a fake but that isn’t the only time you’ve hurt her. You’ve been doing it off and on for the last two years. So here is the deal. You will treat Liz like she deserves to be treated. You will be there for her and quit thinking about your damn self all of the time." Kyle said.
Krit cut him off by saying, "You will be the kind, loving boyfriend that she wants or you will deal with us. It only takes a phone call and you will have six very pissed off brothers on your doorstep. I hate to admit it but we learn from the best on how to torture our enemies and we’ll have you wishing your ship never crashed here." Max could do nothing but nod.
Zack walked over and offered his hand to Max to help him stand up. Max took it and felt Zack’s very tight grip, crushing his hand. He looked up and saw Zack’s blue eyes boring into his own. "Now that we understand each other, let’s get back out there. Oh and as much as I want you to suffer, you better heal your face before the bruise comes out. Liz doesn’t need to know about this."
The three X5’s didn’t even want to think what Liz would do if she knew what they had done.
"I won’t tell her." Max said.
"Good." Krit said as he patted him hard on the back causing Max to wince and they left the office.
When they came back to the others, Zack announced, "We move out in ten minutes."
Liz watched as Zack, Krit, and Syl took Lydecker and moved to get in the van. Logan and her sister were quietly talking over at the computers. Liz walked over to where Max and her friends were all waiting.
She looked at Max and asked what had they been doing.
"Nothing." He said. She shrugged her shoulders and moved to stand next to Kyle and said, "I want to make sure you guys know that you don't have to go with us. There is still time to back out. You guys should be safe with the vehicles but it is still dangerous."
Michael was the first to speak, "We're not backing out of this now."
Maria voiced her opinion too. "Yeah, we've always taken care of each other." She walked over and gave Liz and Kyle each a hug.
Max wrapped his arms around Liz and said, "We're not letting you do this alone." He lowered his voice to a whisper and added, "Be careful. I don't want lose you."
They broke up then and headed to meet everyone else. They all got into one of the cars and started the journey to Manticore.
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