DISCLAIMER: All DARK ANGEL characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee (Cameron Eglee Productions) and DARK ANGEL itself belongs to FOX.

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Photo courtesy of Eyes Only

"New Manticore has a base on the east coast," Logan said, showing Max its location on a computer screen. "Out in the rural areas of West Virginia, nice and private but not too far from Washington D.C." He pulled up another window on the monitor. "I've managed to track down our old friend Lydecker as well. He seems to be gainfully employed again, reinstated by the military to his old rank and supposedly in charge of a veterans' project." Her ex glanced up at her, blue eyes twinkling in a way Max hadn't seen them do in a very long time. In a way, it was like old times ...

"Veterans' project as in its a cover for New Manticore?" she said.

"That would be my guess," Logan said. "The trail's too cold to try and figure out if they transported an X5 from Seattle to Darkesville, West Virginia six weeks ago, but no doubt that's where Alec was taken."

"And that's where I'm going," Max said, moving toward the door.

"Max!" Logan said. "Wait! You can't just go to a base like that alone."

"I won't go alone," she said firmly. "I've got an army of my own now, remember?"

"At the very least let me do some more reconasaince," Logan said. "Find out more about what you're going to be up against."

"Logan," she said. "Every day Alec's in their hands he's in more danger of ... of ... not being Alec any more. What if they break him?"

"What if they do?" Logan said coolly. "What if he's already like Brin, a loyal soldier again? What if he's been re-programmed with the Alec you know erased?"

"They couldn't do that to him," Max said. "At least not this fast. Brin was sick ... weak ... desperate. Alec's more like Zack -- which is something I never thought I'd hear myself saying. He's strong, and he's smart, and he's stubborn as hell. He also knows all of their tricks because he's been through this before. No, Logan. Alec's going to be fine, so long as I get to him before Manticore realizes he can't be tamed and resorts to something drastic."

"And if they do realize that?" Logan said. "That Alec can't be made tractable ... controlled?"

"Then they'll kill him and use his body for organ harvest," Max said in a low voice. "But that's not gonna happen."

"Max!" Logan said curtly again. "It might already have happened. Let me hack into Manticore's records. I think I can do that. I've got a back door code. Let me find out Alec's status before you go running blindly off to his rescue and maybe get yourself and a lot of your other people killed in the process, perhaps for what's a lost cause already."

Max hated what Logan was implying. But she also knew he was right. "All right," she reluctantly agreed. "But I'm going tomorrow whether you've got the intel or not. I won't leave him there, Logan. I won't."

*****

"Max," Logan said, looking up from the computer screen and the cup of coffee he'd been sipping. (He'd been working for hours.) "I think I've found something."

"What?" she said anxiously.

"Something's going down at New Manticore," he said. "There's a red alert in place indicating some kind of manhunt is underway. It looks like they may have lost a soldier and are tracking him down via an implanted transceiver."

"Alec?" she breathed.

"The exact identity of the soldier they're pursuing is encrypted," Logan said. "But if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on it."

"Are they mobilizing a ground search?" Max asked, leaning over Logan's shoulder, practically breathing down his neck as she studied the screen and tried to make sense of the cryptic data.

"No," Logan said, eyebrows furrowing. "They've contacted NORAD which means satellite surveillance, so apparently whoever's bolted is out of the immediate area."

"Alec's headed home," she said softly.

Eyes Only turned around and looked at her. "You want him back, don't you." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Max said without hesitation. "I want him back. He's my brother, and whether I want to or not, I love him."

"As a brother?" Logan said, skeptical. "Max, you weren't kissing your brother that night."

"I know," she said, turning her head away, ashamed but also confused. "Logan, I never meant to-- I mean, I love you but--"

"You're also in love with Alec," he said quietly. "I recognize the competition when I see it, Max. In fact, from the moment I first laid eyes on the guy I knew he was going to be a problem for you and me. Alec's not like Zack. No matter how much you say it, he's not your 'brother.' He's ..." He searched for the word.

"My mate," Max said softly, acquiescing to the sexuality of her relationship with 494. "But Logan, I haven't slept with him. I know you probably don't believe me but it's true."

"Your mate," Logan agreed, turning back to the computer screen so she couldn't see his face ... the sorrow there ... "As to whether or not the two of you have had sex ..." He shrugged slightly. "Does it really matter? Because I know you want him, Max ... that way. And he wants you. Sooner or later it's going to happen. It's ineveitable."

"No, it's not!" she insisted, but at the same time remembering how she'd offered herself to Alec that night, and feeling like a hypocrite.

Logan smiled grimly. "Who you entertain in your bed is your own business, Max. That's not important now. What is important is that we find Alec before Manticore does."

What an incredibly selfless thing to say, Max thought to herself, suddenly remembering why she'd fallen in love with this man in the first place. He's willing to help his romantic rival, even though it could mean losing me forever. "And when we do?" she asked out loud. "What then, Logan? What will become of us -- you and me? What will happen if Alec comes back?"

"You'll have to choose," he said curtly, "since you apparently didn't mean what you told me awhile back about it being over between you and him."

"It is over," she stammered, feeling incredibly confused. "I mean, I think it is. It should be. But-- What if I can't, Logan? What if I can't choose?"

He still didn't look at her. "Then one of us will have to choose for you," he said simply.