Artwork courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

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

ARCHIVE: No

This is a stand-alone story in my DARK ALEC series. These stories are my version of Season 4, and incorporate elements not only of the television show DARK ANGEL, but of the novels SKIN GAME and AFTER THE DARK, the book THE EYES ONLY DOSSIER, and information revealed in various cast/writer/producer interviews, chats, and commentaries. -- author's note

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Alec's fine," Dr. Sam Carr said, getting straight to the point and favoring Max with a reassuring smile. "Amazingly so actually, considering he's a test tube creation. His DNA seems to be stable at this point, no sign of break-down in the chromosomal strands and no drift in the original genetic blueprints. Also, there's no indication of progeria or other genetic anomalies or disease. In fact, if it weren't for those pesky seizures, I'd say 494's the epitome of what Manticore was trying to create -- the ultimate human/animal hybrid soldier."

"I'll be sure to pass that analysis along to Lydecker," Max said dryly. "He'll be thrilled to hear at least one of his kids turned out so well." She shifted in her seat in the doctor's office at County General Hospital, the leather of her tight jacket creaking as she crossed jean-clad legs. "What about ... you know?" she continued. "What we really came to you for? And what about me? Alec's only fifty percent of the equation here."

"But Alec was the place to start, Max," the doctor chided her. "When a couple is seeking help for infertility, the male is always examined first."

"Because it's pretty simple to find out if the guy's shootin' blanks or not, right?" Max said with a hint of a smile.

Dr. Samuel Carr Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Alec's not shooting blanks," Dr. Carr said adamantly. "Nor has his tangled DNA affected his fertility, at least so far as the genetics lab I sent his sample to can tell. Manticore knew what it was doing when they put the two of you together as a breeding pair, Max. All of his tests came back A-plus, and -- just as importantly -- there's no indication your body is rejecting or killing his sperm. The two of you are completely compatible from the DNA level on up."

"So ...," Max said slowly. "That means it's me. I'm the one who's broken. Figures, what with the way my life sucks."

"Where is he, by the way?" the doctor asked, glancing through the office window out into the hallway. "Usually couples come to these consultations together."

"Alec's in Washington D.C. With Lydecker of all people," she said with a grim smile.

Dr. Carr understood. "Senator McKinley's committee, right?" he said. "Ironic, isn't it, that you're seeking help for fertility problems at the same time there's a move afoot in the American government to take away the reproductive rights of all your people."

"We're not gonna let that happen," Max said levelly. She looked the doctor straight in the eye. "So, what's the next step in this baby dance? What do I have to do to find out what's wrong with my Frankenstein body?"

*****

Colonel Donald Lydecker Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"You're not taking him anywhere," Colonel Donald Lydecker said, his voice calm but with an undertone of authority -- a nice feat considering there were three Marines pointing M-16s at him. Nonchalantly, New Manticore's CEO straightened his tie, emphasizing his lack of concern (and the power of his position). "494's my personal attendant on this mission, and you have no authority over him."

"The President of the United States has authority over all branches of the armed forces," James McKinley said with equal calm, "and that includes every soldier," his lips twitched, "or pseudo-soldier that's breathing."

"494's here with me voluntarily," Lydecker said, refusing to back down as he stood tall in front of the portly bespectacled Senator, still ignoring the guns pointed at both himself and the X5 who'd accompanied him into this lion's den. He looked down at the seated politician. "This man's not even officially under Manticore jurisdiction," he added. "Rather, he's an outside contractor ... hired for his expertise ... a mercenary if you want to put a nastier name to it."

"He's not a man," the Senator said softly. "He's a 'thing,' and the property of the U.S. government which makes him mine." McKinley nodded at the Marines. "Take him. Medical's been waiting for their first transgenic patient to sterilize. No time like the present to begin implementing my new law."

Alec, who up until this moment had remained surprisingly silent (considering his loquacious tendencies), caught Lydecker's eye with his.

The older man nodded.

--and the X5-Unit designated 494 exploded into action. Faster than the human eye could follow, the young transgenic blurred. A fist to the jaw dropped the soldier on the right like a sack of potatoes; a foot in the face took down number two before he could take aim; and a spinning crescent kick konked the third on the head as he raised his gun, putting him on the floor with his comrades.

Finished almost before the Senator could comprehend what was happening, Alec cracked his knuckles in satisfaction and beamed his most charming smile at the committee chairman.

Pointing a shaking finger at the X5, McKinley squeaked, "He's dead, Lydecker. That ... that thing is dead." He reached for an alarm button on the underside of his desk.

Lydecker hardly had an X5's speed, but he could move fast when the situation warranted. The colonel's grip on the man's arm stopped him, as Alec snapped the lock and panic bar in place on the door. There were windows of course -- bullet proof glass -- and it wouldn't take long for someone to access the room, but at least they had a little more time.

"Here's how it's going to go, Senator," Lydecker said, his weathered face mere inches from McKinley's, so close their breaths were mingling. "I'm going to tell you exactly why you will order that bill rescinded. And then you're going to pick up the phone and 494 and I are going to walk out of this building, go the airport, and fly back to Seattle with everyone's genitals intact. You're not going to harm this Unit, or any of my other kids, in any way.

Senator James McKinley

McKinley, realizing the delicacy of the situation as well as the disadvantage, relaxed and leaned his portly bulk back in his chair. "Manticore's been granted funding for its genetics and surrogate program," he said reasonably. "Why are you fighting this, Donald? It's been proven that the laboratory is the way to go when building these creatures of yours. Raw breeding is hit and miss at best. You'll still get your supersoldiers. In fact, you'll get them the way you always did before. Why on earth do you want the X series to be distracted from their duties by reproductive issues? I'm honestly surprised your Manticore scientists didn't make them genetically sterile from the very beginning -- an oversight if you ask me."

"Nobody asked you," Alec said, speaking for the first time. "And the answer to your question is that Sandeman, our true creator, always intended his children to become a race, not just be playthings of the American armed forces."

McKinley winced visibly at the mention of Sandeman's name -- a fact Alec noted with great satisfaction. He and Max had always suspected the Senator was a member of the Breeding Cult, and of course that meant the politician would absolutely hate the so-called "Father of Manticore" -- the man who'd rebelled against the Familiars and attempted to create a species that could protect humanity against their plague-driven world-takover plot.

"They can't successfully breed with your kind," McKinley continued, ignoring Alec and speaking to Lydecker. "Human/X5 hybrids are almost without exception born retarded, and often with horrendous physical birth defects as well. The feline DNA makes the combination like oil and water. Although embedded semi-successfully in the X5s, it just doesn't mix well with the human genome the natural way." He grinned. "As they say, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature."

"They were never meant to breed with our kind," Lydecker said evenly. "That would dilute their superior DNA."

"Superior?" McKinley laughed. "Don't you mean inferior? The X series aren't super human, they're subhuman."

"I suppose that opinion depends on which side of the fence you're standin' on," Alec drawled. He glanced down at the unconscious Marines and smirked. "Personally, I'm feelin' kinda like the top of the food chain at the moment."

"You're going to be feeling nothing but pain pretty soon," McKinley snarled, losing his cool at last. Once more he reached for the panic button, and once more Lydecker gripped his wrist, stopping him.

"Try that again and I'll break it, Senator," the colonel said. "Now, you're gong to listen closely to me." He glanced at Alec, who nodded.

"I brought X5-494 with me for a reason," New Manticore's CEO said. "And not just to play body guard. My kids aren't going to stand by and let the government take away one of their most basic rights -- the right to procreate. No matter what you think of their lineage, Senator, they're not going to be rounded up and neutered like stray cats at the pound."

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & Jensen Ackles Museum

"What 'Deck means," Alec said, "is that we're prepared to fight if we have to. What you'll see is Seattle turned into a battle ground. TC's well armed and well supplied. We could hold out under siege conditions for months if we had to, and don't think we'd just be sittin' back of our fence like good little kitties either. You're talkin' commando strikes, raids, hostages, whatever it takes to make the world notice us."

"You really think that staging a war in the middle of a civilian city will gain your people sympathy?" McKinley asked.

"It'll gain us publicity," Alec shot back. "Which is what counts. And even though you might have Eyes Only in your pocket, we've got our press contacts too. Maybe you would eventually win the fighting war -- end up with all the transgenics dead or caged, but would you also win the media war that'll go along with it?"

One of the soldiers lying on the floor stirred. Alec glanced down, and -- with no emotion whatsoever in his eyes -- kicked the guy in the head with his boot, sending the unfortunate fellow to dreamland once again.

"You're nothing but an animal," McKinley spat even as he paled slightly at the cold display of violence.

"Maybe," the X5 conceded, his voice deepening with his own conviction and a touch of pride. "And you know what they say about a cornered animal." He smiled wickedly. "Don't corner us, Senator. Believe me when I tell you, you don't wanna find out just how bad we can bite."

Alec then glanced at Lydecker. "We finished here? Or can I kill him and be done with it?"

The colonel shook his head. "Easy," he said. "Now's not the time." Lydecker's eyes flickered to McKinley. "Although, I think the Senator would be wise to remember just what my X5s were bred, born, and trained to be. No one in their right mind should be stirring up a nest of assassins."

"Is that a direct threat, Lydecker?" the politician sputtered.

"Yeah, it is," Alec said before the colonel could answer. The X5 took a step closer and leaned forward, planting both hands on the desk as his face came to within inches of the Senator's. "In fact, it's a promise 'James.' I know, and you know, that you're not exactly human either, so I figure it's no biggie to me if I kill you -- which is exactly what I'm gonna do if your people so much as touch one of mine. I don't care what it takes ... how much money ... how much time ... how much trouble ... how many Familiar Purebreds you surround yourself with. If you hurt me and mine, I will get you, just like Max got your precious Matthias."

Alec glanced around one more time at the unconscious guards, then he reached beneath the desk and yanked out the wiring of the panic button. "Come on 'Deck," he said, giving orders to the man who'd moments before been giving them to him. "Party's over here, and I wanna go home."

And finally, to McKinley, "And you, Senator, are gonna sit here like a good little boy for the next fifteen minutes. If there's any alarm at all that goes up ... if I hear so much as a siren in the distance ... you'll never see another day because I will come back for you. Afterall, after what I've been done for Manticore in the past, what's a little more wetwork?"

In spite of his bold words -- and a fair certainty that the politician had been sufficiently cowed -- Alec's ears were perked for any sign of pursuit as he and Lydecker walked through the main foyer of the Capitol building, down the steps, and onto the street. The car they'd rented was in the underground garage, and it wasn't until they were safely on the freeway and headed for the airport that the X5 finally let himself relax."

"That was a bit melodramatic, wasn't it?" Lydecker said, breaking his silence.

Alec shrugged. "So, I chewed the scenery a bit back there. Happens to the best of us at times." He looked sideways at his commanding officer. "You think McKinley will lighten up now?"

"No," the colonel said bluntly. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't take out a contract on you personally."

"He'll hafta get in line," Alec smirked, thinking about all the people in the world who wanted him dead -- the list alarmingly long. "Why'd you bring me on this little negotiation instead of Max anyway? I mean, if you didn't want muscle?"

"What I wanted was diplomacy," Lydecker sighed as he steered their car onto the off ramp to Dulles International. "Max has too short of a fuse for this type of situation. I thought I'd trained you better. But apparently I was wrong."

"Hey!" Alec said. "You weren't exactly Mr. Peacekeeper yourself in that office. I mean, you practically sicced me on the guy. I felt like your personal pit bull." The X5 slouched back in the car seat as the colonel pulled the car up to the curb in front of their terminal. "You shoulda let me kill him."

"And then we'd both be wanted fugitives," Lydecker pointed out.

"And we're not anyway after that conversation? 'Deck, I took out three guards in there and threatened the life of a U.S. Senator."

"I don't think McKinley will be advertising that fact," the colonel said. "Afterall, he has his secrets to hide too, and he knows we could actually do more than just kill him -- we could expose his Breeding Cult agenda. Then it would be his race that was threatened as well as yours."

"And in the meantime," Alec said, "we just sit back and wait to see if the government now tries to implement their transgenic snip-snip program?"

"We wait," Lydecker confirmed, "for now." He turned off the engine and looked directly at the X5 Unit. "And in the meantime, if you and Max truly do want to start a family, I suggest you get seriously busy about it. Threats of assassinations, exposure, and sieges aside -- your people are running out of time, 494."

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & Jensen Ackles Museum

He woke up when she entered their bedroom, even though she was trying to be quiet. Rolling over on the bed they shared (he'd dozed off fully clothed and lying on top of the covers), Alec's cat-eyes saw her clearly in the dark and his lips quirked up.

"Hey," he said, his voice deep, soft, and touched with a weariness unusual for the normally effervescent X5.

"Hey, yourself," Max returned as she sighed heavily and tossed her jacket across the back of the desk chair before dropping onto the mattress.

"How'd it go?" they both said at the same time.

"You first," Max said, almost laughing in spite of her own tiredness.

Alec shrugged as she snuggled down in his arms. Resting his chin on top of her head he said, "Too soon to tell. I scared the son of a bitch I think, but we'll hafta wait and see if he calls our bluff."

"You told him it would be all out war?"

Alec nodded. "And McKinley also knows he'll be the first casualty of that war if so much as one transgenic goes under the knife."

"What about Lydecker's guys, the ones based at Manticore?" Max asked. "They're more vulnerable than we are here in Terminal City."

"Funny thing about that," Alec quipped as he began to gently kiss his lover's face. "I think TC better gear up to receive a few visitors in the next couple of days. 'Deck was makin' noises about sendin' his kids not currently on active duty outside the country here for so-called 'real life orientation.'"

"He knows they'll be safer in Terminal City, where they can't simply be ordered to the medical wing for a little operation," Max said, understanding.

"'Deck doesn't mind Manticore gettin' funded for more in-vitro and surrogate supersoldier projects," Alec said, "but he also doesn't want his intact Units -- the X5s in particular -- to be rendered incapable of reproducing. I mean, look what happened when you blew up the gene bank three years ago. Fertile X5s are his back-up plan."

His last kiss was on her lips, and it lingered. He was so comfortable here, like this with Max, that he almost hated to ask. "What did Dr. Carr say?"

"That you're fine, genetic-wise -- at least for now."

"Told ya so."

She scowled.

"Sorry. I'm not bragging. Really, I'm not." But he was still smiling.

She hesitated a moment. Then ... "It's me, Alec."

"Max," he said gently, the grin vanishing. "Give it to me up front. And don't worry. If we can't have kids, maybe it's even a good thing. I mean, for all we know they'd be born with tails. You know, furry little cat babies."

"Eve doesn't have fur or a tail," Max said quietly. "And chances are, our baby would be fine too, with two purebred X5 parents."

"So?" Alec said, waiting. "What's the prognosis from Dr. Sam?"

"There are tests he can do," she said, "to see if my ovaries and uterus are functioning properly, but he wants us to try something first ... before we get into expensive complicated procedures on me."

"Try something?" Alec said, one eyebrow rising in speculation. "Are we talkin' position here, Max. Maybe a trapeze, or one of those leather harness swing things that I saw on that cable channel Dix hacked into."

"I always wondered what you guys did in the control room during those long night shifts," Max said with a little smile of her own. "Now, I know."

"Hey, boys will be boys. But what did Sam really say?"

"He wants me to check my ovulation cycle. He gave me test strips that I'm supposed to pee on every day to see if I'm producing eggs. What he suspects is that, even though I have a monthly cycle, it's a non ovulatory one, and that I may really only be fertile during my heat periods which happen every four to six months."

"We've had sex when you've been in heat, Max," Alec said, slightly puzzled.

"Once, Alec. Once. Remember, the last time you weren't here."

"Oh, yeah," the X5 said as thoughts of Devon crossed his mind and were promptly dismissed. "When are you due again?"

Max shrugged. "I can't predict it exactly," she said. "Within the next month or two certainly. Sam wants us to give it our best shot during my next heat, and only then -- if I don't get pregnant -- will he run further tests." Her eyes rose to meet his. "It could take awhile even then, Alec. If I'm only fertile two or three times a year ..."

"Max," Alec reassured her. "The fun is in the tryin', right? And believe me, I'll try really hard."

She laughed then -- a sound that was music to Alec's ears -- and hugged him tightly. "Just don't get yourself killed in the meantime, smart ass," she said throatily in his ear. "And whatever else you do, stay out of McKinley's way."

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & Jensen Ackles Museum

"I thought you'd gone back to North Dakota," Alec said resignedly as he closed the door of Lydecker's Seattle office the next morning, and turned to face the man who had the dubious distinction of being both ally and nemesis. "What do you want now? And it better not be another mission. I'm due for some serious down time."

"You're not due anything, soldier," Lydecker said, his voice chillingly level and reminding Alec a little bit too much of the way things had been back at Manticore.

Fighting the urge to stand at attention, and reminding himself that Lydecker was --at least at this moment -- employer not master, the X5 very deliberately hiked himself up on the edge of the map table in the corner, using that as a seat instead of a chair. Swinging his legs slightly in nonchalance, he then looked unflinchingly into those cold blue eyes -- a feat few X5s (and even fewer humans) were capable of. "I'm waiting."

"I had an interesting phone call this morning," Lydecker began, sitting up straighter in his own swivel chair, "from a Dr. Hale Brezzel."

That got Alec's attention.

"Apparently he didn't know how to reach you or Max, so he used his government connections to track down a Manticore contact -- me."

"What did the doc want?" Alec asked evenly, not giving anything away.

"It seems, when you took your little trip down memory lane, there was an anomaly."

"An anomaly?" Alec's brows drew down.

"Your EEG ... your brain wave patterns ... were unusual -- so much so that Dr. Brezzel decided he needed to do a more complete analysis to rule out a pathogenic cause."

"So," Alec shrugged. "He spotted my epilepsy. No big deal."

"It wasn't your seizures that caused the abnormal pattern," Lydecker replied. "It was something else."

All of a sudden Alec felt cold, and it wasn't because of Lydecker's unheated office. "You sayin' there's somethin' wrong with me, like a brain tumor? But I feel fine."

Lydecker smiled slightly. "Don't worry, 494, it's not a tumor or any other physical malady. In fact, even though the good doctor is extremely puzzled by what he found in your EEG, I know exactly what he saw. He sent me a copy of the pattern, and -- just for good measure -- I had the Manticore psy-ops section confirm the analysis."

Alec had spread his hands wide and was shaking his head in confusion. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"No," Lydecker said quietly. "You wouldn't I suppose. But then you couldn't, not if the procedure was correctly performed."

Alec's stomach did a back flip. "What ... procedure?"

"When you were a child, age six or seven as I recall, Manticore psy-ops put you under hypnosis and, to say it in layman's terms, partitioned off a part of your subconscious for future command storage."

The X5 was still shaking his head.

"As it was explained to me," Lydecker said with rather surprising patience, "this space was reserved and cut off from conscious access so that later in your life secret mission parameters could be implanted that not even you would know about."

"This just keeps gettin' better 'n better, doesn't it?" Alec remarked as the implication of what Lydecker was saying hit home. "Are we talkin' sleeper agent here?"

"Exactly," the colonel said, his usually brusque voice still soft. "Dr. Brezzel accidentally stumbled across the fact that a section of your mind was separated. It showed up in your brain wave pattern."

"Why are you even tellin' me this?" Alec asked. "I mean, if I've been like this for eighteen years or more, what's the big deal?"

"It's not the fact that you were conditioned to be a future sleeper agent that has me concerned," Lydecker said carefully as he steepled fingers on his desk and looked down at what appeared to be a copy of that EEG. Then he raised his eyes to his soldier. "It's the fact that, at some point in your life, you were apparently loaded with a mission -- a mission you've obviously not completed, because if you had you'd be dead."

Alec felt like he couldn't breathe, but he'd be damned if he'd let the colonel know how hard he'd just been hit. He'd heard rumors about so-called "sleeper agents" when he'd been a soldier back at Manticore ... nasty rumors. In fact, X5-600, Lane, had supposedly been one when he assassinated the Pope. "Spell it out, 'Deck," 494 said, his voice dropping dangerously as he clenched his jaw. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing," Lydecker said crisply. "And that's what's got me both puzzled and worried. "You were under my direct command for more than 19 years, 494. I know everything there is to know about you physically, mentally, and psychologically. You never even took a piss without there being a notation made in your chart. I've known all along that you were conditioned to be a potential silent mission carrier. Hell, almost all of you kids were, Max included."

Alec did a double-take at that, his hazel-green eyes widening.

Lydecker grinned. "Yes, even our beloved Max," he repeated softly. "When she was a little girl, before she escaped. However, unlike you, that space in her subconscious is still blank, and will theoretically always remain so -- no harm, no foul."

"But I'm another story," Alec said grimly. "There's somethin' mysterious stuck in here," he pointed a forefinger at his temple, "and that's go you worried."

"If I'd given the order for your programming," the colonel continued, "it would be an easy matter to defuse you ... simply put you under hypnosis and feed you the abort code. However, as things stand, you've got orders inside of you that could potentially be activated, thereby sending you like an automaton to carry those orders out."

"What's the activation?" Alec asked, his armpits beginning to sweat.

The older man shrugged elaborately. "Could be anything," he said. "But the code was usually a pretty elaborate series of numbers and letters, maybe even a visual symbol ... something you'd never encounter in real life."

Alec's mind had skipped ahead. "You said if I'd already completed this mission I'd be dead?"

"Sleeper agents were always terminated, one way or another, after their missions," Lydecker replied. "It was in the nature of the assignment -- something so top secret that all evidence of the job had to be erased. Usually it was a suicide parameter, although a few were put down after returning to base."

"Like Lane," Alec said softly. "He blew himself to smithereens after poppin' the Pope."

Lydecker said nothing.

"But you never had me programmed?" the X5 said.

"You weren't considered a good candidate." The colonel smiled again, ironically this time. "We couldn't trust you."

Alec didn't need to ask why.

"It's the same reason you were excluded from the Arizona group ... returned to your squad for further disciplinary training. And then, of course, there was the fiasco of your first long term assignment ..."

"So," Alec said quietly. "If you didn't put this time bomb in my head, who did?"

"You're a bright Unit, 494," the colonel said. "Think about it a minute."

Alec nodded slowly. "Renfro." He said, sneering the hated woman's name.

"She took over Manticore in early 2020," Lydecker said. "I was marginalized and Sandoval became her footstool ... her toady."

"I spent six months in psy-ops for observation while under that bitch's watch," Alec said. "'Cause of my brother." His eyes rose to meet the colonel's. "She could have done anything to me while I was with those witch doctors."

"True," Lydecker admitted. "But I was still at Manticore during that time, son," he added, "albeit pushed aside. And I don't recall there ever being any orders given to activate your sleeper agent status during your psy-ops stint. It wouldn't have made sense anyway, trusting an extreme mission to a potentially mentally unstable unit, and a rebellious one at that. No, I don't think you were implanted until after you'd received a clean bill of health, probably in the late summer or early fall of that year, after you were returned to active duty."

Alec's brow furrowed as he tried to remember. "I went on a couple of short term group missions at the end of August and the first of September," he said. "Nothin' special ... one to Cuba ... another to Iraq ... Then I got sent for this embarrassingly thorough physical and a couple of days later Renfro called me into her office and I was transferred into her X5 breeding program." He smirked at the memory. "She ordered me to copulate with X5-452 every night until my mate got pregnant. At the time, I didn't think it was a very plum assignment. 452 was one of the traitors and I'd been taught all my life to consider her scum of the earth ... contaminated. But that was before--"

"Before you actually met our Maxie," Lydecker finished for him. Now, it was the colonel's turn to grin.

"A day or so after that," Alec went on, "my orders were changed. Renfro told me to help 452 escape from Manticore so they could follow her back to Eyes Only. After that part of my assignment was completed, she then called me in and ordered me to go to a location they'd pinpointed from the tracker they'd implanted in 452, deliver the news about the virus, and escort both 452 and Cale back to Manticore." Alec shrugged. "At the time, I was happy they were entrusting me with a solo mission again. I hoped maybe it would get me my complete rank back. But, of course, it got me a whole lot more'n that."

"It got you free," Lydecker said, his mouth twisting slightly as he said the words, obviously still not happy about that fact. He leaned back in his chair, the springs creaking. "Renfro programmed you either right after you got out of psy-ops, or as I'm more inclined to believe, right around the time she assigned you to Max."

"But programmed me for what?" Alec said, lost again. "If it was to kill Eyes Only, it obviously was never activated. I had the perfect opportunity to pop Logan in his apartment, and I didn't because it wasn't part of the mission."

"I don't think your parameters were set to assassinate Cale," Lydecker said, nailing Alec with a hard look. "I think you were programmed -- if circumstances warranted -- to kill Max."

Alec rocked back on the table, his mouth dropping open. "That doesn't make sense," he said when he found his tongue again. "In the first place, why would Renfro even want me to kill Max, her so-called 'special one'? And in the second, if she did, why wouldn't she just plain order me to do it? Why bother using this sleeper/suicide bomb in my brain?"

"Renfro knew all along that Max was a tremendous flight risk," Lydecker said. "You were the back-up plan in case 452 managed to escape from Manticore again -- a plan she put into place before realizing that Max was 'Jesus' to the human race. If all else failed, she could turn you loose to hunt 452 down and you wouldn't have stopped until you were either dead or the job done. In a very literal sense, you'd have become a terminator -- a mindless robot with no purpose in life other than to kill the rogue X5 you'd been sent after."

"Again," Alec argued, "I ask why not just give me the order. Renfro had to know I was tryin' to get back in the good graces of Manticore, for self preservation reasons if nothing else. Hell, you've seen my records. I was about one ass kiss away from bein' put down and my body sent to the harvesters when they yanked me back from the brink because I had the balls they needed for their breeding program."

"Have you ever killed a woman, 494?" Lydecker asked quietly.

A vision of Rachel flashed in Alec's mind. "Yes."

Lydecker's expression softened as he obviously realized what Alec was referring to. "Not like that, son. What I'm asking is if you ever took aim on a female with a gun and pulled the trigger, or broke one's neck?

"Familiars," Alec said, his voice a bit defensive. "I've killed Familiar bitches before."

The colonel shook his head knowingly. "Could you have killed Max in cold blood? Back then?"

Alec answered truthfully, remembering Max lying on the ground, writhing from a Taser jolt, and how he hadn't been able to stab her even though it was his life or hers. "Probably not."

"And you don't think Renfro knew that about you? Hell, 494, the only way in the world she could have gotten you to end Max's life was to plant that program in your subconscious then activate it."

The X5 had to acquiesce to the older man's logic.

Lydecker took the Unit's silence for agreement -- and moved on. "I don't have your code," he said. "If I did, I'd have our psych guys deactivate you. I want you to protect Max, not kill her, and right now you're like a loaded gun lying around waiting for someone to pull the trigger."

"Hate that analogy," Alec said. "But what are the chances of me ever accidentally bein' activated anyway? I mean, the code has to be really complex, doesn't it?"

"A series of numbers, letters, and words that you'd theoretically never encounter in real life," Lydecker said. "However, I'm not worried about you accidentally being triggered. I'm worried about someone doing it deliberately. During my incarceration by the Breeding Cult they asked me questions that told me they had access to Renfro's personal files. When I took the data base and Max's DNA analysis from White's tent in the fall of 2020, I thought I'd gotten everything. But there could have been more discs in Renfro's briefcase -- records that had already been taken away for analysis. That's the only explanation I can come up with as to how Matthias and his people knew so much about Renfro's work at Manticore. She was collaborating with Sandeman ... against the main cult ... and you can bet they went over her files with a fine-toothed comb."

Alec's face had paled. "You're sayin' that McKinley might have a code that could be fed to me that would make me kill Max? But you're still guessin'? Right?"

"Do you really want to ever find out just what you're programmed for, son? Whether it's to terminate 452 or someone else? Remember, programmed X5s inevitably self destruct at the end of their mission."

"But there's also a code to permanently disable the sleeper orders?" Alec said, needing to be clear.

"Yes. On the same file as the activation code."

"And the Familiars have it?" the X5 said, his voice tightening along with the expression in his eyes.

"To the best of my knowledge, yes."

"Great. This is just ... great." Alec, chewing his lower lip, communed a moment with the floor, lost in thought. "Don't tell Max," he finally said without looking up. "She's got enough on her mind." Then he did raise his eyes to the colonel's. "Let me handle it. Tell me where the file is and I'll retrieve it -- problem solved."

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles World

Senator James McKinley's Washington state political headquarters were in an office building located in Seattle's wealthier Sector 9, near the bay. It figured the pompous ass would have a suite with an ocean view, Alec thought as he scaled the stone facade.

Dressed in cat burglar black, the X5 had no need of climbing gear as his catlike abilities allowed him to quite literally crawl up the face of the early 20th century tower to the 23rd floor -- the sandstone, mortar, and window ledges providing sufficient grip for his strong hands and feet.

The file was most likely in a safe in the Senator's office, Lydecker said -- having reached that conclusion by process of elimination. Of course there were possibly copies, but Alec reasoned that none of that would matter once the sleeper program inside his head was deactivated by the Manticore psy-ops boys.

Clinging precariously to a grinning winged gargoyle with both hands, the X5 braced his feet and carefully leaned over to peer through the window, reminding himself to not look down. This should be McKinley's office, according to the blueprints and office directory info. Building plans indicated the place was wired, but only for an intrusion from the hallway and nothing elaborate. No one truly expected a break-in via the window -- although Alec gave the frame a very thorough inspection before proceeding. After all, the Senator had to know he had superhuman enemies, and therefore might have taken extra precautions.

The sill and frame appeared to be clean, however, and Alec pulled a glass cutter from his backpack. Half a minute later he'd cut a circle in the pane large enough to crawl through. Gracefully maneuvering past the sharp edges, his rubber-soled climbing shoe touched blue carpet and the X5 sighed with relief. No pressure sensitive alarm. So far, so good.

Pupils inhumanly dilated to black, his night vision in full mode, he scanned the paneled office that was decorated in a heavy masculine style, looking for the safe. Besides the large mahogany desk that crouched in front of the ceiling high window he'd just slipped through, there were several upholstered arm chairs, a wet bar stocked with expensive liquor (from what he could see of the labels), a book case on the east wall, and a gallery of paintings on the west. The main door that led to the receptionist's area was flanked on either side with diplomas and awards the good Senator had acquired during his many years of community service. Taking a moment to look over the documents, Alec sneered at the one bestowed by the Seattle Humane Society for McKinley's backing of their neutering program.

The safe, logically, would either be behind a painting, or in the bookcase. A ticking grandfather clock stood like an old man in the far east corner of the room, and Alec noted the time. He had no more than ten minutes until the guards made their rounds.

It took less than 60 seconds to ascertain the safe wasn't behind any of the art, which left the book case. At first, the X5 randomly shifted volumes, pulling them out slightly, looking for a false back or trigger. Then, his eyes were attracted to a title -- "Gulliver's Travels," probably a first edition -- and his mind flashed back to his little adventure with Max, Joshua, and Mole the year before when they'd taken down Matthias' Familiar stronghold and rescued Logan and Lydecker.

Alec didn't believe in fate or even coincidence -- not really. But still ...

Carefully sliding the classic out of its niche, he heard a distinctive click, and the entire bookcase began to slide sideways into a pocket in the wall.

Stepping back, the X5 watched as a walk-in safe was revealed.

Now, for the really fun part.

Max was hands down better than him at safecracking. Alec didn't try to delude himself otherwise. Although he'd learned the basic technique back at Manticore, Max had been a practicing cat burglar for more than half her lifetime -- an old pro compared to a relative rookie like himself.

"How hard can it be?" Alec muttered to himself as he shed the backpack, peeled off gloves, cracked his knuckles, and prepared to tackle the combination lock where his genetically enhanced hearing should allow him to sense the tumblers clicking into place.

However, just as he pressed the side of his head against the safe wall and was about to begin turning the lock, a click of another kind sounded behind him.

"Don't move transgenic scum," a menacing voice hissed as the cold hard barrel of a gun pressed against the soft tissue of his throat.

Slowly, Alec's eyes slid sideways until he could see two people standing to his right in the dark -- large bulky figures dressed in combat fatigues.

Purebreds. No doubt about it. He must have triggered a silent alarm, maybe one wired to a painting that he'd moved.

Turning his head slightly, Alec realized that a panel had opened in the corner behind the desk -- opposite the grandfather clock -- a hidden corridor or room that allowed access for the guards. Silently, the X5 chided himself for not hearing them, a fact made all the more galling because he prided himself so much on his keen transgenic senses. Lydecker was gonna have his ass for this -- if he lived that long -- a fact that seemed very much in doubt at the moment.

"Kill him," the taller of the two Familiars said, a female from the quality of her voice although physically, and in that gear, it was difficult to tell.

"The Senator will want to question him first," her companion replied. "He'll want to know what the animal was after."

Alec decided to try something. "Hey, I may be a cat burglar," he said, "but there's no need to call me an animal. I'm just a thief lookin' to make a dishonest living."

"Shut up Freak scum!" the female hissed, at the same time grabbing hold of Alec's hair and forcing his head down while her partner kept the gun pressed tightly against his mastoid bone. A flashlight beam cut the darkness like a knife. "Barcode," the woman said with great satisfaction. Then the light was shining directly into Alec's face. Blinking his eyes in pain, the X5 squinted in the glare.

"Well, well, well," the male Familiar chuckled. "Look what we have here. A prize. The Senator's gonna be real pleased with us, Dora. This is none other than X5-494. Second only to 452 on the old man's shit list."

"It's so nice to have fans," Alec growled, at the same time shifting slightly and preparing to move as the female reached for a pair of restraints hanging on her waist. No way was he going to let them get cuffs on him."

"I said shut up, scum!" she spat. "I guarantee you won't be talkin' so smart when the Senator's cuttin' off your balls with his pocket knife." She glanced at her partner. "Call the old man, Nate. Tell him we've caught a tom."

That did it. Playtime -- so far as Alec was concerned -- was over.

Uncoiling like a panther, the X5 sprang, his hand knocking the gun aside as it went off with a deafening roar next to his ear, and landing with his full weight on top of the female. Punching her in the face, he heard a satisfying crunch as bone splintered. Inability to feel pain aside, the bitch was down for the count. However, the other Familiar -- the one with the pistol -- was between him and both the main office door and the secret entrance.

Cornered, Alec looked toward the window -- and knew he had no choice. If he was taken alive, he'd be tortured and killed, or worse, be used as bait to lure Max into the enemies' clutches.

Putting everything he had into it, he jumped once more into the air, hurling his body through the pane.

As glass splintered around him Alec heard the sound of several gunshots, and instinctively braced himself for a bullet even as he stretched out his body and reached for his only lifeline -- the gargoyle. Pain lanced through his back as he grabbed hold of the grinning stone face, breaking his fall.

The X5 knew he had only seconds now before the Familiar with the gun took aim again. Glancing down briefly, he then quickly looked up at the stars overhead. The 20-plus-story drop was dizzying, even for someone who was part cat -- but there was no other way.

Closing his eyes and sending the briefest of prayers Max's way, 494 swung back-and-forth twice as he dangled from the statue, gaining momentum, then let go as another bullet whizzed by his ear.

"Shit!" he cried out, fingers painfully scraping the sandstone facing of the office building, but at last finding purchase on the window ledge he'd been seeking. Clinging tightly, the X5 looked down again, positioned himself, then deliberately let go once more, his hands skimming the sandstone until he caught another ledge. This wasn't exactly the exit he'd planned -- he'd brought a thin nylon rope with him in the backpack -- but it would suffice. Continuing to drop story-by-story, ledge-by-ledge, 494 rapidly descended until his tennis-shoe-clad feet alighted on the roof of the building's entryway. The two-floor leap to the ground was easy compared to the rest, and a few seconds later he'd reached his motorcycle.

Only when he was roaring down the empty street, crouched low over the handlebars and rapidly putting distance between himself and his pursuers, did Alec realize how badly he was bleeding.

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Josh!" Alec said, his tone hushed but urgent. "Josh, boy, you here?"

The X5, upon approaching Terminal City, had spotted a single light on in the otherwise dark Artworks Mall, which probably meant the dog man was up late painting in his studio/gallery -- a lucky break if ever there was one. The last thing Alec wanted right now was to waltz into the house on Oak Street he and Max shared bleeding like a stuck pig and with no explanation -- at least not one he could give his mate. Max had enough worries on her mind right now. If she knew what he'd gotten involved in ... what was at stake ...

Joshua was, indeed, engaged in a late night painting session, holding a brush in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Hearing his friend's voice from the doorway, the dog man looked up, startled, leaving streaks of cerulean and fire engine red acrylic dripping on the canvas.

"Alec?" Joshua said, his blue eyes widening at the site of the black clad X5 leaning in his doorway.

"Need your help, big guy," Alec said, trying to sound light even though his eyes were pinched with pain. In fact, the only thing keeping him upright at the moment was his grip on the door frame. Straightening his shoulders, he took a step into the studio and staggered -- but Joshua's strong arms were around him in an instant, helping him to the cot in the corner -- a place for the artist-in-residence to crash for an afternoon nap or after a night of creativity.

"Alec, you're hurt," Joshua said, his eyes growing even wider as he looked down at the blood smeared on his big hands. He turned toward the door. "I'll go get Max!"

"No!" Alec said loudly, catching his friend by the wrist. "I don't want Max to know about this, Big Fella." And off of Joshua's astonished look -- "Please, it's not that bad and I don't wanna worry her."

"Let me see," the dog man said, his voice as authoritarian as Alec had ever heard it. The X5 gingerly shrugged out of his black nylon jacket then reached down to peel off over his head the long-sleeved t-shirt he was wearing underneath. However, the cotton was stuck to his wounds with coagulating blood, and the action made him hiss with pain. He paused, catching his breath and blinking back tears.

Joshua got down on his knees and gently raised the material so he could see the X5's smooth muscular back.

"Am I shot?" Alec asked quietly.

"Can't tell. Too much glass."

"Glass?" Alec craned his neck around, but of course he couldn't see his own back.

"Pieces of glass," Joshua clarified. Making a face as he did it, the dog man gingerly pinched one of the shards embedded in Alec's back between two fingers and pulled it out.

"Owww!" Alec yelled.

"Can't be helped," Joshua said, sounding angry this time. "I need to get Luke."

"No!" Alec said again. "The little guy will tell Max, and I don't want her to know!"

"Alec," Joshua said, speaking as if to a naughty child. "You need help. Stitches." He was examining the X5's wounds, holding a small table lamp close. "This is bad ... bleeding ..."

"It'll stop on its own," Alec said, fairly certain his X5 clotting factors could handle the job. "Just get the pieces of glass out and bandage me up." Stretching out, he lay on his stomach along the cot. "But don't pick at it," he implored. "Make it quick."

"Need to get bandages... antiseptic," Joshua said, still being matter-of-fact. "Tweezers, thread for stitches, ointment ..." The big transhuman climbed to his feet.

"Where you goin'?" Alec asked, grabbing hold of the dog man's wrist again.

"Infirmary."

Alec nodded. "Okay. But don't tell anyone, okay, big guy? Promise?"

However, Joshua merely narrowed his eyes before heading out the door.

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

The transhuman wasn't away for long. Within 10 minutes -- before Alec had even had time to work up a good worry about the evening's events -- he was back, with Mole at his side and the smell of cigar smoke preceding them.

The lizard man stopped in the doorway and did a doubletake. "You look like shit -- again," he growled around the ever-present glowing stogie stub.

"I'll heal," Alec said, too tired and in too much pain to turn that into a wisecrack.

Mole sighed heavily and unslung the backpack of supplies from his shoulders. "Well, let's get you patched up," he said as Alec rolled over onto his stomach again on the cot. "What's this about not tellin' the boss lady? You in trouble, Princess?"

"Maybe a little," Alec admitted. "Ouch!"

"What'd you do?" Mole asked gruffly as he examined the shard-filled cuts. "Dive through a plate glass window?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did."

"Doors, shit-for-brains," the lizard man admonished as he grasped a piece of glass with tweezers and yanked it out to the accompaniment of Alec's small gasp. "City councilmen use doors."

"Jesus!" Alec cried out, his eyes tearing. "Damn, that hurts! And I couldn't use the door. I was trapped."

"Only about fifty more pieces to go, too," Mole said levelly.

Alec glanced back over his shoulder, hazel-green eyes wide. "You're shittin' me, right?"

"No. You did a number on yourself this time, smart ass." He paused, the tweezers shining in the light Joshua was holding close. "You want me to get Luke? He's probably got laudanum ... maybe even some morphine."

"Not the plan," Alec said through gritted teeth. Then ... "My left side hurts a lot. Down low. Check for a bullet wound."

Mole carefully probed the bloody gashes marring the X5's skin near his left kidney. "There's a really deep cut," he finally said. "But I don't see an entry wound. You pissin' blood?"

"Don't know," Alec said truthfully, not having felt the need to use the facilities.

"Tastin' it?"

"No."

"Any trouble breathin'?"

"Don't think so."

"You're probably not dyin' then," Mole said. "But you might wish you were by the time I get through. Shit, Alec, jokin' aside, you really oughta go to a hospital."

"Then Max would find out for sure," Alec said, "not to mention McKinley's goons who've gotta be lookin' for me." A thought occurred to him and he looked up at Joshua. "Better go keep an eye out, big guy. We could get company."

"The good Senator after your balls 'cause you threatened him in D.C.?" Mole asked as he plucked another piece of glass out -- a move that this time was accompanied by an X5 groan of pain.

"Not exactly," Alec panted. "I was tryin' to steal a file from his Seattle headquarters. 'Deck and I thought we had all the alarms marked, but there must have been a silent one that I tripped somewhere along the way."

Mole rocked back on his heels, his cigar almost dropping from his lips. "Wait a minute," he said. "You're tellin' me you did a 'b and e' on McKinley's office tonight? Man, that window you jumped out of was halfway up a skyscraper. How the hell are you even alive?"

"Skill," Alec said, the smugness showing through even though he was now sweating with the pain. "And a lot of luck," he felt compelled to add. "But it was a close call, and I didn't even get the file."

"What's on it?" Mole asked, wriggling a particularly nasty sliver out of Alec's shoulder muscle.

"Ahh!" the X5 cried out.

"You want a drink at least?" Mole offered, looking at Joshua who nodded and slipped out the door. "Or four?"

"That morphine would be better," Alec said, panting harder now as his fingers dug into the blanket beneath him.

"Dream on," the lizard man snorted. "As if Luke isn't sittin' tight on what little we have."

"I know," Alec said, trying not to whimper as his friend made a small incision with a scalpel to remove another piece of the Senator's office window from his hide.

Mole dabbed at the blood with a paper towel, soaking it out of the way so he could see better, his only light the 60 watt bulb Joshua had left behind. "You gonna tell me the rest of the story?" he asked.

"S'pose I should," Alec admitted, biting down on his lower lip as another shard came out of his back. "You ever hear of Manticore sleeper agents?"

"Sure," Mole said. "Rumor was, some of the X5s had these hypnotic orders planted in 'em that could be triggered by a code. After they carried out the assignment, they supposedly then did a number on themselves -- self destructed. Why?"

"'Deck says I'm one."

Mole blinked his lizard eyes. "Get outta here! You're not!"

"Colonel swears I am," Alec gasped as another piece of glass was worked out with tweezers. "He doesn't know what my programming is, though. Renfro apparently did this to me, and the orders might be to kill Max. I was in McKinley's office to get the Manticore files White had. Supposedly the codes for the sleeper agents are on one of Renfro's discs. If I could get it, I could be permanently deactivated. No harm, no foul."

Mole paused in his surgery to ponder that -- and to relight his cigar. "You think it was a good idea to have alerted McKinley to the fact he must have somethin' us transies want?"

"Not really," Alec admitted, having thought of the same thing. "Which means I've gotta act fast if I wanna get my hands on that file -- before the Senator decides to fine-tooth comb it and figure out what I was really after. Chances are, he doesn't know what the codes on that disc are for, but that doesn't mean he couldn't figure it out." The X5 glanced up at his friend. "I can't have someone holding that kind of power over me," he said quietly. "I can't, Mole. Not when Max's life might be at stake."

Joshua came out of the shadows, holding a bottle of good Scotch.

"Where'd you get that?" Alec asked, eying the bottle suspiciously.

"From canteen," the dog man said, showing big teeth in a happy grin. "You like?"

"I like," Alec said, raising himself up on an elbow, taking hold of the bottle, and working the cap off. "But just remind me to pay Dix back. This stuff costs a small fortune." He took a big swig. "Potent though," he gasped, licking his lips.

"Half a dozen good swallows of that bad boy and you won't be feelin' no pain anymore," Mole commented. The lizard man then rocked back on his heels. "Go ahead, drink. It'll put you out and when you wake up it'll be better."

Alec looked toward the door, unwilling to make himself so vulnerable.

"Go on," Mole said quietly. "Josh 'n me will keep watch, just in case."

"And you won't tell Max?" Alec added.

Mole snorted. "'Course not," he said. "Us guys gotta stick together, don't we?" He looked up, including the dog man in that statement.

"Us guys," the Big Fella grinned, nodding his head. "We won't tell Max. Promise."

"Well all right then," Alec agreed cautiously, downing another big swallow of the mellow Scotch. "But be sure and wake me before this place opens in the morning so I can get outta here and cleaned up. Max thinks I'm down in Little Koreatown for the night makin' an arms deal. I'll go back to the house in the morning and tell her I ran into a little trouble, but that I'm all right. Then, I'll go back for the file."

"You mean we'll go back for the file," Mole said. "This obviously ain't a one-man job, pretty boy." He nodded at the X5's wounds.

Alec was surprised. Mole didn't usually volunteer for anything. "You sure?" he said. "This is personal, not for TC."

"Hey, if it's for our alderman, then it's for the rest of us in here, too," Mole said quietly. "You're a big part of TC, Alec. We can't afford to lose you." He was quiet a moment, then added, "And Max can't either."

Alec had no real argument for that, even if he'd felt up to making one. So, he simply nodded.

"Drink some more, cat-boy," Mole said, indicating the bottle with a nod of his head. "Then let me finish patchin' up that handsome hide of yours. Afterwards, you'll sleep."

The liquor worked, its sedative effect -- although not very long lasting in X5 metabolism -- still enough to put Alec out like a light after he'd drunk three-quarters of the bottle. Mole finished removing the glass shards -- 43 total (and he hoped he'd got them all) -- then Joshua knelt beside the cot to gently stroke his friend's dark blond hair.

"X5s are like fire," the transhuman said softly. "Should be hot to the touch." He glanced up at Mole. "Alec's too cold."

Mole looked around the room for another blanket, and was about to suggest Joshua go back to the house for one. However, the dog man was there ahead of him. Shrugging out of his own triple-large-size flannel shirt, Josh lifted Alec's limp form from the cot and gently worked the young transgenic's arms into the sleeves. The X5 was pretty much swimming in the flannel garment -- but at least it would be warm.

"Let him sleep," Mole said.

"Alec will be all right?"

"Alec's always all right," the lizard man replied softly. "But this time he just needed a little help from his friends."

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & Jensen Ackles Museum

A little help from his friends ...

That's what he was getting all right -- and a whole lot more, Alec thought as the next morning he and Mole walked up to the front entrance of the Seattle office tower that housed Senator James McKinley's headquarters.

The transhuman drew more than a few stares, and Alec his share as well -- his handsomeness contrasting sharply with the reptilian appearance of his companion. Even though the transgenics had been part of the cityscape for over a year now -- the Terminal City Artworks Mall a major tourist attraction -- the "freaks" usually stayed close to home turf. Seeing them out in the mainstream was, indeed, unusual -- at least so far as the mutants with more visible animal DNA were concerned.

There were whispers, fingers pointing, a couple of children staring openly ...

Alec totally ignored the stir. This wasn't a downtown shopping trip. It was a mission, and the distraction of ordinaries was something he'd long ago learned how to tune out.

"Max is gonna have your ass," Mole commented as they shouldered through the revolving glass doors.

"I'll worry about Max later," Alec said quietly, his keen eyes trained on the fat security guard who was approaching the odd-looking duo.

The Glock pistol Alec drew from beneath his grey leather jacket brought the rotund uniformed officer to a quick halt. Holding his hands out in front of him, the guy looked around the lobby, but it wasn't as if he had any back-up. Afterall, why would a simple office complex need anything more than cursory security? (Something Alec had been counting on.)

"I know who you are!" the officer suddenly exclaimed, pointing a finger at Alec. "You're that freak! I've seen you on TV at the council meetings!"

Great. Just great, Alec thought, belatedly reconsidering the idea of wearing a mask for this job, as well as the stupidity of doing this in broad daylight. But Manticore had taught him that sometimes a bold strategic strike was the only way to go, no matter what the risk -- if the stakes were high enough, that is. (And what higher stakes were there than Max's life?)

"I've got an appointment upstairs," Alec said levelly, pointing the Glock at the guard's chest. "Just let me and my friend here pass, and there won't be any trouble."

Passersby had, of course, noticed the commotion (not to mention the gun and the transhuman). One -- a young man in an expensive business suit -- broke for the door, but Mole clotheslined him with an outflung arm, knocking him to the floor.

A woman gave a little scream, and everyone in the lobby froze. Alec glanced around, counted half a dozen people, and considered himself lucky there weren't more. However, there were security cameras everywhere and even though no alarm had sounded he knew he had very little time.

"Twenty-third floor?" Mole said as they backed up to the elevators and jumped into the first car that opened, leaving the astonished onlookers and guard behind.

Alec nodded, and his companion pushed the button. As the door slid closed, they could see the officer frantically scrambling for his desk phone.

"We're gonna get our asses caught, you know," Mole commented mildly as he lit a cigar while the elevator ascended.

"Hey," the X5 said evenly as he raked fingers nervously back through his hair. "I didn't ask you to come with me. I could'a pulled this off alone."

"Sure you could have, Princess," Mole said sarcastically. "Only this time it really would'a been bullets in that gorgeous hide of yours instead of just glass shards."

The two friends knew that it was theoretically possible for the security guard to have the elevator shut down, but they were counting on the bumbling ineptness that was innate in hired help of that kind to give them the minutes they needed to reach their goal. Of course the alarm had already been sounded, and the police were on their way, but locking down elevators took more than a mere keystroke, and hopefully "Bubba" down there was still trying to figure out what to do next.

Senator McKinley's people were prepared for their guests when they arrived -- a trio of armed men in black business suits standing in a triangle with guns drawn as the elevator doors opened onto the 23rd floor hallway.

Three humans against two transgenics -- no contest. Alec and Mole plastered themselves against the side walls of the car as bullets tore past, then ducked low and launched themselves like rockets, blurring too fast for the human eye to see. Mole took one, and Alec took two -- each decking his man (or men) with a single blow.

Mole paused to examine the 9 millimeter pistol McKinley's muscle had been packing, compared it to his own Browning, then grinned and tucked the newer gun into his belt.

"That's stealing," Alec said mildly. He was breathing evenly, the brief fight just easy exercise.

"So let 'em press charges," Mole growled around the cigar stub, "along with the about forty other counts we're gonna have slapped on us if we don't move our tails and get this fuckin' job over with." The lizard man glanced up and down the now empty hallway. "Who's fuckin' idea was this anyway?"

"Mine," Alec said as he quickly gathered up the other weapons lying on the floor and tossed them into a nearby closet. "But it was your idea to come along for the ride."

"Yeah, yeah," Mole groused as he sauntered after his leader down the hall toward the large double doors of McKinley's office. "Just 'cause someone has'ta keep our lady leader's main squeeze breathin'." Then the transhuman grew more serious. "It's not a one man job, bro -- and you know it. Breakin' and enterin' in broad daylight ... Reminds me of old times at Manticore in a way."

"I know what you mean," Alec returned as he took up a position to one side of the double doors and motioned Mole to stand on the other.

They didn't bother knocking. On the count of three, Alec leaped in front of the panels and kicked them open. McKinley's secretary, a pretty young redhead in a sleeveless, daffodil yellow mini-dress, was already cowering on the floor behind her desk in the outer office, having heard the gunfire. Glancing around quickly, Alec noted utilitarian furniture -- nothing fancy -- a desk, computer, and several straight-backed chairs the Senator's good constituents could use while waiting for an audience. There weren't any windows, just beige wallpaper and dime-store framed prints of landscapes on the wall -- a sharp contrast to the expensive artwork in the politician's main office.

"He in there?" Alec asked, his tone brooking no nonsense as he nodded toward the inner door. He didn't really care if the Senator was in residence today or not -- either way he was going to get into that safe. But it might complicate matters if they had to tackle one of the Breeding Cult members.

The girl slowly stood up, her eyes raking Alec's body in a way that was disturbing. "Yes," she said, her voice suddenly calm. "James is working today. His nine a.m. appointment is late, so I suppose he can fit you into his schedule."

The X5's sharp hazel-green eyes locked with her blue ones -- and he knew. McKinley wasn't the only cult member he needed to worry about this morning. He raised the gun.

Familiars were physically superior to ordinary humans in many ways, but their gifts -- unlike those of their lab built transgenic brothers and sisters -- weren't based on animal DNA. There were differences. For example, the girl couldn't feel pain -- a huge advantage in any fight -- but she also didn't have Alec's speed.

He pulled the trigger at the same instant she ducked -- the shot loud in the enclosed space of the outer office -- and a large spot of ugly crimson stained the right side of that yellow mini dress. However, except for making the bitch jerk slightly from the impact, the bullet might as well have been a friendly tap on the shoulder.

Grinning wickedly, the secretary charged -- and Alec blurred, ducking left and coming up behind her. Wrapping a strong forearm around her throat, the X5 squeezed -- a sleeper move that had always worked well for him in the past. However, he wasn't quite prepared for the petite woman's extreme strength ... or her training. Ducking to one side, she crouched low and bent over, and Alec found himself sailing over her head through the air.

He landed hard on his glass-torn back, pain lancing through his body and the wind whooshing out of his lungs as he involuntarily cried out. Seeing the girl looming above him, the X5 rolled, reaching for the gun he'd dropped, but a foot slammed down on his wrist.

He heard the bone break a second before agony shot up his arm. Blinking away tears of pain, Alec's anger soared. Damn it! He was better than her!

Rolling over twice, he used a kip martial arts move to flip to his feet then head-butted the Familiar bitch in the stomach, allowing physics to take over as his greater weight and momentum sent her flying across the office to crash into the far wall.

"You need any help?" Mole asked casually as he stood with a shoulder leaning against the wall while re-lighting his cigar.

"No," Alec gasped, breathing heavily, and never taking his eyes off his opponent.

"You sure? I mean, if that chick is too much for you to handle--"

In reply, the X5 gritted his teeth and charged again. Whirling into an impressive spinning martial arts move, he leaped into the air and brought his left leg around in a high-arcing crescent kick that caught the secretary square on the side of her head with an audible smack. For a second she wobbled, then blue eyes rolled back until only the whites showed and she dropped like a stone to the floor.

"You okay?" Mole asked as Alec put out his good hand to lean heavily on the desk as he caught his breath. Taking the cigar out of his mouth, the lizard man reached for his friend's injured arm, but Alec jerked away.

"I'm fine," the X5 said, gathering himself and fighting down the rising nausea brought on by the now-intense pain in his wrist. He looked toward McKinley's door, wondering why the Senator hadn't come out to see about the commotion. Then again, the fight had lasted less than 20 seconds, although he felt like he'd just gone 10 rounds with a tiger.

"Then let's get what we came for and blow this pop stand," Mole said, watching his partner through narrowed eyes.

Alec nodded, straightened, picked up his Glock from the floor, and moved to the inner office door. He didn't bother knocking. One kick, and he was inside, crouched low, prepared for anything -- except what he found.

"Max!" Alec cried out, his eyes widening with astonishment.

"What the--?" Mole yelled behind him.

Senator James McKinley smiled broadly at his guests. Max, standing with arms crossed behind the politician's chair, had a slightly different expression on her face.

"Joshua ratted out our plan," Alec said, instantly realizing what had happened.

"He told me the two of you were gonna pull the most dumb ass stunt of your lives," his mate replied coldly.

Alec glanced behind him to where the red-headed secretary lay in a heap on the floor. "Was that really necessary?" he asked, jerking his head in her direction. "Or this?" He held up his rapidly swelling broken wrist.

"None of this was necessary," Max said icily. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Alec had rarely seen her so furious at anything or anyone, let alone himself, and all of a sudden he began to feel afraid -- and not because he'd just broken into a Familiar's lair.

"Max," he tried. "I can explain--"

"You don't have to," she interrupted. She held up a computer disc. "This is what you're after, right? Renfro's records?"

Alec nodded cautiously, still not understanding.

"Did you ever think you might have tried asking the man for them -- before breaking the law, not to mention several of his people?"

"He would never have given them to me," Alec protested.

"Oh really?" Max said, one dark eyebrow arching. "He gave them to me."

Alec's mouth opened to argue, but for once he didn't have any words.

"Shit," Mole muttered beside him.

"In spite of what you might think of me, young man," McKinley said, speaking for the first time, "I can be reasonable."

"I don't make deals with the enemy," Alec snarled.

"I'm not your enemy," the Senator returned.

Alec blinked at that -- suddenly feeling like Alice who'd just fallen down the rabbit hole -- and raised eyes to Max. Since when?

"The Senator called me early this morning," Max said. "He told me about the attempted burglary last night, and that his men had recognized you. He was going to call the police as well, but thought I might like a chance to save my alderman's butt first."

"How kind of him," Alec said dryly. His wrist was really beginning to throb and he was feeling sick again.

"He didn't do it out of the goodness of his heart," Max snapped. "He did it because he wants something from us -- something that now, thanks to you, it looks like I'm going to have to give him, that is if I don't want my second in command arrested and sent to military prison ... or worse."

Alec closed his eyes. The bile rising in his throat wasn't from the pain. He saw exactly where this was going. "Max, no," he pleaded, shaking his head.

"I agreed already," Max said tightly. "I'll be setting an example for the rest. I get sterilized, and the others will fall in line." She held out the disc. "Here's what you were after, by the way, although I don't know what's on it that you seem to think is so important."

"Time for that later," Alec said, taking the disc but holding her eyes with his. "I'm not gonna let you do this, Max. And if you think I'm gonna--"

"I can't control what you do, Alec," his mate said softly. "This stunt you pulled proves it." She shrugged. "If you'd come to me first--" She bit her lip. "But you didn't, and now this is the only way to save your ass."

McKinley was still smiling smugly, his hands clasped over his fat belly as he leaned back in the chair. "Check ... and mate," he said quietly. "I've won the game, thanks to you, 494."

"Max!" Alec implored. "We'll fight. We've done it before. We can--"

"The fight's over, Alec," Max said, her voice oddly dead. "We can't win. All we can do is survive. If we give up our reproductive capability, the Senator promises we'll be left alone from now on. He'll stop campaigning against us. We'll be able to lead normal lives. There won't be any war."

"Normal?" Alec yelled. "As in never being able to have children of our own? Max, you want a baby so bad it's all you can think of!"

"I know!" she cried out, her true emotions showing at last. "And now, thanks to your idiocy, that's never going to happen!"

Alec straightened his shoulders. "Let 'em arrest me, Max. I don't care. Let them lock me up forever. You'll find someone else ... have children with him ... You don't need me for that."

"Self sacrifice doesn't really become you, Alec," Max said, shaking her head sadly as a single tear moistened her cheek. "Noble gestures clash with your true character."

Realizing he'd just been insulted ... and that he probably deserved it ... Alec said nothing. He'd screwed up really bad this time, and he couldn't bear to think about the price he was now going to pay. If he lost Max over this ... If she left him ...

"Max ..." he said softly. "Please, don't do this."

"It's already done," she said. "I'm scheduled for surgery at Harbor Lights Hospital in three weeks, as soon as the Sterilization Bill legally takes effect." She nodded toward the door. "Go," she ordered.

Head hanging, Alec and Mole turned around, obeying their leader.

"Oh, and Alec," Max added suddenly.

The X5 looked back at her over his shoulder, his eyes hopeful as he cradled his broken wrist to his chest.

"Find someplace else to sleep tonight, because, in case you didn't get the message -- we're through."

He stared at her for a very long moment, then slowly raised his head high and nodded once in acknowledgement -- self pride asserting itself at last. But when he turned his back on her and left, it was all 494 could do to see through the tears that were welling in his eyes.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & Jensen Ackles Museum

Alec didn't give it up for anyone -- not even for Max. Self pity was a luxury Manticore hadn't allowed, and he knew that wallowing in guilty feelings wasn't going to do a damn bit of good. He walked to the elevator with an unusually subdued Mole at his side ... silently rode down to the lobby ... crossed that shiny marble floor past a gaggle of guards who didn't try to stop them ...

His back was bleeding again. He could feel the moistness trickling between his shoulder blades beneath his leather jacket.

"You all right?" Mole finally ventured when they emerged into the gloomy day and Seattle rain.

One corner of Alec's mouth twitched. "I'm about two county lines over from all right, Mole. But there's nothin' I can do about it until she cools down."

"You can stay at my place tonight ... if you want," the lizard man offered as he once again attempted to re-light his cigar.

Alec looked over at him, grateful for a friend, but shook his head. "I've got stuff to do tonight." He held up the computer disc, and Mole nodded in understanding.

*****

Colonel Donald Lydecker Photo courtesy of Valjean

"Here's the file," 494 said, tossing the disc down on Donald Lydecker's desk. "Now get those crap orders outta my head."

Dressed in his usual combat jacket and beige khakis, the New Manticore CEO looked up mildly at his soldier, an inscrutable look on his weathered face. "That would be a job for psy-ops," he said. "But we don't need to bother."

Alec scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lydecker picked up the disc and inserted it into the CD drive of his computer. Eyes narrowed, the X5 stepped around the desk so he could see the screen. There appeared to be over a hundred files -- or at least that's what it looked like to Alec as the list rapidly scrolled. Most of it was scientific data ... DNA sequences ... experiments ... personnel records ... missions ...

"Where are the sleeper agent codes?" he asked, his rapid reading ability failing to pick out a probable file.

"There aren't any," the colonel said quietly, his steely blue eyes never leaving the list of streaming data, although he'd slowed it down to ordinary human reading speed. "There never were -- at least not on you."

"What?" Alec said, biting off the word in disbelief. "Whadaya mean there never were any codes? What the hell has this all been about then?"

The colonel looked up at him. "You were never programmed to be a sleeper agent, 494," he said. "At least not so far as I know. The anomaly in your EEG Brezzel saw was, indeed, your epilepsy -- and that's all. Yes, you were pre-programmed for sleeper agent status as a child, as all the X5s were, but a mission was never inserted -- not by me, Renfro, or anyone. That process takes over a week to complete and it leaves a definitive signature in a brain scan. Your psy-ops tests were extremely thorough when you were being evaluated for psychotic tendencies. All of your brain scans are on record, and there's no sign of sleeper agent implantation. And I very much doubt Renfro had time, motive, or available personnel to accomplish that task before you were assigned to be 494's breeding partner."

"But you said--"

"I lied."

Alec smirked, the irony striking home. "Of course you did," he said bitterly. "And I'm a fool for having trusted you."

"Actually, you are a fool," Lydecker said evenly. "And an easily manipulated one at that -- and all because you're in love. Love is a lethal weakness, 494. You were warned of that fact time and time again at Manticore, but you seem incapable of absorbing that bit of vital information." He shook his head. "You probably really should have been put down after the Berrisford fiasco -- but because I'd lost your brother, I truly wanted to give you a chance to be the soldier you were bred to be ... to keep you in the gene pool."

"You digress," Alec said through clenched teeth his voice low and dangerous. "We can reminisce about my misspent youth and wasted potential some other time. Why the hell did I need to steal that disc if I was never programmed?"

"You didn't."

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & Jensen Ackles Museum

And then Alec got it. Shoulders slumping, he closed his eyes and threw back his head. "Of course," he moaned. "This whole job wasn't for me ... it was for you. You need information that Renfro had." The X5 then took a deep breath and took aim at the older man with his eyes. "What is it? Somethin' in the personnel files? Dirt on Stendahl maybe? It's gotta be somethin' to do with your precious kids and your damn quest to build the perfect supersoldier. That's the only shit you live for."

"Let's just say it's something personal and leave it at that," the colonel said, clicking the data off of the screen.

Recognizing defeat, Alec could only shake his head. Short of murdering Lydecker in cold blood (not an option at the moment -- Terminal City needed the man) there really wasn't much he could do about this fiasco. He turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway and looked back at his nemesis. "You know," he said quietly, "you could have just asked me to do the mission. I might have said yes. Hell, I might even have followed your orders."

Lydecker narrowed his eyes, evaluating his soldier. "Possibly," he conceded. "But you're a loose canon, 494. You always have been. And sometimes it's difficult to get you to whore for me. In fact, the only sure way to make you tractable is to involve Max."

The colonel then stretched leather clad arms, leaned back in his chair, and casually put one booted foot up on the desk -- triumphant. "And speaking of 452," he continued, "I understand you have her to thank for not being in military custody at this very moment. In fact, I should probably be congratulating Max on this job rather than you. You botched it. But in typical fashion, she swooped in to rescue your ass -- another factor I can usually count on when using the two of you for a mission. What were you thinking anyway, son? A broad daylight break-in at the Senator's office? By the way, you ought to get that battle damage looked at." He nodded at Alec's broken wrist.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," was Alec's lame excuse. He had one foot out the door and very much wanted to leave -- his wrist was killing him and he was on fire to find Max and patch things up. But he had to know one more thing.

"McKinley's sterilization orders -- he's implementing them?"

"The paperwork is being processed ass we speak -- start date the first of next month."

"Max ... Max made a deal with the Senator. In return for him not pressing charges against me, and for him surrendering the disc, she's agreed to be the first."

Lydecker sat up straight in his chair, his foot hitting the floor hard. "The first what?"

"To submit to the sterilization procedure."

"You can't let her do that!"

"And I stop her how?"

"By force, if necessary," Lydecker snapped. "I thought the two of you were investigating fertility issues ... planning for children ..."

"We were," Alec said, suddenly feeling very, very tired. "But that was before."

"Before what?"

"Max decided I was too much of a jackass to sire her kids. It's my fault she made that deal with McKinley, but short of bodily kidnapping her, I don't know how to stop her."

"She loves you," the older man said. "Use that. You know how. One reason you're so hard to manipulate is because you're a master of manipulation yourself, 494. It's what you were created to do."

Alec smiled. "Never play a player?"

"Exactly. Go to Max. Say whatever you have to. Do whatever you have to. But get back in her good graces and keep her out of McKinley's hands. The X5s may not be perfect, but they're damn close to it. No more will ever be made -- at least not in the labs. New Manticore is concentrating on X9 series now -- a far inferior Unit in my opinion -- no emotions ... no conscience ... no ability to form personal attachments ... their humanity literally erased leaving nothing but raw tissue ready to be programmed for total obedience to their masters. Hell, even the X6s are diluted -- not as smart, or physically capable, all because the big brass were afraid of the X5-Unit's high intelligence and independent thinking capabilities. The X5 species needs to be kept alive, 494, and natural breeding is the only way that's going to happen."

"Gee," Alec drawled. "It's nice to be wanted." He didn't agree with Lydecker -- that the X5s needed to continue as a DNA line because of their supersoldier capabilities. However, he did agree with the man that he, Max, and his other X5 brothers and sisters should be allowed to keep their reproductive capabilities intact -- the right to have children ... families ...

"Go to her, 494," Lydecker implored, standing up now, his blue eyes flashing with cold fire. "Don't let her make the biggest mistake of her life."

"On it," Alec said quietly. "But just remember, it was your stupid shit," he nodded at the computer, "that really got her in this mess in the first place."

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

It was after midnight when Max heard the key turn in the front door. She wondered where he'd been ... if he'd been drinking. He'd want to talk, of course. It's what Alec did best -- high verbal. She smiled sadly at that thought. She was going to miss his chatter ...

There were other things about 494 ... about Alec ... she was going to miss too. Her body was aching already -- her hormones triggered just by the sound of his voice as he talked to Joshua in the foyer.

"Get out of my way," Alec said forcefully. "I hafta to see her."

"Max doesn't want to see you, Alec. She said for you to go away. Here." Max knew her dog man friend was handing Alec the duffel bag she'd packed with his things.

"Friends don't rat out friends," Alec said bitterly. "Why'd you tell her anyway? You knew I didn't want her to know."

"Alec," Joshua returned. "You're my friend. I love you. But compared to Max ... She comes first in my heart, Alec."

"Josh, you know what she's gonna do. You can't want that."

There was a long moment of silence, and Max could picture the dog man's tears. He'd been trying all day to talk her out of turning herself over to McKinley and the doctors. In fact, what she was going to do appalled the transhuman, as well as the rest of the Terminal City community. Example setting or not, it appeared McKinley was going to be in for a fight. The Freaks would follow their leader, but only up to a point. Afterall, she thought tiredly, hadn't Manticore already taught them that it was possible to be betrayed by your own command.

"Josh, let me go to her."

"No, Alec."

"I'm not gonna let her do this, Josh. And I'm not gonna lose her. You know how much I love her."

"I know, Alec. But she doesn't want you any more."

Max winced at those words. They weren't true, but it was what she'd told Joshua to say. Alec had come a long way since those callow egotistical days when she'd first known him -- reforming ... maturing ... However, at his core he was still selfish, and always would be. It was inbred ... in his nature. Today's debacle at McKinley's office had proven to her just how little her consort could really be trusted, not to mention what a dumb ass he was. She might love the idiot more than her own life, but for Terminal City's sake ... for the sake of her people ... she had to cut off this relationship.

She could see that now. There was no other way.

Besides, Max reminded herself, it was Alec's fault she'd now never have children. It was his stupidity that had forced her to give in to McKinley -- sell her soul as it were. Rather than see the X5 spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement within the walls of a maximum security military prison -- or worse, see him shipped off to Stendahl's experimental program -- she'd bargained with the only chip she had for his freedom, her own reproductive rights.

"Go away, Alec," Joshua repeated, the words emphasized this time with a low growl.

"I'll never give up on her," Max heard her lover say, his voice deep and low and hard. "Never! And I won't let McKinley's butchers have her either!"

The door slammed -- by Alec's hand no doubt -- and Max curled up on the bed and sobbed.

THE END