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Chapter 2

"Nuh-uh," Original Cindy grunted in disbelief.

Logan slowly nodded and pushed the scrap of paper towards her. She pulled it closer with one long nail, her eyes scanning the email printout several times before looking up at him in disbelief. Logan twisted his back to ease the cramping there and ran a hand through his spiky hair as Cindy read the short message again.

"Who�s this Sibelius brotha? Zat you?"

"Classical composer," Logan said. "I played Max a song once, in the car� we might have danced to it. Anyway, it�s something only she would know."

"Fine, fine. Kevlar, that some sort of bent rich-boy straightjacket?"

"It�s a type of bulletproof vest."

"Damn. That�s really from Max."

"I know."

They sat in silence for several long minutes as the cordial mayhem of Crash surrounded their table and unsuccessfully tried to draw them in. Cindy forgot about her beer entirely and Logan didn�t even think twice about the guy doing bike stunts right behind their table.

"I promised I�d tell you when I heard anything," Logan reminded Cindy gently, taking the much-folded piece of paper back. "This came last night."

"Yeah, but what does it mean? Besides the fact our girl is alive, that is. She could be setting a fool up for a trap, aiming to bring acid rain down on your pretty little head, you ever think about that?"

"Cindy," Logan began, in his most patient voice. He�d had a whole day to brood over the message, she�d only had about a minute.

"Nothing. We hear zilch for a year and a half, and then she sends you an email? I don�t trust it no way. She�s evil and playin� you."

"Cindy, have you ever known Max to give up on something? Ever seen her break? I think she�s been inside Manticore this whole time, playing their games, just waiting for a chance to break out and come back to us. She mentioned the sector wars�I know for a fact that the government has hired an outside task force to come in and force the peace. I bet they hired Manticore soldiers and Max is coming with them and wanted to warn us somehow." Logan failed to keep the excitement out of his voice and calmly ducked as a clod of dirt flew over his head.

"Or she�s been reprogrammed by the freak squad and is coming to put you in the ground," Cindy argued, her voice bordering on hysterical. "Original Cindy is not gonna stick around and watch you get more of your body shot up because you got your head in the clouds."

"Max loved you," Logan pointed out softly. "You were her best friend, you counted as family. She got captured, Cindy, she didn�t run away. If she�s alive, it�s a miracle and I know for a fact that Max would never take advantage of a miracle by giving into those butchers at Manticore."

"Too good to be true," Cindy said in a near-whisper. She jumped a little when the crowd behind her cheered, and Logan pushed away from the table, indicating they should leave and go somewhere quieter. She followed his wheelchair outside and took a deep breath of fresh air. Well, polluted air, but at least it wasn�t the stale beer and bike grease smell. She adjusted her purple miniskirt and slipped her arms into her jacket, glad she�d brought it along to ward off the chill. Logan wheeled over to the crappy excuse for a sidewalk and headed towards his car, talking as Cindy walked beside him.

"I still hope," he confessed. "I know you do too."

"Nuh-uh, Original Cindy don�t waste no time on things that could get her dead or maimed or tricked up with some freak experiment somewhere. You got the wrong spice girl, boo."

"Liar," Logan grinned, spinning his chair around, stopping her in her tracks. "I saw your face when you read that email. You wanted it to be true as much as I did."

"How can we trust her?" Cindy reasoned. "What if it�s a double-cross? Makin� us think she�s back in the family fold, when the real is that she�s gonna drop a dime on the both of us and we get dead. Or worse."

"How can we not trust her?" Logan countered. "What�s the worst that could happen, we die?"

"Or worse."

"Or worse. In my scenario we cling to hope and trust the Max we knew and love, and everything works out."

"Mmhmm," Cindy said skeptically, crossing her arms.

"If it�s really her, and we turn our backs and something happens to her� I�d wanna die," Logan said bleakly. "I�ve got to see this through. I just wanted to give you the chance to be in on it."

"Gotta dwell. Original Cindy will give you a call tomorrow."

"Look forward to hearing from you," Logan said, and handed her the folded piece of paper. "Keep this. I can print out another."

Cindy reluctantly took the folded piece of paper and shoved it into her jacket pocket without looking at it. She nodded to Logan, unable to keep the pain out of her eyes. She didn�t have enough attitude to cover the desolation of the past year and a half, not knowing if Max was back in that prison or if she was rotting in a ditch somewhere. Logan wisely stayed silent, letting her leave without further challenge. While she battled her heart and weighed the evidence, he could be productive on the informant net. The sector wars were heating up, everyone knew that, but Logan needed to figure out exactly what Manticore was being sent in to accomplish, and why Max thought he�d need a bullet proof vest to survive out the week.

*****

Perry looked over his command, satisfied that they had already accomplished the breach of the first barricade, which was now being dismantled by the sector police. The rotting wood and burned out hulks of automobiles were being wrenched apart even as they sat in their small command center and waited for the next order from headquarters. The 19-member unit had suffered no casualties, not even so much as a scraped knee or a black eye. They had simply shot their way in, decimating the paltry defenses and allowing the sector police access into the area. If anything, the troops were a little disappointed it had been so easy to break down the barricade. They�d expected more of a protest, had been briefed on mob control and the best way to handle teeming crowds of protesters. However, the crowd of people that were defending the barricades fought weakly, most of them no more than children. They were hardly a threat for the sector police, which made Perry question the true motive for the mission. Agent Hunter had said that the sector police was unwilling to use brute force to get into the area, but once the barricade was down they had no problem running in and forcing the residents into submission. There had to be another reason that the X5 team was sent in first. There had to be another reason the police were unwilling to break in. Something was missing from the plot.

"Listen up," Perry said, and his team gathered around. They were still in camo dress, weapons at the ready. "I think there�s something Agent Hunter left out of the briefing."

"Like why it was cake to get into the area?" This from Brin, who hadn�t even broken a sweat during the assignment. He nodded.

"Maybe the residents were weakened by the siege," someone offered. "Maybe they gave up."

"You don�t construct a forty foot wall around two whole sectors and then give it up without trying to defend it," Perry mused. "I think the real threat we face is where we are now, inside the sector. We need to find out why they would want the sector police, or a special ops team like us, inside their walls."

"What are you thinking?" asked Max.

"Don�t know yet. I don�t know what they�d be hiding. It doesn�t make any sense. I mean, do you hear that? They�re destroying the barricades and trucking in food and medical supplies, retaking control of sector three, at least. Where is this supposed army of irate citizens? Sleeping?"

"We should do recon," Brin suggested. "If Manticore is not forthcoming with intel then we should seek out what we need to survive and conquer."

Perry thought that over. It certainly wouldn�t go over very well with Director Renfro, but it was something Colonel Lydecker would have expected from them immediately. Maybe Manticore wasn�t hiding anything. Still, they had to be completely sure, free from doubts before they moved any further into enemy territory.

"Right. We�ll split up and meet back here in two hours. Find out anything you can about what�s really going on in here, but keep a low profile. I don�t want a war of politics on top of everything else. Move out."

Max moved out with the others, unable to believe her incredible luck. It was luck tinged with regret, because Perry was absolutely right about their being something fishy about the mission. But still, she was alone, free and in Seattle for the first time since her capture. Brin would probably track her instead of trying to find out any true intelligence, and yet�

Max filched an oversized black coat from someone�s clothes pole and wrapped it around herself. The sleeves hung past her fingertips and it trailed on the ground, but at least no one would take one look at her uniform and know she played for the wrong team. Sector Three was where she�d seen Jace off to Mexico, right at the end of South Market where the busses left. It was where Zack and Logan had rescued her the time she got trapped by that stupid poster. And it was where Director Renfro completely screwed up Lydecker�s promise to Tinga, which eventually resulted in her horrible death. The memories rushed back, unimpeded by the need to keep her face stoic. Now she could grieve, now she could scream and wail about life being unfair and how she got screwed out of her freedom. Instead, she squeezed back tears and ducked into a small coffee kiosk just outside the gate, her eyes going immediately to the television. She hadn�t watched TV in over a year. She hadn�t smelled coffee either, Manticore frowning on any sort of drug going into X5�s, even something as innocent as caffeine.

"Coffee?" the man behind the counter asked politely, reaching for a used styrofoam cup.

Max nodded and tried not to blanch as he wiped out the cup with a soggy rag. She reached into her utility belt for emergency currency, deciding that real coffee was worth the expenditure. If she played the part, maybe she could get this guy to start talking. She handed over the ten dollar bill and wrapped her gloved hands around the cup, inhaling the rich aroma. The man chuckled, watching her savor the smell.

"Been savin� up for this, eh?" he guessed.

"Every week for a month," Max lied. "We all got our vices, y�know?"

"Well, enjoy."

"Oh, yeah," Max whispered, taking the first sip of the piping hot, bitter coffee. It burned the tip of her tongue and she laughed, setting it down on the counter. "Hot."

"It�s the only way to serve joe, even under siege," the guy joked, scrubbing at a stubborn spot on the counter Max recognized as a bloodstain. "How you doin�, you hangin� in there? Not gettin� screwed out of your rations by those brutes in South Market, are ya?"

"No sir," Max replied, aware that in the big coat she probably looked younger than she really was. "My big brother takes care of me."

That much was true, Max reflected sadly, thinking again of Zack and the sacrifice he made to keep her alive. She�d obeyed his last command: she fought them. Fought them when they strapped her down and redesigned her genetics, fought them during the whole arduous process of reprogramming, fought them when they retrained her in combat, fought them every time they beat her, humiliated her, tried to break her. In the end, she had to summon up the highest amount of courage she could to fake being back in the fold. No one suspected her except Brin, and even she was wearing down. After all, hadn�t Max recently gunned down two criminals trying to steal one of Manticore�s Range Rovers? The old Max wouldn�t touch a gun if you paid her in genuine gold bars.

"I got a kid," the guy said conspiratorially, palming a picture of a cute little girl in pigtails to show Max. "That�s Kari. They haven�t taken her yet."

"Maybe they never will," Max said comfortingly, her mind whirling with possibilities. "Barricade�s coming down."

"Yeah, like the sector police will be able to beat the brutes. Nah, I�m thinkin� of gettin� out tonight or tomorrow, after dark. It�ll be crazy, police trying to figure out who�s sick and who�s wounded and why everyone�s got those freak lesions. You should think about gettin� out too, while it�s still chaos."

"Slave to the known," Max shrugged, forcing defeat into her eyes. "We�ll be okay."

"Honey, no one�s gonna be okay if they get into South Market. I mean, it�s one thing for us to go in and get our rations, but if those idiots start shootin� and pointin� fingers, there�ll be blood in the streets."

Max slowly sipped from the coffee, which had cooled enough to enjoy. Black, bitter, hot, divine.

"I�m too hungry to care," she said bitterly, sharing a look of empathy with the guy.

"Yeah, let �em rot."

Just then, the television flickered and the blue and red stripes took over the screen. Max�s hands actually shook around the styrofoam cup, causing a little of the precious liquid to slosh over the side onto her glove. The guy didn�t notice her, his eyes riveted to the screen.

"Wish our superman would get off the screen and get down in the trenches, y�know?" he said, but there was little anger in his voice. He quieted down and they watched the cable hack together.

"This is an Eyes Only cable hack. It will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be compromised, and it is the only free voice left in this city. This morning, under the cover of darkness, the Sector Police finally managed to break down the barricade separating Sectors two and three from the rest of the city. Their objective was to bring food and water to the citizens that have trapped themselves inside. What the chief of police, Kenneth Trager, does not want you to know is that the water is laced with a narcotic that will kill anyone who drinks it. It is his solution to end the spread of disease in that area, disease spread by the rats he secretly unleashed on the city last March as an attempt to curb population growth. Trager worked in conjunction with this man, Jorge Teluda, who recently confessed to manufacturing the narcotic and is currently in police custody. Eyes Only is calling all citizens to boycott any water sources sealed in Seattle and to mobilize uncompromised food and water for our neighbors in sectors two and three. This is Eyes Only. Peace. Out."

"Guess he doesn�t know how else they�ve been killin� off the sick folks," the guy scoffed. "Hey, girlie, don�t look so scared. That coffee wasn�t made with any of their water."

"No, yeah, it�s fine. I know. Just�" Max�s voice broke and she dropped her head, sobbing quietly. Tears dripped off her cheeks and plopped into the coffee she still held in her hands. Logan was alive. Alive, well, and apparently still performing cable hacks. His voice echoed in her head. Every word he�d just said was the intel Perry had been looking for, but to her it was far more. It was a lifeline, something to live for. She never forgot his voice, recalling it in her mind every night, turning it over and over like a precious jewel, but hearing it for real just undid her defenses. Her body actually ached for him.

"I know, it�s hard. I know." The coffee guy awkwardly patted Max�s head until she regained control and wiped her face with her sleeve.

"Sorry. Eyes Only is never wrong, but I�m sick of the sector police screwing us over to protect their own asses. Like we�re nothing but river scum."

"Sucks," the guy agreed.

Max finished her coffee and handed back the cup.

"Thanks. Sorry I blubbered all over you. Hormones or something."

"I got a wife, I�m used to it. You take care, okay? Don�t drink the water!"

"Ha ha," Max said, and slipped off the stool.

When she was out of sight, she climbed up the side of a building and snuck into South Market through the broken ceiling of what used to be an airplane hangar, almost choking at the stench of rotting vegetables and the unmistakable scent of human flesh------

Burning.

Chapter 3