Chapter 9: Seattle 

We stopped just outside the city limits and Kevin distributed the sector passes. I looked at the city in awe, for the first time I took the time to look at it. My last visit here wasn't exactly one I wanted to remember. We ended up finding a room in a small motel just inside sector 7. 
I dropped my duffel onto the floor next to a bed and looked at Kevin, Eve, and Krit. Krit was studying the room for cameras or recorders, he had a issue about privacy. Kevin was flipping through a map and Eve was sitting next to me waiting. 
"So boys," I began, "what is the game plan?" 
"Game plan?" Kevin inquired. 
"What are we going to do?" 
"I've got a few people I think I should check up on," Krit said. 
"Such as?" I pushed, looking at Krit as though the other two were not there. 
"Logan and Original Cindy." 
"I'll go with-" 
"It's your vacation," Krit insisted. 
"They are our friends," I replied. 
Eve turned on the radio to drown out our voices. It wouldn't complete cover our bickering, but it was good enough for Eve. What I heard froze me in my tracks. 
"Police suspect foul play in a fire that claimed as many as a hundred lives last Friday a veterans' hospital built in 2007. Authorities are refusing to release information on the fire's origin and any possible loss of life at the facility." 
"Kayla?" Krit asked. 
"Manticore was a VA hospital on paper," I hissed, "I'm gonna check something out." 
I pulled aside the curtain and looked up at the sky, the sun was beginning to rise but I could still make out the signal to regroup blinking in the sky. 
"Krit," I said quickly. 
He was by my side in a second and he looked at the signal in the sky. We both knew what it meant, Manticore had been burned to the ground and they wanted their 'children' to regroup at the locale given. 
"Regroup...Echo Golf 427952...Friday. Today," I mumbled, "Damn it," I swore. 
"We have to talk to Logan," Krit said urgently. 
"Kevin, Eve?" I said, "You guys mind traveling alone today? Krit and I want to check in on a few old faces." 
"I'm fine with that," they agreed, although Kevin sounded a bit reluctant. 
"Good," I said as Krit and I hurried out the door. 
I held onto Krit as he pushed his Ninja to its limits as we rode through the Seattle streets toward Foggle Towers. Krit stopped his bike and laid it in the alley as we climbed the fire escape to the roof. We broke into Logan's place using the skylight. We landed gracefully and walked quickly to the living room. 
"Logan?" Krit called. 
I walked into the small office off the thew side and saw the last thing I expected. 
"Max!" 
"What!" Krit called from the other room as he approached behind me. 
"Krit?" Max said amazed. 
She hugged her big brother, who slowly wrapped his arms around his sister. 
"Maxie," he breathed and buried his face into her shoulder allowing himself to cry. 
I looked at Logan, "you were right. She's alive" 
"Yeah…" he said, his voice distant. 
Krit pulled back quickly remembering the situation at hand. 
"You saw it?" he asked Max. 
"I'm the reason for it." 
"YOU torched the place?" 
"Yea," Max said nonchalantly, "Who's that?" 
"Kayl-" he began. 
"Kayla," I said simply, "X6-711." 
I saw the look of confusion and anger in her eyes as she looked at me. 
"She has nothing to do with anything. She's been with me for the past four months," Krit stated, "she got out with Syl and I after the attack." 
I saw the hesitance in her eyes. 
"We have to go now!" I said urgently, "Zero could be out there!" 
"Kai! Shut up!" Krit snapped, "Zero or not, we have to protect our own." 
"Yes, sir," I said quietly. 
"I got my bike, Kai ride with me," Krit instructed, "We'll see if we can get there before any more of us get taken down." 
Within the next 5 minutes I found myself speeding down the empty roads on the back of Krit's Ninja following Max. I saw the base come into view. That's when I see the bridge, with some of the X-soldiers on it. They were being held at gun point." 
"RUN!!" Max yelled as she skid her bike right into the soldiers knocking them down. 
I jumped off of Krit's bike and took down a conventional soldier. I sent another one sprawling with a roundhouse kick. I grabbed the gun for one and shot down a third quickly. 
"C'mon!' Krit yelled as he saw Max scoop up a wounded X-soldier and ride off to safety. 
I jumped on the back of the bike and Krit sped out of there. We arrived at the old barn where I could smell Max. I climbed off and Krit wheeled the bike behind me. We were a little late, we had to make sure they weren't tailed. 
"There's been a change in your mission status--extreme and unforeseen. You've been betrayed by your own command. What do you do?" I heard Max's voice. 
I stalled for a second outside the doors listening. 
"Redeploy," I heard a chorus of voices. 
"Correct. How?" 
"Unknown, ma'am. We have no training with regard to that circumstance," said one of the X-soldiers. 
" Do you know what that means?" Max asked. 
" No, ma'am." 
"All your training goes out the window," Max said. 
I fought the urge to chuckle. 
"Yes, ma'am," came another chorus of voices. 
" Starting with your blind obedience to Manticore and all it represents." 
Now she was getting to the good part. 
"Yes, ma'am." 
" Which means you're going to stop calling me ma'am and start calling me Max," she stated. 
I wonder if she knew I had tried that, they never called me Kai. Well most of them anyway. 
"Yes, ma'am," I laughed quietly as they chorused once again that tired expression. 
"Yes, Max. That's my name. And now that you're in the real world, you all should have names, too." 
"Oh, for the love of-" I heard another new male voice. 
"Shut up!" she yelled, "You have to stop thinking of yourselves as soldiers and start thinking of yourselves as people" 
"But we are soldiers," said a voice I could never forget. 
I slipped into the building with Krit right behind me. 
"Ralph. Fixit. Zero," I said loudly, capturing everyone's attention. 
"They already have names," I said approaching the group. 
Max turned to look at me, as though trying to gauge my honesty and trustworthiness. Krit watched from the door and scanned the room. 
"These are my soldiers, 452," I said. 
"My name is Max," she said and took a step forward. 
"I'm Kayla," I said and raised an eyebrow. 
She knew I was testing her, or teasing. She didn't really care which. Max grinned and put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. 
"Aiight," she said, "go work with your own." 
Max sauntered over to where another male sat with a bag of popcorn. Max kicked the guy in the side lightly and they began to bicker about something. I turned back to my soldiers. 
"Fall in," I said after noticing they had strayed. 
The 4 X-soldiers lined up standing at attention, Bullet was a distance away resting. 
"At ease," they relaxed slightly. 
"Welcome to MY world," I stated as I paced in front of them, "I have no time and patience for personal business right now," I added aiming the comment to Zero. 
"State your name and designation," I said stepping before the young male soldier. 
"X8-621!" he boy shouted. 
"What's your rank?" 
"I'm in the Bugle Corps ma'am." 
I had heard that the X8 generation had had a few problems. They seemed to carry the qualities of all the X generations from the X4's to the X7's. The X4's were mentally capable and met the mental expectations of Manticore, but they lacked the physical abilities. Manticore had kept them on as doctors and researchers. 621 must be one of the X8's made up of more X4 DNA. 
"Bugler, it is," I said and turned to the other 3, "Where's Bullet?" 
"He got shot, ma'am," Ralph said in a soldier's voice. 
"Go check on him," I ordered, "Fixit. That old truck over there? You're the best mechanic this side of the world, fix it," I added and the two scurried off to their assignments. 
"Zero!" I barked. 
"Yes, Kai!" he said snapping to attention. 
"Sentry duty," I ordered and tossed him the gun I had swiped from the soldier back at the bridge. 
I caught his look as the put the gun strap over his shoulder. He was asking me to go with him. 
"Later," I said simply and walked away. 
I heard Zero retreat and I looked at Krit, who was watching me. I looked away from him and walked over to where Max stood talking to the other male X5. I stood next to her at attention; I was waiting for my orders. 
"Ma'am?" I asked. 
"Max," she stressed again. 
"Max?" 
"Yes?" 
"What are my orders?" 
"Get this one to sleep," she said motioning to Bugler. 
"Yes ma'am," I said slightly confused. 
I walked with Bugler in silence until I found a small section where there were a few sacks piled up and other things we could use as beds. 
"Get some rest," I said to the young boy. 
"But it's not lights out," he said confused. 
"That's okay," I said and knelt down so I was at his level, "Get some rest. That's an order." 
Bugler laid down and I covered him with a sack. He looked funny laying there staring up at me with that confused expression. 
"What is it?" 
"Why would Manticore attack us? We were their soldiers. We were loyal," he whispered. 
"Because Manticore is the bad guys," I replied and sat next to him. 
"Huh?" 
"Because-" I began, "They wanted to turn you into something bad." 
"I don't understand. We were worth a lot of money and research. Why would Manticore destroy years of research?" 
"Plausibly Deniability." 
"Bluffing is more like it," Max said from behind us. 
I turned to face the girl my brother had believed dead for the past few months. 
"That's it," I said, "Manticore didn't want to risk the exposure of our existence. People on the outside aren't welcoming to-" 
"Things that are different," Max finished. 
"Yeah," I said, "That's why we have to keep our true identities secret from those who we care about…" 
"Or you can always find happiness with your own kind," Max said. 
"What?" 
"Look," she said and pointed. 
I looked over and saw Bullet and Ralph. They were talking softly to each other and he held her hand in his affectionately, they must have gotten close since I've been gone. 
"Yeah…" I said softly. 
I wondered if Krit had told Max anything about Zero and I. I had to face him sooner or later, Zero that is. I couldn't avoid him forever. I glanced at Max as she looked at the sleeping Bugler, like a mother watching her child. I slipped away silently and ran outside. I saw Zero's form in the distance and ran up behind him. He turned quickly and aimed his gun at me. He saw who it was and lowered the rifle. 
"Kai…" he breathed and smiled softly. 
"Zero," I said softly. 
"I never-" he began. 
"I made it out okay," I stated simply. 
"I've missed you," he said wrapping his hand around mine. 
I saw a flash for a second of our last night together in the car, when he held my hand gently. It felt so right to be with Zero this way again, but then I remembered I had a boyfriend. I had a boyfriend who loved me. Technically, he loved KAYLA. He didn't know who Kai was. I pulled away none-the-less. 
"Kai-" he began confused by my actions. 
"I can't get into this with you Zero," I mumbled and looked down, unable to meet his beautiful blue eyes. 
"What?" he asked puzzled. 
"It's been four whole months, Zero. I didn't know if I would ever see you again…or-or if you would still be Zero, and not just X6-601!" 
"You didn't think I was strong enough?" he asked, "You never doubted me before." 
"The world changes people," I said harsher than I intended, "It makes me realize that we aren't invincible and that we are human. We have weaknesses and we can't live under the illusion that we'll never be bested." 
"We are better than those out there!" Zero stated, "we're different than them, better and stronger." 
"But that's the problem, I want to be like those out there! I want to be normal! I changed my name and who I was so I could be normal! Where I live, Kai doesn't exist. I am Kayla Lang, most popular girl in school, athletic, smart, an artist, and best friends with Eve Richards and girlfriend to Kevin Peterson." 
"But you ARE KAI!" Zero persisted, "Kai. You've been answering to Kai all day, never Kayla. You can't pretend to be two people. You're name is Kai. Your designation is X6-711. You are a Manticore prototype!" 
"I am a hard working straight A student and one hell of a worker at the B and B and the market. I am Kayla Lang, a normal teenager. Who the hell are you?" I spat. 
I turned quickly and ran back to the barn. I knew Zero was behind me, I could hear him. I ran inside and was quickly kicked by the male X5. 
"Alec!" I heard Max yell, he had a name now, "What the hell are you doing!?!" 
"I thought she was a threat," he said nonchalantly and walked away. 
I got to my feet and mumbled, "great guy." 
"What happened, Kai? What were you running from?" 
"Nothing," I stated and walked away. 
I glanced around the room. Bullet was sitting with Ralph in deep conversation at one corner of the room. Fixit was off to the side working on the old truck, Bugler was still asleep, the X7 stared out the window (creepy little bastard), and Krit was talking to Max. I saw Zero enter the barn and his eyes immediately spotted me. I turned around and ran right into Alec. He glanced down at me. 
"You okay?" he asked. 
"Fine," I mumbled as Zero grabbed my arm. 
"Kai," he said softly. 
His tone forced me to turn and face him against my wishes. 
"Zero…" I said. 
"We had plans," he said, "we were going to leave Manticore behind us. We were going to go everywhere! Never settling down for one life. Travelling from place to place together!" 
"I know. 'Things change' as you said." 
"Not us. I love you, Kai. Kayla, 711, whoever." he said and put his hand on my arm, "That's not something that comes easily to us. I'm not one to throw out words like that carelessly. I just want to know if you still love me?" 
"Zero…" I said and ran a hand though my hair. 
He grabbed my wrist, "What's that?" 
"What?" I sad, although I knew he was referring to my bracelet made up of his dog tags. 
"These are my…" he trailed off. 
"Your dog tags," I finished with my eyes downcast. 
"You still have them?" 
"Yes," I replied quietly, almost ashamed. 
"Can you still say we don't exist?" he said tightening his grip on my arm. 
I looked down and then over to Krit. My mind flashed back to some of my time with Kevin and Eve and my time with Zero. 
"I love you, Zero," I whispered, almost whimpered. 
I had to look away from his face so I couldn't see the joy that showed. 
"But I'm with Kevin. I love you Zero but I cannot hurt him like that. He doesn't know a thing about who I really am, why the hell I do 50 pushups when I get up in the morning, or why I separate my food into sections on my plate. He only knows Kayla. Kayla may not be a revved up super soldier. She's an emotional human being. I can't stand to play a role as though I were on a mission, but it's the life I chose to lead upon my decision to leave you," I said tears forming in my eyes. 
"But…" Zero whispered. 
"I love you, Zero. Walking away from this…from you…is the hardest thing I will ever do. I would kill to be able to ride off into the sunset with you, but I refuse to hurt the two people I've come to care about as though they were my family or one of you guys. Kevin and Eve may not know the truth, but they care about me when I gave them no reason to. I'll always be Kai, somewhere. I'll be X6-711, or Kai, to you, Ralph, Bullet, Fixit, Bugler, Max, Alec, Krit, and any other Manticore creation. But I can't abandon them," I whispered and walked away. 
I ignored the confused looks Ralph and Bullet sent to me, and the almost hurt look sent to me by Fixit. I zeroed in on Krit and he seemed to understand. He walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders. 
"I'll take you back into the city," he said and smiled sympathetically. 
Krit and I rode back into the city in silence. We stopped in front of our motel and we entered the deserted room. I laid down on the bed and ignored the looks Krit sent to me. I stared at the dog tag bracelet and felt my eyes well up with tears that I refused to shed. 
"Kai…" Krit said tenderly. 
"I can't do it…" I whispered, "I can't just leave him like that. I love him." 
"Zero or Kevin?" 
"Zero. Kevin was a replacement, a prop to make me feel normal. Or at least he was at first. He became something more than that. He was my rock, my stability in that chaos that was Kayla." 
"But you're not Kayla. You're Kai." 
"Maybe…" I said, "I hardly remember who the hell she is anymore." 
I shut up quickly as the door opened and Kevin and Eve walked in. 
That evening, the four of us went out clubbing. We had found this small club called Crash. Eve led the way in, never having been to an inner-city club. We grabbed a table and Krit went to get us drinks, 3 sodas and a beer for himself. Kevin put his arm around my shoulders, but I didn't get the same feeling I used to. I felt weird and out of place. Could an hour with Zero have changed me so much? Nah. I watched a guy do some bike tricks on the bar; he was pretty good. I spotted original Cindy at the bar, talking to Krit. At least he was getting a part of his original plan done. When Krit returned he gave us all drinks and was dragged to the dance floor against his will by Eve. I laughed as I watched Krit dance; the boy was okay but still amusing. 
"Kayla?" Kevin inquired, forcing me to turn to him seeing how to him I was Kayla. 
"Yes?" I said sweetly, hopefully not too fake. 
"I was thinking," he began, "about us." 
"And?" I pressed. 
I wondered if he was going to break up with me. But I also wondered if I would be upset or glad for it. 
"I think we should talk about this somewhere else," he mumbled. 
"I'll go tell Krit," I said and began to get up. 
His hand grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I gave him a questioning look. 
"I'm sick of having a chaperone," he insisted. 
I nodded and we left the club hand-in-hand. I knew I could take care of myself, if Kevin proved to have less than innocent intentions. We walked along the street in silence, until it began to get on my nerves. 
"So…umm…what did you want to talk about?" I inquired. 
"Kai…" he began, "Watch out," he yelled as he pushed me into the wall as a few punks chose us to be their newest victims, or so they thought. 
We were shoved into a deserted alley, perfect for a little show of skill. My instincts kicked into gear and I backhanded the nearest one grabbing his wrist and snapping it with one hand. I grabbed his gun and looked over at Kevin. He was fighting off two of the punks by himself, trying to be a macho man. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, seeing how the guys outnumbered us and they looked stronger then him. Kevin's fighting was reckless and unplanned, like a frightened animal lashing out. I slammed my elbow into the ribcage of the nearest punk and heard a satisfying crack. I ran to Kevin. 
"Kayla! Get out of here!" I heard him yell. 
'To bad I have to save his ass' I couldn't help but think as I kicked one of the guys that was beating on him into a wall. The guy turned on me and my eye caught a glint of metal, the bastard had a blade. I used a quick disarming technique. I kicked his arm back toward the wall and pinned his hand under my heel. I applied pressure to force him to drop the blade. I pushed off the foot on the wall and slammed my elbow into his face, knocking him out. I glanced over at Kevin as he took down the last of the 4 punks. I should make him at least think he did something, I REALLY should. But I won't. 
"Kayla, you okay?" he panted. 
"I'm fine," I said calmly. 
The adrenaline rush of the fight had worn off and I hadn't even broken a sweat. That's when I heard it, the click of a clip being loaded into a gun, several of them. I turned around and saw both ends of the alley had at least ten soldiers aiming their guns at us. More specifically, they aimed at me.