Chapter Text
OCTOBER 2025, SEATTLE
Max crouched with her team in the long grass outside White’s compound, waiting for Alec’s signal to attack. She was in an agony of impatience. She wanted to race in, guns blazing, and snatch her little girl into her arms. Alec made her promise on Eva’s life to wait until everyone was in position. They were going in as a coordinated attack, hoping to overwhelm White and his men before they could counterattack or harm the hostages.
Max felt the cell phone in her pocket vibrate as someone called her number. She answered, dread gripping her heart.
“I know you’re out there, 452. If you’re not at my gates in one minute, she dies.”
Max ripped her com link off her head, shoved it at the nearest X5, and took off running for the compound gates. Stealth didn’t matter. Surprise didn’t matter. Superior numbers and battle plans and fall back positions didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting there before White pulled the trigger.
“Shit!” Alec swore as he saw a familiar figure charge the gates, her long hair streaming out behind her. “Don’t Maxie,” he whispered, “I can’t lose you too.”
The gates slid open as Max skidded to a stop. Six guards ran out. Swiftly they surrounded her. She made no move to defend herself, just let them cuff her and drag her inside. The gates shut with an ominous clang.
~*~
Max offered no resistance as the enemy soldiers boxed her in and roughly pinned her arms behind her back and slapped cuffs on her wrists. All that mattered was getting to Eva. ‘Alec will get us both out of here,’ she promised herself. ‘He won’t let White win.’
The soldiers marched her across the compound yard and into the bunker. They were surprisingly strong. There was something about them that seemed… unnatural. ‘Familiars, like White,’ she guessed.
They hauled her into a large conference room. White stood smirking in the middle of the room, flanked by five more soldiers. Behind him was a large metal cage. Eva was pressed up against the bars, one skinny arm extended towards Max. “Mommy!” she cried. Joshua lay huddled on the floor of the cage, unconscious and bound hand and foot. He was bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound in his upper left chest.
“It’s okay, peanut,” Max said softly. “I’m here.”
Eva’s eyes widened. Only her daddy called her peanut. She bit her cheek to hold back a grin. ‘Daddy’s gonna save us. Daddy’s a hero.’
“How touching,” White said mockingly. “Don’t worry. Very soon you’ll all be together. For eternity.” He watched as Max’s eyes flickered around the room, gauging the odds. White snickered. “I don’t believe you’ve met the Phalanx before. They are the tip of the spear, the ultimate in selective breeding. And they will smash your freaky friends to pieces.” He laughed, the manic sound echoing in the hollow room.
White turned to the six soldiers who had escorted Max. “Not even 452 and 494 would be foolish enough to come here alone. Take all units and scour the area. Kill any transgenics you find.”
The six nodded sharply and moved out, leaving White and his five guards behind.
Max smiled grimly to herself. The odds were looking up.
~*~
Alec barked his orders into the com link. “Alpha Team is going in. Reserves, take our position. Sapper teams, move out now. The rest of you, wait for my mark.”
Alec signalled to his team. They nodded and blurred across the open distance to the compound fence, sticking as much as possible to the shadows. Jumping the fence in one easy bound, they dropped to the ground and lay motionless. There was no response from the bunker.
Alec rose and led the way, running in a crouch across the quad to flatten himself against the bunker wall. He pointed to a window and gestured to one of his team. The X5 nodded and moved into position beneath the window. Taking a small tool from his pocket, he bypassed the security wires and popped the latch on the window. It opened and he slid inside. Two seconds later he signalled the all clear and Alec and the rest of the unit slid inside one by one.
They were in an office. Alec listened cautiously at the door. He could make out the sound of booted feet marching in their direction. He signalled a warning to his unit and they melted into the shadows. Alec stayed by the door, barely breathing. The boots marched past and turned a corner.
“Assault teams,” Alec whispered into his com link, “move into position, now!”
He opened the door and his unit slipped soundlessly out of the room, penetrating deeper into the bunker.
Alec kept the countdown in his head. When he reached 60, he heard the sound of artillery fire. The assault had begun.
They moved swiftly through the building, searching for White and his prisoners. They rounded a corner and found a hallway with a single, heavily fortified doorway in the middle. It was ajar. Cautiously they crept forward.
“I know you’re out there 494,” White sing-songed from inside the room. “Show yourself or she dies.”
Alec gestured for his men to hold position and then stepped through the door and into the room.
“That’s the wonderful thing about family,” White said. “They make such excellent bait.” Max was on her knees in front of White. He gripped her by the hair, his other hand holding a gun to the back of her head. He was flanked by five soldiers. “On your knees, hands above your head.”
Alec nodded and slowly started to kneel.
Before White or his men could move, the rest of alpha squad dove into the room. They hit the floor, rolled, and came up firing, including Alec. One of the Phalanx took a direct hit to the chest and went down. White and a second Phalanx were hit in the arms. Then there was no more time to shoot as the Phalanx regrouped and charged the transgenics.
White’s grip on Max weakened when the bullet slammed into his bicep. Taking advantage, she headbutted him hard in the gut and swept her leg out and around, scooping his feet out from under him and knocking him to the floor. She followed through and kicked the gun out of his hand and then rolled away out of his reach. Sliding her hands past her hips, she got her feet through the circle of her arms so that her cuffed hands were in front on her.
She’d just made it to her feet when White tackled her and sent her sprawling. He landed on top of her and pummelled her hard several times in the ribs. She heard one of them break. Lacing her hands together, she swung, catching him in the side of the head. She kneed him in the side and managed to flip him up and over her shoulder. She struggled to her feet, her breathing ragged from the pain of her broken rib.
“Pain’s a bitch, innit? Or so I’ve been told. I wouldn’t know, I’m above it,” White sneered.
“How about I teach you all about it,” Max snarled.
She and White slowly circled each other. All around her she could hear the sounds of fighting but she couldn’t take the time to look and see who was winning. ‘Please be okay,’ she sent up a prayer to Alec and Eva and Joshua.
White feinted left and then charged. He aimed a leg kick at her and she blocked him clumsily, hampered by her bound hands and broken rib. He spun around her and grabbed her by the back of the head and rammed her forehead into the concrete wall. Blinding pain flared behind Max’s eyes and she stumbled. White pulled her head back to do it again but she managed to get her feet up and out in front of her. She walked up the wall, bracing herself against White for leverage, and flipped herself over his head. As she landed behind him, she slipped the chain on her cuffs tight against his throat. A wrench of her hands and his neck snapped beneath her hands.
His lifeless body slumped to the ground, a look of surprise permanently etched on his features. Max blew out a deep breath and looked around her. One of the Xs was down, but so were two of the Phalanx. As she watched, Alec punched his opponent hard in the head and landed a roundhouse kick that sent the guy flying across the room where he smashed into the wall. He crumpled into a heap in the floor and didn’t get up again. Blood smeared the wall from his dented skull.
Alec looked across the room at Max. He was bleeding from a cut lip but otherwise seemed unharmed. He saw White lying dead at Max’s feet, his head at an odd angle. Alec bared his teeth in a cold, deathly grin that sent a shiver down Max’s spine. She’d never seen him take delight in bloodshed before.
It took her a few seconds to realize the same cold smile was plastered across her own face.
Alec turned away to help mop up the remaining fights. It was now two on one.
The com link crackled to life. “All packages are now in position. We are good to go,” the sapper team leader said.
“Copy that,” said Alec.
Max fumbled in White’s pocket for the keys to her cuffs. Setting herself free, she ran for the cage. She wrenched open the door. Eva flew into her arms. Max clutched her daughter tight to her breast.
Dimly she heard the sound of a body hit the floor, and then the room was silent. Gunfire echoed from outside. She felt Alec’s strong arms go around them both.
Alec held his girls close for a long moment, then reluctantly pulled back. They weren’t out of the line of fire yet. He turned and went into the cage and crouched next to Joshua. The gentle dogman had been shot in the leg and shoulder and he was bleeding from a cut above his eye, but he was alive. As gently as he could, Alec hefted Joshua over his shoulders in a fireman’s hold and carried him out of the room. Max followed, Eva riding piggyback. The other three transgenics followed. One of them carried the unconscious body of their comrade over his shoulder. They didn’t have time to determine the extent of his injuries now. They had to get the hell out of there.
“All units, targets are secured. I repeat, targets are secured,” Alec said into his com link. “Prepare to fall back. Packages will be triggered in t-minus 60 seconds.”
“Copy that,” all units acknowledged.
He led them swiftly out the way they came in. They encountered no resistance on their way out. White’s men were engaged in defending the perimeter from a frontal attack. They had no way of knowing that the transgenics had no intention of coming in after them. They were just trying to keep the Familiars pinned down.
They raced for the fence, dodging dead and unconscious Familiars. Max and two of the X5s leapt over first, Eva still clinging to her mother’s back. Alec and the remaining Xs tossed Joshua and the wounded X5 over the fence and into the waiting arms of their friends, and then jumped the fence themselves.
“All units, pull out now,” Alec said as he pulled the remote detonator from his pocket. He pressed the button and watched with grim satisfaction as the building exploded and burst into flames.
~*~
“He lost a lot of blood and he’s very weak, but he’ll be okay,” the medic said and patted Max on the shoulder. “You can go in an see him. He’s awake.”
She nodded and glanced over at Alec. Eva was curled up asleep in his lap. Gently he shifted her body so her head was positioned on his shoulder, and stood. Together they walked through the door into the makeshift medical bay at Terminal City. Joshua was lying on a cot. His shoulder, leg, and head were bandaged, and he was hooked up to an IV.
He looked away, shame rendering him unable to meet their eyes. “So sorry, little fella, Alec. Joshua couldn’t stop White.” His lower lip trembled and he made little whining noises in his throat.
Max rushed to his side. She took one of his big hands in both of hers. “Shh,” she said, squeezing his hand. “It’s not your fault, big fella.”
Alec moved to the far side of the bed and took Joshua’s other hand. “Hey, c’mon now. Don’t start blubbering on us.” He grinned at Joshua.
“You and Eva are both safe now. White is dead. He’ll never hurt us again.” Max leaned forward and laid a kiss on his wounded temple. “Now go to sleep,” she ordered. “You gotta get better,cuz Eva’s gonna wanna play with her Uncle Joshua soon.”
Joshua grinned shyly and nodded. Obediently he closed his eyes. His breathing evened out. Alec left with Eva, but Max stayed for a few minutes, gently stroking Joshua’s head until he fell asleep. Soon he was snoring.
Max snuck out of the room and quietly shut the door. Alec was standing outside the Infirmary building, staring up at the night sky. He reached out to her with one hand. She went to him, their fingers laced together.
“I thought it was safe to come back here,” she apologized softly, her voice thick with tears and guilt. “I thought White was gone. Why won’t they leave us alone?”
“I don’t know Max. But I won’t let them hurt you or Eva.” He turned to look at her, his eyes dark. “I promise I will keep you both safe.”
~*~
Senator McKinley strode through the rubble. He kicked aside a piece of metal to reveal the battered and charred body of one of the Phalanx. He snarled and spun to face his assistant. “Find the lab. Find that report. We need to know if that girl is the one we’re looking for. And then find them!”
The Familiar nodded and hurried away to oversee the investigation.
Senator McKinly stared out across the blacked ruins. “You will pay for this, 452,” he vowed.
Fin.