Command
Center, Terminal City

All the usual suspects stood at the bank of monitors in the Command
Center, tensely watching coverage of the angry crowd.� Logan soon joined
them, ignoring the glare from Mole.� �We need to end this thing.�

�Tell me about it,� Max agreed, glancing up at him briefly and then
turning back to the monitors.� �They look like they just might actually
go through with it.�

�There must be a couple hundred of them out there,� Alec commented.

�And they�re being goaded by a few guys who have no clue what they�re
getting into,� Logan added.� �Friend of mine overheard their conversation.�
This crowd isn�t going to go away.� These people are violent and they�re
coming here.�

�We can take �em.�� Mole�s voice was confident as he spoke around
his cigar stub.� He took the cigar out of his mouth and set it in a
nearby ashtray.

�Yeah, but at what cost?�

�I�m going out there,� Max said suddenly, pushing past Logan and
rushing toward the door.

�Max!� Wait!�� She whirled around, barely able to remain in one place
while waiting for Logan to catch up.� �What are you doing?�

�Going to mow the lawn.� What does it look like I�m doing?�

�You can�t just go out there,� he told her.� �It�s already dangerous
enough.� Now they�re all fired up.� These aren�t just protestors with
signs.� They�re armed and they�re violent.� You�re diving right into
enemy territory.�

�What I do,� she answered, waving her hands open at her sides and
speaking impatiently.

�Max, he�s right,� Alec protested.� �You can do a lot more good in
here than you can out there right now.� Those people will just jump
you the second they see you.� We have to get organized.�

�You organize them.� I have to talk to Clemente.� He�s got to get
that crowd under control.�

�And what makes you think he can?� Mole sneered.� �Civilians are
lousy at taking orders and you know it.� Better to let them do what
they�re gonna do and teach �em a lesson.�

�And what lesson is that, Mole?� That they can come to kill us and
then we�ll be the big, bad transgenics who kill more of them?� Uh-uh.��
Max shook her head.� �We have to put a stop to this before anyone gets
hurt.�

Before Logan or Alec could ask her to use the phone instead, she
turned around and hurried out of the building.

Seattle Police Headquarters

Sketchy looked up and smiled as Original Cindy was escorted back
into the holding cell where the three of them had spent the last several
hours.� �Enjoy your trip to the ladies�?�

�Don�t even start with me,� she answered grumpily.� �I had three
inmates promise to improve my day and none of them were the proper
gender.� Original Cindy is not in the mood for jokes.�

�You ask me, the joke is that we�re in here in the first place.��
Sketchy paused, and then turned to Normal as if he�d suddenly thought
of something.� �Who�s been running Jam Pony all day while you�re gone?�

�I used my phone call to get a hold of Druid,� Normal answered, tossing
a piece of fuzz to the floor and looking bored.� �He�s holding the fort�or
so I assume.� I just hope the moron can keep things together when they
take us to Langford.�

�They�re taking us to Langford,� Original Cindy repeated, phrasing
the question as a statement.� �No way.� I cannot believe I�m going back
there.�

Normal looked up at that, curiosity and a hint of I-knew-it gleaming
in his eye.� �So you�ve got priors.� Why am I not surprised?�

�Don�t get excited,� she swiftly informed him, rolling her eyes.� �Max
got in trouble one time a coupla years ago, thanks to her whacked-out
physiology, and I went to get her out.�

Normal raised his eyebrow, looking surprised, and his face softened.�
A pause followed Original Cindy�s statement, and Normal sat back, looking
thoughtful.� When he next spoke, his voice held none of the usual sarcasm
or condescension.� �You grunts had this whole other life going on the
whole time, didn�t you?�

�Homegirl did,� she nodded.� �I got roped into it along the way.�

�Takes a good friend to go to prison for one.�� Normal almost sounded
impressed.

�Yeah, and it�s gonna take a good friend to get us out.��
Original Cindy glanced at her watch, then went to the bars of the cell
and called to the guard.� �Hey!� We gonna get to eat anytime soon?�

Seattle Street, Sector 7 – Dusk

Max emerged from an isolated manhole, glanced around to make sure
there was nobody in sight, and purposefully strode down the street.�
Her breath clouded in the cold air.� She glanced up at the sky and turned
up the collar on her jacket.� She was adjusting her hood and scarf,
covering as much of her face as she could, when she rounded a corner
and found herself face-to-face with a sector cop.

�Hey, what�s a nice girl doing in this part of the city at dusk in
a rainstorm?� he asked with a sardonic grin on his face.

�Just lookin� for someplace warm and dry to get my drink on,� Max
shrugged.� �Is there a problem?�

�Maybe not,� the officer answered.� He stepped a little closer, gripping
Max�s arm. �Depends on what you�ve got.�

�I don�t think I�ve got anything you�d want.�

�Oh, I doubt that.�

Without waiting to decide whether the look on his face was greedy
or lecherous, Max pulled her arm across her body.� Since the cop�s hand
was still attached to it, his body followed, and she took the opportunity
to land a cross on his face with her other hand.� He let go of her and
took a swing of his own, but Max expertly dodged his punch and kicked
him in the gut.� As he doubled over, she landed an uppercut into his
nose.� With unusually quick reflexes, he grabbed her hand as she was
following through and yanked on it.� This brought her within inches
of him, and he grabbed her other arm.

It was at that moment that his partner rounded the corner and saw
what was going on.� �Jones!� What you doing?� You gotta feel up every
girl that comes along?��

Jones froze, opening his mouth to protest.

Max instantly quit fighting and played up the helpless, sexy girl
act.� �Thank God you came along, officer.� I don�t know what he would
have done if you hadn�t.�

The second officer stepped closer and did a double take when he saw
Max�s face, now partially exposed as her scarf fluttered open, loosened
during the scuffle.� �You!� You�re that girl who�s��

He didn�t get any farther.

Max quickly shoved Jones out of the way and ran over to the second
officer, elbowing him in the face before he had a chance to react.�
As he hunched over in pain, she grabbed him by the shoulders and threw
him down to the street.� Max dispatched him with a swift blow, then
turned back to Jones.

Jones was calling for backup.� Max ripped his radio off his uniform
and tossed it over her shoulder, using the same hand as it came forward
from the toss to land a punch.� Jones reeled, and when Max went into
a roundhouse kick, he jumped aside and shoved her with his full body
weight, sending her to the ground.� Her cell phone clattered to the
wet pavement, but she focused on jumping up with fists forward and slamming
into the cop.� Just as she finished knocking him out, booted footsteps
approached and a group of several cops and National Guard members came
into view.

�All this for little old me?� Max said with innocent eyes and a cocky
smile.� �Why, you shouldn�t have.�

The cops and soldiers bore down on her.� Max punched and kicked her
way through the group, the cell phone�s insistent ringing going untended
in the fray.� Max ducked low and kicked the legs out from under one
soldier, and while she turned to fight another cop, he radioed his superior
from his position on the ground.� It wasn�t long before more cops appeared
on the scene, and this time they were followed by some very angry civilians.�
The cell phone quit ringing.� Max kept fighting.

Command Center, Terminal City

�She didn�t answer,� Logan said, his brow furrowed in concern.

�No surprise there,� Mole growled.� �We need to deal with this.�
Max isn�t around to help.� Skip her.�� He stood up suddenly, stalking
off and barking out orders to various transgenics.

�Look, I�m gonna go help out with this.� You keep trying her, all
right?� Alec said to Logan, in a low voice, standing next to him.

�You go ahead.� I�m gonna see if I can get through to Clemente.�

�What?�� Alec blinked in surprise.� �He�ll just arrest you as soon
as he knows where you are.�

�Tell me about it.� That�s why I�m gonna have one of my guys get
a message through.�� Logan dialed a number and put the phone to his
ear, turning away to focus on the conversation.� Alec watched him for
a second, then walked out to join Mole in making preparations.

The TV blared in the background as Logan walked out of the Command
Center.

��crowd grows more agitated by the second.� Angered by the lack of
police action against the transgenics, many are expressing a desire
to take matters into their own hands.� The question now is�will they?�
What would the result of such an undertaking be?� And why aren�t the
police taking a more active role to prevent it?� Stay tuned as we bring
you new developments when they happen��

�Matt,� Logan said when a voice on the other end answered.� �I need
a favor.�

�First things first,� said Matt Sung.� �Are you in Terminal City?�

�Yeah, I’m here.� Listen.� Situation�s bad.� I need you to tell Clemente
something.�

�Whoa, hold up�before you start, you need to know Clemente�s really
gunning for you.� And it�s not just what you did at Jam Pony, either.�
He�s got a hold of your file.�

�What file?�

�Just about every footprint you�ve ever left,� Sung said, glancing
around and lowering his voice.� �Including some of the work we�ve done
for Eyes Only.�

Logan closed his eyes briefly at the bad news.� �Great.�

�And your friends from the messenger service are in a lot of trouble.�
Some guy from the NSA showed up with some pretty hard evidence against
them, and we had to bring them in.”

Logan sighed.� “Any chance you can make all this go away?”

�I�ll see what I can do, but I�m not making any promises.� Especially
not right now.�

�No,� Logan agreed.� �Right now we need to take care of what�s going
down tonight.� Let me tell you what Eyes Only told me…�

Seattle Street, Sector 7

Max, clothing ripped and face bruised, eased along the side of a
building, flattening herself against it as much as possible.� She glanced
at the sky, which was rapidly growing dark, and then peeked around the
corner of the building to look at Clemente�s mobile headquarters.

It was surrounded by angry, violent-looking citizens.� Max slumped
in disappointment and frustration.� She watched as Matt Sung fought
his way through the crowd and disappeared inside the headquarters.�
A surge of angry people attempted to shove their way inside when the
door opened, but it was quickly pulled shut.

�Half of you stay here,� one man called out to the group, using a
megaphone to be heard over their shouts.� �The other half will go join
the rest of the force.� It�s time to move!�

Half of the crowd turned and stampeded past the spot where Max had
been only moments before.

Clemente�s Mobile Headquarters

�Detective Sung.�� Clemente�s greeting was impatient and annoyed.�
�What is it?�

�This is getting out of hand, sir.� Sung gestured out the window
at the departing mob.

�I�m well aware of that,� Clemente snapped.� He stood up and began
pacing, the tension in his voice matching that of the situation.� �But
half of my forces are starting to sympathize with that mob.� Even if
I can stop it, the same thing is going to happen that happens every
time.� The citizens grow more restless, the city puts on more pressure
to get the transgenics out of there, and even the feds are losing their
patience.� I�m trying to keep the peace at least until we get the DNA
test results back and the murder suspect apprehended, but to tell you
the truth, Detective, it may not be worth it.�

�I don’t know about �worth it,�� Sung answered.� �But it�s necessary,
sir.�

�I�m not so sure of that anymore.�

Matt Sung�s voice grew more forceful as he approached the desk, where
Clemente had ended up after pacing.� �Sir, I spoke to Logan Cale about
it.�

�You asked a suspect for help?�

�He offered me valuable information, Commander.�� Sung�s voice was
hard.� �We have a situation on our hands and he�s trying to help us
resolve it.� Refusing him would have been counterproductive.�

Clemente�s eyes remained on Sung�s, trying to read them.� Then he
broke the gaze and sat down, leaning back in his chair, but retaining
his authoritative air.� �Yeah?� What did suspect Cale say?�

�He passed on some information Eyes Only gave him.� For one, the
mob has been egged on by a few ringleaders.� For two, and more importantly,
those ringleaders and the mob have vastly underestimated the number
of transgenics in Terminal City.�

�By how much?�� Clemente asked.� �Current estimates place the Terminal
City population at two hundred.� That�s not too far off from the slogans
that crowd has been shouting.�

�Well, they�re off by a few hundred,� Sung snapped.� �By five hundred,
to be exact.�

Clemente was temporarily silenced by this new information.� Sung
put his hands on the desk and leaned over it.� �We have two hundred
angry and armed citizens threatening a citadel of seven hundred highly
trained ex-soldiers.� Cale said the transgenics will fight to the death
if necessary.� I believe him.�

�So we either stop the mob, or�� Clemente said, getting the idea.

Sung nodded and finished the thought for him.� ��or those people
march on Terminal City and just might get themselves all killed.� And
what happens then?�� Sung lowered his voice to emphasize the seriousness
of what he was saying.� �You thought the city was angry at the transgenics
before, Commander.� That�s nothing compared to what will happen
if they kill two hundred of its citizens.�

Clemente closed his eyes.� Sung didn�t wait for him to react further.�
�Seattle will explode.� And then you can forget about keeping the peace.�

The commander took a deep breath and rose from his chair to gaze
out the window.� �That doesn�t change the fact that stopping this mob
is easier said than done.�� Finally he turned back to Sung.� �Did Cale
happen to offer any constructive suggestions as to how we�re
supposed to do this?� Or was he just full of doom and gloom?�

�He’s going to try to figure out how to stop the attack without killing
the rioters,� Sung answered, straightening from the desk now that some
of the tension had eased.� “He said he would need you to back them
up on the outside.”

Clemente turned back to gaze out the window again.� The crowd outside
was only growing angrier.� Finally he sighed through his nose and spoke.�
�Let’s take this one step at a time, shall we?� We wait to hear their
plan.� But for all our sakes, I hope it’s a good one.”