Disclaimer: See part one. 

"I can"t leave." Zack sighed. "There isn't any other option, Max. Lydecker will be here soon, if
he's not in Seattle already, and then your kids go to Manticore and you go to an early grave.
You'll have to get out of the country, overseas would be best-" 

Max cut in. "I have a life Zack. Logan does too. And what the hell should I tell Maddie
and Zack, 'Sorry, you need to learn French 'cause as it turns out Mommy's creator is after the
black market 26.9 mil yourgenetic code is worth?'!"; she screamed.
                                                       
Zack hissed through gritted teeth "No, but I'm sure Lydecker will have an even more interesting
anecdote of this once they meet him." Logan put a hand on Max's arm. "We should go, just as a
precaution. I can make our excuses. We'll come back, Max. It won't be like last time." Zack
looked like he was going to ask what, but he saw Max nodding. This wasn't the time. Max's
hands trembled as she buckled Maddie into her booster seat. 

"Where we going, Mama?"she asked, tiny blue eyes bright. Max forced herself to smile. "On a
surprise vacation."

Zack was next to her in a blanket. "Who's he?"the little boy asked, pointing to the elder Zack.
"You know my brother, your uncle, who was supposed to be dead? That' him. Reports of his
death were greatly exaggerated." Zack nodded.

"Mark Twain." Max shut the car door and turned. How the hell did he remember that? Her mind
flashed back to two weeks ago, when Maddie had advised her of a chess strategy during a game
with Logan. She got into her SUV with Zack the elder. Logan would be driving the kids to the
cabin. 

Zack got into the passenger seat. "Is the place registired under both your names?" Max shook her
head. "Good. It'll take them awhile to find it." Max looked at her brother.

" I had thought about them, you know. 

Zack faced her. "Lydecker?" "My kids. When I found out I was pregnant with Zack-" she
swallowed hard. "I went to every OB/GYN in the state. Ran tests for every possible kind of birth
defect. Everything looking like Manticore. But they couldn't check for my genetic flaws. Same
with Maddie. Every time they shiver I wonder if it's a seizure. Every time they run I wonder if
they can beat a cheetah. Every the phone rings I wonder if it's Lydecker saying he'll be over
shortly to kill us all." Zack hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders. Logan pulled up next to
them.

"Ready to go?" he asked, glancing at Zack's arm around her. Max shook Zack off and said "Yeah.
Ready as I've been in fifteen years." 

The cabin was just as they had left it after a camping trip in August. Logan held Zacky and Max
picked up Maddie. They settled the children in their room, watching them sleep for a moment
together. Max leaned against him. Then she heard something. A soft, distant whirring. Like an
approaching helicopter... 

"Zack! Logan! We have to get out, NOW!" She screamed. 

They drove maybe a mile before Max heard sirens. A car spun infront of them. Zack hit the
brakes."Run!" he yelled. 

Before they could open the doors to get the kids, she saw Zack fall. Logan tried to grab Maddie
fell too. Max spun around, not watching what was happening, only feeling her fists and feet tear
through what ever she could reach. Men were climbing up ropes with Zack and Maddie. A good
number of their friends lay dead around them. Logan must have already been up there. 

"Mama!" Zack screamed. 

Max ran, jumped and hung on to the bottom rung of the rope ladder. The last thing she saw
before she fell back to the ground was Donald Lydecker cutting the ropes. Her head hurt like hell.
A distant voice was calling her, but she was tired. She didn't want to wake up. 

"Max, it's Zack." 

She sat up suddenly, then the pain hit her and she had to lie back down again. "Where-?" "You're
at the cabin again." Zack said calmly, despite the blood-soaked cotton taped on a cut over his eye.
"Logan, the kids?" she whispered. "Lydecker has them." 

She sat up, more slowly. "We'll need to get them." "Max, we don't even know where they are."
Zack argued.

"We don't need to. We know where he is." Lydecker pulled his keys from his pocket and began to
unlock the door of his car. Max knocked him out from behind, dragging him back to her car. She
taped his hands behind his back, blindfolded him, and searched him for any wires. She tossed his
radio onto the road. Max glanced at the bastard before driving off.

Lydecker awoke while they were still on the road. "What the-" 

"Long time no see, Donald. You really oughta get a silent alarm. But then, with your job, two
kidnappings in fifteen years isn't too bad." 

Lydecker smirked. "If you think you can ransom me back for your kids and your husband, get a
new plan. I'll die first." 

Max smiled grimly. "I'm not. I just need to prove to you exactly how serious I am about my
family." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~