"Logan!" "Logan!" " Hey, Max." " Hey." "His Holiness in?" " Nope." " We're supposed to be somewhere." " We're late." "Where is he?" " I dunno." "Said he wouldn't be back till later." "That's weird." "He spaced that we were gonna hang." "I dunno what's goin' on." "He hasn't been himself the last few days." " Hard being' a Messiah." "Tell him I stopped by." " Where are you supposed to be?" "Kyoto Lakers exhibition." "You know how Logan is with his basketball." " The scalpers got me good for these, too." " Forget Logan, I'll go with you." " Knock yourself out." " Max, are you sure?" "Not a big sports fan." " Thanks." " No problem." " Where's the painting that goes there?" " He sold it." "Sold it?" "Guess he got tired of it." "Later." " Thanks for the tickets." " No problem." "Get outta the way!" "Clear the streets!" "Come in." "Your money." "Get the rest soon." "$10,000 covers the first consultation." "It's 5,000 for each session after that." " It's a lot." " You can afford it." "Most of my patients can't." "Will you undress, please?" "Six months ago a bullet severed your spinal cord below the eighth thoracic vertebra, causing complete loss of mobility in your lower extremities." "Last week you suddenly felt sensation in your legs and eventually were able to walk again." "That's right." " In other words, a miracle." " I guess you could say that." "Yes, I could, if I hadn't seen the results of your blood tests." "Would you sit, please?" "Somehow you've obtained stem-cell enriched blood." "I don't wanna know how or where from." "You're well-to-do," " presumably you were able to buy it." " Presumably." "The stem cells you got ahold of have been regenerating nerve and muscle tissue, giving you the encouraging results you saw initially." "But now you're finding it more difficult to stand, and walking is increasingly painful." "Yeah, that's right." "So, what's goin' on?" "Your autoimmune system's kicked in, attacking the stem cells and rejecting the new tissue that's formed." "So, there's a chance that I could end up back in a wheelchair?" "Unless we can get your body's defences in check, your gross motor function will continue to deteriorate, yes." "Well, then, uh..." "I don't care what it costs or what you have to do... just keep me walking." " Wanna go to Crash and shoot some pool?" " Mm." " Feel like a pizza?" " Mm." "Those black-helicopter storm-trooper folks stopped by, asking' about a transgenic teenage killing' machine." "I said you were out." "Huh?" " Are you gonna call him?" " Call who?" " Logan." " Why would I call Logan?" " For ruining your evening." " He didn't ruin my evening." "He couldn't ruin my evening even if he wanted to." "My evening is fine." "Whatever you say, boo." "I'm lofting'." "Night." "Agh!" "You've reached the number you've dialled." "I'm not around." "Leave a message." "He didn't call, didn't leave a message, didn't return my call, he just plain shined me." "Never underestimate the thoughtlessness of the three-legged gender." " I got a weird feelin' something's goin' on." " Hot run, 15 Cliff Road." "Mm-hm." "He's out the wheelchair now, and boys cheat." " That's not what I'm talkin' about." " I know you don't wanna hear it, but it's what they do." "Just like grabbin' themselves when they're anxious." "Logan can go anywhere and do whatever he wants with anyone as far as I'm concerned." " Right." " We aren't like that." "So you keep sayin'." "I just don't wanna see my boo get hurt." " I just hope he's not in any trouble." " He's probably just out bein' a doggy-dog." "You make it sound like that's all guys think about, which I don't believe." "So she opens the door to sign for the package - no bra." "Oh, yeah." "I rest my case." " Mrs Moreno, how are you doin' today?" " One foot in front of the other, you know?" " That's a good thing." " Hey, stranger." "Hey, Max." "Don't I get an "I'm sorry I stood you up but I was saving the world from robots, can you ever forgive me" or even "I forgot, will you accept my apology"?" " Yeah, somethin' came up." " Are you OK?" " I'm fine." " In the mood to feed a female?" "I'm starved." "Ooh, another time." "I'm runnin' late for a meeting." "Right." "What happened to that painting in your hallway?" "Bling said you sold it." "Yeah." "I thought you loved that thing." "Didn't your mom leave it to you?" "I... got tired of it." "I gotta get to this meeting." "I'll see you later." "Yeah, sure." " Nervous?" " I don't like needles." "Or heights." "Or spiders." "What's in that?" " An immunosuppressant." " Ow!" "We use this with intensive physiotherapy and biochemical management to protect the nerve cells that have regenerated." " As long as it works." " I've gotten results in the past." "The biggest hurdle is reorganising the synaptic connections and training the undamaged CNS neurons to adapt to different signals." "Can you move the pedals for me?" "The science isn't new." "It came out of the Hyogo College of Medicine in Japan at the end of the last century." "I've just taken it to its logical conclusion." " Good night." " Don't be discouraged, all right?" "We'll try again tomorrow." "Almost forgot." "What do you want?" "I'm asking myself why someone sworn to alleviate suffering is packing heat." "Even doctors have the right to defend themselves." "Only guns make me nervous." "So why did that guy who was just here come to see you?" " I'm not at liberty to discuss his condition." " What condition?" "Ask him." "You've heard of doctor-patient privilege?" "I don't know what con you run, but there's nothing my friend needs to see you about." " You might wanna get a second opinion." " A back-alley dump like this?" " You must have quite a practice." " I'll ask you to leave before I call the police." "Jace?" "Why is a Manticore soldier tryin' to kill you?" "What are you talking about?" "Who are you?" "Someone who kept you from winding up dead." "But that could still happen." "I haven't decided yet." "Any idea how the money's being laundered?" "All right." "I'll pass this along to Eyes Only, I'm sure he'll want to get into it right away." " Hey!" "What the hell did you do that for?" " We need to talk." "That was an informant with evidence on how the sector police are extorting money from..." "What happened to you?" " Talk to me about Dr Vertes." " I'm sorry?" "I know you're her patient." "I followed you to her office." "Oh, you followed me?" "Can I ask why?" "You've been acting really strange and I've been worried." "With good reason." "Thanks for your concern, but I'd appreciate it if you keep your nose out of my business." " Everything's fine." " Really?" "Really." "Then how come an X5 assassin tried to kill Dr Vertes just a little while ago?" " What?" "Is she all right?" " Yes, thanks to moi, her transgenic guardian angel, she's fine." "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself mixed up in here." "Dr Vertes is from Manticore too." "I know." "You know?" " Wanna fill me in?" " I've spent six months digging up all I could about Manticore to help you find the others." "And you forgot to tell me the Bride of Mengele was here?" " Not everything I do is your business." " Finding one of the bright young sadists who did experiments on us back in the day certainly is my business." " Let me see if I can break this down for you." " Please do." "Whatever else Dr Vertes has done, she's probably the only person on the planet who can keep me from landing back in a wheelchair." "What are you talking about?" "If you need another blood transfusion, just ask." "That won't help." "My body's rejecting your blood cells." "The nerves in my spinal cord are unravelling as fast as they were repaired." "We'll know in the next 48 hours whether the treatment even works, if I'll be able to keep walking." " I didn't know." " There's no way either of us could've known." "So, where's Vertes now?" "At the safe house." "Look, Max..." "I didn't wanna tell you about this, for all kinds of reasons." "Logan!" "Don't!" "I can do it." "I gotta ask you, is it easier for you if I'm in the chair?" "Come on." "Let's go see her." " I'm sorry." " I understand." "I'm not sure you do." "I felt what it was like to function like a regular person again, to be whole and complete." "You've never not been that to me." "Staying out of that wheelchair matters more to me than anything else in my life." "Anything." "And if I wind up back in it... let's just say that I'm not gonna live my life like that." "I was recruited by Manticore right out of Johns Hopkins." "They said I'd be working at the cutting edge of motor-function research, that funding would never be a problem." "That was before the Pulse, of course." "I worked on series X3 through the preliminary stages of X7, treating injuries, mostly." "I also conducted medical experiments." "Like breaking the arms and legs of young children?" "Your guinea pigs." "Those kind of experiments?" "I was conducting research into how to accelerate osteoregeneration." "Research that's allowing me to help your friend here." "I transferred out of Manticore." "I couldn't take it any more." "Went down to El Salvador, or what used to be El Salvador before the invasion," " and did charity work in the countryside." " You're a great humanitarian!" " Why do they wanna kill you?" " They're afraid I could be bought... sell information abroad." "At first, they were low-key about getting rid of the Manticore brain trust." "Werner Stutzman died in a boating accident." "Leopold Payson's car went over a cliff." "At least a dozen of us have died in the last six years." "I changed my name and became more careful about whom I worked with, socialised with." "I thought I was off their radar screen." "Apparently not." "I guess I don't have to ask where your stem cells came from." "That girl today, Jace, she was one of the X5s who stayed behind when we escaped." " And was reprogrammed." " Reprogrammed how?" "As officers, X5s needed to be able to operate independently, but after the escape, it was felt that you'd been designed with too much independence." " So they were simplified." " Simplified how?" "Thankfully, I didn't work in the neuropsych department." "I can refer you to a colleague of mine in Tokyo, who is familiar with my research." " And obviously, I'll refund your money." " What do you mean?" "I don't plan on sticking around Seattle." "I'll take care of the X5." "Your only concern is seeing he gets the treatment he needs." "I can't go back to my clinic now they know where it is." "You'll be safe at your clinic." "You have my word." "Uh!" "Ooh!" "X5s don't just roll over without a fight." "What's wrong with her?" "She's pregnant." "Tell me she's not gonna lose the baby." "They're both OK." "The baby's like her mom: tough." "An X5 assassin in the family way." " How'd it happen?" " In the usual manner, I suspect." "Manticore's gotten its swerve on since my day." "The father couldn't be transgenic " "X5 males are dosed with birth-control meds, as are most of the females." "Only a few older ones maintain their normal cycles for research purposes." "Subhuman, superhuman, what's the difference?" "We're all just a bunch of lab rats to you people." " The doctor did some questionable things..." " Try despicable." "...but she saved a baby's life, is nursing her would-be killer and is the one person I'm depending on to keep me walking." " Am I supposed to be nice to her?" " Consider the possibility that not everyone involved with Manticore is evil." "We'll agree to disagree on that." "How do we know your classmate didn't drop the dime to Lydecker already?" "She's on a deep-cover op, minimal contact with base until the mission's accomplished." " Standard procedure." " Well, Max, I gotta tell ya," "I am not likin' this situation a whole lot, her being here." "Duly noted." "Take it easy, Jace." "I will kill you if you leave me no other choice." "But you need to ask yourself do you want your baby to die too?" " I don't know what you're talkin' about." " You're pregnant, Jace." "The doctor said everything's fine, but you need to rest." "Is this some kind of psy-op where you try and brainwash the prisoner into believing something that's not true?" "Only it is true." "You're crazy." "What'd you do?" "Volunteer for this assignment so you could get away from Manticore?" "Buy yourself some time to figure out what to do?" "You know what they'll do to you for this - never mind what they'll do to your baby." "They'll take that child away and you'll never see it again." "Just like with our mothers." "Is that what you want for your kid?" "The only thing that matters is accomplishing the objective." "You stay out in the world long enough, you find out Manticore had it all backwards." "Everything matters except the objective." "I'm not gonna betray everything I believe in the way you did." "You betrayed all of us, your brothers and sisters." "I'm not the enemy, Jace." "I will complete my mission and return to base." "I will surrender to Military Command." "And I will accept whatever disciplinary action they deem necessary." "Ow!" "That stuff burns." "It's a neuropeptide called Substance PK, a synthetic combination of amino acids - hydroxytryptamine and thyrotropin." "Doesn't make it hurt any less." "I could give painkillers, but that would diminish the drug's effect." "No painkillers." "I'm gonna start the machine." "Too much?" "Keep going." " We'll try again another time." " No!" "That's enough." "You're on your way back." "Baby moving?" "I'm not far enough along for that." "Do you miss him?" "The father, I mean." "His name's Victor." "He's a lab tech at the base." "You've never regretted leaving Manticore?" " Never once." " You're happy out here?" "In a world that's dirty, diseased, corrupt?" "It's all those things." "But at least I get to choose how to live my life." "It's not up to some Military Command." "It's called freedom." "Spare me the propaganda." "You think anybody back at Manticore's gonna ask if you wanna keep that baby?" "The question won't even come up." "They'll give you an order." " And I will follow it." " And you'll hate yourself for it." "Because what they don't tell you is that you're more than just a soldier." "You're a human being, with free will." "Easy for you to say." "You're not in restraints." " How do you know I won't try to kill you?" " I don't." "I can help you, Jace, if you let me." " Hello, Deck." " Adriana." "This is a surprise." "I imagine so, given what you've been trying to do to me." "It's nothing personal." "We used to chat over coffee, now I have to go through all this just to get you on the phone." "If you called to beg, all the orders have been signed." "It's out of my hands." "But if you wanna turn yourself in, I could use your body for research." "You used to use it for a whole lot more than that." " That was then." " I called to bargain, Deck, not beg." "What could you possibly have that I would want?" "What you probably don't know is that the X5 you sent to kill me is AWOL" " because she's in her first trimester." " I'm listening." "What would you say if I gave her back to you with one of the X5s who escaped in '09?" "Adriana, you just bought yourself a whole lotta birthdays." "Morning." " Jace has decided to switch teams." " Just like that." "Not like she has a lot of options." "Gettin' knocked up's a career-ender in Manticore." "Plus, she wants to keep her baby." "Are we sure we can take her at her word?" "You get away from that place, little taste of freedom changes your whole world-view." " Think you can get her out of the country?" " Shouldn't be a problem." "I'll breathe easier knowing she and Vertes are in different time zones." " There is that." " Where is she now?" " At the safe house." " You left her alone?" "Logan, I know what she's going through." "I trust her." "How are those legs of yours?" "Still a little wobbly." "But I've got an appointment with Vertes this afternoon." "Life is good." "I'd better bounce before I lose my job." " You're in one hell of a situation, soldier." " Yes, sir." "Would you mind explaining why?" "Because I am dumb." "I am so damn dumb it would take ten acts of divine providence to raise me to the height of blissful ignorance, sir." " What am I supposed to do about you now?" " That is not for me to speculate, sir." "You're damn right it's not." "Your mission was to eliminate this individual here." "Mission accomplished." "Now, was that so difficult?" "No, sir." "Permission to speak, sir." "Permission denied." "Your current medical situation provides..." "A unique research opportunity." "You have a problem with me trying to make lemonade out of the lemons you brought me?" " No, sir." " Good." "Now, you got something you wanted to say." "It was never my intention to abandon the objective." "As a prisoner of the rogue X5, I gave the appearance of cooperation to gain her trust and redeploy." "You will be debriefed by Command about your activities, along with the activities of other individuals that contributed to the unauthorised medical status you have now." " Yes, sir." " But..." "But right now," "The rogue X5 is our top priority." "You will return to duty, soldier." "Come on, Sketchy!" "Three minutes, thirty seconds!" " That Wiggy got mad skills!" " Ya know!" "Bip-bip-bip!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Back to work!" " Max, it's me." " What's wrong?" "It hurts and I've started bleeding." "I'm scared." "OK, I'm on my way." "Stay calm, lie down and we'll get you a doctor." "This is Control." "Stand by to seal the perimeter." "Roger, Control." "Here." "Hot run." "Great, I'm talkin' to myself." "Visual contact with subject established." "Do not move till I give the command." "What is your range, bravo?" " 200 metres and closing fast." " Stand by." " You giving an order 10-0-6?" " No." "No, I am not." " Sir, she authorised the use of deadly force." " I don't give a damn what she authorised." "It's not her show." "But it's still mine, and we'll do it my way." "50 metres and closing." "Escape and evade." "Subject is reversing course, sir." "Initiate pursuit." "Return to your position, soldier." "You're disobeying a direct order." "X5 has ceased communications." "Take her down." "I hope you'll be able to explain this in your report, cos she is gonna be one very pissed-off lady." "Not the best news I could get." "You would've thought Vertes knew Lydecker can't be trusted." "You would've thought." "She's not the only doc around who knows about this treatment." "Only one I had access to." "At least you're all right." "I'm sorry, Logan." " Where's Jace?" " I stashed her back at my crib." "I gave her a new identity." "She leaves for Mexico tonight." " Thanks." " No problem." "You should swing by the clinic and yank my medical records." "You've got exposure if Lydecker reads about my transgenic blood donor." "Right." "Logan?" "This is gonna be OK." " Yeah." " See you later." "Yeah." "See you later." "Staying out of that wheelchair matters more than anything else." "Let's just say that I'm not gonna live my life like that." "Mrs Moreno?" "OK, stay still." "I'm gonna call the paramedics." "Maybe... it'd be better if I just... died." "Now, let's not talk nonsense, OK?" "You don't know." "You're young." "You've got everything to live for, but me..." "I'm too old." "I'm gonna ask you to stop talking like that, Mrs Moreno." "Logan!" "Logan!" "Logan!" "I thought..." "I was so scared - the ambulance." "It's OK." "There was a little accident upstairs." "Mrs Moreno fell down." "The bathroom sink overflowed." "She OK?" "Yeah." "She'll be fine." "Money, sector passes, passport, and your contact's name at the Mexican border is Raoul." "I can't thank you enough." "You don't have to thank me at all." "Just make sure that kid has an excellent life." "If there's any way to get word to Victor..." "Let me reach the daddy." "If Lydecker found out who it is, it could be dangerous for you." "We can't take any chances." "It feels like I just woke up from a bad dream." "I know." "One of the reasons why I don't sleep." "Let me know if it's a boy or a girl." "Either way... name's gonna be Max." "I hope Logan will be OK." "Actually, I know he'll be OK." "He's got me in his corner." "Only sometimes I wonder if he really wants me there." "I almost forgot- 11 years ago tonight, we escaped from Manticore." "When I think of everything I've been through:" "the good, the bad, and the blur in between..." "Well, I'm not gonna think about it." "It'll just give me a headache." "Donald Lydecker, wherever you are, you can kiss my genetically-engineered ass." "Zack, Brin, Jondy, Tinga and everyone... happy anniversary, kids." "A baby." "Named after me." "That is awesome."