

The Shell Collector

By John Cosper

Copyright © 2013 John Cosper

www.johncosper.com

Cover design by Cristy Elaine and Chaney Blu
DEDICATION

This one's for the amazingly fun and creative people I hung out with one crazy weekend in Corning, NY:

Sara, George, Sharon, Brian, Shannon, Jamie

and of course,

Skip Dogg
Chapter One

How could anyone ever get used to such a magnificent sight?

Sebastian Harwood smiled as he gazed out the windows on his company's most beloved achievement. The red jet car sailed smoothly over a tropical landscape; a lush paradise forged in the middle of central Texas. The lights of San Antonio twinkled in the early twilight beyond the park's boundaries, but their luster was nothing compared with the scientific wonders lumbering in the darkness below.

"How about some lights, Captain?"

The pilot complied flipping a switch that awakened bright lamps on the undercarriage of the jet car causing the wildlife below to stir in reaction to the bright source of light. Many of the beasts ran for shelter in the trees. The larger ones looked up curious about the strange contraption hovering over them. And in the enclosed aviary, winged monsters fluttered to the top of their cell for a closer look.

"Pterydons," said Sebastian to his riding companion pointing to the beasts flying circles round the aviary. "My favorites since I was a kid."

Michael Horner, the billionaire behind Horner Aviation and the jet car flying over Dino Land Animal Preserve, gawked in wide-eyed wonder. It was his first trip to the park, and like most visitors, he was completely speechless.

Sebastian chuckled at his stunned companion then gazed out over the park inhabited by so many revived species: Brachiosaur, Triceratops, Diplodicus, Stegosaurus, Allosaur, Velociraptor, and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Names Sebastian learned as a child now brought forth for the entire world to see in their original forms. He told friends and colleagues it was the child within him that lit up every time he visited the park. But truth be known, it was the grown man and ambitious entrepreneur who really grew excited; especially in light of Dino Land's roaring financial success.

Many had tried this experiment before; some with disastrous results that mimicked a science fiction novel of the previous century; but, the brilliant minds working under Sebastian Harwood at Harwood BioTech had succeeded where others had failed. Dino Land, now in its tenth year, was raking in billions of dollars every year, with a scant few injuries to animal care takers being the only chaotic incidents on the park's near-spotless record. So much for Mr. Crichton and his chaos theory.

The wings of the jet car, with their turbo-fan engines, started their ninety degree rotation, which signaled to the passengers that their destination was at hand. The car prepared to make a vertical landing on the landing pad atop the Dino Land Conference Center. Harwood could see the stock holders outside momentarily distracted from the dinosaurs by the red jet car hovering overhead. The crowd vanished as they floated over the roof and touched down softly on its mark.

"I love it," said Sebastian while clasping the hand of his longtime friend. "Thank you."

"No, no, thank you," Michael Horner answered. "Without Harwood BioTech, this car would never have become a reality. I owe my own success to you and your family."

The story was true for many of the great new companies of the day. Horner Aviation owed its success to an investment thirty years prior in Harwood BioTech, the world's foremost genetic research company. Michael Horner cashed half of his stock in 2045; a banner year in which the Harwood BioTech stock split seven times in five months. He poured his money into his childhood dream: flying cars. And this red beauty, dubbed the Apollo, was the first commercially available flying car in the world.

Sebastian beamed as he stepped onto the elevator as he thought back on the men who made all this possible. His grandfather's dream of a better world through genetics had made the entire Harwood family wildly successful. Indeed, without the vision of Jacob Harwood, Dino Land would never have been possible. Jacob and his original partners were more than Nobel Prize winning scientists. They were pioneers whose work represented advances on par with Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, and Gregor Mendel. For it was Jacob Harwood and Harwood BioTech that perfected a technology that had people living longer, healthier lives than ever before.

Sebastian Harwood didn't know the first thing about genetics, but he was a shrewd businessman proud to be the third generation CEO of Harwood BioTech, the world leader in medical cloning technology.

Stepping off onto the first floor of the convention center, Sebastian found himself surrounded by people who had profited from Harwood BioTech financially and physically. As the band on stage played a triumphant march, Sebastian shook hands with Texas oil baron Xavier Dunlop. Now 97 years old, Xavier was both an original investor and one of the first to benefit from Harwood BioTech's unique products. A liver transplant and a kidney transplant had extended his life twenty years and counting.

Senator Amanda Zucker and her husband Gabriel greeted Sebastian as he passed. The couple had nearly died in a plane crash on their ranch in New Mexico. Were it not for Harwood BioTech, the internal damage suffered by both would have taken their lives in a matter of days.

The Senator was merely the tip of the iceberg in a room full of famous faces. Astronaut, Roy Hilton, was the first man to travel in space with a transplanted heart. Computer software genius, Ted Prescott, a huge stakeholder since his son's life, was spared thanks to a bone marrow transplant. Actress, Marina Francis, was now free from dialysis thanks to a new pair of kidneys. The miracles in the room were surely countless. Sebastian wondered how many others in this crowd, the not-so-famous faces, had received the gift of life.

The applause filled Sebastian with elation as he stepped onto the stage. The band wound up its tune, the lights dimmed, and the video projector over the stage began to roll a short film giving investors an overview of the year past. The new facility in Miami, new patents, and new technologies emerging from the labs. A new contract with the department of defense for top secret research. All of it spelling out the most important message of all: Harwood BioTech was getting more and more profitable, and the company's investors were going to continue to make lots of money.

Polite applause followed the video presentation, and actor, Gregory Bauer, the evening's master of ceremonies, took the podium.

"Good evening," he said. "And welcome to the 2051 annual meeting of stock holders for Harwood BioTech, Incorporated."

More applause, whistles, and cheers, as the evening officially began.

"Tonight, we are pleased to be here to celebrate not only the tenth anniversary of Dino Land but another banner year for Harwood BioTech." More applause. "We do have some brief business to take care of including the election of the board of directors. But I want to assure you, we plan to move quickly so the champagne can flow, and you all can enjoy a delightful moonlight stroll through the park."

More cheers from the eager investors, all prepared to have a great time. The weather had certainly cooperated. No rain was expected, so this would indeed be a pleasant night for a stroll through Dino Land.

"To kick things off," Gregory continued, "We're going to hear from a man who needs no introduction in this room. He's the grandson of the company's visionary founder and the current CEO of a company that has given the gift of life to people the world over. Please give it up for Sebastian Harwood."

Sebastian stood to thunderous applause and a standing ovation. Taking time to wave to the crowd and point at familiar faces close up, Sebastian made his way to the podium at center stage. He held his hands up in a gesture of false humility for the crowd to cease, all the while basking in the moment.

"Thank you," he said with words drowned out by the crowd noise. "Thank you very much." He couldn't even hear his own voice over the applause. "Thank you. You're very kind. Thank you."

And suddenly, a strange thing happened. The applause died almost instantly, and a murmur of spoken voices emerged from the hall. Sebastian smiled taken aback by the sudden change in mood. Something was wrong. Instinctively, Sebastian checked his person finding his tuxedo was fit perfectly and nothing out of place. He turned to the others on the stage looking for an answer. That was when he noticed heads turned back towards the video screen.

Sebastian looked up...and nearly buckled at what he saw.

The young woman now featured on the screen was not an actress nor athlete nor celebrity of any kind. And yet her face was as well-known as the President of the United States. She grinned into the camera looking down onto the bewildered faces in the convention hall.

"My name is Mandie," she said, an introduction that was hardly necessary. "And on behalf of myself and all the other fully human clones manufactured by Harwood BioTech, welcome to the annual stock holder's meeting."

A few laughs echoed in the hall for a moment as nervous attendees tried to decide how to react. The laughter slowly gave way to murmurs and even boos as the stock holders realized this was for real.

Gregory stepped back to the podium and whispered to Harwood, "Kind of a rough idea for a joke, huh?"

Sebastian glared at the actor, sweat beading up across his red forehead. "Do you honestly think I would make a joke like this?" He pushed Gregory aside, stalked to the edge of the stage and grabbed a security officer. "Find out where it's coming from, and cut her off!!!"

"I know you don't believe me," Mandie continued. "You don't want to believe my story, and I can't blame you. It's not only horrifying, but illegal. But denying the truth will not make it go away. Harwood BioTech is in the business of cloning human beings, or as their scientists call us, 'Shells,' for the purpose of harvesting our vital organs and tissues."

"You're lying!!" shouted a man down front. Harwood took comfort in the audience's hostile reaction to the video. But his heart raced as the seconds slowly ticked by.

"But don't take my word for it," said Mandie. "In the very near future, I will show you hard evidence of this new Holocaust. The whole world will know what has taken place behind closed doors of the Harwood BioTech—"

The screen went to blue as the transmission finally ended. Approving cheers and shouts popped up throughout the audience as the stock holders settled back in their seats ready to resume the business which had brought them all here.

"Before I begin, any of you looking for a new career out there will be interested to know that a ground floor opportunity is now open at Harwood BioTech. We are now taking resumes in consideration for the position of a video projectionist."

The crowd laughed, and Sebastian allowed himself to relax a bit. He went on with his speech, reminding the audience how Harwood BioTech had given them a brighter today and promised an even brighter tomorrow. As the audience applauded his final remarks, Sebastian turned to take his seat while shooting a fiery glance at the executives seated on stage. Heads would roll as a result of this incident and steps taken to ensure this would never happen again.

A few hours' drive from the convention center, a young, red-headed woman of around twenty-five, danced the night away with some locals in a roadhouse called the Chicken House, a place known for cheap beer, fist fights, and the best roasted chicken within a hundred miles. Jessica was a new face and had caught the fancy of every boy in the pub. Yet, as she laughed and swayed to a happy little love song, a predator gazed on at his prey with watchful eyes waiting for his moment.

Max Rogan spotted the predator the moment he walked into the room. An unshaven face and hawk-like eyes marked him as a man who was not out for a casual drink. This would make the extraction more difficult for Max, but it was not something he could not manage. Few of these radicals had any real combat training. If it came to a fight, Max would have no trouble coming out on top. The trick was eliminating the opposition without alerting the rest of the bar as to what was taking place.

Jessica fell into the arms of her dance partner laughing as the song came to an end. Then she made her way back to the bar for another drink. In a back corner, Max caught the eyes of the hunter. The man tipped his drink back summoning a final ounce of courage. Rogan realized the moment of opportunity was at hand. He, of all the patrons in the bar, knew the reason this girl's life was in danger.

Having watched for the last half hour, Max knew she was alone. A foolish choice to be out in public without any friends or allies. Perhaps her rescuers did not warn her of the danger. Or, like so many others, perhaps she simply ignored the warnings and decided she would go have a good time despite the risk.

The boy sitting to Jessica's right stepped away from his seat to dance with another girl. Checking the hunter's position one last time, Max took one last sip of his drink, then rose from the booth headed straight for the vacant bar stool. He sat down without even a glance at Jessica and ordered a club soda.

"Hey there," the bubbly young woman spoke up. Max looked into her smiling face and could not help but smile back. She was strikingly beautiful with charm to match. Qualities like beauty and charm were thoroughly unnecessary, but such is the result when the technology geeks of America turn their attention to anything female. Decades previous, these lonely young men with a world of brains but no persona whatsoever for charming the affections of young women satisfied their desires for human affection by creating their ideal women on a computer screen: ridiculously-proportioned women who could deliver karate kicks and leap tall buildings in a single bound. But genetics had taken geeks a step further by allowing them to engineer their feminine ideal and bring them to life.

"Usually, this is when the man says, 'Hi,' back," Jessica went on. Max realized he had let his thoughts wander a bit and had yet to respond.

"Hello," he said.

"There," Jessica beamed. "I knew you could do it. I'm Jessica."

"Max," he answered. He nodded a thank you to the bartender who set his drink before him. He took a sip as Jessica looked on.

"Not a big drinker, eh?" she asked.

"I have a long drive ahead of me tonight," he said.

"Oh? Where are you headed?"

He turned to her gravely serious. "To get you out of here."

Jessica laughed nervously not sure what to make of such a line.

"You can't stay here," he went on. "You're in serious danger."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jessica was getting frightened and spun in her seat to walk away.

Max took her by the arm. "I know who you are and where you have come from." She looked away, concern sweeping away the joyful mood she previously enjoyed. "If you don't get out of here, you're going to be killed."

A look of alarm crossed her face, but Max could sense suspicion mixed with the fear. "Back right corner underneath the poster of James Dean," he told her. She shot a glance in the direction Max indicated. The man's visage was frightening enough to raise suspicion, but when her eyes met his and he quickly looked away, she was certain Max was not fooling.

"Is this guy bothering you, Jessica?" The young man on Jessica's other side seemed to puff out his chest as a warning to Max. It was all Max could do to keep from laughing in his face. As if some kid in a bar could match up with a former special forces officer.

"It's okay," Jessica said. "He's a friend. And I need to get going."

"Can I drive you home?" The young man clearly did not want to lose out to Max.

"I've got her," said Max. He dropped several bills on the bar and led Jessica from the bar. The would-be suitor turned back to the bartender and ordered another drink sad to see another bid for romance end in disappointment.

A slight drizzle dropped from the sky as Max and Jessica walked out into the night. Max guided Jessica across the street to a black Cadillac. He pulled his keypad from his pocket and hit a button unlocking the doors of the car.

"Not so fast."

Max stopped, grabbing Jessica's arm angry with himself. He knew better than to leave his back unguarded. Jessica turned and gasped when she saw the gun pointed at her.

"No reason to be frightened," said the man with the gun. "You walk over here, do as I tell you, and nobody gets hurt."

"You don't want to do this," said Max.

The gunman was adamant. "The girl is going with me. Step away, and you won't get hurt."

"I can't allow you to take her," Max said firmly.

"You don't have a choice!" The man was getting testy. Max was now confident he was alone or else any back-up would have rushed to assist him. This would make it easier.

The man reached out his hand. "Come with me. Now!"

"Don't move. He's bluffing. He won't hurt us," said Max with a sneer knowing full well it was a lie.

The man moved closer putting his gun to Max's temple. It was the mistake Max had been waiting for.

"Come with me, or I will--"

The words were cut off in a scream as Max's hands connected with the man's forearm at its weakest point, snapping it in half. The gun dropped, and Max kicked it away. He lifted the man up by the collar.

"Send word to Dunleavy for me," he growled. "Don't waste my time with untrained lackeys anymore." He shoved the man back, and the wounded hunter staggered away to his car.

Max took Jessica by the arm and led her back to the car.

"Thank you," she said.

"Don't thank me just yet," he said. "We need to leave quickly."

"Where are we going?" asked Jessica.

Max took her by the arm. She felt a sharp sting just above his hand, and looked to see him removing a hypodermic needle from the spot.

"What was that?" she asked, feeling suddenly woozy.

"A little something to keep you calm on the way home," he said.

"Home?" She leaned heavily on Max as her head began to spin.

"Harwood BioTech."

Jessica lunged to escape, but she was already too drowsy to go anywhere. Max caught her and guided her to the car. "Why are you doing this?" Jessica asked. "What did I do to you?"

"It's not me," said Max.

Terror filled Jessica's mind but only for a few seconds as she drifted out of consciousness. Max opened the car door and guided her into the passenger seat strapping her down tightly. All too easy, he thought to himself as he got through the driver's side door. True, the presence of the man from Humans First had troubled him, but the inexperienced terrorist had actually made his job easier. Perhaps he should hire an assistant and always use a decoy.

It would not always be this easy. Max knew that. But the anonymity he now enjoyed with the anti-cloning factions meant easy pickings for Harwood BioTech's secret weapon in the war to maintain their corporate secrets.
Chapter Two

Harrison Block could feel the sweat soaking through his undershirt. He knew that look on his boss' face, and it usually meant the end of a career for whoever was on the receiving end. Sebastian Harwood paced like a caged lion in between glances at the chief operating officer of Dino Land. Harrison sat silent awaiting the word to clear out his things and turn over his keys.

Sebastian stopped once again. He turned to the other man in the room, Harwood BioTech's vice president of finance, Rick Reagan.

"Rick," said Sebastian. "Mr. Block has stated clearly he has no defense for what happened. Further, he has yet to provide an explanation for how Mandie made her little cameo on stage. Perhaps you would care to say something on his behalf."

Reagan hated being put in the middle as he often was. A longtime friend of Harwood dating back to college, Rick Reagan often received questions on matters he'd rather not comment on. The termination of Dino Land's most successful leader (until tonight) was just such a question.

"It could have been worse," Rick offered. "The press was kept out of tonight's meeting, and our audience was hugely sympathetic to our side."

"But you and I know we cannot bank on sympathetic investors!" Harwood snapped. "Sooner or later, she's going to get to get the ear of someone who can destroy us. We simply cannot afford risks like we took tonight."

"Forgive my asking," Block said, "But didn't you all capture that Mandie six months ago?"

"We've snagged a dozen shells that should have been Mandie," said Reagan. "Unfortunately, they were all decoys. Either that, or different shells are filling the role."

"Maybe if you all made the shells look more distinct..." Block suggested.

"Homogenous clones are more economically feasible," Reagan answered. "And there's less chance for mutations and flaws."

The phone on Block's desk rang. He looked up at Sebastian uncertain if he should even bother to answer. Harwood gave an approving nod. Block picked up the phone hoping and praying for a miracle on the other end of the line.

He got one.

"Block... Yes?... Please, send her in immediately." He hung up the phone. "Mr. Harwood, I have good news."

The door opened, and a tall blonde woman in a sharp outfit entered; her ID badge revealing her status as Dino Land's chief of security.

"May I present April Gertz," said Harrison Block. "Chief of security and the bearer of good news for all of us... I hope."

"Mr. Harwood, it's a pleasure," said April, confidently taking the CEO's hand.

"That all depends on what you have to tell me, Ms. Gertz," said Harwood impatiently.

"We have three people in custody," said April. "Two of your shareholders and one of my own people, Brent Sanders."

"What do we know about them?"

"The shareholders are G2 sympathizers," said April, referring to the notorious anti-cloning faction that had claimed responsibility for Mandie's previous appearances. "They purchased stock as a way of gaining access to tonight's meeting. They contacted Mr. Sanders and offered him a substantial bribe if he would help them broadcast tonight's message."

Block stifled a smile hopeful she had spared him the ax.

"Are you telling me one of your own security men took a bribe?" Harwood cross-examined April.

"Sir, over the past year, I have personally initiated a five step hiring process designed to eliminate such problems as best as possible. But greed is unpredictable, and the Limes were able to meet Sanders' price."

Harwood nodded. "How did you discover this little conspiracy?"

"Mr. Block informed me of the possible threat and asked me to hire more security. Rather than take a chance on rent-a-cops, I hired a private investigator to check out your guest list. We identified the Limes as a potential threat a few days ago. I only regret we didn't nail them beforehand."

Harwood nodded satisfied with the answer. He turned to Block, "You have done well, Mr. Block. I'm impressed with the quality of people you have hired here."

"Thank you, sir," said Block.

"Let's hope those skills will serve you well again," said Harwood.

"What do you mean?" asked Block.

"Ms. Gertz's services will no longer be available to you."

Block looked at April who looked at Harwood with uncertainty.

"I have need of someone like her working directly for me," said Sebastian.

Block started to object but halted. He still had his job, and he knew better than to press his luck.

"When do I start?" asked April.

"Immediately. You're to finish up this investigation and have a full report to me by morning."

"Yes sir," April responded. She turned and nodded to the man who had hired her and walked out of the room.

"Mr. Block, please go with Ms. Gertz and give her every assistance possible to complete her investigation. You're working for her now."

This was salt on the wound, but Block complied and followed his former employee out of the office.

As Block slipped out the door, a man in his early thirties nudged past him. He approached Harwood without a word and handed him a note.

"Thank you, Mr. Collins," said Sebastian. "Do me a favor, please. Find Joe Sharp and the rest of the legal team and send them in here."

"Right away," Collins said, turning to exit. Harwood leaned back in Block's chair and unfolded the piece of paper Ian had slipped him. He smiled and then dropped it in the shredder over Block's trash can. At least the night wasn't a total wash.

The sound of rain pattering against the windows woke Jessica from her slumber. Her eyes gradually focused on her surroundings. She was strapped into the car seat, but her hands were not bound. She reached for the door.

"It's locked, so don't even bother."

She looked at the fuzzy outline of Max Rogan seated in the driver's seat. Slowly it all came back to her. The bar. The warning—no, the lie. Then the drug. She felt a twinge of pain where the needle had broken the skin.

Gazing out the window, she saw the Texas prairie passing by quickly. The car sped through the rain at nearly eighty miles per hour.

"So who was the poor guy with the broken arm?" she asked.

"A barbarian," said Max.

"Funny," said Jessica. "Isn't that who you work for?"

Max did not even look at her. "He's one of those nuts from Humans First. Another one of those anti-cloning groups that make my job harder."

"Too bad he lost the fight. I might still be free," she said.

"He'd have destroyed you himself by now," said Max. "Humans First isn't the clone-friendly outfit that broke you out. They see you like we do in that you're nothing but a science experiment. Only, rather than using you to better mankind, Humans First sees your kind as a threat. They want to see you all destroyed."

"Oh," asked Jessica. She paused a moment, watching the surroundings pass her by out the window wondering if it would be her last glimpse of freedom. "Kind of dangerous letting me ride up front, isn't it? You're not afraid of my trying to signal other drivers, or make a getaway?"

"We're a hundred miles from any town," said Max. "And no one will be out here this late at night."

"You forget," his captive replied. "I escaped this place once before."

"Your Genesis friends are not here to help you tonight."

Jessica glanced outside the car gazing up at the stars searching for the constellations she knew. After her escape, she befriended a young man named Brian who taught her the names of the constellations and stars visible in the clear night. She wanted to remember those stars and that friendship. Try as they may, they could not take those memories from her.

She glanced around the car and spied an ID badge at her feet. She picked it up and examined it. "Max Rogan," she read. "Maximum Security Access, Harwood BioTech Southwest."

Max ignored her.

"Your name's Max?" she paused, then went on when he did not answer. "Well, at least you didn't lie about your name."

"You always like to chatter this much?" Max asked.

"I'm sorry," said Jessica. "I only thought we might pass the time a little more quickly this way."

"Anxious to go back into storage?"

"Would you be?"

"Not my problem."

"And why is that?"

Max looked at her with a disdainful look then turned back to the road. "You're a shell."

"I have 46 chromosomes just like you," she said. "I can think and reason. I can do anything you can do."

"No you can't," he replied.

"If I were given the chance--"

"Which you won't."

"If I were--"

"You won't," he snapped.

"And why not?"

"You know why not," he said coldly.

"I have a right to live the same as anyone," she fired back.

"You have no rights," he replied. "You're not human."

She sat back, crossing her arms in frustration. After a pause, she looked back at Max. "Then what am I if I am not human?"

"Inventory," he said. "Medical resources. A shell."

"Medical resources, hmm? Max, did you ever have a debate with a scalpel? Or a bandage, perhaps? I hear Band-Aids can be very opinionated when you get them on the subject of politics."

"And shells are quite adept at sarcasm," Max remarked. "especially when they know their time is up."

"That doesn't tell you anything?"

"What should it tell me?" Max huffed.

"If you hadn't captured me, I could have secured fake identification, gotten a job, registered to vote. Or better still, skipped the country. No one would ever know I wasn't born the same as you."

"I've seen computers that can reason like a human," said Max. "And robots that look identical to human beings, but that doesn't make them human."

"And what defines a human being?" Jessica asked.

Max was silent. This was a debate he had no interest in. Harwood BioTech had given him a place to use skills gained in the military as well as a means to make a good living. The ethics mattered little to him. Shells were manufactured in a lab for the purposes of preserving human – natural human – life.

"Do you believe in God?"

Religious debates held even less appeal for Max. "No."

"Well I do," said Jessica. "And I believe he created me."

"Harwood BioTech created you."

"Who formed the elements of life? Who designed the 46 chromosomes? Who put all the organs in place?"

"Harwood BioTech."

"Who filled this body with a soul?"

Max was silent. He knew better than to get into such a debate, and he had fallen into it yet again. Once a shell started ranting on God, it took a lot to shut them up.

"You have no answer, do you?" Jessica demanded.

"You were created by genetic manipulation and cloned from a perfect human embryo to specifications predetermined by the government and medical science so that you would produce organs and tissue compatible with that of a certain portion of the population. You were made to sustain the life of humans. You were not made to live."

"But I am alive," said Jessica. "I have dreams of falling in love, having children, growing old." She looked ahead and saw the lights of the storage building. "And I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of dying," she replied. "Of never seeing the sunrise again. Or the sky. Never taking another breath in the open air."

"But how many people will be able to do those things because they receive organs from your body? Think about that."

"Didn't you just tell me I wasn't allowed to think?"

Max was silent. He was terribly glad that this ride and this conversation was nearing its end. "You were made for a purpose."

"Finally, we agree on something," she said, almost with a smile.

Max wasn't sure how to respond. Thankfully, he didn't need to as their destination was finally in sight.

Jessica looked up and saw the sign: Harwood BioTech, Storage Facility Southwest. The car turned into the circular drive in front of the storage building. The complex was deceptive in its size. Only two stories were above ground. The ground floor held administrative and surgical space and the top floor a greenhouse glowing with an eerie green light. Beneath the ground, were the holding and incubation facilities where shells were created, grown, and matured.

A set of glass doors formed the only visible entrance on the front side of the building. Inside the glass doors, facilities director, Dr. Kendall Drake, spied the headlights of an approaching car. As the lights approached, the shape of the black Cadillac became visible telling Dr. Drake and his assistants that this was, in fact, their delivery.

Drake walked out into the rain as the car came to a halt in front of the double doors. Two men in white coats emerged from the building and took their place beside the rear passenger door.

The driver's door opened, and the driver emerged. Max cut an imposing figure, six foot four, with neatly trimmed brown hair and piercing brown eyes. He strode purposefully around the car and opened the passenger door. Jessica emerged from the car silently with a defiant expression on her face. The men in white flanked her immediately by placing shackles on her wrists. The one on her left pulled up her left sleeve, revealing a tattoo: "FCRB-000539322." He noted the serial number on a hand-held digital notepad. Dr. Drake stepped forward and looked through his spectacles poised on the bridge of his hooked nose at an angry young woman.

"Don't worry, my dear. You won't be here for very long. You're much too valuable to sit in storage forever."

"You'll never be able to contain us all," the young woman answered defiantly. "We will stop you."

Drake laughed. "You? You're nothing but a shell--a storage bin for parts which don't belong to you."

"I'm a human being." Her look was intent, fearless. "Just like you."

He nodded to the white-coated guardians. "Take her to harvesting," he said. "No need to make her wait."

Jessica tried to pull away, but the men were too strong. She turned her head back to Max.

"See you around, Max," she said.

"I'm sure," he replied.

Max watched as the redhead walked into the building; her last few steps of freedom. Escaped shells were not kept in storage very long; that is, if they were put back in storage at all. The risk of another escape was too great. Jessica would be disassembled that night, and the valuable cargo inside - her perfectly formed clone organs and tissues - would be distributed to humans who needed them.

Drake pulled a small white envelope from his pocket and handed it to Max, who tucked it away without a word.

"Appreciated as always, Mr. Rogan," said Drake with a smile. "We would have spent months trying to do what took you a week."

"That's because you're scientists," Max said with a wry smile.

"I suppose so," said Drake. "We'll be in touch."

Max nodded. Drake walked back into the building while Max returned to his car. He started the engine and sped off down the road.

Two miles down the road, he saw something that caused him to turn around and head back: three black vans with no lights speeding towards the storage depot. No one ever had reason to drive this far into the desert. Max knew the vans did not belong out here.

The disassembly process was a purely clinical, dehumanizing procedure. If a shell had any doubts as to their status, disassembly would set them straight just before ending their life.

The technicians led Jessica down the white hallway to the disassembly room. Inside, the harvesters were already prepared for her. Plastic storage containers sat ready to receive the transplantable organs and tissue. Everything was kept sterile and immaculately clean just like a hospital. Only here, the sterility was not for the sake of the one being cut open, but the one who would receive the harvested tissue on another operating table in a hospital far away.

Dr. Cordelia Braden turned to see Jessica enter. "Remove the coverings and wash the shell," she said. The men in white coats cut away Jessica's shoes and clothes with the detachment of a chef peeling an orange. They placed her under a cold shower and scrubbed her with sponges, removing her makeup and sterilizing her skin and hair.

The attendants working on Jessica never noticed the barrette that fell out while they washed her hair. Even if they had, they had no way of knowing that it contained a homing beacon allowing three vans full of G2 agents to locate the secret Harwood BioTech Storage Facility.

Dr. Drake never saw it coming. The glass entry doors blew open, and the explosion launched the scientist from his feet into a wall knocking him out. Five figures clad in black carrying stun guns burst through the door. A pair of guards brandished their side arms only to be cut down with stun darts. The liberators split--two and three. Two made their way down the hall to the harvesting room and Jessica while the other three ran for the elevators to the lower levels to free Jessica's sisters and brothers.

Outside, Max pulled up behind the vans. Drawing his gun, he leapt out of the car and headed for the doors. As he stepped through the rubble, he saw Dr. Drake lying on the floor blood trickling from a gash in his forehead. He leaned down and put his fingers to Drake's throat. He still had a pulse.

Max turned to the other guards lying in the entryway seeing they had both been shot with stun guns. He heard the elevator bell ring and ran down the hall to intercept the intruders. The doors closed ahead of him and two guards who met up with him.

"They've split up," said one of the guards. "They're headed towards storage and harvesting."

"You take the storage levels," said Max. "I'll stop the others."

Max turned back and ran down the sterile hallway leapfrogging Jessica's white coated attendants who lay in a deep slumber in the hall. The harvesting room door was shut. Max paused at the door then kicked it open.

"FREEZE!"

There stood Jessica, a black trench coat wrapped around her and two masked individuals dressed in black, one male, one female. The two dropped their stun guns and raised their hands. The surgeon stood against the wall with her hands in the air.

"Hello, Max," said Jessica. "I told you I'd see you again."

"Wish I could say the same, Jessica," he replied.

"Jessica?" the masked female said. She took off her mask...revealing a face identical to Jessica. "Are you so sure she's Jessica?"

"Keep your hands up!" said Max. The next second, he felt a sting in his neck. He reached a hand back to feel the stun dart in his neck. He turned to see yet another masked figure, the one who had shot him, shoot him again in the front. Max fell to the floor--unconscious.
Chapter Three

"Welcome back, Max."

Max's cloudy eyes strained to focus on the face before him. The young woman closed the cap on what Max concluded was the bottle of smelling salts used to rouse him. "Let's see to those wounds," she said, prepping some alcohol and cotton.

"Dr. Braden?" he murmured.

"Cordelia, please," she replied. "This will sting a little."

It did sting as the alcohol touched the entry wound on Max's left shoulder. "Sorry," Cordelia Braden said. "But better a little pain now than an infection later."

"What did they hit me with?"

Cordelia smiled. "Enough drugs to drop a woolly mammoth." Cordelia knew what she was talking about. Before transferring to the Southwestern facility to be head of organ procurement and harvesting, Cordelia worked on the Mammoth Project for Harwood BioTech, which involved the resurrection of a species dead for thousands of years. Far and away, she was one of the brightest minds in the company.

"You're as tough as they say, Max," she said. "Frankly, with all the dope they shot into you, I'm amazed you're not in a coma."

Max's memory began to return, slowly. "Dr. Drake?"

"They took him to the hospital," said Cordelia. "He may have a broken collar bone and a few cracked ribs. He should be fine, though."

"Any other injuries?"

"Sure," said Cordelia. "They took out all the guards with the stun darts. One guy took a tumble down the stairs and broke his leg. One of the raiders was killed, and two shells were destroyed."

"I should have stopped them," Max muttered.

"You did what you could," said Cordelia. "If it wasn't for you, they probably would have knocked me out, and we might not have saved some of the injured."

"What is he doing out here?"

The new voice was angry; hostile. Max couldn't see faces, but made out the shape of two men dressed in black standing just behind Cordelia.

"Mr. Harwood," said Cordelia. "This is Max Rogan."

No response.

"Dr. Drake hired him to help us track down the stray shells," she said. "He told you about Max, I'm sure."

"Oh, yes," said Mr. Harwood. "I have heard of Mr. Rogan. I'm Sebastian Harwood, chairman and CEO. Just flew in from the stock holder's meeting in San Antonio when I got word of the raid."

Max reached a hand blindly to shake hands with the grandson of the founder of Harwood BioTech. "I'm glad you're still here," said Sebastian. "We lost a lot of money tonight, and blame has to be assessed."

"Blame?" Max did not like the sound of that. "How much damage did they do?"

"Very little to the facility," said Sebastian. "Although the greenhouse was completely destroyed. A major blow considering how much money we make in the agricultural market. We lost a new breed of corn that took 15 years to develop. Fifteen years of work destroyed in an instant."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"On the other hand," said Sebastian, "Dr. Braden tells me that you spooked them enough to force an early exit before they could do any damage on the lower levels."

"How many shells lost?" asked Max.

"All of them," said Sebastian. "Two destroyed, all the rest stolen."

"Ninety-eight in all," added Cordelia.

"In three vans?" asked Max.

"They took a bus we had on the premises," said Sebastian. "This was a very well-organized raid. And it appears that someone led them here."

Max sensed a hint of suspicion on Harwood's voice. "You suspect me?" asked Max.

"The raid followed closely on the heels of your delivery," said Harwood.

"Mr. Harwood," interjected Cordelia, "I can vouch for Mr. Rogan's loyalty to us and our work. I can't believe he would be party to any subversive action."

Sebastian frowned on Max. "We'll be conducting a full investigation directly. In the meantime, Mr. Rogan, we would certainly appreciate any assistance in recovering the lost shells and bringing the thieves to justice."

"If proper compensation is provided," Max insisted.

"Recover what belongs to us, and I will personally guarantee you get what you deserve," Sebastian assured Max.

Sebastian and his companion moved to the upper levels for an inspection. Max rose to his feet with the help of Cordelia.

"What a night, huh?" he said.

"You could say that," said Cordelia. "Harwood's transferring me to a new project in the Carolinas, so this was my last week here anyway. Looks like now it'll be the last week for everyone."

"Sorry I couldn't have done more," said Max, heading for the door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"My hotel," said Max. "I'm exhausted and I need some rest."

"You gonna be okay?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah," said Max. "Tell Harwood I'll have his shells in a week or so."

Max staggered out the door to his car. Sitting in the driver's seat, he felt something hard beneath him. He reached a hand under him to extract the foreign object and was surprised to discover a small Bible on the driver's seat. Jessica had written inside the front cover: "To Max: The truth shall set you free. Jess."

Max tossed the Bible into his briefcase. He started the car and began the drive back to his hotel. From a broken window in the second floor greenhouse, Sebastian Harwood watched the black Cadillac speed away. He turned to Rick Reagan.

"I want to know where he's staying," Harwood said. "We'll speak to him again when Ms. Gertz and her team arrive."

"Daddy, where are we going on vacation?"

The average Joe father laughed and pat his son on the shoulder. "Oh, son, we're going someplace special this year."

"It's not Disney World, is it?" said the worried youngster.

"Disney World?" the father remarked with disdain. "Who wants to ride a bunch of silly rides with robotic cartoon mice?"

"Mars?"

The father laughed again. "Mars? A father would have to really hate his child to take him to that cold rock in space."

"Then where are we going?"

"We're going to Dino Land!"

"That's right," a peppy announcer chimed in over cheerful music. "This summer, take your children to Dino Land, the happiest place on earth with the greatest attractions in hundreds of millions of years!"

Max took another pull at his beer staring blankly at the images on the hotel bar television as it displayed images of velociraptors, pterodactyls, and dozens of other creatures cloned for the delight of children everywhere. His mind was far from the prehistoric amusement park, however. How dare Harwood imply that he was involved with those terrorists! Every soldier held his own honor in high regard. Special forces veterans especially. And accusing Max of such treachery did not sit well with the soldier of fortune.

"Aren't dinosaurs dangerous?" the cheerful little boy on TV asked his dad reciting the dialogue written by the infomercial scriptwriter. "I heard about a bunch of dinos getting loose at another amusement park and killing entire families. Daddy, that can't happen to us at Dino Land, can it?"

"No, son," said the father. "That would be impossible. That incident happened a long time ago over two years in the past. And the scientists who bred those particular dinos were careless, sloppy, and French. But Dino Land dinos are bred by smart, all-American scientists to be gentle and friendly."

Max rubbed his eyes again wanting to make sure he was really watching a small child pet the nose of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. How in the world did they make a brutal creature of the past gentle as a household cat?

"They aren't real dinosaurs," said the man seated next to Max at the bar.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"The first dino clones were all hostile, aggressive, and completely uncontrollable. The raptors in particular were so vicious they killed the scientists who created them. I hear they napalmed the cloning facility to make sure the creatures were destroyed."

"You don't say," said a very disinterested Max.

"I hear they spliced in amphibian DNA to tame the wild beasts down," said the man. "You know, like in that old movie."

"I know the movie, yes."

"Calmed the critters down so they could be corralled and displayed for all the tourists," the man added sipping at his own beer.

"No kidding." The amphibian DNA was a popular conspiracy theory but not nearly as shocking as the story Max heard inside Harwood BioTech. A few of the herbivores proved to have sour dispositions, but the majority of the dinosaurs turned out to be far more docile than anyone ever believed, especially T-Rex, who turned out to be rather gentle enough to allow children to ride its back. But since docile dinos were still a hard sell, Harwood BioTech was content to let the rumors fly.

"Yep," said the stranger. "Cloning is certainly a risky proposition. You'd think we would have learned our lesson from the dinosaurs, but no. We had to clone ourselves."

That caught Max's attention. He looked suspiciously at the stranger. "Human cloning is illegal," he said.

"So is cocaine," said the stranger. "Yet, I could walk out of this building and find some within a few minutes if I so desired."

"You think someone is cloning humans in some underground lab?"

"Think?" the man laughed. "I know they are. With the government's full blessing. And why not? They are one of the major beneficiaries of the cloning that takes place."

"You refer to the organ cloning programs," said Max. "Hearts, livers, kidneys, and the like. For transplants."

The man shook his head. "You and I know those programs failed years ago. The only way to produce transplantable clone organs was to produce complete human shells that incubate and store vital organs and tissues which can be extracted and used in transplant operations." The man sipped at his drink and went on. "Only trouble is, the darn shells won't stay put, will they, Mr. Rogan?"

The man reached in his back pocket and plunked down money to cover his drink and tip. He walked out of the bar slowly pausing to look back at Max. Max took the cue, paid for his drink, and followed.

Max walked out into the cold night. He spied the man from the bar across the street, smoking a cigarette. Traffic was fairly light at this late hour. Max cut across the street directly towards the stranger. The man with the cigarette turned and began to walk before Max could reach him. Max followed for two blocks before the stranger turned. "Is there something you want?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same question," said Max.

The man smiled.

"Who are you?" Max demanded.

"Think of me as someone in the know," he said with a smile.

"In the know?" Max asked.

The man began to walk again. "The first animal clones were created by scientists just before the turn of the century. The world went into a panic. Nations began enacting bans on human cloning, fearing what might happen if scientists decided to play God. Nevertheless, the possible benefits of human cloning were too attractive for scientists to give up. Organ transplants. Embryonic stem-cell research. Of course the military was practically salivating at the prospect of creating a genetically enhanced super soldier."

"A project which never came to be," said Max.

"If you say so." The stranger paused to light another cigarette. Then he went on. "In spite of the government ban, research projects moved forward, primarily organ and tissues intended for transplant. It wasn't as easy as they'd hoped. Early attempts to grow organs and tissues independent of a body failed. Scientists at Harwood BioTech concluded that the only way to create viable organs was to clone entire human samples. Shells, as the insiders call them. But how would they get around the laws preventing such experiments and reap the profits these breakthroughs promised?"

"There was no getting around to be done," said Max. "Shells are not human."

The man smiled. "You know that. I know that. Harwood BioTech and the government agree with us. But how to make John Q. Public understand that that human shaped object on a laboratory table is not actually human? There lies the rub."

The man reached out an arm to hail a cab unsuccessfully. He puffed at his cigarette. "The powers that be at Harwood BioTech decided the best course of action to simply not let anyone know what they were doing. The government knew, of course, because they had been briefed on the science employed by Harwood BioTech. Production began, money started rolling in. But as with every big business endeavor, there were voices that decided they didn't like what was going on."

"You mean G2," said Max.

A cab pulled up to the curb. The man opened the door for Max. "What do you know about the Genesis Group?" he said.

Max climbed into the cab. His new companion entered behind him.

"Third and Liberty," the man told the driver.

"The Genesis Group is an anti-cloning lobby. Founded five years ago, funded mostly by private anonymous donors," said Max.

"A lot of religious groups put money into G2," said the stranger. "Christians, Jews, Muslims.

"Makes sense," said Max. "The few churches that still exist preach against the idea of cloning."

"Playing God they call it," said the man. "It began innocently enough. College kids visiting their Congressmen, starting letter campaigns. But they didn't stop there, did they?"

Max kept silent leery of confirming or denying anything with a cabbie in the front seat. Break-ins at cloning facilities were one thing Harwood BioTech swept under the rug as quickly as possible, and Max played a big part in that task. After tonight, that task would grow increasingly more difficult.

"Then one day, a young woman appears out of the blue." The man reached into his coat and pulled out a photo of a young woman; a video capture from a pirated TV signal.

The face was quite familiar to Max. "Mandie," he said.

"The girl who claims to be a genetically perfect, sentient human clone," the man confirmed. "Something Harwood BioTech insists does not exist."

Mandie had appeared three times on primetime television in a pirated signal including the infamous interruption of the most recent Super Bowl. She described in elaborate detail her past life in the storage facilities where she and other clones were used to maintain the greenhouses in which genetically engineered crops were harvested, and the cold, cruel efficiency with which the Harwood BioTech staff carry out their work; reminiscent of the Nazis who ran the concentration camps.

"I've heard the stories," Max said for the benefit of the driver. "And I saw the news the night they put Mandie's parents on TV," said Max referring to Harwood BioTech's attempt to quash the Mandie rumors with some misinformation of their own. "She suffers from paranoid delusions and should be in an institution receiving treatment."

The cab pulled up at its destination right in front of a late night coffee shop. "Ten fifty," said the driver.

The man paid the driver then exited the cab with Max. He lit another cigarette and looked at Max. "You believe everything you see on TV?"

Of course, Max knew Mandie was for real even if her stories were somewhat exaggerated. He knew too of the hundred million dollar price on her head. But he was not going to tip his hand to this stranger just yet. Tabloid journalists had used similar reverse psychology tactics to discover a great deal of truth about the cloning facilities.

"I didn't think so." The man interpreted Max's silence as confirmation that they were on the same page.

"What else do you know about Mandie?" Max asked.

"I can help you find her," he replied. "Claim that million dollar reward."

"Why don't you capture her yourself?" Max asked. "Why should you turn her over to me rather than claim the reward all for yourself?"

The man walked on turning his back to Max. Max caught him by the shoulder. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The man pushed open the door of the coffee house leading Max inside. "I'm a concerned citizen. Or a man with money invested in Harwood BioTech. Or the next guy in the list to receive a liver."

"Tell me why I should give you another second of my time."

"What does it matter what my motivations are if I help you do your job keeping the secrets of Harwood BioTech safe and hidden from the public eye?" The man gestured toward a table. Max and his companion sat down.

"Who are you?" Max asked again.

"I'm the man who can give you G2," he replied. "The shells you lost tonight. The people who helped them. And Mandie."

Max folded his hands on the table. "Convince me."

A waitress stepped to the table where Max and the stranger sat. "What can I get for you, gentlemen?"

"I'll have a regular cappuccino," said the man.

The waitress wrote down the order, then asked, "And for you, Mr. Rogan?"

Max looked up, opened his mouth, but failed to say a word. The waitress standing two feet away from him was Jessica.
Chapter Four

Max was stunned. The young waitress smiled and did not act the least bit frightened by Max. She sat down at the table, gently reached out her hand and closed Max's open mouth.

"My name is Eric," the man across the table said at last. "And this is Angela."

"You were there tonight," said Max. "In the harvesting room."

She nodded her confirmation. "Jessica and I got out a year ago." She took Eric's hand, looked at him and smiled. "Thanks to him."

"That's sweet," said Max, sarcasm dripping from his words. "Now he's not only the one who set you free, but the one responsible for your return."

"Just a moment, Mr. Rogan," said Eric. "But before you run my beloved back to that burned out lab, you might want to hear us out."

"What's to discuss? I have a job to do," said Max.

"I understand. We both understand," said Eric. "But I have no intention of turning Angela over to you. Angela and I are in love. We have plans to get married, and we'd like to do so without fear of separation."

"But you can't very well plan on children and grandchildren when you're looking over your shoulder the rest of your life," said Angela. "Which is why we want to make you a deal."

"No deals," said Max. "I work for Harwood BioTech, and my loyalty is not for sale to the opposition."

Eric's face expressed concern, as he wondered if he hadn't made a terrible mistake. "Mr. Rogan--" he said.

"I sympathize with your plight," Max said. "Really I do. She's very attractive, and I know you love her. But she's a shell."

"I am just as much human as you," said Angela.

"Then why don't you go down to city hall and get a marriage license?" Max said. "All you need is a social security card and birth certificate."

"You know I can't get those," Angela said.

"I know," said Max. "And you know why. You have no legal rights. I don't care how in love you are. You cannot marry. I'd be very interested to know how you even got a job."

"When you own the restaurant," said Eric, "you can hire who you want."

"What if I take my story to the press?" said Angela. "Shells are not supposed to exist. Might make an interesting scoop."

"No one will believe you," said Max. "Besides, I'd have you back in storage before the cameras would ever roll."

"We're not asking you to repeal the laws of America," said Eric. "But if we can escape to Germany, or England; some place where the laws are different, she can gain legal status as a human."

The scenario had supposedly happened before. Germany in particular was rumored to be friendly towards the anti-cloning clause. "What benefit do I receive if I do help you?"

"Everything," said Eric.

"Define everything," said Max. "Names and addresses of the G2 leadership? The stolen shells from earlier tonight?"

"We'll do better than that," said Eric. "We'll take you right to them. The shells, the G2 leadership, even Mandie herself."

Max raised an eyebrow. Perhaps this was a deal he could accept. "How exactly would this deal work?"

"You'll help us move a small group of shells across country," said Eric. "It takes two weeks to move them to the port of departure."

"Why two weeks?" Max asked.

"Mandie and McKinley believe it best to wait a while after a break the size of last night's before moving such a large group out of the country."

"Who's McKinley?" Max asked. This was a new name.

"I told you," said Eric. "All the answers you seek for Angela's freedom."

"I have an obligation to my employer," Max replied. He looked at Angela. "I have no authority to determine your future. You belong to Harwood BioTech. And my job is to return you to them."

"If you take me back, you save the company what, a million dollars tops? But if you let me go, if you help us, we'll help you stop the losses for good."

"Think of it as an investment," said Eric. "A million dollars spent now to save maybe billions down the line."

Max leaned back crossing his arms. "Suppose I agree. How do I know this plan of yours will work?"

"G2 has grown by word of mouth," said Eric. "And they're surprisingly lax in letting new people into the fold. We'll bring you along, say we know you and that you're one of us. Another volunteer for the cause. Once we reach the end of the line, you let us slip off quietly, then call in your troops to clean house."

"Slight problem," said Max. "Some of these shells know my face. Jessica, the one I returned last night, was one that escaped."

"She'll never know," said Eric. "The shells are split up for security reasons, and no two identical shells are moved together. You're going with Angela and I, so Jessica will be moved by a different group."

Max frowned. "Even so, you're asking me to risk a great deal. No doubt G2 would be just as eager to put me out of business as I am them."

"We've risked everything to bring you this opportunity," said Angela. "You could take me back right now, and that'll be the last Eric and I ever see of each other. I can be chopped up and my parts shipped a hundred different places in 24 hours. Yet I'm risking my freedom for my love for Eric."

"And betraying the people who gave you that freedom," said Max. "So I ask you again: why should I believe I can trust you when you are willing to betray the people who set you free?"

"I said before this was an investment," said Eric. "Every investment has its risks. I assure you, we will get you deep inside G2. What you do once we're inside is your concern. So long as you let Angela be."

Max sat silent for a moment. Angela cleared her throat nervously. "What do you say, Mr. Rogan?"

"I thought we came in here for coffee," said Max.

Eric nodded at Angela. She walked to the serving area and poured a mug of coffee, which she delivered to Max. He sipped at it silently while Angela stood by afraid to sit back down.

"The first sign of a double cross," Max said, "I'll have her back in storage and you in jail."

Eric smiled. Angela exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Meet us here in the morning, 10 a.m.," said Eric. "And bring your bags."

An hour later, Max was in his hotel room. A flashing red light on the telephone told him he had a message.

"Mr. Rogan, this is Sebastian Harwood," the message began. "I'd like to see you as soon as possible regarding the theft and vandalism which occurred earlier this evening. I know you suffered some severe injuries last night, but we must begin swift action to recover the lost shells. Please call me the moment you get this message. I am in the same hotel. Room 837. Time does not matter as I will probably be up all night."

The urgency of an executive was not enough to keep Max awake. He hit the bed and went to sleep.
Chapter Five

Max was not at all surprised when his phone rang at seven the following morning. What caught him off guard was the voice on the phone.

"Max, darling, it's your mother."

How in the world does she always know where to find me? he thought.

"Hi, Mom. How are you?"

"Fine, just fine for a woman whose children never bother to visit her anymore."

Here it comes. "I know, Mom. I'm sorry I missed my birthday."

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one who missed out on opening gifts and enjoying his favorite dessert."

"You made the red velvet cake?"

"I made the red velvet cake," she said.

"Look, I'm sorry I had to cancel," Max said. "But you know my job is unpredictable and sometimes--"

"I know, I know, these things just happen. And far be it for your mother to be the one to take you from your job."

"When is Mother's Day?"

"Three days from now," she informed him.

"I'll do my best, Mom."

The sad voice on the phone sighed. "That's all a mother can ask, I suppose."

"I've got to go, Mom."

"Of course. You're a busy young man. Hurry on your way then."

"Goodbye, Mom."

Max hung up the phone. He rubbed his eyes and stretched out a yawn, then made his way into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, he was surprised to walk out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and to see a young, blonde woman in his hallway.

"Forgive the intrusion." Max looked over at the desk and chair to see Sebastian Harwood. "Mr. Rogan, please say hello to my new Chief of Security, April Gertz."

"Hi," April said, offering her hand without even a blush.

Max ignored her hand. "Would your secretary mind waiting in the hallway so I might get dressed?"

April burned at Max's words, but Sebastian spoke up first and kept the peace. "I suppose we can respect that. Ms. Gertz, please allow us a few moments so Mr. Rogan can change."

April stepped out in the hall still steaming at Max's calling her a secretary.

"Okay now?" Harwood asked Max.

Max walked to Harwood, turned his chair to face the window, and opened his suitcase to get dressed.

"You never called me last night," said Sebastian.

"Sorry," said Max. "I had a little too much drugs shot into my body to call. Went right to sleep."

"After your walk?" Sebastian asked.

Max's muscles tensed. "You keeping tabs on me?"

"Should I?" Sebastian asked.

"I guess Dr. Braden's recommendation isn't enough to get you to trust me," said Max.

"Please don't take it personally," Sebastian said. "I'm merely looking out for my own investment like any good businessman."

Max checked the clock gauging the time needed to meet up with Eric and Angela. "I have a flight to catch in about an hour. Can we hurry this up?"

"Leaving town so soon?"

"I have a lead on the vandals that burned your little lab last night," Max said condescendingly. "The sooner I go, the sooner I'll have your shells returned to their proper place."

"Southwest is being shut down effective immediately," said Harwood. "You don't mind making the delivery to one of our other facilities, do you?"

"What options do I have?" Max asked.

"Miami, Seattle, Ft. Knox," said Harwood.

Max nodded. "Duly noted. Are we done, then?"

"Not yet," said Harwood, turning to face Max. "I'd like to know how you intend to recover the stolen shells."

Max sat at the edge of the bed to put on his shoes. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "And why is that? Are you saying you can't tell me because it's a 'top secret' plan, or you can't tell me because you don't actually have a plan?"

"So long as I return them, why does it matter how I recover them?"

"Because I'm writing your check!" Sebastian insisted.

Sebastian's impatience didn't move Max in the slightest. "Just make sure you have a check ready for me in two weeks. In the meantime, I don't want to see or hear from you nor anyone else at Harwood BioTech."

"Do you honestly think I'm going to let you out of my sight?" Harwood sneered.

"You'll stay off my tail," said Max. "Or I can't guarantee anything."

Max walked to the hotel door and opened it. "April," he said, "assist Mr. Harwood out of my room."

Sebastian Harwood rose from his chair and walked out the door. Max let the door close behind his boss, who turned to April.

"He's all yours," said Sebastian. "Keep a low profile, but the first sign of treason, I want him and his associates rounded up and brought to me."

"As you wish," said April.

Max called room service, preferring to eat breakfast in the privacy of his room rather than chance another encounter with a representative of Harwood BioTech in the lobby. Two eggs, a side of bacon, and a cup of coffee. Later, Max packed his bag, rode the elevator down, and checked out of the hotel.

A relatively nice day greeted Max as he stepped outside under a blue sky. A cool breeze whipped through the downtown buildings. He signaled the doorman to hail him a cab.

As soon as he stepped into the light of day, he was spotted. The woman carefully hidden in an unlit office across from the hotel zoomed in on the face, then checked with the artist's rendering she held in her hands.

"Subject positively identified," she said into a wrist phone. "He's just stepped out of the hotel."

"Confirm, we have our mark," said the voice on the other end.

"Any special requests?" she asked.

"Negative. Orders are to observe, document, and track. Get us a few good photos, then meet me back here."

"On my way."

She snapped a few pictures, then put the camera away. "You'll pay for what you did to Marco last night," she said, glaring at Max.

"Got a light?"

A thin man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth tapped Max on the shoulder. Max shrugged. "Sorry. Can't help you."

"Sir?" the doorman said opening the door of the cab for Max. Max climbed in the cab and gave the driver the address of the coffee house. As the cab pulled away from the curb, Max checked over his shoulder wondering if he could trust Harwood to let him go about his work in his way. He opened his briefcase and pulled out his cell phone. He slid the battery off...

Should have checked before I left the room, he thought to himself. He peeled the tracking device off the back of the cell phone, folded it in his fingers, and dropped it on the floor of the cab. That was far too easy. If I were them, I would have hidden one in an obvious place like the phone and another someplace less likely.

"Driver," said Max. "Pull over right here."

The cab stopped. Max paid his fare and stepped into the nearest building; another hotel. He walked through the lobby with his briefcase and suitcase to the bathroom. He checked his shoes and wallet first; both clean. He opened the briefcase. No cuts in the lining. Nothing on the palm computer. He opened his suitcase. His other shoes were clean. He pulled out the electric razor and found exactly what he was looking for.

A thin adhesive strip with a small micro-circuit hidden under the battery pack just like on the cell phone. He dropped it in the toilet and flushed it away. Max was getting perturbed by these intrusions. Four years he had done his job efficiently and ethically. Why now was he being treated as a suspect?

He continued searching but eventually was satisfied that he had found all the bugs. He gathered his belongings and left the hotel to hail another cab. He got one with relative ease and finished the journey to the coffee shop. He asked the driver to wait then got out of the cab.

The sign in the window said "Closed," but Max found the door was unlocked. He walked into the dark room. "Hello?"

Angela entered from the back. "Mr. Rogan." She smiled. "We're about ready to go."

"Can you fill me in where we're going yet?"

"Kentucky," she said.

"Hardly the best for exporting contraband, isn't it?"

"Which makes it an ideal place to do exactly that." Angela grabbed a duffel bag from behind the counter.

"We making any stops, I assume?"

"Flying direct," said Angela.

"Really?" Max raised an eyebrow. "I'd think you'd work in a few layovers. Try to throw off the trail."

"Is that so?" said Angela. "Funny, the direct flight was chosen because we expected you to assume we'd go indirect."

Max smiled. This is not an enemy to be underestimated. Busting Genesis will be a lot of fun.

"So where's your fiancé?" asked Max.

"Eric is meeting us there. He's coming on a later flight, so he could wrap up a few business matters before leaving."

"Such as?"

"You are an inquisitive one, aren't you?"

"One has to be careful when dealing with a traitor."

"Traitor is such an ugly word," said Angela. "I prefer to think of us as Romeo and Juliet fleeing Verona before our families have the chance to bring us to our doom." She could tell her romantic notions were doing nothing to ease Max's mind. "Eric is signing over the coffee shop to a new owner."

Max nodded. "Makes sense. If all goes well with this little operation, I suppose he won't have any reason to come back."

Angela smiled. "He's talking about opening a little café in Paris; one with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Like in the movies."

"How sweet," Max said. Angela noted Max's coldness wondering what made him such a cynical person.

Angela opened the door, and Max stepped outside the coffee shop. Angela followed him out locking the door behind them. Max opened the door of the cab for Angela and they climbed in together. Angela told the driver to take them to the airport.

"So," Max said. "Eric trusts that you'll be safe traveling with me."

Angela smiled again. "He said he saw dollar signs in your eyes last night. He knows you're in this for the big score."

Max nodded. "I don't have much choice, really. Harwood BioTech seems to think I was partially responsible for the losses that took place last night."

"They don't trust you?"

"Apparently not," said Max. " Harwood's son visited my room this morning. Later on, I found two bugs in my luggage."

"Bugs?"

"Tracking devices," said Max. "Don't worry, I checked everywhere and got them all."

"You're certain?"

Max looked at Angela. "I follow people for a living. I'm not about to be out-foxed by a guy in a suit."

"I hope not," said Angela. "Because once we get to the airport, I won't be the only shell you have to worry about."

Max looked out the window shaking his head. This would certainly be an adventure. He was used to shells running from him. Traveling with them would be a whole new experience. He thought about Jessica, who so desperately tried to get Max to talk to her. Other shells had been equally out-going and friendly. At least the company would be good.

The cab pulled up to the terminal. Angela paid the fare while Max got out and grabbed his and Angela's luggage. He let Angela take the lead going into the airport.

"Let me take our suitcases," she said. "I'll go check our bags."

Max gave up the bags and made his way to the newsstand. Most of the major magazines advertised pictorials from war ravaged Asia where the communist Asian Alliance continued to spread its influence across the world's largest continent. The Russians were understandably nervous having such a potent enemy stretched along half its border. But Max had no interest in world politics.

A few magazines featured articles about the opening of Dino Land East in South Carolina. One of the finance magazines boasted an article on the 100 wealthiest men in America and had a shot of Sebastian Harwood and his father on the cover. Much as he loved collecting a paycheck from Harwood BioTech, Max did not feel the need to read up on the latest happenings within his employer's vast scientific empire.

Max decided on a magazine previewing the upcoming NFL season. The upcoming season would mark the inaugural year for the team from Max's hometown, the San Antonio Bulls. He remembered that he still needed to call and check his application for season tickets.

He also remembered seeing the man looking over the book shelves some place before.

Max's blood boiled as he watched the thin man walk over to the candy stand. He was being followed and rather sloppily. He didn't know whether to be angrier that he was being followed, or that Harwood had hired such an amateur for the job.

Max put the magazine down and walked directly toward the thin man. The thin man saw him coming and walked away. Max sped up, caught the thin man by the arm, and forced him into the restroom. He shoved the man against the wall holding him by the throat.

"What do you think you're doing?" the thin man demanded.

"I was going to ask you the same question," said Max. "You followed me from the hotel?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Max hit the thin man in the gut.

"Care to revise that statement?"

"I'm a business man," the thin man pleaded.

Max reached inside the thin man's coat, pulling out a gun.

"You know you aren't supposed to have one of these in an airport."

"And you don't have one, Rogan?"

Max hit him in the stomach again and shoved him into a stall. He pulled out a pair of cuffs and handcuffed the thin man to the toilet.

"So who are you with? Too much to hope you're Humans First. Scum like that can't even afford a cheap suit like yours."

Max twisted the man's arm in such a way as to give him another reason to speak up. "Ow! I work for April. She told me to tail you."

"So much for trusting one's employees."

"If you're so trustworthy, why don't you tell me where you're going with that shell?" the thin man asked.

Rogan hit him in the face. "You tell Harwood and April I said two weeks. Give me two weeks. I'll deliver the shells, Mandie, and the rest of G2. But you have to back off."

Rogan shut the stall behind him, straightened his appearance in the bathroom, and walked back into the terminal. He returned to the newsstand and bought a Pro Football Preview and a copy of Coming Attractions movie magazine. A hand tapped his shoulder.

"There you are." It was Angela, and she was not alone. Six new faces stood bunched together; three males and three females. None were identical, but Max recognized most of their faces, one especially, as being shells.

"I'd like you to meet Julia and Kim," Angela said, pointing to a blonde female and an Asian female. "This is Andrew and Joseph," she added pointing to a young black male and a blonde male. "And this is Brodie and Megan," Angela said pointing to a young man who, as far as Max could tell, was human and young female with brunette hair, who was a dead ringer for Mandie.

"Hello," said Max.

"This is Mark Hamill," said Angela pointing to Max. Max nearly choked over the words. Mark Hamill??

"Mark," said Brodie, extending his hand. "Good to have you aboard. Angela said it was you who designed the tracking device Jessica used to help spring these guys."

"Tracking device?" Max looked at Angela.

"He's so modest," said Angela. "But yes, he designed the hair clip that Jessica wore when the infamous shell collector took her back to the storage depot." Angela winked at Max. She's enjoying this a little too much, he thought.

Kim stepped forward to give Max a hug. "Thank you," she said embracing him.

"Let's get moving," said Angela. "We don't want to miss our flight."

The group turned towards the long hallway towards their concourse. They had nearly reached security when a voice from behind halted them.

"Stop those people!!"

Everyone turned. Four men in black suits and one woman ran down the hallways towards the group. Max recognized the woman immediately: April Gertz.

"These people are wanted in connection with a break in at Harwood BioTech last night. Officers, place them under arrest."

April looked at Max. Max looked at Angela. I'm going to regret making this bargain, he thought as he grabbed a side arm from an airport security officer and aimed it at April's head.
Chapter Six

The men behind April halted. Other passengers who happened to be standing by frozen in fear. Security guards around the metal detectors instinctively reached for their guns but hesitated when they heard Max's commanding voice. "Nobody move!!"

Max looked at Angela. He could not believe what he was doing. Aiding and abetting the exodus of shells. This was not going to sit well with Harwood. But it would give him the full trust of his prey.

"What are you doing?" April said. "You're not really going to kill me, are you?"

Max grabbed April, holding her close as a hostage. "You're making a big mistake!" she said. "There are six of them. You're giving up a fortune!"

Max ignored her words turning to his new travel companions. "We're leaving. Go. Move!"

Angela took the lead, and the fugitives ran for the terminal exit. Max began moving slowly after them keeping April between himself and security. Then in one quick move, he pushed April into one of her men and took off running after the shells.

Alarms began to sound almost immediately. Max frantically tried to plan his next move. As he ran out the front door, he saw Angela had already anticipated that decision, taking charge of a hotel courtesy van. "Mark!!"

It took half a second for Max to remember his pseudonym and follow the sound of Angela's voice. He leapt in the passenger seat. Angela hit the gas before Max could even close the door, and the van sped past the terminal and out towards the highway.

"We're gonna have to ditch this van as soon as possible," said Max.

"Why?" asked Angela.

"They'll know what to look for," Max replied. "If we ditch the van before they can mobilize a pursuit, we're two steps ahead of them. Pull in there!"

Angela pulled into the parking lot of an auto rental company. Max grabbed the wheel and forced her to pull directly in front of the rental company's courtesy van.

"What do you think you're doing?" Brodie asked. Max never heard him as he leapt from the van and put a gun on the driver in the other van.

"Everyone into the other van," Angela ordered. Max pulled the driver out of the second van and climbed into the driver's seat. The others piled into the second van with Angela taking the front passenger seat. Max backed the van up, turned the wheel, and sped out of the parking lot.

"We're not getting out of here by air," said Max. "And it won't be too long before they'll be looking for this vehicle. Any suggestions?"

"There's a bus station," said Brodie. "Two miles north."

"Don't we have another group moving by bus?" asked Angela.

"We have to chance it," said Brodie. "Besides, security on the bus line is much more lax than the airport."

"So there's another group moving by bus?" Max asked.

"We split the rescued clones up to reduce suspicion," said Brodie. "If twelve girls identical to Angela showed up at the airport, it would draw some attention."

"Isn't that what you want?" asked Max.

"There are more effective ways to present our case to the public," said Brodie. "That day will come. For now, our main task is getting these people to freedom."

Max was beginning to feel confident in his decision to help Eric and Angela. Even if he didn't succeed in bringing down all of G2, he would learn a great deal about their strategies and possibly their plans for the future.

"Turn here," Angela said. Max turned heading the van towards the bus station.

The group waited nervously for half an hour while Brodie secured tickets. Max eased his own tension by watching the shells as they kept a nervous eye out for trouble. As it turned out, the group scheduled to move by bus was still at the station. Two members of the other party made their way over to Max's group. Cori was a young female identical to Megan, while Adam appeared to be a twin to Joseph, except that Adam had brown hair.

Watching the shells interact, Max couldn't help but be amused that every one of them seemed to have a distinct personality. In particular, the identical pair, Megan and Cori, seemed as different as night and day. Cori acted most nervous of all after being told of the incident at the airport. She seemed to have a million questions. "Did they follow you here? Do they know what you look like? I hear they have security cameras that take pictures. Did they get your pictures? When does the bus leave?"

Megan, meanwhile, seemed to enjoy fanning the flame of Cori's fear. "You should have seen the guys chasing after us. They had weapons the size of bazookas. I'm telling you, you better keep a sharp eye out."

Kim took on the compassionate role of trying to alleviate Cori's fear, which also helped to calm Adam's nerves. "Leave her alone, Megan," Adam said after some particularly gruesome, fictitious story details. "I have to ride with her all the way to Louisville."

Megan rolled her eyes. "We'll all do well to keep our eyes peeled on this trip, especially after your heroics back at the airport."

"His heroics were all that stood between you and a return to storage," said Angela. "That was Harwood BioTech who tried to stop us, not the police."

"And they seemed to know Mr. Hamill," Megan said accusingly.

"Of course they knew me," said Max. Angela gave him a startled look. "You mean you didn't tell them?" He shook his head. "I used to work for Harwood BioTech. Security detail. But I became so disgusted by the things that went on, I left."

Angela's exhale of relief went unnoticed by everyone except Max. He winked her way and went on. "That's how I was able to develop a tracking device that would make it past their security. I know what they look for and what they don't."

The story seemed to satisfy Megan and the others, and the general conversation shifted back to encouraging and easing Cori's anxieties. Angela stepped closer to Max. "Good cover," she whispered.

"In my business, you learn how to tell a good lie," he replied. "As well as how to tell when someone else is lying to you. Speaking of which... Mark Hamill???"

Angela smiled. "Look at the cover of your magazine."

Max opened his briefcase and pulled out the Coming Attractions magazine. The cover story just happened to be about the latest re-make green lit in Hollywood: the Star Wars trilogies. Max looked at Angela and shook his head. "You didn't think anyone would catch it?"

"No one did," said Angela.

"Makes sense," said Max. "Being in storage, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to see the classics."

Angela shrugged. "I saw it while I was in storage, as you so quaintly like to call it."

Max shook his head. "You're putting me on."

"You're the expert on lies," said Angela. "Am I lying or not?"

"Cori!" Megan said getting everyone's attention. "Don't look now, but I could almost swear that that man over there is one of the men from the airport."

Cori let a whimper slip out. Megan quickly covered her hands. Everyone else looked noting that the suspect was most certainly not one of their pursuers.

"Adam," said Kim, hoping to restore some calm, "Isn't it about time for you to board? I think you and Cori should be on your way to your gate."

"Right," said Adam, drawing Cori away. "Come on, Cori, let's go."

"Watch your back, Cori!" Megan called with a wink.

"You are so mean!" said Andrew.

Brodie rejoined the group with bus tickets. "I got us on the first bus out of here. We leave in fifteen minutes for Austin. From there we split up. Joseph, Andrew, and Megan will go with me. Kim and Julia will go with Angela and Mark."

Everyone nodded their approval and received their tickets from Brodie. He then led the group to Gate 10, and they boarded for the first leg of their journey. Brodie took Max by the shoulder as they approached the bus. "I'm counting on you to get these girls to Louisville," he said.

Max nodded then stepped up onto the bus. Most of the seats were taken, so the group scattered throughout the bus. Megan and Brodie sat behind Angela and Max. Andrew and Kim found seats together, while Julia and Joseph sat solo.

"All set?" Brodie whispered between the seats to Max and Angela.

"Let's go," said Angela giving a wink to Max.

Max leaned back in his seat intending to take a long, quiet, much needed and well-deserved nap.

"Hey!"

A thump on the back of his seat snapped Max back into consciousness.

"Hey, Mark!" It was Megan now leaning over Max's seat. "I'm bored."

Max failed to see how this problem affected him. "So?"

"I need something to do."

"So you decided to wake me up?"

"Actually," said Megan, "I was curious if you had something I could read."

Max pulled his briefcase out from under his seat and opened it keeping the contents hidden from Megan. He pulled out the only pieces of literature he possessed at the moment: "I have a movie magazine, a football preview guide, and a Bible."

"Movie mag, please," said Megan. Max handed her the magazine. Megan slid back into her seat with a "Thanks."

"Why Mr. Hamill," said Angela, "I never would have figured you for a religious man."

"I'm not one," said Max.

"And yet you carry a Bible in your case?" she said.

Max flipped through the pages of the Bible then slid it back into his briefcase. "It was, a gift."

"A gift?"

"From a travel partner," he said. "A girl named Jessica."

Angela smiled. Does she know who I'm talking about? he wondered.

Megan's giggle interrupted his train of thought. "Can you believe it? They're remaking the Star Wars movies."

"Is that so?" said Brodie.

"This time they're starting with episode one and doing them all in order," Megan added. "They say even more of it will be computer graphics this time. Like Chewbacca and Han Solo."

"A CGI Han Solo?" Brodie laughed.

"Yeah, apparently the actor who played him was pretty popular, and the director wants to see that same face in the films."

"They're not changing the story, are they?" Brodie asked.

"Just a few things," said Megan. "Obi Wan won't die this time. Darth Vader's going to look even more menacing, and--" Megan laughed. "They're cutting Jar Jar Binks."

Max shook his head. "You really know Star Wars well."

"Sure, I do," said Megan. "I can relate to the characters."

"Which ones?" asked Max.

"The clones of course," said Megan, "created to fight in intergalactic war without any regard for the fact that they are human beings with free will and the desire to follow their own heart and dreams."

"Makes sense," said Max. "But on the positive side, at least no one in real life raises clones for military purposes."

Megan looked up at Max. "You so certain about that?"

Max decided not to argue the point. He knew the truth, but telling the whole truth to this shell would mean revealing who he was and maybe blowing his cover. He shut the briefcase with the Bible inside then settled in for the second time for a nap.

Chapter Seven

"Do we know where they were going?"

"The tickets had them going to Louisville, Kentucky."

"Kentucky?" said the voice on the wrist phone. "That doesn't sound right. Where was the plane headed after Kentucky?"

"Right back here." The young woman on the receiving end stood fifty feet from the airline counter. Her partner remained a distance away as the two were still hoping to pick up the trail of Max Rogan and his companions. "They must have had another flight lined up in Kentucky."

"Or they could be switching modes of transportation," the man answered.

"Or maybe the plane was a decoy."

"That's possible, but not likely."

"Now to figure out where they are going and how." The woman paused in thought. "Check the train stations and bus stations in town. See if you see anything unusual. Last minute group reservations or something."

"I'm already way ahead of you."

"Good," she said. "Call me when you have something. Harris and I have one more stone to overturn."

Sebastian Harwood sat silently by the table in his hotel room. The drumming of his fingers the only clue to the anxiety inside. He looked around the room at April and her team, most of whom avoided eye contact with Harwood. "You're certain it was Rogan who led the escape."

"He assaulted one of my men in the bathroom," said April nodding to the thin man who puffed nervously on a cigarette. "Then when we tried to stop the shells in the terminal, he pulled a gun on me."

"Then he must have been behind last night's raid," said Harwood.

"That was my assumption," said April. "Until I heard what Rogan said in the bathroom."

Sebastian looked toward the man staring out the hotel room, a tall lanky figure who smoked compulsively. He puffed at his cigarette and blew out a steady stream of smoke. "And what did he say?" Sebastian asked.

The thin man took another puff from his cigarette before answering. "He told me to keep our distance and he'd deliver the shells in two weeks."

Harwood frowned. "If he's planning on delivering the shells, explain why he would he draw a gun on you and aid six shells in their escape?"

"There is one possibility," April offered. "What if he's infiltrated their ranks? What if Rogan's gone undercover?"

"Is that possible?" said Sebastian. "I would think the shells know who the collector is. How could he gain their trust?"

"Rogan has a perfect record," said April. "The shells never escape once he recaptures them. Drake tells me he uses his anonymity and deception to gain their trust. By the time they realize it's a trap, it's too late."

"You believe he's gone undercover?" asked Harwood.

April shrugged. "I only suggest it as a possibility."

"Are we willing to take that chance?" asked the thin man.

Harwood walked to the window staring out. "This company did not get where it is today through unnecessary risk. Maybe Rogan is undercover. But until he calls us telling us when and where to pick up our property, we consider Rogan to be one of them. Understood?"

"Perfectly," said April.

The thin man nodded his agreement.

"Good," said Harwood. "Now, tell me where my shells are."

April looked at the thin man, then back to Harwood. "We're not entirely sure. Rogan's too smart to let us get an easy trail," she replied. "They hijacked a hotel van, then switched vans in a rental car lot. The second van was reported stolen, and found three hours later four blocks from the bus station."

"What are we doing to pick up the trail?"

"Rogan and the shells were gone by the time we arrived," said April. "And if they boarded a bus, Rogan didn't use his real name. However, we have a listing of all bus routes that departed within that time frame. I've got people watching the stations."

"Anything else?" asked Harwood.

April looked at the thin man. "There's the man at the coffee shop. It could be nothing, but it's worth looking into."

"Pick him up," said Harwood.

"Sir, I hardly think that's necessary," said April "We will pick up the trail as soon as their bus makes its first stop."

"And what if we don't pick up the trail?" asked Harwood.

April gave Harwood a confident smile. "Failure is not an option, Mr. Harwood. We'll be back on the trail by the day's end."

Harwood smiled. "That's what I want to hear."

Max frowned at the hamburger on the plate before him. He had never traveled by bus but had experienced many airline meals in his time. He did not have high hopes that bus station food would be much better. He sampled one of the French fries to start. Yes, it did taste somewhat like a French fry should. Soon as this is over, as soon as that big paycheck comes in, Surf and Turf for a week.

Megan popped down in the chair across from him with a tray full of candy bars. She slid Max's magazine across the table.

"Thanks for the loan, Mark," said Megan.

"No problem," he replied. Max opened his briefcase to put the magazine away. Megan reached in a hand and grabbed the Bible out of the case. "Hey!" said Max. "Stay out of my things."

"Sorry," said Megan. She handed the Bible back to Max, who shut it in the briefcase. Megan opened her first candy bar. "I didn't think you'd mind."

"Oh yeah? Why is that?"

"You've never read it."

Max looked Megan in the eye. "How do you know that?"

"You've never even opened the book," said Megan. "Have you?"

Max wondered what made this shell so insightful. "I just picked this copy up a little while ago."

"Picked it up?" Megan asked.

"Yeah," said Max.

Megan leaned forward. "You're not a believer, are you?"

"What makes you say that?"

Megan munched on her candy bar. "Most people I know who believe in God hardly ever put down their Bibles. Their books are dog-eared, highlighted, and underlined."

Max smiled. "Well, it just so happens I did pick this one up recently. Day before we met, in fact."

"Someone gave it to you," said Megan.

"You're so certain I didn't buy this?"

"Very," said Megan.

"I didn't realize shells were psychic."

"I'm not," said Megan. "But I am an excellent judge of people."

"Is that so?" said Max. The thought occurred to him that Megan might be smart enough to sniff him out. Her instincts were keen. She would have made a crack investigator. If only she were human.

"It's in your eyes," said Megan. "Whenever anyone mentions the Bible. You don't believe in it and you probably never have."

"Does that bother you?"

Megan shrugged. "Most people who join the cause do so because they believe man was created in God's image and that everyone is entitled to life. It's unusual for someone on our side not to be a Christian."

"Yet it's unusual in society to find anyone who is Christian."

"True," said Megan.

"Then what am I doing here?"

Megan took another bite of chocolate. "You don't believe in God, but you do know the difference between right and wrong."

Max smiled hoping the interrogation might end there before Megan deduced even more of Max's inner thoughts. Fortunately, a young woman approaching the table provided the perfect out.

"Excuse me," she said to Megan. "I was just wondering...You look rather familiar."

Megan shrugged. "I don't know why that would be."

"Well," the young woman went on. "You kind of look like that girl who was on TV the night of the Super Bowl."

Megan looked at Max. Her resemblance to Mandie was identical; they were clones after all. How would she play this?

"Oh," said Megan. "You mean the clone girl?"

"Yes!" she said. "That was her. She was such an incredible speaker. Really made me think."

"Is that so?" said Megan. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not her."

"Are you sure?"

Megan gave Max a sideways glance. He could tell she was holding back a sarcastic quip. "I'm not the person you think I am," she said.

"Oh well," said the young woman. "sorry to bother you." And she went on her way.

"Good cover," said Max.

"Thank you," said Megan. "I just happened to catch the little Super Bowl spot when it aired. The Harwood BioTech folk scrambled to change the channel, but it was too late."

Max looked up to see Angela making her way to the table. "Hey, Megan, Brodie's looking for you."

"What does he want?" asked Megan.

"Your bus leaves in fifteen minutes," she said. "They're ready to board."

"That leaves me at least ten to talk with my buddy Mark."

"I kind of need to talk to Mark myself," said Angela. "Alone.

Megan with a raised eyebrow asked, "You and Mark?"

"I don't mean it like that!" said Angela.

"I hope not," said Megan. "I'd hate to have to tell Eric his girl's been cheating on him." Megan gathered her snack cakes in her arms. "I'll be in the arcade."

Angela sat down. "Nice girl," she said.

"Dangerous," said Max.

"How do you mean?" asked Angela.

"I don't know exactly," he said. "The whole trip, I felt like she was reading me; like she could see through me." Max took a bite of his pseudo-hamburger. "I like her. But I'm really glad we're splitting up after this stop."

"Max," said Angela. "Did you just say that you like her?"

Max paused trying to recall exactly why he had said so. "I guess," he began, "so many shells I've captured have behaved terribly. Yelling, swearing, fighting. Megan's...well, she's a lot like me. Observant, a little cynical." Max wasn't sure he should be assigning such human qualities to something not at all human. "Like I said, I'm glad we're splitting up. For a number of reasons."

"You're paranoid," said Angela. "You're better than this. Don't let them rattle you."

"The girl I captured the other night," said Max. "The one you all rescued. We're not going to run into her on the way, are we?"

"Why, what's the matter?" asked Angela.

"There were four or five people who saw my face the other night at least. If one of them identifies me, it's over."

"Eric worked all that out already," said Angela. "We kept you out of sight of all those people before we left. And most of the rescue team stayed behind anyway, so they won't be there."

"What about Jessica?" asked Max.

"Eric and I will protect your identity. By the time any of those folks can identify you, they'll be on their way back into storage."

"I wish I shared your optimism." Max rubbed his forehead. "So stupid. I should have thought of this before I agreed to help you."

"I'm telling you, we thought of it for you," Angela assured him. "Remember, we have a lot of hopes riding with you. I stuck out my neck trusting you."

"And until I have all the shells and G2 in custody, your neck is still on the line." Max's tone told Angela he was dead serious. "The first sign of trouble, I'm taking down everyone around me. You, Megan, I don't care who it is. I have a job to do. And I intend to do so and collect my paycheck."

"You'll get your paycheck, Mr. Rogan." Angela said. Max couldn't get a read on her whether she was shaken up or angry. As Angela sat silent, Max continued to eat his meal recalling that night in the lab when two shells identical to Angela stared back at him. He knew that at the end of this journey, there would be more.

Shells, unlike humans, were all somewhat identical with only five different variations per sex. They were made so in order to accommodate all types of humans who would require organ and tissue transplants. Blondes all had blue eyes and identical features. Brunettes all had brown eyes and identical features. Red-heads like Angela and Jessica had green eyes. Asian shells were all identical, as were the African, Hispanic, Arabic, and Indian shells.

Max visualized a room full of young women with red hair and green eyes just like the two in the lab. Just like Angela. What if someone in that crowd of beautiful faces recognized him? He hoped he would never have to find out.

"Hey, Mark!" Brodie approached Max from behind offering his hand. "Safe travels. We'll see you in Kentucky."

"Yeah," said Max. "Take care of Megan for me. Don't let her give you too much lip."

"As if anyone can control that girl," Brodie said with a laugh. He turned to Angela. "You experience any kind of trouble, call me," said Brodie.

"Will do."

Brodie nodded. "See you soon, Angela."

"Goodbye, Brodie," said Angela.

As Brodie walked out of the diner, Angela turned back to Max. "You sounded almost as if you meant that."

"Meant what?"

"About Megan."

"She's a feisty one. You don't mess with her."

"No, no, no," said Angela. "About taking care of her. Sounds to me like you like her."

"Like her?" Max said.

"Uh huh," said Angela. "Not in any deeper sense of the word, but you care what happens--"

"I have an obligation to recover my employer's property," said Max. "And I am counting on Brodie to keep her safe."

Angela nodded. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't going soft on me."

"How long 'til we leave?" Max asked.

"Another twenty minutes," said Angela. "To San Antonio. We change buses, then it's six more stops until we reach Louisville. Three days, tops."

"Three more days," said Max. "You guys usually have this sort of experience?"

"No," said Angela. "We usually run into a little trouble."

"I detect a hint of sarcasm," said Max.

"Put it this way," said Angela. "We're lucky to be on only our second mode of transportation."

Max shook his head. "Tell you what, I have a contact in San Antonio," he said. "When we get there, we'll hop off the bus and stay for the night then find an alternate route to Kentucky."

"You sure you want to do that?"

"They're after me too," said Max. "And I'm not going down before I'm ready to hand them Mandie."

"Do what you think is best," said Angela, standing. "I'm going to hit the restroom before we go."

"See you on the bus," said Max. As he drank down his cola, he realized this experience would only benefit him down the road. The G2 playbook was unfolding before him, and it was more complicated than he ever imagined. It was almost flattering how hard they had to work to evade people like him. At the same time, it made the work these people did even more perplexing. Why in the world would these people go to so much trouble for an idea?

Max dropped a tip on the table and made his way out of the diner. Kim and Julia were standing by the gate, and Julia motioned Max over.

"May I help you?" Max asked.

"Could you do us a little bitty favor?" Julia asked.

"Maybe," he said.

"See that guy over there?" asked Julia.

Max turned and looked at a young man around twenty-seven years of age in a business suit. "What about him?" Max asked.

"Do you recognize him?" Julia asked.

Immediately, Max thought back to the airport. But the man before him looked nothing like the men with April.

"Nope," Max replied.

"You're sure you don't recognize him?" asked Julia.

Max wondered what this was all about. He looked again... No he was not one of April's men. He wasn't a shell either, so far as Max could tell. "I'm absolutely certain. Why? Should I?"

"We'd like you to," said Kim.

"I don't follow," Max said.

"You know," said Julia. "You go over, say, 'Hey, how've you been? What have you been doing? I'm traveling, and oh, by the way, this is my sister and her friend.'"

Max processed the idea for a moment then caught on. "So, you want me to 'know' that gentleman, so that in knowing him, I might introduce you."

Julia and Kim nodded eagerly.

"Why in the world would you want to meet him?" Max asked.

Julia and Kim glared at Max wondering if he was really so stupid.

"You're going to be leaving the country in a week or so," said Max. "And you want to meet guys?"

The girls nodded.

"Why?"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Because he's cute!"

Max felt a knot in his stomach. He did not want to like these shells, much less accommodate their pursuit of love. Fortunately, he was saved by the intercom.

"Bus now boarding at Gate 5 for San Antonio."

Julia and Kim sank. "Oh well," said Kim. "Maybe when we get to San Antonio, we'll meet someone."

"Get on the bus," Max said with a smile. The girls walked toward the bus tickets in hand. Max waited a moment longer for Angela.

"All set?" she asked.

"Definitely," Max said with a sigh.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Max said. "The girls wanted me to help them get to know someone."

Angela frowned. "Who?"

Max pointed to the apple of Julia and Kim's collective eyes.

"He's cute," said Angela.

"Not you, too."

Angela laughed. "Let's get going," she said.

Max opened the door for Angela, and they walked to their bus. Max saw Julia and Kim looking out the window still checking out the handsome man in the station. He was beginning to understand why these do-gooders had been fooled into believing these were real humans and not...

Max shook his head. He glanced back at the young man then boarded the bus. In his distracted state, he did not notice the dark suited men who watched Max and his three companions board the bus.
Chapter Eight

Eric was a very cautious man always checking and double-checking his back making sure no one was following. It was difficult always living on edge, but that was the price he paid for his relationship with Angela. Human clones were still a myth in America, but on advice from Genesis, Angela kept a low profile. It wasn't worth the risk of someone making the connection and discovering a secret that would send thousands into hysterical panic. For that matter, it wasn't worth taking chances on a man like Max Rogan finding and returning her to the laboratory for dissection.

Eric was certain no one was following him, and on this point, he was correct. The problem this day was not with people following him, but with those waiting in the dark of his own coffee shop.

A flip of the light switch exposed the first, a young woman with straight blonde hair and glasses (an unusual attribute in an age when laser surgery could correct nearly every eye problem on record).

"What are you doing here?"

The woman pointed behind Eric. "Watch your head."

Before he could turn, Eric felt the crushing blow on the back of his skull. His knees gave, and he dropped to the ground falling flat on his face. He could feel the warmth of his blood trickling through his hair.

Footsteps indicated the one who had attacked him was moving around into view. Eric struggled to lift his head and eyes. He felt a hand grab his collar and lift him to his knees.

"Where's Angela?" he demanded. The hand on his collar did not loosen its grip.

"Angela?" the young woman said. "Oh, you mean your girlfriend, don't you? The mutant."

Eric made a feeble attempt to lunge at his captor, but the man responded with another shot to the head. Eric's vision blurred, and he felt consciousness starting to slip.

"A man came by and took your little freak on a trip. You know this man?"

Eric nodded.

"Do you know who he works for?"

Eric hesitated.

"Do you know he works for Harwood BioTech?"

"I'm not telling you anything," said Eric.

"Pity," said the woman. "Here we are trying to make the world safe for human kind to survive and thrive as it has for centuries, and you are aiding these mutants in their attempt to make us extinct."

"She's as human as you and me!" said Eric. "And she never asked to be--"

The man kicked Eric in the ribs silencing him once again.

The woman leaned over Eric. "You're going to help us willingly or by force. We want to know where the man and the mutant are headed."

"You'll have to kill me," said Eric. "I won't tell."

Eric saw the woman pull out a gun. "You said it, not me."

"Brodie!" Megan shouted from inside the gift shop. "Buy me a T-shirt."

Brodie crushed out his cigarette and walked to the tiny bus station gift shop. "What is it you want?"

Megan grabbed a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt off the rack. "I want a Cowboys T-shirt."

"No," said Brodie. "I am not buying you a Cowboys shirt."

"Oh come on!" she pleaded. "Please?"

"I can't in good conscience buy you a Cowboys shirt. I'm from Detroit. You want a football team shirt, I'll get you something with the Lions on it."

"But I don't like the Lions," Megan whined.

Brodie shrugged. "I don't like the Cowboys."

"Some best friend you are," Megan pouted.

Brodie rolled his eyes. He wandered over to the magazine rack and picked up a copy of Science World. The cover story told about the latest attempt at giving the average vacationer a chance to visit outer space. NASA and the European Space Coalition were still hard at work on a major resort on the surface of Mars, a project backed by Horseshoe Casinos. The project should have been online three years earlier had it not been for the outcry against gambling in space.

Brodie dropped the magazine back down on the rack and walked out of the gift shop. He fumbled in his pocket for another cigarette. Time for one more before boarding the bus for another leg of the journey north.

He glanced across the terminal and saw Andrew and Joseph walking out of the restroom together. They turned in the direction of the bus gate...

And then he saw them. Two men in dark suits stood and followed Andrew and Joseph. Each man took one of the shells by the arm and pushed them through the gate doors. He started after them but then caught another figure in black approaching from the right.

Brodie dropped his lighter and cigarettes and ran to the gift shop. He found Megan still looking over the T-shirts.

"Brodie, I--"

"Run."

"What?"

"We have to RUN!"

Brodie drug Megan out of the gift shop making a direct line for the front doors of the station. They were twenty feet from the door when four more men stepped into view and walked in the front doors toward them.

Megan turned around. Three more men from behind.

They were surrounded.

Max woke up as the bus pulled into San Antonio. He felt something pressing on his shoulder and discovered Angela's head resting there as she slept. He turned and looked out the window taking in the sights as he rolled into his hometown.

So much had changed since he had grown up in this town. The Alamodome had been torn down and replaced by Crockett Stadium, home of both the Spurs basketball team and the Bulls football team. And only a few blocks from the historic Alamo stood the world's most famous amusement park: Dino Land, where prehistoric creatures once more ruled the Texas prairie.

Yet, even the things which had stood since Max was a boy seemed unfamiliar. Many of Max's pre-military service memories were hazy or lost. But for Max, the loss of his childhood was a small price to pay in exchange for the loss of so many horrific images he witnessed as a member of Special Forces.

"Eric told me San Antonio was a lovely city," said Angela. She lifted her head from Max's shoulder and peered out the window. "He was right."

Max nodded.

"You have a plan in mind?" Angela asked.

"When we get to the station, have the girls grab their bags. We'll stay here for the night while I secure transportation."

"Are we going to a hotel?" asked Angela.

"I have some place even safer in mind," said Max.

"Where?"

Max smiled. "Do you trust me?"

Angela nodded.

"Then don't worry about it," said Max.

Angela leaned her head back onto Max's shoulder. "I hope this is okay."

Max shrugged. "Doesn't bother me."

The bus turned onto the exit ramp heading into downtown San Antonio. In the seat in front of Max, two arms stretched out as Kim started to wake up.

"Can we go dancing?" she asked Max with innocent wide eyes.

Max shook his head. "I don't know that that's such a good idea. We don't know how much of a lead we have."

"You're no fun," Kim frowned.

"I'm not here to entertain you," he said. "I'm here to keep you safe." It wasn't a total lie. Damaged shells were of no value to Harwood BioTech, and Max had no intention of bringing these shells back in pieces.

Julia popped her head over the seat. "Can we at least go out to eat?"

"We'll have to keep as low a profile as possible," Max told her. "I know how these people work."

"How do you know?" asked Julia.

Max glared at her. "Just trust me. I know."

"I'm sure we'll be able to do something while we're here," added Angela.

"If we could, I'd love to see the River Walk," said Kim.

"We'll do what we can," said Angela. "But I'm going to let Mark make the decisions as to what's safe."

"Mark," Julia said, giving her best sad puppy dog eye look, "Can we please go out?"

Max rolled his eyes and looked out the window. They were pulling into the station now, and Max shot straight up in his seat. Angela sensed something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Trouble," he said.

Julia and Kim's eyes widened. "What kind of trouble."

Max looked up at the girls. "If you ever want to go out or go dancing anywhere ever again, you'll do exactly as I say."

Moments later, the bus came to a halt. Four black suited men, including Max's old friend the chain smoker, stepped toward the bus doors, ready to take charge of Max and the shells. The door to the bus opened and the bus driver emerged pushing the men back.

"Get out of the way!!" he shouted. "We have a sick passenger!"

The smoking man pushed the bus driver back. "We're here on a matter of National Security to take charge of four suspects wanted--"

Security guards emerged from the bus station pushing the smoker and his men back. "Out of the way!" one man shouted. "We have a stretcher coming through."

Paramedics with a gurney emerged from the building to the bus doors while security guards pushed the crowd back including the smoker and his men. They saw a young woman moaning in pain helped from the bus toward the gurney. He grabbed the bus driver's arm. "Sir, we need access to the bus."

"Yeah, yeah," said the driver.

"Is there a back door to this thing?"

The bus driver groaned. He walked to the rear of the bus followed by the dark suited men and popped open the rear emergency door. Alarms sounded. The smoker boarded the bus.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry for this inconvenience. We are federal marshals here to take four suspects into custody. We promise to make this as quick as possible in order to allow you to get under way."

The smoker's men made their way through the bus. They searched from rear to front twice, then reported to their leader.

"They aren't here, sir."

The smoker scowled then walked the aisle way himself. They stepped off the bus at the front. The security guards were gone. The gurney was gone. Their prey was also gone. The smoker walked back to the bus driver grabbing him by the shirt.

"Where did they take that sick woman?"

Ten blocks away, an ambulance came to a halt. The rear door opened. One man and three healthy women stepped out of the ambulance moving quickly down the street as the ambulance sped away.

"That was so cool," said Kim.

"Cool? We lost our luggage!" moaned Julia. The four had brought along their carry-on's but had to leave their suitcases and duffel bags behind stowed beneath the bus.

"We have more important problems than luggage," said Angela. "Mark, where do we go?"

Max surveyed their surroundings. He pointed across the street. "We're going in there."

"What are we doing going to a drug store?" asked Julia.

"I need to pick up a card."

Max led the girls to the street corner where they waited for the signal to cross the street. The traffic signals changed. As the light came on and they stepped off the curb, Julia spoke up again.

"Can I borrow a few bucks?"

"Whatever for?" asked Angela.

"There's something I've always wanted to try," Julia explained.

Hesitant, Angela distributed a small amount of cash to Julia and Kim, who promptly vanished into the store. Angela followed Max. "Exactly why are we here?"

"I told you," said Max. "I need to buy a card."

Angela shrugged as Max began to survey the card rack. "That was some fancy maneuver you pulled back at the station," she said.

"Thank you."

"Where did it come from, might I ask?"

"Let's just say, I've seen that same trick before."

Angela smiled. "And you fell for it?"

"I didn't say that," said Max.

"Then you caught them?"

Max nodded.

"How did you know we'd get away with it?"

"Because I wasn't the one following us," Max said with a grin.

A look of concern crossed Angela's face. "Brodie and Megan!"

Max felt a twinge in his gut. "Give Brodie a call. If they knew where we got off, there's a good chance they were followed as well."

Angela pulled up Brodie's number on her wrist phone and hit the auto-dial button. Max watched and waited. Thirty seconds later, Angela clicked the phone off.

She dialed again. No answer.

She dialed a third time.

"No answer," said Max.

Angela sighed. "Do you think they're okay?'

Max shrugged. "Try him again later. I wouldn't give up on him just yet."

Angela nodded then looked around, her head turning to more immediate matters. "Any idea what the girls were after?"

Kim and Julia's eyes and mouths widened in wonder. The rows and rows of color dazzled their eyes beholding new and wondrous sites for the first time in real life.

"This is it, Kim," said Julia. "What we've always dreamed of."

"There's so much," said Kim. "Where do we even begin?"

Julia spied a clerk stocking a shelf nearby. "Excuse me, sir?" Julia asked. "Can we ask your advice?"

The young man stood obviously enchanted by the perfect beauties who had spoken to him. "Can I help you?" he stammered out.

"We're new to this," said Julia. "And we need your input."

"Okay," said the clerk. "About what?"

"What do we need?" Julia asked.

The clerk followed the sweep of Julia's hand as she gestured to the amazing array of lipsticks, rouges, foundations, eye shadows, nail polishes, and other beauty products. As much as the clerk wanted to impress the girls, he was out of his league. "I have no idea."

"But you work here, right?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, but..." the clerk scratched his head."Shouldn't you ladies know all about makeup?"

Julia shook her head no. "Nope, never used it. But we've heard a lot about it."

The clerk nodded. "Wait here. Let me get Bernadette."

Max and Angela caught up with the girls the same time the clerk returned with Bernadette. Bernadette turned out to be charming woman in her fifties, who was flabbergasted that two such beauties had never worn makeup. "Well, with your natural looks, I suppose you've gotten along fine without it."

"Can you help us?" Julia asked.

"Of course, my dear," said Bernadette. "Let's have some fun."

"We don't have time for fun," said Max. "We need to be going."

"No, Mark!" said Kim. "We have to do this! We need makeup."

"We need oxygen," said Max. "We need food, and we need to go. There's no time."

"Nonsense, young man," Bernadette said blowing Max off. "There is always time for beauty."

Max rolled his eyes turning to Angela for help. She leaned into his ear. "These girls have been sheltered all their lives. Let them have a little fun."

"We're not here to have fun," said Max.

"At least let them get something," said Angela. "They'll stick out like a sore thumb; two girls with their looks not wearing makeup."

"They've never had makeup before?" Max asked incredulously.

"Nope," said Angela. "Until just recently, their only knowledge of the outside world was what they saw on TV. Which is where they learned about--"

"Makeup." Max shook his head having lost the battle and returned to the card aisle. It took nearly thirty minutes for Bernadette to help Kim and Julia select the proper eye, lip, and blush colors. Max used the time to not only select and purchase a card but write a quick personal note and sign the card. They hailed a cab and were off to Max's secret hide away.

Twenty minutes into the ride, Julia and Kim pressed their faces against the windows in astonishment. A sense of wonderment and joy radiated from their eyes.

"It's incredible," said Julia.

"It's just like I always imagined it would be," Kim said. "Only better, somehow."

Max gave a puzzled look to Angela, who signaled ignorance at the source of the girls' wonderment.

"Okay, I give up," he said. "What's so incredible and better than you ever dreamed?"

"That!" said Julia pointing out the window.

"All of this," Kim added.

"I don't get it," said Max. "We're in a subdivision. There's nothing but houses and well-manicured lawns."

"I know!!" said Julia bursting with delight. "It's just like on TV.'

"Only better!" Kim added.

"Way better!" agreed Julia.

"You've never seen..." Max stopped, realizing he was stating the obvious. Of course they'd never seen a subdivision.

"Only on TV," said Kim, anticipating what Max had started to ask. "Leave It To Beaver. The Brady Bunch."

Max laughed. "What is with you all? You come out of storage into the great big beautiful world, and all you do is watch TV?"

"Goodness, no," said Kim. "We watched TV while we were in storage. I haven't seen a television program since we busted out."

"Me either," said Julia.

"You watched television?" Max asked. "Inside the storage complex?"

"All the time," said Julia. "Well, when we weren't working in the greenhouse."

Max frowned at this information. It was always clear that shells had a keen sense of imagination, and up until this particular adventure, he had attributed stories of shells living a sentient existence inside the storage facilities to that imagination. But odd as the facts were, Max could not reconcile how the girls could have known such things as Beaver and the Brady's unless...

He made a mental note to talk to Angela about these things then promptly forgot the matter.

The cab turned onto a quaint little street called Meadow Lane (a name which made Julia and Kim squeal with delight). Half the houses had white picket fences, including the white, two-story home that was the cab's destination point. The girls and Max filed out of the cab, and Angela paid the fare.

"Wait here," said Max. He left the girls at the curb, and walked to the door.

He knocked.

He waited.

There was a sound of three locks being unlatched.

The door opened, and a woman of about fifty-five with old but tender eyes stood in the doorway.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Mrs. Rogan," said Max. "Happy Mother's Day."

The older woman wrapped her arms around Max's neck and exclaimed, "My baby boy!"
Chapter Nine

Sebastian Harwood was in the office with his legal team when the call came from April. "We found the man who recruited Rogan for G2, but I don't think he's going to be of any use to us."

"Why?" asked Harwood.

"He's in a hospital right now, in a coma," April said. "I've taken the liberty of negotiating his transfer to one of our facilities in case he's able to recover and give us any information. But frankly, there's not much hope."

Harwood sighed. "Any idea what happened?"

"Police report said a couple of thugs attacked and shot him in his coffeehouse. They're investigating it as an attempted robbery, but I managed to get a look at the crime scene, and it doesn't look like robbery."

"Rogan?" asked Harwood.

"Rogan's not a killer," said April. "This was a hit, and my guess is it was someone who hates what G2 does even more than we do."

"Humans First?"

"It's a good bet," said April. "Someone wrote 'No More Mutants' on the wall near the body."

"Interesting," said Harwood. "I'll be interested to see how Rogan handles it."

"I hope he knows they're coming," said April. "No matter what side he's on, we need those shells alive."

"Keep your eyes peeled," said Harwood, and hung up. Humans First. In many ways, it was beneficial having a rogue anti-cloning organization like them on the streets. Generally speaking, political organizations were stereotyped based on the most ill-behaved group, and so long as Humans First kept up their path of violence, G2 would also be classed as a terrorist organization in the eyes of the world. Perhaps they might even do Harwood two favors by eliminating Rogan and G2. Fine by him, so long as April and her team were there to recover as much of his property as possible.

It took Max three minutes to catch his mother up on his situation and almost thirty to convince her to go along with his scheme. He was undercover, he informed her, and needed her to assist him in housing the girls. "These are members of an anti-cloning association," he told her.

"Terrorists, you mean," she inquired.

"In a sense...yes."

"And you want me to house them in my home?" his mother asked.

"You wanted me to visit for Mother's Day."

"Yes, but you didn't have to bring your work with you!"

"You tell me all the time that I hide my work as an excuse for not coming."

"What if I promise I'll never do that again?"

"It's only for a night," he said. "I'll pay for all of our meals while we're here. But I need this favor."

"It just seems so risky," she worried. "I know that you take risks as a daily part of the job, but honey--"

"Mom, you have to trust me. They think I'm with them. They won't do anything to you because of me. You are absolutely in no danger."

"And what about the men chasing you?" she asked. "What if they come here? You really want your dear old mother to go to jail as an accessory to--"

"They won't find us here," he insisted. "I do this shadow games thing for a living, Mom. Trust me."

The old woman sighed. She looked out the window. Angela sat on the curb watching as Julia and Kim ran and skipped up the sidewalk.

"Look at that," Max said. "They act more like a bunch of junior high girls on a slumber party than terrorists. I'm telling you they're harmless."

She turned to her son. "What do I have to do?"

"Just provide us beds for the night," he said. "Oh, and you have to call me Mark."

"Mark?" she asked.

"Mark Hamill."

Max's mom raised an eyebrow. "The actor?"

"It's a long story," he said.

"Does that make me Natalie Portman?" she chuckled.

"No, you're Ms. Rogan," he said. "You got a divorce."

"Oh," she said letting her disappointment show. "So that's how you want your little terrorist pals to see your old mother? A woman who couldn't keep her marriage together."

"It's not that," said Max.

"Then it must be that dear old mom is too batty to play along and be Mrs. Hamill, is it?"

Max groaned. "Look, we'll just get a hotel--"

"Nonsense, Mark," she said. "Go get the girls. Dinner will be ready at seven."

If Julia and Kim were impressed by the appearance of Mrs. Rogan's neighborhood, they were completely blown away by dinner. Max's mom pulled out all the stops. Breaded oven fried chicken, mashed potatoes made from real potatoes, green beans straight from the back yard garden, homemade biscuits, and for dessert, red velvet cake. Max was quite taken aback by the silence as the girls packed down dinner. Then the praise began.

"Mrs. Hamill," said Kim, "that was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten."

"Why thank you," Mrs. Rogan answered.

"It was delicious," said Julia. "Every bit of it."

"Oh yeah," Kim added. "This was...Wow!"

"It was very good," Angela said.

"Why thank you, Angela." Max's mom folded her arms and looked expectantly at her son. "But first, we're going to enjoy a little red velvet cake."

"Good dinner, Mom," he said.

"So Mark, this is where you grew up?" Julia asked.

"Well, not this house," said Max. "But Mom's been here what, five years?"

"Sure have," she added. "Oh, girls, I have a wonderful idea. If you help me do the dishes, I'll show you pictures of Marky when he was a baby."

Julia and Kim were beside themselves with excitement. Max glared at his mom. She's punishing me.

"Then it's a deal," said Mrs. Rogan shooting a "take that" glance at her son. She stood and started stacking plates. "Grab some dishes and let's get started," she said heading to the kitchen.

Mrs. Rogan stood and walked into the kitchen. Julia and Kim followed her lead. Max heard Julia lean over to Kim and whisper.

"How do you do dishes?"

Kim shrugged.

Max laughed to himself as the girls walked into the kitchen. Angela wiped her mouth with her napkin and set it on the table.

"I'm going to try Brodie again," she said.

She stood and walked down the hall to the steps, climbing them and walking into her assigned room. Max followed behind preferring not to be present when the baby photos were put on display.

Angela dialed. She waited. And waited. At least two minutes passed by before she gave up on getting an answer. She dropped the phone on the bed then sat down.

"Something's happened to them," she said.

Max made no reply uncertain of what to say.

"Not that it matters," Angela continued. She looked up at Max. "They were going to be captured eventually, right?"

Max didn't say a word. He walked to the window and gazed out at the back yard.

"Don't you feel anything right now?" Angela asked.

"Like what?" Max said.

"Like concern for Megan, for Brodie," she said.

"Why?"

Angela looked down. "No, I suppose not. They were nothing more than a paycheck to you."

Max didn't look back but kept staring out the window. "You're the one who made this deal. You and Eric. You betrayed Megan. I'm only doing my job."

"What's going to happen to them?" Angela asked.

"Brodie will go to jail," Max said. "Unless...well, it depends on what type of thugs Harwood sent after us."

"And Megan and the boys?"

"They'll be taken back to one of the Harwood BioTech facilities," said Max. "Ft. Knox, Miami, or Seattle."

"And then?" Angela asked.

"They'll be disassembled immediately," said Max.

A moment of silence followed this revelation. After letting the news sink in, Angela spoke up.

"Any regrets?"

Max turned at last to face Angela. "Only that I won't get credit for their return. I get paid per shell."

"I thought you liked Megan," Angela said.

"What is this talk?" Max was becoming agitated. "We made a deal. I let you go in exchange for the lost shells and the people who stole them. That was your purpose, right? Your freedom in exchange for them? Or were you hoping that I would see the error in my way and join your cause?"

"No, Max," Angela said, standing. "It's not like that. I want to be with Eric. But I can't help it if I feel badly about it."

"That's the curse of being a traitor," said Max coldly.

"But you're extinguishing their lives," said Angela. "You have to realize that."

"I am saving lives," said Max angrily. "Before you shells existed, people died from organ failure, leukemia, cancer, and a thousand other medical problems. By returning them to their proper place, I am saving lives. I do not kill."

Angela sensed Max was upset but not at her. She sat back down on the bed and waited for him to speak again.

"I am not a killer. Not anymore." Max's mind drifted back to his days in uniform. "In my younger days, I performed over a hundred missions as part of an elite strike team. We did it all. Hostage rescue, anti-terrorist missions, even assassinations. There were six of us." He paused. "At any given time there were six of us. More than fifty men were killed going out on different missions."

"I'm sorry," said Angela.

Max rolled his eyes. "You're sorry? You're not the one who went into combat. You're not the one who squeezed the trigger killing men, women, and children. I was a true soldier and followed orders to the letter, even when I disagreed. If orders said to kill a drug dealer and his entire family, I did it. Trouble was I had a conscience. In the heat of the action, I killed with cold-blooded efficiency. After the fact, I had flashbacks. Mothers holding their children, even babies, as I filled them with machine gun fire. Putting a bullet in the head of a four year old already blown open by a grenade."

Now Angela had nothing to say. She stood and put a gentle hand on Max's shoulder. When her gesture was not rebuffed, she placed her other hand on Max's back.

"I am not a killer," he repeated. "When I came out of the services, I got a call from Harwood BioTech. They were looking for someone with the skills for tracking and capturing the runaway shells. I saw it as my chance to redeem my past. To be a part of the giving of life for a change."

Angela leaned her chin on Max's shoulder, listening intently.

"My only concern is the preservation of life," Max went on. "That is why I do what I do. These shells are not--"

Max turned and looked into Angela's eyes. She had tears in them both. Max forgot his train of thought for a moment. Then he remembered what he had tried to say, and he realized why he hadn't been able to finish: for the first time, he doubted it to be true. He wondered if something non-human could feel emotion and cry in empathy of his pain.

"--human," he finally said. It was mechanical. Automatic. He had no conviction to his words at all. But he had to say it. Max sought to preserve life, not take it. And he could not bring himself to believe he was taking lives when returning shells to their proper place.

Angela reached for Max to embrace him. Max caught her hands. They held still for a moment, then Max slowly lowered Angela's hands.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk," he said. "You need anything?"

"I'm okay," said Angela.

Max nodded and walked to the door. "Night," he said.

"Good night," Angela said. "Mark."

Max walked out into the hall and shut the door behind him. As he walked down the steps, he could hear Julia and Kim giggling in the den no doubt being shown one of hundreds of embarrassing photos of Max as a child. He opened the front door as quietly as possible and stepped out into the cool night breeze.

Max didn't keep track of how long or how far he walked. A hundred thoughts and images floated through his mind. The children he had slaughtered in the past. Jessica in the car the other night. Eric and Angela in the coffee shop. Megan giving him a full interrogation about his religious beliefs.

Megan lying still and lifeless on an operating table as a masked doctor removed her heart.

Sure, that was what this was all about. Megan's organs were not her own but the property of Harwood BioTech. It was Harwood BioTech who created her. They created her for the purposes of preserving life and making a profit. Her heart would go to save a life, as would her kidneys, her liver, her skin, her bone marrow.

But what of her soul? Hard as he tried, he was finding it harder and harder to believe she didn't have one.

And what of Julia and Kim? Both girls were filled with spirit and vitality. They seemed so alive; more so than many humans Max had known. In some ways, they were more alive than Max, he now realized, awed and amazed by even the simplest things that Max took for granted. Rightly they should, he thought. They won't have too long to enjoy the outside world.

Max intentionally shifted his thoughts elsewhere. He was not going to be swayed from his task. He desperately tried to remember his childhood; the woman he knew as his mother. His father long since dead. As usual, his thoughts drew a blank. If only the haunting images of dead children and mothers would fade away as quickly as memories of T-ball and trips to the zoo had.

A half-moon was directly overhead by the time Max returned home. He walked in the front door and heard again the sound of giggles. Julia and Kim sat on the couch laughing hysterically at re-runs of a show long before theirs or Max's time. Laugh-In. "Having fun?" he asked.

"Sock it to me," said Kim, who immediately erupted in a burst of laughter with Julia. Max decided not to ask any questions and turned to leave.

"Hey, Mark?" shouted Julia.

He turned around to see her pick up Max's baby picture, the one his mom kept over the TV. "This is the most adorable baby picture I have ever seen!"

Max smiled. "I'm glad you approve."

The girls giggled as Max turned to leave. He walked upstairs and rapped on his mom's door. His mom answered holding her cordless phone.

"I'm on the phone with your Aunt Ariel," said Max's mom. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to say good night," he said.

"Night, sweetie." She started to shut the door, then opened it. "You wanna say hi to your aunt?"

"No, that's okay." Max would have rather had all his teeth pulled without the benefit of Novocain than speak to his Aunt Ariel, a woman not known for her sanity or social skills.

Max's mom smiled. "Night, sweetie."

"Happy Mother's Day," Max said as his mom closed her door. Max walked to Angela's room. The door was still shut. Max grabbed the lock and twisted...it was unlocked. He cracked the door open. The lights were off. He slid the door open further. Angela lay in bed fast asleep. Max found himself watching her sleep staying still for several minutes to watch. A yawn reminded him he needed to get some rest as well. He closed the door as gingerly as he had opened it, then walked to his bedroom.

Max stripped down to boxers and a T-shirt preparing to sleep. He walked to the window, which overlooked the street, and gazed out at the stars. Max wondered if Megan were still alive. Could they have disassembled her already? Or...what if they didn't catch her? Brodie seemed to be rather industrious, and Megan would not be an easy capture. In a way, he was glad that he was not the one trying to track Megan. He'd had plenty of shells embarrass him by getting away. Megan would have relished such a task.

Deep down, he sensed that he hadn't seen the last of Megan. Most likely he'd see her face again on other shells made from the same DNA. And, of course, on Mandie.

Another yawn brought Max back to the task at hand. He drew the shades on the night shutting out, not only a starry night, but the watchful eyes of a young woman sitting in a black van parked across the street and three houses down.

He was asleep almost as soon as he hit the bed.
Chapter Ten

The rumbling sound of a helicopter grew louder and louder outside, and a brilliant light shone through the bedroom window on Max's face. At first, he reacted by closing his eyes tightly and rolling over shading his eyes. Then the realization that such lights should not be piercing through his mom's guest bedroom window clicked.

They had been found.

He leapt out of bed and kicked open Angela's bedroom door.

"Angela!!"

Angela was not there.

Max stepped back into the hall. A man in SWAT gear stood in Max's bedroom's doorway holding a submachine gun on him. Max kicked the gun out of the man's hands and knocked the man back into the room. He flew down the steps.

"Julia!!" "Kim!!"

He ran into the den where he found his mother, Julia, Kim, and Megan on their knees hands behind their heads. Seven more men in SWAT gear stood behind them holding automatic rifles. Max turned and saw Angela standing behind him.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Max sat up in his bed sweat beading on his forehead. It had only been a dream. There were no helicopters, no lights, no SWAT teams.

But Max was not alone in the room.

In fact, he was not alone in the bed.

He turned the night stand lamp on, and discovered the two intruders.

One on the floor.

One at the end of the bed.

"Turn the light off," moaned a sleepy Kim from the floor.

"What are you two doing in here?"

"We couldn't sleep in our room," said Julia.

"So you came in my room?" said Max. "Now I can't sleep."

"Sorry," said Julia. "It just felt safer in here with you."

"Turn the light off," said Kim again.

Max turned the light off and laid back in his bed.

"Is it okay if we stay?" Julia asked.

"Sure," said Max. What else could he do? Julia curled up right next to Max's feet. He closed his eyes and resumed his attempt at sleep.

"Turn the light--"

"The light is off, Kim," said Max.

"Good night," said Kim.

"Night," said Max.

Max woke up alone aroused by the smell of coffee, bacon, and eggs cooking downstairs. No doubt the smell had been what drew the girls away. He rolled out of bed and dressed, then descended the stairs to join them.

Not only did Max find a feast of eggs and bacon, but his mom was busily flipping pancakes. There were no sounds of human voices in the kitchen as per usual when the girls were eating. Only that of the pancakes sizzling as the batter hit the hot griddle.

"Morning, Mark," said Angela passing by him on the way to her seat. She sat down and dove into her plate of food already half devoured. Max's mom turned around.

"Good morning, sunshine!" She grabbed a plate stacked with chocolate chip pancakes. "Made these just for you."

Max took the pancakes and sat down next to Kim. "How's breakfast?"

Kim nodded her approval too busy eating to voice any critique. Max smiled, grabbed the butter, and prepped his pancakes in the way he liked them. His mom brought him a cup of coffee.

Breakfast was a thoroughly enjoyable experience beginning with the melt-in-your-mouth taste of the pancakes and ending with innocent chatter about the strange dreams everyone had had during the night.

"It was a moonlit night," Angela began. "And I was in Paris with Eric. We had a candle lit dinner at a little café on the street just near the Eiffel Tower. And then, we went for a stroll by the river, down where that bridge is. The one in all the movies. Eric started to sing to me, and we were dancing..."

"Awww," the girls responded in their hopeless romantic way.

"My dream was almost like that," Kim began. "Remember the guy at the bus station?"

"The one Mark wouldn't introduce us to?" Julia asked.

"That's him. We were on one of those little boats in Venice all snuggled up."

"That's so sweet," said Angela.

"How about you, Julia?" asked Kim.

"Mine was a nightmare," Julia began, "I'm getting ready to go out for a romantic evening with this gorgeous guy. I leave my apartment and go down to the restaurant to meet him, and I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror—and I have no makeup on!!"

"That's a nightmare?" Max just rolled his eyes.

"So how about you, Mark?" asked Julia. "Any spooky dreams?"

Max shook his head no not feeling inclined to share his dream. The girls went on into further details of their dreaming. He was surprised to find he was the only one to have a dream about being captured, but he was more surprised at the conversation itself. Dreams. These shells actually dream.

One thing more surprised Max: the amount of coffee consumed at the table. By his count, the girls drank down three pots of coffee. Staying ahead of their pursuers would not be any easier if the girls ended up calling for frequent restroom stops.

The whole affair served to relax everyone almost to the point they all forgot they were running for their lives. Julia and Kim once again assisted Mrs. Rogan with the dishes. Max gave the word to be ready to leave in an hour and asked his mother to call for a cab. Then he headed to the shower.

Everyone was ready in an hour, save Julia, who was still working on her hair and makeup, which was not really a problem because the cab had not arrived. "You told them nine o'clock?"

"Yes, I did," Max's mom answered. "You know how it goes, though. Cab services are so unreliable."

Max stepped away from the window, deciding to make another sortie to the bathroom to hurry Julia along. Kim took his place by the window as he climbed the stairs.

"Julia?"

"I'm coming!" she answered. "Just two more minutes."

"Two minutes," Max insisted. "No more."

"Mark!" Kim shouted. "It's here."

Max slid down the steps and peered out the window. He saw, not a cab, but, a black limousine. He looked back at his mom.

"You called a limo service?"

"Mark," said Kim, in a decidedly darker tone. "I don't think this is the ride we're waiting for."

Max looked back out the window. A tall man stepped from the limo and lit up a cigarette. Two more men filed out followed by a familiar woman. April.

"What do we do?" Kim asked.

"Out the back door," said Max. "Now."

Angela and Kim grabbed their bags and ran to the back door throwing thank yous at Max's mom as they went. Julia slowly staggered down the steps packing her makeup in her carrying case. Max grabbed her arm. "Hey, what's happening?"

"We have to go," said Max. He grabbed his mother by the wrist. "Come with us."

"Why?"

"No time to explain! Just move."

"I can't go with you," she said. "This is my home."

"These people will take you to prison," he said.

"Honey, I am not leaving my home. I'm too old to go running from the law."

"Mark," Angela called from the back door. "We have to go!"

Max looked at his mother. "Tell them I was not here. You haven't seen me." He kissed her on the cheek, grabbed his case and ran for the back door.

The fugitives crossed the yard and climbed over the fence. Julia caught the end of her pant leg on the fence and fell awkwardly twisting her ankle. She let out a small groan signaling her pain to the others. Max grabbed her into his arms and carried her to where the others now waited across the street. Max led them into the backyard of a vacant house up for sale. They all bent over catching their breath as Max checked Julia's ankle.

"How does it feel?" he asked her feeling the bones and tendons in her ankle. It was already swelling and turning dark purple.

"It hurts," Julia said fighting back a few tears.

"What are we going to do?" asked Kim.

"We have to keep moving," said Max.

"She can't run on this ankle," said Angela.

"We don't have a choice. We're sitting ducks in this neighborhood. We'll grab a car or something as soon as we can."

The yard had no fence separating it from the house behind, so they group began to run with Kim carrying their things while Angela and Max carried Julia, her arms draped over their shoulders. They ran through the yard behind them passing the house and finally coming to a halt on the sidewalk face to face with the man of the house they had just passed. Max nodded at the home owner. "Morning."

"Nice day for a jog?" the man asked.

"Gorgeous," said Max. They crossed the street and turned up the sidewalk across from them heading out of the neighborhood. They went about thirty yards when they saw a black van drove by on the cross street.

The van slammed on its brakes.

It backed up.

It turned towards them.

The runners turned and tried running the other way.

The van pulled into a driveway ten feet ahead, cutting them off.

The side door slid open.

A young woman, identical to Angela, leaned out.

"Get in! Quick!"

They climbed into the van, pulled back, and sped off. As the van made its way out of the neighborhood, Max made a close examination of Julia's ankle. "It doesn't look too bad," he told her. "But I think you need to have a doctor look at it."

"We can take care of that for you," said the van driver.

"And just who might you be?"

"Friends," said the Angela look alike. "I'm Dori. This is Jeremy."

The van driver looked in the rear view window and waved.

"You're G2?" asked Max.

"Part of it," said Dori.

"How did you know where to find us?" Max asked.

"We picked up your trail as soon as you got into town," said Dori. "When we found out about the trouble with Brodie's group, we set in motion a plan to help you all get to your destinations."

Angela's heart sank. "What happened to them? Were they captured?"

"We don't have enough information to confirm that yet," said Dori.

Everyone on the van was silent. The usually joyful faces of Kim and Julia hung silent hoping against hope that their comrades might miraculously have gotten away.

Dori climbed to the back taking Max's place at Julia's side. She pulled a first aid kit from under the seat and began to wrap the sore ankle. Julia winced in pain. "Does it have to be that tight?"

"If we have more running to do, it does," said Max.

"Not to worry," Jeremy chimed in. "We've got everything arranged to get you out of town as quickly as possible."

"Does your little plan account for the limousine following us?"

All heads turned to the back windows. Yes, the limousine was hot on their tail. Jeremy's confident air dissolved, and he floored the gas pedal.

"You're not going to outrun them in this van," said Max climbing into the front. "You're going to have to be smarter than they are."

"I'm working on it!" Jeremy said, his voice panicked. "We'll just have to find some place we can lose them and hide."

Max nodded his agreement all the while trying to think of a way to switch places with the nervous driver. Jeremy was not suited for this sort of adventure. Probably a young, idealistic college student who signed up with G2 for the purposes of making the world a better place. Idealistic students rarely made for good revolutionaries.

Jeremy whipped the van to the right in a squeal of spinning tires and turned down a new street. The limo kept pace easily in spite of its length. Another quick turn down another street. The passengers in the back were thrown from one side to the other as Jeremy attempted one quick turn after another. He nearly tipped the van over turning a sharp corner into a narrow alley, and Julia yelped as her ankle hit the door.

"Sorry," he said. "Hang on, I think we've just about lost them.

Max checked the mirror and saw that the limousine had wedged itself in between the walls of the alley. Smart move, Max thought. Jeremy had managed to leave their pursuers behind. Now if only we can keep him from making a stupid mistake.

The van came out of the alley and made a right turn followed by another sharp left. They were near downtown San Antonio with no enemies in sight. Then Jeremy made the stupid blunder Max feared. As the car sped alongside a tall metal fence, Jeremy made one more quick turn and crashed through a metal gate flanked on both sides by large signs reading "Forbidden, No Entry!" This blunder was quickly followed by another as Jeremy crashed through a second fence and drove off road.

The van sped off the road into the tall weeds and grass just beyond the fence. Jeremy beamed with excitement enjoying the chase while Max looked at him incredulously. "Stop the van!!"

Jeremy hit the brakes coming to a stop beside several large trees. He turned to Max with a smile. "We lost 'em!"

"Do you realize what you've done?" Max asked.

Jeremy looked puzzled by the hostility. "I got us to safety, didn't I?"

At that moment, Jeremy and the others noticed something about the nearest tree. It had suddenly lifted off the ground, separating from its roots and moved twenty feet away before rooting in the ground again. A second glance revealed that this was not an uncommon phenomenon. All the trees seemed to be moving from one spot to another. An even closer examination revealed they were not trees at all, but legs.

"Congratulations," said Max. "You just broke into Dino Land."
Chapter Eleven

The breach through the south gate triggered alarms throughout the park, and as head of security for all Harwood BioTech, April received a call on her mobile within moments. A van had crashed into the park directly into the plains area on the south end of the park. Repairs to the fence had already begun while animal control and security teams were on the scene ready to prevent any breakouts by the creatures. But April was more concerned with another genetically-designed species within the park.

"The people in the van," she said. "I want them captured immediately. But whatever you do, do not, I repeat, do not harm them physically. They must be taken alive and in good condition."

She clicked off the phone. The thin man was already making calls on his phone arranging new transportation to get them into the park. April hit the speed dial which rang Sebastian Harwood's private line.

"Harwood."

"Mr. Harwood," she said. "We have them."

Julia and Kim were glued to the windows gawking in wide-eyed wonder at sights they had only seen on television. Jeremy, Dori, and Angela also found themselves captivated. These majestic creatures, long vanished from the face of the earth, were now close enough they could be touched, smelled, and heard.

It was only due to Max's awareness of the dangers in the moment that anyone survived what happened next. "Everyone out of the van! Move!"

"Why?" chimed Dori.

"Don't ask questions! I said move!!"

They climbed from the van and quickly saw why. A brachiosaur, one of the huge creatures with legs like tree trunks, walked towards them on a direct line. He was going to squash the van.

Max snatched Julia into his arms and carried her as the group ran for the real trees nearby. They turned just in time to see the huge creature drop a heavy foot right through the van. The beast roared in fury as his foot became jammed in the vehicle. He lifted his mighty leg with the van dangling beneath and shook the wreckage off continuing on his way.

Jeremy gasped a sigh of relief. "That was close."

Max glared angrily at the young man. "Whatever vehicle we find next, I'm driving."

"How are we going to get out of here?" Angela asked.

Max had no clue. "By now, security knows we're here. And I wouldn't be surprised if our pals in the alley get a call. Maybe if—"

"Mark!"

Kim's voice betrayed true horror. Everyone turned to see just what had shaken her up so bad. Three feet from her, grinning with ferocious set of teeth, stood a Raptor.

A few feet behind the reptile, a pack of the fearful looking creatures stood looking curiously at the intruders.

Jeremy did exactly what Max expected him to do and fainted dead away. The girls bunched close to Max certain that they were about to meet their end. Max stepped forward without hesitation.

"Max, what are you doing?" said Angela.

Max hit the creature on the snout. "Go on, get out of here!"

The Raptor hissed, but after a second shot from Max, it backed away yelping like a puppy. Max grabbed a few rocks and tossed them at the pack scattering them into the trees. "Get lost, all of you!"

Max turned to see four female faces staring at him in utter amazement.

"They're harmless," he said. "Every last one of them. Trust me, they're docile as lambs."

"Lambs with scales and big, sharp teeth," said Kim.

Max stooped down to revive his brave companion Jeremy with a few light smacks to the face. The youth woke up. "What happened?"

"It was incredible," said Max. "The Raptor lunged at you, and you went berserk. You beat him down so badly, the whole pack turned tail and ran."

Jeremy scratched his head very perplexed. "Really?"

Max gave a wink to the others.

"Oh yes," said Julia. "You really laid into them."

"It was you who showed us that they're all perfectly harmless creatures," said Kim. "And you chased them off like little lambs."

Jeremy stood filled with a new sense of self-confidence. So what if it's false? Max rationalized. We can't have him fainting at every sight of danger.

April returned to her old command center in the heart of Dino Land to warm welcomes and hellos, which she extinguished by her no nonsense attitude. "I'm not here on a social call. We have intruders in our park, and I want them brought to me now."

Dan Block, the acting security chief since April's departure, took the floor. "We have all available personnel roving the park grounds as we speak. Jeeps and helicopters are patrolling every possible region where they might hide."

He walked to the map of the park posted on the wall. The park sprawled over 100 acres of Texas prairie and featured both walking paths and a monorail system that allowed visitors to get ground level and aerial views of the inhabitants from a safe distance.

"They entered through south entrance C, here," Block began. "This area is primarily the territory for the Brachiosaurs, Triceratops, and a small pride of Raptors. Their van was found smashed a half a mile inside the park, so we know they're on foot."

"Any ideas where they are now?" April asked.

"The damaged gate is now cordoned off. Depending on how many there are, they could be just about any place. In the aviary, by the lake, the T-Rex ride paddock, or if they're stupid, the stegosaur territory.

It wasn't that Max was stupid. Like his companions, he had never visited Dino Land and didn't know his way around. And so the group had wandered into the fiercely guarded territory of the stegosaurs.

"Check out those spikes!!" said Kim staring at the formidable weaponry on the tails of the mighty creatures.

"These guys can get a little testy," said Max. "We shouldn't have come this way."

"We can't keep on running like this," said Dori. "Julia's ankle is swollen pretty bad."

Max looked down at the heavily taped foot with a feeling of empathy in the pit of his stomach. He knew a damaged shell would cost him when he returned to the lab. But it was more than a loss of money that bothered him. He liked Julia. And he hated to see her suffer. Dangerous thoughts, he realized.

A mechanized sound rumbled in the distance. Everyone crouched down low while Max crept forward to get a closer look. It was a Jeep filled with four security officers. The Jeep stopped a good safe distance from the stegosaurs, and the men stepped out of the vehicle spreading out and surveying the landscape with binoculars.

"What now?" asked Dori.

"I'm working on it," said Max. He turned back and saw the raptors still watching from a safe distance. He wondered if the creatures were as stupid as they were docile.

"Jeremy," said Max. "Come with me. I have an idea."

"Block, this is Gibson," the Dino Land guard said into his walkie talkie. "We're just on the edge of the stegosaur territory. I don't see any sign of the gate crashers. Over."

"Acknowledged," said Block over the radio. "Head south and check out the south end. They must still be down there near the brachiosaurs."

"10-4," said Gibson closing the radio link. "All right, guys, we're moving on."

A tremor on the ground. Snorting and grunting moving fast. Gibson's eyes bulged in terror. The stegosaurs were charging.

"Run!! Now!!"

The guards turned four different directions, running for their lives, as the stegosaurs bore down on them charging at over 50 miles an hour. Three got away finding safe places to avoid being trampled while the fourth fell victim to a vicious blow from the spiked tail of one of the beasts.

From a safe distance, Max watched with a grin at the results of his work. With Jeremy's assistance, he herded the raptors into the stegosaur pride sending the monstrous creatures into a frenzy. He patted Jeremy on the back. "Nice work, kid."

They trotted confidently to the Jeep finding the keys still in the ignition and drove it back to where the girls were in hiding. Dori and Angela loaded Julia into the back, and all climbed aboard. Max took the driver's seat.

"Back the way we came?" asked Jeremy.

"They'll be guarding that gate," said Max. He spotted a map on the passenger side floor and opened it looking for an opportunity.

"Here," he said. "The T-Rex paddock connects with the rest of the park. We can crash through the gate here and make our way out the front door. My guess is we'll face less of a security threat if we head that way."

"Still a risky move," said Angela.

Max turned to the back. "Kim, open that box you're sitting on."

Kim opened the box which was full of flare guns.

"We're not going to be leaving alone."

In the command center, April saw the cloud of dust rising from the east side of the park. Contact with Gibson and his team was lost. "Is there anyone alive out there?" Block mused.

"I'm not concerned with your men," said April. "We have a security breach, and I want it plugged up now."

Red lights and alarms went off throughout the room.

"Sir!" the board operator shouted. "Another gate breach. This time the T-Rex paddock."

"It's them," said April.

"No, ma'am," said the operator. "The dinos are loose."

A few flares carefully used, and Max could herd the entire populace of Dino Land like an expert cowboy. The beasts did their job well crashing through the gates into the T-Rex ride paddock and out into the park. Men, women, and children of all ages ran in panic trying to avoid crushing feet, deadly spikes, and the razor sharp claws of a frenzied pack of prehistoric creatures.

April led Dan Block, the thin man, and a dozen others into the visitor's area. She was certain this was no accident. Max Rogan was creating a diversion, and she would be there to stop his exit.

"Split up," April shouted. "Block, you take six and cover the exit. The rest of us will head for the ride paddock."

Block and his men rushed for the front entrance with guns drawn. The idea of using deadly weapons made him extremely nervous in the presence of so many patrons. All around him, chaos and destruction reigned as the animal control teams fired round after round of tranquilizers into the panicked creatures. Medical teams did their best to usher wounded people to safety. No doubt about it, Block would be unemployed by day's end.

Or maybe not. The stolen Jeep appeared out of the madness headed for him and his men. The young, fresh faces ran for cover while Block drew his weapon and fired into the vehicle's tires.

Max lost control, and the Jeep flipped into a wall. Block ran to the vehicle and aimed his gun at the passengers. "Freeze!"

Max, Jeremy, and the girls lifted their arms in surrender.

"All of you, out of the Jeep!" Block ordered. "Now!"

The other security men stepped from their cover and joined Block.

"We have an injured person," said Dori, indicating Julia. "Her ankle, it's bad."

"Help her," said Block. Two of the men complied, and as soon all six prisoners were out of the vehicle. "You are all under—"

"Mr. Block!!"

A pale-faced young guard pointed behind Block, who turned to see an Allosaur bearing down on him.

"You chicken," said Block. "Don't you know all the creatures in this park are mild as—"

He didn't get to finish. The Allosaur chomped off Block's left arm. The incident was all Max needed. He took out the two guards nearest him and secured a gun. Hoisting Julia over his shoulder, he led the refugees into the parking lot leaving a bloody, screaming Dan Block behind.

Max hot-wired a van parked close to the entrance and sped out of the parking lot. Dinosaurs were everywhere fanning out across San Antonio, even roaming the grounds of the Alamo. It was a beautiful sight. Harwood would not be very happy. And though he knew he would be blamed, Rogan couldn't help but smile.

Jeremy guided Max out of town to the suburbs to a quiet little house not unlike his mother's. The van pulled into the garage. Soon as the garage door closed, people poured out of the house into the garage. At least eight were shells, all familiar looking. However, Megan, Joseph, and Andrew were not among the group. Jeremy left almost immediately to take Julia to the doctor, and Kim went with them. Max and Angela stayed behind and learned from Dori what was known about Brodie and Megan.

"Brodie called McKinley from Dallas," said Dori. "He told McKinley that you all had split up and that you four would be coming here. McKinley asked Brodie to call in before leaving Dallas just as a precaution. When he didn't call in, we were sent to get you before Harwood BioTech."

"You were nearly too late," said Max.

Dori smiled. "You were very good at eluding us as well as the collectors."

"So what's the plan?"

"We put you all on a plane tonight headed for Louisville," said Dori. "The girls board another plane with the rest of the refugees. G2 picks you two up from the airport, and we start all over."

Around eleven o'clock, the van left the tiny house headed for the airport. The dinosaur invasion was largely quelled by that time. Most of the creatures were safely inside the parameters of the park, and Harwood was on the radio doing damage control.

"This is obviously the work of terrorists," he said. "The same people who accuse us of such brutal acts as human cloning, the Genesis Group, were behind today's incident in the Dino Land amusement park. This will not stop us from opening our new park in the East, and, though the San Antonio site is now closed, we will reopen next month with—"

Jeremy switched off the radio. "That's enough of that." No one disagreed.

The van took a back entrance into the airport an arrangement worked out with G2 sympathizers who worked on the grounds. They drove onto the tarmac and up to a cargo plane. The group stepped out of the van and moved toward the plane.

"We're going to go in that thing?" Julia shook her head in disapproval leaning on her crutches.

"Julia," said Angela, "Will you for once go along without complaining?"

Julia rolled her eyes. Kim took Julia's crutches and positioned herself to help Julia ascend the steps into the cargo plane. This particular aircraft belonged to the International Parcels fleet, which operated an international hub out of the Louisville International Airport. Someone within International Parcels happened to be a sympathizer and offered space aboard their airplanes to G2 whenever possible. Nothing Max had seen so far of the G2 organization had impressed him quite so much as this bit of information. No wonder they've become so successful at their "rescue" operations.

Kim and Julia reached the top of the steps. Dori turned to Angela and Max. "It's almost over. You've done a great job getting these girls this far, Mr. Hamill."

Max nodded. He took Angela's arm and walked up the steps with her. The seating aboard the aircraft was not ideal, but the shells already on board had done their best to make it cozy using blankets and pillows (donated from other sympathizers) to make themselves at home and settle in for the next leg of their journey. Kim and Julia were already busily flirting with several male shells. Angela and Max chose to sit apart from the others. Angela leaned against his side.

The pair sat in silence watching the shells settle in for the flight. Most of them planned to sleep through the trip. The only exceptions appeared to be Kim and Julia and the subjects of their attention.

Twenty-five minutes after boarding, the pilot gave warning over the intercom that the plane was ready to move. He then dimmed the interior lights in the plane. Some shells clutched parts of the plane, others each other, not knowing what to expect as the plane prepared for takeoff. The pilot gave one more warning as the plane rounded a corner and began to speed up for departure.

The rush of the plane caught many of the shells off guard. Julia and Kim let out a little shriek as their stomachs leapt out of their bodies. The plane eventually leveled off, and the excitement died down. Then in the darkness, another sound began--singing. First one voice, then two. The singing spread throughout the plane bringing comfort to all the shells now one step closer to freedom.

When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well, It is well with my soul.

"What is that?" Max asked.

"It's a hymn," said Angela.

"Why are they singing it?"

Angela smiled. "It gives them comfort in knowing that no matter what may happen in this life, God is with them."

Max had never heard a hymn before. What's more, he didn't understand how a song could bring comfort to these people...if they were in fact people. Religion was something humans sought out for various reasons. Max didn't believe for a moment that any religion, any faith, truly had eternal significance. Yet, in that moment, listening to the shells sing, he could have believed.
Chapter Twelve

Dan Block rested peacefully in his hospital bed with his arm wrapped in six inches of bandages and padding. The operation had been the first of its kind, and in every respect, it was a success. Through one-way glass, Sebastian Harwood smiled on the first arm transplant recipient.

"This wasn't how I expected it to happen, of course," said Sebastian to his security chief.

"With all due respect," said April, "Block was the only one of his team to even attempt to apprehend Rogan and the fugitives. The others turned tail and ran when the dinosaur attacked."

Harwood shook his head. "This was a disaster, Gertz. A public humiliation. One employee is dead, and we have thirteen people in critical care, seven of them children. Guests were bitten, trampled, and gored by our animals. And all because you could not close the deal at Rogan's mother's place this morning." Perhaps the miracle of the arm transplant will offset the bad news at Dino Land when the market reopens, he thought. He knew better than to count on such an unlikely occurrence.

April had no defense. No one could have anticipated the driver's blunder in entering Dino Land, but Harwood was convinced it was all part of Rogan's plan, and no evidence to the contrary would sway him.

"I'm leaving this afternoon with my team," April said. "We have tickets to Louisville, Kentucky. You won't see me again until I have Max Rogan in my custody."

Harwood turned to her. "What makes you think Rogan's in Kentucky?"

"Bus routes," she said. "The bus he boarded in Texas and the bus we intercepted in Dallas were both bound for Louisville."

"Thirty minutes from Ft. Knox," said Harwood. "While you're up there, get some extra security in the Ft. Knox compound."

"I'm way ahead of you," April assured him.

"This wasn't part of the bargain."

Angela looked concerned as Max vented under his breath. The plane's engines were still humming as Max and Angela watched a team of G2 members ushering shells into a trio of vans. They would be driven to another plane, bound for Europe, and flown to safety. Max saw his payday boarding the vans.

"Max, I didn't know," Angela assured him. "I thought we'd get here, and there'd be time."

"I can't sit idly by and watch this happen," said Max. "It's theft. It's wrong. And it's money out of my pocket. For heaven's sake, I'm already going to get it for the Dino Land fiasco. And now—"

Max was interrupted by a 105-pound girl leaping onto his back. He staggered forward a few steps from the impact and nearly shouted in anger—until he saw his assailant was Kim.

"Mark," she said giving him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks for the adventure."

He turned to see Julia hobble towards him on crutches. She too threw an arm around his neck and gave him a kiss. "We owe you everything," she said.

Angela looked at Max uncertain how he would react. As angry as he was inside, Max couldn't allow that anger to come out in front of Kim and Julia. They were special, he told himself. And as he looked into their smiling faces, he couldn't help smile back.

"Send me a postcard," he said.

The girls gave one more hug then headed toward the van.

"Let 'em go," Max said. "There are bigger fish to catch, right?"

Angela nodded.

The first van pulled away, and Max could see Kim and Julia waving from the back of the van. It had been an adventure, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was glad to know the girls were going to be safe.

The feeling of relief turned to fear as quickly as it had come up as an automatic weapon opened fire on the van.

Max grabbed Angela and pushed her to the ground instinctively. He looked up and saw the tires on the van carrying Kim and Julia explode. The vehicle tipped over skidding nearly a hundred feet until it slammed into a truck owned by the parcel company. One of the men nearest Max and Angela took off running. Max shouted after him, "Get down, you fool!!!"

The man halted and turned back to Max. It was all the mysterious shooter needed to aim and take him down.

Max rose to his feet crouching low and began shouting orders. "Get everyone else behind the vans." He lifted Angela and pushed her toward the others.

"What's going on, Max?" asked Angela.

Max looked at her. "Whatever happens, stay put! All of you!"

He crawled underneath the plane hoping to get a better view of the shooter. From where Max was, he could see the flashes of two machine guns still blazing away. The van holding the girls was blocked from direct fire by the truck that the van collided with. They were safe, for now, but Max knew that it would only take one bullet in the right place to set both vehicles ablaze.

Two more men took off for the van only to be cut down by the machine guns. Max turned back to the rest of the men. "For heaven's sakes, no one else move."

"They're going to die out there!" a woman screamed.

A plan formed in Max's mind. It was a terrible plan, but he didn't exactly have time to come up with another. He climbed the steps to the airplane cockpit still in place and found the copilot still in his.

"What the--"

"Get this plane moving!" Max ordered.

"Where?"

"See those bright flashes of light? Go there."

"But sir--"

No time to argue!" Max reached over the co-pilot, fiddling with the controls.

"Sir, this plane is property of--"

"People are dying down there. Planes can be replaced. Now move."

The copilot turned in his seat and revved up the engines. The plane started rolling toward the source of the gunfire. Max could make out his target. The two guns were positioned in the back of a delivery van, its back doors open. And as Max expected, the guns turned on the plane.

"Now what?" asked the copilot wincing as bullets hit the windows.

"Keep it steady," said Max. "And bring us alongside the truck."

Max moved back to the open door. The goal was to jump down onto the truck with the guns and take out the gunmen. The plane was picking up speed, which would make it a difficult move. Then again, Max knew this was a stupid plan to begin with.

He felt the plane jolt as the gunmen shot out the front tires. He grabbed onto the door frame steadying himself. The van should be in sight...

And there it was starting to move. The plane was still moving faster, but Max knew he had little time. He jumped and crashed on the roof, then slipped off the side.

The van halted, and the gunmen opened fire on the roof from inside. The driver saw him and leaped out of the vehicle grabbing for a gun. Max grabbed his gun arm and slung the man face first into the side of the van. The gun hit the ground alongside the man who had brought it into the open. Max grabbed the gun hoping he would not have to use it.

He saw two feet hit the ground at the rear of the van. Max kicked the van door on his side, and the man on the ground found his legs crushed against the bumper and his face smashed into the window.

Max leaped into the front driver's seat and screamed: "DON'T MOVE!!!"

He had hoped to catch the other man off guard, and he had succeeded. The whole adventure seemed to last forever but actually elapsed in less than twenty seconds. Now, eyeball to eyeball with the last gunman, Max wondered what to do next.

"Out of the car," he ordered. He climbed through the van following the man into the street. From this distance, he could see a fire started on the truck where Kim and Julia were. Not much time left.

Max grabbed the driver, still dazed, and lifted him to his feet. "You two, carry him," said Max indicating the man with the broken legs. The pair lifted their comrade up between them and, at Max's direction, carried him toward the van.

Max risked a glance back and saw the plane had come to a halt. The front of the plane and the front landing gear were riddled with bullets, but the copilot saluted him from the doors indicating he was all right.

Three men raced up to Max and the men. One of them, most likely a security officer, brandished a gun.

"Just who do you think you are?" he shouted. "Give me one reason not to--"

Max snatched the man's wrist twisting it and forcing him to drop the gun. "Two of these men are hurt," said Max. "Tend to them, then call the police."

"We don't need police to exact justice. They've already killed--"

"And if we kill them, we are no better than they are."

The security man picked up his gun and holstered it, and the other two took over helping the man with broken legs.

"I think you'll find these men work for a group called Humans First," said Max. Make sure if you do turn them over, the police and the press make the distinction.

The security officer nodded. Max turned back toward the van and was relieved to see survivors climbing out of the overturned van. He did not think they could not all have survived, but amazingly, as he approached the burning wreckage, he discovered no one in the van had died. Kim and Julia wrapped their arms around Max's neck again. "Long time no see," Kim quipped giving all three a laugh.

The shells and others gathered together. There were two wounded with bullets, and everyone took a few bumps and cuts, but no one in the van had died. "It's a miracle," said Angela, and all agreed. They kneeled on the tarmac, and with Angela taking the lead, thanked God for His mercy. Max stood by listening. He would not join in the communal prayer, but to himself, he did express his thankfulness to any intelligent force that might have helped him and the girls survive such a ruthless assault.

The prayer ended, and, once more, the girls bid Angela and Max goodbye. This time, the van left without incident. Another man ushered the weary travelers through the airport to a car in the parking garage.
Chapter Thirteen

Max had no sense of where they went; as soon as they were in the car, Max and Angela fell back to sleep. He later vaguely remembered being escorted into an upstairs apartment and awoke around three in the afternoon in a full-size bed. He raised up and saw Angela, who was staring out the window.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning."

"We're in Kentucky, right?"

"Yep," Angela replied.

"Horses running through fields out the window?"

Angela shrugged. "Artsy types with body piercings going in and out of coffee shops."

Max rose from the bed and looked out the window on a busy street. A vintage clothing store with styles from the 2020's was directly across the street sandwiched between two coffee shops. A church steeple was also within view.

"Not exactly what I was expecting," said Max. "But could be worse."

"How so?" asked Angela.

"Ever been to Old LA?"

"Nope."

"It's the closest you'll ever come to seeing a landscape resembling that old classic, The Road Warrior," he said. "Total disaster area since the quake overrun by pirates and barbarians."

"Sounds delightful," said Angela.

"I tracked a shell there all the way from Texas," he said. "Next time a shell goes to Old LA, I'm just going to let them go."

Angela laughed.

"Kim and Julia?" Max didn't need to voice any other words to communicate his question.

"They're safe thanks to you," said Angela. "They should be landing in Paris shortly. If you wanted to endear yourself to these people, you sure did a good job last night."

"We have a common enemy in those Humans First people," said Max. "It was nothing more than protecting corporate assets."

"And yet none of the assets will end up in Harwood BioTech hands."

Max nodded. She had a point, but if Harwood BioTech was going to lose, Max was not about to let them lose to Humans First.

"So what's the plan?" Max asked.

"Beats me," said Angela.

"You seen Eric yet?"

"Not yet," she said. "I completely forgot to ask for him last night."

"We've had a long week," Max said. "It's understandable."

"C'mon, Mark," Angela said. "Let's see who there is to see in this place."

Max opened the door of the tiny room. A young woman stood out in the hall with a tray of food. "You're awake," she said.

"You're so perceptive," said Max.

"I'm Sarah," the girl answered. "I was just bringing you some breakfast. You want to eat it up here or downstairs?"

"What's downstairs?" Max asked.

"Highland Coffee Company," Sarah answered.

"Sounds good to me," said Angela.

Sarah turned and led the way down the hall and downstairs. African music played softly over the speakers in the wood-paneled coffee shop. Two people stood behind a counter, but only two of the twelve small tables had anyone at all sitting in them. The smell of fresh ground coffee was overwhelming.

Max and Angela sat at a corner table by a window open to the same sights they had seen through the upstairs window. Sarah sat the tray down. "Can I get you two anything to drink?"

"Regular coffee would be great," said Max.

"Same here," said Angela.

Sarah left to get two coffees while Max and Angela examined the bounty before them. They had a selection of bagels and fruit to choose from, and Max and Angela went to work quickly devouring the food.

"No comparison to your mother's cooking," said Angela. "But this is good stuff."

Max nodded his agreement. Sarah brought their coffees and left the two to eat.

"Can I ask you a question?" said Max.

"Shoot," said Angela.

"What is with you shells and coffee?"

"Coffee?" Angela asked.

"I met you in a coffee shop. We're being housed in a coffee shop by G2."

"That doesn't mean anything," said Angela in a coy fashion.

"What about the three pots of coffee at mom's?" Max pressed further. "You each drank at least a pot of coffee yesterday morning."

Angela sipped at her coffee before answering. "It's the caffeine."

"You all like caffeine?"

"We're addicted," said Angela. "They gave it to us in huge doses."

"Harwood BioTech?"

Angela nodded.

"Why?"

Angela sipped at her coffee again. "Caffeine keeps you alert, gives you energy. A steady diet of caffeine kept us hard at work in the greenhouse."

"The greenhouse?" Max knew of the greenhouses attached to the shell facilities. They were used for producing genetically enhanced crops sold to farm conglomerates. "The greenhouses are tended by the scientists."

Angela tilted her head, puzzled. "You really don't know what storage is like, do you?"

Max shrugged. "What's to know? They keep you all in sleep hibernation from conception until harvesting, unless someone comes along and interferes with the process."

"Lies upon lies," Angela said.

"You have evidence to the contrary?"

"I am evidence to the contrary," said Angela. "How do you think I learned to talk? Or walk? How do you think Julia and Kim learned all about TV?"

Max said nothing.

Angela sipped at her coffee. "In all of your times returning your bounty, have you ever been inside?"

"Of course I have."

"Have you seen where they keep the clones?"

"The sleep chambers?"

"The living quarters. The dining area. The recreation area. Have you even seen the greenhouses?"

"I saw the greenhouse in Texas," Max said. "No shells in sight."

"You saw what they wanted you to see," said Angela.

Max thought for a moment. He really wasn't interested in knowing whether this was true or not. Even if it was..."Well, look at the bright side. You will never work another day in a greenhouse as long as you live."

"That part I actually didn't mind," said Angela. "It was the waiting and wondering if my number would come up next."

"Another thing you'll never face again," said Max.

Angela nodded in concession. They finished their breakfast in silence barely making eye contact.

Sarah walked over once breakfast had ended. She led them back upstairs to their room where they found clothes and toiletries laid out for them both. "I know you've had long trip. You can use the shower down the hall, watch some TV, and just relax for a bit."

"When do we get down to business?" asked Max.

"This afternoon," said Sarah.

"Who will we see?" Max asked.

"Mandie and McKinley are out of town right now," Sarah said. "Zach Howser is the guy in charge when they're gone. You'll see him."

"What about Eric Brown?" Angela asked.

"Who's he?"

Angela stepped back. "Eric's supposed to meet us here. He's...he's my boyfriend."

Sarah shrugged. "Sorry, I wish I knew what to tell you. I'm sure Zach will be able to tell you something."

"Thanks," said Angela.

"Can I get you anything else?"

Angela shook her head no.

Sarah turned to Max. "We saw the whole Dino Land story on the news. And Angela filled me in on your adventures. You did an amazing job getting the girls here. I'm glad to have someone like you on our side."

Max was a bit shell-shocked. He felt angry. Almost betrayed. Those shells were his to be returned as promised by Eric and Angela. Yet, he also felt glad about letting the girls go. In fact, he even thought it possible he would grow to miss their company.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything," said Sarah walking to the door. "If you can't find me, ask for Leah at the coffee counter."

Sarah left the travelers alone. Angela sat on the bed noticeably concerned. "What if something happened to him?" Angela asked.

Max considered the question. "You think it's possible?"

"Max, they were on our heels from the moment you and I left the coffee shop. What if they grabbed him before he could leave town?"

It was not a pleasant prospect. Max had already lost his shells. If Eric was gone, what would Angela choose to do? She could still escape. But what if she decided to join in the fight for her "brothers and sisters?" Would she rat him out? Would she keep her part of the deal?

In the back of his mind, the thought occurred to Max that this might have been the plan all along. Would Angela and Eric have used him in this way? Was it a way of keeping your enemy close in order to dupe him?

Max determined to keep his eyes open.

"I'm sure Eric is okay," he said sitting down beside Angela. "You'll see him soon enough."

"Do you really care?" Angela asked.

Max was not certain how to answer her. Angela was the most difficult of all his recent travel partners to read. Max really felt as if he did care, but he remained focused on finishing the job he began. Would she see through the lie if he said yes?

The conversation ended as Angela rose from the bed, grabbed her things, and made her way to the shower. Max curled up on the couch to try and get some more sleep but found he had too much on his mind. He wondered how Julia and Kim would fare on their own. He wondered if Eric was still alive. He wondered about Megan and Brodie, and he wanted badly to know just how far behind April, the smoker, and their associates could be. How would he get in touch with April when the time came to turn G2 over and collect his fees? Knowing her, she'll find me first. He was certain April was either in Louisville or on her way. She was too smart not to still be nipping at his heels. Perhaps she was close by. She and her goons would be kicking down the doors of the little coffee shop any moment.

All Max knew for sure was that the couch he laid down on was well-suited for catching up on much needed rest. He drifted off into sleep and dreamed about Kim and Julia in Venice riding in a gondolier and doing their best to gain the attentions of handsome Italian men along the way.
Chapter Fourteen

Zach Howser did not appear to be a tough, menacing figure, but he struck Max as being highly intelligent. His hair was cut short, and he wore glasses. A few days growth of facial hair appeared on his chin, but other than that, he was clean shaven. He wore khaki pants and a sweater. He looked young like he could still be a college student. Youth seemed to be a common trait amongst the members and sympathizers of G2. After downing a cup of coffee, Zach got right to business.

"To begin," said Zach as he sat down, "I'd like to commend you for your efforts in getting these young women delivered safely. You seemed to stay one step ahead at every turn. And the airport incident was remarkable. Whoever you are, whatever background you have had in law enforcement or the military, it has served you well."

"Who's to say my training hasn't come from the wrong side of the law?" said Max, who decided to have a little fun with this "kid."

"True enough," said Zach. "Just what is your background?"

"Does it matter?" asked Max. "I'm here. I'm on your side. All my talents and skills are at your disposal, as you have already seen."

"Indeed," said Zach. "And we intend to put them to work right away."

Max raised an eyebrow.

"Harwood BioTech has another facility nearby at Ft. Knox. We're planning to hit it in two days," said Zach. "A quick strike with plenty of transportation. We'll empty the facility and have the shells on a flight out of the country within twenty-four hours."

"Pretty aggressive," said Max.

"It worked before," said Zach with a smile. "Thanks to your help."

Max nodded. He felt his ears burn in embarrassment. He figured Zach was referring to the tracking device Angela gave him credit for, but Max felt uncomfortable nonetheless. He was the one used in the last raid to give G2 access to the Harwood BioTech facility. Now I'll use them to clear my name and stop them once and for all.

"Same drill as before?" Max asked.

"We used a shell to get in the front door last time," said Zach. "This time around, there's no need to put one in any harm. We have two men already inside the facility. Security officers working for Harwood BioTech. They've given us a detailed floor plan, something we didn't have at Southwest, so we should be able to get in and out faster."

"Can we trust these men?" Angela asked.

"Definitely," said Zach. "They've already helped a handful of shells escape in the last few months. Sort of a demonstration of good faith."

"Sounds like they're on the level," said Max.

"We're going to take a back road to the facility," said Zach. "Our men inside have arranged to assist us in gaining entrance to the facility. Once inside, they will lead the way, taking out the rest of the security team and getting us to the shells as quickly as possible. We also plan to wipe out the greenhouse and laboratory again."

"What do you want us to do?" Max asked.

"You'll be several miles away," said Zach. "We're going to move the shells from the facility in a bus. They'll be transported to your location and loaded into eight passenger vans. Shadow games and evasion seem to be your strengths, so we want you to plan the escape routes and get the vans to their end destination."

Max nodded.

"I'm going to get you some maps of the area," said Zach. "And I want you to meet with the other drivers, once you've plotted their escape routes."

"I can do that," said Max.

"I'll fill in the remaining details as we go," said Zach. "Any questions?"

"Sure," said Max. "Mandie and McKinley going to be joining us?"

Zach smiled. "You'll meet them before the week is out," he said. "Anything else?"

"Yes," said Angela. "Am I going with him?"

Zach sat back in his chair. "That's up to you. You...you have a choice to make."

Angela raised an eyebrow. "What sort of choice?"

Zach looked at Max. "I need to talk to Angela alone for a moment," he said.

Angela grabbed Max by the hand. "He stays. If something's the matter, he can hear it, too." Angela swallowed hard.

Zach hesitated, trying to find the words. But his silence stretched long enough to tell Angela everything she needed to know.

"It's Eric."

Zach didn't have to say anything more. Angela didn't have to say anything in return. She squeezed Max's hand.

"It looks like the same goons that attacked you at the airport last night got to him. He was beaten and shot inside the coffeehouse shortly after you left."

Max felt extremely awkward watching Angela react to the news. He knew this was not a woman beside him but merely a clone designed for the production of valuable transplant materials. Yet, he felt empathy for her just as he had for Julia and Kim. She seemed to be in real pain, and despite what he knew to be true, Max shared the painful loss of this shell.

"I'm sorry, " said Zach.

"Is he..." Angela couldn't finish the line.

"We know he was taken to the hospital," said Zach. "He was then signed out and taken to a private medical facility."

"Harwood BioTech," said Max.

"Could be," said Zach. "It's all speculation. We just don't know."

"I would think Harwood BioTech would want him alive," said Max looking to their faces for some sort of reaction. "They're whole image is about saving lives. That's the reasoning they use to justify their business: the preservation of life."

"I know," said Zach. "But they have someone new doing the search and recover operations for them. These bounty hunters who came after you, they don't seem concerned with the law or life. We know they killed Joseph when they captured him."

"Joseph?" Angela was stunned.

"It was in the Dallas newspaper," said Zach. "He was listed as a "John Doe" body. Autopsy said there was a struggle."

"Probably why they killed him," said Max. "What about the others?"

Zach shook his head. "They appear to be gone. Megan and Andrew were probably harvested. I expect Brodie's as good as dead."

Max looked at Angela, whose face betrayed a heavy heart.

"You okay?" Zach asked.

Angela brushed back a tear unable to say anything.

"How 'bout you, Max?" said Zach. "Eric a friend of yours?"

Max shook his head. "Not really. Only met him once or twice before."

Zach nodded. "You just seemed a bit bothered by the news."

The observation caught Max off guard. If he appeared to be upset, that could only help his cover. But Max's sadness wasn't just an outward show. His heart was breaking for Angela.

"I know what you're thinking," said Zach. "But you can't blame yourself. Splitting up the group was the best decision. It kept Harwood BioTech from grabbing all of you instead of just a few. There was nothing you could do."

Max nodded then hung his head. He squeezed Angela's hand a little tighter.

"They aren't the first casualties in this war," said Zach. "And I'm afraid they won't be the last."

"Not likely," said Max.

"I hate being the bearer of so much bad news," said Zach. "We all got into this knowing the risks. The sacrifices of men like Eric and Brodie will allow hundreds more men and women to lead normal lives free in the real world. That's what we're fighting for. That's what they died for."

The mention of death caused Angela to tip over. Max caught her as she sobbed in his arms. Zach leaned over and took her hands. In the quiet of the moment, Zach whispered a prayer. Max could barely hear the words spoken, but he felt the muscles in Angela's body relax as the words brought some comfort and peace to her spirit.

Max could not determine how long they remained there, silent, holding onto each other. Zach finally pulled away.

"You can stay here with us," said Zach at last. "It will be more dangerous, but we can use you. Or, we can get you out on the next flight. Send you to Europe with the others."

Zach stood up and nodded to Max. "I'll leave you two alone. If you need me for anything, Sarah downstairs knows how to get in touch with me."

With those words, Zach left the room. Max cradled Angela in his arms. She continued to cry silently. Her sniffles began to slowly subside, and Max soon heard the soft, deep breathing pattern of sleep coming from Angela. Max closed his own eyes deciding to take a nap with her.

The nap was short but not so short that Max did not dream. He found himself in a bus station not unlike Austin. In the distance, he saw a young woman from behind. A young woman who looked identical to Megan. He started walking towards her. A crowd converged in front of him, and Max found himself pushing his way past them. He pushed through the crowd into the clear, but Megan was gone. He found the spot where she had stood next to a telephone. There, on top of the phone, he saw a Bible. He picked it up, and it opened to the book of Jeremiah. Max read a verse, one he had heard before, but had no reason to recall. He closed the Bible and turned...to find himself face to face with the smoking man.
Chapter Fifteen

Max woke from his dream and found himself in the room above the coffeehouse still cradling Angela in his arms. Her eyes, still damp, but wide open and beautiful, stared up at Max.

"You want to talk?" he asked.

She said nothing but leaned her head into his chest. Max held her close.

"Talk to me," he said.

"You don't really want to talk to me," Angela said at last.

"I do," he replied.

"No you don't, Max," said Angela in a hushed tone. "I'm only a shell. I'm not human."

Max wasn't so sure he believed that any more, but he knew better than to voice that doubt. "What are you going to do?" he asked her more concerned about her reneging on her deal with him than Angela's best interest.

"I don't know," she said. She wiped a tear away and nuzzled closer to Max. "What will they do to him?"

"I don't know," said Max. "Under my watch, humans caught assisting shells went to jail. I have no idea what this new woman in charge is capable of."

"I'll never see him again," said Angela.

Max leaned his head on Angela's giving her an extra squeeze, as if such gestures could soften the blow of his answer. "Not likely."

Angela sighed deeply. Max brushed her hair out of her face and pulled her close.

"I want you out of here," said Max.

"Why?" Angela asked.

"We made a deal," he said. "You led me to them, now I'm letting you go."

"The deal was for me and Eric," she said.

"There was nothing I could do for him," he said.

"I know," she said. "I don't blame you. But I can't go without him."

"You can't stay here," he said.

"Why not?"

"Because," he said. He stopped not wanting to say the words on his heart.

"If they get me too," said Angela. "They have my organs and tissues to give away. More lives saved. That's why you do what you do."

"I don't want to argue about this," said Max. "You're not going back. You're going on like in the deal."

"I'm staying here."

"I thought you wanted to live."

"I did," she said. "But without Eric, I have nothing to live for. If I stay, I at least have something to die for."

Max didn't answer. Another few moments passed in silence.

"What are you going to do?" said Angela.

"What I came here to do," said Max.

Angela wiped a few tears and turned to look into his eyes. "But what kind of man are you?"

"You know what kind of man I am," he said. "I save lives."

"Would you allow one life to be extinguished for the sake of another?" she asked.

"I'd rather my own end," he said, "than take another life. Ever."

Angela crawled out from under Max's arms and stood to face him.

"Show me," she said.

Max looked away then back at Angela. "You're asking me to join the cause? Save the shells?"

"Max, we need you," she said. "I need you."

Max stood up.

"If I say no," he said, "what will you do?"

Angela shook her head. "Nothing?"

"You wouldn't try to stop me?"

"I gave my word," said Angela. "And I intend to keep it."

"You'd let me stop them?" he said. "Send you to the harvesting room?"

Angela nodded. "I'm not afraid."

"Why not?"

"You can take my life," she said. "You can't take my soul."

Angela walked out of the room. Max heard the bedroom door close down the hall from him. He leaned forward his head in his hands. Max could not understand this turn of events. She's going to make herself a martyr. It didn't make sense. But it was love that changed her mind. She truly would rather die than live without Eric. But she could find someone else, he thought. She could love again, and be happy--

Max rose afraid of where his thoughts might lead. He walked to the window and looked out on the street at the people passing by. Free people. Men and women who controlled their own fate. Max thought about Kim and Julia. Soon, they too would be free to decide their own fate. They could work, marry, even have children (shells were capable of reproduction as far as Max knew) just like real humans who were born into this world. They would have free will.

They already have free will, Max realized. If they did not, why would they try to escape?

Max frowned at the idea. But is it truly free will? Any animal faced with the threat of death will attempt to escape or fight back. Could this quest for freedom simply be the instinct to survive?

Max didn't know the answer, but he sensed it was the key to determining whether shells were merely tissue...or thoroughly human.

He also decided that he did not wish to find out.

Max made his way down to the coffeehouse led by a growling stomach. He ordered a ham and cheese croissant and a root beer. He ate the entire croissant, which satisfied more than his appetite. If he could eat, he reasoned, he was not racked with guilt. And if he felt no guilt, he could not possibly be doing wrong.

Max took a walk up the street after dinner. As the sun sank, more and more unusual looking folk appeared on the streets. Max laughed to himself at the diverse personalities reflected by multi-colored hair, body piercings, and tattoos.

"Hey, Julia!"

Max whipped around to see the young man calling for someone named Julia. He held his place on the street waiting to see this Julia appear. She looked nothing like the shell Max had helped set free, but the incident brought the boy-crazy young woman back to mind. She and Kim had both made him laugh repeatedly over the last few days. He considered that, someday, he could even take a trip over seas and visit them.

He shook his head and walked on. What sort of visit would that be? "Hey, girls. I turned Angela and the people who set you free over to the authorities. What have you been up to lately?"

A man standing out in front of a travel agency handed him a brochure for a romantic space cruise. He carried the flier for about a block then dumped it in the trash before stepping inside a comic book store. Max browsed through a few back issues of Batman before heading back to the door. A poster from the original Star Wars hung beside the door. Max smiled. Mark Hamill... What kind of cover name is that?

Max remembered that first day on the bus and Megan's mention of the Star Wars movies. "I can relate to the characters," Megan had said. "The clones...created to fight in intergalactic war without any regard for the fact that they are human beings with free will and the desire to follow their own heart and dreams."

Max crossed the street to a small club. Jazz music filled his ear as he walked inside drowning out every frightening thought he had had during this walk. This was what he needed. A break from life. A chance to be Max, to be around other humans, and forget the dangerous position he now occupied.

Max found his way to the bar and ordered a beer. The fermented malt and hops went to work on Max's nerves relaxing his mind and allowing him to lose himself in the jazz ensemble. His mission was far from over. And the hardest part, no doubt, was still ahead. But for the moment, Max was able to forget his stress and his fears.

The pause didn't last long. An attractive young woman stepped to the bar beside Max. She ordered a drink, a draft beer, and placed a few bills on the counter to cover the cost. The bartender poured the drink for her and slid it to her spot. She caught it and lifted the frothy mug to her lips in one move. It was designed to attract Max's attention, and it worked.

"You don't see too many women that know how to drink this stuff," he said.

Without looking at him, the woman spoke. "I know who you are."

Deja vu, Max thought. Seems it was only a few days prior that he used the same line on a shell named Jessica. "You do, huh?"

The woman sipped her drink again. "I could cause a lot of trouble for you."

"Is that so?" he replied. "You with Genesis? 'Cause I haven't seen you around the office."

"Cute," she said. "Amazing you can be so funny considering the damage I am prepared to do to you."

"What do you want?"

"Let's talk, Mr. Rogan."

"Talk away," said Max. "I have no place to be."

"Not here," she said.

Figures. Max knew it was a set up but boredom and the urge to get into a little trouble were a little too strong to walk away from. Besides, he did still have a mission and a cover to protect. "Where do you want to go?"

The woman stepped away from the bar and made her way to the back door. Max waited a few seconds then followed her out. He had his eyes peeled not certain if he was walking into a bribe attempt or worse, a trap. Something about the young woman told him to expect the latter. So it was little surprise when the young woman led him down an alleyway and into the waiting arms of a man armed with a baseball bat.

Max dropped and rolled aside as the first blow whiffed over his head. He crouched facing his attacker, arms out. The two men circled slowly eyes locked on each other. Then Max remembered too late that the man with the bat was not alone. The young woman kicked his legs out from under him, and the bat connected with Max's back.

"Do you know who we are?" she said.

"I hope you're not with the board of tourism here in Kentucky because you definitely need to work on your people skills."

The other man wrapped the bat around Max's neck lifting him to his feet and choking him. The young woman stepped closer. She rolled up her sleeve to reveal a tattoo. It was da Vinci's famous drawing of a man, the symbol of the non-religious anti-cloning organization known as Humans First.

"You've caused us a lot of trouble, you know," she said. "First breaking our man's arm down in Texas. Then that little display of heroism at the airport. You really have us curious whose side you're on."

"I'm not on yours," Max choked out.

"Too bad," she said. "We could use someone with your skills. Defending the future from the mutants."

"They aren't mutants," he said.

"They're not human!" she snapped. "They are an abomination. Freaks out of Mary Shelley's worst nightmare. And now that they're here, there's only one thing to do."

"I'm guessing that one thing isn't inviting them for Thanksgiving dinner," said Max. The man behind him moved the bat and brought it hard against Max's stomach. It was painful, but Max managed to use his attacker's momentum against him. He grabbed the bat and fell forward flipping the man into his female companion and wrenching the bat free.

The couple scrambled to their feet, but Max was there first. He held the bat out ready to strike. "Don't do this, Rogan," the woman said. "Join with us. Whatever you're being paid, on either side, we'll match it. Besides, it's a chance to be a real hero."

"I don't work for terrorists," said Max. "Or killers."

"Killers?" The woman shook her head. "Our only interest is the best for the flock, for all men. And just as a shepherd will kill a wolf, we will destroy any threat to our survival. Including those little mutants you fought so hard to defend last night!"

Max felt his blood boil as impulsively he swung the bat into the man's ribs. He spun the bat with one hand and brought it down on the man again in the same place knocking him on his back. Max swung again breaking the man's right leg. He pulled back once more--

And hesitated. What am I doing? Yes, they were terrorists. Murderers for taking human life. And at minimum vandals for destroying shells. What if they had killed Kim and Julia? Would it really be murder?

Max didn't know the answer, but he also knew he was not about to become a murderer. The man on the ground was bleeding in agony. And the woman's anger for Max had turned to compassion for her fallen friend.

"You could have killed him!"

"I didn't," he said. He tossed the bat away. "And I won't."

The woman lunged at him her fists flying. Surprisingly, she hit like a professional connecting with his face and stomach in a rather painful fashion. She was still half his size, and Max took little time to subdue her by holding her in a way that she was unable to strike.

"This isn't going to get us anywhere," said Max. "Your friend needs medical attention."

"Because of you!"

"It was him or me," said Max. "And even though I know for a fact he would not have bothered helping me, I am going to help him. With your permission."

She stopped struggling settling her feet on the ground. Max could feel every muscle in her body still tensed. "What are we going to do?"

Max released the young woman. He scooped the man into his arms and turned to leave the alley.

"We're going to get him to an ambulance," he said. "You will ride with him. You will stay beside him until he is well, and then, you will leave town."

The woman looked puzzled. "Supposing I betray you when we do get him to safety. Maybe I'll turn you over to the cops as the man who did this to him."

"I spared his life," he replied. "And now I'm going to help save it. You want to betray me? Or can two real human beings call it even?"

She nodded, and Max led her out of the alley into the street. It didn't take long to find a police officer, and once he was aware of the situation, he quickly called for an ambulance. The medical hovercraft arrived in minutes, and the man and woman from Humans First were loaded inside. Max listened approvingly as the young woman told the police they were attacked and mugged by a man in a mask. He caught her eyes still expressing surprise at Max's mercy as the back doors closed and the vehicle lifted off.

"Wild night," Max uttered to himself. He thought about walking back to the house, but at this moment, he felt the desire for a drink more than ever and walked back to the bar.
Chapter Sixteen

"Morning, sunshine."

Max opened one eye and saw Sarah standing in front of him. Her head appeared to be sideways, but as Max came to consciousness, he realized it was he who was sideways laying on the couch in the tiny apartment above the coffee shop.

He also had a splitting headache like a jackhammer beating against the inside of his forehead.

"Rough night?" she said.

"You have no idea," said Max massaging the throbbing pain between his temples.

"Zach and David brought you home," she went on.

"David?"

"My husband," said Sarah. "You never came back from your walk. We were worried you might have been picked up. But you were just sleeping it off...on the sidewalk."

Max closed his eyes and sank back into the couch. His nasal sensors awoke detecting a pleasing aroma in the room.

"I brought you some coffee," said Sarah. "You want anything to eat?"

Max shook his head no.

"Well, you know where I am if you change your mind."

Max sat up and reached for his coffee. He sipped at it. "It's good."

"I'm glad you approve," she said. "Take your time. You've got two hours before you meet with Zach. He wants to give you some information for planning your part of tomorrow night's operation."

Max nodded. "Is Angela here?"

"No," said Sarah.

Max looked up.

"Do you know where she is?"

"She left after you last night," said Sarah. "We looked for her but couldn't find her."

"What do you mean you couldn't find her?"

"We looked up the street, everywhere we could think of," said Sarah. "She just disappeared."

Max sipped at his coffee. "Keep looking, and let me know when you find her," he said.

"You'll be the first to know," said Sarah.

Sarah left him alone. Max shook his head. The longer he stayed, the more he got involved, the more complicated this situation became. He shouldn't care what happened to her even if he did give his word. So why was he growing ever more concerned for Angela's safety?

Zach arrived two hours later bringing lunch and an assortment of maps. He pointed out the important landmarks: the storage facility, the pick-up location for the vans then left Max to plan the escape routes.

"You've proven your stuff," said Zach. "I'm leaving this portion of the job solely to you."

"I'm on it." said Max.

"You'll have seven others in your crew," said Zach.

"Is Mandie one of them?" asked Max.

"You seem awfully eager to meet her," said Zach.

"Well," said Max, "She is sort of a celebrity."

"Just don't say that around her," said Zach.

"It makes her mad?"

"It goes to her head," said Zach. "She'll be there that night. She's part of the raiding crew."

"Hands on leadership," remarked Max. "I like that."

Zach nodded. "She and McKinley operate in the same way," he said. "They'll never ask you to do anything they wouldn't do themselves."

"No wonder they command such loyalty."

"It's the cause that draws people in. Their leadership keeps them here." Zach pulled out a piece of paper with a list of times. "We'll enter the compound at exactly 11 pm. They'll be delivered to the vans within sixty minutes, give or take a few. It's thirty minutes from Ft. Knox to the airport. The shells have to be at the airport boarding a flight by 2 am, no later."

"Not much time," said Max.

Zach shook his head. "We have an International Parcel Shipping hub here in Louisville. Easiest thing to do is stick them on a plane before Harwood BioTech can sick the hounds on us."

Max nodded his agreement.

"I have to go back to work," said Zach. "The driving crew will be here later this evening, around six. You'll brief them, and then we'll go get the vans."

"I'll be ready," said Max.

Max spent twenty minutes looking over the maps. If it was up to him, there'd be multiple sets of vans so they could switch vehicles at least once on the way to freedom. He'd also have more time to move the shells from their pick up to their drop off points. Such an elaborate escape would be a great deal of fun to execute. But as Max reminded himself, helping these shells escape was far from his ultimate goal.

Six o'clock, Zach returned. This time he brought pizzas and seven other young people. The crew for the heist could not have been more diverse. There was Sarah's husband David; Kevin, an account executive for an auto rental company; Heath, a seminary student; Kristy, a massage therapist; Jay, a piano player (Max recognized him, though somewhat vaguely, from the bar the night before); Julie, a tattoo and piercing artist; and Tyler, a youth counselor.

"I've asked Mark here to take the lead for the get-away part of this operation," said Zach. "He successfully moved three shells from Southwest to Louisville with the hounds close at his heels."

The others nodded their approval.

"Where are the others?" Max asked.

"What others?" Zach asked.

"Your crew," said Max. "The ones going inside."

"You'll meet them tomorrow night at the rendezvous," said Zach.

"The crews meet separately," said David. "If no one knows the whole plan and all the parties involved, we can cover our tracks if someone gets captured."

"Or if someone tries to betray you," added Max.

David nodded.

Max passed out the copies of the maps given to him by Zach. Each map had a designated route plotted. "We have three hours from the time Zach's group penetrates the facility until the shells board their plane. We will have two hours at best to get our cargo to their flight. Tyler, Kristy, and Kevin, you have the most direct routes. Get to the airport as quickly as you can and lay low. Take your new friends to a Waffle House or something."

The group laughed.

"Jay and Heath, your routes will take around an hour to an hour and a half. I'd suggest taking your time. Make a stop or two. Buy your passengers a round of slushies."

"I want that route," said Julie giving every one another laugh.

"Sorry, Julie. You, David, and I have the longest routes to cover. According to these maps, it will take an hour and forty-five minutes to cover it."

"Sounds pretty risky to me," said Tyler.

"By staggering our routes like this, we hide any rhyme or reason to our escape. If I had more time to plan, I would have arranged a few more vehicle switches. I'm making the best out of what I've been given."

"I think it's a good plan," said Kristy.

"Sure you do," said Julie. "You get the Waffle House. I get to drive for two hours straight."

"Quit your crying," said David. "We pull this one off, I'm buying breakfast for everyone at Denny's at 3 am." The suggestion met with unanimous approval.

"We're picking the vans up tonight?" asked Max.

"We sure are," said Kevin. "Soon as you're ready."

"Good," said Max. "Unless you all have other plans, I suggest driving these routes at least once. Make sure you have your timing down."

"What if the timing is off?" asked Tyler. "Do we call you?"

"Between now and tomorrow night, I don't want any contact amongst any of us," said Max. "If you check your route and your timing is off due to construction or whatever other reason, I'm giving you clearance to modify your own route."

"We should at least meet early tomorrow evening," David suggested. "Just to make sure we have no problems."

"Very well," said Max. "We'll gather downstairs for coffee at eight tomorrow evening. But we need to keep things as secret as possible. No more than two of you at a table talking. If you need to discuss anything with me, drop a note on my table. We'll come up stairs or something. And needless to say, come on another vehicle other than your van. Stagger your exits, but everyone leave in plenty of time to get your ride and meet at the designated point."

A few more questions were asked and answered before Zach adjourned the meeting. The drivers left the building and piled into a black van, the first of the eight, driven by Kevin. Kevin took them all to the rental lot where he worked. After Kevin distributed the keys, they left the lot together for the rendezvous point. They all got out of the vans for some final instructions.

"No contact between now and tomorrow night," said Max. "Check your routes, and make any changes you deem necessary. See you at eight."

The drivers got back in the vans and split up each to their assigned route. Max started on his but then broke away. He had told Zach and David that he would be staying someplace else for the night, and towards that end, he drove into downtown Louisville checking into the five-star Seelbach Hotel.

Max was never so happy to be in a hotel room. He stretched out on the bed free once again to be himself. He ordered room service for dinner then a pay-per-view movie which put him to sleep.

Max woke up at 3 am Louisville time. Should be one in the morning where Harwood is. He opened his briefcase to find Harwood's card. Harwood had made the mistake of giving Max his business card complete with a mobile number. Max felt a little passive aggressive payback was in order.

Unfortunately, Harwood's answering service picked up instead of the man himself.

"Sebastian," said Max, knowing that using the first name would grate a man of Harwood's ego. "It's your old buddy, Max. Listen, I'm in Louisville and wanted to clue you in on a little burglary planned for tomorrow evening by some friends of mine. I say friends because I've spent the past several days infiltrating the ranks of G2 and am in a position to help you, not only prevent a repeat of Southeast in Ft. Knox, but hand you the G2 leadership including Mandie. I'm in the Seelbach in Louisville under my name. Give me a call and let's talk about my commission."

Max hung up the phone. He dropped the business card in the briefcase on top of Jessica's Bible. Max noticed a piece of paper peeking out of the book and picked it up. He opened the Bible to the marker where he found these words highlighted in yellow:

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and

wonderfully made;

"Angela." No one else knew he had the book, and he hadn't noticed the marked text in flipping through before. It had to be her still trying to persuade him to see her as something other than a shell.

Part of him wanted to believe. He liked Angela. He cared what happened to her. He regretted getting to know her as a result. He should have known better than to allow any emotional attachment to form between them.

Max read the words in yellow again. It made sense that these simple-minded shells would believe in such nonsense. It was all they had to cling to; their only hope that they might be something more than just cells and tissue. But why did so many natural born humans believe the same? Had not science eradicated any need for religion?

The people of G2 were not the radical nut jobs he had always believed them to be. They were a diverse group of people, but Max didn't sense any common anti-social thread among them. Just a genuine desire to give their time and efforts - and possibly their lives - for a cause they believed in.

Max continued to turn these thoughts over in his mind as he drifted into sleep. As his mind slipped into dream mode, he could make out someone lying on an operating table surrounded by doctors. He saw one of the doctors handling a large piece of red tissue...a heart. He realized he was witnessing a transplant operation.

Max felt himself moving closer to the table. He heard the heart monitor beeping; the breathing machine expelling air. The doctors parted as he approached the operating table.

It turned out not to be a table but a pool about six feet long, three feet wide, and three feet deep. He saw a young woman below the water. A man opposite Max dressed in white reached in and lifted her out of the water head first. As her face broke through the surface, Max gasped.

It was Angela.

She stood in the pool facing him. He reached his hand out and touched her face. The doctors were now gone, and the sterile white hospital environment dissolved into a cathedral-like setting.

They were in a vast hall that felt as if it were all carved from a single giant block of wood. The floor was solid wood, as were the walls, stretching up to an arched ceiling. Clear windows rose from the floor to the ceiling, four on each side of the building. A scattering of people sat in solid wood pews, silent, looking straight ahead at the pool where Angela and Max stood.

Suddenly, a beam of brilliant light broke in through the windows. A sound like a violent wind filled the building. Max saw doves burst through the window descending on every one of the people sitting in the pews. As each one was touched, they began to sing, not words, but music that grew and grew into a thunderous chorus of sound.

One of the doves lighted on Angela's shoulder. Her clothes became brilliant white and shone so that Max had to shield his eyes. He felt Angela take his hand and he lowered it. Angela was standing a few steps higher than Max on a staircase leading up into the clouds. She ascended the steps leading Max higher and higher.

Without warning, two men in black suits descended towards Max cutting him off from Angela as they reached him. Max struggled to break free. He could see Angela beckoning him to follow, but she slowly vanished ascending higher into the clouds towards a brilliant point of light...

Max awoke to the sound of a phone ringing. He recognized the voice right away.

"Good morning, April," he spoke. "Good to hear your voice."

"Max, I already want to split you open," said April. "Don't make things worse. You've cost this company a whole lot of money."

"And pride," Max reminded her. "Don't forget that."

"I'm here to recover stolen property," April went on. "Now are you going to cooperate like your voice mail said, or do me and the boys get to take out our frustrations on you?"

"Are you in the hotel?" Max asked.

"Ready to come up and drag you down if necessary."

"It won't be," said Max. "Stay there, and I'll meet you in the lobby in twenty minutes."

Max hung up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and got dressed. Today was going to be a big day.
Chapter Seventeen

Max stepped off the elevator in the lobby of the Seelbach and found his breakfast companion exactly where he had been told to find her.

April sat on a couch half reading the morning paper half watching the elevators. Max caught her eye... and walked right past her.

The gesture was intended to annoy April and worked to perfection. She folded her paper and began to follow Max. He walked quickly, and April took several quick steps to catch up.

Max led her into the hotel restaurant where he asked for a table for two without ever actually acknowledging April's presence. He sat down and opened his menu still not saying a word to April. April did the same. After a moment or so, a waitress made her way to the table.

"Can I take your order?" she asked.

"Two eggs over easy. Bacon and sausage. Hash browns. Biscuits. A side of three pancakes with maple syrup and orange juice." Max frowned. "No, change that orange juice to coffee."

"Why not order both?" April quipped.

Max shrugged. "All right. Orange juice and coffee."

"I'll just have some oatmeal and milk," said April.

"And what room shall I charge this to?"

"Hers," said Max without hesitation. April glared at him as the waitress walked toward the kitchen.

"And a good morning to you too, Mr. Rogan," April said.

"Is it?" Max peeked out the window. "Can't tell here in the midst of all these buildings."

"What a charming sense of humor," said April.

"You're staying here?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "We were staying at the Hyatt, but after you called Harwood, he called us and said to move over here. Keep our eyes open for you."

"So you were already in town?"

"Yep," said April. "Your friend from the coffee shop, Eric, was very helpful in giving us leads. Not only here, but Dallas."

"Is that so?" said Max. "And just how is dear Eric?"

April smiled. "Some place where he won't cause us any more trouble."

"Did you kill him?"

"We've been able to save half a dozen lives with the materials harvested from the shells we picked up in Dallas," said April. "Does it really matter what happened to Eric?"

"It matters to me," said Max.

"So you wouldn't take one life if it meant saving dozens, maybe hundreds of others?" asked April.

The conversation broke as the waitress returned with their drinks. Max put his usual amount of sugar into the coffee then went on.

"So," he began, "Did you sleep well?"

"Absolutely," she said. "After the wild goose chase we've been on this week, nights with three hours sleep. We were glad to crash and relax."

"We?" he said.

"Me and Les, and a couple other guys who work for us," she said.

"Les? Who's Les?"

"The guy you trashed in the bathroom at the airport."

"The smoker?" Max leaned back. "Please tell me you're not involved with the smoking guy."

"And what if I am?" April answered defensively.

"I don't believe that," he said. "I just pictured you with a more successful guy, like Harwood."

"Harwood?" April rolled her eyes. "He could never keep up with a woman like me. People like you and I scale mountains in the morning and sky dive in the afternoon. Harwood hires people to take vacations for him."

"I agree with that," Max said. "But the smoking guy?"

"Les."

"Less is right," said Max. "He's...well for crying out loud, you saw what I did to him. You mean to tell me you couldn't find a better henchman, much less a better lover?"

"Okay," said April, "We all know you can kick my boyfriend's butt. But Max, really, you were what, special forces? There are very few people in this world you couldn't take in a fight."

"What I don't understand is, you know who you're dealing with," Max said in confidence. "So, why send boys to try and stop me?"

"Max," said April, "If I wanted to stop you with muscle, I could."

"You mean Les turns into the Incredible Hulk?"

"All I'd have to do is pull a few of those super soldiers out of storage and set them on your trail."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Super soldiers. Okay, any solutions that don't involve fictional super human clones?"

"You mean you haven't met any in your travels with the shells?"

Max laughed. "Come on, April. You and I both know that such things only exist in rumor."

"I'm surprised at you," she answered. "I'd think you would have learned a lot more from your friends."

"I know better than to believe everything I'm told," said Max.

April shrugged. "Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction."

"Sometimes it is," said Max. "But even if you had such super soldiers at your disposal, there's a problem."

"What's that?" April asked.

"Do you really think the super soldiers would betray their own kind? Do you think they'd help you stop the shells from escaping to freedom?"

"Absolutely," she said.

"How would you work that out?"

"There wouldn't be any working out to do," said April. "Not if the soldiers didn't know who they were."

"Oh, so now we can brainwash them?" said Max.

April shrugged. "We can erase memories and replace them with others that are suited to our purposes."

Max shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"Which explains why it's been kept secret for so long," said April. "People don't want to believe their government is producing genetically superior warriors in secret laboratories. So they don't."

Max had heard the argument before in relation to the shells raised for producing transplant organs. Certainly the same strategy could work with military clones. But Max needed more proof before he'd buy into that story.

"So how exactly did you come into this affair?" Max asked.

"I've been in the employ of Harwood BioTech longer than you," said April. "Security detail at Dino Land."

Max held back a laugh. "I've been to Dino Land. I don't know that I'd put that on my resume if I were you."

April rolled her eyes. "Harwood hired me to his staff last week after we busted the G2 sympathizers that interrupted his speech at the stock holder's meeting with a little broadcast from Mindy."

"It's Mandie, not Mindy," said Max. "So what's the story with Smokey and the boys?"

"I took one of my best men from Dino Land," she said. "But I picked up Les and a few other specialists from outside sources."

"I assume we're not talking about a normal staffing agency," Max inquired.

"This job requires people with special skills," April said. "The kind of men I was looking for don't answer ads in the paper."

"You mean murderers," Max accused.

"Harwood BioTech is in the business of saving lives," April retorted. "But at the same time, Harwood BioTech has people like you and me employed to protect its special assets just like every other company with big secrets."

The waitress delivered their breakfasts with Max's taking up most of the table. They ate quietly for a short time, then it was April's turn again.

"So, Rogan," she said. "I chase you half-way across the country. You beat up my men, turn prehistoric monsters loose on a major city, throw us for more loops than a roller coaster, and do everything you can to make me think you've turned against us. Then I get a phone call that you're ready to hand over the leadership and most of the membership of the leading terrorist organization plaguing our company."

Max nodded.

"Which Rogan am I eating with? The traitor, or the spy?"

"The Genesis Group is going to hit Ft. Knox tonight," said Max.

April nodded. "We've already anticipated that."

"Mandie will be with them. And McKinley."

"Who's McKinley?"

"He's the top man in G2, apparently," said Max.

April was very interested now.

"This is interesting news," she said. "Do we have details?"

Max nodded. "G2 has two men on the inside. Two of your able security officers, it seems."

"Impossible," said April. "Those men are screened thoroughly before hiring."

"Half your problem up until this point has been underestimating your enemy," said Max. "They have two sympathizers amongst the security team who are going to let them in around 11 pm. The plan is to move them from the facility..." Max unfolded a photocopied map with an "X" marked in red. "...to the airport in Louisville. The shells will be loaded into vans and delivered to the airport by 2 am."

April shook her head. "We have to stop them at the facility. We can't afford the losses we sustained in Southwest. Unless they're planning to leave the greenhouse untouched this time around?"

"It doesn't sound that way," said Max.

"Then we have to be ready and waiting for them as soon as they hit the door," said April. "And without using the regular security force. If we tip off the guards on duty, the moles might warn off their friends."

"You'll need more men," said Max.

"I can bring in at least two dozen new men for tonight and post them on the roof and out of sight." April looked up at Max. "These folks going to be armed?"

"I don't know for sure," said Max. "They've kept the driving team and the raiding party separate. I'm in the driving crew, so I have no idea what the details are for the other group."

"They had weapons at Southwest, correct?"

Max nodded. "Stun guns."

"That's right," April smiled. "They pumped you full of enough juice to take down a rhino."

"My guess is they'll use more of the same tonight," said Max. "If there's one thing I have in common with these folks, it's a distaste for taking life."

"Then I won't ask you to be a part of the security detail," said April.

Max's stomach churned. As much as he knew he was doing the right thing, killing did not seem like the answer to him. The G2 members were well meaning, if misguided, individuals. They deserved prison, yes, but Max did not believe they deserved death.

He chose to put the thought out of his mind. If he didn't have to see it happen, he could go forward without any guilt.

"What about the drivers?" Max asked.

"I'll make sure they get picked up as well."

"Why don't you take my van?" said Max. "Good way to sneak up on them and catch them off guard."

April agreed. "Might as well get them all."

"Now of course," said Max, "I'm going to expect extra commission for turning over the humans as well as preventing the loss of the shells."

April smiled. "What did you have in mind?"

"A retirement package, something I can live off the next forty years," said Max.

"Max, are you getting soft on me?" April asked.

Max sipped at his orange juice. "If all goes well, I'm going to be out of the job after tonight. Your one major threat will be out of the way, and if it's all the same to you, I'm going to resign and turn the repossession work over to you."

"You almost sound relieved," said April.

"After the run you put me through this week, I need a vacation."

"That makes two of us," said April.

"Do we have a deal?" Max asked.

"There's just one more thing," said April.

"Something the matter?" Max asked.

April leaned forward. "I'm taking all this information as an act of good faith. How can I know for sure you're not jerking me around?"

Max reached into his pocket and pulled out an ear piece.

"I'm way ahead of you," he said.

Eight o'clock that night, April and Les sat inside the coffee shop on Bardstown Road, where Max and Angela first stayed, dressed to blend. Max insisted they pick up black turtlenecks and Jack Kerouac novels to better blend in with the artists and philosophers that inhabited the neighborhood. They sipped at their cappuccinos and pretended to read while awaiting the arrival of Max Rogan.

Of course, not wanting to take chances, April had two men shadowing Rogan's every move. It did not prove to be a difficult task. He stayed in his room until 7:45, then drove directly to the coffee shop. April pressed her hand to her ear, making sure the listening device was in place. She heard Max order his drink, then saw him sit alone reading over a newspaper.

"Mark?"

April looked up to see a young blonde woman standing in front of Max.

"I had a problem on my route."

"Sit down," Max told her.

The young woman sat and laid out a map in front of Max. "There's construction here, here, and here. It took three hours to get to the airport last night."

Max frowned at the map then sketched a new route. "Go ahead and take a shorter path this way," April heard him say.

The blonde folded her map and put it in her pocket. She walked away from the table. Max looked at April, who nodded back. She was convinced.

Surveying the room, April picked out the body language of the other drivers while eyeing Max without trying to look suspicious. She smiled to herself, then went back to pretending to read her novel.

Within an hour or so, all the drivers but Max cleared out. Max leaned into his newspaper and spoke to April.

"Everyone's gone," he said. "Tell your boy there to meet me at my van two blocks south in the alley. You give me a ride back to the hotel. I leave you the van and the map."

Max stood, took his dishes to the counter, and left.

The ride to the hotel was silent. Max had no real interest in talking to Les. And Les, understandably, did not care to get to know the man who had beaten him senseless on several occasions.

Max stopped in the hotel gift shop before returning to his room. He picked out a science fiction novel, a candy bar, and a drink, then headed to the elevators.

The ordeal was nearly over, and Max could not be happier. He leaned against the back wall of the elevator and let out a deep sigh. He was going on a nice vacation after this. Maybe he'd take his mom--

No, that would not be relaxing. But Max, certainly, would be going on a vacation.

Max walked down the hall to his room and stuck his key in the door. He turned the handle, and then froze. His hand left the door, and he turned to see the person walking down the hall towards him.

"Hi, Max," said Angela.
Chapter Eighteen

"Everyone is in place. We're ready to end this."

April paced on the rooftop of the Ft. Knox facility scanning the horizon with the rest of her crew. She had her mobile phone up to her ear and Sebastian Harwood on the other end.

"That's exactly what I want to hear," said Sebastian. "Good work."

"I'd love to take credit," she said, "But Max Rogan is the hero of the hour. He's practically gift-wrapped Mandie and the rest of G2. The whole organization will be history by morning."

"Wonderful," he said. "Soon as morning comes, I want Max Rogan in the Ft. Knox facility."

April stopped her pacing. "Sir?"

"I want Rogan brought in. And I want him eliminated."

April could not believe her ears. "I don't understand."

"You don't have to," said Sebastian. "He's caused enough damage by his actions to destroy our profits for this quarter."

"Did you hear what I said?" said April. "He's the reason I am here about to close the door on G2 forever."

"And no one is happier to know that these terrorists are done for than I," said Sebastian. "But Mr. Rogan is far too expensive to keep around."

"I disagree, sir," said April. "We can use a man with his abilities. If he manages to pull this one off."

"I can get rid of you both," said Harwood, getting testy. "Would you prefer that solution?"

"Don't threaten me," said April.

"Don't challenge my authority," said Sebastian.

"Yes, sir," said April gritting her teeth.

"Whatever happens tonight, come morning, I want Rogan put on ice."

"I'll do it," she replied. "But I don't agree with it."

"You don't have to agree. Just obey orders."

"Yes, sir."

"Besides," said Sebastian. "I for one still don't trust this guy. If he betrays us again--"

"If he betrays us, he'd better hope someone besides me gets to him first."

"That's what I like to hear," said Sebastian. "Call me when you have Mandie in your possession."

April hung up. She heard a door close and saw Les was now on the roof. She looked at her watch and then at her lover.

"It's time."

Max went about his business in the hotel room as if alone: turning on the TV, slipping off his shoes, checking his messages, and brushing his teeth. Angela quietly sat at the edge of the queen-sized bed too nervous to take her shoes off and get comfortable. She watched his every move, from the time he entered the room, to the moment he finally settled down and crashed on the bed.

"Are you going to talk to me?" she finally asked.

"What's to talk about?" said Max.

"Have you talked to Harwood BioTech?" she asked.

Max nodded.

"They're going to be waiting for us?" she asked.

Max looked at Angela and said nothing.

"How far will we get?" she pressed him.

"Harwood BioTech knows enough to prevent a repeat of Southwest," he said. "That's all you need to know."

"You going with them?" she asked.

Max didn't answer.

"Max, are you?"

"Why do you care?" Max asked.

Angela sighed. "I was just wondering if I'd have a chance to say goodbye later or if I should do it now."

Max looked at Angela. "You're going with them?"

Angela nodded.

"I wish you wouldn't."

"I'm not afraid," she said. "If I die tonight, I'll die with a clean conscience."

"You should get out of town while you have the chance."

Angela looked at Max. "Why do you care what happens to me?"

Max ignored her choosing to flip through the stations. Angela got up and stood in front of the TV.

"You like me."

Max clicked the TV off and turned to her. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"I don't mean like in the romantic sense. But..." She swallowed hard before going on. "You care about what happens to me, don't you?

"Don't be ridiculous," he said.

"You don't want them to cut me up, do you?"

"It makes no difference to me," he said.

"None at all?"

Max shook his head. "Technically, the organs in your body don't belong to you. Harwood BioTech created you, and Harwood BioTech should have the right to harvest and sell your parts the same as any other shell. But since I gave my word, I'm giving you a chance."

"I don't believe you," she asked. "I don't believe this is still just a business arrangement to you."

"Believe it."

"Then throw me out of here! If I'm just a thing, toss me out in the hall like a room service tray!"

It was the wrong thing to say. Max stood and swept Angela up into his arms. He walked towards the hotel room door intending to do just what Angela had suggested.

He opened the door and set her down, but before he could release her, Angela wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Max was stunned. He wanted her to go, but he couldn't break away from her kiss. He wanted to badly for her to be a real woman not just a thing. He cursed the day he ever laid eyes on her.

Angela unlocked her lips from his leaning her forehead against Max's chest, her arms clinging to him in desperation.

"Please go," he said.

"Go where?" she whispered.

"Leave the country. Go and join Julia and Kim in Europe. Anywhere but Ft. Knox."

"Max, I can't do that," she said.

"They will kill you if you go tonight," he said. "Don't let them take you."

"Would you come with me?"

Max was stunned. "What?"

"We can leave together," she said. "We'll go to Europe and start over. No more moral issues to face."

"I don't have any moral issues," Max said.

"Then how come you haven't taken me to your people?" She brought her hands together with her wrists pressed together against his chest. "I'm here. Take me to them. Turn me over so they can gut me and throw my carcass away."

Max turned and walked back into the room sitting down in his chair. Angela followed him back inside.

"It's where I belong, isn't it? I'm their property to use and discard. Take me back where I belong. To the ones who made me."

Max did not reply.

"You can't turn me over," she said again. "Can you?"

Max was simmering inside. Part of him wanted to do it. He could call April and be rid of her in a matter of minutes. But he didn't. He turned the TV on and spoke softly.

"If you go with them, you will be captured. Your only chance is to leave now. My wallet's on the dresser. Take it, and go. Please."

Angela looked at the dresser, but she did not make a move toward it. She turned to the door prepared to leave.

Max looked up. "Would you really leave if I came with you?"

"I do," Angela answered. "I love you, Max."

"You can't," said Max.

"Why not?" asked Angela.

"You only just found out about Eric a few days ago," said Max. "You expect me to believe you've fallen in love again so soon?"

Angela let a wry smile cross her face. "And here I expected you'd say it was because I'm not human."

Max looked up at Angela speechless. She turned and walked out into the hall shutting the door behind her. She hadn't lied to him completely. She truly had fallen for him. But she had work to do.

She would see Max again. Very soon.
Chapter Nineteen

Max sat up almost all night watching the television. He went through two pay-per-view movies and four or five 30 minute segments of sports news before finally drifting off to sleep around 6 am. Max dreaded having any more visions of Angela and Megan like in previous nights. But his sleep was mercifully dreamless.

That is, the hour of sleep he had was dreamless.

Another rude awakening welcomed Max into the new day at 7 am. His hotel door flew open and five guys descended on him, some holding, some beating. It was several minutes into the beating before Max had any sense of who was in the room.

"So we're not tough enough to take you out, eh?"

Through sleepy, swollen eyes, Max made out the blurred face before him.

"Good morning, Les," said Max.

Les hit Max in the face causing a bit of blood to trickle from Max's mouth.

"I see you brought a posse to soften me up for you," said Max, referring to the team holding him on the bed. "Let me guess, Harwood has no intention of paying me?"

Les hit Max in the stomach, and Max crumpled forward.

"No one's gonna recognize you after we're through with you!" Les shouted. "What amazes me is that you were still here where we could find you."

Max coughed trying to get air back in his lungs. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another person enter the room and sit on the bed across from him.

"You had us pretty snowed, Max," said April. "I really believed you were sincere."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

April nodded to Les, who fired several more blows at Max. Max coughed blood refusing to scream or beg for mercy keeping his cool. "Don't tell me you let the little shells get away."

"Get away?" April's voice betrayed a great deal of anger. "You might say they got away, yes."

Max snickered. "You people are pathetic."

Les slugged Max in the face again.

"Okay, I must be missing something here," said Max dazed and confused. "I gave you all the details I had. I gave you maps. Explain to me how you let the thieves and the shells get away and how this is my fault."

Les grabbed Max by the face.

"Ever been to Miami?"

Max thought, a process that was decidedly slow at the moment for numerous reasons. "Actually...yeah. I have. Why?"

"Have any friends in Miami?" Les asked, drawing Max back into the moment.

"None," said Max pleading innocent to the charge he sensed was coming.

"Funny," said April. "Because your friends made an awful mess there a few hours ago."

"What are you..." Max's eyes opened wide as they were able as it suddenly came clear. His mind raced through the images of his recent journey. Angela and Eric pleading for help for their doomed romance. Megan seated across the table talking about God. Kim and Julia walking toward their freedom. A room full of get away drivers hanging on his every word - every one of them in on a secret he only now could see.

They all knew. They knew my name. They knew who I was!

Max could care less about the bruises and cuts he had taken at the hands of Les. Nothing stung as deeply as the realization he had been played.

"They broke into Miami?" Max asked.

April cocked her head. "You didn't know?" she asked in a pseudo-naïve way. "Yes, Max, they did. Destroyed the greenhouse. Liberated more than two hundred shells including fifty pilots in training."

"Pilots?"

"The super-soldier clone program," said April. "We discussed this yesterday. They're a loss more costly than regular shells."

"My condolences to Mr. Harwood," said Max.

April stood towering over Max in his humbled position. "Condolences are not going to get you out of this mess."

"You think I was involved?"

"I know you were."

"Not a chance," said Max.

"You didn't know?"

"Not a thing," said Max.

"You've been traveling with these people more than a week. You didn't know the plan was to take out Miami last night?"

"Think about it, April," said Max. "If I were involved, why on Earth would I have stayed in town? You really think I would be stupid enough to stay put where you and your goons could come in and lay a beating on me? It's me, not Les."

Les let his fist fly again. This time Max caught it and fired back knocking Les backwards. The other men immediately took charge beating Max back into place.

"That's more than enough," said April. "We don't want to do any permanent damage."

"I appreciate that," said Max. "Really, I do."

"Get dressed, Rogan," said April.

"We doing breakfast?" he asked.

"We're going to Ft. Knox," she said. "Harwood wants to see you. Then we'll decide what to do with you."

Max nodded then sat there.

"Dress now, Rogan," April demanded.

"Right now? In front of you?" Max shook his head. "I'd like a little privacy first."

April smiled trying hard to tolerate Max's attitude. "I'll step into the hall. The boys will stay with you. You're not that modest, are you?"

Max shrugged. "I can deal with that."

April walked out of the room and shut the door. Max stood. The men stepped back keeping alert eyes on him at all times. Max opened his suitcase and pulled out some clothes.

"Do I have time for a shower?" he asked.

"No," said Les.

Max shrugged. "If you can live with the smell, I can." He began to dress and was done in minutes. He pulled out two pairs of shoes holding a pair in each hand.

"What do you think, fellas? Business casual or business formal?"

"Just choose a pair!" demanded Les.

Max shrugged. "Okay." Max dropped the casual pair on the bed. He split the other pair between both hands, pulled back, and hurled the shoes at the men lined up against the wall connecting with two in the head. They dropped to the ground dazed as the other two men and Les sprang into action.

Max grabbed Les by the shirt and flung him towards the other two knocking all three to the floor. He grabbed the TV from off the dresser and dropped it on the pile of bodies still scrambling to get back to their feet. Then he ripped the bedspread off the bed and flung it over top of the TV.

"One on five and I'm still doing well," he shouted, leapfrogging the pile on the floor. He grabbed a towel out of the bathroom and opened the hall door.

To say April was surprised by Max's emergence from the room would be an understatement as he emerged both barefoot and alone. She froze a moment, uncertain what to do then positioned herself in his path.

"Give it up, Rogan," she demanded weakly.

"Unless you have another twenty guys waiting for me around the corner, I think I'll just be leaving."

He moved left. April blocked him. He moved right. April moved with him. "No dice, Rogan."

Max smiled. "Are you going to make me take you out?"

"You're serious?" she asked. "You'd strike a woman?"

"No need," he said wrapping the towel around her head blinding her. The hotel door opened, and before Les and his goons could react, Max shoved a blinded April into the group knocking them all over like dominoes.

Max made the elevators and pressed the elevator button repeatedly. Then thinking better of the idea, he decided to chance the stairs. Even if they beat me down in the elevators, I've already proven I can take them out.

Max leaped down flight after flight his adrenaline flowing like mad. He kind of enjoyed being on the run again, but this time, the run had a new feel. He was now the prey. G2 had used him, and now, these so-called defenders of life had left him to die. He didn't blame them. After all, how many dozens of shells had he denied the right to freedom? Still, he wondered how these God-fearing people could live with the idea that he was now a marked man - especially the one who had professed love to him a few hours ago.

Bursting into the lobby, Max discovered another dozen men in black suits waiting by the door. He stopped, breathing heavily, deliberating whether to even attempt to fight his way out of this. Surely the good folks at the Seelbach Hotel did not wish to have a brawl in their lobby, but more likely than not, April had hotel security clued into his presence as well.

"This way," he heard a male voice call. The men closed on Max with two of them taking him by the arm. They walked through the lobby quickly. Max continued searching for a way out of his predicament but came up empty.

As they approached the door, he saw the man in the lead; a short fellow wearing a hat and sunglasses. He moved authoritatively to a white limousine sitting beside the curb and opened the back door.

"In here," he said. Max's escorts roughly shoved Max into the limo closing the door behind him. He heard the leader telling the rest of the men that Max would be taken to Ft. Knox and that they should relay the message to April. Max also noticed that someone else was inside the limousine seated in the front passenger seat. The man in the hat and glasses climbed into the limo on the driver's side, and the car took off.

Max stretched out on the back seat resigning himself to enjoy the ride even if it was his last. He closed his eyes trying to think how he might talk his way out of his predicament when brought before Sebastian Harwood. He could just tell the truth how he was used and duped by G2. But would that do any good?

Not likely. Harwood BioTech needs a scapegoat to take the fall for this blunder.

Max felt the car come to a halt. He opened his eyes and saw the rear door open. A young woman with red hair climbed into the car and offered him an open box of pastries.

"I thought you might want some breakfast."

Max rubbed his eyes. "Angela?"

"Hi, Max," said Angela. She smiled at him in a way that was simply irresistible causing a smile to creep across his lips.

"What in the world..." Max didn't even know what to say. He was glad to see her, relieved that he had not been abandoned to die, but he was still angered by the situation. G2 had ruined his life, and he wasn't sure he was prepared to be gracious about it.

Angela smiled sensing his confusion. "I bet you thought we had abandoned you."

"The thought crossed my mind."

Angela slid over beside Max gently hugging him. Max winced at her touch but only from the pain that wracked his entire body.

"Looks like you took a beating," she said.

Max nodded and glanced at the side window trying to make out his reflection in the glass.

"We'll have to treat those bruises and cuts as soon as possible," said Angela.

"If it's all the same to you," said Max. "I'd prefer to be let off at the next available stop."

"We saved your life," said Angela.

"You've ruined my life!" Max fired back. "I now have a price on my head thanks to you. Sorry if I'm not eager to go back and drink coffee with the folks who made me look like an idiot."

"Like you need help in that endeavor."

Max noticed that the tinted glass separating the driver from the rest of the limo had been lowered and that the voice which had just spoken had come from the front seat. It was a woman's voice. A familiar woman's voice.

"Care to repeat that comment to my face?" Max challenged her.

The limo came to a stop at a light. The driver took off his glasses and hat. He and his passenger, turned around.

"I said, like you need help looking like an idiot."

Idiot did not come close to describing how Max felt at that moment. There in the front seat were the last two people on Earth Max expected to see:

Brodie and Megan.
Chapter Twenty

Max sat silent, stunned. He was sleepy, fatigued, and out of breath. And now he was puzzled beyond words. Deep down, he had wondered if perhaps Megan would pop back into his life. Now that it had happened, he wasn't certain it was for real. The more she and Brodie chattered, the more amazed he became.

"I still don't believe it," said Brodie. "I really thought it would fail."

"O ye of little faith!" said Megan. "How many times do I have to prove myself before you learn that I am always right?"

"I don't know. I just don't know."

"They never look at the driver," Megan said. "All they do is follow the crowd. They heard you telling them where to go and followed like the dumb sheep they are."

"How did you learn that?" Brodie asked.

"Movies," she said.

"You and your movies," Brodie responded.

"You can learn a lot from the movies," she said. "They're a reflection of who we are as people. And you get a lot of cool ideas watching them. Like how we busted out our pal Max."

Max perked up at the sound of his real name. He summoned the faculties within to begin demanding some answers.

"Hey!" he said.

Megan turned around. "How ya been, Rogan?"

"I'm...fine," Max stumbled over the words still in a state of shock. "You're, uh, you're alive?"

Megan put a finger to her neck checking her pulse. "Yep, still ticking."

"But how?" Max asked.

"The usual," Megan replied. "Breathe oxygen, eat food, drink water."

"That's not what I meant," Max said.

"Oh," said Megan. "You're referring to that little ambush in Dallas. Quite a trap you set for us."

"I didn't set it," said Max.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well," said Megan, "Whether you did or not, you're smart not taking credit for it. It was sloppy. They surrounded us at the main entrance thinking we'd throw up our hands and surrender."

"They don't know us very well," said Brodie.

"Nope," said Megan. "When we refused to simply 'go quietly,' they tried moving in on us without causing a scene. So Brodie whipped out his lighter and set off the sprinkler system, then we made our getaway using the oldest strategy in the book."

"Which was what?" Max asked.

"Run like mad," said Megan with a grin.

Max nodded. "That, uh, brings up another question. Just how long have you known my real name?"

Megan smiled. "Since the beginning."

"Before or after we met?"

"Before you picked up Jessica," said Megan. "We knew who you were, what your name was, where you lived, everything. Oh, and by the way, nice bit of maneuvering you did at the airport the other night. Way above and beyond anything we expected from you, but we're very grateful."

"So this has all been a ruse," he said. "You used me to get Angela and the girls across the country. Then you used me as a decoy while you all raided the Miami facility."

"I told you he was a smart one," Megan said to Brodie.

"Not smart enough apparently," said Max.

"You said it, not me," Megan said with a shrug. "I mean, come on, Max. Mark Hamill? What kind of nickname is that?"

"It wasn't my call," said Max, looking at Angela.

"Reminds me of the time that bounty hunter from Chicago came after me," said Megan. "Remember that, Brodie?"

"Only a television addict like you would have recognized the name Arnold Horshack," said Brodie.

"A bounty hunter from Chicago?" Max asked.

"Yeah," said Megan, with an almost bored tone. "He was even more clueless than you, Max."

"What were you doing in Chicago?" Max asked.

Megan's eyes rolled up as she tried to recall the incident. "Let's see...that was right after the Super Bowl, wasn't it?"

"That's right," Brodie said.

"That's the one," said Megan. "Tell me again why I had to go to Chicago in the middle of January?"

"That's where the satellite pirates sympathetic to our cause had their illegal broadcast station."

Megan nodded. "I've never been so cold in my entire life."

"Pardon me again," said Max, not sure he was hearing things right. "Megan..." He paused deciding exactly how to approach this line of questioning. "Is your name really Megan?"

"Yes," said Megan.

That was not the answer Max was expecting. "Okay, but you were just talking about the Super Bowl."

Megan nodded. "I was."

"You said you watched it at Harwood BioTech."

Megan nodded some more. "Yeah, that was kind of a lie."

"Kind of a lie?"

"Okay, a big lie," she said.

"You didn't break out of Southwest did you?"

"Yes," said Megan.

Max was done with the word games. "Look, the caper's over and done with, so why don't we all come clean, huh?

"Gladly," said Megan. "My name is Megan. I was born inside Southwest, and I broke out two years ago, not two weeks ago."

"Go on," said Max.

"Through a series of events which had to have been directed from above, I made the acquaintance of Brodie here. He was a part of a small college movement against cloning called NuCreation. My existence proved all their worst fears true and then some."

"You could have been any old person claiming to be a shell," said Max.

"But I wasn't," she said. "Was I?"

Max shut up.

"At first, I wanted nothing to with them. I would have preferred to skip the country and live out my days free as a bird. But Brodie convinced me that I had been created for a higher purpose."

"You were created to be an organ donor," said Max.

"My Creator is not of this world," said Megan. "He saved me so that I could tell others the truth about Harwood BioTech and save the people I left behind."

"Just like Esther," said Brodie.

"Who?" asked Max.

"It's in that book I gave you," said Megan.

Max nodded. "So how did NuCreation become G2?"

"Brodie met up with a guy here in Louisville who represented another anti-cloning group a man named McKinley. McKinley had already been in the business of liberating clones by successfully removing one or two at a time from Ft. Knox, but he wanted to do more. Brodie and McKinley merged the organizations, joined money and resources, changed the name to Genesis Group, and I became the face."

"Mandie," said Max.

"There is no Mandie," said Megan. "Mandie is just a character. Sometimes it's me, sometimes it's someone else. That way--"

"That way, no one can cut the head off the snake," said Max.

"Very good," said Megan, "Though I don't think I appreciate the snake analogy."

"It fits," said Brodie, who got a punch in the arm for his candor.

Megan went on. "Under McKinley's direction, we began making much more ambitious plans involving full scale raids of the Harwood BioTech labs that would, not only liberate the entire facility, but cripple Harwood BioTech financially."

"Which is why you also destroyed the greenhouses," Max concluded.

"Exactly," said Megan. "Which reminds me, that little stunt of yours in Dino Land was pure genius."

"Happened on the fly," Max said. "Desperate people take desperate measures."

"Anyway," Megan went on, "our operations so far have been wildly successful thanks in no small part to the role you unintentionally played in both."

Max nodded. "That much is already very clear."

"We let you get Jessica," she said. "We planted a homing device on her to help us find the facility. We followed you all the way there."

"I passed you on the road," said Max.

Megan nodded.

"But how did you learn who I was?" Max asked.

"Jessica supplied the visual ID," said Megan. "Then after we tranq'ed you in the hall, we planted a bug on you."

Max frowned. "If you planted a bug, I would have found it."

"You did," said Megan. "It was on your cell phone."

Max rolled his eyes, leaning back into the seat.

"Thanks to your mom's phone calls, we had your name. Then we had Eric track you down in the hotel, and the rest is history."

Max rubbed his eyes. He was tired, but not so tired he could not feel embarrassed. He wanted to find a hole and crawl inside. He looked up at Angela. "Let me guess, Eric is alive, too. Or, is he McKinley?"

Her face was quite solemn. "I wish he was."

"Eric was my college roommate," said Brodie. "NuCreation was his creation. We're going to miss him a lot."

Max cast a look at Angela. There were tears in her eyes, but she valiantly tried to wipe them away." One question remained in his mind that only she could answer, but now was not the time to ask.

"So here we are," said Megan. "Two cloning facilities emptied and shut down. Two more to go."

"But what does public opinion say?" Max asked. "Granted you all know the truth about Harwood BioTech, but the American people are going to see a bunch of young terrorists denying their beloved relatives of much needed organ donations. You're still fighting an uphill battle."

"And that's the next step," said Megan. "And once again, we're going to need your assistance."

Max folded his arms. "Is that so?"

"All on the level this time," said Megan. "I promise."

Max shook his head. "No way."

"I'm not asking for your decision now," said Megan.

"Don't bother asking later," retorted Max.

"When the time comes, I won't have to ask."

Max leaned his head against the window feeling his eyelids drooping. It was raining now, and Max noticed that they were over water driving across the Abramson Bridge over the Ohio River into Southern Indiana. The bridge led right into the bedroom community of Jeffersonville, and Brodie took the first exit into the tiny downtown area.

"You should have left me to the wolves," he remarked after a long silence.

"That's not who we are," Megan asked.

"I've sent dozens of shells to their end," said Max. "If you're right, that shells are human, it's what I deserve."

"We couldn't," said Megan. "I wouldn't have allowed it."

"Why not?" asked Max.

"Three reasons," said Megan. "One, we're against taking a life if we can prevent it. Two, I like you, Rogan. Always have. You're a good guy with a keen mind, a decent sense of humor, and a lot of imagination. It's not a deep reason, or profound, but it alone kept me from thinking for a minute about leaving you behind."

"I appreciate the sentiment," said Max.

The car turned into the church parking lot. Brodie brought the car to a halt in front of the entrance. Three figures emerged from the church carrying umbrellas and walked to the car.

"So what's reason number three?" asked Max.

"You mean you haven't guessed it already?" said Megan.

The men with the umbrellas opened the doors motioning for Max and Angela to exit the car. Max looked at Angela, who nodded for him to go first. He did so and then helped Angela out.

"We're going to meet Mr. McKinley, aren't we?" he asked.

Angela nodded.

"Couldn't we grab some breakfast first?"

They climbed up six steps to the doors of the church walking inside. The lights in the foyer were off, but Max could tell this was one beautiful building and probably quite old. The carpet certainly looked worn as Max made his way through the foyer towards a long hallway following the lead of Angela. They arrived at a stairwell at the end of the hall. Max saw a flash of lightning illuminate a stained glass window halfway down the steps. Angela started down, and Max followed.

"You know about the super soldiers, correct?" Angela asked.

"I've heard rumors," said Max. "First from Megan then from April Gertz. I've yet to see any real evidence they exist."

"That's about to change," said Angela.

As they reached the bottom half of the stairwell, Max could see a light streaming into the hallway from one of the classrooms. Following Angela down the hall to the lighted room, Max thought that perhaps he should be nervous or anxious going to meet the man who had orchestrated the destruction of his life. But he felt nothing. He was too exhausted.

Angela paused at the doorway turning to Max.

"I hope you're ready for this."

Max walked brashly into the room.

He stopped.

He laughed. He shook his head.

He was face to face with a man he knew had to be McKinley. He was Max's identical height, age, and body type. He also had a face identical in every way to Max.

"Something the matter, Rogan?" said McKinley.

Max shook his head. "Megan was right. Shoulda seen this coming."
Chapter Twenty One

Max could not take his eyes off McKinley. Shock was the only word for what was going through his mind. He dared not think further on the implications of this situation, though he knew that inevitably he would be forced to do just that. He felt his knees shake a little, and Angela stepped in to steady him.

"Have a seat, tiger," she said. Angela helped him into a chair at a table.

McKinley walked over to the table. Megan and Brodie entered carrying bottles of soft drinks for everyone. Brodie passed out the drinks as everyone took a seat. McKinley reached over and popped the top on Max's bottle.

Max sipped his soda with his eyes glued on his newly discovered "brother." He remained silent. He did not wish to acknowledge that this was reality, but the longer he stared at his own face on another man, the more he realized how very real it was.

How many nights had he dreamt of parachuting behind enemy lines in the black of night landing inside a fortified compound with a whole platoon of men identical to himself? Such dreams had been a regular occurrence over the years; dreams that he shrugged off as distorted memories of his military past.

Maybe those memories weren't so distorted after all.

"You had to know," said McKinley. "Deep down, you had to have some idea. Dreams, perhaps, of the past. Our days in the service together. This is not the first time we've met."

"I don't remember much," said Max.

"I envy you," said McKinley. "I got away and avoided the memory wipe. We did a lot of things I wish I could forget."

"You never fully do," said Max recalling the horrors in some of his dreams.

"You were our squad leader," said McKinley. "Always cool under pressure. Always putting the lives of your men first. We all admired you for that. In fact, if I didn't know who you were before we let you take off from Texas, I would have recognized your style at Dino Land."

Max shrugged. "If you say so."

"I think in the seventy or so operations we ran, we lost maybe three? Four guys? That's quite a record," said McKinley genuinely bragging on his former commander.

"I'm impressed," Megan offered.

"When I realized who you were, I knew we were in trouble," said McKinley. "But you were our best chance at taking down two of Harwood BioTech's labs. I still can't believe we pulled it off."

"Neither can I," said Max. "So how far back do we go?"

"Believe it or not, the super soldier program goes back forty-five years," said McKinley. "The military offered a contract to Harwood BioTech. These were the days when Harwood BioTech's primary trade was in plant genetics, and Jacob Harwood still sought a way to clone human tissues apart from cloning whole humans. The world was changing following the breakdown of the eastern super powers. The needs of the American military were also changing. The contract called for the development of super-human clones destined for the most dangerous and challenging assignments."

"The fairy story again," said Max.

"I assure you," said McKinley. "This is no fairy story. You and I are both second generation products of that operation. Harwood BioTech refused at first. Jacob Harwood was completely opposed to the idea of using genetic technology for military purposes. His son Martin was not."

"Sebastian Harwood's father," said Max.

McKinley nodded. "Martin saw the profit potential and decided he could live without his father more than he could live without the money."

"He murdered his father?" Max asked.

"No one knows for sure," said McKinley. "By the time the military project was on the table, Jacob had withdrawn from the public eye. The last three years of his term as CEO, no one save a select few even saw the man. Then one day, Martin Harwood appears on television holding his father's resignation letter in hand."

"Just like that," said Max.

McKinley nodded. "Some people suggested he retired into obscurity. The most plausible theory we've heard is that he fell to a terminal illness and spent his last few years in hiding. Martin Harwood would have been wise to keep that a secret. It wouldn't look good for a genetics company if they couldn't save the life of their own founder. Whatever his fate, Martin became the CEO and human cloning entered a new era.

"The first generation troops had advanced physical characteristics making them faster, stronger, and bolder than the average human foot soldier. But there was a problem. The scientists failed to develop the soldiers mentally. While they were capable of actions superior to the enlisted men, they weren't very bright. The military had to assign human commanders to lead the clones into battle. One night during a raid in Iraq, the commanding officer was killed leaving the division headless, so to speak. None of them returned alive."

"Lucky them," said Max, sipping his drink.

"Enter two behavioral psychologists, who proposed an accelerated program of learning, focusing on logic, reason, mathematics, physics, and chemistry. After some fine tuning to the genetic code, we were given a thorough education to coincide with our physical development. Now the military had the super soldiers they desired. Physically dominant in combat, mentally capable to overcome any obstacle, counter any attack. We were the iron fist the government had longed for."

"You and I," said Max. "We were created in a lab?"

McKinley nodded. "For no other purpose than to become living, breathing, and reasoning weapons of war."

Max shook his head. "Impossible. Granted the similarities in appearance between you and I are...well, fantastic. But I have a mother. A home."

"Do you remember growing up in that home?"

"Yes," said Max, but as he thought about it, he began to shake his head. "To tell the truth, my memory going back before leaving the military is quite fuzzy."

"It's non-existent," said McKinley. "You were shown pictures of a child with his mother growing up in a happy home in the great state of Texas. What you saw were photos of another child. The real son of the woman you call Mom died in a car accident as a teenager."

"That's madness," said Max. "My mother is my mother. I'm sure of it."

Brodie pulled out a microcomputer and set it on the table. He then pulled a disc out of his pocket sealed in an envelope that was stamped in large letters, "CONFIDENTIAL". He pressed the disc into the computer, and slid it towards Max. The computer brought up a menu of folders, and Max saw one labeled with his first name. He opened the file, and the first thing that caught his eye was the author's list at the top: psychologists Dr. Albert McKinley, and Dr. Helen Rogan.

"My mother?" Max uttered.

McKinley nodded. "I'm sorry."

The words stung Max to the core. Helen Rogan, the woman Max had only known as his mother. It made sense; after all, they slipped by the Harwood BioTech agents with ease at the bus depot. If she were one of them, who better to betray Max and his travel companions than the woman he trusted more than anyone else on Earth.

"Then why the charade?"

"I'm afraid that's my fault," said McKinley. "I was your predecessor at Harwood BioTech. When the need arose for someone to track down shells that escaped, they put me on the job. But it wasn't long before I developed a conscience about the work. The way I saw it, the people I tracked and recovered were my brothers and sisters. When I realized I couldn't do it anymore, I turned on them. I broke as many shells as I could out of Ft Knox and never looked back."

"So when Harwood BioTech decided to replace you with me," said Max. "They gave me a false identity."

"Exactly," said McKinley. "If you knew you were one of us, you'd have turned on them the same as I did. But if you saw yourself as human, you'd be more likely to see things their way. Your mother, Dr. Rogan, was the one who gave you a new identity. In a way, she's the closest thing to a mother you have."

"She is my mother," said Rogan defiantly. "And if you think any of this has changed my mind..." He trailed off unable to finish his thought or wrap his mind around all he had learned.

McKinley sat back content to let Max dwell on these new revelations. Max was glad for the distraction provided by his soda. He concentrated on every part of the drinking experience from the flavor to the feel of the bubbles fizzing in his mouth. It was a trivial matter, but Max wanted anything to think about besides the issue at hand.

"Are you okay, Max?" asked Megan.

He shot her a look. "I'm pretty far from okay, Megan."

"Do you need some time alone?" Megan asked.

"For what?" said Max. "To process all this? To think it through? I'm a shell. I'm not a human. I'm a commodity. Why would I need time to think about anything?"

"Do you honestly believe that?" Megan persisted. "That you're only a thing?"

"What do you want me to say?" Max pushed away from the table and stood up. "You want me to say I'm angry? Should I say, 'You're right, Megan. You were right all along. I'm human, and no man or woman has any right to tell me who I am or what I should do or be because I have the free will to make my own decisions!'"

"Is that how you feel?" Angela asked.

"You bet that's how I feel!" Max sighed then punched the wall. An action which led to a set of bloody, painful knuckles. Angela stood to tend to him.

"I'm sorry," said McKinley.

"For what?" Max asked. "You're not the one who decided to build us super soldiers. You have nothing to apologize for."

"I'm sorry that I had to tell you this," said McKinley. "It would have been so much easier on us all if mankind had chosen not to play God. Then again, none of us would be alive if it weren't for their actions."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," said Max.

McKinley shrugged. "Life is what you make of it. I have it, and I intend to make the best of it."

Max allowed Angela to hold his hands. She looked up at him with gentle eyes. He felt a kinship with her; something that had always been there but only now had come to the fore. He was glad that she was here at this moment. Glad she ignored his advice to take off for Europe. He needed her.

"What am I supposed to do now?" said Max. "Join the team? Be a leader and an agent of G2? Fight the evils of cloning and Harwood BioTech?"

"Max, I'm not going to ask you to do a darn thing," said McKinley. "You have been freed of the slavery to your human creators. You no longer have any obligation to them. At the same time, I'm not going to demand any loyalty or service to us. You can leave the country. You can go back to Harwood BioTech. But for the first time in your life, the choice will be completely yours."

With that, McKinley stood up from the table. Brodie and Megan followed his lead. McKinley paused at the door to look eye to eye with Max then exited. Brodie followed giving Max a pat on the shoulder. Megan stopped as well raising to her tiptoes to give Max a kiss on the cheek, which made Max smile. She handed Max a small card.

"My number's on the back," she said. "If you need me, call."

Megan followed Brodie and McKinley out of the room.

"Where are they going?" Max asked.

"They have someplace else to be in about an hour," said Angela. "I'm to take you to a safe house in Indiana."

"Soft beds, I hope? I need some sleep."

Angela smiled. "Of course." She wrapped her arms around Max slowly making sure he would not reject her advances. Max drew her close as he hugged her back. Angela rested her head on Max's shoulder.

"What am I going to do?" asked Max.

"McKinley said it's up to you," said Angela.

"But what do you think I should do?"

Angela tilted her head upward to face Max. "McKinley also told me not to give you any advice; to let this be your decision only."

"Forget McKinley for a moment!" said Max. "Tell me what you want me to do."

Angela rested her head on his shoulder. "Take some time. Think things over. Make your own decision about whether to stay or go."

Max lifted Angela's face with his hand bringing him eyeball to eyeball with her again. "He told you to say that, didn't he?"

Angela pulled her head away concealing a guilty smile. "I'm sorry. I want to say..." She looked back up at Max. "I'll tell you. Just, not now."

"Fair enough," said Max. "Now get me to a bed."

Angela pulled back and took Max by the hand. He winced as she touched his scraped knuckles. She switched hands and led Max into the hall.

"Ang?" he asked.

"Yeah, what?"

"Did you mark that verse in the Bible?" he asked. "The one about being created in the womb?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Do you believe it?" Max swallowed hard.

"I do, Max," she said. "I really do."

Max and Angela made the journey to the safe house in silence. Max appreciated Angela's simple faith, but in the wake of the day's events, he couldn't accept it. How could a God that loved humanity and desired the best allow human beings to turn other human beings into chattel?

Max was angry. He was mad at God, at Harwood BioTech, and yes, he was angry with G2. They had taken his life away. His job, his family, everything he ever knew was gone, and he hated them and their God for it.

But what had they done to erase his life? They had told him the truth; the one Harwood BioTech had buried in a mountain of lies.

G2 had also offered him the chance to start a new life. He could leave the country to go someplace remote and spend the rest of his life forgetting all of this. Maybe Angela would go with him. She seemed pretty sincere about going away with him last night, but under the circumstances, Max didn't know if there was anyone in the world left that he could trust.

Maybe the best thing to do would be to get out of the car at the next light, start walking, and leave her behind too.

But Max didn't get out of the car. He was conflicted, but he was also tired, and he very much wanted to believe in Angela's promise of a warm bed in a safe place to sleep.

Chapter Twenty Two

On a quiet street in a neighboring Indiana town, Max and Angela entered the home of Kathy and Ryan, a young couple expecting their first child. After offering Max something to eat, which he declined, they showed him to a simply furnished room containing a bed, a nightstand, and a lamp. Angela left him to get some rest, and Max was asleep before she even shut the door.

That evening, Angela returned to eat dinner with Max. Kathy prepared a home cooked meal of chicken and vegetables, and they all sat around a dining room table, mostly in silence, eating together. Ryan offered a simple prayer of thanks before the meal.

After assisting Kathy with the dishes, Angela asked Max to take a walk. "Is it safe out here?" Max asked.

"Should be," said Angela. "This is a quiet neighborhood far from any heavy traffic. Plus, knowing how Harwood BioTech works, and how you used to work, our friends have probably left town under the assumption that you're miles away by now."

Max agreed, and they stepped out into the night. The air felt a bit humid to Max, but a gentle breeze made it quite comfortable. Max wore a pair of pants and a shirt borrowed from Ryan, as his clothes had been left behind at the hotel with all of his other possessions.

Max gazed up into the sky at a colorful sunset full of brilliant reds, purples, and yellows. Suddenly, thoughts of creation and God flooded back into his mind.

"So are you going to ask me?" asked Angela.

"Ask you what?" he said.

"I know what's on your mind," she said. "And I know no matter how I answer, you won't believe it. Not right away."

"Can you blame me?" he asked.

"Not at all," said Angela. "You were lied to most of your life by the people you worked for. And you were lied to by us. By me. All in the name of setting you free from lies."

"You should probably revisit that strategy before you save your next shell collector," said Max. "It's a little disconcerting from people who profess to believe in God."

She nodded. "You're probably right."

"It's hard enough to believe there's Someone watching over us when there are people manufacturing other people in a lab for profit. If you lie like they do, you're no better than the ones who did this to us."

"Would you have believed us if we simple approached you with the truth?"

Max thought for a moment. "Probably not. But right now, I'm not inclined to believe anyone."

"Not even me?"

"Even you," said Max. "But if it's any consolation, you're the one person in this world I want to believe."

She smiled. "It's a start."

Max and Angela stopped at a corner. Across the street, three boys zipped down the sidewalk of the neighborhood playground on their skateboards blasting across the road and onto the next stretch of sidewalk without even slowing down. Max tried to recall a moment like that from his own childhood \- and couldn't.

"I missed so much," said Max as they crossed the street.

"So much of what?" Angela asked.

"Of life," he said. "A childhood. Adolescence."

Angela shrugged. "From what I've heard, we haven't missed out on a lot except scraped knees, chicken pox, and a little bit of heartache."

"Then again," said Max. "Skipping through those developmental phases hasn't given us total immunity to broken hearts."

Angela nodded.

"You miss him?"

"Of course I do," she said.

"You sure about that?"

Angela sighed. "I don't blame you for doubting me." she said. "To be totally honest, I was sent to feel you out to see if you were with us."

"I know that," Max said.

"You do?"

"I do," said Max. "What I don't know is why you decided to come back for me?"

Angela stopped and looking up at Max. He could sense her reluctance at answering that question on her face, but before he could press the issue, Angela darted without warning towards an open swing on the swing set. "Come on, Max!" she shouted.

"Why?" he shouted back.

"I need you to push me!" she answered.

Max rolled his eyes. "Angela, come on."

"You said just a moment ago you'd missed out on all this," Angela persisted. "So let's make up for lost time."

And so Max Rogan found himself pushing Angela on a swing as the sun sank over the horizon. As he listened to her giggle and laugh, he thought back to the moment in the coffeehouse when he met Angela thinking that he would never have believed in that moment that he would be playing on a swing set with her. Not even the revelation that he was a shell himself equaled the surprise he felt in this moment.

"Are you going to ask me?" she said.

"Right now?" he said.

"Can you think of a better moment?"

Max wanted to ask, but he held back. In truth, there were many questions demanding to be answered, but for this perfect moment, they no longer haunted Max. As the stars made their emergence in a black night sky, Max and Angela lost themselves in laughter.

Another surprise awaited Max when he and Angela arrived back at the house: a long distance phone call.

"Guess who?" said a familiar voice.

"Gimme the phone! I wanna talk!" said another, more distant.

"Wait your turn!" shouted the first voice. "Hey, Max, what's up?"

"Gimme the phone!" the other interjected.

Max laughed. "Julia?"

"No!" said the annoyed speaker. "This is Kim."

"And Julia!" added the other voice.

"Sorry," said Max. "How are you?"

"We're great," said Kim. "Except that everybody speaks French here, and we don't know a word of it."

"I have a boyfriend!" shouted Julia.

"Give Julia my congratulations," said Max.

"She doesn't really have a boyfriend," said Kim. "There was this waiter at this restaurant, and he asked for her phone number. But they haven't gone out yet."

"I see," said Max. He looked at Angela, who could tell the conversation on the phone was quite entertaining and laughed. Max talked to Kim for another ten minutes before Julia could wrestle the phone away. He heard all about their trip across the ocean; Kim's air sickness (in greater detail than he desired to hear); the people who helped them gain new identities; and their failed attempts to learn French. For the first time in days, Max felt good about himself. Yes, he had been tricked into helping the girls, but he had also grown to like them.

Before their adventurous trek across the country, the girls were nothing more than a paycheck to him. He realized now that it would have been almost impossible to turn them back over to Harwood BioTech. And he was happy to know they were safe and would live long, happy lives in their new home.

"You're coming to see us, right?" asked Julia.

"Me?" Max replied. "Who told you that?"

"Megan said so," said Julia. "She told us she figured you'd probably hop the next flight and retire over here."

"She did, did she?" said Max.

"Yeah," said Julia. "So...when shall we expect you?"

"I haven't quite decided that," said Max.

"But you are coming, right?"

Max rolled his eyes. "I haven't even thought about what to do next. But when I make my decision, I'll let you two know."

"You promise?"

Max promised then turned the phone over to Angela. He whispered his intent to turn in, gave Angela a quick hug, and went to his bedroom.

But as with previous nights, Max did not find sleep an easy thing to achieve. Much as he wanted to hop on a plane, fulfill his promise to the girls, and start a new life on another continent, Max knew his trip would have to wait. The revelations of the day demanded a response. Max had the blood of too many people on his hands to simply walk away.

Maybe it was a cold-blooded desire for revenge. Maybe it was divine direction. Whatever the source, Max's plan began to form in his mind as he lay in the dark. Once all the pieces were in place, he got out of bed.

Max grabbed the small card off the nightstand. He went to the den, being careful not to wake anyone up, and made his phone call.

"Hello?"

"Megan? It's Max."

"Hi, Max," said Megan. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to see you right away," he said.

"What for?"

"We need to talk," said Max. "And not by phone."

"All right," Megan yawned. "Shall I meet you at the house?"

"Actually, there's a playground right down the street," said Max. "I'd rather meet there if you don't mind."

"Not at all. Twenty minutes?"

"Sounds good. See you then."

"Bye, Max."

Max hung up the phone. He took a deep breath and dialed another number.

High over the plains of the United States, Sebastian Harwood stared out the windows of his private jet. His lawyer sat across from him detailing the lawsuits already filed against Dino Land and Harwood BioTech by injured patrons. His empire seemed to be crumbling beneath his feet brought down by their own creation: a super soldier turned revolutionary.

The phone rang, and Sebastian let his secretary pick it up not anxious to hear any more negative news. It was April Gertz Sebastian's former security chief. He had fired her and her goons that morning, but now she was calling with what she insisted was the best news he had ever heard.

"Get back to Kentucky, and meet me at Ft. Knox," she said.

"Didn't I fire you this morning?" Sebastian growled.

"Max Rogan just called me," she said. "He's turning himself in, and he's bringing Mandie with him."
Chapter Twenty Three

"Where's Max?"

Angela's face betrayed a sense of fear. Max had turned in before she did the night before, and she had not seen him come out of his room. When she awoke at seven the next morning, he was gone.

"Max is gone," she explained to Kathy as she walked into the kitchen. "Did you see him this morning?"

"I haven't seen him since last night," said Kathy. She turned to Ryan, who was eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table. "Did you see Max?"

Ryan shook his head no.

Angela walked back through the house. She checked Max's room for a note and came up empty handed.

She ran to the den intending to call Megan and found the card with Megan's number beside the telephone. Ryan stood in the doorway. "When did he call Megan?" she wondered out loud.

Angela picked up the phone and dialed Megan's number. No answer. Angela sat on the couch uncertain whether to be simply worried, or terrified.

"Is everything okay?" asked Ryan.

"I don't know," said Angela. "But until we know what's happened, I think we all need to get out of this house."

"Are we in danger?" asked Ryan.

Angela stared out the window thinking back to the day at Max's "mother's" house when April arrived to collect her and the girls. She envisioned a similar scene happening at any moment outside this peaceful little home.

"I don't know that either," said Angela. "But it's not worth taking a risk."

As he entered the cloning facility at Ft. Knox, Sebastian Harwood had an air of confidence about him that was contagious. The staff on hand could sense the importance of the man entering their presence. Many felt relief knowing that the disastrous break-ins that occurred at two other Harwood BioTech facilities would not happen here. The prodigal son, the decorated super soldier Max Rogan, had come home.

Max and Megan waited in a conference room. Megan sat at the table with her hands bound and her head down nervous. Max paced the room anxiously awaiting the arrival of Sebastian. From the front desk, Sebastian could see them both and smiled.

"You don't have to do this," said Megan looking up at Max.

"I don't have any choice," he said. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

The door opened. Sebastian entered with April and Les flanking him. "Mandie, I presume?" he said with a pleased grin.

"You presume correctly," Megan answered defiantly.

"Her real name is Megan," said Max. "Mandie's nothing more than a character; a figure head. But Megan here is as close to the real snake's head as you're going to get."

"Is that so?" said Sebastian.

"Indeed," said Max. "You're looking at the heart of G2."

"What about the other leader?" April asked. "McKinley?"

"You'll have him in time," said Max. "First things first. I want to know I'm not going to be punished for things done while under cover."

"You've led us on quite a chase, Max," said Sebastian. "You cost us a lot of money in lost inventory, and lawsuits in San Antonio are piling up. I hate to say it, but I and everyone else here felt pretty certain you joined the other side."

"Is that so?" said Max knowing full well that Sebastian was chief among his doubters. "I hope that little misunderstanding can be cleared up considering the bounty I'm now offering you."

"I'm sure it can," said Sebastian.

"I do have some questions, though," said Max.

Sebastian nodded. "What sort of questions?"

Max sat down at the table looking at Megan. "I've heard a lot of things the last few weeks," said Max. "To tell the truth, I nearly did buy their line about being human. I need reassurances that I've made the right call by turning her in."

"Reassurances?" said Sebastian. "You want a raise?"

Max shook his head. "I want to see what will become of her. I want proof she's not human."

"I am human!" said Megan. "I am God's creation, the same as you!"

"We are God's creators," Sebastian said. "And for all intents and purposes, I am yours."

"Show her," said Max. "Show us both."

"Show you what?" Sebastian snapped.

"I want a tour," said Max. "I want to see behind the scenes. How the shells are created, raised, trained, and harvested. And I want Mandie to join us."

Sebastian raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why would we allow that?"

Max smiled. "You're taking her straight to the harvesting room anyway," said Max. "Let's take the scenic route. Give Mandie here a reminder of where she came from. And where she's going"

Sebastian smiled at the suggestion. "Very well. Mandie, Max, I'd love to give you a guided tour of this state of the art facility."

Sebastian opened the door. Les escorted Megan and Max outside. April stepped closer to Sebastian. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?" she asked softly.

Sebastian turned back to April. "One time through the building on a one-way tour." He whispered some instructions on her ear, and April broke off to do her duty.

Sebastian walked into the hallway and led the others to the elevators. The four of them entered, and Sebastian pressed the button to start them on their journey. A few moments later, the doors opened.

"This," he said, "is where it all begins."

They entered a long hallway lined with one-way glass. Through the glass, Max and Megan saw what appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary laboratory.

"Hundreds of embryos are processed, screened, treated, and perfected in this facility," said Sebastian. "There are a handful of basic designs, each one created to match certain human needs based on race, blood type, and a few other factors. It was impossible to create one, uniform shell that would serve all men and women. That is why you have seen a variance in shells."

Sebastian pressed an intercom button on the wall. A doctor nearby stepped away from his instruments to respond. "Yes?"

"This is Mr. Harwood. I'm giving a tour. I wondered if you could give us a glimpse of what you're looking at."

The doctor nodded. He returned to his machines, and twisted a computer monitor around, revealing a magnified image of a four-celled zygote.

"Here is where you were created, my friends," Sebastian smiled.

"What's that over there?" Megan asked. Max glanced over to see what looked like a round container three feet high with a dome on top. One of the medical technicians had a hatch open and was studying the contents.

"I'll show you," said Sebastian motioning the group out of the hall. They returned to the elevators. Sebastian pushed a button, and the doors closed. After a few moments of silence, the doors reopened.

They were in another room with a sealed door opposite them. Light danced on the floor of the hallway like light from an aquarium. Max and Megan stepped out of the elevator and turned their eyes to the source of the light.

It was like something out of a nightmare.

A cylindrical tank the same circumference as the container in the laboratory above ran from floor to ceiling. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of tiny fetuses, floated in a bluish liquid. None more than a few inches long. The fetuses, nevertheless, resembled tiny humans floating in their watery keep anchored by umbilical cords that led to a central feeding system.

Megan squeezed Max's hand. Max glanced over at Megan then at Les noting that even he seemed to be somewhat appalled at the sight.

"Not all of these will make it," said Sebastian. "Just as in nature, the rule of survival of the fittest reigns. Each shell is grown in a tank like this for the first month, and monitored for mutations. Those that survive will be implanted either here or at one of our other facilities."

It took all Megan had within her to speak in spite of the horror. "You mean at one of the few facilities we've left operating."

Sebastian led them through a door into what could only be described as a nursery. Through the one-way glass, dozens of infants could be seen in beds with a dozen or so nurses doing random checks on the tiny shells.

Sebastian directed their attention to the opposite side of the hall. Several rooms were visible looking oddly like delivery rooms in a maternity ward. Sure enough, one room contained a young woman, a shell identical to Megan, giving birth.

"We were born in the womb, just like you," said Megan. "And you still insist we're not real humans."

"We have yet to simulate the environment of the womb in the laboratory," said Sebastian. "Research continues, and eventually, the need for a womb will be eliminated. Until then, we utilize the mature shells to bring the new ones through the early development stages."

Sebastian led them back down the hall to the elevator. A short ride later, and they stepped off on another floor. Max's face betrayed his surprise at what he saw. On his left was a large room. The walls were painted with colorful animals, and the carpet contained every color of the rainbow. Bookshelves along the wall contained hundreds of picture books, and large chests were filled to over flowing with toys.

Dozens of small children ran around the room. They were dressed simply in grey-colored attire. And several adults in grey uniforms were spread throughout the room watching over the children. The kids ranged in age from infants, cradled in the arms of young women in rocking chairs, to maybe eight or nine years old.

Megan looked at Max. He could see she was holding back tears swallowing hard so as not to reveal any emotion. Max looked back through the window coldly.

"What are you hiding from?" Max asked Megan. "This is your past. Your childhood. It's what made you who you are."

"As you can see," said Sebastian. "The shells are cared for in the best manner possible."

Max shook his head. "Wouldn't it be simpler to keep them all in test tubes, contain them and grow them in isolation?"

"We tried that," said Sebastian. "But we found that by allowing the shells to grow and develop like a normal human being, we had a much higher success rate in producing healthy organs."

"They're children," said Megan. "Real human children."

"They're assets," said Sebastian. "Each one will one day offer the gift of extended life for up to seventy people. As will their care takers."

"You mean--?" Max began but couldn't go on to finish the question.

"They're shells, too," said Sebastian.

Sebastian led them further down the hall. The nursery ended, and Max could see older children playing in an exercise room. Several men identical to Max ran children through their paces on different elements.

"As you can see, all of the shells are trained and exercised well," said Sebastian. "Healthy bodies make healthy organs and more successful transplants."

The group returned to the elevator and descended another level. They stepped into another hallway just like the others. Just outside the elevator stood a bank of video screens each one displaying a different part of the facility. To the left and right were one-way windows through which Max and Megan could see two large rooms. Both were filled with nearly a hundred beds each.

"These are the resting quarters," said Sebastian. "Where the shells sleep in the evenings."

"Inanimate objects sleep?" asked Megan.

Harwood ignored her starting down the hall. "The male clones are stowed in the room to your right and the female clones on the left. Sanitation facilities are located on this level too, as is the dining hall."

Sebastian pushed open a set of doors at the end of the hall. Another section of hallway stretched before them. To the left was the dining hall, empty of any activity. On the right, was a training room full of exercise equipment and weights. A large group of men and older boys, half of them identical to Max, were working out.

"I've never seen shells like these," said Max. "new varieties?"

"Not at all," said Sebastian. "These are military models. Super-soldiers. Surely you've heard the rumors that such clones exist."

"I never believed it," said Max.

"We keep them in private dormitories and only at this facility. This weight room is specially designed to give them the advanced physical training they require. We also take them out to the training grounds at Ft. Knox three times a week for outdoor exercise. The academic training takes place in the mess hall."

Sebastian directed the group back down the hallway to the elevator. Megan looked up at Max, who refused to look eye to eye with her. Being back inside the facility had dampened her upbeat, defiant attitude. This time, Sebastian pressed a button to take them up returning them to the main floor of the building. Once there, Sebastian led them to a red security door and punched in his code.

The doors opened revealing a small room with two sets of large metal doors, one on the left and one on the right. The doors were sealed shut with a small keypad off to the side on each wall.

Sebastian walked to the keypad on his left and punched in a security code. Smoke poured from the crack in the doors as they swung wide. Max and Megan's eyes widened as they looked at the contents of the giant refrigeration room.

"This is the finished product," said Sebastian. "Hearts, lungs, kidneys...everything a body needs. The shells are harvested on this level, and their parts are then stored here until called for."

Max noticed Megan biting her lip struggling harder to fight back the tears. She was strong; she would not allow these people to see her cry. Max wondered if it made her more or less human that she refused to cry.

"Behind you," said Sebastian, "is the harvesting room. Looks like they're finishing one up now."

Max and Megan looked through the glass at an appalling site. A woman's body was on a table at the center of the room, naked and gutted like a discarded orange peel. A handful of technicians in white uniforms spattered with blood were sealing the last of the harvested organs.

"Remarkable how much one shell yields," said Harwood. "The organs will all be cataloged and stored. The rest of the shell goes on to what we like to call the recycling area."

"Recycling?" asked Max.

Sebastian nodded.

"What exactly do you recycle?" asked Megan.

Sebastian grinned while leading them back to the elevator. "Come on. You should have a look at the greenhouse."

Sebastian led the group back through the first level to elevators. He pressed the button for the second floor.

The doors opened on another hallway of one-way windows. The roof above was an open window allowing the sunlight in. All around them, they saw vegetation of all kinds: fruits, vegetables, trees, shrubs, and flowers. All throughout the garden, a hundred shells tended to the plant life.

"So it's all true," said Max. "You put them to work."

"There's a lot to do up here," said Sebastian. "We not only have to raise food for sale, we have to keep the shells fed. We get as much out of them as we can up here before and after harvesting."

The comment went past Megan, but Max caught the hidden meaning. "The recycling," he said accusingly. "This was what you mean, wasn't it?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"Shoot straight with me, Harwood," said Max. "What do you use for fertilizer?"

Sebastian looked out the window. "We've found that we can utilize up to 80% of the materials contained in the shells as transplantable material. What we can't use is processed and used as fertilizer."

"You use the shells to fertilize the vegetation?" Megan asked accusingly.

Sebastian smiled. "We don't like to waste anything."

Max looked to Les, who did not seem fazed by this new information. He looked down at Megan, who seemed more cold and stoic than ever.

"Ashes to ashes," she said. "And dust to dust."

Sebastian nodded. "These shells were made for this purpose. And right now, it's time for you to fulfill yours."

Sebastian turned to Mandie. "This is the end of the line for you, Mandie," said Sebastian. "It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, and it will truly be a pleasure to escort you to harvesting."

He turned to Max. "And as for you, Mr. Rogan," said Sebastian. "I have one more surprise."

The elevator chimed, the doors opened, and two people stepped into the hall way: April, and a man identical in every way to Max Rogan.

"What's this?" said Max. "Who is this?"

"Your brother," said Sebastian with an evil grin on his face. "Yes, Mr. Rogan, you too are a shell. One of our second generation military shells. And as such, I'm afraid--"

The intercom system in the hallway crackled to life. "Mr. Harwood?" inquired a woman's voice.

"Yes?" Sebastian responded.

"Mr. Harwood...I think you should come down to the lobby."

"I'm a bit busy here," said Sebastian. "What's so urgent?"

"Mr. Harwood...Max Rogan is here."

"I know. He's right here with me."

"No, sir...he's here at the desk."

Sebastian looked at Max. Les drew his gun, aiming it at Max.

"What's going on, Max?" asked Sebastian.

Sebastian's phone started to ring inside his coat pocket. He pulled it out and turned it on.

"Hello?" The expression on his face revealed both shock and horror. "You're joking...You have to be joking..." Sebastian clicked off the phone. He rushed down the hall to the tiny break room. Three shells sat on the couch, watching television. They turned to look at the group that had just entered the room. Three identical women looked over the back of the couch.

On the television, Sebastian saw three identical women looking over a couch almost into the television camera.

Sebastian looked back at Max. Max reached a hand up to his shirt and pulled on a shirt button. The button came free from the shirt followed by a long, thin wire attached to the button. Sebastian looked back at the video screen.

It was not a button. It was a camera.

"Thank you," said Max. "For sharing the secret of Harwood BioTech's success with the whole world."

Chapter Twenty Four

Dr. Cordelia Braden walked into her living room from the hall dressed in her most comfortable pair of pajamas ready for a relaxing evening. The past week had been a nightmare sifting through the wreckage of her offices and lab space trying to salvage what she could. She was bound for South Carolina in two days, but her stay in Texas had actually been prolonged so that she could piece her files back together for the new person taking her place. Not that anyone would be working here any time soon. It would be at least a year before the facility was back online, but Dr. Drake wanted to be certain everything was in place so things could resume as before. Like anything in this company will ever be as it was before.

Cordelia put a bag of instant popcorn in the Insta-wave Oven. A quick explosion of sound, and Cordelia pulled out a full bag of fresh, hot popcorn. She grabbed a bottle of juice from the fridge and walked to the living room. Settling into her favorite cushion on the couch, Cordelia put up her feet and clicked on the TV.

And nearly choked on her first bite of popcorn.

There, on broadcast television, Cordelia had a video tour of what she recognized right away as the Ft. Knox facility. She recognized the voice of Sebastian Harwood right away, but another voice was not so easy to identify. The man with the camera sounded familiar...

Then it hit her.

"Max Rogan?"

Cordelia sighed. Oh, Max, what have you done?

Her first instinct was to turn off the television. But like a crowd to a burning building, Cordelia found herself drawn to the images in the TV. Sure it may mean the destruction of Harwood BioTech and everything she has worked so hard to accomplish. But there was no entertainment like real life drama.

Tammy Lynde was not supposed to be there. This was not her regular shift. But a financial crunch at home led to her asking for more hours at work. A week ago, she made arrangements to take an extra shift working the front desk at Harwood BioTech, Ft. Knox. But as badly as she needed the money, Tammy regretted taking the shift the moment she came on duty.

Max Rogan had turned himself in that morning ten minutes before her arrival. Sebastian Harwood walked in an hour later. Now, standing in front of Tammy's desk was another man claiming to be Max Rogan.

The man, whose real name was McKinley, tapped his fingers on the desk. Tammy smiled a fake smile. "Mr. Harwood should be up at any minute. He's just giving a tour."

"Excellent," said McKinley. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes packing them and then pulling one out.

"There's no smoking in here," said Tammy.

McKinley ignored her. He put the cigarettes away save the one dangling from his lip. He reached into another pocket and drew out a gun.

Tammy instinctively grabbed hers. "Put the gun down!"

McKinley smiled at her. "This? This isn't a gun."

"Put it down!" Tammy shouted. She did not know who this man was, but knowing another Max Rogan was in the building was enough for Tammy not to trust him. She hit the red button on her desk alerting the rest of the security force to the intruder.

"Haven't you seen these little lighters in the shape of guns?"

The suggestion was enough of a distraction for McKinley to aim and shoot. Tammy slumped to the floor as the tranquilizer emptied its payload into Tammy's body.

Four security officers burst into the lobby and opened fire. McKinley dove behind the desk attempting to return fire with his tranquilizer gun.

The glass doors shattered as two smoke canisters flew into the lobby. A thick, purple smoke filled the room choking the security guards. The distraction gave the rest of McKinley's team enough time to get in close range and drop all four men to the ground.

McKinley put his gun away and pulled out a phone. He pressed a few buttons and connected to Brodie.

"Lobby secure," said McKinley. "How's the broadcast?"

Brodie propped his feet up on his computer desk watching the streaming video tour of the Harwood BioTech labs being broadcast via a pirated signal all around the world.

"Looking good," said Brodie. "Max is one heck of an investigative journalist."

McKinley smiled. "I'm going downstairs. Tell Zach I want his team out front and Kevin's group around the side as close to the building as possible."

"You got it," said Brodie. He hung up the phone and thumbed his radio. "Zack, Kevin, move in place, now."

Once again, Les was caught like a deer in headlights and did not see the attack coming. Max grabbed the hand holding the gun shaking the firearm loose and then lifted Les into the air. He hurled Les through the glass window into a bed of perennials drawing the attention of every young woman in the greenhouse.

Max turned to Sebastian, but before he could act, the super soldier took him to the ground. Max's face bounced off the steel floor. Max pushed off the floor with his arms and kicked backwards in the direction of his brother, but the soldier was ready. He leapt over Max's kick and came down on one knee dropping the back of his elbow onto the back of Max's leg.

Max cringed in pain feeling the bone give a little. He tried to crawl away, but the soldier picked him up by the wounded leg and tossed him into the elevator doors bloodying his nose.

Max fell face down disoriented and confused. He turned his head to see Megan standing beside April, the security woman's hands gripping her prisoner by the arm. Her gun was visible at her side, but April had not yet drawn her weapon.

Max felt himself lifted up in the air as the python-like arms of the cloned commando interlocked with Max's and held him out and in front of the soldier forcing him to look Sebastian Harwood in the face.

"Clever game, Rogan," said Sebastian. "I congratulate you."

"Your ego made it easy," said Max.

"I hope your sacrifice was worth it."

Sebastian looked at April. "Dispatch them both."

"What?" April sounded alarmed.

"Kill them!" said Sebastian. "Kill them, now."

"For what reason?" demanded April.

"I said kill them," Sebastian repeated.

"I am not an executioner," said April.

Sebastian screamed, "Just do as I say!"

April had enough. She drew her gun and flipped it through the air connecting with the back of the super soldier's head. The soldier's grip on Max weakened, and the veteran warrior took the advantage. He flipped his body forward and launched the dazed clone into his maker's arms.

Sebastian groaned under the weight of the soldier, who was knocked unconscious as his forehead connected with the hard floor.

April turned to Max. "It's over. You won. Get out of here, now."

By now, a crowd of shells had gathered by the opening in the window. Megan crawled through the hole.

"Anybody who wants to live," Megan yelled. "Follow us."

Megan took off running towards the south side of the building signaling for the shells to follow. Max climbed through the window and followed after her and the shells. One young woman, who looked identical to Julia, tugged on Max's arm. "Who are you people?" she asked.

"Friends," said Max. "We'll explain more later."

When they reached the window, Max pulled a small box from his pocket. He opened the box and drew out a plastic substance. "Everyone back," said Max. "And cover your heads."

Max pressed the plastic explosive into the window. He stuck an electrode into the material, ran behind a nearby bush, and pulled out a small transmitter. "Everyone down!" he shouted as one final warning. Then he pressed a button detonating the explosive and shattering glass everywhere.

Max was the first to his feet rushing to the window. He looked out and saw two large recreational vehicles parked outside the walls of the compound. The top hatch of the nearest RV opened, and a familiar face crawled through to the roof.

"Kevin?" Max shouted. "What is this?"

"It's an RV," said Kevin.

"What happened to the vans?"

"I couldn't get the vans," Kevin answered.

"Why not?"

"You didn't exactly give a lot of notice!" said Kevin. "This was the best I can do, but it should be big enough."

"I hope so," said Max.

Kevin nodded. "Get those people out here now. We don't have time to waste."

Max turned around. "You heard that. Everyone into that vehicle outside."

Max and Megan began helping the shells climb through the window onto the top of the RV.

"You have my package?" Max shouted to Kevin.

Kevin lifted a loaded backpack from the RV and hurled it up towards Max.

"Careful, Kevin!" Max barked. "This isn't a load of school books!"

"Sorry," Kevin said sheepishly.

Max set the backpack beside Megan. "You know how to use these?"

Megan smiled. "I didn't become one of the world's most wanted terrorists baking cookies."

"Then you can set these in place for me," he said. "I want to make sure we get the kids."

Max climbed through the broken window into the hall. Harwood and the soldier were gone, but Max found April tending to the unconscious Les on the ground.

"I need your help," he said.

"With what?" she said.

Max lifted Les over his shoulder and led April into the elevator. They rode down the elevator to the lower level that housed the nursery. Max pushed April ahead of him out the elevator down the hall. "How do I get into the nursery?"

April punched her security code into keypad: 0-7-0-9-3. A section of the wall and window opened to the nursery. Max stepped inside.

"What's going on?" asked a young Asian girl the spitting image of Kim.

"Get the kids," Max said. "We're leaving."

The shells grabbed up the kids and made their way into the hall. Max saw April reach for one and grabbed her arm.

"You don't have enough help," she said. "Let me."

Max nodded. April picked up the child and followed the others.

Max set Les on the ground and propped him up against the wall. He took the lead as the women and children boarded the elevator and rode up to ground level.

"That's the last of them," Megan shouted out the window.

"Hurry and get down here," Kevin shouted back.

"I've still got work to do," she said. "Get these people out of here."

"Got it." Kevin crawled off the roof of the RV. He opened the driver's side door and climbed inside. It was a humorous sight with thirty people crammed into the back of the camper on wheels. But uncomfortable as it was, Kevin was certain none of them would be complaining. They were now free. He motioned to the driver behind him, also steering an RV full of newly liberated people, and the vehicles pulled away.

Megan unzipped the bag and began removing the contents. Six remote-wired explosives. Relatively crude and simple but powerful enough to do the job. She set one by the open window switching it to its active state. She moved about the greenhouse spreading them strategically around the room. One at the window. One near the cornstalks. One in the lab. One in the fruit orchard—

A tall shadow leapt out from the trees and tackled Megan sending the remaining charges scattering across the room.

The super soldier leaped on top of Megan bearing his hands down on her throat. She wiggled as much as possible scratching and pushing at his arms gasping desperately for air.

In a last gasp effort, she lifted her foot and connected with soldier between his legs. The blow shocked him, and he let go of Megan's throat. She quickly slid out of the way and started to run for the open window.

The RV was gone. The drop from here was still a good twelve feet, and Megan wasn't sure she had the strength for such a fall. She turned back in time to see the soldier lunge for her knocking her to the ground.

"Let's move! Now!"

Max directed traffic as shells gently scooped one infant after another out of their beds. The nurses huddled against the wall as the shells moved quickly taking the emergency stairs now protected by the G2 invaders as they made their way to freedom.

Max ran out of the nursery area his eyes fixing on the tank full of tiny humans. He leaned his head against the glass helpless to do anything to save them. How could any of us have seen this coming? Max thought.

"Mister!" came a voice behind Max. He turned to see a young African-American shell looking up at him. "We don't have enough people to get all the children."

Max walked back to the nursery seeing that a handful of children still remained with no one to deliver them.

"I can help." One of the nurses stepped forward. Cradling an infant in her arms, she eyes Max seeking his approval. Max nodded, and the nurse smiled. Then five more nurses followed her lead each taking a child.

As Max watched them move to the stairs, he remembered the young woman in labor and rushed to her delivery room. He caught the last nurse by the arm. "Where is the girl I saw giving birth earlier?"

The nurse directed max to the delivery room. She still lay in the bed weary and tired. It was a risk, but Max was not going to leave anyone behind. Not if he could help it. He lifted the young woman into his arms, and she clung to him tight.

"My baby," she whispered.

"You will be together soon," he said. "I promise."

Max carried the girl down the hall to the elevator and saw the nurse with the last infant in tow. He glanced once more at the tank of fetuses hesitating a moment.

"There's nothing we can do for them," the nurse said.

Max shook his head burning with anger. This is far from over.

Megan choked and gasped as the soldier bore down on her throat determined to choke the life from her. Knowing she did not have much time, Megan reached for the first weapon she could find: a shard of broken glass from the nearby window. With all her strength, she swung and scratched her attacker across the face.

The soldier yelped in pain grabbing his face with one hand. Megan pushed up knocking the stunned man off of her, then turned back to the open window.

He didn't give her any warning except his shout. The soldier dove towards Megan again. She ducked, got her body underneath him, and raised up tipping his body out the window. He landed hard on the concrete below.

Megan checked for injuries. She was bloodied and very sore but alive. She raced for the hallway and the elevator. Near the hall, she found one of the remaining explosives and set it just inside the greenhouse. She kicked open the emergency door and rushed down the stairs.

The elevator doors opened on the first floor, and Max led the way out still carrying the new mother. A group of men and women racing from the stairwell merged with them as they raced to the front door. They rounded the corner for the front lobby and halted abruptly behind Max.

Sebastian Harwood stood in their path holding a gun. "Sorry, Mr. Rogan," said Sebastian. "But those belong to us, and so do you."

"You have no claim over us," said Max.

"We created you," said Sebastian.

Max shook his head. "God created us."

"I'll kill you," said Sebastian, cocking the weapon in his hand.

A strong hand grasped Sebastian's shoulder, spinning him around. Another hand knocked the gun from Sebastian's hand and then knocked Sebastian to the ground.

Sebastian looked up from his spot on the ground at his assailant.

"Rogan?"

McKinley smiled at Sebastian as he stared down on him. "Max, get these people out of here."

Max gingerly passed the girl from his arms into the arms of another shell. "You heard the man," Max said. "Get moving."

The shells moved to the front doors in a rush, headed for the remaining escape vehicle.

Max walked up to Sebastian towering over him. Sebastian cowered beneath Max and his twin. Max lifted the gun and aimed it at Sebastian's head. Then he moved the gun off to the side emptying the clip of ammunition into the floor bedside Sebastian, who shut his eyes fearing his life was at an end.

Sebastian opened his eyes looking up at Max. He looked at the bullet marks beside him then back up at Max, who dropped the empty gun.

"Call your lawyer, Sebastian," said Max, "You're going to need him."

Footsteps echoed behind Max, who turned to meet the oncoming person in a defensive posture, then relaxed as he saw a very battered Megan make her way into the lobby.

"Time to go?" Megan asked.

Max nodded. "Time to go."

McKinley slipped his arm around Megan and helped her toward the exit. They followed Max to his car pausing only for a moment so Megan could detonate the explosives in the greenhouse sending up a fireball into the clear night sky.

"Beautiful," said Max.

The three climbed in the car and sped off.
Chapter Twenty Five

Ellen Rogan slid into her slippers. She peeked out the window of her house. It was a gorgeous day in San Antonio. The smell of her coffee brewing in the other room invigorated her. She unlocked the front door and walked outside towards the newspaper box.

Ellen pulled the paper out...then nearly dropped it after reading the headline:

ANTI-CLONE FACTION BROADCASTS TOUR OF LAB, REVEALS HUMAN CLONES.

Ellen rushed back into the house to read the article. Several company employees were assaulted and injured in the raid, not the least of which was Sebastian Harwood. Ellen had never really cared for Sebastian. His father had hired her and her team and she had only rarely had to deal with the younger Harwood. Nevertheless, she was horrified to see this development and to read who was responsible.

In an anonymous letter to the press, G2 claimed responsibility for the incident hoping to open the public's eyes to the truth about cloning technology. Harwood BioTech was putting out the word that the entire incident was nothing more than an elaborate hoax. Everything shown in the broadcast, they claimed, was fake; a show staged in a movie studio. A Senator from Texas who was a vocal proponent for cloning pointed out that the video offered no proof or evidence of the fabled "harvesting and dissection" rooms.

Nonetheless, overnight polls were indicating a shift in public attitude towards cloning. People were horrified by the video, and the possibility that the rumors of actual human clones being raised and dissected (not to mention composted into fertilizer) were true.

More surprising was the public reaction to the idea that escaped clones were walking among them undetected. "If such super human clones existed," proposed Russell Strata, leader of the humanist anti-cloning group Humans First, "what's to keep them from assuming a place as the next step in the evolutionary process by turning the tables on natural born humans and enslaving us to do their will?"

It was then that Ellen sensed someone else in the house. She heard the coffeepot being put back into its cradle and turned to the kitchen door. She saw Max walk through the door sipping his coffee.

"Not a bad piece of work, huh, Mom?"

The voice came from the hallway. Ellen's head turned to see another man (Max?) walk into the room.

The man in the kitchen door smiled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He motioned to the man in the hallway entrance. "This is my brother, McKinley. You might remember him."

Ellen pointed to the paper. "This was you?"

Max nodded. "Yeah we both had a role in it. I played camera man."

Ellen looked away and down. "What do you want?"

Max sipped his coffee. "Just wanted to make one last visit," he said. He walked to the couch, reached down beside it and pulled out the famous family photo album. He dropped it beside Ellen.

"Who is he?" Max asked. "The boy in the pictures."

"He was my son," she said. "He died when he was 18 in a car accident."

"All of them?"

Ellen pointed to a baby portrait on top of the TV, the one Julia had been so fond of. "That one," she said. "That's the only one that's really you."

Max walked to the TV and picked up the picture. "In that case, I'm sure you won't mind if I take it with me."

Ellen did not reply. Max set his coffee on the coffee table. "Thank you for all your hospitality," he said. "For making me feel human."

"We only wanted what was best," she said.

"Best for whom?" Max asked.

"For all mankind," she said. "I guess we failed."

McKinley shook his head. "Not at all. What you helped to set in motion, people like us, we will bring about the betterment of mankind. But it won't happen in the way you dreamed. We will restore the dignity of human life no matter how it is produced. And we will bring our brothers and sisters back to their Creator."

"Harwood BioTech was your creator," Ellen said.

"God is our Creator," McKinley answered.

Ellen sat stoically without answer or reaction. Max looked at McKinley, and the two made their way out of the house and out of sight.

As the warm Texas sun melted into a sunset of red, orange, and yellow, a red-headed woman wearing a simple, flowered sundress made her way along the San Antonio Riverwalk. Though an attractive young woman, nothing about her would have drawn the attention of the tourists and locals who busily rushed past her. Yet, this was no ordinary young woman, and had the people passing her by, known what made her distinct, it could easily have ignited a hundred paranoid fears.

One man, who did know about the red head's unique qualities, was Max Rogan, who leaned against the railing along the river waiting for her arrival. He saw her from a distance and stepped towards her.

"Hey, Rogan," said Angela.

Max pulled out a red rose and handed it to Angela, who accepted it with thanks. They began to stroll along the river towards the setting sun.

"How's your mother?" she asked.

"Fine," he said. "She was a little surprised to see me. And my brother."

Angela laughed. "I can imagine."

"In spite of everything, I think I'm going to miss her," said Max.

"Of course you will," said Angela. "You're human. It's only natural to miss someone who meant that much to you."

"Even if it was a lie?"

Angela smiled. "So are you going to ask me or not?"

"Ask you what?" said Max knowing darn well what she meant.

"The night in the hotel," she said. "Was it all a lie? That's what you want to know, isn't it?"

"You were there to do a job," said Max. "And you did it well."

"But was it just another lie?"

Max stopped taking hold of Angela's hand. She turned to him. He leaned his scarred, bruised face down to her flawless lips. Angela shut her eyes and lifted her lips to meet his. They savored the kiss a long moment.

Their lips finally parted, and Max opened his eyes to meet hers.

"There. Does that answer your question?" she asked.

Max shook his head. "I don't know if I can believe you."

"Max," she said. "After all we've been through?"

"Maybe if you tell me one more time," he said.

About the Author

John Cosper is the creator of the Fluffy film trilogy and the Clive the Zombie film series. He's the founder of Righteous Insanity, a drama, film, and writing company providing resources to ministries and churches around the world. Film credits include the award-winning shorts Bots and Tolerance and the feature film Wingman. Previous sci-fi works include the novels Space Monster, Martian Queen and Cave World and the short story collection This Would Make a Really Great Movie. He lives in Southern Indiana with his wife and two kids.

Visit his website at www.johncosper.com

258
