Anger erupted within as Morgan called for a cease-fire. Craig, the man he had come to hate while in Darcia's Facility, had disappeared into thin air along with the other traitors to Darcia and Madden's cause. They had lost the path of the true purpose given to them by the pair of scientists who knew more about what a human could really be and do. Anger grew into an all-consuming rage, he hissed as it ripped through him, voicing itself in a roar rattling the nearby building windows and shattered car windows. The gathering group of fanatics threw concerned glances his way. The team assigned him to command. He would have preferred some to volunteer; however, his reputation forced those in charge of grouping teams to continuously appoint fanatics to work under his command.

Glancing toward the spot where the disappearing team was last seen, Morgan remembered Craig being irritating while they were both in the Facility. Now, he was an even bigger problem outside. How could he be out of the Facility? Darcia had promised Craig would be theirs to command, but clearly, it was a lie. A frown creased between his dark eyebrows as he pondered what else could have been lies. Madden had tasked him to round up the new generation of enhancements. A secret neither of their leaders wanted to be known in the human world and definitely not in the world of enhanced beings, who believed that procreation was impossible. If only they knew, Morgan sneered at his thought before frowning a little. It was becoming a challenge to follow through with his command, a challenge he was finding difficult to overcome. He would locate the traitor Jaxon, the human he loved and their child. It would be enjoyable to obliterate the entire line and make it easier to crush the growing resistance with lineage out of the way. If force could be shown with one family, the others may be easier to assemble.

At this point, his objective was to retrieve the enhancement named Jaxon. He would have to find another way to get the child called Mandy.

"See if you can read where they went, then return," he bellowed to the group of fanatics, "we will find them another day."

A few in the group detached with handheld scanners while the rest turned as one moving through the alley. Morgan watched them leave until they disappeared into the darkness to return to their base of operations within the city. Morgan grinned widely; it was a happy thought being this close to the humans, causing chaos without anyone knowing his existence, grimacing at the fleeting feeling of uneasiness. There was now a problem in his happy plans of mayhem.

Craig.

The one man Morgan knew Craig would not stop digging until he had Morgan's and his fanatic's location. A slice of unfamiliar fear slithered through his chest. Slowing to a stop, he glanced back at the area where Craig had disappeared. The scanners returned, simply shaking their heads as they followed their teammates. Morgan frowned.

"One day Craig Gordon," he muttered, "one day."

Turning, he followed his troop with renewed determination to defeat all who stood in his way. But first, to deal with the one who had given him the information and make him pay for the retrieval failure.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Stillness fell over the parking area, yet Jaxon sat staring from his vantage point on a nearby rooftop. Memories of the last year and now the last few moments raced through his mind. The heart-jolting joy at seeing Alexis appearing from the nightclub had turned into fear continuing to icy rage when Morgan threatened her. He fought against the retrieval of enhanced beings. No one should ever be subjected to what was done to the selected few. Those fortunate enough to escape were forming a resistance against the evil searching for them. They were hunted, rounded up and returned to continue the torture. It was no way to live or raise a family. Due to his efforts, his family was being hunted, and there was little he could do about it.

The surprise appearance of Craig and others from the Madhouse scared him. At first, it looked like two teams competing to bring in a target. To his surprise, Craig and his team protected Alexis from Morgan. Were the rumours true? Had Craig and his team joined forces with the group calling themselves the Enhanced Protectors? Where had they taken Alexis ... he inhaled, and his child. Smiling broadly at the recollection of the name he heard mentioned. It was from when they had first met, and he told Alexis of his inability to father children. She had asked what he would name his children if it ever happened. Tears filled his eyes at the memory; she had been attentive, gentle, and loving when they spoke of the painful subject. If the child was a girl, he had wanted to name her Mandy and if the child were a boy ... Rhys. It had been so long ago, but Alexis had remembered. It had been nearly a year since he last saw her. Since then, she had birthed their child and named her according to his wishes. Now they were gone ... again, and he didn't know where to start looking.

He hadn't meant to travel for so long, but the lead he followed up on led him to another and another. Finally, leading him to the horrifying information he had searched for and the location required to plan a retrieval.

There was someone who could help him with both of his challenges, but would he?

Pulling his phone from his jacket pocket Jaxon dialed and waited, "It's me," he said in reply to the greeting, "no, I didn't get to her in time. Craig and his team have them now." Pausing while listening to the reply, "I do need to find them and ... I have the location you were looking for. Can we meet?"

Closing his eyes as the returned words burned through him, Jaxon inhaled, "where?" he memorised the location and time, "I'll be there."

Cancelling the call, he sank to his knees, fighting the rising memories and panic. Even though he was enhanced to be a fighter choosing to remain faithful to who he was, refusing to be tested against others enduring the same or similar processes. It had cost him.

Being the bait to trigger others into doing what they didn't want to was no easier than being forced into actions reprehensible to himself and his code. The memories flooded in, causing him to groan at the pain and agony he had endured, both physically and emotionally. Breathing heavily, he settled against the roof's low wall, enduring the terror and pain relived in the flashbacks, waiting until they had run their course. It had been years but the horrors of the time of incarceration never left him. He didn't want that world for his daughter, nor did he want it for anyone else. Somehow it had to stop. Somehow the others needed to be freed to live their life as sentient beings should.