Ok, I'm sorry about not updating pain. You see, I'm having some behind-the-scenes issues with my cowriter so the story is currently on hiatus. On the other hand, I decided to write my own story while the mess clears up! Enjoy! And review! =)
~Dani

This time, there would be no escape.

The boys were close. He knew it. Even without the GPS-synced tracking devices planted on them, he would have known. He didn't need the insistent blinking light that locked down their coordinates, closer,closer, closer still. He could feel their presence. He didn't need the machines any more than he needed his henchmen, their cowardly hands gripping their tranquilizer guns, their eyes betraying their fear.

They were just boys, after all. Not even human. True, they all had power. But he had more. As dangerous as they were-and now lost,scared, out of control, and more dangerous then ever-he had no doubt that he could find them and capture them. This was more than pride; this was certainty. He knew the boys better than they knew themselves and he knew what they were capable of. He knew their weaknesses and how to use them. They were, after all, his creations and he was their master. Despite recent setbacks, that was still true. That would always be true.

Only a few days before, he had almost gotten past their defenses, almost drawn them back into the fold. Before he had done it on his own, without the trackers, without the men, without the guns, without the lies.

But before, there had been time.

Now time was running out.

There was no room for error. He would trap them before they had a chance to run, before they had a chance to fight.

Yes, his time was running out.

But so was theirs.

"We're in range, sir, "a voice in his headset reported. It was competent and level, just like a robot. And just as obedient. "Targets are less than five hundred yards away. The men are in position."

He smiled.

He had been called many names before but he liked it best when they called him sir. There was a note of respect in their voice and beneath it, always a tremble of fear. When the boys were still under his control, they referred to him as sir with voices as emotionless as robots. And they always obeyed.

'Almost always...' he reminded himself.

And the smile disappeared.

"Waiting for your signal," the voice said, snapping him back to reality. He stared out of the bulletproof tinted window of his SUV. They were under orders not to hurt the boys. If they had to, they were allowed to break a bone or give a black eye. But the boys were to be brought back intact. They were worth nothing to him dead.

He was prepared, everything was in place-and he had already waited for too long.

"Go."

The sky glowed gray with the first light of dawn. A train rumbled on the street slept quiet and empty as the men in black swarmed, tranquilizer guns ready. They rounded the corner and advanced into an alley, movements stealth like and silent, weapons drawn, approaching from all sides. The prey was surrounded.

But the alley was empty.

"They've got to be here," one of them whispered, gesturing to the blinking light on his tracking monitor. These were the coordinates. The targets should be in place, cowering in fear against the dank brick wall.

Silence broke into chaos as the men tore through dumpsters, overturned garbage cans, and knocked down doors. They spread and searched as their emotions turned annoyed then mystified. Then desperate.

And finally, they found their answer.

The trackers had been placed in small sliver dog tags, threaded through chains, and fastened around the boys' necks. To all appearances, innocent gifts from a loving mother.

A loving mother last seen lying unconscious amid advancing flames.

Innocence betrayed.

Gifts left abandoned in the street.

A large gray rat nibbled at the thin silver chain, then clamped its teeth on one of the dog tags and dragged it into the darkness. On the trackers, a small blinking light drifted across the screen, following the rat as it scurried through the scattered trash. It ran out of the alley and down a sewer grate.

The men starred at one another. The good news: They wouldn't have to face the boys. The bad: They would have to face their boss.

"Sir...we have a problem," the one in charge reported into his headset.

"Have you secured the boys?"

He knew that telling the truth meant punishment, but lying meant worse. Lying meant destruction.

"No."

'Impossible!' he thought.

Yet, it was true. They had escaped. They were out there somewhere, beyond his grasp. They were running; they were winning.

'This is all Vinnie's fault.' he told himself. She had failed him again. He wanted her to bring the boys in immediately after they had all been caught in the explosion. The moment they relocated them, hurt and confused in a local hospital. That was almost two weeks ago and he still had no idea what had gone wrong. The field tested perfectly-until the very end. And when the chaos cleared, the boys had lost their memories and he had lost his control. At least, the boys claimed to have no memory of what happened. He had no reason to trust them- but plenty of reasons to get them back to the institute before things got worse.

Yet, Vinnie had tried patience. Vinnie, the only one he had ever trusted and the only one he counted on to be more ruthless then he was, had shown mercy. Had become an optimist overnight. He wanted to cut his losses, terminate the old subjects, and create a new subject in place of the defective merchandise; Vinnie insisted on maintaining hope. She had concocted a plan, and persuaded him that the boys hadn't been damaged beyond repair. They could be retrained, reprogrammed, reclaimed-all in time to fulfill their purposes.

The ruthless Vinnie had put on a happy face, adopted a sweet maternal gaze, had hugged her 'sons' and had made promises of love and protection to them all. She had lied. Lied and lied well. More important, she even fooled the boys. And even when progress was slow, she had unlimited patience. She had insisted that the projects could be saved. Right up to the end, she had truly believed that.

And what had she gotten for her faith?

Burned. Literally.

He had been angry when he learned of the fire, and even angrier when the men found Vinnie in the flames. When the final report came in, concluding that the boys were still alive-and on the run-his rage had bubbled to the surface. Now it threatened to boil over.

But he refused to reveal himself in front of his men. So he painted on a smile.

The door to the SUV opened, and the chief lieutenant climbed into the driver's side. He turned towards the backseat, his eyes aimed steadily over the doctor's left shoulder.

The doctor had noticed this: people preferred not to look him in the eye.

"What now, sir?" There was a nearly undectable tightness in the man's tone. A slight hesitation. "Should we start prepairing one of the others for-"

"No!" the doctor snapped. Vinnie had been right about one thing. He needed the boys. They had always been his biggest successes. And if he could get them back, when he got them back, they would be punished and they would deliver.

"Everything will proceed according to plan. We can't afford to tip off our client about our...slight detour..."

"With all due respect, sir, this is more than a 'detour.' They could be anywhere. If we don't find them soon, or if they remember what they are or where they came from-"

"They won't remember," the doctor said firmly, leaning his head back against the smooth leather seat. He shut his eyes and forced his anger back down, sealing it with a layer of icy determination.

"They don't know anything that can hurt us-and they don't know how to protect themselves against us. We'll find them. It's a dangerous world out there for three innocent young boys," the doctor said, tapping his fingers against the glass. "Especially boys with their...special skills."

"Well, if you ask me, the world's a whole lot more dangerous with them on the loose," the lieutenant replied. "Look at what they did to Vinnie."

"They can't hurt us," the doctor said quickly. He preferred not to think of Vinnie and the fire and how quickly everything had gone wrong. It raised to many disturbing questions. Had he underestimated the boys? Overestimated his power over them? Vinnie's maternal act had been honed to perfection and had proceeded perfectly. There had been no indication that everything was about to fall apart. On the contrary: Everything had been in place for them to return to the institute. What had went wrong?

"We'll get them back, all of them," he said, and there was no room for doubt in his voice. "They need us just as much as we need them. It's only a matter of time before they figure that out."

And they would reveal themselves. Someone with their abilities couldn't stay hidden for long. They could run for now but in the end they had nowhere to go. Eventually, they would get tired and worn-out. They would have to give up; they would have to give in.

And when they did, he would be waiting.