He had two pieces of jewelery in his life.
Years past, before broken hearts and a web of deceit, he'd had a necklace. One necklace, which spawned into many. One that began as a token of faith, of love, but became a calling card. A sign for each victim, for the faith they did not have. A necklace found and kept, a necklace to strangle with, to decorate afterward. Years past, and he'd had the world at his fingertips. His oyster, his future bright. So, he was a little messed up, he liked to pull teeth and make the faithless suffer. That was no matter now. It was only that necklace that made sense to him.
Shoved down deep in a pocket, or pushed away into a drawer, in a false bottom. Wherever it was, it called to him. It grounded him, and it gave him hope. Anchored his faith. That necklace gave him the will to carry on each day, to pretend to be someone he was not. A cage fighter, a bike messenger. A womanizer, a joker. Someone who didn't long to just tell stories and watch eyes light up. Someone who hadn't gone through hell and come back scathed, damaged. Each day, a new day for lies and hurt, to bring chaos and trouble to whoever he came across, but not for reasons of his own. Not for Alec's reasons, the lovable rogue. Alec's mind was never present at all.
He snapped out of a 'stupor' at the sound of Max's voice, watched her eyes roll as she assumed what he'd been thinking of, that perhaps he wasn't thinking at all, just dumbstruck. If only she knew how wrong she was. How stupid she was. For a genetic experiment, she never had any real clue as to what he was pondering. Where his mind had been. But on came that smile, that slapped on fake grin of his that he knew could light up the whole damn room if he just let it. "Aw, Maxie, c'mon.. don't be like that." He grinned, using that old nickname just for kicks. Once, it had bothered her, but nowadays she ran with it, causing him to smile even wider. She was accepting him, and his ways. She was making room in her life for Alec. Lovable, playful Alec. The best friend she always needed, and that security blanket she'd never really had. He could make her feel safe, even when she wasn't.
"Like what? Pissed at you for actually doing a job wrong? Gee, Alec, why would I stop doing what comes naturally?" She paused, and he watched her lick her lips, watched the way she pretended to think for that shining moment. "Never mind. You naturally do things wrong anyway. I can't be mad at you for that." She rolled her eyes again, walked away, hair whipping over her shoulder. The hurt she tried to cause him rolled right off his back, green eyes following her, shooting daggers at her back as she walked away, kept on walking. Up that ramp and out the door with her bicycle. Then she was gone, out of sight, and out of mind. He could forget her in an instant, but he didn't, only became distracted. Original Cindy, all up in his face, complaining about the shit he'd done this time. About how he was letting a 'sista' down, and he had to step up his game. That his pretty little Manticore head had better figure out where his brain got zapped to before someone actually got hurt. He fought the urge to take his own turn at eye rolling, instead nodding a few times, blinking long lashes and looking away from the colored woman, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again." he uttered, dropping his pitch a little to convey his apology. "I don't know where my head's at lately.. "
"Well, Boo, you better find it. And fast. 'Cause Normal's comin' your way and he does not look happy with you, Gladiator Boy."
He could sense the other man coming closer, but turned anyway, just as Cindy slipped away to watch from a distance. Red in the face and with a light sheen across his forehead, Reagan Ronald was adjusting his specs and shaking his head, coming closer with small steps attempted to appear large, stomped. "Alec!" His voice was stiff, strong, but not quite as angry as it might have been for anybody else. Normal had a soft spot for his Gladiator, his Golden Boy, his Romeo. "Why am I hearing that none of your deliveries made it back to their homes?"
"I was gonna do that, but then.."
"Buh-buh-buh.. no buts, I don't want to hear buts. I want to know why. Right now."
The only way out was a lie. The truth wouldn't get him anywhere. The truth about how he couldn't go to some parts of town, that would only get him fired or questioned. Neither of which were at the top of his list.
"I'm really not feeling so great right now, boss. I think it's catching."
"What's catching?"
"The, uh.. the new.. virus. Yeah. I heard through one of the tabloids that there's a virus going around, from those, uh.. transgenics or whatever they're called. They're passing it on to us normal-folk. It's awful.. I.."
"Say no more, go home, Alec, we can't have you sick.. everyone else, you're on lock down, NOW!"
Close. He chuckled in his head, nodding swiftly before making his way to the exit, getting outside into the familiar pouring rain and cringing. He hated water, and rain was the worst. All that condensation, and the humidity in the summer? It damn near made his skin crawl. Screwing up his nose, the X5 made his way through town, leaving his bike behind. It wasn't a long walk to Joshua's. He could make it there even in the rain, no sweat. The sight of Max's ninja outside, though, that caused for perspiration.
"Max.." More of a statement than a question, for he knew that she was there. If not for the bike, he could smell her in the house. He could almost taste her presence there. Strong. And she was pissed, too.
"Dammit, Alec, it's bad enough Normal gave me all of your extra rounds, now he won't even let me work! How the hell am I supposed to afford anything anymore?" She growled at him, and he didn't pause, didn't talk himself out of the eye roll. Perfectly sculpted eyes rolled back in their sockets, showing bright white and a flutter of lash before they returned to their place to look at her reaction. "God, why are you such an idiot? It's like they forgot something when they made you!" That one stung.
"Look, it was either tell him there was a rumor about illness at work, or tell him the big secret we're not supposed to tell anyone, so I made the call.. Don't judge me for doing the right thing, Max. I'd take stealing like a swamp-rat and never having to work again over being locked in a fuckin' cage any day." He hadn't meant to swear. Cussing wasn't one of the things he did often. Sure, he was a rogue, but cussing was a bit lower than his standards. He just slept around, just had his fun. Drank a lot but was never drunk. Could never forget. But cussing? It was a whole new breed of animal. It wasn't Alec. Max could tell. The look in her eyes changed, something flashed in there, like recognition, and like fear. He was changing right before her very eyes, being someone she didn't, and if truth was to be told, he could tell that she at least cared for him a little. Their banter was mostly friendly.
"Thanks.." Her usually loud voice was quiet. Smooth and honest. She meant to be grateful, and she was. He simply nodded. "Joshua's not around. I came here to find him and maybe hang out a little since I can't go to work, but.. he's not here. I checked the sewers already, he's not there either. I told him not to go outside..." She sounded pained, frightened, her dark, round eyes turning downwards onto the floor and closing. "I just hope he comes back in one piece. I know I mother him a lot, but.. it's important."
"Of course it is. Taking care of each other is the only way our kind can survive. I get it, Max. You love the oaf. He'll show up. Promise. He's prob'ly just takin' a leak against a tree somewhere, marking his doggie territory." He joked with her, as always, that raise of his voice fading into the past as if it had never happened. She shook her head, looked up at him, eyes still gleaming with sorrow and worry. "I promise, he'll be fine. Do you trust me?" She nodded, albeit with a good degree of hesitation. "Then he'll be fine. I can feel it."
"I don't know where else to look.."
"Then don't. He'll come back on his own. He's.. I dunno, pushing his boundaries? He should be at the teenager phase by now, right? He'll come back. Probably after curfew." She shoved at him and he scowled, mocked pain at her jabs. "Ow, jeez, Maxie.." He chuckled, stepping back from her. The windows were grimy, but on the outside, he could see the steady sheet of rain that spread out over Seattle, and the darkness of the sky. Night was falling, and so were the clouds. "I was just coming by to check on Josh, see if he was out of any supplies, but you're here, so I guess he's pretty set for the night."
"You're leaving now? I just told you, he's not here. That kinda classifies as missing in action, Alec."
"Yeah, but he's only AWOL and he's not FUBAR, so I can live with MIA for one night." He joked, snickering a little at his own wordplay. Max only glared him at, showing how deeply she did not understand his personality. His jokes weren't funny to her, and his logic just didn't match with hers. She was crazy, at times. Lord knew he was probably crazier. With a shake of his blond head, back into the rain he went, to walking in his least favorite weather condition back to his apartment. He needed to clear his head. To be alone. The heavens opened up to drown every catlike portion of his DNA, and he growled, pushing his hands further into his pockets as he went. Further and further, fingers closing. The necklace, always hiding just out of sight. Two of them. Between finger and thumb, he rubbed the metal, taking faster steps. He needed the alone time now more than ever. He needed to be away from these people, from Max, the traitor. He needed to figure out what he was doing, why he was still doing it. He needed to rest for a while.
His bed was cosy and warm, despite the weather and the chaos of Seattle. He'd found a good guy to get him everything he needed, and he had the money and the skills to get exactly what he wanted from whomever he wanted. It wasn't a hard thing to do when you had the genetics to knock out guards without breaking a sweat, or the medical training to pull teeth like a normal extraction. He lay down on the mattress, a long sigh filling the room. Today had been hard. Tomorrow would be harder. And the next day, and the next. He closed emerald green eyes and took a deep breath.
"Okay, Ben. You can do this. You've fooled them this far, just keep up the good work." A pep talk he gave himself, the only time he was truly himself. "You can do it, or my designation's not X5R-493."