With You – Chapter One
Disclaimer: Nope, they're not mine. I wish… but the only ones I own are the ones never seen on the show.
A/N: I'd just like to say a huge thanks to all who reviewed my last fic! I really enjoyed your input, and I'm using it to make my fics better. And just to let you know, the only flashbacks I plan on having in this one won't be from the show, but they'll kind of give a deeper meaning to the fic. If that makes any sense… Anyways, just some things to know for this one: I added an '09er to the story who was never mentioned before. You'll know when you get to that part. I just hope I get as good of a response as I did for the last one!
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Max sits at her desk, which is cluttered with various papers, as she goes over the latest report. Alec enters with a wide grin and smug greeting.
"Hey, Max. Been looking for you."
She looks up from the paper she was reading, half annoyed at the interruption.
"What do you want? Make it quick, I've got work to do."
She was still pleased at the unexpected break from long lists of facts and statistics.
"Nothing in particular. What, is there something wrong with stopping in to say hi to one of my favorite transgenics?"
She can't help but smile to herself because of his charm, sure not to show any outward emotion and ruin the game. It was becoming more and more frequent.
"Yeah, and do you remember what happened the last time you 'dropped in to say hi'?"
"You totally spazzed out on me and said the next time I come in here without a good reason you were going to kick my ass."
"Exactly."
She looked at him with those deep, brown, conniving eyes of hers.
"All right, but before you get any ideas in your head, I actually do have a reason for coming here."
At the doubtful look in her eyes, he added, "Seriously!"
"All right then, spit it out."
"Mole got word of a supply truck that broke down about four miles outside Sector 6. The main problem is, if the Sector Police search it, I don't think they'll let them off with a pat on the back and a free ride home when they find the stash of guns and ammo."
Max's features turn serious.
"Damn. Okay, you and I will go check out the scene. We can leave Mole in charge while we're gone. Go find Dalton and Zander. Tell them we're moving out, we can use their help."
"You got it, Maxie."
She cringes at the use of the nickname he gave her, but inwardly she feels flattered. She has never been so close to someone like him.
A transgenic who wasn't from her unit.
Sure she told herself she had feelings for Logan, but did she?
Did she really fall in love with an "ordinary," or was she just using that as an excuse to stay in Seattle?
That is the least of her worries at the moment.
The more pressing matters were White and his Familiars, the exposure they got, and the impending doom that was sure to come with the start of this war.
This is the last thing she wanted to happen.
All the bloodshed.
Death.
They couldn't even turn on the television without seeing interviews with "concerned citizens" who think exterminating all the freaks is the only way to go.
Forget about trying to find a civil way to solve this. The only thing they have on their minds is destroying all the transgenics in Terminal City, and then moving on to other areas and terminating the rest of the transgenic scum.
It's not like they're any different from regular, run of the mill people. It's not like they have souls, or rights, or feelings of their own.
They don't look the same as ordinary humans, so they're not welcome.
They're killed in cold blood, and no one does anything to stop it.
It's despicable.
Max is drawn out of her train of thought when Alec, Dalton, and Zander come to tell her everything is under control and they're ready to move out.
"Max, you okay?"
Alec can't help but be concerned.
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about all that's going on right now. I wish things were different."
"I know, Max. We all do."
They stand in silence. Dalton scuffs his shoes on the concrete floor.
Zander runs a hand through his sleek, blonde hair, thinking of something to say before he breaks the uncomfortable mood.
"Everything's in order. I'm ready when you guys are."
Max looks up from the stain on the floor she was studying earlier for lack of anything else to do.
"Follow me. We'll head outside and make our way through the slums. Make as little contact as possible until we reach our target. Got it? Good."
She heads for the door, brushing against Alec as she does so. The rush she gets every time they even slightly bump into each other is enough to send her senses reeling.
"Don't try and pull anything, you hear me?"
"You got it." He nods.
Normally he would feel slighted if she treated him this way, but he knows it's more of a routine nowadays.
For so long they would tease one another and see who could piss whom off more. Now it was different.
It was as if they grew closer, even when their actions would be thought to drive them farther apart.
They walked straight through the center of TC, passing trained soldiers hard at work.
They reach the outside and head for a manhole just to the right of the main base of operations.
Their trek through the sewers isn't a pleasant sight. The things they find in there are unbelievable, but in a world like this, stumbling on a dead, rotting body is an every day thing.
Max stops before a ladder leading up to the broken world.
"You've got your orders. We're heading for a black military issue truck about five clicks beyond the Sector 6 perimeter. And whatever you do, don't fall behind."
They nod an assurance to her and then ascend to the light.
Max lifts the manhole cover, glancing around to see how many people are there.
When the coast is clear, she shoves the metal cover aside and lifts herself out of the dirt and grime of the sewer into what can only be described as a dirty city rivaling that of the sewer.
After they're all out, they proceed through the half-deserted streets.
At a glance, Seattle is nothing but a run down city looking for its big break and finding nothing but graffiti and trash in every direction.
But if you take a look at the people, they're anything but depressed.
They hear about "post-pulse this" and "post-pulse that," but when it all comes down to it, it's nothing but the past and a dream for the future.
If the future ever comes.
If this war is as big as it's cracked up to be, it may just be the Apocalyptic end to all of man kind.
Max shakes the thoughts of gloom and doom off once more and focuses on the task at hand.
They are only a matter of feet from the fence separating Sector 6 and Sector 7. She didn't realize how much time had passed while she was day dreaming again.
She motions for them to go towards the forest.
They creep along the side of a half-dilapidated building and blur into the trees.
They stop about a few feet from the edge and scan the roadway, searching for the supply truck.
Dalton and Zander spot it about a mile down the road.
Max pauses as she feels Alec's breath tingling its way down her neck.
She quickly clears her head and they blur towards the truck, staying in the forest and watching for twigs that would give them away.
Just in case.
Max and Alec make their way down the hillside, leaving Dalton and Zander behind as lookouts.
They get up against the truck and slide their way towards to front. They slowly look in the window and see that the driver abandoned it, taking the keys with him.
"Great."
Max moans.
Alec offers his assistance.
"All right, why don't you get in the driver's seat and I'll take over from here. Deal?"
"Whatever, just don't screw this up, or else-"
"Yeah, yeah, or else you're gonna 'kick my ass.' Spare me the lecture."
He adds emphasis to the "kick my ass" part, trying, and succeeding, in sounding just like Max.
Max freezes as she hears movement in the shadows cast by the dense forestry a while down the road.
No one else is supposed to be here and Dalton and Zander are just up the hill from them.
She fights the tension in her muscles. She has to be ready in case of an ambush. What a travesty it would be if TC lost its leader and second in command.
Max looks to Alec, who has the same wide-eyed expression she does.
Before either can make a move, someone blurs past Alec, knocking him to the ground in front of the truck.
Krit stands over him, looking down in mock triumph.
"Some leader, don't you think?"
He laughs and motions behind him.
Four more people, all transgenics, come out of the shadows and walk towards them.
Max is overjoyed as she recognizes them all.
Jondy, Syl, Zane, and Aletha all take their turns in greeting Max.
"I missed you guys so much! Thank God you're all safe."
Syl turns and looks at Alec, who brushes the dirt off his coat and looks bewilderedly at Max.
"We owe most of it to Zack," she said, grinning as she turned back to Max.
Dalton and Zander come up behind Max after watching Alec get thrown to the ground, just to be sure everything was all right.
"Max, what's going on?"
Dalton is just as confused as Zander, who just stands there with a confused, half-hearted grin as he eyes up the new recruits.
"Nothing's wrong. These are some old friends of mine. Fellow escapees."
They grin and say their greetings as Max introduces them.
"So when do we get to see the famous Terminal City?" Aletha asks, her voice rich with a southern accent.
Max notes to herself that she must have made her way into one of the southern states after they fled from Manticore on that cold, wintery night back in 2009.
Alec opens the hood of the truck and starts tinkering around inside as he replies, "Sooner than you think."
Syl watches him again, noticing the slight differences between him and Ben.
"So, you're Ben's twin…"
He looks up from his work, banging his head off the hood as he does so.
"Yeah. I've heard stories about him. At first I thought he was a complete loon, since his little freak out had me sent to Psy Ops for a lengthy amount of time. But then after what Max has told me, he seems like he was a pretty good guy."
Max glances at the ground, willing the tears that threaten her eyes not to come to the surface. Alec notices and quickly changes the subject.
"Hey, does somebody want to give me a hand here?"
Syl volunteers and goes over to take a look.
Max recovers from almost breaking down right in front of them and continues friendly conversation.
"So how did you guys find us?"
Jondy jumps in to answer her question.
"It's all over the news. Krit saw a news report and contacted all of us, asking who was in for a reunion. I wasn't about to pass up a visit with my favorite little sister, now was I?"
"Besides, somebody needs to keep you in line," Aletha kids, nudging Max's shoulder.
The truck starts, cutting their talk short.
Alec comes around to the passenger side where the crowd is.
"All it took was a little team work," he says, winking at Syl.
Max grins, a little surprised at how well Alec is hitting it off with the groups of rebels.
But then again, he won her over, didn't he?
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How was it? Whatever you have to say, I'd love to hear it. Please leave a review! The more I get the faster I'll update!