SUMMARY: Terminal City is on the verge of collapsing. The war has gone on for far too long, and the toll as really begun to show. The siege has kept them from leading the lives that Max had so desired for her people, and she herself is at breaking point. But, as it turns out, luck may be on their side after all. A political loophole is discovered, something that grants the denizens of Terminal City diplomatic immunity. The thing to remember about deals though, is that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Nothing is without a price, especially not in Post-Pulse America. Will Alec and Max be able to handle the situation as it needs to be, or will the conditions of this loophole force them to buckle under the pressure?

AN: Hey everyone! I'm the author of Alec McDowell Must Die (which has been removed and is being rewritten because of the terrible quality of the writing) and Always Together, and a few choice others that were removed to be rewritten -sheds a tear for all the lost reviews-

In any event, this story was a plot bunny by Laughter over at the DA Challenges in Live Journal that is FINALLY getting posted. I'm not entirely happy with it since I've been writing in a more somber mood for the past couple of months, but I'm hoping this story will inspire me to perk up. It will be amusing and somber at times, so please stick with it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 1: The Loophole

Max weaved her way through the darkened streets of Terminal City, her gait inhumanly graceful. It was nice, being able to walk properly. When she was living among the ordinaries, she had to make a conscious effort to keep her footfalls at least somewhat heavy so she could blend in properly. Of course, she was still abnormally graceful but not inhumanly so; most people, looking at her slim form and the sway to her hips, assumed she was a dancer of some kind.

Times had been kind of tough lately, especially with TC under heavy siege. Sneaking in supplies was getting more and more difficult with patrols being increased. Regardless, they were holding their own. She smiled crookedly, thinking to herself 'I bet Deck never saw this one coming...' She'd thought of him a lot, the past couple of months. He'd just disappeared off radar, like he had never existed. She would never admit it to anyone, but she'd grown somewhat fond of him.

Oh, she still despised him, but he'd been a guide for her, really. He had been her unit's personal trainer, in Manticore, so it was his voice she heard during all those years of escape and evade, his lessons that kept her alive. Ironic, when you think about the fact that he was the one she was running from. She stalked the streets and made her way to the TC water tower. It wasn't nearly has high as she would have liked, but it would do. She reached the top and stretched out, staring out at the city that she had helped forge and now defended.

For a moment, she let her facade crumble. It was a disaster, truly. They were penned in like animals, again, with less sense of any kind of order. They told her time and time again how much they liked being free, but they weren't, not really. Her shoulders shook violently with held back emotion. She was the strong one, the dependable one, the one who kept everything together. She never let her facade down around anyone, not her friends and certainly not the residents of TC. They depended on her for their survival, and so she could not show weakness.

She heard him approach long before she saw him, but couldn't stop the tremors. How had Zack handled it? She missed him beyond comprehension, right now. She missed her family. Of course, she had a few new additions to her family, ones that were in reach, but it wasn't the same. She buried her head into her arms, her knees drawn up to her chest. She stopped the tremors, and let a few tears fall silently. Drawing a shaky breath, she angled her head to look at him.

"Max?" Alec's head was cocked to the side, a frown on his face. He looked somewhat alarmed, to tell the truth.

"I'm fine, Alec." She let out a shaky chuckle at his expression. Even he, who had seen her in a similar state the night of the Berrisford fiasco, couldn't understand the way she felt.

"If you say so..." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but refrained and sat next to her instead, wrapping an arm around her tiny frame in a half hug.

Max sucked in a breath and bit her lip, angling her head towards him. "What are we going to do?" Her voice was soft, almost unheard in the windy tower.

Alec looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "We'll figure something out, Maxie. We always have."

Max nodded and bit her tongue to stop herself from reminding him that things change, and they weren't under siege back then. Alec sat next to her in companionable silence, thinking things over as they watched the patrol cars go back and forth. After an hour, he stood and stretched a bit, laying a hand on Max's shoulder. "I'm going to go. Carmon's waiting for me, and if I brood anymore I'll get wrinkles."

Max snorted, a small smile on her face, and waved him away as though to give him leave. A few more minutes went by when she realized he was still standing there. She raised an eyebrow and he shifted for a moment. "You should come down...It's kind of cold up here."

She looked into his eyes, seeing the nervousness. She knew why he really wanted her to come down. He was worried about her, yes, but not because of hypothermia. He was afraid she would jump. Things had been a little dicey a couple of weeks back: a retrieval of some new transgenics had gone wrong when a few Familiars had shown up, and Max was injured. She had offhandedly commented that dieing would have been better than going through that battle again and dealing with all of the broken bones in addition to all her political duties.

Alec had been watching her ever since, making sure she was rarely alone. The comment had worried him so much that he had all but forced her to move in with him. Max thought it was annoying, sweet, but annoying when considering the fact that it had been an offhand comment when she was getting patched up. Max asked him what he thought of being celibate, because she was in no way, shape, or form going to tolerate being in his apartment with another chick's post-copulation pheromones everywhere. That gave him a start. Max choked back a laugh as she remembered the look on his face. It had been easy after that, convincing him that if he insisted on her being closer, more accessible, to him, the empty apartment down the block would be fine.

10 minutes had passed now and he was still standing there, watching her nervously. She sighed and rolled her eyes, choosing to pick her battles and save her energy. She stood and slid down the ladder to the bottom, Alec following close behind. She walked back to her apartment, knowing that he was watching her and making sure she didn't go back. She curled up on the sofa of her empty apartment and stared at the ceiling, counting the revolutions of the fan. She could just as easily be in deep thought here as she was on the tower, only it was a bit more pathetic.

She momentarily considered heading to Hell, the only bar in TC, but discarded it in an instant. She didn't really feel like being around people right now, or getting hit on. A few of the newer residents of TC hadn't really quite gotten over the fact that she wasn't interested and had been pursuing her with renewed vigor when they found that Alec wasn't her boyfriend. It had been suggested to her, several times by several different people, that she move on. She had moved on, but she wasn't going to move on with someone else.

She rolled over and snuggled deeper into her sofa. She missed her family so much, especially Zack. If Zack were here, he would know what to do. Zack always knew what to do. But he was playing farm boy somewhere down South with no memory and past. Logan had made sure that she would never find out exactly where he was 'in case anyone went looking for him'. She snorted, not believing that she had bought that at the time. Still, she knew that Zack was where he needed to be, regardless of her own desires.

With a sigh, she drifted off to sleep, praying to the Blue Lady for some sort of miracle.

Alec followed Max home, making sure she stayed in her apartment before he left. He'd originally made plans with Carmon, one Tic's newest residents, but suddenly didn't really feel up to it. Ever since Logan had been unofficially banished from TC, and he no longer had to keep up the act about being Max's boyfriend, he felt closer to her. She still kicked his ass on occasion and yelled at him almost constantly, but her words had long since lost their bite. She was comfortable around him now, less angry and demanding. The people who didn't really know her called it a blessing that she'd finally calmed down, but those who did knew that something was wrong.

Max hadn't been acting like her self lately at all. She'd been somber, melancholy. Even when the bad shit got worse, she didn't get sad and mope around like a lifeless doll. She got loud and angry and, if the occasion called for it, even. It had slowly been getting worse as time passed. Nowadays, she hardly spoke at all except when she was working. In which case, she was mostly yelling, trying to keep up the status quo. She hadn't properly spoken to OC in months or even gone to visit her friends. Alec had spent days pouring over books about the U.S. Government, looking for a way to get them out of this mess, and he was tired.

He'd been more cynical than usual lately, something frightening to behold in Joshua's opinion. Lately it had come down to choosing how much energy went into everything, and research had taken up most of it thereby leaving very little to keep up his cheery smart aleck facade. He ran his hand through his hair and sat back in his chair, looking at the mess of books and papers spread out over his kitchen counter. He paused for a moment, rolling his eyes towards the heavens, before pulling out his cell. He didn't bother to look at the phone while he dialed; his fingers knew the number well enough without conscious effort.

"Hello?"

"Hey, you want to look over those books on the U.S. Government that Jason scored for us on his last book-hunt?"

"I thought you had a date tonight."

"Yeah, well, things didn't go according to plan. Are coming over?"

He could almost hear the wheels turning in Max's mind, processing the implications and possible consequences.

"Yeah. I've managed to scrounge up a few of my own so maybe we'll find something new."

His lips quirked upward slightly at the uncertainty in her voice, the awkward edge in her tone. He loved making her feel uncomfortable, not in a bad way though. It simply amused him to put things, conversations or situations, in such a way that made Max uncomfortable because she wasn't used to the feeling and didn't know how to handle it. More often than not, her way of dealing with uncomfortable situations was to flee or brush it off with violence (which was more avoiding than dealing). It was fun to push her buttons.

"I'm going to head Hell and pick up a case of beer, so just let yourself in when you get here. I'll even leave it unlocked so you don't wind up busting my door again."

"It was in my way and you weren't answering."

Alec chuckled, almost able to see a semblance of a smile on her lips. "Alright, so I'll see you when you get here?"

"Yeah. Hey, wait, have you eaten dinner yet?"

Alec paused to think about it, realizing that he'd planned on doing that with Carmon but never actually ate after he canceled.

"No, not yet. I got so wrapped up that I kind of forgot."

"I'll stop by the Mess Hall and pick up a pizza then. I don't think I've eaten since this morning, before the council meeting."

Alec grinned "Pizza and beer? Sounds 'bout like heaven to me right now. I'll see you in 15."

"'Kay, see you then."

Alec hung up, an amused grin on his face. If it was anyone but Max, Alec would've sworn it was a date. Well, minus the books on government, anyway. He shrugged on his jacket and left the apartment at a clipped pace, mentally preparing his argument for convincing Rogue to give him a case of beer. The barkeep was notoriously stingy, and was completely obsessed with Max. Alec could no longer keep track of the number of times Max had turned him down. Regardless, he would have to manage. Maybe he'd even use Rogue's crush on Max to his advantage. Yeah. That could work.

Max hung up and sat there for a moment, contemplating the decision she had made. Originally, it had been her plan to decline. It was weird, uncomfortable. With all of their past history, Max had grown closer to Alec but with that kind of intimacy came awkwardness. She hadn't been herself lately, and it was disconcerting to know that Alec knew something was wrong, so she'd been trying to avoid him in close quarters lest he start prying. And now, she'd agreed to meet him at his apartment with pizza, and beer, alone.

She shook herself out of her reverie, determined to not over think things like she was prone to do. She dressed quickly, throwing on a washed out pair of jeans and warm long sleeved shirt. She briefly contemplated straightening her hair but decided to let it fall into the curls that came naturally since she didn't have time. She left her apartment unlocked, determining that no one in TC would try and steal from her; they were entirely too scared. Blurring, she rushed to get to the Mess Hall before it closed for the night. With a little pouting, and possibly some eyelash batting, she could probably convince the cook to make a pizza.

Alec strolled casually into Hell, grinning ear to ear and greeting people cheerfully as they said hello or slapped him on the back. He stopped a few feet short of the bar, watching Rogue from the corner of his eye; he didn't look happy at all. Mole, who had been sitting at the table behind Alec, commented "You know Princess, you don't ask then you don't get. You're kind of pretty; I don't think he'd say no."

Alec paused and snorted before turning around to roll his eyes at Mole, a smirk on his face. "I need a case of beer. Max and I are going to talk about how the hell we're going to get out of the legal bullshit we're in."

"That's all you're going to talk about? Because, it seems to me, getting a case of beer seems like a way to soften her up for something you're planning on doing, probably something she won't like."

Alec's eyes narrowed. "When did you get so insightful? Don't you have guns to polish or people to shoot?"

"Easy there Princess, that's not what I was talking about. Max hasn't been the same lately, she hasn't been herself. Now, no one else may notice it, most would probably even call it a blessing, but you and I both know that something's wrong."

Alec said nothing, refusing to give Mole what he was looking for; confirmation that Alec was planning on worming it out of her.

Mole lit a cigar and chuckled. "I'll distract him. You grab it and run."

Roughly ten minutes later, Max exited the mess hall carrying a hot pizza, happy that Jack hadn't asked any questions when she asked him for it. The smell was making her mouth water and her stomach rumble pleasantly. She knew that she should be eating more often, especially given the fact that she was stressed and her body needed nourishment to keep up with itself. She snorted then, realizing that Alec would probably flay her alive if he found out how little she was eating.

It was somewhat annoying, the way he hovered and followed. It was kind of nice though, in some ways; having someone care about her. She knew that others cared about her of course, but they didn't care. Not like Alec did. She still wanted to put his head through a wall most of the time, but it gave her some stability knowing that with all the people she was taking care of, there was still someone to take care of her. She shook herself out of her reverie and walked more quickly towards Alec's apartment, determined to get there before the pizza cooled.

Alec had arrived back at his apartment before she did, though not without purpose. Mole had created quite a distraction. Bar fights always pissed Rogue off, especially when he was on duty. Still, even as he escaped out the back with a case of beer, he wished he could've stuck around to watch Rogue try to through Mole out of the bar. He could hardly help the feral grin that sprung simply from the thought.

He tidied up a little bit, clearing away all of the excess papers and stacking them into a pile. Aside from the mess of paperwork, there wasn't much else to clean; his apartment was always kept militarily clean. He heard her coming long before she actually arrived at the door, and took a moment to wonder how long she would wait outside his door. Much to his amusement, she didn't wait. She didn't even knock. The door opened and Max walked in, balancing the pizza in one hand and 4 very sinister looking text books in the other. She smiled at him and Alec could tell it was genuine, if a bit tired.

He held the door open for her and took the books from her arms. She set the pizza down on the counter and shrugged off her jacket, laying it on the kitchen bar stool. She cracked the pizza box open and laid it amongst the textbooks on the coffee table. Alec sat on the ground across from her, offering a beer as he cracked open his own. She accepted it and ate her first slice of pizza in silence.

The meal continued without much conversation between the two, but neither was uncomfortable. It was only after several hours of research that Alec finally found something. He reread the words carefully, trying not to give himself false hope.

"Max..."

She looked up from her own book, thoughts of dinner and conversation long forgotten.

"I think I found a loophole..."

"For...?"

"Terminal City's problem."

"Well that's very specific Alec. Which one?"

"The one with the United States military breathing down our necks."

She raised her eyebrows. "Go on,"

"Diplomatic immunity, Max. Ever since the Pulse hit, the government put into effect the Peace of Sovereignty Act from the UN, so the population wouldn't starve due to poor trade negotiations. It declares that so long as the law is in effect, the United States cannot engage in any military operation that politically, economically, or physically harms any sovereign nation."

Max gave him a dry look before sighing. "Alec...I don't know if you've forgotten, but we live in a city within Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. We aren't a sovereign nation."

"Ah, but we can be. The POS Act had so much pork in the bill, that there were several little things that were... over-looked for the sake of getting it passed. One of those things was article 763, which basically stated that any territory within the United States that did not contribute something to the whole of the country could separate itself from the country."

Max cocked her head to the side, her features beginning to light up with the prospect. She paused for a moment before asking "Why was it even put in there, then? How did it not get taken out of the bill? Something like that could ruin the country."

"Well, according to this, Alexander Medina, a senator of California, was sympathetic to the ever growing wave of Mexican immigrants entering our borders. He put it in the bill, supposedly, to give them a...home away from home, a way for them to escape the ever growing persecution and racism. It was left in the bill because they needed Medina's vote to get it passed, and they figured that since virtually every single town in this country contributes something, it would never actually be able to be used."

Max could hardly feel her self breathing. "But since we, presently in Terminal City, don't actually contribute anything to their society economically..."

"We have an open door to sovereignty."

They paused a moment after this realization, letting themselves absorb this new turn of events. Max blurred over the coffee table and body slammed Alec into the back of the couch, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. He felt himself go into momentary shock as Max hugged him until he was breathless, having never really experienced Max being the touchy feely person. He hugged her back and stood up suddenly, swinging her around. They laughed and laughed and laughed, and laughed like they'd never been able to before.

And for the first time in a very, very long time, Max felt that finally something was going to be alright. She knew there were going to be challenges ahead of her, but she really felt comfortable with this. With this loophole, she wouldn't have to worry about her people being persecuted, or if someone was going to kill her if she made a decision they didn't like. This was purely a good thing, with only positive outcomes for the future.

And, she was right. Theoretically, this only provided for a brighter future. But the thing that always needs to be remembered when dealing with loopholes, the thing that most people think of first when they're offered a deal that seems too good to be true, is that there is always a catch.

Yes, I know it's a bit slow in the beginning. Bare with me! Review please?