Purplebunnywabbit- Sketchy is funny. Well don't be discouraged because I realize that there are some M/A readers reading this as well so I do have a plan of action on that front. It won't be completely MA because I am a very big ML fan. I hope you do enjoy what I have in store for Max and Alec though.
Chapter Two
Unexpected Reunion
When Max arrived at the address that Normal had given her she discovered that it was abandoned and that no one was there to give her any package. If her senses hadn't already been setting off red flags they were on full alert then. It wasn't everyday that a Jam Pony was asked to send someone in specific to deliver or pick up a package. Now seeing that no one could have possibly even called in this delivery was something that scared her to the core. If it had been Manticore though why didn't they have the troops waiting for her to arrive so that they could recapture her. Nothing at that point made sense to her, but as Max turned around and came face to face with a familiar X5 everything came into perspective. She reacted instantly as she kicked him square in the chest. Max didn't stick around to watch as he fell before she had started to run to the end of the hall only to find that it was a dead end and there weren't any windows for her to dive out of.
"Max wait," he called after her as he climbed to her feet.
"I'm not going back Alec," Max snapped, "You can't make me go back."
"If I wanted to bring you back in I would have called for backup already," Alec told her.
Max hated that Alec was making sense. But how could she believe that he had changed his views about Manticore over night? The last time she had seen him he was the good little soldier who believed everything Manticore told him to do was for his own good.
"I know I've given you no reason to believe that I'm nothing but a good little soldier for Manticore," Alec told her, "But from the moment you arrived you changed everything in how I viewed Manticore. Then when you left I started to really pay attention. Then they…"
Max knew that they had to have done something big enough to sway Alec's loyalties away from them. For Max and the others who escaped in 2009 it had been the death of their dear sister Eva. Max could tell that Alec was telling the truth. Manticore would never have let him tell her those things. Manticore had never taught them emotion. Emotion was something that only could slow you down in missions. Max could see the hatred in Alec's eyes and that wasn't something that a perfect soldier from Manticore would show. Her entire demeanor changed as she walked over to Alec.
"So how'd you get out?" Max asked.
"The same way you did," Alec told her, "I somehow found my way into your cell and well you know the rest."
"Well I got to get back to work, but I'll show you where I live and you can crash there until I get back," Max told him.
"Thanks," Alec said.
It took a half an hour to get back to where Max lived because of the traffic at one of the sector check points. As soon as they were back in her apartment Max showed him where the shower was and where her room was. Before she had even left the apartment Alec had fallen asleep in her bed. She could tell that he hadn't slept in days for even he had told her once that he didn't sleep much. Max slipped out of the apartment after leaving a note for him to go to Crash that night with directions on how to get there. She had forgotten about how she had planned to go to Crash that night with Sketchy and Original Cindy. When she got back to work Normal was annoyed that it had taken so long for her to finish her run and as soon as she informed him that their hadn't been a package for her to pick up he began mumbling to himself as he went back behind the counter. She delivered three more packages before she met back up with Original Cindy, Sketchy, and Herbal at Crash. After Sketchy had bought them a pitcher of beer he offered up a game of pool. Original Cindy and Max both turned down the offer while Herbal took him up on it.
"So how's my Boo doing?" Original Cindy asked as soon as they had been left alone.
"It was an alright day. Normal's back to bugging me again so the universe is right once more," Max replied.
"What happened with that pick up that you were personally requested to make?" Original Cindy asked.
It was then that Max had remembered about her encounter with Alec and how he hadn't shown up at Crash yet. She hoped he hadn't gotten lost or gotten in trouble. She wanted to have a nice relaxing evening. One that didn't include going to save his ass from whatever trouble he might get himself into. Max told Original Cindy about her encounter with Alec. She told her about how she had met him in Manticore and she had named him herself. He was a real smart Alec after all and the name had suited him at the time. Just as she finished telling Original Cindy about him he decided to show up.
"That's him," Max said as she discreetly motioned to the man walking down the stairs as he entered Crash.
It didn't take long before Alec was pulling up a chair next to them and Max was introducing him to not only Original Cindy, but to Sketchy and Herbal as well. She was just glad that Sketchy and Herbal weren't asking questions about how she had known him.
"So how was that pool game Sketch?" Max asked.
Sketchy avoided eye contact with Max making it clear that he had not been the winner of the pool game. She couldn't help but laugh wondering what he could have possibly bet with Herbal that would make him avoid eye contact with her.
"How much you lose?" Max asked him.
"In a sense I didn't lose money," Sketchy replied, "I just have to buy beer when it's Herbal's turn for the next two weeks."
Max exchanged glances with Original Cindy before they cracked up laughing. If she had known it had been that easy of getting out of paying for beer she would have played Sketchy in pool with that bet long ago.
"Wanna play a game of pool Sketch?" Max asked him still laughing hysterically.
Sketchy only glared at her before announcing he was going to get more beer before he took off to the bar. Max suddenly got this feeling that she only felt whenever Logan was around. She quickly scanned the club and spotted Logan sitting at a table by the bar with none other than Asha. Her entire demeanor changed and she wanted to get out of Crash as fast as she could. Alec someone sensed her unease and pulled her out of her seat.
"Come on Max," he told her, "I'm still kind of tired. Mind if we head out early?"
"Sure," Max mumbled as she numbly followed him to the exit.
There exit though had not been quiet enough for behind her as she followed Alec out of the club she could hear Logan calling after her. She only hoped that he would leave her alone now that he knew she was back in Seattle. She couldn't stand the thought that he had moved on so soon after she had supposedly died. She could only hope that he wouldn't try to follow her. But that wasn't something she had to worry about because Alec was pushing her in the direction in a speedy pace. After getting them on the Ninja it had only taken them ten minutes to get back to her apartment. When they got there she sunk into the couch.
"Mind telling me what happened?" Alec asked her.
"It's nothing," Max replied.
She didn't' know Alec well enough to tell him that he had just saved her from having to face someone that had broken her heart. He was still new at the whole having a real life. No matter what he said about not being under control of Manticore it still took Max a long time to learn how a real life was supposed to life. Manticore taught them not to let emotion get in the way of the mission. Zach believed that all the way up until he had sacrificed himself to save Max. She knew that Alec would most likely have that same mentality.
"You sure?"" Alec asked her.
"Don't worry," Max told him as she forced a smile on his face, "I'm always alright."
Quote Two
Max Guevara: I had to have radical emergency amateur brain surgery to remove a nanochip from my cerebellum before I stroked from a neurochemical overload."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter and will make my day more enjoyable by leaving a comment with your thoughts in it.
