Author's Note: During this attempt to 'rewrite' the parts of this story that have always annoyed me, I realise there's too many changes that would be needed... Every time I sat down to figure out which parts to change without fundamentally altering the story's DNA, I'd grow fed up and put it aside for 'later'. Well fiddlesticks, it's been two years now. This so-called 'rewrite' was meant to iron out complications, not create new ones!
As you'll see, there's a few scenes running at the same time as the story splits from one character to another. Hope ya can keep up! Feedback appreciated. :)
No Need To Argue - Chapter Four
by Sorrow Reminisce
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"This is the infantry we've been waiting for all day? Y'know White, I expected better from you."
Max tried her best to stand and hide the pain from White and his entourage. She refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing her so weak, but it was difficult when it felt her leg was slowly being consumed by white hot fire. She had been hit - the bullet ripping into her upper thigh, and embedding itself within her flesh.
"Come on now 452" White was amused to see her floundering before him, and his smile was as alien and dangerous as the snake his people were so fixated by. "You know I don't need to haul in an army to finish you pathetic creatures off."
He sauntered closer and waved the gun around, indicating the sorry state of their surroundings. "Look at this dump. You're all half-starved and those that aren't already dead look as if they may as well be..." He paused for a moment when his gaze fell upon a small group of Nomolies who'd been caught by his team and forced to line up against a wall. Screwing up his face in disgust he added, "Actually, half your lot looked dead to start with."
"Screw you."
White's face turned into a sneer. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't do animals."
"Whatever you gotta tell yourself White. Though you must be pretty lonely with nothin' but your hand for company."
White simply gave an enigmatic smile. He'd like to see what a wise-ass she'd be if he were to surgically remove her lower jaw.
"What have you done with my son, 452? You must be getting sick of hearing me ask by now? Why don't you save us all the hassle of monotony and tell me?"
"Why don't ya save yourself the embarrassment of getting your arse handed to you again, and get the hell out? Seriously White, you get off on public humiliation? Because I just don't understand why you keep coming back for more -"
Growing impatient with the whiney chit chat, the familiar turned and lashed out his foot, delivering a solid blow to Max's wounded thigh. The sharp agonising shock coupled with physical loss of muscle function caused her to sprawl to the ground. Grinding her teeth to hold in a scream, she tried to rise, but White's powerful kick had driven the bullet further into the torn muscle and ligaments, rendering her leg useless.
"Now I don't have to worry about you running away." He grinned.
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At the sound of the gunfire, Alec had stopped dead in his tracks, his heart constricting in fear as the echoes of the scream died down. He had blurred towards the source of the commotion and found a vantage point from the second story of a building which was still standing. After surveying the scene for minute it hadn't taken long to realise this was going to be at least a two man job. One transgenic against a dozen or so familiars was a suicide mission, even for Manticore's finest. And even if he could draw White away from Max, she could barely move with her injury.
Most of the transgenics still alive had left TC already, moving out in small groups through a tunnel they'd been working on for months now, in preparation of an event such as this. Plans to stick together as a united nation of transgenics had obviously fallen through. Those that had remained in TC were now in White's custody along with Max. Being that they had spent their lives locked in a basement shunted away out of sight, the Nomolies had been fairly easy for White's familiars to round up.
Alec felt his heart drop at the realisation that he'd have to call on Logan. Logan - Max's shining paragon.
It wasn't that he disliked the guy, it was simply belittling to a transgenic at the best of times, to have to place so much reliance on an ordinary. Okay, maybe he did dislike the guy - just a little. And maybe it was partly the fact that he always seemed to save the day, least in Max's eyes. Whereas Alec had always been perceived by all parties as the one to perpetually screw things up.
Sure, maybe her feelings on the both of them had changed a little over the past months - Max had gradually grown less reliant on Logan, slightly more drawn to Alec as her right-hand man - but old bitterness died hard. Max may have decided during the space of today that she needed him over Logan, but Alec felt this could easily change. The terror of the morning had forced her to seek comfort. And so she had turned to him. Then out of fear - she even felt she needed to be with him. But why? Because somewhere within her soul she felt Logan wouldn't be capable of protecting her when push came to shove? Not that Max would ever admit to needing or wanting any kind of protection...
Well, turns out she did. And now that push had come to shove, the promise Alec had so recently made to Max - to never let anyone hurt her - was already broken. He had failed her. And so too, the words Max had said at Ben's grave would soon be forgotten, as Logan the Cavalier resumed his place on the pedestal once more. And Alec would go back to being a dirt bag. The irresponsible clown who could never do anything right.
That's what made the idea of asking Logan for help so intolerable.
…And then he heard a gun cock behind him.
Alec stood frozen, waiting to see what would happen next.
The sound of a boot tread close to his right side and a gruff voice said, "This your idea of laying low? You've really let your training slide, 494."
"Mole!" As his friend stepped up the window, Alec's sudden grin near split his face in half. Help had come bearing a reptilian guise and despair had no place within Alec's mind any longer. "If ever a prayer had been answered! What the hell are ya doin' here?"
"Saving your sorry ass."
"Yeah Alec, look what we found." Alec turned to find Joshua behind him, waving an M16A2 assault rifle like it were a flag.
"Whoaaah there Josh," Alec grabbed his friend's arm and carefully took the rifle away. "You could take an eye out with that thing, how bout I take it huh?"
"Yeah - I got it for you Alec. We knew you'd get Max out of this bitch!"
Alec realised just then, how glad he was to have a friend like Joshua. It was a warm feeling to have someone place such trust in you. The faithful look in Joshua's eyes gave him confidence in his abilities once more.
"Thanks Josh!" He gave his friend a quick awkward hug, needing all of a sudden the brotherly comradeship. "Now how the hell'd ya get this toy huh?"
Mole turned away from the window and proceeded to enlighten Alec on what they'd been up to the past few hours. "We felt the need to relieve our government of some of their fine weaponry - they can be dangerous in the wrong hands you know. I don't know when they're planning on bringin' their men in, but they haven't shifted yet from outside the gates. Though judging by what they're carrying, I don't wanna be 'round to find out when their next move will be."
"Ha, yeah, wait 'till you see what else we found." Joshua grinned like a mad man as Mole started rattling off their list of freshly acquired artillery.
"This baby in my hands is the MSG90 sniper rifle, minus the bipod unfortunately... I'm sure you've seen it before?" Alec nodded and Mole continued, "There's a couple M14 mines, an RPG-18 grenade launcher and two AKMS assault rifles. These guys are pretty damn scared of us."
Pausing for a moment to take a breath and bask in Alec's look of adoration, Mole then continued with his list. "What else... we have a Makarov 9mm - with silencer may I add - and heh heh, here's the best part - a box of sheet explosive - that'll set off some lovely fireworks!"
"And don't forget the woollen hat!" added Joshua, who then pulled a grey hat from his pocket and put it on his head.
"How the hell did you get all this?" Alec's face was lit like a Christmas tree as he pondered upon the list of treasures. With this kind of back-up, they could certainly figure out how to deal with White and his accompanying pack of monsters.
"Noticed a supply truck not far outside the fence. Idiot guards weren't hard to disable." Mole shook his head at the incompetency of mere human soliders, then caught the X5's expression. "Don't get your knickers in a twist Princess. I didn't kill 'em. No need to lecture me on the importance of maintaining good public relations..."
Alec shrugged. "Hey, I'm not Max."
Looking over at Joshua, Alec couldn't help but smile at the dog-boy's excitement over a stupid hat. It amazed Alec how someone cooked up in Manticore, forced to survive by his own devices and then hunted by heartless humans, could still maintain a degree of childlike innocence in the midst of all this horror.
Not wanting to disappoint his friend - his brother - Alec grinned broadly. "Well, I don't know what we're gonna do with the rest of this stuff, but thank God for the hat!"
Mole stood and watched dubiously while Joshua broke into laughter and swept Alec up into a bear hug, lifting him off the ground in the process. Ignoring Alec's spluttering pleas for help, he turned back to the window and trained his rifle on the back of White's head once more.
"I've got a clear shot, but White's little bumboys are holding guns on our own. I can't chance it."
"That's okay buddy," Alec had wriggled free of Joshua's grasp and clapped Mole on the back, nearly causing him to squeeze off a round.
"I'll do the predictable thing every great hero does - I'll cause a noticeably large distraction, and our dim-witted friends will surely decide to investigate."
"How the hell do ya come up with that shit Alec?"
"Who needs years of specialist military training when you've got TV?"
Mole snorted, and got back to business. "Looks like White's not part of the original attack - he's got his own agenda. I don't know how the hell he slipped in without the army noticing, but I'm guessin' he bribed someone to turn a blind eye. I've checked our tunnel, and it's still holding, but it was pretty damaged from the attack. Our window of opportunity for getting outta here is closing, so we - "
Joshua moved towards the door, nose the air. 'Hey guys, I uh... I think someone's coming."
Alec looked to him in amazement, what Joshua lacked in Manticore's military criteria, he apparently made up for in his sense of smell.
Therefore, the transgenics were fully prepared when two familiars burst into the room a few minutes later.
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White was going to get the information he needed out of 452 at any cost. He considered what leverage he could use, current favourite being to start killing off the group of sideshow freaks his men had rounded up. Then again, there was always Thula. He knew the Phalanx bitch wanted to kill 452 just as much as he. But while she wanted to simply kill the girl, with perhaps a side dish of torture in the process, he wanted to extract information from the transgenic - while torturing her.
"Where's lover boy 494 today? I haven't seen my favourite pain in the ass for a while."
Max shrugged, and replied nonchalantly, "guess he didn't make it."
White grinned like a fox in a burrow overflowing with rabbits. She couldn't fool him with her tough girl attitude; he'd seen that pathetic look at the mention of her breeding mate. It would give him immense satisfaction to see the proud tough 'Max' be reduced to a snivelling little wench like every other girl.
"Or maybe he's going to play the classic hero role, swoop down and snatch you from my evil clutches huh?"
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As the first familiar entered the room, Alec stepped out from behind the door and delivered a powerful kick to the middle of his lower back that would've broken an Ordinary's spine. He then followed it through with a sharp side kick to the back of the assailant's head that sent him reeling over the top of a table.
Smiling, knowing this would not deter the familiar, Alec raised his eyebrows and tapped his foot, waiting impatiently for his playmate to come back for his second dose. When the familiar did leap up and over the table, he was greeted by a transgenic fist slamming into his face.
Alec had the momentary pleasure of hearing the crunch of bone the familiar intercepted his next punch and twisted his arm up hard behind his back. Ignoring the explosive pain that came of having his shoulder nearly wrenched from its socket, he dug his feet into the floor and drove himself and the familiar backwards, sending them out the door and into the hallway.
As they hit the ground, the familiar was on Alec in an instant. Picking him up, he slammed the transgenic against a wall with enough force to send him smashing through it. The pain was incredible, and Alec blinked groggily against the darkness that threatened to close in on him, before shaking his head and forcing back the shadows of unconsciousness.
As his attacker leapt forward, Alec blurred, grabbing a piece of sharp wood that had splintered from the broken wall behind him and drove it into his throat before kicking him backwards onto the floor. Running the back of his hand across his forehead to wipe away the light sheen of sweat that had begun to form, he bounded back up the stairs to see how his friends were holding up.
Meanwhile, with only one familiar between them to deal with, Mole and Joshua had made short work of him and Alec rushed into the room to find Joshua dragging a body behind the desk and Mole once again admiring his new toys. In fact, it appeared by Mole's buoyancy that at least one person in the room had thoroughly enjoyed himself.
"Well that was fun." Alec winced as he gingerly rotated his arm. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm sick of playing Hide and Seek - I think it's time for a little Seek and Destroy."
Mole grinned, "Let's figure this bitch out."
Alec's mood turned serious as he put his mind into getting Max back. They had some major unfinished business between them and he was getting sick to death of these ongoing interruptions. If it wasn't Logan's ill-timing, or his own stupidity for misinterpreting Max's words, it was White. Sometimes it seemed his life was a story written by some kind of sadist who never wanted to see anyone happy.
"We don't have much time." Taking a breath, Alec braced himself for what he had to say next. He knew no one was going to like it.
"Joshua, you have to stay here. You're in charge of looking after the grenade launcher and explosives."
Mole looked at Alec as if he had just lost his marbles. "You're leaving JOSHUA with a grenade launcher and enough C-4 to... oh man, we're all gonna die! Tell me, you ever recall seeing Joshua receive any kind of training in Manticore? Because far as I know, he spent his life hiding in the basement."
"Yeah Alec. Mole's right..."
"I'm not expectin' you blow the building up!" Alec too wondered just how wise this was, but the words had already left his mouth so he just had to follow it through. "Mole and I are gonna get these familiars out of our way, so you'll only use the launcher if, for some reason, we need a distraction. As for the explosives… just leave them alone altogether."
Joshua and Mole continued to look at him dumb-founded.
"Just don't touch anything." Alec picked out the small Makarov for his dog-friend. "It's accurate, and dependable. Just in case."
Neither were convinced, and understandably so, but Alec felt it was safer to leave Joshua behind for this one. Giving in to Alec's authority, Mole gave Joshua a run down on what to do. Alec situated the grenade launcher near the window so that if absolute worst came to worst and Joshua needed them back ASAP, he could get their attention.
By blowing a sizeable chunk out of a building.
"We'll come back for ya buddy, just keep an eye on Max and the others."
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With two of White's men down, ten remained, as far as they knew. And that figure didn't include White himself. The odds were shockingly out of their favour, but Alec had been in trickier situations and always managed to come out whole - well, mostly. Explaining to a drunken redneck and his bonehead friends, why you're lying in bed with his wife and sister, is indeed a tricky situation to be in. At least Alec had the advantage of being clothed for today's fiasco.
Deciding more ground would be covered if they split up, Mole climbed to the top of a shattered building and disappeared into the tangle of misshapen steel and concrete so he could set himself up with his sniper rifle.
Alec chose to slip down a side street and investigate a portion of TC mostly unaffected by the morning's series of blasts. He awkwardly climbed a fire escape, having to use one arm to do so, and traveled by the roof tops of buildings as much as possible. There was no sign of White's men.
As he was about to try a different direction, he saw movement on the ground within his peripheral vision. Ducking down, he crept closer to the edge of the building and peered below to see what had caught his eye.
Surprised to see it was an ordinary - one of the unfortunates who had taken up residence in TC long before the transgenics arrived, he started to rise to his feet. But then another man rounded the corner and also spotted the homeless guy. Alec trained his sights on the new intruder.
Silent as death, the stealth-like apparition approached the old man who shuffled along the roadside, oblivious to everything but his own mutterings. At last as the shadow of the silent stalker towered over him. The vagrant looked up and cleared his throat, but he never had a chance to utter a word. In that instant a hand snaked out and grabbed his throat, pulling him forward to check for a barcode before snapping his neck. All in one lightening quick fluid motion.
Alec kept the crosshair of his rifle centred on the assassin's head and fired. The familiar crumpled to the ground, dead before he had the chance to realise life was no longer in his hands.
Hearing a sound behind him, Alec rolled to the right, just in time to avoid the bullet that punched the spot where he had just been. His rifle skidded away and teetered on the edge of the roof. Gritting his teeth against the steady throb of his injured shoulder Alec reached for it but the familiar took another shot, this time hitting the gun and sending it hurtling towards the ground.
Feeling as if he were being toyed with, Alec rolled swiftly to his feet and blurred into action, zigzagging towards a sheltered entry way that stood between them. The familiar moved with speed towards the roof access, planning to intercept him on the other side. Anticipating this, Alec leapt to the top of the shelter and off the other side, landing on the familiar and sending them both tumbling like cats across the roof top.
As they sprung away from each other, Alec's eyes widening in recognition.
"Couldn't get enough of me the first time, huh?" He rose warily to his feet. "Bitch."
The dark-haired Phalanx flashed a cold smile before lunging forward, using the butt of her rifle to thwack across Alec's head in reply. Ignoring the flash of pain, he found himself on the defense as she savagely threw herself at him, her moves so fast and fluid he barely had a chance to protect himself from half of her blows. As he tried to wrestle away his attacker's gun, she drove her elbow into the back of his head and for a second, the world faded out and then Alec found himself being flung away like a rag doll. The Phalanx fired her rifle, and the bullet skimmed the side of Alec's head - just - and disappeared behind him.
Hoping his attacker wouldn't shoot again, he held his breath and lay as still and silent as a cadaver on an autopsy table. When he sensed the familiar was close enough, Alec flipped up from his back with transgenic speed, his feet connected with the underside of her jaw, sending her head snapping upwards.
The familiar fell to the ground motionless. Her neck appeared broken, but by experience Alec knew better than to bank his money on such an assumption. Picking up the gun he had sought possession of, he fired a couple rounds into the fallen Phalanx before shaking blood from his eyes. Four down. And with any luck, Mole had taken out a few of his own.
He could assume that with the Phalanx here, Max was in even greater danger if the red-haired bitch got her talons into her. Sick of hunting wannabe demi-gods while Max lay injured at White's feet, Alec decided to head back to the hideout and get his hands on something a little more powerful then the rifle he'd recovered from the ground. He had an idea on what he could do with that C-4.
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Mole was a guy who preferred to shoot first and damn the questions. He was at his happiest when he had a gun in his hand and a cigar in his mouth. At the moment he wasn't very happy - he only had half his wish-list. Max had never got back to him about those cigars.
Sooner or later he knew that some unwelcome pest would come along so he could have an excuse to pull the trigger. Any familiar heading in the westerly direction would surely pass by him as they returned to the man they served (like the gimps they were).
As short-tempered as Mole was, when it came to doing his job, he was as patient as the eternity of Grandfather Time.
It was just as well, because for over an hour he'd been tucked away in his makeshift hidey-hole. The sun was slowly beginning to sink behind him and he wondered just how much longer this little drama would take to unfold.
Joshua too had grown bored. Except unlike Mole, who habitually focused on the objective, Joshua had decided to play with the loot they'd lifted from the Army. He had listened carefully to Mole's stern warning on using the grenade launcher within the enclosed room - gases would be released from the back blast and so on... This completely defeated the purpose of using the weapon for a distraction, and so he took out one of the M14 mines instead.
Wondering exactly how it worked, Joshua sauntered across the room and set it down on a small table, then walked back to the stash and opened the wooden box containing M118 charges and blasting caps. The flexible explosives were much like the clay he'd recently begun to model as his paint supplies had dwindled. Making himself comfortable by the window once more, and with a handful of the C-4, he laughed to himself as he manipulated one block into a shape something resembling a dog.
"Joshua 97, ha ha."
When that game finished, he leafed through a bunch of decade-old newspapers lying on the floor. Old news - boring . And so he threw them down atop of the forgotten M14. Soon his attention was focused on the remaining two AKMS. These pieces were so much cooler then the little hand-gun Alec had given him! He snatched up the shiniest assault rifle and crept through the building, pretending to stalk invisible enemies…
Curious about his surroundings, Joshua made his way down the stairs. He passed the guy Alec had stabbed in the throat (who it must be said, was most certainly dead), but couldn't find much of interest - bare computer terminals, scattered rubbish and decrepit furniture. No bad guys for him to point the gun at.
Eventually he found himself in what must have once been a staff kitchen. Realising he was famished, he started opening cupboards, hoping to come across an ancient can of spaghetti or two. Half a dozen slammed doors later, he'd found nothing but a container of dried up coffee and a few disintegrated teabags. Finally, there was one more cupboard left, and he figured that knowing his luck, it would hold a nest of large mutant rats, crazed with hunger and eager to pounce upon a man with too much dog in his cocktail.
Cautiously opening the door, he found it was not a cupboard at all but the entrance to a basement floor. He stood at the top step for a moment, trying to decide what he wanted to do. He could go back and stand watch - but he really didn't think he was of much use; or he could find out what was down the stairs. After all, it could be a good place for the Nomolies to hide in once his friends got them away from White. It could be a way out for them all.
At last he made up his mind, "back to the basement, ha!" And down the steps he went, shutting the door behind him.
Moments after he descended the stairs, a team of White's minions entered through the front door, in search of two missing comrades who hadn't radioed in when they were due to. Seeing the body of one of their own lying at the foot of the stairs, they signaled wordlessly to each other and quietly made their way up to the second floor.
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When White received a radio transmission from a group of his men who had found two bodies and a stack of military weapons within a building close by, his anger immediately began to bubble to the surface. Now he had two men dead and another two unaccounted for. He didn't like knowing there was someone out there killing off his men, and he was willing to bet money on just who it was.
Scowling in dark anger, he walked over to 452, who had apparently clawed her way to her feet - or one of them anyway - and was glaring at him, no doubt thinking up some deep and meaningful remark. She was so much more hassle then she was worth.
Taking hold of her by her chin, he stepped so close he could see the black flecks in her eyes. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he murmured in her ear, "Well it looks as though your freak boyfriend is making an effort to rescue his poor damsel in distress. That means nothing progressive is going to happen between us until he crawls out from whatever rock he's currently under and gives himself up. I don't want any more nasty surprises you see."
Max chose to say nothing. She knew after the first time White captured her, Alec would never just desert her. But this time she hadn't been sure. He'd looked so miserable when she told him how she felt that she'd half expected him to leave her in TC to find her way out alone. Her exhilaration that he was still here - helping her - was marred by the absolute hatred she sensed radiating off White in waves. For the first time, she felt truly afraid of just what he'd do. Of what he'd do to Alec.
Stepping back from the abomination before him, White looked around at the smouldering remains of the transgenics' home - he felt so proud of his work. Raising his voice, he addressed the wider community. "Okay 494, you can come out now. Much as it's always fun to play with you, I've no time for hero games today."
He didn't get any response, but then, that's what he'd expected.
Sighing, he turned to 452 and considered her once more. Sure he needed her to get his son, unless of course he could get his hands on Eyes Only... But then, he'd need the bitch for him too. Either way he looked at it, he just couldn't straight out kill her. That pissed him off no end.
Deciding at last what he was going to do, he raised his gun and gave 452 a genuine smile, before he shot her once more, his smile growing further as she collapsed for the last time to the ground.