Chapter 7: Questions
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Alec watched from the rooftop. Logan was doing his normal boring ordinary work. The penthouse was a far cry from what it had been when Alec first met Logan. All of the priceless art was long gone. A new security system had been added and there was an on staff team twenty-four/seven.
The new computer system was state of the art. It was the best that money could buy. There was a new camera and better ways to prevent traces. Logan had taken the Eyes Only operation to a whole new level.
Alec didn't really give a damn about Logan's crusade. He knew that Max thought the ordinary heroic but he saw the man for what he truly was. Logan was repenting for being some type of rich party boy. Most likely he felt the need to make up for his past crimes like throwing his money around without concern for the "little guy." It was all too touching a sop story. Logan really should consider selling the rights to make a TV movie entitled "Man of the People."
Alec didn't care about what Logan did as long as it didn't interfere with him. He had his own sins but his need for repentance was on a case by case basis. He wasn't like Max trying to become a do-gooder in order to be forgiven for being a soldier. He had done things to survive not out of a desire to destroy but for the simple fact of survival. Sure there were sins that he was not proud to own. Sins that could cause his breathing to become erratic and his heart to pound hard but they didn't dominate him. They didn't haunt him like the nightmares did.
His past was something he had never questioned. He had been born in Manticore. He was simply a science experiment.
He had been trained and put through psy-ops twice. Once for his "brother's" escape and once for his failure with the Berrisford mission. He had been tested continuously for flaws and had forced psychiatric evaluations regularly as a child. Now he knew that those evaluations had been Renfro's way of covering something up. He had some flaw that he didn't even know. Was he another serial killer in the making? Had Ben's flaw not been affected by outside sources but by something genetic that also lurked in his twin?
He had grown up in a close knit unit where he was the outsider. His unit mates had never wanted much to do with him. He was the manipulator and he could make friends easily but it wasn't the love of siblings or even comrades. He envied Ben and Max for having that type of relationship with their unit mates. Alec had never had that type of relationship with anyone or anything.
Alec kept his eyes on the penthouse. After his "episode" Max had decided that it was time for them to go home.
"This place isn't safe and we retrieved everything we can. Besides the computer systems were ransacked long before we got here. We'll take the papers and anything they left lying around," she ordered.
She had kept him near her watching him for signs of shock. He had almost been cationic when she found him. Even after they got back to TC she didn't let him leave her sight. She was constantly watching him and he knew she thought him weak.
He had begged her for help when he first came out of his trance. It was the shock of the memories and the fear of not knowing that made him cling tighter to her. Still he had felt this instinctual pull to be near her. Only she could make him feel at ease.
I must be going insane. Bitchy too afraid to embrace being transgenic Max is the only thing that's keeping my sanity? I be loosing my frickin' mind.
Escaping her tonight had been a challenge. He didn't need a body guard and he didn't need her help. He was a grown man who could take care of himself.
Alec's eyes flashed as Logan began to prepare for bed. He could hear the low humming grind of the exoskeleton. He waited until the sound of Logan's snores before crawling through the apartment skylight.
The disk lay out in the open. Logan had been trying to crack the damn thing for months. It was everything about Manticore. It would contain the answers.
Alec's head started to spin.
His CO stood in front of him a boy of twelve.
"What were you doing?" the older boy demanded.
"I was trying to help her," he answered his voice beginning to deepen at ten.
"You put her at risk."
"She was having a nightmare would you rather I didn't do anything?"
"She didn't need you crawling into her bed."
"She likes when I stay with her. You know that she would've ended up in my bed anyway."
"You both could've been caught."
"She was scared."
"I don't care. You shouldn't have done that."
"I was careful besides it calmed her down. She needed me."
"Never go near her again. Understood?"
Alec heard the alarm system start to go off. He grabbed the disk but the security team was swarming.
Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him through the skyline.
"You are so lucky I was here to save your ass," Max said before slugging him in the face.
To be continued….
