Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge set by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops, she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous - *methinks!* X5494. The unit then, was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues..

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thanks for your reviews, I gonna love you guys forever for that :) and this chapter is dedicated to angel who had uncannily read my mind on what I'm gonna do with our fearless hero. You go girl! And also to panda who had helped me when this stupid comp won't let me dowload this chapter. *glares at the worthless machine* oh, don't forget Maia who helped me so very much :) thanks sweetie! And also to the rest of you who had read and ahem reviewed.

I have one more word to say, enjoy! And hope you like it :)

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Chapter 7.

The moon glimmered in the early hours of morning, its calm and relaxing rays softening everything in their path; but the furious beauty who was marching angrily into the empty warehouse was surrounded by this angry shimmering haze. She tossed her black hair away agitatedly as she stomped inside.

'He is so.. so goddamn annoying! That's it, I'm getting the hell out of here, even if it kills me,' she paused for a second as a sudden burst of solitude swept over her and she shivered, completely overtaken by its intensity.

I won't see him again, she thought with some degree of bleakness but she threw this weird feeling away. That's a very good thing, she told herself sternly. He's a pain in the ass and I'm more than happy not to see him again. Her jaw was set in a hard line as she contemplated her hasty plan. We take the device and while on the way back, I'll just simply.. slip away without him noticing, and with luck in a couple of hours I'll be safely away from that.. that Alec. Not the best of plans but it's the best one I have. Maybe I should do something to distract him before I flee, hmm.. I'll have to do this as I go along. I hate these unplanned missions, she thought bleakly to herself.

Her thoughts wandered to the maps they had been given earlier that she had memorized in her head. The warehouse was in the middle of a dark, thick forest, but her sharp mind recalled something... A couple of miles from this exact spot, there was supposed to be a little hut. An old man had lived there and she knew without a doubt that he had a car. A car that would get her to the nearest civilization.

For once in her life she was grateful that Logan had pushed her into that particular mission. He had insisted that she retrieve some vital information on something he had been working at that particular time. Truthfully, she had forgotten what it was; he had always had the tendency to poke his fingers into every pie of human sins. She had braved the forest half an hour later, found the place, sneaked in, got the much needed papers and she had gotten out, all without alerting the man that he had company.

As the man had been quite paranoid, that had been a good thing. She hadn't wanted someone to go crazy on her, and looking at the facts about him, he'd do that for sure. Just looking at his house's location for one was enough. It was in the middle of nowhere and as far as she knew, no one knew he even existed. He must've had some serious problems with human contact. She had shrugged it aside at the time and after acquiring what she had come for, she had left, as quietly as she had come.

She had been particularly glad to find out that she had been placed in the Seattle facility; escape would be relatively easy since she had been living in the city for years. She would know where to navigate and she had undoubtedly an upper hand as she knew about that little hidden house which was not in any maps. And she doubted that Manticore would find her right away if she was careful and quick.

Max nodded to herself as she made her mind up. After this she'd just slip the hell away from here and that was it. No one could stop her now. She stopped for a few seconds as she looked around the place, trying to get her bearing as she had stormed in without looking. Her eyes quickly swept around the room, taking in the sparse area and her eyes widened at the empty space.

What the?! Had they made a terrible mistake? Was this some kind of trap, perhaps? Apprehension started creeping up and down her spine and she shivered. Maybe it was hidden, she thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes and tried to locate the possible hiding place. As much as he was an annoying jerk, she doubted that her CO had made a mistake. Manticore didn't take mistakes very amiably. And as Manticore had also bestowed him with the responsibility of a Commanding Officer, that meant he was not as brain dead as she first presumed. Or maybe he had bugged them enough and the powers that be had relented.. or something like that. To make matters short, this also meant that the chances that his Intel was wrong were relatively small. The device had to be here somewhere.

Max stood rock still and let her gaze roam around the room. If I were a potentially fatal device made for world destruction in mind, where would I be?

'You do love to daydream.. come on soldier, focus!'

Max was startled out of her reverie by the cheery voice speaking from behind her. Would it be too much to ask for the earth to open up and swallow him whole? 'I'm trying to see if I can locate our objective, sir,' she said, trying hard to keep her brimming temper in check.

'Ahh, you mean the device we were supposed to retrieve? Come on 452, don't tell me you thought it would be in plain view? Placed on a nice table, adorned with checked tablecloth perhaps and oh I don't know, glasses of bubbling champagne to celebrate our victory? Tsk.. Tsk.. which planet are you living on my sweet?' he shook his head in wonder, his hazel eyes gleaming cheekily as fires started banking in hers. 'I would be very disappointed that my skills wouldn't be needed if it were really shockingly in plain view.'

He strode towards one corner and knelt before running his fingers slowly over the plastered wall. Max silently watched him tip his head to one side as his hand continued their search; looking for tiny cracks and some sort of invisible latch. What beautiful hands he has, she sighed as the objects of her stare continued their roaming. She gasped as she realized the train of her thoughts. Damn! I'm moaning over his hands now? A minute ago it was his back, what the hell is wrong with me? I..

'Bingo!'

She snapped her attention to him and saw his excited grin. He turned back towards the white wall and ran his long sensitive fingers along one tiny crack. His eyes half closed, he ran his light touch over the hair wide rift before he suddenly pushed against one particular spot. Instantly a medium sized square appeared as the portion sprang forward.

494 pried it opened and Max caught a glimpse of a big sturdy safe. She almost gasped as he turned quickly and asked, 'Well, maybe it's a bit useless to ask if you have any hair pins, isn't it?'

Before she could even open her mouth to answer, he turned back and patted his pockets. 'Aha, there you are,' and rolled a leather bundle opened.

'Is that what I think it is?' Max burst out as she stared at the familiar kit, 'you're a thief too?' she tried to hide her surprise as he picked up a couple of tools.

'Sorry to burst your bubbles sunshine, but Manticore didn't just taught us the finer skills of assasination,' he shrugged and turned his attention back to the safe. His eyes turned somber as he studied the big iron safe. 'This won't take long,' he said and started picking the lock, gently playing with the lock until it gave way. He opened the iron door as Max took a few steps closer and together they stared at the tiny screen.

'This one can only be accessed by the designated palm print,' he told her before taking out a small tube and spraying it straight at the surface of the panel. Instantly, the needed print showed up, a white silhouette among the darkness around them. He slipped his hand into his bag and drew out a small flat case. He flipped it open and quickly put the transparent glove on.

'And here is where I need your help. Remember your dossier? There's a code I told you to memorize?' after she nodded he added, 'punch in your code when I tell you to.'

Then, he moved closer to the panel and cautiously put his own gloved hand over the visible print, pressing against it firmly. The red blinking light turned instantly to green.

'Now.'

Max moved forward and keyed in her code as besides her he was doing the same thing, entering another set of codes. With a simple beep, the door sprang open.

'Learn anything yet 452?' he asked with an engaging grin as he took the glove off with a snap.

'Oh yes master, I sure do,' she mumbled as discretely she stored his moves for future use. Even though she had been reluctant to admit it, he was good.

He opened the door wider and drew out what Manticore had wanted very badly. She narrowed her eyes as they fell onto the thing itself, 'Is that it?' she asked unimpressed.

'For something so small,' he answered, patting the small roundish ball affectionately, 'it sure packs a wallop. Once activated, this little beauty is worse than a couple of nuclear bombs put together, frankly speaking.'

'Hmm.. now I can see why Manticore would want to get its grubby paws on this,' she mused as he packed the device securely in a lead case he had brought along.

'What does it do exactly? You didn't tell us about that in briefing,' she asked, intrigued by his earlier remarks.

'Let me put it this way. What this lil darlin' could do,' he nodded towards the case, 'can make the Pulse seemed like a baby burping.'

'That bad huh?'

'Worse.'

'And you have absolutely no problem handing that dangerous.. thing to Manticore? None whatsoever?'

He shrugged as he checked the case, 'Nope, I'm just doing what I've been ordered to do. Come, we have to start moving.' Without another word he exited the room and a second later Max followed.

As they stepped outside, a shadow materialized besides them silently and Max felt the short hairs on her neck rise.

~*~

A few hours before.

'Okay, let's go through the plan again. Four of us take down the guards surrounding the perimeter. The remaining two, one of them would be me, move in, take the four guards and let's just pray that they don't have any urge to double the guards or anything.'

'Oh no, they won't. My Intel is damn accurate, remember?' his second-in-command raised one questioning brow.

'Maybe, yeah,' 494 agreed grudgingly but as 511's brow inched higher, 494 grinned sheepishly, 'Yeah, all the time. I'll go in, crack the safe open, get the device, place it in your capable hands and leave the scene. You then will be responsible of getting it back to Renfro. Let's hope she'll be pleased enough to grant us some days off for a change.'

'In your dreams 494 and when did you start to have this delusions?' his SIC asked, grinning in amusement.

'Ah well, there's nothing wrong with dreaming right?' 494 sighed as he flipped the papers that he had been holding, looking for something. The shadows moved and shifted as the wind whipped past the branches and unconsciously 494's eyes flicked around, trying to find the girl that had been hounting his thoughts. His lips tugged into a hint of a smile as he spied her. She was sitting with her back to a tree as she stared in front of her with a lost expression on her face.

'Ahem, earth to 494.'

He turned a startled gaze to 511, looking a little lost himself, 'What?'

'The mission at hand?'

'Oh yeah, I'll get the device, give it to you and after that we separate. Hopefully if there's anyone left to tail us they'll go after me and you'll be free to get back to base. So, did I miss anything?'

'Nope, I don't think so. That's it I guess. Do you want to gather the others for a quick briefing?'

'No, let them settle down first,' 494 replied as his eyes strayed towards the girl.

'Okay.'

~*~

The present.

'Here, go!' 494 thrust the case into 511's hand and the latter took it before melting back into the shadows. 'Come on, come on, let's go!' he said to her and they took the opposite route, blurring in their haste to get away.

All right, Max told herself as she followed him, this is it. This would be the perfect time to slip unnoticed. Hopefully he'll be too busy to realize that I'm gone. Hah! Fat chance on that… but who knows? Maybe luck will be on my side for once. Watching his moving back intently, she slowed down imperceptibly, distancing herself slowly from him little by little, bit by bit, waiting for the time to break free. She was so focused to find the perfect time, she was quite surprised to see that something had whizzed past her, just centimeters from her ear, something that should have never happened. Stunned, she turned back to find the source and cringed as a few more bullets flew past her.

She spun back and ran faster, trying to outrun the bullets. But her second of hesitation had been the cost of their downfall, frankly speaking.

She blurred left and right, trying to escape the speeding pieces of metal and she knew that the distraction she had been hoping for had arrived. If she wanted out, this was the window of opportunity that had presented itself. Despite the danger around her, she slowed down a little and looked around wildly, trying to gauge her bearings. There! she cried out in her head, that's the way. As she turned, ready to bolt, she caught sight of something from the corner of her eyes. Alec had spun around and he was shouting something.

Out of the blue, she felt anger rise in her. She was poised to run and he had to pick that particular time to shout instructions? Or did he already know about her plan? As the chaos started to erupt around them, Max felt surprisingly afraid as he started running towards her. She could see that he was getting nearer as he blurred but for some reason her legs seemed rooted down and she couldn't force them to move. With wide eyes, she stared as in slow motion, he hurtled towards her.

That's it. Now I'll never get away from Manticore.

Even with that depressing thought in mind she was frozen on the spot. She saw as he raised his arms and that somehow broke the trance she was in. She spun, her weight braced on the balls of her heels and she had taken the first step before he slammed into her. Everything happened quickly, too quickly as she heard the tell tale whoosh of the speeding bullet, the way Alec had grunted as he crashed into her, sending them flying.

Her groan was muffled as her face was pushed into the hard fabric of his shirt. She blinked a few times as she stared dizzily up into the hard contour of his chest.

Hard muscular chest.

Rationality took over as she finally realized what had happened. For some reason unknown to her, Alec had gotten into his head to tackle her to the ground and now, with him on top of her, she was pinned. She couldn't move and she made another mistake.

She panicked.

Prying her hands off from his still body, she placed them on his chest and pushed him off her with a loud groan as she yelled, 'Get off me!'

He rolled over, assisted by her not-so-gentle shove and remained motionless.

Max lifted her head slowly, a little apprehensive about the flying bullets and crouched, keeping her head down. Suddenly she realized that her hand was sticky and she almost wiped it off on her pants before she realized that the dark stains were too.. dark to be sweat. She studied her palm with narrowed eyes before her heart dropped frighteningly to her feet.

Blood.

Her hand was dripping with blood.

Quickly she looked herself over but apparently she was unhurt. And if there was nothing wrong with her, that meant the blood was.. his.

Her head snapped towards her still CO, who had remained in the same position after she had pushed him off. She scrambled towards him on hand and foot, frightened by his unmoving body as bullets continued to fly over them.

'Damn! This is not happening!'

She ran her fingers over his shoulders, his ribs and his chest before she felt the spurting blood.

'Oh god,' she raked her hair as she grabbed some cloth before pressing hard on the wound to stop the bleeding. 'How could you do this to me? You were not supposed to take that stupid bullet for me. Look at what you've done to my plan,' she ranted as she pressed harder. 'Come on Alec, open your eyes. Come on, please, you can't do this to me. Alec please!' she cried out with a touch of hysteria, praying hard as she saw his pale features.

'Alec, you're supposed to be one of Manticore's finest or they wouldn't let you be a CO! You can't let a bullet take you down. For god's sake Alec! Open your eyes! Now!'

'Who's that poor Alec you've been yelling at?' he mumbled as his eyelids fluttered opened.

'Oh my god, you're still alive,' she said lightly, bending to take a peek at his bullet wound and at the same time hiding her red eyes from view, 'No exit wound, I have to dig it out later but it seems clean enough and I don't think it hit any crucial arteries or organs. Judging by the entry wound, the bullet must've missed your heart by mere inches. And the bleeding has stopped,' she rambled on, turning around to hide her teary eyes as he struggled to sit.

'Keep still!' she snapped and pushed him none too gently back to his back, 'I have to do something about it first.'

'Don't tell me you're worried?' he asked as he cringed at her ministrations.

'No, more like dragging your ass in the middle of the night is not something I want to do right now,' she mumbled as she rummaged in her bag. 'I need to cauterize it too but not now. We have to relocate, do you think you can walk? But I have to bandage it first. Don't move,' she said, frowning as he got up.

494 closed his eyes and braced his weight on his elbow as the dark forest swam enticingly in front of him. He scooted slowly backwards and leaned against the nearest tree.

'I told you to keep still,' she said briskly before wrapping the strips tightly over the wound.

'Wow, you have such gentle touch,' he gasped as she tightened the bandage.

'Oh, you're such a baby Alec,' she retorted, glaring at him from the corner of her eyes. There went her plan out the window. Now, she'd be stuck with taking care of him and that meant that her escape had to be pushed off for a while. But on the other hand since he was injured, he couldn't come after her as fast as he normally would, so that was good news. So, she'd have to sit tight until she was sure he could be on his own before she took off. That was the least she could do for him. She turned to him and frowned as she saw that he had been staring at her thoughtfully.

'What?' she asked cagily.

'Why do you keep calling me Alec? Is that a.. code or something?'

Max could actually felt her jaw dropped open as she looked into his waiting face. Damn! Did I call him that out loud?! Oh great, why can't I stop making such a fool out of myself whenever he is around? Okay.. how do I get out this one? Preferably with my ego intact. But she was saved from answering as another burst of bullets soared through the air, whizzing just mere inches away.

'Come on, let's go! There's no time to talk!' she shouted, prompting him to his feet. She grabbed him under his arm and together, they ran off into the night. She practically had to drag him along. Max saw the way his blood dripped from her tight bandage and she nearly blanched, that was not good.

Not good at all.

to be continued..