Missed Cues

Summary: Tragedy strikes Terminal City, leaving Alec and Max with no one to fall back on but each other.

Allrighty... Let's see how our heroes are dealing with the good doctor's demise...

Chapter Nine


Max glanced over at Alec who was sitting behind the wheel. He'd left her very briefly to ensure that any video surveillance was destroyed, then ushered her out to the car. After that, he'd driven, although Max didn't know where they were headed, she assumed back to Seattle. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask either, or if she really wanted to talk to Alec at all knowing what had just happened.

Max knew, intellectually, that it had been necessary, that the doctor was a murderer and would gladly do it again, just out of academic interest or for the sake of "science." There had been no way to bring the man to justice with the way the government was treating them. Half the country probably thought he'd done a public service. Yet while she understood all of that, it didn't stop her from feeling dirty.

Alec… she wasn't sure what Alec was feeling.

It had taken about five minutes of driving for Alec to begin to unwind. He'd schooled his expression first, actually glancing in the mirror once to be sure his usual pleasant, unconcerned mask was in place. After that, she'd watched as he worked his way through his muscle groups, systematically relaxing them one by one, until he was once again the picture of a disinterested bystander to life.

"You want some food?" Alec asked. "There's a sign for a restaurant not too far up the road."

Max studied him, amazed at the seeming nonchalance. She wondered that she had ever thought he was actually as shallow as he appeared. Maybe it was that he wished he really was that shallow. At the moment, however, Max knew there was so much more going on beneath the surface than she could guess. Alec wasn't just distant and hiding from the world or her, he was completely locked down. He was hiding from him.

That wasn't to say he was quiet.

"I think I need something to eat. Maybe they'll have a decent burger. That place, the one where you got shot, that was the lousiest burger. I've had better meals at Joshua's and he doesn't know how to make anything besides macaroni. Poor guy makes so much I'd think he's been taking pasta lessons from Lo-"

Max made an involuntary noise, a sharp intake of breath. Just Logan's name, sounding out like a bullhorn, was almost enough to deafen in the closed car.

It reminded her that Logan was gone, that it was her doing, but it also reminded her that she'd managed to go without thinking about him since leaving the lab well over an hour ago. She'd been concentrating on Alec, then she'd starting wondering if she should let the others know it was safe to come back to TC or whether it would be safer to just let them stay in hiding wherever they were now. Once again she'd let her current worries draw her mind away from Logan.

Alec bowed his head, embarrassment and shame on his face. "Sorry, Max. I didn't-"

"Just shut it, Alec," she said harshly. "Just... just stop talking, ok?"

"Yeah. Fine." Alec's hands tightened on the wheel momentarily before he once again forced himself to relax. "Shutting up."

The car fell silent, and almost immediately, Max wished she hadn't asked him to stop. She could see a muscle ticking in his jaw, saw his shoulders begin to draw up with tension until he realized what he was doing and shrugged them loose again.

Alec had done the dirty work. He hadn't pawned it off on her or anyone else, or weaseled out of it somehow. He'd gone a step farther and protected her from even having to watch him kill a man in cold blood. Alec hadn't been forced to do anything like that since leaving Manticore. He'd nearly died just to keep from killing her and Josh when White had stuck the bomb in his head. Now she could almost see him remembering his old job and the people he'd been asked to kill, justified or not.

"You mean assassinations."

"That is my job. You wanna bust my chops about it, go ahead."

She'd thought he was a cold-hearted killer. He'd said it was just his job, that it didn't bother him, and Max, like an idiot, had believed him. This new burden, though, she could see what it was doing to him, how hard he was working to keep the strain from showing. With the doctor, Alec had borne the ugly reality of taking a life face to face and she'd let him. Worse, he'd asked her to let him.

"You ok?" Max asked into the heavy silence.

"Sure." His eyes darted toward her then back to the road. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I... You..."

"Yes?" He raised an eyebrow. "Me, you. In the car. Driving. Where are you goin' with this, Max?"

Max pursed her lips, unsure of how to say what she needed to. "What you did-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Alec cut her off.

"Alec-"

"Look, I'm not the good guy in the story, Max. I know that, ok." He swallowed audibly, his jaw clenched. "That's why I asked you to leave. You're the white knight that comes in to save the day. That's not my job and it never has been. I know what I did, and I'd do it again if I had to. That doesn't mean I want to talk about it or hear you lecture me about what I've known for years."

He kept his eyes glued to the landscape, although there was nothing to see. They were passing through a small town, crappy and dilapidated like everything was these days. Closed businesses lined the street, but still Alec studied them like they were fascinating viewing.

Alec was expecting her to come down on him for what'd he done, but Max knew the difference even if Alec didn't expect her to. This wasn't a Manticore sanctioned assassination. This was the execution of a murderer who would kill the rest of them given the opportunity. That didn't change the fact that Alec was feeling like he'd fallen back on his training, that he was what he'd always been, a killer.

Max had the feeling that if she didn't say something now, the moment would pass and she'd never get it back. She stretched out her hand and set it on his arm. "You're not the bad guy, Alec. Not even close."

The plastic of the steering wheel creaked beneath Alec's grip. He'd taken his coat off and thrown it in the back seat, leaving his blood-stained shirt cuff plainly visible right in front of him. He turned his head away from her so she couldn't see his expression, but she could still see the tick of muscles in his jaw as he fought for control. Max just waited.

Finally, he cleared his throat and turned back to watch the road. "Whatever. We have bigger problems to worry about." He shifted his hold on the wheel so that her hand fell away from his arm.

Max sighed, willing to let it go for now. "Fine. We should call Mole, tell him we're headed back to Seattle."

"Sure," he said, fumbling in his pocket for his cell phone.

A large box truck pulled out right in front of them forcing Alec to brake hard. As it was, only his cat-like reflexes kept them from slamming into the other vehicle.

"What does this moron think he's doing?" Alec bit out. "He think it's easy to find a decent car to steal? Took me half an hour to find this one and he's gonna wreck it!"

As the box truck began to accelerate, Alec nosed the car out to check for oncoming vehicles and then hurried around the truck. Just as he pulled into the oncoming lane, another car roared up behind them, following them almost bumper to bumper. Alec floored it to get around the truck and back into their lane.

"Did they let everybody in this town out of the nuthouse for the day?" Max snapped.

Just as they pulled back in front of the truck, the car behind them accelerated again and Max assumed they were going to come around. Instead the car very purposely veered toward them. The driver rammed his car into the rear quarter panel of theirs, immediately pushing it sideways. As soon as the car started to slide, the other driver accelerated again, ramming them broadside on the driver's side doors.

The car lurched, shuddering under the impact, and then the next second… they were flying.

Manticore had made its children to do many things. Flying wasn't one of them.

The car rolled then crashed back to the ground, and Max lost track after that, disoriented by the twisting, turning, bone-crunching spin, and the screech of steel as the car seemed to cartwheel off the road.

The world fell silent as the car finally came to a halt, resting on its top. Max groaned, wondering if her shoulder was still attached it hurt so badly where she'd slammed into the seatbelt and door over and over. The piece of crap car didn't have any airbags and Max could feel the quickly growing ache across her chest to match the pain in her shoulder.

Sound began to filter back in and she could hear glass falling, followed by an ugly wheezing noise from the seat next to her. She tried to turn her head, and had to ignore the pain in her neck.

Alec was upside down as well, hanging in the seatbelt, his face streaked with blood. He had one hand wrapped around his chest, the other was pressed to the roof of the car trying to hold himself up.

"Max? You…" He sucked in a ragged breath. "You ok?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. In addition to her entire body feeling like a giant bruise, and a probable concussion, her bullet wound was definitely making itself known again.

Feet appeared on the driver's side and abruptly a hand reached in holding a knife. The hand slipped beneath Alec's seat belt and slit it like it was cutting through butter. With a grunt Alec fell to the roof of the car in a jumble of limbs, his head taking the brunt of the fall. Almost as soon as he fell, the hand reached in again and jerked him out through the shattered window. She saw Alec finally realize what was going on and begin to struggle against whoever was dragging him away.

That sight, Alec thrashing to free himself from his attacker, finally spurred her into movement. She fumbled blindly for the clasp to her seatbelt and cursed as she spent precious seconds trying to unlatch it. At last, the strap came loose and she fell to the roof, half-braced for the impact. Her vision swam and it was only the sight of another set of feet approaching her door that brought the world back into focus.

Max reached out and ruthlessly jerked the legs out from under the man. By the time he landed, she was already scrambling her way through the shattered window, cursing her tight skirt that was not made for doing anything but sitting. She paused to land a solid punch to the man's nose to ensure he would stay down long enough for her to get past him.

Max stood and had to steady herself with a hand against the overturned car. She looked beyond it and saw that both the box truck and the car were stopped, completely blocking the small road through whatever hick town this was. Several more men were headed her way, and if they weren't cult members, she'd eat her hat.

She saw Alec was standing on his own although he was clearly unsteady on his feet, blood still running down his face from some wound hidden in his hair. He was surrounded by three more cult members, but it was the man in front of him that was holding all of his attention.

White.

The men coming for Max rounded the end of the car and Max decided a quick exit was in order. She vaulted over the car, landing on the opposite side, immediately heading for Alec and White, ignoring the spots that appeared in her vision as she jarred her already abused body.

Just as she reached them, White managed to land a solid blow to Alec's jaw. She saw his knees start to buckle, but White quickly grabbed Alec by his shirt. He swung him across the sidewalk toward a large plate glass storefront. With an added shove, Alec crashed into the window and it shattered around him. Alec tumbled through it, his legs catching on the low supporting wall, further damaging any chance he had of righting himself.

White launched himself through the broken window and stood over Alec. The bastard looked up to see Max approaching him at a run and he smiled. He smiled.

White waited until she was almost on him, even barking an order for the others to stand down. Max stepped over the low wall and Alec came into view, lying on his back amidst a sea of broken glass.

"Stop right there, 452."

White set his foot on Alec's chest and Max came to a screeching halt. "What do you want, Ames? Not enough that you killed half of Terminal City?" She could hear the others ranging themselves in a semi-circle behind her and took another step forward. "You gotta pick the last of us off the hard way?"

"I think I warned you not to move." White pressed down, grinding Alec into the shards of glass. Alec's face twisted in agony and he tried to move away, but it only made it worse and he stopped.

"All right!" Max snapped, holding her hands out in front of her. "Not moving. What do you want?"

"I need your assistance with a little project, 452."

"I saw your last little project. You think I'm gonna help you with anything?"

White took his foot off Alec, who immediately rolled onto his side. White used it against him and pushed him back through the glass to make a small mound of the shards behind him. White then kicked him in the ribs and Alec fell onto his back, arching as the glass cut into him, but once again White set his foot on Alec's chest and pushed down, grinding him into the hundreds of daggers on the floor. He made certain to shift him enough that the glass could dig in properly. Max saw blood beginning to appear around Alec on the floor, and her vision nearly swam at a sudden flashback to Logan lying in a pool of his own blood.

"Stop!" Max cried. "Stop, all right? Just tell me what you want!"

White gave Alec a last shove. He let out a quickly stifled cry, then when White removed his foot, Alec rolled onto his side away from Max. She had to force herself to look away so that she could focus on White who was walking toward her.

"I'll be happy to tell you," White said snidely. "But not just yet. All in good time, 452. All in good time."

White's hand shot out and he punched her, putting all of his weight behind it. The blow landed right over the bullet wound and Max felt something inside of her break.

The black spots were back in her vision, and abruptly the floor came up to meet her knees. She threw out a hand to stop her further descent, but it was useless. A shard of glass cut into her palm and she looked up to see Alec's shredded, bleeding back only a few feet away. He wasn't moving. He couldn't help her any more than she could help him.

White kicked her hand out from under her and Max fell to the floor. She landed on her face and felt fresh blood against her cheek. She heard the crunch of glass beneath his feet as White began to walk away.

"Load them in the truck."


That seems like an excellent place to leave it for today, don't you think? More soon...