Chapter 11

Previously:

The General whipped his head around and stared. "Are you trying to tell me that Private Thompson tried to take advantage of you, Major?"

At the General's question, Syl looked around wildly. Their little procession had drawn quite a crowd and the last thing she wanted was to continue this conversation in public.

"No Sir! And may I suggest we continue this in private, Sir?"

The General nodded curtly. Syl watched as the MPs led Zack to the brig before hurrying after General Novak to his private quarters.

"Alright Major. Now will you tell me what the hell was going on between you and Private Thompson?" His voice was steel and Syl wondered if there was much point saying anything in her defence. From the sound of it, he'd already made up his mind about the situation.

"Private Thompson and I were practicing self-defence moves, Sir." What else could she say? That Zack was her 'brother' and he'd been hitting on her? Fuck, that sounded incestuous! That Zack had been hitting on her, full stop? Not quite. It might get her off the hook, but Zack would be in hot water. Damn Zack for getting them into this mess!

Novak cocked an eyebrow at her, obviously not buying her story. "I see. And that involves straddling a fellow soldier and grabbing him by the balls then, does it?"

But Syl pressed on anyway, what else did she have to lose? "Sir, it's a well known fact that applying pressure to the balls, in just the right way, is a highly respected method of self-defence." Syl fought to keep a straight face.

Novak's mouth twitched and his lip curled in one corner. Syl bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. The last thing she needed was to piss him off even more.

"Would you care to demonstrate on me, Major? Impress me with your prowess?"

Syl's mouth dropped open and scraped the floor. He couldn't be serious, could he? No fucking way! She moved to beat a hasty retreat only to remember she was in the General's private quarters and that the doors were guarded by MPs. Shit!

General Novak threw his head back and roared with laughter, very amused by the proceedings.

"Major! I wouldn't seriously entertain such an affront to your dignity! But please, don't play me for a fool. Now let me ask you again. What was that display all about?"

Syl looked down at the floor, a deep blush staining her cheeks. All her efforts at hiding her true identity were for nought. She was facing dishonorable discharge or at the very least a significant drop in rank. She took a deep breath and raised her eyes to meet the General's gaze.

"I'm a transgenic, Sir, as is Private Thompson. We were just horsing around...though we may have gotten carried away, Sir." Syl's eyes darted around the room before coming back to her superior. With an inbred need to show Zack some respect, she added, "Private Thompson was actually my Commanding Officer when I was younger."

Novak smiled widely. "Now was that so hard to say, Major?"

Syl looked at him in confusion. "Sir?"

"Major Fowler, I'm surprised that someone with your background and training has never looked at her own personnel records. It's all there in black and white. I've known you were transgenic since you were stationed at this base." He looked her squarely in the eye before continuing. "I always make a habit of checking up on my best officers. A certain Colonel Donald Lydecker vouched for you." Still smiling he added, "And for Private Thompson as well."

Syl was shell-shocked. "Lydecker?" she squeaked out, oblivious to the ridiculous look on her face. General Novak was clearly enjoying himself.

"Yes, Don and I go way back. He got wind that we had a transgenic forge her way into our ranks and let me in on it. It's the only way you kept your ranking here. As for Thompson, if he'd taken the same route, he'd have been right up here with you."

Syl sagged to the floor in relief. She wasn't in trouble. Zack was safe. And then the hilarity of the situation hit her. Zack was doing grunt work simply because he hadn't been devious enough! She let out a small giggle. Novak sniggered and finally the two of them fell back laughing.

After a few minutes, calm and collected, Novak turned to Syl. "Major, you're a good officer. The best one under my command. I don't want to lose you. This little incident? I staged it for the benefit of the soldiers accompanying me." He reached out a hand which she took gratefully, and he pulled her to her feet.

"Shall we go free the prisoner?" he asked with a smile.

"Can I torture him a bit, Sir?" she asked grinning impishly. She might be pushing her luck, but Novak seemed a lot nicer now that they'd had this little chat. Besides, the urge to make Zack squirm was too strong to resist.

The General smirked. "I don't see why not. Oh and Major," he called to her retreating form as she opened the door. Syl turned around. "I'd like to see you and," he paused for effect, "Captain Thompson, in my office at 0800."

Syl's eyes widened at the implication and she beamed back at him.

"Yes, Sir!"

Krit worked the key in the lock but it wouldn't budge. He tried to extract it but that too posed a problem. The lock had been broken so many times that the key was useless - and stuck. In his frustration he snapped the key, leaving the end of it wedged in the keyhole.

Patting down his clothes, Krit searched for anything that might work in the lock. His 'tools of the trade' had been left hastily behind when he'd made a quick getaway from his apartment earlier that morning.

Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out a hairpin. He stared at it in confusion for a moment before his eyes lit up and a sly smile curved his lips. Lily. He nodded satisfactorily to himself and inserted the pin into the lock, forcing it under the broken key. Krit let himself into the apartment silently, making sure not to wake Cindy or Max. He immediately spotted Sketchy on the couch.

"Yo Sketch, my man! Your ass is grass!" Sketchy opened his eyes to see Krit staring down at him, visibly angry.

"What the fuck? What do you want?" he mumbled, peering through bleary eyes at his watch. It was way to early to be yelled at.

"You stood me up! I waited outside the Blowfish for over an hour! I ended up taking Candy and Lily home alone." He cuffed Sketchy lightly and looked around the room. "Where's Max?"

Sketchy turned over and closed his eyes. Moments later he was shocked back into consciousness by a loud snort and ripples of laughter. He turned to peer over the back of the couch and saw Krit clutching his stomach, doubled over in mirth.

"What the hell?" he asked, as he climbed from the couch and approached his friend. He looked past Krit into Max's room and did a double take.

Cindy was leaning over a very naked, very male body, her face pressed close to said body's ass.

"Cindy? What the fuck! But aren't you -" Cindy cut him off.

Her voice tight she retorted. "Don' you even go there. This," she gestured to the man she was administering to, "is Max's problem. I'm just helpin' a sista out." She glanced up at Krit. "And what are you doin' here?"

Alec looked up from his position on the bed to see a medium built, dark haired, dark-eyed young man who looked remarkably like Max.

Krit smirked. "Miss me, hon? 'Cuz damn, Cin, you sure look good enough to eat." His gaze raked over her towel-clad person and came back to her eyes, which were glinting dangerously.

Cindy jumped to her feet, the towel coming loose and dropping to the floor. Standing butt-naked in a room full of men who couldn't care less that she was a lesbian, she felt quite out of her depth.

"Cindy, honey? What's taking so long?" And it would be her luck that Amber had to saunter in at that moment. Her eyes were wide with shock as she spotted her girlfriend standing fully bared to the appreciative gazes of three men. Cindy scrambled to gather the towel and ran from the room.

She called over her shoulder, "Krit, you fix him up. I'm throwin' in the towel on this."

Cindy paused as she heard Sketchy chuckle. "Think you already did." The other men joined in. She whipped around and snapped Sketchy upside the head with her towel before adding, "And you tell Max, me 'n her's gonna have a long chat later!" Moments later, they heard her door slam.

Krit looked down at Alec somewhat flustered. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the other man's face. The man just looked so familiar. Krit couldn't quite pinpoint why or how.

"Don't think so," he glanced up at Krit a tad embarrassed. The movement caused the hair on the back of his neck to shift. Krit caught a glimpse of Alec's barcode.

He whistled. "Fellow Manticore alum, huh? I'm Krit, Maxie's brother."

Alec nodded in acknowledgement. "Think you could help a guy out?" he said, gesturing at his wound.

Krit looked down at the bullet that Cindy hadn't had a chance to extract, lodged just beneath Alec's left butt cheek. Making conversation he asked, "How'd ya take a bullet anyhow?"

Alec shrugged. "Long story."

"Aiight. Let's patch ya up. We can talk after." Krit fumbled around the first aid kit. When he didn't find what he was looking for he pursed his lips, "No pain killers?"

Alec shook his head. "Max said there's some vodka in the freezer, but it's nowhere near enough to help."

Krit smiled broadly at Alec. "Think we can remedy that! Yo, Sketch!" he called over his shoulder to the still unsteady man. He snapped to attention. "Grab my bag, will ya?"

Sketchy crossed the room and retrieved Krit's bag from beside the door. "What do you have in here, dude? It's like a ton of bricks!"

Krit laughed. "Yeah well, after you stood me up last night the girls and I raided a local mini-mart. Think I got enough booze to last a couple days." He chuckled at Alec's reaction. The other man's eyes were sparkling in appreciation.

"Plenty to go around. No big." he smiled, cracking his gum loudly and reached out to pick up the tweezers. He handed Alec a bottle of whiskey which he took gratefully.

Krit waited for Alec to down the bottle before digging in after the bullet. The mild grunt of pain assured him that the booze was having the desired effect. He gripped the bullet tightly and pulled. Swiftly uncapping a second bottle of whiskey, he poured a liberal amount on the wound to disinfect it. Alec's loud "Fuck!" resounded in the room.

"Aw, take it like a man," Krit chided. He chuckled as he heard Alec mutter. "Let's see you take it like a man! That hurt like fuck."

Krit picked up the needle and thread and expertly stitched the wound. He reached down to help Alec to a standing position. He dressed quickly and turned to face Krit.

Alec stretched his hand out. "Alec. So, you're Maxie's brother. You mean that like unit 'brother' or, brother brother?" He cocked his head, watching Krit carefully.

"Brother brother. We shared a test tube, a mamma, you name it. She's my annoying, holier-than-thou, pain-in-the-ass little sister."

Alec smirked. "Sounds like true love to me."

Krit grinned. "I've always thought she had a thing for me..." The two shared a smile. "Maxie always comes through. Which reminds me." Krit ducked his head out the door and called to Cindy. "Cin, think Maxie'd lend me some -"

"NO!" came the angry reply from the other room.

"Okay, okay!"

Turning to Alec he muttered. "Jeez, Women." Krit looked Alec over intently. "So what's your deal with Maxie?"

"I'm her boss." he replied noncommittally.

"Riiight. Why do I think there's more to it than that?" Krit smiled slyly. If Maxie was involved with this guy, good for her. A fellow X5 was just what she needed. But it didn't mean he couldn't play the protective big brother. "What are your intentions regarding my little sister?"

Alec cocked his head to one side and rubbed his jaw. Narrowing his eyes he replied, "Prostitution comes to mind...you want in?"

Krit grinned. He liked this guy. He clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. "Maxie sure does know how to pick 'em!"

Sketchy looked between the two men, confused. He pointed at Alec. "Who're you?"

Krit threw his hands up. "Sketchy, go back to bed, man. Things'll be clearer after you sleep it off." Sketchy shrugged and returned to the couch. He was snoring in a matter of minutes.

Alec turned to Krit. He wanted to ask about Max. There was so much he wanted to know and he wasn't getting anywhere with her as it was.

"So, tell me about Max."

Krit looked up in surprise. "I thought you guys were -"

The sound of banging on the door and yelling in the hallway made Krit freeze mid-sentence. His eyes swept the room quickly looking for an exit.

Alec looked as worried as Krit. Were they here for him again? Except the more he thought about it the less likely it was. He returned his gaze to Krit who was darting around the apartment. The knocking and yelling grew louder and more insistent.

Krit exited Max's room, guns in either hand.

"Ordinaries?" Alec asked quietly. Krit nodded and tossed him a piece.

Cindy's words from earlier that morning came back to him. "Nobody can get into more trouble than Krit." Like he didn't have enough trouble as it was.

Facing Krit he shook his head and smiled. "Whaddaya say we take 'em on?"

Alec flung the door open and his mouth gaped in shock.

A little old lady from down the hall was arguing loudly with two men in overalls.

She whipped around to face Alec. "Dincha hear me bangin'? Damn repairemen're here to fix the boiler!"

TBC

Chapter 12