Disclaimer: The standard. I don't own anything yada yada yada.
Pairing: Still up in the air ; )
Timing: A mixture of Brainia and Berrisford Agenda. About 4-5 months after Max conceived.
Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. Once again thanks to all of you that reviewed. I hope to hear more from you. .
Chapter Thirteen: Can this be love?
Alec bowed his head in defeat as his inner turmoil well up inside of him chocking off all thoughts of following Max. Of telling her he didn't mean anything. That he… he couldn't think the words it was to painful. Instead the melancholy X5 began to play again. Skillfully his nimble fingers flew over the keys sending the piano's eerie tune throughout the ancient house.
In the doorway Max paused her ears having caught the sound.
"Joshua," she said her voice low to even her own ears. "Please watch him. I'm worried."
The shaggy anomaly nodded his eyes dark with a dim understanding. "Max fix?" he asked.
"I'm gonna try Big Fella," she replied already turning to go.
Inside of father's house the piano's latest melody suddenly cut off as Alec lifted his hands from the keys. His dark eyes blurred with unshed tears he rose from the stained bench and quickly fled the confines of the basement. He had to get out. He had to go somewhere open where he could think. He had to find Max. He couldn't screw this one thing up.
He couldn't….
But by the time he got up stairs she was gone. In the weak Seattle sunlight Alec saw that he had made up his mind to late. His dark haired beauty had already headed on her way. He knew he could call her cell but right at that moment he didn't want to. Something inside of him still feared what she'd think. He just didn't know if she'd understand and it was that uncertainty paired with his pain that held him back.
And so instead of turning around and returning to the safe oppression of father's house the light haired X5 headed the other way. Without aim he plunged into the misty city with no real hope of solving anything. He did need time to think he told himself as he tried to banish the nagging voice that said he was running.
In an arcade not far from Jam Pony an extremely heavy set individual stood before an aging video game terminal. Without really paying much attention to the screen he plowed though the pixel villains all the while thinking about his impending date with his love. He couldn't wait. Jittery with excitement he shot through yet another way of imaginary men.
"Wow! How many times have you played that?" A small boy asked his eyes wide as he stared at the screen.
"This is my first time," the gamer replied. "Oh you might want to step closer." As the boy did so a team of heavily armored sector police stormed through the cluttered arcade their faces the grim.
In awe the little boy looked up at the over weight man.
Max pulled up to the retro cast iron gates of the Berrisford home her face set in its customary scowl. Sighing she got off her bike and leaned it against one of the posts. Shaking her head she leaned over and pushed the speaker button.
What was up with Alec? She wondered as a maid asked her who she was and why she was there over the sketchy static of the electronic connection.
"Jam Pony messenger, we delivered a package yesterday and I forgot to get a signature," she explained quickly her mind not really on work or anything close to it. With a buzz the huge gates sung open emitting Max into the grand passage way leading to the house.
At the front door Max was meet by a short, pudgy woman with a tired smile on her face. "Here's the clipboard." Max handed over the object in question along with a weary smile of her own. She didn't think that she'd ever understand that man.
What was it about this house that made him so upset she wondered her eyes lazily scoping the room. The floor was a rich marble and the wall a warm golden color. It was all so upper class. So opposite Alec and everyone else in her life at the moment. Max shuttered.
In a picture down the hall there hung a portrait of three people. Upon the neck of the one of the woman a gold locket hung. Max shuttered again. What had happened here? Her mind went into over drive as she tried to figure out how Alec had the locket from that painting. Had he stolen it? Did he know this family?
Max shook her head in a vain attempt to clear it. She really had to talk to Alec.
"What? The S1W? Captured? When? Where?" The deep masculine voice asked clearly surprised. "Ok, I'll see what Eyes Only can do. Yea, thanks." And with that Logan hung up his phone.
What could he do? He needed Max. And with that thought the scruff journalist grabbed his coat and headed briskly towards the door. She had to be at work.
A/N: Reviews are welcome!!!!!!!!!