Almost four months later…
"Hey, hand me the 9/16 wrench there. Thanks buddy. So anyways, there's Gigi with a shotgun screaming at the top of her lungs, while Laura looks at me and drawls out "does she know you broke up wither her?" while I'm trying to get my pants on without getting shot, and I say…"
"You say this isn't what it looks like because I can hardly get one girl, much less two," a very familiar voice came up from the garage door.
Zane jerked up at the voice. His head hit the hood of the car. He let out a couple of explicatives before coming around the car to see Zack standing there. The guy Zane had been talking too slid out from underneath the car. Zane wasn't a guy to talk about his past, and he knew all of Zane's friends from town. Hell, in a small town like this, you knew everyone anyways. He wasn't about to miss out on meeting this new guy.
Zane walked over to Zack, wiping the grease from his hands. He was a little worried to see Zack there. Usually that meant it was time to move on. Zane was actually enjoying the life he had in this small town, and hoped he wouldn't have to leave it. Zack looked a little weird though. On another man, Zane would swear he was looking happy. Zack and happy didn't exactly go together very well though.
"Hey, bud what's up?" he said, glad to see Zack in any case. He was the only escapee that Zane had any contact with, and he missed his siblings.
Zack motioned to his motorcycle. "Picked up a nail on my way through," he said. "Thought you might know a decent mechanic that could patch it."
"I think we could find one in this town," he replied with a grin. Zack didn't joke much, so Zane figured he was safe from Lydecker for now. He turned to see Mike there, wiping his hands, looking at them expectantly.
"Zack, this is my gainful employer Mike, Mike this is an old friend of mine, Zack," Zane introduced them.
The two men shook hands. "Hi there Zack," Mike said. "Zane and Zack? You two have got to be brothers," he joked. He looked at the injured tire, and didn't notice the sudden uncomfortable look on the other two men as his innocent mark hit way to close to home. Mike sighed sadly. "You got the look of a man on a mission," he said. "Too bad you're a friend of my best mechanic. I could really rack in some bucks for this." He grinned at them both. "You two bring it in while I get a patch kit," he ordered.
Zack did look a little like he was intent on a mission. Any other time Zack just popped in, they'd usually grab a beer and spend a couple of hours together catching up. Well, more like Zack not saying anything that would compromise security, which meant he was mostly silent, and Zane telling him about the shop and his life. Zack didn't look too eager to hang around.
He glanced at Zack's short hair. Zack's collar was turned up to hide the barcode. "You not getting burned anymore?" he asked in a low voice. Zack always got burned. Zane was sure if Zack was a masochist or just really brave. He'd done it a couple of times, and then decided the ponytail that he now sported was the way to go.
Zack shrugged. "Been busy," he said rather non-commitally.
Zack stretched a little, and flexed his gloved hands while Zane wheeled the bike into the shop. He'd been riding for Seattle for about eighteen hours straight. Alicia was due in a couple of weeks, and there was no way he was going to miss this. He was still about seven hours out when he picked up the nail. Luckily Zane was close by. Even with most mechanics being crowded the day before the 4th of July, he knew Zane would take care of him.
Mike walked back out and saw Zack stretching. He looked absolutely mournful. "Sad to see another man with the Mark of The Beast, he commented, tossing the kit to Zane. Zane almost dropped it in shock. Zack glanced at him accusingly, but Zane's honest surprise said better than words that he had never told Mike anything.
"The Mark of The Beast?" Zack asked levelly. This better be another joke. He needed to be getting back to Seattle right now, not relocating Zane.
Mike smiled at him. He held up his left hand, showing the white tan line on the third finger. "Saw it through your glove," he said. "You must still be on number one. When you get to old lady number four like me, it's the Mark of The Beast. The She-Beast," he joked. "I'm just kidding you. You still got that "she's it forever" look to you. How long has it been?"
Zack mentally cursed. He'd forgotten to take it off. At some point during the night when he and Alicia had decided to stay together, she told him that she didn't want the whole wedding deal. It wasn't like two people who didn't really exist could get legally married anyways, and she didn't want a bunch of people hearing her say things that were personal between her and him. He'd been relieved to hear that. He would have endured it for her, but he didn't want to.
Still, he thought early that morning while he watched her sleeping, she does like outward symbols. He touched the medallion on the necklace he was still wearing. Inspiration struck. When she'd woken up a couple of hours later, she was alone. There was a note in her hand telling her he'd be back real soon. He'd come in half an hour later, and slid a simple gold band on her finger. The look on her face told him that he'd done a good thing. A very good thing. She'd taken her ring's twin from him, and put it on his finger. Zack could almost hear the words, "you may kiss your bride." It seemed like a good idea. Legality didn't matter. She was his wife.
He wore his wedding band constantly while in Seattle. If he were going to be on the move, he'd still keep it with him, and wear it whenever he could. He knew it meant a lot to Alicia. He'd been wearing it under his very thin driving gloves, and didn't think about it when he pulled into Zane's garage.
"Yeah, bud," Zane said, "how long has it been?" Zack was wearing a wedding band? There had to be something more. Zane didn't know how many lectures he'd gotten about getting involved with women from Zack. Phony sentimentality. Zack should have that tattooed beneath the barcode. It was his motto in life.
"Uh, almost four months," he said, trying to appear casual in front of Mike.
Zack's cell phone rang. This questioning was the last thing he needed. Jhondie, Max and Bryn knew about Alicia. That was three Manticore escapees too many. Bryn was too shaken up to disobey his order to come with him and not to contact the others. Max had been furious, but Zack was going to get things back in order. Lydecker was coming after them with a vengeance now, strangely enough things just kept going wrong for him, but still Zack want to risk anyone to get caught in the Manticore net again. Despite his order, Jhondie kept in contact with Max and Alicia, but that was to be expected. Alicia had laughed at him when he said not to talk to Jhondie. She was so irritating sometimes.
Zane watched Zack answer his phone. Zack was not leaving until he got some answers. Mike had taken off the tire, and it wasn't going back on until Zack talked. "Hey," Zack said into the phone. He listened for a minute. "WHAT? It's not time yet!" Mike perked up at hearing that. Zack listened again. "Okay…mmmhmm…Okay…She doing okay?" He listened again. "How long?" The frustration on his face was evident. "Tell her to hold on and I'll be there as soon as I can." Zane could hear feminine laughter through the receiver. "Yeah," Zack snapped, "he doesn't listen, and that just proves he's related to you somewhere. Let me go so I can get moving. Bye." He hung up.
Mike laughed. "Been down that road, buddy," he said. He looked at the tire then Zane. "You *sure* he's a friend of yours? I could get quadruple normal price for this little guy." He grinned, and went back to the tire.
Zane looked at Zack. "That tire's not getting fixed till you talk," Zane said low. Zack glared at him. "C'mon man, who is it? One of the others? Jhondie? Max? Tinga?"
"Alicia. You don't know her," Zack snapped. "Just get it fixed quick." He couldn't help smiling a little. "I promised her I'd be there when my son was born," he said a little louder.
"And that's a promise you want to keep," Mike said. "Trust me on that. I was driving a truck when my second was born. She didn't stop reminding me of that even after we broke up." He took out a blow dryer, and turned the air onto the patch to get it to harden quicker. That man needed to get to his woman quickly.
"When am I going to meet her?" Zane said, half-jokingly. He knew if Zack wouldn't bring around another X-5, there was no way he would bring around his wife or son. Zack with a family. That was just flat out not right.
"Maybe one day," Zack said. Zane felt his jaw drop. Zack had never, not once, even joked about an X-5 reunion in any way. Zack smirked a little. "There's been a few problems there," he said. "Things fall apart."
Mike finished with the tire, so Zane couldn't question further. He wanted to choke Zack for information, but he knew from painful experience, that didn't work on Zack. So Lydecker couldn't keep it together forever. Maybe there was a light at the end of this tunnel. Maybe.
Mike got the bike together in a matter of minutes. Zack tried to pay, but Mike waved him off. "No way man, you got to be getting home to the little lady and the kid. Good luck to you!"
Zack throttled back, and tore off towards Seattle, pushing the motorcycle as hard as he could.