"I can sedate you too, if you want" Neil crouched down in front of Max, and
put his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not doing anything" she told him, defensively.
"Alec's not the only one that needs rest. go away, sleep for however long is usual for you."
"I'm fine"
"And as you leave" Neil continued, as if she hadn't spoken, "take a look around. see all of the transgenics out on the streets, the way they look to you for guidance. Max, I know that you're hurting, but so is everyone else in TC. They need a leader, thought they had one, but now." Neil watched her closely. Had he said too much? Pushed too hard? There were certain things that Max needed to be told, and someone had to have the guts to stand up to her and tell her, but if he went too far.
An arm came around his neck, and Shay tried to spin out of it, get away. He was too slow, his captor had already anticipated the move, and dropped his shoulder so Shay couldn't break free. "Stop struggling" came a voice. Shay struggled harder for a moment, then gave up. It was getting him nowhere. His captor had a hell of a lot of weight on him, not to mention height. He was getting nowhere. The best thing he could do would be to wait, and make his move at a better time.
"Good kid. And I thought transgenics were all stupid" Shay bristled, but said nothing. His time would come.
"We're going for a walk, kid. Don't try anything stupid" the familiar shoved him towards the door, and Shay stumbled, but kept his feet. He heard the click of a gun from behind him, a round being chambered.
"I'm not supposed to kill you, not before the enclave gets the information they need, but I think as long as you can talk, I can hurt you a bit. Run, if you want, I think I'd like the target practice. Move."
Shay moved forward, towards the door. As he stepped through it, the familiar moved closer to him, holding the gun so that it almost touched the back of Shay's head. With his other hand, he shoved him forward.
Shay followed his directions, his mind elsewhere. He was remembering Alec's lessons in the parking lot, trying to remember the things he had done to get past Alec's defences. The guard was a lot bigger than him, but then Alec was too. If he planned his attack right, he may have a shot, even though the guard carried a gun. If he could get low enough, attack below the guards centre of gravity, it might just work. If not, he was going to die anyway. He would chose to die, rather than betray his friends, his family. The guard pushed him again, and he stumbled, going down to the floor. the guard leant down to grab him by the collar, pull him up. Shay rose to his feet, slamming his elbow into the guys jaw, sending him flying back. The gun went spinning down the corridor, and Shay dove for it, grabbing it and spinning back to face the guy. He raised the gun. "We're not all stupid" he commented. The guard laughed. "You wont get away, you know. there are more of us."
"Yeah, but I was trained by people better than you" Shay looked up and down the corridor, looking for a way out. There was a window a few feet away, that would do.
"Freaks, you mean" the guard taunted.
"Fine, freaks, I don't care. I'm not ashamed of who I am." he backed away from the guard, the gun still trained on him, until he reached the window. With his elbow, he smashed the glass. Still watching the guard, he couldn't resist one last comment. "consider this, 6 of us, 4 'Freak' kids, just kicked your phalanxes ass. That should concern you, unless you're too stupid to understand the consequences of that"
Alec woke slowly, and looked around. there were two nurses, doing something on the other side of the room. he moved his head slowly from one side to the other. Didn't hurt too badly. He sat up slowly, one hand pressed to his chest, over the bandages, putting pressure on the wound. The movement caught the attention of one of the nurses, who turned quickly.
"You're not supposed to be doing that" she commented, moving over to him. "I'm okay" he told her, smiling. The nurse smiled back. The guy was definitely hot when he smiled.
"You should be resting" she told him. "Neil won't be happy if you get hurt again."
"Neil's never happy with me" he told her, shaking his head. "He'll get over it, always has before"
"I'm not worried about you" she told him. "You took on a Familiar phalanx, I think you can take care of yourself. It's me I'm worried about."
"How's that?" Alec sat up slowly, grimacing.
"Neil said 'if you let that idiot get up and walk around, you'll regret it'" she hesitated on the word 'idiot' and Alec caught it "He really called me an idiot?" he asked, pulling the IV needle out of his hand.
"Not exactly" she reached for his hand, and gently detached the needle.
"Thanks" he told her. "So, what did he call me?"
"Stupid Bastard, I think" Alec laughed. "Sounds about right. I'll have to go talk to him about that."
"Not now, though, right? You need to rest still"
"I'm fine" he told her, moving to stand slowly.
"Well, this should be interesting" Neil commented from the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.
"Huh?" Alec commented, as both him and the nurse looked up.
"Carry on" Neil told him. "You were going to stand up, right? Try to leave? Please, carry on" Alec looked at him, shrugged, and stood up. And fell, grabbing the bed to support himself. The nurse grabbed him around the waist.
"Do I need to say anything? I could give you this nice long speech about not pushing yourself, about how three gunshot wounds and a trashed knee are not a combination you can get over in a few days? Or do you get the point?"
"Shut up" Alec growled, sitting on the edge of the bed
"When you're ready to try again, can you do me a favour and tell me? It's always fun being right, especially when it means you're wrong" sarcasm dripped from his voice as he left the room.
"Why do you talk to him like that?" the second nurse followed him out the door. "He's been through so much, why treat him like that?"
"Should I hold his hand?" Neil asked sarcastically
"Look, you may not like him, but he is hurt. and he was doing a good thing when he got hurt. that makes him a hero, and it should cut him some slack with you" she glared at him.
"You think I don't like him?" Neil asked. Her expression didn't change. "I consider Alec a friend. In fact, I'm proud to call him that. Am I right in assuming that you don't know him?" she nodded. "I knew Alec back in Manticore. Worked with him on some missions. Got to know him pretty well since then, too. The one thing I know about Alec? Compassion won't cut it. Holding his hand? He'll probably break it for you."
"So you yell at him? challenge him to do stuff that he shouldn't be doing?"
"Its what he knows. He's comfortable with it, used to it."
Storm walked into Alec's apartment, and stopped dead. Max lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. She heard him come in, and jerked up into a sitting position.
"Sorry" he told her. She shrugged. "What's going on?" she asked him, sitting up.
"Nothing. I just, I don't know." Max nodded. "Things went wrong on the mission" she prompted him, thinking that she recognised that look on his face. Storm nodded, and sank to the floor, leaning back against the wall. "I left them" he whispered. "Alec, Shay and Tim. They were all there, the Familiar was down, I told Shay to stay with Alec, and followed the tunnel to find you. I should have stayed there"
"Storm" Max moved over to sit beside him on the floor. "You did what was necessary. I would have done the same thing"
"Really?" he looked hopefully at her. "Yeah, we all would have. Look, I don't know what happened after you left them. But I know this, we will find out. Okay? We'll figure it out, track down every Familiar stronghold in the country if we have to."
"What if they're. dead?"
"Don't think so. If they wanted them dead, they'd have killed them in the tunnel, right? They want them for some reason. That means we have some time."
Storm nodded. "He was my best friend. Shay, I mean. My brother."
"I'm not doing anything" she told him, defensively.
"Alec's not the only one that needs rest. go away, sleep for however long is usual for you."
"I'm fine"
"And as you leave" Neil continued, as if she hadn't spoken, "take a look around. see all of the transgenics out on the streets, the way they look to you for guidance. Max, I know that you're hurting, but so is everyone else in TC. They need a leader, thought they had one, but now." Neil watched her closely. Had he said too much? Pushed too hard? There were certain things that Max needed to be told, and someone had to have the guts to stand up to her and tell her, but if he went too far.
An arm came around his neck, and Shay tried to spin out of it, get away. He was too slow, his captor had already anticipated the move, and dropped his shoulder so Shay couldn't break free. "Stop struggling" came a voice. Shay struggled harder for a moment, then gave up. It was getting him nowhere. His captor had a hell of a lot of weight on him, not to mention height. He was getting nowhere. The best thing he could do would be to wait, and make his move at a better time.
"Good kid. And I thought transgenics were all stupid" Shay bristled, but said nothing. His time would come.
"We're going for a walk, kid. Don't try anything stupid" the familiar shoved him towards the door, and Shay stumbled, but kept his feet. He heard the click of a gun from behind him, a round being chambered.
"I'm not supposed to kill you, not before the enclave gets the information they need, but I think as long as you can talk, I can hurt you a bit. Run, if you want, I think I'd like the target practice. Move."
Shay moved forward, towards the door. As he stepped through it, the familiar moved closer to him, holding the gun so that it almost touched the back of Shay's head. With his other hand, he shoved him forward.
Shay followed his directions, his mind elsewhere. He was remembering Alec's lessons in the parking lot, trying to remember the things he had done to get past Alec's defences. The guard was a lot bigger than him, but then Alec was too. If he planned his attack right, he may have a shot, even though the guard carried a gun. If he could get low enough, attack below the guards centre of gravity, it might just work. If not, he was going to die anyway. He would chose to die, rather than betray his friends, his family. The guard pushed him again, and he stumbled, going down to the floor. the guard leant down to grab him by the collar, pull him up. Shay rose to his feet, slamming his elbow into the guys jaw, sending him flying back. The gun went spinning down the corridor, and Shay dove for it, grabbing it and spinning back to face the guy. He raised the gun. "We're not all stupid" he commented. The guard laughed. "You wont get away, you know. there are more of us."
"Yeah, but I was trained by people better than you" Shay looked up and down the corridor, looking for a way out. There was a window a few feet away, that would do.
"Freaks, you mean" the guard taunted.
"Fine, freaks, I don't care. I'm not ashamed of who I am." he backed away from the guard, the gun still trained on him, until he reached the window. With his elbow, he smashed the glass. Still watching the guard, he couldn't resist one last comment. "consider this, 6 of us, 4 'Freak' kids, just kicked your phalanxes ass. That should concern you, unless you're too stupid to understand the consequences of that"
Alec woke slowly, and looked around. there were two nurses, doing something on the other side of the room. he moved his head slowly from one side to the other. Didn't hurt too badly. He sat up slowly, one hand pressed to his chest, over the bandages, putting pressure on the wound. The movement caught the attention of one of the nurses, who turned quickly.
"You're not supposed to be doing that" she commented, moving over to him. "I'm okay" he told her, smiling. The nurse smiled back. The guy was definitely hot when he smiled.
"You should be resting" she told him. "Neil won't be happy if you get hurt again."
"Neil's never happy with me" he told her, shaking his head. "He'll get over it, always has before"
"I'm not worried about you" she told him. "You took on a Familiar phalanx, I think you can take care of yourself. It's me I'm worried about."
"How's that?" Alec sat up slowly, grimacing.
"Neil said 'if you let that idiot get up and walk around, you'll regret it'" she hesitated on the word 'idiot' and Alec caught it "He really called me an idiot?" he asked, pulling the IV needle out of his hand.
"Not exactly" she reached for his hand, and gently detached the needle.
"Thanks" he told her. "So, what did he call me?"
"Stupid Bastard, I think" Alec laughed. "Sounds about right. I'll have to go talk to him about that."
"Not now, though, right? You need to rest still"
"I'm fine" he told her, moving to stand slowly.
"Well, this should be interesting" Neil commented from the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.
"Huh?" Alec commented, as both him and the nurse looked up.
"Carry on" Neil told him. "You were going to stand up, right? Try to leave? Please, carry on" Alec looked at him, shrugged, and stood up. And fell, grabbing the bed to support himself. The nurse grabbed him around the waist.
"Do I need to say anything? I could give you this nice long speech about not pushing yourself, about how three gunshot wounds and a trashed knee are not a combination you can get over in a few days? Or do you get the point?"
"Shut up" Alec growled, sitting on the edge of the bed
"When you're ready to try again, can you do me a favour and tell me? It's always fun being right, especially when it means you're wrong" sarcasm dripped from his voice as he left the room.
"Why do you talk to him like that?" the second nurse followed him out the door. "He's been through so much, why treat him like that?"
"Should I hold his hand?" Neil asked sarcastically
"Look, you may not like him, but he is hurt. and he was doing a good thing when he got hurt. that makes him a hero, and it should cut him some slack with you" she glared at him.
"You think I don't like him?" Neil asked. Her expression didn't change. "I consider Alec a friend. In fact, I'm proud to call him that. Am I right in assuming that you don't know him?" she nodded. "I knew Alec back in Manticore. Worked with him on some missions. Got to know him pretty well since then, too. The one thing I know about Alec? Compassion won't cut it. Holding his hand? He'll probably break it for you."
"So you yell at him? challenge him to do stuff that he shouldn't be doing?"
"Its what he knows. He's comfortable with it, used to it."
Storm walked into Alec's apartment, and stopped dead. Max lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. She heard him come in, and jerked up into a sitting position.
"Sorry" he told her. She shrugged. "What's going on?" she asked him, sitting up.
"Nothing. I just, I don't know." Max nodded. "Things went wrong on the mission" she prompted him, thinking that she recognised that look on his face. Storm nodded, and sank to the floor, leaning back against the wall. "I left them" he whispered. "Alec, Shay and Tim. They were all there, the Familiar was down, I told Shay to stay with Alec, and followed the tunnel to find you. I should have stayed there"
"Storm" Max moved over to sit beside him on the floor. "You did what was necessary. I would have done the same thing"
"Really?" he looked hopefully at her. "Yeah, we all would have. Look, I don't know what happened after you left them. But I know this, we will find out. Okay? We'll figure it out, track down every Familiar stronghold in the country if we have to."
"What if they're. dead?"
"Don't think so. If they wanted them dead, they'd have killed them in the tunnel, right? They want them for some reason. That means we have some time."
Storm nodded. "He was my best friend. Shay, I mean. My brother."