James Cameron and Charles Eglee own Dark Angel. My use is in no way meant to challenge their copyrights. This piece is not intended for any profit on the part of the writer, nor is it meant to detract from the commercial viability of the aforementioned (or any other) copyright. Any similarity to any events or persons, either real or fictional, is unintended.
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Author's Note: Amazing how much the reviews dropped off once the Max/Alec/Logan thing was addressed. Like people actually expect the situation to remain static by the time the series ends?
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XIV – A Means to an End"You got a few minutes?" Max asked as she walked up to Alec. He nodded in reply, though he maintained his gaze on the surrounding city, seemingly searching for something. "You okay?" Max decided to ask before she went into her own questions.
"Huh?" Alec responded as he whirled on her.
"You okay?" Max repeated.
"Sure," Alec answered indifferently. His voice let Max know that he definitely had something on his mind. He had the same haunted tone he always had when he was thinking about the things he'd done, things Max knew Alec wished he could forget. So do I ask him what's eating at him? she wondered. Or do I just respect his privacy and pretend that I believe him? This was never a problem before, when we were still just acquaintances thrown together by circumstance. The whole 'friends' thing is throwing me off. She pondered the matter for a moment, searching her limited experience with friends to find an answer to her quandary. Okay, what would I do if he were Cindy? Or Logan?
"I know you're not fine," Max commented, deciding that were Alec any of her other friends, she'd probably call him on his lie.
"Drop it, Max," he retorted. "Please," he added immediately, an amendment that Max chalked up to Alec's continued attempts at fostering friendship.
"You sure?" Max asked uneasily, deciding that Alec's personality might be different enough from her other friends' to warrant different treatment. Maybe I should really just leave him alone.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Alec muttered. "Though I appreciate your attempt at being there to listen. I'm just not the type that needs to talk about it, you know?"
"You know I do," Max replied with a thin smile. We're kindred spirits, she had told him, and it was times like this that had led her to that conclusion. He's not Logan, and he's not Cindy. Treat him like you'd like to be treated, Max. That means let him deal with his issues on his own. He's a big boy; he can take care of himself.
"What did you want, though?" Alec asked.
"I can leave you alone if that's what you'd prefer," Max offered. "I'll just come back later or something."
"No, it's fine," Alec assured her, finally turning from the panorama of Seattle and settling his gaze on her. "I'm just doing a bit of introspection. It's waited for twenty years, Max; no harm in waiting another few minutes."
"Okay," Max said with a smile. "I just got a phone call."
"I thought the phone lines were all knocked out."
"There's apparently at least one that still works," Max told him. "I think it was someone from the breeding cult, another one of Sandeman's crowd."
"You mean that resistance, or whatever it was?"
"Yeah," Max muttered, tossing the thought around in her head for a moment before she continued. "The woman said she had information on White, that he's in town gathering a team together to take us out."
"You believe her?" Alec's tone made it clear that he wasn't buying a word of it, and Max couldn't blame him. Still, however, she wondered.
"If it's true, it could be the chance we've been waiting for."
"To take him out?" Alec asked. Max nodded, knowing her reaction surprised her sibling. He probably thought I've forgotten how to kick a little ass, she thought with amusement. Then she remembered Annie, and her mirth evaporated. There's no excuse for what he did to her, she raged, remembering Joshua's pain over Annie's death. Max had grown up feeling that death was a punishment that was rarely warranted, but killing a vulnerable blind woman just to piss off some transgenics and increase public paranoia was something that Max definitely thought qualified for the worst possible punishment. "I don't know, Max, I've always been a big fan of the devil I know," Alec retorted, interrupting her train of thought.
"Huh?"
"It might be better to keep White in play if at all possible," Alec clarified. "Don't get me wrong or anything – I'd love to kill him – but one of the biggest problems for us is identifying the Familiars. We know White, we can see him coming. It gives us a bit of an edge, or at least levels the playing field a bit."
"He knows more about us than most of them," Max pointed out as she decided to play devil's advocate. "Knowing your enemy is crucial to victory, and he knows us more than I'd like. He's had access to all of Manticore's files and he's faced us several times in the field. I can see what you're saying, but maybe despite the advantage of being able to identify him, we'd be better off eliminating him."
"And you're not just saying that because he's a son of a bitch?" Alec asked with the hint of a mischievous smile.
"No," Max assured him. "Well, not completely. God knows he's done enough to deserve death – and not that I'm saying that's necessarily the way we should go – but I'm thinking about this as a total strategic decision." She saw a look of surprise in Alec's eyes; she knew what he was thinking. He never thought I'd be the type to plan to kill someone, she decided. And just a month ago, I'd be right there with him; I never would have thought myself capable of this. But I'm a leader. I have responsibilities. I hate it, and I'll never forgive myself, but someone in my position can't afford to have morals. They don't apply to me any more than they do a president or king. Leaders sometimes have to make the tough decisions; they have to have people killed in order to save the lives of their own followers. It might have to be done. She was suddenly reminded of Logan, of some of the things he'd said, of how he'd told her their responsibilities precluded the chance for a relationship. He knew it all along, Max realized. He knew this is the kind of thing I'd have to face. He was right to blow me off. I don't think I could do this if I knew I'd have to look him in the eye tomorrow.
"Okay," Alec said, surprising Max with his trusting tone. "If you say this is just strategy, I totally believe you. Now let's think this all through and see which way we want to go."
He totally accepts my word for it, Max realized, pleased that Alec didn't keep pushing her the way she'd expected him to. Think of how much less aggravation I would have had if I had just had that 'let's be friends' conversation a long time ago…
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"So I trust there haven't been any problems," Set muttered as he walked into Logan's office, causing him to jump in surprise.
"What did I tell you about sneaking around here?" Logan asked, knowing exactly what Set would say next.
"I wasn't sneaking, I was walking," Set predictably responded. "It's not my fault I don't make much noise. Would you prefer I started bumping into random objects?"
"I might," Logan answered. "Or maybe we could just tie a bell around your neck."
"I'd pay to see that," Syl put in as she walked into the room and joined the conversation. Part of Logan jumped for joy at seeing her, while another part felt… he didn't know, exactly. But he was certain it wasn't good.
"No bells," Set said, his mildly threatening tone making it clear that he didn't realize Logan and Syl were just kidding.
"Just a joke," Logan assured him to clear up any confusion. Set then got a surprised look on his face, and a moment later Logan was aware of a faint buzzing sound. Cell phone, he realized. One of Set's innumerable informants is calling in.
Set immediately answered the call, keeping Logan and Syl in the dark as he managed a conversation with little more than a few grunts and a single 'uh-huh.' Once he was done, he flashed an extremely uncharacteristic smile. "I think we have it."
"Have what?" Logan and Syl asked in unison, each one instantly looking at the other, clearly unnerved by being on the same wavelength.
"That was an X8 that works for Zack," Set explained. "She sees the big picture – wants to make sure that the crucial bits of info get where they need to go."
"And?" Logan prompted.
"She's been doing some extensive research on several Familiar cadavers that Zack's people brought back after their encounters. She found something interesting."
"What?" Logan asked, hating that for the first time Set was taking the long route in arriving at the point. His military training had taught him to be clear and succinct. And only now does he learn drama, Logan groused silently.
"We already know that the Familiars were immune to the venom in their pet snakes," Set continued. "Well, it seems the reason they were immune is because their bodies produced a protein that acted as an antigen."
"And we could test for it," Logan concluded, marveling that he had overlooked such an obvious biological trademark.
"Yes, sir," Set agreed.
"And what if they come up with a way to suppress it?" Syl asked. "What if they develop some kind of amino acid to break down this telltale protein? It wouldn't be that difficult, given what we know about their biochemistry research."
"They could probably do that," Set admitted, "but that's not going to help them."
"Oh… right," Syl responded with obvious understanding. Logan, however, was completely in the dark as to what Set was saying, and he hated it.
"What?" he asked, trying to hide his embarrassment at not catching on earlier.
"Their bodies produce a protein that no normal human body produces," Syl answered, not saying anything so far that Logan didn't know. "That happens for a reason."
"Because of their selective breeding," Logan said.
"It's the result of the breeding, but not the reason they produce it," Syl replied with a satisfied grin. Logan still didn't know where she was going, though. "Their bodies produce it for the same reason they produce red and white blood cells, or bone or soft tissue, or anything else in their bodies."
"Because it's in their nature," Logan finally realized. "It's in their DNA."
"Yep," Syl said happily.
"Which means we can identify them through genetic testing once we isolate the gene."
"Not exactly," Set interrupted, surprising Logan. He'd thought he had it all figured out.
"Huh?" he asked.
"It means we can start testing them now," Set said with a grim, satisfied grin. "We've already isolated the gene."
"Then we can identify them," Logan muttered. "We have a way now of marking them as surely as Manticore marked all of you."
"Yes, sir," Set replied, seeming to know exactly how thrilled Logan was. "I'm going to a meeting to pick up the specifics," he told them. "I'll be back by dawn."
"Be careful," Logan said needlessly. Set only nodded, and strode out of the apartment as noiselessly as he had entered. Once he had gone, Syl's face lit up.
"We have them, don't we?" she asked.
"I don't know, you tell me," Logan answered coyly. "You're the strategist."
"Then I think it's time to celebrate," Syl said, taking two long strides that brought Logan into her arms.
"Just a minute," Logan said, surprised that he was still capable of thinking about business. "I have to make a phone call."
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Max walked into what passed for Alec's room – a small office with a cracked ceiling that somehow seemed to leak water from the roof whether or not it was raining outside. Her sibling was lying completely still on a sleeping bag, his face turned away from her. Though his breathing was slow and shallow, she somehow knew he was still awake.
"What is it, Max?" he asked her, his voice strong, still wide-awake.
"An X6 just came in through the barricade," she replied. "He had a message from Logan. You'll never believe what he just found out."
To be continued……………………………