A/N: Well, here we go. In case I forget to say so later, thank you all so very much for each and every review. To have received over a hundred reviews on this fic amazed me, as it's a record number for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone; every review you've given me has breathed excitement into me over this fic, which in turn, I hope, comes through in my writing.
As promised, over the next several hours I will be posting the three final chapters to Towards the Sunset. The time between each chapter's posting will depend on how long it takes for me to edit them. The fic is finished, however, and you will see the ending before the night is through. :)
Alec and I don't really get along. I love the character, but I don't write him all that well, so I apologize in advance. The 20 Questions Alec, however, you can thank Aquila for. :) We wrote that scene for fun, she writing for Alec and myself for Max, and it was just so neat that I decided to include it into this chapter. *G* Feel like playing again, girl? 'Cause I've got a back load of insults stored up now. :P
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P
Towards the Sunset
Part Fourteen: Soldier in Girl's Clothing
By: Danae Bowen
Email: logansfox@rogers.com
Max's heart was heavy as she rode the elevator down from Logan's penthouse. She knew that Joshua was nothing if not an excellent protector; Joshua knew how much Logan meant to Max, and would defend Logan with his life. That's what concerned Max the most; she couldn't lose Logan for any reason, not now or ever, but she also wasn't prepared to lose Joshua. He was her only physical link to this mysterious Sandeman person, and he was her friend. Max was responsible for Joshua's life on the outside; losing him was as much of a non-option as was losing Logan.
"Took you long enough. Fur Face forget to tell you I was waiting out here?"
Now, Alec, she was prepared to lose. She rolled her eyes at the cocky, God's gift wannabe waiting for her in the shadows.
"Joshua told me. I just didn't give a damn." Max's voice was harsh as she unlocked her bike from Logan's parking spot.
"Anyone ever tell you that you're a cold woman?"
"Only the freaks about to decorate the sidewalk with brain matter."
"Ouch." He eyed the bike casually. "Can I drive?"
Max's face crinkled in disbelief as she stared at him. "Yeah, that'll happen. I'm just gonna give over my bike's keys to a guy that not only annoys me just by breathing, but that I also happen to hate? Don't think so."
"Aw, c'mon, Maxie. What's your problem? I paid you back, the virus is cured, and you're all busy making squishing noises with the wallet; isn't it time to forgive and forget?"
"Believe me, if I could forget you, I would. I've tried but you're just too God awful to repress for long."
"You sure know how to thank a guy for risking his skin to help you out."
She flashed him a sarcastic grin before gunning the Ninja's engine. "It's in the genes." She waited expectantly for a moment before glaring at him in frustration. "Would you get your ass on the bike already?"
Alec sighed and straddled the bike behind Max, making sure to pull her a little too close to his body, resting his chin on her shoulder. "This is nice," he murmured suggestively in her ear, snuggling closer.
"Yeah, if you define nice as about to have your extremities ripped off your body."
"You wouldn't dare, Max."
She smiled sweetly. "Find me a hacksaw and drop your pants." With that she slammed the bike into gear, shooting them forward. Alec gasped and grabbed a hold of his seat to keep from falling backwards as the inertia sent him off balance.
Max shook her head, trying to forget about Alec who was now hanging on to the back of the seat. Alec's very presence annoyed her in any capacity, and tonight, he wasn't doing anything to help her dispel her rather poor image of him. She thanked whatever force watching out for her that he managed to keep his mouth shut long enough for them to cross sectors and she shut the bike off outside her apartment. His eyes betrayed his appall at the outside view of her building, but Max shrugged it off. She didn't give a damn what he thought anyway; besides, her crib may be a dive, but at least it was a roof over her head when she needed some place to crash.
"Your crazy roommate gonna be here?"
Max half grinned as she let them into the building and began hauling the bike up the stairs. "She's still at the cottage. Probably picked up a coupla pretty chicks 'n is having herself a hot tub party. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here with you, getting ready to get my ass shot off. Ain't life great?"
Alec picked up his pace, reaching the landing ahead of her and leaning against her doorframe. "So you figure soon's we open this door we'll hear a pop 'n see a flash and that'll be it?"
Max glared at him and shook her head. "Nah. We'll be dead before the sound registers."
"Good to know."
She opened the door and walked through; her senses were on alert but her body remained at ease. "Relax. Logan's had guys on the place all week."
"Then what're we doing here?"
"Bait. We're pretty sure buddy's got the place staked out, so we're gonna sit here for a bit and see who walks through the door."
Alec's face slipped into a saucy grin as he walked around her apartment, stopping at the entrance to her bedroom and lifting an eyebrow. "So, what're we gonna do to pass the time?"
"Alec?"
"Max?"
"Not even if I was in heat."
*****
Max was beginning to believe that her plan was going to fail. She and Alec had been kicking back in her apartment for four hours, and Max was beginning to feel her stomach roll at the words Alec was spelling out on her scrabble game. She'd already kicked his ass three games straight in chess, beat him at poker only to have to beg him to keep his clothes on, and now was getting tired of suggestive scrabble. Suddenly she understood what Original Cindy had been feeling the last time she'd asked her friend to help her through her heat.
"We seriously need to get a new game going here. I'm so sick of this." Max slumped back in her chair, glancing out the window, praying to see someone with a gun getting ready to blow her away.
"Okay, how about 20 questions."
Max raised her eyebrow. "When did you go all boy scout on me?"
Alec shrugged innocently. "Hey, you're the one that wanted something new to do. Just give it a go, who knows, you might like it." Max raised an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically. Alec sighed. "Right, forgot who I was talking to. You don't enjoy anything that doesn't involve Logan Cale."
"Just pick your object, Alec, 'n get this over with."
Alec paused a moment, glancing around the apartment, feigning deep thought. "Um… okay, got one. Fire away."
Max rolled her eyes and collapsed back onto her sofa. "Is it alive?"
Alec grinned. "Technically, yes."
"Is it something we'd see every day?"
"Not every day, no."
"Is it dangerous?"
Alec's grin widened. "Depends on how you use it."
Max frowned, her arms crossing her chest as she glared at him suspiciously. "Am I gonna hafta kick your ass when I find out what it is?"
Alec flashed her a wounded look. "Damnit, Max, have you no faith in me?"
Max lifted an eyebrow. "Hell, no. Just answer the question."
"No. Now get your mind out of the gutter."
"Give me the chance 'n I'll show you a gutter," she muttered, quietly. The strength of Max's disbelieving gaze didn't lessen, but she sighed. "Is it a plant?"
Alec's eyes sparked and he leaned back into his chair. "Actually, yeah. What'd you think it was?"
Max rolled her eyes. "When it's comin' outta your mind, I'm not even tryin' to guess."
"Ah, gee, Max, that was almost a compliment. So, let's see, how many questions do you have left?"
Max sighed deeply. "Does it really matter?"
"Ah, Max, you see, you have to play by the rules."
Max resisted the urge to puke, contenting herself with looking away from the cocky man sitting in front of her. "You're preachin' to me? When've you ever bothered playing by the rules, Alec?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who took a header out of a second story window at the age of nine and ran away from my creators."
Max sniffed. "Right, and staying behind perfecting the Captain America complex was *such* a better option." She rolled her eyes. "Are we playin' or should I just keep shootin' you down, cause I'm actually almost amused now."
"I didn't know you had a sense of humor."
Max shot him a small smile. "Then we're even, 'cause I didn't know you had a brain you didn't sit on."
He grinned. "See, I knew your mind was in the gutter."
"Hard to keep from slummin' when you're in the room, Alec. You just bring it out in people."
"And here I thought it was my winning personality that kept you coming back for more."
Max was beginning to run out of come backs, her mind divided between insulting Alec and keeping an eye on their perimeter. As fun as insulting Alec could be, their routine was getting old. "Your personality wouldn't attract flies. Are we still playing here, 'cause if not, I'm gonna throw myself out the window now."
"Although I've been told that's a particular talent of yours, I'm still playin'. Next question."
Max flashed him a sweet smile, thinking of the many plants that contained deadly poisons. "Is it something I'd consider spikin' your beer with?"
"Unless you have some particular insight into this species of which I'm unaware, no."
"Damn, and here I was hopin' for a happy ending." She sighed. "Can it be eaten?"
"In many ways, yes."
"Is it expensive?"
"Isn't everything these days?"
Max shot Alec a glare, revising her question. "Is it worth the expense?"
Before Alec had the chance to respond, the door to the apartment burst open, sending both X-5s to their feet in an instant. Max dove left as Alec threw himself right, avoiding the bullets that suddenly filled the room. Max used the wall beside her as a ricochet, sending her body up and over the group of men that were beginning to fill her living room. Alec landed in front of them, the two soldiers effectively cornering the intruders between them.
The room was filled with a flurry of motion and the sound of bone connecting with flesh; Alec went down hard once, catching Max as she flew in his direction, landing on top of him. He grinned at her as he helped push her to her feet. "Always knew the sarcasm was a charade, Max, but you're just not my type."
The breath was knocked out of his lungs as Max purposely tossed one of the men into Alec, knocking him back to the floor. "You're breakin' my heart, but I guess having a higher I.Q. than a cow would turn you off."
Their conversation ground to a halt as their concentration was pulled fully into battle. Soon all that could be heard were the groans of the men, most now lying prone on the floor, and the heavy breathing of two relatively unscathed X-5s.
"Well, that was fun."
Max turned to look at Alec incredulously, delicately picking her way around the carnage that used to be her living room floor. "Yeah, maybe when it's not your floor covered in blood."
"What's the matter, Maxie, red not on this years in list for the decoration of dives?"
"And what's your cardboard box lookin' like these days?"
Alec moved up behind her, his hand hovering just away from her back. "Mmm, I like kitties with claws."
"Hacksaw. Extremities. Fun." Max gave him her sweetest smile before bending down and pulling one of the intruders up by their hair. "Hey, you awake?" The man groaned as he tried to focus his eyes on her face. "Yeah, I'm talking to you. Who sent you?"
He shook his head weakly, blood dribbling out of the corner of his lip. From the sound of his groans and the way he clutched at his body, Max figured he probably had a couple of severely broken ribs. She gripped his hair harder, pulling him back until his broken bones ground against one another and he hissed and howled in agony.
"I'm only gonna ask this once more, 'n then I'm gonna get pissed. Who sent you?" She moved her free hand to his neck, shifting so that her knee came down hard on his groin, putting pressure on too many sensitive spots on the man's injured body for him to resist for long.
"Dietz!" He gasped out, groaning in pain. "His name is Dietz!"
Max lifted an eyebrow calmly, digging her knee that much deeper into his broken body. "Pointer Dietz?"
"YES! Lady, please!"
She sighed and got to her feet, watching the man curl into the fetal position, hissing as his broken ribs shifted inside him. A small glint of satisfaction shone in her eyes, too much the soldier to let a victory pass by unnoticed.
"So, now you're gonna tell me exactly where I can find our dear old friend, Mr. Dietz." Her voice was calm and sweet, sounding very much the teenaged girl she appeared to be, but underneath, her words were a veiled threat the man couldn't ignore. He nodded pathetically, flinching as Max moved closer.
Alec stood and watched Max work. Back at Manticore, the intruders would be strung up and beaten until every last piece of information contained in their little brains was fully displayed for intelligence briefing. Instead of beating him further, however, Max stood over him, as if her presence were enough to force the man to betray his employer, and Alec waited with suppressed amusement to see how the game would play out. Max glanced over at him only when Alec's foot connected with the head of one of the men lying on the floor near the male X5. Alec shrugged in response to her raised eyebrow.
"He moved."
Max looked down at the man at her feet, using her foot to prod his head to the side enough so that he was looking at her. "Are you really gonna make me ask you again? 'Cause I just spent the entire night sittin' here, waitin' for you morons to show, with him." Her head twitched towards Alec's direction. "And believe me, after spending four hours alone with him, I'm not in the mood to be gentle." Her left foot found the man's fingers as he remained on the floor and slowly she began to lower her weight onto his digits. "As a matter of fact, I'm in a bitch, 'n I really wanna get back to my vacation, so the faster you tell me what I wanna know, the faster my ass is out that door, 'n you're free to go."
When the man didn't respond right away, preferring to whimper his pain rather than speak his mind, Max sighed. Her weight increased upon his fingers, making the man cry out, but she didn't flinch. This is what she was created to do.
"Just so you know, I'm getting bored now. The longer you make me wait, the worse this will end for you. After all, I have all night."
Alec's eyes searched to meet those of Max in surprise as she increased the pressure on the man's hand, and Alec's sensitive hearing picked up the crackle of breaking bones. Although Max's body was slight, her muscles were engineered to be stronger and faster than those of an ordinary human. If she wanted to, she could break every bone in a human's body without breaking a sweat. Although Alec wouldn't be admitting it to Max any time soon, her behavior that night both impressed and pained him. The first time he'd met Max back in Manticore, he'd been struck by the humanity that existed within her; sure, at the time he took it as a weakness, as he had many of her other attributes since that day, but actually witnessing that cold, dead look in her eyes chilled him. He found something inside him wanted to stop her from going any further, but he kept his mouth shut. No mercy. That's what Manticore had always drilled into him. Alec hoped Max would remember to stop before the point of no return.
As it had struck Zack so many months before, it struck Alec now. This wasn't the life Max was meant to lead; she was different from all of them, but she still held the instincts deep within her heart. Once those instincts were released, would Max remember the human that existed inside the soldier? Or would Manticore win after all?
The man cried out one final time as Max's foot continued to grind down the bones in his hand. He cracked then, spilling out the location of Pointer Dietz, how much he'd been paid to take out Max and any friends she had hanging around her, and exactly what he knew of Dietz and his plot to destroy Eyes Only.
Max sighed, leaving the broken man on the floor in a pool of blood, stepping over the carnage as her eyes showed no emotion. She gestured for Alec to follow her as she exited the apartment, taking her bike and moving down the stairs at a speed even Alec had to struggle to maintain.
"Where to now, Max?"
"To take out Dietz once and for all."
As Alec assimilated the cold, toneless words, Max pulled a cell phone out of her leather jacket and dialed Logan's number. Alec listened to Max's side of the conversation, noting she left out many of the details of the fight, including how she got the information regarding Dietz's location, and Alec was left to wonder if she even realized who she became when these situations confronted her. The conversation was over in minutes, including none of the sweet, loving words he'd expected to hear and was prepared to comment upon; instead, Alec was surprised to hear a quick, "Late," before the phone clicked shut and Max turned to look at him expectantly.
"You waitin' for an engraved invitation?"
She gunned the engine of the bike as Alec reluctantly climbed on the back. He sincerely hoped that this would be over quickly; he didn't like this new Max in the least.
End Part Fourteen: Soldier in Girl's Clothing
As promised, over the next several hours I will be posting the three final chapters to Towards the Sunset. The time between each chapter's posting will depend on how long it takes for me to edit them. The fic is finished, however, and you will see the ending before the night is through. :)
Alec and I don't really get along. I love the character, but I don't write him all that well, so I apologize in advance. The 20 Questions Alec, however, you can thank Aquila for. :) We wrote that scene for fun, she writing for Alec and myself for Max, and it was just so neat that I decided to include it into this chapter. *G* Feel like playing again, girl? 'Cause I've got a back load of insults stored up now. :P
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P
Towards the Sunset
Part Fourteen: Soldier in Girl's Clothing
By: Danae Bowen
Email: logansfox@rogers.com
Max's heart was heavy as she rode the elevator down from Logan's penthouse. She knew that Joshua was nothing if not an excellent protector; Joshua knew how much Logan meant to Max, and would defend Logan with his life. That's what concerned Max the most; she couldn't lose Logan for any reason, not now or ever, but she also wasn't prepared to lose Joshua. He was her only physical link to this mysterious Sandeman person, and he was her friend. Max was responsible for Joshua's life on the outside; losing him was as much of a non-option as was losing Logan.
"Took you long enough. Fur Face forget to tell you I was waiting out here?"
Now, Alec, she was prepared to lose. She rolled her eyes at the cocky, God's gift wannabe waiting for her in the shadows.
"Joshua told me. I just didn't give a damn." Max's voice was harsh as she unlocked her bike from Logan's parking spot.
"Anyone ever tell you that you're a cold woman?"
"Only the freaks about to decorate the sidewalk with brain matter."
"Ouch." He eyed the bike casually. "Can I drive?"
Max's face crinkled in disbelief as she stared at him. "Yeah, that'll happen. I'm just gonna give over my bike's keys to a guy that not only annoys me just by breathing, but that I also happen to hate? Don't think so."
"Aw, c'mon, Maxie. What's your problem? I paid you back, the virus is cured, and you're all busy making squishing noises with the wallet; isn't it time to forgive and forget?"
"Believe me, if I could forget you, I would. I've tried but you're just too God awful to repress for long."
"You sure know how to thank a guy for risking his skin to help you out."
She flashed him a sarcastic grin before gunning the Ninja's engine. "It's in the genes." She waited expectantly for a moment before glaring at him in frustration. "Would you get your ass on the bike already?"
Alec sighed and straddled the bike behind Max, making sure to pull her a little too close to his body, resting his chin on her shoulder. "This is nice," he murmured suggestively in her ear, snuggling closer.
"Yeah, if you define nice as about to have your extremities ripped off your body."
"You wouldn't dare, Max."
She smiled sweetly. "Find me a hacksaw and drop your pants." With that she slammed the bike into gear, shooting them forward. Alec gasped and grabbed a hold of his seat to keep from falling backwards as the inertia sent him off balance.
Max shook her head, trying to forget about Alec who was now hanging on to the back of the seat. Alec's very presence annoyed her in any capacity, and tonight, he wasn't doing anything to help her dispel her rather poor image of him. She thanked whatever force watching out for her that he managed to keep his mouth shut long enough for them to cross sectors and she shut the bike off outside her apartment. His eyes betrayed his appall at the outside view of her building, but Max shrugged it off. She didn't give a damn what he thought anyway; besides, her crib may be a dive, but at least it was a roof over her head when she needed some place to crash.
"Your crazy roommate gonna be here?"
Max half grinned as she let them into the building and began hauling the bike up the stairs. "She's still at the cottage. Probably picked up a coupla pretty chicks 'n is having herself a hot tub party. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here with you, getting ready to get my ass shot off. Ain't life great?"
Alec picked up his pace, reaching the landing ahead of her and leaning against her doorframe. "So you figure soon's we open this door we'll hear a pop 'n see a flash and that'll be it?"
Max glared at him and shook her head. "Nah. We'll be dead before the sound registers."
"Good to know."
She opened the door and walked through; her senses were on alert but her body remained at ease. "Relax. Logan's had guys on the place all week."
"Then what're we doing here?"
"Bait. We're pretty sure buddy's got the place staked out, so we're gonna sit here for a bit and see who walks through the door."
Alec's face slipped into a saucy grin as he walked around her apartment, stopping at the entrance to her bedroom and lifting an eyebrow. "So, what're we gonna do to pass the time?"
"Alec?"
"Max?"
"Not even if I was in heat."
*****
Max was beginning to believe that her plan was going to fail. She and Alec had been kicking back in her apartment for four hours, and Max was beginning to feel her stomach roll at the words Alec was spelling out on her scrabble game. She'd already kicked his ass three games straight in chess, beat him at poker only to have to beg him to keep his clothes on, and now was getting tired of suggestive scrabble. Suddenly she understood what Original Cindy had been feeling the last time she'd asked her friend to help her through her heat.
"We seriously need to get a new game going here. I'm so sick of this." Max slumped back in her chair, glancing out the window, praying to see someone with a gun getting ready to blow her away.
"Okay, how about 20 questions."
Max raised her eyebrow. "When did you go all boy scout on me?"
Alec shrugged innocently. "Hey, you're the one that wanted something new to do. Just give it a go, who knows, you might like it." Max raised an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically. Alec sighed. "Right, forgot who I was talking to. You don't enjoy anything that doesn't involve Logan Cale."
"Just pick your object, Alec, 'n get this over with."
Alec paused a moment, glancing around the apartment, feigning deep thought. "Um… okay, got one. Fire away."
Max rolled her eyes and collapsed back onto her sofa. "Is it alive?"
Alec grinned. "Technically, yes."
"Is it something we'd see every day?"
"Not every day, no."
"Is it dangerous?"
Alec's grin widened. "Depends on how you use it."
Max frowned, her arms crossing her chest as she glared at him suspiciously. "Am I gonna hafta kick your ass when I find out what it is?"
Alec flashed her a wounded look. "Damnit, Max, have you no faith in me?"
Max lifted an eyebrow. "Hell, no. Just answer the question."
"No. Now get your mind out of the gutter."
"Give me the chance 'n I'll show you a gutter," she muttered, quietly. The strength of Max's disbelieving gaze didn't lessen, but she sighed. "Is it a plant?"
Alec's eyes sparked and he leaned back into his chair. "Actually, yeah. What'd you think it was?"
Max rolled her eyes. "When it's comin' outta your mind, I'm not even tryin' to guess."
"Ah, gee, Max, that was almost a compliment. So, let's see, how many questions do you have left?"
Max sighed deeply. "Does it really matter?"
"Ah, Max, you see, you have to play by the rules."
Max resisted the urge to puke, contenting herself with looking away from the cocky man sitting in front of her. "You're preachin' to me? When've you ever bothered playing by the rules, Alec?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who took a header out of a second story window at the age of nine and ran away from my creators."
Max sniffed. "Right, and staying behind perfecting the Captain America complex was *such* a better option." She rolled her eyes. "Are we playin' or should I just keep shootin' you down, cause I'm actually almost amused now."
"I didn't know you had a sense of humor."
Max shot him a small smile. "Then we're even, 'cause I didn't know you had a brain you didn't sit on."
He grinned. "See, I knew your mind was in the gutter."
"Hard to keep from slummin' when you're in the room, Alec. You just bring it out in people."
"And here I thought it was my winning personality that kept you coming back for more."
Max was beginning to run out of come backs, her mind divided between insulting Alec and keeping an eye on their perimeter. As fun as insulting Alec could be, their routine was getting old. "Your personality wouldn't attract flies. Are we still playing here, 'cause if not, I'm gonna throw myself out the window now."
"Although I've been told that's a particular talent of yours, I'm still playin'. Next question."
Max flashed him a sweet smile, thinking of the many plants that contained deadly poisons. "Is it something I'd consider spikin' your beer with?"
"Unless you have some particular insight into this species of which I'm unaware, no."
"Damn, and here I was hopin' for a happy ending." She sighed. "Can it be eaten?"
"In many ways, yes."
"Is it expensive?"
"Isn't everything these days?"
Max shot Alec a glare, revising her question. "Is it worth the expense?"
Before Alec had the chance to respond, the door to the apartment burst open, sending both X-5s to their feet in an instant. Max dove left as Alec threw himself right, avoiding the bullets that suddenly filled the room. Max used the wall beside her as a ricochet, sending her body up and over the group of men that were beginning to fill her living room. Alec landed in front of them, the two soldiers effectively cornering the intruders between them.
The room was filled with a flurry of motion and the sound of bone connecting with flesh; Alec went down hard once, catching Max as she flew in his direction, landing on top of him. He grinned at her as he helped push her to her feet. "Always knew the sarcasm was a charade, Max, but you're just not my type."
The breath was knocked out of his lungs as Max purposely tossed one of the men into Alec, knocking him back to the floor. "You're breakin' my heart, but I guess having a higher I.Q. than a cow would turn you off."
Their conversation ground to a halt as their concentration was pulled fully into battle. Soon all that could be heard were the groans of the men, most now lying prone on the floor, and the heavy breathing of two relatively unscathed X-5s.
"Well, that was fun."
Max turned to look at Alec incredulously, delicately picking her way around the carnage that used to be her living room floor. "Yeah, maybe when it's not your floor covered in blood."
"What's the matter, Maxie, red not on this years in list for the decoration of dives?"
"And what's your cardboard box lookin' like these days?"
Alec moved up behind her, his hand hovering just away from her back. "Mmm, I like kitties with claws."
"Hacksaw. Extremities. Fun." Max gave him her sweetest smile before bending down and pulling one of the intruders up by their hair. "Hey, you awake?" The man groaned as he tried to focus his eyes on her face. "Yeah, I'm talking to you. Who sent you?"
He shook his head weakly, blood dribbling out of the corner of his lip. From the sound of his groans and the way he clutched at his body, Max figured he probably had a couple of severely broken ribs. She gripped his hair harder, pulling him back until his broken bones ground against one another and he hissed and howled in agony.
"I'm only gonna ask this once more, 'n then I'm gonna get pissed. Who sent you?" She moved her free hand to his neck, shifting so that her knee came down hard on his groin, putting pressure on too many sensitive spots on the man's injured body for him to resist for long.
"Dietz!" He gasped out, groaning in pain. "His name is Dietz!"
Max lifted an eyebrow calmly, digging her knee that much deeper into his broken body. "Pointer Dietz?"
"YES! Lady, please!"
She sighed and got to her feet, watching the man curl into the fetal position, hissing as his broken ribs shifted inside him. A small glint of satisfaction shone in her eyes, too much the soldier to let a victory pass by unnoticed.
"So, now you're gonna tell me exactly where I can find our dear old friend, Mr. Dietz." Her voice was calm and sweet, sounding very much the teenaged girl she appeared to be, but underneath, her words were a veiled threat the man couldn't ignore. He nodded pathetically, flinching as Max moved closer.
Alec stood and watched Max work. Back at Manticore, the intruders would be strung up and beaten until every last piece of information contained in their little brains was fully displayed for intelligence briefing. Instead of beating him further, however, Max stood over him, as if her presence were enough to force the man to betray his employer, and Alec waited with suppressed amusement to see how the game would play out. Max glanced over at him only when Alec's foot connected with the head of one of the men lying on the floor near the male X5. Alec shrugged in response to her raised eyebrow.
"He moved."
Max looked down at the man at her feet, using her foot to prod his head to the side enough so that he was looking at her. "Are you really gonna make me ask you again? 'Cause I just spent the entire night sittin' here, waitin' for you morons to show, with him." Her head twitched towards Alec's direction. "And believe me, after spending four hours alone with him, I'm not in the mood to be gentle." Her left foot found the man's fingers as he remained on the floor and slowly she began to lower her weight onto his digits. "As a matter of fact, I'm in a bitch, 'n I really wanna get back to my vacation, so the faster you tell me what I wanna know, the faster my ass is out that door, 'n you're free to go."
When the man didn't respond right away, preferring to whimper his pain rather than speak his mind, Max sighed. Her weight increased upon his fingers, making the man cry out, but she didn't flinch. This is what she was created to do.
"Just so you know, I'm getting bored now. The longer you make me wait, the worse this will end for you. After all, I have all night."
Alec's eyes searched to meet those of Max in surprise as she increased the pressure on the man's hand, and Alec's sensitive hearing picked up the crackle of breaking bones. Although Max's body was slight, her muscles were engineered to be stronger and faster than those of an ordinary human. If she wanted to, she could break every bone in a human's body without breaking a sweat. Although Alec wouldn't be admitting it to Max any time soon, her behavior that night both impressed and pained him. The first time he'd met Max back in Manticore, he'd been struck by the humanity that existed within her; sure, at the time he took it as a weakness, as he had many of her other attributes since that day, but actually witnessing that cold, dead look in her eyes chilled him. He found something inside him wanted to stop her from going any further, but he kept his mouth shut. No mercy. That's what Manticore had always drilled into him. Alec hoped Max would remember to stop before the point of no return.
As it had struck Zack so many months before, it struck Alec now. This wasn't the life Max was meant to lead; she was different from all of them, but she still held the instincts deep within her heart. Once those instincts were released, would Max remember the human that existed inside the soldier? Or would Manticore win after all?
The man cried out one final time as Max's foot continued to grind down the bones in his hand. He cracked then, spilling out the location of Pointer Dietz, how much he'd been paid to take out Max and any friends she had hanging around her, and exactly what he knew of Dietz and his plot to destroy Eyes Only.
Max sighed, leaving the broken man on the floor in a pool of blood, stepping over the carnage as her eyes showed no emotion. She gestured for Alec to follow her as she exited the apartment, taking her bike and moving down the stairs at a speed even Alec had to struggle to maintain.
"Where to now, Max?"
"To take out Dietz once and for all."
As Alec assimilated the cold, toneless words, Max pulled a cell phone out of her leather jacket and dialed Logan's number. Alec listened to Max's side of the conversation, noting she left out many of the details of the fight, including how she got the information regarding Dietz's location, and Alec was left to wonder if she even realized who she became when these situations confronted her. The conversation was over in minutes, including none of the sweet, loving words he'd expected to hear and was prepared to comment upon; instead, Alec was surprised to hear a quick, "Late," before the phone clicked shut and Max turned to look at him expectantly.
"You waitin' for an engraved invitation?"
She gunned the engine of the bike as Alec reluctantly climbed on the back. He sincerely hoped that this would be over quickly; he didn't like this new Max in the least.
End Part Fourteen: Soldier in Girl's Clothing