Chapter Two
Meanwhile, the X5's had made their way to the bank building. Which happened to be a block away, across the wide street, from Logan's. Alec and Max decided the side window entry would do. They repelled up the side of the building and using a window cutter they entered.
"Hey, any chance those mattress tag ruffians left some easy money lying around here I can "borrow"?" Alec said teasingly, knowing it would get Max's fur up.
"I don't know, probably" Max returned, which surprised Alec. He thought she would go off on him and actually was disappointed she didn't. She was so cute when she gets mad.
"What? Aren't you going to scold me for stealing?" Alec said playfully
"No, I used to do the same thing. It would be kind of hypocritical of me to scold you for something I did and still don't really have a problem with. Mostly, the money I stole I used to try and find my siblings with." Max answered
"Why did you stop then?" Alec questioned, and then answered his own question "Logan. Right?"
"I guess, but I don't know why. He's always preaching that stealing is wrong, and I tried to be a "better person" for him. But my view changed a little when Logan just went ahead and accepted money that was stolen from you or me. Apparently it's ok to accept stolen money if its for Eyes-Only. And he does accept stolen information. It seems to me that his morals have changed to fit his needs. But, I don't blame him, I never really had a problem with it because I always stole from rich bastards anyway" Max explained
"So, you wouldn't mind if I helped myself?" Alec asked, grinning
"No, not at all. In fact, count me in" Max flashed a smile at him. Max didn't know what was happening. She felt.giddy almost. She never felt giddy. It was something about that grin of Alecs' that did it to her. She realized that she had been thinking about Alec a lot more lately and not in the brotherly or friendly way. She just couldn't help herself, she knew she was attracted to him and it was getting stronger, but then there was Logan.and she couldn't give him up.
Alec's heart skipped a beat when she flashed that grin at him. He too had realized that Max was in his thoughts and dreams. In the last few months, he never realized that Max could be so kind, funny and charming, when she wanted to be. He also had to admit, he loved her sarcasm and she was good at it. They had fun together lately and he too was very aware of the budding chemistry between them and the underlying sexuality that was there.very aware. And her being a knockout didn't hurt either. Alec actually was glad when Max couldn't get a hold of Logan the last couple of days. That meant more time for him and Joshua. I wonder if she would ever consider.nah, Alec thought to himself.
Max proceeded to the mainframe computer, as Alec entered the bank president's personal office. Max had already started to download the records, as Alec was just preparing to crack the safe. He found it behind the president's desk on the wall, behind the Dogs Playing Poker mural.
"Ahhh, ya gotta admire a man who loves the classics" Alec said sarcastically, to himself as he eyed the painting. He put his ear to the safe and began to crack it. With the last click, he then popped open the safe and looked inside and found what he was looking for. A couple of nice stacks of bills. He grabbed them and put them in his backpack and returned to the mainframe.
"Find anything good?" Max teased, raising her eyebrow. God, I'm flirting with him, Max thought. He is hot though.
"Yeah, two sweet stacks of good" Alec retorted. God, she's adorable sometimes, Alec thought to himself. "You almost finished?"
"Yeah, just have to erase the files" Max said as she stuffed the copied discs into her backpack and hit the erase command. She looked at Alec and saw him staring at her. They locked gazes and held it. This time they didn't just look away; they took time to enjoy it and the sparks were very evident. The all of a sudden on the computer screen.
***BEEP BEEP BEEP Mainframe files erased, intruder alert, notify police and security immediately*** Then the alarm system in the building went off.
"Oh great! Would have been nice to know that the files were marked to set off the alarm when erased, Logan!" Alec said sarcastically. He then looked at Max as she grabbed her backpack and nod to him it was time to go, now.
"Shit, lets go. To the roof?" Max asked
"Sounds like a plan" Alec countered as they hit the stairway and were on the roof in seconds, thanks to their lightening reflexes. They scoured the rooftop for the best egress route. Alec looked over his shoulder at Max, who was at the other side of the roof, staring across the street, to the other building. Alec wondered what she was doing, since they knew security would be here soon. Alec ran over to her to see what was so important that she was.***Oh SHIT!*** Alec thought to himself. He now saw what Max was so intently looking at. Across the street was Logan's building and through Logan's window, you could see everything, especially with zoom and night vision. There was Logan and Asha making out intently. His shirt was off and so was hers, as they were making out on the couch. And from the look of it, they would be naked very soon and they were not holding back, at all. Alec looked at Max and felt his own heart break. She looked so sad, confused and mad all at the same time, but mostly sad. Alec broke the silence.
"What timing. Shit, we need to get out of here. Max, Max!" Alec said
"Huh, yeah' Max answered
"Max, fuck him! You don't deserve this shit, but we have to go now. They are coming up the stairs." Alec said frantically, and then he got a wonderful idea. "Hey, since we need to repel off this building, why don't we just drop in on our little friends over there" he said wickedly and grinned. That actually got a smile out of Max. "Don't show that dickhead anything. Just stay in soldier mode and we'll get through this" Alec said as he put his arm around her shoulder and smiled at her. "Lets go"
Alec took out his crossbow from his backpack and pulled down the sides as they snapped into place. He then put an arrow with a repelling rope attached into the mechanism and cocked the bow. He took aim and fired. Wham, It hit perfectly. It struck two inches from the top of Logan's window. Alec and Max then quickly pulled the rope taunt and tied it off. Just then security guards flew through the roof door and started shooting. Alec and Max blurred and came up behind the guards, taking out the first wave easily. But there were more coming. They both nodded to each other and ran to the rope. They both hooked their harnesses to the rope and took a flying leap off the roof, in perfect unison. As they were halfway across, the second wave of security guards reached the roof. They started shooting at them. Missing them only by inches. Max all of a sudden jerked. Alec looked over as they approached the window. Two shots hit the window as they did, sending them flying through the window. The agility of the X5's allowed them to unhook and perfectly land on their feet. They ducked for cover as the shots rang out. Alec and Max both thought the same thing; the look on both Logan and Asha's face was priceless. They were now both scrambling for cover, literally! The shooting ceased. Max and Alec stood up and Logan looked from behind the couch, as Asha cowered behind the end of the couch. Logan just looked at Max as she glared at him, but not too much to give way her emotions, that she was really hurt. She turned and walked into the computer room and looked through his cd files, next to the terminal. She found what she was looking for. Two CD's labeled Max/Manticore. She grabbed them and stuck them into her cat suit. She concluded that she had earned them they were rightfully hers. She then took out the CD that they acquired from the bank and left it on his keyboard.
As Max was in the computer room, Alec took his shot. He looked at the still shaken Logan and saw the look of "Oops, I fucked up and oh, shit" that plagued his face. He couldn't resist saying something.
"Man, do you have a set of balls! Here we are, working for you two, putting our lives on the line and being shot at, while you two are making out and having a good ole' time. And you didn't even have the courtesy to tell Max that you wanted to give up and move on! Boy, did you fuck up. I guess it turned out for the best. She's better off without you." Alec said with conviction. He really did mean it he didn't deserve her. Max returned from the computer room and looked over at Logan. He was trying to put his shirt on as Asha did the same. Logan then tried to explain.
"Max, I." he was cut off by Max.
" The disc is on your keyboard. You better get ready for the bank security to show up, I'm sure they are on their way. And this is the end of our Quid Pro Quo" Max said blankly, showing no emotion either way, which was disturbing coming from Max. Logan heart sank. He wished she would blow up, do something, anything.
Max looked over at Alec and he gave her comfort and support through his gaze and she knew he was with her emotionally. They both looked at the window and silently agreed the window was a good exit. They walked over and jumped, not looking back. And Logan realized that she was exiting his life just like she did the first time. Asha stood and was still shaky, but knew she had to move fast. She ran to the computer room and grabbed the disc. She then noticed that the cover had blood on it. In fact, there was a trail of blood leading into the living room. She followed it to the living room and it ended at the shattered window. She looked at Logan who was still in shock. He then looked at her with confusion and guilt. He stood and walked to her and held out his hand for the disc. She snapped back.
" No Logan, there's blood on it. I think its Max's. It could infect you. In fact, the trail of blood goes right out the window." Asha concluded. " I better hide this. And grab the Eyes-Only transmitter. Let's go!" Logan finally snapped back to reality and started to cleanup before the security got there. The nagging question of had Max been shot rang through his ears and stomped on his conscience as he hurried to ready for the ensuing visitors.
Meanwhile, the X5's had made their way to the bank building. Which happened to be a block away, across the wide street, from Logan's. Alec and Max decided the side window entry would do. They repelled up the side of the building and using a window cutter they entered.
"Hey, any chance those mattress tag ruffians left some easy money lying around here I can "borrow"?" Alec said teasingly, knowing it would get Max's fur up.
"I don't know, probably" Max returned, which surprised Alec. He thought she would go off on him and actually was disappointed she didn't. She was so cute when she gets mad.
"What? Aren't you going to scold me for stealing?" Alec said playfully
"No, I used to do the same thing. It would be kind of hypocritical of me to scold you for something I did and still don't really have a problem with. Mostly, the money I stole I used to try and find my siblings with." Max answered
"Why did you stop then?" Alec questioned, and then answered his own question "Logan. Right?"
"I guess, but I don't know why. He's always preaching that stealing is wrong, and I tried to be a "better person" for him. But my view changed a little when Logan just went ahead and accepted money that was stolen from you or me. Apparently it's ok to accept stolen money if its for Eyes-Only. And he does accept stolen information. It seems to me that his morals have changed to fit his needs. But, I don't blame him, I never really had a problem with it because I always stole from rich bastards anyway" Max explained
"So, you wouldn't mind if I helped myself?" Alec asked, grinning
"No, not at all. In fact, count me in" Max flashed a smile at him. Max didn't know what was happening. She felt.giddy almost. She never felt giddy. It was something about that grin of Alecs' that did it to her. She realized that she had been thinking about Alec a lot more lately and not in the brotherly or friendly way. She just couldn't help herself, she knew she was attracted to him and it was getting stronger, but then there was Logan.and she couldn't give him up.
Alec's heart skipped a beat when she flashed that grin at him. He too had realized that Max was in his thoughts and dreams. In the last few months, he never realized that Max could be so kind, funny and charming, when she wanted to be. He also had to admit, he loved her sarcasm and she was good at it. They had fun together lately and he too was very aware of the budding chemistry between them and the underlying sexuality that was there.very aware. And her being a knockout didn't hurt either. Alec actually was glad when Max couldn't get a hold of Logan the last couple of days. That meant more time for him and Joshua. I wonder if she would ever consider.nah, Alec thought to himself.
Max proceeded to the mainframe computer, as Alec entered the bank president's personal office. Max had already started to download the records, as Alec was just preparing to crack the safe. He found it behind the president's desk on the wall, behind the Dogs Playing Poker mural.
"Ahhh, ya gotta admire a man who loves the classics" Alec said sarcastically, to himself as he eyed the painting. He put his ear to the safe and began to crack it. With the last click, he then popped open the safe and looked inside and found what he was looking for. A couple of nice stacks of bills. He grabbed them and put them in his backpack and returned to the mainframe.
"Find anything good?" Max teased, raising her eyebrow. God, I'm flirting with him, Max thought. He is hot though.
"Yeah, two sweet stacks of good" Alec retorted. God, she's adorable sometimes, Alec thought to himself. "You almost finished?"
"Yeah, just have to erase the files" Max said as she stuffed the copied discs into her backpack and hit the erase command. She looked at Alec and saw him staring at her. They locked gazes and held it. This time they didn't just look away; they took time to enjoy it and the sparks were very evident. The all of a sudden on the computer screen.
***BEEP BEEP BEEP Mainframe files erased, intruder alert, notify police and security immediately*** Then the alarm system in the building went off.
"Oh great! Would have been nice to know that the files were marked to set off the alarm when erased, Logan!" Alec said sarcastically. He then looked at Max as she grabbed her backpack and nod to him it was time to go, now.
"Shit, lets go. To the roof?" Max asked
"Sounds like a plan" Alec countered as they hit the stairway and were on the roof in seconds, thanks to their lightening reflexes. They scoured the rooftop for the best egress route. Alec looked over his shoulder at Max, who was at the other side of the roof, staring across the street, to the other building. Alec wondered what she was doing, since they knew security would be here soon. Alec ran over to her to see what was so important that she was.***Oh SHIT!*** Alec thought to himself. He now saw what Max was so intently looking at. Across the street was Logan's building and through Logan's window, you could see everything, especially with zoom and night vision. There was Logan and Asha making out intently. His shirt was off and so was hers, as they were making out on the couch. And from the look of it, they would be naked very soon and they were not holding back, at all. Alec looked at Max and felt his own heart break. She looked so sad, confused and mad all at the same time, but mostly sad. Alec broke the silence.
"What timing. Shit, we need to get out of here. Max, Max!" Alec said
"Huh, yeah' Max answered
"Max, fuck him! You don't deserve this shit, but we have to go now. They are coming up the stairs." Alec said frantically, and then he got a wonderful idea. "Hey, since we need to repel off this building, why don't we just drop in on our little friends over there" he said wickedly and grinned. That actually got a smile out of Max. "Don't show that dickhead anything. Just stay in soldier mode and we'll get through this" Alec said as he put his arm around her shoulder and smiled at her. "Lets go"
Alec took out his crossbow from his backpack and pulled down the sides as they snapped into place. He then put an arrow with a repelling rope attached into the mechanism and cocked the bow. He took aim and fired. Wham, It hit perfectly. It struck two inches from the top of Logan's window. Alec and Max then quickly pulled the rope taunt and tied it off. Just then security guards flew through the roof door and started shooting. Alec and Max blurred and came up behind the guards, taking out the first wave easily. But there were more coming. They both nodded to each other and ran to the rope. They both hooked their harnesses to the rope and took a flying leap off the roof, in perfect unison. As they were halfway across, the second wave of security guards reached the roof. They started shooting at them. Missing them only by inches. Max all of a sudden jerked. Alec looked over as they approached the window. Two shots hit the window as they did, sending them flying through the window. The agility of the X5's allowed them to unhook and perfectly land on their feet. They ducked for cover as the shots rang out. Alec and Max both thought the same thing; the look on both Logan and Asha's face was priceless. They were now both scrambling for cover, literally! The shooting ceased. Max and Alec stood up and Logan looked from behind the couch, as Asha cowered behind the end of the couch. Logan just looked at Max as she glared at him, but not too much to give way her emotions, that she was really hurt. She turned and walked into the computer room and looked through his cd files, next to the terminal. She found what she was looking for. Two CD's labeled Max/Manticore. She grabbed them and stuck them into her cat suit. She concluded that she had earned them they were rightfully hers. She then took out the CD that they acquired from the bank and left it on his keyboard.
As Max was in the computer room, Alec took his shot. He looked at the still shaken Logan and saw the look of "Oops, I fucked up and oh, shit" that plagued his face. He couldn't resist saying something.
"Man, do you have a set of balls! Here we are, working for you two, putting our lives on the line and being shot at, while you two are making out and having a good ole' time. And you didn't even have the courtesy to tell Max that you wanted to give up and move on! Boy, did you fuck up. I guess it turned out for the best. She's better off without you." Alec said with conviction. He really did mean it he didn't deserve her. Max returned from the computer room and looked over at Logan. He was trying to put his shirt on as Asha did the same. Logan then tried to explain.
"Max, I." he was cut off by Max.
" The disc is on your keyboard. You better get ready for the bank security to show up, I'm sure they are on their way. And this is the end of our Quid Pro Quo" Max said blankly, showing no emotion either way, which was disturbing coming from Max. Logan heart sank. He wished she would blow up, do something, anything.
Max looked over at Alec and he gave her comfort and support through his gaze and she knew he was with her emotionally. They both looked at the window and silently agreed the window was a good exit. They walked over and jumped, not looking back. And Logan realized that she was exiting his life just like she did the first time. Asha stood and was still shaky, but knew she had to move fast. She ran to the computer room and grabbed the disc. She then noticed that the cover had blood on it. In fact, there was a trail of blood leading into the living room. She followed it to the living room and it ended at the shattered window. She looked at Logan who was still in shock. He then looked at her with confusion and guilt. He stood and walked to her and held out his hand for the disc. She snapped back.
" No Logan, there's blood on it. I think its Max's. It could infect you. In fact, the trail of blood goes right out the window." Asha concluded. " I better hide this. And grab the Eyes-Only transmitter. Let's go!" Logan finally snapped back to reality and started to cleanup before the security got there. The nagging question of had Max been shot rang through his ears and stomped on his conscience as he hurried to ready for the ensuing visitors.