Escape and Evade
by Alexis
Summary: What if Max never made her speech at the end of FN? What if instead of barricading themselves inside Terminal City, the transgenics scattered and fled?
Disclaimer: I asked Santa for the rights to DA, but I must've been on the naughty list cuz it ain't mine.
Rating: This chapter PG13.
A/N: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read the rant at the end. Thanks!
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Chapter 1
"You're gonna make a right, a left, then straight up the ramp," Max directed Logan. She kept her fingers crossed that fear of the toxins inside Terminal City would deter the police from following them in. Logan obeyed and raced up a ramp into the parking garage.
Max turned and glanced over her shoulder out the back window. The cop cars were still on their tail and closing fast. Her stomach churned. *Shit. This can only end badly for us.*
"End of the line," Logan said as they came to a stop at the far end of the parking garage. The cops screeched to a halt behind them and jumped out of their cars, weapons drawn.
Detective Clemente grabbed his bullhorn. "Throw your weapons out and put your hands where I can see them. Do it now!"
Max turned to face the stares of the three transgenics in the back of the van. Mole's look was challenging, Joshua's pleading. Alec waited calmly for her decision. He dipped his head in an almost imperceptible nod.
"You heard the man," she said in a tired voice. Mole groaned loudly and glared at her.
Alec snatched the gun from Mole's hand before he could do anything stupid with it and tossed it out the back door along with his own. Joshua, Max, and Logan quickly followed suit. They climbed out of the van with their hands in the air.
"Get down on your knees!" Clemente shouted. Everyone complied except Max. She lowered her hands and slowly walked toward the detective. She could see the regret in his eyes.
"I think you better get down on the ground," he told her softly.
"Actually, I think you should probably go," Max replied. Just then there was the audible sound of several hundred guns being cocked and loaded as the rest of the transgenics in Terminal City arrived on the scene. The police were surrounded, outgunned and outmanoeuvred.
*There goes the last of our anonymity," Max thought with a sigh. *We are no longer a problem Seattle PD can handle.* The cops had always known where to find the transgenics, but until that moment they hadn't realized how many of them there were. Instantly their status changed from somewhere around 'street gang' to something more like 'invasion force'.
"This is gonna get real ugly, and this is way over my head now. These people's lives depend on the decisions that you make right now," Clemente said as he climbed back in his cruiser.
*Like we even have a choice,* Max thought bitterly.
Typically, Mole took charge of the situation. "Escape and evade," he barked. "Divide up into teams and go to ground."
The transgenics mobilized like the well-trained soldiers they were. No panic, no emotional outbursts, no protests. They simply split into pairs or small groups as ordered and began to methodically strip Terminal City bare of anything of use or value.
*Lydecker would be so proud,* Max thought bitterly. She longed to plead with them to stay and defend their home and their place in this world. *I'm tired of running. I want a place of our own. I want the right to feel the sun on my face. I want to force the world to face up to the fact that we exist.*
But what would resistance accomplish, in the end? The army would simply surround Terminal City, storm the compound, and capture or kill everyone inside. Better to let them scatter, and run, and be free. At least until White tracked them down. Or the police, or the local trannie haters. *Then they'll suffer and bleed and die, and I'll have more blood on my hands, another black mark against my soul. Because I chose this for them. I forced them out into a world that will never accept us.*
She looked for Alec and her eyes found him instantly. She didn't need to scan the crowd for him because she always knew exactly where he was. And as always she forced away the implications of what that meant. His eyes held hers and he nodded, as she already knew he would.
Max turned and joined Original Cindy and Sketchy by the ambulance. Cindy was hugging Gem goodbye. She hovered over the younger girl, concerned about Gem's ability to keep up with the others after giving birth not more than half an hour ago. But Gem is X-5. It will hardly slow her down.
Normal was cradling the baby in his arms. The expression on his face when he looked at her planted the tiniest hope in Max's heart that it didn't always have to be this way. Max stomped on the hope before it could take root.
"You have to get out of here fast," Mac urged them, worried about their ability to dodge the cops. "Do NOT get caught wearing those uniforms, or you'll be getting an insider's look at the federal prison system."
"Don't worry about us, boo. We be aiight. You just get your ass out of here. Go someplace new, where they don't know who you are."
It was just like OC to be more worried about Max than her own safety. How could she bear to leave such friendship behind? "I'll come back," Max said, blinking back tears.
"I know it. This is your home."
Max hugged Cindy tight. "You're my family too," she whispered.
"And you're mine, boo. For life."
Sketchy gave Max a quick hug. "You're the best, Max," he said awkwardly. "Don't get caught."
"I won't," she promised. She felt a pang of regret for the way Sketchy had found out the truth about her and Alec. *I wish we'd been honest with him a long time ago. I wish we'd trusted him that much.*
"Stay outta trouble," she added. Sketchy gave her a crooked grin.
Original Cindy took Max by the shoulders and gave her a gentle push. "Go on now, boo. Get outta here."
Max took a deep breath and forced herself to move away, step by step towards Headquarters. Joshua intercepted her before she'd gone 15 feet. She was so focused on moving her feet one after the other that he had to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention. He smiled sadly at her. "Hey, little fella. Gotta go now. Gotta say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Max repeated, puzzled.
"I'm leaving with Mole and Dix."
Max choked back a sob. "But Joshua, I thought that we…"
"No, little fella," he said firmly, cutting her off. "Better this way. I belong with downstairs people. You belong with Alec. He needs you more."
"I don't want to lose you too!" Max wailed, devastated.
"Someday we find a home. You, me, everybody. That's the plan."
Max could only nod in defeat. *So this is my destiny. To lose my family, over and over, until I just give in.* Her fractured heart broke a little more. She wondered if she'd ever find all the pieces of herself, or whether she'd end up like Humpty Dumpty.
"That's the plan," she agreed in a dull voice. She hugged him. "I love you, Joshua. Please be careful."
"You too, little fella." He kissed her forehead. Then he loped across the room to where Mole and Dixon were waiting impatiently. He looked back and raised his hand in farewell, then followed the other transhumans into the night.
Max forced herself to continue walking to HQ. She dreaded what was to come, but she couldn't leave without saying goodbye. She scanned the crowd for Logan and finally spotted him at the computer. He had hacked into both the sector police and Army systems. "ETA 20 minutes," he called out, and then started disconnecting the computer.
She walked over to him, slowly. His hands stilled as he sensed her coming. Their eyes met and locked. For a long moment they just stood there, staring at each other. It was Logan who finally broke the silence. "You have to go, Max. I couldn't bear it if you were caught. Not again."
Max watched him watching her. She could see the hope and the need in his eyes, and she knew he was waiting to hear her say that she loved him. *God knows he deserves to hear those three little words from me, after everything I've put him through.* But Max just couldn't force the words out of her mouth. And she didn't know whether she couldn't say the words because it was no longer true, or because it never was true, or because she just didn't know how.
"I don't want to leave." It was all she could say past the lump in her throat. It was the truth, just not the one he wanted to hear.
Logan smiled gently. He knew what she meant, or what he thought she meant. "I know. I love you, too."
Max felt the tears run down her face. There was nothing else to say, but she couldn't leave, couldn't walk away. So she just stood there. She didn't even notice Alec approach until she felt his hand tug on her arm.
"Max! Max, I'm sorry but we gotta go."
She looked over her shoulder at him. He'd changed from the borrowed Phalanx uniform back into his street clothes, and he was carrying their bags with the few belongings they'd stashed at TC. The building was nearly empty now. They were almost out of time; the army would be closing in soon. Her mind registered all this, but her feet were rooted to the floor. She was leaving her home and everyone she loved, for the second time in her life. It was too much.
Then suddenly Original Cindy and Sketchy were there too. OC grabbed Logan's arm and tried to drag him away. Sketchy snatched up Logan's laptop and disks.
"Max, we gotta go. Now!" Alec repeated urgently.
The knowledge that her friends were still there, that they were in danger because of her, finally prompted Max to move. She took one last look at the three of them and then turned and ran. She followed Alec out of the building and over the perimeter fence. They kept to the side streets, moving silently through the shadows. When the sirens got too close they climbed up the fire escape of a derelict building. They crossed a good chunk of the city by jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
Alec stole a car outside a seedy strip club on the edge of town. It was a gangster's black SUV, complete with 4 wheel drive and a 9mm in the glove box.
Alec was surprised to see that Detective Clemente hadn't ordered barricades set up across the highways. Either the cops didn't expect the transgenics would skip town, or they were looking for an easy solution out of this mess. Alec roared past the border control gate. At the first opportunity Alec left the interstate for the back roads. It slowed them down, but it kept them more or less out of sight. Easier too to ditch the car and travel cross-country if necessary.
Max slouched down in the passenger seat and stared out the window as the miles rolled by under their wheels. In her mind she relived every good memory she had of her and Logan. Chess games and dinner by candlelight…taking a "spin" in the park in the rain…eating cake together at his cousin's wedding…the night Logan drove her Ninja…the look of joy on his face when she returned from Manticore. She lost herself in those memories, oblivious to their surroundings.
Sometime after 3 a.m. Alec stopped at an isolated motel. The area was heavily wooded, and there were no other cars in the lot. Alec had to pound on the door to wake up the owner. Fortunately, he was so pleased to have a paying customer he didn't ask them any questions.
Alec grabbed their gear and headed for their room, Max following silently behind. She hadn't said a word since leaving Seattle. She was locked inside her mind, drowning in her misery. Once inside their room she headed straight for the shower. Turning the water on full she slid down the tile wall to land in a heap on the shower stall floor. Hugging her knees to her chest, the water pelting her back and head, she cried out her grief and loss. When the hot water ran out she reluctantly got out and dried off. She wrapped a towel around herself and left the bathroom.
Alec was lying on the bed watching TV with the sound off, propped up on the pillows. He turned it off and held out his arms.
Max walked over to the bed and lay down beside him, her head cushioned on his shoulder, his arms wrapped around her. He cradled her against his side, both taking and giving comfort from the simple act of holding her warm body close.
"Seattle was my home too," he whispered into the darkness.
Max stirred a little, pricked by guilt. Lost in her own misery, she'd never stopped to think about how Alec must be feeling. Seattle was the only home he'd ever known outside of Manticore. He'd had friends there who knew the truth about him and accepted him for who he was. He'd had family and a place among them. And now, like her, he was cut off, adrift. All they had left was each other. She buried her face against his chest and clutched him tightly.
Eventually, they both fell asleep.
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Worn out by her grief, Max slept until morning. The sun woke her, shining through a gap in the curtains. Still half-asleep she snuggled closer to Alec, feeling safe and secure in his arms. The feeling only lasted until she remembered how she'd ended up sleeping next to Alec. A wave of pain swept over her as the loss bit into her again, as sharp as the night before. She choked back her tears and carefully eased out from under Alec's arm and sat up. As she did so her towel came lose and fell open.
Alec was jarred awake by the sound of the small sob Max tried to suppress. He'd just started to raise one hand to pull her back into his arms when the towel fell away from her body.
He glimpsed one soft, round breast with its rosy nipple before hastily shutting his eyes. He heard Max snatch at the ends of the cloth and scramble off of the bed. He concentrated on trying to remember how to breathe. She was perfect, more perfect even than he'd imagined in his dreams. *But that's the most I'm ever gonna see of her. She wants to be normal. She wants Logan. And don't EVER forget that fact,* he told himself sternly. He stared up at the ceiling and counted backwards, trying to conquer the effect that tantalizing glimpse of her flesh had had on his body.
Max's heart pounded at the thought of Alec seeing her naked. She snatched clean clothes from her bag and hurried into the bathroom to get dressed. She stared morosely at her reflection and tortured herself by remembering all the times she'd taken a hot shower at Logan's penthouse. Her loss was a scab she kept picking at, never giving the wound a chance to heal. Because if losing Logan ever stopped hurting, then everything she'd thought and wanted and expected to happen for the last year and a half was nothing but empty hopes, as dry as dust.
Alec knocked softly on the bathroom door, distracting her from her desolate thoughts. "Uh, Max, you gonna be in there all morning? Cuz I need a shower."
Alec was leaning against the door when she opened it. She pushed past him, refusing to meet his eyes. Alec shrugged and shut the door behind him.
Max wandered the motel room aimlessly, too restless to watch TV. Glancing out the window, she was surprised to see trees growing right up against the building. She didn't remember driving through a forest. In shock she realized she had no idea where they were. She simply hadn't paid attention. For the first time in 11 years she'd failed to assess her surroundings for lines of attack and possible escape routes. She couldn't risk being so careless again. Getting captured wouldn't reunite her with Logan, or OC, or her family.
Alec emerged from the bathroom to find that Max had packed their gear and tidied the room.
"I'll drive," she said, snatching the keys from the table. Alec smiled, relieved to see Max at least trying to act like her old self again.
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RANT: Lately several amazing authors have been *unfairly* censored by this site for no reason other than that their fics were M/A. These fics DID NOT violate ff.net's TOS but they were banned because a few nasty, narrow-minded M/L shippers complained. What I want to know is, if someone doesn't like M/A fics, why are they reading them in the first place? All M/A fics are clearly marked as such in the summary. And if people are reading them just to complain, that's extremely poor sportsmanship. I don't go in for M/L fics, therefore I don't read M/L fics. It's that simple. I would NEVER try to get a M/L fic dumped from this site just because I disagree with the author's choice of romantic pairing. So consider this my protest vote. If you like this fic, you're going to have to go to NunsWithPens at http://nunswithpens.hyperboards.com to read it, because I'm not going to post the rest of it here. To those of you caught in the middle who just want to enjoy good DA fanfics, my sincere apologies.