Disclaimer: This is my story but the wonderful characters belong to Cameron etc. Please don't sue.

Authors Note: Please take a look at my other stories. They're listed under my profile and are sadly neglected.

DARK TERROR

Chapter 14 - Hanging Threads

Lydecker hesitated in the door frame of the room where Max was currently asleep with Alec on the small camping bed. They had both dozed off in each others arms. Lydecker couldn't help but stare at them, his eyes shadowed with memories and pain. Every time he looked at Max he saw his wife in her face, in her beautiful eyes. Max was the perfect version of a woman he had loved more than life and he would do anything to keep her safe. He had walked the line with keeping all his kids safe, to the point of losing his position and his power over the committee, but with Max it was different.

Max whimpered slightly in her sleep and turned, burying closer into Alec's body. Alec reacted automatically to her movement, his arms wrapping tighter around her slender form and kissing her forehead in his sleep. Max stilled, comforted by his touch. Lydecker knew he shouldn't be watching them like this, knew neither would allow it if they were awake but he couldn't help himself.

Hearing about what had happened in Seattle had sent a fear through him that Lydecker hadn't thought still existed through the years of bitterness and darkness he had known. He had seen Logan's body in the morgue, seen the torture the other man had gone through. Knowing what Logan meant to Max had caused him to almost falter in sympathy. Almost. Despite his best efforts Lydecker had been unable to locate Max, it had only been her rescue by Alec that had made them pop up on his contact radar.

Lydecker remembered how he had felt when he had seen Max lying on the side of the road, Alec in her arms. She had a gun pointing at her head and her finger had been twitching dangerously on the trigger. It had shocked him more than anything to see Max so changed. For her to prefer to kill herself rather than be caught…As much as a part of Lydecker wanted to know what White had done to her, a greater part didn't think he would be able to cope with it.

Taking one step forward, Lydecker stared down at Max's small body, wound so tight to Alec's. His breath caught at the heartbreaking fragility of her delicate features. Fragile was never a word he had ever associated with Max before, not even when she had been a child wracked with seizures. Lydecker was still staring at Max when Alec's eyes flashed open. Startled Lydecker almost stumbled backwards before catching his reaction and remaining still.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alec's tone was laced with animosity despite the low volume in deference to Max's sleeping state. Lydecker met Alec's cold burning gaze with his own.

"Nothing." Lydecker refused to explain himself to this man. He turned slowly and made his way out the room, not looking back. Alec watched the retreating man and cast a glance down at Max's dark tousled head. I have to know what game he's playing. He thought, not trusting the old Colonel for a minute.

Carefully Alec disentangled himself from Max's body. She made a soft moan of protest at the separation and Alec knelt beside the bed and stoked her face gently, soothing her. Satisfied that Max was comfortable and would remain so for a while, Alec stood and followed Lydecker's path out of the room.

"Hey Lydecker." Practically spitting out the name, his tone nothing but hostile Alec walked into the room where Lydecker was sitting on a chair, staring at nothing.

"Alec." Lydecker calmly acknowledged the other mans presence, without so much looking in his direction. The punch to his face took Lydecker completely off guard. On the floor he looked up at the angry countenance of Alec.

Feeling his jaw tentivly Lydecker spat out a mouthful of blood, his mouth had cut on his lip with the sudden blow. He smiled despite the pain. "What is it about Max that makes men fall so in love with her?"

Alec scowled at Lydecker. "You don't know anything about me and Max." Lydecker snorted at that and got slowly to his feet.

"You think I don't? I've seen that look in men's eyes before soldier." Lydecker looked Alec in the eye and smiled sadly. "You cant compare to Logan son, she'll never love you the way she loved him."

Alec tried to keep his features steady, but the tightening jaw and the flicker of emotion in his eyes told Lydecker his hit had struck home. "Why are you here?" Alec asked him in a strained voice that told Lydecker how much Alec was holding back.

"I told you. I'm only here to help you and Max." Lydecker knew this conversation would come eventually, he had only hoped Max would be here to vouch for him, as much as she ever would anyway.

"Oh right, so out of the nowhere you saw the light and became a changed man." Alec sarcastically recounted.

Lydecker closed his eyes for a second to gather his ragged emotions. "Not quite." His voice was hoarse as he spoke. "I- I -" Lydecker took a deep breath. "When I found out that Tinga - 656- was killed by Renfro…I couldn't let her hurt Max… Max means to much to me."

"Why?" The question was simply asked but loaded with threat. Lydecker hoped he wouldn't have to tell Alec the truth about what Max meant to him. He remembered too well the disgust he had seen in Max's eyes when he had confessed in that car about what she was.

"Max is… I was married once, my wife died - murdered." Alec watched as Lydecker faltered. "I needed to keep a part of her alive, I needed her to still exist in some way." Horror was growing on Alec's face as he saw where this was leading.

"Tell me you didn't." He demanded, his fists clenching at his sides. Lydecker found he couldn't look at the angry man anymore.

"I made Max…Perfect…Strong…Not a clone but…Inspired." Lydecker finished on a whisper.

Alec tried to control his stomach from rebelling at the thought of this man trying to recreate his dead wife in an innocent child. He leaned against the wall, his head pounding again in the wake of this revelation.

"You sick fucker." The words should have been yelled, should have demonstrated in volume the depths of his feelings but Alec's revulsion went so deep that he could only force them out at a hardly audible note.

Lydecker went over to the camping bed where Max had slept earlier. He sank down in a boneless heap and wearily rested his face in his hands. There was nothing else he could say, if Alec wanted to kill him there was no way he could stop him.

"Does Max know?" Alec had to know if Max knew what Lydecker had done. Lydecker slowly nodded his head.

"Yes she knows. I told her last year before-" Whatever else Lydecker was going to say was lost in the abrupt screaming that pierced the stilted air of the condemned building.

"Max!" Alec leapt into action, pushing off the wall and racing down the hall into the other room. Lydecker followed quickly behind but stopped dead at the scene before him. Max was screaming, tears streaming down her face. Her small body shook with the strength of her terror.

Alec didn't hesitate to run across the room and take Max into his arms. His hand stroked Max's features softly as he whispered incomprehensible words of comfort to the crying woman.

It was obvious to Lydecker that this was something that happened regularly, considering the ease with which Alec comforted Max and soothed her terror. A lump was in Lydecker's throat and he swallowed it painfully.

"Its alright Maxie, shh, everything's okay." Alec murmured into Max's hair, holding her as the brutal sobs started tapering off. Max clung to Alec as though her life depended on it.

"Alec-" Max choked, her eyes still wet with tears.

"Hush, I'm here Max." Alec assured Max. She turned in his embrace and pulled his head down to hers to meet his mouth in a passionate kiss that stole his breath. Their lips melded against each other as they devoured the other, reassuring themselves of their presence and life.

Lydecker watched as Max and Alec lost themselves in the growing passion that rose from their shared grief and pain. They were seemingly unaware of their unwanted witness and Lydecker backed slowly out of the room, unable to tear his eyes from the sight as Max and Alec started moving their hands over each others bodies.

Forcing himself to turn, Lydecker walked into the hallway where he leaned briefly against the wall while he tried to shut out the soft moans and groans coming from the two young people mere feet from him.

Max whimpered for an entirely different reason than before as she felt Alec's searching hands move under her thin shirt. "Alec…" Max breathed his name and Alec felt a primitive pride at having elicited such a response from the woman he loved.

"Max." He growled returning his mouth to hers for a deep taste of her before kissing his way down her soft neck, his tongue licking at the soft hollow of her throat. Max's eyes were half closed with desire and though the tears stains remained on her cheeks the feelings that Alec brought out in her were such that they overshadowed the darkness that tried to ensnare her in hopelessness.

As the last of their clothes were shed and Alec held himself over Max, preparing to complete their union, Alec paused. His hands moved to frame Max's beautiful face, lightly flushed and swollen lips of desire. "I love you." He whispered fiercely unable to hold back the emotions that demanded a release.

Max froze. Alec hadn't said this since the first time they had made love. Now he claimed her, not with the tender confession of a renegade heart but with a passion and love that demanded she be his. Alec entered her in one sure thrust and Max gasped with the feeling.

"Alec…" Max's eyes drifted shut but Alec tightened his grip on her fragile face.

"No, Max look at me." Max forced her eyes open to see Alec staring at her his hazel eyes wide and filled with a pain born of rejected love. Tears shone, unshed from those eyes, glassy and mirroring Max back to herself. "I love you Max." His voice was strangled as he told her again and a single tear fell from his eyes to land on Max's cheek, trailing a path that had been laid by Max's own pain. "I love you." Alec started moving inside Max as he repeated his promise. "I love you."

Max said nothing as the tumultuous emotions stormed within her. But she kept her eyes open as Alec made love to her body. Their eyes fixed. Hazel and coffee. It was the most intimate act that Max had ever partaken in, to show her hidden self, her soul, to this man while she gave him her body and it was a gift she wanted to give him because she didn't know that she was capable of telling him the words she knew he wanted to hear.

It hurt her heart as they made love and his feelings were so plainly and honestly written on his face. Max breathed as he took her higher and higher, clinging to his back with her small hands, almost afraid to reach the heights he pushed her to. Because when she did she would fall, and who would catch her?

"I'm here Max…" Alec's hoarse whisper came through his pressured tone as though he could read her mind. "I'll always be here for you Max. I love you so much." He read her feeling and fears so accurately that tears fell from her eyes as Max surrendered to the passion that swept her up.

"Alec!" Max cried out the name of her lover as he joined her in her climax. An inarticulate cry fell from Alec's lips and he collapsed on top of Max, his breath coming rapidly and his heart pounding.

They remained that way for a long time, listening to their breath calm and their bodies cool. Alec blanketed Max's body with his own and stroked his finger through he dark locks of her hair, unable to stop touching her. Silence reigned.

"I do love you." Hardly a whisper but enough for Alec to hear. Max took a deep breath as Alec raised his head to look at her, like he was unable to believe what he had just heard. Max met his gaze with her own steady brown one. I have to tell him…I almost lost him, what if- No. Max stopped that train of thought, not wanting to lose control of the darkness that still enveloped her sometimes. She needed to tell Alec this, he deserved the truth no matter how much it hurt her, no matter how much she felt like she was betraying Logan's memory. "I do…but after Logan…I cant- what if I lose you as well? I couldn't survive that Alec…"

"Max. I know you're still in love with Logan, but I love you too and I'm here. I'm alive and I will never leave you. Oh God Max." Alec pulled her tightly against his body, his tears ones of joy this time. "I love you, I'm not going anywhere Maxie. I'll always be here for you. I love you so much." Alec pressed his lips to Max's and kissed her. "You wont lose me Max, I'll never let you go." Max opened her mouth to his and returned Alec's kiss with a desperation born from wanting to believe him so badly.

Lydecker listened to the exchange of words between the two young people. He felt a bit sickened at himself for having listened to something so intensely private but his obsession with Max outweighed that feeling.

"I have to get out of here." Lydecker muttered to himself. He grabbed his leather jacket from the floor and headed for the front door. As he reached for the handle his cell phone started ringing. Lydecker paused and pulled it out of his pocket. He stared at it for a few seconds, debating whether or not to answer it, very few people had this number and they were unlikely to call.

Slowly Lydecker pressed the receive button and held the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He said gruffly.

"Hello Lydecker." Lydecker's eyes widened as he recognised the voice on the other end of the line. White.

"How did you get this number?" Lydecker asked hoarsely. A short cynical laugh was sounded on the other end of the line.

"Now, now Deck. You and I both know I have my sources." Lydecker's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed in anger at this man that had caused so much suffering.

"I assume you have something to say, so why don't you just say it." Lydecker did his best to keep his tone under control. Never give anything away, your enemy will use emotions as a weakness. It had been a lesson that Donald Lydecker had learnt as a result of years of pain, loss and death.

White's tone became more business like as he got to the point of his call. "I'm offering you the chance to come in with us. To join the real project behind Manticore." Lydecker snorted.

"And what's the price of my entry. Max?"

"Your quick Lydecker. We don't care about 494, you can do what you want with him so long as he doesn't interfere again. We are going to find Max, we're on your trail right now. The thing is we want her alive and I have a feeling that might be difficult."

"Max will die before going back to you." Lydecker admitted.

"Yes. If she does it will be unfortunate, it will cost us years with our project but we can start over as long as we have her DNA. But you don't want her to die, do you? I know what Max means to you Deck."

Lydecker inhaled sharply at the knowledge that White knew he had made Max based on his wife's image. White continued. "I know that you love her. If you want her to live, bring her to me." There was a horrible pause while White gave Lydecker a chance to take in his offer.

"I cant." The words were almost broken as Lydecker contemplated what Max must have suffered in White's hands. He didn't know what to do. I don't want Max to die! Lydecker had seen for himself the evidence that Max would kill herself before letting White get to her, but Max was all Lydecker had left of his beloved wife.

White could sense the wavering in Lydecker's tone. "I know things were… a little rough on her before…Maybe I got a little carried away. But I promise if you give her to us, you can have direct involvement with her programme. She'll be alive Deck, which wont happen if we have to get her the hard way."

Lydecker tried to speak, wanting to tell White that he would never betray Max like that but the words stuck in his throat. He didn't know that he could carry on if he knew Max was dead. It would be like losing his wife all over again. White could sense Lydecker's hesitation and spoke in a voice that was assured of victory.

"Think it over Lydecker but don't take too long. Time is running short for Max, she cant run forever. You know how to get in contact with me." With that White hung up and Lydecker was left clutching the plastic phone tightly in his grip, so tight the plastic cracked slightly under the pressure. Max…What am I going to do?

TBC.

A/N: Review!