Disclaimer: Nope, last time I looked in a mirror I wasn't James Cameron or anyone else lucky enough to own Dark Angel.
Summary: Sequel to "Then it comes to be." The cult loonies are gone but the transgenics have other problems to deal with, not to mention a whole civilization to build. M/A
Rating: R because of occasional violence and sex.
A/N: The NC-17 version of this story is posted at http://nunswithpens.hyperboards.com/.
----
Max gradually became aware of her surroundings as she floated up out of unconsciousness. Sound penetrated her drug-fogged senses first. The room she was in sounded different. Quieter. Next she realized she was no longer restrained but that something was weighing down her right hand. She cautiously opened her eyes and then shut them almost immediately as the room spun dizzily. But that quick glance told her that she was lying in a different hospital bed in a very different room. *TC. I'm safe,* she thought with relief. She fought the nausea and forced her eyes to focus on Alec. He was sitting at the side of her bed. Their fingers were linked and his face was pressed to the back of her hand.
She reached out with her free hand and tenderly ran her fingers through his hair. His head snapped up. His eyes were dark holes in his pale face. She could see the bulky bandage on his shoulder through the thin material of his t-shirt.
"Hey," she said softly. "You saved my ass again. Seems to be a habit with us." That didn't make him smile the way she hoped it would. She wanted to hear him tease her and make some smart-ass remark at her expense instead of looking so tormented.
"Does it hurt?"
"The bullet hole? Nah. But whatever crap the doc gave me made me kinda dizzy."
Alec flinched at the thought of Max being experimented on. His hand gripped hers tightly.
"I'll be fine," she reassured him. "You got me out. I wasn't even worried about it. I knew you'd come for me." She smiled gently at him. "So, it's all good."
"He's dead," Alec said abruptly.
"Who?" she asked, slightly confused. Her breath caught in her throat. "Not one of ours," she pleaded.
Alec shook his head. "The CDC doctor. He was going to shoot you. So I killed him." His face settled into the blank and unemotional mask of the perfect soldier. But deep in his eyes Max could see guilt and uncertainty, and she could hear the strain he was under in the deadened tone of voice he used. "I could've shot to wound, but I didn't. Because he hurt you. And I'm glad he's dead." He looked at her steadily and braced himself for her judgement. He was sure he'd been diminished in her eyes, because he knew how much Max disliked killing.
Max's gaze flicked down to his wounded shoulder and then back to his face. She swallowed the first response that came to mind and sifted through her emotions. *Alec deliberately shot to kill. And that's wrong. But he took a bullet trying to save me. He might've died. What if our positions were reversed and it was his life at risk? Be honest with yourself, Max. You wouldn't hesitate either. We fight to protect the ones we love.*
Max stroked his cheek. "I'd have done the same thing," she said honestly.
He searched her face anxiously, afraid she was only telling him what he wanted to hear. Max looked him in the eyes. When he saw the love and understanding there, the tension finally eased out of him. He gave her a small smile.
Max looked down at their linked hands. "I'm glad he's dead too," she admitted guiltily, in a quiet voice. "He was a threat to all of us. He thought of us as things to be used and thrown away, not as people." She looked up at Alec, a hurt expression on her face. "What about the kids?"
"We got them out too. They're safe now."
Max sighed in relief. Her eyelids drooped and she stifled a yawn.
Alec brushed the hair from her forehead and then reluctantly got to his feet. "You need to rest," he said.
"No, stay with me," she argued, tugging on his hand.
"I'll be back." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. She pouted. "I promise."
"You better," she grumbled as her eyes slid shut wearily.
He tucked her arm under the covers and then tiptoed across the room to the door. He watched her until her breathing evened out and then softly shut the door.
"And where do you think you're going?" asked Leda, the medic in charge of the Infirmary. She stared at him with her arms crossed, one foot tapping the floor.
Alec raised one finger to his lips. "Shh. She's sleeping," he whispered.
"Which is what you should be doing too. You got shot. You're body needs time to recover."
"I feel fine," he said with his customary grin.
Leda scrutinized him. He was still a little pale from blood loss, but the tension had eased from his body and the tormented look was gone from his eyes. She nodded briskly. "Fine. One hour, and then I want you back here with her, where I can keep an eye on you both. I mean it. Don't make me come after you."
"Yes, ma'am." Alec gave her a mock salute and sauntered from the room.
Joshua was hovering in the doorway of HQ when Alec arrived. "Medium fella! Is little fella gonna be ok?"
"She's gonna be fine."
Joshua's entire body sagged as he let out a huge sigh of relief. Alec slapped him on the shoulder and then looked past him to where Zane, Syl, Krit, and Jondy were waiting for news about their baby sister. "The drugs are wearing off. She's sleeping right now. She's gonna be just fine."
Zane and Krit grinned in relief. Syl slumped against Krit and hastily wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes.
"Can we see her?" Jondy asked anxiously.
"Yep. Just don't wake her up or you'll have to deal with Leda. She gets a little possessive about her patients."
Max's siblings hurried out the door. Jondy gave Alec a quick hug before she left. "Thanks for not giving up on her," she whispered in his ear. She slipped past him and was out the door before he could respond.
Alec ran his hand through his hair and suppressed a wince as the movement pulled at his wounded shoulder. "So what do we know?" he asked the section heads that had gathered around the conference table.
Blink spoke first. "The kids were captured a week ago trying to sneak past the border guards on their way into Seattle. The mercs were armed with tranquilizer darts."
"Luke is sifting through the doc's files now." Dix gestured to the computers. Luke was hunched over the keyboard, his fingers dancing over the keys. "What we do know is that the doc spent most of his life hunting for a cure for all the world's nasty biological and chemical weapons. It looks like he was hoping to use our immunity to the bugs to create a vaccine for Ordinaries."
"How far did he get?"
"Not very. He took a lot of blood samples, ran a lot of tests, but that's about it. He hadn't got around to testing any compounds yet."
"Would it work?"
"Probably," replied a medic who had specialized in neurobiology and neuropharmacology. "But it would require a lot of time and a lot more test subjects. Our immunity to biological warfare is a polygenetic trait. It's not a matter of isolating a single gene and the specific protein it codes for. And keep in mind, the CDC's knowledge and techniques are crude compared to Manticore's. The extraction process would have been extremely painful and quite probably deadly to the Xs involved."
A grim silence fell around the table. "Luke," Alec barked. "Hack into the CDC system too, just in case the doc logged any of his findings with them. If there's anything there, wipe it clean," he ordered. "We don't want anyone else looking to play mad scientist."
Lydecker gritted his teeth in anger at the thought of what had been done to his kids, particularly his Maxie. "A vaccine like that would be invaluable on certain markets. It would have made the doctor a very rich man," he announced. "But it costs a great deal of money to conduct an experiment of that magnitude. He had help."
"No kidding," Alec said without looking over at him. "Can anyone say 'government conspiracy'?"
Lydecker grabbed his cell phone and punched in Witherspoon's number, his fingers tapping impatiently on the desk. What the hell did you think they were going to do when they found out the CDC was experimenting on transgenics? he demanded angrily.
Dr George broke off contact with the CDC several weeks ago. He went rogue. The government is not responsible for his actions.
Bullshit. Where would a CDC doctor get the money to hire a full mercenary regiment?
Colonel Lydecker, you sound like a man with conflicting loyalties.
My loyalties are where they always were. To my country and my kids.
Then I suggest you watch what you say. You can be replaced.
Lydecker ignored the threat. This was a bad idea. They will defend themselves, and you don't want to see what my kids can do when they really get pissed. So call off the dogs and give up on finding what Dr George was looking for. Or this situation is going to blow up in your face.
Keep your men under control, Witherspoon snapped.
Likewise. Lydecker hung up. He caught Alec watching him. "Morons. They have no idea what they're up against. They should never have messed with you kids."
"And yet you'd have no problem with his little experiment if he'd been working for Manticore. Ironic, isn't it," Alec said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He turned away before Deck could respond. "Luke, Dix, keep me posted. I'll be with Max."
----*----
Alec slipped soundlessly through the door to Max's room in the infirmary and crept over to the bed where she lay sleeping. She was lying on her back, one arm flung out towards the chair where he'd been sitting earlier. Her hair was spread like a curtain across the pillow. Her face was pale and there were dark bruises under her eyes. He bent over her and brushed a strand from her forehead, his hand trembling slightly.
"Mmmm," she murmured sleepily and instinctively turned her face toward his touch.
"Shhh. Go back to sleep." Alec moved over to the chair by the bed, intending to sit beside her through the night.
Her eyes slid open. "Un un. C'mere." Max shifted to the edge of the narrow bed and reached for him. "You need to lie down too."
Alec kicked off his shoes and slid in under the covers. Max snuggled against his side with her head nestled in the crook of his good shoulder and her wounded leg thrown over his. His hand slid down her side and over the curve of her hip and came to rest on the bandage on her thigh. "You might've died today." His voice was deep and tinged with pain.
She gently brushed her fingers over the bandage on his shoulder. "So might you," she whispered.
"I won't ever leave you, Max."
"You can't promise me that. Our lives are too dangerous."
"I've got your back, Max. I'll take care of you. No matter what."
"Don't. Don't risk yourself for me. Freak Nation needs you too much. And if something happened to you, I couldn't, I just couldn't…." Her voice quivered and she shivered in dread.
"That's the one thing I won't promise you, Max. If you died, it would kill me. Nothing matters without you. None of it." He wrapped his arms tighter around her and kissed her on the top of her head.
She clutched at him, her fingers tangled in his shirt. "Alec…"
"Shh. You're safe and we're together. That's enough for now."
----*----
First thing in the morning Max received an official call from Witherspoon in his role as the government spokesman. On behalf of the US government, I offer you our sincere apologies for this unfortunate series of events. I assure you, Dr George was operating without the knowledge of this government or the CDC, he said in a soothing voice.
Well then, since he went rogue you won't mind that he's dead, Max pointed out.
Indeed, Witherspoon said, his teeth gritted. A full investigation is underway.
Whatever. Just make sure no one else goes rogue. Max severed the connection. "Bastard," she muttered under her breath.
She walked out of office and into the main room at HQ. Alec was sitting with Conner, Joshua, and Blink at the conference table. "The government's claiming innocence," she called out to them.
"Which means they can't retaliate," Lydecker said from the corner.
Max glanced over at him. "Stalemate."
He nodded.
"So we're just supposed to go on working for them as if nothing happened."
He shrugged. "That's the way the game is played."
Max shook her head in disgust. She walked up behind Alec and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Look, I know Deck gave us valuable intel, but I still don't trust him."
"I don't either," Alec replied. "But that doesn't mean he can't be useful to us."
"As long as we don't rely on him."
"Now why would we do that?"
Luke shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, reluctant to interrupt Alec and Max. "Uh boss? You wanted me to let you know if a certain development, uh, developed."
Alec jumped from his chair. "My office." Max and Luke trailed behind.
Alec sat on the edge of his desk and crossed his arms. "Well?"
"Our good buddy Deck was poking around in the computer files last night."
"He did WHAT?" Max exploded. "That bastard!" Max turned towards the door, her hands curled into fists.
Alec jumped up and laid a restraining hand on her arm. "What did he get?" he asked Luke.
"Nothing he couldn't find out on his own from taking a head count. I kept the sensitive stuff buried pretty deep, just like you asked."
"Good. Don't change the passwords. How's Jazz doing?"
"She's trying to make one from scratch but she's having trouble getting the parts she needs. It's not exactly the sort of equipment the government wants us to have access to."
"Tell her to hurry up. Tell her to beg, borrow, or steal it, but I want it ready by tomorrow."
"Got it, boss." Luke nodded and hurried from the room.
Max gave Alec a puzzled look at this cryptic exchange. "You're not surprised. You knew Deck would go for the files. And you told Luke to be prepared."
"Of course. What can I say, I'm good." Alec smirked at her.
"So shouldn't Luke change the passwords? You know Deck's just gonna try again."
"You dance with the devil, you better call the tune," he answered enigmatically.
"Huh. Whatever. But you are gonna beat the crap out of him, right?"
Alec grinned. "Nope. Not today."
"So can I do it?" she asked eagerly, her eyes lighting up.
"No," he laughed.
"Oh c'mon. Just 5 minutes."
"No." He leaned back against the desk, his eyes dancing with amusement.
"One punch? Please," she wheedled.
"No." He grinned at her.
Max crossed her arms and pouted. "You're no fun."
"Oh believe me, we'll have our fun with Deck. Just not right now."
"Fine," she grumbled. "But I better be in on it."
----