ARCHIVE: No
By Valjean
Heat Two
There was an ice storm coming in off the Pacific and all flights had been grounded for at least 12 hours. Since von Schnelling's smuggling facilities didn't have any waiting areas except for a minuscule office and a drafty, freezing hangar the five decided to risk spending the night in the main terminal where there were at least vending machines and bathroom facilities. Afterall, there were plenty of others stranded as well. No one would notice a few more weary travelers.
"Hold your nose when you go in there, sugar," O.C. said to Max as her friend came out of the ladies' room. "That place is nasty. I know we're in a worldwide panic and all, but you'd at least think someone could get out the Tidy Bowl and a brush."
"Thanks for the warning," Max said wrinkling her nose. Even though it was chilly in the terminal and passengers were sitting around in the chairs and on the floor huddled in blankets, she was carrying her leather jacket over one arm. "Why is it so hot in here?"
"It ain't, hot that is," O.C. said. She put a hand on Max's brow. "You're burnin' up girl. You ain't sick are you?"
"I don't think so," Max said, fanning herself with her hand. "I don't feel bad, just ... kinda weird. Where did Alec go anyway?"
"Where do you think? He went with Logan and the Devil to the bar, not that I blame the boys. There ain't nothin' else to do in this place so we might as well get drunk. Think I'll join 'em myself in fact. You comin'?"
"I'm coming," Max said quietly, looking intently through the glass partition of the airport lounge to where she could see Alec sitting with Logan and Lydecker at a table in the back of the room. "Unfortunately, I think that might be the problem."
*****
Alec took a sip of Scotch and slouched back further in his chair, sprawling his feet out beneath the table and accidentally bumping Logan's leg.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
Logan shot him a look and inched a bit further away, nursing his own drink between his hands.
Lydecker downed the last of his club soda on the rocks and shook his head wearily. "Why don't you buy your own plane?" he asked. "Why rely on these ... criminals for transportation."
Alec made a wry face. "Eh, I thought about it. We could afford to buy the plane, but then there's the problem of maintainin' a hangar on the mainland since we couldn't land on the island, not to mention repairs and fuel and such. And I don't wanna be tied down servin' as a chauffeur so we'd still hafta hire a pilot. All-in-all too much bother and long term expense."
"You could find yourself trapped," Lydecker pointed out. "If something happened to your connection here, say he got arrested, then you'd be scrambling."
Alec shrugged. "Maybe. But there's always the commercial flights. It's not like the freaks need to fly Delta very often, and the X's like Max and me can pass without much trouble so long as our papers are in order."
Lydecker conceded the point, and Alec turned his attention to Logan. "By the way, I meant to tell you to not expect anyone on Chimera to play Red Cross blood donor for you."
"I understand," Logan said quietly. "Although, since you wouldn't let me bring Riley I hope you realize this means I'll probably be back in a wheelchair within a month."
"I realize," Alec said flatly. "But it can't be helped. 'Sides, you've still got the exoskeleton so it's not like you'll be immobilized or anything. And remember, you're the one who wanted to live on the island."
"It could be helped," Logan said softly. "If you wanted it to. And if you'll recall, it was Max who issued the invitation and insisted I come, a little detail you seem to like to forget."
Alec looked over at Lydecker, then stood up glass in hand. "I'm gettin' another drink."
"Get me another too," Lydecker said, handing his glass and a couple of bills to Alec. "Club soda, fresh ice."
Alec laughed. "Gee, I've gotta say, I never thought I'd see the day I was out drinkin' with my CO, the dreaded Donald Lydecker. They sorta frowned on that kind of fraternization back at Manticore, not to mention the alcohol part." He shook his empty glass. "Would have gotten me at least a week in solitary."
"Former CO" Lydecker corrected him. "Although I'm still technically your handler. And as I recall you spent plenty of time in solitary anyway, not that it ever helped your attitude."
"Oh, the good old days," Alec said glibly as he headed for the bar whistling a refrain from the tune "Memories."
Lydecker watched him as he walked across the crowded floor. Then he turned his head just in time to see Max come through the door. Sweating profusely, she was carrying her leather jacket slung over one arm, looking absolutely breathtaking in a sleeveless tank top that did almost nothing to hide the natural beauty of her body and the fact she wasn't wearing a bra. She saw them at the table, but her eyes slid away to stare hungrily at Alec who was waiting for the bartender to refill his glass. There was something about her ... an almost panicked air ... Mentally Lydecker counted off the months in his mind. How long had it been since she'd stopped nursing Brac?
"Oh no." he said under his breath as he suddenly noticed something else as well.
"What?" Logan asked, looking Max's way. "What's wrong."
"Trouble."
"What are you talking about?"
"That," Lydecker said, rising from his chair just as an athletically built, good looking young man headed in Max's direction, his pick-up line practically hanging in a cartoon bubble over his head.
Lydecker intercepted the dark haired would-be Romeo before he reached his objective. "You don't want to do that, son," he said, taking hold of the boy's arm.
The young man jerked away. "Mind your own business pops," he said nastily. "It's gonna be a long night and looks to me like that babe is just cruisin' for a stud like me to spend it with." He eyed Lydecker coldly. "'Sides. I've got a room in the Hilton. Spent a wad on it, and I'm not sleepin' alone."
"She's not a hooker."
"Oh yeah? Well, what is she then, your daughter?"
"No, but I'm responsible for her, and at the moment I'm responsible for you too."
"What are you talking about?"
Lydecker nodded toward the bar. "You see that young man over there? Tall, brown hair, leather jacket? The one waiting for his drink?"
"Yeah."
Lydecker took hold of the boy's shirt front and hauled him behind a decorative support pillar. "Well, that girl you're panting over happens to belong to him. You touch her, you so much as look at her, and he'll tear your head off."
"He doesn't look so tough to me," the kid said, jerking away from Lydecker's grip. "I think I could take him."
Lydecker's palm against his chest held him in place. "He'll kill you. Without a thought, without so much as blinking he'll kill you if you even approach her."
"What is he, some kind of super secret agent?" the boy sneered. "Or maybe he's one of those revved up transgenic freaks that used to be in Seattle, part kitty cat with the strength of ten men."
"Three men," Lydecker said emotionlessly. "He has the strength of three men. Ten is an exageration, although with his advanced martial arts and military training I suppose it might seem that way to some."
The boy's eyes had grown wide. "And the girl?" he asked. "You tellin' me that super babe is a freak too?"
"She's his mate. And if you get between them, especially tonight, you'll be torn to pieces."
"Geez," the kid said, shaking Lydecker's hand off. "I can take a hint." And with one wistful backwards glance at what he wasn't going to have in his bed, he walked away.
Lydecker sagged with relief. Disaster averted. The last thing they needed was to attract attention to themselves with a bar room brawl. It was going to be hard enough getting through the night with Max in her condition, especially since all the hotels were booked solid and they couldn't get a room. Public copulation was at the very least a first degree misdemeanor in Canada, maybe even a felony. However, with Max in heat and Alec about to find out, there probably was no way around breaking the law tonight.
Anyone who wants to read "The Best Laid Plans 2: Death and Life" in its entirety is invited to my website: http://www.michaeleaston.com/DA/DAfanfic.html. I also have a number of other DARK ANGEL M/A fanfiction stories there that I've not made available on ff.net as of yet. I even keep an email list of interested readers whom I notify when I post new work on the site.
Also, I'd like to encourage all M/A DARK ANGEL fans to read Max Collins' official prequel novel BEFORE THE DAWN. True, Alec isn't in the story (yet), but there's lots of canon background material in the book that would be pertinent to Alec later on. Plus, Mr. Collins says that Alec and Joshua will be "centerstage" in the DARK ANGEL sequel novel SKIN GAME coming out next February. -- author's note