Spoilers: Set after Hello, Goodbye - so anything prior to this
episode is spoiled and as the story continues, it may impinge
slightly on other episodes after unintentionally.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that we owe
thanks to James Cameron, FOX and anyone else associated with
Dark Angel.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER SIX
"Salt, tequila, lemon."
Alec chanted in his head as he continued his monotonous cycle of alcohol. Original Cindy, Max and Sketchy watched him with gaped expressions. He wasn't even close to tipsy, despite having drunk almost all of the tequila in Crash. It made Max wonder how much he had had to drink that night in the motel. She had no idea what was running through his mind, but something was definitely up. He had even opted to sit at the bar, instead of their usual table. Cindy studied Max's worried face and spoke her thoughts aloud,
"Wassup wid your boy, boo?"
"I don't know."
OC's mouth dropped in surprise, for the first time Max hadn't answered with 'he's not my boy'.
"But I am gonna find out."
"Sounds like an idea. Cuz that boy's got sorry all over him. He's passed up at least five fine shorties since I arrived."
"Hmm.I'll be back."
Max strode over to Alec and sat down next to him, signalling for the bartender to give her the same as him. He knocked back a shot and spoke hoarsely without looking at her,
"Like I have told all the other girls who have sat there tonight, I am not much for company right now."
"Well at least you wont be a smart-ass then. You going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to beat it out of you. Not that I wouldn't take pleasure out of that."
"Didn't know you were into that kinda thing Max, though I should've guessed."
"Ah, I should known that you were hiding around here somewhere, waiting for a chance to come out."
"Surprise!",
Alec spoke sarcastically, waving his hands around and turning to glance at her briefly, before turning back
"So what's up?"
"What makes you think that there could be possible anything up?"
"I'm not sure. It might have been the excessive amount of alcohol you have consumed today, the passing up honeys, or the general bad mood, that tipped me off. You gonna talk to me?"
"What's there to say?"
"Fine be like that. Do you want me to go then?"
"Gee, what gave you that idea.Wait! No.Max - stay. Being alone means thinking too much."
"Okay."
They sat together in a shared understood silence, knocking back shot after shot.
* * * * *
"Okay, we are nearly there.",
Max croaked as she and Alec stumbled into her apartment, after having been ditched by Cindy for some lovely girl. She helped him onto the couch and started to make some coffee. He sat there dazed and eyes rubbed red,
"Where'd Cindy go?"
"Met up with her chica chic. Told us not to wait up - remember?"
Max turned to face Alec, who had let his head roll back so that he was staring at the ceiling. She moved to sit next to him and placed a cool hand on his hot cheek,
"You okay?"
"Always."
"You ready to tell me what's wrong?"
"What's with you Max? Always needing to talk about what's wrong. It's not like you're always jumping to share."
"We were never taught at Manticore how to deal with emotions. But I'm starting to learn that talking does a lot to help."
"DON'T!",
Alec growled in response
"Again with the don't? Don't what?"
"Don't talk about that place like you were there the whole time. You'll never be able to comprehend what I was taught, you left."
Max sat in stunned hush, remembering the last time Alec had brought up her leaving Manticore.
Flashback:
"You can't understand, you weren't there. You ran.you and your little rugrat brothers and sisters. You think life was tough when we were ten? A little schooling, little brainwashing, some manoeuvres outside; you think that was tough? Take it from me, later on it got a whole lot worse."
Alec examined her beautiful face, he knew she was gorgeous, but it wasn't really a major factor in what he liked about her. She was the closest thing to a friend he had and she was someone who he knew deep down understood him - at least more than anyone else did. He suddenly felt a wave of shame brush through him as he realised Max had been silent for longer than usual now and he knew it was his doing,
"I'm sorry Maxie, I didn't mean it."
She snapped her head up and gave a weak smile,
"I know. I'm.I'm sorry too. I did leave and I'm glad. Because if I had stayed, I would have had to deal with all the stuff that you did. I'm not that strong. Even though you made it out fine, I probably wouldn't have."
"Yeah I'm real fine."
Alec pretended to yawn, so that he could break away from her intense gaze, but Max was still able to spot the tears glistening in his eyes. She knew that it had been a stressful few days for him, he wasn't really the type to express his emotions.
"You want some coffee, Alec?",
She whispered in a tiny voice.
"Nah. I'm kinda beat, gonna crash. Can I stay here?"
"Yeah. Good night."
"Night."
She sat against the wall, her knees folded into her chest. It was like the first night they had met, it seemed like years ago. Max fixed her eyes on his breathtaking face and had a sudden flash of clarity, as she realised that he had once again managed to avoid telling her what was wrong.
* * * * *
"How did it go?"
"They took out a warehouse of guards without a hitch. Only one casualty."
"How long did it take?"
"They were in and out of the area within 10 minutes."
"And the bodies?"
" Found by 452."
"Move on to the next phase of the plan. But keep in mind, no contact is to be made at this stage. I want this over with and it needs to be done right."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER SIX
"Salt, tequila, lemon."
Alec chanted in his head as he continued his monotonous cycle of alcohol. Original Cindy, Max and Sketchy watched him with gaped expressions. He wasn't even close to tipsy, despite having drunk almost all of the tequila in Crash. It made Max wonder how much he had had to drink that night in the motel. She had no idea what was running through his mind, but something was definitely up. He had even opted to sit at the bar, instead of their usual table. Cindy studied Max's worried face and spoke her thoughts aloud,
"Wassup wid your boy, boo?"
"I don't know."
OC's mouth dropped in surprise, for the first time Max hadn't answered with 'he's not my boy'.
"But I am gonna find out."
"Sounds like an idea. Cuz that boy's got sorry all over him. He's passed up at least five fine shorties since I arrived."
"Hmm.I'll be back."
Max strode over to Alec and sat down next to him, signalling for the bartender to give her the same as him. He knocked back a shot and spoke hoarsely without looking at her,
"Like I have told all the other girls who have sat there tonight, I am not much for company right now."
"Well at least you wont be a smart-ass then. You going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to beat it out of you. Not that I wouldn't take pleasure out of that."
"Didn't know you were into that kinda thing Max, though I should've guessed."
"Ah, I should known that you were hiding around here somewhere, waiting for a chance to come out."
"Surprise!",
Alec spoke sarcastically, waving his hands around and turning to glance at her briefly, before turning back
"So what's up?"
"What makes you think that there could be possible anything up?"
"I'm not sure. It might have been the excessive amount of alcohol you have consumed today, the passing up honeys, or the general bad mood, that tipped me off. You gonna talk to me?"
"What's there to say?"
"Fine be like that. Do you want me to go then?"
"Gee, what gave you that idea.Wait! No.Max - stay. Being alone means thinking too much."
"Okay."
They sat together in a shared understood silence, knocking back shot after shot.
* * * * *
"Okay, we are nearly there.",
Max croaked as she and Alec stumbled into her apartment, after having been ditched by Cindy for some lovely girl. She helped him onto the couch and started to make some coffee. He sat there dazed and eyes rubbed red,
"Where'd Cindy go?"
"Met up with her chica chic. Told us not to wait up - remember?"
Max turned to face Alec, who had let his head roll back so that he was staring at the ceiling. She moved to sit next to him and placed a cool hand on his hot cheek,
"You okay?"
"Always."
"You ready to tell me what's wrong?"
"What's with you Max? Always needing to talk about what's wrong. It's not like you're always jumping to share."
"We were never taught at Manticore how to deal with emotions. But I'm starting to learn that talking does a lot to help."
"DON'T!",
Alec growled in response
"Again with the don't? Don't what?"
"Don't talk about that place like you were there the whole time. You'll never be able to comprehend what I was taught, you left."
Max sat in stunned hush, remembering the last time Alec had brought up her leaving Manticore.
Flashback:
"You can't understand, you weren't there. You ran.you and your little rugrat brothers and sisters. You think life was tough when we were ten? A little schooling, little brainwashing, some manoeuvres outside; you think that was tough? Take it from me, later on it got a whole lot worse."
Alec examined her beautiful face, he knew she was gorgeous, but it wasn't really a major factor in what he liked about her. She was the closest thing to a friend he had and she was someone who he knew deep down understood him - at least more than anyone else did. He suddenly felt a wave of shame brush through him as he realised Max had been silent for longer than usual now and he knew it was his doing,
"I'm sorry Maxie, I didn't mean it."
She snapped her head up and gave a weak smile,
"I know. I'm.I'm sorry too. I did leave and I'm glad. Because if I had stayed, I would have had to deal with all the stuff that you did. I'm not that strong. Even though you made it out fine, I probably wouldn't have."
"Yeah I'm real fine."
Alec pretended to yawn, so that he could break away from her intense gaze, but Max was still able to spot the tears glistening in his eyes. She knew that it had been a stressful few days for him, he wasn't really the type to express his emotions.
"You want some coffee, Alec?",
She whispered in a tiny voice.
"Nah. I'm kinda beat, gonna crash. Can I stay here?"
"Yeah. Good night."
"Night."
She sat against the wall, her knees folded into her chest. It was like the first night they had met, it seemed like years ago. Max fixed her eyes on his breathtaking face and had a sudden flash of clarity, as she realised that he had once again managed to avoid telling her what was wrong.
* * * * *
"How did it go?"
"They took out a warehouse of guards without a hitch. Only one casualty."
"How long did it take?"
"They were in and out of the area within 10 minutes."
"And the bodies?"
" Found by 452."
"Move on to the next phase of the plan. But keep in mind, no contact is to be made at this stage. I want this over with and it needs to be done right."