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*The Longest Day*
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Spoilers: This is the fourth story in my series – if you haven't read any of my work before, you'd be best off going back to read and understand. The first story was Shattered Trusts and Whispered Confessions. The second is Remembering to Forget and the third, which I only just finished, is Events That Lead To Greatness. This series is set after Hello Goodbye but does reveal spoilers from the rest of the season, as I incorporate it into the story.
Disclaimer: Ideas are mine based on the brilliant work of the Dark Angel team – so don't sue me! I wish I owned Alec, but I don't. So I have to settle for writing fiction about him.
Authors Note: Just a general shout out thanks to all the great readers who have been reviewing my work and totally keeping me motivated. If it weren't for you guys I wouldn't be writing this stuff. I am trying out a new style of writing in this one; let me know what you guys think.
When it says someone's name over the top, it means that the chapter is in their point of view. It wont be like that for the entire story, just when necessary for what I am doing. Have fun and remember to review!
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CHAPTER SIX: Bitches and Bastards1300 hours and counting...
Alec sighed, running his right hand through his hair – a nervous trait. He winced as pain shot through him from his shoulder, his eyes reading the signs set up outside the building.
'OUR KIDS ARE NOT SAFE'
'STAY OUT OF OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD, FREAKS'
'MAKE OUR STREETS MUTANT FREE'
'KILL THE FREAKS'
People struggled in the crowd as police held them back, various spectators, screaming out abuse,
"Get the mutant freaks out of our city!"
"You don't belong, you weren't intended!"
"Kill them all!"
A police officer grabbed his megaphone,
"Stay behind the barricade!"
Alec stared onwards, as an important looking officer with a bulletproof vest stormed through the centre of the police-cars,
"Where the hell is my phone? A secure line should have been in here ten minutes ago. And get that damn news team behind that barricade! Next camera I see in the street, the guy carrying it goes for a ride."
He let out a low breath of surprise as two familiar faces came up to the officer,
"Special Agent in Charge Donald Lydecker. This is my second in command Benjamin McDowell."
*That bastard's using my last name. Makes sense, but I wonder why...*
"Nice badge. Picture looks just like you."
"Appreciate you securing the area, Detective. We'll take it from here."
The officer looked at Lydecker as though he were crazy, answering in a bitterly sarcastic voice,
"I'm so pleased. Now I won't have to miss my little boy's recital this afternoon."
He turned to a cop next to him,
"Get this idiot out of here."
"You're out of your league, Detective. Please ask your men to stand down."
"Not until all those hostages are out of there in one piece. (To someone else) Where's my freaking phone?"
"You're not dealing with a bunch of thugged-out punks who boost TVs for a living. They're highly-trained, genetically-engineered soldiers, who when threatened will revert to what they have been taught in battle situations."
"As far as I know, no one's dead yet, and I intend to keep it that way. So I need you and I need your lady friend to situate yourselves behind that barricade so I can do my job."
"You forcing me to go over your head?"
"Do what you gotta do, Special Agent in Charge Lydecker. Just do it someplace else! Where the hell is my phone, damn it?"
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Alec rubbed his shoulder subconsciously at the window, shaking his head in wonder at what Lydecker was doing here and whether he should tell the others or not. He looked over to the news report everyone was watching on the television screen.
"The economy's bad enough; you want 'em taking your job? You want 'em living next door, spitting out their mutant, half-breed kids?"
"These mutant freaks are an affront to nature. They don't deserve to live."
"Oh, there's no point in discussing human rights, since they're not human, so they don't have rights. They don't even have souls. And it's worse than that, because animals don't have souls, but they were meant to be here. These things were never even intended by God to exist. They are an insult to everything in His creation."
"Where's the accountability? Who's taking care of this? Nobody! These freaks are running rampant. They get to do whatever they want. They got protection or something? These things aren't natural. They shouldn't be alive. They don't deserve to live. They should be lined up with the scientists and shot like the bunch of rabid dogs they are. These freakoids smashed up my truck. That's taking bread out of my mouth. That's screwing up my job, my livelihood. Who's gonna feed my kid? Who's gonna pay my rent?"
Joshua placed his hands comfortingly on Max's shoulders,
"Really FUBAR, little fella."
"We just gotta hang tough. It's gonna be okay."
"I don't know. The way upstairs people look at me...I don't know if it'll ever be okay."
They stopped speaking to watch the news report, more people coming up to the camera and screaming insults,
"I say kill the freaks, or send 'em back to whatever cesspool they came from! Yeah!"
The crowd behind the man on the screen cheered and Max shook her head, annoyed, then moved over to answer the Jampony phone, which had started ringing. Normal sat back down, having been ready to do that,
"If it's a package, get a number."
She picked it up,
"Start talking."
Alec held his breath as he listened to the conversation that was taking place over the phone. Thank god for genetically enhanced hearing.
"Detective Ramon Clemente of the Seattle PD Who is this?"
"Let's just keep it simple and you call me 452."
"Okay...452."
"I want a van parked outside with a full tank of gas."
"Before you give me your Christmas list, why don't you let those people that you're holding in there come on out?"
"Not until I get my transportation and a guaranteed safe passage out of here."
"I understand you have a wounded woman who was shot backwards in the doorway and a pregnant woman in there who I'm sure need medical attention."
*That wounded woman is me. Thanks for the bullet asshole. Well, rather the wounded woman should've been me, but I was knocked out of the way by...*
Her eyes flicked over to Alec in realisation of what he had done, and how he had been shot. He had saved her life. Great and she had been as unsympathetic as possible.
"Hello?"
Max turned her attention back to the phone, apologies could come later,
"Just get us the van. We'll take care of our own."
"If I agree to your terms, when do I get my hostages?"
"Half when the van arrives, half when we get to our destination."
"Which would be where?"
"It's not far.
They'll be home for dinner."
She hung up the phone, heart racing as she opened her mouth to speak to Alec. Mole interrupted,
"You're dreaming if you think they're gonna let us just drive off into the sunset. Get it through your head--the only way they want this to end is with us dead."
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