AN: I need to take a moment and say thank you to all the reviewers out
there who took the time to look at this fic and respond. It really makes me
happy to know that people like this fic.
Dedicated: bkrooms, one of the biggest supporters of this fic. (
Ch. 11:
"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Max, looking at the rundown apartment building in front of us. Alec grabbed the piece of paper in my hand and looked at the building's address number. A few numerals were broken, so we weren't sure if the first number was an 8 or a 6.
"8450 Preston Street," said Alec reading aloud and looking at the street sign up ahead. "Yes, there it is. Preston Street. We're on Preston Street, so this has got to be the building."
"It just looks so normal," said Max. "It's not my idea of a crack-house."
"Crack-houses come in all shapes and sizes, Max," I said even though I was thinking the same thing. A haggard pregnant woman with a small baby on her hip and small toddler hanging close to her pants leg came out of the building. Max and I stepped aside to let the woman and her children pass. The woman's blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and we could see the barest hint of a barcode on the back of her neck.
Max, Alec, and I stared at the woman's retreating back as she walked up to the junction at Preston and Main Street and crossed over to an apartment building, equally as rundown as the one we were about to enter.
"She looks so tired," said Max.
"She's probably got a husband who's out of work and that little kid looks like he came out of the breeding program," said Alec in a harsh voice. "Come on, we haven't got all day." He opened the door and walked into the building. Max started to follow, but I pulled her back.
"Hey!" she cried, shooting me a hostile glare. I glared back.
"You're not going in," I said.
"What? What do you mean, I'm not going in?" Max sputtered.
"You heard me," I said, my voice firm. "You're not going into the building. You stay out here and keep watch." Max huffed and crossed her arms. I did the same and gave her a no-nonsense look.
"Bobbie." she began, but stopped when I said, "Don't even try to threaten me, Max. That may work with Logan, but it doesn't work with me. So, unless you want a good old-fashioned catfight, you're staying out here and that's all there is to it!" With that I turned around and entered the building. Alec stood at the top of the first flight of stairs.
"Did you tell Max she couldn't come in?" He asked.
"Yes," I replied, climbing the stairs. "But I don't think that's going to hold her for long. Max looked like she was going to spit nails when I told her she couldn't come with us."
Alec grinned. "I guess she was madder that it was you giving her an order." I smiled in satisfaction.
"I guess that must've stuck in her craw."
Alec began moving to the second floor and I followed.
"No kidding. She hates being told what to do."
"Except when it comes from Logan," I muttered under my breath.
"I heard that," said Alec.
"Truth hurts, 494," I said.
We were on the fifth floor when Alec turned to me and asked, "What floor did Jeremiah say the junkie business operated?"
"What are you looking at me for?" I snapped. "You have the directions!"
"I do?" asked Alec, looking confused. I sighed as I reached into his pants pockets and fished for the paper that held the directions of the blood junkie apartment. I held it up in his face when I found it. I could read the note easily in the darkened hallway and said, "Okay, it's on the fifth floor. Lucky for us we're already there, but it doesn't say which room."
"So, we'd knock on each door and ask for Bree?"
"Or we could try violence on the first person who comes out."
"That works." Just then a skinny boy of what looked to be fifteen years came out of the room in front of us. He was wiping his nose with his shirtsleeve. Once he took note of Alec and me at the top of the stairs, his brown eyes went wide and he started to back away from us. Alec blurred and pressed the kid against the dingy gray wall.
"Hey!" The kid cried, trying to wriggle out of Alec's grasp. He struggled a bit and looked as though he was going to break free, but Alec held fast to the boy's arm.
"Look, kid, quit wriggling and I'll let you go."
"Why should I believe you?" asked the kid.
I stepped in front of the kid and gave him a smile. "Well, you have two options here. You can either spend your day against this wall, of which I am sure you will catch a disease that'll be really hard to explain to your parents or you can cooperate and tell us where you guys are holding your business."
The kid glared at me, but grunted aloud in pain as Alec dug his hand deeper into the kid's arm. "Okay, Okay," he said, wincing as Alec tightened his hold on his arm. "I'll talk." Alec lightened his grip and pulled the young boy away from the wall.
"Okay, then," said Alec. "Start talking."
"Aren't you going to let me go?"
"Nope," said Alec cheerfully. "Not until you tell me what's going on here. Starting with your name."
"I'm Tommy."
"Good, Tommy," I said. "Now, that we know who you are, mind telling us where we can find some transgenic blood?"
Tommy looked at me with half-lidded eyes. "What's it to you?"
"A sister," said Alec, squeezing Tommy's arm again. The young boy yelped.
"Okay!" he cried. "It's the third door to your left. Ask for Jake, he'll tell you where to go."
"How much do we have to pay him?" I asked.
"A thousand."
Alec gave a low whistle. "Expensive habit you guys picked up."
"It isn't a habit!" Tommy growled. "I got money. I can do what I want with it."
"Sure and that's why you're sweating like a pig," said Alec, wiping his left hand on his thigh.
"I didn't have enough to pay Jake so I gotta go and find money someplace else."
"Kid, here's some advice," said Alec, forcing Tommy to look at him directly. "Drop it. Transgenic blood and norm blood don't mix. It's too powerful and dangerous."
Tommy frowned. "I only want to try it out. My friends say it's pretty cool." Alec and I rolled our eyes at Tommy.
"Tommy, go home and have a life," I said. "The people you're taking the blood from? They didn't have much of it." Tommy looked uncertain as Alec pointed to his left.
"This is where we'll find Jake?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Go home and take some girl to the prom. Come on, Bobbie." Alec walked down the hall to an open door, which had a large, muscular man with an assortment of tattoos sitting on a stool. The man stood up, looking at us with hostile eyes. Several men were gathered behind him, looking equally hostile.
"X-series?" assorted tattoo guy asked, his voice deep and low.
"X5," said Alec. He motioned towards me. "So's she. We're looking for an X5 who's giving blood."
"You from Terminal City?" asked one of the men from behind assorted tattoo guy. His arms were crossed, accentuating his large muscles bulging with tight veins.
"No. No," Alec lied. "We're just looking to see if we could do some business with Jake."
"Snake, what's going on here?" asked a medium sized man with floppy brown hair and beady eyes.
"X5 wanting a word with you, boss," said Snake, his eyes never leaving Alec. Jake grunted as he looked at us. A mirror hung from the farthest wall behind Jake, showing us the barcode on his neck. 321 455 667 297 was what I had read. The first three numbers were 321, indicating that he was an X4.
"Really?" he asked. He pulled his jacket from his waist, showing us a gun. Alec smirked and so did I. Guns? Jake really must have been a part of a lesser unit. "I don't recall seeing you from around here. You from Terminal City?"
"No," I said, looking at Jake with cool contempt. "We're just looking for an employee of yours. She's 5 feet six, with honey brown skin, and frizzy hair. Her barcode reads 463."
Jake thought for a moment, before answering, "There might be an X5 with that designation here. What do you want with her?"
"Just want to talk," said Alec. "She has some information for us."
"You two ain't from her unit, are you?" Alec and I remained silent.
Jake continued, his voice mocking, "'Cause man, that's just sad. Manticore burned down and you're looking for a member for your unit. You're forgetting what they always taught us: We work alone."
"True," said Alec, his eyes turning emerald green. "But that's not all they taught us." Quick as flash, he grabbed Jake's gun and Jake blocked Alec's attempt, sending my brother crashing to the floor. Snake started to move towards Alec when my right leg shot out, knocking the big transgenic off his feet. Before he could jump up, I grabbed his right arm and twisted it until it broke and as Snake raised his head, my left fist smashed his head to the ground. Blood pooled from the transgenic's head. Large hands grabbed my waist and flipped me over. Breaking my fall by rolling over as I hit the ground, I faced another large man with a coiled snake tattoo on his bicep. His fist shot out at me, bruising my jaw. I felt my head crash to the floor, bringing stars to my eyes.
As I forced myself to focus, the snake tattoo guy was bringing his fist forward again. My right hand shot out, grabbing his fist in mid-punch and squeezing it, until I heard the bones crack. As my opponent crumbled to the floor in pain, I kicked his legs out from under him. He crashed to the ground, his head hitting the floor, rendering him unconscious. Alec was busy flipping one of Jake's men across the room and delivered a smooth roundhouse kick to another attacker creeping up from behind. Rising from the floor, as snake tattoo guy remained unconscious, two more men surrounded me.
Forcing myself to grin as they assumed martial arts fighting stances, I sneered, "What? You guys think you're Jackie Chan? Please. Let's fight." The two guys roared and charged at me. I back-flipped out of their way and watched them crash into each other. I smiled in satisfaction just as Jake whipped out his gun and fired. Utter silence accompanied the gunshot.
"Get up, bitch," he snarled, waving his gun. I stood up, my fists positioned for fighting. "Up against the wall," Jake continued. Slowly, I backed towards the wall, next to the door.
"Uh. Uh," warned Jake. "Away from door. Don't want you leaving on me now." I kept my face calm as I noticed Alec walking up to Jake from behind, knocking the X4 to the ground, causing the gun to fly from Jake's hands. I caught the gun and put the safety on. Alec's foot slammed down on Jake's throat, causing the downed transgenic to gasp.
"You really must have rode the special bus to Manticore," said Alec, with a sneer. "Those moves you pulled were just pitiful." Jake could only gasp and wheeze.
I bent down so that I was almost eye-level to Jake. "Tell us where 463 is and we'll let you go. You and your boys don't give us any trouble while we get her, we don't report your ass to the Transgenic Council." Jake's eyes darted desperately as Alec's heel dug deeper into his neck.
"Oh-okay," he wheezed, his face reddening from the pressure against his neck. "463-she's in room 510. She's got a customer. Big client. Pays her big bucks to give him what he needs." Alec released his boot from Jake's neck. The transgenic rose slowly from the ground, rubbing his neck.
"See?" I asked with a smile. "That wasn't so hard." Just as Jake closed his eyes, my fist rammed into his face; knocking him down again. I looked up at Alec and tossed him Jake's gun. He placed it in his back pocket and we moved towards room 510. Room 510's door was locked and pressing our ears to the door, we heard muffled moans and groans. Alec and I exchanged concerned glances, but dropped them as he beckoned me to move in front of the door. I kicked it open, knocking the door off its hinges as it crashed to the ground. The moans stopped with a start and I could hear scrambling noises as I moved towards the master bedroom. The largest room in the apartment was wide open. Bree was putting on a thin floral dress, while her customer, a man with spiky blondish-brown hair was hastily buttoning his shirt. A blood transfusion kit lay on the bed, the needle still inserted in the man's arm. Bree's honey brown eyes were wide with fright as I advanced towards her.
"Bree?" I asked. It looked like my sister, but she was so thin. Her curly hair was cut short and it looked as though it hadn't been washed in weeks.
"Bobbie?" she whispered, her mouth trembling as I reached to hug her tightly. "Bobbie, what are you doing here?!"
"Shh," I said, rocking Bree gently. "It's okay. Alec and I are here. We'll take you to my place and get you cleaned up."
"Alec?" Bree's customer's voice jumped an octave as I turned to face him. I could feel my hands curl up into fists.
"Alec's here?!" Logan continued, frantically tightening his belt. He pulled out the needle that was in his arm and dropped it to the floor.
"Yes, he is here, you ass," I said, my voice low. "You son of a goddamned bitch. It's bad enough you leeched off Terminal City and when Alec told you to take your habit elsewhere, you set up your fix here. But leeching off my baby sister?!"
"Bobbie." Bree began.
"Bree, shut up," I snapped, dangerously moving towards Logan who started to back away. "What's the matter, Logan? Not enough tranny blood in you take me on?!"
Logan straightened his back and stared down at me, "I've got enough."
I smiled at that. "Bring it on, asshole." Logan threw a punch, which I sidestepped. He fell forward and I knocked him to the ground with my foot. As he got up, I assumed a fighting stance. Logan shakily stood up, but his blue eyes were electric with anger and something else. Hate. Quickly, he ran towards me and his fist grazed my jaw as I flipped him over on the bed.
"You shouldn't have come here, Roberta," he said, breathing heavily as he climbed off the bed. He stood unsteadily before me.
"Don't. Call. Me. Roberta," I snapped. Before he could make another move, my fist shot out and knocked him into the wall. I twirled around, lifting my right leg to smash into Logan's solar plexus, knocking him down to the ground. The man had a large purple swelling surrounding the left side of his face.
"Bobbie, I heard fighting," said Alec, coming into the bedroom with his gun raised.
"You guys okay?" he asked looking at Bree, whose face was impassive.
"I'm good," I said, staring down at Logan's unconscious form. "He's not going to be for a while. Bree, you must not have gotten very far with the blood transfer."
"You guys stopped it pretty early. He wanted some.stimulation before we got to the blood stuff." Bree closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I could hear her heart beating fast. Alec stared at Logan and then at Bree. His eyes glowed brightly as he handed Bree his jacket.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked again. Alec's jaw grew tight as his eyes glanced back towards Logan before settling upon Bree once more.
She nodded. "I'm good, 49-, Alec." She wrapped his jacket tightly around her shoulders. Bree stared at Logan's still form. "How did you find me?"
"Jeremiah," Alec answered. "He tracked you down, baby sister."
"I guess he figured I couldn't handle life without him looking over my shoulder," said Bree with a bitter smile on her face. "He thinks I'm weak."
"No, just in need of protection," I said, giving Bree a hug. Alec hugged the both of us and we took a moment to bask in the group unity.
"Oooh," Logan groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Rubbing them, he winced for a moment as he moved his jaw. I felt Alec's arm fall away from my shoulder. Alec growled low in his throat as he walked up to Logan, aiming his gun at the man's temple.
"Get up," he hissed. Logan's eyes widened as he saw the gun pointed straight between his eyes. The older man began to rise, but was having difficulty in retaining his balance.
"Get the hell up you asshole," Alec continued as Logan struggled to get up. Impatiently, Alec grabbed Logan by the neck, pulled him up and slammed him against the wall. The older man choked and wheezed as my brother put a little pressure around his neck.
"Listen to me and listen to me good," said Alec, green eyes blazing. "You are out of here. Out of this building, out of Terminal City and out of the goddamned Council. I don't care if Max can't live without you, I don't ever want to see your face again. You hear me?!"
Logan could only gasp. Alec released a little pressure from Logan's throat. "I can't hear you, Logan. What's that?"
"Max will never allow this," he wheezed. "She loves me and I love her. I have always accepted what she was. She needs that. You can never understand."
"What she needs is someone who doesn't leech off her people," Alec bit out. "So, don't get self-righteous with me, Logan Cale. My order still stands. I see your face in Terminal City and anywhere near my family, mark my words, I will kill you." Alec pushed Logan to the ground, knocking the man out again. Rubbing a hand over his face, he looked at me and then at Bree.
"You ready to go?" He looked at me with sharp eyes.
"I'm good."
Before Bree could answer, a voice called from the front of the apartment.
"Alec? Bobbie? Where are you guys?!"
"No!" Alec and I said looking at each other in horror.
"Max, don't come in here!" Alec shouted, but it was too late. Max stepped into the bedroom and stopped when she saw Logan's still form on the floor. Then she glanced over to the bed where the blood transfusion kit lay. Max looked up at the three of us and backed away from the room, shaking her head numbly.
"No," she whispered. "Please, god, no."
"Max." Alec began, moving towards her, but Max kept shaking her head.
"Don't touch me!" She yelled. Alec stepped back towards me. I stood in front of him, my body shielding his. Max's body shook as she clapped a hand over her mouth. She looked at us again and then ran out of the room. I followed her only to find that she had run down the stairs.
"Looks like she left the building," I said as Alec and Bree stepped out of room 510. I turned to my former unit members. "Let's go. There's still time for me to make it for my date and have you settled at my place." Alec stared down at the stairs, his face pale.
"Max can take care of herself," I said. "Give her time to get used to what happened. We have to leave before Jake and Logan wake up and start gunning for us." Alec nodded absently as I led him and Bree out of the apartment building and ran towards my home.
Ch. 11:
"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Max, looking at the rundown apartment building in front of us. Alec grabbed the piece of paper in my hand and looked at the building's address number. A few numerals were broken, so we weren't sure if the first number was an 8 or a 6.
"8450 Preston Street," said Alec reading aloud and looking at the street sign up ahead. "Yes, there it is. Preston Street. We're on Preston Street, so this has got to be the building."
"It just looks so normal," said Max. "It's not my idea of a crack-house."
"Crack-houses come in all shapes and sizes, Max," I said even though I was thinking the same thing. A haggard pregnant woman with a small baby on her hip and small toddler hanging close to her pants leg came out of the building. Max and I stepped aside to let the woman and her children pass. The woman's blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and we could see the barest hint of a barcode on the back of her neck.
Max, Alec, and I stared at the woman's retreating back as she walked up to the junction at Preston and Main Street and crossed over to an apartment building, equally as rundown as the one we were about to enter.
"She looks so tired," said Max.
"She's probably got a husband who's out of work and that little kid looks like he came out of the breeding program," said Alec in a harsh voice. "Come on, we haven't got all day." He opened the door and walked into the building. Max started to follow, but I pulled her back.
"Hey!" she cried, shooting me a hostile glare. I glared back.
"You're not going in," I said.
"What? What do you mean, I'm not going in?" Max sputtered.
"You heard me," I said, my voice firm. "You're not going into the building. You stay out here and keep watch." Max huffed and crossed her arms. I did the same and gave her a no-nonsense look.
"Bobbie." she began, but stopped when I said, "Don't even try to threaten me, Max. That may work with Logan, but it doesn't work with me. So, unless you want a good old-fashioned catfight, you're staying out here and that's all there is to it!" With that I turned around and entered the building. Alec stood at the top of the first flight of stairs.
"Did you tell Max she couldn't come in?" He asked.
"Yes," I replied, climbing the stairs. "But I don't think that's going to hold her for long. Max looked like she was going to spit nails when I told her she couldn't come with us."
Alec grinned. "I guess she was madder that it was you giving her an order." I smiled in satisfaction.
"I guess that must've stuck in her craw."
Alec began moving to the second floor and I followed.
"No kidding. She hates being told what to do."
"Except when it comes from Logan," I muttered under my breath.
"I heard that," said Alec.
"Truth hurts, 494," I said.
We were on the fifth floor when Alec turned to me and asked, "What floor did Jeremiah say the junkie business operated?"
"What are you looking at me for?" I snapped. "You have the directions!"
"I do?" asked Alec, looking confused. I sighed as I reached into his pants pockets and fished for the paper that held the directions of the blood junkie apartment. I held it up in his face when I found it. I could read the note easily in the darkened hallway and said, "Okay, it's on the fifth floor. Lucky for us we're already there, but it doesn't say which room."
"So, we'd knock on each door and ask for Bree?"
"Or we could try violence on the first person who comes out."
"That works." Just then a skinny boy of what looked to be fifteen years came out of the room in front of us. He was wiping his nose with his shirtsleeve. Once he took note of Alec and me at the top of the stairs, his brown eyes went wide and he started to back away from us. Alec blurred and pressed the kid against the dingy gray wall.
"Hey!" The kid cried, trying to wriggle out of Alec's grasp. He struggled a bit and looked as though he was going to break free, but Alec held fast to the boy's arm.
"Look, kid, quit wriggling and I'll let you go."
"Why should I believe you?" asked the kid.
I stepped in front of the kid and gave him a smile. "Well, you have two options here. You can either spend your day against this wall, of which I am sure you will catch a disease that'll be really hard to explain to your parents or you can cooperate and tell us where you guys are holding your business."
The kid glared at me, but grunted aloud in pain as Alec dug his hand deeper into the kid's arm. "Okay, Okay," he said, wincing as Alec tightened his hold on his arm. "I'll talk." Alec lightened his grip and pulled the young boy away from the wall.
"Okay, then," said Alec. "Start talking."
"Aren't you going to let me go?"
"Nope," said Alec cheerfully. "Not until you tell me what's going on here. Starting with your name."
"I'm Tommy."
"Good, Tommy," I said. "Now, that we know who you are, mind telling us where we can find some transgenic blood?"
Tommy looked at me with half-lidded eyes. "What's it to you?"
"A sister," said Alec, squeezing Tommy's arm again. The young boy yelped.
"Okay!" he cried. "It's the third door to your left. Ask for Jake, he'll tell you where to go."
"How much do we have to pay him?" I asked.
"A thousand."
Alec gave a low whistle. "Expensive habit you guys picked up."
"It isn't a habit!" Tommy growled. "I got money. I can do what I want with it."
"Sure and that's why you're sweating like a pig," said Alec, wiping his left hand on his thigh.
"I didn't have enough to pay Jake so I gotta go and find money someplace else."
"Kid, here's some advice," said Alec, forcing Tommy to look at him directly. "Drop it. Transgenic blood and norm blood don't mix. It's too powerful and dangerous."
Tommy frowned. "I only want to try it out. My friends say it's pretty cool." Alec and I rolled our eyes at Tommy.
"Tommy, go home and have a life," I said. "The people you're taking the blood from? They didn't have much of it." Tommy looked uncertain as Alec pointed to his left.
"This is where we'll find Jake?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Go home and take some girl to the prom. Come on, Bobbie." Alec walked down the hall to an open door, which had a large, muscular man with an assortment of tattoos sitting on a stool. The man stood up, looking at us with hostile eyes. Several men were gathered behind him, looking equally hostile.
"X-series?" assorted tattoo guy asked, his voice deep and low.
"X5," said Alec. He motioned towards me. "So's she. We're looking for an X5 who's giving blood."
"You from Terminal City?" asked one of the men from behind assorted tattoo guy. His arms were crossed, accentuating his large muscles bulging with tight veins.
"No. No," Alec lied. "We're just looking to see if we could do some business with Jake."
"Snake, what's going on here?" asked a medium sized man with floppy brown hair and beady eyes.
"X5 wanting a word with you, boss," said Snake, his eyes never leaving Alec. Jake grunted as he looked at us. A mirror hung from the farthest wall behind Jake, showing us the barcode on his neck. 321 455 667 297 was what I had read. The first three numbers were 321, indicating that he was an X4.
"Really?" he asked. He pulled his jacket from his waist, showing us a gun. Alec smirked and so did I. Guns? Jake really must have been a part of a lesser unit. "I don't recall seeing you from around here. You from Terminal City?"
"No," I said, looking at Jake with cool contempt. "We're just looking for an employee of yours. She's 5 feet six, with honey brown skin, and frizzy hair. Her barcode reads 463."
Jake thought for a moment, before answering, "There might be an X5 with that designation here. What do you want with her?"
"Just want to talk," said Alec. "She has some information for us."
"You two ain't from her unit, are you?" Alec and I remained silent.
Jake continued, his voice mocking, "'Cause man, that's just sad. Manticore burned down and you're looking for a member for your unit. You're forgetting what they always taught us: We work alone."
"True," said Alec, his eyes turning emerald green. "But that's not all they taught us." Quick as flash, he grabbed Jake's gun and Jake blocked Alec's attempt, sending my brother crashing to the floor. Snake started to move towards Alec when my right leg shot out, knocking the big transgenic off his feet. Before he could jump up, I grabbed his right arm and twisted it until it broke and as Snake raised his head, my left fist smashed his head to the ground. Blood pooled from the transgenic's head. Large hands grabbed my waist and flipped me over. Breaking my fall by rolling over as I hit the ground, I faced another large man with a coiled snake tattoo on his bicep. His fist shot out at me, bruising my jaw. I felt my head crash to the floor, bringing stars to my eyes.
As I forced myself to focus, the snake tattoo guy was bringing his fist forward again. My right hand shot out, grabbing his fist in mid-punch and squeezing it, until I heard the bones crack. As my opponent crumbled to the floor in pain, I kicked his legs out from under him. He crashed to the ground, his head hitting the floor, rendering him unconscious. Alec was busy flipping one of Jake's men across the room and delivered a smooth roundhouse kick to another attacker creeping up from behind. Rising from the floor, as snake tattoo guy remained unconscious, two more men surrounded me.
Forcing myself to grin as they assumed martial arts fighting stances, I sneered, "What? You guys think you're Jackie Chan? Please. Let's fight." The two guys roared and charged at me. I back-flipped out of their way and watched them crash into each other. I smiled in satisfaction just as Jake whipped out his gun and fired. Utter silence accompanied the gunshot.
"Get up, bitch," he snarled, waving his gun. I stood up, my fists positioned for fighting. "Up against the wall," Jake continued. Slowly, I backed towards the wall, next to the door.
"Uh. Uh," warned Jake. "Away from door. Don't want you leaving on me now." I kept my face calm as I noticed Alec walking up to Jake from behind, knocking the X4 to the ground, causing the gun to fly from Jake's hands. I caught the gun and put the safety on. Alec's foot slammed down on Jake's throat, causing the downed transgenic to gasp.
"You really must have rode the special bus to Manticore," said Alec, with a sneer. "Those moves you pulled were just pitiful." Jake could only gasp and wheeze.
I bent down so that I was almost eye-level to Jake. "Tell us where 463 is and we'll let you go. You and your boys don't give us any trouble while we get her, we don't report your ass to the Transgenic Council." Jake's eyes darted desperately as Alec's heel dug deeper into his neck.
"Oh-okay," he wheezed, his face reddening from the pressure against his neck. "463-she's in room 510. She's got a customer. Big client. Pays her big bucks to give him what he needs." Alec released his boot from Jake's neck. The transgenic rose slowly from the ground, rubbing his neck.
"See?" I asked with a smile. "That wasn't so hard." Just as Jake closed his eyes, my fist rammed into his face; knocking him down again. I looked up at Alec and tossed him Jake's gun. He placed it in his back pocket and we moved towards room 510. Room 510's door was locked and pressing our ears to the door, we heard muffled moans and groans. Alec and I exchanged concerned glances, but dropped them as he beckoned me to move in front of the door. I kicked it open, knocking the door off its hinges as it crashed to the ground. The moans stopped with a start and I could hear scrambling noises as I moved towards the master bedroom. The largest room in the apartment was wide open. Bree was putting on a thin floral dress, while her customer, a man with spiky blondish-brown hair was hastily buttoning his shirt. A blood transfusion kit lay on the bed, the needle still inserted in the man's arm. Bree's honey brown eyes were wide with fright as I advanced towards her.
"Bree?" I asked. It looked like my sister, but she was so thin. Her curly hair was cut short and it looked as though it hadn't been washed in weeks.
"Bobbie?" she whispered, her mouth trembling as I reached to hug her tightly. "Bobbie, what are you doing here?!"
"Shh," I said, rocking Bree gently. "It's okay. Alec and I are here. We'll take you to my place and get you cleaned up."
"Alec?" Bree's customer's voice jumped an octave as I turned to face him. I could feel my hands curl up into fists.
"Alec's here?!" Logan continued, frantically tightening his belt. He pulled out the needle that was in his arm and dropped it to the floor.
"Yes, he is here, you ass," I said, my voice low. "You son of a goddamned bitch. It's bad enough you leeched off Terminal City and when Alec told you to take your habit elsewhere, you set up your fix here. But leeching off my baby sister?!"
"Bobbie." Bree began.
"Bree, shut up," I snapped, dangerously moving towards Logan who started to back away. "What's the matter, Logan? Not enough tranny blood in you take me on?!"
Logan straightened his back and stared down at me, "I've got enough."
I smiled at that. "Bring it on, asshole." Logan threw a punch, which I sidestepped. He fell forward and I knocked him to the ground with my foot. As he got up, I assumed a fighting stance. Logan shakily stood up, but his blue eyes were electric with anger and something else. Hate. Quickly, he ran towards me and his fist grazed my jaw as I flipped him over on the bed.
"You shouldn't have come here, Roberta," he said, breathing heavily as he climbed off the bed. He stood unsteadily before me.
"Don't. Call. Me. Roberta," I snapped. Before he could make another move, my fist shot out and knocked him into the wall. I twirled around, lifting my right leg to smash into Logan's solar plexus, knocking him down to the ground. The man had a large purple swelling surrounding the left side of his face.
"Bobbie, I heard fighting," said Alec, coming into the bedroom with his gun raised.
"You guys okay?" he asked looking at Bree, whose face was impassive.
"I'm good," I said, staring down at Logan's unconscious form. "He's not going to be for a while. Bree, you must not have gotten very far with the blood transfer."
"You guys stopped it pretty early. He wanted some.stimulation before we got to the blood stuff." Bree closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I could hear her heart beating fast. Alec stared at Logan and then at Bree. His eyes glowed brightly as he handed Bree his jacket.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked again. Alec's jaw grew tight as his eyes glanced back towards Logan before settling upon Bree once more.
She nodded. "I'm good, 49-, Alec." She wrapped his jacket tightly around her shoulders. Bree stared at Logan's still form. "How did you find me?"
"Jeremiah," Alec answered. "He tracked you down, baby sister."
"I guess he figured I couldn't handle life without him looking over my shoulder," said Bree with a bitter smile on her face. "He thinks I'm weak."
"No, just in need of protection," I said, giving Bree a hug. Alec hugged the both of us and we took a moment to bask in the group unity.
"Oooh," Logan groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Rubbing them, he winced for a moment as he moved his jaw. I felt Alec's arm fall away from my shoulder. Alec growled low in his throat as he walked up to Logan, aiming his gun at the man's temple.
"Get up," he hissed. Logan's eyes widened as he saw the gun pointed straight between his eyes. The older man began to rise, but was having difficulty in retaining his balance.
"Get the hell up you asshole," Alec continued as Logan struggled to get up. Impatiently, Alec grabbed Logan by the neck, pulled him up and slammed him against the wall. The older man choked and wheezed as my brother put a little pressure around his neck.
"Listen to me and listen to me good," said Alec, green eyes blazing. "You are out of here. Out of this building, out of Terminal City and out of the goddamned Council. I don't care if Max can't live without you, I don't ever want to see your face again. You hear me?!"
Logan could only gasp. Alec released a little pressure from Logan's throat. "I can't hear you, Logan. What's that?"
"Max will never allow this," he wheezed. "She loves me and I love her. I have always accepted what she was. She needs that. You can never understand."
"What she needs is someone who doesn't leech off her people," Alec bit out. "So, don't get self-righteous with me, Logan Cale. My order still stands. I see your face in Terminal City and anywhere near my family, mark my words, I will kill you." Alec pushed Logan to the ground, knocking the man out again. Rubbing a hand over his face, he looked at me and then at Bree.
"You ready to go?" He looked at me with sharp eyes.
"I'm good."
Before Bree could answer, a voice called from the front of the apartment.
"Alec? Bobbie? Where are you guys?!"
"No!" Alec and I said looking at each other in horror.
"Max, don't come in here!" Alec shouted, but it was too late. Max stepped into the bedroom and stopped when she saw Logan's still form on the floor. Then she glanced over to the bed where the blood transfusion kit lay. Max looked up at the three of us and backed away from the room, shaking her head numbly.
"No," she whispered. "Please, god, no."
"Max." Alec began, moving towards her, but Max kept shaking her head.
"Don't touch me!" She yelled. Alec stepped back towards me. I stood in front of him, my body shielding his. Max's body shook as she clapped a hand over her mouth. She looked at us again and then ran out of the room. I followed her only to find that she had run down the stairs.
"Looks like she left the building," I said as Alec and Bree stepped out of room 510. I turned to my former unit members. "Let's go. There's still time for me to make it for my date and have you settled at my place." Alec stared down at the stairs, his face pale.
"Max can take care of herself," I said. "Give her time to get used to what happened. We have to leave before Jake and Logan wake up and start gunning for us." Alec nodded absently as I led him and Bree out of the apartment building and ran towards my home.