A/N: I was on a role, and cranked out two chapters in one day, so here's the next one. That probably won't happen too often; only when I'm feeling truly inspired, which hasn't been happening too often lately. Anyway, enjoy! Please R&R.
Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Go ahead and sue; you won't get anything.
Chapter Four
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Dirty Dealings
Jam Pony Xpress
Seattle Wa., September 4th, 2021
Normal swallowed hard.
He followed the sleek lines of the pistol barrel to the hardened features of his
attacker, forcing the quivering in his hands to still.
The feral glint in the man's cold, hard eyes thrust a shiver deep inside him.
"No need for violence."
"There won't be." The man smiled without humor. "If you tell me what I want
to know."
Normal felt nervous perspiration gather at his back, beading just beneath the light
material of his T-shirt. He raised both hands lethargically into the air, terrified any
sudden movement might coerce this man into shooting. "Hey, look, whatever she's done,
I had noth-"
"Max Guevera works here, then."
"Yeah. Yes. Of course. But I swear, I don't know anything about any trouble
she's in. Girl keeps to herself. This isn't some sort of haven for criminals. Their
business is their own-I keep out of it."
"Where does she live?"
Normal swallowed again, and reached to wipe the sheen of sweat from his brow.
"I can't tell you that. The records of all bike messengers are confidential."
The man quirked one eyebrow. The gun barrel wavered just the slightest,
drawing Normal's attention back to it. "I don't care if the damn records are confidential.
I need to know where I can find her." His voice darkened.
"What are you, some sort of cop? What's missy miss been doing-dealing drugs?
Because I told you-I don't know anything about her, or her past. She just works for me,
delivering packages." Normal's tongue snaked out to wet dry lips. He eyed the man
warily.
"FBI." The man flashed his badge, and Normal visibly relaxed, lowering both
hands and craning his neck to read the name; Ames White.
"Well Mr. White, why didn't you say so in the first place, mister? I ain't got any
qualms about helping the government out. But isn't it against regulation to be waving
that thing around like a piece of candy?" He jerked his chin to indicate the gun.
White lowered his weapon, tight-lipped. "Good attention-getter." The gun
disappeared into his trenchcoat. "Show me her records."
"Always knew that lazy degenerate was no good; comes in late, delivers when she
feels like it. Takes her sweet time doing it, too." Normal chatted conversationally,
stepping out from behind the counter and taking White into the back room. He crossed to
a metal filing cabinet against the far wall. "Doesn't surprise me she's mixed up in
something gone bad. What's she in trouble for? Drugs, prostitution?"
"It's classified." White replied, crossing both arms over his chest. He watched
over the shorter man's shoulder as Normal rifled through several manila folders.
*Alec McDowell. Sounds familiar...494.* White realized, and his lips curled in an
involuntary snarl. *That fuckin' transgenic boyfriend of 452's.* He blurred to snatch
Normal's hand as the head of Jam Pony Xpress extracted an envelope. Normal turned,
open-mouthed in preparation to say something, eyes widening behind his glasses.
"What the-"
"You've been a lot of help." White said, with a chilly smile, and knocked the
man out cold with a hard fist to the side of the head. He snatched up Max's record before
it hit the ground and scattered papers all about, then seized Alec's. *Two transgenic scum
in one. My lucky day.*
* * *
The wood punctured and buckled inward beneath the force of his blow.
They surged inside, guns drawn, ebony ballistics gear blending with the shadows.
Boots trod with little noise against the threadbare carpet, but the explosion of the door
from its hinges had destroyed any chance of entering stealthily.
Moonlight fell thick upon them; silence followed the brief, violent splinter of
wood.
White preceded them, overturning furniture, destroying anything that stood in his
way, plunging the bedroom door free with another powerful kick.
Nothing.
He turned with a snarl to his men. "She's not here."
Max awoke languidly to the length of a warm, muscular body pressed all along her.
She stiffened, confused for a moment, her arms automatically tightening around
the man cradled in her lap. He stirred and moaned lightly, nuzzling his face into her
neck, his breath warming cold flesh.
His lips curved in a faint smile, and the sight touched her as she reached to trace
the fading remnants of tear stains.
She felt the heat of his body through her jeans, and snaking its way through the
zippered front of her leather jacket. It brought a shiver down her spine, one she tried to
ignore.
Time slowed; she felt its passage moving sluggishly around her as his soft lips
parted in another heartbreaking little moan. She smoothed the slight pucker of his
eyebrows with one finger, swallowing against the sudden lump in her throat.
His mouth touched the finger in a light kiss as it traversed the slope of his
forehead to the curve of his cheekbone, a kiss rendered in sleep, the motion bringing
tears to Max's eyes for some reason. The move had been so...tender, and his face bore a
startling, almost beguiling resemblance to a little boy's, relaxed as it was in serene lines.
He looked so much like Ben...only when he opened his eyes would she see the
true difference between their faces; the mischievous sparkle Alec's held, a sparkle that
had never been present in Ben's, even after they'd escaped Manticore. A vulnerability
emanated from Alec as he slept, a vulnerability he tried so desperately to hide during the
day.
"Guess you're not such a bad guy after all." Max whispered, stroking his cheek
with a thumb. "Hell, you're an irritating asshole, a womanizer, selfish and extremely
good at pissing me off, but I suppose you have your moments." She smiled gently,
studying the planes of his face as her palm cupped his cheek gently.
His face, peaceful a moment before, erupted in a smirk. "Gee, Max, what a nice
compliment. You sure know how to make a guy feel special." Alec murmured without
opening his eyes.
She jerked, startled.
He cracked an eye at her, the smirk blossoming into a shit-eating grin. "Mornin',
Maxie. Sleep good?"
"Have you been awake this whole time?" she demanded, feeling heat in her
cheeks.
He shrugged without moving his head from her shoulder. "Pretty much." The
infuriating grin returned. "I didn't realize you felt so strongly about me."
She resisted the urge to smack him, full lips turning down in a scowl. "You could
have warned me!"
"And ruin the moment?" he asked innocently, shamelessly snuggling closer,
turning his face into the cool leather of her jacket.
The urge became too great. Her hand caught him upside the back of the head,
embarrassment fueling the fire smoldering in her eyes. The blow drove a ringing loose in
his ears.
Alec tilted his head up to look her in the face, giving an exaggerated grimace of
pain. "Ow! Jesus, Max, what was that for?"
"Get off me." she said, pushing at him with both hands.
He curved an arm over her shoulders, and buried his face in the crook of her neck,
the heat of his body burning all throughout her, and the feel of his lips on her throat too
vivid for Max's preference.
*Damn genetically enhanced genes.*
She shoved him again.
"C'mon Maxie; I thought you'd decided I was an ok guy."
"I said you have your moments. Doesn't mean I think you're a fuckin' saint or
something."
He smiled.
She glared and gave one final furious push that sprawled him off her legs and to
the cold metal of the Space Needle. The rounded dome clanged in protest at this sudden
shift of weight. "Stop looking at me like that!"
"You like me, Max. Admit it."
"I do not!" she snapped, scrambling to her feet. "I'd just as soon push your fat
ass over the side."
"Fat?" His eyebrows rose. "Fat ass, Max? I'll tell you one thing-if my ass is
anything, it's definitely not fat. You can have a feel if you like-you won't hear me
complaining."
Max made a face. "No thanks."
"I think that was the plan all along, wasn't it, Max? You told Logan to run the
cable hack so you could chase after me and comfort me, and then you schemed for me to
overhear you saying good things about me so that you could pretend to get all flustered
and pissed off, eventually leading up to calling my ass fat. You knew I'd want to prove
you wrong, which would give you an excuse to cop a feel without letting on to the fact
that you're hot for my body."
"That's the most twisted and perverted logic I've ever heard. You're a raving
egomaniac wi-"
Alec smirked. "You don't have to resort to name-calling, Max. If you'd just
admit the truth-"
"Shut up! Just shut up! All you ever do is talk; and it's not even intelligent
talking! It's just yapping!" she yelled, clenching and unclenching both fists. "I started
to think you might be halfway decent, and then you resort back to your stupid smart ass
remarks."
He shrugged. "Part of my charm."
"Charm my ass." she snorted.
"Well at least you're not talking about my ass this time. Do you realize how
much you talk about that part of my anatomy, Max? 'I'm going to kick your ass Alec.'
'Get your ass the hell out of my way, Alec.'" he mocked her in a whiny, high-pitched
voice. "You seem to have some sort of obsession with that part of my body. I know it's
incredible, but-"
Max let out a strangled scream, and just barely checked herself from leaping at
him.
He stepped hastily back, seeming to realize he'd started to truly irritate her, and a
bit worried about what part of his anatomy would be the first to go when she charged.
Alec raised both hands; a peace offering. "Just playin', Max. No need to blow a
fuse."
She opened her mouth to say something, shook her head, and spun on a heel. Her
footsteps resounded loudly into the rising dawn.
Alec watched her go, pocketing both hands, his cocky veneer evaporating with
her abrupt exit.
"Max." he called.
She froze, but didn't turn.
He swallowed. "Thanks." The word emerged as a whisper, but the gentle breeze
carried it easily to her sensitive ears.
Max turned to face him, all anger gone. Her lips curved in the slightest of smiles,
and he felt his own mirroring the motion. "Your welcome." she whispered back, and
left him.
* * *
"So I'm a little behind in the sex department, but I figure the average guy must
get laid maybe once a month, unless he's married or in a serious relationship. Am I right,
Sketchy my man?"
Sketchy, the aftermath of last night's trip to Crash yet to wear completely off,
stumbled slightly beneath the support of Alec's arm. He nodded a shaggy head, having
yet to emerge from his nonverbal state.
"I mean, it's been about three weeks since I got some. Not bad, considering I've
been a total machine for the past year; and it's not like I haven't gotten any the last few
weeks because I couldn't." He shrugged. "Just had other things to do."
Alec opened the door to Jam Pony for his intoxicated friend, alert for Normal's
usual call of 'Bip, bip, bip you lazy degenerates. I don't pay you delinquents to sit
around on your asses.'
The place rang eerily quiet.
He sensed something wrong the moment he entered, and ducked instinctively
behind a row of lockers to assess the situation.
Jam Pony crawled with Sector Police.
*What the hell?*
Everyone moved about quietly, minus the usual friendly-sometimes
not-so-friendly-chatter, their motion stilted and mechanical as they kept wary eyes on the
patrolling cops.
A hand fell heavy on his shoulder.
He spun, and blurred to meet the raised fist, slamming his assailant against the
lockers at his back. Flesh merged with metal in a sickening thwap, and a gasp of pain.
Alec found himself peering into Original Cindy's brown eyes, darkened in pain,
her lips forming a muttered curse.
"Sorry, OC. Thought you were someone else." he said, and released her,
stepping back.
"Who the hell did yo' think I was?" she demanded, glaring at him as she reached
to massage the pain flowering in her lower back. "Damn boy; little on edge there."
"What the hell is goin' on?" he asked, dropping to sit tensely on the bench at his
feet. "What the hell is all this?"
"Search me. Them sector boys stormed the place 'bout an hour ago, yellin' that
nobody leaves until they give the word. Normal damn near looked like he was 'bout to
piss his pants." She looked slightly amused at that prospect, then her face tightened in
concern. "You see our girl?"
"Max? She should be here pretty soon."
"There's trouble for my boo. Got home late last night, and found the apartment
broke into. Door smashed, furniture broken, the works. Someone was awful damn
pissed our chile' wasn't there to give them a welcoming."
Alec's blood ran cold. "Shit."
"They were checkin' people's ID's just a few minutes 'fore you walked in. Head
guy called 'em up 'bout a minute ago, and they been talkin' whatever shit them cops talk
'bout. Original Cindy ain't sure what the hell this shit is about, but she has an idea they
ain't gonna' roll out the red carpet for her boo." She exchanged a worried glance with
Alec.
"We gotta' find some way to warn Max. I'd bet anything White's behind this."
he said grimly, taking a peek toward the black-clothed figures milling near the front.
Original Cindy touched his arm, prompting his eyes in her direction. "You ain't
gonna' do somethin' stupid and get yo' fool ass killed, are yo'? Boo wouldn't forgive me
for lettin' yo' get yo' stupid ass shot up."
"Nah, OC. It's me."
She frowned. "That's what I'm worried 'bout; yo' always gettin' yo' transgenic
ass in a sling my boo has to bust yo' outta'."
A sudden flurry of movement diverted their attention to the front desk. The click
of hammers, the rasp of flesh on triggers; these sounds played torturously slow inside
Alec's head, magnified by the absolute quiet of Jam Pony and his own enhanced sense of
hearing.
A dark head appeared in the doorway of Jam Pony.
"Max!" Alec screamed.
He surged into the air, clearing the lockers separating them in a single bound.
Muscles undulated with the power of the jump, tensing beneath his jeans as genetically
enhanced strength thrust him hard into her side, tumbling them both to the floor.
"Shoot to stun, not to kill!" White screamed at the same moment, and Jam Pony
erupted in gunfire.
Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Go ahead and sue; you won't get anything.
Chapter Four
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Dirty Dealings
Jam Pony Xpress
Seattle Wa., September 4th, 2021
Normal swallowed hard.
He followed the sleek lines of the pistol barrel to the hardened features of his
attacker, forcing the quivering in his hands to still.
The feral glint in the man's cold, hard eyes thrust a shiver deep inside him.
"No need for violence."
"There won't be." The man smiled without humor. "If you tell me what I want
to know."
Normal felt nervous perspiration gather at his back, beading just beneath the light
material of his T-shirt. He raised both hands lethargically into the air, terrified any
sudden movement might coerce this man into shooting. "Hey, look, whatever she's done,
I had noth-"
"Max Guevera works here, then."
"Yeah. Yes. Of course. But I swear, I don't know anything about any trouble
she's in. Girl keeps to herself. This isn't some sort of haven for criminals. Their
business is their own-I keep out of it."
"Where does she live?"
Normal swallowed again, and reached to wipe the sheen of sweat from his brow.
"I can't tell you that. The records of all bike messengers are confidential."
The man quirked one eyebrow. The gun barrel wavered just the slightest,
drawing Normal's attention back to it. "I don't care if the damn records are confidential.
I need to know where I can find her." His voice darkened.
"What are you, some sort of cop? What's missy miss been doing-dealing drugs?
Because I told you-I don't know anything about her, or her past. She just works for me,
delivering packages." Normal's tongue snaked out to wet dry lips. He eyed the man
warily.
"FBI." The man flashed his badge, and Normal visibly relaxed, lowering both
hands and craning his neck to read the name; Ames White.
"Well Mr. White, why didn't you say so in the first place, mister? I ain't got any
qualms about helping the government out. But isn't it against regulation to be waving
that thing around like a piece of candy?" He jerked his chin to indicate the gun.
White lowered his weapon, tight-lipped. "Good attention-getter." The gun
disappeared into his trenchcoat. "Show me her records."
"Always knew that lazy degenerate was no good; comes in late, delivers when she
feels like it. Takes her sweet time doing it, too." Normal chatted conversationally,
stepping out from behind the counter and taking White into the back room. He crossed to
a metal filing cabinet against the far wall. "Doesn't surprise me she's mixed up in
something gone bad. What's she in trouble for? Drugs, prostitution?"
"It's classified." White replied, crossing both arms over his chest. He watched
over the shorter man's shoulder as Normal rifled through several manila folders.
*Alec McDowell. Sounds familiar...494.* White realized, and his lips curled in an
involuntary snarl. *That fuckin' transgenic boyfriend of 452's.* He blurred to snatch
Normal's hand as the head of Jam Pony Xpress extracted an envelope. Normal turned,
open-mouthed in preparation to say something, eyes widening behind his glasses.
"What the-"
"You've been a lot of help." White said, with a chilly smile, and knocked the
man out cold with a hard fist to the side of the head. He snatched up Max's record before
it hit the ground and scattered papers all about, then seized Alec's. *Two transgenic scum
in one. My lucky day.*
* * *
The wood punctured and buckled inward beneath the force of his blow.
They surged inside, guns drawn, ebony ballistics gear blending with the shadows.
Boots trod with little noise against the threadbare carpet, but the explosion of the door
from its hinges had destroyed any chance of entering stealthily.
Moonlight fell thick upon them; silence followed the brief, violent splinter of
wood.
White preceded them, overturning furniture, destroying anything that stood in his
way, plunging the bedroom door free with another powerful kick.
Nothing.
He turned with a snarl to his men. "She's not here."
Max awoke languidly to the length of a warm, muscular body pressed all along her.
She stiffened, confused for a moment, her arms automatically tightening around
the man cradled in her lap. He stirred and moaned lightly, nuzzling his face into her
neck, his breath warming cold flesh.
His lips curved in a faint smile, and the sight touched her as she reached to trace
the fading remnants of tear stains.
She felt the heat of his body through her jeans, and snaking its way through the
zippered front of her leather jacket. It brought a shiver down her spine, one she tried to
ignore.
Time slowed; she felt its passage moving sluggishly around her as his soft lips
parted in another heartbreaking little moan. She smoothed the slight pucker of his
eyebrows with one finger, swallowing against the sudden lump in her throat.
His mouth touched the finger in a light kiss as it traversed the slope of his
forehead to the curve of his cheekbone, a kiss rendered in sleep, the motion bringing
tears to Max's eyes for some reason. The move had been so...tender, and his face bore a
startling, almost beguiling resemblance to a little boy's, relaxed as it was in serene lines.
He looked so much like Ben...only when he opened his eyes would she see the
true difference between their faces; the mischievous sparkle Alec's held, a sparkle that
had never been present in Ben's, even after they'd escaped Manticore. A vulnerability
emanated from Alec as he slept, a vulnerability he tried so desperately to hide during the
day.
"Guess you're not such a bad guy after all." Max whispered, stroking his cheek
with a thumb. "Hell, you're an irritating asshole, a womanizer, selfish and extremely
good at pissing me off, but I suppose you have your moments." She smiled gently,
studying the planes of his face as her palm cupped his cheek gently.
His face, peaceful a moment before, erupted in a smirk. "Gee, Max, what a nice
compliment. You sure know how to make a guy feel special." Alec murmured without
opening his eyes.
She jerked, startled.
He cracked an eye at her, the smirk blossoming into a shit-eating grin. "Mornin',
Maxie. Sleep good?"
"Have you been awake this whole time?" she demanded, feeling heat in her
cheeks.
He shrugged without moving his head from her shoulder. "Pretty much." The
infuriating grin returned. "I didn't realize you felt so strongly about me."
She resisted the urge to smack him, full lips turning down in a scowl. "You could
have warned me!"
"And ruin the moment?" he asked innocently, shamelessly snuggling closer,
turning his face into the cool leather of her jacket.
The urge became too great. Her hand caught him upside the back of the head,
embarrassment fueling the fire smoldering in her eyes. The blow drove a ringing loose in
his ears.
Alec tilted his head up to look her in the face, giving an exaggerated grimace of
pain. "Ow! Jesus, Max, what was that for?"
"Get off me." she said, pushing at him with both hands.
He curved an arm over her shoulders, and buried his face in the crook of her neck,
the heat of his body burning all throughout her, and the feel of his lips on her throat too
vivid for Max's preference.
*Damn genetically enhanced genes.*
She shoved him again.
"C'mon Maxie; I thought you'd decided I was an ok guy."
"I said you have your moments. Doesn't mean I think you're a fuckin' saint or
something."
He smiled.
She glared and gave one final furious push that sprawled him off her legs and to
the cold metal of the Space Needle. The rounded dome clanged in protest at this sudden
shift of weight. "Stop looking at me like that!"
"You like me, Max. Admit it."
"I do not!" she snapped, scrambling to her feet. "I'd just as soon push your fat
ass over the side."
"Fat?" His eyebrows rose. "Fat ass, Max? I'll tell you one thing-if my ass is
anything, it's definitely not fat. You can have a feel if you like-you won't hear me
complaining."
Max made a face. "No thanks."
"I think that was the plan all along, wasn't it, Max? You told Logan to run the
cable hack so you could chase after me and comfort me, and then you schemed for me to
overhear you saying good things about me so that you could pretend to get all flustered
and pissed off, eventually leading up to calling my ass fat. You knew I'd want to prove
you wrong, which would give you an excuse to cop a feel without letting on to the fact
that you're hot for my body."
"That's the most twisted and perverted logic I've ever heard. You're a raving
egomaniac wi-"
Alec smirked. "You don't have to resort to name-calling, Max. If you'd just
admit the truth-"
"Shut up! Just shut up! All you ever do is talk; and it's not even intelligent
talking! It's just yapping!" she yelled, clenching and unclenching both fists. "I started
to think you might be halfway decent, and then you resort back to your stupid smart ass
remarks."
He shrugged. "Part of my charm."
"Charm my ass." she snorted.
"Well at least you're not talking about my ass this time. Do you realize how
much you talk about that part of my anatomy, Max? 'I'm going to kick your ass Alec.'
'Get your ass the hell out of my way, Alec.'" he mocked her in a whiny, high-pitched
voice. "You seem to have some sort of obsession with that part of my body. I know it's
incredible, but-"
Max let out a strangled scream, and just barely checked herself from leaping at
him.
He stepped hastily back, seeming to realize he'd started to truly irritate her, and a
bit worried about what part of his anatomy would be the first to go when she charged.
Alec raised both hands; a peace offering. "Just playin', Max. No need to blow a
fuse."
She opened her mouth to say something, shook her head, and spun on a heel. Her
footsteps resounded loudly into the rising dawn.
Alec watched her go, pocketing both hands, his cocky veneer evaporating with
her abrupt exit.
"Max." he called.
She froze, but didn't turn.
He swallowed. "Thanks." The word emerged as a whisper, but the gentle breeze
carried it easily to her sensitive ears.
Max turned to face him, all anger gone. Her lips curved in the slightest of smiles,
and he felt his own mirroring the motion. "Your welcome." she whispered back, and
left him.
* * *
"So I'm a little behind in the sex department, but I figure the average guy must
get laid maybe once a month, unless he's married or in a serious relationship. Am I right,
Sketchy my man?"
Sketchy, the aftermath of last night's trip to Crash yet to wear completely off,
stumbled slightly beneath the support of Alec's arm. He nodded a shaggy head, having
yet to emerge from his nonverbal state.
"I mean, it's been about three weeks since I got some. Not bad, considering I've
been a total machine for the past year; and it's not like I haven't gotten any the last few
weeks because I couldn't." He shrugged. "Just had other things to do."
Alec opened the door to Jam Pony for his intoxicated friend, alert for Normal's
usual call of 'Bip, bip, bip you lazy degenerates. I don't pay you delinquents to sit
around on your asses.'
The place rang eerily quiet.
He sensed something wrong the moment he entered, and ducked instinctively
behind a row of lockers to assess the situation.
Jam Pony crawled with Sector Police.
*What the hell?*
Everyone moved about quietly, minus the usual friendly-sometimes
not-so-friendly-chatter, their motion stilted and mechanical as they kept wary eyes on the
patrolling cops.
A hand fell heavy on his shoulder.
He spun, and blurred to meet the raised fist, slamming his assailant against the
lockers at his back. Flesh merged with metal in a sickening thwap, and a gasp of pain.
Alec found himself peering into Original Cindy's brown eyes, darkened in pain,
her lips forming a muttered curse.
"Sorry, OC. Thought you were someone else." he said, and released her,
stepping back.
"Who the hell did yo' think I was?" she demanded, glaring at him as she reached
to massage the pain flowering in her lower back. "Damn boy; little on edge there."
"What the hell is goin' on?" he asked, dropping to sit tensely on the bench at his
feet. "What the hell is all this?"
"Search me. Them sector boys stormed the place 'bout an hour ago, yellin' that
nobody leaves until they give the word. Normal damn near looked like he was 'bout to
piss his pants." She looked slightly amused at that prospect, then her face tightened in
concern. "You see our girl?"
"Max? She should be here pretty soon."
"There's trouble for my boo. Got home late last night, and found the apartment
broke into. Door smashed, furniture broken, the works. Someone was awful damn
pissed our chile' wasn't there to give them a welcoming."
Alec's blood ran cold. "Shit."
"They were checkin' people's ID's just a few minutes 'fore you walked in. Head
guy called 'em up 'bout a minute ago, and they been talkin' whatever shit them cops talk
'bout. Original Cindy ain't sure what the hell this shit is about, but she has an idea they
ain't gonna' roll out the red carpet for her boo." She exchanged a worried glance with
Alec.
"We gotta' find some way to warn Max. I'd bet anything White's behind this."
he said grimly, taking a peek toward the black-clothed figures milling near the front.
Original Cindy touched his arm, prompting his eyes in her direction. "You ain't
gonna' do somethin' stupid and get yo' fool ass killed, are yo'? Boo wouldn't forgive me
for lettin' yo' get yo' stupid ass shot up."
"Nah, OC. It's me."
She frowned. "That's what I'm worried 'bout; yo' always gettin' yo' transgenic
ass in a sling my boo has to bust yo' outta'."
A sudden flurry of movement diverted their attention to the front desk. The click
of hammers, the rasp of flesh on triggers; these sounds played torturously slow inside
Alec's head, magnified by the absolute quiet of Jam Pony and his own enhanced sense of
hearing.
A dark head appeared in the doorway of Jam Pony.
"Max!" Alec screamed.
He surged into the air, clearing the lockers separating them in a single bound.
Muscles undulated with the power of the jump, tensing beneath his jeans as genetically
enhanced strength thrust him hard into her side, tumbling them both to the floor.
"Shoot to stun, not to kill!" White screamed at the same moment, and Jam Pony
erupted in gunfire.