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Part 4

"Well, fancy meeting you here!" Alec exclaimed sarcastically.

She ignored him, concentrating instead on her fingers that flew professionally over the keys, a thousand miles a minute. The alarm screamed and droned in their sensitive ears but neither acknowledged it.

Alec could smell the smoke and he could taste its suffocating stench on his tongue as he watched rooms explode in balls of fire. Transgenics ran down the flaming hallways bursting outside only to run for their lives avoiding bullets.

Alec had been planning to do just that but his escaping had led him past the control room and he'd spotted her inside. At first he hadn't known what she'd been doing but then he'd added two plus two and gotten four.

"Max! We have to get out of here!" Alec yelled trying to pull her away, "The building's going to collapse!"

"No way. I have to send the signal otherwise setting them free is no use. If I'm the hero, I'm not gonna be half-assed about it!" she bit back. Alec watched her anxiously, she typed the last command and smashed the system to stop anyone overriding it and in a flash they were out, running at full transgenic speed for the perimeter fence.

452 didn't slow down or stop till she reached the HUV and Alec had barely enough time to register the three people dead on the ground before she shoved inside with little care for his well being. Digging her foot down onto the accelerator the car burst into life and took off towards Seattle.

*******

Alec watched the HUV sink underneath the water and disappear in its depths. The other stood beside him holding a duffel bag and a silver suitcase, and the name Renfro printed on it didn't escape his searching eyes.

Only then did he turn and look at her. Soot and smoke blackened her cammies and face. Ash clung to her hair torn clothes. He studied her physiognomy. It was amazing how much she looked like Sam. Even now he had to smother the guilt and self-destructive thoughts that clouded his mind, the tears that threatened to sting his eyes.

The mocha color of her skin and the dark brown chocolate hair, though Sam's had been curly, was mirrored. Her small nose and full bee-stung lips copied those of his sister to unjust perfection.

"Thanks for the ride I guess," Alec croaked uncomfortably.

She nodded and turned away walking off without even one backward glance to the man that seemed to take up her every thought. The man who only aroused more questions with every answer.

******

"AAAAAHHH! Oh MY GOD! SKEEEEEETCHY!" The piercing scream cut through Alec's dream filled mind and was murder to his oversensitive ears. He clamped his hands to his head in a sad attempt at blocking out the horrible high-pitched noise.

The previous night he'd been so exhausted he hadn't had the strength to wake OC or Sketch and had decided to collapse on the couch, in a rather ungraceful heap for an X5. That's how he'd been when a half asleep Cindy had come into the living room for breakfast to find him sprawled on the piece of furniture.

To see someone you thought was dead at 8 o'clock in the morning while you're still half-conscious had to be traumatizing but that didn't mean he had to share in the experience.

"Jesus woman can't you see I'm trying to sleep here," mumbled Alec not even opening his eyes but burying his head in the pillows to block out the noise that was still ringing in his ears.

"You're alive! Alec I can't believe you're alive!" yelled an overexcited Cindy jumping on top of the aching X5 and hugging him close despite his protests, "Cindy I love you too but at this rate if you don't stop squeezing I won't be alive."

Sketchy who had awoken to all the noise, half walked, half fell into the room. He spotted a suffocating Alec in OC's arms and snapped out of his fogginess running over to hug his friend.

Only when Alec began turning blue did the two let him go. He opened his mouth to speak but the sound of an opening door cut him off.

His mouth fell open and his eyes widened at the person who walked in, she walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge sticking her head inside, "So you got anything good to eat. My place is cleaned out."

Her head resurfaced from the fridge with a smile as she took the plate in her hands over to the counter and took off the plastic wrap; "Oh this looks promising."

Before her fork could dig into the roast Alec had jumped to his feet, blurred the five or so meters to get to her and his hand shot out stopping it a few centimeters from its destination.

"What are you doing here? How did you know where I lived? Did you follow me?" he said his voice rising with each question. 452 looked over his shoulder to an amused and very curious black woman next to a gawking half mussed man who was unabashedly eyeing her chest.

452 grinned, "Your friend is a real ladies' man. What's with the twenty questions? All I want is some food, which you have. What is the problem?" she continued removing his hand from her wrist where it gripped her.

"I said did you follow me?" Alec asked not sure whether he should feel angered or flattered.

"Yeah like a lovesick puppy," Max drawled sarcastically, "Listen pretty boy. Don't flatter yourself. I was out looking for an apartment on the sweetest ride, recently acquired by me, and I could smell you from down the block. I thought to myself, Alec plus house, plus roommates, equals full fridge, equals food. 452 plus motel, equals fridge full of miniscule bottles of liquor and sodas. Not a good breakfast."

Original Cindy couldn't muffle her laughter at Max's words, finally understanding where she had most likely come from, "So how'd you meet Original Cindy's boy suga?"

"You two together? Huh . . . could've sworn you played for the other team OC," 452 herself was surprised at how easily she had picked up the slang. She still remembered it from her first mission and yesterday she'd refreshed her mind by going to that bike race.

"I like her Alec. Wherever did you find her, you'll have to tell me later," she said chuckling and with one hand closed Sketchy's open mouth, "Go get ready for work fool. Alec she's right. You need a shower but I want the full story."

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