Title: Secrets, Lies and Betrayals
Rating: PG, for now, may contain a few swear words
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Dark Angel, Cameron & Eglee, etc. I own nothing and I'm gaining only valuable writing experience.
Summary: Logan has a secret, which ultimately puts both Max and Alec in danger. M/A
A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've been trying to upload this story for the last few days but ff.net just won't let me. But if you're reading this now it means that it has finally worked. * Cross fingers * so far I've finished 2/4 of my assignments. Not long now until I'm totally finished and on hols for a month. YAY! :)
Chapter 6: Actions and Consequences
Max woke to find that she was sitting awkwardly in a chair next to Alec's bed. She was half draped across his body and suddenly realized that she was actually covering his chest wound. She could feel his heartbeat. It was steady but nowhere near as strong as it should be, especially since he was an X-5 transgenic male. Max still felt weak herself but she could only sleep for so long. The shark DNA took care of that, even when she was injured. Max reluctantly moved from resting on top of Alec's battered and yet still soft chest and sat on the edge of his bed, content to just look at him. He was looking better than he was but he was still in pretty bad shape. He was still unconscious and that annoyed Max the most.
All she wanted was for Alec to wake up and open his eyes. She had never noticed before how much she loved Alec's eyes. They epitomized everything that he was. They were full of life, full of laughter and yet also full of so much pain and loss. However, despite everything he had endured through out his entire life, they always held that certain spark and Max longed to see it again. At least then she would know that he was all right. Just seeing him lying there, unconscious, covered in wounds broke her heart. This wasn't the Alec she knew and loved. Whoa! Where did that thought come from?
Max felt drained both physically and emotionally. Her shoulder hurt from where the bullet had pierced her skin and her mind was aching from the multitude of questions that were racing through it. She was so angry about what White had done to Alec and yet she was also really confused. It seemed as if there were a million questions in her mind that were all demanding immediate attention and answers. This was only adding to her tired state. Why did Logan send Alec on a mission? Why didn't Alec ask her to go with him? What was the mission for and what was all that money she had found in Alec's bag for? Why was the short man with glasses supposed to be the contact when he obviously wasn't the right man and why did he help her? Why was White at the complex? Was it a trap? Had Logan betrayed Alec for some sort of deal with White? But then Logan had seemed really surprised when she had told him the White had Alec and Max was sure that Logan wasn't that good a liar or actor. If that were the case then, what was the deal that Logan and White made?
Max grabbed her head and silently willed her mind and all the questions within it to knock it off, if only for a moment. She needed peace, she needed to rest and she wanted to be there for Alec if… Max immediately corrected herself, disgusted that she had even thought that, when he woke up. But despite all this, Max wanted answers first and foremost and she knew that there was only one person who was going to give them to her, whether he liked it or not. She raced out of the infirmary and out of T.C in search of some much needed explanations.
Logan had driven faster than he ever had before in his entire existence. He was a respected, law abiding citizen, heaven forbid if he ever broke the law! But fear was a powerful motivator. It persuaded you to do things that your sensible brain would never usually entertain, such as, leaving the love of your life to take on countless number of highly trained, ruthless and dedicated killing experts who wanted you dead oh and of course breaking the speed limit. You know the usual.
Sure Logan was scared but that was hardly a viable excuse and he knew that now. He had apparently left his rational brain in the car and the moment he had stepped out and experienced first hand just how dark and creepy the woods were, his panicked persona took a firm hold of him and his brain, thus clouding his judgments and altering his usual behavior and actions.
How could he have left Max and a possibly injured or worse Alec to the likes of White and the familiars? Logan was ashamed and angry with himself. He was also disappointed that his computer skills hadn't been unable to detect White at the complex. Unless he had been set up? Logan liked the idea of that as it drew attention and subsequent blame away from him. He was grateful for that, even it was only a small amount of attention that got diverted. But surely White wasn't clever enough to out smart him, Logan Cale, the almighty Eyes Only?
Logan took a moment from inflating his bruised ego to think back to the events leading up to sending Alec on the fateful mission. He was simply doing some research for an Eyes Only story he was working on at the time when he was interrupted by the ringing of his private phone. It was the man with the squeaky voice who had rang him and told him about the cure. It was also the squeaky voiced man's idea to meet at the complex. Logan momentarily thanked the streak of coward in him that had stopped him from going to the meeting himself, as it surely would have meant certain torture and death for him. At the time he hadn't thought any thing of the man ringing his private phone. Logan was simply too caught up in the moment and dreaming about the cure to notice such a small detail. He was going to get the cure and finally be with Max, what did it matter who rang who and where they met? Logan's naivety and ignorance ultimately lead to his undoing, along with the of Max's and Alec's also.
Logan decided that the man with the squeaky voice had set him up with the lure of a cure. Logan was blindsided by the cure, as he believed it would be the answer to all of his problems. He and Max could finally be able to touch again and that would mean that they would be together and everything else would magically fall into place as well. He knew now that he had been tricked and his grand plan had been destroyed. Logan was bitterly disappointed that yet another chance to find the cure had been extinguished.
When Logan had arrived home from leaving Max, he had consoled himself with lights galore in his apartment, a bottle of pre-pulse scotch and his computer. Some time during the early hours of the morning, he had passed out in front of his computer, lying awkwardly across his keyboard. This was the way that Max had found him when she burst through the front doors several hours later. She hadn't intended on leaving Alec or seeing Logan quite so soon after the severely botched mission but the feline DNA in her mix got the better of her and curiosity, along with a good dose of anger, took over.
Max was thoroughly disgusted that Logan was lying there sleeping, seemingly peacefully, and totally oblivious to the danger he had put Alec and herself in and the pain that Alec was now going through. Max was angry, possibly angrier than she ever had been before in her life and that was saying something since Manticore wasn't exactly full of happiness and roses. Max was so angry, in fact, that she felt like slapping Logan and watching happily as he withered in pain and confusion, as he died right in front of her. Despite being a Manticore trained killing machine, Max still wasn't that cold blooded. Instead she took some joy from kicking Logan's chair, sending it and him flying across the room until it slammed into the wall and spilled Logan onto the floor where he sprawled gracelessly.
Logan awoke groggily and pondered how he had gotten on the floor. He was startled by what sounded like someone screaming at him or was that just his head aching and protesting from the bottle of scotch?
"You selfish fucking bastard!" Max yelled, watching Logan look drowsy and confused
"Max?" Logan replied, wondering why there was three of her.
"Don't Max me" she yelled again, "You've got some serious explaining to do"
"Explain?" Logan echoed dumbly. In his mind he had been trying to explain everything that had happened to himself but the bottle of scotch had dulled his thinking quite considerably and all the great conspiracy theories he had come up with last night now seemed either stupid and far fetched or they escaped him completely.
Max was shaking with anger. She forced her arms to stay at her side but couldn't help her small but deadly hands curling into tight fists, her knuckles glowing white. Max was using all the self-control she could possibly muster considering the situation but with Logan being so obviously stupid and selfish, she wasn't sure it would be enough. She tried to calm herself down in an effort to get some of the questions that she desperately needed answers to out.
"Why?" was all Max could spit out in fear of completely losing her temper. She hoped that Logan would be able to give her something, anything but seeing the state he was in, she was less than hopeful.
Logan started at her, with a blank expression plastered across his face before he clumsily got up and staggered over to the couch. Even if Max had been able to help Logan, she wouldn't have. Logan rubbed his face with his hands. There were several indentations of squares marking his face from where he had slept on the keyboard. In any other situation, Max would have found that quite amusing and she was sure that Alec would have some sort of remark. Thinking of Alec only made her angrier and also sadder. Max blamed Logan completely for the state Alec was in and she was wasn't going to hold back in the off chance that it made Logan feel uncomfortable. Perhaps he would rather experience how 'uncomfortable' White had made Alec?
"My patience is rapidly wearing thin Logan so I'm going to ask the questions and you're going to answer them, got it?"
Logan nodded his head slowly. He didn't want to increase the pain his head was going through by moving let alone answering questions but he really didn't have a choice. This was the angriest he had ever seen Max and the fact that he was the cause of it didn't go past him.
"Do you have an idea how much damage you've caused?" Max yelled at him throwing her hands up in the air for emphasis.
Raising her arms over her head caused her jacket to pull away from her body, revealing the bandage around her shoulder. The movement had caused the wound to slightly re-open causing a small amount of blood to seep through and stain the bandage.
"Max, what happened to your shoulder?" Logan asked with concern evident in his voice
"What?" Max said looking confused for a second. She then realized what Logan was referring to and retorted, "Like you even care"
Logan looked shocked. "Of course I care Max, that's why I sent Alec to get the cure for us"
What he had just revealed made Logan cringe. It had just come out in a rush. He really hadn't meant to tell Max about the cure, after all, they didn't have it and she was still mad enough as it was. He didn't need to be adding to the long list of what he had done wrong in the past 24 hours. There was already enough on that list to last him a lifetime.
Max was seething at this new information and for a while she was rendered speechless, trying to process what Logan had just told her obviously by mistake judging by the look on his face.
"You did what?" she said slowly.
Logan couldn't answer and Max continued.
"You sent Alec on a mission to a complex filled with White and the familiars, with no backup, to retrieve the cure for us?" Max was stunned at Logan's stupidity and selfishness.
"It was supposed to be a surprise," Logan said knowing that it was a lame excuse when he heard himself speak the words, he quickly added, "and I didn't know White or the familiars were even there.
Max shot Logan down with a deadly look.
"Don't give me that," she said with danger flashing in her eyes, willingly Logan to try and push her any further.
"Honestly Max, I was set up" Logan wailed, desperately hoping she would believe him.
Max was a somewhat taken aback.
"So you didn't set Alec up?" she asked quietly but firmly
"Of course not" Logan said defiantly, immediately offended that his honor had been questioned, " how could you even say that Max?"
"Because Alec is unconscious covered in wounds and practically dead courtesy of White and the mission YOU sent him on all to retrieve the stupid cure," she screamed.
Logan looked sheepish and worried. He hadn't realized that Alec was in that bad a condition, but then again, how could he, he hadn't even heard from him since he had left his apartment, let alone seen him. Logan pushed the thoughts that if he hadn't been such a sissy and wasn't afraid of the dark he wouldn't have had to bail and he would have been there to help rescue Alec at the complex.
"Max, I'm sorry" he said accompanied with a reassuring look.
"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to"
Logan's look changed from reassuring to confused in the blink of an eye, annoying Max even further. Had he forgotten Alec already, despite talking about him only 5 seconds earlier? This man really was selfish!
"Save it for Alec if…" Max cursed and corrected herself again, "When he wakes up"
Again Logan was confused and this time shocked as well. "Is it really that bad?" he whispered, as if talking quietly would ease the pain of the question. Immediately tears sprung to Max's eyes, "worse" she said before crumbling to the floor. She really didn't need to be having this conversation, this fight with Logan. It had only drained her even more than she already was and she needed to rest more now than ever. Max ran her hand through her hair and sighed. She looked up at Logan, who was staring down at her from the couch with concern and pleaded,
"Just tell me what happened"
Logan could see the state she was in even if she couldn't. She was injured, weak, tired, stressed, extremely worried for Alec and she needed rest.
"We don't need to talk about this now Max, you should rest" Logan said soothingly.
Max was on her feet in a split second. She had fooled Logan into thinking that she was no longer angry just because she was on the floor and tired. That was a big mistake. Max was still fuming. She just didn't have the energy to stand or to yell anymore. But suddenly the urge came back to her coincidently coinciding with the exact some time that Logan had made his latest inaccurate observation.
"Don't you tell me what I should do EVER AGAIN" Max screamed at Logan, shaking her fist at him, close enough for a fair warning but not close enough to touch and therefore kill him. Logan was taken aback by her sudden outburst. She was being completely irrational. All he had suggested was that she gets some much-needed rest. He tried to calm her down but before he could utter a single word he was cut off.
"Don't Logan, I don't want to hear it anymore. I've been putting up with your bullshit for far too long. I thought you were a humanitarian, helping the little people but you only care about yourself."
Logan who was outraged by her last comment interrupted Max.
"I do care about the little people, that's why I am Eyes Only and conduct Eyes Only missions to better their situations."
"That's utter crap and you know it" Max responded, "I'm the one putting my life on the line for all of the stupid Eyes Only crusades, you simply sit back and watch. Has it ever occurred to you that all the Eyes Only missions are simply a front for your own personal gain?"
"Don't be ridiculous Max" Logan spat out, hoping she wouldn't continue.
"It's true and you know it. Every time someone crosses you or is better than you, they suddenly become a criminal and Eyes Only must bring them to justice" Max countered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She was enjoying watching Logan squirm just a little too much but that didn't stop her from continuing,
"You've brainwashed the majority of the population of Seattle into thinking that you're some kind of god. And yeah I fell for it to but not for any longer. I'm out. I'm done. You've pushed me too far this time. We're done. I don't ever want to see you again."
Apart from his occasional interruption, Logan was gaping like a fish through out Max's tirade. He was completely stunned that his Max could talk to him and about him like that. He couldn't comprehend what she was saying. Brainwashed, bullshit, and that last part about never wanting to see him again. That cut him like a knife. Obviously she didn't know what she was saying at it was just the stress speaking.
"But Max, I did this for us" he said with pleading in his voice and his eyes making him look even more pathetic than he already did.
Max had a face of stone. Her Manticore solider mask was firmly in place.
"That's where you're wrong Logan," she said before adding, "There is no us" Max turned and stormed out of the apartment leaving a dumbstruck Logan in her wake.
On the ride back to Terminal City and to Alec, Max did a lot of thinking. It was possible that what Logan had said about being set up was the truth. She was pretty sure that Logan wouldn't lie to her, even about something that big. It did add up, as he had sounded genuinely surprised when she had told him White had Alec at the complex. How could she never have seen just how selfish he was before? He was so self-absorbed that he would stop at nothing to get what he wants. Max then realized that Logan had been using her since the day they had met. Sure it was supposed to be a give and take relationship but it seems that he did all the taking and she did all the giving. He really hadn't been that helpful with finding her family and she was always being sent on Eyes Only missions to suit him.
This new way of looking at everything certainly did clarify more than a few points for Max. But had she really meant what she said about never wanting to see him again? Her anger had gotten the better of her and she had just spat it out, but was it true? Max thought about it and concluded that not only was it indeed true, but it was the best decision she had made in a long time. She was finally starting to see Logan for what he really was and also see herself as well. Unfortunately Logan had manipulated her without her knowledge or consent into something that she didn't like. But now she was going to put a stop to that by ridding herself of Logan and his poisonous ways. Now she had the time and freedom to be with her friends and her family, her own kind without any stupid distraction or unwanted criticisms from Logan.
Max couldn't wait to tell Alec about what had happened with Logan. All he had to do now was wake up.