In the darkness of the night, with only a streetlamp to illuminate the way, Alec shrank back into the shadows of the alleyway. His left hand was pressed to his bleeding left hip. Using the brick wall to support his weight, he slid down to sit on the concrete floor beside a dumpster.
Using his right hand, he grasped for his cell phone. Alec dialed a familiar number, leaving a "911" code as the message. Max would get back to him soon, he hoped.
Five messages and twice as many minutes later, his phone finally rang. Alec slumped further against the wall as he spoke into the cell, "Hello?"
"Did you need to page me five times?" Max asked exasperated.
Alec ignored her as pain shot up and down the left side of his body. "I need your help."
"You need my help?"
"Max, I'm in pain here. Must you repeat everything I say? Just come and get me."
"Fine," Max gritted. "Where are you?"
"Sector 12. I'm in an alley close to the corner of Oak Street and Tryon Avenue. Hurry, Max." He said, his voice low and serious.
"Okay okay, I'm coming."
Alec heard the tell-tale sound that signalled the end of the call. As he lowered the cell phone, he thought about how he had gotten himself into this mess.
*Flashback*
"Hey boo, what's wrong?" OC asked Max as the two ladies were taking a small break from their work at Jam Pony.
"Nothing really." Max replied, but her face said otherwise. She looked tired to Original Cindy. This whole Terminal City business was weighing heavily on Max.
"You know you can talk to Original Cindy, right?"
"I know, I know." Max said quickly.
"It's just this whole TC thing is harder than I thought it would be."
"What's the problem? Thought things were going well."
"Things are good for now. There's still some minor problems to work through, like my inability to stay in touch. Who would have thought that I would even think of giving up my pager?"
"Ah," OC nodded in understanding. "What do you plan to do?"
"I guess the thing to do is to get a cell, but I don't really have the money to fund the transgenic cause and buy a phone."
"Original Cindy does not see a problem here. You are who you are... do what you do best," she suggested.
Max shook her head. "I can't steal it, OC. That's wrong."
"What's changed? You've always done it before."
"I've always stolen from bad people, OC. I fairly doubt the guy who sells phones is a bad guy."
*End Flashback*
It still puzzled Alec greatly as to whatever compelled him to do something nice for Max, like going out of his way to do a B&E, and end up getting injured in the process.
"Alec?" Max whispered harshly, her form coming into view from around the corner of the building. Funny; he hadn't heard the Ninja.
Pushing the thought away, he replied in a loud whisper. "I'm over here, Max."
"What on earth happened to you?" Max asked, walking up to him. She could smell his blood, so she knew that he was hurt.
"Had a rather harsh encounter with a bullet," he muttered, keeping his hands pressed to his wound as she crouched beside him.
"Great," Max muttered. "We'll talk about this later. Let's get you out of here first." She straightened herself all the while helping him stand.
"Please tell me that you brought something with more than two wheels." Alec said as he let Max take on most of his weight. He felt a fresh wave of blood making it's way down his leg as he put pressure on his left leg. Shit, he was losing too much blood.
"Nope, sorry. It's just my baby."
"Max," Alec started to say, but was quickly interrupted.
"Do you want to go or not?"
"How am I supposed to ride the Ninja like this?" He asked, motioning to his leg and looking pointedly at the bike.
"You're just going to have to."
Alec groaned as he let Max help him sit on the back of the bike. He waited until she settled herself in front of him to wrap his arms around her waist and to lean against her back. His leg hurt like hell and he hoped that she would be taking the derelict streets of Seattle slowly. "Hey, Maxie. Go easy on the bumps." He said, sounding weak and injured to her ears.
The ride to Alec's apartment was long and painful for him, but it gave him time to think about what had happened and how he had gotten shot.
*Flashback*
Entering the closed store had been child's play for Alec. There was only one night guard and he had already been asleep when Alec had knocked him into unconsciousness with his own gun.
Quickly examining the phones within the showcases, he found the one that he was looking for. After picking the lock on the showcase, he slid the displayed cellular phone out and flipped it open. Nodding to himself, he tucked it into one of the many pockets of his black cargo pants.
However, before he could move, he heard footsteps behind him and recognized the all-too familiar sound of a gun being cocked.
"Stop right there!" The male voice sounded very angry.
Alec slowly turned, raising his arms and trying to look harmless. His mind raced with possible escape options as he surveyed the man in front of him.
"Toss all your weapons away." The man said, keeping his gun trained on Alec. He was balding and looked to be in his mid-forties. He was wearing a cheap, wrinkled suit and Alec guessed that he was the owner.
"I don't have any weapons." Alec replied calmly. While it wasn't really the truth, it sounded better than just saying no.
The guy actually snorted at him. "I'm not stupid. Toss them away now."
Deciding that this was the best time for him to make his getaway, Alec dove toward the nearest showcase, intending to roll to his feet and blur for the door and be out of the store within seconds. However, the store owner was ready for him to make a move and fired two shots at him. The first one missed him completely, but the second managed to find its way into his left hip.
Grunting as he landed in a heap on the floor, he pushed the pain out of his mind and grabbed his Glock out of its holster at the small of his back. He pushed himself to his feet and waited for the right moment to go for the door.
Taking a deep breath and firing in the owner's general direction, Alec forced his feet to move toward the door. He made it out of the store and a few blocks away before his left leg collapsed and he had to seek cover in the alleyway.
*End Flashback*
Just as his thoughts were ending, Max pulled the Ninja to a stop in the alley just beside his apartment complex.
He was ashen by the time that Max got him up the stairs and into his room. She gently helped him sit on the bed and then hurried into the bathroom to get his first aid kit.
"Alec?" she asked, coming back into his room to find him lying on the bed with his eyes closed. "Wake up."
"I'm awake," he slurred, opening his eyes slowly and turning his head in her direction.
"Alec, where were you shot?" she asked, a little concerned at how pale he was.
"Left hip," he replied, looking down to where his hands were once again pressing against the wound.
"Okay, let's get your pants off," she said.
He raised his eyebrows. "I don't think I'm up for anything like that tonight, Maxie."
To the reply, she scowled. "Should I leave you be?"
"And let me bleed to death?" He raised a hand to his chest, looking hurt. "You'd miss me too much to do that," he said matter-of-factly.
"I don't know..." she replied. "But I suppose, out of the goodness of my heart, I shouldn't let you die."
"Your sense of humanity never fails to amaze me." He rolled his eyes and unbuttoned his cargo pants.
"Do you need any help?"
Alec started to sit up, but fell back against his pillows as the room spun around him. He nodded slightly, looking away, embarrassed.
Max, still worried, sat down next to him at the foot of the bed, tugging off his cargo pants, finishing the job that he seemed to weak to do. That did not shock her, knowing how much blood he'd lost. What shocked her more was the fact that he went commando.
Alec chuckled as Max averted her eyes. He had forgotten that his lack of clean underwear had led to him not wearing any today. He pulled his sheets over his lower half as Max tossed his pants into a heap on the floor.
Turning back and finding Alec somewhat decent was a relief. Max quickly moved over to Alec's left side, moving the sheet aside giving her a view of his wound. Retrieving the necessary supplies, she started cleaning the blood away. To her distinct displeasure, she found that the bullet was lodged next to Alec's hip bone.
He hissed and clenched his eyes shut as she gently probed his wound. He knew that it hadn't exited and that she was going to have to get it out. "Any chance of us just forgetting about this and leaving it in there?" he asked, trying to grin.
"Well, unless you want to die, and probably never walk again, I don't think leaving it in is a good idea," Max said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Of course I'll never walk again if I die, Maxie," he said, focusing on her words in an attempt to get his mind off of the fact that she was pulling out a very large pair of tweezers.
"Alec?" Max said, looking up at his almost white face.
"Max?" His tone matched hers as his eyes raised to meet hers.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Not your fault," he replied, pondering his words as she started to extract the bullet. It really was her fault, but she didn't need to know that.
"Okay, I got it," she said, tweezers in hand with the bullet. Alec released the breath that he hadn't been aware that he was holding when she spoke.
"Hmmm..." he murmured as his eyes drifted shut and his head lulled to the side.
"Alec, wake up!" Max exclaimed in panic.
"I'm awake." He said, opening his eyes to slits and turning his head in her direction. "Just do me a favor."
"What?"
"Don't yell."
"Okay," Max replied as she finished cleaning his wound. While she was bandaging it, she noticed a tattoo just next to the sewn up bullet hole.
Alec groaned as she pressed the bandage firmly over his wound. His eyes were closed again and there were beads of sweat on his face.
To get his attention and back into the world of consciousness, Max decided to inquire. "Alec? You have a tattoo?"
He nodded slowly. "You've seen my bar code, Max. We all have one."
"Not on your neck, Alec. Here," she said tapping his hip lightly.
"Oh. Yeah, there's one there too." He replied, cryptically.
*Flashback*
"494, are you nuts?" 512 asked as the group of four soldiers stood outside a tattoo parlor on the outskirts of Chinatown.
"Nope, I'm still sane," 494 replied. "But hey, this is my first mission as squad leader. I kinda want something to remember it by."
"With a tattoo?" 605 asked.
"Sure, why not?"
"Because we'll get in major shit," 104 replied.
"Oh come on, let's live a little before we have to go back."
"He does have a point," 512 said. "I mean, how many times do you think we'll have the opportunity to do this?"
*End Flashback*
For a moment, Max pondered whether or not to ask for more information. When she saw Alec slipping away again, she decided to push her luck.
"Care to explain?"
"It's just a Celtic shield knot, kind of like a protection knot. My squad and I all got one while we were on a mission once. It was kind of an impulsive thing and Manticore didn't care for it that much."
"Of course. So did you get into a lot of trouble for it?"
"Well," he bit his lip, "it's kind of hard to tell. The mission was kind of a failure, so I was sent to Psy-Ops anyway. It's not like they tell you what you're getting 'disciplined' for when you're there."
"I see." Max studied Alec closely and she didn't like what she saw. "Alec, I think you need a blood transfusion. You've lost too much."
"Okay." He nodded, extending his arm.
Max grabbed the tubing and scooted closer to Alec before starting the transfusion.
"Max, maybe you should lie down," Alec suggested.
"I have to keep my arm up here." She replied, reaching out with her other hand to feel his forehead. "Do you feel hot?"
"Kind of," he murmured.
Max frowned and looked at the door of his room. She had just started the transfusion so she couldn't just get up and walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She sighed, turning back to Alec. "Tell me more about this tattoo."
"There's not much to tell. I led a squad out on a mission. We all decided to get matching tattoos, then the mission failed."
"There's a lot to tell. I mean, you led a squad? And how did the mission fail?"
"Yes, I led a squad," he groaned.
She started to stroke his hair away from his face, hoping to soothe him. "And?" She prompted.
"And the whole mission went to hell because intel was wrong."
"What happened to the squad?" She asked.
"Half the squad died," he whispered. "The rest of us, well, we spent some time in Psy-ops."
Max's eyes widened. "Alec, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
"It's okay, you didn't know." He said softly, turning his head away and fighting back tears. It always hurt to lose soldiers, but never as much as it hurt when you were their commander.
They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Max didn't know what to say and Alec was in too much pain to think.
Max looked over at the clock radio next to Alec's bed abd noticed that quite a bit of time had passed. Her head started to feel light, letting her know that while giving blood would save Alec, she still needed some for herself. Quickly, she pulled the tubing loose from her end, letting the last of the blood drip into Alec.
He moaned softly as she checked the bandages on his hip. There were stained with blood but weren't soaked. She covered him with the rest of the sheets and eased off the bed, trying not to disturb him. She returned a moment later with a damp washcloth and bathed his face and neck.
"Alec, what were you doing in Sector 12 that got you shot?" Max asked softly, not expecting an answer.
"Simple breaking and entering," he murmured, nuzzling her hand instinctively as she rested it on his cheek.
"Obviously it wasn't that simple," she replied tartly. "Why didn't you ask me to come with you? It's dangerous to run stuff alone."
"It was simple until the owner came out with the 'shoot first-ask questions later' attitude. I didn't need help," he replied indignantly, turning his head away from her.
"Alec, what was so important that you had to go by yourself, without backup?" she asked concerned, while brushing his hair away from his face.
"I had it covered, Max," he whispered slowly, hoping to hint to her that he was drifting to sleep. He didn't want to talk about this.
Max sighed. She could tell that Alec was purposely avoiding the topic. Whenever he did that, the topic stayed down, and the chances of getting a straight answer was zilch. She decided to leave it be, at least for now.
Alec relaxed when he heard Max's sigh. She was going to leave it alone. He smiled inwardly and drifted into slumber.
As Alec slipped into unconsciousness, Max left his side, and retrieved his blood stained pants, hoping for a clue to what he had been doing tonight. She realized that she shouldn't be snooping, but he worried her, not because he constantly got into trouble, or so she had once believed, but it was the secrecy that bothered her.
She started digging through the various pockets, wondering why cargo pants needed a hundred different sized pockets when two objects clattered noisily to the floor. She looked over at Alec, who remained unaffected by the loud sounds. Looking down, she spotted two identical cell phones.
"What?" she mumbled looking to and fro between Alec and the phones.
Examining them carefully, she noticed that one was well-used and its display clearly read 'Alec', while the other phone was almost brand-new. Max suddenly thought back, remembering her conversation with OC about needing a cell phone.
'So that was what he was doing tonight. A B&E for a new cell phone,' she thought, 'but why all the trouble when he already has one?'. Max flipped open the phone, and saw that the display read 'Max'. For a moment, she was in shock, her mouth gaping open. He had gotten the phone for her. It had never once crossed her mind that he would do something like this. Then, she smiled, realizing just how thoughtful a person Alec was.
THE END
AN 1: This story is in response to the challenge: Branded. I was nuts when I read it and I still maintain that I'm nuts for writing this story. However, let me know what you think. ~jt
AN 2: Okay, so I'm always up for injuring Alec and when jt pointed this out, I couldn't resist. Hope that you enjoyed it and don't forget to let us know what you thought!
Read? So did you like it? Review. All comments and criticism will be greatly appreciated.