Title: Harm's Way
Author: Bent137
Chapter: Eight
Rating: R, Violence, Language.
Genre: Angst, Humor
Pairing: M/A Friendship with undertones, M/L angst
Summary: Max finds out how Seth came to die, and she's none too pleased.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything at all to do with Dark Angel, if I did it would still be on the air.
Author's Note: First, Thanks to Adrolien for taking a chance an unknown and new writer and betaing. This is a response to a challenge posted at NWP. It's the "After Seth" challenge posted by Vanessa_TaleWeaver, and includes spoilers for the entire run of the show and the first book "Before The Dawn."
Challenge: Here are the parameters:
1) Can be set anytime season 2, after freak nation, or in an alternate universe.
2) Alec and Joshua must help Max work through the fall out. OC would be nice too, but that's not compulsory.
3) Sketchy must make an appearance, in which he shows he's not as dumb as he usually acts. (long or as short as you want.)
4) Max must confront Logan about not telling her about Seth, and they need to have a rip-roaring fight.
5) Someone needs to point out to Logan that the deal he made with Max was extremely heedless of her safety, given what happened to Seth.
6) Logan cannot be portrayed as stupid or maliciously selfish. Narrow-minded, blinkered, and not nearly as accepting of Max's special abilities as he pretends to be, sure!
7) One of Max's other siblings must be mentioned. Living or dead, real-time or flashback, mentioned in passing or full-blown guest appearance - anything goes.
8) Whether Max forgives Logan or gets together with Alec is up to you. BUT she cannot blame any part of this mess on Alec, and they must be friendly, at least, at the end. Hot love and steamy sex are always preferred, however.
9) Alec cannot be the one to tell Max about how Seth died. He can be the first to know, but he cannot be the one to actually tell her.
Chapter Eight: Missing in Action
After finishing her shift at Jam Pony Max hurried to Terminal City. She burst into the headquarters and searched for Mole.
"Mole," Max shouted to him. He was up with Dix.
"Yes?" Mole turned.
"Have you seen Alec?" Max asked.
The room grew quiet and everybody looked around.
"We split up before going to work, he was supposed to come back here, then meet me at Jam Pony, but I never saw him. Normal was bustin' my ass all over the city."
"Somebody check his office," Mole shouted as he walked down the stairs towards Max. "He never came in this morning Max."
"Dammit, figures, this is the last thing I need right now, him getting into trouble over one of his stupid scams and not even telling me so I can save his ass." Max crossed her arms and looked up at Mole. "You'd better tell me what you know."
"As far as I know nothing's going on Max, he's been too busy getting adjusted to being back at Jam Pony and helping you out with the Logan problem to run any scams."
"Well then what happened? He couldn't have just vanished into thin air."
"Maybe he was taken?" Dix spoke up hesitantly, he winced as he spoke, expecting someone to get angry at him.
"But, who could have taken him? I mean, we defeated White."
"Manticore?" Mole questioned.
"Maybe," Max conceded. "I had thought we were out from under them though."
"Maybe he wasn't taken," Dix said.
"What?" Max questioned.
"Maybe he just got distracted."
Max and Mole both stared at Dix.
"Just trying to be a ray of hope," Dix grumbled.
"It's unlikely," Mole said.
"When and where did you guys split up? I'll see if I can get some hover drone footage." Dix asked.
"Sector 6 around eight."
"Alright, I'll check."
*
Alec groaned as he awoke. He was secured to a chair in a dark room. A small dingy window was high in the corner, and he could tell by the color of what little light it was providing that it was still day. His enhanced eyesight helped him examine the room however. It was small, real small, maybe five by five. There was a door directly across from him, it was steel. The walls themselves were cement. It reminded him eerily of Manticore. The door opened suddenly and bright light spilled into the room, temporarily blinding Alec. He squinted in displeasure, turning his face away. After a few seconds, when his eyes had refocused he looked back toward the door.
His breath caught in his throat, "You?" His brow furrowed as he looked at the person incredulously.
*
"Max," Dix yelled, "I think I've got something."
Max hurried up the stairs to where Dix was looking at something on a screen.
"What is it?" she asked as she stopped at his side.
"Well apparently shortly after you left him there was a riot a few blocks over, and every hoverdrone within a 5 block radius responded. One of them was near where you left him and I pulled up what it taped as it went."
Max watched the screen as the hoverdrone went over a building, then a street, and in an alley. There in the alley, on his bike was Alec. She was sure of it. Suddenly a van pulled up in front of the alley's exit. Alec stopped and dropped his bike, turning to run. She watched helplessly as a tazer got him in the back and he fell. The people moved with experience, but not the cockiness of White's familiars, the grace of other transgenics, or the military precision of Manticore. Yet she knew she'd seen them before. She watched the people pick him up and put him in their van. The hoverdrone neared them now, and the last thing Max saw of the scene was a familiar head, with short blonde hair. Then the image was of a street, and buildings, and a group of people rioting.
"I hope that wasn't who I thought it was," Max said.
"You recognized one of them?" Dix asked.
"I think so, rewind it to almost the end." Dix did it quickly. "Okay freeze it." The picture stopped moving and Max pointed out the person she'd seen. "See if you can clean that up."
"Who is it, do you think?"
Max sighed, "It looks suspiciously like this girl I knew, who was supposed to have gone to Canada."
*
"Yes, me."
Alec shook his head. "Why would you do this? I thought you and I got along?"
"We did."
"Okay, call me crazy, but friends don't kidnap other friends, Asha."
"They do when it's for a more important friend."
"Like Logan."
"Like Logan."
"Is he trying to get himself killed?"
"What do you mean?"
"Asha, you need to let me go before Max figures out I'm missing and who took me."
"No way, you're bait, kind of."
"Bait?"
"Well, maybe not bait so much as a tool."
"And that's so much better."
"You're going to help Logan get Max back."
"Please, that will never work. First of all, Max will never take Logan back after he endangered her life so much and lied to her. Second, Max doesn't care enough about me to be excited that Logan found me or whatever you have planned. Third, Max warned Logan if he ever went near a transgenic again she'd kill him. Fourth, actually there isn't really a fourth, just a question. Why the hell would you help Logan with this? I know you want him for yourself."
"I want him to be happy."
"How do you feel about dead, because if you want him alive you'd better let me go."
Asha shook her head and left, shutting the door behind her.
To Be Continued...