Disclaimer: I don't own any of them blah, blah, blah
A/N: A very special thanks to Infie who is the greatest and checked this out for me and made wonderful suggestions J. And I want to thank everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me. Really.
Tough Call
Revelations
"Josh!" Max entered the house balancing numerous bags in her arms and kicked the door shut.
Her conversation with Sketchy earlier had reminded her she tended to neglect her friends sometimes, which had in turn reminded her of Joshua. She hadn't been to see him in almost two weeks! The poor guy was probably starving to death. At least till Alec had come back. So she decided to go shopping for him.
"Josh!" She dumped the bags on the kitchen table and ran towards the basement as she heard him coming up the stairs. She smiled as she watched his big head emerge, tilted to one side, his nose up in the air. "What's up, Big Fella?"
"Max," he said looking at her. "Breeding."
She opened her mouth but then closed it again. Well, she hadn't planned on telling him so soon, but… "Yes, Joshua. I am."
"Max and Alec having a little X5?"
She gasped and then smiled, well, that was one less person to worry about. "Yes, we are, Josh." She wondered why he had immediately associated the baby with Alec, but decided since they were his only family it was natural for him to do so.
The transgenic grinned and said, moving his head up and down "Max and Alec got busy!"
Her smile faltered. How was she to explain this to him? "Er.. No, Josh. We didn't. But Alec is going to look after this baby when the time comes."
The dog-faced guy scratched his head and after a while raised his eyes to meet hers, smiling. "Just like Father Sandeman took care of Joshua?"
"Yes. Except Alec will not go anywhere." They both turned at the sound of the voice to look at the smiling man leaning against the doorframe.
Max searched his eyes uncertainly, but the smile was genuine. There was no trace of the Alec she had glimpsed that morning. She didn't know what had changed in the hours since, but she was glad to see him back. That bleak , absent Alec had made her heart ache.
She smiled tentatively as she watched Joshua lift Alec in a bear hug. Or dog hug rather.
"Uhm… Josh … uhm… I'm really … glad you're… happy, but… I can't…breathe," he said, gasping for air. But he was grinning as he was set back on the ground.
Max was so enthralled watching him she didn't even see Joshua approach her until she was lifted and swirled around herself. "No, Josh, wait!" She screamed, but she was giggling.
Alec watched them, smiling. Leave it to Josh to always see the important part of everything.
And he was right. They were having a baby. Good reason to celebrate. His smile became a grin, it was a reason to celebrate.
"So, Josh, are you making us Mac and cheese or what?" he asked.
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Biggs looked at his reflection in a glass case as he passed. *Ugh!* Well, it wasn't that bad. It was just so… not him. He sighed. That was the point, right?
He was wearing a gray suit he had lifted from a shop before checking in at the motel. White shirt, even a tie! His hair was slicked back and he was wearing glasses. He looked very much like any other businessman. Exactly what he had been aiming for.
He made a big deal out of dropping the papers he was carrying, and then crouched behind a display to pick them up. He didn't think the guards were paying attention, but he played it safe anyway. It was the way he had been trained.
From his advantaged position he checked the angles of the cameras and the lasers. He raised an eyebrow, impressed. It wouldn't be easy. This place screamed two men job. He and 494 would have had no trouble relieving the museum of its valuable cargo.
He closed his eyes and dropped his head. Damn! Why did he have to bring Alec to the front of his mind again? *Cause he was your partner in crime and the two of you always worked great together.*
He shook the thoughts away and was about to stand back up when he realized there were two men standing on the other side of the display he was using for cover. He eyed them, instinctively wary.
One of them was very big and bulky. He had a cast on his right shoulder and was favoring his right leg.
The other was shorter and blond. He was wearing a dark suit and a raincoat over it. Biggs' instincts immediately told him this one was the one he should be looking out for.
'Suit' was speaking in a cold, raspy voice, whispering almost. The planes of his face were very sharp and changed as he spoke. "Tell me again how one filthy transgenic outmaneuvered three exemplars of the purest blood on the planet?"
Biggs held his breath and remained motionless. *Transgenic?* All his senses focused on the men that had just in a heartbeat become his enemies.
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As they finished dinner, Joshua rose and proclaimed he had some painting to do, and with that left Max and Alec alone.
An awkward silence followed his departure. Both transgenics sat there, looking at their empty plates, neither of them knowing quite what to say.
*This is getting ridiculous* Alec shook his head, got up and announced, "I need a drink."
Max watched him walk to the refrigerator. He found a can of soda and tossed it over his shoulder without glancing back. Max caught it, as it fell directly to where her hand was resting on the table. He grabbed one for himself, sprawled on the chair opposite hers and opened his beverage, making a funny face as he started drinking.
Max smiled at him. "You do know there's liquor in that cabinet over there, don't you?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I just…" he shrugged. "Well, you can't drink now."
"Doesn't mean you can't."
"Yeah, well, it's okay," he said, shrugging again.
Max leaned against the back of the chair, studying him. She would never completely understand him. Their conversation that morning had reminded her she didn't really know him. And suddenly, getting to know Alec was the most important thing in the world for her.
She bit her lower lip. How could she ask him, without drawing him back to that place he'd been at that morning?
"Alec, what happened in Salem?" He remained quiet for a while and she silently cursed herself. *Really smooth, Max.* She had asked him about the heist, cause it had seemed neutral enough, guess she had been wrong, as usual. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just curious and… But it's okay really." she assured him hastily.
Alec looked at her worried eyes and sighed. He didn't really want to talk, but he could tell her about Salem, right? He wasn't emotionally involved with that and besides…
"Actually I do have to tell you. You probably need to know this."
He rolled his shoulders and started speaking. "I spent the first day doing recon of the building, figured I'd check it out before the exposition arrived. Nothing much to it. I had the blueprints before I left so I knew what I was up against. Usual stuff. Cameras, motion detectors –of course, ground level." He snickered at that and watched Max do a similar gesture.
"Ordinaries," they both said in unison and smiled.
He continued. "They also had lasers, pretty intricate disposition, but not a big deal if you can see them." He winked at her. "And of course, the guards. Regular rounds, blah, blah, blah." He made a dismissive movement with his hand.
Max leaned forward, elbows on the table, chin in her hands, smiling slightly. Enjoying the sound of his voice, without realizing it.
Alec also leaned forward, really getting into the story now and enjoying having Max's attention. "So there I am the next day, all ready to go check the exposition. See if anything had changed, you know, extra security or something once the goods had arrived. I go to the blasted museum, only to find out the blizzard had delayed the exhibition. I'm telling ya, I was not thrilled. Plus, the darn blizzard made it practically impossible to leave the motel. Of course, I went to the museum again and again. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: useless. But even I can't watch that much TV," he said, shaking his head.
Max nodded expectantly and then stopped herself as she became aware of it. He was really good at this. No wonder Sketchy and the others were always hanging onto every story he told.
It wasn't just the words or the inflection he gave them.
He would raise an eyebrow or both of them, turn the corners of his mouth up or down, depending on what he was saying, roll his eyes, wriggle his nose, tilt his head… Not to mention his hands and shoulders. He moved them around all the time.
"And so I became friends with one of the employees of the place." -Half smile -"What? It was a guy, Max," -disappointed face- "But anyway, it was the easiest thing. One of the times we were chatting, I just overrode the weight sensor, they never even noticed. Soo lame!" -shake of the head- "And to think I had this whole plan worked out." –pout- "So, the night the exposition finally arrives, I go there and naturally, I check the perimeter first," –roll of eyes- "And there I see this new guy outside." –frown- "He's all big and moves all… professional, you know?" -lips pursed- "Okay, so I go around him and check out this van in the parking lot. Antennas on the roof? Bad thing." -raised eyebrows, nod- "So, I stay out there watching these guys all night, I learn their patterns and figure out a way around them. No big deal. They were good, but not that good, know what I mean?" -cocky smile.
*All right, Max, stop it!* She got up and started washing the dishes in order to stop watching his every gesture. "Go on," she encouraged him.
"Well, the next night I go in. Smooth as silk. Not one single glitch. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about, I had every camera angle covered. They never saw me."
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'Bulky' swallowed uneasily and began talking. "We never saw him, Sir. George was outside. Carson and me had the cameras covered. But he somehow managed to slip past us."
Biggs almost felt sympathy for the guy. He definitely wouldn't want to be telling 'Suit' he had screwed up. No, Sir. Well, almost. A half smile came to his lips.
"We only realized the piece was gone when one of the cameras swept by. Couldn't be more than 5.6 seconds. So George, outside, changed direction and picked his smell and we were already on our way. When we spotted him he was running through a dark alley. He was really fast, Sir, but we managed to keep up with him." 'Bulky stopped and started fidgeting with his cast. "He ambushed us, Sir."
'Suit' just raised a menacing eyebrow.
"He, er... got inside this warehouse and when he came in he hit us with some sort of heavy bar. George's gun fell and the guy grabbed it. He shot George and Carson. Two bullets each, one between the eyes, the other through the heart."
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"Third guy had fallen behind this crate, I couldn't shoot him directly. When I went around it he jumped at me. I swear to you I don't know where he came from. And he tackled me good. Knocked the gun from my hand." Max watched him shake his head disbelievingly. The dishes were long forgotten.
"We started circling each other and then began to fight..."
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"He had some pretty good moves, Sir, for a non-Familiar."
*Familiar? What the hell is that supposed to mean?* Biggs thought, disconcerted, but he continued to listen, filing the entire conversation for future examination.
"He fought hard. He started with some back kicks, nothing fancy, but effective, then he..-"
"Spare me the dance lesson." 'Suit' interrupted him. "Bottom line, he beat the crap out of you."
Bulky cleared his throat "Well, er.. Not exactly, Sir."
"Oh?" Suit asked, his voice full of sarcasm, as he looked at Bulky's cast.
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"...The guy was a beast. I kept hitting him and he acted like it was nothing. He had me cornered. He even broke one of my ribs." He rubbed the place absently and Max felt color come into her cheeks. Wasn't that where she had hit him yesterday?
"Sorry," she murmured.
"Huh? Oh, that's okay. So I... I pretended to trip over a box. I know, cheap, but hey, it worked. I was on the floor, and when he came closer I kicked his feet from under him and rolled to grab the gun. The guy moved fast. When I managed to shoot, he'd already moved. I only hit his arm and his leg. I ran out of bullets but he was down, so I just got the hell out of there. I could hear sirens coming, probably the guards at the museum having realized the piece was gone. I thought it best to disappear."
Max looked at him wide eyed. "Familiars?" She whispered, and then raised her voice. "You went up against three Familiars on your own?!? Have you gone mad or are you just plain stupid? Don't EVER do that again!"
"Well, it's not like I had much of a choice… They would have caught up with me sooner or later. This way at least..-"
"…you were making the first move and had the element of surprise on your side." she finished, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry about before, my big mouth keeps saying things on its own."
He smiled at her, propped against the counter as he was balancing in the back legs of his chair.
God, she loved his smile. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She didn't understand what it was that caused these weird reactions lately. Maybe it was the pregnancy. She'd heard it sometimes made women a little irrational.
She was so beautiful. He never got tired of looking at her.
They still had a lot of unsolved issues, but they were making progress, right? At least they had talked in a civilized manner for more than five minutes. Well, he had talked, but she had listened. That was a first. And speaking of firsts, Max had not even punched him once! She hadn't even raised her voice! Okay, except for that little outburst at the end, but he had realized right away she'd been scared. And she had apologized immediately afterwards. His smile broadened and he bit his lower lip, the mischievous glint back in his eyes. He just couldn't resist.
"Do you realize that's like the second time you've apologized during the course of this conversation? That's got to be more than you have ever since we met!" He tilted his head. "Are you going all girly on me Maxie?"
The next thing he knew he was lying with his back on the floor and Max was standing in front of him, hands on hips, smiling.
He winced and then laughed. *Note to self: no rocking on chairs when Max is around.*
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Suit's face was tight, except for a twitching muscle in his jaw. "And you're absolutely certain this was him?" He produced a picture from one of the pockets of his raincoat.
Biggs strained to see it, but the angle was all wrong.
"Yessir, that's him."
"Persistent little tooth ache." He took out his cell phone "Otto?, White. Keep harassing every single dealer in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I want people around every corner and hole… I don't care they've been there for two days already. When 494 goes to sell that thing, I want him. 452 won't be far behind... Are you still there? Told you to get your ass moving! As in NOW!" He closed the connection.
He turned to Bulky with a feral smile. "Report to base, soldier. You will be compensated for your wonderful performance." With that he turned and left.
Biggs waited till Bulky walked away to finally stand up, shaking his head, a frown of concentration creasing his forehead as he tried to classify all the information he had just received.
Okay, so Alec had robbed the museum, that didn't come as a big surprise. He should have realized it the minute the guy had said they hadn't even known he was there. All X5s were very good at burglary, but 494 had always been the best.
But who the hell were these people, they had 'picked up his smell'?!? What the fuck was that all about?
The White guy was obviously government, but the other? "Familiars"? He shook his head, too much here that didn't make any sense.
The most important part of it all jumped to his mind. They were onto Alec. They had a picture of him. He needed to be warned ASAP. But how?
Biggs had promised to stay out of Alec's life. He couldn't break his promise. Especially after what he'd done. But how else was he supposed to…?
*Wait. I promised he'd never see me again, right?* He took a deep breath, he felt relieved he'd found a way around it, but that still didn't make it any easier. The image of his friend lying on the floor against a dumpster flashed through his mind. "Damn it!" He took out his cell phone before he could lose his resolve and started walking out of the room as he dialed.
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The old man sitting in a bench in one corner of the room, apparently snoozing, smiled.
Neither the men busily discussing nor the young man spying on them had even realized he was there.
Oh, the boy had seen him, but he had dismissed him. The kid had been trained to recognize threat, and his instincts had probably told him this old guy presented none. Poor kid would have been really disappointed had he realized he'd been 'made' as soon as he had entered the room.
But the kid's instincts had been right. At least for now, he offered no threat.
He was disappointed by the other two, though. Specifically by the blond one. Well, he had let him down for most of his adult life.
He frowned a little, but then smiled again.
It had been a fruitful evening. He now had a face and a name to go with his previous information. Plus the bit about 452. Interesting.
A very rewarding day indeed.
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