A/N: As usual Infie was my beta on this, and as usual she made it better and reminded me of things forgotten ;-). *hugs Infie. Thank you all for reviewing.

A/N2: Next chapter might take a while, exams and all... Sorry. (that is, if anyone actually reads this here).

Tough Call

Confrontation

Biggs pulled over in front of a small, ordinary looking house in a dark alley. It was still very early and the street was deserted, which suited his purposes.

The girl beside him looked up at him questioningly.

"Guy that lives here is a hacker." It was all the explanation he offered. He knew she'd assume –correctly- that he'd been in contact with some other transgenic in Seattle who had kept him up to date on important info like this. It was standard procedure. No point telling her he wasn't in contact any more.

They got out of the car and she stood on watch while he picked the lock. They entered silently and closed the door behind them.

After going in opposite directions to make sure no one was around, they met in the living-room area again. Or at least what must have once been a living room. A big desk with state of the art computer equipment and several appliances were connected to the main computer by an intricate net of cables. Biggs sat at the desk and started moving his fingers competently over the keys.

Ralph moved to the hall to watch out for any sign that their 'host' was waking up.

When Max woke up again, she could smell the coffee's rich aroma coming from the kitchen. A girl could get used to waking up to enticing smells every morning.

She sighed and went to take a shower.

As she came out shortly afterward, she was wearing her pants and one of Alec's tee-shirts. It was, of course, too big for her, even though she had chosen one of those he had that showed his muscles. Just the thought of him wearing it made her blush. It made having him see her looking like she was wearing a tent almost bearable.

Alec looked up as she entered the room and immediately said, with an exasperated tone, "Damn! Now I'm never going to be able to wear that again!"

"You won't?"

"Of course not! You think I'd ever wear something that looks better on somebody else? Hell, no!"

He smiled and watched her smile back. "Want some coffee?"

"Oh, yeah!" she perched herself on a stool, balancing her legs. "You're up early…"

"So are you."

"Yeah, well, I'm the one with shark DNA," she said superiorly.

"Yeah, well, I'm the one sleeping on the couch," he countered, matching her tone.

"Good point." She conceded.

"Whoa, wait! Did you just agree that I won that little dispute?" he asked with a feigned look of shock on his face. While he was busy with his theatrics, she snatched a bag of chocolate chip cookies from in front of him, smirking and raising her eyebrows.

"Sneaky!" he said.

"I do my best." She was the one to feign modesty now, but without losing her tight grip on the bag.

"Well, that's okay. You can have them… You should enjoy while you still can. I mean… in a few weeks you'll probably be unable to keep anything down in the mornings, so…" he ducked, laughing, to avoid the cookies flying towards his head.

She glanced back at Biggs, but he was too busy looking at the several screens in front of him, his eyes moving rapidly to read everything.

She hesitated, but only for an instant, before she grabbed the phone sitting on the small table in the hallway. It took less than five seconds. Just a whisper.

White closed his phone with a feral smile, before tossing it on the passenger seat of his speeding car. Maybe he wasn't the main target, but getting him would provide for a great deal of satisfaction. It wouldn't be long now.

"So, where are we going so early?"

"We are going somewhere?"

"Well, I thought you could give me a ride… After all, we do work at the same place…" he smiled sheepishly.

"You just want an excuse to put your hands around me." Did she just say that out loud?

Alec's smile broadened and his look became more predatory. "So?"

She blushed slightly, but then returned the smile and added sweetly, looking at him from under batting eyelashes: "Okay, you can come with me. But we have to make a quick stop before work."

"We do?" He looked at her doubtfully. She had agreed too easily. And that sweet tone?

"Yep. Come on, let's go."

And she wasn't going to say anything else? *Not good.* he thought as he grabbed his own jacket and followed her out.

Okay, whatever trouble was coming ahead, he had no complaints right now. He was sitting behind Max as they steered through the streets of Seattle, with his arms around her and his head resting on her shoulders. He could sense her squirming every time his breath tickled her neck, and he was loving it. He couldn't care less where they were going.

Which was why he was startled when they stopped. And even more taken aback when he realized where they'd stopped. He looked up and then back at Max, who was getting off the bike and tucking her glasses in her jacket pocket.

"You coming?" She asked, raising an eyebrow daringly.

"Er… Sure." He answered. What the hell were they doing here? Especially him.

He eyed her the entire way up. She seemed completely oblivious to his discomfort. As a matter of fact, she seemed completely oblivious to everything. Her face was a mask. The one he hated so much, the one he had spent so much charm and wit and sarcasm trying to erase almost from the time they'd met.

As she was about to open the door to the penthouse he said, "Max, are you sure you want me to go in there?"

"You afraid?"

"No. But I'm quite sure Logan doesn't want to see me. Hell, I know I wouldn't want to see me if I was him!"

"What I have to say concerns you too. I want you to hear it. No more misunderstandings," she responded.

He sighed. "Fine."

As he came to stand beside her, she suddenly turned to look at him and grabbed his hand. She never dropped the mask, but she squeezed his hand hard, before releasing it and opening the door.

When Logan looked up from his computer, what he saw was a very determined Max marching towards him, with Alec coming behind her at a slower pace and with a silly smile on his face.

The smile immediately vanished, however, as Alec saw Logan's frowning face turned to him. *Great, you moron. Here's the guy who thinks you stole his girlfriend and you walk into his house smiling.* The memory of the kiss last night was doing nothing to make him feel better. He nodded in the older man's direction and dropped into a chair some distance away from Max and Logan.

Max was playing nervously with the hem of her jacket. "I have something to tell you, Logan." Let no one say Max Guevara didn't know how to get straight to the point.

"If it is about you and Alec, I don't want to hear it, Max."

Alec moved in his chair, uncomfortable. "Look, Logan, I'm sorry, I ne..-"

"I understand." Logan said, raising a hand to stop Alec. "Just don't expect me to congratulate you two or something."

"No, you don't understand." Max interrupted. "That's what we're here for." She swallowed and then plunged right into it. Alec was fascinated by that resolute expression – he always had been, even when it had been a pain in the ass at times -, and so it took him a couple of seconds to understand what she was saying. But it made him feel all warm inside once he did.

"That day you saw Alec leaving my place, he had just crashed there cause the cops were looking for him. Nothing happened. We were both going through a rough time, we shared some big issues the night before and we were enjoying the fact that the other one was there. What you saw was just a couple of friends." Logan looked skeptical, but also confused. "I'm sorry I misled you into believing it was something else. But you have to know Alec didn't do anything wrong. He was just being my friend and he didn't deserve to be dragged into our problems." She looked at Alec then. He smiled at her and nodded, 'apology accepted'. She smiled back slightly and he could see the weight being lifted off her shoulders.

Logan was smiling now too. He was looking at her with what Alec assumed was a hot look, he couldn't be sure.

"You wanted to protect me, to push me away, so you wouldn't accidentally kill me…" he said.

"Huh? Oh, yes." She said, turning back to Logan, the smile now vanished.

"Max, I'm willing to take that chance."

"Well, I'm not, Logan."

Alec sighed, his own smile gone.

"It doesn't matter Max. I'm not going to let you do this to us again. You and I belong together." Logan said, standing to look down at Max.

Alec had to fight back the urge to gag. He wanted to leave, but he also couldn't make himself. Not yet. Maybe it was the masochist part of him? The part that had kept him around Max?

"No, Logan, we don't. I thought so in the past, but now I'm sure it was just an illusion. I… I don't love you. Not the way you want me to."

*All right!* He was glad he'd stayed now. His heart was beating frantically, but he couldn't care less.

"Shush Max. Stop that. Stop trying to protect me. I'm a grown man. I can make my own decisions."

*Grown man. That he was.* Alec thought, trying to hide his grin.

"I am an adult too, Logan. And I can also make my own decisions." She was starting to sound annoyed now.

"That's enough, Max."

"Stop patronizing me. I'm not a child, Logan."

Oh, yeah, there was definitely anger boiling in there.

"Max, I love you, there's nothing you can do or say to push me away now."

"Oh, yeah? How about this: I'm pregnant!"

*Whoa!* Alec was sure she hadn't planned on telling him that. At least not like that.

Logan looked at her in disbelief, but after taking a close look at her serious, if slightly embarrassed face, his eyes opened wide in shock.

"You're what?!?"

Max sighed. "Pregnant, Logan. I'm going to have a baby."

Alec almost felt sorry for the guy.

"You… You… You can't be pregnant…" Logan was shaking his head, trying to clear it.

"Well, I am." She said, in a much calmer tone.

"You bitch!"

Alec was on his feet before he realized it. Only Max moving to stand in his way made him aware of the fact that he had walked across the room. "Don't. You. Ever. Talk. To. Her. Like. That. Again." He hissed, his eyes shooting ice daggers at Logan.

"What? What right do you have to say anything here? You slept with MY girlfriend. And to think I was willing to allow myself to respect you just a few moments ago! Get the hell out of my house!"

"I don't care what you think of me. I don't care what you say about me. But if you EVER talk to Max, or about Max, like that again, I'm going to kill you."

Logan was furious enough to overlook the threat in Alec's voice. "What you are going to defend her virtue now? She couldn't keep her legs crossed, could she?"

Max's hands were on Alec's chest, pushing him backwards. He looked down at her and she shook her head. "Don't, please." She whispered.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Look, Logan..-" She tried.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear another word from you."

"She was in Heat. Did that ever occur to you?" Alec shouted back at him. He was really trying to maintain his fraying hold on his temper.

"Is that supposed to be an excuse?"

"Christ! You think she likes being in Heat? You think she enjoys it? It's got to be one of the most humiliating experiences in the world! And you say you love her? You don't even know her."

Max pushed him back again. "Alec," she whispered, "please leave us. I can take care of this. I need to." She gave him her warmest look and after long moment he reluctantly raised his hands in surrender.

"I'll be downstairs." He said and turned to leave, but not before he shot Logan a warning look, making sure the other guy saw it this time.

By the time he reached the lobby, he was smiling.

He was still furious with Logan, but he knew Max could take care of it, and frankly, he didn't care what the guy thought, not any more.

Max's words were still going through his head. He'd been able to hear some of what she was saying before the elevator doors closed. "Logan, calm down. This has nothing to do with what I said earlier. You and I can't have any sort of relationship. And it's not because of the baby. I don't love you. Not anymore."

Yep, he was grinning like an idiot now.

As he stepped outside, he put his hands in his jacket pockets and looked around, breathing in the cold morning air.

A movement to his right caught his eye. Three big guys were closing in on a blonde girl. She had her back turned to him, but he immediately recognized her ready-for-battle stance. He eased his way around a line of parked cars, so that he came at them from behind. The girl saw him way before the others. He saw her tense even more and then relax a little as a flash of recognition crossed her eyes.

He nodded imperceptibly. Well, imperceptibly to human eyes, cause she acknowledged it with a blink.

Alec spoke in a casual manner. "I'd leave her alone if I were you."

The three guys turned to look at him, but all they saw was a young, average guy, standing there with arms crossed and legs braced slightly apart, balancing his weight from one foot to the other and smirking.

Maybe it was too early and the light was still too diffuse for them to see the look in his eyes that belied the easiness of his pose. But it wasn't dark enough for her, and she saw it. As well as the sign his fingers were making, as he tapped them casually over his elbow.

"You hear that, Bernie? Pretty boy here thinks we should leave!" the guy closest to him said, turning to look at Bernie, to share the joke with him and his other pal. It was a big mistake.

The last thing he felt was an iron fist connecting with his jaw before the world turned black around him.

On cue, Ralph braced her hands on Bernie's shoulders and kicked him between his legs. Hard. But not as hard as she could have. She had understood the signal. She didn't particularly care for holding back in a fight, but she wouldn't question a direct order.

The man Alec had hit hadn't even touched the ground when Alec lunged at the second man, using his weight to push him against the wall and away from the girl. Alec's knee sank into his stomach and he doubled over. Alec grabbed him by the hair, yanking his head up. A cracking noise was heard as the man's nose broke under Alec's next punch.

He turned to face the remaining attacker, but Bernie was also bent down, both hands covering his groin.

Bernie glanced at his partners, one out cold, the other trying to contain the bleeding of his nose. He looked up at the young man who moved to stand before the girl, arms up, ready for more. Even if what he'd just seen hadn't been enough, one look at that face told Bernie he really didn't want to mess with this guy. He was smirking slightly, but his eyes were cold. Ice cold. Bernie held up his hand.

"All right, man. It's cool… We're leaving now, we didn't mean to upset your girl." He bent down to haul up his buddy who was still holding his nose, neither of them taking their eyes off Alec.

Alec remembered to rub his hand, shaking it, as if it was hurting. Following his lead, Ralph threw her arms around him from behind, burying her face in his shirt and started to tremble, giving the impression she was sobbing. Alec lifted his arm, and pulling it around her shoulders, brought her to his front and caressed her hair soothingly. "Well done, kid." He whispered by her ear, while he watched the men drag away their friend, still looking at him. He rested his head on her shoulder, trying to hide his smile.

Max came down the stairs. She wanted to get all of Logan's recriminations out of her head. He had refused to let her explain. At first she had wanted to make things easier for him, tried to understand how he would be feeling. But then she had stopped caring.

She was even more angry with herself. For a moment there, she had started to feel guilty! If it hadn't been for Alec leaping to her defense, she would have been begging Logan to forgive her. For her Heat! Old habits died hard.

She stepped into the cold and glanced around, looking for Alec. He always managed to make her forget every bad thing that happened.

And then she saw him. He was on the corner, hugging a girl. She saw him caress the blond hair. She was shocked. As she was about to move towards them, Alec bent his head, and buried it in the girl's hair. Hot anger flared through her. He had done the very same thing to her, less than an hour before!

She hopped on her bike and turned it on, getting out of there in a whirl of noise.

Alec turned around as he heard the engine and cursed, letting go of the girl.

"Great, just great!" he murmured, and then turned to look at the big eyes staring at him. "You think there is any way you could possibly ever not complicate my life?"

"I'm sorry, Sir," she said softly.

He sighed. "Not your fault. And stop calling me Sir. I'm Alec. She went to the trouble to give us all names, might as well use them, Ralph." He couldn't help snickering as he said the name.

"Yes, Si..- Alec."

"Come on, kid. Looks like I'm walking to work today, you can share the fun with me." He said, shaking his head.

Max was speeding recklessly, barely avoiding the few cars and the abundant pedestrians on her way.

Bastard! Idiot! Stupid jerk! How could he? How could he lead her on, act so sweetly and then..- Damn him! He hadn't even had time to come down and he was already hugging a girl? The selfish, reckless, imb...-

*Oh, god!* The bike almost toppled over as she momentarily lost control of it.

*Shit, shit. Shit!* She almost started sobbing. How could she have been so stupid?

Why didn't she ever think before she acted. Not five minutes had passed since he had left the apartment. And he knew she was coming down any second. Even if he had wanted to be with another girl, he wouldn't have done it there.

And that was a big 'if'.

How could she think that about him? After all he'd said and done the last couple of days? Hell, not ten minutes before he had been furiously defending her. Accepting her without judging her. And what did she do? She immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion.

And the worst part was, she could imagine his smirk now. Cause he did know her. He'd know she had seen him and he'd know she'd left in a fit of jealousy.

She briefly considered going back to pick him up, but decided against it. He'd have plenty of time to make fun of her later. The fact that she deserved it, didn't make her any more eager to face it.

She started to laugh. She would have been furious with him for doubting her, but Alec? No. Not him. Sure, he'd be annoyed first. But then he'd laugh at her. He was never going to let her forget this. He was going to tease her mercilessly about it. She just knew it.

She shook her head at herself, but smiled broadly.

She was a very lucky girl.

Biggs was sitting in his car, looking at the decrepit wall with 'Jam Pony' painted on it.

He had his brain properly instructed, so no recollection of the last time he'd seen that very same wall would assault him.

He'd come here on a mission. He was just here to warn a fellow soldier his position could be compromised.

That was all.

He almost had himself convinced.

After he had dropped Ralph on her destination, he had come here. He'd been sitting there for some time now. It was time to move.

Taking a deep breath he got out of the car and walked into the place.