A/N: Alright, here's the line-up: M and L did not go on date. Instead, L was meeting Asha. M, spraying A with snot, runs after him and they share a bottle of whiskey. Policeman comes up, sees their barcodes. Max shares a moment with unconscious policeman. Returns to TC. Joshua and M moment. L tells M about captured transgenics on hover drone footage. M worries about breaking her coffee mug in her hand with anger towards L. Alec appears as M leaves L.

And so it continues. . .

Chapter 3

"Dix- I need maps of sector five and blue prints of warehouse 1015 with its surrounding buildings. Pronto," Max ordered as she stormed into commander center after talking to Logan, everyone's attention turning to her.

Depositing the shards of the broken mug into the trash, Max looked up, daring anyone to ask her what happened.

No one did.

"Mole- I need kits for five men, and three kits small enough to hide in stripper outfits. By tonight."

"How the fuck am I meant to issue a kit small enough to fit up a girls' ass?"

"Ask Alec," Max said innocently, but there was nothing innocent about the glare she gave Alec. "He's pretty experienced in that area- if there were ever such as thing as a male slut, he's your slut."

"Watch out boys, bitch queen on the rampage," Alec laughed, and Max could hear the fear in his flippant comment.

Good- he should be scared of me.

****

Alec had to force down the urge to walk right back out of command- he was a transgenic, not a man, he tried to joke with himself.

He did not know why Max had acted that way. So what? Some female had threatened him at the top of her lungs? Max did it all the time- and usually promising fates worse than ball mutating, he added bitterly.

And then what the fuck were those two guys thinking? Just walking on up to him and punching him! If it weren't for Max stepping in, a look in her eyes that scared the rage-filled males into their senses, he would be a dead transgenic.

And he did not even know the names of those fuckers! If they were angry over Jane-what's-her-name and him hooking up- they shouldn't. That slut would sleep with anyone if you asked.

"And what are my marching orders?" Alec asked, still giving his cocky grin.

"Grocery list from the kitchens."

"How come Mole gets the girls?" Alec pouted, growing more confident as time ticked by and Max's fist had not connected with anything yet.

"Grocery list. Now."

I almost preferred the punch to the balls, Alec thought as his pulse jumped in fear- and she still hadn't caused any grievous bodily harm! It was enough to give anyone a heart attack.

"Aye, aye captain," Alec jumped, attempting to cover his fear with a mock salute.

****

Max had to clench her teeth to prevent herself from growling as she watched Alec saunter out of command.

He was a jerk.

One hundred percent jerk.

He had screwed Jane-Ann, knowing full well that it was just a one-night rump. But did he tell her this? No. He probably promised her the world.

And then when Greg and Jake had showed up, obviously caring greatly for this poor woman, Alec had the nerve to look indignant. He deserved more than the black eye he got!

The only reason she had intervened was to prevent the impression that fighting between transgenics- or anyone- was acceptable. Max had every intention of boxing their ears in for fighting- especially Alec's.

But they just backed down the minute she met their eyes, their rage-induced violence disappearing instantly.

It was odd, Max thought, remembering the looks on their faces. But before she could think on it further, there were too many loitering transgenics around. Work duty was obviously not enough for them.

Rubbing her hands, Max muttered, "The bitch is on a roll."

****

Sighing into her desk chair, finally free of assigning work, she spread out the maps and blueprints Dix had retrieved.

It was an everyday, run of the mill warehouse- large storage room, a truck entrance and a single door.

The truck entrance must be broken if they unloaded the transgenics outside the warehouse, Max thought, running her finger over the warehouse lines.

Next-door was a stripper club, the same one that had the transgenic mermaid on display, Max realized while tracing the lines of its blueprint.

Max's finger stopped over the back entrance of the stripper club and tapped it, an idea forming.

"Attacking, here, here and here at once would have the greatest impact," someone said behind her while motioning to specific points on the map, surprising Max- she thought she was alone in her office.

Looking around, Trip, an X-7 around nine-years-old, studied the maps intently.

"And we can have transport vehicles waiting here," Trip indicated a small clearing a short ways from the warehouse.

"And what of the guards? What if they're normals? Or familiars? And what if the familiars are working for the normals?" Max prompted Trip.

"It'd be bad exposure," Trip said slowly. Max watched as his eyes flicked left and then right, absorbing every detail of the maps. "So that plan doesn't work."

"The little intel we have says there's three guards at the door- and two guarding the prisoners." Drawing Trip's attention to the blue prints of the strip club, she pointed out the back entrance. "This is the back entrance for the stripers, which is just across the way from the warehouse entrance. There are always two bouncers here to decide whether a striper gets in or not."

Max watched as Trip's mind ticked away, waiting for him to come-up with the plan. She felt disgusted at the fact that this nine-year-old already knew such things as stripers and strip clubs, but probably did not know the word 'mom'.

Max could never forgive Manticore for making a man of this nine-year-old boy.

Looking away in disgust, she turned towards the entrance of her office where Alec had stood, unnoticed.

Smiling faintly, Max turned away feeling embarrassed at the intensity he was studying the two of them with. Wondering what he was thinking, she looked up at him under lowered eyelids, only to find him already trying to gauge her own reaction.

Blushing slightly, Max put her back to Alec and looked at Trip expectantly.

"You could," Trip began slowly, still not tearing his eyes from the maps, "Disguise yourself as a hooker and mistakenly try to get in at the warehouse entrance. And, while the hookers do their thing, the men can get in and out."

Pretending to think for a moment, Max nodded slowly. "I think that might just work."

"Really?" Trip asked, an uncertain smile forming.

"Well, you'll just have to wait till we get back to find out."

"You're really going to use my plan?"

"I know a good plan when I see it."

Smiling brilliantly, Trip hurried out of Max's office to tell his friends, leaving Max to refine the rough plan Trip had made.

"You realize he and his friends will be back," Alec commented to Max's back.

Max could not determine what Alec was thinking, whether the comment was meant as mocking or not, whether he thought her foolish in taking the time to lead Trip along to come up with her own plan.

"He was only trying to be helpful," Max, replied, keeping her voice carefully neutral, still refusing to turn to look at Alec.

****

"Well, my vote is that you wear the pink fluffy number I know you've set aside for someone special," Alec said teasingly, even if pink and fluffy were two words he could never associate with Max.

"You've been going through my draws?"

Alec blinked, hearing such a serious tone on Max that he was about to plead innocent till he saw the look on Max's face when she looked around at him.

"Boy- I'm enjoying this mental picture," Alec said in ecstasy, groaning in pleasure. His groans of pleasure were cut short by a punch to the stomach.

"Max!" Alec gasped as the wind was knocked from him.

Catching his breath quickly, Alec chuckled. At least till he realized his lower regions were glowing from the mental image of Max in a pink and fluffy number. Oh shit.

"What are you doing here?" Max snapped.

"Just in the neighborhood, so thought I might as well say 'hi'."

" 'Good-bye' sounds better."

Max stood with her hand on hip, her angry glare causing Alec's eyes to flounder.

"Grocery list," he said lamely, waving some paper.

"Goody."

"Anything else you want from me? Or can I get back to my girls?"

Damn, bad move, Alec thought as he saw Max's face darken at being
reminded about earlier.

And then she smiled!

****

"I'm putting you in charge of something," Max said mysteriously, turning away from him to study a folder while letting the idea form.

Max's suddenly light voice playing tunes with Alec's insides.

"Am I suddenly in your good books?" Max heard Alec say cautiously.

"Nope."

"Did you suddenly realize I was responsible?"

"Nope."

"What then?"

Max continued to study the papers, taking her time to reply to the squirming Alec. "I figured it was high time I put you to work."

Max suddenly turned to Alec, snapping the folder shut, the anger suddenly returning to her eyes and voice. "Your work will be so freaking boring that you'll be daydreaming about your little sluts all day long." Max began advancing on Alec. "But you'll being working so. Fucking. Long. and so. Fucking. Hard. that you'll never touch another damn female in your life."

****

The hairs on Alec's neck prickled and he took an involuntary step back.

Forget losing your voice- he had lost his knees! His legs were jelly and ready to collapse.

Max was unrealistically mad at him about earlier. It was the other idiots who started the fight. He did not even lay a punch!

And that slut? She had come on to him. Truthfully, she was not even of his taste. But appearing at a time when he was wallowing in misery for Rachel and need to be loved- or fucked in this case- Jane-what's-her-face had appeared like a guardian angel.

Jane-what's-her-name had offered no-strings attached sex, but had suddenly changed that offer to a relationship when she had seen him with someone else afterwards, creating a huge scene about it in front of Max.

Who that someone else was, was beyond Alec. He had not hooked-up with anyone since Jane-what's-her-name a couple nights ago.

"Max, earlier was not-"

"Save it, Alec. It doesn't matter. I'm not your girlfriend- you don't need to explain these incidents to me. The only thing that concerns me is the fighting, which I am punishing you for."

Alec watched Max carefully as she talked. She had calmed down completely. Instead of looking angry, she looked. . . disappointed. And tired.

"Max, I know I don't need to explain anything you."

****

Max closed her eyes, breathing slowly to clear her thoughts. Honestly, she had overreacted to the little incident earlier.

She was just so tired that her judgment on the matter had been clouded. No one was really hurt- except Alec and his black eye. And god knows she's does worse to him.

Taking a deep breath, drawing her mind back to the present, Max held out the folder she had been looking at. "This is a list of some on the transgenics in TC. The list was made before I came and needs serious updating.

"There's too many people not on work detail loitering around. The census will allow me to arrange the work detail so no one is just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs."

Glancing at the folder's contents, Alec nodded. "I can do that."

"However you want to arrange this, just tell me, and I'll make the necessary plans."

Alec studied Max, a defeated and tired look on her face. Feeling a deep and sudden affection for Max at that moment, he reached out and ran a comforting hand over her shoulder.

Max's head bowed, dark curtains obscuring her face. "I'm sorry, Alec," he heard her mutter before turning and walking away.