Title: Total Recall, Chapter 20

Author: CSIphile/redwing

AN: You know, all these thanks I've been saying and I don't think I've had one for the other Nuns. Thank you Nuns With Pens, without you I don't think I would have ever posted, your encouragement is unreal and appreciated so much. You provide a lovely place to post mmmmAlec fiction where a new fandom writer can feel comfortable. Thank you. Shallowness esp thank you, your comments are both constructive and most helpful.

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Chapter 20: Copper in the Air

Jacob approaches the other man and nods slowly. Everything is going as planned. If 494 did what he hoped, the information on that disk has been sent to Terminal City.

"Is it done?" the other man asks.

Jacob looks at his watch. "Hopefully soon. I have faith that he will send the data."

"I hope so. We can't keep doing this, Jake. I think some of the tech guys are getting suspicious."

"Look, we need that secure line. Just for a few hours. Then it will all be over."

"I'll do what I can."

"Thank you," Jacob says and watches the other man walk away, hoping that his confidence in the transgenic is not misplaced.

"Wow, someone has downloaded a lot of porn," he says and whistles lowly. "I mean, how stupid are you? On your work computer of all places? Dumb, dumb…"

"Oh yeah, you NEVER look at porn," she mutters from her spot in front of the window.

They are currently residing in a small office inside the server room. Half of the wall with the door is windows, allowing whoever is working inside to see –and buzz in people on the outside, if needed. In this case, however, it makes for a nice surveillance spot for Max. The rest of the room consists of a workstation, which Alec is seated at, and filing cabinets.

He looks up at her with an indignant expression. "I never said I didn't, but I wouldn't be stupid enough to download it onto the TC servers to get caught doing it. No wonder we are the superior species…."

He hears her move and stand behind him, placing one small hand on his shoulder. Alec has had to push more than one thought of what they could do inside the small, unmonitored room out of his head. "Well how 'bout you ACT like the superior species and decode instead of checking out the porn? And how 'bout that email to Dix?"

"Relax, Max, I'm about to ship off the email, and decoding won't take but 15 minutes. I can multitask." He winks at her and she shakes her head at him.

"Yeah, you said that last time -- remember what happened?"

He points a finger at her. "Hey! The merlady got back to the ocean and her mate -- that's the important part."

"Whatever, just get going. I'd like to get out of here sooner rather than later."

"Yes, ma'am."

Without even looking at her he pulls up the Internet and, similar to AmGen, starts pulling up window after window at transgenic speed. Finally he gets to the email and inserts the disk into the drive of the computer.

"First, let's check what's on this bad boy. Don't want to be sending ol' Dix a virus." He feels her lean into him more, the silk of her blouse brushing his neck lightly. If he turned his head a mere 15 degrees, he would be getting an eyeful of his partner. Instead he pulls up the information and whistles again. "Are you getting this?"

"Ohhhh yeah."

"Damn, Max, it's every Manticore facility in the US." Scrolling through the information, he stops at the end of the file. "Jackpot!"

Max pulls away from him and he looks up at her, noting a less than enthusiastic expression on her face. "What's wrong? This is everything we need! Everything to plan the final attack against Manticore. We got them."

"What if it's a trap? How did your mole KNOW you weren't 494? I don't think we've let on, 'cause if we had, we would be dead…or giving TC bad information."

He considers her words carefully; he had the same thoughts she did. This could be an elaborate trap. But at the same time, what if it isn't? What if this is the opportunity they need? "We can't be sure, Max, but I'll send this to Dix, and we can try to verify it as best we can. I'm sure with this kind of head start, Dix and maybe Logan can have it confirmed easily. We HAVE to, 'cause what if it's not a trap?"

Biting her lower lip, she nods, and he completes the email, sending it off in a flourish with a promise to get back to Dix as soon as they can. With the knowledge on that disk, they can start to form a real, solid plan.

He pulls the disk from the drive, hands it to her and reinserts the one given to them from Manticore. They are similar in size and color, so he doesn't want to confuse them. Quickly he starts decoding the expense reports, reading the screen as it passes by.

"So, any suggestions what to do while we wait?" he asks, eyeing her up and down.

Alec is surprised when she moves in between him and the computer, placing herself between his legs. Slowly, she moves closer, pushing his legs farther apart, leaning over with the grace of a cat. This time, he does get an eyeful of her breasts, and it's all he can do again not to pull her down into his lap. Placing her hands on his thighs for support, she leans the last few inches into him, brushing her lips against his, lightly at first, then with more fervor.

Alec brings his hands up and runs them through her hair, pressing her lips harder into his, almost bruisingly. She tastes so good, like…Max. God, I cannot wait to have her.

They kiss more briskly, lips and tongues clashing, his hands now on her slim waist, fingers making circles on her skirt. The moment carries him away, and he slides his hand down her thigh, across silken material, and places it just under her skirt, ready to follow her nylon-encased leg up…

And the computer beeps at them, indicating it's completed the decoding.

They pull apart, and Alec looks around her at the screen. "Dammit," he breathes.

She follows suit and steps away from him, straightening her now slightly off-kilter skirt. He looks up at her and gives her a look they both comprehend: They'll continue this at Terminal City. Someday.

For a minute, he feels guilty about doing what they did; they are on a mission, and it's not playtime. Fortunately, the guilt doesn't last long. Fuck Manticore -- having some fun on this mission is exactly what Manticore wouldn't want. So he's all for doing it.

Becoming only slightly more serious, he pulls out the disk and places it in his suit coat, patting slightly.

"Whooo! Manticore is gonna be pissed when they find AmGen-encoded expense reports for copy paper. And toner. Exciting! Maybe they were copying their asses. Top secret stuff, you know."

She merely shakes her head at him as he turns to the computer, ready to shut it down when he notices something.

"Uh oh."

At that, she swings around to him. "What, 'uh oh'?"

"Hang on." Quickly, he tries a few things. "We have to go now; I think we've been found out."

"What? How?"

"Don't know, not really caring, Max, but this computer just shut down and I think I hear alarm bells." He stands, and just as he grabs her arm, an alarm in the server room goes off.

"Move," he hisses, and looks up out the glass wall in front of him. He can't see anyone…yet.

Alec grasps Max's hand as he walks by her. Getting to the door, he counts on his fingers from three to one. On one, he turns the doorknob.

Only to find them locked in.

Terminal City

"Got it!" Dix hollers, and Mole comes running. "Right on time."

Mole leers over the smaller man's shoulder and scans the email from "Project 946", grinning slightly.

D-

See the attachment for some enlightening information. I hope that you have found the rat in TC, and contained the problem. Working from the inside and have help, hopefully. Please confirm information and will contact you again. Maybe can take down M from TC? Not much time, needs to be coordinated.

Tell Big Fella we miss him. Later

"What's in the attachment?" Mole asks, like a kid opening a present with no patience.

"Relax, I have to scan for bugs or viruses first," Dix tells him, and runs the needed programs to ensure their system isn't infected by something.

Several minutes, and a few prods from Mole later, they are looking at the jackpot.

"Holy shit," Mole says, and his cigar almost comes right out of his mouth.

"My thoughts exactly."

In front of them in living color is a complete list of 20 Manticore facilities across the country, a list of former Manticore scientists on the run, and the accounting information from a program in Congress.

Detroit, MI

"It's locked down," he grouses, and takes a step back, placing Max behind him.

Alec gives the door a swift kick and it falls to the ground. Their security, while admirable, is no match for the strength of an X5.

Suddenly, a bullet slices through the air at him, nearly missing his head.

"Shit!" he hisses, and they blur across an open area into one of the many rows of servers as more bullets are fired in their direction. They come to a stop, and both transgenics look around.

They are in the middle of the server banks, rows and rows of them in neat lines all parallel to the only door out of here. The sections are only 10 feet wide with a narrow walkway before another section starts, the next line of banks starts approximately four feet from where they are. The servers are recessed in the room -- the only exit a door in the middle of an observation balcony, which is only accessible by a set of stairs at the north end of the building.

They can both hear the guards approaching their location, moving quickly. Sticking his head out one side, Alec sees them maybe half a football field away. Their exit, however, is another hundred yards behind them. Of course they are on the far end of the room from their destination. Alec internally curses the size of this place, and turns to Max; she is checking out her side as well.

"I've got at least half a dozen over here, checking row by row. Maybe 70 yards away," she tells him quickly.

"Damn. Same, but mine are closer. Hmmm….two transgenics, a dozen armed guards. I don't think so."

She nods her head in agreement. They wouldn't have a chance. He sees her stick her head around the side again.

"Alec…closer," she hisses at him.

"I know, I know. SHIT!" Frustrated, he looks up and tilts his head. The banks are only 10 feet high at the most, with plenty of head clearance. And they are spaced maybe 4 feet from each other. Hmmmmmm.

"Hey, Max. Can you leapfrog?"

"What?" She turns and looks at him. "We're this close to being caught and you want to know if I can leapfrog?"

Alec merely grins at her, looks up and then meets her face again. He watches as his plan dawns on her.

She gives him a sly smile and bends down to take her shoes off. At his look, she comments, "I'm good, but I'm not THAT good."

"OK, on three."

She nods and holds onto the shoes with her left hand. If they are going to get away, she can't really gather attention by running around without shoes on.

"One, two…three!"

On three, the two jump as one onto the top of the server bank, steadying themselves before jumping to the next one After getting a hang of it, they both speed up their jumps, barely landing before taking off again.

As they pass the guards, Alec realizes they've been spotted as one raises his weapon and shouts at the others. He increases his speed slightly, just as the first bullet zings past him. Then another, and before he knows it, Alec is dodging bullets while trying not to fall off their perch. Looking ahead, he sees Max, also staying low, avoiding the gunfire and trying not to fall. Even for a transgenic it's a tricky maneuver.

Shifting his focus, he notes they only have another 20 feet or so to go before they get to the end of the road…and the stairs. Focusing on that, he pushes himself, jumping for the last time and landing safely on the linoleum floor beneath him as more gunfire erupts above him.

Catching his breath, Alec looks around for Max, and is surprised when he doesn't see her. She was ahead of him. She should be here. Walking over to where she should have landed, he looks up, concerned by her disappearing act. They have a precious few second lead on the men chasing them.

Just as he is ready to jump back up and try and locate her, she falls rather ungracefully to the ground in a heap next to him, curled into a fetal position, her back to him.

The first thing Alec notices is the smell of copper in the air, then the blood trickling down her back, pooling on the floor.

tbc…………………………..