A/N: A big thanks to my beta readers, Kiwichick and BHG... and to everyone who's put up with the inconsistent updates. I'm a bad, bad person. Somebody spank me. Preferably Alec.
For the first time in a long while, Max found herself approaching Foggle Towers on foot. It was rather disconcerting when she thought about it, going anywhere without either one of her trusty bikes. In the midst of an economy where few but the most privileged were in possession of automated transportation, she just had to wonder if she was getting a little spoiled.
"Nice," Alec commented appreciatively as he surveyed the tall building. "I didn't realize you ran in such posh circles."
Max leapt up, catching a hold of the nearest ledge, quickly ascending the wall en route to her favorite entrance to Logan's apartment. After her all too close brush with Lydecker, being 'rescued' by Alec, and now her continued presence in his rather antagonizing company, she was in no mood to be attempting to explain to the night security guard why exactly two 'lowlifes' such as themselves would need to see the esteemed Logan Cale the Junior, this late into the night…except for the rather obvious possibility, to rob him.
Herself, she was reasonably sure she could sweet talk her way into admittance - if she was feeling tolerant enough to put up with some desperate, middle-aged man who probably thought he could fool people into believing that the size of his gun reflected the size of his…well, other little pistol.
But Alec was another story. She snuck an appraising glance in his direction. Yes, she decided with a mental nod. He definitely had a shifty look about him.
"Yeah, my whole involvement with you is actually charity work. I don't usually associate with people so beneath me," she said leading the way up to a one-foot deep ledge just outside Logan's living room window. She paused to wait for him when she reached her destination.
"Hey, I don't mind beneath you…as I'm sure you can tell from our last experience." He hoisted himself up beside her, placing his back to the concrete wall as he perfunctorily readjusted his clothes. "You can be anywhere you like: above me, beneath me, on your knees in front - "
Max's fist suddenly around the collar of his jacket cut him off. He met her smoldering gaze with an arched eyebrow and a pointed glance in the direction of her offending hand.
"Stop that. You are not to mention one word about that whole heat incident while we're here," she bit off angrily, not releasing her hold.
"Ah…" he nodded, understanding lighting his eyes. "So this is like, what, your boyfriend?"
"No," Max snapped defensively, "We're not…he's not my boyfriend." Strangely enough, though it was the same reaction she'd have had at any time, with anyone who'd dared to press the issue (such as Kendra and OC, who'd both taken it upon themselves to do so in the past), she found herself agitated for an entirely different reason than usual.
It was no longer just the knee-jerk reaction she had to the thought of becoming involved with anyone at this point in time, so soon after she'd decided that the general male population was no good for anything but sexual relief (case in point being the man before her…though she had to admit he was a bit - or a lot - better suited to that task than any man she'd met before). This time she felt an undeniable need to clarify her non-relationship with Logan and the resulting state of unattached-ness.
'It's only because he'll just find some reason to make fun of you,' she told herself stubbornly. But even she wasn't delusional enough to believe that.
"No, I guess not," Alec mused on, oblivious to her inner battle. He shrugged out of her now lax grip, and her hand fell back to her side. "I mean, if he was your boyfriend, and you were in heat, why would you be hanging out in some bar, waiting to hook up with a random stranger?"
"Shut up."
But alas, as she'd discovered over the limited period of time she had spent with him, when Alec sank his teeth into something he deemed interesting, it always took a few whacks over the head with the newspaper for him to finally let go.
"'Cuz in that case, you'd be at your Sugar Daddy's place, gettin' - "
"He's not my Sugar Daddy!" Max hissed as she turned to jimmy open the window. "And since we're here now, and about to go in, let me once again reiterate: shut up!"
He could see she was angry now, not just that general aggravation that seemed ever present during their encounters - but also, just a hint of desperation that made him rethink his next snide remark. He shrugged, letting it go. Hey, who was he to deny a lady a request? Although, Alec mused, he had serious doubts as to whether Max could ever be termed anything nearly so refined as a 'lady'.
He followed her through the large bay window, realizing only when he was a good third of the way through that she had opened it just enough to let her own small form through, forcing him to twist and turn awkwardly as he attempted to pry it open further while sliding the rest of the way through. In the end, he fell somewhat gracelessly to the wooden floor, his transgenic reflexes allowing him to spring up just fast enough that, to the normal human eye, his arrival appeared flawless.
But instead of dwelling on the incident, he quickly brushed off his clothes and took the opportunity to glance around and take note of his surroundings. They appeared to be standing in a very large living room, but before he could examine it in greater detail, a small but surprisingly strong finger was jabbing him, hard, in the chest.
"And don't steal anything!"
He gave her the most innocent look he could muster…but, having spent his entire life within Manticore, where "innocent" was about as foreign to their language as the Koran, one could hardly blame him if he fell a little short of the mark.
Max rolled her eyes and stalked further into the room. "Logan?" she called out, her voice suddenly and dramatically warmer than it had been a moment earlier.
'Logan,' Alec mimicked, with a grimace. He didn't like this man, he decided immediately. The name alone was enough to sway his opinion…and the fact that Max was so obviously interested in him beyond platonic levels, had absolutely nothing to do with it. Not a thing…no relevance whatsoever.
'A river, a river in Egypt,' a voice sang out happily in his head. Strangely enough, it wasn't the voice of anyone he recognized. No one he'd ever met was that cheery, seeing as most of the people he knew were from Manticore. Being cheery in Manticore was the fair equivalent to putting a sticky note on one's forehead reading, "Kill me now." Genetically engineered assassins had little tolerance for perky individuals. Go figure.
"In here," came the response.
Max, who had initially been heading toward the adjoining room where Logan had his computer and Eyes Only accessories set up, turned abruptly and headed into the kitchen, a somewhat subdued Alec trailing behind. She paused briefly in the doorway, smiling at the scene within.
"Hey Logan, Bling."
Logan smiled at her while Bling looked up from the pot he had been tending at the stove. "Hi Max."
Max caught Logan's eye, returning his smile warmly, and was just about to move forward, when a voice piped up behind her, "Hey, I smell food."
Both Logan and Bling glanced up in surprise toward the now scowling Max as she stepped aside to let her companion into the room. Catching sight of the young man - the uncomfortably good-looking young man - beside their cat-burglar-turned-ally, Bling raised a speculative eyebrow, while Logan, looking confused, glanced from Max to Alec, and back to her.
"Max…?"
Alec nudged her lightly with his elbow. "C'mon, Maxie, you're being rude. Introduce us already."
Her jaw clenched tight, and then she took what was probably supposed to be a relaxing deep breath. "Alright," she said, and jumped in, "Logan, Alec; Alec, Logan. Bling, Alec; Alec, Bling. Logan, Bling; Bling, Logan. And me - I'm Max." She paused, glancing around the room. "There, we're all introduced; so can we move this bitch along already?"
The three men nodded at each other, Alec not bothering to move any further into the room, and Logan and Bling, shrugging simultaneously, shook each other's hands.
Max closed her eyes briefly and contemplated whether all men were overgrown children, or just the ones that she was blessed to know. "Logan, Alec's someone I know from…back home." She raised her eyebrows emphatically, hoping he would clue in and secure the privacy they would require for their conversation. But before he could do so, Bling - who Max had always fancied as the male equivalent of Original Cindy - knowing when his presence was no longer required, wisely excused himself.
"I'll just be in the other room," he told Logan, switching off the stove and replacing the lid.
That left the three of them alone. "You're from Manticore," Logan stated. Alec watched him apprehensively, wondering just how much this human knew about Manticore…and how he knew. Surely Max hadn't been stupid enough to tell him? Would she knowingly compromise one of her so-called friends like that?
"Right," Max nodded, looking considerably more enthused about Alec's presence than she had since…well, that initial night. "And check this out…" she moved over to the other transgenic, turning him in place and pulling down the collar of his coat to reveal his barcode. Alec frowned at her manhandling, but let her do it. "494."
"494," Logan repeated, and Alec turned around in time to catch his puzzled frown. "He's not an '09 escapee?"
Shaking her head, Max said, "No, he's not from my unit." Clearly, though, there was a point there that Logan was missing. "But 494, Logan…Ben's designation is 493."
Understanding dawned on the other man's face. "Oh, so they're, what…twins?"
"Twins…clones," she shrugged, "I'm not sure how it works."
"Twins," Alec said quietly. The whole discussion was giving him an uneasy feeling, but he figured at least if he contributed, he could end it all a bit sooner. Plus, he wouldn't have to watch them fumble about as they tried to figure it out. Two pairs of eyes turned toward him expectantly. "Manticore uses human surrogates to carry the genetically engineered embryo to term; artificial insemination is well-documented to result in a higher than normal rate of multiple births. So Manticore doesn't need to clone. That they reserved only for the later generations of the X-series…particularly, the sevens."
"But multiple births with in-vitro fertilization usually involve a lot more than two embryos. We're not talking just twins, but triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets," Logan argued.
Alec met his look steadily. "They didn't need more than two of each. At least not back when they were producing the X5's."
Max's eyes widened. "You mean, the extras, they're just…?" she shook her head, unable to finish the thought.
He shrugged. "Or so I hear. After all, I am only a lowly lab rat. They don't make a habit of sharing their data with the soldiers. But lab techs do get bored, and lonely and they like to talk. Especially after…" he cleared his throat, "afterward."
There was a brief pause, and Logan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Speaking of which, exactly how then is it that you two met?" He glanced between the pair, not noticing the way Max stiffened at his particular choice of wording. "I mean, if you're from Manticore, shouldn't you be trying to take Max back in? Shouldn't you be heading there yourself right about now?"
Alec smiled wryly, waiting for Max to answer. Logan's last question sounded more like a suggestion than simple inquiry. It left him wondering if this whole "he's not my boyfriend" thing ran both ways, or just on Max's end.
"Well, I ah…we ran into each other about three days back - "
"Three days?" Logan interrupted. "And you didn't tell me?"
"I haven't seen you since then," she replied defensively.
"You could've dropped by…you know, like you usually do."
"I've been busy."
"Too busy for a five minute visit?" he returned incredulously.
Alec fought the urge to whistle and glance about the room while twiddling his thumbs. Why did he feel like he'd just stepped into the midst of one of those breakup scenes for a slowly crumbling relationship? Maybe because he had, he thought optimistically.
"Look, Max," Logan continued, "you're the one who wanted me to help you find your brothers and sisters - " Alec's snort was ignored by both " - and if you want me to succeed, you have to tell me everything about your Manticore run-ins. I mean, think about it: he's Ben's identical twin…do you realize how much easier it could be to find him now?"
Max froze, her growing irritation suddenly forgotten. When she glanced in Alec's direction, he saw it rather clearly that she hadn't thought about that. Of course, given the circumstances and the events of the past few days, one could hardly blame her.
'Fuck,' Alec thought. 'Is she looking at me and seeing her 'brother' now?' He kept his expression blank, but inwardly he was sending death rays in Logan's direction. He just had to point that out, hadn't he?
Finally, Max shook her head and looked back at Logan. "Well, whatever the case, we don't have time for this right now. Lydecker's on our trail; I had a really close call with him at Crash tonight."
Logan blinked. "What? Are you okay…did he see you?" She nodded. "But he doesn't know your name, or where you work?"
"No, but he was talking to Kendra and OC, so I figure it's only a matter of time before he gets that bit of information out of them." She closed her eyes briefly and suppressed the panic that threatened to rise at the thought of her friends in Lydecker's custody, being interrogated by him. Fortunately, there was really nothing of use that they could tell him, and their ignorance would most likely keep them safe. They wouldn't be deemed liabilities.
But it did mean no going back to her apartment. "I have to leave," she said softly. There was an uncomfortable silence, and then Max turned stiffly in his direction. "Alec - "
"Say no more," he interrupted, "This looks like one of those private moments. I'll go join the ranks of those who've been kicked out of conversations tonight." Max nodded, her attention shifting back to Logan. "Oh, and here you go." By instinct, she reached up and caught the tissue box that had been hurtling her way. She turned to glare at Alec, but he was already gone.
Logan waited a heartbeat before continuing the discussion. "We got a little sidetracked along the way; you never did say what he was doing here. And why you're not, you know, trying to kill each other or something."
Max sighed and perched herself on a stool as Logan wheeled over so they had an unobstructed view of one other. "Well, he was on a mission, which he kinda messed up, so now he's decided he isn't going back."
"He kind of messed up," he repeated, "But aren't they all brainwashed into blind loyalty? Wouldn't he still go back for his punishment, eager to please and get back on rotation?"
"No, apparently Manticore's not so forgiving about things like this. Even if they didn't outright kill him, they'd perform so many tests, trying to figure out what went wrong, that he'd just end up wishing he was dead." She shuddered slightly, breaking eye contact with Logan. Not for the first - or last - time in the past decade, she silently thanked Zack for his decision to escape that place.
Logan saw the shadowed look on Max's face that made it obvious what she was thinking, but chose not to comment. Manticore, he realized, was just one of those things in life, the horrors of which one could only truly understand if they'd experienced it themselves. Kind of like being roped into chaperoning the annual mixer for the residents of the Shady Villa Retirement Center…unfortunately, the line between 'chaperone' and 'potential boyfriend' was a rather murky one for the gals at the Villa.
"Okay, so let me see if I've got this straight. Alec's on a mission for Manticore, which he somehow screws up…" Max felt a flash of guilt pass through her; after all, the whole heat incident was hardly under his control, and if he'd 'screwed up', so had she. Still, letting Alec take the fall - so to speak - was a lot better for all involved than telling Logan the truth. "And after he decides he's better off going AWOL, he runs into you… Somehow, you two figure out your common background, then Lydecker spots you at Crash, and now your whole life here in Seattle has been compromised." Well, that sounded about right…except for a slight shift in the sequence of events. Again, something she really didn't have to correct Logan on. "Oh, and you've decided to stick with Alec because of some…strategic reason?" he raised his eyebrows at the last part.
"Well, it's not because we're soul mates," she replied dryly, though at the same time wondering what exactly this 'strategic reason' could be. After all, at least once they were out of Seattle, wouldn't they both be better off on their own? That would give Lydecker two potential trails to follow, and allow them to make their respective escapes more discreetly. Though she had to admit a certain amount of comfort at the idea of being in the presence of a fellow X5 after all these years - even if he wasn't a member of her original unit, and he was about as irritating as a wedgie…
So a strategic reason it must be, even if she had no idea what that was. Maybe she should ask Alec later. He was, after all, the one with all that extra military training; surely he would know.
A heavy silence ensued as the reality of their situation slowly sank in. She was leaving Seattle, probably for good. No more partnership. No more hanging out at his place, raiding his kitchen. No more of…whatever it was that they'd almost had going. Max met Logan's troubled blue eyes, a regretful look in her own.
Suddenly, Logan took a deep breath and straightened his spine as he began wheeling toward the door. "Okay, first thing's first. We need to set you two up with some new I.D.'s so you can get out of the city."
Alec, meanwhile, was acquainting himself with his new best friend, television. Bling watched the other man discreetly, marveling at the enrapt expression, and the way his eyes had lit up the moment he walked into the room and announced, "Hey! T.V.!" He looked like a kid on Christmas morning. Only with more porn. Funny, Bling hadn't even realized Logan got the Playboy channel…
While Alec's attention appeared so devoutly trained on the metal box before him, Bling couldn't help his raging curiosity with respect to Max's new friend…if Alec could indeed be called as such, considering the less than amicable vibes he'd picked up earlier in the kitchen between the two.
"So, Alec, Max said you two knew each other from back…wherever you call home?"
Alec shot the other man a quick glance. "Well, we didn't really know each other, exactly," he said, opting to go for something that vaguely resembled the truth. "More like we had some common acquaintances. I just happened to run into her and well, Max, being the gracious individual she is, offered to show me around town."
Bling gave him an incredulous look. "No offence, but are we talking about the same Max here?"
Alec laughed at his response. Okay, so maybe Max's bitchiness wasn't exclusively directed at him…which gave him some hope for her after all. "No, I guess that's not exactly how it happened. But it's close enough, and who am I to besmirch the name of my lovely hostess?"
Alec's attention was drawn back to his…programming…when a particularly flexible blonde entered the scene. Bling coughed uncomfortably, the idea of watching porn with a near stranger just too strange for him. Yet Alec appeared oblivious to his companion's discomfort.
"Well, it looks like she and Logan are talking something heavy in there," he said, shooting a glance toward the kitchen. Not that he could see, or hear, anything. He was basing his judgment on instinct alone. He'd seen the pair together enough times to recognize when something troubling had come up…even if he always ended up leaving the room before the exact nature of this 'trouble' was revealed.
"Logan…" Alec muttered, with a slightly cryptic expression.
Bling look at him, slightly surprised by the sudden intensity of his demeanor. "What?"
Alec shook his head. "He's not what I expected."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know…I wouldn't have guessed him as Max's type."
"And why not?" Bling said curiously.
"Well, he's kinda old, for one," he began hesitantly, unsure not only of his own thoughts, but how to explain them without any mention of Manticore.
Bling laughed. "Age doesn't mean much, my friend."
Alec glanced up sharply, but the other man seemed not to notice his reaction. "And he's rich," he gestured expansively at the apartment - at the various artifacts, each of which were probably worth enough to sustain the average American family for a good month. "Old money rich…blue blood. And I know he doesn't act the part," he continued before Bling could refute the statement, "but he can't change what he is. I'd have figured Max would go for someone a little more familiar with the plight of the common man."
"Logan is familiar with 'the plight of the common man.'"
"Yeah, maybe…through association. But not through experience."
Bling had always considered himself an open-minded individual, and he couldn't, in good conscious, dispute all of Alec's claims. Finally, he just shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe he isn't Max's 'type'…and maybe she isn't his. And maybe that's why things have been going so slow between them. They're still testing the water."
"Yeah, well I think if things are going to work out between two people, they shouldn't have to 'test the water'. They should be able to just jump in, in full cannonball form. If they work out, they work out. And if they don't, move on."
Bling nodded. "That might work for some people…and not for others."
Alec eyed him carefully, expression blank. "Are you gonna tell me to back off?"
"Not my place."
"Good. Because as far as I see it, Max and Logan have missed their chance anyway."
Bling raised a speculative eyebrow, but said nothing. The conversation was effectively ended when the pair in question entered the room, Logan leading the way to his elaborate computer system.
"Right," Max was saying, "but how far can these I.D.'s get us? Lydecker only caught a glimpse of me, so probably the best he's got for now is a description - something that could resemble me, or half the female population of Seattle, depending on how vague it is. But he has Alec's picture on file. It's gonna be pretty damn hard getting through the checkpoints regardless of what name he uses."
"There's always the old-fashioned method," Alec offered, grinning.
"Not if you want to keep your ride," she returned. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she stood up rigid. "My ride!" she exclaimed. "Damn it, I completely forgot about my ninja!"
"Why, where is it?" Logan inquired, settling himself in front of the computer.
"Back at my apartment. Hey, maybe it's not too late…I can sneak in, get it, get - "
"No!" both Logan and Alec interrupted simultaneously. A very awkward moment passed…filled with confusion and glaring, and one thoroughly amused Bling trying to repress a smile.
"It's too risky," Logan said finally, tearing his eyes away from Alec's heated green gaze to meet Max's. Whatever else he might have had to add, he had to keep to himself, for the sake of Bling's ignorance.
"Wait a minute," Bling cut in as her earlier words sank in. "You're leaving town?"
"Um, yeah, for a little while."
Alec glanced sharply at Max following her reply. 'A little while?' She was planning on coming back here eventually? He'd been under the impression that the move was going to be a permanent one…that would be the logical way about it.
'Well there you go,' a little voice inside his head told him. 'There's no way Max would opt for the logical solution.' He also didn't miss the slight, hopeful glint in Logan's eye at her words.
"Are you in trouble?" he asked, his forehead creasing in worry lines.
Max grinned, a self-confident gesture - or a reassuring one. "Nothing I can't handle." Alec rolled his eyes. Judging from the glare that transformed out of her pleasant expression, Max caught the gesture. He smiled charmingly in return.
"And you two" - Bling indicated at the two transgenics - "are leaving together?"
Alec tried not to smirk too triumphantly as Max nodded in affirmation and he watched the aforementioned glint in Logan's eye disappear. Nanner, nanner, was probably also an inappropriate response.
"But my bike," Max moaned, remembering her earlier concern.
"You can always get a new one," Alec suggested, not understanding why he was the only one to point out this obvious fact. Of course, he also seemed to be the only one who couldn't comprehend the sentimental value said bike might have for its owner.
"It's not the same," she said with a slight pout. But the sigh of resignation she gave a moment later indicated that she saw the futility of the argument. A bike, no matter how much it meant to her, was not worth risking capture over. Death, maybe, but not capture. She really loved that bike.
Finally - for Alec, and all too soon for Max - it was time to go. The I.D.'s, they'd decided against, figuring it'd take up too much precious time, and would hardly have been worth it. Instead, they'd resolved to 'pick up' a couple of sector passes ('steal' was the word someone else in their place might have used…but alas, some people possess no tact), and hope that'd do the trick. If all else failed, they could kick some sector cop ass and force their way through. It wasn't a recommended plan of action on a day-to-day basis, but Max figured if she was going to leave Seattle, she might as well indulge some of her repressed urges. She still hadn't forgot the trouble she'd gone through with her bike that last time…
Bling had left some time earlier, having a previous engagement to make. He gave Max a thorough hug before his departure, and Alec a friendly handshake. He didn't mention the Max and Logan issue again, but he did fix Alec with a pointed stare that the younger man wasn't quite sure how to interpret.
When it came time to make their own exit, Max and Logan quietly exited the room, leaving a restless Alec to wait for them.
"So," Logan began.
"So," Max said simultaneously.
They both laughed, the tension easing a little in the process. "You need any money?"
"Nah," she replied, "I'm good for a while." Fortunately, she hadn't had a chance to pay Vogelsang yet, leaving her with the majority of her share from that last job she'd pulled with Alec. Not to mention whatever amount Alec had from his own half.
"Okay," Logan nodded. He watched her a while longer before continuing, "You know, you can always come back later, when things have settled down." He gave a small shrug. "For the bike, of course."
"Yeah, I guess I could," she agreed, then shrugged as well, "For my bike, of course." They shared another smile, watching each other across the expanse of the kitchen.
'What are you waiting for?' Max asked herself. 'It's now or never.' She squared her shoulders, stood up straight, and abruptly closed the gap between them, before she lowered herself to his level and moved her mouth over his. He seemed a little startled by the action, but it took him only a second before he began to respond.
The kiss was as soft and sweet as she'd imagined…but nothing more. No magic, no spark - none of that 'indefinable something' that she'd come to expect to find in this moment. And certainly none of that mindless lust she'd experienced with Alec the other day (of course, that was due mostly to the heat anyway). But most surprisingly, she had to admit, was the fact that it didn't bother her nearly as much as she thought it should have.
She pulled away slowly, her hands bracing his face while his one cupped her jaw. A similar sort of revelation was reflected in Logan's eyes. His lips parted, to speak, when the sudden clearing of a throat broke them apart.
Max straightened immediately, backing away from Logan almost guiltily as she glanced toward the doorway. Alec stood watching them impassively. "We should get going."
"Oh, okay," Max nodded, looking flustered, "Um, I'll see you, Logan."
He nodded, though somewhat dubious of the predictive value of her words. "I'll tell Kendra to look after your bike."
Alec watched him a second longer, then gave a curt nod before leaving the apartment with the woman that Logan could have loved following behind.