Dark Angel Revised
Summary: Max comes to Seattle in search of her brother Seth. Alec has also just arrived in Seattle on the Berrisford mission. They cross paths and stuff happens. M/A
Disclaimer: I don't own or have anything to do with the creation of the show or its characters.
Spoilers: Anything is subject to altering from both seasons as well as Max Collins' book Before the Dawn
Chapter 4: The Traveling
They traveled south towards California. Max figured it was as good a place as any. She wouldn't go back to The Chinese Clan right away because the heat was still on her from her last heist, and she had to be sure she wasn't bringing more trouble to their door. After the smoke cleared, she could go back and see them again. Moody could probably hook her and Alec up with a few jobs that would have them set for awhile.
Her search for Seth would have to wait. Lydecker more than likely caught wind of the same broadcast she had seen. Plus Manticore would be looking for Alec in the last place he was supposed to be. He'd already told her that he had to check back with them after he made initial contact with Berrisford which gave them less than a day's head start.
They drove for ten hours straight only stopping to fuel up, go to the bathroom, or grab a quick bite to eat. Before the pulse, ten hours straight would probably have them almost to Mexico but with having to take back roads to avoid check points or waiting in line for the checkpoints that couldn't be avoided, ten hours covered little distance.
They were finally forced to stop just after they crossed the border into California. The cost of food and fuel had eaten up all of the money Manticore had given Alec for his trip and more than half of the cash Max had taken with her when she left California the first time. The area was basically deserted except for a small, heavily boarded house Alec had spotted through the trees while driving. Almost on empty with no idea how far ahead fuel, food, or shelter would be, they decided to check out the house.
The place looked in really bad shape from the outside. The grass all around the house was about four feet high. A couple of stairs that led up to the porch were missing. The porch itself looked unstable. Every window was boarded. It also looked like a good gust of wind could knock the whole structure down.
The two stood outside staring at it for awhile before turning to each other and shrugging. Alec turned and walked back towards the bike while Max turned and walked towards the house.
"Oh come on, you're not seriously thinking of staying here are you?" He said when he noticed they were going in opposite directions.
"What choice do we have? Unless you want to camp outside."
"Outside, where I'm sure a roof won't collapse on me, sounds good to me."
"I'm sure it's fine Alec, I've stayed in places a lot less sturdy than this. Don't be such a sissy." She turned and hopped from the ground to the porch. It gave a slight creak in protest but didn't collapse. She easily removed all the boards from the door and without any further preamble kicked it open. A cloud of dust greeted her, but if the kick didn't knock the place down it was good enough for her. She entered.
"I'm no sissy." Alec grumbled as he made his way closer to the house. He had expected Max's kick to be the end of the place, but when it wasn't, he also made his way inside.
Cobwebs and dust covered every surface, but other than that the inside was in surprisingly good condition. There wasn't much in the way of furniture. A small round table stood in the middle of a tiny kitchen off to the far right. A large area, presumably the living room, had only a large, ugly chest of all things pushed into a corner. There were also two doors which most likely led to bedrooms separated by a fireplace. Also to the right was a small hallway with a door at the very end.
The amount of dust and lack of well anything showed that it hadn't been lived in for a while, but whoever owned it probably kept the outside in poor condition just to keep out bad elements. It would certainly do for the night. In the morning they could hike further down the rode to see where they could get fuel and food.
***
The door at the end of hallway was a bathroom that worked as did the faucets in the kitchen. The doors in the living room did lead to bedrooms but with no electricity and it still being the winter months, not to mention how high in the mountains they were, the whole place was freezing by nightfall. They decided to both camp out on the floor in front of the fireplace. With all the boarded windows they didn't have to go far for wood. There was no food in the house, but they had a couple of candy bars to munch on.
"So, you, enjoying your freedom so far." Max said as they both stared into the fire after finishing their "dinner." Prior to settling down in front of the fire on a spread out sleeping bag Max kept in her motorcycle, they had only talked about what they found around the house and what they would need. This was the first time their talk was on a more sociable level.
"Well at Manticore I never had to worry about a roof over my head or anything to eat, but the company is much better out here."
Max blushed but tried to cover it with a quip. "Guess Sweet Talking is another thing Manticore added to their curriculum after I bailed.
Still feeling each other out, they lapsed back into silence. Several minutes passed before Alec broke it.
"Why did you come to Seattle?"
She stared at him for several beats before answering. "It's kinda how life is for us rogues. Can't settle down and get too comfortable. Before Seattle, I had been living in the same place for four years. It was time to move on. I, ugh, actually hadn't planned on staying in Seattle. I was headed for Canada but then I saw you and well, here we are."
"Why did I change your plans?"
She looked away nervously. "What do you mean?"
"Why didn't we continue on to Canada instead of coming to California?"
"Oh. I, ugh, I just figured that would be the direction Manticore would head looking for you once they catch on that you defected."
"Right." He felt like she was holding something back. But it was late and he was tired so he didn't want to press the issue right then. He'd find out sooner or later.
***
Max scanned the night through the window from which she stood as if on sentry duty. In a way she was. With no civilization around for miles, it would be hard for anyone to sneak up on them. They'd hear it and scatter long before anybody got to the house. But with no civilization around for miles, it would be hard to find a place to hide
The long drive had tired her out some. But the hour or so she lay down waiting for him to fall asleep was enough of a rest. She had waited another thirty minutes after his breathing evened out before she got up.
He carried a small back pack with clothes, sector passes and identities for his time out of Manticore. She had thoroughly checked that along with the pockets of his jacket. She had come up empty as far as tracking devices or any communication equipment. Whenever they stopped, she had always kept him in sight to see if he tried to make any phone calls. The detours they took to get away from Seattle was partly to avoid checkpoints like she had told him, but the other part was to throw anybody who might be following them off.
She turned back to him when she heard him stir in his sleep. Lying on his back, his hands forming a steeple on his stomach, he turned his head and muttered something before settling down again.
Watching him, she couldn't help but see Ben's young face instead of this stranger's.
Is this really what Ben looks like all grown up? Max shook her head, not knowing how to reconcile the feelings she got when secretly admiring the look of this stranger but knowing that his looks were the same as one of her brother's. But her eyes couldn't help traveling down his lean torso to his jean covered thighs and legs. Jeans! Yes, she would have to check his jean pockets for tracking devices too. And in the meantime, her eyes settled on his shoes. Feeling better than she had put her priorities straight, she slinked over to where he lay and grabbed up the shoes next to hers.
Still nothing, but that didn't mean she was ready to completely trust 494.