Dark Angel Revised Chapter 18: Crazy bout you, a dark angel fanfic

Dark Angel Revised

Chapter 18

Tissue Warning

"Crazy 'bout you"

Max screamed and ran out of the kitchen. Alec soon followed still hurling grapes at her. She ran around the couch, but Alec ran the other way and grabbed her just as she tried to run into their room. The two then lost their balance and fell on the couch both laughing hysterically as they rolled around in a tangle of limbs fighting for position. It wasn't before long that they found themselves on the floor beside the couch.

When they fell, Alec ended up on top and Max purred and arched into him. Maybe it was the bottle of wine they each had with dinner, maybe it was the full moon, or maybe it was the devastatingly handsome male staring down at her, in any case, Max was feeling frisky. "I feel very vulnerable in this position, Soldier." She said in a sultry voice.

"Is that so?" Alec said huskily. He then removed a grape from the bunch and popped it into her mouth. She took her time chewing it completely enrapturing him with the delight her face showed from the sweetness of the grape. Unable to resist, as soon as she swallowed Alec kissed her fervently. Relieved that her seduction tactic worked, Max responded with equal fervor.

"You're so beautiful." he whispered after he pulled away and stared down at her.

"I know." Max replied nonchalantly with a shrug.

"What do you mean, 'you know." Alec said and began tickling her.

The two began another wrestling match as they rolled around the floor, however when they stopped this time it was Max who was on top. Without further preamble, she swept her hair out of her face, leaned down and kissed Alec hungrily.

The grapes and their clothes were soon discarded as the two let passion envelop them.

Alec stroked up and down Max's bare back as she wiggled even closer to him before letting out a contented sigh. The plush carpet they rested on was so comfortable against the chill of the desert night and had been the spot for many of their lovemaking sessions. But then again so had the bedroom, hot tub, patio, kitchen table and bathtub in the bungalow they rented out for the past three weeks.

Once leaving Seattle, they had traveled for a week with no real destination in mind and would have kept on traveling if they had not come across the charming little vacation spot in Arizona. Three weeks in the desert might not have seemed ideal when they first decided to take their little respite but the two immediately fell in love with the settlement when they came across it. It was as if the Pulse had skipped over the small town. Granted prior to the Pulse their probably wasn't much to begin with seeing as the town only consisted of a market, a church, several antique shops, a few ranches and the strip of bungalows. But because the residents were used to sustenance living they actually benefited from the effects of the Pulse. Owners renting out their well-equipped bungalows to passer-byers proved quite lucrative, and all other businesses in the area profited as well thanks to the "tourists."

In between window shopping at the antique stores and horse-back riding at the ranch the two periodically checked in with Logan via email. The bungalow had an internet connection and the couple had to go on a field trip to buy a lap top since their cell phones weren't in range.

When they last heard from Logan he informed them that the suspicious military presence he had warned them about a mere two days after they had left was finally withdrawing which meant they could go back to Seattle soon. Tonight would be there last night.

"I'm gonna miss this place."

"We can always come back after we take down Manticore. Heck we could even stay."

"Don't get me wrong this was a nice getaway, but I'm definitely a city girl. I think I'd go crazy if we had to stay here any longer. There's only so much sand I can take."

"Yeah." Alec agreed. "Never thought I say this but I do kinda miss the Seattle rain."

"Really?" Max said turning her head up to look at him fully. "You really think of Seattle as our…like…home…like the place we'd stay permanently."

"Hmm I never really thought about it but I guess I kinda do. It's the longest we've ever stayed and we made some pretty good friends." Alec shrugged. "There's only one drawback but we can't avoid that."

"What?" Max's eyes then narrowed. "You mean Logan don't you."

"Yup. But like I said can't avoid that. We kinda need him."

"You think he's been on the level as far as monitoring the police and military activity."

Alec nodded. "It serves no purpose for him to want us to get caught by Manticore. Like it or not he needs us too."

They were silent after that for a while; each mulling encounters with "Eyes Only" around in their head.

"You know what I really need right now." Alec's eyebrows rose at the seductive hilt her voice took on. "I need another soak in that hot tub out back." Before Alec could reply, Max was on her feet and heading away.

Alec shook his head and then shivered a little at the thought of going out into the frigid desert air even if it meant being in the hot tub a minute later.

"You coming." He heard Max call from down the hall. Alec opened his mouth to decline but an image of her naked form sashaying across the backyard and then submerging in water struck him and suddenly the cold air seemed a small price to pay.

He hurried after her.

They reached Portland two days later and quickly sought out the building they needed.

The medical clinic was small, only three offices on each of its two floors, so it didn't take long to find the office with the laser equipment.

"Ahhh I need ice." Alec whined.

"Here." Max said as she, none too gently, pressed a soda can freshly liberated from the mini-fridge in the office next door against the back of his neck. "You are such a sissy."

"It hurts Max." He continued to whine as he replaced her hand holding the soda can with his own.

"Well you're the one who wants to get a haircut."

"I have to." He huffed. "With these eyelashes," He fluttered them dramatically before grabbing the locks on his head. "And this, we're a couple inches short of a lesbian couple."

"Please." Max rolled her eyes before gently cupping his face. She lightly traced her thumbs across his cheek bones. "Long hair and big girl eyes or not, anyone can see you're all man." She said before bringing his head towards hers for a searing kiss.

"Hmmm I'm gonna miss you." He moaned deeply after their lips parted.

"Me too, but hopefully it'll only be for a couple of days."

"Damn black outs." Alec grumbled.

"I know." Max said before bringing their lips together for another deep but brief kiss. "Come on, we better get out of here." She said after abruptly pulling away. "I still gotta find a place to crash and you need to get going."

They hadn't been able to reach Logan.

They had to ditch the lap top before they left Arizona because it was too annoying to fit on either of their bikes along with all their other stuff. That only left their phones as a means of communicating with him. When they finally got back in range they still couldn't get through; all they'd get was an automated voice telling them the call could not be completed. That happened all the time on account of the black outs or brown outs cities were famous for at any given time. So they decided to go back at separate times. Alec would go first to make sure everything was simpatico and if it was he'd call Max with the all's clear. If it wasn't then he'd leave again and join her back in Portland.

It wasn't long before he reached the sign that read 'You are now entering Seattle.'

Alec slowed to a complete stop. He removed his shades and looked at the check point a mile ahead. Something wasn't right.

Dawn was just approaching yet there was a mass of people out and about on both sides of the gate. As he studied the scene further he saw that many people were being turned away from passing through into the city.

Alec took out his cell phone and tried Logan's once more. He cursed when the same automated voice came on. With another curse he put his glasses back on and revved up his engine.

"ID." The sector cop shouted.

Alec smiled tiredly as he handed him his Jam Pony ID. He'd been waiting in line for three hours. The cop studied the ID and then Alec and then the ID again. When the cop looked up again, Alec held out his hand ready to take it back.

"Wait here." The sector cop said before turning away.

"Come on! I gotta an appointment in an hour!" Someone shouted from the line behind Alec.

"National Security compromise my ass; this is damn gas conspiracy!" Another angry voice yelled.

Alec tuned them out so he could focus better on the words between the sector cop holding his ID and the other cop he was talking to inside the booth. However, the angry yells, the humming of engines, and the other miscellaneous clatter was making it impossible. When he saw the sector cop pick up the phone, Alec thought it might be time to bail.

Damn it! Alec wanted to scream.

Logan had sworn that the transmissions he was able to tap into between the newly arrived black ops canvassing the area had only been concerned with finding a female X5. And that made sense. It had been less then two months ago that an unidentified female with a barcode on the back of her neck admitted to the hospital in sector four had escaped their grasp. Lydecker had heard Max's voice when they kidnapped him a month ago. He identified Zack and Lydecker would know that Zack would have fled after that incident. They'd also know that 494's training would tell him to stay as far away from the place he first went AWOL. But if the girl would have stayed in Seattle after nearly being captured in the hospital there was a chance she'd still stay after kidnapping Lydecker. Sure they were taking a leap assuming the girl in the hospital and the girl who had helped kidnap Lydecker was the same but it was an even bigger leap to assume those were isolated incidents and not check them out. Of course it had been fruitless because they had no picture of Max. They really had only been hoping to either get lucky and come across her during a search or that she'd get sloppy and they'd be close enough to swoop in and recover her in time. Since that didn't happen, Logan had told them that they had been pulling out.

But did they leave behind Alec's picture before moving out just in case he did decide to ignore his training and surface in Seattle? Did Logan know that and neglect to tell him?

The questions kept coming as the sector cop hung up the phone and looked back at him and Alec held his breath. If he fled now, they'd definitely give chase. Should he risk it?

Hell yes. He wasn't going back there.

Alec gripped his handle bars as the sector cop held up his hand. And waved him through.

He was still shaking as he rode pass the line of cars and people trying to get out of Seattle. He didn't begin to calm down until he cleared another two check points. He'd planned on going straight to Logan's but when he saw the familiar street to Crash he veered that way.

The car following him almost missed the abrupt move.

Alec had to wait another twenty minutes before they started serving alcohol, but he didn't mind the wait while he got his nerves under control.

His thoughts were clearer by the time he ordered a scotch but he slugged it down anyway and ordered another.

Of course Manticore wouldn't just leave his picture behind with the sector cops. That was a major draw back of having a secret government agency. No way they would want to get local police involved in the search for fugitive experiments. The cops arresting him for something they caught him doing would alert Manticore and they'd come and retrieve him not the other way around. Manticore would have to have proof or a damn good way of framing him for a legitimate crime in order to get the locals involved and he'd been squeaky clean. Well at least he had been in Seattle.

Alec sipped his scotch slowly feeling marginally better. It had just been a case of mistaken identity most likely. He raised his glass for another sip when his cell phone rang.

"Hey Max." He said without looking at the caller ID.

"Where are you?"

"Crash."

"It's eleven fucking A.M. ..lec…don't tell me I have…throw your ass…A.A."

"It's nothing like that. I was just a little shaken up."

"Why? What happened?" The concern immediately colored her tone of voice and Alec smiled.

"It turned out to be nothing."

"A…u…sure?"

"Yeah."

"Wh..app..ed"

"I'll tell you later. Look, Max, we're breaking up. I haven't talked to Logan yet, but so far everything seems okay. I'll call you tomorrow when I know for sure."

"..k..A..c…uv..you."

"Love you too. Bye."

After hanging up, he decided two scotches were more than enough before noon so he paid his bill and left.

He wasn't two feet out the door before the clicks of several guns filtered the air.

"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!"

Alec could do nothing but obey as he surveyed the lot full of cops all pointing guns in his direction.

Max looked at her watch again. She couldn't believe the line of people still ahead of her and behind her. What the hell was going on?

She knew she should have waited to hear from Alec. But it had been two days since she heard from him. When she tried calling him she got nothing and she couldn't get through to Cale either. She hated being in the dark. Plus there was that funny feeling she got not long after she said good bye to Alec in Portland that something bad was going to happen.

"ID." A sector cop yelled to her an hour later.

"Sorry ma'am." He said after looking at her Jam Pony ID. "Only Class One passes accepted. I need you to turn your vehicle around and depart.

"Please it's an emergency. My mother's ill and she had been watching my two children when I left to go—"

"Over there to file for access." The sector cop pointed to an even longer line several feet away.

The thought of busting through crossed her mind, but with the amount of people and cars clogging the way not to mention all the armed sector cops in the area she knew she wouldn't make it very far.

With a groan, Max turned and road towards the next line.

"On your feet!" The cop yelled as he banged on the cell bars with his nightstick.

Alec startled out of his musings eagerly did as he was told. He had been lying on the smelly uncomfortable bunk staring up at the ceiling. Other than a pimply face aide shoving trays of food in his cell twice a day, he had been alone for the past two days. No one had been by to inform him of why he had been arrested. He hadn't even been offered a phone call such was the justice system in Post-Pulse America.

"Turn around and put your hands behind your back." The policeman ordered.

Alec clenched his jaw but did as he was told. His heartbeat sped up as he felt the metal encircling his wrist but he kept his emotions in check.

Two other policemen then came in, grabbed him, and pushed him out of the cell.

They escorted him down a long hall and into a small room with four other men in the same jewelry as himself and shoved him against the wall under a number painted on it.

The cops left and Alec looked around briefly before turning to stare at the large mirror covering the wall in front of him.

He was there for less then fifteen minutes before the cops returned and grabbed him again. When he noticed that the other men in the room were not getting the same treatment Alec spoke.

"What the hell's going on?" He said shrugging the cops off of him.

"A positive ID, scum." An officer replied as he roughly grabbed hold of Alec again with his partner's help. "You're going down for murder, pretty boy."

Stunned, Alec didn't resist as they pulled him out of the room.

"Logan! Finally!" Max shouted into the phone.

"Max? What's going on?"
"I'm stuck just outside of Seattle. They're not letting anybody in without class one passes." Max said as she looked around the line she had been sitting in for almost two hours. She had been trying to get in touch with either Logan or Alec the whole time.

"The whole city's on lock down because of a presidential visit. Their not letting anyone in or out without the right passes for another couple of days." Logan explained.

Max sighed. Just great. "Well, have you heard from Alec?"

"He's not with you?"

Max rolled her eyes but managed to get out a no between gritted teeth. "He came a few days ahead of me to check things out since we couldn't get a hold of you."

"He's probably on his way back to wherever you were Max. Unless he had those passes he wouldn't have been able to get in either. Seattle's been locked up for this past week."

"No, he got here two days ago. He told me there was a minor problem but they must have let him in. He was at Crash when he called me."

"Huh."

Again Max rolled her eyes.

"Hang on Max. I think I might be able to get you in." She could hear him typing furiously on his keyboard. "I know a guy in the precinct near where you are. Hold on."

Max heard the sound of a phone being dialed and ringing. When she heard a male voice answer for some reason she held her breath.

"Sung, it's me Cale, I need a favor."

Well the man can certainly multitask. Max thought after awhile. She hadn't heard his fingers stop moving across the keyboard as he talked to the man, Sung, on the other line.

Logan could doctor up and send a fake form allowing Max's entrance no problem which is what he was doing. However he needed Sung to pick it up and carry it out. Any other cop at the station would see it was a fraud and of course not honor it. But Sung, his badge, and the fake documentation should be enough to get Max pass the sector police.

Max breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his contact agree to do the favor.

"Max?"
"Yeah I heard Logan. I'll be waiting."

"Just a second, Max. When you get through come over to my place immediately?"

"What's up?"

"I just came across something while I was rooting around the police files. It's Alec. He's been arrested.

"Where is he!"

"Is he alive!"

Alec banged his fists on the table making one of the officers jump. "What the hell is going on!"

"We ask the questions, asshole." The phrase was punctuated with another cuff to his head.

Alec barely felt it, having withstood interrogations a million times worse then this even though those had been mock ones.

"I don't know who you are talking about." Alec said slowly making sure he enunciated every word.

"You sick fuck. What, you're mommy didn't give you enough attention as a boy? You walked in on your daddy screwing the mail man. Is that the reason you're such a sadistic, psycho bastard!" This time Alec got a punch to the jaw. "Where is he!"

The same questions over and over again. He got that they thought he killed somebody with the whole charge of murder. But if they didn't even have a body (at least that's what he assumed was why they kept asking where is he) why were they so convinced he killed someone.

"Look I didn't kill anybody."

"Oh you were just positively identified by two different people."

"What two people?"

"His wife for one!" The officer shouted while slamming down a picture in front of Alec's face.

Alec's eyes bulged. He'd seen some gruesome photos before but the atrocity in the picture in front of him still caught him off guard.

"Did you have fun doing that, you sick freak!"

"I…I didn't do that." Alec said. The picture of the man's bloody body twisted in all the wrong directions held a morbid fascination and Alec couldn't look away. But when he saw the man's face, his stomach lurched and he had to. The man's mouth was gaping open in horror and Alec could see that all his teeth had been pulled out.

"They're holding him in a precinct in sector six." Logan said when Max burst through his front door and then into his office.

"For what?"

"Murder Max. Lot's of them." Logan replied stoically.

"What?" She asked disbelievingly.
"I looked up his file. Under his name there's a list of several people in different cities across the country that he's suspected of killing." Max came up behind Logan and leaned down to study the computer screen. "So tell me, Max." Logan said after lifting his eyes from down her blouse to her face. "Were the robberies not enough of a thrill?" He asked smugly.

"What?" Max's startled eyes looked away from the computer listing several names of dead men under Alec's picture to Logan.

"Wait, are you gonna tell me you didn't know?" Logan asked after taking in Max shocked expression.

"Alec didn't do this." Suddenly feeling caged, Max moved away from Logan and his computer and began to pace. "There's no way."

"Max," Logan said patronizingly.

"No Logan. They're wrong!"

"Max, listen to me. I wanted to believe that too, but there's something else." Logan turned back to his computer and started clicking on files. "I know the M.E. who handled the two bodies found in Seattle recently in the same condition as the others. She sent me pictures." Max stopped pacing and stared at the computer monitor. Logan clicked on a picture and it filled the screen.

She gasped at the condition of the body. Logan then clicked on another picture and Max's eyes widened further.

"That confirmed it for me. Who other than an X5 would tattoo a barcode on the back of their victim's neck?"

Max read the numbers and couldn't breathe.

"Sure at first I thought it was Manticore killing the ones that escaped with you. But when I checked out the names of some of the men, I saw they all had family histories. They weren't Manticore. They were just regular people that Alec k—"

"It wasn't Alec." Max interrupted. Her voice was completely emotionless.

"They have eyewitnesses, Max. They gave a positive ID."

"It wasn't Alec." She repeated. "Ben killed those people."

"Who's Ben?" Max turned away and walked towards Logan's large windows. She stared at the people moving around below even as her vision blurred from unshed tears.

"My brother." She finally whispered. "That's his barcode."

"Your brother? One of the kids that escaped with you." Logan said understanding.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Max nodded.

"Why?"

Max shook her head. "You wouldn't understand." She mumbled.

"Who could understand this?" Logan said under his breath after he turned back to his computer and faced the gruesome pictures. Max heard his words and closed her eyes letting a few tears fall.

She didn't understand either. Why was Ben doing this? Why was he recreating that day in the woods? The smell of blood and the sound of that man screaming had woken her up in a cold sweat on so many nights. All she ever wanted to do was forget and here Ben was reliving it over and over again. Why?

"Wait, that still doesn't explain why they have two independent witnesses positively identifying Alec as the killer." Logan asked suddenly.

"Yes it does. Alec is Ben's clone."

"Clones?" Logan said incredulously. He leaned back in his chair and shook his head still in mild disbelief. "Yeah I guess that makes sense. If you're going to spend millions of dollars on making an embryo minds well split it and get two for the price of one." Logan shook his head again before looking back at the girl staring out of his window. "You know Max, if they recover any DNA evidence from the scene of Ben's crimes, Alec's screwed."

"It'll be a perfect match." Max said quickly wiping her eyes. "I know." She straightened further. Alec needed her so now wasn't the time to lose it over finding out her brother was a serial killer.

"Considering the nature of the crime, when he's finally arraigned, he probably won't get bail. Then again it won't matter because Manticore will be on it as soon as Lydecker catches wind."

"I know all this Logan which is why I have to get him out of there now." Max said angrily as she started for the door.

"Wait, hold on. Let me call Matt Sung back." Max halted and turned back to face him. "I can find out exactly what they have on Alec."

At her nod, he made the call.

"Good news." Logan said after hanging up the phone twenty minutes later. "So far no DNA evidence; just the two witnesses. One is Timothy Ryan's wife. The other is a person who saw "Alec," last with the guy who's missing now.

"Someone's still missing?"

"That's what they've been interrogating Alec about for the passed several hours. It was bad timing on Alec's part when he came back to Seattle. His picture had just started circulating and the sector cop recognized it. They let him through hoping he'd lead him to the missing guy but Sung told me that because of the whole thing with the President they decided to move on him at Crash. They've been questioning him for hours about where he's either keeping the guy locked up or where he's stashed the body."

"If the cops haven't found a third body that means Ben might still be here in Seattle. I've gotta find him."

"Why? What are you going to do?"

"Ben's murdering people. It's what Manticore taught us to do but not like this." Max said pointing towards his computer screen. Unable to look anymore she turned away to once again stare out the window. "What Ben's doing is crazy. I have to stop him. He's sick and I'm not gonna let Alec suffer the consequences."

Logan watched as Max crossed her arms protectively around herself and shuddered. She looked so small. He stood up and walked towards her.

"Don't worry about Alec." Logan said gently as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Relieved that she didn't shrug it off he continued . "I can help him. I can get a lawyer to have him out of there in under two hours which is plenty of time."

"What do you mean plenty of time?"

"Max, today's the President's last day. He leaves tomorrow." Max spun around and then stepped back not realizing how close she and Logan were standing. "Seattle opens back up tomorrow which means anybody's going to be free to come and go including Lydecker."

"I have to get him out now." She stated urgently but her move away from the window was halted by Logan's hands on her shoulders.

"I told you I can take care of it Max. You'll never make it in and out of that police station. Security is beefed up everywhere on account of the President's visit. With the threat of a terrorists act all law enforcement has been given the green light to shoot to kill at even the slightest provocation." His grip on her shoulders eased and instead he began to knead them. "I'll do this favor for you." He said closing the distance between them even further. The window behind her kept her from backing up. "But Max I'm going to need a favor in return." Logan whispered.

"And what's that?" Max asked calmly.

"One time Max. That's all I'm asking. Just one time. I can't stop thinking about you…dreaming about you. I just need to get it out of my system. Alec won't have to know and I won't have to deal with this," Logan leaned his hips into hers and Max's eyes widened. "Every time we're in the same room."

"Logan," Max replied softly. "If I…" She looked down at the growing bulge in his pants and lost her voice.

"Yes Max." Logan whispered. "Oh yes Max." He continued as he felt her small hand on him.

"If I…"

"If you what Max?" He breathed closing his eyes and leaning down to bring his lips to her neck.

"If I rip it off would it stop being a problem for you?" Logan jerked his head up but was too late to step away before her small but deadly hand closed in a fist around the crotch of his pants.

Max winced at the shrieking coming from Logan's lips. Tears leaked out of his tightly shut eyes and still she held on not letting go until he passed out from the pain.

Max didn't give Logan a second thought once she walked out of his pent house. All she could think about was Ben.

What had happened? What went wrong? Why was he doing this?

She couldn't get the images of the dead people out of her head. And the only time she could stop thinking about them was when she remembered the body she had helped put in that same condition when she was a little girl. How could Ben keep doing that to people?

She remembered all the times Ben would tell them stories. What his laugh sounded like and how the only time she ever usually smiled in that place was at him. She remembered the way he made them feel loved.

Max saw the church in the distance and hastened her step. In the file she read, the bodies were found not far from here and of all the churches in this sector, this is the one Ben would go to in order to be close to her: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart church.

The place was empty and Max was able to stand in the back and take in the full impact. The quiet, the smell. Everything was so calming; a true refuge. Ben would love it here for those reasons but mostly for the one down front. The statue on the altar looked just like the picture the janitor had given Jack a decade ago.

Max approached it slowly not really wanting to see what she knew she'd find. The stained cloth amidst the other knick knacks immediately drew her attention and with a shaking hand Max opened it up and gasped.

Human teeth. Perfectly pulled out human teeth.

Max shuddered and looked up at the passive woman staring down at her.

"I haven't seen you around here before you." Max jumped and turned around to see a man sitting in the pew behind her; a priest, if she remembered correctly, judging by the white paper around his neck. She hadn't heard him at all. And Max cursed to herself. What if that had been Ben and she'd blown her chance.

"I noticed you've been standing there staring at the statue for some time now. Almost two hours."

Had it really been that long? She had been in such deep thought reliving her time at Manticore with Ben; trying to understand what had lead to his actions now.

"Is there some kind of time limit?" Max asked after finding her voice at last.

"Of course not. I know people who pray for whole days."

"I wasn't praying."

"No, I had a feeling you weren't. Look I don't mean to intrude but when people who don't come to church suddenly show up it s usually cause they re carrying around something they need help with."

Max snorted. "I'm okay."

"If you say so." He stood up. "My name's Father Destry by the way." He was about to turn and walk away but her voice stopped him.

"Do you think there are some things that are unforgivable?"

"God s forgiveness has no limits."

"That's big of him."

"He forgives things that you or I may not be able to forgive in others, and in ourselves. See that confessional. It s not easy walking in there but you feel a whole lot better walking out."

Again Max snorted. "Thanks anyway."

"The thing about carrying around secrets is they have a tendency to get heavier." Father Destry waited a beat but when the young woman remained silent he smiled at her before turning and walking away. Max turned and looked back up at the statue once more before turning her back and walking away to find a seat in one of the pews where she could watch and wait for Ben.

He showed up three hours later. Max held her breath the entire time he walked up to the altar. He stood and stared up at the statue for a long time just like she had done a few hours ago. She wondered if he had come across Father Destry too and if they talked at all.

Max watched as he removed something from his pocket and put it around one of the statue's outstretched hands. She focused on it and saw that it was a gold necklace with a medallion of the blue lady hanging from it. After several more minutes, Ben took the necklace off the statue and put it back in his pocket.

Max felt tears prick her eyelids. Until that moment she had still been hoping that Ben wasn't really the one brutally murdering those people. But his actions confirmed it.

Ben turned and walked back towards her and again Max held her breath. He couldn't see her from where he was unless he was looking, and from the glazed look in his eye, Max knew his focus was not on his surroundings. It took everything in her to refrain from confronting him then and there, but she knew here was not the place. It was obvious Ben had been here a few times before and knew this place better than she did and if he ran, she could lose him.

When he walked out, Max hurried after him to follow. He didn't seem in any particular hurry and Max walked in a leisurely pass several yards behind him. They continued south getting further away from the heavily populated areas making it harder for Max to blend in.

It wasn't before long that they were in the manufacturing district. Max quickly climbed atop the first building she came to so she could watch Ben from above. The place was completely isolated and there was a chance he'd hear her footsteps if she kept following behind him.

He disappeared inside one of the buildings and Max waited. This would be as good a place as any to confront him granted she had no idea what she was going to say other than why.

But just as Max was about to climb down, Ben walked out of the building only this time he wasn't alone. He was ushering a man out in front of him by gun point. Max looked further and saw that Ben also had a few other weapons fastened to different parts of his body.

Max stayed where she was as Ben led the man pass the building she was watching them from and back towards the city. She jumped down and again began to follow and saw that Ben was taking the man into the forest.

Oh Ben. Max thought. He really was recreating every aspect of that day in the woods back at Manticore. She was almost positive that the weapons she had seen on Ben were for the man. Ben was going to give them to the man and make him run. And then Ben was going to track him down and kill him.

When Max reached the spot she saw Ben enter the forest she began to worry. She had no idea where he had gone. Everything looked the same.

Get it together, girl. Breathe, focus, and remember your training.

Max did so until she heard the sound of footsteps in the distance. She took off towards it. The closer she got the more she recognized the area. She'd taken this route before on her way to…and then she saw it looming in the distance.

The Space Needle…the high place. Of course! That's exactly where Ben would go afterwards.

Max headed towards it and sure enough the sounds of a struggle picked up. She reached the clearing where they were just as the man was dispatched of his knife by Ben and thrown down.

Ben stepped on the man's chest to keep him from getting up and that's when Max decided she'd better make her presence known.

"Ben."

His head jerked up to look at her in disbelief.

"Max." He said. His eyes lit up ever so slightly and Max took a deep breath at how much he looked like Alec.

"Ben, why are you doing this?" And just like that the light died and his eyes became colder than Max had ever seen. She was sure that Alec's eyes could never look like that.

"You know why."

Max shook her head still not believing the coldness of his eyes and now his voice.

"Come on Maxie, you're one of the few people who could possible understand."

"You're wrong, Ben. I don't understand. I could never understand how you could do what I saw in those pictures." She looked down at the man quivering under Ben's boot and then back up at him. "How could you have turned into such a monster?"

"I'm not the monster!" Ben roared at the same time bringing his foot back and sending it into the man's face knocking him unconscious instantly.

"Ben. Think about what you're doing. You're branding men with your barcode, ripping out their teeth and then hunting them down and killing them. That's insane Ben!"

"I'm not crazy, Max! I'm not sick like them!"

"Like who, Ben, the nomalies in the basement. You're still afraid that they'll crawl out from under there and get you. Is that why you give her their teeth so that she'll protect you from that? And you really don't think you're crazy?"

"Shut up!"

"No Ben, listen to me!" Max shouted back. "What you're doing--this ritualistic shit--makes you the nomlie!"

"No."

"The genetic mistake." She kept going.

"No."

"The monster in the basement."

"No!" Ben screamed and then he blurred and Max found herself on her back with Ben raining punches down on her.

A few got through before she recovered and deflected the next blow. She pulled Ben down towards her and then rolled them over until she was on top. He immediately threw her off of him. Max landed on her feet and Ben kipped up and the two faced off.

Max attacked first snapping a kick to his solar plexus but Ben blocked it and retaliated with a kick of his own. Max ducked to avoid it before sending a punch to his stomach that had him doubling over. She didn't waste time gloating instead following up with an uppercut to his jaw. When he staggered back, Max dropped and spun kicking his legs out from under him.

Ben was on his feet again almost instantly. When Max came at him again with her fist he caught it, moved it out of the way giving him a clear shot at her face which he took; cracking skin and drawing blood.

This was for keeps. Neither one was holding back. Back and forth they exchanged blows and kicks. Roughly and deadly they came together only to toss the other away like rag dolls.

Max sailed through the air and sent both feet into Ben's chest knocking him into the clearing near the Space Needle's base. His head connected painfully with the concrete and Ben saw stars. He moved to get up but then sagged back down.

"Oh I think I get now." Max said her breathing slightly labored as she joined him by the Needle. "This was all some kind of twisted way to make you feel strong." Max wiped the blood running into her eye and straightened up. "You've been hunting people you know are in no way a match for you. Big surprise when you beat them. You think that makes you strong, Ben, because what you should feel is pathetic."

"No!" Ben shouted once again getting to his feet. "I'm not pathetic. I'm not weak! I am a good soldier."

"Bull shit, Ben. Only a coward picks on people weaker than him in order to feel good about himself and you know it. And that's the only reason you're playing this sick game."

"No I do it for her." Ben said coldly. "I only do it for her."

"There is no her Ben. She doesn't exist." Max said exasperatedly. "We made her up."

"No Max. You lie."

Max only shook her head.

"She's real. She's real!" Ben screamed.

Unable to keep taking her denial he turned and ran.

Max didn't hesitate to go after him. She chased him as he jumped over the fence and towards the Space Needle. She chased him into the Space Needle and up the stairs. Never stopping or slowing, never a truer testament to their genetically engineered bodies than the unwavering speedy pace they used climbing the eight hundred plus steps.

Max was right on his heels when he ran into the room that lead out to the dome of the Needle where she sometimes sat alone or with Alec. As he reached the window, she pushed herself for an extra burst of speed and tackled him.

As Max felt herself tumbling out of the window and down the slope of the dome, she began to rethink the brightness of that idea.

Ben felt himself slide until his feet were hanging over the side and panicked. He gripped the body in his arms tightly and just like that his fall had stopped.

Max braced her shoes on the surface in a wide stance stopping their dangerous descent towards the edge. She felt Ben squeezing her and looked down at him. His scared eyes met hers and she didn't hesitate to pull him up and into her arms.

"I've got you Ben." Max squeezed him tightly to her. The idea of watching him plummet to his death was too much to bear despite what he'd done. "I've got you." He squeezed her back equally hard once more before pulling away.

"Thank you Maxie." Ben whispered. "I knew I wouldn't fall because my faith is strong. But yours, Max." Ben shook his head and then he pulled her to him once more, but instead of ending in an embrace, Max felt herself being lifted and thrown over the side.

"Ben! No!" Max screamed as she latched on to the collar of his jacket. Her legs dangled helplessly in the air as they tried to find something to stand on.

"I have to know if you believe Maxie. Do you? Do you have faith in her?"

"Ben, please. Pull me up. Don't let me fall. Please Ben." Max begged. She heard the sickening sound of fabric tearing and screamed. "Ben!" She yelled as her body suddenly dropped lower. His name turned into another scream as the fabric came away in her fingers and she dropped again. Suddenly her descent was halted by a steal grip around her wrist.

She opened her eyes to see Alec's face looking down at her. She almost smiled but then he spoke. "Do you believe in her Maxie?"

Oh God Ben. He really was crazy. Max threw her other hand up to try and reach him. But he ignored it. Instead he looked away from her and cocked his head as if he heard something.

Max couldn't believe she was going to die like this. It was so far down yet she could see the exact spot where she'd land. No she couldn't die like this. She looked back up and saw Ben still staring off behind him seemingly unaffected by the weight of his sister dangling from his hand. But then she noticed a piece of broken railing jutting out just a tiny bit below her out of reach. Max stretched towards it but suddenly she felt herself being yanked up.

No Ben was shaking her. She looked back up at him and he smiled now that he had her attention.

"I have to let you go Maxie. She says that if you really believe, she'll save you. It's the only way we'll both know for sure."

"Ben please." Max begged again.

"I have to Maxie. Just please believe in her so you can be saved."

He let go.

Max barely had time to register the shock before she was suddenly free falling. Instinctively she grabbed out at whatever she could and her hands closed around the railing halting her fall. She inched closer to the building until her feet touched the railing of the balcony below.

When Max finally pulled herself back on top of the Space Needle's dome Ben was still on the other side staring down at where he dropped her.

Ben's eyes were squeezed tightly closed. He wouldn't open them until he heard his baby sister's body hit the ground and he heard the Blue Lady tell him he did the right thing. Even after more time passed then it should have taken for her to reach the bottom, he didn't open his eyes. Not until he heard her voice telling him that he'd done good.

"Ben!" Max screamed.

He spun around in shock. Tears immediately sprang to his eyes. She did it. The Blue Lady saved Max. Now she'd have to know she was real.

"How could you Ben!" Max shouted as she advanced on him.

Ben backed up suddenly afraid. Why was she mad at him? She kept coming and Ben took another step backward only this time his foot met only with air.

It had been instinct for her to blur and catch him but as she stared down at Ben in an exact reversal of positions her anger at him came back full force.

"How much do you believe Ben?" Max asked furiously.

"Max." Ben gasped frighteningly as he held onto her outstretched arm with both of his hands.

"Where's you're Blue lady now? Huh, Ben!" Max yelled as he looked down at the ground so far below him and then back up at her.

Max expected to see the same frightened eyes she had seen a second ago but instead they were calm. Her anger began to fade as his resemblance to Alec hit her once more.

"I'm a good soldier. She knows how hard I try." Ben said calmly before smiling. "Thank you Maxie. This is the test and I'll know she'll protect me."

"Wait Ben no." Max said as the realization of Ben's intention registered. But it was too late.

Ben let go.

"Ben!" Max screamed and lunged further over the edge to try and grab him.

But she failed.

The sound of his body hitting the ground echoed in her ear. She had squeezed her eyes shut so she didn't see him slam into the concrete but the sound. The sound was so loud to her genetically engineered ears it was like she did see him in that final moment. Now she couldn't get the image or the sound out of her head. She bent over and retched, vomiting everything she had eaten in the past twenty-four hours. All the while that sound pounded in her ear. It was so loud, she couldn't stop shaking and crying. It wasn't until the sound of approaching sirens overpowered the other sound that she was finally able to gather her legs under her and stand.

Then she ran.

The bars of his cell slid open and Alec closed his eyes. This was it. This was the part when Lydecker, Sandoval or maybe Renfro herself showed up and escorted him back to Manticore to be tortured. Alec steadied himself for the inevitable and looked up. He wouldn't be a coward about it. However it was only two of the same cops he had seen for the past few days.

"What now?"

"You're free to go." The taller of the two officers said. At the young man's confused look, the cop continued. "Found the real killer."

He was still confused but he didn't show it. Instead he stood confidently and walked out of the cell. As he passed the cops, the shorter one spoke.

"But we'll be watching you. Crazy's bound to run in the family."

Alec's face couldn't help scrunching up in confusion this time at the cop's words. But instead of asking he merely shook his head and walked away. But the comment the cop made to his partner as Alec reached the door caused his blood to run cold.

"An Evil twin. Straight outta a horror movie." The cops' laughter made Alec shudder even more.

493.

Of course it was 493. He had always been the bane of my existence. Of course 493 would go running around killing people and I'd get blamed for it. What else was new? Damn 0'niner.

Well okay not all 0'niners were bad. I am in love with one. Speaking of which.

Alec checked his coat pocket for his cell phone. He knew Max was probably worried sick not having heard from him in so long.

They handed him back his wallet and he thumbed through it and cursed even though he knew they'd clean him out.

Quickly gathering up the rest of his stuff, he left without a word; eager to be out of that place.

He waited until he was almost at Crash before calling her.

Wait till she hears where I've been. He thought as her phone rang and rang and rang.

Alec left a message and continued on his way to Crash for his bike. When he got home after getting it, he called her again but still there was no answer.

Going a little stir crazy he decided to drop in on Logan to see if he'd heard anything.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday." Logan said through gritted teeth.

"She's in Seattle." Alec said slamming the refrigerator and leaving the kitchen. "Did she know I got arrested?"

"Yeah. Last I heard she was going to try and find Ben."

"Ben?" Alec asked with a mouthful of cold pizza. "Right, right 493."

"Wait a sec. How'd you get out? You escaped?"

"No they let me go. They got "Ben." At least I think they did unless I have another twin walking around." He stuffed the rest of the pizza in his mouth eternally grateful for something other than the slop he had to digest the past couple of days in the slammer. But once his stomach was content Logan's earlier words registered. "You said Max went after Ben." Logan nodded. "If they caught Ben what if Max was with him."

"Yes. That would be bad." Logan said indifferently.

"No shit. Now you think you can act like you actually give a damn and check one of your infamous sources to see if the cops have Max or not."

Logan sighed. "Fine." He said before walking stiffly towards his computer room.

"You alright, Logan?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure, cause you're walking like you're hurting pretty bad."

"I said I'm fine."

Alec shrugged before taking as seat while he watched Logan make slow progress towards his computer.

"She wasn't picked up." Logan said a few minutes later.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. The report says the cops did a thorough search of the area where they found Ben and no one was there. You also might want to lay low because they say that shortly after they recovered the remains, an unspecified branch of the government came and took them away. That has to be Manticore.

"His remains?"

"Yeah 'the remains of the man identified as the 'serial dentist' was found at the bottom of the Space Needle on June 5, 2019." Logan read from the file. "Cause of death was severe internal damage and dismemberment as a result of the fall."

"How'd the cops know to find him there?"

"Phone call."

"Max?"

"Ugh." Logan said as he scanned the file. "No, the guy who was kidnapped called them once he found a payphone after, oh wait, after being rescued by an unidentified female approximately in her late teens or early twenties."

"That's gotta be Max." Alec stood and ran his hands through his newly shorn hair. "She was there. She saw him die."

"She's probably brooding somewhere. She did consider that psycho her brother after all."

Alec looked sharply up at Logan but he was too engrossed in his computer to notice the dangerous glare Alec was giving him.

"I gotta go." He said simply before leaving to go find Max.

It took him two days to finally find her. It would have taken him longer if one of her friends from the building she lived in hadn't overheard him telling Kendra about the search.

He'd looked everywhere he'd ever been with her: Jam Pony, Crash, Donna's Donuts, the Space Needle—well the Space Needle had been crawling with cops for some time after recovering Ben's body and he doubted she'd go there, but when the smoke cleared and he still hadn't heard from her he checked anyway.

She wasn't there.

The thought that Manticore had taken her had started to eat away at him and he almost called Zack to see if he'd help him get her out. But then Jacinda told him that she saw Max a little while ago at the church she attended.

Our Lady of Sacred Heart Church

His whole way over he thought Jacinda must have been mistaken. After all, she did say she only caught a glimpse of Max and didn't actually talk to her. Why would Max be at church? Still he had to check it out and sure enough there she was.

When he walked in there were very few people and he probably would have missed her if he hadn't looked at every nook and cranny in the place. She was seated in a back corner of the balcony staring straight ahead. With her lack of movement, she could easily pass for one of the statues decorating the church if not for her irreverent attire and the slight rise and fall of her chest.

He didn't want to make a scene by shouting up to her so he found the steps up to the balcony and quickly made his way to her.

"Max" Alec called softly. She slowly turned and faced him but he wasn't ready for the look of utter fear that came across her face.

"Max." He said more urgently and moved closer but stopped when he saw how she shrank away.

Alec closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and gather his emotions. He had been afraid of this. When she first met him she had called him Ben. Back then it hadn't mattered. He quickly set the record straight and it never again became an issue especially since he learned later on that the last time she had seen Ben was when they were children.

But now she had seen the man Ben became. She could no longer think of the boy she knew when she thought of Ben. She now would think of the terrible things Ben had done as a man. She wouldn't be able to stop thinking of them because she had a constant reminder of the man Ben became because Ben's face was the same as Alec's.

"I'm sorry, Max." Alec heard his broken voice whisper. He felt moisture on his cheeks and such an incredible pain in his heart because he was sorry. He was so incredibly sorry. He wished he didn't look like Ben; not if this was the price. He was going to lose her. She would no longer be able to stand looking at him, and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't change his face. It was over and he was powerless to stop it.

She had thought he was Ben when she looked at him standing there.

She had no idea how much time had passed. The last thing she remembered was running and crying and feeling incredibly alone. And then all of a sudden, Ben was calling her name again. But the moment she looked and saw him standing there she knew that was all wrong. Ben was dead. She killed him. She saw him die. She heard the sound.

"I'm sorry Max." He said but that wasn't Ben's tone. Ben had been cold and rough and angry. He hadn't been soft and regretful like this voice, like Alec's.

Alec. That' s Alec not Ben. Ben's dead!

It all came rushing back. The pictures, the fight, Ben letting her go, the sound of Ben's body hitting the ground, sirens, running, collapsing on this balcony.

A sob broke free and upon hearing it Alec couldn't help it. He was at her side instantly.

Gathering her in his arms he brought her head to his chest. Gently he began running his hands through her hair and down her back as she clutched at his shirt.

"Alec." She said his name so faintly it couldn't even be considered a whisper and if the surroundings hadn't been so utterly silent he probably wouldn't have heard.

"Yes Max."

"Alec. Alec. Alec." She continued in that decibel, the only change was how much stronger her grip on his shirt got.

"Max? What is it?" Alec prodded but when she didn't say anything other than his name he gripped her shoulders and moved her away so she could face him. Her eyes were clenched shut as she still only continued to chant his name.

"Oh God Max, please." Alec pleaded; a sickening feeling coming over him. "Please Max. Look at me. Me. Alec. I'm not him. I'm not Ben. Please, know that Max."

She opened her eyes but to Alec's horror immediately looked away.

She couldn't stand to look at him. He really was going to lose her.

"Max no." Alec sobbed before doing the only thing he could to make sure she didn't leave him. He pulled her back to him hugging her as tightly as he could. Overwhelmed with desperation, he buried his face in her neck soaking up her smell unable to let go. And when he felt her arms move around him and her small hands clasp his shoulders he pulled her even closer.

TBC

Author's Note: I did a little video montage of Ben, Alec, and Max on my web page. You'll find it in under one of the hot spots in Alec's place class=MsoNormal align=center 'text-align:center;line-height:400%'>Please Review!!!