A/N: Let's pretend that Max didn't tell Logan about the Heat at the end of 'Meow'. It makes this chapter so much more fun )
Chapter 3 – Midsummer Madness
Max gave Logan her most charming smile. It kind of hurt to twist her face into such an unnatural position, but she didn't let her discomfort show. "We have a slight glitch in our plans Log, but it's not a big deal, okay. Don't freak out or anything."
Logan didn't reply, just stared at her vaguely.
"Don't give me that suspicious look." She said hotly. "I told you it's no big deal. You haven't even heard what the very small, nearly microscopic problem is and already you're glaring at me!"
He still didn't say a word.
"It's just a small heat, okay? A small one."
His lack of voice was beginning to bug her, so she grabbed the picture of him and bobbed it through the air in front of her face. Max raised her voice several octaves, "Max, I don't like-" She cleared her throat suddenly, "Oh, umm, I mean," She lowered it too a deep baritone, "Max, I don't like the sound of this. What do you mean "heat", what is that?"
She went back to her normal voice, "It's a small physiological side effect of having some feline DNA. That's all. No biggie."
She bobbed his picture more vigorously, "Small physiological side effect? Max, tell me what you're talking about."
"See, it's like this…" She stared down at the picture. Her voice was very close to sad as she finished. "I would sell my soul for an hour in bed with Alec. That's what I'm talking about."
Max threw the picture down in disgust and rhythmically bumped her head into the wall. She stood in the basement of Logan's apartment complex, next to her Ninja, talking to a picture because she was too afraid to go upstairs and face the real thing. God, how was she going to explain this to him? Was this even a good idea, going into his apartment when she was in this condition? She thought it would be okay, the Heat was still in the early stages and the thought of what would happen if she touched him was enough to cool any desire.
She stuck the picture inside her vest and headed for the elevator. She needed to talk to him before everyone else, especially Alec, arrived.
When she walked into the apartment a few minutes later she found, to her surprise, O.C. already seated on the couch.
"Took you long enough, boo." She said, glancing up from her nail file, "You left an hour ago – take a detour or somthin'?"
"Just, uhh, just some errands." Max looked nervously at Logan, seated next to O.C.. There was the usual warm pleasure at the sight of him, but nothing primitive and scary.
"You okay, Max?" Logan cocked his head, "Are you sure transgenics can't get sick? I can't help but notice that you and Alec have both been acting a little odd."
She paced over the window and then back again. Maybe she could just do the job and then disappear for a couple of days. Tell them she was taking a vacation, or something, she'd earned it after all. She could control herself through tonight - then they wouldn't ever have to know the humiliating truth. Alec wouldn't ever know the humiliating truth. Christ, for as long as he drew breath the bastard would never let her live it down.
"Max?" O.C. frowned when her friend didn't answer. "What's going on?"
Unfortunately the soldier in her was too ingrained – could she risk tonight's job and the lives of her co-workers to save her pride? Well… no. She grimaced – but it was such good pride.
"There may be a slight glitch." She began hesitantly. Instantly she had their full attention. "See, umm, last night I kind of went into, umm, heat."
O.C.'s mouth formed a perfect O.Logan just looked bewildered.
"Heat? What does that mean?"
"Remember the feline DNA?" She said in a small voice. "Small side-effect."
His eyes widened and she could almost see the wheels turning behind his glasses. There was a long moment of silence.
"This explains so much." He muttered under his breath, talking to himself. "The past few days I knew something was off-"
"It only happened last night." Max said impatiently, "You couldn't have known before me."
"No, it didn't," Logan stood and walked around the couch, "Max the past two or three days you've been different – really tense and on edge. You and Alec both have been-"
"This has nothing to do with Alec," She said quickly, "His feline DNA would be male, he doesn't go into heat. It won't affect the job what-so-ever."
Logan stared at her. "Jesus, you don't know about the heat. Max, it doesn't matter-"
"Excuse me?" It was O.C.'s turn to stand, "If you think for a second that we're letting you go out tonight girl, then you have been smokin' crack."
"Look, it'll be alright." She took a deep breath and tried to smile. "I'm only in the first stages of the cycle, I still have a good portion of my control. This job, getting these guns, is too important."
OC looked down-right incredulous. "Sugar, I have seen you in action, remember? Ain't no way I'm going for this."
"Max, listen to Original Cindy, there's something you don't understand-"
"Look, I'm only part cat," Max argued as they heard the sound of the front door opening, "I'm still more human, so I'm not going to resort to some animalistic-" She cut herself off, her head whipping around towards the partition. O.C. watched in horrified fascination as something dark and primal shifted in her friend's eyes.
Alec stepped into the room whistling a complicated Gilbert and Sullivan number. Max slowly turned her entire body to face him and her mouth went completely dry. He was dressed in solid black – black jeans, a fitted black t-shirt and a black leather jacket. Just as quickly as the saliva had left her mouth, it returned in excess. God she could lick him up like chocolate.
Alec slowly stopped walking forward and abruptly stopped whistling. Everyone was staring at him. He glanced uncertainly at Logan, who was looking pained; and then over at Max. Then it hit him. Hit him like a hard right jab to the kidney, knocking the air from his lungs and causing a wave of dizziness to tilt the world. Alec grabbed the wall to steady himself and took a deep breath. Almost as soon as it had hit the dizziness was gone and everything was clear.
Perfectly, crystal, digitally clear.
He could hear her heart beat like it was his own, speeding up to meet the sudden increase in her breathing. Her lips had parted initially in shock, but the tongue that flicked out to moisten them had entirely different motivations. He met dark eyes liquid with surprise and a hot, carnal craving that a man would recognize even if he were dead.
Alec was not dead.
"Max." He had intended it to be a warning – of what, he didn't know. Instead her name came out more of a purr… a suggestion.
"Alec!" O.C.'s voice whip-lashed through his brain, bringing him abruptly back into himself. He was suddenly very aware of Logan and O.C. staring at him in shock. He also realized that he was gripping the partition leading into Logan's office hard enough to crack the wood. He made a conscious effort to release the wall and cleared his throat, carefully avoiding Max's eyes.
"Umm, hi."
They continued to stare at him.
"Nice weather we're having." It was Seattle, the weather was customarily crappy, but nobody seemed to notice the lie.
"Have a seat Alec." Logan said politely, "Apparently we have quite a few important things to talk about."
Taking the long way around the living room, the one that kept him the furthest distance from MaxAlec eventually edged into a recliner. Slowly, Max sat down in the other one.
"Max is in heat." Logan said bluntly. "What I imagine you're feeling right now is a direct result of that."
"Logan, I told you, males don't-"
"Let me finish Max. You said that you got the female DNA and Alec obviously was given the male. What you have to understand is that the male response to a female in heat is just as ingrained on his DNA as is yours." He made sure he had their full attention before continuing on, "Have you ever seen a male cat when he's around a female in heat? Or hell, have you ever seen a male dog when a female dog is in heat? It's all the same. The females are releasing pheromones, specific pheromones that say "Hey, I'm ripe and fertile, baby, come and get me."."
Alec blinked – those words coming from Logan were rather disturbing.
"When a male breathes in those pheromones and they fit into the right chemical transmitters, then it's suddenly all he can think about. I've seen a male Labrador Retriever tear through a screen door to get to a female who was in heat. It's all instinct."
There was a moment of silence.
"A rather stupid move on the part of Manticore."Alec muttered.
"They probably didn't really count on the whole mating side effect of the DNA slice. The urge to procreate is a difficult thing to control, so it's doubtful that they could have prevented it even if they had tried."
"Are you sure about this, Logan?" Max asked.
"Reasonably sure. It explains a lot about the two of you and your bewildering behavior the past few days."
It was O.C., as usual, who got to the painful point. "The last time this happened she was all over anything with a dick. But not this time. Is it different 'cause Alec's around to react to her… whatevers."
"Most likely."Logan barley even blinked. "Yes, that makes sense. "This is about more than just sex, it's about procreation. The DNA would recognize a fellow feline transgenic as providing more viable offspring, thereby making anyone else less desirable by comparison." The fact that he was right, didn't make his explanation sound any less like the desperate rationalization of a jealous boyfriend than it was.
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"But that means that other feline transgenics are a potential threat?" Alec asked softly, "There's no reason another X-5 wouldn't respond in the same way."
"Yes. Luckily since this began we've been meeting outside of TC." Logan turned to her, "You cannot go anywhere near the city Max, I absolutely forbid it. There's no telling what could happen."
Max nodded stiffly, the misery plain on her face. "But I still say that we need to do tonight's heist."
"No."
Some of the fire came back into her eyes and she shot to her feet. "I wasn't asking your permission, Logan. You're acting like we're some uncontrollable animals who are just randomly going to start exchanging body fluids and screwing like rabbits."
Alec's lips twitched.
Max wasn't looking at him, but she whipped her head around anyway, "Shut up, you're not helping."
"Sorry, you just painted such an arousing picture." He grinned, feeling eons better now that he knew the reason for his recent discomfort. "She's right Log, now that we know this stuff, it'll be no problem to control."
Logan and O.C. exchanged uneasy glances.
"Look, watch this." Max walked over and stood next to Alec, her arm brushing his. Electricity sizzled and sparked but they stared calmly at their friends. "See, note the lack of rabid sex."
Now it was O.C.'s turn to smile. "A'ight boo. Maybe we over-reacted a little."
"Damn right you did." Max quickly stepped away from Alec, idly rubbing the goose-bumps on her arm. "Now, let's get tooled up. I want to be there just after dark."
"Hold on a sec." Logan held up a hand. "You were right when you said that this job was too important to mess up. But just because we concede that you're going, doesn't mean we concede our worries."
"Yup."O.C. smiled in her own cat-like way, "We're goin' with you."
"This is utterly ridiculous." Max complained to Alec hours later. They were laying on their stomachs in the grass, watching Neightly's warehouse through binoculars.
"I know."
"We're not stupid, out of control teenagers."
"I know."
"We're highly trained soldiers Goddamnit."
"I know."
"We wouldn't have lasted a second out in the field if we hadn't learned phenomenal control."
"I know."
"Are you even listening to me!" Max hissed.
Alec's head whipped around, their noses inches apart. "Are you listening to me!? I said, I know."
The sound of their harsh breathing was broken by Logan's patronizing voice coming from the microphone in both their ears. "Knock it off, you two. What's happening at the warehouse?"
"The same thing that's been happening for the past three hours."Alec grumbled. "Jack shit."
Max shifted on the ground, careful to keep her body from brushing the one laying so close to hers. Three hours, she thought grimly, three fucking hours of laying here breathing the same air as him. Now that she was fully aware of what was going on with her hormones it was that much more difficult to keep her mind focused. She had thought the opposite would be true – that she'd have better control now that she knew what to fight against. Instead her awareness of him had been heightened to an almost unbearable degree. That along with the constant disembodied presence of their two chaperones was enough to make her regret having insisted on going through with the mission.
Not that she would ever admit it aloud.
She sighed and shifted places again.
"Stop squirming." Alec said curtly, "You're annoying me."
Deliberately Max wiggled again.
"Dammit, would you…" He trailed off as he turned his head and again their noses almost brushed. Max felt her breath catch in her throat as they stared at each other. That thing - that hot, dark thing – flared instantly between them. She leaned forward almost before she was conscious of the movement, her lips brushing his faintly. He didn't move, frozen in place as desire crashed through him. Her lips curved upward in a slight, teasing smile and she deliberately brushed her mouth over his again and then again – light, airy nothing kisses. She felt drunk on the sensations and knowing she had no control over her emotions only made the temptation that much more heady.
"Hey!" O.C.'s voice crashed over the airwaves, startling them both into jerking back. "What's with the heavy breathing?"
Max licked her lips and stared forward, "Just, uhh, just-"
"There's movement on the Northwest side." Alec said briskly, his binoculars at his eyes.
Never had Max been more happy to hear of the arrival of terrorists. She raised her own binoculars and peered through. Sure enough, a large truck was lumbering to a stop at the back of the warehouse, several men coming out to meet it.
"Better late than never, I suppose." She muttered. "Let's go."
As they stood she felt a flash of annoyance when Logan came back over the line, "Be careful."
"Dumbass."Alec muttered as they headed down the hill, and for once Max didn't have the urge to smack him for it.
They moved swiftly and soundlessly through the trees, coming up behind the truck. The men never even saw them coming – one minute they were rolling the back door of the truck up and the next darkness was rolling over their eyes.
The fifteen men surrounding the truck were dispatched with almost no effort. Max looked at the bodies laying on the ground with something like disgust – there hadn't even been much of a challenge.
"I'll drive." Alec said softly, heading towards the drivers side. "With any luck we can get this out of here before the rest of them realize anything's wrong."
"I think not." Max followed close on his heels. "The-"
He stopped so suddenly that she ran into his back before she could stop herself. His free hand came back automatically to steady her, his long fingers curling around the back of her thigh. Max exhaled sharply into his sweater, her fingers curling briefly into his sides.
"Movement ahead." He breathed.
"Mm-hmm." She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent.
"JesusMax." His fingers tightened on her leg and his voice sounded strangled. It took a major effort of will, but she stepped back, breaking the contact between them. She moved to stand next to him, her eyes closing in on the figures walking towards them. It was with a start that she recognized Sheena and the two X5's she'd chosen to drive the truck.
"What's she doing here?" She demanded in a low voice.
"She wanted to help." Jay said with a shrug. Sheena smiled her smoky smile and pivoted on one foot while sweeping her hair off her neck.
"Well, I'll be damned." Alec said admiringly. "O.C.'s got herself an X5."
"We'll chat later." Max said darkly, "Right now you three get this thing out of here, and make it quick."
Her and Alec watched as they started the truck up and headed slowly back up the hill. Jay was driving, with Sheena and Annie riding shotgun, both armed to the teeth.
"You didn't tell me you had backup coming." Alec said. To the casual observer his voice would have sounded conversational; but Max rolled her shoulders uneasily.
"If you had showed up in the morning like I asked, then-"
"Don't give me that bullshit, Max. You know as well as I do that one of the first rules of field engagement is that information that could harm your soldiers is never held back."
"You're the last person on earth who should be lecturing about responsible behavior, pretty boy. So stuff it."
"What are we doing here? If they were coming anyway then they could have handled the entire job, it's been a piece of cake so far."
"We're here to ensure that they have a clean get away. This is too important to be trusted to anybody other than us and the last thing we need is to be followed or recognized. We're stealing from CassNeightlyAlec, or have you forgotten that? There can be no possible way for him to learn who we are. So we stay, watch their back, and make sure they get out cleanly."
He was silent for a moment. "You still should have told me they were coming."
Max didn't know what it was about that statement – probably the faintly sulky thread underlining it – but a sudden smile broke across her features. She turned her head to look at him in the dark, he was staring moodily after the truck, and a wave of unexpected affection swept through her.
"You're right." She said evenly, "I should have told you."
His head whipped around and the look of utter shock in his face turned her smile into a grin.
"Did you just admit you were wrong?" He demanded incredulously.
"I did nothing of the sort." She struggled to tame the grin, "And I'll deny it to the death."
He stared wonderingly down into sparkling chocolate eyes. The lighthearted teasing was so out of place in her and yet at the same time it was strangely characteristic. There was no tension in her body, she stood with her hands in her pockets and laughter in her eyes. Alec wasn't sure, but he thought that maybe, just maybe, he was getting a glimpse at Max with her guard down.
"Well, then I'll just have to get it on tape next time." He cleared his throat when it came out rusty, "I could sell viewings of it around TC and make a hefty profit."
"Who says they'll be a next time, bub? We're talking a once in a lifetime occurrence."
"Are we done here?" The impatient voice of Logan came in loudly through their ears. Alec resisted the urge to jump in surprise – he'd completely forgotten about their silent audience.
Max's grin disappeared. "Yes. We're on our way back to you."
TBC