Finally, he pulled to a stop, and turned the car off. Looking over at her, he grabbed her shoulder before she could bolt, as she reached for the door handle. She tensed, and looked back at him, suddenly afraid. He was going to take her, going to sell her, just like the rest...
"Hey, Cayt... where are you going?" He asked, eyes suddenly piercing. Piercing, in a frightening way, but... a good way. Not the bad piercing she had seen when someone was about to hurt her again.
"Away... I mean, thanks for helping me, but I have to-" She opened the door, and tried to get out. Unfortunately, the girl had forgotten that she was way too far gone, and she almost collapsed, halfway out of the door. Alec grabbed her, pulling her back in the seat, steadying her.
"Whoa... slow down." She closed her eyes, and Alec started as she slumped, unconscious. He had no idea what he was doing here... some girl, unconscious, who was on the run from people with guns. Similar to him, in a way, but not really.
He'd been on his way to Logan's, to bother Max some; he was bored, and he knew Logan had beeped Max earlier, which meant Max got something to do, and he... he was stuck delivering packages. Now how was that fair? Not to mention, everyone knew that Max needed his help on the missions, anyway- how many times had he saved her transgenic ass?
And how many times had she saved his?
He shook that thought off, and sighed. This girl needed to get out of the car... especially if the men had traced the car. He got out, going around to the other side. He carefully rolled the girl's slack form into his arms, and kicked the door shut. Carrying her, he walked the couple of blocks to his apartment, the one he had taken over from whatever his name was.
Once inside, he paused, then sighed before taking her and setting her in his bed. Max was making him into a goody-two-shoes... giving his bed up for the damsel in distress he had saved from people chasing her... Come on. This wasn't what he had been trained to do. None of this really was.
But this girl had power; he'd seen how she'd started the car. Carefully, he rolled the girl over, pushing her hair from the back of her neck, checking and finding no barcode. Okay, so she wasn't Manticore... then what was she? One of the people in the wacky cult White was working for, or what? And what had she been doing in Logan's building?
Speaking of Logan... Alec pulled out a cell phone, and hit the speed dial button he had set up. When it was answered, he said quietly, "Heya, Logan... Max there?"
"Why?" Logan asked.
"Found a damsel in distress... she's, ah, got some kinda power," Alec said, studying the girl on the bed. Max and Logan would know what to do; this was their kind of deal, not his.
"Is her name Caytlyn?" Logan asked, voice interested.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Alec asked, startled.
"She broke in here earlier, men on her tail..." Logan said, and Alec cut him off.
"Yeah, I met some of her friends earlier. Was wondering if you two would know what to do next- I mean, this hero thing is right up your alley and all," Alec said, smirking slightly.
"Keep her safe for now," Logan said. "Max and I met her; she's okay, but... if you can keep her from running off, we can help her."
"Hey, this is your deal," Alec said. "Besides, she's in my bed right now... I don't think she's going anywhere."
Logan paused, then said in a strained voice, "You don't waste much time, do you? And she barely talked to us... how did you manage this?"
"You know, assuming makes an ass out of you and me..." Alec said lightly. "She's just sleeping... jump started a car for me, and passed out when I got here."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh," Alec said. Then, he smirked as he teased, "I mean, if you wanted tips on how to score a girl this quickly, you know I'd help, but Max would kick my ass..."
At Logan's strangled noise, Alec grinned, then said seriously, "So, when are you going to pick her up?" He glanced up, in time to catch the girl bolting upright in the bed, green eyes wide. He realized what she must have just heard, and pulled the phone slowly away from his ear.
"Just watch her, Alec... Alec?" the voice from the phone asked. Cayt got out of the bed, looking at him suspiciously, her eyes cold. Alec shut the phone, ignoring Logan's voice.
"I should have known," the girl said, voice low and cold. "Should have known that they'd have backup for me..."
"Backup? For what?" He asked, honestly confused. "I wasn't... wasn't selling you," he said, as pieces came to him. He might fence other things, but then again, so did Max. He'd never sell a person... even though he'd been trained to do some pretty weird things, he'd never sell a person. It was just... wrong.
"Yeah, right," She said. "Who's coming to pick me up?"
"No one. Was talking to Max and Logan... they said you met them earlier?"
"Yeah," she said, eyes still mistrusting. "What about it?" He tried to go around the bed to get to her, and she scrambled across it, to stand on the opposite side again.
"They're friends of mine," he said, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. What was he supposed to do here? This girl didn't trust him, and the only way he usually got people to trust him-
Was to sweet-talk them.
"We're just trying to help you. Set you free, you know?"
"Free?" She asked mockingly. "I don't know what free is." She tried to slip out the door, but Alec bolted across the room, grabbing her and putting her back on the bed. He sat next to her, an arm around her shoulders, keeping her there.
"Free, as in not bought or sold anymore," he said, nodding.
"I can't be free," she said. "How are you this strong?"
"I work out..." Alec said vaguely, shifting away. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I... I understand." She looked at him, eyes shadowed by fear, hurt, and distrust.
"How can you possibly understand? You can't've had to run from people looking to either sell you or kill you because of what you are. People looking to use you for who you are..."
"Actually," Alec said, his mouth a bit dry. "You'd be surprised." He looked her in the eyes, and frowned. The girl couldn't be more than eighteen years old... he was twenty, and she didn't look much younger than himself. She was thin, with a boyish figure. Curvy, yes, but not wisp thin like some anorexics. She was average build, with piercing dark green eyes, high cheekbones, and full, soft looking lips. A stubborn chin and a delicate nose all made her... really pretty, Alec decided.
"Then what do you run from?" She asked, voice hard. "Because I find it hard to believe that anyone would buy or sell a guy who can take care of himself like you did back there."
"Believe it or not, that's exactly what some people are after me for," Alec said. Realizing that he was dancing close to telling a stranger his ultimate secret, he got up, and began to pace.
"So, uh, where do you want to go now?" He asked.
"Go?" She replied, before, "Oh, um... I don't know. I like Seattle... if I could just find a way to hide," she said. "The best place to hide is in the most obvious place."
"Yeah," he said. Then, looking at her as she tried to rise, he came close, supporting her as she almost collapsed again. "Rest. You can figure this out later," he said.
Kay yawned, then nodded, relaxing as he helped her back to the bed. Then, as he left, she said suddenly, "I'm sorry." When he looked back at her, she added, "I mean, for... everything."
"Don't be. Save that for Max and Logan, who actually accept that crap." He shrugged, and she frowned slightly.
"Don't accept compliments well, do you?"
"Nope," he said cheerfully. "Now go to sleep."
"Yessir," she said, and he whirled, in time to see her roll over and curl up. He could hear her breathing slow immediately, and he sighed. She looked small in his bed... and of course, the first time in a while that he had had a pretty young lady in his bed, and he wasn't sleeping with her. That was kind of sad, really... though considering how well he pissed people off, especially Asha, maybe it was for the best. Just his luck...
Please review? Let me know what you like, dislike, what I need to work on characterization wise, etc.