A/N : I had a very long inner battle with myself whether to update now or wait a bit longer...i didn't check my mails for your reviews yet for the other chapter but i was speaking to myself you know : "C'mon you can't leave them like this...You hate it when people do that to you..." so i finally decided that i should update the same day...
I hope you'll enjoy this chapter...the next ones or coming...sorry for those who will hate me by the end of the chapter...
And thank you to all the people who review me so regurlarly...a really huge thanks! I love you all...
« Alec. » she breathed as she collasped on the ground.
Marshall who wasn't very far came next to her. Alec caught her before she hit the ground.
« Max. C'mon...Stay with me Max! »
« Oh God! » whispered the senator as he saw the large pool of blood on Max's dress.
« Jaz! Where the fuck are you! » Alec yelled.
« I called base. » Jaz informed.
Ria tugged at the senator.
« Sir, you need to take cover. Our teams didn't find the snipper yet. You'll be safer inside. » she said as calmly as she could.
« But Max...She needs an hospital. »
« We can take care of our own and she's strong. » she said harshly. « Come on. »
« Joshua! Take her to the van! » Alec ordered.
Trent was on the driver's seat, ready to jet.
« Get her to TC! Now! » he shouted.
As they left, he barked in his radio.
« Nica! Travis! What do you have? »
« We are closing in at 10 o'clock from where you are. » informed Nica.
« Familiars probably. » continued Travis. « They shoot from a pretty long distance. No ordinary snipper could have reached it! »
« Find them! Whoever did this! And bring them back to me! » ordered Alec.
Nica and travis looked at each other.
Fortunately for Nica and Travis, Ari, Jon and Nate were just behind them because they seemed not to have noticed the two guys in black cat burglar suit uniform behind them.
Apparently, they didn't notice the three X5 behind them either.
One of the familiars cocked his gun toward Nica which made both X5 to turned around slowly.
« Looks like they found us. » muttered Travis.
Jon landed on the two familiars to give Ari and Nate time to disarm their opponent.
Unfortunately for Jon, one of the familiars throw him against a wall without barely an effort.
As X5s they could do that too, but not as easily as the guy just did, and in the position he was, as Ari was holding one of his wrist.
« Damn! Those are stronger than those we faced before! » said Nica.
The four standing X5s were circling the familiars.
« I don't care what Alec said, i want to stay alive. » said Ari as she pulled her gun and shoot.
A clean bullet between the eyes.
But as soon as the other familiar hit the ground hit the floor, the last one said : « Anyway, she's dead. » and then he killed himself.
A moment, the X5 stood there speechless.
« Fuck! What was that! » shouted Nate.
« I think he killed himself. » uttered Ari.
Jon was starting to gain consciousness again when Alec arrived.
« What happened? » he spat.
« He killed himself. » informed travis.
« We were about to fight them, but Ari shoot at the guy on the right. »
« And then, the other killed himself before we could do anything. »
Nica helped Jon to get up.
« They were stronger than the ones we faced before. » complained Nica.
« We got lucky this time. They didn't know we were behind them. » said Ari. « I'm sorry Alec but my instinct told me to kill them... »
Alec didn't say anything and left.
He went straight to TC after he told Jaz and Ria to stay and take care of the Senator's security.
« How is she? » he asked Miles.
« She's fighting...But...there was something in the bullet. » Miles informed his CO.
« Something like what? » Alec inquired.
« Like a poison. The bullet wound is not what's worrying me most. It's what they put inside. The bullet went through but the product remained in her blood system and it's changing it. » Miles continued.
« What do you... »
« There is something else. » Miles cut in. « She doesn't stop bleeding. But we've already cauterize the wound. It's some inner bleedings. I don't know if she'll still be alive in the morning. »
« You're telling me that she can die in any minute? » Alec asked.
« Not in any minute. Probably in 8 or 9 hours. » said Miles.
Alec's hands fisted in his hair.
« Her unit... »
« They are already there. Alec, i'm sorry but there is nothing we could do. »
« Call Carr! »
« Alec listen... »
Miles knew he had to reason him.
« I said call Carr! Can't you recognize an order? » Alec barked.
« Sir, yes sir! » replied Miles. It was the first time Alec adressed him as the pure CO that he was.
As chief medic, he knew it wouldn't change a thing, that she will undoubtedly die as he said. But he could understand Alec's distress. He called Sam Carr as he was told and informed the doctor of the situation.
« I'll bring Beverly Shankar. She knows already Max and she had worked with her about the retrovirus. » said Carr finally.
Meanwhile, Ales was paying a visit to the familiar they had emprisoned.
Without talking he showed the man the video of Thula's death.
Though he was a phalanx, though he was superior(supposedly), he flinched when he saw what the X7s did to his CO.
« That's nothing compared to what i'm going to do to you if you don't talk. » said Alec after thirty minutes of silence.
« I know nothing. » the familiar said through clenched teeth.
« Tonight someone that i care about was shoot. They say, she won't survive the night. If she doesn't survive this night...your life is useless for me. I'll track down each member of your family, and i'll unleash those little brats on them. »
« Whatever i'll say, or i won't say, a war is inevitable between us. » the familiar said wisely.
« Yeah. That's sure. But if you tell me who gave the order, your family will be the last to die. »
« As far as i know we're the only ones sent after 452. The phalanx, our unit, was assigned the task to take out 452. »
« Why her only? »
« We are soldiers, we obey. »
« No! We are soldiers! You are terrorists and lunatics! » Alec barked.
« Unless it was Ames...but he wouldn't kill her. He wants to know where she hide his son. But Ames is dead. Thanks to her. »
« You don't tell me anything new! » stated Alec.
« In our hierarchy, the phalanxs are the highest ranking officers. Nothing that goes through the conclave is unknown to us. That's why i'm telling you that i don't know anything, because we only have been sent to track 452 down. »
« You do know you'll die. » said Alec.
« I'm not afraid of dying. Our time as come. No one will be able to stop us. Not some transgenic filth barely able to fight us back! » the familiar spat.
« Whatever you have to tell yourself, you'll die when she'll die. And i promise you, you'll suffer. »
Somewhere under Seattle, in a high tech facility.
« Stan! » barked Harris.
« Yes sir. » said the young man as he entered the unlighted room.
« What's this! »
Harris pointed to the screen showing the supposed-familiars who had fought against Alec's unit. Well almost fought against.
« I...It wasn't me sir...the order came from... »
« I know from who the order came! But here! I'm the one charge! » shouted the old man with authority. « Understood? »
« Yes sir. » said Stan.
« I am the only one authorised to give those kind of orders! We are not as numerous as those familiar bastard, or the trasngenics! We can't lose people! »
« I'm sorry sir, but... »
« There is no but Stan! Do that again and I'll kill you myself. »
The young man gulped down.
« And the corpses? » inquired Harris.
« The X5s took them. Probably to feed the X7s. »
« Damn! We are in deep trouble if those little animals find out what our friends really were! »
« They don't suspect anything sir. » assured Stan.
« Don't underestimate those animals. » said Harris.
Max was lying lifeless on one of the four beds of the room.
The eerie silent that reigned in the room was telling you how desperate, and hopeless the people inside were.
Syl was squeezing Krit's hand and Jondy was laying next to her sister.
Beverly Shankar arrived with Sam Carr thirty eight minutes later.
They didn't say anything different from what Miles had already announced.
« I'm sorry but Miles is right Alec. » said Beverly. « I'm really sorry. »
« But my estimation was wrong. » informed Miles. « She only has 4 hours left. »
« She can't die! She just can't die! »
At that point Syl was crying loudly just as Jondy. They had four hours to say good bye to their sister.
« What if i contacted a specialist? » said Alec desperately.
« A specialist of what? Of X5s? You know that there is not such a thing. » stated Miles a bit harshly.
« A scientific that worked there, in Manticore. » continued Alec.
« Even if you do find one of those guys. You only have four hours. And then that person will have to identify the poison. » Beverly trailed off to take her breath. « We haven't identified it. We never saw something like that before. We can't even name the virus. »
« Alec... » murmured Ari who came to see if Max was ok.
« No! No! No! She can't die now! I haven't tell her... »
« Alec, go tell her goodbye. » whispered Ari as she hugged her CO.
He was now kneeling next to her bed.
« I'm sorry I didn't protect you the way I should have. I failed you Max. I'm sorry i failed you again. »
A reassuring hand squeezed his shoulder.
« You didn't fail her Alec. » said Jondy.
« You need to take a decision. » intervened Miles again.
« What decision? »
Alec thought it was Zane or Krit who had talked.
He wasn't sure of anything. All he knew was that the love of his life was dying and that he could do anything.
« Whether i unhook her now or wait those four hours. » announced Miles.
« She'll have the chance to fight. » Alec cut in. « Nobody is touching that IV. »
Ari backed away from him.
« Nobody is touching her. » he said more to himself than for the others in the room.
Ari had never saw Alec in this state before. Sure there was that time when Sandoval dragged him back at Manticore after his long term mission went awry. She had heard the rumors like everyone else that he fell in love with a girl. She had snuck out to the Psy Ops area where he was detained at that times and she saw a very lost 494. But that was nothing compared to now.
H – 3 hrs.
« He doesn't want to let her go! » stated Miles. « He doesn't even let Jondy or Syl approach her anymore. »
« We need him as a leader for god's sake! » complained Travis. « I mean look at him! »
« I don't think he'll get over that. » said Ari with sadness. « And even if he does, he won't be Alec anymore, he will be more 494. »
« He will fully work as a good soldier and he will put out his humanity. » continued Cece. « I don't want that.»
« God! He's digging his own tomb. »
« Meanwhile, we need a leader here. » said Travis.
« Mole can take care of things for a while. » said Biggs. « Max put him in charge in case...this kind of thing happened.
« I'll help. » said a familiar voice from the threshold.
« 453. » muttered Nate.
« My face will reassure the troops. Don't get mad i'm really here to help. » she uttered defensively. « I'll just give him a hand. »
They all nodded and then the silence was back in the room. They didn't hate Sam, but seeing her alive and well and seeing Max lying lifeless with Alec sobbing on her chest, it was more than they could take, even for the super soldiers they were. They couldn't handle seeing Alec so vulnerable, so...weak.
« Something with those familiars bothers me. » murmured Nate after a few minutes.
« What? »
« Their strength to beginning with. And the fact that the guy killed himself. »
« What do you mean? » inquired Biggs.
« I need to check something out. Miles. » Nate called. « Come with me. I need an autopsy on the guys we brought with us. »
« You're lucky Alec decided to wait for the still alive familiar to feed the X7s. » Miles said.
The thought of the X7 series sent shiver to Nate's spine.
H – 1 hrs and a half.
« Nothing unusual. » said Miles as he finished examining the familiar.
« Nothing indeed. But look there is no mark on the arms... look at the base of his neck. »
There was a dark point, looking like a shot.
« You think he's shooting himself? » Miles said not seriously though.
« No. » replied Nate very seriously. « Could you make some blood tests on them? »
« Yes but Nate it won't change anything for Max. »
« It's not for Max. » he paused a moment. « Tonight, when we faced them....those guys...they are a lot stronger than all the familiar we fought against before...If we'll have to face those guys again, i want us to be prepared. This is what Alec would do if he wasn't in his , i can't tell you one thing for sure...those guys are not familiars...And you said it yourself, we can't do anything more for Max. She's already dead. »
H – 0
Her breathing was slowly fading away...She was slipping away. A few minutes left and soon she will be just a memory.
No! She was more than a memory, Alec told himself. She was his soul mate, she was the woman he'll love till the end of his life which wasn't worth much since the sunshine of his life was now, at this very moment dying. His Max was dying.
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