Chapter 1

Alec's Quarters, Terminal City

Alec tossed in his sleep. The radiator in his room hummed steadily in the corner, but with his quilt was well up over his head still he turned and shivered restlessly in his bed.

He rarely slept unsoundly, but tonight was an exception. Not only did it feel like the temperature had dropped thirty below, but all day he'd this uneasy feeling. Something was nagging him, and he couldn't shake that curling in his stomach, like something was wrong. Max had been avoiding him. After the botched raid, she'd made sure she was never in the same place he was. He'd conveniently just miss her when he was in HQ, and every supply run they made - she was on another team. Damn it, if she wanted to pretend nothing happened that was fine, but pretending he didn't exist was over kill.

He'd tried getting Joshua to help him talk to her. He got Josh to call and say he needed her opinion on something, and then to page him when he saw her coming. She wasn't even staying in Terminal City anymore. And even though he seriously wanted to talk to her, he wasn't about to show up on Original Cindy's doorstep and ask if he could see Max. He didn't need an audience. No hard feelings to OC, but Josh was different. He was family.

The meeting hadn't gone as well as planned. Max had taken one look at him in the doorway, mumbled an apology to Joshua, and brushed past him saying that she had to blaze.

It had taken all his restraint not to grab her and demand they talk. If she wanted to act childish, then that was her game. He wasn't going to play.

So why couldn't he just go to sleep already. He rolled onto his back and wrapped his pillow around his head, squeezing hard till he felt all his knuckles crack simultaneously. Or was that his jaw? He release d the pillow and rolled his jaw. Nope, all good. He stared up at the ceiling. The paint was starting to bubble and peel. Well what place wasn't falling apart in Terminal City?

Why couldn't they just go back to how things were before? At least before she could stand being in his vicinity. Even if it meant she was usually swapping snide remarks or scowling at him. He remembered what it felt like when she'd tightened around him. The feeling of being stroked and clutched by her like nothing else matter to her but him being inside her. Making her feel... he cursed and threw the pillow at the radiator. It rattled noisily and spluttered.

Alec closed his eyes and pounded the mattress. Now he would never get to sleep. Not only did he not have a pillow clean enough to put his head on, but he would have to get a new radiator in the morning. Things just keep getting better.

He lay there thinking about that afternoon again. They had planned the job for three weeks. It was a two-man job. Biggs got them schematics of the building. CeCe had done temp janitorial work to do recon on the security, and Mole had mapped the sewer back-door entrance for them. It had been perfectly planned. Easy, in-and-out job, or so they'd thought. Who could have guessed that the owner went bankrupt the day before and had his entire, private, million-dollar, vinyl record collection liquidated. The vault that they'd planned on raiding was empty. And to top it all of - the security system had screwed up - and Max and himself had been locked inside.

He could almost smell her and feel her next to him, and he cursed. There was no way he going to get any peace tonight. He rolled out of bed and stepped into his jeans and pulled on a sweater. Running a hand through his hair, he wondered where he could go. Maybe he just needed to get out of Terminal City for a while. Clear his head. Find something new to fill his time. Fishing his keys out the jacket hanging over the chair, he pocketed them and headed out the door. He didn't know where he was going yet, but he knew how to get there. He jogged to the underground car park outside HQ and jumped on his Duke. Gunning the engine, he slipped on his glasses and speed out to the main gate. The guys must have heard him coming, they lifted open the doors, and let him through. Alec tore down the road without a backward glance. Leaving had never felt so good.


OC's Apartment, Sector 4

Max paced her bedroom, and chewed her bottom lip. She knew she was avoiding him, and she hated that he knew it too. Damn it, she should have seen it coming. Joshua sounded so nervous. He never sounded nervous. That should have set her off. She wasn't avoiding him on purpose.

'Yes, you are,' part of her argued, the-good-conscience half. The other half, the-denial-half argued that she wasn't. She was busy, she had a lot of things on her mind and she couldn't get into a relationship right now, and Alec would, should understand. 'You're just afraid that if you talk to him, you'll find he doesn't like you that way. That he felt sorry for you. That's the truth, Max. That's how you feel and that's why you're staying away.'

Was she really such a coward? It's not like he couldn't find you if he really wanted, her denial kicked in. Alec's not about to come running after you, he's not that kind of guy. He's got the message Max. You're sending it loud and clear. You don't want anything to do with him. 'That's not true,' she wanted to scream, but instead she hung her head and continued pacing.

"Okay, that's it," Original Cindy said from the doorway. "If you don't cut that out, I'm gonna have to put the smack down on your ass." She watched her friend dropped dejectedly onto the corner of the bed, and she sighed. "Why don't you just talk to him already?"

She'd told Original Cindy what had happened when she'd moved back into the apartment five weeks ago. After moving out and telling her friend it was better that she stay away, safer, she had a lot of fast explain to do about why she was back.

"Max?" Original Cindy said in surprise. Eyes flickering to the duffle bag she held at her side. "You plannin' on a sleep over?"

"Can I stay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Whenever and's long as ya like, but what's goin' on boo?" Original Cindy asked her hands going to her hips. "And don't tell me nothin', 'cause you all mopey eye'd, so out with it."

Max trudged past her friend and perched on a chair facing the window. At first she didn't say anything. Just stared out at the gray clouds, another overcast, dull day in Seattle. "Alec and I had sex."

To her credit, Original Cindy hadn't looked flabbergasted or start on her with 'I told you so'. She'd always spouted how Manticore made 'em fine and that Alec wasn't all as bad as she made him out to be.

"And now you ain't good with it?" Original Cindy asked.

Max shook her head sadly. "I don't know what I feel. I did what I always do, I ran away."

"Oh sugah." She'd pulled her into a hug and Max had cried silently for a solid half hour. Original Cindy had squeezed tissues into her hand and pushed her back and looked squarely in her eyes. "I'm only gonna say this once. Run'in never helped nobody, it always catches up with you in the end."

Max pulled her knees up and looked over at Original Cindy who was still standing in the doorframe. Her friend was right. OC had been right weeks ago, she just didn't want to deal with it. Determined to get it of her chest while she had the courage to do it, Max pulled on her boots, and got her keys.

"Ah boo. You might wanna change," Original Cindy said pointing to her outfit.

Max looked down at her clothes, or lack there of. She was dressed in an oversized t-shirt, and her hair was a mess. Tossing her keys on the bed, she went to rummage in her closet. For some reason she had a nagging feeling in her gut that she needed to hurry. Part of her thought it was because she was going to chicken out, but the other part of said it was something else, something that made the hair on the back of her neck bristle. She quickly dragged on the nearest pair of pants. She hoped the sooner she got to Terminal City, the better she'd feel.


HQ, Terminal City

"What do you mean, gone?" she asked again. Dix just shook his head at her and shrugged.

"He left at about two this morning. Didn't say where he was going, just took off," the transgenic tapped his keyboard and pulled up the video feed for her. "He seemed in a hurry."

Max watched as Alec sped out of Terminal City. He didn't have anything with him, maybe he was going out to help someone. Maybe he was going to a bar. She cringed. That sounded likely. "Thanks Dix," she said.

Turning around, she headed down the stairs to her desk at the corner of the lounging area in Terminal City. She had a computer, some books and a few notes scribbled on a notepad. Names of suppliers, a list of White's last known locations and all the names of transgenics she'd met personally, their designation and where they were staying in Terminal City. Luke was helping her put all the information into their mainframe database, good to know who's who and where they all are he'd said. He was always so cheerful and helpful. Had to be in his DNA. 'cause there wasn't a whole lot to be cheerful about from her perspective. At least, not up until recently, her conscience argued. And you just might have blown that away. Max sat in her chair and rested her chin on her hands. He'd come back right?

She thought about that night they spent together. Just how they'd ended up in the vault.


Sewers below Ryder's property, two months ago

"Hurry up Alec this place reeks," Max snapped.

Alec rolled his eyes and started climbing the ladder. "You don't think I have a nose too?"

"Just hurry up okay," she pleaded again.

Alec ignored her and lifted the lid a fraction. He scanned the area and trained his ear for a moment. "We're clear."

"Like we wouldn't be, CeCe said the last patrol is at 10," Max muttered. Alec was the last person she wanted to be with tonight, but they had been planning this for weeks, so it was now or not at all. If only she'd swapped with CeCe and done recon instead of taking the raid. 'You like cat burgling, it's an adrenaline rush that's why.' Great now she was going to start arguing with herself again.

"Care to enlighten me?" Alec said curtly, as he crawled out of the manhole.

"On what?" Max asked genuinely confused, what had she said? She hated when Alec caught her off guard, it made her feel clumsy and less than perfect. 'Oh and we have to be perfect, don't we Max?' "Shut up."

"What? Okay fine, what I've done to piss you off this time," Alec asked with annoyance.

"Sorry," she breathed. "Let's just get this over with."

Alec didn't answer. He moved aside while she climbed out of the hole and replaced the cover.

Normally, she would have let him think of her as a bitch and ignored him in return, but this time she didn't want to. It was important to her that he understand she wasn't annoyed with him, more so herself.

She reached for his arm. "Alec, I'm..."

"Forget it," he hissed. "Break in, get the crate of records, get out, that easy. Let's move."


HQ, Terminal City,present day

'If only,' Max mused. She looked down at what she'd scribbled on the page and gasped.

Alec in neat script, Alec in bold, Alec in large curly letters. She ripped off the page, balled it and tossed it into the trashcan on the other side of the room.

'Damn, what's the matter with me.' She capped the pen quickly and then tossed it away, as though it was the pen that had been responsible for the offending material it had produced.


Ryder Manor, the roof, two months ago

Alec was ahead of her, blending in against the backdrop of the starless night sky. He moved with the grace of an aerial artist, and she couldn't help watching him as he climbed down the over the edge of the roof and onto the third floor balcony.

Sure enough the door was unlocked, and Mr Humphrey Ryder was out cold, drugged up on his regular dose of diazepam.

CeCe never missed a thing, Max had to admit. She wouldn't have been as thorough. If anything, she would have found a way around having to break into Ryder's bedroom. She would have gotten the key's doubled or something, but that would have required getting them and putting them back without him noticing - a lot more difficult and definitely risky. If he noticed, their whole plan would have been down the tubes. Paranoid people acted quickly, changed codes, changed locks or worse - moved.

Mr Ryder wasn't only an insomniac, he was an agoraphobic, and he almost never left the house. Not that it was a problem they couldn't work around. She'd broken into places when people were home. She'd done Logan's over with him and his bodyguard there. She remembered her first thought, when she'd seen him holding his shotgun at her. How sexy a man could look with short beard. Where that thought had sprung from she had no idea. Before Logan she had hated any kind of facial hair. It just seemed unhygienic.

"Max," Alec called.

She snapped to attention and quickly scaled down the way he had. Once inside the room, Max went to the painting on the wall, and felt along the back of the frame. Gently, she unhooked the trigger mechanism and lifted the painting away from the wall. It was a combination lock safe. Not hard to crack with skill and the right equipment. She put her ear to the door, and begun turning the dial. Four faint clicks and she tried the handle. The safe opened.

"Ready to roll," she said with a smile as she tossed Alec the two key chains.

Alec snagged the keys mid-air and was already in the bathroom, before Max had replaced the painting.

"You first," Max said, as he stood there waiting for her to get into the small opening.

"I thought it was lady's first." Alec grinned.

"Very funny, scaredy cat," Max said narrowing her eyes at him. Shoving him out of the way, she shimmied into the space backward.

Alec crouched in front of her still grinning. "I just didn't want to be the one to land on top of our friend's soiled sheets."

Max's mouth dropped, but before she could screech at him, he'd pulled her fingers free of the ledge she'd been holding.

Landing with a thud, Max fought the urge to hurl as the musty scent of sex filled her nostrils. She scrambled out of the laundry bin, and a wicked thought sprung to mind. Quickly, she pushed the bin away from the opening.

She heard the slight rumble of someone coming down the chute. Alec flew out of the opening and landed comfortably on his feet. She pouted and stomped her foot, she had so looked forward to seeing him fall on his butt.

"Sorry to disappoint, but thanks," he said with a grin.

Angrily, she turned and headed for the passage at the end of the room. He had wanted her to move the laundry. She should have let him land in it. Then at least he'd feel as icky as she did now.

They found the solid steel wall at the end of the corridor. As CeCe had described there were two keyholes on either end of the wall.

"I guess this is where these come in," Alec offered, taking the keys from his vest pocket.

Max took one of the keys from his outstretched hand. For a brief moment she felt as though his touch lingered against her fingertips. He pulled back, and shook his head frowning.

Pushing her key into the lock, she waited for Alec to do the same. "On three," she said. "If it doesn't work I guess we swap?"

"One, two, three."

Max turned her key, and she heard a muffled clank from inside the wall. The part of the wall between them lifted to reveal a short flight of stairs. "You first," Max said with a gesture of her hand.

Alec didn't say anything, but moved ahead of her and started down the stairs slowly. It was a small room with a few power circuits, blank monitors and a couple empty shelves. At the end of the room was door to the vault.

Following him down, Max pulled out the computer Biggs had given her and lifted the panel on the vault keypad. She attached her computer to the keypad circuit and activated the decoding program. "One minute."

The numbers flickered continuously, slowly one by one the vault code appeared. '12 numbers, this guy is paranoid.' She heard four heavy bars move, and nodded to Alec. He had heard them too and was already turning the wheel.

Max stood back as Alec swung the foot-thick vault door open. The vault was dark. There were various crates and objects stacked along the walls. Moving further into the vault, Max noticed some track marks on the floor. They were from a bookcase and the stratches arched away from the wall. "Give me a hand with this."

Standing together Alec helped Max pull the bookshelf. They both almost fell backward at how easily the bookcase came away. They moved it wide, revealing another panel, much like the one that had seen at the end of the corridor. There were two keyholes again. This time they were above each other so a single person could do it.

"I guess this one, he kept to himself," Max said softly.

"This is probably where he keeps the vinyls," Alec replied.

Putting the keys in the locks and turning them, there was another whirring noise and the panel lifted. As the panel was lifting, there was a crackling sound. Max noticed a brief burst of light behind her and then there was a sickening crash. She turned to see that the vault door was closing. "Alec," she cried.

She blurred for the door. Just as she was about to reach it, a pane of bullet-proof glass dropped from the ceiling, cutting off their escape. She turned to look at the room they believed the vinyls to be, that door to was lowering. Alec was struggling to keep it open.

"Max," he grunted, struggling against the force of the door.

Max rolled under the door and held it from her end. Alec squeezed through and they let go. It slammed down and sparks fell from above. The doors circuits shorted out and black smoke poured from the slit above the door.

"Fantastic," Max ground out. She stood and dusted off her clothes. From the dust on the floor, she doubted that anyone cleaned in here. It was then that she realized that the room was largely empty.

Alec had walked over to a large trunk in the corner. He kicked open the lid and scrummaged through the contents. As he dug in deeper, his movements became more aggressive. Standing back abruptly he kicked the trunk so hard that it cracked and splintered.

He prowled to the box by the door, while Max stood frozen watching him. Alec lifted the lid and threw it on the floor. His face was a mask of fury at what he found and he picked up the box and threw it at the opposite wall.

"It's all worthless junk," he screamed.

Max shivered from head to toe. Her blood pounded in her ears. They were trapped, and for what, some old photo albums and trinkets from the old man's childhood? CeCe couldn't be wrong, she'd taken photos, she was certain...

Feeling a warm hand on her shoulder, Max looked up. Alec was standing in front of her. His face was no longer angry. He looked concerned.

"Come 'ere," he said softly.

Leaning into his embrace, Max crumbled. Hot tears streamed down her face. As she trembled, she felt him hold her more tightly and soothingly brush her back.

"It'll be okay, Max. We'll get out of this, I promise," Alec whispered calmly.

She wished she felt that confident, but she had been at those meetings too. She'd seen the blueprints. This place was built as a perfect cube of M-class, steel reinforced concrete, and they were below ground. Even if they managed to break out, they were under more than ten feet of earth. It'd take them forever to dig, assuming they could dig a tunnel stable enough not to collapse on top of them.

Someone would find them before then. She didn't know whether she was excited or afraid to think about it. From the looks of the place, it had been cleaned out. There were dust-free positions on the floor that had, up until recently, been occupied. It could be months before Ryder visited again. After all, all that was left in here were sentimental objects that had no real monetary value. If Ryder found them they would probably end up at Police HQ, if they hadn't died of dehydration before then. This place had oxygen didn't it? She tensed again, and Alec hugged her reassuringly in response.

Alec walked them over to the trunk, and pulled an old patchwork quilt out of the bottom. Guiding her to a corner, he spread it out over the floor. He pulled her down with him, keeping her comfortably in his arms. "They'll figure out that we haven't made it back and they'll come looking for us."

She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that if she tried hard enough she could imagine she was somewhere else, home, safe warm and not about to expire painfully from hypoxia.

When his arms left her, she almost cried out in protest. But she bit her tongue instead. Max watched as Alec took out his knife and cut along a section of the floor. He tapped it with the handle of his knife, and then tapped next to it. The floor the section sounded hollow. With the tip of his knife, he levered the cut piece. It came up slightly and he pulled at it with his fingers. A square bit of concrete tile came away and Alec reached into the space beneath. Max held her breath as he brought out a small ornate box.

It was a music box, and inside was a heart-shaped ruby the size of a dime.

"Matches your temper," Alec quipped. He took it out and placed it in her hand. "At least this wasn't a complete wash out."

Max stared at the stone. It was flawlessly cut, and there wasn't a single defect in the gem. From its deep, blood red color she thought it was most likely a Burmese, which would only increase it's fetching price. Not as coveted as diamonds, but definitely more beautiful to look at. Chalk it up as a defect in her programming but she valued rubies over diamonds. She thought they had more mystery, an intriguing allure. The color of wine, deep cherry gloss or blood. She equated their vibe to the similar feeling she got from red roses. They symbolized passion, love, desire...

All of a sudden she felt possessive over it. She didn't want to fence it. She wanted to keep it. Would Alec play her for it? He could have the music box. It looked at least a hundred years old, with the hand carvings and the gold leaf detail it'd fetch at least a grand if he went to the right person. Besides, he had given her the stone hadn't he?

Max clutched it tightly in her fist, and then slipped into the inner pocket of her vest. Alec curled his arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into him again. He felt so inviting. She fit comfortably against his shoulder, her forehead just brushing his neck. Could she tell him that she'd grown to care for him? Would he laugh at her?

This time when Logan had pressed her about where he stood, she hadn't made any excuses. She had told him the truth. She still loved him, she would always love him because he was the only family she had, but she couldn't wait for a cure. She couldn't put her life on hold while hoping for something that might never happen. She couldn't risk feeling relaxed, letting her guard down and accidentally hurting him again. He was too important, and she didn't want to lose him.

Logan had told her that it didn't matter, that he knew the risks, and that he could look out for himself, be on guard for the both of them. He had made it almost impossible for her to continue without crying opening. She managed to hold it together long enough to tell him that she didn't want him to put his life on hold for her either. They both deserved more.

He asked if it was about Alec, and she had to tell the truth. The first time Alec had been a convenient excuse, but she wondered if recently he had become more than that. When Alec had found out and threatened to tell Logan that she'd lied, she'd been upset and hurt. After he had told her about Logan's reaction, she'd been relieved. She didn't understand it at first, but she did later.

Alec wasn't someone she looked at as a reminder of Ben. He wasn't the smart-mouthed screw up she had resented freeing from Manticore anymore. He was her partner in crime, TC's EX O, and a friend. He was someone she'd grown to respect and rely on. And even though she had never told him, her life was anything but dull when he was around.

How it happened was still beyond her. One minute she was quietly enjoying the liberty of studying him, touching him and then next, she was devouring him like a sex-starved maniac.

The sex-starved thought was probably a fair assessment, but it was in no way an excuse for the way she had acted. To his credit Alec had tried to reason with her, and he was so tender with her afterward. It had made her feel even guiltier over what had happened between them. When Biggs and Mole had managed to override the vault's security from the outside, and get them out, she hadn't said another word to Alec.

Not that Alec had really tried either. Once they reached Terminal City, Max had done the only thing she knew she could. She ran.


HQ, Terminal City, present day

Max got up from her chair and walked to the door. Someone had to know something about where Alec had gone. She'd go to his place, there had to be a clue there. If not, she'd just wait for him to come back. It was time she faced up to her issues. She loved Alec, and maybe he loved her back. She knew he cared, after all he was the one who tried to talk to her first. She just hadn't been ready to listen. He was coming back. He had to right? Why was the nagging feeling still there?

It was just beginning to get light outside. The sun would be up soon, and transgenics were already starting to go about their daily routines. She quickened her step to the old labs. Biggs would be there. He was always there with Lexie, toying around with various pieces of equipment. Lexie was their resident doc. She was a field med at Manticore and an X5. Although he always looked like he was helping, Max suspected he had ulterior motives for hanging around the lab. A pretty brunette, with apple cider coloured eyes, and the only one who laughed at his jokes, to be exact.

How many noticed the way she acted around Alec? Was there a specific way she acted around him? The answer, try as she might to deny it, was yes. You're snappy, aloof, and generally bitchy. Okay so that's changed slightly in recent times but that'd probably only drew more attention as to what was up with them.

Biggs had once cracked a joke with Alec at Dumps, the local Terminal City watering hole and lounge for X-series. Neither of them had noticed her enter, and she had caught the remark.

"You should screw her already and get it over with. No offence to our leading lady but she needs a good riding. She's wound up so tight I'm surprised she hasn't jumped someone already."

"Nah," Alec had said with a half smile. "Underneath that rough chick exterior, Max isa romantic and I'm not the emotional attachments kinda guy."

"Now who does that remind you of?" Biggs said with a glint in his eyes.

"Lola," they said both laughing.

Thinking back to that moment, Max wondered if she had pushed him further than she thought. Had she misinterpreted him wanting to talk to her? Maybe all he wanted was for things to go back to the way they were. She certainly hadn't given him that. Isn't that what she had wanted too? "It's not what I want," she admitted sadly.

Now if only she could figure out what he where he'd gone.

Notes: For X5-459, hope you enjoyed :o) Want more? Let me know.