Chapter Thirty-Four
Max yawned her weary eyes sweeping the mess in search of Alec. It was only seven o'clock but already she was so tired that all she wanted was Alec and her bed, in that order. She quickly located him at a corner table frowning over what appeared to be one of Tanya's drawings.
Max watched their earnest discussion with mild interest just wishing he'd hurry up. Finally he got abruptly to his feet his eyes searching the mess. Obviously not looking for her she realized in irritation when he smiled fleetingly before his attention moved quickly past her.
She followed his gaze to Tav leaning against the far wall staring moodily into space. Max sighed in impatient exasperation when she realized Alec was headed over to him. At this rate she'd be asleep in her seat by the time he was ready to go home. But if she left him here then it could be hours before he managed to extract himself. Sometimes their own kind forgot that Alec needed to sleep.
Moodily she watched Tav's quick grin when Alec put his hand on his shoulder.
Hurry up Alec.
About time, she thought grumpily, getting to her feet as he finally headed towards her.
"I'll be off with Tav for a few hours Max. Do you want me to walk you home first, or do you want to stay here for a while?"
"Off where?" she demanded in irritation.
"Nowhere special. We'll probably just go to the gym and then maybe get something to eat," he shrugged.
"Not tonight Alec. I'm really tired and I just want to go home," she frowned crossly.
"Yeah, I'll take you home first," he agreed evenly.
Over the last couple of months as she'd got more pregnant he'd discovered that tired, Max if not handled properly could rapidly become Attila the Hun Max. So far the best way he'd found to deal with her mood swings was to ignore them where possible, and if that failed, then it was best he just did what she wanted as fast as she wanted it.
"You can see Tav tomorrow at work. I want you home with me tonight," she insisted in what he had come to recognise as her implacable won't be argued or reasoned with voice.
"I need to talk to him about some stuff, Max. I can't really do that at work…" he trailed off in the face of her petulant bad tempered pout.
"Come on I'll take you home," he offered. His smile pleasant if a little forced he put his arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the door."
Hugging his waist Max beamed her appreciation. She immediately felt better when she knew they were going home and a little guilty that she'd been so irritable.
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"Where are you going Alec?" she demanded ominously from her comfortable perch in the middle of their bed, when twenty minutes later he started to put his jacket back on instead of removing his clothes to join her.
"I'm worried about Tav and I have to talk to him tonight," he explained one knee on the bed, quickly kissing her cheek before springing back.
"See you later on then," he called as he went out the door.
"Aleeec," she whined in that plaintive voice that made it nearly impossible for him to refuse whatever she wanted from him.
Sighing he turned back to the bed. "I'm going Max. I need to see him. You and I spend every night together. Tonight I need to see Tav."
"I'll see you later," he repeated determinedly. Ignoring her exasperated sigh he closed the door.
Fuck being mated could be hard work sometimes. As it was he spent all his down time with Max anyway. Not that he begrudged it. He didn't. He loved being with her. But he really liked spending time with Tav as well. They'd always done a lot of stuff together before he'd mated with Max. When Tanya had shown him that picture she'd drawn of her visit to Crash and he'd seen how alone and isolated Tav had looked, even though he'd been surrounded by a crowd of people. He'd realized that like Tav he was missing all the time they used to spend together. Tonight he wanted to catch up with Tav, to just hanging out and relax like they used to. Doing nothing in particular, just passing time together had always been enough.
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"So hows everything going with the baby and Max," Tav asked as they sat down a couple of hours later at Crash."
"Fine. Excellent," Alec said looking about him with enjoyment as he relished his second bourbon. I'd nearly forgotten just how relaxing a few drinks and a change of scenery can be.
"Did I show you the new picture of him sucking his thumb?"
"Yeah, once or twice," Tav laughed. "So what's it like being mated then? I suppose regular sex might make it bearable?" he added answering his own question.
"Yeah, regular sex is good but there are other things to recommend it as well," Alec answered dryly.
"Since there are no longer any of our own kind to fuck let along mate with I'll probably never find out."
His glum tone and despondent face made Alec smile. "I thought you were never wanted to mate anyway?"
"Yeah, well I don't, but I expected it to be a matter of my own choice not a lack of females to mate with, and I never expected I'd have no one to fuck. Given the choice I'd rather mate than be celibate."
"So then, there must be someone that you fancy that isn't mated." Alec asked him curiously. Fuck things must be getting desperate for unmated males if even Tav was thinking he'd maybe like to mate.
"Nobody that I fancy enough to fight for. I just want females to fuck. I don't want to mate with anyone."
"It won't be like this forever, lost women are still turning up and eventually you'll be able to fuck ordinary women again. But having no one to fuck even temporarily must really suck. Just as well I'm fixed up. Isn't it little bro?"
"Fuck you."
"Yeah," Alec laughed. "Shame about you."
"Do you think I should remove the no sex ban now then?" Alec asked him suddenly serious.
"Yeah of course I do," Tav answered immediately. "Celibacy sucks."
"It does, but if we remove the ban for males then we have to remove it for females as well."
"We can't remove it for females. That would be stupid. We aren't sharing them with ordinary males. We haven't got enough of them to go around as it is and we probably never will have, ever again. But neither can we stay celibate forever. It just isn't natural. The guys won't go for it for too much longer anyway. If we can't fuck our own kind then we have to be able to start fucking ordinary women again."
"Are they sticking to the ban now." Alec asked him his eyes watchful. Since he'd mated he was more or less out of the loop when it came to what the unmated males were doing. Tav was much more up with everything and there wasn't much that escaped his notice.
"Yeah, no one wants to risk what we've got happening here by exposing who we are before we have too."
"Are you abiding by it?" Alec asked his eyes holding Tav's. If their males had started to flout the ban then Tav who had only ever obeyed orders if they suited him, would probably be one of the first to do so. If Tav was still compliant with the ban then it was almost assured the other males would be.
"Yeah, so far I have been," his eyes moved quickly off Alec's.
"But?"
If he said he wasn't fucking ordinary women, then he wasn't. He never lied, but Alec knew him well enough to know that he had something on his mind.
Tav sat back in his seat. "Don't get me wrong I definitely don't want to be celibate. I fucking hate it," he said with feeling.
"But being able to fuck ordinary women again isn't the answer either. Most of us have more or less got that out of our systems and prefer our own kind anyway. There are a hellva lot of guys really bent out of shape that they may never have the option of mating with a transgenic female. Even if we don't want children now most of us like to think we can have them when we're older if we want. If we can't find a transgenic female to mate with then that can't happen. Can it?" he asked not entirely comfortable with the turn the conversation had taken.
"All that shit that Tanner had to go through with Tanya will keep happening as more lost women find there way here. Six mate fights in three weeks was fucking ridiculous. Tanner just didn't get any time to recover properly. It would have been worse if it hadn't been Tanner who'd been fighting for her. If it had been a less able fighter then we probably would have had every unmated guy in TC lined up to challenge. As it was Tanner still had to fight guys who normally wouldn't have dreamed of getting into a ring with him."
"Yeah, I know Tav but there's not much I can do about it. I can't resurrect our women."
"No but there are a lot of females still missing who we haven't identified as dead. We need to make more of an effort to find them."
"Todd, Shane and me have been chasing up some leads."
"More whore houses?"
"No. Now days that's a waste of our time. We've hit every whorehouse in Seattle to many times for it to be worth their while holding our women. We're coming up empty every time we go now."
At least that's something to be doubly thankful for Alec thought remembering the injuries Tav and Todd had collected when they'd first arrived in the city and had rousted every whore house in Seattle, at least once a week in their search for Tanya and Ana. While they hadn't found either of them they had been responsible for rescuing over twenty transgen females who were being held against their wills.
"There's some talk about someone paying top dollar for transgenics and that they prefer us alive."
"What? Some one other than White's merry band of the criminally insane?"
"It could be familiars. But I don't think so they've never shown a preference for live bodies before so why would they suddenly want us alive? I think that whoever it is wants us for something else. If they're buying us alive then that suggests they have a use for us."
"I'm supposed to be meeting with a guy who may have some information. He's a contact of Rick Chavez's. I'm just waiting for the word from Chavez."
"Rick Chavez is a scum bag, but if you think this is worth investigating then go for it, but don't meet with Chavez without backup.
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Max caught the strong smell of testosterone as she went through the doors into Headquarters.
"What's going on Alec?" she asked in concern when she realized he was one of the major contributors to the rapidly spreading scent now permeating the air. She glanced quickly around her. As were Steve and Biggs and the rest of the alpha unit males.
"We can't find Tav. He disappeared while the unit were working in Sector Six around about lunchtime. He hasn't reported in since then." Distractedly Alec ran the back of his hand across his neck in unconscious acknowledgement that the hair on the back of his neck was standing on end.
"Something's wrong. I can feel it." His tone was clipped and urgent as he leaned on his hand on the desk so he could see over Steve's shoulder as he scrolled through the hovercraft cams footage.
"Here."
Steve's curt tone brought Max's attention to the screen and the black clad soldiers he was pointing at. All the alpha unit males were there, except for Tav.
"He'd already disappeared before we got to Fourth Street then," Alec commented. His urgent, "Scroll back," redundant as Steve was already moving back through the hovercraft cams footage.
"A hovercraft moves really fast so the pictures it shoots can be fairly random. It may not have picked us up again…" Steve broke off as the screen was again filled with the alpha unit, spread across and moving casually down a street crowded with ordinaries. Nothing unusual Max thought. Just looks like a run of the mill patrol.
"If there had been any threat, or even just anything out of the ordinary, why the hell didn't we sense it?" Alec asked not really expecting an answer. It was just a routine parol.
"So where the hell are you then Tav?" he bit out in anxious, frustration. Even without the now heavy cloying mix of adrenalin and testosterone coming off him Max would have known from the stressed urgency of his tone that he was really worried.
The cam was now clearly showing the alpha units advance up the street with Tav bringing up the rear and now talking into his cell phone. Steve froze the screen on a clear shot of the side of Tav's face as he ducked down an alleyway and out off sight.
"Fuck," Alec swore with feeling.
"Little prick!" Steve echoed in angry exasperation pushing his chair away from the consul and grabbing his Kevlar.
"Tell Tanner to kit his unit up and meet us at the gates, Reub." Alec ordered hooking his headpiece over his ear.
The scent of adrenalin and testosterone was pungent as Max and Kat watched the rest of the alpha unit grab their m16's and exit command.
"He may have ducked out of formation voluntarily Max, but he would have expected to be back in line by the time we reached the end of the street, or he would have called in his position. He would never just abandon the unit while on patrol. Something is very wrong." Still talking he grabbed his gun and headed after Steve.
"Be careful Alec?" Max called after his departing back.
"Tav's been a bit restless and strung out lately. I've been meaning to spend some time with him but I didn't get round to it," Kat said from behind Max. "He has a tendency to get into trouble when he's bored. I had so much on my mind…" she trailed off feeling guilty. To preoccupied with worrying about how distant Steve had become.
"Yeah, Tanya was concerned about Tav too. She and Alec had some sort of talk about him last night and whatever she said must have worried Alec because he spent most of last night with Tav." Max explained feeling really guilty about how resentful and curt she'd been when Alec hadn't come home until well after midnight.
She was so used to him being there when she went to sleep now that it had been disconcertingly hard for her to settle until he'd come home. By the time he'd finally come in smelling of alcohol she'd been grumpy and over tired and had huffily shrugged him off when he'd finally lain down beside her.
"Alec invited him for dinner tonight as well."
"He'd never not show up for that," Kat said emphatically, even more worried. "He wouldn't blow Alec off for anything. Especially not now when they don't get to spend much time together, anyway."
Max sighed feeling even guiltier. Tav was the closest person to Alec beside herself and in her preoccupation with spending as much time with Alec as she could, she hadn't given a thought to the fact that more time spent with her was less spent with Tav. No wonder Alec got so pissed off with me this morning when said I didn't want Tav tying us up for two nights in a row.
"Put them on speaker Dix?" she asked as she and Kat took their seats beside him.
Max listened as Alec and Tanner's units talked to each other as they made there way back to where Tav had disappeared. She had a bad feeling about this. Tav might be hot headed and impulsive but he was a damn good soldier who would never voluntarily worry either Alec or his Unit like this.
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"What's happening Max?" Tanya asked anxiously, pushing her way through the crush of bodies now clustered around the computer consuls.
"They found Tav's blood in the alley he disappeared into. There was no scent of familiars just a lot of different ordinary scents. At the moment they're searching the surrounding neighbourhood trying to find anyone who may have seen something. "
The noise of the radio coming through the speakers had been constant as the search progressed but so far they hadn't found anything.
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"Alec," Todd shouted beckoning him away from the old ordinary he'd been questioning.
Hookers Alec thought eyeing the two women Todd was talking too. His transgenic hearing picked up what they were saying as he crossed the road.
"It took you long enough," the one in red complained grumpily. "We've been waiting here since lunchtime. That's a lot of money we lost waiting for you to show up. I got a kid to feed ya know."
"Yeah, I appreciate it. Here," Todd said thrusting a handful of money at her.
She smiled appreciatively shoving the money into her pocket. "Donna wanted to go but I told her we couldn't just let them take Lara's 'brother' without doing something. I knew you'd show up sooner or later looking for him," she said eyeing Todd speculatively, before her attention moved onto Alec as he approached.
"How is Lara doing anyway? Is she still clean?" she added wistfully."
Alec knew she was referring to one of their women that Tav and Todd had rescued on one of their raids. She'd been held against her will, drugged out of her brains in one of the seedier Seattle whorehouse.
"Yeah, she's still clean. I'll tell her you were asking after her," Todd said.
Now what can you tell us ladies?" Alec asked getting straight to the point.
"We saw it all. There were about twelve of them. Huge mean looking bastards and all army like you lot," she said gesturing at their uniforms. "He put up a hellva fight even though they shot him with what looked like some sort of tranquiller. They had those tazer things the police use and they just kept shocking him. "A hellva struggle," she repeated with relish. "It was even worse than the fights you Tav caused when ya used to come looking for your… 'sisters,'" she hesitated over the last word her eyes on Todd as she snorted dubiously.
"Army? Are you sure? Todd asked his frown mirroring Alec's."
"Of course I'm fucking sure. I've done enough of you guys to know all the different uniforms by now. US of A army they were."
"Did you see anything else? What about their vehicles?"
"Yeah. There was two black vans. Marie memorised the license plates. She's good with numbers."
"Dix, see if you can trace these number plates, over?" Alec relayed the number plates.
"Is there anything else you can tell us ladies?" He offered them another handful of money.
"We don't need no more money. She jerked her head in Todd's direction. "He's given us enough to cover our asses with management. Tav's okay. We like him. He done the right thing by a few of the girls not just his 'sisters.' We didn't like the kicking those gutless bastards gave him. They was even jumping on his head at one stage," she shuddered her disgust apparent.
"We was standing in the doorway," she indicated the dim, shadowed backdoor of the whorehouse. "Tav saw us and asked us if we'd seen Rick Chavez yet. We hadn't. He went down the alley looking for Rick and that's when someone shot him with the tranquiller thing. He tried to pull it out of his neck but they were on him too quick. So then he tried to climb up the side of the building. Got pretty far up he did too."
Alec could tell by the speculative expression on her face that whatever they'd seen they now knew Tav was transgenic.
"But they shot him down. Then they just kept kicking on him and tazering him until he didn't get up no more."
Fighting to keep control of the adrenalin and testosterone now flooding his bloodstream and fuelling his growing rage Alec's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the pool of blood halfway down the alley. Now wasn't the time to revert into his instincts. He needed a clear head to find Tav. The longer they had him and the further away they took him, the less chance they had of getting him back. Tav didn't die here. I'd know if he had.
"What do you make of the fact they were regular army Alec?" Steve asked jumping into the jeep beside him.
"I don't know but right now we've got to find Chavez. You know that dive down on the waterfront where the steelheads hangout? We'll start looking there."
"Alpha one to Tanner just follow us, over."
"Alpha one to all policing units. Twelve soldiers in two black vans have grabbed Tav. These are the license plates. Has anybody had these vans through their checkpoints, over?"
"Roger that alpha one. This is Drago one, they entered our territory through checkpoint sixteen in the northeast grid about five hours ago. They had paperwork from the Base. They must still be here I haven't…what the fuck? You fucking stupid…" Drago broke off mid sentence.
"Be advised alpha one, they passed back through our checkpoint two hours ago. They weren't searched, over."
Fuck. Alec clenched his teeth in frustration. Every vehicle leaving their territory was supposed to be searched regardless of where it was from or who was in it.
"Roger that Drago, over."
Drago's males had dropped the ball but there was no point in making an issue of it now. They would already have Drago's angry roaring in their ears anyway. Better to let it lie until he'd found Tav.
"Dix get every bird we've got in the air. I want them searching a grid from Drago's checkpoint out. Concentrate on roads to any military installations within a three hundred mile radius. I want those vans found. Fix me up with a secure private channel to Max, over."
"Roger that Alec. Flicking you over now."
"Max?"
"Yeah Alec?"
Get Howl and Danny into Command and get them working to find out who the hell these guys are. Every other ordinary army grunt in TC goes into lockdown, over."
"I've already put them into 'protective custody' Alec, over."
"If those fuckers turn out to be from Anderson's base then Howl and Danny go into lockdown until I get back as well. Tell Dix to switch all the alphas to this channel. We're on our own again until we know what the fuck is going on, over."
"Do you think Anderson has betrayed us…?"
Even with the distortion and static of the radio Alec could hear the anxiety in her voice.
"I don't think so Max. His son is still in TC. He knows what we do if you fire on us. If this were down to Anderson then Danny wouldn't be in TC. He'd be tucked up nice and safe somewhere." But seizing Tav would be a guaranteed way to bring pressure to bear on him. The only people who knew of Tav's relationships to him outside of their own kind were Anderson and the ordinary soldiers working to help them.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing Alec, but we still need to cover ourselves just in case."
"Roger that Max."
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Before Chavez had hit the ground Alec had already turned and was headed back to his jeep. Stepping around the body Steve quickly caught up with him. " I knew it wasn't Anderson," he said as they headed for Tanner."
"Yeah so did I really," Alec agreed wearily. "To shitty an operation for him."
"Yeah but not just because of that. I think I trust him. Maybe," Steve qualified glancing sideways at Alec.
Alec's snorted humourlessly. "Yeah, I think I do too. Maybe."
"Everything okay out here?" Alec asked a shirtless glowering Tanner who was leaning against his jeep scowling ferociously at the rag tag, motley collection of steelheads and other assorted lowlifes lying face down in the car park, vocally whining about their rights. His males who were spread around the car park were sporting various minor injuries and a medic was busy stitching the deep cut in Tanner's shoulder and bicep.
Fuck their rights Alec thought fiercely. What about Tav's right to be safe in our own fucking territory?
"Yeah, everything's under control, but I was just thinking it's about time we got these shitheads out of our territory," Tanner said flicking his eyes contemptuously. Ordinaries were a pain in the ass at the best of times this lot were a complete waste of space.
"You're absolutely right Tanner, it is. Once we've got Tav back, you can round them all up and escort them the hell out of our territory. It's time that ordinaries with nothing but shit to offer, found another place to pollute.
"What did you find out?"
"That fucker Chavez sold Tav to them for $20,000."
"Is that all we're worth?" Tanner snorted.
"It evidently used to be $22,000 for a male and $30,000 for a female. But since we've tightened up policing in our zone those arseholes couldn't just come and go as they used too. Evidently they now have to buy illegal paperwork from the Base to get into our territory. Hence Chavez had to take a pay cut.
He's been acting as a purchasing agent for them for about sixteen months now. He finds the transgenics and they come and pick them up. He told us he never handles the merchandise himself just arranges the meet and makes himself scarce. He couldn't tell us if Tav is alive or dead." Alec finished his hard eyes sweeping the sky as he picked up the sound of their birds in the distance.
"So they're not army then?" Tanner asked shrugging back into his Kevlar.
"Yeah, they're army alright but not from Anderson's Base. Chavez doesn't know where they're from. He only has a contact number for them. Dix is tracing that now. But he did say the facility they transport the transgenics to is definitely in the hills. Evidently if he has only managed to find one or two of us they moan about having to travel all that way up the mountain for nothing."
"Doesn't sound like a small operation then," Tanner commented before the noise of the two hovering birds made it impossible to talk.
Tanner and Alec watched impassively as the steelheads tried to rise from their spread-eagled positions and move out of the landing paths of the now hovering birds. Regan signalled menacingly with his M16 for them to get back down. Stupid bastards Tanner thought as they looked frantically around them. There fear of Reagan preventing them from making a move to get out of the way of the birds skids. When they finally used their brains and rolled clear Regan's amused smirk quickly faded in the face of Tanner's quelling glare.
Dix to Alpha one, Anderson has nailed where our assholes are headed. It's Ventura a small base about two hundred miles north east of here, over."
"This is Kane one, we're over the main route to that base now. Eta fifteen minutes. No vans so far, over."
Roger that Kane one. All birds keep searching their grids. Kane one, we're headed your way. Eta forty minutes. Don't approach the Base over."
"Dix get Danny or Howl to get me permission for three birds to land at that base. Tell them we've got a bird with engine trouble, over."
"They're already onto it Alec, over."
Kane one, to alpha one. We have the vans. Be advised we have spotted the vans. Travelling at speed their eta to Ventura approximately thirty minutes, over."
"Show me Kane's birds video footage Dix, over?"
"Once those bastards get Tav inside the protective walls of that Base the chances of us being able to retrieve him alive are almost zero. If we try and remove him by force they'll kill him before we can get inside. Even if I could talk him out, by the time I'd negotiated my way pass Ventura's brass those bastards would probably have killed him anyway."
Alec stared broodingly at the two black vans now filling the screen as he rapidly reviewed his options.
"Alec, Anderson is roaring like a bull for channel to you, over." Dix interrupted, intruding into Alec's thoughts.
"Not now Dix." he snapped impatiently.
"His bird is already in the air and he's on his way to Ventura. He's closer than you are, over."
"Give him this channel Dix," Alec bit out trying to curb his frustration.
"Alpha one, what the hell are you doing Anderson?"
"I'm going to retrieve my illegally seized soldier. Those bastards are MP's supposedly enroute to the Brig with an awol soldier. At least that's the story they've always given Alan Denham when they've overnighted at his Base before. Alan reckons that those assholes have run at least a hundred military prisoners through Ventura over the last fifteen months. It's important we take these guys alive. They're the first opportunity we've had to start tracing the military connections that ran Manticore."
"It's more important we get Tav out alive," Alec snapped back harshly.
"Don't you tell me how to protect my men boy? I was soldiering when you were still squeezing your pimples." Anderson bit back angrily.
" If you go in alone, those assholes could have killed my soldier before you'd managed to spit out an explanation. Alan Denham and I went through boot camp together. I don't have to explain myself he's already waiting for me to uplift my soldier. I'll wait for you inside the Base. You'll only need two of your birds leave the rest outside, over."
"Roger that Anderson," Alec agreed without hesitation.
If Anderson was friendly with Ventura's CO and he could get them inside without an argument, then well and good. Since he was going to get there before him anyway there wasn't much else Alec could do but agree. Unless he wanted to leave Anderson to retrieve Tav on his own. Not that the old buzzard couldn't pull it off, but he was taking no chances. We're definitely going to be there.
"This is alpha one, Tanner you're bird is with me. Kane pull back to within five miles and wait. All other Birds head for Ventura and wait outside with Kane one, over."
"Just follow him down Seth," Alec instructed the pilot as his and Tanner's choppers trailed each other towards Ventura.
"Looks fine so far Alec," Steve said as they exited the bird and caught sight of Anderson and another Major he assumed must be Alan Denham now waiting patiently on the tarmac. Outwardly relaxed they made there way over to Anderson their watchful eyes scanning their surroundings.
"I haven't alerted them that anything is different from all the other times they've been through here with their prisoners. But I've checked their ID's again since talking to you. They are definitely legit MP's, but if you say your soldier has been shanghi'd then that's good enough for me Anderson."
Denham's eyes sweept the transgenic soldiers now standing behind Anderson. "Are you expecting trouble when you take your man back?" He asked frowning.
"I know they had to subdued my soldier when they shanghai'd him. I'm taking them back with me to answer for that."
"Yeah, well wait until they're clear of my headquarters if there's going to be a ruckus. I've just had the whole shebang re-decorated. You know how tight fisted Washington is about building maintenance. They won't do it again in a hurry," Denham shrugged.
"Apparently these guys usually check into reception and we give them clearance to take their prisoners straight through to the Brig. My Lieutenant has never actually seen any prisoners although my Sergeant has. They're usually in a pretty bad physical condition I'm told," again he shrugged. The fact that MP's were hard-headed jailers who didn't treat their charges with tender loving care was no news to anyone in the military.
"They've only just got here so they'll still be in reception. "That's their vans," he added.
Anderson could see the driver in the side mirror as he and Alec casually walked down the drivers side of the van and Steve went down the passenger side. Leaving the rest of Alec's unit clustered at the back door. He could see Tanner and Regan approaching the passenger and drivers door of the other van.
"How's it going?" Alec's grin was friendly as he opened the door and hauled the surprised driver out giving him no time to react.
Anderson heard the boom of a gun discharging in the vans interior. By the time he'd made it to the back door Alec was already climbing over the drivers seat into the back. Anderson hauled the body of a dead MP out of the way and dumped him on the road.
"He's fucking bad Alec," Todd said from where he was bent over Tav.
"Those hookers weren't kidding when they said the bastards gave him a good kicking."
Tav was unconscious on the floor of the van and Alec felt like heaving when he saw his swollen damaged face and head. Fuck.
Carefully grabbing his shoulders he helped Todd lift him onto one of the vans bench seats. . If it hadn't been for his scent he wouldn't have recognized Tav his face was so swollen and distorted. Crouching down beside him Alec quickly assessed his injuries. He had a bullet in the shoulder and probably a few broken bones but it was the facial contusions and the swelling to his head that was really worrying. It looked like the fuckers had subdued him by kicking him in the head and that could mean brain injury. Quickly rechecking to ensure he hadn't missed anything his glance swept back up to Tav's face. At least he's alive. Those bastards will be sorry they are.
Bending over him he gripped Tav's shoulder reassuringly. "It's Alec Tav. It's okay we've got you now," he said his voice low and calm.
"Alec they've got Bonnie from Greys unit in the other van. She's in a pretty bad way but not critical." Tanner said from the doorway of the van his eyes riveted on Tav. Fuck.
"Get out the way." Dex said shouldering a hovering Todd aside. "Fuck, that swelling isn't good," he echoed everybody's thoughts as he dropped the med kit to the floor. "Get one of the base medics to have a look at Bonnie, Tanner? I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Yeah, Anderson's already arranging for."
"Alec Steve is with Bonnie. I'll go and sort the bastards out that are still inside. I'll try not to mess up the 'new décor,'" he added with a smirk.
"Yeah, okay Tanner," Alec's attention didn't stray as Dex cut Tav's shirt from his body.
"The swelling to his head is worrying Alec but since he has one of the hardest heads to come out of Manticore it's probably just a case of waiting it out until the swelling subsides. His vitals are not exactly good but they're okay. Other than that considering the beating he took he seems to have got off relatively lightly. A bullet in the shoulder and a couple of broken ribs, I won't know how many ribs until he's awake and can tell me where he's hurting."
Alec watched in silence as Dex taped Tav's ribs.
"Lift his shoulder clear of the seat for me so I can get at the bullet wound. Carefully, I don't want his ribs puncturing his lung."
Slowly Alec eased Tav's shoulder clear off the seat.
"I'm just going to put a pressure pad for the bleeding on the wound for now. Once we get him back to TC I'll sort it out properly."
"Doesn't look like the 'new décor' is surviving Tanner's unit very well," Dex snorted in amusement. The sound of breaking glass and fighting were loud even in the car park."
Alec eased Tav back over onto his back and got to his feet.
"Todd take a few guys with you and drive this van back the Bird." Alec waited until Rueb was behind the wheel and Todd had taken the place he'd vacated beside Tav before he exited the van.
Bonnie's face was in a similar state to Tav's except it wasn't as swollen. She was also lying on the floor except her arms and legs were spreadeagled and handcuffed to the rails of the metal seats. Anderson had draped his jacket over the top half of her body but her legs were naked below the hem of the jacket. Alec's eyes flicked with loathing to the dead MP lying outside the van his pants still around his ankles and his neck now twisted at an odd angle. Fucking animals.
"Hey, Bonnie. Good to have you back," Alec's quiet voice belied his building rage. Bonny was Grey's youngest female and she was even younger than Tanya.
"Sir," she answered shakily.
When her head turned in the direction of his voice he realized her eyes were swollen shut and she couldn't see him.
"If we rip the seats up we could hurt her. Best to just wait and get the keys," Steve said from where he was crouched beside her.
"None of my unit are with you, are they Sir? Anxiously she lifted her head of the ground to peer at the door. "They'd only get upset if they saw me like this. I don't want anybody to see me. I don't want anyone to know…" she trailed of starting to sob.
"No one else will come around here Bonnie. Not until we've unlocked you. There's just Sir and me," Steve reassured her again.
Poor kid she didn't have much chance of anybody not knowing what had happened to her. Grey and his males would know the minute they had her scent again.
"Shame we need to take them back alive," Steve's face was impassive as he resumed soothingly stroking Bonny's hair. His cold eyes met Alec's. "Still Grey's males will make them wish they'd died here anyway," he added his attention back on Bonny.
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Once again Max gazed around the car park. The middle ground had been left clear for the choppers to land but the edges were crowded with X's and freaks as they waited for Alec and their birds to arrive home with Tav.
Overcome with emotion Max gazed around her. Most of TC was here waiting to see if he was all right. Alec hadn't been wrong when he'd said that Tav was the one with the allegiances to hold it all together if something ever happened to him. All these transgens were here because they cared about Tav and because they want to support Alec.
Waiting for him to arrive and worrying about how badly he was hurt had made her realize how much she'd come to care about Tav himself. Not just because he was Alec's brother and if anything happened to him it would devastate Alec, but also because she'd come to appreciate Tav for himself. The sarcastic humour he had on tap to relieve the tension in any situation. The unobtrusive support and care he offered her and the rest of their own kind without having to be asked. Like Alec really. A good leader.
"He'll be fine Max. That little prick always had the hardest head in Manticore. Take more than a kicking from a few ordinaries to do him down," Smiling reassuringly Grey aligned the side of his body until it was touching hers. Offering her his body's warmth in the instinctive gesture of comfort that transcended pack and was given by one transgen to another when comfort was needed. She already had Leah pressed against her other side.
What she'd come to understand as she'd waited for the birds to arrive was that her own kind were also here to comfort her. They cared about how she was feeling too she'd realized with dawning wonder as more and more of them had tried to reassure her that Tav would be all right.
They had told her story after story of the past shit Tav had got into and survived. All in an attempt to alleviate her worry. As she'd listened while they'd tried to make her feel better she'd realized that they had finally accepted her. She was part of this now, part of them. No longer just an 09 escaper but a member of Alec's and Tav's pack who needed their comfort.
She struggled with the tight ball of emotion in her throat and her vision blurry with the tears she was suppressing. She'd never before felt so much like crying as she did now. She wasn't going to though. She'd be no help to Alec or Tav crying all over the place.
By the time the birds were hovering over the car park her eyes were no longer misty. When they landed she moved instinctively towards the bird she knew Alec was in. When the doors opened the first thing she saw was Todd and Steve waiting to disembark with Tav's stretcher. Max gasped in shock when she saw his swollen head. Her eyes moving quickly from the hand resting on Tav's shoulder and up to Alec's face. Her breath hitching when she saw the fear in his eyes. When she put her arms around his waist he gazed down at her his expression unfocused.
"Max," he said finally hugging her shoulders fiercely. "He started to convulse on the plane. They're going to have to operate to relieve the build up of fluid in his brain."
"Brian Cass's husband is waiting in our hospital and he's bought that brain surgeon that examined Tanya with him."
When he continued to gaze fixedly at her in preoccupied incomprehension she explained gently. "When Dix told us it was a head injury. Cass got him to come and bring the other surgeon just in case Dex and our medics needed any help."
"Yeah, that's good," Alec, agreed finally, his eyes moving quickly back to Tav.
"He'll be all right Alec she assured him her own frightened eyes following his to where Tav was now convulsing, his body straining against the straps restraining him.
"He fucking better be," Alec spat. His menacing voice chilled Max's blood and sent her worried eyes straight to his face. "He will be Alec," she assured him again tightening the arm she had around his waist in as much and attempt to comfort herself as console Alec.
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When Cass paused in the doorway Alec sat up straight in his chair his head coming quickly up from Tav's bed. He left the arm that lay across Tav and Max as they slept where it was.
"I just wanted to say goodbye to Max before I went," she whispered.
Alec stared silently at her.
"The operation went well and everything is looking good. Now it's just a matter of waiting patiently and letting him heal himself," she continued glancing at Tav. "Dix knows where to reach the surgeon if he needs him. He can be here within ten minutes."
"Goodnight then," she said in the face of Alec's ongoing silence." Her eyes flicked from Tav back to Alec's strained, tired face. Her glance dropped to Alec's long arm curved protectively across both his brother's stomach and Max's waist as they slept on obliviously. He's not so bad.
One thing about him he really did care about his people and he knew how to look after them. She admired that about him. While he wasn't exactly friendly to her, he was no longer aggressive or obnoxious and she could live with that.
She was almost to the door before Alec spoke.
"Thanks."
"Your welcome," she said without pausing. Not so bad.
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"Hey," Kat said quietly.
Alec came groggily awake. Quickly getting his bearings he sat up, his eyes going immediately to Tav's heavily bandaged head. His face was still battered but thanks to his transgenic regenerative powers the swelling was starting to subside.
"I've come to relieve Max so you can both get some sleep." Kat couldn't help her smile when her eyes touched on Max nestled comfortably beside Tav soundly asleep and obviously in no need of relief.
Alec followed her gaze and smiled. "Yeah, I don't know where this 'shark DNA. I never sleep came from. Pregnant Max sleeps anywhere and everywhere." She's been asleep more or less since she lay down," he added his amusement echoing Kat's.
"There's a spare bed behind the curtain. I'll move her over there and try and get some sleep as well. You can talk to him a bit. He'll need that by now anyway. Where's Steve?" he added when he realized he wasn't with her."
"He'll be along soon. There was a ruckus in the Brig. Grey's males impatient to get at those bastards," she explained shrugging philosophically.
"They can have them after I've debriefed them."
"Yeah, they know that. But Grey's theory is that only their mouths need to be functional to answer a few questions."
Alec sighed. In truth he didn't give a fuck what Grey and his males did to those bastards but he'd been thinking while he'd been sitting here. If those fuckers had run over a hundred prisoners through Ventura the odds were that they were transgenic prisioners. Somewhere out there were a hundred of his own kind still captive and waiting to be rescued. Maybe even Ana.
Those bastards had information that he wanted and both Grey's and his own unit would have to wait until he had all of that information.
Max didn't even move when he picked her up and carried her across to the other bed. It wasn't until he lay down beside her that she stirred. Putting one arm around her he settled her into his side his other hand curving around her now very rotund belly. He smiled when he was immediately rewarded with a strong kick. Max turned sleepily onto her side her hand covering his were it rested on her stomach. She murmured drowsily and snuggled into his chest her lips on his throat.
"Why aren't we with Tav anymore? What's happened?" she asked pulling back in alarm when awareness intruded into her sleepy haze.
"He's alright. Kat's with him now," he soothed kissing her neck.
When she listened Max could now hear Kat quietly talking to Tav.
"How are you then?" she asked rubbing her cheek against his chest. Pulling his shirt out of his fatigues she moved her hand under it onto his warm skin and rubbed his back soothingly.
"I'm alright."
His words were muffled because he'd just buried his face in her neck. He's not all right. She could tell that by the tension in his body. "I love you," she whispered against his ear stroking her fingers through his hair to caress his neck.
"I love you too, Max," he mumbled against her throat.
"Tav will be alright, Alec. He's got nine lives and he's tough." She assured him again. Stroking the back of his neck soothingly she started to tell him the stories there own kind had told her about some of Tav's escapades.
The sound of her voice and her hand as she stroked him was comforting. He could feel himself starting to relax as she murmured against his ear her fingers now moving soothingly through his hair and across the back of his neck.
"I didn't know he was involved in that. That stunt got the whole unit lockdown for a week. The little prick." Alec said smiling against her neck after she'd relayed a particularly hair rising tale told to her by Drago. Todd and Biggs had been injured but Tav had come out of it unscathed as he often did.
I should have guessed Alec thought with wry amusement Todd and Biggs were always covering for him when he was younger.
"He's going to be alright Alec. He's to tough not to be and he's got nine lives," she reiterated with absolute conviction.
"Yeah," he agreed softly smiling at her easy ability to comfort him and give him hope no matter how down he was feeling. "Tav does lead a charmed life and your right about him being tough." As he said it Alec felt his worry started to recede and he really began to believe it. "And your right he's as hard to kill as I am," he added. Curving his hand across her stomach he pulled her closer into his side. Smiling when he felt the baby kick directly under his palm he closed his eyes.
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Two days later, lying beside Tav who was still showing no sign of recovering consciousness, Max wasn't feeling so positive. Neither was Alec she realized smiling in weary sympathy when he appeared at the foot of Tav's bed for what must be the twentieth time that morning. This time he pulled up a chair.
"Steve is handling things for the next few hours. I can't really concentrate," he explained, distractedly rubbing his tense neck.
Max ran her eyes over his worried, haggard face and sighed. She'd spent the last six hours quietly talking to Tav. Telling him everything and anything in the hope that something would get through to him. She'd probably told him as much about her life outside of Manticore as she'd told Alec. He hadn't woken up yet but she really believed it was just a matter of time, but Alec had started to get despondent again.
"He's getting stronger Alec. We can feel it. Jane said the same this morning when I relieved her. His body has finished replenishing his adrenalin stores. So that's something anyway. It's just a matter of time now…" she trailed off, when he didn't move his intent gaze off Tav's face.
"Yeah," he agreed tonelessly. Leaning forward he had a really good look at Tav's face. All of the swelling had gone now and if it hadn't have been for the heavy bandage he would have just looked like he was asleep. Why the hell doesn't he wake up?
"I just wish he'd hurry up. The longer he's out to it the more it makes me think about brain damage. He'd hate that, Max…" Alec trailed off swallowing down the lump of painful emotion in his throat as he continued to fixedly inspect Tav's face as if he could will him awake.
Sighing more in sympathy with Alec's despondency than with his fear that Tav might have brain damage. I'm not even going to think about that. Max turned her attention back to Tav.
"It's time to wake up now Tav," she said crisply in the demanding no nonsense tone she'd taken to using with him. It was the voice he was used to when she wanted him to do something. Even though he never took much notice of it, Max thought she had a better chance of his subconscious recognising her if she just used her normal tone with him.
This time he did take notice and as if on que his eyes fluttered open.
"Hey little bro?" Unable to keep the emotion from his voice Alec drew his chair closer to the bed his hand on Tav's where it rested on his stomach.
Frowning in pain Tav gazed between her and Alec while he orientated himself.
"Fuck. I've got a killer headache Alec."
His voice was quiet and croaky but they could hear him clearly.
"They had one of Grey's females to Alec," he added in a rush once he'd got his bearings. "I don't know which one but his pack scent was on them. Did you get her as well?" he finished in agitation trying to sit up.
"Yeah, it was Bonny and we got her as well."
When Alec put his hand on his shoulder and eased him back down Tav winced.
"Fuck my shoulder hurts too, he complained. "And my ribs."
When Max laughed he turned to look at her.
"You've got an interesting bedside manner Max," he said, groaning at the pain in his head when he tried to smile.
"Yeah, well it worked didn't it? she said smiling complacently. "I told you to wake up and you did."
"Yeah, and my nephew encouraging me by booting me in the side every few minutes, was even more incentive than your bullying."
Max eyes locked with his and this time he did manage a small smile despite the excruciating pain in his head.
Max stared back at him. She knew he would have heard her voice somewhere in his subconscious but she hadn't really believed he'd be able to feel the little movement of the baby kicking against his side. But just in case, whenever the baby had kicked she'd moved closer and told Tav that he was kicking because he was worried about his uncle, and nudging him with its foot was his only way of telling him it was time to wake up.
"It was much better being injured when our females weren't all being fought for. Then I used to have luscious females from other packs whispering in my ear. Now days all I get is our own females," he grumbled.
"Having Kat in one ear telling you about the slapping you're going to get for worrying her and Max in the other ear grumpily ordering you to wake up pronto. Just isn't the same at all."
Tav grimaced wryly. Contrasted with the warm, soothing voices of the other females in his pack Max and Kat's stroppy, impatient demands for him to wake up had stood out memorably.
Snorting indelicately Max sat up. "I can do it Alec," she said determinedly, batting his helping hand away. She slid as gracefully off Tav's bed as her rotund belly would allow.
"I'll be back to see you later Tav."
"Yeah, and thanks Max." Tav said sincerely, ignoring his throbbing head and attempting another smile.
Max smiled in return and headed for the door.
Gingerly Tav felt the bandage on his head. "Hey, Dex hasn't shaved my hair has he?" he asked forebodingly as he groped around and felt how extensively the bandage covered his head.
"He better not have," he added indignantly. "I had enough skinhead hair cuts in Manticore to last a lifetime."
Alec rolled his eyes and started to laugh.
"I don't think he shaved it all off," he assured him unable to contain his amusement. "Only you could wake up in hospital after brain surgery Tav and merely be worried about your haircut. Just as well you no longer have a female following to be grief-stricken by the state if your hair, isn't it?" he added laughing.
Max paused in the doorway. It was so good to hear Alec's light-hearted laughter again. Grinning to herself she left him happily ribbing Tav about his 'new look' courtesy of Dex.
TBC