ABC owns the characters….

Chapter 3

Alec wiped the sweat off of his forehead. One thing he hated more than anything was being hot, and hot didn't even begin to describe the temperature in these tunnels.

"Are we there yet?" Kel, the teenage X6 asked eagerly. His brown eyes were wide with excitement. He was beginning to remind Alec of some of those annoying Pre-Pulse commercials in which the kids asked their parents 'are we there yet' every few minutes. Alec tried to remind himself that it had been weeks since any of the transgenics other than Max and Alec had been outside of TC.

"We're almost there, Kiddo," Alec said. Really, he wasn't more than five years older than Kel. The fact that Alec had more experience outside of Manticore made him look at the other X series as children.

"I see a little bit of light," Kel said, pointing in front of them. The pair stepped out of the tunnel and into a dark basement. There was only a small ray of light coming from a hole in the ceiling. Covering their noses, they went upstairs to find themselves in an abandoned building. Papers and old furniture were strewn all over the place and the smell was less than pleasant. "Max is going to love this," Kel said, excitedly.

Alec nodded in agreement. Sure the smell in here made him want to puke, and the place was filthy, but they could fix it up really nice. This was the ideal place to set up base outside of Terminal City. He took a digital camera out of his knapsack and started snapping pictures of the interior of the building. When he was done, he clapped his hands together. "Okay. We're done here. Time to head back."

"Can't we go get something to eat? Please," Kel said. "It would be great to have takeout."

Alec considered it. It wouldn't take long to grab a burger. "So that's why you came with me, Kel," he joked. "And I thought it was because you looked up to me."

At Jo's Diner, a couple of blocks away, the two transgenics ordered double cheeseburgers and sat down to eat.

"Can I ask you a question?" Kel asked. He seemed nervous now.

"Depends."

"Well the other guys in my unit are saying that you and Max are together—mates," Kel said carefully. He watched Alec, hoping that he hadn't crossed the line.

Alec grinned. "Me and Max? Mates? In her dreams. That girl is way too uptight. Besides, I like my women a little thicker." He laughed as if that was the most absurd thing he had ever heard in his life.

"I think she's hot," Kel admitted. "Most of the guys do. When she goes into heat….."

Alec frowned. What did Kel mean when he said that most guys thought she was hot? And further more, why did it bother him so much? Alec, you are not jealous he thought to himself. He thought about the rest of Kel's words. "When she goes into heat…." He hit his forehead with his hand. He realized that Max had never gone into heat near any of the X series males. She wasn't prepared to deal with it. Maybe she'd been able to control herself to a certain extent while she was out of Manticore. Now she was surrounded by X series. Her inability to control herself would be nothing compared to the chaos that would be created among the transgenic males. He made a mental note to speak to her about it or ask Kassie to bring it up. Kassie would probably do a better job explaining it than he would.

"Everyone get on the floor! This is a holdup!"

The voice broke through Alec's thoughts. Great. Just my luck. He turned to see the criminals. There was a tall, big-boned man with red hair and gray eyes, a shorter man with black hair and gray eyes, and a muscular man with bloodshot eyes and a bald head. All three men had rifles in their hands.

"We can take them," Kel said, gripping the table tightly. "They don't stand a chance against us."

Alec shook his head. For once, he was thinking about what Max said. They couldn't expose themselves unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I said get down!" the bald guy said, hitting Alec in the head with the butt of his rifle. Alec gritted his teeth and got down on the floor. Wouldn't Max be proud of me now? I'm thinking like her now he thought bitterly.

"Come on, Alec. There are only three of them," Kel insisted. His eyes flashed with anger toward the man who had hit Alec.

"I said no, X6 298," Alec said firmly. He was in command mode now. Kel shut his mouth, knowing that Alec was serious, and that he wouldn't back down. Since the siege of Terminal City, no one really used their designations unless they meant business.

Alec crouched on the floor and looked around slowly. He could see three waitresses and four cooks cowering behind a counter in terror. There were four women across from him, a family of five with three small children, and several businessmen there for their daily dose of caffeine.

One of the criminals cleaned out the register while the other two took valuables from the customers—jewelry, money, whatever was shiny.

Alec remained very still as one of the men patted him down and took his cell phone out of his pants pocket. His hearing picked up the distinct sound of a rifle being cocked. His head swiveled around, and he saw one of the men holding a gun to the Diner owner's head. When his finger was mere centimeters from the trigger, Alec decided that enough was enough.

He jumped to his feet. "Hey!"

"Get down!" one of the men yelled. The guy with the gun on the owner turned it on Alec just as he'd hoped.

"I wouldn't do that," Alec said. He blurred and snatched the gun from the man's hand. He slammed his elbow into the guy's nose, breaking it. With his other hand, he unloaded the gun.

Kel had taken his cue from the older soldier and disarmed the second criminal. He put the man in a chokehold, knocking him out.

"You two are them transgenic freaks," the last man said. He trembled in fear.

Alec rolled his eyes. He hated being called a freak. "No, we're just American citizens. You on the other hand…." He knocked the guy out with a punch to the head. "…are scum." He took his cell phone back and slipped it into his pocket.

"Thank you so much," the owner said.

Alec nodded. "No apology necessary." He saw how everyone was looking at them—like they didn't know who was scarier, the robbers or the transgenics. He made eye contact with Kel. It was definitely time to go. He could hear police sirens in the distance. He wondered how long it would take for Max to hear about this.

Please Review :)

Alana84 I'm really glad you enjoyed chapter 2.

aleja21 Thanks. More will definitely keep coming as long as I know that people are interested inmy story.

Lex2u Thank you. I know what you mean. I love the stories where you see agradual

change in Max and Alec's relationship before they actually get together.