The sun had fully broken over the horizon by the time Alec and Max found themselves in relative safety within the toxic blocks of Terminal City. It had taken them a bit of time to find a hole in the tall fence surrounding the transgenic haven that was large enough for the Ninja to roll through. Leaving the motorcycle outside of the perimeter was absolutely out of the question. They just couldn't risk that White might come across it and track them inside. Besides, Max probably would've thrown a fit if Alec had suggested they leave her baby out unprotected.
At the moment, Max was quiet and small in his lap. Beneath the rumble of the bike's engine he could hear her deep breaths. The smell of her, warm and pleasant, filled his senses. Despite all the events of that morning and his present physical state, he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so calm. The comforting weight of Max's head resting upon his chest was a distraction from the throbbing of his wound. He pulled into a dank, multi-storied garage and headed for the farthest corner, which was shrouded in deep shadow. He stopped the bike and cut the engine. Silence descended heavily around them.
Max released her grip on his shoulder once he had a free hand to apply the necessary pressure himself. The palm of her hand was stained with his blood. As she unwrapped her legs from his thighs and stepped back from the bike, she noticed that Alec avoided looking at her. She was suddenly aware of just how little she was wearing and could feel the warmth of a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She silently handed him her Glock. He just as silently took it from her and tucked it once again at the small of his back before getting off the bike. He was turned away from her for a moment and she could see that the bullet's entry point was bleeding just as profusely as the exit wound. The shoulder of Alec's leather jacket was a red ruin.
"We need to dress that."
He grunted his agreement. "There's a medic here with field supplies. That's where we're heading."
"Oh. Okay." She fell into step next to him as he led them out of the garage. She didn't move as far away from him as he'd expected. As a matter of fact, as they walked the silent streets, she remained so close beside him that, though they were not touching, he could feel the gentle heat of her body though his clothes.
The narrow avenues and trash-strewn alleyways of Terminal City were empty in the dawn light. For once, it wasn't raining, but the air still carried a damp chill. The low temperature went mostly unnoticed by the two X5's. The bullet hole in Alec's shoulder was burning a bit, leaving him less inclined to his usual chatter. Yet, his thoughts were less for himself and more for his companion. Max had been strangely quiet since he'd told her they were heading for TC.
He was sure that she was no longer the feral version of herself that had walked into Jam Pony the day before. For one, her familiar scent was no longer overlaid with that 'otherness'. For another, she was moving differently. Her hips didn't sway in the same mesmerizing way that they had when she was stalking and fighting him. Sure, it was still difficult not to admire her inherent grace, but there was no longer seduction in her every step. She was no longer radiating the kind of overwhelming sexual, animalistic energy that had surrounded her yesterday. At the moment, she reminded him more of a skittish doe than a panther on the prowl.
Alec bit his lip and glanced at her walking silently beside him. He wasn't used to this quiet, contemplative Max. She didn't seem broody or melancholy or generally depressed. After all, he would have found those moods pretty normal for Max. No, it was something else. Alec briefly wondered if she was thinking about the kiss they'd shared. But he discarded the possibility as unlikely, since she wasn't beating on him or berating him for ruining her life or displaying any of the other melodramatic behaviors that he'd expect from her given the circumstances.
Maybe she was thinking about Logan. Yeah, that was more likely. She was probably riddled with guilt and just waiting for the opportunity to begin the self-flagellation while bemoaning her very existence. It was more in sync with Alec's view of their world to believe that she was thinking about her not-like-that boyfriend rather than to hope that she was at ease with the kiss they'd shared.
An errant breeze blew Max's long hair across her cheeks. She reached up distractedly to brush the waves behind her ears. She was trying hard to avoid thinking about anything. She focused on taking in every detail of the dilapidated buildings they passed by. She concentrated on the calming warmth of Alec that she could feel even across the several inches that separated them. As long as they were moving through this silence she could exist within a protective bubble. As long as they walked these empty streets, there was no need to confront her actions of the day before, no need to face consequences or wrestle with her inner self to regain balance and control.
She glanced at her companion, briefly catching him watching her before his eyes moved away to scan their surroundings. Max studied his profile for a moment. He looked terrible. The worse she'd ever seen him. There were dark bags under his normally bright eyes, and there was a marked rounding to his shoulders. The bruises on his skin had faded to an unhealthy yellow overshadowing the normal tan of his skin. The deep furrows across his forehead and the set of his jaw made Max believe that the gunshot wound to his shoulder was causing him more pain than he'd admit.
Her lips pulled down in a slight frown. She hoped that the little incident between them at the hospital wasn't going to get in the way of their newfound level of comfort. She might not admit it outright, but Max needed him around. With him she felt more stable, more secure, and like more of a transgenic. Though she'd probably never tell him, Max was grateful for Alec. If something like this had happened to her a year ago, there wouldn't have been anyone out there to have her back, or to hold her back. She would have done a lot more damage. Maybe that was what happened to Ben. As much as Max liked to pretend that she was an independent and self-sufficient bitch, the truth was their kind, born and bred in units, just really weren't meant to be all alone.
Alec stole another glance to his side, studying Max's profile for some inkling as to what was going on inside her head. Well, she didn't look particularly sad or guilt-ridden or even angry. She looked as if she were concentrating really, really hard on something. Her eyes were slightly unfocused and there were lines above the bridge of her nose and across her forehead. The sight of her expression pushed his curiosity over the brink. He had to know what she was thinking about.
"He's okay, you know," Alec said into the stillness.
Not understanding what he was talking about, Max looked at him and asked, "What?"
"Logan. He's okay. Cindy is with him at the hospital. He's probably awake by now. It's too dangerous for you to go back and see him. But you could call him. That'd be safe enough, since I put a scrambler on your phone. You know, if you want." Alec realized he was babbling, so he clamped his lips together and shrugged.
Before Max could respond, there was a glimmer of movement beside one of the buildings on the block ahead of them. The two X5's stopped in their tracks at the same moment. Alec's hand went to the butt of his run resting at the small of his back. Max dropped down into a defensive crouch behind him and slightly to his side.
After a heartbeat the shotgun facing them lowered. An acrid cloud surrounded green fatigue-clad shoulders and an equally green face as it emerged from a dark alley. The approaching figure took a long pull on his cigar. "Oh," he said before removing the stub from his mouth and waving it toward Alec. "You again."
Alec's hand pulled away from his own gun and Max took that as a sign to ease out of her stance. She moved from behind him, but stayed close. "Nice to see you too, Mole."
"How many times do I gotta tell ya that your kind belong over on Oak Street?"
"I need to find Eve."
Mole glanced pointedly at Alec's shoulder and scoffed. "You thin skinned X-Series, always getting into shit you can't handle."
Max'd had enough. Ever word out of Scaly's yellow-teethed mouth was raising her hackles. Where the hell did he get off judging an X5? She put her hand firmly on one jutting hip and sneered at the transhuman. "We handled the men who shot him just fine. Not all of us have gone soft here on the outside, lizard boy." A glimmer of the feral energy that she'd radiated before her coma was back in her eyes.
Mole took a step forward, jabbing his cigar in her direction with accusation and heat. "If you let those Ordinaries follow you here—"
Alec stepped between the two and silenced Mole with a cold, hard look. "I know how to clean up after myself," he said quietly. The steely menace beneath the words made his threat clear to the other man. He felt Max's bewildered gaze on him, but he keep his eyes locked with Mole's. When he was sure he saw understanding in the other man's eyes, he took a step back. "I'd stay and chat, but I'm bleeding." He reached behind him and took Max's arm leading her past the transhuman soldier.
They rounded a corner and Alec released her arm. She glanced once behind them to see if the transhuman was going to follow, but they were alone on the street. Her eyes moved to Alec, who once again had his hand firmly pressed against his wound. She thought she detected a hint of pain in the lines around his eyes, and tried to distract him with a little conversation.
She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "What crawled under his scales and died?"
Alec grunted, "I think he just assimilated one too many history vids on Schwartzkoff back at Manticore." A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, "And probably no few old, pre-governator Schwartzenegger flicks here on the outside."
Max chuckled. "Well, that certainly would explain his fashion sense. And his smell." Alec joined in her quiet laughter, some of the tension at her earlier silence draining from him. He once again felt sure that everything was going to work out. If Max was laughing and joking, things couldn't really be all that bad, could they? And if she didn't want to talk about Logan, that was just fine by him.
He lead them through the rubble-strewn streets, passing the derelict buildings that were testament to how truly abandoned this zone was. The farther they walked, the more activity Max noticed. The closer to the center of Terminal City they got, the more transhumans and anomalies walked in the rosy shadows of the early morning light. Some singly, others in small groups, they all seemed to be heading in the same direction that she and Alec were.
The two X5's rounded a final corner and were suddenly faced with a large building that seemed to be the center of activity. It was a squat structure, the surrounding skyscrapers dwarfing it and also hiding it from view. Central Command, which looked like it used to be some sort of warehouse with adjacent offices, easily spanned half a city block. Max could see at least four sentries in position on the roofs of taller neighboring buildings, and she was pretty sure that there were more hidden from view. They may have been free of Manticore, but old habits die hard, and the transgenics that inhabited this part of Terminal City were far from safe in the outside world.
Three feet away from the doorway to the building Max put her hand on Alec's upper arm. Her grip was soft, but it brought him to a complete halt. "Alec…" She trailed off, not sure how to express what she'd been trying to ignore since they'd arrived within the perimeter.
He watched the vulnerability from the hospital sneak back across her features. His gaze softened and he nodded at her encouragingly. "Yeah, Maxie?"
She took a breath and plunged ahead. "I'm still not totally myself. At least, I don't think I am. Shankar said I might be kind of…reactive and, uh, emotional." She looked away from Alec's hazel eyes before continuing, "I feel…shaky. I'm – I'm just not sure what might happen once we get around other people. Don't let me do any sort of damage in there." She met his eyes again. "Please?"
Alec had some idea what that confession cost her. It was a hard thing for one of their kind to show any sort of weakness. That Max would not only share her doubts with him, but also look to him for help showed she trusted him more than he'd ever expected her to. "Don't worry," he said seriously, "I've got your back."
With Alec's simple phrase echoing her thoughts from just a few moments ago and confirming what she knew in her heart, sudden relief flowed over Max like a warm breeze. She gave him a completely unguarded and sincere smile, one that very few people outside of her siblings had ever seen. It was an expression of security that she didn't often feel. "Thanks."
The effect of that smile on Alec was tremendous. For a moment, he couldn't focus on anything other than her face. The pain of his wound couldn't even break through the haze that clouded all his senses in the radiance of her smile. After a moment he realized he was just staring at her. He tried hard to make his expression and his voice offhand. "Any time, Maxie. C'mon."
The interior of the building was very dimly lit, not that it mattered to the transgenics milling about. However, there were a few old clip lights with dented aluminum shells hanging above tables that were strategically set in various spots on the ground floor. It was, as Max had suspected, an abandoned warehouse with an upper level of offices set back in the shadows. She could see exposed pipes running alongside several catwalks that hung at intervals in the ceiling above. There were a fair number of transgenics moving on the floor and across those catwalks, beginning their day. But, she noticed, a curious absence of any X-Series.
A few of the 'nomalies glanced their way and seemed to recognize Alec, to Max's surprise. For some reason, she had just assumed that Alec knew Mole from back at Manticore. She couldn't imagine that he'd spent much time in Terminal City. He had a sweet deal in the outside world, and he'd never really shown much interest in spending time with transgenics other than herself and Joshua. She especially couldn't imagine him hanging regularly with the transhuman set. Yet, as he led her across the floor several nodded to him. She moved a bit closer and said in a quiet voice, "I take it you've been in here before?"
"Yeah, briefly, yesterday."
He didn't seem inclined to give her any more than that, though Max was positive that there was a story there. She was considering whether or not to push the issue, when they arrived at the bottom of a raised platform. The platform seemed to be the heart of Central Command for the transhumans. There were quite a few functioning computers and a pretty decent surveillance system in place.
Alec stopped just below the platform and felt Max halt just behind him. He was really glad she hadn't questioned him further about his visit to TC the previous night. He didn't really want to remind her of what she'd done to Biggs & Cece. Sure enough, they'd have to deal with it eventually, but not while she was still so uneasy if he could help it. He was hoping he could find Eve without encountering the two battered X5's. He searched the platform above his head for either Dix or Luke and wasn't disappointed. They both stood near the monitors watching the surveillance feed from around their territory, as well as news coverage of the new citywide transgenic frenzy.
"Yo, guys," Alec called. "How's it going this morning?"
The two men looked over at him. Dix nodded and Luke immediately came over to the railing. "Hey, Alec. Looks like you found Max." He waved. "Heya, Max. Good to see you again." His smile was warm and genuine. It was hard to believe that a man so earnest and unguarded had come from Manticore. That is except for the rodent-like features and pallid, waxy skin.
Max gave him an amused smile. "Good to see you too, Luke. Glad you made it home in one piece."
"Well, we trannies are made of some sturdy stuff," he chuckled at his own joke. "So, what can I do for you guys? Did you know you're bleeding there, Alec?"
"Ah, yeah Luke. I'd noticed," Alec deadpanned while Max hid a smirk. "You wouldn't happen to know where Eve is, would ya?"
"Sure thing, Alec. She was heading up to her makeshift infirmary to check on your friends. Gimme a sec and I'll show you where it is."
Alec's smile was tight. "Thanks, bud." He ticked off the seconds in his head before Max was questioning him. It was no more than three by his count.
"What friends, Alec?"
He sighed, hating that this couldn't be put off for just a few more hours. "Do you remember going to a club last night?" She nodded and he continued, "Do you remember what happened after you left the club?"
Max seemed to think for a moment. Then her eyes widened and some of the color drained from her cheeks. "I fought. I attacked two transgenics. X5's." She swallowed. Her voice was little more than a whisper, "I was going to kill --"
Alec interrupted her before she could go on, "But you didn't."
She hissed, "Only because you stopped me!" She was trembling. It wouldn't have been noticeable to anyone else, but Alec could see the fine tremors in her hands. Her eyes were starting to fill. With sudden absolute clarity, he realized that she was afraid. He'd never seen Max afraid of anything before. He knew she was on the verge of another emotional outburst like she'd experienced at the hospital, and standing in the middle of Central Command was neither the time nor the place. Among their kind, public displays of weakness could put you at the bottom of the food chain real quick. Regardless of the fact that they'd all been outside of Manticore for almost a year, they were all still soldiers at the core, and strength mattered. If Max was going to face other transgenics she needed to snap out of it, and fast.
Alec stepped into her personal space, gripping one of her hands in his. He turned so that his back was to the room and he was shielding her from any casual glances. He kept his shoulders relaxed so as not to draw attention to them. "What happened yesterday happened because of the cure, Max. You were off balance and your judgment was shot to hell. Today you're back in control. You can fix what's broken." He spoke in a quiet, commanding voice. His tone was so low it seemed to be just a rumble in his chest, but Max heard what he said loud and clear. "But right now you're in unfamiliar territory, soldier. So, get your head back in the game."
His words struck her like a blast of cold water. The trembling in her hands stopped and her eyes focused sharply on his. She took one steady breath and another, then nodded once. He released her hand just as Luke came toward them.
"Ok then, you guys ready?"
Max smiled at the small man without any hint of her near breakdown. "Lead the way, Luke."
He took them up and across one of the high catwalks to a second level filled with short halls and small office suites. The lighting was a bit brighter up here, though it was that horrible fluorescent kind that made everyone look just a little bit dead. Luke led them all the way down the hall and the sounds from the main warehouse receded into a quiet background buzz. He finally stopped at a closed door, tapping gently before turning the knob and stepping in. Alec followed just behind him and Max brought up the rear. She only hesitated for a fraction of a second before entering the room. She kept her gaze locked on his broad back and matched her steps to his.
The medium-sized room beyond the door was probably once used as a meeting space. Most of the tables and chairs had been removed and a few old mattresses brought in. In the farthest corner of the room two of the mattresses has been stacked one on top of the other. A willowy blond was stretched across the bed. Her left leg was encased in makeshift splint from her hip to the sole of her foot and was propped up on a wooden crate. A dark haired young man with an infectious smile sat next to her on the bed, his back to the room.
Luke walked up to the side of the bed. "Heya Cece, how're ya feeling?"
"Probably about the same as I look."
"That good, huh?"
"Eve won't give me any more morphine, but she won't let me take this damn splint off either."
"Oh yeah? Where is Eve, anyway?"
Cece sulked, "I'm sure she went off to find more medieval torture devices to use on me."
Biggs rolled his eyes and spoke up, "Don't mind her, Luke. She's always cranky in the morning."
Cece sat up, a sharp comeback for him on the very tip her tongue when she spotted Alec and then Max over his shoulder. Any hint of color drained out of her already porcelain-toned skin and she scooted against the wall a much as her trussed leg would allow. At her reaction, Biggs quickly stood and turned toward the others, shielding Cece with his body. At first, he only saw Alec and started to relax. Then he noticed Max standing just beyond and trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. His stance became even more rigid.
Luke seemed not to perceive the sudden hostility in the air. "Well, I think I know where Eve might be getting supplies from," he said with his normal cheer. "I'll go get her and let her know about your arm, Alec." The transhuman didn't wait for a reply before leaving on his quest.
Biggs was still standing defensively between the bed and the other X5's. Alec held up his hands to show that they were not a threat. "It's ok, Biggs. The situation is secure." Biggs glanced from him to Max and back again. He locked eyes with Alec and then nodded once, easing the set of his muscles just a hair. Alec stepped to the side a bit and pulled Max forward. "This is Max, X5-452. She's a friend of mine." Alec realized he was announcing that Max was an 09er, but he also knew that Biggs wouldn't challenge it if Alec vouched for her.
He squeezed Max's arm, not enough for either of the other X5's to notice, but enough for Max to get the message. He was there, he had her back, and she was strong and in control. "Max, this is Biggs and that's Cece." Knowing her the way he did, Alec could see the armor she'd wrapped around herself to face them. He felt a spark of pride when she squarely met Biggs's eyes and spoke with an unwavering voice.
"Hey," she said to him with a small smile. "You've got some pretty impressive skills, man." He nodded again, and Max was encouraged to see a ghost of an answering smile at the edges of his mouth. She turned toward the blonde, who still huddled in the bed. Cece wouldn't meet her eyes, and as Max approached the bed the other woman seemed to shrink farther into herself. She seemed determined that Max not see her as a threat in any way. The sight of her like that set off confusing, conflicting emotions within Max. She felt both sickened and thrilled by the knowledge that she was so much better than the other X5, that she could cow another transgenic into submission so completely.
There was silence in the room as Max stood over the bed, not knowing what to do next, while Cece displayed the behavior of prey instead of the natural-born predator that she was. Alec cleared his throat, and both women started. Then Max did what she always did whenever she was scared or nervous. Stuck out her hip and came with some major attitude.
"Listen, I'm sorry I went all psycho on your ass." Cece's head snapped up in surprise. Max put as much sincerity as she could behind the attitude and continued, "We might as well blame Manticore for the whole dealio. It won't happen again. So, we all good?"
Cece blinked at her for a moment, trying to decipher her jargon. "Uh, yeah," she finally stammered, "yeah, we're good."
"Great." Max stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Cece." When Cece shook her hand, Max was glad to feel that the other woman's grip was strong and sure betraying none of her earlier submissiveness. Max's smile was real when she stepped back from the bed and angled herself until she could speak to the guys along with Cece.
"So were you all friends back at Manticore?"
Alec chuckled at her question. "Uh, not quite. I'd never had the pleasure of meeting Cece," he winked at the blonde, who blushed. Max and Biggs rolled their eyes. "But, Biggs and I worked a couple of the same missions."
"But, you two aren't from the same unit?"
"I didn't have a unit," Alec said.
"What do you mean, you didn't have a unit? Everyone had a unit."
"Not everyone." Something in his tone startled Max. It seemed like much of his usual mirth had bled from his voice. It reminded her of talking to him around the time of that whole Berrisford thing. Beside them, Biggs and Cece shifted, as if they were suddenly uncomfortable in the air around them. Max sought Alec's eyes. She didn't like the bitterness she saw flare there, but she didn't want to press him in front of strangers.
"Oh." She felt lame saying it, but there was nothing else she could think of that wouldn't sound worse. She looked away from Alec to find Biggs and Cece staring at her.
Just then the resident medic appeared, breaking the mounting tension. "Luke told me I had a new patient waiting," she said by way of salutation.
Alec gave the fanged red-head a genuine smile. "Hey, Eve. Think you could patch a guy up?" He indicated the bullet wound in his shoulder with a negligent wave.
She raised an eyebrow over luminous blue eyes. "Do I even want to know how you got that?"
His smile widened and he put his good arm around Max's shoulders. "I was saving a damsel in distress, of course."
"More like working a damsel's last damn nerve," Max muttered and pushed him away from her with a look of mock disgust. The push was gentler than she'd normally use, but she didn't want to risk worsening his wound.
"Hey! Is that how you talk about the man who got shot protecting you?"
"Please! I can take care of myself, pretty boy."
They were falling back on their comfortable banter. Max knew that Alec was instigating it to get her mind off the earlier tension. Even though she should have been the one trying to make him feel better, as usual it was the other way around. She was grateful and hoped that he could see that in her eyes.
"Kids," Eve interrupted them. "As entertaining as all this is, I'd rather just see to 494 and go on about my day."
Max sobered instantly. "His name is Alec," she corrected, stepping toward the older transgenic. When Eve just stared at her with no response, Max stood up straighter as an irrational anger began to pulse through her. "I named him Alec," she said through clenched teeth. "That's what you call him."
Eve tilted her head to the side and studied the female X5 standing in front of her. She seemed unphased by Max's sudden defensiveness. "And, what should I call you?"
"My name is Max." The X5 couldn't explain it, but she felt the need to assert herself over the transhuman facing her. The rational part of her brain was telling her that her hostility was way out of line. Eve hadn't done anything to threaten her or Alec. The woman was a medic. She was there to help. Still, there was something about her that was setting Max on edge. The urge to step into the other woman's personal space was almost overwhelming. It was all Max could do to keep her legs rooted to the ground.
From where he stood behind her, Alec was shocked to see Max clenching and unclenching her fists at her sides. Eve just faced her calmly, not radiating even an ounce of threat. Yet, there was fine tremor running through Max's body. It seemed to Alec that she was visibly keeping herself in check with the barest of control. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on with her, but he knew she was in trouble.
Max's rational side desperately wanted to break eye contact with Eve, it wanted her to step back. But the war raging inside her was making that impossible. It was taking all her control just to refrain from making an overtly aggressive move toward the redhead. At the exact moment when she wasn't sure if she could fight her urges anymore, she felt Alec step up into her body. His warm palm came to rest at the small of her back and it was as if all the fight left her in one huge rush.
She immediately closed her eyes to stop staring Eve down. She leaned back just enough so that the corner of her body was lightly pressed against Alec's solid frame. The sound of her heart's steady rhythm became a focus for her. She forced more muscles to unclench with each beat. She inhaled deeply and was calmed even further when the familiar smell of leather, clean sweat, and pure male surrounded her. The sharp, metallic tang of Alec's blood came to rest at the back of Max's tongue and brought her back to center.
Her transformation from attack mode to her usual collected self occurred in less than thirty seconds, but to Max it felt like it took much longer. Those in the room who didn't know her never even knew what was happening. For Alec, the effort it took her to reestablish her normal level of control was glaringly clear. The cure may have run it's course through her system, but she was still not completely better. Once his wound was dressed, he'd have to keep her from as many new people as possible for a bit and watch her closely until he was sure that she was completely back to normal.
Alec turned his attention to the medic. "So, how 'bout it, Eve?"
She answered with a simple "Follow me," and exited the room with Alec and Max in tow. The gentle pressure of Alec's hand at the small of Max's back remained steady and warm as they followed Eve toward the front end of the corridor. Neither acknowledged the contact, but both felt infinitely better with it.
They entered a small office the lay in the exact middle of the hallway on the left. The room was very dimly lit, and lacked a window of its own. It looked more like a storage closet someone decided to stuff a desk and small filing cabinet into. Luke must of given Eve a rough sketch of Alec's injury. She'd already set the desk with bandages, sutures, and other items necessary to patch up a gunshot wound. There was even a small knife sitting next to a neon green cigarette lighter, Alec noted with definite chagrin. He sighed in resignation and began to strip off his jacket.
Silently and without him asking, Max reached up small hands to help him. The palm of one hand still carried the stain of his blood from earlier. Doing something useful made her feel more in control. Concentrating on Alec made it easier to ignore her own weird issues. She stubbornly refused to think about the fact that it gave her another excuse to stay very close to him. There was a lot of blood, most of which had dried to become a tacky adhesive. The leather of his jacket was sticking to the cotton of his t-shirt, which was in turn sticking to his wound. She focused on easing the fabrics apart. She pulled gently, but Alec still complained.
"Ow! Hello, pain!" He made more noise about it than he really felt – all the better to distance himself from the sensation of Max's soft puffs of breath against his barcode.
"Oh, quit whining like a big baby."
"Way to go with the bedside manner, Maxie."
"A. You're not in bed. B. Shut up and quit squirming." After a few more moment, Max was able to work the jacket free from his shoulder. They both hesitated once there was nothing left to remove but Alec's t-shirt. Behind him, Max twisted her hands in the hem of black fabric. Despite Eve's presence, the sexual tension between them spiked. If they'd been able to see each other's faces, Max would have seen Alec nervously lick his lower lip, just as he would have seen her biting at hers.
Then Joshua was bursting into the room. Max released Alec's t-shirt and they both turned to face the big guy.
"Joshua –" Max's voice broke as she took in the bandage on his face and the bruising, and guilt swept over her.
Joshua hesitated a moment and sniffed the air in front of her before enveloping her with his large frame. Max burrowed as far as she could into him, burying her face in his chest and squeezing her eyes shut. She wouldn't cry again, especially not in front of Eve.
"I'm sorry, Joshua," she whispered as quietly as possible. "I'm so sorry." She held him more tightly, willing him to understand and forgive her. He grunted a little in pain at the contact, and Max started to pull away. Then, she felt his arms tighten around her in response, pulling her in closer, and his lips upon the top of her head.
"It's okay, Lil' Fella. Everything okay," he soothed. "Big Fella okay. Lil' Fella smell okay now. It's all good." As Max felt his warm breath stir her hair, his words sent relief coursing through her. It made her weak in the knees and was almost enough to force tears past her lashes. Unable to speak, she just nodded against him and held on.
Alec walked close to the two of them. Joshua smiled at him over Max's head. "Medium Fella needs to dodge better."
"Ha ha, dogboy. Listen, it's kinda crowded in here and I want to stop leaking blood sometime this week. How about you and Maxie hang outside in the hall for a sec?"
"Alright, Alec," he nodded and looked down at Max. "Come on, Lil' Fella. Joshua can tell you about new friends while we wait." Max let herself be guided out of the room, still not quite ready to speak.
Once they were gone, Alec yanked the black, blood-soaked t-shirt over his head. He clamped his jaw tight over a hiss of pain. Eve beckoned him over to take a seat in the office chair and then began probing his wound with expert fingers. Alec employed deep breathing exercises to distance his mind from the fiery throbbing as she cleaned the blood from his shoulder.
"You were pretty lucky, I'd say. The bullet went clean through and managed to miss bone and any main arteries. I won't even have to cauterize."
Alec grunted at that. "Great."
"If you take it easy for the rest of today, you should be good as new tomorrow."
"Sure thing, doc," was his automatic response. She rolled her eyes, knowing that he probably wouldn't really heed her advice. X5's always made the worst patients.
Alec looked around the room, and thought of something. "Eve, I need to know what we've got here in terms of medical capabilities. How many medics living in TC? What kind of facilities did the ordinaries leave when they abandoned this area? We need to put together some sort of working hospital for emergencies." He paused as he thought back to the previous night at Harbor Lights and the panicked vulnerability he felt guarding an incapacitated Max in such an unsecured location. "Taking our wounded the hospitals on the outside risks exposure for all of us. We can't afford that, especially now that we're all over the legitimate news."
She nodded and began to close up the wound. "I assume you want a tally of medics among the X Series?"
"All transgenics. We're in this together, regardless of whatever the going attitude has been. We've got all the same enemies, and the only way we're going to survive in enemy territory is if we're united."
"It'll take more than just me to poll all the folks here and canvas the area for facilities and equipment."
"I'll see about getting you a team by the end of the day." He smirked and said, "I'm sure there are quite a few X6's and X8's down on Oak Street with too much free time on their hands."
Out in the hallway, Max hugged Joshua again. Something hard pressed into her cheek and she pulled her head back to see what. It was a small pendant attached to a simple strip of leather that encircled Joshua's neck. She raised her hand and took up the pendant, seeing clearly that its design was exactly that of the Familiar brand that was now all but faded completely from her palm.
"Joshua, where did you get this?"
"It was Father's. He gave it to me before he left Manticore."
Familiars, Sandeman, Manticore: it was all too much for Max to process just then. She still felt so exhausted and off-kilter. It was easier to just be content that her family was here with her and safe and forgiving. She let the pendant slide out of her hand and leaned against the wall, still close against Joshua's side. His arm was around her shoulders and his hand rested gently on her hair.
She sighed, "So tell me about your new friends, Big Fella."
"Not all so new. Lots and lots from the basement."
Max glanced up at him. "The ones you used to take care of?"
"Uh-huh. All happier now. More food to eat and not trapped in cages. No Manticore guards beating on them and no tests that hurt."
"Yeah, but they're still hiding."
"But free and all together again." He gave her a squeeze. "That matters, Lil Fella."
Joshua didn't seem to need an answer from her. He just stood next to her, reassuring her with his large presence while Max thought about what he'd said. It was true that having her own around her had made her life on the outside easier. She still had to hide what she was from the ordinary world, but knowing that she could always find Joshua and Alec, could let down her defenses and just be herself, had made her life so much better.
Her friend must have sensed her understanding. He nodded once and said, "Joshua really like our new home."
Max pulled away and looked up at him quizzically. "New home? What are you talking about, Joshua?"
At that moment Alec stepped out of the office and into their conversation. "What he means is that, with everything going on outside right now, it's really better if we stick together and lay low for a little bit."
She turned and gave Alec a quick once over, noticing that the lines of pain around his eyes seemed to have eased. Eve must have done a pretty good job patching him up. Max dismissed his words with a wave of her hand. "Whatever Alec, I doubt that hoverdrone had a chance to focus on either of us before I took it down."
"You weren't the only thing exposed yesterday, Max. As a matter of fact, you're sort of small potatoes."
"What are you talking about, Alec?"
"White got his hands on a transhuman, Mule by name. Then he turned him over to be executed by the sector police." He saw shock and pain and the inevitable guilt chase across her face. His tone was gentle when he said, "The world knows we're out here now, Maxie."
Max shook her head. Alec watched as her normal denial took affect and her armor of indifference slammed into place. "It doesn't matter," she declared with stubborn defiance. "I'm not abandoning my apartment and my life. It took me too many years to get what I've got. I'm not throwing that freedom away."
Alec looked to the man on Max's other side for help. Their large friend put a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder and waited until she looked up at him before chiming in. "Joshua left Father's house and a new friend. Everyone make sacrifices, Lil' Fella," he said, and squeezed her shoulder. "All safer together. All stronger together. Still free. Staying free easier if we watch each other's backs." A look of iron determination that Max seldom saw came over his canine features, taking root deep in his blue eyes. "Joshua never giving up our freedom, Lil' Fella. Never going back in the basement again."
Max swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat. "No more basement for you, Big Fella. I promise." She squared her shoulders, put both hands on her hips, and looked defiantly over at Alec. "We'll stay here together for now. Just until it's safer out there." She tossed her wavy hair over one shoulder. "Besides, we're closer to Crash and Jam Pony here anyway."
Alec rolled his eyes at her. "Wow, Maxie. What an outstanding idea." He managed to wait until after she'd hit him to flinch.
With a quick grin, Joshua pulled both of them to him, though he tugged more gently on Alec. "All for one! One for all!" He laughed and looked down at his at friends. They both stared back at him blankly. "Alexandre Dumas," he said to Max. She gave him an empty smile and nod. "Three Musketeers," he said to Alec.
"Sure, buddy." He gave Joshua a jovial punch to the chest. "Whatever you say."
The big man rolled his eyes in disgust and let go of them. "Why does Joshua even try? Going to find new digs." He walked away muttering to himself about books and boob tubes.
Alec turned to Max. "What was that all about?"
She made a face and shook her head. "Not a clue."
He tossed the question aside for a more important topic. "Well, I'm starving. I hear they've got some sort of mess hall around here. You game?"
Max looked at him, his face carefree as if they hadn't just made an important decision about their lives. Same old Alec. His laidback air put her at ease again. "Sure, why not."
A few minutes later, several eyes tracked the X5's as they walked across the ground level of Command. Two pairs were merely curious, but one was openly hostile.
"What kind of a name's 'Alec' anyway?" The question followed a couple of grunts and an angry mumble of choice phrases.
"I'm sure I don't know, Mole," came Dix's deadpan response as he turned back to his computer equipment.
"Well," Luke piped up from the other side of the platform, "Eve said his designation's 494."
Mole's head whipped around and he snatched his newly-lit cigar from between his lips. "What did you say?"
"Uh, Eve called him 494."
"You're telling me that guy," Mole pointed with the cigar toward the other end of the room where Alec was walking out the door with Max. "That scrawny little man over there who keeps bringing more X-series into our section of town is 494?"
Luke thought about it for a moment and then nodded vigorously. "Uh, yup."
"Well, I'll be…" Mole stuck his cigar back in his mouth and puffed thoughtfully, looking in the direction that the two X's had just taken. He suddenly chuckled. "Boys, I think it's finally about to get fun around here." He threw his shotgun over his shoulder and went back on patrol, humming to himself as he walked away.
A half-hour later found Max and Alec ensconced in a relatively clear alley behind an abandoned high school just a few blocks from Command. The transhumans had managed to get the school's kitchen in enough order to rough out a few square meals a day. Max tried not to think about what kind of meat made up the watery brown stew she was eating. She was pretty sure it wasn't anything worse than what she'd had to consume back in the early days after she and her siblings escaped Manticore. Not to mention that, as hungry as she was, any meal seemed gourmet at the moment.
She glanced over at Alec, who sat on the crate beside her inhaling his food with abandon. She envied his ability to relax into any situation. Now that she'd eaten and didn't feel quite as run down, she found herself wound as tightly as the shocks on her Ninja. As much as she'd been trying to push back thoughts of the day before, they just wouldn't stay gone. She wasn't feeling as off balance as she had earlier either, so she could no longer avoid claiming her thoughts and feelings as truly her own. Facing that truth was the hardest part. Manticore may have been gone for months, but she was still running and hiding. Only this time she was avoiding herself.
"It isn't Manticore. It's me," she whispered under her breath.
Alec had the superior hearing that all transgenics had, so he heard her. Besides, he was sitting right next to her, and it didn't take a pop psychologist to figure out what was on her mind. "Max, you were under the influence of that wacked out cure." He was hoping to head off her impending self-flagellation at the pass.
Unfortunately, Max had other ideas. She shook her head decisively. "That's just it, Alec. Some of the things I did, so many of the things I said were because that's how I really feel. Deep down in places I never look, that's how I really feel." Her tone was full of self-loathing and it severely grated on Alec.
"So?" He made a face at her. "So what if that is the real you? Max, if you ask me, a lot of what happened yesterday is because you spend so much time trying to control what you feel and everything else around you." His arm whipped across the air in front of them as if to encompass the whole world. "You've bottled up so much for so long, it was bound to explode out sometime."
Max narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe I do. Maybe trying to control everything is wrong." Her voice rose as she continued, "But, that still doesn't make what happened yesterday right, Alec. This is not how I'm supposed to be."
"Says who? Humans?" He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Newsflash, Maxie: the ordinaries out here are pretty damn fucked up. And you," he pointed at her with his bent spoon, "you keep confusing 'normal' with 'perfect'. They're not, and neither are we. Though I'd say we're damn closer to perfect than they are." He locked eyes with her. "Maybe you just need to stop fighting yourself all the time. Stop trying to fit the mold of an ordinary and be what you are."
"Yeah?" She lashed out at him with her voice because he was an easier target for the anger she really wanted to direct at herself. "And what's that, Alec? A soldier? A killer? Deck and Ben already gave me that line, thanks."
"No, not a killer. We've all killed, but that's not what we are." He set his now empty bowl on the ground and wiped his hands over his jean-covered thighs.
"What are we then, Alec?" Max demanded. She put her bowl down too, though hers was not empty. She'd lost her appetite.
He was silent for a moment, staring off into the distance with a struggle darkening his eyes. A deep line furrowed his brow. She saw his chest rise as he took a deep breath. "I think that we are something that human society hasn't seen in a very long time. We're not just survivors, we're warriors."
She let out a small bark of laughter. "What? You think we really are the gladiators from Normal's wet dreams?"
There was no laughter in his eyes when he answered her. "Exactly," he nodded. "Except we have an advantage over those men from the human past. We've got the physical power to match our instincts to survive."
"Oh yeah," she scoffed, "we're the perfect weapons."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it." His jaw clenched and he labored for a moment to put into words what he'd only just realized himself a short while ago. "We feel more than the cold weapons Manticore meant to create. We're more rational than the greatest human minds. We've got more control than the bloodthirsty animals the world's gonna think we are. We're better than the sum of our genetic parts, Maxie." He breathed a sincere murmur, "We may even be better than we think we are."
Max looked away. She wanted to believe him, she really did, but she wasn't sure she could. Alec's words were so much the echo of the thoughts she'd had a few hours ago, right after she'd used the gun on the cars chasing them. If Alec and her instincts were telling her the same thing, maybe she ought to pay attention. The problem was she couldn't be sure she even knew how to let go and be herself, whoever that might be. She would have to fight to rearrange every defense and coping mechanism she'd built up in her decade on the outside.
When she spoke again, her words were quiet, as if her admission were a great secret. "I've spent half my life running from the past, Alec. Running from what we are and who I am."
"Max," he said gently, "we've all done things in our pasts that we're not proud of, every transgenic. And most of those were things that Manticore drove us to, either by direct orders or through fear. So we did what we had to do." He took another deep breath. "But, I was wrong you know. Because we'll never forget and we'll always care. It's what makes us all better than they said we were. You've shown me that." He met her gaze unwaveringly when she stared at him. "But no matter what, never be ashamed of what we are, Maxie." He smirked then. "We can't let them win, right?"
After a few moments she timidly returned his smile. It didn't reach her eyes, but the gesture assured Alec that she'd heard him even if she wasn't ready to see what he was trying to show her. It gave him a little hope that Max might be able to find herself in between the prudish killjoy he'd met almost a year ago and the self-assured hellcat he'd fought yesterday.
He watched her profile as she stared up at the unusually clear blue sky above them. A strong, autumn breeze blew her wavy locks around her collar, giving him glimpses of her fading bruises. He cleared his throat, bringing her eyes back to his. "Sorry about…" He made a vague gesture toward his neck. Max reached up to the mottled skin of her own throat. Then her hand dropped and she shrugged.
"S'all good," she said, then smirked at him. "I need to get my ass kicked once in a while, just to keep me real."
"Oh, now you tell me!"
She smiled a little bit bigger and said, "Shut up, pretty boy."
They sat in companionable silence for another moment. Alec thought back to something she'd said during their fight. Something that had been nagging at the back of his mind ever since.
"Max?"
"Yeah."
"Tell me what happened to Ben."
Max went stock still. She even stopped breathing. She didn't want to tell Ben's story. Keeping the truth of it from herself and the world had been so important for so very long. After all, it wasn't as if anyone would ever be able to understand or forgive her what had happened. Not when she couldn't.
But, Ben's twin had asked for the facts, and she owed it to them both to answer. So, after several moments she looked into Alec's face. She expected to encounter some sort of vague accusation. She saw only open curiosity waiting for her answer. No judgment or guarded walls, just eyes the same changeable color as her brother's had been.
"I handled it all wrong" she spoke into that waiting silence. "I didn't understand. I didn't want to understand." She looked off into the distance beyond Alec. Suddenly, she was back in a church with her brother.
"Ben, why are you doing this?"
"You know why."
"I didn't want to see what Ben was showing me. I didn't want to see that part of myself." Her next words came out as barely a whisper. "I wanted to pretend I was normal. I couldn't pretend with Ben around. So, I ignored how much he needed me, when I should have had his back." Alec could hear her swallow.
"We never should have left. Everything made sense there."
"Zack had made us all split up. Half a lifetime without contact. Ben was alone and confused. So, he fell back on the basics. Discipline. Duty. Mission. Like he was trying to find some order in all the chaos of the world outside. I think that's what drove him insane."
Minutes passed, while Max stared off into the nothing beyond Alec's shoulder. Her eyes were glassy and features were pinched with grief. Alec started to think that she wouldn't be able to tell him any more. But then she blinked rapidly and continued on in a clear, strong voice.
"He'd started killing people. They were his sacrifices to a god we'd made up as children. He kept creating one particular day in Seek & Destroy when my unit tore a man apart. To Ben, that was our greatest moment, our strongest moment. And so he kidnapped people, forced them into a contest that an ordinary could never win, killed them, and offered their teeth to the Blue Lady. He tried to repeat his ritual here. I couldn't allow him to do that."
Max sat rigidly, her back straight, hands clasped in her lap, eyes staring into the middle distance. The anguished expression on her face had bled to blankness. Her tone was cold, detached. She relayed the facts as if giving a report on events that happened to someone else. Alec had heard many fellow Manticore soldiers use the same cadence, often when they were suffering the effects of post-traumatic stress or battle fatigue. Hell, Alec had used it himself. It was a defense mechanism, and it allowed them to keep their sanity when there was no outlet for emotional release. Watching and listening as Max displayed those same symptoms stabbed at some deep part of him.
"We fought in the woods. I broke his leg. Lydecker was zeroing in on our position. We could hear soldiers sweeping no more than two clicks to our rear. The choppers were close, and our location was nearly compromised."
Alec winced. The phrasing was so unlike the Max he knew. Listening to her report in like an automaton made him want to scream. He had to stop it, and so he followed his instincts. He placed a hand between her shoulder blades and rubbed in a small circle. The leather of her coat was thin and supple as he glided his palm across her back. Maybe she could feel some of his warmth. Her back rounded slightly into his touch.
"I told Ben that I couldn't carry him. Having us both get caught was not a viable option in my mind. It wasn't for him, either. He knew that if Manticore recaptured him, they would kill him trying to fix him. So, he asked me to instead. And, I did. I snapped Ben's neck. It was quick and painless." A small shudder ran through her body as she said the words.
Alec slid his hand up, beneath the dark cascade of her hair, to the nape of her neck. He brushed his fingers firmly over her barcode to let her know that he was there, that he could understand her regret and sorrow because he was burdened with his own, that he could understand what she was because he was the same. Another shudder ran through her when she felt the warmth of Alec's touch, and the blank Manticore mask gave way to her pain.
He moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. He turned his face into her hair. "I'm sorry, Max." He could smell the salt of her grief.
"I never even tried to carry him or hide." Her breath hitched on a sob. "I killed my brother because I didn't try harder. Because, I wasn't willing to sacrifice myself." She knew Alec could feel her body trembling with her tears, but it didn't matter any more. She let him see her weakness because she didn't know how to be strong and share this memory. She leaned into Alec and trusted him to anchor her while she relived the storm. For the second time that day, her tears soaked his chest and he held on so she could let go.
When her sobs had quieted a bit, Alec's deep voice washed over her. "Survival is the strongest instinct for every transgenic, Max. But, the need to protect our own," he unconsciously breathed in her familiar scent, "well, that seems to grow once we've recognized them on the deepest level. So deep that we feel like their survival is tied to ours." He sighed and tightened his hold on her slender shoulders. "But sometimes, when you've been solo for a long time, it's hard to get that back. Like you said, you had half a lifetime with no contact. Reversing that takes time."
She didn't acknowledge his words, but he could no longer feel any trembling from her. His shirt was still damp and cool, but the scent of her tears was not nearly as strong as it had been. He kept his arm wrapped around her and allowed his fingers to tangle in the warmth of her silky hair. He would sit like this for as long as she needed him to, even if that meant forever. It was odd, but holding her made him feel safe. The sensation was so unfamiliar that it had taken him some time to figure out exactly what it was. He wondered if this was what Max had felt like as a child with her unit, her 'siblings'. If it was, then he could understand why they had meant so very much to her.
He felt the vibrations of her voice before he heard it. "How long were you alone?" Her question was softly spoken, but threw him off balance nonetheless. When he didn't answer her immediately, she pulled back from his embrace so that she could see him. His arm slid back down to his side. "You said you that not everybody had a unit."
He nodded. "Yeah, that's right," he said, avoiding her eyes. "There were a handful of us, the twins of 09ers and the members of your unit who were left behind. They separated us from our units and each other after you all ran away. We were considered to be a serious flight risk, and any connection with our own would increase that." He shrugged and put as much indifference as he could muster into his voice. "We were trained to operate with Manticore as our only attachment. If we went out on group missions with the units, it was always as specialists. Then, once we'd proven ourselves sufficiently loyal, we were sent on solo missions. Usually deep cover ops in enemy territory where Manticore was the only thing you could trust. Sometimes the assignments were long-term." He shrugged again. It was a fact of his life. "I've spent most of my life alone."
Max considered his profile for a moment. "I guess we're not that different after all." She made sure to keep all her carefully constructed walls down when he looked at her. She wanted him to see the truth. She wanted the comfort of the connection to him that she'd felt sitting on the Space Needle in the rain. His hazel eyes were intense and raw with an emotion she couldn't identify. He seemed to search for something in her face for several heartbeats. All of a sudden, his mischievous grin – the one that drove her insane because she found it so damn endearing despite herself – broke free.
"Yeesh. Well, that's enough of the heavy conversation for one day." He bounded off the crate, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "How 'bout we go get us a drink?"
"Alec, it's 9 o'clock in the morning."
"So? It's not like we've got weak constitutions or anything. Besides, I thought the new Maxie was gonna be loads of fun."
"Oh, please."
"And, speaking of fun, what'd you take from that motorcycle shop? Other than the owner's pride, that is."
"Uh, just a couple cans of NOS." Max noticed his incredulous look and got a little defensive. "What? It's not like you wouldn't have done the same."
"Oh, I would have done the same – though I would've waited until after closing – but, I also would have mentioned that I had rigged my bike with super speed when we were in the middle of being chased by White and his Merry Band of Transgenic Hunters!"
"Huh." She shrugged and stood up. "I guess it just slipped my mind. My bad."
He rolled his eyes heavenward and threw up his hands. "Unbelievable," he said, shaking his head.
She studied Alec for a moment. "I know you're not him."
"What?"
"Ben. I know you're not him. I mean, sometimes you'll do or say something that will remind me of the boy I knew back in Manticore, but you never remind me of him all grown up." She glanced away for a moment. "Ben was lost in a way that you've never really seemed to be."
He took a deep breath. "If you'd hated me for reminding you of him and of what happened, I would understand."
She shook her head and gave a wry smile. "Most of the time, Alec, you keep me firmly in the present…in that annoying way that only you have. And there are plenty of disasters in my present to keep my attention," she said wryly.
He raised an eyebrow at that. "You know what'd make you feel better, Maxie?" he asked, slinging his arm over her shoulder and walking them away from the alley.
She turned her head looked at him warily. "What?"
A sly smile spread across his handsome features and laughter was in his eyes when he responded. "Losing horribly to me at our game of pool."
She elbowed him in the stomach but didn't move from under his arm. "Whatever! You are so dreaming!" He ducked his head a bit and she caught a glimpse of his barcode. "You know, we'll have to laser off our barcodes now."
His face fell. "It's gonna hurt, isn't it?"
"Lasers tend to, yeah."
"The barcodes are just gonna come back, you know." He gave her his little boy smile and puppy dog eyes.
She was unswayed. "Then we'll do it again when they do." She watched as his face fell. "Don't be such a sissy."
"I thought you liked sissy boys," Alec said with a smirk. She elbowed him again and this time threw his arm off her shoulders. She stormed off. He laughed and followed after her calling, "Hey, I was just kidding!" He could practically see the steam rising from her ears. "Oh, come on, Maxie! That was funny!"
TBC