Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters obviously do not belong to me. I am writing this purely for non-profit entertainment. Yada, yada! No infringement intended, so don't sue me!

A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews! Also, a big thank you to Sirena1 for betaing this chapter! I've finished 'Recollection', a MA fic. And guess what, I've branched into a new territory – a brand new MZ fic called 'Rules Can Be Broken'. So if you have time, please check it out. The MZ fic in particular needs some support!

Calistra – Thanks for reviewing! That's the Max we know and love. A bit short-sighted, but hey, it makes things interesting!

Angel of Darkness231 – For the last time – I'm NOT evil! Lol! Oh yeah, Zack's got a pretty body alright? Did you see him in Cold Comfort?

Kungfuchick – You want Alec to kick Zack's butt? Poor Zack, hehe! Thanks for reviewing!

NoAngell - Welcome back! Good holidays? I'm glad you like the way it's going. And I'm sure you can write something like this if you put your mind to it (winks). Thanks for reviewing!

Roxyroo - Thanks for reviewing! In a way, Max's going to get hurt. You'll see soon. As for Zack wanting to die like Ben instead of going back, I really hope it doesn't come to that (shudders).

W1cked angel - I wish. Letting them strip and have a go at it is definitely something lots of us would like to see. But (sighs) this IS a K+ fic! Thanks for reviewing!

LucreziaNoin86 - I can see that you're clearly an Alec fan! Yup, the guys need an excuse to get it out of their system - and Max is the perfect excuse! Thanks for your review!

Dory Shotgun - Ah, no wonder I was so confused. I was wondering - what flames? LOL! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chappie! Thanks you reviewing!

Darkangelgirl - Thanks for your review! Max knows she can't be without Alec. But her feelings for Zack is creating problems. Who'll win? (Sighs) That's a difficult decision!

Sakura - Glad you like it so far. Thanks for reviewing!

Lakergirl08 - My thoughts exactly (Max and her weak spot for Zack, I mean). Alec and Zack's fight has been waiting to happen ever since they met couple of years ago, so it's about time it happens! Thanks for your review!

Eva - Spoons? LOL! Thanks for reviewing! Hope you'll like how it goes this chapter!

Alana84 - Girl, you've got a vicious streak in you when it comes to Zack, lol! But he's pretty arsy in this fic, I must say, lol! You'll see soon what happens. Thanks for reviewing!

Salcyra - Thanks for your wonderful words (blushes). I'm glad that you found the progression believable. I hope the rest of it lives up to expectations!

Lex2u - Thanks for your review. It's hard to decide what Zack should do. Unless something drastic happens, I'm afraid the three of them will be at a stalemate (sighs)

Lotamoxie - I suppose the possessiveness is expected for the two alpha males, lol! What else can we expect! And I feel really sorry for Max being in her position. Thanks for reviewing!

Amelya - Ah! Thanks for your kind words! I'm happy so long as you continue to enjoy it!

Supernateral - Thanks for your review! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Spanishwon2123 - Like you, I'm a bit undecided too. But I've made a choice, of sorts, in this chapter (winks). You'll see! Thanks for reviewing!

GuestTypePerson - Ah, it doesn't matter! I'm happy enough that you're reviewing now, hehe! You'll see soon who'll get beaten…or not! Thanks for reviewing!

L80bug - Thanks for reviewing! And yes, update is here!

Toniboo - Glad you're enjoying the chapters. Hmm…you might get your wish after all (grins). Thanks for reviewing!

Retrieved - Chapter 28 - Jealousy

(by elle6778)

She did not know who started it first, but suddenly, Zack and Alec was grappling with each other.

"Cut it out!" she yelled with no avail.

They just ignored her.

So she watched, torn between interrupting them and letting them fight out their animosity. Get it all out of their systems. Alec was throwing calculated punches at Zack, who easily blocked all of them. In between blocks, she could see that Zack was trying in vain to find an opening to attack Alec. But Alec's defence was immaculate, not allowing Zack any chances at a hit. Neither of them was being hit by the other.

Max crossed her arms over her chest as her lips twitched. She knew that the situation was far from being funny but somehow, she found herself amused now that she realised that Zack and Alec were equally matched and that neither of them were likely to gain an upper hand. So she continued to watch. At least, until things looked like it might turn nasty.

They went on like that for a few more minutes before Alec spoke in the middle of blocking a kick from Zack. "So, are you ready to give up yet?" He taunted as he swung a backhand at Zack.

Zack snorted as he ducked the blow and came up with an upper hook. "Why, pretty boy? Can't keep up? Looking for an excuse to stop?"

"Who are you calling a pretty boy?" Alec snarled, whipping his head away from Zack's hand, stepping out of harms way.

Zack shrugged as they started to circle each other warily. "Why else would she take up with you?"

"Oh, I don't know. My charming personality, maybe? It's definitely more charming than yours. Say, you can admit it, you know?" Alec taunted, his eyes not leaving Zack's.

"What?" Zack asked with a frown, wondering what Alec was on about.

"That you're jealous," Alec answered with a smirk as his punch found Zack's midsection with a loud thump, causing him to stagger back unsteadily at the impact. Alec grinned at his successful ploy. He had hoped that Zack would be distracted by his taunts.

Regaining his balance, Zack shot him a death glare as he charged forwards. "If you're saying that I'm jealous of you, I'm not!" he growled, annoyed at being hit even when he had known that Alec was trying to get to him on purpose.

Side-stepping Zack's sweeping kick, Alec blurred to the side and tried to catch Zack with a round house as he continued speaking in a mocking tone. "Could have fooled me. Tell me, is it just brotherly love or is it something more?"

Still standing at the sidelines, Max stiffened at Alec's question. How had he guessed what Zack felt? Knowing how possessive Alec was, he would not let Zack go easily if Zack confirmed his feelings. She decided that she should do something before the fight gets out of hand. Stepping closer, she shouted, "That's enough, both of you."

They ignored her.

Blocking Alec's kick with one of his own, Zack raised his eyebrows and said, "So what if it's more than brotherly love, huh? What are you going to do about it?" He put on a challenging look on his face, playing Alec at his own game. Not that it was too hard, considering that what Alec said was pretty close to what he actually felt.

Alec's temper flared as his jealousy rose. "In that case you could kiss my boots," Alec snarled, launching into a sudden flying kick.

"Alec! No!" Max yelled as she rushed forwards, pushing Zack to the ground just before Alec's boot came into contact with Zack's head. She turned back to see Alec crouching on the ground, glaring at her and Zack.

"What did you do that for?" Alec snapped as he picked himself up. He could not believe that Max had actually jumped between him and Zack. She could have been hit, he thought, appalled at the close call.

Max stood to face him, Zack forgotten for the moment. "This is not part of the mission, Alec. We're supposed to talking to him, not beating him up. Why are you letting him get to you anyway?"

"You sound as if you're defending him, Max," he snorted, then continued, "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised," he said with a self-deprecating smile. He tried to ignore the hurt in him that was brought on by Max defensive action of Zack. A part of him wondered if it was such a good idea to bring Zack back. Being back in Manticore would mean that Zack would have more access to Max. Alec felt his anger grow.

Max rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Oh, come off it, will you?"

A shuffle from the side suddenly caught their attention. Zack was pushing himself up, brushing the dust off himself. "Well, look who's jealous now," he mocked, then turned to Max. "Listen, Max. Whatever you say to me, I'll not come with you. It's just not right. So save your breath."

"Told you so," Alec muttered under his breath. His annoyance with Max was growing more acute the longer they stood there arguing. She just refused to see what was so clearly displayed in front of her.

Max heard it and threw Alec a glare. "Shut up!" she snapped, missing the stiffening of his spine at her harsh words. Then she turned to Zack and in a gentler tone, said. "Zack, you can't run anyway. Manticore's got a tracer on you."

"What?" Zack exclaimed loudly. "Where?"

Max shook her head. "I don't know."

"So that's why it took you all this time to find me right? Why not just drag me back a couple month ago?" Zack asked sceptically.

Alec rolled his eyes and retorted, "Maybe Lydecker was too busy to deal with you at that time. Who knows?"

"You stay out of this!" Zack snapped.

"Hey, this is my mission too, you know," Alec pointed out. Turning to Max, he asked, "Are we going to stay here all day talking in circles?"

Max frowned. "Alec, we're meant to talk Zack into coming back, not force him back."

Alec said tightly, "That's your order. I have a different one." He knew that Max would not be too happy to hear it but an order was an order. And he was determined to carry it through. And of course it had nothing to do with the burning anger he felt at Zack for daring to think of Max as more than a sibling. Or his annoyance at Max for defending Zack.

"What do you mean?" she asked, giving him a questioning look.

Moving closer to Zack, Alec said, "I'm instructed to bring him back if you failed to persuade him," he said evenly. Then he suddenly blurred towards Zack, catching him in a chokehold.

"Alec!" Max yelled, rushing towards them. Her mind was still whirring with Alec's words. She could not believe that Lydecker had told Alec to bring Zack back forcibly if she had failed to persuade him. Damn that man!

Zack struggled, trying to break the hold. Alec had caught him unawares but he had no intention of giving up. Bringing his arms forward, Zack swung it backwards and caught Alec in the ribs with his elbows.

"Shit!" Alec swore as he gritted his teeth against the pain in his side. A second later, the back of Zack's head came into contact with his face. Alec involuntarily loosened his hold, staggering back as he clutched his bleeding nose. "Damn it," he yelled angrily as he charged at Zack.

"Stop it!" Max yelled, trying to keep them apart without actually stepping into the fray and getting herself killed between two alpha males.

"Stay away, Max," Zack snapped, pushing her to the side. Unfortunately for him, that split second of distraction allowed Alec to land a hard punch in his guts. Zack doubled over as his breath got knocked out of him.

"Zack!" Max exclaimed as she rushed to his side, just to be intercepted by Alec.

"Don't, Max. Just let me do my job!" Alec said calmly, stepping between her and Zack.

"Not if it means that you're going to beat him up," Max yelled, her eyes shooting daggers at Alec as she grabbed his arm.

They did not notice that Zack had stood up and had taken a running leap at Alec, his feet coming into contact with Alec's side before Alec could react. The impact sent Alec tumbling over, his heavier body propelling Max down with him.

Alec swore as he clutched his ribs, the same ones which Zack elbowed earlier. He looked up to see Zack blurring away in the distance. No point chasing after him now. Might as well get some rest and try again tomorrow, he thought irritably.

Pushing himself off Max, he bit out sarcastically, "Happy now?"

Max gave him a look of annoyance as she heaved herself off the ground. "Shut up, Alec!"

Alec frowned at her tone as his irritation grew. In his mind, Max was being too soft when it came to her so-called brother. As if that was not enough, she had to make it difficult for him to carry out his part of the mission by physically getting between them.

"You know, Max. You sounded as if I'm the one doing something wrong here. I have my orders too, and I'm not about to ignore it," he said, clenching his jaw.

"Just give me a chance to talk to him. Can't you do that without any physical violence?" she snapped.

"You talked to him already, Max. He's not going to see it your way. Why can't you just get that?" Alec said coldly. He had had enough of arguing with Max about Zack. Max would always take her siblings' side no matter what he said, he thought. He tried to ignore his feeling of disappointment in her choice.

Oblivious to what Alec was feeling, Max had only heard the coldness in his voice. Her lips compressed as she said curtly, "I have to try."

"Whatever," he said dismissively as he turned to walk away, in no mood to continue the conversation. There was no way they could agree and the last thing he wanted was for them to carry on arguing. He supposed that there was only one thing they could do.

"Where are you going?" Max asked, staring at him.

Ignoring her question, he said with a weary sigh, "Look, Max, it's very clear to me that we'll never see eye to eye on this. And since Lydecker gave you one order and me another, I suggest that we should just try to carry it out without stepping on each other's toes."

Max's eyes widened as a sinking feeling appeared in her stomach at his words. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

He averted his gaze and said resolutely, "I hate to say this but I think it might be better if we just do this separately. But let me check with Lydecker first."

Unblinkingly, Max stared at his retreating back as she cursed the entire situation they were in.

Jondy had had enough of seeing that blonde tart sidling up to Gab whenever she could. Asha and Gab had just gotten back from another trip out to check the addresses they had gotten from Logan. Jondy narrowed her eyes as she saw Asha laying her hand on Gab as she leaned over his shoulders to peer at something on the dining table at Logan's place.

A small part of her wondered if she should just forget about the entire thing with Gab. After all, he had not shown her any interest even after she had practically told him how she felt. Maybe she should just go for someone more available. And more interested.

Her eyes drifted to Logan, the only other person in the penthouse that day apart from the three of them. She wondered if she should go for him. After all, it was her mission. So at least she had a good excuse, right? He did not look that bad, either, for someone so much older.

Getting up from the couch abruptly, she mentally slapped herself when she realised what she was thinking about. Jondy, that's just sick, she told herself in disgust. Barely sparing a glance at the other three, she said, "I'm heading home. Not feeling too well."

Logan looked up from his keyboard. "What's wrong, Jondy?" he asked, his concern evident.

Jondy shook her as she gave him a reassuring smile. "Headache. Nothing major. I've just got to sleep it off," she said, noting that Gab had now looked up from the table and was giving her a strange look.

"I'll walk you home," Gab said.

"No!" she said vehemently, to the surprise of the other three. Then in a softer voice, she continued, "You keep working on the locations. I'll be fine."

Before anyone could answer, she opened the door and shut it behind her.

Asha and Logan looked at each other and shrugged

Then Gab said, "I'll go with her, just in case." And went out the same way as Jondy, leaving Asha and Logan alone in the penthouse.

"It's a bit strange without the two of them around," Logan commented. "Kind of got used to them this couple of months."

Asha nodded. "Yeah. They're good to have around. It's quite surprising how skilled they are."

"Hmm…" Logan said distractedly and then continued, "I think I might have a lead on Manticore." He brought up a still aerial image of a small section of Wyoming. He pointed to a couple of rectangular dots. "Look. About a couple of months ago, for two days, there had been an increase of heavy vehicles moving out from the place we had thought was Manticore's facility. This was just before White started the raid."

Asha frowned in concentration. "You mean it was occupied but then they had left? And we've just missed them?"

Logan nodded. "Seems like it. The vehicles scattered after that. It'll take me some more time to figure out where they've all gone."

"I'm sure you'll find them, Logan. Do you want us to check out any other places?"

"I can't believe that none of the addresses checked out. We must have missed something," Logan said as he scrolled down the list which he had given to Asha and Gab.

Asha thought for a while before she said, "There was one which I had felt that it might be occupied, but I wasn't sure."

Logan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I checked the basement and Gab checked the rest of the house. The place didn't feel damp or smell as musty as it should be if it had been abandoned. But maybe the people just moved out," Asha explained, wondering if she should have gone through the house twice that day.

"Maybe. Or maybe Manticore got wind of what we're doing," Logan mused, then turned to face Asha fully, "I think you should go there again, just in case we've missed something."

Asha nodded in agreement. "I'll let Gab know," she said.

Logan smiled as he gave her a knowing look. "You do that."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Asha asked, "What's that look supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing important. Just that I've noticed that you and Gab are getting pretty close. Something going on?"

A blush crept up Asha's neck and cheeks as she said softly, "I don't know."

"Just be careful, okay?" Logan advised before turning back to his computer.

As they sat on the stone cold floor of yet another abandoned building, Max let her eyes wander to Alec, who appeared to be brooding. He had been quieter than usual ever since Zack had made a run for it.

She still could not believe that they had fought about the mission. Alec knew that she had wanted to talk to Zack and she had told him that it would probably take some time before Zack would even listen, let alone agree with her. As if that was not enough, he had even suggested for them to go their separate ways.

Unable to stand the silence any longer, Max asked shortly, "What's wrong with you?"

Alec looked up from the gun he had been cleaning. "What do you mean, what's wrong with me? You're the one who decided to sulk over Zack," Alec said in an overly-casual tone.

"I'm not sulking," she paused for a while, then continued, "Actually I'm feeling a bit upset. I can't believe that you want us to split." She threw a challenging look at him, whose seemingly calm façade was beginning to get on her nerves.

Alec took a deep breath before he answered, "Look, Max. I need to get the job done, but I can't do it when you're trying to stop me."

"I thought that we had agreed that we should talk to him first," Max said insistently.

"No. I didn't agree to do anything like that. You were the one who had to talk. I was the back-up just in case talking didn't work. And guess what? It didn't work," Alec explained icily.

Max recoiled at his coldness, somewhat hurt that he could bring himself to speak to her that way. Gritting her teeth, she made up her mind to go look for Zack herself. They had two scanners for Zack's tracer anyway. If Alec wanted to split up so much, then so be it. "Fine. Have it your way, then. I don't care," Max retorted in a flat tone as she turned away from him.

Alec shot out a hand and grabbed her before she could take a step. "You're just going to walk away like this?" he asked, an incredulous look on his face. He had expected her to shout back, yell at him, but not walk away.

She swiveled to face him, her eyes flashing. "It was your idea to split up, remember? Anyway, what do you expect me to do? Join you in bashing Zack up? I can't do that, Alec!" she said resolutely.

Alec stared at her stonily as he let go of her arm. Numbly, he realized that Max preferred to go their separate ways than to face Zack together if it did not involve talking. Alec's blood began to boil.

"No. Stupid of me to think that you could carry out this mission without letting your emotions get in the way. He's your brother after all. And oh, he also wants to be more than a brother to you. But I guess you know that already. So what shall we call him, huh? A brother with fringe benefits?" he taunted in a caustic tone. The second the words left his lips, Alec knew that he had gone too far.

Incensed at his insinuations, Max swung her hand to his face, but Alec caught it just a fraction of an inch before it contacted with his cheeks. His grip was hard, but she did not even wince as she eyed him angrily.

They glared at each other for a few minutes before Max tore her gaze away before he could see the sheen of moisture in her eyes. Without saying anything else, she picked up her half of the kit and walked off, leaving Alec to stare at her back.

When the door slammed shut behind Max, Alec let himself sink bonelessly to the ground. Burying his face in his hands, he groaned in despair at the entire situation.

He hoped that Jondy was alright, Gab thought as he walked up the stairs to their shared apartment. Feeling slightly guilty at the way he had been treating her ever since that night when she had implied that she liked him, his frowned contemplatively. That woman might be a pain, but he somehow kept feeling as if he should be treating her better.

I can't let her get under my skin, he thought resolutely as he shook his head to clear it.

A strange noise filtered through the door of their apartment as Gab paused with his hand on the door handle. It sounded like someone was hurt in there. Only Biggs and Jondy were meant to be in there and Gab hoped that they were alright. Worried now, he frowned slightly as he pushed the door open.

He stiffened in shock, gaping wordlessly when the door swung wide open to reveal the source of the noise.

t.b.c.

A/N: (Cowers in fear) Don't kill me for what's happening with Max and Alec, please! And please review and let me know what you think! I love to read your reviews!