Max turned as she heard someone yelling her name and was immediately swept up into a hug by two unknown people. She didn't move, the physical contact making her anxious and uncomfortable. Suddenly, she was released and she took the opportunity to survey the people obviously so very happy to see her. "Who are you?" In both pairs of eyes she saw a wave of hurt flow before it was masked.
Alec ran a hand through his hair again, wondering the best way to explain who they were. "Max, they're from the unit you were in when you were a kid. They're kinda like family to you. Well, one is actually your sibling, same genetic mother or some such..." Gesturing to first the woman, then the man, he said, "This is Syl and Krit. Krit is the one that's actually related to you."
Max's eyes gradually focused on the scene above her. The gray-haired man and Hazel-Eyes - Alec - were standing above her. "Just like the dream," she muttered. She felt extremely dazed, like she'd gone a year without sleep and it was catching up with her all at once. "They're all gonna die. My fault."
Alec didn't want to believe what he'd just heard. She can't die. I lost her once, it's not happening again.
She turned to look in the direction of the intrusion and saw Alec and Sandeman. Before she knew what was happening, Blaine's eyes snapped open. He lifted his feet and kicked her like a rag doll all the way across the room. She didn't even have a chance to cry out as she landed hard against the glass and metal medicine cabinet. The glass shattered all around her and she saw Alec going after Blaine before she passed out.
"Raina, where the hell is Blaine?" Brenam stalked back and forth in front of the red-headed Familiar, his whole body tense with rage. "I've been calling him on the comms for over an hour now, and not a damned word!" He stopped his pacing and eyed Raina with accusation, sardonic grin upon his face. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about his whereabouts, would you?"
On the surface, Raina looked calm but mildly annoyed by her partner's accusations. But inwardly, she was screaming curses at herself and at Blaine. The stupid bastard had to go and get himself caught. "No, I wouldn't. You know this is the first time he's been out in a while, he probably went and got himself a piece of ass." Knowing Blaine, that's what he's thinking while he watches her.
"You've been spending too much time studying 452's habits," Brenam chastised. "You're starting to sound like her." His features chilled and Raina could've sworn the room had gotten a few degrees colder. "You know damn well that Blaine wouldn't touch a human, unless it was to kill them." He advanced on her, and she had to reign in the urge to take a step back. "Where is he, Raina? You ordered him to go watch her, didn't you? Even after I specifically forbade it?"
Raina never once faltered as Brenam spewed his suspicions only inches from her face. "If Blaine was stupid enough to go into the transgenics' city, then it's no one's fault but his own." Not exactly a lie, she thought with an inward grin. "You know how cocky he is, Brenam. The most probable explanation is that he decided he'd be the one to capture 452 and steal the glory all for himself." She saw in Brenam's eyes that he was not convinced of her innocence, but he backed off.
Before leaving the room to do his rounds, he turned back to Raina. "We go ahead as scheduled whether Blaine shows or not. If he ruined the mission, it's both your asses."
When Brenam had left, Raina turned to the window and let her forehead rest on the cool pane. She watched the relentless rain that had descended on the city slide down the glass in front of her. "If he told them anything, it's all our asses," she whispered.
Red-rimmed hazel eyes looked at her, an incomprehensible pain residing there. "I don't want your pity. I want your absence."
A television screen where only impersonal blue eyes looked out from red streaming banners. "This is a Streaming Freedom Video Bulletin..."
"Baby Girl, when are you and hot-boy gonna tie the knot? It's been 4 damned years, and just 'cause y'all be lookin' like damn fine teenagers - and actin' like 'em too - Original Cindy knows y'all ain't gettin' any younger."
"So, I was thinking, after the election is over, do you think...maybe we could get away from here for a little while? Maybe take a much needed vacation?" Those hazel orbs sparkled with such vitality and love. She felt safe.
"Max, I've been waiting so long for this. This is how it is supposed to be," the same blue eyes from the television screen looked down at her, filled with a maniacal gleam, sending chills down her spine." You'll realize, you'll see. After this is over, you'll see that this is what you want. That you made a mistake. He won't want you after this. He'll hate you. But I'll still be here. I'll always be here. But he won't."
"We got a deal, Ames? Me for them. You let me see them walk out of here safe, let them take the injured and dead, and you get me." She felt the cold steel barrel pressed against her temple, her finger ready at the trigger. Ready to end her own life if it would save those she loved. She had to do it for him, for all of them.
"Alec, I have to. Please, just go." Her voice broke with the next words. "I love you."
The air smelled of blood and flesh - of death. She dropped to her knees next to the lifeless form on the side of the street. "Alec, how could I let this happen. I know who you are, now. I love you! You can't be dead!" The disembodied voice spoke to her, the wind carrying the whispered words to her sensitive ears. 'Your sacrifice will bring forth life from death.' She looked deeply into the hazel eyes of the man she loved as the glaze of death dissipated and Alec sat up. "You're alive! Oh god, how?"
"Because you aren't," he said sadly, looking at her abdomen. She followed his gaze and saw her own blood flowing freely from the wound.
Her eyes fluttered as she struggled to wake from her disturbing slumber. Max's lips parted in an almost inaudible plea. "But I just found you! Please don't let me die, I love you Alec."
Alec's head snapped upwards as he heard her softly spoken words. Did she just say what I thought she said? He placed his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. "Max, wake up. It's just a dream."
Her eyes flew open and as soon as she registered the face she was seeing, she lunged up and threw her arms around Alec, her gut-wrenching sobs echoing in the tiled medical room. He murmured reassurances as he held her, his fingers playing on her back soothingly. "What'd you remember, baby?" He barely heard her when she said 'Enough' because her mouth was pressed in the crook of his neck, muffling her words.
"What's got you so upset?" He was almost afraid to know. She'd been through so much that he hadn't been able to save her from.
"I saw you and Cindy," she paused as a shudder ran through her body, "Logan and White." Max felt his body tense at the mention of the men, but then relaxed again as he tightened his hold on her. "I can tell that there is so much that I still don't remember. It's like all the memories are here in my head, and I can feel 'em, but I can't touch 'em." She shook her head in frustration and immediately her face screwed up in pain. "Damn, my head feels like it's been hit by a truck!" She raised her fingers and began massaging her temples. "What the hell happened?
A lot had happened while Max had been asleep for the past three hours. "One of White's guys was spying on you. From what he said, I gathered you'd figured it out and tried to take care of the situation yourself," he paused, remembering the look that had been in her eyes as she'd prepared to snap the Familiar's neck. The wicked grin she'd worn before being catapulted across the room. "Sandeman and I interrupted, distracted you. The guy tossed you into one of the med cabinets. Mira was less than happy about the damage done to her supplies." He cringed involuntarily. Mira could be damned scary when she wanted to be.
"I remember now. Well, sort of. Guess that explains the major headache." Max closed her eyes and leaned back against the headboard. "I'm so very tired of hospital beds," she muttered. Her eyes opened a second later and Alec noticed something that hadn't been in them only moments before. "Where is he now?"
"He's in a holding cell in the basement." Alec immediately regretted his words when Max's face took on that determined "I'm-gonna-do-something-you-won't-like-and-you-can't-stop-me" look. "Max, whatever you're thinking - NO."
"I just wanna have a little talk with Blaine," she pouted innocently. The look in her eyes was anything but innocent. And maybe finish what I started - and not just with Blaine, she thought, remembering that another cause for her nightmares was also in the basement.
"No, Max. I won't let you do that - " Max interrupted him before he could finish. It's almost impossible to continue speaking when someone is kissing you like their life depends on it. Her lips, teeth, and tongue seemed to try to devour him. And with the passion she put into that kiss, he wouldn't - couldn't - fight it. And that's what Max had been counting on.
She pulled her lips away from his only slightly, still brushing against them. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Alec barely had time to ask himself why she was sorry before he felt pain at the back of his neck and then blacked out.
Max quickly extracted herself from under his limp weight, taking only a moment to feel guilty about what she'd done. She looked down at herself, pleased to see that she was still in her own clothes and not a hospital gown. Then she rushed out of the room, down the hall, intent on reaching the basement of TC headquarters. I've got a few scores to settle. She remembered Blaine well enough from her stay at Amarillo. What'd he'd done to her had been after her memory loss. She knew that if she'd told Alec what Blaine had subjected her to, he would've gone and killed Blaine himself. No guilt, no regret. But this was something she needed to do to quiet some of her inner demons. Blaine and Logan were birds of a feather in her mind.She grinned with her next thought as she ran; And I am a very hungry kittie.
Blaine paced in his small cell, anger coiling in him to tighten muscles. That bitch! he thought, cursing Raina. He knew that he never should have listened to her when he knew she had not cleared the recon with Brenam. Raina was one of the most sadistic and power-hungry among the Familiars, and everyone knew it. It was the need for power, glory, and control that had gotten Blaine to agree to do the job - a mistake he would not make again if he made it out of here alive.
As he heard the thick metal door creak open on its hinges he stilled. Max walked in, closing and the door behind her and grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Hello, Blaine," she greeted coldly. With a blur, her feet lifted from the floor and slammed into Blaine's chest, knocking him into the hard wall. Max fisted both hands in his shirt and leaned close to his face, but he wouldn't look at her. Growling low in her throat, she removed one hand from the material and grabbed his chin roughly, forcing him to meet her gaze. "Did you miss me," she snarled.
Blaine gathered what courage he had and pushed the growling woman away from him, spitting on the floor at her feet. Max just smiled, an action that bared her teeth and held no warmth. Blaine rushed at her, lashing out with feet and hands, only to be blocked at every attempt. When he finally landed a kick to her stomach that made her fall to the floor, he wasted no time before he was on her. All his weight held her down, pinning her to the cold stone. His eyes raked over her, leaving no part of her body untouched by his gaze. He watched as her eyes filled with panic and her body stilled at realizing her current predicament. Why did I have to knock out the guards?
"Brings back memories, doesn't it 452?" Blaine took a hand and placed it between their bodies, squeezing her breast with such force that Max let out a small cry of pain. "Why did you come here? Did you come to kill me? Or did you realize that your filthy transgenic lover couldn't do it for you anymore?" Max had started to struggle once more, trying to maneuver herself to a position where she could inflict the kind of pain on her tormentor that she longed to. He only laughed at her futile movements. "I think that's it," he taunted, sneering at her. "You secretly enjoyed our times together." He leaned closer, putting his mouth next to her ear as he placed his fingers under the collar of her shirt. "I figured you would like it rough, but I never expected this." He tugged roughly at the hem of her collar, ripping her shirt down the middle. "I'm going to enjoy myself this time - no limits set by those damned doctors on how much pain I can cause you."
Max turned her mouth to Blaine's ear, whispering, "Bring it on, Blaine." Blaine's head snapped upwards, not expecting her to actually submit. Blaine didn't want her if she wanted him - his game was all about control and domination - not sex or even lust. She took the planned opportunity to bring her head crashing into his nose, sending up a spray of crimson. She pulled up her knee, ramming it into his groin. She'd learned quickly that White's people didn't feel pain - except under certain circumstances. Being turned on and then hit in the groin was definitely one of those circumstances.
Blaine tossed his head back and howled, falling on his back to the floor. "That was for the first time you came to me," she spat. Adrenaline, disgust, and pure hatred coursed through her veins, giving her the strength to do what she needed to do. She pulled back her foot and kicked with all her might, attacking his weak spot once again. "That's for making me too ashamed to even look at myself in the mirror." She had a flutter of déja vû pass through her mind's eye, but pushed it down. She kicked him again and gained satisfaction from the tears that streamed down the ruined man's face. "That's for trying it again on my home turf." One more swift movement of her foot ceased all his movement, but she knew he was still awake. A few tears of her own slipped unnoticed down her cheeks as she whispered her next words. "And that is for the piece of me that you stole that I'll never get back." Her voice quivered as wetness fell in rivers on her face.
She wiped at the tears angrily before stooping down next to Blaine's unmoving form. "There are more, aren't there? And they're coming for me." The man hesitated for a moment before nodding his head shakily. "When?"
He kept silent. No matter how much pain she inflicted on him, he would not betray his people. She tangled her fingers in his hair, lifting his face close to hers. "When, Blaine?" The look in her eyes held the promise of more torture should he refuse.
"Tomorrow night," he choked out. He kept his face blank of anything but pain. "But there's...no way...they'll come now. They know I'm weak." The lies cost him nothing - he knew he'd be dead soon anyway. At least this way, their mission wouldn't be compromised.
Max seemed satisfied with his answer. She cradled his head in her hands. "Shh, sleep now," she murmured, her demeanor changing so suddenly she even surprised herself. Blaine closed his eyes and prepared for what came next. Max kept her face neutral as the loud snap of his neck breaking echoed in the room. She dropped his head unceremoniously to the floor and stood up.
Max had a few new bruises on her and a cut on her forehead from her earlier injuries had reopened, spilling blood down her face. The black tank top she'd been so proud of this morning hung like a vest now, exposing her bruised and scarred flesh where it had been ripped open. Max didn't take notice of any of these things as she numbly opened the door, walked out and down the hall. She stopped in front of another door, a more familiar one. She leaned down to the floor, sliding one of the fallen guard's weapons from his holster and entered the room, not bothering about being quiet.
Logan, the man she'd once thought she'd loved - the catalyst for all she'd been through and more - lay on his dilapidated cot. Everyone had forgotten about him, it seemed, since their beloved leader had returned to them. He was sleeping soundly and didn't stir as she walked in and aimed the gun at his head. "Maxie." She heard her name issue forth from the lips of the traitorous man and quicker than thought, pulled the trigger, insuring that he would never again wake.
She stepped back toward the wall until her back felt the coolness of the rock. Her body slumped, sliding along the wall and to the floor as if she no longer had the strength to stand. She wept openly, thinking only of all she'd lost. Whatever innocence she'd had left was gone forever. She threw the gun, not caring where it went. As it hit the glass of the door's window, she sobbed to the sound of shattered glass and broken dreams.