Freedom on the inside

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own anything to do with Dark Angel. They apparently belong to some guy who is most definitely in need of a brain check. What was he thinking when he decided to axe the show? Oh well, I guess when I'm rich enough I'll just have to buy the rights to the programme and then we'll finally get a third season. I wouldn't count on it though.

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: M/A (eventually!)

Summary: What if Max never escaped Manticore in 'Designate This' and didn't get the chance to infect Logan? Logan and everyone else in Seattle thinks she's dead and Renfro's still alive?

Author's Note: I know there's been a lot of 'what if she never escaped stories?' but this is my shot at what could have happened. Please read and review!

Chapter Twenty-Four

And So it Begins

Logan stood up against the side of his car; arms folded and toes tapping. His agitation was clearly apparent as he rolled up his sleeve for the fifth time to check the time. Alec was late. Logan let out a small scoff; he shouldn't have expected anything else.

Sighing impatiently, he went to reach for his cell phone, 'where the hell was he?' Typically, as soon as he had flipped open the phone, the transgenic in question came bursting in through the half broken door of the empty TC warehouse, "Sorry mate, I got caught up at Jam Pony," Alec explained.

Logan dropped his phone back into his pocket as he turned to glare at the taller transgenic, "You're just lucky White's not here yet."

Alec rolled his eyes, "You need to loosen up man."

"Well pardon me for not wanting to screw this up."

"Look Logan, if you don't play it cool, White's gonna cotton on. Besides, it's me who's in immediate danger here."

Logan said nothing. There wasn't time to say much else. They watched as a black van with suspiciously dark tinted windows drove into the warehouse and parked itself a good five metres away from them.

"And so it begins," Alec whispered, knowing full well the fate that awaited him.

"And so it begins," Alec's words exited the speakers at a loud enough volume so that the entire room could hear. Max shifted her weight nervously. They only had an audio of what was happening, but Lydecker assured that that was more than enough.

The day before, following their initial mission briefing, Alec and Max had sat through seven solid hours of prepping, during which Alec, in particular, had been greeted with a number of nifty gizmos, courtesy of a few of many Manticorian super-intelligent technology whizzes.

Manticore were fully aware that cameras doubling up as brooches were a little too simplistic; and the Familiars were no fools. They would probably carry out a complete wire check once they had Alec in their custody. They needed to be one step ahead of them; hence the minute microphone implant in Alec's inner ear giving them crystal clear reception.

That was audio covered, but visuals were a little more complicated. It was unlikely that even Alec would be able to see where they would be taking him, and so instead they settled for a tracking device.

Alec had been given a small dose of a harmless radioisotope. The radioactive decay could easily be detected by satellite allowing for Alec to be tracked. This would give Manticore a clear idea as to where they were taking him, but even better than that, it told them exactly where they would be holding him. Clever as it was, the isotope only had a very short half life. At most, it would give them a week to get to White before it completely decayed and Alec was no longer traceable.

Max watched as Lydecker zoomed in on the screen. The red dot, Alec, was now on the move, whilst the high frequency speakers crackled into action at the same time,

"What the hell is this?"

"What the hell is this?" Alec turned viciously towards Logan, his jaw clenched and eyes blazing. "What the HELL are you playing at?"

He looked back and forth once between Logan and White before his face finally registered recognition at the set-up, "You twisted, evil son-of-a-bitch!" he spat in Logan's face.

Logan unwaveringly allowed a small superior smile to grace his lips, as he calmly wiped the spit from off his cheek. He said nothing before making his way over to White. He was surrounded by at least five of his fellow loons. A further three stood guarding the three openings to the warehouse. Alec was quite basically; stuck and in deep shit.

"That's it?" White barked pointing a finger in Alec's direction, "What happened to your bold assurance that I would have all the filthy animals in my possession by midday today?"

Logan smirked, "Well you got here a little late."

White wasn't amused, he cocked his pistol and pointed it directly at Logan, "Start talking, and you and you," he looked to two of the Familiars, "Cuff him."

Alec knew he had to make this look realistic. He had to struggle a bit, make and take a few hits and ultimately surrender.

Two of the rather more unfortunate looking loons approached him. Alec prepared himself to strike but he was caught by a surprise jolt of pain in the side of his bare neck. His eyes opened wide, before a tiny cry escaped from his lips. A few seconds lapsed between the realisations that he had been hit by a tranquiliser dart and that he wouldn't be awake for much longer. His sight started to blur against his will, before his eyes finally drooped shut and his weight crumpled into a heap on the floor.

The successive sounds of Alec's cry of pain and the thud of his falling body caused Max's heart to skip more than a couple of beats. The realisation that she could now lose two of the most important men in her life in one day scared the living daylights out of her.

Her concern quickly shifted to Logan as that thought passed its way along her synapses. He was currently on the wrong side of the barrel of a gun. The sound of the cocking pistol echoed against her eardrums again. God, she hated those things.

"I can give you something infinitely more valuable than all the transgenics put together."

Max could just about hear Logan over the foreground noise of what was in all likelihood Alec's body being dragged along the floor and loaded into the back of the van. Her mouth felt impossibly dry as she shifted her weight again.

"Oh and what could that be?" White's voice was still the familiar cold, robotic tone it had been on their last encounter. Nothing much had changed then.

"452," Logan answered more to the gun than to White.

"The girl?" White raised his eyebrows, "What would I want with her?"

"She's not like the others."

"How so?"

"Her DNA, it's like nothing ever seen before. She has no junk DNA. Every gene in her body is coded for something."

"Which would be?"

"I swear I don't know, but Manticore certainly thinks she's vital in your ultimate down fall."

White smirked in disbelief, but his eyes betrayed his true thoughts. Logan was beginning to convince him.

"So why did you bring me 494 and not 452?" White asked, slowly lowering the gun.

Logan let out a small sigh of relief, but his heart continued to beat at an erratic pace,

"She loves him, she'll come after him." Logan said it so adamantly, that he almost believed it himself.

"Here's what I don't understand Mr Cale," White circled Logan like a vulture, "A little birdie tells me you love this transgenic girl yourself."

"I did."

"You did?"

"Like I said, she loves him now."

"Well they are quite a pair, they do go well together."

Logan felt sick. White was beyond twisted. He was irreparably deranged.

"Jealousy's a dangerous thing."

"That it is," Logan said through gritted teeth.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Mr Cale?"

Logan laughed bitterly, "Like I now have an option. You'd kill me if I refused and still get Max. But I don't want to give you that satisfaction and more importantly, I don't want to give Max that satisfaction. She ruined my chance at love, and so it's only fair I ruin hers."

White smiled, "Very well, Mr Cale, 452'll be hearing from me soon." Clicking his fingers he motioned for his eight aids to close up the van and start the engine. He hesitated a few seconds, before turning back to Logan,

"Whether I get 452 or not, 494 will be dead in a week. And if I don't get 452 . . . you will be too."

Logan watched as the van rolled out of the warehouse; his heart continuing to beat at a frantic pace as beads of sweat gathered along his forehead. Manticore had better know what they were doing.

A/N 2: Good or bad chapter? I appreciate every single review so please let me know!

Thanks to my reviewers:

Crystal Moon Dragon: Logan dying is an interesting prospect, certainly via all the methods you suggested, lol, but I kind of still need him. Besides I did get him behind a gun in this chapter, which is some improvement, and the heartache of losing Max to Alec, should be enough torture! Thanks for reviewing; your reviews really do make me laugh! Cheers!

Kristibella: Hey! Thanks very much for the review and yes I do love Alec very much, but whether that will be enough to save him? I think I'll leave you hanging! Hope everything's well and thanks again!

lakergirl08: Yes maybe I was being a little too cold and so I'm very sorry but it was kind of necessary. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter; even if it did nothing to assure you about Alec's future . . . I'm just evil like that! Lol!

JeNsEnS wifey ChAdZ lover: Hello! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it!

Senorita-DLH: Hey thanks for the review, I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I'm loving writing it!

OriginalProxy: I'm very glad that you did find my story. And I hope you continue to tag along for the ride! Thanks for the review!

Ro: Thanks for the review and I hope you liked!

Suenooneus: Thanks for the review and the good luck, its much needed!

Thanks also to anyone else I may have missed,

Love SmilinStar xxx