Chapter 5 If you knew what I felt.
It's her fault I'm in love with her, always smiling at me, always being nice to me, saving me the last of her handmade doughnuts on Friday because she knows I like them. She wouldn't do that if she wasn't a little attracted right?
Now it's time to deal with Max. Give her a real problem to deal with, so she stops snooping into my affairs.
Max walked out of the café and straight to her car. If her heat hormones were affecting an X6, who was to know how they would affect every one else? She couldn't risk running into an X5. max certainly didn't want to go back to her place where Alec was. Max realised there was one place in the city she would always be safe and welcome. even if it was five thirty in the morning. She drove over to Cindy's apartment.
I think that went nicely with Zack just now. I think it's time to show the Vacation Pictures as well. I might not have to even kill him then, but I probably will anyway just to make sure.
Gem went into the café and knew instantly Dalton had done something. She just couldn't work out what.
She went up to him and poked him gently in the chest. "What happened to you?"
"It's too weird to go into Gem but I have to break up with Diana today." Dalton told her.
"That's sad, she's a nice girl." Gem said carefully.
"You never liked me going out with her." Dalton said putting his arm around her. "Admit it Gem, you didn't think an ordinary was right for your adopted baby bro."
"Well have you finally found a nice X6?"Gem pried fondly.
"Something like that." Dalton said with a mysterious grin. He kissed her goodbye on the cheek and left the café off to his morning class.
Gem noticed a pile of sliced hard boiled eggs in the food recycling bin and frowned. Something odd had happened in here she could feel it.
The door to the café opened and Zack walked in. Gem had never liked his clone back at Manticore, and she liked the 09 version even less.
"Where's Dalton?" Zack demanded abruptly.
"Not here." Gem said sweetly. "Why?"
"I need to see him." Zack said frustrated. "Where is he?"
"About?" Gem delayed. She was very protective towards Dalton and sensed Zack meant him ill for some reason.
"Personal business, meaning none of yours," Zack replied rudely.
"Well sorry I can't help you then." Gem replied in a deliberately infuriating tone. "Coffee? This is a café after all, not a missing person's bureau."
"How's your annoying mate this morning?" Zack shot at her. "Not dead yet?"
"Zack I heard you were an asshole, even before you blew out half your brain." Gem told him coldly.
Mole, Dix and Luke came in for their normal breakfast coffees, and did a double take at Gem and Zack's hostile body language.
Zack walked out the door casually, and Gem smiled at her three favourite customers. "The usual guys?" she said.
I liked the look on Zack's face as he walked out the door. It was like a canvas I painted.
Max sat curled up on O.C.'s couch. "Separated for less than a week and I'm screwing a guy on a diner counter." Max said clutching a cushion for comfort. "I know heat isn't my fault, but I feel so bad."
"Well don't Max." O.C. said comfortingly. 'What happened, happened and Dalton's a nice kid."
"Oh god, please don't call him that." Max said burying her face in a cushion.
"Well not to you, he's twenty one, you're only twenty six it's a better age gap than you and Logan." O.C. said practically. "And from what I've heard in the past five years about you transgenics, admit it Max, did it feel more right somehow than being with Logan?"
"Yeah it was amazing Cindy and that makes me feel bad too." Max threw the cushion across the room in self disgust.
"Sugar, my cushion is blameless here." O.C. sighed. "Stop feeling bad about not being able to question people too. So you're out of action the next three days, while you're here Original Cindy's bathroom needs retiling and I've just got everything delivered do it."
"Wow, the economy must be picking up." Max commented in surprise. Bathroom tiles had been hard to get hold of.
There was a knock on O.C.'s door and she looked through the spy hole. O.C. turned to Max aghast. "It's Zack and Krit." She hissed.
"No, no." Max said despairingly. "I'm going to stand under the shower on cold. Get me when you've got rid of them."
"I'm one ex-marine, not a whole platoon." O.C. protested.
Cindy opened the door but kept the chain on. "Hey boys I'm sorry, but I'm kinda busy now what is it?"
"Is Max there?" Zack demanded. "I need to speak to her."
"Sorry no. But I can pass on any messages if our girl rings." O.C. smiled at them.
"I know she's in there and she can't hide forever." Zack said bitterly. He turned and left. Krit gave Cindy a disapproving frown.
Original Cindy shut the door in relief.
Gem turned up the music on the radio loud. Mudhoney ws on, a ground breaking Seattle grunge band from over thirty years ago. She had just rung Alec to make sure he and the kids were okay, and was reassured to know everything was fine. Alec and Eve were enjoying the penthouse luxury.
Catlady her freak midday assistant grinned, as Gem did her own special Mudhoney dance around the shop. Gem wiped the tables, singing along and came across a large envelope lying on a table addressed to her.
Gem opened it and found a bunch of photographs inside with the master disc, she looked at them and her mouth dropped open in hurt shock. The room went spinning round her, as everything she had thought for the past four years was shown to be wrong and herself a stupid, stupid trusting naïve fool.
She clutched the table trying not to throw up. "Gem, are you okay, you've gone green?" Catlady called across in concern.
"No I'm not okay." Gem panted as if she was physically wounded. "I have to go, I have to see someone." She went behind the counter and took off her apron with shaking hands. She grabbed her handbag and turned to Catlady. "Just cover for me, ring up a friend to help if you need to."
Gem walked out the door ignoring an X6's greeting as he came in the shop.
"Gem you've forgotten your coat." Catlady called after her fruitlessly.
"Is she okay?" Fenn the young X6 Gem had just ignored, asked Catlady.
"I don't think so." Catlady said.
My poor darling watching her face on my monitor I suppose it's why I didn't do it sooner. I've had those photos in my possession for two years now but she had to know what he was and what he still must be capable of.
Gem couldn't see it was raining so hard. She flicked on her window wipers and it seemed to make no difference. She pulled the car over and got out to fix the wipers. Gem noticed surreally the sun was shining in a clear autumn day. It was her tears overflowing down her face, which were impeding her vision.
She wiped them away angrily and hailed a passing taxi. She wasn't going to crash her car and leave her kids motherless because of 494.
"Where to lady?" the cab driver asked.
"The Seattle Times." Gem directed.
Sketchy looked up in surprise as Gem came into the newsroom, she looked like hell. He got up quickly and went over to her.
"Gem what's wrong? Is it Alec?" Sketchy asked her worried.
"Yeah it's Alec alright." Gem gave a brittle laugh. "You have photographic experts here right?"
"Yeah," Sketchy said puzzled.
"So are these real or faked?" Gem said in torment, taking the photos out of her handbag and passing them over to Sketchy.
Sketchy looked at the photos. He blinked disbelieving, he had sometimes wondered in Jam Pony days, but to see these photos. Poor Gem. Everyone knew how much she adored Alec.
"They look old, these photos." Sketchy said. "Not while you guys were together."
"I want to find out if they're real." Gem repeated on the verge of hysteria "Or if he and Max have been lying to me for the past four years."
"Okay," Said Sketchy slowly. She'd get it done somewhere, at least this way he could ring Alec afterwards and warn him if the results were bad.
Sketchy led Gem to the photo lab and gave her prints and disc to their resident experts Matt and Alison.
Matt whistled. "Hey that is Max Cale and that is not Logan Cale. Isn't that Alec McDowell the transgenic entrepreneur?" he laughed. "Great pictures, are you going to sell them to a tabloid rag you two?"
"This is McDowell's wife." Alison said shortly to Matt. "Aren't you honey?"
"We transgenics don't marry." Gem said coldly. "So are the pictures real?"
"Whoa, they're real alright. They are smoking I think they probably rigged a time lapse camera in their bedroom for these." Matt chortled in glee and insensitivity to Gem's naked anguish.
Alison elbowed him in the ribs. "Same with these pictures on the beach." She frowned. "Enlarge that picture." Gem was transfixed as a larger than life Max and Alec stuck their tongues down each others throats in front of her. Max's hands holding onto Alec's face.
"That's not Max." Alison said interested. "It's not her engagement ring. I've been putting up boring society photos of her and Cale, at charity fundraisers for six years now. She has a square cut emerald engagement ring. That ring is a diamond."
"It's Sam, her clone." Gem whispered relieved. Alec hadn't lied to her and neither had Max. They had never been together, her instincts about them hadn't been wrong. "Try and see if you can read her barcode."
"Tricky," said Matt. "She has that long dark hair. "Hold on here's one at the beach. 332960073453" he read out. "You're amazing Alison."
"And the photos were taken when?" Sketchy asked putting his arm round Gem comfortingly.
"Most likely four and a half years ago." Matt said checking his instrument panel "give or take a day."
"Before you guys got together right?" Sketchy said to Gem.
"Yeah said Gem relieved. "Before us." She gathered the photos and got the negative disc. "Thanks all of you."
She found Alec playing chess with Eve when she got home.
'Are you okay?" Alec said worried. "Catlady rang me saying you'd dashed out of the café looking sick."
"Eve go to your room. I need to talk to Daddy privately." Gem said to her daughter.
Eve went unquestioningly, grabbing Logan's copy of Hans Christian Anderson fairytales.
"I got sent these in the café." Gem said to Alec.
Alec looked at the photos, no expression on his face. "I thought I burnt them." He said flatly. "I was sure I had two years ago with other crap I'd been hanging onto too long."
"So you had an affair with 453." Gem said hurt. "But you never told me."
"I never wanted to because it hurt and it still hurts, but not because I still love her." Alec explained. "But I'll tell you now, for Reagan's sake you should know anyway."
Gem looked puzzled. She poured them both whiskey the transgenics friend in times of stress, it had the most effect on them out of all alcohol for some reason.
"Gem I told you last night I was infatuated with Sam as a teenager. When I met Max I liked her at first because she physically resembled Sam but they're quite different. Max is well, you know how amazing Max is. Sam is different." Alec drank his whiskey in one shot, and poured himself another. "But she shares a problem with Max. She couldn't conceive with her ordinary husband so she came down to Seattle and hooked up with me. We kept it secret, she said she didn't know if she could leave her husband. I was so in love with her god, I'd always been in love with her." Alec shook his head in bitter memory. "And it was great better than CeCe even. She must have left the day she found out she was pregnant. God I was a chump."
Gem looked at him with tears in her eyes. "So Sam's child Kelly, is your daughter?"
"And Regan's half sister and the transgenic population is so small, he has to know that fact." Alec said. "I have never felt so betrayed by anyone as I felt by Sam over that, and I kept hoping she'd come back and she never did."
"Why didn't you go to her and ask her to come back with you?" Gem asked him.
"I did." Alec said. "She was immovable. So that's my dirty little secret." Alec lifted his glass to her. "Isn't it your turn to tell me yours?"
"Hey I want to know I'm not second best." Gem said annoyed.
"You know I love you Gem. I put up with your crap about not marrying me and not living with me for four years didn't I?" Alec retaliated. "So like I said I want the truth about your secret what happened to Eve's father?"
"I don't know." said Gem startled at this bolt out of the blue.
"Bullshit." Alec said in contempt. "I have never asked you before and I won't ever ask you again. Your Window of opportunity closing fast to unburden yourself here."
"I'll tell you but not tonight." Gem said hugging him. "As soon as we find out who is trying to kill you I'll tell you."
I hope those photos worked guess I'll find out tomorrow. Otherwise no more car sabotage or bombs it will be time for the direct approach.
AN: Only two more chapters to go!