Disclaimer: I am not making any profit out of this and am using it purely for amusement. The scenes are taken completely out of an episode of Dark Angel (which belongs to Fox, Cameron and Eglee), and most of the dialogue as well.
A/N: The parts that are mine are the "thoughts" behind the scenes and some additional dialogue. This is my version of Hello, Goodbye—one of my favorite DA episodes. It's a step into AU, but that's really what fanfics are, aren't they?
CHAPTER 10
Alec didn't know where they were taking him. He had been sitting patiently in his cell, his senses keeping track of guard changes and other goings-on in the precinct. He had a half-formed plan of escape already. But of course, he had to bide his time. He didn't need to tip the whole world to the fact that he was transgenic. Max would be royally pissed at him if he did.
He wondered if Max was even worried about him.
In your dreams, buddy, he thought sarcastically to himself. She would more likely be worried about how she didn't have a punching bag for the day. How Max had ever got by without him was a mystery to him.
Four guards entered his cell and chained him up pretty tight. His hands were cuffed to his front, attached with chains to the ones that cuffed his ankles, too. He was bound, hands and feet, forcing him to shuffle meekly behind the guards. It was so unnecessary. Not to mention useless. He could snap all of these in a second, if he were so inclined.
But not yet.
So, he let them push him around. He wore a sort of confused, innocent look on his face. He wondered if he was going to get a female judge to sit on his trial. He almost smirked at the thought.
He walked alongside his escort, his chains clanging pathetically.
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Max sat in the small interrogation room in the Police Headquarters, waiting for someone to bring Alec to her. She was seething. She tapped her pen on her notepad, trying to expend the angry energy. It took real effort to maintain a cool and professional façade.
The lock turned on the door, and a fat police officer ushered Alec in. They looked incongruous. Alec so tall and powerfully built, walking meekly beside the short and squat police officer. Seeing Alec made Max see red. She was so angry. No, scratch that, she was furious.
She stood up quickly as Alec made his entrance. He didn't betray his surprise at seeing her, especially in a business suit and a pair of wire rimmed glasses, but she could see the slight widening of the pupils in his eyes. Those were the only indication that he recognized her. He was well-trained.
"Whitney Mann, public defender's office. I'll be handling your case." She said as introduction, using an alias.
"Pleasure," he drawled.
The cop snorted his disgust, pushed Alec (who allowed himself to be pushed) forward and into a chair, and said, "You've got five minutes. If you need anything, Miss, I'll be right outside." With that, he walked back out and shut the door firmly behind him.
As soon as the door shut, Alec dropped the meek prisoner persona and became the smart aleck that he was. "Max, thank God, you've come. I swear I was on my way to the hospital…"
Max cut him off by raising her hand in command, along with an angry, "Shut up."
They were sitting face to face across the table.
Alec frowned slightly, "Oh no. You can't possibly believe them." He sounded so incredulous. Max had to give him credit for that. Maybe Manticore had given the X-series acting lessons after her escape. Either that, or Alec was just a really good liar. She was more inclined to believe the latter.
She leaned forward menacingly. "I came down here to bail your sorry ass out 'cause I figured you got grabbed up off of one of your scams going sideways," she whispered vehemently. There was no need to shout. Her anger and disgust were eloquently conveyed by the look on her face.
Then she dropped her accusation: "But the Officer just told me you killed somebody!" She was clenching her jaw so tightly, her mouth barely moved when she said those words.
Alec leaned forward towards her, his eyes wide and innocent. "I didn't do it." He said simply, a slight chuckle in his voice.
Max shook her head, refusing to believe him. "You got ID'd. There's a perfect DNA match."
Alec's green eyes started to cloud over as he, too, shook his head. "No, I'm telling you…"
But Max cut him off. "No! Don't tell me anything, all right?"
She couldn't believe it, but Alec actually looked hurt. She felt a slight tightening in her gut at the look that he was giving her. She steeled herself against him, knowing what a creative liar he was.
"I'm sorry I let you out of Manticore. I'm sorry I inflicted you out on the world." She said, enunciating each word. She didn't know why it suddenly hurt her to say them, but it did. Maybe it was the way his eyes got darker with each word. Or the slight flinch on his face after she'd said her piece. Either way, she felt a slight tightening around her chest area. In the vicinity of her heart.
To tell the truth, what she was most sorry about was the fact that she had actually started to think she could expect better of him. She should've known. She felt…disappointed in him.
She couldn't be in there with him anymore. She felt suffocated.
"Screw exposure," She stood up and started to gather her things. "I'm leaving you here for White to deal with. You deserve whatever it is that he's got cooked up for you."
Alec stood up, too. He felt like he was dying inside. It actually hurt like real fucking pain that Max didn't believe him. That she thought he was capable of what he had been accused of. He didn't know why, but he had to make her understand, make her believe him.
"Max, I swear, I'm innocent," Alec said, his voice pleading her to believe him. His eyes boring into her, searching inside of her. Max looked away, unable to look him in the eyes.
She had been trained to detect certain pitches and tones in people's voice for sincerity, and she heard it in Alec's. She clenched her teeth, but she wasn't buying it. He was really good at this acting thing. "Tell that to Ames." She replied flippantly. "And, uh, give him my regards,"
She walked around the table and towards the door. Alec turned around to face her. "You really think I could do it? You think I could murder someone in cold blood?" he asked, his voice rising to a near shout.
Max spun around, her hair whipping back. She gave him a withering stare. "Yes, Alec, I think you could!" she shouted back, just as vehemently. And that was the sad truth. She could believe that of him. Hadn't he once killed other transgenics to save his own ass? Hadn't he once tried to kill her and Joshua? It hurt, but she really could believe that he was a killer. And to think I actually came so close to trusting him.
Alec leaned forward his eyes angry and frustrated. "The guy's teeth were pulled from his head, for God's sake!" He cried out, his voice ragged with frustration.
Max stopped dead in her tracks, her hand still poised over the handle of the door. Her world was suddenly reeling. "Ben." she whispered under her breath.
She was suddenly assaulted by a flashback. It was that of a dead boy, his teeth ripped out, Ben's barcode tattooed on the back of his neck.
Then she saw Ben, standing before the Blue Lady, his victim's teeth a part of his sacrificial offering.
"Ben, why are you doing this?"
"You know why." He said, a maniacal gleam in his beautiful hazel eyes.
She turned around to face Alec, looking into his pair of beautiful hazel eyes. Those eyes were hurt, pleading…innocent.
"Come on, Max," he implored.
Max was still speechless. She was suddenly looking at Alec differently. Like someone had finally taken off a pair of really dirty glasses from her eyes and she was seeing things clearly. She was seeing him clearly.
Alec was just glad that she had turned around, listening to him. But he still couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice. "You know, no matter what you think, there's no way it could have been me. The guy was killed over a year ago. I was a Manticore."
And there it was. The infallible proof of his innocence.
Before Max could say anything, the door opened and the squat guard came in, "Okay, time's up."
And Max's elbow slammed into his face.
She grabbed the keys from his hand before he hit the ground hard. Alec looked at the fallen guard. "Hmm…doesn't he sort of remind you of a beached whale?"
Max groaned. Alec never shut up.
And then she smiled slightly as she worked on unlocking all the chains off of him. At least, he was Alec.