Chapter 13: Clues

Zack stared at the screen annoyed. Something about searching on a computer just seemed lame to him. He pictured some faceless obsessed man, typing a way at all hours, searching to better the world while just sitting on his well-cushioned chair so his bum didn't get soar or permanently stuck to the seat he was wasting away his life in. He pictured a nerd, tweaking into the net, feeling powerful from his little chair while breaking into other systems, not by overpowering them or some crafty plan or taking advantage of the right skills, just by typing the right codes.

Zack didn't pay much attention to his distant feelings of disdain for the task at hand, or the person he was picturing in his mind. He didn't want this to take long. Besides, he only had an allotted half hour before the next kid got a turn on the computer.

Searching wasn't coming up with much. He was getting frustrated at how little information he was finding. He was staring at a company site, from what it looked like, but no other information was given.

"Is that where you were created?" Aaron asked curiously, staring at the screen.

Zack's face curled for an instant at the innocent question. He turned to face the small boy, looking at the child with a firm and steady look. "I'm a person, I wasn't created by some company," he insisted, though he felt it was a lie. He told Aaron the same story he'd been telling his bosses, the same phony background he'd made up for himself so as to prevent any suspicion. He could recite it perfectly now, he didn't even need to practice. He didn't need a moment for hesitation to remember, it flowed out of him like the truth. "I have a mom and dad, just like you, okay. They died when I was 9. I don't remember them much. I went to school in Seattle, living with my Aunt. She died last year, and I've been on my own ever since. Any more questions?"

Aaron stared into his gray-blue eyes, not with disbelief, but with sadness. He knew that it was made up. "It's okay," he tried comforting Zack. "My mom left me, too."

Zack's face softened at the boy's innocence. In his own mind, he questioned it himself. The story had just come to him, on the spot, the first time the information had been required of him. Seattle had stuck in his mind, as did the age of his parents' death. He couldn't help but question it himself. Was I created?

The images of his fingers clenched around a dead man's throat, the beam sticking out of his arm, the shiny metal where bone should be, flashed through his mind, with the name blaring into his mind, as if taunting him to remember, but he couldn't for the life of him. Grey's Limited. What the hell did that mean?

Staring at the webpage, he had no idea what kind of company it was, what they made, and who their customers were.

"Look, they're from Seattle, just like your Aunt! Did you forget?" Aaron asked, pointing to the location on the screen. It read plainly, Headquarters, Seattle.

Zack felt a moment of shock, staring at the name of the city. He never paid attention when the city had come randomly to his mind before. But looking at it now, he couldn't deny, it wasn't random. There was something about it. He felt drawn to the place, though he couldn't recall ever being there. Was it as the boy said, was this the place he was created?

Zack took notice of a librarian eyeing him. He'd seen suspicion enough to sense it almost before it came. She was definitely noticing him for all the wrong reasons. A worry flashed across his mind. What if the story of what happened in Arkansas was spreading? Zack knew there were witnesses. He realized his mistakes as he was making them. He should have gotten rid of the witnesses, gotten rid of the evidence. The soldier in him was disappointed at his failure in that situation. Supersoldier. He recalled Aaron's guess at what exactly he was, but didn't allow his thoughts to distract him any further. He had to get out of there before giving her time to let her suspicions get to her. If he stayed longer, she might call the police.

"Aaron, let's go, I've got what I came for." Zack motioned for the boy to move immediately.

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Alec stared at the soup in front of him that was now cold, tapping at it with his spoon, while avoiding Max's gaze.

Max stared at him, trying to contain herself, still feeling completely out of character and wanting to run away from all men for the next 48 hours. Why wasn't he speaking? It wasn't like Alec at all, and the longer he just sat there, the longer her view was of him, and the more focus she paid to his lips, wanting them to open as he spoke. She soon found those wants turning into something else. As she realized this, she broke the silence, if only to distract her attention from his lips. "I thought you were hungry!" She said it with force, coming across as annoyed, when really it was the struggle of herself, trying to keep her desires at bay before she did something else completely stupid that she would regret.

Alec sighed, dropping the spoon. "I was. Something made me lose my appetite." He pictured how he'd found her, completely going at it with some random townie. Alec couldn't help but be upset. He had rushed to the diner, only to find that she wasn't there, and of course, he had immediately become worried about her. He had come to the bar thinking she was in trouble, only to discover she wasn't even working on the mission, the whole reason they were there. She was busy getting to know the locals far more than necessary.

Alec didn't want to admit to her the other reason why he was upset. How could he explain himself? It wasn't as if he had some claim to her, as if she wasn't free to do whatever she wanted. He'd just never seen her like that before. He was completely shocked to have seen that side of Max. It wasn't even like he was shown a new side to her, it was thrust in his face, along with a feeling he never expected. Jealousy wasn't something he wanted to admit to Max. It would mean that he felt something for her, something he didn't want to claim to her or himself.

Max cringed at his words. Why couldn't he just insult her, tease her, so that she could be angry with him? Instead, she was left to feel guilt. She tried to get to the point, as she found her own appetite fading quickly as her disgust in herself grew. "What did you find out?"

Alec took the bait gratefully. He was glad she was avoiding the subject. He didn't really want to think about it, either. He changed face instantly, as only a Manticore soldier could, getting back to his charming and witty self. "There was some sort of accident recently. Someone died, I guess. Manticore was here, so I'm guessing that either Zack killed someone, or someone found out about him, and Manticore got rid of the exposure."

Max took in the information, worried.

"So, what did you find out? You know, in between sucking up to the townsfolk… or should I say sucking face? Geez, I know I told you to be nice, but you really took that to heart, didn't you!" He couldn't help saying.

Max glared, taking out the frustration with herself at him. She realized she hadn't found out anything. She'd been too busy fighting her hormones. "Shut up!" was the only immature reply she could come up with at the moment.

Alec shrugged. He had to stop this judgment. He knew he was only reacting out of jealousy, but he still couldn't admit it. "Sorry," he apologized, trying to explain himself, "I just don't know how Logan would take that."

"Leave Logan out of this!" she demanded, a fire showing in her eyes. "He's not even here, we're talking about Zack! And since when did you care about that relationship anyway? Was it after you watched me almost kill the man after infecting me?"

Alec smirked at her, enjoying that the tables were turned. He could always count on her reactions to avoid his own self scrutiny. "What can I say, Maxie! I'm just surprised. How is a guy supposed to know how to turn you on with the signs your giving? Do you want the intellectual, devoted, computer hacker set to save the world, or is all you're looking for a little southern charm, please and thank you ma'ams."

"Right now, I think I'm looking to kick your ass!" She snapped, trying not to consider his words. She enjoyed hearing him say 'turn you on' far more than she wanted to let on in her current state.

"My ass would appreciate more than your foot, Maxie!"

Not now!, she thought to herself in frustration, knowing that Alec knew just what to say to get her worked up. She also knew that even under normal circumstances, she couldn't seem to ignore his comments without answering. "Well, maybe I'll just have to give you more than my foot," she said, meaning to insult him, but instead coming onto him, speaking with desire in her voice as well as her eyes.

Alec wasn't expecting that reaction. She was supposed to slap him, not reciprocate. Maybe he wasn't toying with her enough. Either way, he was going to enjoy this. After being tortured with the sight from earlier, he felt he deserved a moment of fun just toying with Max. "So what will you give me, then?" He asked, allowing her to make the next move.

She bit back her answer. What she wanted to give him at the moment was something she couldn't bare to say out loud. She turned away suddenly, feeling her own temperature rise the longer this went on.

"What did you say you found out?" She asked out of the blue.

Alec couldn't believe she hadn't just punched him. This was definitely not like her. He found himself wanting to seriously ask her about her behavior from earlier, this time not because he wanted an explanation, but because he was worried about her. She was definitely not acting herself, which led him to believe there was something wrong.

He held back the desire to care for her, though. She could take care of herself, anyway, and besides, he had held his own as long as he could remember, why start adding the responsibility of others now. "There was some construction accident. I'm not so sure it was an accident, though."

Max's eyes lit with recognition. "Construction?" She asked, remembering something she had heard earlier. "Joey mentioned something about that! I bet he knows what happened!"

"Joey?" Alec asked immediately, before realizing. Of course. It was the guy that had bolted from the bar earlier.

Max pulled out the napkin that had his number written on it. "I guess I will give him a call later!" she said with a smile, not feeling so worthless anymore about her contribution for the day.

Alec laughed at the crumpled piece of napkin that emerged from her pocket. Classy, he thought.

"What?" Max asked without much reserve of her annoyance.

He shrugged. "Well, I guess it's better than writing on your hand."

Max raised her eyebrow at him, "Like you haven't scrawled your number on some poor girl's drink napkin. Or worse. You've probably written on more than a hand."

Alec smirked at her, "Now, Maxie. I am more of a gentleman than you'd like to think. I put my number in their phones. Now for you, I might write on more than a hand, but I save that just for you, Maxie!"

Max shoved away his comments, not allowing herself to get sucked into that again. She stood up to physically walk away from the tempting situation. "Come on, let's go, I've got to call this number. If anyone knows something about that construction accident, it's him."

a/n: thanks for reading, and for reviews!