A little bit more today about what's going on behind the scenes…

Day Seven - Continued

Alec rose from the floor first. He didn't mind visiting the sickroom. Alec had taken to coming in a few times a day to check on Logan, Cindy and Sketch, clean them up if necessary, but he was already feeling trapped and useless, and sitting idly watching them die just made it so much worse. It wasn't get them help either.

Alec held out his hand for Max to take. She was needed elsewhere and he wasn't going to let her sit there and brood all day. The others needed to see her out and about, looking like things were under control even if that was the farthest from the truth. It was standard operating procedure for a leader - look like you know what you're doing.

The rumbles of discontent were growing by the minute. Alec heard it all because the others were more comfortable talking to him than to her, but Alec could feel it. There was dissension in the ranks about what should happen next and who was best fit to lead them.

Max looked up at him from the floor, frown firmly in place, but she finally took his hand. Alec didn't know if it was because it was him offering it or just that she didn't want to leave. At this point, it didn't matter. He was going to make her do what needed to be done, because he really didn't want to be stuck in Terminal City any longer than necessary. He definitely didn't want to die in it.

"Come on, Max. We'll come back and check on them later," he urged.

Max sighed and let him pull her to her feet. Her movements were slower than normal and it worried Alec. He'd been watching her over the past several days and, at times, it was almost like she was moving through molasses. She would come out of it when need be, but other times, he would see her like this, barely moving. Even her speech seemed a little slow.

They walked out of the sickroom and nearly ran into Joshua who'd also been coming to visit. "Hey, Big Fella," Max said, managing a tired smile.

Joshua looked past them into the room beyond and the three people on their cots. He wasn't as familiar with Sketchy, but he knew OC and Logan well enough that Joshua was troubled by their quick decline.

"Everyone… ok?" he asked warily.

Alec knew how he felt. Every time Alec came to check on them, he was afraid that one of the three might have died while he was gone. It was getting that close.

"They're ok for now," Max hedged.

Joshua stepped closer to the door and let out a distressed whine, making Alec wonder if Josh's sense of smell was better than theirs. The sickroom was troubling for several reasons and one of them was that Alec could actually smell the approach of death as their bodies began to fail.

"Come on, Big Fella," Max said. She took Josh by the arm and led him back into the room.

Alec swore under his breath. He'd needed to get her out of there. Now she'd go and sit with Josh and he'd have to work all over again to get her out and functioning pseudo-normally. He needed her in Command or they were going to have an insurrection on their hands. A coup would mean someone far more volatile would be in charge, which would drop everyone's odds of survival even further.

"Alec?"

Alec turned away from the door and Max to see Quarter approaching. She was an X-5, almost as tall as him and leanly muscled. Her dark brown hair was cut in a short bob. It had been long back at Manticore, but she'd cut it since leaving. Many of the Xs had. Manticore had required some of them to keep their hair longer for missions where seduction would be required and Alec didn't blame them for getting rid of it.

"Hey, Quarter. What's up?"

She glanced past him into the sickroom and he caught the tiny moue of distaste, perhaps disapproval, that crossed her face when she saw Max standing near Logan.

"Can we talk?" she asked, clearly indicating she wanted to talk only to him.

Alec gave her a friendly smile to hide his unease. Quarter coming to him, but not wanting Max around did not bode well.

"Sure," he answered. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the sickroom. "Let's give them some space." He figured the conversation would go better if she, and through her the others, thought that he was amenable to a change in regime.

Together, they walked out of the building and headed toward Command at a leisurely pace. She cast him a sidelong glance and once again Alec gave her a slight smile, despite the feeling that she was sizing him up.

"How are the Ordinaries doing?" she asked.

Alec tried not to take it the wrong way that she didn't ask about them by name or call them his friends. He would have done exactly the same a year ago. It was Ordinaries on one side and Transgenics on the other… Or it had probably been closer to just him and then there was everybody else. Max had pulled him from that thinking, ordered him, shamed him, encouraged him to see more than what they'd been taught.

"Not good," Alec finally answered. "They're going downhill fast."

"That's too bad."

She sounded only vaguely concerned, but then she didn't know them, so Alec shrugged it off. At least she'd asked. That was more than most of the others had done. Mole still insisted on calling them "The Apes."

"So… I had fun last night," she said.

"Yeah, me, too." They'd watched a pre-Pulse movie on an ancient, grainy TV he'd found in a businessman's office and talked for a bit while they shared their daily ration of food and water. It had been a pleasant way to waste some time. Afterward, Quarter had offered to share more than dinner and a movie, but Alec had declined. There were too many strings attached to the offer. Strings were dangerous things.

He knew it wasn't all fake. Even before the siege started, Quarter had made it clear she was interested in him. Truth be told, he wasn't disinterested, but this, this difference of opinion on the way things should go was making any progress difficult. Even if it wasn't entirely true, he felt like she was trying to manipulate him. And she was, a bit. They both knew it, but Alec didn't enjoy playing angles as much as he used to, especially with someone who was supposed to be a friend.

Alec decided it was time to get down to business. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"It's Max."

Alec nodded. He'd known that was coming. The only part he was surprised about was that it was Quarter who'd come to him. She wasn't exactly known for her diplomacy. He'd assumed the opposition was just using her to gather intel and then someone else would come in for the kill.

"What about her?"

"We're worried."

"Who's we?" He really needed to know names, too, if he was going to keep the situation under control.

"Everyone," she replied. "This is going to get out of hand if someone doesn't take control."

"Max is-"

Quarter immediately cut him off. "Max is too busy worrying about her boyfriend to care about anything else. She's the one who decided it was a good idea to stay here in a place that's so easily surrounded."

"One," Alec replied, "it's not a bad thing to care about people under your protection, especially when they're hurt. We don't leave people behind. Two, I don't care whose idea it was to stay. We agreed to it and now we have to deal with the consequences."

Quarter must have decided she'd somehow offended him, so she held up her hands defensively. "All we're saying is we need someone in charge who isn't distracted."

"Tell me this," Alec started. "Are the rations not getting distributed?"

"Well…"

"The water?"

"Yes, but…"

"All of the other supplies we've found. Blankets, heaters… anything."

Quarter stopped walking and turned to face him. "Yes, but that was you."

Alec cocked his head to one side, genuinely surprised. "What?"

"That was you," she said. "You set up the rain barrels. You set up the rationing. You set up the crews to scour for supplies."

"Because I've been working with Max to arrange it all."

Quarter gave him a knowing, almost condescending smile. "That's nice of you to cover for her, but we all know what's going on."

Alec frowned. "Trust me. I like tooting my own horn as much as the next guy, but Max would kill me if I took all the credit when we've both been busting our humps to get everything done."

Quarter shrugged and Alec knew that no matter what he said, she wasn't going to believe him. The others had decided on a vote of no confidence and Max's days were numbered unless things changed.

"Look," Alec said conspiratorially, "you know me. You know I look out for myself."

Quarter put her arm through his and pressed close to his side. "It's one of the things I like best about you."

Alec wanted to shrug her off, but refrained. "Then you know I'll tell you and everyone when there's a problem."

"Max wasn't trained for this," Quarter said. "She left too young. We all know you were top of the class in advanced military tactics, tops in negotiations and verbal coercion as well."

Alec had expected a lot of things, but not being pressed to knock Max out of her spot himself. He so did not want to be in charge of this mess. He'd been telling the truth when he said he looked out for himself. There were too many bossy, alpha types in their ranks who liked to gun for the top spot. Quarter was talking to him, but there might be several conversations like this going on with other groups trying to pick a new leader.

"That's why I'm helping her. She knows more about the outside world than we do. I know about tactics. Between the two of us, we're getting it done." He didn't say that they hadn't been able to put any of their skills to use other than making sure the rations were given out and everybody stayed warm. The authorities wouldn't talk to them at all. "But don't worry. I've got my eyes on her."

She smiled. "Good. I feel better knowing that at least."

Alec nodded. He knew it wasn't over. She would bring it up again, so would the others, and each time would be less and less polite until finally they were demanding a change. He just had to hold them off. Max was the most level-headed leader right now. She at least would try to keep them all alive. He knew far too many Transgenics who would be happy with "acceptable losses."

Alec wasn't sure when it happened, but he believed in Max. No, she wasn't at her best right now, but then no one was. Max was… She was a hard woman to ignore and he was going to back her play.

And if anyone crossed her, they were going to have to go through him first.

More soon…