The awesome comeback, "If you call me Maxie one more time, I swear nobody will find your body, " came from BookHunter's fanfic You Have the Right to Remain Silent. I love that story, and I suggest everyone should read it.

Like…now.

Don't even bother with this one.

…Unless of course you want to read this one.

I'm going to shut up before my ego goes haywire.

Cronies Mess Things Up

(MAX POV)

After that day, I never thought about Dylan's warning.

It never came up again, and I was fine with it. The last thing I need is him watching over my shoulder, keeping me away from something that would never happen. If something was dangerous about Fang, I'm sure I can deal with it on my own.

For weeks everything was as it should have been. I did my regular loads of paperwork, with ten hours of sleep in between.

And trust me, I was not enjoying any second of it.

All my life, all I ever hoped for was a little action. I grew up in a small town in the mountains of Colorado, and everything was always the same.

Every single day, I would wake up and get ready before going down and eating my breakfast. Mom and dad (known as Jeb and Valencia) would come down at the same time, and while Dad ate his breakfast, Mom would make my lunch. Then it would be time for school and I would trudge through knee-deep snow for an hour with my only friend and neighbor, JJ. At school people, even JJ, would ignore me, calling me a 'loner' and 'emo' constantly. I would make the walk home alone (JJ would be with her countless friends) and when my parents got home, I would tell them how 'wonderful' my day was and all bout my 'friends' (who I might add, were fake.)

Repeat Process.

For eighteen years.

After that, I skipped college and scrambled at my chance to apply for a position in the FBI.

Within a week I was accepted and shipped off to the training camp in Quantico, Virginia, much to my parent's disappointment.

For the most part, the job has been just as I expected, and I've loved every second of it.

After six years and my newbie stage has ended, things still haven't lost their excitement.

Every case is different; there's frauds, murders, robberies, etc. The great thing about is, not a single case is the same. There's different people, different circumstances and more, and when you have to deal with it, it's an entirely new puzzle to solve; always different from the last.

With the last couple of weeks of doing nothing but paperwork, my life has been a living hell.

…That is, until Wednesday came.

After work, I stomped down the dingy hallway to my apartment, grumbling profanities.

I paused in front of my door and felt my belt loop for my keys. It was empty. I must have left it at work…

I pulled a set of bobby pins from my pocket, and hurriedly got started on my lock.

I stopped dead when I heard the voices.

Before you panic, I do not have an annoying voice in my head. (hehe, don't kill me!)

Low and muffled through Fang's door came two voices, both male.

Naturally, as a federal agent, I don't normally get curious.

Not curious, but suspicious.

I dropped my bag and a handful of files, creeping silently towards his door, and pressed my ear against it.

Even this close it was hard to hear, and in the five minutes I stood there, only a few words rang out clearly.

Father.

FBI.

And…

Murder.

Just my luck.

The voices continued to rise until I could comprehend complete sentences.

Fang's voice rang out, hard and edges with anger. He was yelling furiously, sounding hurt and betrayed, "How could you? You were a good guy, always cracking jokes and letting one rip. But now…now you're just like him."

Another voice sounded, just as angry, "I am not just like him. I work for him, that's all."

Fang spat back, "And what exactly does your job entail, Gazzy?"

The boy paused for a moment, "Look, Fang, he cares about you. After what happened with John, he realizes your potential!"

"John? Is that his newest cronie's name? I'll let you know, it was a FBI agent who beat him up."

In any other situation, I would have smirked in satisfaction.

Gazzy spoke, sounding less than proud of Fang, "It doesn't matter. He wants you, and it's my job to bring you to him, whatever it might take."

Fang only sounded more enraged, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

By now I was sure I needed to interfere and a loud BANG! only made me scramble with the doorknob faster.

I pulled my gun out of its holster and took a deep breath.

…Showtime.

I slammed the door open and advanced inside, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

Fang was against the far wall, his hand latched tightly against the neck of another, holding him against the wall.

The guy looked to be around our age, with curly blond hairand the brightest blue eyes. He was tall, only a few inches shorter than Fang, but Fang would have beat him easy in any situation.

He wasn't exactly strong built, a little wimpy, but still looked as if he could take a few punches.

He was the first to notice me, his eyes seeming to plead with me as he clawed helplessly at the olive hands around his neck.

I sighed and leaned against the far wall, letting my gun hang limply in my hand.

It looked as if Fang was handling this situation well.

Note the sarcasm.

I crossed my arms coolly but threateningly across my chest before saying, "Why is it that every time I come home, you're always at someone's neck?"

Fang stiffened. He stood there for a minute, his muscles tensing. He took his hands away from the Gazzy's neck, and let him drop to the floor.

Slowly, he turned in my direction.

Gazzy breathed a sigh of relief and lent against the wall, breathing heavily.

Fang's gaze was one that could kill, and when it locked with mine I didn't turn away, but stared back, waiting.

His voice was softer than it was with Gazzy, but was still laced with an edge of raw anger, "What do you want, Max?"

I replied, sounding as if I couldn't care less, "Peace. Or at least enough to get some sleep."

He scoffed, "So do I. Maybe you will, as soon as this little minion leaves me alone."

He aimed a pointed glance in Gazzy's direction.

I pushed myself from the wall, striding slowly towards a frightened looking Gazzy, "Do I have to arrest this one too?"

Fang shook his head, "No. Trust me, it won't do either of us any good."

I shrugged and continued walking, "Can I punch him?"

He cocked his head, "Why do you want to punch him?"

"He's a cronie, right? I don't like cronies. They only ever mess things up."

His eyes widened half an inch, "How do you know about that?"

I walked by him, speaking threateningly, "Next time you want to slit someone's throat, do it quietly."

Gazzy, who had been silent up until now, spoke up, "Go ahead Maxie, try me."

I swiveled in his direction, "Call me Maxie one more time, and I swear nobody will ever find your body." (Awesome comeback provided by BookHunter, who generously let me use it. Thanks again :D)

"You should teach Fang something about that Maxie, " My glare deepened, "Since he's obviously not interested."

Behind me, Fang growled threateningly.

He continued, smirking proudly, "Come on, give me all you got."

I crouched low, right in his face, "All I've got is a magazine full of bullets, each of which will be going right through your heart if you don't scramble."

He sat there for a second before standing slowly, watching me warily. He spoke to Fang, "Remember what I told you."

Fang scoffed.

Gazzy kicked a spare bowl sitting on the ground and made his way to the door, slamming it behind him.

I turned to Fang, shaking my head slowly, "What the hell was that?"

He put his hands up defensively, "Don't ask me! He's high or something!"

I stood my ground, "No, he wasn't."

His eyebrows furrowed, "How do you know?"

"I smelled his breath when I kneeled in front of him. The last thing he had was a hamburger with cheese and pickles."

Fang's eyes widened, "Now that's what I call creepy."

I crossed my arms and walked in a circle around him, intimidating, "You know what I call creepy? That you were a stay-home-and-play-C.O.D-all-day guy, and suddenly you have people attacking you left and right."

He sighed and tried to reason with me, "Look, they'll go away. Gazzy was the last, I promise."

"Better be."

"He is. Oh, and Max?"

"Yeah?"

He spoke slowly, hesitantly, "How much did you hear?"

I shook my head, "Not enough to understand anything."

He seemed almost relieved, "Okay."

I nodded slowly and turned towards the door, "Good. So I'm guessing this means I don't have to call this one in too?"

"Yes."

I nodded, "Se ya, Fang."

I walked out, and closed the door with a soft click, only after Fang mumbled a quick, "Bye Max."

You know how books kind of have an underlying meaning in each chapter? Okay, well this is going to be like that, except I'm going to tell you.

Chapter 3:

In the beginning, it sais Max doesn't regard Dylan's warning. In the books (especially the first ones), Max tries to deny that she is, in fact, supposed to save the world. But, eventually she warms up to it, and soon she's off and about with the flock. She's hesitant about it, and is often arguing about it with Dr. Hans, Jeb, and Dr. Martinez. Here, Max is denying Dylan's authority over her. She wants (and is meant) to be the leader and her own, independent self. It is also splayed in the end of the last chapter when she doesn't take Dylan's 'talk' seriously, pressing her sarcasm further.

Gazzy is a 'cronie.' I know Gazzy is in no way evil in the books, so don't hate me for it. But, he loves Angel and will do anything for her, no matter how evil she gets :) hehe, I'm being cryptic!

Gazzy is also not cold-blooded, like you'd expect a cronie to be. In the books, he is still eleven, and well…scared. He sees Max as a huge threat, and as most children do, he runs. Also, he was a once close friend with Fang, because Gazzy really does look up to Fang.

In this chapter, Max starts to see some inconsistencies. She notices Dylan's jittery-ness in the last chapter about her being anywhere near Fang, and now Fang is being attacked more than once. Also, their conversation (involving 'father' 'FBI' and 'murder') is a little on the iffy side, and as a natural Federal Agent, she sees most thing a whole different way, and she finds it suspicious.)

Also, for anyone who watches NCIS, You'll see similarities in the characters:

Max: Gibbs (the strong leader, who is held down by his boss, the director)

Dylan: Director Vance/Shepard (the experienced leader who always knows more than others, and likes to play with Gibbs/Max's mind.)

Gazzy: McGee (the easily-frightened probie who is forced to take orders, no matter how much he hates it.)

Dinozzo: Iggy (You'll get this later. He's the jokester who doesn't face reality well. He's all for last-minute procrastination.)

Nudge: Abby (Again, later. She's the blabber-mouth, constantly worrying.)

NW: (For those of you who have already read Tough, Sarcastic, and Beautiful. If you haven't, DON'T. He's also Dinozzo, he wants to be in charge, even though he isn't, and isn't meant to be.)

I actually didn't mean for them to turn out like those characters, I just noticed that a few moments ago.

Okay, those are the inner meanings! HOPE YOU ENJOY!