Dog Will Have His Day

Summary: Alec is trying to catch the man who made him hurt Max, but he has to save her first...

Chapter Eight

Alec stood in the middle of Command at the central table normally used for spreading out maps and paperwork. The table was surrounded on all sides by other transgenics, everyone as silent as the tomb. The table was empty except for one thing, a telephone.

Alec dialed the phone and then pushed the button to put it on speaker so that not only those near him, but everyone crowded inside Command could hear.

"I take it you got the message," Kincaid said without preamble.

Alec's hands were fists at his sides, wanting to smash Kincaid's teeth in. "Loud and clear."

"Good. Then we can come to an arrangement. You need something and so do I."

"Just tell me what you want," Alec snapped.

"Now, now... Feeling a little wound up, are we? No reason for this to become unpleasant," Kincaid said breezily.

"This isn't unpleasant," Alec replied through clenched teeth. "Unpleasant comes later."

Kincaid sighed. "Are we going to keep chatting while Max continues to worsen or are we going to get down to business?"

"What have you done to her?" The words slipped out before he could call them back. He knew his fear was showing, but he couldn't hide it. Not after the riot, not after the shooting. It was too much.

"A minor alteration to the virus that was already given to her. It was meant to be used as a kill switch if she failed to meet mission specifications. Suffice it to say that her nervous system now has a very set shelf life."

"You can fix it?"

"Provided we come to an arrangement very soon."

"So get on with it," Alec ordered.

"You will retrieve a file."

"What kind of file?"

"That is of no concern to you. The file is being compiled by a federal agent working out of the Hollybush Offices in Washington D.C."

"Is there a reason you can't get this file yourself?"

"Funny you should mention that. You shot the team that was going to take care of this little task. I suppose I could endanger more of my people, but why should I when there is a perfectly good group of genetic trash that I can coerce into getting the job done?"

"You infected Max before we took out your team," Alec growled.

"Very true," Kincaid replied, clearly pleased with himself. "I had other plans, but this will do just as well. Maybe those other plans will still come to pass. Who knows..."

Alec had to grit his teeth to keep from smashing the phone into bits. The smug bastard was going to have to die and Alec was going to be the one to do it. Soon.

"In the meantime, you will break into the office of an agent named Clark on the third floor and you will retrieve the Stephens file. Call me when you have it. We will meet. I will take the file and you can have the cure."

"How do I know you can fix her?"

Alec heard a very ugly, derisive sound over the speaker that had to be a laugh. "Oh, I can't fix her," he said. "She'll still be an abomination… but I can cure this little problem."

"Bastard," Alec snarled.

"Better a bastard than a thing made in a test tube," Kincaid shot back coldly. "You have twenty four hours. I suppose you can take longer if you really want to, but Max won't be much good after that. Either way will be fine with me."

"Twenty four hours," Alec echoed and hit the disconnect button on the phone so hard that the plastic snapped.

Silence fell over the room as everyone processed the conversation. Finally, Alec looked toward Mole and Dix. "I'm going to need blueprints, security system info, the works… anything you can find on that building and this Agent Clark, too. Slick?" Alec turned slightly toward his team member who was standing just behind him. "Get the rest of the team up and running. I want to be on a plane in fifteen minutes." He turned back toward Mole. "Once you have everything together, you can forward it to us. We don't have time to wait around here until you can get it."

"On it," was all Mole said.

"Hold off on that, Mole," came a voice from one side of the crowd. "This is a bad idea. No way should we send a team for this."

All movement stopped at the sound of the voice daring to countermand Alec's orders. He turned to find Sig standing only a few feet away, his feet braced for a fight.

Sig was a big guy. He wasn't meant for stealth or any sort of mission requiring suave sophistication. He was a bulldog, complete with ugly, blunted features, and a Cro-Magnon overhanging brow. He looked exactly like what he was, a blunt instrument, and apparently he thought like one, too.

"Sig?"

"What?" he grunted.

"I'm trying to figure something out."

"What's that?"

Alec met the bigger man's gaze steadily, a blatant challenge. "Are you stupid or just suicidal?"

Fury crossed Sig's face and he took a step toward Alec. "What did you say to me?"

"Because if you think I'm going to let you get in my way while Max is dying because she's trying to take care of all of us, then you're either a moron or you have a death wish."

"I'm only saying what everybody else is too freakin' chicken to say."

"Mole?" Alec asked, deceptively calm. "Do we have any people with chicken DNA?"

"We got a lot o' things," Mole answered, glowering, "but nobody's yellow."

Alec's eyes narrowed, a clear warning. "One of our own is in trouble, Sig, and we never leave a man behind."

"That's crap and you know it," Sig replied hotly. "We were all at Manticore. Every last one of us had to leave somebody behind. Manticore ordered us to leave 'em, or worse, we had to put 'em down ourselves. What's best for the team in the long run is what matters. Sometimes you gotta leave a weak one to save everybody else."

"Max will kick your ass for calling her the weak one." Alec gave him a nasty grin. "You get that, right?"

"She's just one person," Sig shot back. "We can't afford to expend our resources on someone who's already a lost cause."

Alec was across the room, smashing his fist into Sig's face before he even realized he'd moved. He swept his legs out from beneath him and slammed him onto the ground, planting a foot on his chest.

"She is my wife," Alec snarled. "She is your boss. And she is the person that taught me not to put a bullet into anyone who pissed me off, so you'd better be thanking her that you don't have an extra vent right now." He bent down close and got right in Sig's face. "Is that understood?" he roared.

"Yeah," Sig said through clenched teeth.

Alec dug his heel into the other man's breastbone, putting enough pressure on it that Sig would be feeling it for a while. "What was that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then keep your mouth shut." He increased the pressure enough that Sig had trouble drawing a breath. "If I get back and find out you caused problems, I won't be happy. And frankly, I'm already in a crappy mood."

He stepped back and Sig immediately bounced to his feet, radiating fury. Alec chose to ignore him. If Sig was bent on retaliation, then Alec would deal with that later.

"Chop, chop, people." Alec clapped his hands and immediately everyone burst into motion. "I want wheels up in ten." He looked at Mole and Dix, the first looking amused and the second, stunned by the scene they'd just witnessed. "Get me the information. We're going to be cutting this way too close."

"What are you gonna do?" Mole asked, tossing one mangled cigar aside and pulling out a fresh one.

Alec smirked. "I've got an idea."

"Ya don't say." Mole mirrored his smirk. "Kid, I think you were born gettin' ideas that will get your ass in trouble."

Alec cocked his head to one side as if in thought. "Ferret DNA maybe?"

"I still think Manticore managed to stir in some moron."

"Max would probably agree with you," Alec said, the thought like a cold bucket of water splashed in his face. He motioned Mole to come closer. "I need you to do something else."

"What?"

"Part of the idea. And we've got to play this just right."

Mole leaned forward and grinned. "How pissed is Fearless Leader gonna be when she finds out about this?"

"Not a bit. She'll shower us with praise for a job well done."

Mole raised an eyebrow. "That pissed, huh?" He laughed, a low dusty chuckle. "I'm in."

More soon...