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...

Ye olde showdown...

Chapter Eleven

Alec stood in the shadows, scanning the crowd. It was a fairly busy lunchtime and the central square which only allowed pedestrian traffic was packed with tables of office workers all chattering over their sandwiches. His call to Kincaid had been met with a terse reply to meet him in the square in an hour.

Alec looked down at his watch. It was past time, but there was no sign of Kincaid. The longer he waited, the more agitated he got. He imagined he could feel Max weakening. It had been hours since they'd left Seattle, and there were only a few remaining now before it would be too late for her.

Slick frowned fiercely, searching the crowd. "This is a bad idea."

"Of course it is," Alec answered.

"No. I mean a really bad idea."

That made him smile. "Well, it won't be the first I've ever had."

Slick grabbed his arm and spun him around. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No more than usual," Alec sad offhandedly, but the burning anger he had been working so hard to bank began to surface again.

"Let me make this real plain for you, Alec," Slick said seriously, more stern than Alec had ever seen him. "You can't die today."

"Actually the laws of physics-"

"No. You can't die today. I don't know if you think Max is dying so you've got a death wish, or if you're just so pissed you can't think straight, but if Max dies..."

Alec's heart thudded and for a moment he thought he might be sick. Just those words were almost enough to bring him to his knees.

"Listen," Slick put his hand on Alec's shoulder and tightened his fingers painfully. "If she dies then we're gonna need you. You're gonna have a breakdown and I get that, but afterward we're gonna need you. We'll need you more than ever, so you can't die today. You got that?"

"Yeah," Alec managed to say past his constricted throat. It never ceased to amaze him the faith that the others put in him and Max. Max, he understood somewhat. She was bossy and she got things done and she'd been out in the world a lot longer than the rest of them. Alec, however... He'd never been much of a team player. He'd been way too interested in trying to keep himself out of trouble, or to get back in the boss' good graces, or to make a buck. Alec wasn't exactly hero material.

"Promise me you're not gonna do anything crazy," Slick urged.

"I'll do what I have to do to keep us all safe," Alec answered.

Slick's expression softened, heading toward resignation. "That wasn't really the response I was hoping for."

Alec's focus suddenly sharpened, zeroing in on the one person he'd been searching for. "He's here."

Slick immediately began speaking into his mic, giving directions to pinpoint their target to the others on the team, stationed strategically around the square. Kincaid walked toward a crowded set of tables and chose the last empty one just large enough for two people to sit.

"Everybody, be ready," Alec said. He took a step out of the shadows and then headed for Kincaid's table, wading through the crowd. Kincaid saw him coming and kept his watchful eyes on him as he approached. Alec stopped and stood beside the table until Kincaid motioned for him to sit.

The man looked much as he had the last time. He was wearing an expensive suit and his hair was styled neatly. "You have the file?"

Alec pulled the folder from beneath his jacket and set it on the table in front of him. When Kincaid began to reach for it, he placed his hand flat on top of it. "Not until you take care of your end of the bargain."

Kincaid sighed. He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "Do it," was all he said and then hung up. He met Alec's gaze. "A messenger will arrive at the gates to Terminal City in a few minutes. He has no association with us, so don't bother trying to question him. He will be carrying a package that contains a syringe. Give it to Max and she will recover within a few days, maybe sooner given how quickly you heal. Now give me the file."

"Not yet." Alec pulled out his own cell phone and dialed Command.

Mole picked up the phone. "Aren't you supposed to be busy?"

"A messenger will be at the gates in a minute. He should be carrying the cure for Max. Take it to her and call me when you're there." Mole was already barking instructions as Alec hung up.

"Now," Kincaid urged. "The file."

"When I know Max is in the clear," Alec replied coolly. "How about you tell me what's so important about this file."

Kincaid chuckled and shook his head. "If I know anything, then I know you've made a copy of it. You'll have ample time to figure out why it's important."

"If you know so much, why don't you just save me some time and effort? This cat and mouse game is getting a little old."

"It is, isn't it?" Kincaid sighed. "I should really just kill you. With this crowd, I won't have any trouble getting away. I have as many men surrounding this meeting as you do. My guess is the spots for a good lookout are getting a little crowded around this square."

"Probably. A side effect of wanting to kill each other on sight."

Kincaid shrugged. "We're hand-picked, carefully chosen for the right genes, bred for generations to be superior. You're a bunch of animals. We were bound to have issues."

"You're a show dog and I'm a mutt?"

"If you want to think of it that way."

"Given the world we live in, I like to think of us as junkyard dogs. We're mutts you don't want to cross."

Kincaid gave him a cruel smile. "And yet here you are, coming to heel when I whistle."

Before Alec could respond, a harassed looking waitress appeared at their table. "Can I get you gentleman something?"

"Whiskey, neat," Kincaid said, smiling at the waitress. "We need to celebrate. We're about to close a big deal."

"Good for you guys," she said, barely managing to sound sincere.

Alec had to grit his teeth. "Nothing for me," he said. Although he would like an entire bottle of scotch after what he'd just heard, he doubted he could keep it down.

"Be right back."

Alec's phone rang. He snapped it open and held it to his ear. "It there?"

"It's a syringe," Mole said. "We supposed to give it to her?"

"How is she?"

"Well, she's naked for one thing." And unless Alec was wrong Mole was highly embarrassed. "Kinda wish you'd mentioned that before I barged in here. I'm scarred for life."

Max wouldn't be too pleased either if she found out anyone other than Alec had seen her in such a state. And he didn't just mean without her clothes on. She didn't like anyone seeing her at her weakest.

"Is she awake?"

"Sorta."

"What does that mean?"

"It means she's in so much pain she's nearly out of her mind." His voice dropped to a low growl. "She doesn't have long. I think Kincaid's twenty four hours was probably generous."

Alec felt the blood drain from his face, felt his lungs tighten as he forgot how to breathe. Max was dying.

Even if this was another trick to string them along, he was out of options. He would just have to trust that Kincaid had produced what he promised. If not... then Max was dead anyway, and the last place Alec wanted to be was sitting at this table with her murderer when he could be flying back to her side to be there for her at the end.

"Give it to her," Alec ordered.

"You sure?"

"Just do it."

Alec heard Mole put the phone down, muttering the whole time. A second later, Alec heard him say, "Sorry, Princess."

Max screamed. It was the sound of pure agony. Alec closed his eyes, the vibrations running straight through his body nearly stopping his heart cold. "Stop, please stop," she begged. He heard Mole scrabbling to pick the phone up, and he was breathing hard, but still the sound was not enough to cover the sound of Max's sobbing.

"It's done," Mole said, sounding rattled. "Don't ever make me do that again. You got it?"

"Tell her I'm on my way," Alec said, and closed the phone, feeling oddly empty, broken.

"Why the long face?" Kincaid asked. "I would have thought you'd be rather chipper. Your girlfriend will be fine, and all you had to do to make it happen was hand over one little file that doesn't mean anything to you anyway."

"I will make it my personal mission to find out why it's important to you."

Kincaid smirked. "You do that."

"Here you go," the waitress said, slightly out of breath. She set the drink down in front of Kincaid. "Anything else I can get you? Something to eat?"

"No thanks," Alec said grimly.

"Great. Just flag me down if you need anything else." She pulled a ticket out of her pad and set it on the table before rushing away.

Alec picked up the file and held it out across the table for Kincaid to take. The man took it and tucked it beneath his suit coat.

Kincaid picked up his glass and downed the entire contents in one gulp. "Excellent," he said with satisfaction and set the glass down with a clank. "The perfect ending to this little battle of wits. Sadly... you lost, but then that was to be expected."

Alec felt a sharp jerk that rocked him back in his seat, followed by a stabbing pain in his side just below the level of the table. He looked down and watched as blood appeared on his shirt. Kincaid's hand was underneath the table. He had to have used a suppressor or the entire crowd would have heard the gunshot.

"Well, this has been fun, but I really hope you die this time. I'm tired of dealing with you. Our plan for Max went awry, but we'll get to her soon enough."

"You know... I learned a lot of things at Manticore."

Kincaid snorted. "I really don't have time for more of this little heart to heart."

"You'll want to hear this," Alec assured him, his tone friendly. "Your life depends on it."

Kincaid's eyes narrowed. "Make it quick."

Alec could feel his breaths becoming shallower. He didn't know what kind of bullet Kincaid had used, but it wasn't a normal one and it wasn't good. "Like I said... I learned a lot at Manticore... Distraction, sleight-of-hand... But you guys... you guys taught me something new."

"Get on with it," Kincaid growled.

"Micro-explosives. Your buddy White introduced me to them. Tiny little things. You'd barely even notice they were there... if you didn't know to look for them." Alec felt a smile forming on his lips and knew it was an ugly thing, filled with fury and vengeance. "As a matter of fact... you could swallow them... and not even realize."

"What?"

Alec glanced down at Kincaid's glass and waited for the significance to dawn on him.

Kincaid blanched. "You..."

"There were probably four or five in that little glass. And the funny thing about them... they're kind of clingy. If I had to guess... they didn't all... make it to your stomach." He set his hand high on his chest. "I'm betting they're lodged... somewhere a little higher up."

"But..."

"They're on a timer," Alec said. "You've got a couple of minutes, tops." Alec had to work to breathe. He coughed and had to grab a napkin to wipe away the blood. "You see the other thing... you people taught me... was to never let you get away... if I could help it. You'll kill us all... if we give you the chance... and I can't let that happen."

"I don't believe you," Kincaid snapped.

"I don't care," Alec said tiredly.

"You'll pay for this," Kincaid swore. "You'll all pay."

Alec put the napkin to his lips again, coughing into it, bright scarlet blood plainly visible as he pulled it away.

Alec looked at his watch. "I have to get back to Max."

Abruptly, Kincaid's body jerked. He fell forward onto the table, then his body jerked more violently as several detonated at once and then one last time. He fell to one side, knocking over his chair and the table as well in a clatter of glass and silverware. The area around them burst into movement.

"What's wrong with him?"

"What happened?"

"Somebody call 911."

"Is it a heart attack or something?"

"He looks dead."

"Everybody get back. I'm a doctor."

Alec stood slowly, ignoring all the commotion. With difficulty, he bent over and picked up the file Kincaid had dropped.

Alec headed toward the edge of the crowd where he could see Slick waiting for him. One by one, the rest of his team also appeared as he moved in their direction. Terry, too, appeared to have tagged along.

"What did I say?" Slick said angrily.

"How... was I supposed... to know... he'd..."

"Just shut up," Slick said. "Max'll forgive you. It's us she's gonna kill."

"Here." Alec held out the file for him to take. Slick tried to hand it to Terry who refused to take it.

"One of our people is already going over the file. Secretary Gordon asked you to do the same. We'll compare notes later." He stepped closer to Alec. "Now, let's get you to a hospital."

Alec fell to his knees, no longer able to hold himself up. He'd been running on fumes for so long and now he'd done all he could and his body was done. Just done.

"Max... Get me... to Max."

"We will," Slick promised. He put one hand around Alec's arm to keep him from landing face first on the pavement. "Alec, you gotta stay awake. We'll get you to her, but you gotta stay awake."

"Ok." Alec tipped forward and felt someone else take his other arm. He tried to stay awake, but it was too much. He'd done what he had to do. Max would be fine. Kincaid was dead. He could relax now. Everything around him faded away and finally he could rest.

Wrap up soon...