DISCLAIMER: I dont own any of these characters

Alec and Max meet officially... sort of
-again, thanks for the reviews

Chapter 8: Ben

Max crept up to the place. Only a 10 minute walk from Crash. 5 for her. She made sure to keep hidden, in case Zack was nearby. She wanted to spot him before he spotted her. Damnit, she thought. Couldn't she get a break for once? If he wasn't here, she didn't know where he would be. She decided to chill there for a bit thinking of where else to go, while hoping he would show up while she was there.

After sitting in the shadows for a few minutes, she heard something with her enhanced hearing. The place was still open, and it sounded like there was a customer. But that wasn't what sparked her ears- she heard someone say, "Removing hurts worse you know." Someone was getting a tattoo removed! Could her luck have changed? Maybe Zack was in there right now. It had only been about 2 hours since she had last seen him, there was a very good chance he was still nearby. This would help him search for clues without as much suspicion.

She had to movecloser to get a look at who was inside. Maybe she should just walk right in. No, she decided, that is what got me in trouble this morning!. This time she would lay low, and be patient.

She crept up very close, but still outside. The customer was a guy, but with the darkness, and the angle, she couldn't see his face, or tell where he was getting one removed. On his back side somewhere, but she couldn't place if it was up around his neck where she was hoping, or if it was lower.

She got slightly startled feeling a vibration coming from her pocket. Shit!, she thought, as it broke her concentration for a split second. She ignored it. It had to be Logan paging her. It wouldn't matter, she thought, she had left her phone at his place.

Staring inside, she noticed the guy looking in her direction. She felt safe though, there was no way even a transgenic could see her where she was. But she couldn't move while he was staring. Why was he staring? Finally he looked away.

She was about to reach in her pocket to turn off her vibrator when it went off again. This time it didn't break her concentration, and she noticed the customer look her way again. Oh my God!, she thought. He must have heard it, and only a transgenic would be able to hear that at his distance.

She held her breath. She had to stay in place. If she moved, he would surely see her. But if it's Zack, that doesn't matter, she realized. They had already tried one trap tonight. They wouldn't plan on making another in just the next sector over. Besides, they would be coming for her, not the other way around. She scanned the area more thoroughly and realized it was just her, the customer, and the owner. No one else was around. She knew she could handle one other transgenic, even after getting stunned earlier. She was already recovered and ready to go.

Max waited until the owner turned around for a moment, then stood up and made her way inside before the customer could run away.

Once inside she knew, he was definitely a transgenic. He had gotten a tattoo removed from the back of his neck, and more than that, he noticed her come in even though she was extremely quiet and the owner didn't notice. They stared at each other for a moment. Max gave herself away to the owner with a gasp. It was Ben! One of her X5 brothers who had escaped that she had been looking for!

The owner spun around, startled, then smiled at the sight of Max. "Hey, pretty thang, what can I do for you? Depending where you want one, I might give it to you for free."

Max stared a moment longer at Ben before answering. Ben seemed to recognize her, but also like he didn't know who she was. And strangely, he looked like he'd been caught.

Max turned to the owner, "First of all, my name isn't 'pretty thang', it's Max. And I didn't come for a tattoo, I came to meet up with my friend, Ben." She stared at Ben intently. Come on, Ben! Work with me here!

Ben found his composure and his face no longer showed confusion. He was good at adapting to his surroundings. "Max, what gives, you're late. I thought you were lookin' forward to tonight." He smiled strangely at her, he seemed to like this game.

"Well, I'm here now, and it looks like you're done, so let's go."

"Where are we going?" Ben asked smartly, he clearly didn't trust her.

"Back to my place," she decided honestly. If something went wrong, she had a feeling she could take Ben alone. Besides, if she brought him to her apartment, Zack would no doubt be nearby if trouble happened.

"Well then let's go," Ben answered, again smartly. He put his arm around her. It sent a weird rush down Max's spine, but she didn't know why. She had always been extremely comfortable around Ben. Of course, that was years ago by now. She calmed down about that and kept playing it cool until they were out of sight of the tattoo place. Then she moved out from underneath his arm.

"Nice," she said sincerely, "I would have had to knock that guy out if you hadn't kept your cool. Now at least there won't be anything else on my back from tonight."

Ben nodded, but didn't respond right away. He was unusually quiet till they made it to her apartment, but he was staring at her the whole time.