Today "They" Won the Battle
Part 22
By Rhasa
Alec followed closely behind Mole, madder than hell. This was a complete waste of his time, but for some reason he couldn't convince Mole of this fact. It was insane for him to have to be responsible for solving every little disagreement that broke out amongst the inhabitants of Terminal City.
"They're adults," he had told his lizard friend who had come to him complaining that things were getting ugly between an X5 unit leader named Loader, and Quinn, a relative newcomer who had for some unknown reason been placed in charge of sentry details. "They'll sort it out."
"Not this time, they won't," Mole had assured him. "It's gonna come to blows, and I don't like Quinn's chances against Loader. He's the X5 who took out Bear over the allocation of space heaters a couple of weeks ago."
"I thought we were over this territorial shit," Alec mumbled.
"We are. Well mostly," Mole admitted. "Now we've moved on to disputes about sentry details. And unless you do something about it, as I said, it's going to get ugly."
Alec was about to reply, why me? When the absurdity of the question hit him. Why him? Because he was a chump, that's why – or at least that's what he thought. Damn Max for leaving him with all this shit to deal with.
It was pure understatement to say that the last few months had been hard on Alec. Leading this rag tag team was taking its toll on him. Apart from his main role of ensuring there was food, water, and power – all the essentials necessary in order to ensure relative peace and tranquility in a place like Terminal City - he was constantly bombarded with what he called 'insignificant interruptions' to his main task of just keeping everyone alive. There just seemed to be no sense to the problems that people would come to him with. He couldn't quite predict what problems he would face on a day-to-day basis. He also couldn't quite believe just how much little, 'incidental' problems seemed to take up of his time. People referred to him on almost everything and anything – from munitions training, to dating advice – hell he'd even had a few females come to him asking if he could 'help' them through a heat cycle. Once upon a time he would be more than happy to oblige with that particular problem; but now things were different. Taking a more 'responsible' approach, he liaised with Travis and arranged separate digs for females in heat which was patrolled by other females.
It's not like he would have even had time to 'help' a few X5 females in heat anyway. Being the new leader of Terminal City left him pretty much zero time to himself. On the rare occasion he made it back to his apartment on the east side of Terminal City, he would often collapse into bed, wondering all the while what on earth he had gotten himself into. It was just as well though, he mused late one night - when the relative calm of the day had afforded him a breather; if he had have had too much time to think who knows what conclusions he would have come to, or what plans he would have made. Luckily for everyone involved, his new job description prevented him from pretty much focusing on anything other than the problem at hand. And right now there was a problem that, according to his amphibian friend needed his direct attention.
'I don't suppose you're gonna leave me alone until I come deal with this are you?" he asked Mole.
Mole shook his head in response.
Cursing everything and everyone under his breath, Alec ran a hand through his disheveled hair, let out a frustrated sigh, threw up his hands in defeat and followed Mole out of the command centre.
Alec could hear the argument raging between Loader and Quinn just before he and Mole stepped into the mess. Why the troublemakers had picked this particular spot to have a confrontation was anyone's guess, although upon entering the crowded room, Alec assumed that Loader had cornered Quinn while he was grabbing a bite, since Quinn was arguing while still holding a plate of today's special in his hand. The two of them looked almost comical going head to head. Quinn a scrawny X series, that couldn't be much more than 5 foot eight, gesticulating wildly, sending pieces of food flying off his plate in some kind of frenzy, up against Loader an infuriated six foot seven, balding, hulking mass of muscle. Alec paused to both watch and listen as the two continued to entertain the crowd with their bickering. From the way Loader was being restrained by two other X5s, it was obvious that he had taken a swing at Quinn. Quinn to his credit, didn't seem to be at all concerned about the possibility of Loader pulling free from the grasp of the others, as he continued to shout in the larger man's face.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this from an X5! You sure you're not mistaken and they didn't put a little too much sloth in your DNA cocktail!"
"Are you implying that we're not pulling our weight? Say yes and I'll pound your ass," Loader screamed back at him.
"You heard me," Quinn baited him, as he stepped closer to his opponent.
Loader, obviously used to using his fists instead of words, struggled hard against his restrainers, managed to get an arm free, and swung it towards Quinn.
Alec used the opportunity to move in to stop it. "Hey! HEY!" he yelled at them. "Just what the hell is going on?"
Loader, seeing Alec straightened up, took a step back, but remained silent. His reluctance to bring his CO into the argument making Alec think that some things since Manticore just hadn't changed.
When both remained silent, Alec sighed and asked Quinn directly. "Well?"
"Loader was just … describing his unhappiness about the new sentry detail I posted this week," Quinn told Alec.
Alec flashed Loader a look. A blank expression – one that Alec knew well from his own days at Manticore – had fallen over the larger man's face. Alec knew he wasn't going to offer anything up to his CO. As far as he was concerned this was a matter between himself and the weasel that was arguing with him.
Sighing again, Alec turned back to Quinn and signaled for him to elaborate a bit on what else was going on.
"He was complaining about the extra sentry hours," Quinn told Alec, then without pause faced Loader and continued. "Yes, your unit has been assigned a few extra hours," Quinn told him calmly. "Everyone is doing extra. I've had to pull units off sentry to help rebuild the tunnels and since White's attack, double sentry at the same time. Someone has to pick up the slack. I just assumed you and yours would prefer sentry to hauling dirt for eight hours a day."
The larger man scowled. "My unit is doing more than a few extra hours a day and you know it."
"As I told you before, I'm sure they can handle it," Quinn said somewhat dismissively.
"Says who? You? You don't know my men. They've pulled double sentry for that past fourteen weeks. They need some down time."
'I'll be happy to switch their detail to the tunnels," Quinn said smugly.
"That's not gonna cut it," Loader growled again.
Quinn took a defensive stand. "Well it's gonna have to cut it because there isn't anyone else."
"They're tired. They need some R and R."
"They're X5's for chrissakes," Quinn said while rolling his eyes.
"And you're not. So you're not in a position to know what they need. You want an effective soldier? You want them to be ready and on their toes the next time White storms? Then you have to retire them every once in a while. Sentry may seem like a cushy job for you paper chasers, but it's not. They're on edge. All the time. And if they don't get some rest one of them or some of them are going to blow. And trust me," he said pointing a threatening finger towards Quinn, "you don't want to be around when that happens. Besides what makes you think that I'm asking you to take 'em off. I'm not asking. I'm telling. If you don't do it, I will order them not to pull a stint. Don't think I'll get much resistance on that one."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Alec butted in finally. "I'm sure we can work this out."
Loader, clearly impatient, fixed Alec with a glare. "As far as I'm concerned there's nothing to work out. It's simple. Pure and simple. My unit aint goin' to be doin' this shit no more. As you keep telling us, we're not in Manticore anymore and I'm not going to be takin' orders from this dweeb."
Alec sighed, and instantly thought he really should stop doing that. He just didn't need this. Not now. Seeing there was no way Quinn was going to cut Loader some slack, he decided to make an executive decision.
"You and your unit can have the next three days off all details— " he began.
"Alec, wait. I—" Quinn, a look of horror coming over his face, tried to interject, only to be ignored.
"And we see about rotating the details, so it's not the same one all the time," Alec continued. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind at least one duty a fortnight in the tunnels, you know, to just break up the monotony and all."
Loader, clearly satisfied, smiled and said, "We can do that."
"You gotta understand though, Loader," Alec said a little quieter. "We're just getting back on our feet since White's attack. There's been a lot of changes. It's hard. Believe me I know how hard it is, but right now's the time when I need to know that guys like you and like those in your unit have our back. We're countin' on ya buddy. Things may be a little uncomfortable for a while, but hopefully that won't be for too long." Moving closer to Loader, Alec lowered his tone. "Quinn's just following orders too, you know. It's hard making resources stretch – you can only do so much."
Loader, suddenly feeling ashamed of himself for some strange reason, looked down at his feet. "All we ask for is a little consideration. This aint no dictator state."
"I know. I know," Alec told him.
"I know my men. They aint slackers. They're realists. Many of them sustained injuries during the attack – two were critical and yet they were back on duty within two weeks. We're Manticore. I mean ex-Manticore. Hard work is never a problem, but being taken for granted and pushed beyond our limits is."
Alec nodded sympathetically. "I hear ya'," he said before slapping the larger man on the back, essentially ending the matter and turning to deal with Quinn.
Having seen Alec and Loader come to an 'understanding' most of those in the mess who had stopped whatever it was that they were doing to watch the performance returned to what they were doing before.
Alec waited a few moments before speaking to a clearly miffed Quinn.
"I don't have time for this shit, Quinn," he said annoyed. "I put you in charge."
"I'm doing the best I can," Quinn told him.
Deciding he didn't want to put Quinn off side, he was after all the only one who had 'volunteered' to take on the work details, Alec adopted the conciliatory tone that he had used on Loader. "Part of having this responsibility is dealing with all the problems that comes with it. You gotta learn to be a bit more diplomatic when it comes to assigning duties. You gotta listen to their concerns," he advised him. "Look, Loader's an effective unit leader. If he says his men need downtime, then they probably need downtime."
Quinn opened his mouth ready to argue back, when looking at Alec, he shut it again. What was the point. "And what am I going to do about sentry now?" he asked.
Alec thought for a moment. "Put Bear and the other transhumans on riverside on to it. At least for tonight. None of those guys sleep anyway. Tell 'em I'll give them an extra week's food rations. Bear's getting ready for hibernation anyway and could do with the extra caloric intake. I think it's about time we third the tunnel duties. Re work everything and come see me first thing in the morning to go over the numbers. Got it?"
"Got it," a disgruntled Quinn affirmed.
In the end it wasn't too difficult to placate both Loader and Quinn, which left Alec even more angry that Mole had brought him into this shit. "As I said, I don't have time to be sorting out the little things. You could've stopped it with a terse word and a snarl, Mole," he told his 'so-called friend' as they returned to the command centre.
"Not my job," Mole drawled.
"'Tis now," Alec threw over his shoulder as he turned to do a quick peruse of the computer terminals. "I was waiting for you to step up to the role of Two IC," he told him as he turned around to face him. "Now I'm making it an order. If you don't like it you know where the door is."
"You get more like her everyday. You know that?" Mole told him as he lit a fresh cigar.
"What are you talking about?" Alec asked a little miffed.
"I'm talking about Max. We all thought she was the bitch from hell most of the time, Mole confessed as he shook out the match he had in his hand. Taking a long draw on his smoke he continued. "Don't get me wrong, we all love her in a kinda-glad-you're-the-one-dealing-with-all-the-shit-that-we've-been-dealt kind of way. But most of us thought she didn't have to be so snippy about it."
Alec ignored his thinly veiled insult. "I mean it, I'm too damn busy with supply lists, negotiations with the Seattle PD, intel on White and the million other things that are going on in this damn place to play nursemaid to newbies like Quinn. If Quinn can't handle the job, give it to someone else. I'm over the ego stroking as well. That'll be your job for now on. You might want to brush up on a little skill called 'flattery'."
Mole stood there. No change in his demeanor. Just stood there, casually smoking as if he was at a goddamn picnic. His behavior annoyed the shit out of Alec, who for some reason was ready for a full out and out fight. Finally after smoking the stogie down the less than half, he, pointed a finger at Alec and said, "No one would blame you."
"What?"
"If you just upped and left. Hit the road. Did a runner."
Alec paused. He admitted to himself that he was pissed. Maybe he shouldn't be taking his frustrations out on Mole. It's not like the guy really deserved it. He wouldn't blame Mole for hating his guts, if that's what he felt about now. Alec had done nothing but bitched and moan, pulling a woe is me all the time lately. "Look man, I'm sorry for ragging on ya. I've just got so much going on, so much on my mind …," he began before realizing that he was doing it again. "Am I doing that bad of a job?" he asked his friend.
Mole shook his head and smiled – a little. "No. It's just … we all know that this was Max's crusade. Not yours. We kinda expected you to hightail it out of here a couple of weeks after she took off with Cale."
Alec couldn't help it. He winced. Whether because of his name or hers, didn't really matter. "Why's that?" he asked.
Mole shrugged. "Lotta reasons. But mostly because as I said this was her war, not yours."
"Maybe it's become my war. Maybe I finally really believe in what we are trying to do here."
"Remind me," Mole sneered. "Just what is that again?"
"We at the moment it's apparently trying to work out disputes over sentry detail," he tried to say with humor but it fell flat. Looking up at his friend, he told him honestly "I'm just trying to get us all by, Mole. That's all there is. Trying to survive."
"There's more than one way to survive, Alec. You know that. In here or out there," he said pointing to beyond the walls of the room in which they were in. "There's not really all that much difference you know."
"I know Terminal City aint exactly the Ritz, that it's not much above the sewers but for some of us here the sewers or the dark basements of Manticore are all that they've ever known. To them TC is frickin' Shangri-La. For the rest of us, the main difference between life in TC and taking our chances on the outside is at least in here you know exactly where you stand. There are people here who've got your back. There's no need to be afraid or to run and you're surrounded by family."
"Not anymore you aint."
"Don't start," Alec warned.
"No. I think now that I'm truly 2IC and after a statement like that I have every right to ask you one more time why you let them take Jed with them when they left."
"What's it to you? What gives you the right to question anything to do with my son? You're the one who wanted to snap his neck when he first arrived."
"That was before I got used to being an uncle," Mole grinned in good humor.
"And an ugly one at that."
"You wanna know what I think?"
"No. I don't. I really don't."
"I think you let Max have Jed so you'd have an excuse," Mole said ignoring him.
"For what?" Alec asked.
"For taking off after her."
Alec scoffed. "And why would I do that?"
"For the same reason that you're still stuck here, stepping into her shoes, doing all the things she entrusted you with to do. You're in love with her and you just can't let go."
"You're wrong," he said shaking his head.
"About which part? The part where you love her or the part where you can't let go?"
Alec avoided looking directly at his friend. "My staying in Terminal City has nothing to do with Max," he told him quietly.
"Maybe you're staying has got nothing to do with Max, but I'm betting that your 'not going' has everything to do with Max. What'd she say to you anyway?"
Alec looked up. He didn't owe Mole an explanation. What happened between him and Max before she left was nobody's business. Besides, he knew he could never really explain it to Mole's satisfaction without the lizard losing all respect for him. He could never really explain how it wasn't Max that had convinced him to let Jed return to Canada with her and Logan…
Flashback
"You can't make her do this, Logan."
He had never wanted to confront Logan. But after Max had left him and his bed, his anger began to build. Damn her for all her morals. He knew she loved him. Max was not the type of person to give herself willingly to just anyone. It wasn't pity sex either. She loved him. He loved her. As improbable as it may have once sounded, they were meant to be together, Alec was sure of it. The only thing preventing that was the promise she had made to Logan. Promise? That was rich, Alec thought. It was more like blackmail. He didn't know what had happened to his once friend to make him force her to do something like that. Maybe… maybe Logan just didn't realize that Max had moved on. Once before, when he had thought that Max had made another choice, he seemed willing to let her go, "Just take good care of her," is what he had told him… Maybe if he knew how they felt about one another now, that this time it was for real, and that equally they had never meant for it to happen, but it had, then he might be willing to return to Canada on his own…. Alec had to try. He wasn't going to give up without a fight.
Logan seemed to smile slightly when he turned around to see Alec standing in the doorway. For a split second, Alec suspected that the older man had anticipated the young X 5 commander would come to see him. "If you're talking about Max, then you already know that no one can 'make' her do anything."
"It's not right," Alec said simply.
Logan threw down some papers he had in his hands, sighed and straightened up. This was obviously one conversation he didn't want to have. "She made a choice, Alec."
Alec took a few steps inside. "From what I hear, you didn't give her a choice!"
"It was a choice, and she made it."
Alec shook his head. "I don't understand. I thought we were friends. I thought after Max had told you that she was just using me as a boyfriend for an excuse to keep you safe, that everything was all right between you and me. It was another four months after you found out about her deception before you left Terminal City. And everything seemed fine."
Logan winced at the word, Alec continued. "Why…… Why would you do this, Logan? Why would you back her into a corner like this? You know how much she values loyalty. You know she would never go back on her word. So why did you force her into making that choice? Why are you forcing her to leave?"
"If your relationship with Max had, as you say, really been a ploy, an excuse to keep me away, to keep me safe, then why are you so bent up about her leaving Terminal City?"
"What?" Alec was stunned, he couldn't still be angry about their earlier deception could he? That was ancient history.
The older man shook his head. He didn't really believe that Alec couldn't see the truth behind the situation. "Bottom line - I still care for her," he said deciding against arguing a moot point with the X5. "I love her. I worry about her. I want her safe, and she'll never be safe as long as she stays here."
"So you're doing this for her own good?" Alec said sarcastically. "Screw what she really wants; it's for the best, right?"
"I guess both of you thought it was a good idea when the tables were turned."
"That was different."
"Really? How so?"
"I didn't black mail her."
Logan scoffed. "And neither did I."
Trying desperately to keep his anger in check, Alec spun on the man. "What's wrong with you? You bargained with her for my life!"
"It wasn't like that. I tired to get her to see reason. It was a means to an end," Logan told him matter-of-factly.
"And you don't care that she doesn't love you?"
A muscle in Logan's neck spasmed. "She's never said that."
"But you know it's true; don't you."
"I care for her. I want her safe," Logan told him in no uncertain terms. "We'll work the rest out later."
"What….?" Alec chuckled nervously to himself in disbelief. "You're going to keep her captive with this promise you forced her to make in the hope that she'll begin to have feelings for you again?"
"There's no way a person like you could possibly understand. What we had was real. It was a once in a lifetime kind of thing. And something like that is never easy. But the fact of the matter is I love her and like I told you, right before I left Terminal City the last time, I am never, ever going to give up on her or us…"
"In case you didn't know, I have real feelings for Max – this isn't just some pissing competition," Alec told him.
"Same here."
"I'm not going to let you do this."
"I'm not doing anything, Alec; it's Max's choice. If, as you say, you really do care about her, then you should see that leaving Terminal City is the right thing for her to do. Do the soldierly thing – think with your head, not with your heart – or any other part of your anatomy."
"You son of a bitch" Alec growled through gritted teeth.
"Now there's the pot calling the kettle black."
Then without hesitation, Alec added, "I should kill you."
Logan stared right back at the younger man. "But you won't. Because where would you be then? She'll hate you, possibly forever, if anything happens to me."
"I wouldn't be so sure of myself, if I were you Logan," Alec told him.
"I'm not. The only thing I am sure of is that by leaving Terminal City and coming back to Canada with me, Max has a chance at a normal life. If you know her as good as you think you do, then you'll know that that's all she's ever wanted."
"Maybe that's what she wanted in the beginning, but not now. What she wants now, more than ever is family."
Logan smiled, then in a much calmer voice, "Well then, you have the power to give that to her."
"What do you mean?"
"Let us take Jed back with us. Give Max the chance to have a 'real' family."
Alec couldn't believe what he had just heard. "No-"
"White already knows about Jed. How long do you think it will be before he's in danger again?" Logan asked, then when Alec hesitated, he added, "He doesn't have to be. Max and I can raise him-"
"He's my son-"
Logan nodded. "And as his father I'm sure there is nothing more that you want for him than for him to be safe."
"The safest place for him is with me," Alec said a little stronger.
Logan shook his head. "You really believe that?"
"Yes, I do. We're family and family has to stick together."
"Like Joshua," Logan asked. "Joshua died protecting 'your' family, Alec. How many more have to die?"
Alec said nothing.
"You know what I'm saying is true," Logan continued. "If you give a damn about your son, you should do what's best for him, otherwise …"
"Otherwise what?" Alec couldn't help but ask.
"Otherwise, it becomes all about you, doesn't it Alec. Which is exactly what we've come to expect."
End Flashback
TBC…..
Author's Note:
Okay, so this was for the few of you that wanted to know how Jed got to be with Max and Logan. Of course there's more to it than that which may come in the next part (I'll have to see about that). Just know that while Alec currently hates Logan for what he's 'making Max' do (although really , couldn't she find a way out of it? Don't ask me I'm just the writer and have no control over what my characters do :-P), the issue of keeping Max, and Jed for that matter, safe is a serious one for Alec. Especially after seeing her all hurt like she was after White's attack. Also, note Mole's change of heart for little Jed. I knew he'd come around. Just because he's ugly doesn't mean he's all that tough.
A little note about the flashbacks, I hate putting bold 'Flashback" as a subheading. I used to blend the present with past segments together, but a few people couldn't pick up on the subtle changes and didn't know what was going on, hence my decision to try the flashback end flashback headings. If you hate them just say so and I'll switch back.
A few of you may have picked up on a reference made by Logan to an earlier conversation between himself and Alec regarding Max right before he left TC for Canada. That conversation is my other fic "Storm Brewing" so you may want to check that one out (and please review) although I know many of you already have.
The delay in posting this latest chapter is due to this dreaded virus (human – not computer) that has been going around Southern parts of Australia. It has laid me flat for four going on five weeks now. I didn't know it was possible to have an extremely sore throat (we're talking about swallowing razor blades here) for that long. I can't say that I am getting any better. This is the first time I've been at my computer all week. I'll do my best.
Unless my characters hijack me there are three, possibly four, chapters/parts to go in this story – but then just the other day I had a great idea for a spin off, although I don't know if I could do something as big as this again. Just wanted to say thanks to all those people out there who are hanging in there. Also, I would really appreciate reviews, especially from those people who don't usually review because they can't think of what to say – just say hi, liked it, didn't like it, whatever.
Til next time
Sarah