PLEASE READ- People have asked me why Alec is such a jerk and being so OOC. Well,I have my reasons and yes it is intentional. PleaseTRUST MEand don't stop reading because of this. I know what I am doing and I won't let it go on long. This chapter is extra long to make up for it.
Here is the LOOOONG awaited reunion of two, or more, of our favourite people. Enjoy and don't forget to review.
Chapter 8- While the cat's away.
Max sat on the window ledge staring out at the night sky, the apartment deadly silent behind her.
She hugged her knees close to her chest and rested her chin on them. The wind ruffled through her hair and she squeezed her eyes closed as she huddled tighter.
Max had never really been lonely. Back in Wyoming she'd had her Unit and then when they left she had grown accustomed to her own company and then Bill's. She'd made fast friends in Special Ops and Unit 8 and although she had been pushed aside or treated icily on several occasions she had always been fine. Her own company was all that she had ever really needed.
And yet now, when she supposedly had the love of the one who adored her above all else, she had never felt so lonely.
What was wrong with her?
She had tried everything that she knew how. She had tried to support Alec and be there for him. She had encouraged him to be happy and do what it was that he liked. She even went way out of her way to procure the money for him to further his dream, no matter how dangerous it was for either of them.
And then he takes it all and doesn't spare her a glance as he rakes in the admiration. All of the times that he says that he loves her and that he would move heaven and earth for her and yet here she was. Alone.
Alec hadn't come home and hadn't called; he'd just stayed out with his wrestling buddies, almost ignoring Max's existence. It wasn't that she was some harridan who expected him to account for his every movement. But the fact that he hadn't even bothered to call so that she didn't worry about him hurt her. He knew that she was scared of what this Agent White and Lydecker were up to and he hadn't spared her a thought.
That, more than anything Bulli had ever done, more than any barb that Special Ops or Renfro had ever thrown at her, made her feel worthless and insecure.
Max, the most independent, secure and confident woman that she had ever known was feeling bad because her boyfriend would rather spend all day around sweaty, bloodied men, that be around her.
She was pathetic. But no matter how many times she told herself that it shouldn't and didn't matter, it still hurt. Her heart hurt and she hated herself for it.
A tear escaped its carefully constructed confines and slipped down her cheek.
Drew had been right, this love thing sucks.
Despite a night with next to no sleep Max was up, ready and on time for work; something that she had been taught to do from infancy.
Original Cindy smiled at her as she wheeled her bike into the crowded building.
"Hey, boo, what up?"
Max smiled at the flamboyant woman in her lime green shirt and Capri pants. She had been a god-send to Max these past months, listening to her complain about Alec and offering, more than once, to help her bat for the other team. It had taken Max several days to work out exactly what she meant when she said that and was suitably glad that she had turned down the offer.
Sketchy was rummaging through his back pack and emerged with a half-eaten sandwich, slightly squashed and dubious in both age and origin.
Max wrinkled her nose, "Sketch, you aren't going to seriously eat that, are you?"
The goofy man smiled at her, "It's breakfast, Max!"
"It's fossilised," she eyed the sandwich dubiously, "It looks dangerous."
"Hmm," Sketchy considered it and then pulled out a scraggly lettuce leaf and a piece of meat and threw them away, happily crunching on the leftovers. Max's stomach turned.
"Boy, you a twisted mister!" O.C said as she pulled out an apple, her own breakfast and crunched down.
Max smiled down at her two friends. Really they had been wonderful for her these past few weeks and didn't hesitate to tell her when she was being an idiot. Which was quite often, if she was honest. Her feelings about Alec and all they had been through were definitely a factor in her crappy moods these days and she was surprised that her friends hadn't just slapped her upsides the head.
She felt charitably towards the lanky moron and the leggy street smart woman, thankful that she had found such great friends even if they didn't even begin to match her other family.
"Hey guys, lunch is on me," she said abruptly. "Compensation for me being touchy."
"Touchy?" Sketchy rubbed his neck and Max, once again, felt a pang of regret for slamming him up against the lockers when she found him and his friend peering into the girl's locker room. As her friend, Sketchy had a warning. The other guy was still off sick.
"Now, boo, ya know ya don't need ta do that!" O.C. said and then added, "But I ain't turnin' down a free meal."
Max laughed aloud at that. "Well, I insist, it's my treat."
"Excellent!" Sketchy said. "I'm trying to save."
O.C. regarded him, "You need a new bong, boo?"
"No," he ducked his head sheepishly and pretended interest in his shoes.
Sensing that he had a secret that he didn't want to tell them Max and O.C. looked at each other and then pounced on him.
Max held him down whilst O.C. tickled him.
His arms and legs flailed but Max was more than a match for him as she pinned him to the wooden bench.
"Spill!" O.C. demanded.
"No-o-o!" Sketchy gasped even as she tickled mercilessly. "All right, all right!"
Max let him sit up and he massaged his arm, "Damn, Max, you are wicked strong."
She shrugged, "I work out."
"Spill, doofus or I'll find myself a new pin cushion!" O.C waved a fist in his face and Sketchy cowered back.
Max smirked thinking that he wouldn't last a second back at Manticore.
"All right, it may seem like I'm content being this good-for-nothing slacker—"
"Amen!" O.C. mused but Max slapped her arm as Sketchy looked hurt.
"Go ahead," she said softly.
"But...but the truth is, I don't plan on being a bike messenger the rest of my life."
"It's good to have goals," Max said.
"Yeah. Um...I haven't told anybody this, but last week I dropped them off a résumé."
Max and O.C. stared at him.
"A résumé?" Max said. "Where?"
He pulled a tatty paper from behind his back.
"New World Weekly," Max read. "What's that?"
"Dumb tabloid, writes all that dumb-ass stuff," O.C. said. "Snake babies, super-cults a zillion years old and trash like that."
"It's not all trash!" Sketchy defended, "Some of it is true."
"Nuh, uh!"
"Uh huh!"
"Guys!" Max said with a smile. "It's great, Sketchy; I hope you get the job. You'll be great at it."
"If I do get it," he said. "If New World Weekly does hire me, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this whole mutant thing. You see, it says here, uh, some of them even have paranormal psychic abilities."
"Mutant thing?" Max said faintly whilst O.C. groaned.
Sketchy laughed, "Where you been, Max? There was a facility that burned down and they said that lab creatures escaped but that they look like us."
"Crap," O.C. dismissed succinctly.
Sketchy ignored her. "They all have powers, like they can mess with your mind and you don't even know what's happening."
"Sounds farfetched," Max's heart thumped wildly in her chest.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
This wasn't good. Someone had to have leaked the information about transgenics out and for the first time since her escape, Max wondered at the reasons why Renfro had tried to fry them all.
Why had the evil bitch suddenly turned on them and flicked the switch?
Had someone found out about the experiments and threatened exposure? That could have been enough for a scorched earth policy and the reason for the fires.
"I made you better soldiers!" Renfro insisted, "You are alive because of me."
"We were in hell because of you!" Max screamed, "If we were so god-damned important why the hell are you torching the place?"
"It's the data that's important!" Renfro yelled, "You are just meat to m,e 452," she pulled a computer disk out of her pocket, "This is what is important, with this I can start over anywhere."
Max shuddered at the memory of the psychotic woman with the gun trained on her. Had they started again somewhere else?
Neither Max nor Alec had taken the disk from the shrieking Renfro; a lapse that she now regretted.
Exactly what had been on that disk? Their details?
Had someone found it in the wreckage? Was Manticore a wreckage now or had they started to rebuild?
Her mind twisted with all these new questions and she bit hard on her lip to stop from asking Sketchy for answers or begging him not to expose her. She knew that humans were afraid of what they didn't understand and transgenics were a huge threat to both their physical and emotional state.
If humans found out about transgenics… She shivered.
Max tried again to dissuade him, her mind awhirl with what this could mean, "Sketchy, imagine what would be involved in telepathy or tele-coercion. Manipulating brain wave patterns, interfering with short-term memory formation...just seems a little hard to believe."
He bit his lip, "Yeah...I guess it does seem a little ridiculous when you put it like that. But the other stuff, super strength, speed and smarts?"
"Possible," Max hedged. "Good luck with that, though. I do hope you get it."
He looked pleased even as her heart sank further, "Thanks, Max."
She nodded and turned to O.C. Looks like we are on runs now.
"Missy Miss!"
Max halted before Normal could yell at her again, "Yeah?"
"Package for Sector nine."
Max sagged, "But that is all the way across town!"
Normal looked at her without a trace of sympathy, "Gee, its not like you are not getting paid for it."
Max grabbed the package and ran through seven ways to kill Normal as she breathed out.
He was enough to try her patience in a big way. She smiled sweetly and walked out hearing him yell after her, "Don't forget a signature!"
"Yes, sir!" she muttered. "Slave driver, it's like being back at Manticore."
Thankfully the morning went pretty quickly and Max was relieved to find that the ride over to sector nine was peaceful and relaxing. The sector cops weren't being asses and when she stopped off at the market she found a pound of coffee going cheap.
So far it had been a great day and it was with a spring in her step and a smile on her face that she arrived back to Jam Pony.
"Here ya go, Normal," she trilled. "One signature all done in nice pretty colours."
He shot her a suspicious look which Max ignored and tuned to her friends, her lips twitching as she imagined the confused look on his face.
She hurried over to O.C. and Sketchy to make lunch plans.
Normal filed Missy Miss's form and slammed the cabinet shut. He had the odd sense that she was mocking him when she smiled in that way. It was such a shame that such a good and respectful worker came wrapped in an arrogant and sarcastic package… even if that package was the prettiest he had seen.
He was glad that he had given her the job, though. She worked hard and got her packages delivered in half the time without half the cheek that he had to bear from the others. No, on the whole she was a success.
He wandered back out into the main desk and shuffled through his packages.
"Excuse me."
"Just a minute," he said copying down an address to be delivered to. He finished and looked up into the face of a young man with dark blond hair and a severe look in his eyes.
He was wearing dark suit trousers, white shirt and a black leather jacket, an air of poise surrounding him despite his somewhat casual dress. Normal could tell that those were expensively tailored clothes and the man felt like someone that Normal should be nice to and so he smiled.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
The man didn't smile, "My company has a complaint with yours."
"Your company?"
"I'm the owner of an acquisitions firm and we expect high service from our company. Likewise we expect the same from those that we chose to employ. I paid for a package to be delivered and that package has not been delivered. How do you think that reflects on my business?"
Normal swallowed, "Uh, not good, sir?"
"Not good," the man nodded. "I chose Jam Pony because you have a good reputation. That reputation is now called into dispute and I have no qualms about telling all my associates that this is no longer a reputable company. Understand?"
Normal almost trembled, "Yes, sir."
"Now I want that package delivered immediately and I will wait here until I have proof in my hand that it has or I will act... Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir. Uh…what was the package?"
The man's hawk eyes narrowed, "What concern is that of yours?"
"None, I mean… none. But it would help me to locate it. I mean… size and addressee?"
"Hmm," the man pursed his lip. "Long package, rolled up portrait. Antique addressed to a Mr. Duvalier, 435 Bledsoe."
Normal nodded writing it down, "I'll just go and… go and… uh—" he pointed over his shoulder to the back.
The man nodded and gave a nasty grin, "Hey, I've got all day."
Max smiled down at Sketchy who was getting in a sword fight with Skye with one of his long packages.
"Doofus!" O.C. said as she filed her nails. "I'll just be a minute, Max; I can't believe that guy tried to steal my bike!"
"You got him good," Max said absently as something pricked at her brain.
"Yeah, but I broke a nail giving him a cranium crack and that kinda thing can ruin your whole day, ya know, Max. Max?" But she had lost her friends attention as Max stared into space. "Yo, Max?"
"Hmm?" Max had the oddest feeling inside. It was as if her whole body was suddenly pulled to attention and she felt her whole body itch, as if all she needed was scratch and all the bad feelings would leave her in one fell swoop.
Max stretched her back feeling every inch the feline she held inside and wondered at the sensation. If she really was a cat right now, all of her heckles would be up and screaming. What was wrong with her?
And then she heard it.
"Hmm, long package, rolled up portrait."
That voice was familiar.
Very familiar.
"Antique addressed to a Mr. Duvalier, 435 Bledsoe."
So familiar, in fact…Her breath caught as she slowly turned around to face the entrance of Jam Pony.
There he was; grinning at a terrified Normal and enjoying the scent of fear that he was giving off.
Max could hear O.C. speaking to her and Sketchy and Skye fighting but all she could see was him, her entire world focussed down on that one figure in the leather jacket.
She stepped forwards and her voice croaked as she said the precious word.
"Dek?"
Dek rested against the front desk and grinned nastily at the stuttering man as he gestured over his shoulder at the back.
He was so bored and couldn't believe that he had to leave Aiden to come and mess with this jerk, who couldn't even do the menial job here without screwing up. Like sorting packages was a hard career.
He rolled his eyes at the look of fear on the man's face and drawled, "Hey, I've got all day."
This was strictly true, although Aiden would probably wonder where he had gotten to after a while. He thought back to the papers that he had left spread all over the kitchen table and hoped that Aiden would commit them to memory so that they could do the heist tomorrow.
He reached behind his head and scratched at the base of his neck, feeling a strange prickling inside.
Huh, this place probably had fleas. He grimaced at the idea and was about to tell the man that he had changed his mind and would come back when he heard someone call.
"Dek?"
He looked up and his gaze came into sharp focus at the familiar face.
"Max?"
Her long dark hair spilled over one shoulder, her eyes bright and shining with welcome and relief. As he looked over at his friend and CO, he saw her casual jeans and tank top, all in black, and he knew that he had never seen a more beautiful sight.
"Dek," she breathed and in two strides he had her captured in his arms holding her as if he would never let go.
"Max? Max, Maxie, Max," he hissed in her ear as he pulled her even closer. "God, Max!"
Max breathed deeply of the scent of one of her best friends. Dek had always smelled of cedar wood and a fresh woodsy smell that reminded her of forests and comfort. He reminded her of walks in the woods surrounding Manticore and flying through the air by the obstacle course with him by her side laughing at the others who couldn't go as fast.
He reminded her of sitting up in the gym all night talking and playing thumb wars and bouncing all over the gym, their shark DNA not allowing them to sleep.
He reminded her of home.
Right now this was all that she needed; her friend holding her so tightly that she could break… or break down and know that he had her and would hold her until she could make it on her own.
Max closed her eyes and let herself feel all the things that had been missing for too long. Comfort, peace, protection and, above all, love.
She realised that he was whispering in her ear and it was several seconds before she could make out what it was.
"My angel, my sweet angel, Maxie, you okay?"
Her shoulders shuddered at the concern she heard in his voice and she tightened her grip before pulling away, wiping at the tears that had been threatening.
She fought for a smile as she pulled back, still staying in the comforting circle of his arms.
"Hey, you," she managed.
He laughed and the sound rose clear through her making her feel so much better, "Back atcha, babe."
All the things that she could say— that she had missed him, that she needed him right now, that things were rough and that she wanted him to be near— she didn't have to say at all. One look in her eyes and he knew what it was that she wanted to say to him and he nodded kissing her knuckles as she stood back regaining space.
"How about we grab some lunch, sweets?"
Max nodded, not trusting her voice right now and then let go of his hands.
"Normal, I'm uh…" she suddenly realised that everyone had been watching her little display and she felt a flush of embarrassment at the display. To them it may have only seemed like a hug but to her, it had been so much more and even that amount of vulnerability was a weakness that she shouldn't have exposed.
Normal smiled insincerely, "Uh, its fine Miss- Max, you take as long a lunch break as you need with Mr… Mr… uh, your friend."
Max held back a smirk at how afraid Normal was of Dek and straightened, "Sure."
Dek grabbed her hand again, not wanting to be separated from her and started tugging her to the exit, at the last moment he spun back to a relieved Normal. "I will be back for that package."
"Right," Normal said, scared again and watched as they disappeared from view.
"Huh," Sketchy huffed. "I bet she's forgotten about lunch."
White slammed his hands against the wall and roared in anger as he faced his trembling associates. "What do you mean she's gone?"
Mendez blinked and clenched his fists tightly, "The van wasn't found and hasn't been traced but the bodies of the three guards were discovered by long distance truckers. The girl is missing."
White growled again as Mendez made a hasty escape. He couldn't believe it. He had that bitch and Cyril had his plans and it was all coming together. Now they tell him that she had escaped and taken the van?
Transgenic Bitch!
"Problem?"
Yes, there was, and he had just walked through the door with that cocky grin on his aged face.
"Your wunderkind have once again foiled our plans, the girl that we wished to test the antigen on has killed three of our men and done a runner."
"Hmm," Lydecker pursed his lips. "What was her designation?"
White rolled his eyes and flicked his gaze over the paperwork, "X5-291, I think."
"291," Lydecker nodded. "You were lucky to get her, she was Special Ops, no wonder she escaped. If you had come to me I might have—"
"Might have what?" White snapped. "Given her coffee and made her welcome?"
Lydecker watched him carefully for a few seconds. "You may think that these kids are abominations of nature but it is your job to capture them. Whatever you may feel about them needs to be set aside. Rest assured that I will not allow you to hurt them."
White's handsome face turned ugly as he sneered, "How touching."
He was furious at the presumption of this man to tell him what to do. Lydecker was an aging alcoholic and he had no idea what White was capable of. He may not trust him and may not even realise their link but he was no match for White in any stakes.
While Lydecker and his pretty band of white coats had been fooling around with genetics and DNA the real work had been going on right under their nose and they never knew it. Oh, Sandeman may have let slip the odd hint but even that old fool valued his own skin too highly to tell all.
White took a deep breath and reigned in his infamous temper.
"We now have no test subject for Cyril's project. That is my problem."
"Hmm," Lydecker trailed his fingers over the desk top. "How is that other plan coming along? M—452's capture?"
White straightened his jacket and plastered his usual sneer on his face. He was cool and calm and collected. "The trouble is that your composite showed a dark haired female with big lips. There are enough dark haired girls in Seattle to make this… idea ridiculous. If we put these posters up, every man and his dog will be handing in his daughter for a sniff of a reward. Plus it will put your little pets on alert and they will scuttle to ground like the rats that they are."
White gave him one last glare and spun on his heel, walking away as fast as he could.
Lydecker bit his lip, his mind worried beyond what was normal.
Despite the man's volatile temper he was surprisingly efficient, sneaky and confident. If Lydecker didn't know better he would swear that White was a transgenic. He had all the arrogance of one who knew he was superior and all the reckless energy of one who be up all night and not depend on coffee to keep them functioning.
Lydecker wiped his eyes, feeling every bit as tired as he was old. His life hinged and was based on being paranoid, assuming everyone was out to get him, to do him in and to kill him. It had kept him alive until now but it was starting to take its toll.
He knew that White was up to something and knew that he had to keep an eye on him which was another reason why he had asked McGinnis about the extra hands. Hands, hell, he wanted the extra eyes, paranoia, security and strength on his side that the transgenics would provide.
With one last sigh, he walked after Agent White.
He was getting too old for this.
Dek sat on the opposite side of the booth to Max and held her hands tightly in his own grip.
They had made it to the café and sat down without saying a word to each other, just drinking in the fact that they were here together finally.
Max didn't know whether it was just because it was Dek or because it was another Special Ops, but she felt like she had just woken up from a deep sleep to blinding sunlight.
"So, Max, what brings you to this run down café?" Dek smirked.
"That'd be you, dumbass!" Max hit back with a grin. "Geez, no wonder you never had a date, I mean your choice of place is a little cheap, Dek."
He laughed as he looked around the run down café with its Formica chairs and tables and polyester-wearing waitresses.
"Well, the girls love me for my charm and not for my wallet."
"Probably not a good thing since you have about as much charm as you do fashion sense," she pointed at his crisp white shirt and Dek straightened his collar.
"Hey, I'll have you know that this shirt cost a hundred dollars!"
Max's lips twitched, "Did you pay for it?"
"No," Dek scoffed and they exchanged a glance before bursting out laughing.
The laughter faded to good humour as the waitress brought coffee and sandwiches over.
"So, how are you doing?" he asked seriously.
Max sighed and picked up a sugar packet to stir into her coffee, "Honestly, Dek? Not so good. I mean it was all great at first… kinda. We got out."
"You and Alec?" he guessed.
"Yeah." She shrugged. "We got out and headed deep into Seattle. We needed a base to work from so Alec got a job fighting ringside in slum bars for petty cash whilst I placed bets."
"Sweet set up," Dek acknowledged as he drank his drink.
Max nodded. "For a while…"
Dek waited while she ordered her thoughts.
"But it seems to have taken over everything he does." She looked up glad to have someone to talk this through with, finally. "He stays out all night and fights more than I ever thought he would. I don't wanna be a nag but it's like… once he's fighting all of his common sense goes out of the window. He doesn't care about exposure or…" she sighed in frustration. "Dammit, it's almost like he wants to get caught!"
Dek frowned, "That doesn't sound like Alec."
Max shrugged again, "I don't know what to do and when I mention it I come off as the bad guy. I can't win."
There was silence for a moment and then Max asked the question that she had wanted to since she had seen him, "Do you know where any of the others are?"
"Only Aiden."
"Aiden?" Max smiled at the thought of the cheeky man, a smile which faded quickly. "No Drew?"
Dek swallowed and shook his head. "We heard that the C block was on fire so we raced to get there, but it was too late, structural damage was complete and C block was in pieces, I never saw her."
Max closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Damn."
"Yeah," Dek chuckled morosely. "I haven't given up hope."
"Me either," Max said. "I took the biker job so I could scout the surroundings and keep a look out. I haven't seen anyone either."
"Got me now." Dek leaned back, his hair falling into his eyes. "Me and Aiden."
"That'll do for now, I guess," she joked half-heartedly, her fingers absently shredding her sugar packet.
He knew how she felt. They had worked so long in Manticore to stay together and yet they now found themselves more apart than ever. They had no idea what had happened to the rest of their party and it hurt not to know where their family were now. It was nothing like they had imagined it would be.
Dek smiled softly. "So much for my happy ending."
It was so poignant and succinct that Max felt herself tear up as she nodded.
"Yeah."
Dek leaned over the table and brought his hand up to wipe away the sadness that dripped down her face. Her cheek was as soft as he remembered and the gentle look in her eyes for him was a balm to his soul.
"Aiden'll be pleased to see you, wanna go see?"
"Sure," she dropped a few bills on the table. "After all someone's gotta take care of you guys. Manticore knows how you've been living without me."
Dek laughed, "Oh, Aiden's totally transformed, he cleans, cooks, forces me to train… it's like having a maid, a mom and Manticore all in one."
With a slight detour to scare Max's boss once again and discover the whereabouts of the elusive package they headed back to Dek's place eager to see Aiden and share the good news.
Dek shushed her and walked into the run down warehouse first, a smirk plastered over his face.
"Honey, I'm home!"
There was a muffled shout from somewhere within and Dek grinned. He made his voice gruff and added, "Woman, there'd better be dinner on the table 'coz I brought a friend home."
Max stifled her own giggle at Aiden's response to that and Dek shushed her again.
"Is that any way to treat a friend of mine you ungrateful cur? I bring home the bacon and you can't even keep this place clean!"
Aiden burst around the corner, his hands dusted with flour and an apron around his middle. His mouth was open to deliver a scathing retort to Dek.
"Listen to me, you—MAX!"
Max raced forward and launched herself into Aiden's outstretched arms, holding him tight as he spun her around. He laughed in glee at her giggles in his ear.
"Hey, stranger!" Max said as she pulled away and her lips twitched at his attire. "Nice apron. You know when Dek said he had domesticated you I thought he was joking."
"Nice!" he bit out playfully. "I don't see you for months and the first thing out of your mouth is abuse."
"Hey," Max spread her arms, "It's me!"
"True, very true," Aiden nodded and then pulled her close with one arm and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Great to see ya, toots."
"You too, handsome," Max grinned.
"Hey!" Dek planted his hands on his hips and glared at them, "How come you call him handsome? I didn't get that."
Max and Aiden looked at each other and deliberately turned their backs on Dek.
"Wanna show me what you're cooking?" Max said to Aiden and he dragged her into the kitchen with Dek pouting at the rear.
One of the things that had always relaxed White had been physical exertion. So after a full day of being around Colonel Lydecker he decided that he needed a break and hid himself deep within the army camp to get a little exercise done.
He went through a rotation of star jumps, push ups, sit ups and had moved onto the skipping rope in the hopes of calming his temper and forcing a mindset of peace.
As he took another deep breath he could feel some of the tension drain out of him, only to return as he heard the footsteps of one of the lackeys.
"Excuse me, sir?"
He rolled his eyes and spoke as if he were talking to a child, "What's the rule on fitness time, Otto?"
The man parroted his rules back, "No interruptions, sir."
"Then what are you doing here?" White demanded as he continued to jump, hoping that the man would just go away.
Otto Gottlieb took a deep breath, "Sir, we've got a lead on a possible code red."
White let the rope stop and he stared incredulously up at Otto.
"What?"
"Code Red, sir."
White grabbed his jacket and pulled his shirt away from the pipes where it had been resting.
A 'Code Red' was serious, it meant not only a sighting but potentially hazardous exposure. They couldn't afford that, at least not yet, and White knew he had to sort this out now. He asked Otto to brief him, forgiving the man for interrupting his precious 'alone' time.
"Some fisherman came to the dock this morning, started showing off their catch."
White almost stopped dead. "And how is that a code red?"
Otto bit back a smirk, "Apparently they netted a girl...with gills."
This time White did stop, "Gills?" Otto nodded. "Huh."
Otto carried on and White quickly took the lead again.
"They think they've got themselves a mermaid."
White actually found that amusing. What was easier to swallow, that you had caught a mutant freak from a Frankenstein lab or that you had netted an entirely fictional creature from the black lagoon?
"Idiots," he sneered. "What did they do with it?"
"That's what we're trying to find out." Otto said and White quickly pulled out his cellphone.
"All right. Let me know when they confirm code red. Could be we're dealing with a bunch of drunks telling fish stories."
Otto nodded, "Yes, Sir."
White rolled his eyes again as Otto left, "Gills!"
Alec chugged back his beer and grinned at the guys that surrounded him.
They had been not very friendly at first, since he kept beating them in the ring, but once he had let them get in a few choice hits and told them who to bet on they had warmed up to him in no time.
Now they invited him to this place called the Blowfish tavern on something called a two-fer.
Nick slapped Alec on the back, almost causing him to spit up his beer, "Okay, boy, initiation. Two-fer is short for two for one as in two lap dances for the price of one."
"Lap dances?" Alec swallowed. "No offence but you guys just aren't my type!"
"Not us, wussy!" Colin smirked. "The ladies."
Alec had noticed the half dressed women that wandered about moving to the music, but for the first time he noticed that they were also writhing all over the men in the club.
"Huh," he said in a strained voice.
"So we get Sassy and Veronica for our boy!" Colin said pointing to two women who stood by. Both had long blonde hair and were dressed in very little.
"Or perhaps you'd prefer something a little more exotic?" Hank threw in. "I heard they have a mermaid here."
Alec laughed, "A what now?"
"Mermaid," Hank craned his neck. "Check it out over there."
Alec turned in his chair to see a large tank set in the wall with a long, dark haired woman dancing in the water.
"I gotta see this!" Colin hissed and left the table with Devlin to check it out.
Alec was preoccupied with the blonde Veronica who slunk over.
"Hey," she purred. "Want a dance?"
Alec stared up her fish-net clad legs, past her red Basque to her blonde hair and pouty lips and had a sudden vision of Max standing behind her with her hands on her hips and her eyebrow raised at him. He gave a derisive laugh, "Uh, better not sweetie. I have a girlfriend and she has violent tendencies."
"If you change your mind," she bit her lip suggestively and Alec wiped the sweat off his upper lip.
Nick was in hysterics by his side, "Wow that girly of yours sure has you by the balls!"
Alec laughed again, "Yeah, she does and if you knew how fast she could kill… or incapacitate a man you'd be a bit wary too."
He remembered one day in training when he had been trying to make something up to Max and she had pulled back her foot and… he folded his legs and winced.
Colin and Devlin came back with huge grins on their faces.
"Smoking!" Devlin enthused loudly. "Girl is so hot she's tropical!"
Colin nodded, "Talk about sweet. I couldn't see wires, tubes, nothing. Whoever she is she has killer breath control and you know how handy that could come in." he waggled his eyebrows and they all scoffed.
"Plus she has a killer tattoo," Devlin added. "Now I don't normally go for chicks with tats but this one, itty bitty little one on the back of her neck. It's a barcode, it's so darn cute."
Alec choked on his beer and sat up quickly. "Did you say barcode?"
Devlin nodded. "Cute little lines."
Alec stood quickly. "Hey I wanna see if I can see tubes or something."
"I'm telling you, man, there's nothing!"
Alec stalked over to the large tank set in one wall and looked up into the pretty face of the 'mermaid'. She was pretty enough to be a transgenic, that was for sure, even if she did look miserable to be there.
He tapped on the glass and she turned sadly to look at him. He smiled reassuringly and opened his fist in front of his chest.
He quickly made the signs for his designation and casually turned his head to look back at his buddies, scratching the back of his neck as if perplexed, which had the dual effect of lifting his hair so that she could see his own barcode. He turned back to see her eyes light up and a smile grace her features as she flipped over to show him her own barcode.
X5m- 340; she was a water based transgenic used in aquatic espionage.
He asked in sign language if she was a captive and she nodded sadly, her long dark hair floating in a halo around her head.
Alec rubbed his hands together and thought quickly.
Okay, so she wasn't one of his unit, but he couldn't just stand by and let her be the main entertainment of a bunch of guys like those out there who jeered and smacked at the glass like the drunken idiots they were.
What he had to do was to find some way to get her out of there and back into the water.
He grabbed his cell phone and dialled home quickly hoping that Max would be able to think of a way. The phone rang and rang.
Nothing.
Alec hung up and tried Max's cell only to find that she wasn't in the area.
With a frown he slipped the phone back into his pocket and nibbled at his thumb. What to do?
As he glanced around the club looking for inspiration his gaze caught on a male sitting in one corner with dark hair and a sinister look. His thick overcoat and general demeanour of disinterest made him stand out. If he was undercover he wasn't doing a very good job.
As Alec watched, the man dismissed a pretty blonde— the same one Alec had, she was having a bad night— and returned his attention to the exits and entrances of the club. There was something in the way that his eyes flickered that made Alec pause in his considerations of calling him the enemy.
He watched as the man twisted lightly to look at the woman in the tank, his eyes full of sorrow and Alec slowly smiled. He recognised that look, had seen it in the mirror often enough when he was falling in love with Max and she wouldn't give him the time of day.
He strolled away from the tank and up to the balcony to where the man sat.
"Hey," he said as he slipped into the chair opposite. "Have we met?"
The man eyed him quickly and then dismissed him from his gaze.
"No, I'm sure we have. In fact, I think that we go way back. Maybe to… uh, 946?"
The effect that those numbers had on the man was instantaneous as his head snapped back to look at Alec with his eyes wide open.
Alec grinned as the man started to make quick hand gestures and he was able to follow fairly steadily.
"Yeah," he said. "X5-494. 2IC of S.O. You?" he followed the hands. "Huh, underwater sabotage. Cool. Listen is that your mate?"
He nodded quickly and Alec bit his lip. "Okay, listen… Nemo," he chose the first name that came into his head. "We need to get her out of here, so here's what we do. I need for you to create a distraction whilst I lift her out. We'll meet out back in the alley. I suppose you know the quickest way to water?"
Nemo nodded and made complicated gestures to which Alec just grinned. "More information that I needed to know, thanks. Give me five minutes and then distract away, we need as many people out of here as possible."
Nemo nodded again and stood up, moving swiftly towards the back of the room.
Alec sighed, wondering why he was involving himself in this mess. All he wanted was a quiet evening with some friends, but no, he had to do the whole Superman bit.
Max would be so proud.
He walked back over to his drinking friends and explained that he had had a call from Max who was stranded in a dodgy part of Seattle and needed him to come pick her up. The men jeered and wolf-whistled as he pulled on his leather jacket and made his way to the back of the club. The Blowfish tavern wasn't very big and the wall that the girl was stuck in was the joining wall of two sections of the club. Alec smiled graciously at several ladies and waited, hidden from sight behind the wall.
He didn't have to wait long until a gigantic explosion ripped through the room, rocking the very ground he was standing on.
He raised an impressed eyebrow. It sounded like Nemo had lit off explosives and the resulting screams and chaos were all the cover that Alec needed to spring into action.
Meanwhile back at the military camp surrounding Seattle, Otto Gottlieb made his way back to his irate boss's side.
"Sir, code red's been confirmed. She's got a Manticore barcode."
White grinned maliciously. "And where did our merry fishermen take their prize?"
Otto winced imperceptibly. "Sold her to a guy who runs a bar in sector nine."
The grin fell from White's face and that look of barely restrained violence came back. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"They've got her on display. Drawing quite a crowd, too," Otto added figuring he might as well get all of the bad news out of the way at once.
White sighed in exasperation. "That's great. I don't want to attract any more attention to the situation. This has gotta be clean, surgical."
Glad that he had finally done something right, Otto just smiled. "We've already got someone in place."
White grabbed his coat and headed for the truck headed to sector 9.
Before he got both feet into the cab there was an explosion of static from Otto's headset.
"What now?" growled White.
Otto held his finger to his ear, listening hard, "Our guy says that there is an explosion in the club, someone has set off the fire alarms and there is chaos."
"A rescue operation?" White speculated as he slammed the door shut and revved the engine.
"My man says that a single man is helping the girl out of the water."
"Well, tell him to stop him! At any cost."
As Alec lifted the girl, who he had dubbed Marina, out of the water he suddenly felt like someone was watching him and turned in time to see a tall dark haired man swinging a table at him.
He ducked and rolled with Marina in his arms, the table just missing his head by inches.
"Hey, she's spoken for!" Alec said as he let the girl go and sprung into fighting position.
The man didn't stop to trade witty banter, which was actually against the villains' code, and brought the table back in a side sweep to catch Alec off guard. This time Alec slid backwards on the carpeted floor and let his leg swing around to knock into the man's legs. He went down heavily as his knees gave way and the table that he had swung so merrily trapped him beneath it.
Alec rolled forwards coming to rest in front of Marina, who he had so ungraciously dropped.
She winced as he pressed his hand against her bruised side and he smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, sweetheart. I guess you water babies are more fragile than us landlubbers, huh?"
Marina fluttered her hands and Alec laughed. "Okay, sweetheart, lets get you back to your man, okay?"
She nodded enthusiastically and Alec picked her off the floor with his strong arms, not relishing the clammy wet feel of her dripping all over his leather but far too much a gentleman to complain about it—just yet anyway.
He raced out back with Marina in his arms and handed her over to Nemo. Their union was expressed with several kisses, so exuberant that even Alec was embarrassed and had to break them apart but a part of him understood and even felt a little sad.
Max was his mate and yet it seemed like she was always on her own. Would he even know if she had been kidnapped, the way that they were at the moment?
He loved her so desperately but it seemed like breaking out of their home had made her more distant and far more worried than ever before. She seemed to be on the edge all the time and no matter how hard he tried to get her to believe that everything was all right, she insisted on being nervous. He even went as far as to portray a laid-back exterior to get her to relax but it seemed to just annoy her.
Of course, that had all changed once she got that biker job. Now she neglected her own safety by actively cycling around searching for her unit. How was he supposed to take care of his CO when she insisted on going off on her own all of the time?
Not to mention that Post-Pulse Seattle wasn't the safest of places at the best of times and she refused to carry a gun.
He shuddered and smiled at Nemo and his mate as they kissed deeper.
When he got home to his own mate, he decided, he'd have plenty to say. He could imagine it all; Max would be waiting at home, cooking him something to eat and he would walk in full of tales of his night and his daring exploits. Then he'd calmly talk her through why he was so worried about her. Max would agree to his few requests regarding her safety and his peace of mind and then hug him and one thing would lead to another and dinner would be forgotten. He would be a hero in her eyes and she would be his angel again.
Alec conveniently forgot that Max wasn't actually speaking to him at the moment.
"Hey, kids, it may be called the Blowfish tavern but get a room, okay?"
They looked sheepishly at him and turned back towards the alley that they had come from originally. Alec heard a screech of tires and wondered if the guy in the room, whom he had knocked unconscious and left, had brought buddies to the party.
He motioned for Nemo and Marina to get out of there, ignoring their wave as they headed for the sewer access. He crouched behind a dumpster that faced the street, waiting for the men to get out of the truck.
He spotted two military men in the back of the truck, clad with enough arsenal to take out Seattle's gangland. There was a short dark haired man in the front, wearing a suit and looking out of place amongst the hardware.
As more tires screeched to a halt on the concrete Alec decided it was time to move out and head home.
He used the hard gritty floor as a springboard and leaped onto the roof of the opposite building, scuttling low and keeping to the shadows as he carefully made his way out of their range.
But his dreams of a happy homecoming fell flat when he got back to his apartment to find it cold and empty.
I have been told off for taking so damn long to update and you have my apologies! But seriously, I was trying to come up with a way to make Alec less of a jerk than before- I hope I succeeded. As to the author notes- Thank you for reviewing and i wish i had the tiem to thank individuals but with my new job... excuses excuses.
Huge thanks to-
Jensens Wifeys Chadz lover
Spanishwon2123
Caboodle
Blackrose9
Sigma1 (btw thanks for the graphic word picture!)
Jade-k
Starr light1
Erak
Kiwifruit03 (hi there. Pickle oddly seems to work. Huh. Go figure!)
Kristibella
Moonangel18
Fangedangel
Lotamoxie
Crystal moon dragon
Bluejean452
Gabbie760
Geminangel
Raven
Ronda TIW
Shyleigh3 (trust me!)
Angel of darkness231
Lightstm00
SGOU (its great that you are still so hooked and enjoying it, even if I do tend to go OTT on the angst, had a rough month—can't you just tell—but keep up the great reviews- they rock)
Noangel
Ganko
JG
BlueAngel137
Kristibella
Sweettweety06
Electricgurl
Some one who cares
Hphotshot (originally they weren't but because you asked I've put them in PO, see the power you have!)
Guest type person
Suenooneus (hello, welcome here!)
Natacup82
Pearly wings aka Kim
Lady irony (hi there!)
Insanity
Ladybug
Mely's the name
SGOU (hysterical- thank you so much!)
Moonlight19- playing catch up.
I love Alec
Lelou (hey chick, there is a reason for me treating Alec this way. Seriously I haven't gone mad for no reason. I truly appreciate your comments and did my best to explain at least somewhat why he was off in the last few chapters. I hope this was better- let me know.)
L80bug- yup see, I did! Your review actually kicked my ass into gear. Mucho gracias
SGOU- who said you had to be normal? And why wasn't I told?