Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters do not belong to me, but the plot is mine. This fan-fiction had been written purely for entertainment purposes. No infringement was intended and no profit had been made out of this.

A/N: Thanks for your reviews! Sorry it took me so long to get this up, been busy with the real world. The next chapter will hopefully be up a little faster. For those of you who are reading Together Or Not… Yes, I intend to update it sometime soon.

Irresistible Rivals - Chapter 9

(by elle6778)

Easily scaling the ten-foot wall, Max continued to brood over her encounter with Seth. A part of her told her that it was inevitable. The two of them were too incompatible as a couple, or even as working partners. She knew she did the right thing, considering how relieved she had felt when she had gotten everything off her chest.

But she still could not believe his nerve, Max thought irritably as she slinked along the walls until she reached the building. Talking to Seth was like talking to a brick wall. His mind was set in stone when it came to certain things.

Very much like the way Zack had been when they first came out. But after a few years outside, knowing that they were not completely alone, Zack had loosened up together with the rest of them. It had a lot to do with the way Unitech treated them. Unlike Manticore, who treated them like objects, Unitech treated them like highly prized employees. Unitech protected them, but also allowed them individuality. The way the teams were set up also alleviated the need for Zack to watch over each of them. Instead, the responsibility was shared out.

Max wondered if Seth's specialised missions were the reason for his behaviour. Maybe he knew something they did not. Maybe everything was not as pretty as it seemed. But none of them would know unless he decided to tell them.

Refocusing her attention back on the mission, as she approached a window, she activated an EM discharger and dropped it to disable the alarms. Prying the window open, she climbed in quickly. Dropping softly to her feet inside Ivanov's bedroom, she slid the window shut and went to the door. She pressed her ears against the wooden door, listening out for any signs that she had been spotted.

Nothing.

Activating another EM discharger, she opened the door and dashed across the hallway. Hoping that Seth was right in that the discharger would affect only security systems, she dropped the little pellet onto the floor just outside Ivanov's study. Taking out her lock-picking kit, she inserted the thin strips of metal into the key-hole and expertly twisted until she heard a click. Extracting her tools, she elbowed the door open and slid in.

Going straight to the computer terminal, she switched it on and inserted a small pen drive. As she waited for the information to download, she went to the nearest cupboard and opened it.

The sound of the door opening and shutting behind her made her freeze. Heart pounding, her entire body tense, she turned around slowly.

And saw Alec.

Closing her eyes in relief, she let out the breath she did not realise she was holding. Then, snapping her eyes to him, she snarled, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Smirking nonchalantly, he replied, "Now, is that the way to talk to your fellow intruder?"

Max glared at him. What Seth told her earlier came back to her. It was because of Alec's snooping that Seth had called her out. His snooping was the reason for the incomplete the mental map of the security system in her mind. The jackass! "You've been sniffing around in my place," she accused.

Widening his eyes innocently, he said, "What? Me?"

"Cut the crap, Alec. You were caught on the surveillance cams. What were you doing in there?" she asked, walking towards the computer to remove her pen drive, all the while keeping a wary eye on Alec.

Alec shrugged carelessly, completely unperturbed by her accusations. "Can't blame a guy for checking out the competition, right?"

She snorted. "I'd hardly consider you competition. Thief, maybe. Or someone who feeds off my scraps."

He held his hands to his chest. "That hurts, you know. I take offence at being called a thief. They are so… common."

"Well, if the hat fits…" she trailed off with a shrug.

Smirking, he said, "Say, I saw some nice threads in there. You know, that lacy stuff? And all those tiny dresses? Never thought that you're the type."

Eyes flashing, she scowled. "I'll have to burn them now that you've contaminated them."

He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. 'Cause I really don't want anyone to come to the wrong conclusions when they find my prints on your little strapless number."

Max narrowed her eyes when he shuddered exaggeratedly. Suddenly the urge to maim him was almost overwhelming.

Before she could decide on her next retort, a buzzing sound filled the air.

Alec was about to throw another insult at her when the cell phone in his pocket vibrated. It must be 511, he thought, deliberating whether or not to pick up the call.

She gave him a saccharine sweet smile. "Your nanny checking up on you?"

He glared at her and pulled out the cell phone. Then, smirking at her, he presseda button and said, "Yeah?"

511's voice came over the earpiece. "Listen. The serial numbers you gave me? I found a match."

"Go on," he said carefully, keeping his eyes pinned on Max. The way she was watching him unnerved him. It was as if she was trying to hear the conversation. He decided to put a little distance between them. Just in case.

"That batch was shipped out to a corporation called Unitech," 511 said.

Alec frowned. The name did not mean anything to him. So Max worked for some company called Unitech. Big deal. "So?"

"According to the database, Unitech was suspected of causing the Pulse. Eventually the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence."

The Pulse? Surprised, his eyes shot to hers before he could stop it, and then he quickly looked away. "What do you mean?" he said in a lower voice.

"Strangely enough, there isn't that much info on Unitech in the database. Listen, 494. This is what I think. If the girl's working for Unitech, then we're not talking some small time mob here. They clean up well after themselves. That takes a lot of resources."

"Understood. Anything else?"

"Just watch your back."

"Always," Alec replied, and then hung up. He stared at the phone blankly, his mind processing the information 511 had just given him. The corporation which had been suspected of having a hand in causing the Pulse was now after another weapon, one which was also coveted by Manticore. And Max was working for that corporation. Confronting her about it was useless. He knew that she would admit to nothing.

His mind was whirring with the implications of what 511 had just told him, but he could not afford to let her suspect anything. Careful to keep his expression neutral, he turned back fully to face Max. "So, where were we?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You were about walk out of here quietly, leaving me to do my job alone. In peace. Failing that, you can just drop dead."

He gave her a curious look. "Are you always this nice to everyone? Or do I hold a special place in your heart?"

Her eyes flashed before she retorted. "Yeah, the bit where my heart's telling me to kick your ass."

Alec rolled his eyes. "My ass again. Yeah, I know it's pretty, but you obsession with it kind of worries me. A little unhealthy, I think."

She rose to the bait. "I'm NOT obsessed with your ass!" she snarled.

"Keep it down, Max. You don't want the guards to come running, do you?" he glanced around a little nervously. He hoped that all the stuff he had dropped was actually working. 511 had told him that those little things were designed to jam surveillance devices, but he did not know how well it worked.

Alec watched as she pulled out something from the computer terminal and slipped it into a slot in her watch. That must be the info she was here for, which meant that it was probably the same info he was after. Which made things a lot easier for him. All he had to do now was to get it from her.

She straightened stiffly, her lips pressed together, then rested her hands on her hips. "Alec. Are you here for something specific or just here to have a pointless verbal spar? Just in case you haven't noticed, I have things to do here."

He raised a mocking brow and smirked. "Yeah, hurry up, will you? I'm just waiting for you to get everything I need. Then you can just hand it over. Much simpler that way."

Her eyes widened. "Dream on," she snapped aggressively.

"I have better things to dream about," he said suggestively, purposely letting his eyes roam up and down her body. She was a fine piece alright. Too bad she was working for some terrorist organisation. Manticore would probably dispatch him to take them down one day. He mentally rubbed his hands together. That would be the day.

She gritted her teeth. "Keep me out of your sick fantasies," she hissed.

"Want to help me make them a reality?" he asked, waggling his brows. He knew he was pushing it, but he had to admit that her reaction was entertaining.

That proved to be too much for her.

He already half expected it, but the speed at which the small fist was flying towards him still caught him by surprise. A quick block deflected the hit but he barely saw the next one coming until it nailed him in the gut.

At the impact, his breath escaped him in a rush. Doubling over, he cursed himself for underestimating her. Again.

But this time, she was not going to get away so easily. He straightened to immediately launch himself at her. His body weight threw both of them against a wall.

He grabbed her wrists tight and pinned them over her head.

"Let me go!" she snarled, bucking against him.

The situation reminded him of the time he had first realised that she was not some sweet lady doing her rounds at a rich man's party. That day, he had her pinned to Davies's desk in a similar fashion. Just that this time, it was a wall and not a desk.

He grimaced as her struggles unintentionally made her hip rub against the sensitive portion of his anatomy. His earlier talk about fantasies and dreams came back to him, and a flash of desire coursed through him.

He immediately recoiled. No! This was wrong. She was the enemy, his rival. There was no way he would allow himself to think about her like that, however hot she was. His reaction was just physical, just due to his wayward hormones, nothing else.

Focus, soldier. Keep your head in the game, he ordered himself sternly.

Knowing that whatever she had taken from Ivanov was tucked into that watch, Alec undid the strap and took it off her wrist.

A cry of outrage escaped her lips. "I'm going to kill you for this!" she hissed hotly, trying to kick him. But he had placed his legs wide, practically straddling her hips, so her kicks did not find its target.

A series of soft beeps reached his ears, barely audible in its soft volume. Both of them paused, tensing as they tried to locate the origin of the sound. The air suddenly felt charged.

Alec glanced around warily. Something inside told him that the sound did not bode well for them.

Then the shrill blare of an alarm pierced the air. A loud metallic clank sounded as steel bars began to descend, and then slammed down in front of the windows.

He looked at Max, seeing the shock in his eyes mirrored in her eyes as they darted around apprehensively before they landed on him.

"What did you do, you idiot?" she snapped, her fiery eyes flashing angrily at him.

"Why do you just assume it's something I did?" he retorted with a frown. But a tiny tingle of doubt made its way to his mind. Maybe those stuff 511 gave him did not work on Ivanov's security.

"Because I've dealt with the alarms before I came in," she snarled, rushing towards the window and began to tug at the bars.

Damn it, maybe the stuff he had dropped interfered with Max's devices, Alec thought grimly. He rushed towards the barred window.

Before he could reach it, guards dressed in black tactical gear began to flood the room. Twelve, no, fourteen of them, he counted. Adrenaline began to pump through him.

"Great. Now what?" Alec hissed under his breath, his sharp eyes darting from one guard to another. There were too many of them. Things were not looking good for them.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not going to just stand here," Max said and then immediately shot forward. The sound of gunshot rounds reverberated around the room, but she kept on moving, seemingly ducking the bullets. Alec's eyes rounded in surprise.

The guards scattered, half headed towards him and the other half zeroing in on her.

"Damn it, Max," he muttered under his breath before he followed her lead. He could not believe that she had just dashed forward without any plan or any coordination with him. That was not what partnering was all about.

A guard came at him, breaking his train of thought. Without much effort, the heels of his hand connected with the guards jaw, snapping the man's head up with a crack. Then his last thought came back to him. Partnering? What was he thinking about? She was his rival, not a partner. All their encounters must have really messed up his mind.

Gritting his teeth, he swung around in a spinning kick, sending two other guards sprawling to the floor. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Max smash an elbow into the guard behind her before she finished him off using a back-fist. Alright, maybe Unitech had trained her well, he admitted reluctantly. But she was still his rival.

A bullet whizzed past, making his ears ring. Alec blurred forward before the shooter could comprehend his intentions and grabbed hold of the gun. He slammed the butt of the gun into the shooter's face, watching the shooter crumple to the ground.

A sharp cry made him look around just in time to see Max recoil from a shot. As she clutched at her left shoulder, Alec could see the blood seeping out between her fingers.

Then, suddenly he felt a painful jolt in the small of his back.

Then another, the shock fanning out all over his body. He could not stop himself from dropping to his knees. His hands flew out, landing on the floor just before the rest of his body hit the ground.

Another jab and another shock coursed through him.

Then everything went black as pain exploded in his head.

Max's eyes fluttered open slowly. Her breathing was shallow, telling her that her body was still trying to recuperate from the multiple shocks it had received. Not to mention the gaping hole in her left shoulder, she thought, wincing as she tried to move it.

Great. This was just great, Max thought sourly as she tried to yank herself off her bindings. It held.

Two guards were standing by the door, watching them silently. Immobilised and duct-taped to a column in the basement was not the outcome she had envisaged for this mission. She would not be sitting on a cold, dusty floor with her back against a concrete column with duct-tape criss-crossing her chest and around her ankles if it was not for some idiot.

It was all that jackass' fault. If he had left her alone to do her job, she would not be in this position. And to make matters worse, they were even sharing the same duct-tape. She could feel the tape cutting harder into her arms every time he shifted, sending spikes of pain up her injured arm.

"Quit moving, will you?" she hissed over her shoulders at him.

She received a mirthless chuckle from him. "Or what? You're going to kick my ass. Might be a little hard to do that right now, Max," he said from the other side of the column.

Alec was obviously alright considering that his speech ability was still sound. Unfortunately.

"Quiet! No talking!" a guard ordered loudly in a heavily accented voice.

Max rolled her eyes, but before she could retort, the door opened and Ivanov stepped in. The man's gaze shifted from her to Alec, then back to her again. Max kept her expression neutral as she returned his stare.

When the Russian man reached them, Alec said casually, "This wasn't what I had in mind when you suggested the partnership."

Max saw Ivanov sneer. "What did you take me for, Mr McDowell? I knew there was something not right about you the minute Mesher told me about your request," Ivanov said derisively.

"Well, I didn't expect someone like you to catch on that fast," Alec taunted in a bored voice.

Ivanov frowned at the insult, and then a cold smile crossed his lips. "We'll see what comes out of that mouth later, okay?" Then he turned to face Max, the smile on his face turning regretful. "Now, you, my sweet. You, I didn't expect. I thought we were friends."

Max rolled her eyes. "Spare me, Andrei. I have better taste in friends."

His lips compressed into a thin line. "It's obvious what the two of you have in common, apart from being criminal partners, of course. Whoever you work for must have made foul mouth a requirement during recruitment."

Max was about to declare that they were not partners, but she clamped her teeth down before the rash words could escape her lips. It might not be a bad thing, letting Ivanov think that they were partners. That way, if they were interrogated, at least Unitech would be safe. With all the training she had gone though, she had no doubt that she could hold out longer than Alec.

The image of Alec screaming in pain while Ivanov tortured him suddenly invaded her mind. Feeling oddly sick, she quickly pushed the image away.

Ivanov turned back to his guards. "Check the alarms," he barked.

The guards nodded curtly and left the room, Ivanov stepping close behind.

With a last glance at them, the Russian man said with a cold smile, "Relax. We need you fresh for our next meeting."

Max rolled her eyes. "Get out already, will you? That dramatic exit thing is not working."

Ivanov's eyes hardened. "And you. I'll have something special for you," he said in a deceptively soft voice just before he closed the door behind him, leaving them alone in the room.

Max let out the breath she was holding. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the cold column.

"That was unnecessary."

Max stifled the urge to groan. Of all people, she had to end up being tied to the same column as the most annoying person she had ever encountered. "Shut up," she snapped.

"Look who's talking. You do know that the more you piss him off, the worse he'll be when he interrogates you, right? Or are you that naive?"

"I'm sure you'll enjoy his interrogation sessions, but I'm not staying," she muttered, trying to loosen the duct tape. Damn it, the tape felt as if it was reinforced. Just her luck, she thought in disgust.

"Oh, yeah? And how do you propose to get out?"

Yeah, Max. How?

t.b.c.

A/N: Okay, that's it for now. Please review and let me know what you think? Will they escape?