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: As always, thank you very much for reading and reviewing this fic! Here's the next chapter.

Irresistible Rivals - Chapter 11

(by elle6778)

Stunned, Max froze stock-still. Somewhere at the back of her mind, it registered that his lips felt good on hers. It was soft, but firm at the same time. A warm feeling spread all over her as she inhaled, his breath mingling with hers.

It took her a while to really digest what was actually happening.

Her mind pushed past the barrier of shock and she blinked. The guy was kissing her. His lips were assaulting hers like he was staking some sort of claim on her. What the hell did he think he was doing?

Clamping her lips tight, she drew back abruptly and head-butted him.

His head banged against the metal duct with an alarmingly loud clang.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide in bewilderment. Then the remnants of the glazed look in those hazel orbs dissipated completely to be replaced by an affronted look.

She swiped the back of her hands over her mouth, glaring at him in disgust. What did he expect after what he had just done? She had not been prepared for that. Verbal attack, yes. But not a physical one, especially of that nature.

"Look-" he started, looking flustered.

"Back off," she gritted out between her teeth. She wanted kill the guy. Or at least main him. She could not believe that he had done that.

"We're in a duct, Max," he pointed out flatly.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

His expression turned mocking. "It worked, didn't it? You finally shut up."

Her jaw went slack. "You kissed me to shut me up?" she snarled angrily. The nerve of the guy! She tried to kick him, but in the limited space, her action had no impact whatsoever on the smirking man in front of her.

"Keep moving like that and I might do it for a different reason."

Max stilled as she digested his words. Narrowing her eyes at him, she exclaimed in disgust, "You're sick!"

"Hey, just doing what's necessary."

"That was not necessary," she pointed out angrily. "Or are you unable to articulate your thoughts like a normal person?"

"Who said I'm normal?" Smirking, he continued, "I'm unique."

Max sniffed in disdain. "Please. Get over yourself."

Alec sighed exaggeratedly. "I'm telling you, it's true."

She was about to retort when she suddenly noticed the deathly silence around them. Shaking her head at Alec, she hushed, "Shh…"

He arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just shut up and listen," she hissed impatiently.

Then she saw understanding dawn in his eyes. Frowning, he said in a hushed tone, "It's quiet. Too quiet."

She brightened at the implication. Now she could get out of the duct. Away from his annoying presence. "I'm going to move before they come back."

He shook his head in refusal. "Might be a trap, Max. I won't go if I were you."

Max rolled her eyes. "Feel free to stay if you like." It suited her better if he got captured by Ivanov anyway. And this time, she hoped that he would get tortured. Extensively.

He shrugged, making her frown as he bumped his shoulders against her. "I would wish you good luck, but seeing that your good luck would probably mean my bad luck, I'd rather let you take your chances," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, whatever," she said disinterestedly.

Pushing against the duct, she squeezed herself past Alec and began to elbow her way forward. The duct was long, but she could see a small ray of light in the distance. It must be from another opening. The thought of escape spurned her on and she made herself move faster, ignoring the pain in her shoulders. At least the blood had stopped trickling down her arm, she thought with a grimace.

The faint sounds of shuffling behind her told her that Alec had started to move.

Suddenly, she realised that it was imperative that she got out of there as quickly as possible. Away from Alec. If they were really alone, undisturbed by Ivanov's people, she was sure that Alec would attempt to snatch the watch from her again. With her wound, she was in no state to pretend to fight like an Ordinary. She would need to use her enhanced skills, but that would raise suspicions.

She sped up, gritting her teeth against the throbbing pain in her shoulders. When she arrived at the opening, she peered down cautiously. It seemed to be clear. She frowned, wondering if she should wait.

Her ears picked up the fact that Alec was approaching. Having started off later than she did, he was still a little distance behind, but she could not afford to wait.

Steeling herself, she lifted the metal grating and shoved it to the side. In an instant, she was through the hole, landing softly on her feet in a crouch. Holding her position, she quickly scanned the room. Satisfied that no one was around and that Alec was not around to see her she sprang up and blurred through the door into the hallway.

Then abruptly froze in her tracks.

Her eyes widened as she took in the scene in front of her.

Ivanov's lackeys were lying prone in various positions along the hallway. Gingerly, she ran past them, noting that they were still alive. But apparently injured enough to render all of them unconscious. Strangely enough, she did not see any open wound. There was not a single drop of blood to be seen. Apprehensively, she wondered who had done the damage. And if the person was still around.

Well, she was not about to wait to find out. She had what she came for, and now, all she needed to worry about was to get out of the place in one piece.

Her journey to the front door remained unhindered. Nevertheless, she turned to look over her shoulders more than once, just to make sure she was not being followed. Alec's absence was making her nervous. Not being able to locate where he was did not bode well for her. He might spring a surprise attack on her.

She should have left him tied up earlier and just escaped without him, she thought belatedly.

Just as she skidded past the front door, she felt a hand clamp around her arm in a vice-like grip.

Alarmed, she lashed out without thinking. Her free arm connected hard with a chin, snapping her assailant's head back.

"Max!"

Her eyes shot up immediately to clash with a pair of familiar green eyes. "Seth," she exhaled in relief. A confused expression crossed her face. "What are you doing here?"

It just took a second for the confusion to be replaced with defensiveness. "Checking up on me?" she asked tightly, her eyes accusing.

He held a finger to his lips, glancing around warily before his eyes came back to her. "I was looking for you." Then, spotting her injured shoulders and her state of undress, he frowned. "What happened? Are you okay?" He pulled his jumper off himself and handed it to her.

As she put his jumper on, the images of the injured bodies littering the hallway flashed past her eyes. It must have been Seth who had done it. Brushing aside his question, she asked with a frown, "What did you do? Everyone's unconscious."

"I told you I was looking for you. Can't just stroll in, can I?" he said by way of explanation. Then he gave a searching look. "You're alone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nevermind," he quickly said, his eyes flitting past her and around them again.

He was behaving really odd, even by his standards. Seth looked worried and seemed to be agitated, which was unusual for him. Could it be because of what had happened earlier that day? Was Seth being the way he was because of what she had said to him?

A feeling of remorse came over her. Much as she hated the overprotective attitude he had towards her, he was still Seth and she still cared for him. Maybe she had been a little harsh on him this morning. After all, the guy had not been behaving any different from his usual self. Taking a deep breath, she started haltingly, "Seth-"

He interjected, "Did you get anything?"

She nodded slowly, still a little puzzled by his behaviour. "Yeah. Did you see Ivanov?"

Seth shook his head. "I think he got out before I arrived. I searched through a couple of rooms but found nothing useful."

Before she could say anything else, he gestured for her to follow him. "Let's go. Before more of them arrive."

Still feeling a little stunned at his presence and the fate of the guards, Max just ran along behind Seth silently, her mind whirring with questions.

Alec dropped down into Ivanov's office and started to work his way around the room.

Damn it! They'd cleared everything out, Alec thought in disgust as he rummaged through Ivanov's office. He had purposely followed the duct until he reached that particular room, but he guessed that he was too late. Ivanov had managed to run away with all his information.

Alec grimaced. Renfro would not be pleased. The length of time he had taken so far for this mission was bordering on unacceptable and he was sure that if he had noticed that, Renfro would not doubt reach the same conclusion. Especially when he had nothing to show for it.

With Ivanov gone to who knew where, Alec was fresh out of leads.

Except Max.

If he could get hold of Max, he would be able to get the information he needed.

He brightened at the idea. She had just left, so she should not be too far. With that thought, he blurred out of the room.

Just to stop dead in his tracks.

Now he knew why it had been so silent. His eyes swept the hallway. There were eleven uniformed guards lying prone all around him.

Max could not have done it. Eleven were too many for her to handle even with her skills, especially considering her injury. Furthermore, he would have heard something if she had taken down eleven guards right outside the room he had been in.

He tensed as alarms began to ring in his head. Someone else was in the place. Someone who was capable of taking down eleven armed guards in a small space. That was the only explanation he could come up with.

He scanned up and down the hallway again. Seeing that it was all clear, he blurred to the end and turned the corner. The front door was not far in the distance, he noted, cautiously making his way towards it. A few more unconscious guards were scattered around, but he paid them no attention.

He had a bigger fish to fry.

Max.

He stopped at the front door, which had been left open by someone, maybe Max. Taking a step outside, he swept his eyes over the front garden until he saw a slight, almost imperceptible movement behind some trees by the perimeter wall.

He blurred across the lawn. At that speed, no Ordinary would be able to make out his features. Or even recognise the fact that a person just ran across the lawn. Just before he reached the line of trees, he slowed down and went into a crouch.

His eyes caught sight of her dark hair swinging freely around her shoulders. She was about twenty feet away from him. Grinning, he prepared for attack.

Just as he pounced, Max turned around. Her eyes were large in surprise as both of them went flying through the air to land a small distance away on the grass.

"Where's the watch?" he asked, shaking her. Then he noticed that she was wearing a jumper. What-

Before he could finish the thought, Alec felt himself grabbed roughly from the back and yanked off her. "Get your hands off her!" a voice ordered.

It was Max's partner.

Alec raised his arm to block an incoming fist just in the nick of time. Hell, what did Unitech feed their employees? If he had not known better, he would have thought that the guy had the speed of a transgenic. Or someone pumped full of adrenaline and steroids.

Before he could retaliate, Max's partner backed away, pulling Max up with him.

"Stand back, Max. You're hurt," he said, standing in front of her.

Max glowered at her partner. "I can handle him, Seth."

Alec raised his eyebrow mockingly. "Aww. That's so sweet, Max. Let your man kill himself if he wants to, Seth. One less person for the world to feed."

She glared daggers at him, making him grin. "Shut up, smart-ass."

She tried to get past Seth, but he pushed her back. Alec's grin broadened when he saw the murderous look on Max's face, this time directed not at him, but at Seth.

Alec crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Hey, buddy. I think Maxie here doesn't want your interference."

"Don't call me Maxie," she snarled vehemently.

Unperturbed by her tone, he smirked. "Oh. Struck a nerve, have I?"

Seth stalked towards him, his eyes flashing angrily. "You've got a death wish, man."

This time, Alec was more prepared. The fist did not even reach him before he sidestepped it. What he had not accounted for was that the move was a feigned one. It caught him by surprise. He saw it coming, but was unable to block it in time.

A solid kick nailed him in the gut, throwing him to the ground.

Alec immediately bounced back up into a fight stance. There was a piercing pain in his gut where he had been hit but he forced himself to ignore it. His expression hardened. So, Max's guy was up to some rough games, huh? He cracked his knuckles.

As they began to circle each other warily, Alec made sure that he kept his focus trained completely on his opponent. He threw an experimental jab which Seth blocked easily. Alec's eyes narrowed. The guy's reflexes were exceptionally good for an Ordinary. So good that it was almost unbelievable. And he did not think that adrenaline or steroids had anything to with it.

"Seth! Forget it. We need to go," Max yelled irritably from the side.

Alec smirked at Seth. "Looks like your girl's worried about your chances against me."

Seth's expression remained impassive. "You should be worried about yourself," he said in a harsh tone.

Max snapped furiously. "Enough, the two of you! Are you waiting for Ivanov to show up again or what?"

Ignoring her, Alec rushed forward. He and Seth met in the middle in a flurry of punches and kicks. A fist glanced off his cheeks as he ducked, and then immediately retaliated with a backhand and a chop. The blow connected harmlessly with Seth's forearm.

Taking a step backwards, Alec swung his body around, building up a momentum which resulted in a spinning kick. But before the kick reached its target, Seth threw himself to the grass and spun his leg around in a circle.

Not expecting the move, Alec's feet was swept away from underneath. He allowed himself to hit the ground, and then immediately rolled out of the way of Seth's descending boots. Jumping up to his feet, he took a wary step back, his eyes not leaving his opponent.

They were evenly matched, Alec thought disbelievingly. It was just not possible. Manticore had created them to be stronger, faster and smarter than even the best of Ordinaries.

What was this guy? Could he be another transgenic?

How was that even possible? Especially when he was Max's partner and presumably also working for Unitech.

Alec frowned as an idea occurred to him. Maybe Seth was on an undercover mission to spy on Unitech.

No. That did not make sense at all. If Seth was undercover, then Manticore would have known that Unitech was also after Ivanov's weapon design. In which case, Manticore would not have sent him or 511 out. It would be much simpler to just wait for their undercover agent to get it.

But Alec knew he had to check.

Narrowing his eyes, he hissed under his breath, so softly that no one but a transgenic could hear. "Who are you?"

Seth's expression was unreadable when he replied, "Someone you wish you've never met."

"Did Renfro send you?"

"Who?" Seth asked, frowning slightly.

Alec gritted his teeth. Fine, the guy obviously wanted to keep his cover. And the worst part of it was, he could not even ask Renfro without getting either himself or Seth into trouble, if Seth was really a transgenic. Manticore had always stressed that when undercover, they should remain undercover no matter what until they returned to Manticore. It was the tactically sound thing to do, he knew.

On the other hand, if Seth was not a transgenic, asking Renfro would mean that he basically admitted that there was another opposing party in his mission. No doubt Renfro would then somehow find out that he had been keeping the information from her, which probably meant that his ass would be fried.

Great. Just great, he thought dejectedly.

Her face set in an expression of extreme irritation, Max looked back and forth between the two men who were still circling each other warily.

Seth looked like his usual self in a mission. Completely focussed and disciplined. Planning and calculating everything in his head before he executed any moves. She was surprised that he had gone as far as to fight with Alec. Seth had held back, but a little less than usual. It was strange considering that he was usually very careful about displaying any of his enhanced skills.

What surprised her more was that Alec managed to hold his own against Seth. She knew that he was good, but it had not occurred to her that he was that good. The way he had avoided Seth's blows was almost unreal. Seth's moves had been swift and accurate, but Alec had still managed to block and even retaliate.

A niggling idea lodged itself at the back of her mind, making Max frown. What she had in mind was not impossible, but it was too much of a coincidence.

She thought back to all the time they had met in the past.

She remembered how difficult it had been for her to get away from Alec's hold when he had found her ransacking Samuel Davies's place. He had held her down to the desk with her arms behind her back. She had to practically dislocate her shoulders to get away.

And last night, he had managed to track her back to her place even though she had taken all those precautions and detours. Worse still, she had not detected his presence at all when she neared her house. She had only found out that he had followed her all the way home when Seth told her about the call from Jack. Her hidden security cameras which fed directly back to Manticore had caught him going through her stuff. The bastard!

She should have known that something was off when he managed to somehow rip her sleeves off just by tugging it with his fingers. Considering the way they had been tied to the column, he would not have had the chance to grab the material properly. The only explanation for it was that he has some strong fingers.

But no barcode, she thought as Alec moved sideways, exposing his neck.

Her frown deepened. But that did not mean anything. Manticore must have come up with some way to remove it, just like what Unitech had done.

If what she suspected was true, then they had to get away from Alec immediately. This mission was not worth the risk of getting recaptured by Manticore. The whole escape thing had cost everyone so much more than anyone had anticipated, and to be caught would be throwing everything away. Not to mention that she never wanted to set foot in that hell-hole called Manticore ever again.

Taking a step towards the fighting men, she yelled urgently, "Seth! We need to go. NOW!"

Seth ignored her, his attention solely on Alec. He sidestepped a kick from Alec and then released a double jab which was easily blocked by Alec. Neither of them were really getting any hits in, and the whole thing was really beginning to annoy her.

"Damn it!" she muttered. She had to do something about the two of them, injured shoulder or not.

Steeling herself, she jumped into the fray.

"Max!" Seth exclaimed in alarm, trying to push her behind him. "What are you doing?"

Twisting around, Max managed to avoid being hit by Alec's fists. "Back off, Alec," she warned threateningly as she grabbed hold of Seth's arm.

Alec took a step back. With a smirk, he mocked, "Afraid that your man can't win his own battles?"

"Shut-up, smart-ass!" she snarled. "Let's go, Seth," she stressed again, hoping that he would listen to her.

Standing in their path, Alec said coldly, "Not so fast."

Her eyes narrowed. "Get out of my way."

"I believe you have something I want," he stated meaningfully.

Max rolled her eyes. "If you think for a second that I'm just going to hand my watch to you, you're sadly mistaken. You see, I'm very attached to the watch."

Alec shrugged. "Then I'd just have to take it."

"No, you're not," Seth said, stepping between them.

Max gritted her teeth. Why must Seth always think that she could not handle her own fights?

"I can deal with this, Seth," she said tightly.

"Hey, it's nice to know that I'm wanted," Alec remarked with a smirk. "Please, guys, there's enough of me to go around."

She snapped back her attention to Alec.

At that instant, he charged at her. She hit the ground hard, face down, her breath rushing out of her lungs at the impact. The pain in her shoulders intensified, making her groan. A fraction of a second later, Alec had her in a chokehold.

Then abruptly, the pressure eased.

She looked up to see Seth standing over Alec's prone body, a gun in his hand. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes widened.

"What did you do?" she yelled angrily, jumping to her feet.

Anxious, she rushed towards Alec and bend down over his unconscious form, her fingers feeling for a pulse.

"Relax, Max. It's just a tranq-shot," Seth explained levelly.

Detecting a steady pulse under her fingers, she exhaled in relief. Then, swinging around to look at a stony-faced Seth, she said accusingly, "That was not necessary, Seth."

"Right. He had you in a chokehold and you're saying it's not necessary," he stated flatly. "What's wrong with you, Max?"

She stiffened. Seth's words hit hard. Deep inside, she knew that he was probably right, but the shock of seeing Alec lying unconscious on the ground did weird things to her. She looked down at Alec again and then felt the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. The strange thing was, she could not quite put her finger on it.

So she responded the only way she could. "Nothing. Forget it." Tearing her gaze away from Alec, she started to walk away. "Let's go."

t.b.c.

A/N: That's it for now. Hope you've enjoyed that! Please review and let me know what you think!