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 so much for reading and reviewing! A short note on updates here… My parents are visiting for a couple of weeks so it'll be hard for me to find time to update. So the next one will be a little delayed. Hope you'll still keep on reading, though!

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Irresistible Rivals - Chapter 14

(by elle6778)

"You leave me with no choice then."

The swiftness of the attack caught 511 by surprise. Before he could block, Alec had landed a punch on the side of his face, throwing his head back with a snap.

Alec stepped back, watching warily as 511 wiped a hand across his bleeding lips, his brown eyes glinting with annoyance. Hopefully that punch would have knocked some sense into him, Alec thought.

A faint waft of Max's scent found its way to him through the rain. Alec groaned and then consciously made his breathing shallower to avoid inhaling too much of her pheromones. Of all ways to find out that she was a transgenic, it had to be this one. He forced himself to focus on 511, who was approaching him, jaw clenched with determination. This was no time to be distracted, Alec told himself, firmly pushing all thoughts of Max to the back of his mind.

He sidestepped just in time to avoid a blow to his midsection, and then spun around to drive a kick into 511's side. Ready this time, 511 blocked the kick and retaliated with swift backhand which caught Alec in the face.

Staggering back from the impact, Alec glared at 511 angrily. He knew that he had to get 511 and himself out of there before they did something stupid like kill each other to get to Max. But the guy was obviously in no state to listen. Alec had no choice. Partner or not, he was going to have to take 511 down.

He blurred forward, slamming his body into 511, throwing the other guy against the wall not far from Max. Just as 511 got up, Alec stepped into the sheltered space and gave him a well-placed blow in the head, sending him flying back out in the rain.

511 hit the ground on his side, and then laid still.

Alec was about to step out to 511 when a slight pressure on his back made him freeze.

"Alec..." His name dripped like honey from her tongue.

Then her scent penetrated his focus, wrenching his attention away from 511. The scent was hot, thick and heavy. Alec felt his mind cloud as his hormones took over. Oh, hell! Somehow he had neglected to remain in the rain, the one place which Max seemed to stay out of.

Her fingers trailed down his spine, making him shiver. He knew he needed to move away but his limbs refused to obey his mind.

He closed his eyes as he muttered, "No. Don't."

But her touch became bolder, moving from back up to his shoulders. He took a step forward in an attempt to escape her, and felt something crunch beneath his boots. A quick glance downwards told him that it was a mobile phone. Then his attention was drawn to the fingers which were playing with his ears.

"Stop it, Max! You don't know what you're doing!" he gritted out, holding himself very still. He would not give in to it, he promised himself. It was just his hormones, nothing more. All he had to do was to move away from her back out into the rain.

"I think I do," she purred into his ear.

Those hands wandered down his shoulders to wrap themselves around his chest.

Alec sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes snapped open. Roughly, he yanked her hands off him and jumped away. As he turned around to face her, his feet took a few steps back.

Wrong move.

Now that he was facing her, he could see the flush of her skin and the arousal in her eyes. His hormones jumped in happiness, much to Alec's dismay. He wanted to move away, but found himself unable to do so.

She sidled towards him, her eyes dilated in arousal, as she ran a hand from the curve of her neck slowly down to her belly.

Heat exploded inside him in response to her blatant invitation.

His hormones won the battle over his mind.

With a growl, he closed the gap between them. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back. She did not protest. In fact, she seemed to be even more aroused by his rough display.

Then his lips found hers. It was hot, sweet and soft. Her tongue tangled with his, giving him a taste of her. Her responses were unrestrained as she pulled him closer, her hands gripping his neck tightly.

His hands wandered down her neck in the wake of her hands earlier to end up just above her jeans. Then he swept them upwards, under her top. His palms felt burnt by the satiny soft skin he encountered there.

He broke the kiss, strangely satisfied by the soft mewl of protest Max made at his action. Then he latched on to her neck, biting and sucking at the soft skin there. Moaning with pleasure, she arched her neck to give him better access, her hands clamped to the back of his neck to hold him in place.

Encouraged, he slid his hands up to cup her breasts. Her respond was immediate. Her hands went to his shoulders and with a jump, her legs were wrapped tight around his hips. He let out a guttural groan. The rocking motion she was making against him was making him lose control.

Then a cold, wet hand grabbed his neck, startling him.

"What the…" he started.

Before he had the chance to finish his sentence, he found himself rudely yanked off and thrown onto the ground. Rain spattered over his face, washing away her scent. There was a throbbing pain in his left arm where he hit the ground. Damn it! Dashing the rainwater out of his eyes, he blinked rapidly.

His mind gradually cleared.

His eyes went to the sheltered area to find Max slumped on the ground with 511 hovering over her. She was obviously knocked out. Unwittingly, a protective growl rose in his throat.

"511?" he snarled as he sprang to his feet.

511 looked at him over his shoulder before he stood up and marched back out into the rain. To Alec's surprise, he had a blue strip of fabric over his mouth and nose. Then he noticed that the bottom of 511's shirt was torn.

Pulling the fabric down, 511 barked, "Snap out of it, man." Thrusting a piece of fabric in front of Alec's face, he continued, "Cover yourself and whatever you do, think with your head."

Calming down slightly at 511's biting words, Alec took the fabric.

511 shook his head as he exhaled. "That was close. A couple off minutes more and it'll be too late for me to do anything."

Alec scowled at the veiled reprimand. "If I remember correctly, you didn't handle it all that well either."

511 straightened defensively. "She caught me by surprise, alright." He looked back at Max, and then shook his head slowly. "Another X5. She must have been really good if she managed to fool even you."

"I didn't see this one coming," Alec muttered, wondering to himself how he could have possibly missed the signs the she was not an Ordinary. Now that he thought back, it was all there. He just had not seen it.

"You even fought with her, right? Hand to hand?"

Understanding 511's unspoken question, Alec glowered. "It wasn't that easy to tell, alright! She was holding back and so was I."

511 smirked. "Unless you were too busy paying attention to other things…" Then he sobered. "You know, I'm not sure this is the best time to get her to spill the beans about Ivanov or 354. I'm not sure it's a good idea to go near her at all."

"I can handle it," Alec said tightly.

His eyes went back to Max momentarily, and he swallowed hard. It was easier said than done. Especially when he could still practically taste her in his mouth.

Then she stirred. A soft moan escaped her lips just before her eyes snapped open. It took her barely a second to pin her eyes on them.

She stood up.

Both of them tensed immediately, exchanging an apprehensive glance with each other. The feeling of being frozen to the spot returned to him as she started walking towards them, like a predator stalking its preys.

An unconscious female in heat was one thing. A conscious, determined female in heat was another thing. And Max looked as if she meant to get her hands on at least one of them, whatever it took.

Unconsciously, Alec began to back away, keeping his eyes trained on her. Beside him, 511 did the same.

After a couple of retreating steps, he halted abruptly.

His brow furrowed in irritation. "Why the hell are we backing away?"

511 gave him a bewildered look, and then his expression turned indignant. "You're handling this, remember?" he pointed out. "I'm just following your lead."

Alec tossed him a disgusted look. "The mission's too important to let our hormones get in the way. We're taking her even if it means that we'd have to hold our breath all the way."

"We might have to," 511 muttered under his breath. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he asked, "So what's the plan?"

Alec glanced quickly at the bag 511 had left beside the wall earlier. "Did you pack the medical kit?"

511 rolled his eyes. "It's standard, 494," he replied flatly.

"We need the tranquilizer and the hormone inhibitor, for both male and female," he said in a low tone, not wanting Max to hear him.

511's eyes widened in understanding. And then, frowning slightly, he asked quietly, "What's stopping her from jumping me while I'm going for it?"

"She won't. I'll distract her. You grab the shots from the bag. Remember to dose yourself."

"Why do you get the better end of the deal while I do the legwork?" 511 protested indignantly.

"Hey, I'm sacrificing myself here," Alec remarked with a smirk.

"You're unbelievable," 511 muttered under his breath.

Alec just grinned. "Ready?"

511 gave him a curt nod.

As 511 sped directly to the bag, Alec focussed his attention on Max and stepped towards her. For a second, she halted in her tracks, looking back and forth between 511 and him like she did not know who to go for, and then her eyes were drawn back to him.

Her scent very much diluted by the damp cloth covering his mouth and nose, Alec felt more confident of approaching her. An inviting smile broke out on her face as she stepped towards him, closing the gap between them.

An uncontrollable shiver of anticipation ran up Alec's spine at the way she was looking at him. He forcibly clamped it down, urging himself to focus on his mission.

The mission, the mission, he repeated like a mantra in his head.

She touched him. The brush of her hands against the side of his face was light, but it was electrifying. His temperature rose.

The mission. THE MISSION!

"Shouldn't cover your face, Alec," she breathed out as she ran her palms down his chest to land on his stomach.

Alec gulped. It took all the will he possessed to keep himself from wrapping his arms around her and throwing her to the ground. Where the hell was 511?

A dark shape streaked towards them, and then Max's eyes widened for a second before she lurched forward. His arms reached out automatically to catch her before she could fall.

Carefully, Alec lowered her unconscious body to the ground. As he looked at her peaceful features, he was struck by a myriad of emotions. Lust, frustration, relief and strangely enough, guilt.

511 stood up over her and passed a syringe with a full vial of pale yellow liquid to Alec. "Let's go. The car's just round the corner. We should be able to get that far without attracting attention."

Alec shook his head as he took the hormone inhibitor from 511. "We can't bring her back to Manticore."

"Why not?" 511 asked, obviously confused.

Alec injected himself with the male counterpart of what 511 had given Max earlier. "The same reason as why we didn't tell Manticore about 354. Blowing their cover isn't going to help anything."

511 glanced at him sceptically. "I'm not sure I agree with you. But it's your call."

Alec gave him an uncertain look. "Yeah."

"So what now?"

"We need to go somewhere quiet, somewhere secure. We'll talk when she wakes up."

"The tranquiliser lasts only 7 or 8 hours, even with the high dosage we gave her. The inhibitor will last 24 hours. We don't have much time before her heat returns."

Alec sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We need to go back for more."

"Fine. You go, and I'll watch her."

Alec gave 511 an assessing look. "No. You'll come with me," he finally said.

511's expression turned incredulous. "What? And leave her here after all the trouble we've gone through to find her?"

"She'll still be knocked out when we get back."

Raising an eyebrow, 511 asked with a cheeky grin, "You don't trust me? Even after I shot us all up with the inhibitor."

"That's not it, and you know it," Alec replied gruffly.

A huge grin spread over 511's face. "Admit it, 494. You can't handle the thought that I might do something."

Irritated at what 511 was implying, Alec snapped, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You seem to have the hots for Max here," 511 pointed out, completely unperturbed by Alec's tone.

Alec snorted. "Don't make me laugh."

511 gave him a knowing look. "In denial, are we?" he teased, and then continued in a more serious tone, "Look, I'm just pointing out what I see. Be careful, 494. Personal relationships are not encouraged."

"I don't need you to tell me that."

"Good."

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They had left Max with her wrists and feet restrained in the Manticore issue silver 2015 Chevy Corvette Z32, its tinted screen obscuring her from view. The abandoned warehouse they had found should be secure enough for a few hours until they returned.

With all that, it had been two hours since 511 had given Max her shots before they finally arrived back at Manticore's Seattle base. At the security checkpoint, the two of them stood still in front of a scanner until their identities were verified. Then the gate clanked open.

The guards stopped them just as they walked through. "Wait," one of them said as he went back to the security office.

Alec exchanged an apprehensive look with 511, wondering what it was all about.

When the guard returned, he handed a small note to 511.

511 took it and scanned through it. Then he held up the note worriedly. "Renfro wants to see us."

Renfro sure picked a great time, Alec thought irritably. They needed to get hold of more hormone inhibitor and tranquilizer and bring it back to Max. But if Renfro decided to throw them into Punishment, Max would wake up by herself and would probably attack some unsuspecting male once her hormone returned to its previous state.

Without answering, Alec nudged towards the building. "Let's go."

An idea suddenly occurred to him as they walked into the building. Turning to 511, he said, "Tell Renfro that I have to go back out immediately to get the disk on Ivanov."

511's eyes rounded in surprise. "What? You can't be serious. She knows that you're in here."

"I'll be quick and will be out of here in no time," Alec reassured him.

"You're deliberately refusing an order, 494," 511 said with a worried frown.

Alec shrugged. "Well, it's either that or we risk losing Max altogether. And hence, losing Ivanov."

511 sighed. "She's going to kill us."

Alec grinned. "Max or Renfro?"

511 scowled. "Both," he muttered darkly before he walked away in the direction of Renfro's office.

Alec immediately hurried in the opposite direction towards the infirmary. He hoped that he would manage to distract the nurse on duty enough so that he did not have to explain his odd request of additional hormone inhibitors.

If it was that blonde nurse from two months ago, then he should not have too much of a problem, he thought with a grin. Not that he intended to do anything with her, now that…

He halted in his tracks when he realised the direction his thoughts were taking.

His inner voice mocked him. Now that you got Max in your mind?

He scowled as he began to move again. It was just the after-effects of her heat, that was all. The only thing he needed Max for was to hand over the information on Ivanov. Nothing more.

He preferred blondes anyway.

Footsteps sounded behind him, but lost in his thoughts, he did not bother to turn around.

Suddenly, Alec found himself shoved hard against the wall. "What the-" he began indignantly.

And stared right into Seth's blazing green eyes.

"What have you done to her?" Seth snarled viciously, his grip as tight as a vice.

Feigning innocence, Alec widened his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. So don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you," Seth gritted out. He inhaled and his eyes narrowed immediately. "I can smell her on you!"

A loud thud sounded as Alec felt his back impacting against the cold, hard wall again. Damn it! It was not as if Seth did not know what it was like to be in the vicinity of a female in heat. It was not as if he could help it when Max threw herself at him. What the hell was Seth doing getting physically and emotionally involved in another X5 anyway? Seth should be focussed on his mission, not something else. Not Max.

And what the hell was Seth doing, pinning him against the wall?

Annoyed, Alec gave him a hard shove. "Get your hands off me!" he ordered harshly.

Seth held on to his shoulders with an uncompromising grip. "Then tell me where she is!"

Alec gave him a hard stare. "Start a fight here and both of us will end up in Punishment. Is that what you want, 354?" he asked pointedly.

Seth's eyes flickered momentarily, and then he loosened his grip.

Shrugging his shirt back into place, Alec took a step away from Seth, eyeing him cautiously. He needed Seth on his side as well if he wanted help with the Ivanov situation. But Seth, in his present state of mind, probably would not be so accommodating, Alec thought with an inward sigh. The only leverage he had was Max.

"Don't make me do something that both of us would regret," Seth warned coldly. "Where's Max?"

Alec kept his face impassive as he replied, "She's safe."

Seth's jaw ticked. "She's in heat," he said stonily.

Alec kept his surprise hidden. How did Seth know about her heat? And how did he find them so fast? This guy was really beginning to bug him, Alec thought sourly.

Then he remembered the phone he had crushed under his boots earlier. Max must have called Seth for help. Alec's mood suddenly darkened at the thought.

Seth asked levelly, but there was no mistaking the threat in his words. "Did you touch her?"

There was no way Seth would believe him if he said no, considering that Max's scent still lingered all over him. The irrational part of him wanted to rub it in Seth face, letting him know how hot Max's responses had been. But saying yes would tantamount to suicide.

Self-preservation won.

"I think we both know that it's best that I don't answer that question," Alec replied dryly.

Seth looked as if he was about to say something. And then he seemed to think the better of it. "Where's she? What do you want with her?" he finally asked.

This was it. The opening he was looking for.

Taking a deep breath, Alec started, "Look. I don't know what your mission is, but I'm guessing it's something to do with Unitech. The problem is, you're getting into the way of my mission. And somehow, I don't think Manticore would send two teams out to retrieve the same info."

Seth gave him a knowing look. "You want the info Max retrieved from Ivanov's place."

Alec nodded. "To make things worse, Renfro had asked to see us. 511 had gone to her, making an excuse about how I need to wrap up something on Ivanov. If I return empty handed, both of us will end up in Punishment."

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I care?"

Alec's lips tightened. "Let's just look at it as a trade. You hand me the info on Ivanov, and I'll bring you to Max. Or else I'll bring Max back here and show Manticore how incompetent the Wyoming soldiers are at deep cover missions."

Seth clenched his fists. "Do that and I won't be responsible for my actions."

"Then I guess we agree that the best way forward is to help each other out?" Alec asked, raising an eyebrow.

Seth appeared to consider his offer, and then finally nodded in assent.

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They left as soon as Alec had replenished his stock of the female hormone inhibitor, injecting himself and Seth with the male counterpart as a precaution.

The guards at the security checkpoint watched them as they approached. For a moment, Alec feared that the guards would not let him through the gates, but thankfully, they did.

The ride to the abandoned warehouse took them only half an hour, the two of them sitting in silence the entire trip. When they reached their destination, Alec checked his watch. They had been gone only three hours. Max should still be out, he thought as they got out of the car and began to head towards the warehouse.

Alec's eyes narrowed when he noticed the door, which was slightly ajar. He could have sworn that 511 had closed it behind him. A feeling of apprehension began to build in him. Had she managed to somehow escape already?

His steps quickened as he hurried forward. Sensing the urgency in Alec's steps, Seth followed suit.

When he pushed the door open and entered the dark space, Alec expelled a relieved breath. The car was still there. Surely Max would have taken the car if she had escaped.

"Where's she?" Seth asked tersely.

Alec turned to face the other transgenic. "In the car," he replied as he made his way to the car.

He yanked the door open.

And then his heart skipped a beat.

Alec gaped as he stared at the empty back seat of the car. The tranquilizer should still be in effect for another three or four hours. Max could not have just walked away even if she managed to get her restraints off. She would have been too disoriented. What had happened to her?

Seth turned to him, his eyes blazing with barely restrained anger.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this."

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t.b.c.

A/N: Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. More action-y stuff coming up in future chapters. Please review and let me know what you think!