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: Back from holidays, and here's the promised update. Thank you for reading and reviewing the last chapter. Hopefully, a few more things will be cleared up in this chapter!

Irresistible Rivals - Chapter 15

(by elle6778)

Max cracked her eyes open, and then immediately shut them against the bright glare. A lamp was shining straight into her eyes. Groaning inwardly, she tried to shift but soon found that she was strapped to the chair, her wrists and ankles bound to the wooden back and legs with what felt like ropes.

Max wanted to roll her eyes. As if that was going to stop her. She had gotten out of worse situations than this.

She forced her eyes open again, letting it adjust to the bright light. There were rows and rows of what appeared to be testing apparatuses lined along the shelves, not of the medical type, but more of the electronics type.

Max frowned, trying to remember how she got herself into this predicament.

The image of Alec's molten hazel eyes searing into hers and his lips hot on hers came to mind.

Max groaned, this time out loud.

Heat.

Worse still, now Alec knew that she was a transgenic. There was no way he could have missed that. The way she had not missed the fact that he was almost as uncontrolled as she was. There was no doubt in her mind now that Alec was Manticore.

She cringed when she remembered how she had responded. And how he had responded. She had tried to hold off, tried to walk away, but the temptation was too strong. Her mind had been overruled by her hormones.

That implied that she was now in Manticore's custody. Adrenaline pumped through her at the thought. Her heart-rate picked up and she forced herself to take a few calming breaths.

Not good. This was not good at all.

Why? Why of all people, it had to be Alec and his Manticore partner who had found her? Why couldn't an Ordinary male turned up ten minutes before they did? She would have gladly suffered through the inevitable self-loathing which normally followed her random heat-induced romps.

But now, not only she had to suffer through the self-loathing, she had also exposed all of them to Manticore. Alec must have reported to his superior about it. There was no reason for him to keep his mouth shut about it. There was no reason for him to help them.

Max groaned inwardly. What if they ran tests on her? She knew that Manticore would not find any record of them in their database, but they might be suspicious enough of the whole thing to kick-start an investigation. And who knew what they might find then?

Where were they anyway? Was this part of a psychological game? Something to wear her down. And anyway, since they knew that she was a transgenic, why bother with the pitiful excuse of a restraint?

She frowned. Something did not add up. It suddenly occurred to her that maybe she got it all wrong. But what else could it be? Think, Max. Think!

She remembered a slight prick against her back, and then nothing. They must have injected her with something because for some reason, she did not feel her heat anymore. It must have been something to dampen down her heat hormones and also to knock her out. She could not have been unconscious that long, even though she had been dosed with whatever they had injected her with. Her body had been designed to have a certain amount of resistance to chemicals after all.

A quick glance at the digital clock mounted on the wall told her that it had been five hours since she had called Jack. Knowing that her unexpected heat would probably get her into trouble, she had asked him to send someone out to get her from South Market. Jack had promised to send Eva, and then she had spoken briefly to Seth before the scent of a male transgenic distracted her. She guessed she must have dropped her phone because she did not remember keeping it.

Remembering the way she had jumped onto the transgenic Alec had referred to as 511, Max winced involuntarily. She hated what she became when she was in heat. Unitech should do something about it, she thought grumpily. It would save them a lot of potential trouble.

Then Alec had appeared.

Max forced herself to skip past the less savoury details of their encounter, grimacing as she did so. No, she did not want to think about the way his had devoured her lips, their tongues battling for dominance. Or the way his hands had burnt a path from her stomach to her breast.

Stop it, Max!

She had to concentrate on the more important issues. Not on some short-lived encounter.

Especially when it was him.

What now?

She could try to contact HQ. Unitech had at least taken that insurance with all of them. But what if this was some sort of trap? How could she live with herself if she led her siblings into danger?

The sound of footsteps outside the room signalled the approach of someone, probably her captors.

Max tensed in her seat, her senses fully alert. Silently, she flexed her arms and shifted to loosen her bonds. This might be her chance to escape.

The footsteps stopped and the door opened.

Her eyes widened.

So, it was not Manticore after all.

"Hello, Max. Funny how we keep bumping into each other, don't you think?"

Max eyes flashed for a second before she said in a sickly sweet voice, "Andrei, how nice to see you here."

"I don't know where she is, okay?" Alec snapped irritably, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

This was not going as planned at all. Max had disappeared, 511 was stuck inside Manticore with Renfro and Seth looked as if he was about to blow his top.

Alec stood his ground as Seth took a step towards him.

Seth glared at him. "You left her here. In that state, and now she's missing. What's wrong with you?" he snarled.

Alec rolled his eyes. "Look, would I lose her on purpose? She's my bargaining chip."

A hand fisted on front of Alec's black jumper. Leaning in close, Seth hissed, "She's much more than a bargaining chip, and you should remember that."

Then Seth released his grip abruptly and stepped away. "Our deal's off," he declared in a clipped voice.

Stunned, Alec stood there, watching Seth's retreating back for a few seconds before he sprang forward. He could not afford to let Seth walk away just like that. Without Seth or Max, he did not have enough time to get hold of the information he needed.

"Hey!" Alec yelled, jogging after Seth. "We can work something out, right?"

Without glancing back, Seth quickened his steps.

Annoyed at the lack of response, Alec snapped, "Look, we'll just have to look for her together. Seattle's not that big. She's around somewhere."

"And I'll find her," Seth said resolutely as he jumped onto the bike they had come on. "Alone."

Not a chance, Alec thought as he slammed a hand between Seth's key and the ignition. "I still need the intel on Ivanov," he gritted out tersely.

Unperturbed, Seth shrugged. "Not my problem." Shoving Alec's hand away, he continued, "Like I said, the deal's off."

Alec stared at him. So that was how Seth wanted to play it, huh? Well, he was not going to let him off so easily. His survival and his sanity were at stake here. Not to mention 511's. Psy-ops were never pleasant and he had no intention of being thrown back in it.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Alec took a step back and smirked. "How about this? You hand over what I want or I spill the beans about you and Max fraternising after hours. Hmm?"

Seth froze.

Alec's smirk grew. He finally had the guy. All he had to do was to mention their relationship. Seth should really be a little bit more careful with his relationship with Max. This was the exact reason why Manticore was against personal involvements between its soldiers.

Glaring at him, Seth snarled, "Do you have a death wish?"

Looking thoughtful, Alec replied innocently, "Not really. But do you wish for Manticore to find out about you and Max?"

Wordlessly, Seth stepped off the bike, studying Alec assessingly. His expression was stony.

Alec tilted his head to the side. "So?" he prompted, raising an eyebrow.

Seth's tone was cold when he replied, "It appears that we could to come to some form of agreement."

Alec grinned.

Ivanov stood in front of her, his lips curved in a cold smile. Behind him, two armed guards watched her intently, not moving a muscle, not blinking an eye. Ivanov was obviously wary of her after the stunt she and Alec had pulled. Or maybe it was because of how Seth had wiped out his entire security detail back at the mansion.

She raised an eyebrow as she nudged towards the guards. "All this for me? Surely you're capable of handling me without your bodyguards."

The muscle under his eyes ticked, letting her know that he had understood the insult. But the smile remained. Leaning down close to her, he said in an oily voice, "I don't have anything against you. Tell me who sent you and I'll let you go."

Snorting derisively, Max said, "That bimbo act must have really fooled you if you think I'd believe that."

He reached forward and laced his fingers in her hair.

Max held herself still, trying not to cringe at the caressing motion of his hands. What did the jackass think he was doing? Her fists itched to deliver a punch to his face. If only those two guards of his would leave. Then she could try something. But with two guns pointed at her, there was no chance of her escaping. Not without some serious damage.

"Come on, Max. Make this easy on yourself," he coaxed, his hand still entangled in her hair.

"No," she replied flatly.

Ivanov's eyes flashed in anger and immediately yanked her head back by her hair.

Max gritted her teeth, refusing even to blink as she glared up at him.

"Tsk, tsk, Max. I ask you again. Who are you working for?"

"Over my dead body," she spat.

A hard fist met her cheeks with a loud thud.

Max inhaled sharply, shaking her head to clear it. That would bruise, she thought in irritation.

Ivanov shook his head slowly, a pitying look came over his face "I don't like hitting women, but you left me no choice. Tell me a name, and this will be over."

Her eyes glinted just before she spat in his face. He stared at her in disbelief, the spittle running down his chin. Two angry patches of red appeared on his cheeks. If the situation was not so serious, Max would have laughed at his expression.

Growling in anger, Ivanov slapped her hard, snapping her head to the side.

This could not continue, Max thought in dismay as her cheeks throbbed in protest at the abuse. Now that she knew it was just Ivanov and not Manticore, it might be a good idea to call in some reinforcement.

She groaned inwardly. That would just reinforce Seth's belief that she could not take care of herself. Not to mention she would probably not hear the end of it from Zane.

But she had to do it.

Using the tip of her tongue, she searched the inside of her mouth until she found a small, hard lump. Taking a deep breath, she bit down hard, tearing the soft flesh. Her mouth filled with the coppery taste of her own blood, the thick liquid seeping out from the corner of her mouth.

As Ivanov reached out, Max turned her head away. Gripping her chin tightly, he forced her to look at him. Swiping the blood from the corner of her lips with a finger, he gave her a sympathetic look. "Don't make me damage that pretty face further. Just tell me what I want to know."

Max wanted to roll her eyes, but she knew that it would only serve to antagonise him more. And right now, she had to concentrate on activating the emergency transmitter. And to make sure that Ivanov did not get suspicious.

She nodded. "Give me a second," she continued weakly, giving the appearance that she was breaking down.

A smug smile flitted over Ivanov's lips as he released her. "Good girl. I knew you'd come to your senses."

Max let her head flop down, her hair swinging forward to hide the sides of her face.

Using her tongue, she prodded at her bleeding wound until a solid object, slightly larger than a grain of rice, popped onto her tongue. Carefully, she pushed it between her teeth and bit on it, applying a steady pressure for ten seconds before she released it.

Ivanov tilted her chin up. "So, who are you working for?"

Max took a deep breath. Now, she just needed to bide her time until someone from Unitech arrived.

"I'll get you the information."

"I'm not saying that you won't," Alec said, a little baffled by Seth's reluctance to let him help with the search for Max. Or was it just because Seth did not want him near Max?

"I can find her on my own," Seth insisted tightly.

Alec shrugged carelessly. "Yeah. But two of us would get the job done quicker."

"I work solo," Seth replied with a stony expression.

"Oh? I thought Max was your partner?" Then Alec paused, pretending to think. "Hang on. You're not worried that she would choose me over you in her heat, are you? Hmm?"

A flash of anger crossed Seth's face. "I think Max has better sense than that," he gritted out.

Alec arched an eyebrow. "Funny. It didn't feel like that a while ago. But if that's not the case, then you shouldn't have a problem with me helping, right? Unless there's-"

A buzzing sound from Seth's pocket cut him off mid-sentence.

The other transgenic gave him a quick look before fishing his cell phone out of his pocket. "Yeah?" Seth barked into the phone as he moved away, obviously not wanting Alec to hear him.

Alec strained to hear what was said, but the sound was too low for him to catch anything. Frowning, he debated whether or not to follow Seth. It could not possibly be Max calling because her phone was gone. Was it Unitech then?

As Seth continued to talk softly on the phone, Alec leaned back against the external wall of the warehouse. With the other man some distance away, he was able to let down his guard a little. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

Questions ran through his head, all unanswerable. What had gone wrong? Where was Max? Was Seth really going to keep to his word and deliver Ivanov?

Alec groaned. Something like this would have normally taken a week at the most. But how many weeks had it been now? How had such a simple mission gone so wrong so fast?

Max, that was how. The woman was turning out to be a real thorn in his side.

Why was he even offering to help Seth find her, anyway? He had better things to do with his time. Like maybe seek out some lucky female to appease his frustration. Yeah, then maybe he would stop having inappropriate thoughts about a certain infuriating dark-haired female.

Seth's footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts.

Turning to the other transgenic, Alec raised a questioning brow. "News?" he asked at the expression on Seth's face.

"You might be meeting Ivanov sooner than you expect."

Alec's eyes widened, and then narrowed in suspicion. He did not fully trust Seth. "How?"

"We're going to pay him a visit now."

"What? How do you know where he is?" he asked, confused at the sudden development. All this from a phone call?

"Unitech deciphered the info," Seth replied shortly.

"What about Max?" Alec asked before he could stop himself.

Seth's eyes narrowed. "Do you want Ivanov or not?" he snapped tightly.

Alec stared at him disbelievingly. Yes, he wanted to get hold of Ivanov, but it occurred to him that Seth should be a little bit more concerned about his partner. Not that he was going to complain if Seth led him straight to Ivanov.

Catching the look on Alec's face, Seth let out an exasperated sigh. "Ivanov got Max, alright?" he finally said.

An inexplicable feeling of relief suddenly washed over Alec. At least now they knew where she was. "I see," he said levelly. How did Ivanov get to her?

The car.

It must have been his car.

Mesher had seen him in it, and the flashy car was not something anyone would miss. Alec groaned inwardly. Someone must have tipped Ivanov off. Max's heat must have distracted him and 511 more than they had realised if they had not noticed that they were being followed.

Seth studied him silently.

"What?" Alec asked defensively, a little unnerved by Seth's stare.

The look continued for a few more seconds, making Alec acutely uncomfortable before Seth finally said, "A word of advice, soldier." He paused for a beat, and then continued in a harder voice, "Don't fall for her."

Alec stiffened. "What are you talking about?"

"It's just your hormones, nothing else," Seth added levelly.

He was being warned off Max, Alec thought, affronted. As if it was necessary.

Smirking, he replied coolly, "I can handle myself, but thanks for the advice. For the record, I have no intention of falling for her. It's not worth the trip to psy-ops."

"Good."

It did not take long before Ivanov realised that she had no intention of telling him anything.

The first twenty blows or so, she could handle. But then he carried on tirelessly, almost as if he was enjoying himself, just pausing occasionally to question her about her mission.

Max kept her lips sealed as the blows continued. Her instinct told her to just rip away the ropes and let Ivanov have a taste of his own medicine. But the two guns were still aimed right at her. The risk was too high.

Her head was spinning and Ivanov's figure began to blur in front of her.

Just as she thought that she was going to pass out, it suddenly stopped.

As if in slow motion, she watched as Ivanov and his guards crumpled to the ground. And then an eerie silence descended around her. What was going on?

Max closed her eyes, too tired to think.

"Max?"

Her eyes snapped open.

The emergency call worked. "Seth," she exclaimed in relief. Then her jaw dropped when she took in the figure behind him.

Her eyes went to Seth's. "What's he doing here?" she asked, incredulous. It did not make sense. The last time she had seen the two of them together, they were beating the hell out of each other.

Alec came closer. "Nice to see you too, Max." Then his raised his brows. "Gee, what happened to you?"

Max frowned at him. No doubt he was referring to her battered face and body. "Get lost," she snarled viciously.

Alec smirked. "Is that how you greet your greatest rival?" he asked, going around behind her.

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

"We don't have time for this," Seth interjected with a frown. "You okay, Max?" he asked, kneeling down in front of her to undo the bindings around her ankles. His worried eyes scanned her appearance.

"Yeah," she replied as Alec cut through her bonds. With Alec behind her, she mouthed silently, but urgently to Seth, 'He knows.'

Seth gave her an almost imperceptible nod, followed by a warning look. Max took it that he meant to let him handle it. A bubble of irritation rose to the surface.

But before she could say anything, Seth turned to Alec. "Give me the syringe."

Max frowned. "What syringe?"

Alec passed a syringe and a vial to Seth.

"To make sure your heat remains under control," Alec explained. Then he paused before continuing, "Not that it'll help much when it comes to me, of course."

Max's eyes flashed as she turned to him. "Shut up before I kick your ass."

Grinning, Alec returned, "Always my ass, Max. Not to say that I'm not flattered, but seriously, it's an unhealthy obsession."

Max opened her mouth to retort, but Seth beat her to it. "That's enough! Remember our deal?" he snapped, giving Alec a meaningful look.

Alec held his hands out in a gesture of surrender. "Just making small talk."

"Don't," Seth bit out tightly as he drew the fluid from the vial. Holding on to her arm, he administered the shot wordlessly.

Sounds of footsteps reached her ears. "Someone's coming," she said urgently.

Seth shot to his feet immediately. "Stay here," he ordered, rushing out of the door.

Nodding, Max stood up unsteadily. Her vision blurred suddenly. Damn, all the abuse her body had suffered today must have taken its toll, she thought. She swayed a little, and a strong arm went around her.

"Easy," Alec's breathed into her ears, making her spine tingle. He shifted, pulling her up against him to steady her.

A rush of liquid warmth spread over her. Some of her hormones must be still in action, Max thought irritably as her vision cleared. "I'm fine," she snapped, forcing herself to pull away from his arms.

"In a sunny mood, aren't we?" he mocked, releasing her.

"What the hell are you doing here, Alec?"

He shrugged. "Just helping out a fellow X5, that's all."

She turned back to glare at him. "Gee, thanks," she said, her words thick with sarcasm. "If you didn't tranquilize me, I wouldn't be here in the first place"

He grinned. "Hey, I have my standards, you know. And an alleyway just didn't cut it for me, as hot as it had been."

She flushed in embarrassment. "Will you just shut up, Alec?" she snarled just as Seth came back in.

Alec grinned at her. "It's 494, by the way. Thought you should know, especially after what we've shared earlier. And you are?"

"She's 453. And I'm 354," Seth snapped impatiently, gesturing to the door. "Now that we're done with the introductions, we need to go before more of them turn up. We're out of gas."

Max opened her mouth, and then clamped it shut again. 453? What did Seth mean? There was no way Seth could have mistaken her designation. Or his own. What was he up to?

Alec raised his eyebrows. "Did the two of you request matching designations back when you were in the tubes?"

Max rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

Seth had a lot of explaining to do.

t.b.c.

A/N: That's it for now. Hope you've enjoyed that. You can probably guess what's happening next, lol. Please review and let me know what you think!