Author's note - thank you for the beta reading Kreachersinthenight, and thank you to Max333 who really assists a LOT with brain storming and fight scenes. I decided to jump over to Alec for a bit. Enjoy!
(Meanwhile, back at Jam Pony)
"Okay, this one goes to Sector 9… Cindy, you're up, and Alec, you go with her. Another gang area."
Normal tossed the package toward Alec, barely looking at him as Alec caught the small package with one hand.
He really wasn't used to this kind of treatment from Normal. Disappointment was in his entire body language. Normal spent the last twenty minutes lecturing him, and actually wrote him up for the first time since he worked at Jam Pony. But frankly, he wasn't going to let it bother him. He was right, damn it. Max had been mistreated by Normal way too many times to count, and that's just since he started working here. God knows what she dealt with before he came along.
"Aiight Boo, let's hit it." Original Cindy wheeled her bike past Alec, barely looking at him too. And now Alec felt like he was going to develop a complex if this kept up. It seemed that everyone was disappointed in him for some reason. Nobody wanted to meet his eyes. He got a stray bike and followed Cindy until they were outside. But before OC could take off, Alec grabbed her elbow to stop her.
"Hey… Cin." His concern was what caused OC to meet his eyes as he asked, "Did I do something to offend you?"
"Nah Boo, we're cool."
"Don't give me that. You've always been straight with me. What have I done?"
She shrugged, "It's not really you Pretty Boy… it's just… " Then she placed her hands on her hips in consternation and met his eyes squarely, "Original Cindy just don't get it. Last night was the first time in years that this home girl went after someone of the three legged species. You dig? So what was it about you? Why come you so special?"
Oh that is what's eating Cindy. Remembering how seductively she danced with him last night and literally fought Max for him, he grinned cheekily, "Every woman falls for my charms eventually, even you. Shows how talented I am." He teased.
"Pfft! Whatever!" She waved a well-manicured hand before wheeling away on her bike. Alec followed after her. This was too irresistible to NOT tease her.
"Well maybe down deep inside you're attracted to men too? Maybe you're actually bi and I brought that out. Have you considered that?"
"No way in hell Pretty Boy. There was something else goin' on and Original Cindy will find out one day what that was. So watch yo' back. Cause if you hypnotized this home girl or had some crazy fool notion to use drugs, yo' fine transgenic ass will be kicked from here to Oregon. Jus' sayin'. Now, let's get this package delivered and NEVER mention this again, aiight?"
"You think I have a fine ass? I'm touched Cin, really."
"Shut up fool, let's get this over with."
He opened his mouth to say something else and closed it immediately when she raised a finger, "Ah, don't yo' dare boy! Original Cindy will put the smack down on your ass, I swear!"
They stopped at a stop sign and had to wait for a garbage truck to cross the street. Alec gave his riding companion a sideways glance, "Well if nothing else, we'll always have Crash and the night you felt this need to fight Max for my body in bed."
He had to duck when she swatted out her hand and missed him. He chuckled until the hand came back and hit him upside the head. He flinched, "Ow!"
"Told ya to shut up! What Original Cindy says, Original Cindy means. Got it?"
Once the garbage truck cleared the area, Cindy took off again. Alec rolled his eyes and sighed, then followed her. But he just couldn't stop the teasing.
"Well Cindy, if you ever decide to bat for the other team…"
"Not happenin' now shut the fuck UP about it, ya hear me?"
He cleared his throat, still smirking in that male way, "Yes ma'am."
She shot him a look that could kill but he couldn't wipe the smirk off his face.
"Sides, you and my boo got it on last night, and it doesn't make you look too hot if you're chasing after another tail that incidentally, is NOT interested."
That hit Alec square in the guilt meter again and he didn't say anything to defend himself. What was the use? He and Biggs pulled all kinds of stunts together back at Manticore but this really took the cake. The plan had sounded good to him at first. Get Max to see there was more to life than Logan, a man she couldn't touch, a man that couldn't walk without his exo-skeleton. A man that was NOT transgenic. He always felt Max needed to choose someone of their own kind, not an Ordinary. It was really fucked up that she was all cow eyes over a guy she couldn't get within two feet of without killing him due to the retro-virus.
Last night with her had been… incredible. Outstanding even. He had plenty of one night stands with Ordinary girls, but he had to hold back his true strength. He didn't have to do that with Max and that was, in a word, fabulous. And freeing!
He even had a couple of flings in Manticore. That experience was actually about testing his merit, seeing how much he could get away with on the military base. Using their talents to sneak and creep their way into a lab or office to get a few stolen moments with a willing female. They didn't even have to worry about birth control because pregnancy only occurred for them during a female's heat cycle. As long as the female was not in heat, it wasn't a problem.
Which reminded him, just in case Max changed her mind, he needed to purchase a couple of boxes of condoms when he got off work.
"Looks like this is the address." Original Cindy stated as she parked her bike and got off, kicking down the kickstand and watched Alec do the same. She pulled off her backpack to unzip it and reach in for the clipboard and paperwork that needed to be signed. Alec still had the box in his own pack as he pulled it out and handed it to Cindy.
"You wanna stay here with the bikes?" OC asked and Alec shook his head, "No way in hell. I'm not leaving you alone in there. I'm going in with you." He looked up at the dilapidated apartment building and asked, "Which apartment?"
"4B… let's go."
Alec smirked a little again because he heard the relief in OC's voice, although she'd never admit it. He knew she had a few good fighting skills due to her own time in the Marines, but still, she wasn't transgenic. And he sure as hell wasn't going to let her go into this place alone that had gang insignia spray painted everywhere they turned.
Apparently this was like the Spanish Harlem area of Seattle because everyone they passed spoke Spanish, in the Mexican dialect. They took the stairs up four floors, passing some shady looking guys on the way. They all simply watched warily as they passed and Alec gave each of them the death glare, the male way of warning them to back off.
Once they reached 4B, OC knocked on the door and waited. They heard some movement inside and OC knocked again, "Jam Pony messenger! I have your package."
Getting a sudden idea, Alec called out in Spanish, "Oye, Mensajeros Jam Pony, tenemos un paquete!"
Cindy raised a brow in surprise and Alec shrugged, "Manticore taught me about eight different languages. Spanish happens to be one of them."
When the door opened, a haggard looking young woman holding a baby on her hip peeked out and Alec, using his full wattage charm, smiled at her and held up the package as he took the clipboard from OC's hands.
"Hola Señora, mi llamo es Alec. Estamos de Jam Pony y tenemos tu paquete. ¿Puede firmar aquí por favor? (Hello Madam. My name is Alec. We are from Jam Pony and we have your package. Can you sign here please?)
Alec held out the clipboard with the attached pen and pointed at the bottom of the document. She nodded, "Si." And while jiggling the baby on her hip, she used her free hand to sign her name and take the package.
"Gracias." She smiled tiredly at Alec as he passed the package to her.
"De nada." He responded as he passed the clipboard back to Cindy. The woman closed the door on them and once Alec turned to look at Cindy fully, he saw her jaw had dropped.
"What?"
She closed her mouth and shook her head, "You're just full of surprises."
"Yeah that's what keeps the girls interested." He nudged her playfully and she swatted his arm. "Let's go." She nodded her head toward the way out, but before they took two steps, about five guys blocked their way out, all Latino, all dressed in denim or leather with various piercings and tattoos.
Immediately, Alec stepped in front of Cindy and kept her behind him as the leader called out, "Oye muchacho, bonita chica que tienes ahí ... darle a nosotros ella y tomaremos muy buen cuidado de ella. Incluso podríamos dejarte vivir!" (Hey boy, pretty girl you have there... give her to us and we'll take very good care of her. We might even let you live!)
Alec scanned his surroundings quickly, eyeing a broom in the corner. Keeping Cindy behind him, he grinned at the leader and murmured, "Andate al infierno!" (Go to hell.) And then in English he got in the guy's face and hissed, "Mother fucker… need a translation for that too before I kick your ass?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the leader bring up a switch blade. Alec grabbed him by the throat and threw him against the wall with one hand, gripping the wrist with the blade in the other. He smashed the guy's wrist into the wall, causing him to lose his hold on the blade and drop it.
Alec threw him toward the others, and picked up the blade quickly, swishing it in the air to keep the other guys back.
"La chica está conmigo." (The girl is with me.) He brandished the blade and assumed a fighting stance, "Si son inteligentes, chicos, estaréis dejar antes de que esto se ponga feo. Nadie llegá a ella sin pasa por mí. ¿Comprende? (If you are smart, guys, you'll leave before this gets ugly. No one reaches her without passing through me. Do you understand?)"
In English he said, "Hey Cin? See that broom in the corner? I think you're going to need it."
She grabbed it quickly and asked, "Why? What do they want?"
"Um… you actually." Alec brandished his blade toward one brave guy that tried to step out past him. The threat of getting sliced caused him to jump back.
Alec took the broom from her, just reaching back without looking at her and used his foot to stomp on the handle just above the bristles and break the wooden stick off. He handed it back to Cindy.
"There… that should make it easier."
"Those guys want me? Oh hell no! Original Cindy will kick their asses. Bring 'em on!"
He smirked as he continued using the blade to keep them back, "If one gets past me Cin, knock 'em out with that stick. You hear me?"
"You got Original Cindy's word on that, boo!" She promised.
One of the taller guys stepped forward, putting a set of brass knuckles on his hand. Alec had the knife at the ready and watched him warily, trying his best to keep track of where everyone else was placed in the small hallway. So far, all males were in front of him and Original Cindy behind him. The only way out was through this small gang.
"I'm going to mess that pretty face up boy… "The brute warned in Spanish as the others behind him egged him on. Alec's lip curled up a bit in humor as he kept the knife ready and replying in the same language. "I'm surprised you noticed my looks, girls like them, what can I say?" He shrugged nonchalantly, and then narrowed his eyes on the newest attacker, "But guys only notice if they're secretly a fairy. Hate to break your heart, but I just don't swing that way."
The subtle dig at the man's machismo had the exact effect Alec wanted, it made him angry and stupid. He swung his fist and Alec caught the brass-knuckled fist in one hand, bending his wrist until they all heard bones crunching. The guy fell to his knees in pain in front of Alec as he placed the knife at his throat.
"Call off your dogs… bitch!" Alec hissed in Spanish again, and dug the knife a little harder into the guy's throat, nicking him enough to cause a small stream of blood. With his other hand he wrenched the idiot's wrist again, causing more cracking bones and a cry of pain.
The whole conversation between himself and the gang was completely Spanish. He didn't bother translating any of it to Cindy. She knew there was a threat and that was all she needed to know right now.
"Go ahead and kill him." The leader stepped forward again, rotating the wrist Alec slammed into the wall earlier. "He's been nothing but trouble since day one. You'll save me the effort."
Instead Alec released the fallen guy's wrist and grabbed the back of his head pushing down, then slammed his knee up at the same time, knocking him out. Alec straightened, ready to fight. One down, four to go… that is, if they don't call in some kind of reinforcements.
"You see… I know you're one of those freaks they talk about in the news lately. We saw your barcode as you walked past. You, amigo, will bring us a lot of money. Your girl there? Only the consolation prize."
Alec kept his Manticore mask on, but realizing the danger he put Cindy in because he was too careless about covering his barcode brought his guilt meter up that much more.
They wanted to turn him in for the reward that was out on transgenics, thanks to Ames White.
Now it was imperative that he make sure they got out with their lives.
"Oh you haven't seen anything yet. Bring it!" Alec turned his hand palm up and curled his fingers a couple of times in invitation.
"KILL HIM!"
The four of them converged on Alec all at once with various weapons, brass knuckles, knives, and one even had a police baton. Luckily, none of them had guns. Thinking quickly, Alec blurred and sliced the first guy across the throat, then turned sideways and kicked him in the chest, knocking him down. Quickly he turned and elbowed the next one in the nose. When that one grabbed his nose instinctively and bent down, Alec followed up with a spin kick to the head, knocking him out.
One got past him to Cindy during this altercation. However he didn't have time to do anything but defend himself when the leader jumped him from behind, bringing the police baton he grabbed from one of his comrades and holding it across his throat, cutting off his air.
"I want my knife back you freak!"
Alec elbowed the guy in the stomach and stomped on his instep, causing him to loosen his hold on the baton. He pushed the baton out and up, then using an X-5 learned maneuver, he walked his feet up the wall in front of him and flipped behind the leader and suddenly the baton was on the predator's throat instead of the prey's. Alec threw the knife across the hallway.
"Keep it… I don't need it."
He checked on Cindy and in a move that surprised him, Cindy used the stick like a martial arts weapon. She used one end to knock her assailant in the solar plexus, then the other to hit him hard on the head, while at the same time bringing her knee up to knee him in the balls. When he fell to the ground at her feet, she pushed him on his back with her foot and followed up by placing her sneakered foot at his throat, holding the stick aloft in a threat.
"Touch me again, get dropped wet. Original Cindy don't feature that aiight?"
She brought down the stick on his head and knocked him out. Alec felt a little pride. This Ordinary knew how to fight.
"Well, looks like it's just you and me Ese." Alec kept a firm grip on the baton, causing it to cut off the guy's oxygen. Alec counted to eight and let the leader drop at his feet. Slightly out of breath, making sure everyone was out cold, he smiled over at OC, "You got some moves girl. Ever thought about making some money cage fighting?"
"Original Cindy doesn't do illegal Pretty Boy. Let's get outta here before they wake up."
He nodded and gestured to the way out, "After you Xena."
Smiling back at him, they step over the bodies and run down the four flights of stairs back to where they parked their bikes.
Which were now gone.
Alec sighed and rolled his eyes to the heavens, "Looks like we're walking… I'll call Normal." He pulled out his cell phone as they began to walk back toward Jam Pony.