Chapter Six

"You'd better get over here," Mole growled.

Max grunted into the phone. "Why?"

"Impending doom, as usual. Just get here. Bring the princess, too, if he can move."

Max tossed Alec's phone back on the nightstand where she'd dumped it the night before. She opened her eyes and was surprised for two reasons. The first was that she'd slept at all. She didn't need much, and the more that was going on, her mind usually kept her wide awake until the danger had passed. Lying next to Alec, she'd nodded off so quickly, she wouldn't have thought it possible. The second was that they were lying face to face and Alec was awake, watching her warily.

"You ok?" she asked. His mouth quirked up on one side, and the wariness faded a bit. She could still see it in his eyes, though. It was like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She didn't like that look on him anymore. She didn't want him to watch her like she was seconds away from yelling at him or hitting him. She wasn't sure how she wanted him to look at her, but this wasn't it. She wanted… Lying next to him last night… After she'd been so worried…

Max was really bad at emotions, especially about owning her own. Her life had been too hard, and kindness and understanding had been rare. Punching people, keeping them at a distance, running when things got dicey? That came naturally. And where had that gotten her with Logan? Still at a distance. Physically for sure because of the virus, but it had been that way even before that. She'd kept her distance emotionally too. She'd protected herself from him, and kept secrets about her past, definitely about what happened with Ben. She'd known he wouldn't understand the things she'd done.

Maybe she didn't want to be like that anymore, not with Alec, anyway. Maybe it felt good to have someone close who she knew wasn't trying to hurt her or who wouldn't judge her.

Alec's arms were still around her, not to hit, not to harm.

To soothe, to protect, to comfort… One day… maybe to please…

It was like the world had tilted on its axis, to know it was possible. Her feelings for Logan were tied up with sadness, desperation, and hopelessness. With Alec, though, their rocky start had turned into freedom, and companionship, and now they had TC and the others and hope for their future.

Max brought her hand up and rested it against his cheek. He flinched, thinking she was going to hit him.

"Alec, you ok?" she asked again.

Alec cleared his throat, staring at her like she was something new. He placed his hand over hers, pressing it to him. "Better," he finally said.

"Mole needs us."

"I heard."

Max took in a deep breath and extracted herself from his arms. She pulled the covers back and rolled to her feet. Alec frowned and she knew he was feeling the chill like she was. It wasn't the temperature, though, or not just the temperature.

She held out her hand. "Come on."

Alec hesitated, but took her hand and she helped him sit up, then get to his feet. He groaned and abruptly dropped her hand so he could grab her shoulders instead. His grip almost hurt, but she knew he was trying to stay upright. She gripped his hips to steady him, and that was the one and only reason. Transgenics were amazing creations, but even a super soldier had to take a minute after a near fatal gunshot.

"I got time for a shower?" he asked. They'd cleaned him up a bit, but he was still a bloodied mess from the shooting and the subsequent surgery. The smell wasn't getting any better either.

"Make it fast. I'm going to change, too."

He looked down at her and seemed to realize she was wearing one of his shirts. "You look fine to me," he said, completely straight-faced.

Max narrowed her eyes. "Nice try. I'm changing."

Alec nodded, as if he'd expected that response. He let go of her shoulders and carefully turned toward the bathroom, forcing her to drop her hands as well. His steps were close to shuffling and Max stayed close. "I've got this," he assured her. "Go get cleaned up. We need to hurry." He glanced over his shoulder. "Or you could always join me. Make sure I don't pass out."

Max had a moment of panic. She couldn't decide if she wanted to hit him, yell at him, or follow him into the shower. "I'll be back in a minute," she muttered. "Don't fall down while I'm gone."

Without waiting for a response, Max blurred toward her own apartment. She took the fastest shower ever, and was dressed and back in Alec's apartment in no time flat. Manticore would have been proud. Alec, too, had hurried, although he was still struggling to pull a shirt over his head when she arrived. She could see he'd removed the bandages and the incisions were already closing, but he was definitely still in pain.

Max quickly took charge and helped him pull the shirt down. It left them face to face, absolutely platonically sharing personal space. Yup.

Alec looked down at her, once again studying her as if she were something new and maybe… wonderful.

"I should get shot more often," he said, his voice a low rumble. "You're a lot nicer when I'm dying."

Max rolled her eyes. "Come on. We need to get to Command." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door, pleased when he squeezed her fingers, and followed without complaint.

Max and Alec stood side by side, watching the video. The rest of the crew stood behind them, since they'd already seen it. Hunter had sent them a message with a video clip attached. He was standing behind two people who were seated, blindfolded, and tied to the chairs. Dr. Shankar looked barely conscious, while Jag looked battered, but still spitting mad. Hunter must have grabbed them when Jag was taking the doctor home after she helped Alec.

"I will release these two, only if you come to meet me. We need to talk. Alone. I've attached the coordinates to this message. If I see anyone, absolutely anyone, but you, then you're not who I thought you were and their deaths are on you."

There was no doubt who he was talking to. Max barely remembered breaking up the fight in the courtyard that day. It had been inconsequential to her, but Hunter had latched on like the nutjob he was.

"You can't go," Alec said. He immediately pursed his lips and glanced at her. "I mean… we should make other arrangements. This isn't safe."

Max eyed him. She'd caught him doing that before. Usually, she was too annoyed with him to realize it until it was too late, but she was beginning to think he was… managing her. It wasn't exactly a secret she didn't like being given orders, but she definitely didn't like having her own stubbornness used against her. The jerk was too smart.

"He won't hurt me," she said. "He likes me."

"For now," Alec replied. "He's not going to like you when you refuse to run away with him."

"I don't care as long as we get Jag and Dr. Shankar out of there."

"Well, I do," he shot back. "You need backup."

Mole nodded. "He's right. This guy's crazy and dangerous." He chomped on his cigar. "We'll send a team. Keep them well back and out of sight. Someone needs to be close enough to help if… when it goes wrong."

"I'll-"

"Nope." Mole immediately cut Alec off. "You got shot yesterday and this guy already hates you. You're a liability, princess. You're not going."

Alec's jaw clenched, and she could see the tension as he looked at her, then Mole, then back again. "Max-"

"I've got this. I just need to knock him down long enough to get our people out."

"He's fast," Alec said. "I don't…" He cut off what he was going to say. She could see him thinking, trying to re-word whatever it was so he wouldn't piss her off.

"Look, I know he's faster than me. I won't take any chances," she promised. "But like I said… he likes me."

Alec shook his head in frustration. "You're just going to dig in your heels if I say anything else."

Max smirked. "Probably."

"I want drones," Alec said. "Hack a whole flock of them if you have to. I want eyes on her the whole time."

Max rolled her eyes, but allowed it. Alec looked ready to fall over again, and she didn't want him thinking he should sneak out and follow her. If it would keep him happy, she'd tolerate it.

"Already ahead of you," Mole said. "Luke and Dix have been hacking into the city servers. They should be ready to go any time. They have to be careful though. If this guy is as good as you say, he could notice the hack. Other than that, I've already got volunteers on the way to the coordinates. Jackknife took lead, and he handpicked his team. They're ghosts when they need to be."

The tension in Alec's shoulders lessened slightly, but he still didn't look happy. "Fine. Just…"

Max put a hand on his arm and she knew every single eye in the room caught it. She and Alec had worked together ever since they'd moved into TC, but this was new and everyone recognized the difference. No one mentioned it, however, and Max was grateful. She didn't have any answers anyway.

Alec sighed, his eyes on hers. "Fine," he said again. His expression wasn't the cocky confidence she was used to. He was worried and he was letting her see it, which was different, too.

Max had a sudden urge to step closer and… she wasn't sure what. She was just bad at feelings. Except guilt maybe. She was pretty good at that one. Her brothers and sisters, friends… all gone, missing, or hurt, or dead. Logan… the virus…

This was different. Everything felt different since the moment Hunter aimed a gun at Alec and fired. The guy might be fast, but she definitely wanted to have words with him about trying to kill people she cared about.

Someone she cared about.

Max squeezed his arm, and let her hand drop. "Back before you know it."

"Can we get that drone any closer?" Alec asked.

"They're going to notice if we mess with them too much," Dix answered. "They'll cut us off and we'll lose her."

Alec gritted his teeth, and kept his eyes glued to the screen. Max was barely visible. She'd made it past the last checkpoint with some creative footwork, some fence climbing, and some strategic jumps from building to building. Now she was heading down the sidewalk toward the coordinates for the meeting spot Hunter had sent, where Alpha Team was already in place.

"Bravo Team, tighten up," Alec ordered over the headset he was wearing. "She's pulling away from you."

"Copy that."

"Charlie Team, you still have eyes on her?"

"Affirmative."

The street was packed with people on foot and lined with cars going and coming from the bottleneck of the checkpoint. As a result, the teams were struggling to keep up while remaining inconspicuous.

Max approached the next corner just as four men turned it, coming toward her. They shuffled to one side, closer to the building, to let her pass.

It was nicely coordinated. Alec had to give them that.

The side door of a mini-van parked on the corner opened and the four men rushed her. She fought as they shoved her in the van, but in the blink of an eye Max was inside, and the van peeled out around the corner.

Max was gone.

No doubt, y'all are shocked this went horribly wrong! More tomorrow…