By: Baloo
Chapter 5
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters belong to Cameron, Eglee, and Fox.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: (AU) He was sent to capture and bring in the rogue, 452, but unforeseen complications changed everything. Feline DNA... pheromones... residual feelings? What’s a genetically engineered supersoldier to do? And what are two of them to do, together?
______________________________________
“That’s not how you do it.”
Warm breath tickled his ear as he attempted to concentrate on the task at hand – the removal of the thick plate glass that kept them from their prize.
“You’re taking forever… Where’d you learn to cut glass?”
Alec shot a brief look over his shoulder.
“Oh, right.”
After her somewhat sheepish response, there was almost a full second’s worth of much-welcomed silence.
“Are you done yet?”
Max managed a startled step sideways, just barely avoiding being knocked down by Alec as he abruptly stepped back, the circle of glass in hand. “There,” he hissed unapologetically, his expression silencing her before she could remark.
“Good, my turn,” she grinned, taking the spot he had just vacated. “Time to watch the master at work.” She ignored the snort that sounded behind her.
Flexing her gloved hand, she brought it over the opening her fellow thief had just created –
“You can’t just reach in there,” Alec cut in before she could go any further. “Those sensors will detect any fluctuations in the weight within the case.”
“Oh please,” Max rolled her eyes, “What do you take me for – an amateur?” Her hand flipped over then open in one fluid motion, revealing a large black square resting in her palm. “Magnet.”
“Yeah, and what about the weight lost when you take the – ”
He didn’t have to finish; Max had already pulled out a plain metal-link chain with her other hand, dangling it before Alec.
“Is it the same – ”
“Down to the milligram.” She grinned smugly.
He nodded, trying not to look impressed. “Alright then. You have a minute – get to it.”
“Won’t need even half that,” she said confidently. And she was right – less than thirty seconds later, the ancient treasure was in her hand, safely beyond the range of the sensors, and the worthless replacement in the case in its stead.
Just as she pulled it free, their superior hearing allowed them both to pick up the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs at the same instant. Max went to place the necklace in the pouch she’d strapped around her waist, only to find her hand return with a sharp tug. Her eyes narrowed as they met with Alec’s.
If he thinks I’m going to let him just take…
If she thinks she’s walking off with…
… that necklace…
… then he is…
… she’s just…
… completely insane!
But the sound of nearing footsteps spurred them both into action. Or rather, they spurred Alec into action, who, in turn, spurred Max… or perhaps propelled would have been a more accurate description.
Using his grip on the jewel, he flung her toward their exit, releasing only once he’d built enough momentum to send her clear across the room, while he himself dove behind a display just moments before the on-duty guard ambled into view. Peaking around the corner, Alec spared a glance in Max’s direction. She’d caught herself before she could announce her presence by slamming noisily into the wall, and was now gone from sight.
Shit! What if she’d taken off with the necklace? By the time he got out and went after her, she’d have more than enough of a lead to lose him for good. Waiting until the guard was a few steps past him and nearing the tampered display, he blurred to the other end of the room, diving through the window and catching the rope he’d left hanging for his departure.
Wait a minute… something was not right.
Glancing up, Alec found himself staring at Max, who was currently perched on the edge of the roof of the two-story museum. From one gloved hand dangled the other end of the rope, the end that should have been safely secured to building.
“Max…” he began, not at all liking the strange gleam in her eye.
She gave him a falsely sweet smile…
“Can we just - ”
… and released the rope.
So Alec did the only reasonable thing when faced with the prospect of falling two painful stories to the hard grassy surface below – which, though it wouldn’t kill or permanently injure him, would still be quite the inconvenience. He grabbed Max’s wrist and took her with him. He had one brief, but sweet, instant during which to relish the shock in her expression as she realized what was coming next, and then the empty air at his back became the ground. With an, “oomph” he landed, softening Max’s fall with his own body.
Max sprang up quickly to a sitting position, scrambling through the pouch where she’d placed the necklace. Pulling it out, she exhaled in relief to find it undamaged by the unexpected journey. But relief immediately transformed to irritation and anger as she realized how easily it could have been the opposite outcome.
“You idiot!” she exclaimed, glaring down at Alec, who still appeared to be in recovery. “Do you know how much of a hit we’d take in the price if you’d broken the damn thing?” She punctuated the remark by smacking him upside the head.
“Relax, it’s fine,” he managed in a hitching breath, swatting her hand away. Then he gave her a pointed look. “Now, do you mind getting off me? I can’t breathe.”
Max glanced down, taking in their positions – she was seated on his chest while he lay prostrate beneath her. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she drawled. “By all means, let me get out of your way.”
In the process of “getting out of his way”, she managed to knee him in the chest, kick him in the side, and step on his hand – all of which she apologized for, at the end, with an “Oops. Sorry.”
“That’s alright,” he returned with equal sincerity, giving a tight smile as he picked his bruised body off the ground.
They didn’t speak again until they were safely out of sight of the museum and close to their respective getaway vehicles.
“Did you have a particular fence in mind? I was just going to my regular…” Max shrugged, watching him.
He flexed his shoulder gingerly. “I had one set up that deals specifically in high-figure dealings. I’m sure we could get five numbers for it.” He was beginning to wonder how good an idea it was to pull Max along – without her falling with him, he could at least have managed a less painful landing. But then, is the desire for revenge ever tempered by reason?
“Alright,” she started to walk away, but he pulled her back before she could get far. She turned, a scowl on her face, her gaze meeting with his.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
After a brief, backward glance over her shoulder, she returned his look with raised eyebrows. “To my bike.”
“With the necklace?”
“Well, I’m not giving it to you. What are the chances that you’re not going to screw me over the first opportunity you get?”
Alec didn’t dispute that. Instead, he replied, “And I should trust you?”
She rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. “You know where I live. What am I gonna do?”
“Move?”
Max glared at him. Right. She wasn’t prepared to leave Seattle, her home, even when she knew Manticore would eventually pick up her trail – thanks to soldier boy in front of her – but she’d move just to pull one over him. Some people had major trust issues.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Right,” he said, with something suspiciously like condescension in his tone. She chose to ignore it, for the simple reason that less time spent bickering meant less time spent together.
“You lead,” she said, heading back to gather her Ninja.
~*~
“Exquisite. Simply, exquisite!”
Max exchanged an amused glance with Alec as his fence, Arthur, poured over the details of the necklace with a magnifying glass.
“Fourth century BC – what a rare find!”
“Glad you like. So can we have our money now?” Max swung her legs back and forth, perched atop her makeshift “seat”.
“Maxie, you’re leaving ass marks on the nice man’s clean counter,” Alec chided gently, receiving a death glare in return.
“I could leave a boot print on your forehead instead, if you’d like,” she offered sweetly. They’d been waiting almost a half hour already while Arthur admired the hunk of metal, raining its praises and giving them a minor, unprompted history lesson.
“Oh no, no, no,” Arthur interrupted distractedly, entirely missing the violent turn of the conversation. “It’s quite alright. Your young lady can sit wherever she likes.”
“Your young lady?” Max mouthed in disgust. Alec grinned and winked, and she raised her foot in clear threat.
“Simply magnificent,” Arthur muttered again. The light caught the shining expanse of his bald head, creating a glare that made Max squint in annoyance.
“I dunno,” she mused, “For such a valuable piece of jewelry, it sure is ugly.”
Arthur glanced up at her in horror, all but dropping the little magnifying glass in his shock.
“I mean,” she explained quickly, “look at those. What are they… rams, and goats, and dogs… and bunnies? On jewelry?” She glanced toward Alec for support, but he merely crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her in mock disapproval, even going so far as to shake his head slightly in support when Arthur replied.
“This, young lady, was part of the attire of a Bosporan priestess to Demeter, Greek goddess of fertility. It was worn, along with the rest of the traditional dress, during special ceremonies to honor the goddess. Those rams, goats, dogs and hares have been finely crafted in the open work frieze, soldered together, and then inserted between two bands of egg and dart ornament and twisted wires with exceptional care to detail. All quite remarkable considering this whole pieces was created some twenty-four hundred years ago.”
His little rant finished, the man took a deep breath, and releasing it, sat back. Alec hid a grin, awaiting the stumbled apology as Max inevitably attempted to remove her foot from her mouth.
She blinked, clearly unimpressed. “Ugly.”
Arthur’s mouth gaped open, then flapped closed, then open, closed, open, and closed again, leaving him resembling a fish pulled out of its cozy little watery habitat.
Alec choked back a laugh and Max shrugged. “I wouldn’t wear it.”
Before the other man could respond, Alec cut in, “So, Artie, our money?”
Arthur stared at Max a moment then shook his head, muttering something about kids and their lack of respect, all of which both transgenics heard clearly. But then he turned toward Alec and nodded. “Twenty,” he offered.
“Twenty?!” Alec exclaimed. “Artie, I’m insulted. Here I am, bringing you this rare gem worth hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of dollars, and you offer me a measly twenty?”
The older man frowned, wrinkling his nose slightly. “Yes, it may be worth millions, but there’s no way I’m going to sell it for anywhere near that on the black market. Twenty.”
“Thirty.”
“Twenty-two.”
“Thirty.”
“Twenty-three.”
“Thirty.”
“Twenty – ”
He didn’t have a chance to finish before Max snatched the necklace from his grasp. “You know, Artie, if you don’t wanna pay the thirty, we’ll just go find someone who does.” She hopped off the counter and started to head toward the door. “Come on, Alec, let’s go.”
Alec raised an eyebrow at Max’s negotiating tactics, but after one step in her direction, Arthur stopped them.
“Wait. Alright.” He sighed, nodding. “Thirty – you got it.”
Max swung to face him and seemed to consider this. “Make it thirty-two. I always liked the number thirty-two.”
“Thirty-two…?” One look at her face, and his shoulders slumped in concession. “Fine. Thirty-two.”
Then she smiled, a genuinely delighted expression that made it difficult for both men not to return it. Arthur told himself he was being gouged by this very woman, and thus maintained his dour appearance. Alec reminded himself she had ruined his life and was now taking half his earnings from this job…
… from a total that would have been much smaller without her, a little voice reminded him.
Yeah, but it still would’ve been more than sixteen grand.
In the end, he managed a straight, though not stern, face.
Arthur went into the back room and returned a few minutes later with a bagful of cash. “Thirty-two,” he grumbled, placing it on the counter. “You can count it out.”
“That’s okay,” Max said pleasantly. “We trust you.” She grabbed the bag and leaned over the counter, placing a large kiss on the older man’s cheek, leaving a glaring burgundy-colored imprint on his face. “A pleasure doing business with you, Arthur.”
He blushed a shade of red that would have made a lobster envious. After much stuttering and mumbling, he managed to answer something resembling, “You too.”
She sauntered to the exit, Alec close behind her, pausing when Arthur called out behind them. “You know, if you’re looking for some more work sometime, I know of a few two-man… um, person… jobs that pay a lot of cash.”
“No thanks, I work solo,” both transgenics replied at once. They turned and exchanged glares.
“Oh, okay,” Arthur said, sounding slightly disappointed. “But if you ever change your minds…”
Alec shook his head, a wry grin on his lips. “Sorry, but I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen.” Then he followed Max out to their awaiting vehicles.
“Sixteen – sixteen,” Max said a few minutes later, tossing the bag toward Alec while placing her own share in her pouch. “You can count it if you want.”
He met her gaze briefly. “I think I will.”
“Whatever,” she replied with a roll of her eyes, settling on her bike.
As he counted, he snuck a glance at her, watching as she stared silently out into the night. “So,” he began tentatively. “I told you why I needed the cash, but what about you?”
There was a small pause.
“I have overhead,” she answered evasively without facing him.
“Overhead,” he repeated, but she gave no elaboration. “Well,” he returned after a moment, “your ‘overhead’ will become Manticore’s concern once they catch up with you.”
Now she did turn to look at him, her expression was anything but friendly. “What do you care?”
“I’m just saying, you’re not gonna really need that cash.”
“Oh,” she replied, nodding in understanding. “So I should probably just give it to you – since you can put it to much better use, right?”
He grinned, “Really, Max? That would be so generous of you.”
She snorted but fell silent while he finished his counting. Then, almost out of nowhere, she said, “I’ll be fine.”
Alec said nothing. He tossed the last bill into the bag and looked up. “Well, I’m outta here. I’m picking up my I.D., then I’m blowing this Popsicle stand.”
Max furrowed her brows and shot him a look. “Where did you pick up all this crap?”
Frowning, he replied, “Common Verbal Usage. It helped me blend in for my solo missions.”
Her eyes darkened slightly, but she didn’t comment on that. “Well, Manticore needs to update their textbooks; you’re a little behind the times there.”
He shrugged. “Whatever. A word of advice Max: you can keep looking over your shoulder, but when they come for you – and they will, one day soon – it won’t do you any good.”
She glared at him, “That’s not advice. That’s just a pessimistic forecast.” Then she shook her head and started the bike. “Anyway, you do whatever you gotta do; I’m going to go get myself a few celebratory drinks.”
Alec watched her pull away and tear the down the street, the wind whipping through her curly dark hair, the very image of reckless insolence. “Just take care of yourself, Max,” he said softly.
~*~
He had just pulled through the last sector point, new I.D., remaining cash and necessary supplies securely in his possession, and Seattle soon to be behind him. The prospect of a life outside Manticore, freedom to do as he pleased, was both exhilarating and frightening. Never before had he been faced with so many choices. Like right now, he could go wherever he wanted – with no one there to tell him his next destination, his next mission.
Freedom. He was suddenly starting to see why people might want to fight for this, why they would lay down their lives, why they might even disregard the lives of others to feel this sensation…
Alec shook his head, tearing himself away from that thought.
No, freedom was something you lay down you own life for, not others’. You had no right to trade another’s life for your cause.
Suddenly his vision focused on a nearing sight and he sat up straighter in his seat. Heart thudding heavily in his chest, his gaze narrowed in on the dark vehicles heading toward him… toward Seattle. Their destination was clearly his recent point of departure.
Black windows tinted to nearly opaque, Class 2 armor, several vehicles driving with singular purpose. All nondescript, beyond that – completely unmarked and undistinguishable should, for any reason, identification be made.
They passed him soon, and kept going, unaware that one of their targets was so close within range. But even as they disappeared from sight in his rearview mirror, when his body’s autonomic system should have returned to normal, the tense knot in the center of his gut refused to go with them.
Max, the singular word ran through his mind.
But then he shook his head. He’d warned her, repeatedly. She’d refused to listen; there was nothing more he could do.
She’d made her decision, and now she had to face the consequences.
She might still have a day or two, if they hadn’t yet tracked down the specifics of her location, but it was just delaying the inevitable. They’d catch her soon enough, and genetically enhanced super-soldier though she was, she wouldn’t stand a chance of escape against dozens of trained military personnel who knew exactly her capabilities and limitations.
Alec shook his head. “I warned her.”
And he kept driving – away from Seattle, away from her.