His Fight -- Chapter 12

Disclaimer:  The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Alec, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me.  No money is being made off of this fic.  I only own the original characters (Brenda/X5-008, etc.).

I nodded in sympathy after Zane finished his story. “Oh yeah, that’s always a pain-in-the-ass. Just when you think you finally have it beat, it goes to hell in a hand basket on you. Just hang with it and eventually you’ll have it down.”

“Thanks, man,” Zane said. He, Nick, Krit, and I stopped at an intersection and he stared off in the direction of the gates. “You know, maybe I’m just being delusional, but I could swear that they’re actually not screaming as many obscenities as usual today.”

“Well, you always are delusional.” That line got a laugh out of Krit and a grin from me when I saw the woman who had delivered it.

“Hey, Max,” I greeted her. “How are things with you?”

“Same old, same old,” Max said. She snorted. “I got rid of my second new cell phone in the past three weeks. Logan kept on finding my number every time that I would get a new one. Just because you know how to hack into records to find things doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea. And you would think that he would have gotten the hint when I called him back and asked nicely—and I really did ask him nicely, you guys, honestly—that he was filling up my inbox with all of these ‘please come back to me’ messages and that what if you guys, Brenda, Dix, or somebody like that needs to leave an important message and they can’t because he’s got the inbox filled with his B.S.” Max sighed, looking a little disappointed. “Fixit’s gonna feel kind of bad if and when I tell her about this. She was the one who snuck out to get me a new phone and she swore that she did it well enough so that Logan wouldn’t be able to get the number.”

“She probably did,” I said. “But she also barely knows Logan and doesn’t know just how skilled he is with computers and hacking, not to mention the fact that when people are determined to accomplish something, you’d be surprised at what and how much they can get done.” It’s true. It doesn’t mean that Logan won’t get at least a good slap upside the head the next time he shows his face around here, but it’s still a valid point.

Max managed a smile. “Good call.” She stretched her arms and the smile became more realistic. “So, what have you guys been doing? Something so disgustingly male that I wouldn’t want to know?”

That got a laugh from me and the other guys. “Nope. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but we haven’t done anything that would make you want to run screaming for the hills…yet,” Krit said. “Give us some time, though.”

“Yeah,” Zane added. “Have we ever let you down before?”

“When it comes to that, you certainly haven’t,” Max conceded. “I was wondering if any of you would like to help me with getting things going organizing a new supply run.”

“Would like to help or you dragging us by our hair kicking and screaming?” I teased.

“Very funny, ass,” Max said. “I was seriously asking. Anybody?”

“I would, but I don’t know how long we’d be and I’ve got a scheduled shift on sentry duty in an hour,” Nick said. “I’m sorry.”

“No harm, no foul,” Max assured him. She grinned wickedly and I had to laugh. “We can always start talking right here, right now. You do know that X5s can multitask really well.”

“Nick, old buddy,” I said, slapping him on the back. “Never, ever give this woman any ideas. Trust me. You give her a quarter of an inch and she’ll run with it for a few miles at least.” I smiled reassuringly at him and turned my attention back to Max. “If you want to get the ball rolling on planning the run, then let’s do it. Those X6s that came back from that scouting run yesterday morning reported that there’s a new shopping center that just opened twenty miles south of here. There’s a supermarket and a small sporting goods store included in there. We might not be able to get much from the sporting goods store, but we should be able to pick up a few items such as clothes and a little equipment for physical training. Our big break there will be the supermarket. As far as post-Pulse ones go, it’s a keeper.”

“Not bad,” Max said. “What about the sporting goods store? What’s the exact quality and quantity of their stash? Is it even going to be worth making a grab at what’s there or should we forget about that and concentrate all effort and manpower on getting as much as we can from the supermarket?”

“Personally. I would concentrate on the supermarket,” Krit said. “Those kids said that the sporting goods store carried some high-quality stuff, but that there wasn’t that much of it and it’s not items that are on the top of our major needs list. If we do need those types of things, then there’s a much bigger sporting goods place over near Tacoma that we could raid.”

Max thought it over. “Not a bad idea. I’ll definitely keep it in mind. When we get back to the control room, Alec, I want to see copies of the reports from those X6s and then we can make a final decision based on that.”

“Consider it done, Maxie,” I told her.

“Max! Max!” Oh, hell.

“Logan!” I couldn’t tell if Max was more surprised or pissed. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I haven’t heard from you in two weeks,” Logan said. “I keep on leaving messages, but you never return them. I was so worried about you, so I decided to just come here myself to make sure that you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” Max said icily. “What would make you think that I wouldn’t be good?”

“Well, the fact that you haven’t been returning my calls,” Logan said, going right back into his I-think-I’m-talking-to-a-three-year-old mode. Please let Max kick his ass this time. “You also have changed your cell phone number a few times. Do you know just how hard it was for me to find out your new number? I called the control room here so many times and I was told that they did not have your number and they told me that if it was a private cell phone number, that they had no reason to keep it in their files there. What kind of an excuse was that? Silly me, I thought that you might have been in danger.”

“Logan, if at any time I was in danger, then I would have made sure that you would have found out about it,” Max snapped. “Did you ever stop to think that it was not only rude to fill up my inboxes on those cell phones with so many messages, but what would have happened if let’s say I was in a dead zone and somebody like Alec had tried to call and left a message saying that he was in serious trouble and needed help? Stop and think, Logan. I’m not even going to get into how pissed I am that you keep getting your hands on my new cell phone numbers when I’m obviously not wanting you to have them.”

“Don’t get smart with me, Max,” Logan said. “If you were really trying to avoid me, then why did the guards at the gates let me in?”

Max winced. “Crap, I knew that there was something that I forgot to do.”

“Don’t sweat it,” I said. “Just don’t forget to tell them when Logie here leaves.”

“Butt out of this, you little moron,” Logan said. He got down on one knee and I was really seeing red. If he had the nerve… “Max, I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry and I want you to come back to me. Please, let us get back together. I miss you so much. I think about you all of the time. Nothing’s the same without you by my side. I feel so lonely. Please, come back.”

“If I wanted to come back to you, I would have done it already or not have broken up with you in the first place,” Max said. “I’m sorry, Logan, but I still stand by my decision.”

“No,” Logan said. “You can’t. Max, I’m begging you. Come back.”

“I won’t,” Max said. “I don’t want to get back together with you.”

“Excuse me?” Logan said. “Max, you can’t be serious. Why won’t you come back? Is it Alec?” Wow, I’m surprised it took Logan this long to drag me into this argument. “Don’t tell me that he’s actually managed to convince you to be…his.” You say that like it’s a bad thing, like it’s Max getting together with your sorry rear end.

“Grow up,” Max spat. “Alec, believe it or not, has not said anything to me about that since he said that he was going to back off and I know that you don’t want to acknowledge it, but he has kept his word. I’m going to give you one chance before I kick your ass from here to San Diego. Please leave me alone, leave Terminal City, and don’t come calling unless I call you first. If and when I get a new cell phone number, do not hack it again. Please, Logan.”

“Please?” Logan was really losing his temper. This could be amusing. “Please? I ask you please about a million times and you refuse, but you say please and you expect me to go along with it? I don’t think so, Max. That is not how this works. Stop being a spoiled little bitch right this instance.” Forget amusing, now I’m pissed. Logan saw how angry I was and smirked. “Oh, now Alec’s going to beat me up because I called you a spoiled bitch?”

Something caught my eye and I couldn’t help smiling. “Nope, I don’t have to. I guess this is the problem when you grow up as an only child and don’t have a lot of friends, or at least friends who have sisters.”

“Huh?” Logan looked lost.

“Alec doesn’t have to kick your ass…” Unlike Logan, Max knew exactly what I was talking about and made a motion with one of her hands. Zane and Krit walked right up to Logan’s face and glared down at him. “…because Krit and Zane will be more than happy to do it for him.”

“Never mess with the baby princess of the family, Logan,” I said. “Because the big brothers will be right there to make you pay for it.”

“Guys, can you do me a favor and take Logan to the gates and make sure that he leaves?” Max asked.

“Not a problem,” Zane assured her.

I walked up to Logan, grinned wickedly, and patted him on the shoulder. “Just remember this, buddy: it could be worse.” Judging by how Logan was shaking, I think this time he knew just what I was talking about and who I was referring to.

“I should head back to the control room and spread the word to everybody on sentry duty at the gates about Logan,” Max said as she, Nick, and I watched Zane and Krit lead Logan off.

“Good call,” I said.

“Yeah,” Max agreed. She turned to me and smiled. “Alec? Thanks for not losing your temper when Logan was baiting you.”

If it means seeing that smile, I’ll be an angel forever. “No problem. Always.”