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.).

“So much time, so little to do,” I remarked.  I pushed my empty beer bottle aside and shrugged.  “I’m bored.”

“So what?” Brenda said.  She shrugged.  “It’s been a slow day.”

I sighed.  “I just wish I could go to Crash and have a beer.  I miss shooting pool with Sketchy.”

“Maybe one of these days the government will get up off of their asses and decide to let us officially join the general public,” Nick, another X5 friend of mine from Manticore, said.

The anomaly who was tending the bar in the place that we’d set up in T.C. shook his head.  “That won’t be happening anytime this century.”

“Hey, no reason to give up hope,” I said.  “It might happen in the next decade.”  I grinned at the laughs that I got from the other transgenics in the bar.  “Besides, where’s the fun in sending one of our Psy Ops people to Washington and having him or her talk with the president for awhile?”

“Tempting, but not a lot of fun,” Brenda said.  She looked at her watch.  “I shouldn’t stay for too much longer.”

“You’ve only had one beer,” Nick said.

Brenda raised an eyebrow.  “And I also have a one-year-old son that I have to pick up from Gem before he drives her crazy.”

“Pete gets along with Victoria, though, doesn’t he?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, the two of them get along with each other just fine,” Brenda said.  “I’m worried about the two of them teaming up and driving poor Gem up the wall.  Two one-year-old second-generation X5s together?  Think about it for a few minutes, Alec.”

I thought about it and I winced.  I’d babysat Brenda’s son a few times.  To say that he could be a handful at times was an understatement.  He’s a nice kid, but I don’t want to be left alone with him until he’s older if I can help it.  “I’ve thought about it.”

“I knew you were a smart guy,” Brenda said.  She grinned and looked over to the entrance and her eyes widened.  “Look at her, guys.  She’s beautiful.  Do you think she’d turn me down if I asked her out on a date?”  She turned back to us and saw Nick gaping at her and raised an eyebrow.  “What?  Didn’t I tell you that I bat for both teams?”

“No,” Nick said.

“Where have you been?” I said.

“I was in my own unit, numbnuts,” Nick said.

“What do you think, Alec?” Brenda asked.  “Should I ask for it or do you think she’ll turn me down faster than any of us can blink?”

“I thought that you prefer blonds, Brenda,” I teased.

Brenda stuck her tongue out at me.  “I do, for both males and females.  But note the word prefer, Alec.  That does indicate that while I try to date blonds as often as possible, I do not limit myself to them.”

“Has Max tried to set you up with her old roommate, then?” I asked.

“Yeah, she has,” Brenda said.  “I’m thinking about it.  I’m waiting to hear back from Max as to what Cindy thinks and I guess we’ll go from there.  Sneaking out of Terminal City shouldn’t be too hard.  I’ll just put some makeup over the barcode and go out the tunnels.”

“The things we do for a good date,” Nick said.  He grinned suggestively and I laughed.  Brenda looked annoyed.

“I’m not gonna try to sleep with somebody on a first date, you moron,” she said.  “A: That’s not my thing to begin with.  B:  I have my son to consider now even if it was.  C:  My first night with my breeding partner doesn’t count.”

“I never said that it did,” Nick said innocently.

“You know that—“  I turned around and saw Max entering the bar and heading towards us.  “Nice timing, Max.  Want something to drink?”

Max shook her head.  “No, I can’t stay for that long.  I just needed to ask you a favor.  Can you do my share tonight of the planning for the job that we’re going to be pulling at that bank?  I might also need you just to fill in for me as well on the actual job.”

“Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem,” I said.  “Why?”

“Logan called me a few minutes ago,” Max said.  She smiled.  “He managed to get in contact with some doctor that’s a friend of a friend or something like that of Dr. Shankar who’s in Vancouver.  This doc’s not ex-Manticore, don’t worry, but he’s trustworthy.  Logan had told Dr. Shankar awhile ago about the virus bitch and Dr. Shankar told this guy and he says that it sounded curable so Logan and I are going to drive up there later tonight so we can meet him and hopefully finally end this virus once and for all.”

Wow.  I didn’t know quite what to say.  “Wow.  Congratulations, Max.”

“Thanks,” she said.  She sighed.  “I should accept congrats yet, though.  It hasn’t actually been cured.”

“True,” I said.  I tried to shove aside the weird hope that I felt at that thought.  That made no sense.  “I guess I should say good luck, then.  When are you guys heading over there?”

“In two hours,” Max said.  “We’re supposed to meet with this guy at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning in his office.  Listen, I should get going.  I need to tell Joshua where I’m going and say good-bye and start packing.”

"I will," Max promised.  "Thanks again."  She smiled at me and turned around and left.

I sat back down at the table.  "Looks like she and Logan are finally going to get that virus cured.  One more screw you to good old Manticore.  Cheers."  I raised my bottle and I started to drink, but then I remembered that it was empty.  "Damn.  Hey, can I get another one here?"

"Relax, Alec," Brenda said.  "She's just going to get that virus finally taken care of.  You don't have to look like it's the end of the world."

"I do not," I said.  "Do I?"

"A little bit," Nick said.

I could have sworn that Brenda was actually trying not to smile.  I don't get it.  "Look, how about you go to the gym and get a good workout in?  You look like you have a lot of frustration to take out on somebody or something and a good workout usually puts you into a better mood."

"I'm not frustrated," I protested.  I shrugged.  "What the hell.  I was thinking about doing that anyway."

"I don't know who was it that said that you never took good advice," Brenda teased.  She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.  "I'll be seeing you boys around.  Be good."  She left.

"So, what is it?  Another beer or gym time?" Nick asked.

"Gym time," I said.  "A couple of rounds hitting that punching bag sounds good."

Nick shrugged.  "What the hell, I'll come with you."  We paid the bartender and then headed outside.  Yeah, a few rounds hitting L--the bag sounds good.

TBC