Together -- Chapter 24

Disclaimer: All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

“I don’t know if I really feel like going to Crash tonight,” Becky said.

“You need to cheer up,” Original Cindy. “It’s been two weeks since your sister died. Besides, you’re gonna be going away for at least a week yourself tomorrow. Come with us tonight.”

“You have a point,” Becky admitted.

“It’ll be fun,” Max said. “It’s not like you haven’t been to Crash before.”

“I know,” Becky said. She sighed. “Fine, I’ll go with you guys.”

“Good,” Max said. She grabbed Becky’s hand and dragged her out of her apartment. “No time like the present.”

“Okay, okay,” Becky said, laughing.

The three of them walked over to the bar and went in. Max and Becky sat down at a table while Original Cindy went over to the bar to get them drinks. “When are you leaving?” Max asked.

“About seven or so,” Becky said. “I’m meeting up with Zack in Tacoma and then we’re gonna head over to Reno to check up on Kyle and then we’re going to see Jondy in Flagstaff since it’s on our way to Phoenix, which is where Xavier is right now. Plus I know that Zack’s anxious to check up on her because of the scare that we had recently and he’s already checked in on Zane.”

“I can imagine,” Max said.

Becky looked at Max suspiciously. Was that jealousy? Wait ‘till I tell Zack this! “Yeah.”

“Here we go,” Original Cindy said, setting a pitcher of beer and three empty glasses down on the table. She sat down and poured herself a glass. “Enjoy.”

“I will,” Max said. She poured herself a glass.

“Thanks,” Becky said. She poured herself a glass and made a face. “Now I remember why my age isn’t the only reason why I rarely drink.”

“You have enough of these and you won’t give a damn how it tastes,” Original Cindy said. She pointed towards the door, where Sketchy had just entered. “Take that fool, for instance. You’ve seen him in action before.”

“Oh yeah,” Becky said, snickering. “Watching Sketchy when he’s drunk is an unforgettable experience.”

Max narrowed her eyes as she looked at the two guys that entered the bar with Sketchy. “Is that—it is that moron Alec. What’s he doing here?”

“Beats me,” Becky said. She looked over at them and blinked in surprise when she recognized the other guy with them. “Holy crap, that’s 941.”

“941?” Max repeated. “Who’s he?”

“He was the C.O. of the unit that I worked with when I was based out of Seattle for those two missions,” Becky said. “I didn’t know he was in the city.”

“Why don’t you introduce us?” Max suggested. “I’d like to meet him and find out why Alec’s back in town.”

“I will,” Becky said. The three of them got up from their table and walked over to where Sketchy, Alec, and 941 were standing at the bar, talking and drinking. “Look who’s here.”

“Hey, you guys,” Sketchy said. “Girls, I want you to meet Alec and Jeff. Alec, Jeff, these are those friends of mine that I was telling you about: Max, Original Cindy, and Becky.”

“Been a long time, n—Jeff,” Becky said, grinning.

“At least a few months,” Jeff said.. “Good to see you again.”

“Alec,” Max said sweetly. “It’s been a while, too. I didn’t know you were back in town.”

“Yeah, I got back last week,” Alec said. “I actually like this city.”

“I met these guys yesterday when I was out on one of my runs,” Sketchy said. “Alec here says he’s gonna come work with us at Jam Pony.”

“You don’t say,” Becky said. “How about you, Jeff? What are you up to these days?”

“I work over at that Italian place a couple of blocks down,” Jeff said. “I’m the assistant manager.”

“Not bad,” Becky said.

“It’d be more impressive if they actually paid me something decent,” Jeff said.

“Good luck getting a decent paying job in this city,” Max said. “Not happening, never will happen.”

“So, Jeff, run into any of our fellow high school grads?” Becky asked casually.

“A few,” Jeff said. He knew perfectly well what Becky meant. “I saw some of my buddies from the football team a few weeks ago. I also saw my old student body V.P., Riley. You remember her, right?”

“She had red hair, right?” Becky said, recalling 252. Jeff nodded. “Yeah, I think I met her at that football game junior year. I damn near got into a fight with her.”

“That sounds like Riley,” Jeff said. He grinned.

“Did you guys go to the same high school?” Sketchy asked.

“No, but our schools played each other a lot in football games and stuff like that,” Jeff said.

“Oh,” Sketchy said.

“Up for a game of pool, Becky?” Jeff asked.

“Sure,” Becky said. She followed Jeff over to an empty pool table. She picked up a cue and began to chalk it up. “It’s good to see you again. I was wondering if you made it out.”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Jeff said. He racked the balls up. “You want the first shot?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Becky said. “Did all of your unit make it out?”

“No,” Jeff said. He looked down for a moment. “We lost one to the punks.” He pointed to the seven ball, the six ball, and then the one ball.

Becky nodded, understanding how Jeff was feeling. “We all made it out, but my sister Suzanne was killed two weeks ago.” She pointed to the three ball, the nine ball, and the two ball before she walked over to the end of the table, lined up her shot, and took it. “Got stripes.”

“How?” Jeff asked.

“I was helping to get her and some others out of a sticky situation and it went sideways,” Becky said.

“I’m sorry,” Jeff said.

“I know,” Becky said. “I’m gonna be leaving tomorrow to go on a road trip to check up on two of my brothers.”

“When are you going to be back?” Jeff asked.

“Not for at least a week,” Becky said. “Why?”

Jeff shrugged, but there was a look in his eye that Becky missed. Max, who was watching them from her table, didn’t miss it. “I just thought you’d might want to hang out sometime when you get back.”

“That’d be great,” Becky said. “I’d like that.”

They continued their game, with Becky finally winning. Afterwards, they went back to where Alec and Sketchy had joined Max and Original Cindy at the girls’ table. “Did we miss anything?”

“No, not yet,” Max said. “You obviously haven’t known Sketchy here that long. The fun really starts when he gets drunk.”

“I see,” Jeff said. He looked at his watch. “Damn. I’ve got to work the early shift tomorrow. I’ll see you all around. Have fun on your trip, Becky.”

“Thanks, I will,” Becky said. Jeff waved to them and left. “That was nice seeing him again.”

“Alec, you wanna play some pool?” Sketchy asked.

“Of course,” Alec said. He and Sketchy walked off to the pool tables and Max turned to Becky, a grin on her face.

“He likes you,” she said gleefully.

“Who, Jeff?” Becky said. “No way. He’s a friend of mine.”

“Girl, he was looking at you like you were somethin’ special,” Original Cindy said.

Becky shook her head. “Uh-uh.”

“You like him too,” Max said.

”What?!” Becky said, shocked. “I do not like Jeff that way! He’s a nice guy and yeah, he’s really hot, but everybody that—went to that school was really hot, and we’ve always gotten along, but I do not like him in that way and he does not like me in that way. End of story.”

“Sure,” Max said. She was obviously not convinced. “Just keep telling yourself that.”

“I’m right,” Becky said. “I gotta go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” She got up and left the table.

“You called that one,” Original Cindy remarked.

“She’s so stubborn, it’ll take her awhile,” Max said. “But when she does...” She grinned.

TBC