Elle6778 - Dark Angel Fanfiction

RECOLLECTION - CHAPTER 2

ALL CHAPTERS

Chapter 1

COMPLETE

He knew it was nothing good when a feeling of dread started creeping up on him.

As if a floodgate suddenly opened, his memories started pouring back. He wanted to stop the onslaught but he found himself unable to do so. Flashes of familiar, yet oddly removed scenes bombarded his mind.

He saw himself standing in front of the very same gate ringing the buzzer, wearing a suit and glasses. He saw himself talking to Sandoval. He remembered the sound of Sandoval’s voice as he asked Alec, X5-494 at that time, if he had been briefed on his mission. He saw himself strangling a man. He saw himself standing in front of a pretty, smiling girl. And he remembered himself being tortured in Manticore.

Max’s voice snapped him out of his flashbacks.

“Hey! HEY!” she yelled, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes.

Startled, he turned to her, “What?”

“The buzzer? That little button right there below the sign that says ‘Please ring buzzer for entry’?” Max said impatiently, but there was a look of concern in her eyes as she studied Alec’s slightly pale face. If she did not know better, she would have thought that he was in shock. But shock at what, she wondered.

Alec gulped and rang the buzzer.

He barely waited two seconds before he said shortly, “No one’s home,” He turned to leave.

Max grabbed his arm, “Hey, give them a chance! From the looks of the place, it probably takes them ten minutes just to get from the kitchen to the front door.”

Alec shuffled nervously as he eyed the security camera which was scanning the area where they were standing. He decided that they had waited long enough.

“Okay, no one’s home,” He snatched the package from Max’s hands and threw them over the gate before Max could protest. “Let’s go,” he said stiffly.

“But we didn’t get a signature,” Max complained with a frown, wondering why Alec was acting so strange.

Alec gave her a piercing look, “I said, let’s go!” he insisted in an uncharacteristic hard tone which told her that he would not welcome any arguments.

Max gaped, staring at him in disbelieve. He had never spoken to her that way before.

“Okay,” she assented quietly, mounting her bike. She wondered what was up with Alec. Something obviously unnerved him. She made a mental note to ask him about it later when he had calmed down a little.

When they arrived back at Jampony, Alec was still wrapped up in his thoughts. He had barely uttered a word the entire return journey back. He had just given Max monosyllabic answers when she had tried to engage him in conversation. Max was beginning to worry; she did not know how to deal with this side of Alec.

Leaving Alec to park their bikes, Max headed towards Normal to give him her clipboard, hoping that Normal would not notice the missing signature.

No such luck.

“Are my eyes deceiving me or is this signature strip blank?” Normal asked, peering at Max over his spectacles. He tapped his pen against the clipboard impatiently, waiting for her excuse.

“Why don’t you ask your Golden Boy about it?” she replied with another question, leaning against the counter lazily, a bored look on her face.

“Because you’re here and he’s not,” Normal ground out, his brow furrowed.

“Yes, he is! He is just right there…” Max paused when she around to find Alec gone. Coward, she thought irritably. She turned back to Normal to see him eyeing her; his irritation clearly written over his face.

Raising an expectant eyebrow, Normal asked, “Well?”

Annoyed at Alec for leaving her to deal with this alone, Max snatched the clipboard back from Normal, “I’ll get it tomorrow,” she said, walking away from the dispatch desk. She wondered where Alec ran off to.

She was about to walk out when the news flash on the television caught her eyes.

“…a witness said that the man literally streaked out of the shop with superhuman speed, carrying bags full of food which he stole,” a reporter said, “When asked if he could recognise the man again, the witness said that he saw a barcode tattoo at the back of his neck…”

Max tensed.

Barcode tattoo. It had to be a transgenic. A careless one by the looks of it, she thought. Max knew that she needed to go find him before he was exposed. She studied the background behind the reporter and recognised the location as the far end of South Market.

“…The police are currently conducting a search to hunt down this man…” the reporter continued.

Where’s Alec?

She would never admit it to Alec, but she needed him more and more nowadays. It was as if since that night she broke up with Logan, she became more and more unwilling to deal with things just by herself. She knew that she was more than capable of handling things by herself, but she preferred to have Alec somewhere within shouting distance.

Spotting Sketchy, she called out, “Hey, Sketch! You seen Alec?”

Sketchy paused on his way out and turned towards her, shaking his head, “No. Not since this morning.”

“Okay,” Max acknowledge, but a look of annoyance crossed her face.

“You coming to Crash tonight?” Sketchy asked, slinging his bag over his shoulders.

“Maybe. Right now I’ve gotta blaze. Later,” she said. Without waiting for Sketchy’s reply, she rushed out of the door.

Alec sat on the Space Needle, looking down at the Seattle skyline as he wallowed in his thoughts. The sky was growing darker by the minute and it had started to drizzle a few minutes ago but he did not notice the splash of the raindrops against his skin. He was trying to come to terms with what he had recalled when he and Max were standing outside that gate.

He realised that his flashbacks must have been from the failed mission which Celia had been going on about. His memory had been coming back to him in bits, each piece forming a part of a puzzle, until he finally remembered what he had done. And he was not too happy about his recollection.

He remembered meeting Rachel and her father. Her father, who had been the target Alec was supposed to assassinate if there was any incriminating evidence against him concerning Manticore. A few taps on her father’s computer had confirmed the worst; Mr Berrisford had been working against Manticore.

He remembered how innocently pretty Rachel had looked to him. Rachel had smiled at him, her eyes full of trust and later, something else he initially did not comprehend. He understood too late that it was love. She had been looking at him with love in her eyes.

And he had betrayed that love, and her trust.

He had told her that she was his job.

But he had lied.

She was more than his job.

She was his first love.

He did not know why he did not try harder to stop what happened. Was it because of Manticore’s training? Or was it just because he had been too cowardly to stand up for what he believed was right? Even after he had realised that he felt something for her, something still prevented him from fully turning against Manticore. He had let Manticore drag him back to be reindoctrinated.

Suddenly, the image of Max appeared in his mind. She was looking up at him with fear in her eyes as he lowered the blade towards her heart. This time it had not been Manticore’s doing. It had been White. Alec cringed when he remembered agreeing that he would kill his own kind to save his own life. But at the last second, he could not make himself do it. He could not kill the young X6s who called him ‘Sir’. And he could not kill Max.

What kind of person was he?

What kind of person even considered killing an innocent girl?

What kind of person even considered killing one of his own kind?

Breathing heavily, Alec slammed his fist against the roof where he was sitting, his face twisted in agony and self-hatred.

Max pedalled as fast as she could to South Market. All around her, the people and other vehicles swept past her in a blur as she pushed herself to go faster but still taking care to maintain her speed to what was considered humanly possible. Max wished she could just ignore what was considered normal and go full speed. She hoped that the transgenics was alright and that she was not too late.

When she reached her destination, she got off her bike and started walking into the market. In seconds, she found herself surrounded by all sorts of people rushing about doing their businesses.

“Great,” she muttered under her breath.

She wondered how she could ever manage to find him here in the midst all these people. Not to mention she has no clue about his appearance. She decided that there’s only one way to spot the transgenic. From the news report, he was definitely not an anomaly, so he must be X-series. Max started scanning the crowds for any good-looking males in their late teens or early twenties. Max frowned as she wondered if he was even younger than that, maybe X6 or X7.

She was about to give up when a dark haired guy caught her eyes. She could not see his face or his neck, but the way he moved reminded her of the natural feline grace particular to all X5s. Max could see that he was trying to avoid attracting any attention. Apparently without much success, Max noted, seeing the assessing looks he was given by the few women who came within a few feet from him. Must be what Manticore put in all the males, she thought, recalling the attention Alec always got from the opposite sex.

Casually, Max sauntered in his direction. When she passed behind him, she flicked her eyes up. Just above his collar, she could see a series of black lines peeping out.

Jackpot!

She smiled inwardly; glad that she found who she was looking for. Smiling, she tapped his shoulders, making him jump.

He stiffened at her touch, and then began to turn around slowly. At least he didn’t decide to make a run for it, Max thought.

“Yes?” he asked, glancing around them to check for any threats.

Max’s breath hitched involuntarily when their eyes met. For a moment, she could not speak. The guy was gorgeous, she thought as she took in his mesmerising jewel green eyes and chiselled features. And his lips… Max frowned inwardly, disgusted at her train of thought. Then something occurred to her. She suppressed a groan; she hoped that this did not mean that she was close to her heat.

“Can I help?” the guy asked, smiling knowingly. It was as if he knew what effect his looks had on her.

Scolding herself for her wayward thoughts, Max forced herself to smile, “I was wondering if you could check something for me.”

Max turned her back to him. Pushing her hair to the side of her neck, she discreetly showed him her barcode and then let her hair fall back down to cover her neck.

“You are one of the ’09-ers,” he stated flatly. The wariness in his eyes increased.

Max gave a sigh of exasperation, “Look, no time for that now. We’ve got to get out of here before they find you.”

“What makes you think they are only looking for me, and not you?” he challenged, his eyes piercing into hers.

Max did not know why, but his gaze made her feel self-conscious. Uncomfortably tearing her eyes away, she snapped, “Because I am better at this than you are! Now cut the crap and follow me.”

He looked at her with indecision in his eyes. After a moment, he apparently decided that Max was no threat to him. Nodding, he replied, “Lead the way.”

“Glad you value your life more than Manticore’s brainwashing,” Max said in a flat tone, ignoring the smile he gave her. She would not let him distract her, however charming he might be.

Max steered him towards the spot where she left her bike, silent all the while. When they reached the spot, Max bent down and unlocked her bike from the rusty railing.

“This is yours?” he asked, surprised.

Max nodded, “Yeah, I work as a messenger.”

“Work, huh?” he repeated thoughtfully, and then continued, “You think they got any vacancies?”

Max snorted, “I guess it depends on Normal’s mood,” she replied. Then looking at him assessingly, she said with a grin, “Considering Normal and his gladiator dreams, I think you stand a very good chance.”

Not sure what to make of Max’s comment about Normal, he drawled slowly, “Yeah…”

“You have a name?”

His brows furrowed, “A name? You can call me 466,”

Max rolled her eyes, “No, not a designation! A name. You know, like Jack, Tom, Nat and so on. Mine’s Max.”

“Uh…I don’t mind. Pick something.”

Max grinned as an evil look came across her eyes. “Sure?”

He nodded slowly, suddenly feeling as if he might be making the biggest mistake of his life.

“Okay, then.”

He walked slowly; his calm and collected movement in complete contrast with what went on in his mind. He was trying to make sense of what he was meant to do. And how he was supposed to carry it out.

That man in the suit had given him no choice. There was only one chance to save what was his. And he had decided that would do his best to achieve it no matter what it takes. He did not want to even think of the alternative.

When he was shown the pictures, he had recognised one of the faces. Not wanting to attract more trouble, he had kept his surprise from showing. The second face, however, belonged to someone he did not recognise. He wondered what that man wanted from those two in the pictures.

There was hardly any point in asking the man about his intentions. Since when was he ever interested in the motives behind each mission? His superiors never bothered to tell him anything except what was necessary. Especially now that he had decided that he would treat this like just another mission.

One which he would complete efficiently and successfully the way he had been taught.

Still brooding inwardly, Alec forced himself to step into Crash. He did not really feel like socialising today, especially after his recollection of the past, but he had promised Sketchy that he would be there.

When he was inside, he scanned the room, spotting Max, Original Cindy and Sketchy by their usual table.

Max.

In the last few months, Alec had noticed the change in their relationship. He smiled as he remembered what Max had said to him when they were sitting on top of the Space Needle that night she broke up with Logan. That was when things had really started changing between them. They still bickered like mad, but now he felt that there was a flirtatious undertone to their words. He was almost positive that Max no longer viewed him as a complete screw up.

He had enjoyed her company before because she represented part of something familiar to him, and that she seemed to always look out for him no matter what stupid scrapes he got himself into. He also enjoyed riling her up as frequently as he could; just to see her eyes flash in irritation. But now, he enjoyed her company more because he felt closer to her, and that they actually have so many things in common. He did not know how to define their relationship but it occurred to him that it must be more than just friendship.

He wished he could talk to Max about what he remembered, but he knew he couldn’t. However close they were, he was not ready to tell her about Rachel. Some memories were better left buried. And that was what he intended to do. Rachel was no longer around, and he had to get on with his life.

He plastered an ‘I-don’t-have-a-care-in-the-world’ smile on his face when he reached his friends.

“Hey, you guys missing me?” he asked, smile still intact.

Original Cindy rolled her eyes, “And hello to you too.”

Max snorted, “Yeah, Sketchy here is missing his pool partner. And his chance to lose a few bucks.”

Alec clasped his hands to his chest, “And you, Maxie? You didn’t miss me? I am wounded.”

“As if!” she retorted, but her eyes searched Alec’s discreetly. Outwardly, he seemed to have gotten over whatever that was bothering him earlier. But Max knew better. After spending all this time practically stuck to each other, she had learnt how to read his movements and moods. Right now, Alec was too chirpy. He was trying hard to hide something. Max sighed inwardly, making a mental note to ask him later what was going on when they’re alone.

“So where’s the beer?” Alec asked, his eyes studying the empty table-top, and then came back up to meet Max’s.

Max replied, studying a lone empty glass on the table, “It’ll be here in a second.”

Alec pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Max, “Huh? Who’s buying?” he asked, wondering who else was there with them.

Before anyone could answer, a tray containing a pitcher and several glasses found its way to the table.

Alec’s eyes wandered up to the face attached to the body of the person who had set down the tray.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was.

Next>>