Author: Restive Nature (aka Bavite)
Rated: NC-17
Disclaimer: All characters within this fiction are the property of Cameron/ Eglee. I just like to play with them.
Timeline: Six weeks after FN.
Pairing M/A
Summary: An unexpected accident causes Max to think about the future in a new way.
Chapter Eleven
Dealing With The Norm
"Hey Max!" someone finally called. Her head swung to the left and she saw one of the younger males of Terminal City trying to get her attention. If she figured correctly, he was one of numerous X-6’s in the community. She mentally shrugged, glad only to be included. She ambled her way over to them, shyly appreciative of their welcoming smiles. The guy who’d called out to her, scooted aside to make room for her on the dilapidated couch he resided on. Seated in a semi-circle position, there was the boy to her left, with dark brown hair, a girl, also apparently an X-6. And across from them, two more young men, one with dark red hair, the other with light brown locks. The girl leaned forward.
"Thank God you joined us," she smiled. "They were about to brag my ear off." It wasn’t her imagination that all of them puffed up slightly. And Max realized that she didn’t normally socialize with them.
"Hey!" the redhead protested as he caught a whiff of Max’s beverage. "You got some of Tina’s hot chocolate. How come she didn’t share with everyone?"
Max smiled sweetly," I guess Tina, just likes me more," she quipped. She brought the mug to her nose and made a show of inhaling before taking a sip of the steaming, sweet nectar. Their crestfallen faces amused her and lightly frowning faces as they glared as one towards Tina’s back. But it only lasted a moment and she was sure it was nothing more than simple teen camaraderie.
So, uh, Max," the light haired boy turned back to her. "How are the Christmas plans going?" Four eager faces stared at her and Max busied herself taking another sip of hot chocolate. How to answer when she had no clue.
"Goin’ good," she finally muttered, hoping that it were so. Letting loose their breaths, they nodded and the girl began to giggle.
"I wonder if Alec has told Mole about the tuxes yet?" This comment caused them all to laugh and Max, picturing the scaly transhuman in a tux, madly puffing away on a cigar made her join in.
"Well, nothing has blown up yet Chas," the redhead laughed, directing his words to the girl. "So I don’t think he has yet." He turned to Max, as if looking for confirmation and she smiled widely at him. Max sighed and tried to relax. At least she finally had a name to put to one of them.
"So what have you all been up to?" she asked as gently as she could. And to her great relief, they all began clamoring on about work, their day and the upcoming Christmas plans. She sat with them for a little over an hour, gleaning as much as she could from them while offering as little as possible. So mainly, she was able to figure out that they were looking forward to the Christmas party. They didn’t seem to mind her quietness. It was enough of a rush for the kids to be sitting with the X-5 leader of their fair city.
She watched each of them in turn. It was easy to see that the bonds of friendship were firmly entrenched. She smiled to herself though when the brunette teased Chas for the millionth time. The phrase, "just kidding!" rang out from his mouth almost every other sentence and Max picked up the mutual attraction the two had going. She wondered idly if they were just being shy with each other, or were not pursuing anything yet, so as not to upset the balance of the group dynamics. She glanced over at the other set of boys and realized that they were perfectly aware of the drama going on under their noses. ‘Well they certainly have a handle on JK’s feelings,’ she decided. Thankfully her mug was empty, or she might have spilled. The boy’s name was JK. And red over there was Dizzy and that left Mort. As if accessing a file, it all fell into place for her.
These kids had been in the same unit, had arrived at TC together. Alec had greeted them and warned them to come up with some names before Max found them. But to his chagrin, the others had named their fun-loving brother JK, short for the catch phrase always falling from his lips. Chas, Dizzy and Mort were a little better, but the kids were very tight lipped about how they had chosen them. But whatever their names, they’d been welcome, just like all the others. Finally their chatter began to taper off and Max realized that even with their professed night-loving DNA, they were starting to drag. If they actually all had it at all, she doubted. Probably Dizzy, he seemed least affected. The others were most likely staying up to keep him company. But she knew better than to suggest they hit the hay. Perhaps if she set the example? She almost snorted. Since when did she ever encourage others to look up for her, trying to be the moral compass of the group? Well, there was always her snotty attitude when Alec… well, she’d come a long way from then. She affected a yawn as she stood and stretched.
"I think I’m done in guys," she murmured. She gave them a blinky stare as they watched her expectantly. "I’m gonna head for bed." She saw Mort check his watch and took note of the others following his lead. She left her mug on the end table near the couch and smiled sleepily at them. She headed out the door, making sure to catch Dix’s eye before she disappeared. He jerked his chin in her direction then turned back to what another transhuman was saying. Max slipped down to the end of the street and merged back into the shadows, wondering if the kids were going to take her hint. And she was satisfied when a few minutes later, thy tumbled from the building, laughing and hooting quietly in the silence of the streets. They split up almost immediately, wishing each other goodnights and headed for their respective bunks. Max held her breath as Dizzy strolled by her, but he never noticed her, or pretended she wasn’t there.
Max felt like patting herself on the back. She’d successfully related to the kids and their needs. She’d figured out how to get them to do her bidding without being overtly obvious about it. She was taking care of her kids. Maybe that had been her job all along, aside from planning defensive strategies and supply lines. After all, every Manticorian knew how to do that, or at least where to start. But Max, the one who stood up and asked them to believe that they mattered, that all life counted, to stop running. She needed a hell of a lot more going for her to help create the life they were living now. Oh, she didn’t kid herself. She hadn’t done this single handedly. There were just a lot of lucky breaks along the way. But it still felt good. With a smile and a bounce in her step, she headed back to HQ. Best to get on her new project and figure out what the hell the next step was.
*****
Max rubbed at her eyes, realizing that she’d been staring at the same page for the last twenty minutes. It seemed to her that there was a massive conspiracy going on to keep all the information, knowledge that she desperately needed right now, away from her. All she could find in her office were invoices, notes to call certain people and the list about Normal. At least she’d finally figured out what certain of the abbreviations Alec had mentioned were. Or at least what she hoped they were. TC&E was the company that Dix and his cronies were heading up. Transgenic Computers & Electronics. Creators of virus proof software, computer games and sundry other products that were being sold like hotcakes. TS was apparently Transgenic Securities. Max wasn’t sure if they’d created a bank or if they might be the group Joshua had mentioned that helped out the Sector cops. She sighed in frustration as she shoved the paper to the other side of her desk.
She pushed her chair back from the desk, stretching as she stood. Over the last hour a hint of color had slowly melted through the night sky and Max realized it was past dawn. She glanced down from her window, inhaling deeply as she took in the first stirrings of life among the city. Mostly it was people on their way to work. But all of them looked fairly cheerful, at least from her vantage point. They knew what they were doing, where they were going. Just as she wished she did. She would give almost anything to be one of the mass down there, heading for work, knowing what to expect of the day.
Well, it wasn’t quite true that she had no idea. She had one. And that was to call Normal. From all hints and clues gathered, he was doing something for them, for Christmas, which was rapidly approaching. She returned to the desk, taking a seat, then a deep breath. She pulled the phone towards her as she dug through her discarded paper file to find that note again. She grabbed a pen, ready to record whatever she could. Her finger dialed the number for Jam Pony, knowing that as usual he’d be there by himself, preparing mentally for dealing with his employees.
The phone only rang once before he picked up, chirping out his usual "Jam Pony!"
"Hey Normal," she paused and cleared her throat a little. "It’s Max."
"Oh hey Missy," he responded with what she hoped was a humorous tone. "It’s funny you called."
"It is?" a frown furrowed her brow.
"Yeah," he continued. "I was just getting a package ready for you. I’ll send it over as soon as one of these feckless bums manages to make their way in to work."
"What’s in it?" she asked, curiosity mixing with a mild dread. Normal was cheerful with her? Giving her things?
"Oh let’s see," he murmured and she heard the rustling of paper from his end. "Let’s see, some are the last of the RSVP’s, There’s a couple contracts from the hotels for you to look over. And, looks like a Christmas card or two." He paused, glee filling his voice. "I gotta tell you Missy miss, your husband is a genius."
"Uh," how the heck did she respond to that? "Yeah, he is. Alec’s great." She heard the door open and glanced over to see Alec standing in the doorway, smiling at her.
"Talking about me again?" he grinned. She nodded and he pushed off the doorframe to sit at the edge of her desk. He bent over to kiss her as she dropped the phone receiver away from her mouth. She met his lips briefly before she heard Normal’s squawk. She instantly pulled the phone back up to concentrate on what he was saying.
"Is that my Golden boy?" he demanded. "Let me talk to him a minute."
"Okay," Max murmured and watched as Alec mouthed ‘who is it?’ "Just a sec Normal."
Alec’s eyes widened as he shook his hands in front of himself, trying to ward off the phone call. But Max just kept pressing the phone into him, trying to hide her laughter. Apparently, some things didn’t change. Namely Normal’s hero worship. Finally with a heavy sigh, he took the phone, but before answering, he pressed the phone into his chest and gave her an evil glare.
"You’re gonna pay for that," he warned quietly. Max covered her mouth with her hand as she finally gave into the quiet giggles. Alec sighed again as he pressed the phone to his ear, his natural enthusiasm for most things allowing him to play his part. "Hey Normal, buddy. What’s up?"
Max listened carefully to the conversation, but it seemed to be little more than Alec trying to deflect Normal’s effusive praise. Finally he was able to hang up. His hand rested atop the phone as he looked down at her. "I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again," he growled. "You’re a cruel, cruel woman."
"Yes, but you wouldn’t change me for the world," she quipped, her eyes bright. Alec rolled his eyes, but that didn’t stop him from hauling her up into his lap for a proper good morning.
*****
Max continued the rest of that day, somewhat in a fog. Her mind was rapidly trying to assess what was going on around her, while trying not to appear too obvious about it. She did learn who Jiminy was. And not the secretary she assumed. He was more a little wiry bundle of energy that managed the entire HQ. You wanted information, you went to Jiminy. You wanted coffee; he got it for you. You needed to multi-manage three phone calls at once, he was your motor mouth. Max was fascinated the first time she saw him do that. He was talking faster than Alec did trying to charm his way out of a doom impending situation. And when she remembered to inform him that they’d found more filing cabinets, he’d nearly exploded with glee.
He’d dragged her down to her old office and immediately began to plan out which files would be placed in the new cabinets. Max held her breath as she casually opened the nearest drawer. She was hard pressed not to let out a little shout of triumph at seeing the files full of information about life among TC. She swore to herself that she’d return that evening when everyone else had left and do a little reconnaissance.
She would have stayed, ostensibly to help Jiminy start rearranging, but she was called away. The messenger from Jam Pony had arrived and she needed to go down and get her package. Plus the messenger had asked to see her. So she headed down to the perimeter, slightly apprehensive of what she’d find. The last she’d seen of it, police cars, Army guards and various protesters had surrounded it. But now, there was a dead calm broken only by the sound of male laughter. As the fence came into view, Max gasped at the emptiness of it. But that was quickly replaced by a lift of pure glee.
"Sketchy!" she called excitedly, seeing just whom the messenger was. Her pace picked up as she jogged towards him and two transgenics.
He broke off from his conversation with the guards and glanced up at her. "Hey Max!" he called back. When she reached him, she held out her arms and after a moment’s pause, he hugged her. She pulled back and took in his overall appearance. He’d definitely changed in the last year and a half. Gone were the sloppy clothes and ragamuffin hair. Now, he was smartly attired and clean-shaven. And she didn’t think she’d ever seen him wearing black slacks before. He glanced down at himself as she took this in and let out a dry chuckle.
"Yeah I know," he smiled. "I ran into Normal this morning and after much begging and pleading, have been reduced to lowly messenger. But just for today."
So he was no longer working for Jam Pony. That begged the question of what he was doing now. But it could wait. "Well, as long as I get my package, I don’t care who delivers it," she teased. His face fell momentarily.
"Thanks a lot Max," he grinned. He held out the package and she took it with barely a glance. And then he pulled out a smaller flat package from his back pocket and presented it to her. "I only agreed ‘cause I thought you’d want these. They turned out really well."
Ah, thanks," she murmured, taking the envelope. She carefully glanced into it and was surprised to see a ream of pictures. She pulled a few out and grinned at the sight of Original Cindy laughing, prepared to blow out some candles on a birthday cake. Max let out a sigh of relief. She flipped through some more of them quickly, relieved to see that she and Alec had been included in the celebration. But on the heels of that, was the sudden fear that she’d be totally unable to converse on what happened that evening. Because the pictures would only be able to tell her so much. She shoved them into her back pocket and grinned up at her goofy friend. "Thanks for dropping them off. But I should probably get back to work."
"Yeah, not a problem," Sketch grinned and glanced at his watch. "I should get going to or I’m gonna be super late. I guess I’ll see you at the benefit then. Say hi to Alec for me."
"I will," Max promised, even as her mind started swirling again. She waved good-bye to him, gave the guards a small nod and headed back to HQ, Jam Pony packet in hand.
*****
It took her not long after that to begin to put some things together. The clues of the party, Mole’s tux, the contracts with the hotel, the responses to invitations from local businesses, and Sketchy’s reference to a benefit finally came together in her mind. The transgenics seemed to be hosting a fund-raiser, to benefit whom; she had no clue yet. Local businesses were invited and she still didn’t know if Mole had been informed of the dress code. As it all came together, Max began to feel a headache pounding away at her mind. And all she could wonder was whose brilliant idea this had been.
*****
The next week passed in a haze of activity. Every morning, Max tried to embrace the loving wife routine, slowly getting used to having Alec with her nearly all the time. They’d head for work, greeting people she still had only the faintest clue about. She’d spend most of the day in her new office going over paperwork and trying to bluff her way through, pretending to know what was what. Most of it, she was able to shunt off to the side with the excuse that she was concentrating on the party. She knew that Jiminy had finally started taking some of the more important things to Alec and was hardly bothering her about it. Alec didn’t mention it either, so Max felt she could breathe safely in that regard.
But every night, she’d sleep a few hours and upon waking, would steal away from their bed and return to HQ. Slipping into Jiminy’s office, she’d go over the information, file by file. Committing it all to memory. There were files on every resident in the city, but no photos to go with the names. There were the business plans of every idea they’d had. Some had come to fruition some had not. There were the contracts of which businesses they worked with, exported to and supported. There were notations on past contracts that had been fulfilled. Jam Pony were their messengers of choice. Sketchy was their official photographer from the Seattle Times Weekly. There were even newspaper clippings from his very first article ‘Living The High Life’. Max smiled to see it, a full layout that included the trannies at work in all the aspects of their life in TC. She had giggled when she saw that Mole had refused to comment when asked what he thought of the peace overtures that had been made from the citizens of Seattle. ‘He still wanted to blow ‘em to kingdom come.’
By the end of the week, what with her regular workload, even reduced as it was, and her nightly cramming session, Max was getting a little strung out. It was mid-afternoon when she finally gave the paperwork before her a shove off the desk. She knew it’d give Jiminy a heart attack, but it made her feel better. She was tired of co-ordinating things. Going over paperwork that no doubt, the trannies that had written them up, definitely didn’t need her looking over their shoulders, second guessing what they were doing.
Decided, she pushed away from her desk and grabbed up her coat. She paused to stick her head in the file room and ask Jiminy if he wanted anything while she took a break. He’d shook his head no and with a lighthearted shrug, headed out. Her footsteps naturally took her in the direction of the bakery, where she and Alec had been sneaking off to for warm doughnuts when the mood struck them. But right then, she wasn’t in the mood for confectionery treats. She paused and glanced around, knowing in an instance what she needed. She hurried towards Joshua’s place, hoping he’d be home. They’d finally convinced him that he needed to get out and about and head back to work at the artist commune. He’d been nervous at first about the reaction he’d get. But everyone had been so happy to see him back, that he’d overcome that nervousness in an instant. Especially when some younger transgenics had dragged him off to give his opinion on their latest projects. Max had felt like they were leaving him in good hands and didn’t protest when Alec had suggested they take some time for themselves.
Max nearly skipped up the steps to Joshua’s apartment. But her feet stilled in the hallway when she heard Alec’s voice drifting out to her. Her eyebrows drew together as she frowned. ‘What the hell is he doing here?’ she puzzled to herself. She crept closer, not wanting to alert her husband to her presence.
"…know something’s wrong Josh," he was saying. Max wondered for a moment who he was talking about, but Joshua’s reply filled her heart with dread.
"Max is okay Alec," the big man tried to reassure his friend.
"No she’s not Josh," Alec replied, somewhat angrily. Max could hear the tired resignation in his voice. "Look, you’ve only seen her a couple times recently. I live with her. And something’s off."
"How off?" Joshua asked quietly. Max held her breath. Would Joshua keep her secret as she’d asked him to?
"S-she’s gone," Alec began. "Every night. She wakes up and sneaks off, leaving me notes, like she used to. But she never goes where she says she’s going. She spends all her time holed up at HQ. She doesn’t talk to anybody. She’s quiet, all the time. She never argues with me anymore. She’s not doing any of her work. Jiminy says it’s like she suddenly stopped caring about everything. And Gem! Gem said that when she and Angie came by that day, Max was freaked out. Like something major had happened. And I want to know what it is!" he finally shouted.
"Calm down Alec," Joshua tried to soothe him. Max swallowed heavily. She should have known that she was getting it wrong. Alec was right. They’d lived together for a while, he’d be the perfect person to know all her habits and foibles. There wasn’t anything that she could hide from him any more.
"I’m not gonna calm down until I know what’s going on Josh," Alec ranted. "And I know you know. So spill. " He paused and Max could almost feel the bitterness and resentment rolling off him in waves. "Is she… does she still love me Joshua?"
Max nearly threw up when she heard the pain in his voice as he asked that heavily loaded question. Her mind raced, seeing suddenly how all these little clues came together from Alec’s point of view. She bit her lip until she tasted blood, desperately wanting to break down the door and reassure her husband that not only did she love him before, but that she’d managed to fall in love with him all over again. She wiped away the tears that had begun flowing down her cheeks as she heard Joshua’s sigh.
"Max still loves you Alec," he stated with certainty. "See it in her face, even when Alec not around."
A small pause. "Then what is it Joshua? Is she sick again? What’s going on that she can’t tell me?"
"Max is…" Joshua seemed at a loss for words. Max knew he had a hard time lying and felt even more sickened that she had forced her friend into this position. "Max needs time Alec," he finally asserted. "She’ll be okay. And when she’s ready, she’ll tell you."
"But she’s told you?" Alec demanded. Max was surprised to hear the bark of laughter from her friend.
"L’il fella told Joshua more than she realized," the big man chuckled. Max tilted her head sharply to the right. How had she done that? But she shrugged it off for the moment as the conversation continued. "When Max gets it all figured out, then she tell Alec."
"Okay," Alec finally murmured. "Tell me this though Josh, are you worried about her? Cause if you’re worried, then…"
"No," Joshua laughed again. "Joshua not worried at all. Joshua pretty happy. And when Max tells Alec, he gonna be happy too."
Max crept away then, her mind turning over Joshua’s last assertion. How on earth would it make Alec happy to know she’d been lying to him? That this last week had been almost pure pretense on her part. Just remembering the look of anger he’d given her that night made Max shudder. There was no way that she could tell Alec the truth right now. She squared her shoulders and began to quietly descend the steps. Time for a new plan.
Chapter Twelve
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