Author: Restive Nature (aka Bavite)
Rated: up to NC-17
Disclaimer: All characters within this fiction are the property of Cameron/ Eglee. I just like to play with them.
Timeline: Sequel to Dream Within. Fiction starts about six weeks after FN.
Pairing M/A
Summary: Dreams don’t often come true for Manticore-bred soldiers. So when the chance comes along for Alec, he’s not quite sure how to take it.
Chapter Four
Angels Among Them
“Come on Max,” Alec muttered. He could hear the whine factor in his tone, but made no move to disguise it. He’d already tried logic, reasoning and had gotten nowhere. She was determined to disregard her own personal health and safety and go haring off again. Granted, she hadn’t come out and said so, but Alec knew all the same what things Max could get embroiled in.
“I said no Alec,” she returned evenly, through the now closed bedroom door. He could still hear her shuffling about, changing clothes again. When he’d come back from helping Gem out of the apartment complex with Angie, he’d found it that way, and had been told not to come back into her bedroom. It didn’t take a certified genius to figure out that she was changing, determined to go to Headquarters.
“Max, you’re supposed to be resting,” he warned again. He knew it was futile. They were both aware that transgenic healing was superior to that of humans. But all he could remember was her vivid caution of yesterday. She hadn’t wanted to be jarred, or hurt any more than she had been. And concussions still took a little time to heal. The safest place for her to do that was her apartment, where there were no surprises waiting. Where there weren’t masses of people teeming about, introducing the possibility that she’d be bumped against by accident.
Before he could say more, the door flew open and Max poked her head out, causing him to take a step back. She rolled her eyes as she adjusted the strap of her tank top with one hand, holding her sneakers in the other. “It’ll be fine Alec,” she assured him with soothing tones. She stepped forward and he backed up again, to make way for her. “I’m just going down to HQ to check on some stuff. I will sit at a desk like a good little girl and let people come to me. I will take frequent breaks if it gets to be too much. I will let someone bring me lunch from the commissary. And I will eat it all, every last bite, even if it tastes like crap. And when I get tired, I’ll come home. Does that satisfy ya?” she demanded evenly.
Alec shook his head, amused. There was just no getting around this. “All right,” he conceded. “Just as long as you aren’t envisioning me as your little lackey. I’ve got stuff to do too, you know.”
“I know,” she grinned, as she seated herself on her lumpy sofa. “I’m the one who ordered you to do it, remember?”
Their heads both turned then, hearing the clumping, familiar footfall as someone came down the apartment hallway. Max tilted her head towards the noise, as it stopped outside her doorway, silently asking. Alec was moving towards the door before his mind even fully registered what he was doing. He heard her small scoff.
“Not a lackey, my ass,” she chuckled under her breath.
He turned back to glare at her for a moment, the scowl on his face holding no real menace. “Brat.”
“Takes one to know one,” she quipped. Alec just shook his head. There was that interminable good mood again. He was going to have to figure out a way to deal with that. And quick. He reached the door just as there was a hesitant knock presented. He swung the door open, unsurprised to find Joshua there.
“Hey Josh,” he greeted. The bigger man smiled and nodded, carefully peeking over Alec’s shoulder into the apartment.
“Hey Alec,” he returned. “Little fella up?”
“I’m up Joshua,” Max called. “Come on in.” Alec stepped aside, knowing that Joshua at least would be careful around Max. He frowned however as he watched the tall transhuman make his way over to his best little buddy and give her a gentle hug. He really couldn’t understand this urgency he felt to almost keep Max wrapped up in a cocoon. It wasn’t stemming from any feelings he had for her, real or imagined. Well, it was. But it was like there was something in the back of his mind, glaring neon warning signs. Something that was telling him, keep Max safe at all costs. An urgency driving at him that warned that if something befell her, the whole world would come crashing down around their ears.
Alec was always one to give in to instinct. It kept him alive. Kept him safe. And now apparently, that inherent ability was including Max in that net of protection. He wondered idly if this was how some of the mated males felt about their spouses, but just as quickly thrust that thought from his head. Now was most certainly not the time to be thinking like that! He forced himself to tune back into the conversation Max and Joshua were having.
“So Max okay to do that?” Joshua was asking with uncertainty.
“Well, you’ve got me at just the right time,” Max smiled up at her friend. “I was just about to head out. I can sure stop down there first.”
“Wait, wait,” Alec protested. Damn him for missing something when he should have been paying attention, instead of letting himself become totally absorbed in his thoughts again. “Stop down where?” He demanded.
“You know Alec,” Max drawled teasingly. “Manticore gave you ears for a reason.”
“Huh?”
“You know?” she teased, “To listen with…”
“Yeah, ha ha funny,” he growled, his perturbance with himself starting to transfer to her. Why couldn’t she be serious this morning? Or at least as serious as she’d been when discussing Gem with him in the bathroom? “Where are we stopping?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m stopping down at the perimeter fence. There’s someone here to see me.”
“Oh hell no,” he growled at once. He noticed that Joshua was watching them in a manner akin to those watching a tennis match. “You know that you were too visible during the JP incident. Too high a risk to-!” He broke off as he noticed that Max was creeping towards her front door. “Hey! Max!” He called after her, his feet moving automatically after her.
“It’s okay, I know the guy,” she threw back over her shoulder.
“So who is he?” Alec demanded peevishly. A guy? What kind of guy was it? A friend type guy. An ex-lover type guy? Though, knowing Max, that didn’t seem too likely. But hey, he acknowledged, she hadn’t known just Logan the entire time she lived in Seattle. And he’d heard Original Cindy and Sketchy mention some others guys names a few times before.
“Angelo!” floated back from the now empty hallway.
“Well that tells me nothing,” Alec snorted. He turned back to Joshua. “You know who she’s talking about?” But poor Joshua just gave him a half-hearted shrug and a dumbfounded who me? look.
Alec and Joshua took off after their friend, who seemed to be moving along at quite a good pace. They caught up to her as she was exiting the apartment complex. “So uh Max,” Alec tried to be casual, but it was hard when Max was making tracks like she was, “so who’s this Angelo guy?” Well, that stopped her short. She stared at him for a moment, squinting her eyes at him. Then, as if something occurred to her, her face smoothed out and she smirked.
“Do you mean to tell me that Normal never told you about the time I saved his ass from art thieves?” she demanded lightly.
“Hmm, Normal in a situation where he becomes indebted to his most obnoxious employee,” Alec mused. “Somehow, I don’t think that was on his list of priorities to tell me.”
“And yet somehow,” she teased back, “his Gladiator dreams were.”
“Gladiator?” Joshua questioned, his interest perking up. Alec figured he must have read about those soldiers somewhere.
“I’ll tell ya later,” he waved off the big man’s interest, silently swearing to figure out a way to divert the dogman with something else if he ever brought it up again. Normal’s dreams were the stuff of his nightmares. He turned back to Max. “But that still doesn’t tell me who Angelo is.”
“The painting that the thieves had lifted got mixed up at Jam Pony,” Max explained quickly, her words as quick as her footsteps. “The painting was delivered to Angelo by mistake. I met him when I went to rectify things.”
“Oh, okay.” Alec couldn’t think of anything more to say. Such a brief moment, switching packages, hardly seemed the impetus for such a moment that Max seemed to be looking forward to, but to each their own. Their walk continued, with Joshua and Alec hurrying to keep apace with Max. Silence had fallen between them, though all three could hear the low murmurs of conversations from transgenics and transhumans on the street. As well as the hum of the machinery that they’d gotten working in the weeks and months of congregating there.
But as they rounded the corner that led to the perimeter fencing where this Angelo was waiting, several things happened at once. There was a shout, one Alec couldn’t immediately pinpoint. Max flinched and a shot rang out.
The last two happened so simultaneously, that Alec almost couldn’t separate them in his mind. He reacted instinctively, his thoughts from earlier compelling him. He threw himself towards Max, his momentum carrying them both down to the ground. Somehow, he amazingly remembered her injuries and was able to twist their bodies so that he got a leg and arm underneath her, to cushion her head and body before they impacted on the hard cement. His back was to the fence, creating a barrier between it and her, to protect her from the perceived threat. Angelo! It had to be.
Before their bodies had a chance to settle, Alec was turning his head, ready to issue commands, but the fence guards had already reacted. Every single one had a weapon out, pointed directly at the ordinary, who had his hands in the air. But to Alec’s surprise, those hands were empty. Before he could search the ground for a dropped weapon, another crash sounded near them.
“Alec?” Max asked softly. Some fabric from his shirt must have been in her way, since her voice was muffled.
“You okay?” he asked quickly, wondering if he should check, just in case. But new good mood Max or not, she wouldn’t appreciate his touch, impartially meant or not.
“I’m good,” she answered, even if she was moving gingerly. She tried to move away from him, but Alec refused to let her go. The threat had come from an unexpected area and still hadn’t been confirmed, which meant that the potential for another shot had yet to be neutralized. His eyes kept searching the area, but all the transgenics seemed to calm when they heard a low, familiar laugh.
Alec as well as the others glanced up. There, on top of the building closest to the perimeter fence, was Mole. His cigar rested in one hand, his shotgun in the other as he laughed at them, gesturing down to the street. Alec loosened his hold on Max and the two rolled carefully away from each other, but then turned simultaneously towards where Mole was pointing.
On the ground, was the reason behind the gunshot and the crash. Steaming and hissing, with a gaping shotgun hole through one engine, was a hover drone. There was a moment of stunned silence, before Max began to giggle. She turned to the troops.
“You can stand down guys,” she lightly instructed the transgenics covering Angelo. They blinked at her, but slowly lowered their weapons. The poor man, still stunned, took a moment longer before he lowered his hands as well. She turned back to Alec. “Well, as unexpected as that was, it was an interesting drill. Good to know you’ve got that bodyguard thing down pat.”
“Uh, yeah,” Alec agreed. And it was. Suddenly the worry from earlier that morning didn’t seem as ludicrous. True, it was just a hover drone. But had it been a real situation… He snuck another look at Max, but her attention was up on the rooftops. He watched her signal ‘good shot’ to Mole and when he looked up o the lizard man, was pleased to see the grin was still there, around the cigar now perched back in his mouth. As well as a thumbs up. He soon disappeared back to wherever he’d come from.
“Hey Joshua,” Max called. The big man scuttled forward from the position he’d assumed by the corner of the building. “Can you take this thing over to headquarters? Ask them to go over it and see if any footage survived, what it was and if it was transmitted back to the sector cops.”
“Will do, Max,” Joshua nodded happily, pleased to help out. The pair watched him collect the large piece of machinery, hoisting it easily in his powerful arms. He set off and Max took a moment to brush herself off.
“Now, where were we?” she muttered and then turned back to the fence. She ambled over, a beatific smile lighting her face. “Hey Angelo!”
“Max,” the man returned as she drew nearer. He glanced around at the others, then up at the roof. “Is it always so exciting around here?”
“Nah,” she chuckled. “Sometimes Mole decides to shoot at us rather than inanimate objects. Then the fun really begins.”
“Oh.”
It was said so flatly that Alec wanted to snicker. The poor man really couldn’t tell if Max was joking or not.
“So what can I help you with?” Max asked gently, seeming to sense that this wasn’t the time for her smart ass attitude. Angelo seemed to shake himself out of his reverie.
“Well,” he drawled hesitantly. “You know, I’ve never forgotten what you did for me.” But Max quickly waved it off. Alec was surprised to see a faint blush in her cheeks. What had she done for the man?
“It was nothing,” she denied.
“Not nothing,” Angelo refuted, holding her gaze intently. “You saved my life. And my career.” Alec grimaced. Here obviously was a case of hero worship.
“Really?” he interrupted, and then nudged Max. “You never told me that part.”
“Yeah,” Max sighed. “But if I hadn’t surprised him, he wouldn’t have fallen off that ledge.” There was something in her eyes that told him to just keep quiet and Alec wisely held his tongue. They both turned back to the ordinary.
“Regardless of how it happened,” Angelo continued, “I’m still alive today. And that’s why I’ve come.”
“Oh really,” another of the fence guards asked. Alec thought his name could be Zag. He didn’t seem offended, just curious.
“Yeah,” Angelo nodded. “There’s no way that I could ever pay you back for what you did for me that night. But my wife and I were talking about it the other day. We saw the footage on the news from the Jam Pony incident. I knew it was you right away. I told my wife that you were the one.”
“Oh Lord,” Max mumbled, the reddening of her cheeks increasing.
“I had no idea that you were a trans-transgenic,” he stumbled slightly over the unfamiliar word. Then he hurried on quickly. “Not that it matters to me. My wife and I know that you’re a good person.”
“So you came to tell her that?” the same guard, Zag, spoke up again. There was an undertone of humor in the guard’s faces. Ordinaries could be so weird at times.
“Actually, my wife had always wondered who that angel was that saved her husband,” Angelo answered sardonically, shrugging one shoulder. “And then we knew. But how do you help people like you?” He held his hands up again to indicate that he meant no offense. None was taken. “But the other thing that stuck in our minds was that other woman. You know, the one with the baby. She was a transgenic too, wasn’t she?”
The group glanced at one another before Max slowly nodded. “Yeah, she is.”
Angelo nodded. “Are they doing okay?” he asked softly. His concern was palpable to them all. No matter that he was virtually a stranger to all of them; the genuine emotion touched each and every one of them. Max smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, mom and baby are doing well,” she told him. Angelo nodded, relieved.
“So anyway, as I was saying, we really didn’t know how to repay you,” he continued. “But my wife had this idea. See, after my daughter was born, there were some complications.” He spoke slowly, the subject matter most definitely a sore spot for him. “The doctor said there wouldn’t be any more kids for us, unless we adopted.”
Alec’s eyes went wide. What the hell? Was this guy seriously suggesting… But apparently Angelo had realized his verbal misstep. He shook his head quickly.
“My wife thought that maybe that young woman could use our daughter’s baby things,” he went on hurriedly. There was a moment, when everyone’s hackles lowered again. “We saved them all, just in case.” He turned and gestured back at the truck he’d arrived in. They could see the boxes all packed in. “We can’t really get extra food and stuff, but this stuff will never be missed. If you can use it, we’d be more than happy to give it to you.”
“Oh,” Max exclaimed softly. “We can. We really can.” Alec glanced at her. He figured she was probably thinking of the threadbare state little Angie’s clothes had been in that morning. True they were all clean and well mended, but still, they were nothing to brag over. Angelo beamed and turned back to the truck. He pulled out one of the smaller boxes and returned to the fence with it. He opened it swiftly and withdrew a white, lacy something or other. He passed it through the small hole in the chain link fence to Max. She held it up before her and Alec was surprised to see her eyes mist over. She drew the little dress to her chest and looked down at it.
“Uh Max,” he interrupted teasingly. “Yeah, as cute as it is, I really don’t think it would fit you.”
“Shut up Alec,” she retorted so softly that he barely heard her. But she did fold the dress back up, reverently. Blinking rapidly to clear what he was sure was tears in her eyes, Max turned to the guards. “Can you guys organize getting this stuff into the compound?” Zag and the others nodded eagerly. Max turned to Alec. “Why don’t you round up some help for them?” Alec considered and then nodded. Even though this meeting was innocuous, didn’t mean that threats weren’t still abounding. Some extra eyes would be a good thing.
Max had turned back to Angelo. “This is so wonderful,” she thanked him profusely. He waved it away.
“Not at all,” he offered modestly. “It’s barely anything. I mean, if there was anything else I could do, please ask.”
Alec was startled to see a sudden change come over Max. There was a speculative gleam in her eye that he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Actually,” she drawled, “there is.” Angelo looked a little surprised, but he leaned in to hear this request. “I’m wondering,” she grinned, “would you be willing to talk to a friend of mine?”
Chapter Five
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