Title: The Waking Hours
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.
A/N- This chapter is dedicated to Karencharmed, a prize in my Christmas Fiction Contest. Congrats!
Chapter Nine
State Of Fear
"And then we should set up a place for it," Max continued as she walked next to Alec. He nodded absent-mindedly, reaching for the door to HQ, opening it for her. She slipped in and waited a millisecond for him to catch up. "I don't know that Rory would be able to make any money at it, but if he's got nothing else to do, it would keep him busy. Do you know what his specialty was?"
"Nothing comes to mind," Alec shrugged. Already, he'd caught sight of the usual crew that filled the building at this time in the morning. Yet none of the group, or committee, as Max had called them, were on the main floor. That meant they were all upstairs in their meeting room, waiting on Max and himself. That was about typical. He would swear, on a stack of pre-pulse Bibles, if necessary, that Max could never seem to be on time for anything. He did notice her nod towards a few people as they wound through the desks and tables and other various items, headed for the stairs.
Alec had to grit his teeth slightly and divert his gaze as Max bounded up the steps ahead of him. One of these days he was going to smarten up and lead the way, instead of tormenting himself daily with this sight.
They made it without pause to the command room. The smallish room with it's large conference table seemed to have many names, but no matter what one called it, everyone knew what was being talked about. Alec, glancing around for a swift head count, realized that everyone was definitely already there. To that end, he shut the door behind himself and Max. She made her way to the front. And since there were more chairs than committee members, Alec had his limited choice of seats. Remembering his earlier resolve to try and get Max out of his mind, for at least part of the time, since when actually dealing with her, he'd have to... deal with her, Alec chose a seat closer to the door. There were a few glances in his direction at this, but no one said anything. It wasn't like it was a hard and fast established rule that he always sit beside Max at these meetings.
Making himself as comfortable as he could in the tattered chair, Alec turned his attention to their leader. She'd taken up position at the head of the table where she normally sat. But instead of taking a seat, she was glancing over her written out itinerary.
"Okay guys," she announced after a moment. "I've got the basics here. I'll pass it around, have a glance. You see something I missed, add it in there. Any new business goes at the bottom." With that and amused glances between the others, Max handed it to her right, to Joshua. The big man dutifully glanced over the list while Mole leaned forward.
"Are we going to be required to take notes now?" he asked, his tone slightly mocking. Max shook her head.
"This is just so I don't get off track," she informed them at large. "And so I don't accidentally skip over anything so that we have to back-track. Problems with that?" she asked coolly, though without hostility. Mole pursed his lips for just a second and then shook his head in the negative. The list quickly made the round, as there really weren't that many people there. Just himself, Max, Mole, Joshua, Dix, Callie and Doc. Max accepted the list back and Alec felt Callie's gaze on his for a moment, but he just ignored it.
"Okay, let's get started then," Max announced, finally taking a seat. "First up, everyone here I assume, is aware of the newest addition to our equipment list?"
"You mean that big ol' hover drone taking up over half of Luke's workspace downstairs?" Doc asked dryly. "No, hadn't noticed it."
Alec smiled, noting with some surprise that Max actually chuckled and nodded. Hmm, usually she was the one that stomped on the smart remarks and jokes and tension reliever slash time wasters. But today, her good mood seemed inclined to let things slide.
"That'd be the one," she grinned. "I assume that the usual scuttlebutt has been going around HQ and possibly further?" she asked in general and there were several nods from all around the table. Alec wasn't aware of what had been said about Mole's shooting down the hover drone. Unusually, he'd been a little too busy to get out among the others and shoot the breeze as he normally took the time to do. "Okay, from this point on," Max continued, "the hover drone is hush hush. What we'll be doing with it, when it's fixed. Nothing major, but if we can get it set up like I want to, then I don't want unfriendlies catching wind of it."
"Agreed," Mole chimed in quickly and again Alec was slightly startled. Mole and Max agreeing on things. That was a step sideways for them. Perhaps they'd already had a conversation about this pass between them, but Alec wondered when they'd have had a chance. Or maybe they were just freakishly on the same wavelength.
"What are we going to be doing with it?" Callie asked, frowning slightly. She and Doc were the only ones of those assembled that hadn't been in HQ when it was brought in, even though they had heard about it from others and had been by later the previous day to check it out. Alec was glad she had asked, because Max had not let him in on what she'd been thinking about. Or maybe this was something that she'd wanted to brainstorm with him about. Over dinner, his mind reminded him. Alec frowned and pushed that thought away. It wasn't anything special. Just two people, two co-workers getting together to nourish their bodies to feed their minds so that they could crank out some credible ideas. Yeah, that was all it was. Once Alec got that through his mind, he realized that he had missed part of what Max had said in explanation.
"...mass produce some more," she was saying. "Of course, then, we'll have to hack the security section so that we can bypass the sector cops flight plans."
"But that's all long-term," Dix added, leaning into the conversation. "Right now the main focus is to get the thing up and running and patrolling our perimeters without the outsiders catching on that it's now one of ours." Max and several others nodded. Alec quickly thought through what he'd heard. Max wanted more hover drones? That wasn't exactly a bad idea. Another part of the security system they had developed for themselves. The only drawback was producing them when all you had around you were burned out shells of a decade old technological science fair. But maybe she had some ideas on that. Alec forced himself to tune back in.
"Anything else on the security front?" Max asked, directing herself to Mole even as she made notations on her notebook. Alec frowned, wondering again where she had gotten it. Maybe that was what Jiminy had brought her. It sure looked like something that could have been found somewhere in Terminal City. Not that it really mattered, Alec decided. It was just... sometimes he hated little niggling mysteries like this that he figured should have been solvable. The big questions in life, he let go. But little things that should have an answer, he really liked having answers.
"... and Dix brought up the latest numbers," Mole concluded, gesturing across the table with his unlit cigar. Alec bit his lower lip and chastised himself to pay attention. It did not matter what had been in that innocuous brown paper bag that another man had given Max. He forced himself to watch as Dix passed on the current tally of transgenics and transhumans living in the city. Max glanced over it briefly and then stuffed the paper into the back of her notebook.
"All right," she continued, barely glancing at her notes. She angled herself towards Alec and he perked up a bit, glad that he was paying attention finally. He really didn't want to give everyone an excuse to be after him because he wasn't. "Alec, you said you got the supply run set up, but there was some other Intel?"
"That's right," he confirmed with a slight grin. He was in his element now and the groove felt comfortable to him. "Okay," he breathed out, leaning back in his chair, giving off a typically relaxed vibe, even if he wasn't totally in that zone. "We're pretty much as up to date on supplies in most areas. I know that the main concerns right now are food and medical supplies." He glanced at Callie and Doc as the pair nodded back at him. "I checked into that storage warehouse we discussed last week. As it stands now," this time he included everyone in his sight, "if we hit, we'll get the items we discussed. Camping gear, the stoves, some food, mostly canned goods."
"And what was the information that makes you want to wait?" Max asked calmly, not actually interrupting, but close enough to it. Alec didn't let it bother him. He knew she was impatient and he had been coming to that. He let a small smile play at his lips.
"Turns out the warehouse is a military outsource facility," he announced and everything in the room stilled. They all knew what that meant. The military, decades ago, had begun to contract to other sources for their needs. Food, medical supplies, weaponry, vehicles, it was all produced by companies that bid for the right to produce these items. Once produced, the items were shipped to military facilities. But occasionally, they had to be stored elsewhere, sometimes if a base was closing up, or troops were moving out. Such had to be the case now.
"What's the time line?" Max asked, slightly breathless with anticipation, leaning forward, her eyes glittering. Alec had to swallow hastily and focus at a point somewhere just beyond her shoulder before he could continue.
"Two weeks," he answered, his voice a little more husky than he wanted. He softly cleared his throat, glancing around surreptitiously at at the others, but they hadn't seemed to notice. "Problem is, they'll be moving the other gear out two days before that to make room for the military."
"What's in the shipment?" Joshua asked, also leaning forward.
"Basic hodgepodge," he shrugged. "MRE's, kits, clothing, the usual."
"Med supplies?" Doc asked and Alec nodded. The other man leaned back, satisfied.
"So basically the choice is," Dix enumerated, "we can hit the warehouse now and get some gear, or we can wait and get the good stuff. But if we wait, what are we going to do in the meantime for necessities."
"Well as to that," Alec grinned, though it faded slightly when he realized that he had lost Max's attention. She was now staring down at her notebook, her eyes unfocused, her hand curled into a loose fist as she ran her forefinger and thumb over her lower lip. If pressed, he would have said that she looked... scared. Was she enduring another headache? "I did some checking on a few other smaller places that we could hit in the meantime." He continued to watch Max, looking for the the signs that would indicate that she needed to back off and let her body recuperate, even as he continued to supply the rest of the group with the information. There was a general discussion about the merits of what Alec had come up with. But finally Max held up a hand to silence them.
"How much more recon would be needed on these smaller jobs?" she asked of him, quietly, though her words penetrated loud and clear.
"Not much,' Alec offered just as softly. "Two of the places have rotating security, so we'll need to do the recon that night." Max nodded and he saw her inhale deeply. Her eyes were still slightly unfocused and she seemed almost to be battling with herself about something. Finally she came to a decision and stared straight at him.
"Set up the teams," she directed. "X3's through X5's."
"Actually, I was thinking," Alec began, though he threw a glance at Mole, since this was something they'd discussed together a few times, "these missions are easy enough, we should probably include a few of the X6's."
"Alec!" her voice hit him, staccato sharp and he recoiled without realizing it, stunned at the first really real bite from her since her accident. She seemed to realize it too, the way her eyes immediately darkened. With visible effort, she controlled herself. "Make up the teams and you, Mole and I will sit down and discuss that idea later. Okay?"
Alec stared at her, wondering what the hell was going on in her brain now. Why on earth would she have objections to including the younger kids in a simple sneak and peek mission? It was what they were designed for and Manticore sure as hell hadn't worried about sending those teen aged kids into much worse. Hell, she knew that. It was the same for all of the operable X class series and for a lot of the transhumans. Indoctrination into combat and or their selected specialties came at an early age. But, perhaps, she'd clue him in later, probably with Mole there to act as a buffer. That was actually a much better idea than getting into it now. "Okay," he agreed. He glanced at the lizard man, seated to his right and noticed him agreeing as well with the nod of his head.
The meeting then continued, the rest of the information filtering through Alec's brain. He didn't pay too much attention, since today was just like all the days before them. No real surprises. The public at large was behaving exactly as they had predicted they would. Things were needed. People came.
All stuff they'd been through before and now was just their way of formally informing each other what they were up to each day. Eventually it came to an end and like the others, Alec could feel the surging of motion through his body. He and the others around him were starting to fidget. Once all the formalities were out of the way, then it would be there cue to gather up whatever they'd brought with them, usually coffee cups, like he and Max had today, and head out to their respective areas of work or play. For some, like Mole one was more the other.
But even as he noticed the others beginning to get ready to push away from the table, he also noticed that Max had scootched herself a little closer. He had the bad feeling that she was just getting ready for the long haul. And that was confirmed just seconds later when her voice rang out with a hesitant quality.
"I know that we've covered everything that was on my list," she began, glancing around at each of them in turn. "But there was something else I wanted to discuss." Wary glances were exchanged, quick and covert and Alec noticed that Max noticed but was pretending she hadn't. "This is not for general consumption at this time. I want that understood immediately." She looked them straight in the eye, turn by turn and Alec, found himself nodding his agreement along with the rest of them. It was a great hook, he realized. Offer up a secret to the terminally curious group that they all were.
Max waited until the shuffling and resettling of the group was complete and all eyes were once again on her. "As some of you might know, I called my friend Sketchy yesterday. I know all of you have at least met him." There were nods all around. "He is currently employed at New World Weekly, which if you didn't know is pretty much a tabloid rag."
Alec watched Max, disturbed by this suddenly overly serious mien. Max was addressing them as if they were a completely unknown quantity. That didn't bode well.
"The reason I called Sketchy is part of a plan that's been forming in my mind," Max announced and Alec hid his grin. And she had them back! "The thing is, what I've come up with, it's going to need the co-operation and understanding of everyone. Not just us here in this room, but all of the transgenics and transhumans. If things come together like I hope, everyone will be involved, but this will eventually fall under the purvue of security."
"Maybe you could be a little more specific about things sweetheart," Mole snarked lazily. Max regarded Mole, moistening her lower lip before she replied.
"All right," she began, clasping her hands on the table before her. Her notebook had been pushed aside and Alec could see that if she'd had any little speech planned, it had been thrown out the window. Max just seemed to be a fly by the seat of your pants kind of girl when it came to this sort of stuff. "Any of you who have ever studied human history, and I know you have, are aware that humans live in a state of fear." There were eye rolls at that, and Alec was slightly chagrined to find himself included in that category. 'Way to state the obvious there Max.' "The wars, AIDS, global warming and the greenhouse effect, crime on the rise..." she enumerated softly.
"And now us," Dix announced matter of factly.
"Exactly," Max nodded once. "But the stupid thing is, aside from the wars and disease, what has there been to be afraid of?"
"What exactly do you mean?" Callie asked, a small frown marring her delicate face.
"The reason that the normal population fear these things," Max explained, "is because the triumvirate make them fear it."
"The triumvirate?"Joshua asked, totally confused. It was a confusion echoed on some other faces, Alec realized. Even he wasn't quite sure what Max was getting at here.
"Sorry," Max smiled ruefully. "The political, legal and media groups that determine which way the wind blows." Faces cleared as she said that. "Looking at things logically, people have honest things to be scared of, but we all know the how out of proportion that fear can get when it's constantly being reported by the media. When the politicians and police pick it up, that fear just keeps growing. An interesting fact, Americans believed back in the twentieth that crime was more rampant than ever, but if you looked at the numbers, the overall crime rate of the country had declined by twelve percent over the last decade of the century."
"Really?" Doc asked, his lips curved up into a rueful grin. Max nodded, her own face matching his.
"And global warming?" Max continued. "Complete crock. The polar ice caps for the most part are getting thicker. We're actually into another ice age. Just a minor one."
"As fascinating as this is," Mole drawled, interrupting, "what the hell does it have to do with anything."
"I'll tell you," Max provided simply, leaning forward. "We're getting ready to fight fire with fire." And she had them hooked again, Alec realized. This was almost kind of fun, seeing how far Max could press her luck rambling, before she was reeling their attention back in. "We're going to pull out every stop we know to eliminate this crap going around about us. I'll tell you what I have in mind and if you have any suggestions or ideas, sing out!"
*****
Alec was amazed to discover that almost two hours had gone by without them really realizing it. Once Max had fully explained her self-imposed campaign, everyone had gotten on board, himself included. They'd come up with solid ideas, fleshed things out and now ever single one of them had more tasks added to their regular duties. And if the mood around the room was anything to judge by, it was something that everyone was kind of looking forward to. Max casually dismissed the group and as everyone stood up, Alec could see that Max had pulled Joshua to one side and was speaking earnestly with him about something. Joshua was grinning and nodding, so Alec wasn't too worried. He waited patiently until everyone else finally filed out of the room. Not bothering with the door, Alec waited until Max had gathered up her book, pen and long empty coffee cup. She could probably use a refill from the commissary by now.
"So what do you really think Alec?" she asked as she neared him and he was surprised to find a smidgen of apprehension on her face. Was she really worried what he thought? Apparently so. Did she think that he'd been holding something back during the entire discussion? Possibly.
"I think it's brilliant Maxie," he grinned suddenly. "I mean, I thought about some of this stuff. But the way you put it... those ordinaries won't know what hit them." He was pleased to hear her sigh of relief and her eyes and face lit up once more.
"I know," she nodded as they made their way to their respective offices. No one had lingered up on the catwalk, so they could talk with the barest modicum of privacy. "I wasn't so sure... but, well, I guess everyone got the points I was trying to make."
"Yeah," Alec nodded, although a thought was occurring to him. "This wasn't what you wanted to use me for a soundboard, is it?"
"Oh no," Max shook her head as she stopped outside her door. "That's something a little different. And don't worry," she chuckled, seemingly in response to the grimace Alec felt tugging at his face. "It's nothing bad. Or at least I hope it isn't."
"It might help if you give me more of a clue than that," Alec protested with a smile, even though he really was wondering what it was that Max had to talk to him about. A litany of possibilities ran through his mind, but nothing seemed right.
"I guess you'll just have to wait until tonight to find out," Max quipped, opening the door to her office. "Seven good for you?"
"Uh, yeah," Alec agreed hesitantly, wondering if something might possibly come up at the last minute to change those plans. He wasn't sure if he was hoping for or against that possibility.
"And you're bringing dinner?" Max clarified and confirmed.
"That was the plan, right?" Alec nodded.
"Good," Max grinned, tilting her head to the side in a way that Alec found charming. She slipped into her office. "See you then." And shut the door firmly behind herself.
Chapter Ten
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