Episode 3.14 - Hugger Mugger 7 страница

"He's not her father," Gem snapped. She looked up at Joshua. When she spoke again, her voice was soft. "Joshua," she said. "With him...I never had a choice. I got an order from Manticore, and I followed it."

"I know," he said.

"But you...I chose to be with you."

On the street near Joshua's House

Cody rounded the corner and got out his cell phone. He hit a preprogrammed button and waited for his call to be picked up. "Sir!" he said suddenly. Even though there was no one to see, he snapped to attention. He listened for a moment. "Yes, sir," he said. "I saw the child. No, sir. I was unable to achieve my objective. X5-238 has some sort of monster guarding it."

He listened. When he spoke again, his voice was pained. "Sir," he said. "It's been so long. I'm ready to come in from the cold. The child...can't I make you a new child? I can—"

Cody listened again. "Sir, can't I return to base now?" he said, frustrated. He was silent while the phone buzzed in his ear. "Sir, yes, sir," he said, his voice heavy. "I'll find a way."

Industrial Refrigerated Warehouse – Outskirts of Seattle, that night

Alec secreted cameras around the cavernous refrigerated warehouse. He was dressed in black, and wearing a backpack full of cat burglar gear. He had installed cameras in the office, and at all four entrances, with clear views of the loading bays. There was a large walk-in freezer, and he'd hidden another camera there. Due the cold, he was concerned about condensation on the lens, so he'd left the freezer door propped open to remind himself to double-check the camera before he left.

He was high on the catwalk, partially hidden behind a refrigeration unit and checking the circuit on his last camera, when the sharp click of stiletto heels on concrete alerted him to the presence of another person. With one arm looped around a support beam, he leaned over and watched as Teeny Buckland came into view. He sighed. "This is out of control," he said.

"Where are you?" Teeny Buckland called, her voice echoing. She had a large handbag tucked under her arm. In her other hand she was gripping a Browning M-1911. "I know you're here! I saw you come in!"

"Mrs. Buckland," Alec said. "Nice to see you again."

At the sound of his voice, Teeny Buckland jumped. She trained her weapon on him. "I didn't expect you to be on the ceiling!" she said.

"I'm busy just now," Alec called. "Why don't you drop by the office tomorrow? Oh, and leave your gun at home."

Teeny Buckland gestured with her pistol. "Get down here," she said.

"I'm actually really comfortable where I am," Alec replied.

"Get down here!" she demanded, sounding very frustrated. "Get down here and take off your clothes!"

"As tempting as that offer is—" Alec left the thought unfinished.

"Don't you find me attractive?" she said.

"Oh, yeah," Alec said. "The part I'm not liking is where you take something from me at gunpoint."

"I asked you nicely the first time," she pouted. "And that got me nowhere."

"I'm not in the mood," he argued.

Teeny Buckland waved her gun. "This is bothering you? Think of it as really kinky foreplay."

"No," said Alec, shaking his head. "I'm still not feeling it."

"My husband and I pay our taxes."

"Uh, okay," said Alec.

"You were paid for with tax dollars," she said. "Our tax dollars. I just want part of my investment back."

Alec was beginning to get worried. From this distance, even he couldn't tell if she had the safety on or off. Teeny Buckland was striking him as more than a little looney. She might discharge her weapon, either accidentally or on purpose, and the warehouse was threaded with a network of cables, both electrical, and for the refrigeration system. "Mrs. Buckland," he called. "I'll come down if you put your gun away."

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "You get down here, first."

He sighed. "Just tell me what you want, okay?"

"I want some of your supercharged DNA," she said. "You're going to make me pregnant."

Alec was so surprised he laughed out loud. "Lady," he said. "My DNA is so screwed up, if I made you pregnant, you could end up having kittens. Is that what you want? Fuzzy, little cat babies?"

"You look perfectly fine," she said. "Of all the photos my detective showed me, you were the nicest one. I picked you especially."

"Your detective?" Alec said. "I thought I was your detective."

"That's rich," she said, laughing. "You didn't even notice I was following you."

"I wasn't looking!" Alec said. "Normally I'd notice. I used to be Black Ops. I'm very good at noticing things."

"Hurry up!" she whined. "My arm is getting tired!"

"Then put the gun down!" he snapped.

"I'm going to shoot you," she said. She closed one eye, peering down the rear sight. "I bet you could still do it, even after I shoot you."

"I bet I could, too," Alec said under his breath. Aloud, he said. "Take your finger off the trigger! Put it outside the trigger guard!"

"Stop telling me what to do!" she shrieked, and discharged her weapon. The bullet tore through one of the coolant cables. There were sparks. "Oh-oh," she said.

"Oh, jeez," Alec moaned. "Get the hell out of here! Go!"

Teeny Buckland turned on her heel and ran, just ahead of a small explosion. Under Alec, the catwalk shuddered. He threw out his arms for balance. "You are not going to collapse!" he told the catwalk. The first explosion set off a second. Flames began to creep up the walls. An alarm blared. "Oh, great," Alec said. "That's just super."

He pulled a modified crossbow out of his backpack, took aim, and fired. A long cable played out. Far below the crossbow bolt sank into the wall near the walk-in freezer. Alec used a carabiner to secure his end of the line to the support strut. He fit a pulley with a handgrip onto the cable. Climbing over the catwalk railing, he took hold of the handgrip with both hands, and stepped off. His own weight carried him down the zip line. He was almost down when another explosion shook the catwalk. He let go of the handgrip and dropped, rolling right into the freezer.

"Any port in a storm," Alec said, happy that he was down, and in one piece. He was picking himself up when there was an enormous crash. The catwalk collapsed, falling against the freezer door, wedging it shut.

"You gotta be kidding me!" he said. He tried the door. It wouldn't open; it was completely blocked by debris. He scraped away a layer of frost from the little window, and peered out. There were flames everywhere. As he watched, another coolant line erupted in a shower of sparks.

In his frustration, he spun into a roundhouse kick. The freezer door didn't budge. "Dammit!" he yelled. "And – ouch!" He jumped up and down, his entire leg aching. He leaned against the chilly wall, under a worn and faded sign that read, ‘Proud Member of the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses!'

"Okay, Smart Alec," he said aloud. "Get yourself out of this one."

Terminal City

At this hour of the night, Terminal City was quiet. On her way down the dark hall to the infirmary, Max passed two X5s whose names she had forgotten. In her preoccupation, she forgot to nod ‘hello.' The soldiers, deeply engrossed in conversation, didn't notice the slight. "And then she offered to pay me cash money," the first soldier was saying. He was tall and well built, with dark skin and very broad shoulders.

"You should have taken it," the second soldier said seriously. He was a little shorter than his comrade, with pale blonde hair and wide-set eyes. "So she wanted an exotic lay. That's not a crime."

"I'm not so sure," replied the first soldier. "I think paying for it is. Or selling it. One of those. I get confused."

"The ordinaries are very confusing," the second soldier agreed.

Max made a face. She had a hand up to open the infirmary door, when it was abruptly opened from the other side, and Aveta was there. "Max," she said pleasantly. "Are you looking for me?" Aveta tilted her head to side, a quizzical expression on her face. She seemed to be listening to something. Something very soft.

"I don't know," Max told Aveta. She was feeling queasy and anxious. Having come this far, she wasn't sure how to proceed. Her cell phone rang. Stalling, Max fished the phone out of her jacket pocket, and glanced at the display. She saw that it was just Alec, so she hung up.

"Come in," Aveta said, holding open the door. "We can talk."

Max's phone rang again, and she sighed in exasperation. She checked the display; it was still Alec. "Hang on," she told Aveta. She pressed the button, saying, "Yeah?"

Alec's voice crackled over a static-filled line. "Hey, Max. How are you?" In the background, Max could hear an alarm, and something that was suspiciously similar to the sound of very heavy things crashing to the ground.

"Alec," Max said. "I'm kinda busy here."

"Wait!" he said. "Don't hang up!"

Listening to Alec's tale of woe, Max groaned. "That is so like you!" She listened a few moments longer. "Fine," she said into the phone. "I'm on my way." She hung up, and turned to Aveta. "I'll have to catch you later," she told the medic.

Aveta leaned against the doorframe, watching Max depart. "You do that," she said, softly.

ACT IV

Industrial Refrigerated Warehouse

"Logan, can you hear me?" Alec asked, panting slightly from the cold.

"I got you Alec, finally. Had some trouble connecting the comms. And I'm only getting feed from three of the cameras."

Alec grimaced when he heard Logan gasp and start typing furiously on his keyboard.

"What the hell happened? Alec, where are you? All I can see is flames!" Logan exclaimed. "How did you manage to start a fire?"

"I didn't!" Alec protested. "I'm trapped in a meat locker because of that sex-crazed maniac who's been after me all week." A slight chuckle from Logan drifted over the earpiece, and Alec continued. "She went crazy...told me she wanted my transgenic DNA. Wants a super-charged baby or something. Starts shooting at me...ya know, classic foreplay. Only she couldn't shoot the broad side of a barn. So she sets off a chain reaction that included a fire and my ass in a freezer."

"That woman can't give up, can she?" Logan replied, sounding amused. Turning serious, he asked, "Alec, how are you going to get out of there? Those guys are gonna be coming soon once the word gets out their stash is up in flames."

"I called your girl to come and get me before I turn into a frozen Alec popsicle!" Alec exclaimed.

"You called Max for backup?" Logan asked worriedly.

Alec furrowed his brow. "Yeah, who else was I gonna call? Teeny shot at me, I got trapped, and I called Max. Seemed logical to me."

Logan interrupted. "Alec, I see movement outside the warehouse. Looks like Max."

******************

Max stealthily crept around the corner of the warehouse. She could see flames licking along the walls. Sighing, she muttered to herself.

"Once again, saving Alec's sorry ass."

A window above her head shattered against the pressure of the fire, showering glass all over her. Shaking off the debris, she swung up over the ledge and carefully lowered herself into the building. The sprinkler system kicked in at full force at that moment, and immediately she was drenched. Blowing her wet curls out of her face, she maneuvered quickly through the building, scanning for signs of Alec and the freezer.

Narrowing her eyes, she peered through the dark, and across the room, she could see Alec shivering slightly, gazing at her through a frost-laden window. She shook her head, and swiftly crossed the room, avoiding falling debris. She stopped in front of the door of the large freezer and crossed her arms.

"So, you just couldn't handle all the excitement and wanted to drag me into this too, huh?"

Alec raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Hey, I can't help it if the whole female population of Seattle is suddenly attracted to me," he replied jauntily.

"What the hell are you doing here in the first place, Alec?"

"I'm beginning to ask myself that same question, Max," he replied, emphasizing her name with a slight growl. "In a moment of weakness, I agreed to help your boyfriend out on a mission. I shoulda known it'd end up in disaster." He heard a muffled sigh in his ear.

Max raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You're on an Eyes Only mission?" she asked.

"Yeah, on behalf of Sublime P.I. Would have gone smoothly, too, if that hormonally charged crazy lady hadn't shown up."

Max silently laughed to herself. Digging through the debris, she hefted the beams of the catwalk blocking the door out of the way, pushing it over until it fell with a thud behind her. Grabbing the handle, she jerked open the door. Alec strolled out, grinning at her.

"Thanks," he said. Leaning over, he began to breathe deeply, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm up.

Max merely shook her head in amusement. "Sublime P.I., huh?" she asked. "I like it."

Alec grinned at her, then straightened up and looked around, surveying the damage. The sprinklers had shut down, and the fire was out, leaving smoke hanging heavily in the air. He looked around in relief to see that despite the fallen catwalk, there was very little damage to the stolen food supplies.

"Logan," he said, "We gotta readjust the cameras. Don't wanna disappoint you, do we?" he teased.

Max's head snapped up. "You got Logan on comms?" she asked. Alec nodded his affirmation. Max turned around, growing silent.

Alec groaned. "Aww, come on, Maxie. Don't go all pouty on me just because Logan asked me to do this and not you."

Max jerked her head toward him. "Just go check the cameras," she grumbled.

Working their way around the warehouse, they inspected the cameras. Amazingly, only one had sustained any real water damage. Alec readjusted the remaining cameras to strategically point at the doors and the back of the warehouse.

"Great, Alec," Logan said. "At last! I've got visual on the doors and most of the floor of the warehouse. Plus the office and freezer."

"Excellent." Alec grinned, wiping his hands. "Let's get outta here." Stretching his arms over his head, he suddenly winced in pain, a slow hiss escaping his lips.

Max came up beside him, placing a hand on his forehead. "You're still cold," she remarked, dropping her hand.

"Yeah, well, you took your sweet time getting here while I was cryogenically preserving myself," he responded. "And I think I might have broken some ribs when I...uh...jumped off the catwalk."

"Millions of dollars of research, and you're still a klutz," Max teased.

Alec just shook his head in response, walking ahead of her to lead them out of the building, nursing his bruised side.

"Time to go debrief the great Eyes Only," he said, throwing a grin over his shoulder. He heard Logan snort into his earpiece.

As they neared the door, it swung open and three large men came barreling in. Max and Alec barely had time to duck behind some of the fallen debris before powerful flashlights illuminated the burnt ruins of the warehouse.

"Great," Alec hissed softly through his mounting pain. "Word got out fast."

The men began cursing as they stomped further into the building.

"The boss is definitely not going to be happy about this," the first one said.

"We need to check out the shipment," another one said, sweeping his flashlight to get a better view of the damage.

Behind the crate where they were hiding, Max tilted her head and silently signaled to Alec. When he responded in the affirmative, she swung into action. Shoving the crate over, she shot straight into the air, landing directly behind the first goon.

"Were you looking for something, big boy?" she jeered.

Before he could turn around, she kicked her leg out, connecting with his back and sending him sprawling across the floor, his flashlight clattering on the ground.

The second man pulled out a gun and pointed it at Max. Alec ran swiftly toward him, blurring past his outstretched hand, twisting it up and around the man's back, and leveled a blow between the man's shoulder blades. The man fell with a grunt, and Alec again hissed in pain, his ribs aching.

Behind him, the third man began shooting. Alec swiveled around in time to see Max jump toward him, kicking the gun out of his hand. The man staggered to the side, but quickly recovered and lunged at Max, thrusting out a hand to punch her. He struck her squarely in the chest, and she stumbled backward, sluggishly waving her arms behind her in attempt to break her fall. Tumbling over a fallen rafter, she landed on her back, rolling over and clutching her side. Alec tackled the man, knocking him out with a blow to the head.

He turned around in time to see the first man stagger to his feet, and found himself in a face-off. Alec was breathing heavily now, the burn in his side intensifying and his arms beginning to ache from having been in the cold of the freezer for so long. He heard Logan's voice crackle over the comm. "Max!"

Out of his other ear, Alec heard Max moaning, followed by a retching sound as she began to throw up. Using the remaining strength he had, Alec concentrated on the man in front of him. The man lurched forward, and Alec threw up in hands in defense. The man's fist made contact with his stomach and he winced in pain at the impact. Alec swung an upper cut, landing squarely on the man's jaw, jerking his head back. Spinning around, he shot his leg out, kicking the man in the gut. He breathed a sigh of relief as the man fell in a heap on the ground.

Alec ran toward Max. "Come on, we need to get outta here. Now," he said, helping her to her feet.

Max shrugged off his help. "I'm fine. Let's go," she muttered.

"That doesn't look like fine," Alec responded, jerking his thumb in the direction where she had been lying.

"Let's just go, Alec!" Max said, her voice raised in frustration.

Alec stormed ahead of her out of the building. Max followed, rubbing the heel of her palm against her temple. When they reached the motorcycles, Alec swung one leg over his, straddling the bike and leaning back to take a deep breath.

"What the hell happened to you back there?"

Max cocked her head to the side. "Guy just got a lucky blow, that's all."

"Looked like more than that, Max. What kind of backup is that? The guy hits you once and you start hurling your lunch all over the place?"

Max narrowed her eyes. "Backup? You get yourself locked in a freezer and I come save your ass, and you're gonna ride me about backup?"

"I'm just sayin' you went down quick. Nasty sight for a transgenic," Alec said.

"The guys're out now, what's the difference?" she countered.

Alec threw his hands up in defeat. "So you and Logan have a fight, and I get to be the punching bag?" he asked. "You could have used them," he said, jerking his thumb toward the goons in the warehouse.

Shaking her head, Max eased onto her bike. "I just don't feel good," she said. As an afterthought, she asked, "How're the ribs?"

Alec shrugged. "I'll get Aveta to check them out later. Seriously, Max, what's wrong with you?"

Max snapped her head up. "None of your damn business!" She started the bike, gunned it, and rode off before he could respond.

Alec stared at her retreating back. "Women!" he muttered, shaking his head in confusion.

"Tell me about it," a voice resounded in his ear.

Fogle Towers

Max slumped against the elevator doors, determined to ride out the latest wave of nausea. Just give me a decent night's sleep, she thought. Can't even deal with talking to Logan about this whole spinal cord thing. So he didn't give me the heads up. Now I know, end of story. No big dealio. He's stubborn as ever. That thought brought a slight smile to her lips, which quickly turned into a grimace as her stomach rolled over yet again.

This can't be happening, she thought. Hell, this is not happening...Sandeman told me himself. "I'm strung out," she said aloud, relieved when the elevator made it to the penthouse floor. Hesitating a moment outside Logan's door, she took a breath and sauntered into the apartment. Crossing into the living room, she dropped onto the couch as Logan emerged from the office.

"Hey," she said, looking at Logan, who was sitting in his wheelchair.

"Hey yourself," Logan responded warily.

"So ya called Alec for some leg work, huh?"

"Thought you might need a break," Logan responded quietly.

Max stretched out on the couch, resting her hands across her abdomen. Logan wheeled up and stopped in front of her, leaning his elbows on his knees.

She closed her eyes before speaking. "So I guess you know what went down tonight."

"Yeah, I do," Logan replied softly, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. "You don't have a fever," he commented, caressing her hair and twirling a curl around his forefinger.

Max shrugged. "It's stress, ya know? It's all good. So I got a little sick on a mission? No big dealio."

"You need to take some time off, Max. You've worn yourself down." Logan traced his fingers down her cheek, lightly stroking her skin. Max opened her eyes and found Logan leaning over her, his lips brushing against hers. "Got room for me on that couch?"

Max slid down the couch and waited for Logan to settle in before laying her head against his chest. He laced his arms tightly around her. "Max," Logan began, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about...my condition. But it's not what you think...I do trust you. And I respect you more than anyone. I just..."

Max shook her head against him. "Doesn't matter, Logan. Can we just deal with this tomorrow? Cuz right now I'm pretty beat." She looked up at him, her eyes dark and drained.

Logan tilted his head toward her and softly captured her lips. His fingers splayed against her back, running lightly under her shirt. Max deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing into him, her breath quickening. She trailed kisses across his jaw and lightly nipped his ear. "Let's go to bed," she whispered.

"Don't you want a bath? Or something to eat?" Logan teased.

Max shook her head, stood up, and walked back to the bedroom. By the time Logan got there, she was under the covers, curled up in the middle of the bed.

"Max, I worked on translating part of those new runes tonight," Logan whispered, moving onto the bed and wrapping his body around hers.

She nuzzled her face into his neck and twined her legs with his. "Did you find out tomorrow's winning lottery numbers?" she joked.

Logan smiled, letting his fingers wander over her hip, up her back, finally weaving into her hair. "Yeah. 4-5-2."

Max let out a small laugh and then grew serious, looking up into his eyes. "What do they mean?"

"They appear to be directions of some kind. I'm not totally sure, but I think it's some kind of guide for reconstructing DNA," he answered.

Max scrunched her nose in confusion. "What the hell is it for? Not like my DNA can get much more screwed up."

"We'll figure it out, Max. I promise," Logan said, kissing her forehead.

Max ran her hand up his arm, stopping to cup his cheek, and kissed him firmly on the lips. "I love you, Logan."

"Love you too," he replied, waiting until she had fallen asleep before he would allow himself to close his eyes.

Infirmary, Terminal City – Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Max slowly walked into Aveta's office, softly closing the door behind her. Aveta looked up from her desk and smiled.

"Hey, Max," she said warmly. "Get everything taken care of yesterday?"

"Yeah," Max replied. "Pulled Alec out of the frying pan and the fire, as usual."

Aveta nodded. "We've missed you around here."

"Yeah, well, can't say as I've missed the place that much myself. Great place to visit and all that jazz. But it is good to see you guys every now and again." Max grinned.

Aveta was silent, and Max began to fidget with the zipper of her jacket. "So, uh, looks like you still have everything up and running here."

Nodding, Aveta responded, "I wanted to keep it open for the ones who have stayed." She paused, looking at Max. "Is there something on your mind, Max?"

"Figured I need a checkup. I've been getting sick lately. Nothing too serious, but I figure I can't afford to go invalid."

Aveta motioned for Max to sit on the examining table. Tossing her jacket in a nearby chair, Max slid onto the table. She sat silently as Aveta gently pressed her hands into Max's abdomen.

"Vomiting?" Aveta questioned. "Tired, weak?"