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Alec listened to Logan's voice mail message and frowned. He knew the alley behind Tavern Row, and frankly, he was surprised Max's boy toy would pick such a confining space for a meet -- not to mention the fact it was weird the guy hadn't simply come down to TC and looked him up.

"Oh well," he said out loud to himself with a shrug. Maybe the location had something to do with the Eyes Only case he'd mentioned. Her walked over to Joshua who was working on his latest creation in his outside booth at the art market. "Hold the fort," he said, giving the big guy a pat on the shoulder. "I've gotta do some sneakin' and creepin' for Eyes Only down on the docks."

"What fort?" Joshua asked. "This is the art place, Alec. No fort."

"I just meant look after things until I get back," Alec explained good naturedly.

"Joshua will take care of business," the dog man declared with confidence.

"Oh, and don't forget to set aside my fifteen percent cut," the X5 reminded him.

"Uh, Alec, Max says it's ten percent -- not fifteen."

"Whatever," Alec said. "Just sell lots of those Joshuas and we'll both be rollin' in dough."

"Rolling in dough?" Joshua asked, puzzled again. But Alec was already headed for his motorcycle.

*****

The alley was dark and gloomy in spite it being the middle of the day, the towering windowless and doorless brick walls on either side blocking out the sun quite effectively. There was a dumpster about halfway down that apparently hadn't been emptied in weeks, the odor of rot overpowering to Alec's sensitive nose. No, he didn't understand at all why Logan had picked such a shitty place for a meet. What was wrong with the diner across the street?

Taking each step carefully, Alec prowled down the alley, alert for any sign of Logan. He reached the dead end -- another brick wall -- and turned around at a sound behind him.

"Logan!" Alec said, genuinely startled. Cale must have been behind the dumpster, and the garbage had disguised his scent.

"Hi, Alec," Logan said. He was smiling, but his blue eyes were strangely cold. "Thanks for meeting me."

"You're welcome. And what's this all about?" He gestured at the brick walls surrounding them.

With a whir of the exoskeleton Logan moved closer to him, something that Alec found odd. Usually Cale respected a better sense of "body space."

Alec backed up a step -- Logan followed.

"What's goin' on," Alec said, his own smile a bit nervous. "You wanna dance or somethin'? Sorry, but I've got two left feet, and besides, I hear you're already taken."

"What's going on," Logan said, "is that I know about you and Max."

A chill ran down Alec's spine. "Logan," he said, holding his hands out in the air. "I can explain. We need to talk. You see, with Max and me it's like this--"

The shock prod Logan whipped out from beneath his jacket hit Alec in the chest, delivering 5000 volts straight to his heart. A human would have been killed instantly. Another few seconds of the painful electricity would have ended Alec's life as well. But just when everything around him was turning black, the current that was frying his nervous system stopped, leaving the young transgenic shaking on his hands and knees, but still very much alive.

"Now we can talk," Logan said quietly in Alec's ear as the X5 fought to remain conscious. Backing up a step, Logan kicked him as hard as he could in the side. With a groan, Alec went all the way down, twitching. But he could still see and hear, as well as feel the shock prod now pressing into his neck.

"Sorry about the jolt," Logan said amiably as his silhouette loomed above, blocking out the blue sky. "But I had to even the odds a bit."

"Max--" Alec got out, barely able to speak.

"Belonged to me!" Logan roared. Drawing his foot back, he kicked Alec once more, forcing another grunt of pain.

"Do that again," Alec hissed through gritted teeth. "And I'll kill you."

"You're not going to kill anyone," Logan said, still smiling, his finger on the shock prod trigger. "And you're not going to betray anyone again, either."

"What are you talking about?" Alec asked, enunciating each word carefully as he waited for his heart to stop beating so erratically.

"From the moment I first laid eyes on you," Logan snarled, "I knew you were a danger to Max. Oh, I admit you're different from Zack and Seth. They wore their Manticore training on their sleeves -- never trying to hide their true natures. You, however, are quite literally a wolf in sheep's clothing. You wormed your way into Max's affections with that charming personality the Manticore scientists gave you, using your looks and adaptability to fool her into thinking you were a good guy. But you're not a good guy, Alec. You're a bad guy. Underneath that suave, easy-going humor of yours is a killer every bit as cold blooded as your crazy brother Ben was."

"You're wrong," Alec breathed, looking up at Logan. "I'm not a bad guy. I never was even back at Manticore. I hated the things they made me do--"

"Shut up!" Logan shouted, drilling the prongs of the shock prod into Alec's neck until they left two little bloody holes.

Alec choked, and tried to grab the prod, only to stop when he heard the sound of a gun being cocked.

"As far as Max and the others will ever know," Logan said ruthlessly, "you were killed running from Lydecker. The evidence will be easy to manufacture." He smiled again. "I'll be sure to say some eloquent words at your funeral."

He aimed the gun carefully at Alec's head. Still mostly paralyzed, the X5 could only lie on the ground and watch his executioner. "Max loves you, not me," Alec tried. "She told me so."

"Yeah, right," Logan sneered. "She loves me so much she was going to have your baby."

"That was an accident," Alec said quickly. "A one time thing. Max told me it would never happen again."

"You love her!" Logan screamed. "You've always loved her! Of course it would happen again!"

Alec couldn't deny the truth of those words. All he could do was swallow hard and wait for Logan to pull the trigger. Vaguely, he wondered what if felt like to be shot in the head, his only consolation the fact that it would probably be a quicker death than he deserved.

"Close your eyes," Logan commanded.

"What?"

"I said close your damn eyes!"

Logan's hand was beginning to shake. It reminded Alec of the time Robert Berrisford had been going to shoot him -- the man working up the courage to take another's life.

"No!" Alec said, trying desperately to make his legs move. If he could only sweep Logan's feet out from under him he might have a chance. "I'm gonna make sure you remember this moment, Logan," he panted, finding talking a bit easier than before. "'Cause, ya see, it's not that easy to kill someone in cold blood. Ask me how I know? Never look in their eyes, we were told. Never look in their eyes. Well, damn it, Logan, you're gonna remember the look in my eyes for the rest of your fuckin' life!"

"Bastard!" Logan spat, his hand steadying as he squeezed the trigger.

"Logan!" Max screamed from the head of the alley.

The gun went off, but Max's cry had given Alec the opening he needed. Throwing himself to one side, the bullet struck the pavement behind his head and ricocheted off to the right, although the sound of the discharge had nearly deafened him.

And then she was on top of Logan -- wrenching the gun out of his hand and throwing it with superhuman strength down the alley where it clanged into the dumpster.

"Max?" Logan said, at a loss for words. He put his hands up in the air, surrendering. "Max, please! I was doing it for us! He's in the way, a danger! We'll never be truly happy while he's alive!"

"Get out of my sight, Logan!" Max said, her voice shaking with pure rage. She held out her hand to Alec. He took it and managed to climb to his feet. "Oh, and Logan," she continued as her ex-boyfriend looked down in shame. "Know that if you ever try to hurt Alec again, he's got my permission to kill you."

Stricken beyond belief, his noble heart broken, Logan stared at the woman he loved more than life itself -- and saw in her eyes that, with this one stupid act, he'd lost her forever.Turning away with a harsh sob, he nonetheless raised a quivering chin and managed to take the high road at last. "Take care of her," he said roughly to Alec. "Treat her right." And then, squaring his shoulders, Logan Cale, with a whir of his exoskeleton servo motors, walked away.

The two transgenics waited in silence until Eyes Only vanished around the corner, then Max looked at Alec again. "You've got to quit losing fights, pretty boy," she commented, her voice oddly calm. "What's going to happen when I'm not around to save your sorry ass one of these days?" Then, more gently, "Are you all right?"

"Are you?" he returned.

She nodded. "It's a good thing I overheard Logan leaving that message on your cell phone," she said. "I'd come out of the bedroom to get a glass of water in the kitchen. He didn't know I could hear him, even though he'd gone into the hall." She eyed Alec critically. Reaching up, she wiped blood off his neck with her fingers from the wounds left by the prod.

"I'll be fine," Alec said. "Nothin' that a nice hot bath, some ibuprofen, and a bandaid won't cure."

She smiled at him. "Come on then," she said, gesturing toward the main street where their bikes were parked. "Let's get you home."