Max heard the words, but they didn't completely register. "What?" she said, gaping at Mole.
The lizard man hung his head and looked at the cement floor while Joshua stared at her with red-rimmed eyes. "We lost him, Max," he said hoarsely. "Damn it ... there was an ambush and--"
"What do you mean you lost him?" she said shrilly, her voice rising in pitch along with the hysteria in her gut. "Where the hell is he?" Hands on hips, she looked first to Mole, then to Joshua, certain she must have misunderstood. But then she glanced behind them toward the door of the TC garage and saw that they'd returned from the meeting with the Steelheads alone.
No green Duke parked in its space against the wall.
No Alec.
"They opened fire on us as soon as we pulled in down at the dock," Mole finally said, his voice full of no excuses guilt. "Heavy weaponry ... automatic stuff. There wasn't any cover, and we only had our sidearms. Alec took a bullet in the head and fell off the pier into the bay. Cops showed up and we all scattered, but Joshua and me went back as soon as we could." The lizard man's army jacketed shoulders shrugged eloquently. "We looked for hours, Max -- all up and down the shore -- and there was no sign of him. We figure he was either dead when he hit the water, or else he drowned. Either way, the tide was goin' out."
Mole didn't need to explain any more. If the tide had taken Alec's body out to sea it would never be found -- at least not in any recognizable condition -- and there was a vicious undertow just off the main pier that would be dangerous for even a healthy transgenic, let alone one with a bullet wound.
The transhuman looked around the motorpool. "I'd half hoped the smart ass would have already shown up here, laughin' at us for worryin'."
"Alec's not here," Max said, swallowing hard to still the panicked racing of her heart. She nodded toward the motorcycle's empty space. "Where'd you leave his bike?"
Mole looked at Joshua who shook his shaggy head. "Parked back of the warehouse still," the lizard man said, pulling a cigar out of his jacket pocket and lighting up with a shaking hand. After several vicious puffs to get the stogie going, he added, "We figured we'd leave it for him ... just in case ... but like I said, that was hours ago."
Max honestly wasn't certain what to do. Dawn was breaking, the dreary streets of Terminal City grey and shabby looking in the unflattering light of the rising sun. Logan would be expecting her back soon ... in fact was probably already wondering why she was staying out so long, but she'd wanted to hear the guys' report on the meeting with the Steelheads.
"Alec's not dead," she said firmly. "He can't be dead."
"Then where the hell is he?" Mole said gruffly.
"I don't know!" Max shouted, beating the air with her fists in frustration as she began to lose it at last. "Hurt ... captured ... screwin' a hooker ... You know Alec and how unpredictable he is."
"Max," Mole said gently. "He's fish food. He's gone. I saw him take the hit. I saw him fall. He was out when he hit the water. Even an X5 can't hold his breath when he's unconscious. If he wasn't dead from the bullet, he drowned."
"You don't know that!" Max yelled. "I won't believe you until I see his body for myself!"
Joshua sniffed loudly, tears wetting his cheeks as he wiped a hand across his eyes. "Alec's dead, Little Fella," the dog man whispered, his pronouncement followed by a long mournful howl that hurt everyone's ears.
"You'll see his body when the coast guard fishes it outta the bay," Mole said bluntly. "Go home, Max. Go home to Logan until you get yourself under control. I know how much he meant to you. Hell, Alec meant a lot to all of us, me included. He's gonna be a hard soldier to replace, but he was a soldier, Max, and whether you like it or not, soldiers die."
What Max wanted to do was rush down to the docks and start frantically searching the streets and shoreline for Alec. But that would have been futile, not to mention the emotional act of a leader out of control. What Mole said was true. Either Alec would turn up -- alive or dead -- or he wouldn't. There was nothing she could do about it except go home to Logan ...
