Artwork courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

DISCLAIMER: All DARK ANGEL characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee (Cameron Eglee Productions) and DARK ANGEL itself belongs to FOX.

ARCHIVE: No

This is a stand-alone story in my DARK ALEC series. These stories are my version of Season 4, and incorporate elements not only of the television show DARK ANGEL, but of the novels SKIN GAME and AFTER THE DARK, the book THE EYES ONLY DOSSIER, and information revealed in various cast/writer/producer interviews, chats, and commentaries. -- author's note

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"By the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The kiss Reagan Ronald laid on his new bride, Casey, was quite a smoocheroo, Alec thought -- passionate enough to make the X5 ponder the fact there just might be a side of his old boss he'd never noticed before.

"Kinda makes ya wonder what the honeymoon's gonna be like, doesn't it?" he snickered to Max as the traditional organ recessional began to pound the room and the newly proclaimed Mr. and Mrs. Reagan Ronald swept back down the aisle toward the foyer of the Seattle First United Methodist Church.

She poked him in the ribs with her elbow -- hard.

"Ow! What was that for?" Alec protested rubbing his side through the material of his new dark blue suit -- an outfit that had cost him more than he made in a week as chief middleman for the Terminal City Artworks Mall. Straightening his tie, he glared at his "date."

Max matched him with an equally evil look, even as she fidgeted on the wooden church pew, self consciously tugging down the hem of her "little black dress." Neither one of the transgenics felt comfortable dolled up in fancy duds (Max hated nothing more than "blurring" while in high heels), but convention was convention, especially when it came to formal weddings. Besides, Alec reasoned, there wasn't much chance anyone would bother shooting at them at Normal's shindig, was there?

"Let's go," Max hissed, poking him in the shoulder this time as the crowd filed past following the bride and groom out of the sanctuary.

Alec stood with a heavy sigh and made a point of offering Max his arm in a gentlemanly fashion. She stared at the appendage for a second like it was a snake that might bite her, then reluctantly accepted, resting a hand lightly on his biceps and allowing him to steer her into the aisle.

"Nice ceremony," Alec commented, chewing his thumb as they waited in the reception line to congratulate the new bride and groom.

He glanced around the church foyer which was decorated in patriotic red, white, and blue bunting along with matching carnations. An eyebrow raising portrait of George W. Bush in a gilt frame -- Normal's inspirational idol -- seemed to beam down with approval on the guests from above the big double doors, giving the creepy feeling (to Alec at least) that its eyes were following him everywhere.

Max shrugged. "Could've been worse I suppose."

"Yeah," Alec said dryly. "The guy might have gone with a cowboy theme." He turned to his partner, sensing what was really wrong. "Max," he chided. "Don't tell me you're jealous."

"Jealous?" she exclaimed. "Of what?"

"Isn't it every girl's dream to have a big fancy wedding?" the X5 asked innocently, deliberately baiting her just because it was so much fun. He winked. "Don't tell me you wouldn't like to wear one of those wedding cake dresses someday."

"I'd look like an idiot," Max snapped, eying Casey's multiple-flounced satin white number and its requisite yards-long train with a shudder.

"Don't sell yourself short, Max," Alec said, his voice losing the teasing tone.

She turned and looked up into his face. "Why?" she asked. "You got a fetish about virgins in white all of a sudden."

Alec leaned down. "Maybe I've got a fetish about you," he said low in her ear.

Max actually blushed, and had opened her mouth to probably give him hell, when Normal suddenly saw them.

"Welcome! Welcome!" he shouted, holding both arms out to embrace his Golden Boy. "Oh, I'm so glad you came!" Dressed to the nines in a tuxedo complete with red, white, and blue cummerbund, their former boss ran fingers through already slicked-back hair and beamed a huge ultra-white, dental cosmetics smile.

Reagan Ronald

"Wouldn't miss it," Alec said with a grin as he slapped the Jam Pony Messenger Service manager on the back. "And neither would Max," he added, giving the other X5 a sharp "be polite" look.

"Congratulations, Normal," Max said, with what looked to Alec like a rather forced smile. She shook the man's hand briefly then turned to the bride. "I'm sure the two of you will be ... happy ... or whatever."

Mrs. Reagan Ronald

The former "Casey Reed" and now "Mrs. Reagan Ronald" smiled prettily at the two transgenics. Petite, with shoulder-length blonde hair, a strong featured face, and bright intelligent blue eyes, she was dwarfed by her much taller groom as well as by most of the guests. However, when she clasped Alec's hand with an iron hard grip the X5 knew instantly that this little lady was a firecracker who probably could handle Normal with ease -- just the kind of woman the guy needed.

"Congratulations," Alec said warmly, meaning it. Sketching a slight bow, he then raised Casey's hand to his lips and lightly kissed the back of it, making her giggle. "Normal's an incredibly lucky man," he said in a low voice, "and I wish the two of you every happiness in the world."

Max was looking at him in astonishment.

Casey was staring at him in awe.

Only Normal's tight arm around his bride managed to turn her away from the handsome X5 who'd just made the young woman's heart flutter.

"See you at the reception?" Normal asked, clearing his throat.

"I've already got a toast prepared," Alec said boldly, emphasizing that promise with a big smile.

The custom of throwing rice at the new bride and groom kind of eluded the two transgenics, but in keeping with the spirit of the day both Max and Alec tossed a handful in the air as Normal and Casey ran by toward their decorated waiting car.

However, when Casey paused just before getting into the vehicle and turned with a beaming smile to toss the bouquet, Alec couldn't help grinning at the way Max pointedly held her own hands firmly at her sides -- no way was she going to risk those posies coming near her. Actually, Alec thought, he had to agree. A wedding just wasn't the kind of thing he ever saw in the future for Max and himself -- at least not the traditional human kind.

"What toast?" Max asked, refusing to take his arm again (even though he offered) as they walked down the church steps and headed for the car they'd borrowed from TC's motor pool (fancy duds and motorcycles not being such a good mix, especially since it was starting to rain).

"Eh," Alec shrugged. "I'll just make somethin' up."

Max was shaking her head. "You really are in your element, aren't you, pretty boy? Kissin' women and babies, and workin' the crowd."

"It's called charisma, Max," Alec said. "And I didn't kiss any babies." He turned to her. "You make it sound like I'm runnin' for office -- again." He jerked a thumb toward the departing guests. "Believe me, no votes for transgenic councilmen in that crowd."

But Max was determined to be argumentative. "Alec, did it ever occur to you that not every woman you meet wants to go to bed with you, and not every guy wishes he was like you?"

Alec glanced up at the overcast sky a moment, then turned humor-filled hazel-green eyes on his fellow X5. "No," he said simply -- and the smirk was back.

"Just get in the car," Max groused, shaking her head in disbelief at what she obviously perceived as her lover's gigantic ego.

"What did I say?" Alec protested as he slid behind the wheel, not understanding her foul mood. "I was just bein' polite, Max. You oughta try it sometime."

"Just ... drive," she said, leaning back in the seat and closing her eyes. "And let's get this day over with."

Neither one of the X5s noticed the young dark-haired woman dressed in tight fitting black leather leaning against the parking lot fence. Watching Max and Alec with a feverish look in her sharp dark eyes, she waited until their car turned the corner, and then, with an unpleasant but satisfied smile, she stepped out onto the sidewalk and began determinedly walking toward Terminal City eight miles away.

*****

As they drove to the Young Republican's Hall for Normal's reception, Max was preaching to him something about going light on the flirting, and Alec's mind wandered -- to of all places -- the first time Max had ever kissed him.

It really hadn't been a big deal back then -- just part of the TC celebration after he'd won the election to be the transgenic's representative on Seattle's City Council. Non-voting seat or not, it was a huge step forward in their acceptance by the world for the "Freaks" to have a voice in local politics, not to mention someone speaking for their own interests.

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Congratulations, alderman," Max said, coming up to Alec as he stood leaning on the make-shift bar in the garage area the TC residents used for big meetings and celebrations. The floor was littered with confetti, the party in full swing including music performed by TC's very own band.

Alec lifted his glass of Scotch to her in salute, and raised his voice a little to be heard above Luke's enthusiastic saxophone solo. "Thanks, Max. Comin' from you, that means something. You could have deep-sixed my campaign if you'd wanted to. I appreciate you not shootin' me down."

She shrugged in typical Max fashion. "Hey," she said. "I figured if not you, then who? I sure as hell don't want the job, and it's not like any of the others of us are exactly qualified." She smiled at him then, in a way she seldom did where X5-494 was concerned. "You'll do good by us," she said, the fond look in her eyes belying her I-don't-give-a-damn attitude.

And that's when it happened. Standing slightly on tip-toe, catching Alec totally by surprise, Max suddenly pressed her lips against his in a chaste, yet intimate kiss that spoke volumes -- friendship, brotherhood, gratitude ... was he just imagining more? "And if you don't," she added with a coy wink, "know that I'm gonna kick your ass."

She went back to Logan then where he was waiting for her by the main door. Alec, his lips still tingling, watched with an uncharacteristic twinge of jealousy while Eyes Only put his arm possessively around Max's shoulders and lead her out into the night ... back to his apartment ... back to his bed. But the newly elected alderman could probably have his pick of the females in TC tonight if he wanted, he told himself. Why pine for the one I can never have?

However, he'd slept alone that night ...

They'd reached the reception hall.

"What are you smilin' at?" Max asked as she collected her purse and coat from the back seat.

"Nothin'," Alec said easily. Everything. You.

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"That was an excellent toast," Max conceded as, four hours later, she tossed her coat down on the bed of her small Terminal City apartment. Then, before Alec could open his mouth she beat him to the punch. "And I know ... it's a gift." And speaking of gifts, do you really think the happy couple will like what we got them for a wedding present? It was kind of ... unconventional."

"Trust me, Max," Alec said easily. "They're gonna love havin' season passes to the cage fights. Sky told me Casey's an even bigger 'Howard the Mauler' fan than Normal is." The X5 cocked his head to one side. "Although, it does kind of hurt to know I've been replaced in Normal's affections by a second rate former pro wrestler."

Max patted him on the arm in mock sympathy. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen," she said dryly.

Alec ignored her. "I hear the happy couple are honeymoonin' in wild and wicked San Francisco," he quipped as he, too, shed his suit jacket. "Too bad Sketchy got sick on the champaign and made that big mess. I was hopin' to have a little talk with him -- see if he's still scared to be my friend. O.C. looked like she was havin' a good time though," he added. "That chick she brought with her was pretty fine." He wrinkled his brow. "Wasn't she a bartender at Crash back in our days?"

"Dunno," Max said. "I don't think about the old times much any more."

Alec raised his eyes to hers, the twinkle in them speaking volumes. "Ya know, speakin' of honeymoons, and seein' as how you wouldn't dance with me so you kinda owe me one ..."

"I don't know how to dance, and neither do you."

"Do so," Alec said defensively. "I had to learn lots of stuff before qualifyin' for my solo missions back at Manticore. And besides ..." He smirked. "I got rhythm. But then you know that." His voice had deepened and grown husky as he moved beside Max and began kneading her shoulders with his strong hands. Then he lightly began kissing the back of her neck.

"Well, I don't," Max said haughtily even as she shivered. "Have rhythm that is."

"I don't care," Alec whispered in her ear.

"I suppose we could ditch evening security rounds, just this once," Max said with a little dimpled smile. "Fact is, even if I don't wanna dance, I am still hungry." She turned in his arms and slid hands up the front of the X5's hard chest. "Didn't have enough cake," she whispered throatily. "And you do look pretty delicious in that suit, alderman." She then began undoing his necktie while her partner's fingers expertly tackled the tiny buttons on the back of her dress.

"Why, Maxie," Alec's voice rumbled against the soft skin of her cheek as he struggled with the last two fasteners. "You wouldn't be ... you know ... gettin' in a certain condition now would you?" He sniffed her skin, then licked her neck one more time. Puzzled by something, he did a calculation in his head. "You know, Max, it's only been three months."

"I guess being with a male on a full time basis has increased my cycle," she said with a little shrug. "Why? Can't you handle an X5 bitch when she's in heat?"

"Just try me," Alec said as he closed his eyes and took posession of her lips with his.

He'd stripped her to the waist and was unhooking her bra in between passionate kisses when Max's phone chirped. "Damn," she muttered, reluctantly pulling away from her lover's hot embrace and snatching the cell from the pocket of her coat.

Alec, knowing the routine and his mood broken, threw resigned hands up in the air then flopped down on the bed to wait.

She listened a moment. "We'll be right there," she said into the receiver before hanging up.

Alec blew air out threw his lips. "What?" he said. "Lemme guess. Dix can't sleep and wants you to read him a bedtime story?"

"We've got company."

"Who?" Alec said, his voice changing from teasing to indignant in a single syllable. "Not cops is it? 'Cause I swear, Max, Mole and me never tripped an alarm when we lifted those computer parts the other night. We were in and out of that warehouse clean."

"No," Max said, ignoring Alec's "I didn't do it" patter. "Worse. Dix says Lydecker's here and he's brought along an X5 from the North Dakota base to act as an 'observer'." She sighed and looked wistfully at her lover. "We'd better go 'meet and greet' and try to do some damage control."

*****

"Krit!" Max exclaimed as soon as she laid eyes on the X5 seated at the big oak table in Terminal City's control room. But Alec's hand on her arm held her back.

"Wait, wait, wait," her partner said quickly, keeping her just outside the main door.

"What?" Max snapped. "That's my brother sitting there."

Alec was looking at the dark haired newcomer with slightly narrowed eyes. Their guest was dressed in neatly pressed blue jeans, a fresh-out-of-package grey t-shirt, and the pre-requisite black leather jacket that Manticore made a habit of issuing to all of its solo-mission X5s (giving them that extra-from-the-Matrix-movie look).

"Not your brother, Max ... Mine."

Max stared up at him, her brown eyes full of suspicion. "What are you talking about? You mean--"

"Uh, huh," Alec said, sounding rather smug because he'd caught on before she had. "Another Manticore twin. That's not your brother Krit in there. That's 472. Goes by the name of 'Devon.'"

"Are you sure?" Max said in a low voice, looking once more at the X5 Lydecker had sent. "He looks so much like Krit."

"And you didn't think I was dearly departed brother Ben when you first laid eyes on me?" Alec reminded her.

"Well, whoever he is, we're going to have to deal with him," Max said, conceding the point. Squaring her shoulders, she tugged down her own black leather jacket and entered the command center with Alec following right behind.

"I'm Max," she said, holding out her hand to the X5.

"I know who you are," Devon said. "You're 452. My designation's X5-472."

"We usually use names around here," Alec said easily as he hopped up to sit on the table.

"You're 494," Devon said, looking him over from head to toe. "We trained together."

"For seven long years," Alec added with a knowing smile. "Until you were shipped off to Quantico. We were brothers, bro," he said with enthusiasm, raising his hand for a high five that the other X5 merely looked at in a puzzled way. "'Least as much as old Lydecker would let us be."

Devon apparently wasn't in mood to reminisce about old times at Manticore, so, lowering his hand, Alec filled in the blanks himself for Max's sake. "'Course when you're not allowed to talk to each other outside of training sessions, and can't congregate in groups larger than two during off hours, it's a little difficult to build lasting relationships."

472 cocked his handsome head slightly to one side, his dark brows furrowing. "I remember now. You messed up and didn't get deployed."

"Somethin' like that," Alec replied, his voice still light and easy.

"Hey," Max said, changing the subject, "if you're going to be staying in Terminal City you're gonna need a place to crash."

"My mission is to observe how Terminal City works as a substation for New Manticore," Devon said, his voice bland. "Colonel Lydecker said you'd arrange quarters for me."

"Space is tight," Max said. "The electric and water has to be rationed, and there aren't many weather-proof buildings."

"He can bunk at my pad," Alec said.

"With Joshua?" Max's expression was skeptical.

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Sure," Alec said, as if it was already a done deal. "I spend most of my nights at your place now anyway. Just give me a drawer for some of my stuff, Max, and I can let brother Devon use my bed."

"You wanna move in with me?" Max said, that expression now incredulous.

"What's the big deal?" Alec shrugged. "Like I said, I sleep at your place all the time already."

"It's just that ... that ..." Max sputtered. "I ... I ..."

Alec could see she didn't really have an argument. Relishing one of the rare times he'd ever caught Max speechless, he winked at her and said, "Relax. It'll be fine. You won't even know I'm around. And look on the bright side. This way you can keep a close eye on me."

He turned to Devon. "Where's your stuff? I'll show you where you'll be stayin' and introduce you to your roomie. Josh snores some, and he smells a bit doggie, and sometimes there are a few fleas, but other than that you're gonna love the big guy."

Max buried her face in her hands.

"My gear's in Lydecker's office," Devon said, standing up.

Alec hopped off the table. "Let's get it," he said, playing the host. "And then we can grab a cup of coffee in the diner, introduce you to your roommate, and figure out just what the hell to do with you."

Devon regarded his fellow X5 a moment, then nodded, agreeing to the course of action.

Raising her head, Max favored Alec with a withering look, but didn't object, and together the three transgenics headed for the Terminal City Artworks Mall.

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Roomies?" Joshua said, trying to sound enthused but obviously doubtful about this turn of events as he looked Devon over.

The X5, in turn, was regarding the dog man with wide, rather alarmed eyes. "The colonel told me there were transhumans living in Terminal City," Devon said to Max, but I didn't realize the X series interacted with them on such a personal basis."

"Joshua's family," Max said quietly, putting an arm around the dog man's waist. She looked across the street toward Terminal City. "We're all family here."

Devon glanced at Alec for confirmation, and got it when his brother X5 simply nodded his head, agreeing with his lady.

Joshua smiled. "Devon's welcome," he said. Then he turned a keen eye on Alec and the smile broadened, "And Alec and Max belong together."

"I don't know about that," Max chimed in, her eyes on Alec. "But I guess it won't kill me to let the big idiot bunk at my place for awhile."

"Idiot?" Devon said, cocking his head to one side similar to the way Alec sometimes did.

"A term of endearment," Alec said, putting an arm around Max and giving her a squeeze. "Believe me, from her it's high praise. Usually she calls me an ass hole."

Devon didn't understand.

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Excuse us a minute," Max said. She grabbed Alec by the arm and dragged him out into the main hall. "What's wrong with him?" she hissed. "I thought he was trained like you."

"Not exactly the sharpest tack in the box, is he?" Alec said as he cracked his knuckles and looked back over his shoulder at brother Devon. "But nothin's wrong with him, Max. Why, Devon's one of Manticore's finest. The difference between him and me is that he bought the company line and I didn't. He turned out just the way they wanted him to. I was the anomaly ... the rogue." He looked down into Max's upturned face. "Five years ago, Max, that was me. Before--"

"Before you fell in love with Rachel," Max said, understanding, "and got your soul back ... your free will."

"Devon's got a soul too," Alec reminded her. "He just doesn't know it any more."

"Then maybe we can help him find it again," Max said with a little smile.

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

Alec's cell phone rang.

"What now?" he groused, pulling it out of his inner jacket pocket.

Max, her attention divided between watching Joshua and Devon out of the corner of her eye and listening to Alec's conversation, shifted uneasily on her feet.

"Now!" Alec exclaimed. "You want me to go where? You've gotta be kidding!"

He listened a moment more. "No," he said adamantly. "No way! I don't care if I'm the only 'Unit' who speaks fluent Arabic. I'm not goin' to Iraq tonight."

"What does he want you to do?" Max asked, becoming alarmed.

Alec put a hand over the phone's receiver. "'Deck wants me to go rescue some guy who's bein' held hostage in Iraq."

"You can't make me," he said into the phone. "You can't order me and you can't--" He listened again, his brow furrowing. "How much? For two day's work? Tops?"

He looked at Max and mouthed, "Fifty thousand."

"No," she said adamantly. "Not alone. You don't do this alone. I go with you."

"You can't," Alec said. "The encampment I hafta infiltrate doesn't allow women. Besides, it's a one-man mission profile, and you don't speak the language."

"Yeah," he said, getting back to Lydecker. "Maybe I can do it. But I wanna see the parameters first."

A few more words were said, and Alec hung up. Max was glaring at him. "What?" he said defensively. "Max, for fifty thousand dollars I'd go just about anywhere. And you know we need the money. The city's all over us about those building code violations at the mall, and it costs big bucks to build handicapped accessible johns."

"Alec," she said. Suddenly she reached up and touched his cheek with her hand. She felt warm to him ... hot even ... and then he remembered.

"Oh," Alec said. "I forgot about that."

"I don't want you gone this week," she added in a plaintive whisper. "Alec, I need you. You know what it's like for me."

And of course he relented. "I can't very well let you go through this alone, can I?" he said softly.

"You'll tell Lydecker no?"

Alec checked his watch. "I'm supposed to meet him at the airfield in two hours. I'll decline. He'll be mad as hell, but that's just too bad. It's not like he can replace us. Give him a couple of weeks to cool off and he'll be sendin' us off to New Delhi or some such place for twice the money he just offered me."

"Thank you," Max said. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. "You take care of 'Deck," she said. "And meanwhile I'll get Devon settled."

"Sounds like a plan," Alec agreed as he watched Joshua enthusiastically explaining the merits of palimpsests to his new brother Devon.

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

However, Alec wasn't a fool. There was no way he was going to meet Lydecker by himself.

"Iraq?" Mole said as later that night the two friends walked together toward the hangar where Manticore parked its private jet. "Why the shit would Lydecker send an X5 to Iraq in the summer? You guys aren't exactly known for your heat tolerance. High temps bring on seizures, right? He should be lookin' to use a desert Unit."

"You volunteerin'?" Alec asked. "'Cause he just might take you up on that, Mole. And, by the way, it takes an awful high temperature to cause me trouble. I can take Iraqi climate any day of the year."

"Sure you can," Mole said as he re-lit his cigar with a pocket lighter. They'd reached the hangar. "Where the hell is he?"

The place was dark with no sign of Lydecker or any of his men. Alec frowned. Something wasn't right.

And then the spotlight hit them. Cringing in the brightness, Alec brought an arm up to shield his face.

"What the fuck?" Mole yelled.

They were surrounded. Alec could sense the presence of at least a dozen men behind the blinding whiteness that was obscuring his vision. Instinct told him to not move. "Is this really necessary guys?" he complained.

"I see you brought a friend," Donald Lydecker's voice spoke from beyond the brilliance. "Not part of the mission plan, 494. You haven't even been deployed and already you're screwing up."

"I'm not goin'," Alec said. "I changed my mind."

"Not an option, 494," Lydecker said harshly. "I need an X5 in Iraq by morning to extract the hostage."

"Send one of your good little soldiers," Alec shot back.

Lydecker stepped forward into the light so Alec could finally see him. Dressed in a flight jacket and military-issue slacks, the craggy-faced colonel looked just as dispassionate as he always did when dealing with one of his recalcitrant "kids."

"All of my good little soldiers are already out on missions," Lydecker said. "Which leave me stuck with the bad one -- you."

Alec was about ready to ask Lydecker how he thought he was going to make him obey when it dawned on him that was a ridiculous question. He and Mole were unarmed, surrounded, and at Manticore's mercy -- granted, a stupid mistake on his part -- but that didn't change the facts of the situation. The colonel had him by the balls.

"Max doesn't want me to go," he tried, deciding there was no harm in pulling rank, so to speak.

"Max has no say in this mission."

"That's not the deal!" Alec yelled, getting angry at last. "She has final authority over all TC personnel deployment. Says so in the contract."

"I'm changing the deal," the colonel said. "You're here, and you're going." He turned a cold gaze on Mole who'd wisely been standing quietly. "However, since you decided to bring your own back-up, I'll grant you that. The DAC Unit can accompany you."

"Huh?" Mole said, blinking his lizard eyes. "Hey, wait a minute. I don't want any part of this. Maybe pretty boy here is drafted, but I was never included in the deal."

"You are now," Lydecker said coldly, and to emphasize his words there was the sound of several Taser rifles winding. "It's your choice, boys," he added. "You can either come quietly, or else do things the hard way and wake up tomorrow morning in the desert with a truly wicked headache."

Alec looked at Mole. "Sorry I got you into this, pal," he said quietly.

"It's all right," the lizard man replied. "You needed someone to watch your back tonight, not to mention on this goddamn mission. Who better than me to make sure those Iraqi desert soldiers don't beat your cute little X5 ass?"

"Why Mole," Alec said, raising his eyebrows slightly and with the ghost of a grin touching his lips, "I never knew you cared so much about my 'cute little ass.'"

"I don't," Mole said, chewing on his cigar. "But Max does, and that's good enough for me. Her boy needs protectin'."

"What's the answer?" Lydecker barked. "Do you two make this trip awake or unconscious."

Alec decided he might as well accept the inevitable. Like all well-trained soldiers, he knew when it was time to fall back so he could live to fight another day. "What's the in-flight movie?" he asked. "And I haven't had supper so you better plan on givin' us a good meal before dumpin' our asses in the sand."

*****

X5-472 (aka "Devon")

Max pushed her food around her plate, then looked at her watch and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Devon asked.

Their visitor had made short work of Gem's Blue Plate Special -- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans -- wolfing down the food like a starving man -- and had practically inhaled the generous scoop of chocolate ice cream the X5 diner manager gave him "compliments of the house." But then Max supposed the home cooked meal tasted like heaven to the guy after a lifetime of Manticore rations.

"Alec should have been back by now," she said. "His meeting with Lydecker was at eight, and it's after ten.

Devon shrugged. "The colonel probably persuaded him to accept the mission after all."

"Persuaded, my ass," Max muttered. "More like he probably kidnapped Alec."

Devon didn't dispute this, and Max regarded him levelly. "So," she said. "What's your story?"

"My story?"

"How come you stayed with Manticore after it all blew up two years ago? Why didn't you make a life for yourself in the real world?"

Devon looked up and around the diner, his eyes coming to rest on Gem who was tending to one-year-old Eve, trying to persuade the cranky toddler it was time to go to bed. "I stayed and did my duty," he said, implying with the words that the soldiers who'd fled Manticore that night hadn't (done their duty that is).

"How did you avoid White's assassination squads?"

"I was deployed on a long term solo mission in Europe," 472 said. "When I lost touch with base I assumed dark protocol."

Max nodded. "You realized the base had been compromised and took off on your own to complete the mission."

"Eventually, my assignment was resolved," the X5 continued.

"You killed your mark?"

"Yes. The time for his assassination arrived and I performed my duty. Then I returned to find a message from the colonel telling me where to resume my post."

"And you've been with Lydecker ever since," Max concluded, biting her lip as she realized this young man had come so close to being free, only to have it snatched away from him by so-called "mission protocol." Alec truly had been lucky that night. Having been sent after her and Logan instead of being trapped on base or locked up tight in a faraway mission, 494 was at the very center of the events that had led to Manticore's downfall, and had able to decide his own fate with all the facts in front of him. But what was that old adage? Better lucky than smart?

"Come on," she said when she saw Devon was finished. "Let's get you settled in at Joshua's for the night."

"Thanks, 452," Devon said, his eyes taking on a little bit of light.

"Make that 'Max,'" she said, thinking what a good looking guy this X5 was if only he'd show a little more personality.

"Thanks ... Max," Devon said, and then -- for the first time since he'd arrived in Terminal City -- 472 smiled.

*****

"Where the hell is he?"

Donald Lydecker glanced up at the pissed off X5 from over the rims of his reading glasses, then took off the spectacles and put them aside. He let Max fume a minute before finally saying calmly, "About halfway to Baghdad by now, give or take a thousand miles."

"Alec went out to the airfield to decline the mission," she said, leaning over his desk and placing both hands palm down on its surface. "We had a deal 'Deck. I decide who takes what mission -- not you -- when it comes to my people."

"Don't worry, 452," Lydecker said, his voice still soothing. "I convinced 494 of the urgency of this job. Besides, he's got the desert Unit with him." He poured fresh coffee into the cup at his elbow from a carafe and offered her some.

Colonel Donald Lydecker Photo courtesy of Eyes Only

"Desert Unit?" Max said, ignoring the coffee. "What the hell are you talking about?" And then understanding dawned. "Mole? Mole went with Alec?"

"That he did," Lydecker said, sipping his hot drink with relish. "You know, say what you will about Terminal City, but that little restaurant of yours does have good brew."

"I'll be sure to forward the compliment to Gem," Max said dryly. "When will he be back?"

"A week or so, if he doesn't screw up."

"A week!" Max exclaimed. "Why the hell didn't you send me with him then?"

"Like I told him," the colonel explained. "No women allowed on the Bel Hazib compound. Besides, I want you here to get Devon familiarized with your operation."

Max closed her eyes in frustration. Her body was on fire, her heat cycle mounting rapidly. This was definitely not a good time for her sex partner to be out of town.

"Something wrong, Max?" Lydecker asked innocently, his steel blue eyes curiously knowing.

"I'm fine," she said tersely. She loosened the collar of her jacket, suddenly way too warm. "Just ... keep me appraised of the mission."

"Will do," Lydecker promised.

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Somethin' wrong, bro?"

"I'm fine," Alec snapped.

"You don't look fine, princess," Mole said as he gathered his parachute into a bundle.

"Well, I'm sorry if doin' a HALO jump isn't my cup of tea," Alec said testily as he sat down on the ground and poured sand out of his boot. "It's been awhile." He rubbed the shoulder he'd landed on and grimaced. It wasn't dislocated, but he was gonna have one hell of a bruise.

"Lydecker should have given you an oxygen tank," Mole said.

"My kind don't need one. Or at least that's what we were always told."

"Your lips are blue," the lizard man pointed out. "You feelin' dizzy?"

"Free fallin' for fifty thousand feet at a hundred twenty miles an hour will do that to a guy," Alec said. "In case you hadn't noticed, X5s aren't terribly aerodynamic creatures. But I repeat, I'm fine. A little O2 deprivation never hurt anyone."

"You could have hypoxia," Mole argued as he rummaged in his pack for a cigar. "Your kind might have large lung capacity, but it also makes you susceptible to fluid build up." Here," he said, coming up with a canteen instead of tobacco. He handed the canister to the X5. "Drink."

Alec accepted the water and took a big swig, but then he began to cough and lowered his head. He didn't want Mole to know it, but he did feel pretty awful, shivering even though the night air in this hellish country had to be at least 80 degrees. Raising his eyes and looking around to get his mind off his body's betrayal, the X5 spotted lights on the horizon.

"That must be the compound where Lydecker's hostage is bein' held," Alec said, nodding in that direction. "Let's just do this shit so we can go home." The X5 then pulled his boot back on, climbed to his feet, and tossed the canteen back to Mole -- at the same time fervently wishing he could breath better. Scale face just might be right about the hypoxia, and they didn't have any "dex" hypos with them to alleviate the symptoms.

"Who is this kid, anyway?" Mole asked as he looked toward the compound with a pair of infrared binoculars.

"The son of some old friend of 'Deck's," Alec said as he finished burying his own parachute in the sand and came to join his friend. "Corporal Lance Anderson, sixty-first squadron of the United States Marines, part of the permanent so-called peace-keeping contingency that's Uncle Sam's way of keepin' fingers in the oil trade. If you can't manage to pump your own crude anymore, the next best thing is to take over a country that can." Alec thought a moment about the details he'd read in the mission outline. "The kid was captured last week while on routine reconnaissance patrol outside of Baghdad. You read the notes on the plane, didn't you?"

"Just the Cliff Notes version," Mole grumped. "Not like I'm team leader or anything on this one. Won't the Iraqi military just ask for ransom?"

"Yeah," Alec replied sarcastically. "To be paid by whom? The Marines have a no-dough policy, and the kid's parents are dirt poor. That's why 'Deck's steppin' in. Anderson's dad saved the colonel's life during one of those Middle-East wars back in the eighties or nineties -- project Desert Sand or Desert Wind ... somethin' like that."

"The mission's pretty straight forward," Mole said, chewing thoughtfully on his now lit cigar. "Go in with guns blazin', snatch the kid back, then run like hell."

"That about sums it up," Alec said tiredly, wondering for the tenth time tonight how he'd gotten himself into this mess. He should have known Lydecker, bastard that he was, would force his cooperation if he thought it was necessary for one of his precious Manticore projects (in this case marching him at Taser-point onto a plane and shovin' him out the door over this desert Hell -- thankfully with a parachute). For sure, when he and Mole got back to Seattle, they were gonna have a "little talk" with the colonel that would probably involve physical violence. But right now, Alec figured -- seein' as how their pick-up wouldn't arrive until tomorrow night anyway -- they might as well perform the mission and at least earn that fifty thousand.

"Let's go," Alec said to his companion, at the same time telling himself his lungs weren't really on fire. Then he shouldered his pack, lowered his head, and began trudging toward the lights on the horizon.

*****

Mole

They waded through deep hot sand for what seemed like hours -- even though the objective was just three miles away. It was a moonless night, their path lit only by shimmering stars, but their transgenic vision stood them in good stead.

Mole kept throwing surreptitious glances at his companion. However, he kept his scaly mouth shut. X5s were testy creatures and Alec -- his normally amiable nature aside -- was no exception. Their kind hated nothing more than being pitied.

But there was no doubt about it -- his friend was in trouble, even though he'd never admit it. Alec was wheezing as he walked, and every dozen steps or so he'd stumble.

"Gimme your pack," Mole finally said.

"I'm fine," Alec grated through clenched teeth although a sheen of perspiration covered his face.

"No," Mole said. "You're not. You're sick."

"I'm not sick."

"Your hands are shakin'."

"Shit," Alec muttered and fumbled at the pocket of his black commando jacket. He pulled out a bottle of pills and downed half a dozen.

Mole offered him the canteen again.

Alec shot him a dirty look, but accepted it and drank -- deeply. "I'm not sick," he insisted as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"It's gonna be a hundred and ten in the shade tomorrow when the sun comes up in this Hell hole," Mole said. "I'm thinkin' you'd better take shelter somewhere and just wait this one out, Alec."

"I can do it," the X5 insisted. "I'll be better by morning."

"Or worse," Mole said, eying his companion critically. "Sweetheart, you look like death warmed over right now. No offense, but I'm not relyin' on you for my backup on this job. You sit it out and I'll go in and get the kid. Lydecker doesn't hafta know, although I warned the bastard you X5s weren't adapted for Iraqi heat."

Alec's answer was to turn away and keep walking.

"Shit-for-brains," Mole groused, shaking his lizard-like head in disgust.

Just before dawn they reached the fence that surrounded the compound of the Iraqi warlord known as Bel Hazib -- one of Osama Bin Laden's surviving compatriots who'd taken over a large portion of the outlaw trade in the nation after the U.S. peacekeeping troops pulled out for several years following the Pulse.

"Look," Alec said, sinking to his knees in the sand by the fence. "I know I'm not a hundred percent, but if we don't succeed this time around, that means we're gonna hafta to try again in a few days. I can't be here that long, Mole. I need to get back to TC. Two of us have a better chance than one. Don't worry. I'll hold up my end."

"What's your hurry?" Mole had to ask, sensing there was more to this than what Alec was telling.

"I need to get back to Max."

Mole did a double take. "Hey, I know she's one hot chick, Alec, and you're addicted to her, but you're screwin' our lady mayor most every night. Is a little break gonna give you blue balls or somethin'? I mean, come on man -- where's your fortitude?"

"It's not me I'm worried about," Alec said wryly. "It's Max."

Mole didn't understand -- and then suddenly he did. "Oh," he said, nodding. "It's that time." He pulled a lighter out of his jacket pocket and began trying to resuscitate his dead cigar.

"You know," Alec commented, "someone in the compound might see that." He indicated the tiny flame of the lighter and the glowing cigar tip.

"Tough shit," Mole growled. "I'll put the damn thing out when we head in." He regarded his X5 friend a moment, then added, "I wouldn't worry too much. Max saved herself for Logan all that time, even though she had her heat cycles. I imagine she'll do the same for you."

"That's just it," Alec said. "She didn't exactly save herself for Logan. 'Least not all the time."

"Whatdaya mean?"

Alec took a deep breath -- or at least tried to -- coughed heavily, then turned to look once more at the compound up ahead. "She had lovers," he said quietly. "One night stands with strangers ..." His voice dropped even lower. "...with me the last time."

"Yeah, but last time was after she'd already broken up with 'ordinary boy' so it don't count," Mole pointed out.

Alec shrugged. "But the fact is, Max would never have slept with me if she hadn't been in heat last March -- never in a million years. We weren't like that then. We were just friends ... and then suddenly (he snapped his fingers) we were a whole lot more." He looked up at the lizard man, his eyes wide with worry and glowing faintly green in the fading dark. "It could happen again."

"Nah," Mole said, waving his hand dismissively in the air. "She loves you too much, bro. She'll just lock herself in a closet 'til you come home to tend to what's under her skirt."

"She loved Logan a lot too," Alec said. "And now Devon's there."

"But she couldn't be with Logan 'cause of the virus," Mole said. "She wasn't gettin' any at all. Big difference. I imagine she's plenty satisfied with you, right? And as for Devon ... well, it's been my observation that you X5s hafta go through a shitload of fussin' and fightin' before you get down to the fuckin'. You might even call it a ritual."

Alec smirked at that. "Gee, Mole, alliteration aside, maybe you do have a point."

Mole slapped him on the back, making the X5 cough again. "Quit worryin'," he admonished his friend. "'Least about Max. 'Sides, we'll get that boy outta there tonight and you'll be home in two days to tend to your lady's cravings." The lizard man then leaned closer to Alec. "And this time, be sure to put a kid in her belly, and then you won't even hafta to worry about it for the next nine months."

Alec stared at him -- and Mole got the distinct feeling it was time to shut up.

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

The Space Needle three months earlier ...

She was crying, and he was holding her, his face buried in her sweet smelling hair ... A month ago Logan had betrayed her, and for weeks she had held her head high, chin in the air, her pride unbroken, hard as nails and pretending she didn't care. But then her Manticore genetics had kicked in and she now had no man to turn to.

"Please," she sobbed against his chest as his arms tightened around her. "Please don't let me humiliate myself with a stranger. Please, Alec, just lock me up. You're the only one strong enough to keep me safe ... keep me sane ... you're the only one I trust ...

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"Shhh," he murmured as he rocked her gently back and forth and the chill night wind caressed their hot bodies. "It's all right, Maxie. I'll be your knight in shining armor this time around if you want. Lord knows you deserve one." He smiled then. "Hell, I'll kill any guy who even looks at you."

"Any guy?" she said, turning her tear stained face up to search his eyes.

Then suddenly her hot swollen lips were devouring his, her pheromones overwhelming his defenses, and the volatile friendship the two X5s had built together over the past year and a half exploded into emotions and desires neither could deny.

She'd awakened the next morning naked in Alec's arms and with his semen staining the sheets of her bed ...

*****

Max curled up on her bed, remembering that night in vivid detail -- her first time with Alec ... every touch of his strong hands ... every kiss of his sensuous lips ... every thrust of his beautiful genetically engineered body into hers ... that primitive sound he'd made ... the feel of his hot seed ...

She'd needed a man so badly and he'd been there for her -- gorgeous, self-centered, heroic, flawed Alec -- the "brother" she'd never really completely seen before, let alone understood. No worries about hurting him during the rough passionate sex she craved, no worries he'd think her inhuman, no worries he'd be disgusted by her animal desires ... She'd hidden so much from Logan ... restrained herself for so long ...

Alec had set her free that night.

Max moaned softly and pulled a pillow close, closing her eyes and pretending it was him as her fingers crept into the waistband of her panties. However, her sensuous fantasy was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.

"Devon?" she said to the young man standing in the hallway. She glanced at the clock on the wall and noted the late hour.

"I couldn't sleep," the X5 said. He looked down rather sheepishly. "Joshua snores."

Max smiled, and then she opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in. "I couldn't sleep either," she said honestly. Pulling her robe more tightly together, she headed for the apartment's tiny kitchen. "Want some coffee?"

"I'd like that," Devon said as he looked curiously around. "You're into motorcycles?" he asked, noting the bike parts that were scattered on the apartment's only table.

Max laughed. "You could say that. My Ninja's my baby." She nodded at the mess. "But she's got carburetor problems. Dix is trying to find a new one for me. In the meantime, I've been tinkering."

"I like motorcycles, too," Devon said, his voice still shy.

"Have a seat," Max said, indicating the couch. She put water on to boil and pulled down a set of mismatched mugs from a shelf above the sink, her eyes the whole time sizing up the handsome young X5.

"You know," she said, "you look just like my Unit mate, Krit. His designation's 471. The two of you were twinned, so I guess that technically makes him your older brother."

Devon shrugged. "Never met the guy."

"He's a decent person," Max said, sitting down on the couch next to him. "Want me to tell you about him some time?"

"That'd be nice," Devon said, his voice dropping an octave as her leg touched his. He moved his hand, gently resting fingers on top of Max's thigh.

She didn't move away -- and their eyes locked. He was really, really good looking, she thought -- albeit in a bit of an androgenous way. Taller than Alec, 472 had dark eyes and hair, and the graceful, light build and high cheekbones of a movie star or male model. Max cleared her throat. "You knew Alec back at Manticore?"

"494 and I trained together from late '09 until the beginning of '17," Devon said. "Then I got deployed to Quantico. Alec ... he didn't make the grade. I never saw him again until this spring."

Devon's words, while seemingly just conversational, had given Max a jolt -- a reminder. Sitting on the couch beside her right now was the very "thing" Alec had managed to not become -- a soulless assassin. She stood up and Devon's warm hand slid off her leg leaving her feeling curiously cold. The coffee was ready.

"You love him, don't you?" Devon said softly as she poured the brew.

His words caught Max by surprise, so much so she almost dropped the cup she was holding. "Yes," she replied without looking up.

"494's lucky," Devon whispered. "I wish someone would love me. But I know they never will."

Max put down the cups, came around the counter, and dropped to her knees on the floor in front of the X5, taking his hands in hers. "Alec broke away from them," she said earnestly, her eyes demanding that he look at her. "He fought them and he won. You can too, especially if you stay here in Terminal City. We'll all help you learn how to live free, away from Manticore. You can still be a soldier -- Alec and I are -- but that doesn't mean you have to be a slave."

Then, much to Max's dismay, Devon began to cry. "Sometimes I just want someone to hold me so bad," he sobbed. "I feel so empty inside, like they've already killed part of me."

Max couldn't stand it. This was a brother in need, just like Zack and Alec. Throwing her arms around Devon, she cradled his head against her breast and stroked his hair. When he looked up at her, grateful, the anguish she saw burning in those black eyes was incredible, like a fire she wanted to extinguish before it incinerated what little of this boy's soul was left.

"Max," Devon whimpered, clutching at her. "Please, help me."

"I will," she said, tenderly kissing his cheek. "I will." And then her tongue was touching his, and his fingers were inside her robe caressing a nipple.

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"You look like you're gonna barf," Mole remarked idly as he and Alec crouched in the shadow of an outbuilding watching the Iraqi military guards.

Alec wiped sweat from his brow with a sleeve and ignored his companion. They'd entered the compound the "transgenic" way -- Alec leaping the 9-foot high chain link-barbed wire topped fence in a single bound, and Mole scaling it like the lizard he part was. This was a poor country, with few resources. Physical barriers were their primary means of defense so the two rescuers didn't have to worry about electronic surveillance.

"Well pardon me if I don't enjoy bakin' my hide in hundred and twenty degree temperatures," the X5 said testily as he pulled a Glock pistol from its holster at his waist and checked the clip.

Mole did likewise, refraining from mentioning how "green around the gills" his partner looked.

"Lose the cigar," Alec ordered.

Without argument, the lizard man stubbed out the stogie on the ground. Friendship aside, there was still a chain of command to be followed, and technically Alec was his superior office, by birth rank if not by appointment. In other words, Mole followed Alec's orders, just as he followed Max's -- provided he agreed with them of course.

"Third barracks on the right according to the intel," Alec said, pointing to the building they needed to reach. "Kid's probably in a cell or locked room in the back." He looked at his companion. Mole nodded. "Let's go," the X5 said, and moved out in a low crouching run toward the target.

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

They met little resistance. Two very surprised guards raised guns to challenge them as the transgenics burst through the front door, but Alec's spinning crescent kick dropped one and Mole's fist brought down the other. The lizard man picked up a sawed off shotgun from the floor, examined it, and decided to add it to their arsenal. Couldn't hurt, he figured.

Alec nodded in agreement, leaving the weapons' assessment up to the more experienced man. Mole, in turn, respected that the X5 knew he had an affinity for guns and explosives, and his opinion wasn't to be ignored.

Gliding swiftly down the hall, hugging the wall, the rescue team poked their heads into rooms along the way. Most were empty, but the third door they checked revealed a small laboratory manned by two technicians. Looking up in surprise at the intruders, they quickly raised their hands at the sight of the guns.

"Kill 'em?" Mole said hopefully.

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

Alec shook his head, even as he moved in to knock first one, then the other out cold with blurred punches.

"You're gettin' soft in your old age," his partner grumped.

"No," Alec said tightly. "I just don't like killin' people unless I have to."

Mole started to make another smart remark, but something about the look in the X5's eyes made him swallow the words and chew viciously on the cold stub of his cigar instead.

*****

Corporal Lance Anderson

Corporal Lance Anderson was in the last room at the back of the building, lying in the corner, trussed up in chains like a Thanksgiving turkey. Bruises on his handsome face attested to some rough treatment, but the kid's dark brown eyes were bright and alert as he looked up, startled, when the Terminal City team broke down the locked door. In a way, the boy resembled Biggs, Alec thought -- the same build, sharp features, and bright expression. In fact, he could have been his dead friend's kid brother.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, peering up at them. And then his breath caught in his throat as he got a good look at Mole.

"We're here to rescue you," the transhuman said gruffly.

A small smile touched Alec's lips. "Who do you think you are?" he asked the lizard man. "Luke Skywalker?"

There was the sound of running feet coming down the hallway -- lots of them.

"Yeah, yeah," Mole grinned around his cigar. "I'm a 'Star Wars' junkie from way back." He pinned Alec with a look. "And now, to misquote Princess Leia, when you came in here, ass hole, didn't you have a fuckin' plan to get out?"

"Back door," Alec said easily, crouching down beside the kid. Examining the bonds, the X5 produced a lock pick from an inner pocket and in seconds had the boy's hands and feet free.

Mole

"Thanks," the youngster said, rubbing circulation back into numb limbs, but still eying Mole warily. "Who are you guys?" he asked for the second time.

"Special forces," Alec replied. And off Anderson's puzzled look, "Let's just say you've got friends in high places -- real high places." As he talked, the X5 was looking around the room. There was a window, but it was covered with heavy iron bars and chicken wire. Mole had already shut and locked the door, but they knew it wouldn't hold for long.

"Mole?" Alec said, nodding at the window.

"Got it," his scaly friend replied, rummaging in his vest pockets and coming up with a small wad of plastique explosive. Expertly planting a piece beneath the grate, he stuck in a timing device, set it, then yelled, "Take cover!"

Alec dove for a corner, taking the kid with him, and Mole did likewise. The roar of the explosion was deafening, for a moment numbing the transgenics' sensitive hearing. Shaking his head, the lizard man's senses cleared first, and he looked up through the smoke to see a very satisfactory hole in the wall where the window had been.

"Go!" he yelled at Alec who grabbed the corporal and shoved the kid through, then followed in a somersaulting dive. Landing gracefully on his feet outside, Alec was already poised with gun in hand when Mole rolled beside him and bounded upright.

--only to see a contingency of eight soldiers come charging at them from around the corner.

"Run?" Mole questioned calmly.

"Run," Alec confirmed as he shot three men in rapid succession causing the rest of the mob to duck for cover.

The rear fence of the compound was nearby, but it posed a new problem. Lance Anderson wasn't genetically enhanced and could hardly jump it, or even climb the thing -- which left only one choice (other than Mole slinging the kid over his shoulder and carrying him -- a tactic that would leave them totally vulnerable with their backs to the enemy). While Alec put down cover fire using both of their pistols, Mole began the time consuming process of clipping the chain link with wire cutters. They were partially protected by the skeletonized remains of an old Army Jeep behind which they'd taken cover, but it was hardly adequate against the troops that were pouring out of the other barracks now.

"Hurry it up!" Alec yelled as he let loose with several shots at the now extremely ticked off Iraqi soldiers. Bullets whizzed by through the air and the young corporal flattened himself against the ground.

"Shit!" Mole screeched as he took a crease in the arm -- but he kept cutting through the wire.

Alec instinctively ducked as the ground assault intensified, but they had no cover other than his fire and the Jeep. Out of bullets, he whirled to Mole, dropped the two empty clips on the ground, and held out the Glocks. Pausing in his own endeavor, without having to be asked, the lizard man produced fresh clips from his jacket pockets, and smoothly slapped them into Alec's guns -- a training maneuver both had practiced many times with their respective Units back in their Manticore days. And then the X5 was giving the enemy Hell again, dropping any soldier that dared to so much as peek out from around a corner.

At last the links were cut and Mole ripped back the mesh. With Alec still firing off rounds as fast as he could squeeze them out, the two transgenics and their human quarry ducked through the hole and took off into the desert -- not back the way they'd come, but out into the sand -- a no man's land that only the foolhardy entered on foot.

The Iraqis had no air power, and their regular vehicles would have a hard time in the heavy sand and rough terrain. However, Alec had seen at least one ATV parked by the first barracks -- which had given him an idea. Sliding behind the first dune, he motioned for Anderson and Mole to lay low and stay quiet.

"You got a plan, princess?" Mole mouthed around the salvaged cigar he'd pulled out of his jacket pocket and was trying to light with a recalcitrant lighter. "'Cause we ain't gonna outrun these bozos with this 'ordinary' in tow." He thumbed a finger at the now badly overheated and panting young corporal.

"Yeah," Alec replied, biting down on his lower lip as he watched and waited. "A good one if it works. Just stay here and stay quiet."

A few minutes later the X5 was rewarded for his patience. With a roar, the ATV he'd spotted earlier shot over the top of their dune and two soldiers took aim with machine guns on the intruders and their escaped captive.

However, Alec was ready. Leaping spectacularly into the air before they could get off a shot, he knocked the vehicle's driver out of the seat. The combatants landed heavily together in the sand, the impact knocking the wind out of the soldier who never had a chance as Alec's fist broke his jaw and sent him into oblivion.

Shaking sweat out of his eyes and looking back over his shoulder, the X5 saw that the ATV, now out of control, had bounced on the sand, throwing its other passenger off and, literally, into Mole's waiting arms. One twist of the lizard man's strong hands, and the soldier's neck snapped.

Alec, meanwhile, scrambled to his feet and ran to the idling ATV. Lifting it upright with an ease any 'ordinary' man would envy, he vaulted into the driver's seat, gunned the engine, and yelled "Come on!"

It was a crowded fit, but Mole and the kid both jammed together behind him. Alec then opened the throttle, and, with a big shit-eating triumphant grin on his face, they were off in fine style -- headed across the desert in the blistering morning sun for the rendezvous point 30 miles away.

*****

Mole

Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. It was a saying Alec had occasionally heard Normal use, but hadn't really appreciated the meaning of until now.

Half an hour into the desert, the vehicle's engine sputtered, sputtered again, and in spite of the X5's eloquent curses and pleading, died.

"What the fuck's wrong now?" Mole demanded, hopping off of the ATV and kicking the machine's tire.

Alec gave an elaborate shrug. "Dunno. We've got gas. Maybe sand in the intake manifold?"

They worked on the engine for 15 minutes, trying to restart the thing, but it was no use -- not without tools.

"What now?" the young corporal asked, glancing fearfully around them at the vast emptiness of the desert.

Alec, with a look of resignation at Mole, touched the transceiver behind his ear, changing to "A" channel that should put him in contact with their support people. He knew he was breaking protocol -- that they were supposed to maintain radio silence due to monitoring in this part of the world -- but this was an emergency.

"Chieftain, this is Trekker," he said. "We need assistance."

No reply except the muted whine of the carrier signal.

"They're not responding," he said to Mole. "I don't know if we're not gettin' through, or if they just maintaining silence." "Chieftain, this is Trekker. We're in trouble," he tried again.

Nothing.

Mole was looking at the distant mountain range at the base of which their pick-up was supposedly waiting.

"How far?" Alec asked. The X5 was so hot he felt like he was going to pass out and his heart was pounding way too fast in his chest. It still hurt to breathe, too, the damage of the HALO jump to his lungs not completely healed, although his body was trying. His skin, which had been so wet with perspiration ever since they'd landed in this hell of a place was strangely dry as well, and he had an agonizing headache.

He knew the symptoms ... what it meant. And he also knew there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it other than try to stay hydrated. Waiting for Mole's reply, he unscrewed the lid of his canteen and drank deeply.

"Fifteen miles at least," Mole said, looking off to the horizon with the binoculars. He glanced back at his partner. "Maybe base heard you and will send pick-up anyway."

"Maybe," Alec replied, dribbling a little bit of the water on top of his head and giving his hair a shake. He then turned his eyes to the corporal, thinking once again how much like Biggs the kid looked. "In the meantime, gentlemen, I suggest we begin walking."

The terrain all around them was nothing but barren rock and sand without a tree or any other type of shelter in site. Mole caught his arm. "Alec, it's comin' up on high noon, and it's gotta be a hundred degrees in the shade -- of which there ain't any I might add. It's like Hell out here, only hotter. I'm designed for this kind of abuse, but you and the boy aren't."

"Your point?" Alec asked. The pain in his head was becoming crippling ... and then he felt the first tremor ripple through his muscles. Oh shit.

"Let me make the trip to base and I'll bring back help. You two wait here."

"In the blazing sun?" Alec scoffed.

"I can move a lot faster without you," Mole said bluntly. "Prima donna X5 genetics or not, you're second string out here, Alec, and you know it."

"Mole," Alec said. "Those guys back there might not have the best resources, but they're gonna be lookin' for us. I'm not gonna be a sitting duck. All they have to do is get one bird in the air and they'll spot us." He began walking toward the mountain range. "You comin'?" he yelled back over his shoulder.

"You sure you're all right?" the lizard man hollered.

"I'm always all right!" Alec replied cockily, smiling broadly and holding arms wide to prove the point.

And then the seizure hit the X5 with full force.

*****

"What's wrong with him?" Corporal Anderson asked as he watched the young X5 seizing in the sand.

Mole was kneeling beside Alec, gently bathing the X5's face with water from his own canteen. It really was about all he could do, other than watch the young transgenic's muscles twitch in the throes of the epileptic fit. At least the bullet wound on his own arm had stopped bleeding -- but that was about the only thing that had so far gone their way on this mission.

"Genetic flaw," he said gruffly.

"I know you're a transgenic from Manticore," Anderson said.

"Gee, what was your first clue?"

"Your looks," the corporal replied honestly. "We don't see your kind where I come from." He nodded at Alec. "But him ... he's transgenic too?"

"X5," Mole conceded. "Part cat, but with him it's all on the inside -- the muscles, nerves, and bones, plus the senses. Trouble is, the lab boys revved his body up too much for a mission like this. His core temperature's too high to begin with. Put him in the desert and sooner or later that feline system of his is gonna sizzle and break down."

Anderson was nodding. He'd obviously heard of X5-Units. "But you say he's flawed?"

Mole gestured at Alec who was lying with eyes closed and his head thrown back while his body spasmed. "They're prone to seizures at the best of times. Somethin' wonky in their brain chemistry." The lizard man squinted up at the sun overhead. "Between the high altitude jump and the heat, his body couldn't take it."

"Can't you help him?" Anderson asked anxiously, seemingly truly concerned even though he, a mere human, was ready to keel over from the heat at any second as well.

Mole held up the bottle of Tryptophan he'd found in Alec's jacket pocket. He'd already tried getting the X5 to swallow some, but he hadn't been able to rouse his companion enough. "This would help," he said. "But he'd choke to death on 'em right now."

The boy dropped to his knees beside the X5 and grabbed Alec's pack, putting it as a pillow behind the damaged soldier's head. Then he looked up at Mole. "You said you could make it to your base camp?"

"I'm adapted for desert warfare," the lizard man said, a touch of pride in his voice. "No sweat." He thought about that a moment. "Literally."

"You should go," Anderson said. "And bring back help for him."

"If I go, you go with me," Mole said. "You're my mission objective in case you hadn't noticed."

"And we just leave him here alone?" the kid said, his eyes widening with disbelief. "He'll die."

"Maybe," Mole said, realizing that it sounded heartless but seeing no way around the facts. "But he's also most likely gonna die if we stay, and then you and me will probably die too. Alec wouldn't want that." He nodded toward his own gear spread on the ground a few yards away. "Get my stuff packed. We're movin' out soldier."

While the corporal gathered up their equipment, Mole erected a small, make-shift tent made out of his jacket to shield the X5 from the sun as best he could, then knelt once more beside his friend. Lightly resting a hand on Alec's feverish forehead, he set aside his cigar and quietly said, "You've got yourself in one hell of a mess this time, pretty boy, and I don't know how to help you. I'm gonna get the kid outta here, to safety. I'd carry you if I could, you know that Alec, but Anderson's not gonna be able to make the whole fifteen miles -- no way -- and that means I'll hafta be haulin' his ass through the sand pretty soon, and I can't make it with both of you."

Another harsh tremor wracked Alec's body, his head jerked back, and he gave a little moan of pain. Mole swallowed hard, blinking away tears of all things. Angrily he told himself to stop being so emotional. He couldn't afford the moisture loss. This was just a soldier Unit ... an expendable piece of military equipment ... nothing to get sentimental about ...

But Alec was also just about Mole's best friend in the world, and damn it -- he loved the guy. Their looks might be vastly different, but deep inside, where it counted, the lizard man knew that he and Alec were very much brothers.

Plus, there was Max to consider ... If Alec died, she was going to be devastated.

"Shit," Mole admonished the X5 softly. "Just hold on. Help will be back here within two hours, buddy. I promise."

And with those hopeful words, the DAC-Unit got to his feet and motioned for Corporal Anderson to follow him into the desert. "Come on, kid. We've gotta haul ass."

"What about him?" Anderson said, pointing to Alec.

"He's already dead," the lizard man said harshly, grinding the stub of his cigar between his teeth.

It was the hardest thing Mole had ever done in his life -- leaving Alec behind to most likely die alone and in pain in the sand.

But, soldier that he was, he didn't look back.

*****

Colonel Donald Lydecker

"Report, soldier," Colonel Lydecker said to the X5-Unit standing in front of his desk in the Terminal City New Manticore office.

"Copulation with X5-452 was unsuccessful, sir," Devon replied. Standing at full attention, the young transgenic's gaze never wavered from a spot somewhere on the wall behind his commanding officer's head.

"Explain," Lydecker said. "It was my understanding you spent the night at Max's apartment. She's in heat. Don't tell me you weren't persuasive enough. What the hell did the two of you do during all that time?"

"We talked, sir," Devon said simply. "The Unit was unwilling to engage sexually with me."

"Unwilling or not, you should have tried harder," Lydecker snapped.

"Sir," Devon said, a surprising spark in his normally calm brown eyes, "As I understood them my orders were to make X5-452 fall in love with me -- not to rape her."

Lydecker backed down. "You're correct, soldier," he said more calmly. "I don't want Max to be traumatized or forced. However, I don't understand why you weren't able to take advantage of her high hormone state. She should have been quite willing to mate with just about anything with a Y chromosome at this point in her cycle."

"She's in love with 494, sir," Devon said. "She wanted me physically, but she doesn't want to be unfaithful to the man she loves."

"You kissed her?"

"Yes, sir. And then she said no and I decided it was prudent to retreat in order to maintain at least a friendship with her."

Lydecker sighed heavily. "I'll concede to your decision, soldier," he said. But I want you to continue pursuing an ardent friendship with X5-452. I have a feeling that, sooner or later, an opportunity will present itself for you to replace 494 in her affections."

At that moment Lydecker's radio com unit buzzed.

"Lydecker," he said into the mic.

"Sir," a voice came through the static, "This is Chieftain. The package has been delivered, but we've got a Unit stranded in the field. Do you want us to attempt an extraction, or should we abandon the Unit and return?"

Lydecker closed his eyes. Then he opened them and said, "Which Unit?"

"X5-494, sir. The DAC II Unit just walked into base camp carrying our objective."

"Condition of objective?" Lydecker asked.

"Dehydrated, but not badly damaged. Corporal Anderson will be fine, sir."

"Reason 494 was left in the field?"

"He became ill, sir, and couldn't make it through the desert. Should we send a rescue team? The DAC-Unit is raising hell and says he'll go back out by himself if we won't help his squad mate. We'll need to tranquilizer him if we're abandoning 494."

"Is there any sign of Iraqi troops?" Lydecker said.

"Yes, sir. Radar indicates an air patrol lifted out of Baghdad ten minutes ago. They'll be here in an hour."

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

Donald Lydecker thought very hard for a moment. Glancing up at 472, he saw the X5 was watching him closely. With 494 dead, Max could, in time, be seduced by this far more compliant Unit thereby making control of Terminal City a whole lot easier. However, 494 would be lost to him forever -- another one of his precious kids dead and gone. In an instant of flashback memory, the colonel saw Ben, X5-493, lying so still and quiet in the forest leaves, a little boy asleep ... lost ... He'd knelt, felt for a pulse, and when he'd found none tears had welled in his eyes.

Alec was a beautiful Unit ... a near perfect X5 specimen physically. Sacrificing him this way ... for this reason ... would be a tragic waste.

"Rescue the Unit," the colonel barked into the mic. "Repeat, save X5-494." And then, to emphasize the command, he added, "And know this, Chieftain -- if that Unit isn't salvaged someone's going to pay the price."

"Yes, sir," Chieftain replied quickly. "Rescue operation underway."

*****

It was almost midnight when Lydecker summoned Max to his Terminal City office.

"He's alive," the colonel said quietly.

They were just two simple words, but they meant everything to Max ... that her world was still whole. Her shoulders sagged. She'd been prepared for the worst. (One always had to be in her situation.)

"Where is he?" she demanded, the brief moment of relief quickly replaced by new worries. There was "alive," and then there was Manticore's definition of "alive." It would be just like Lydecker to get her hopes up, then cruelly inform her that Alec was brain dead or had been cut up by Stendahl after all to become a living robot.

"He's in the hospital wing back at the Dakota base."

"There's something you're not telling me," Max said stiffly.

"He's in a coma," the colonel replied bluntly. "But the doctors think he'll come out of it. He's suffering from heat stroke, dehydration, hypoxia, and his seizures got out of control." Lydecker leaned forward earnestly, obviously wanting her to believe him. "But Max ... they really think he's going to be all right. His body's doing just what it was designed to do. He's healing."

"He wasn't shot?"

"No," Lydecker said. "You sound surprised."

"Usually the ass hole gets himself shot," she said in a low voice. Then, more loudly, "I want to be with him."

"You can fly back with me right now," Lydecker said, his voice not unkind.

"Why are you being so nice about this?" Max asked suspiciously. "What do you want from me?"

"Just your continued cooperation, Max," the colonel said, spreading his hands wide. "The transgenics in Terminal City are becoming more important to the military every day, and you're the key to controlling them."

And Alec's the key to controlling me, Max thought to herself, suddenly seeing the really big picture. She hated it that her lover was a pawn (because that's what Alec was right now), but she also knew it gave both of them some measure of security.

"Let's go," she said, heading for the door. "We've got a plane to catch."

*****

Photo courtesy of Jensen Ackles Museum

"I missed out, didn't I?" Alec said as he looked up at Max with mournful hazel-green eyes.

"I told you not to go on that mission, smart-ass," she chided him. "And yes, my cycle's over for a few months." She smiled then. "But there's always next time."

"Promises, promises," Alec complained. Then, in a plaintive voice, "And I went to the airport to turn that mission down Max. Can I help it if Lydecker kidnapped me at Taser point and then shoved me out of a plane over the desert?"

"I suppose not," Max conceded. "And if nothing else, I bet this at least taught Manticore that their precious X5s aren't the best first choice for sand dune duty."

"You can say that again," Alec replied, wincing at the pounding in his head.

"Is it bad?" Max asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She picked up a wet washcloth from a nearby metal stand and gently lay it on his brow.

"One of my bigger migraines," Alec said, letting her tend to him. "But you know how they feel." Then he remembered something. "Hey, how'd Devon settle in? Are he and Josh gettin' along as roomies?"

Max looked away -- too quickly -- and Alec's intuition tingled.

"What is it, Max?"

"Alec, there's something I need to tell you," she began.

"About Devon?"

"About Devon and me."

Alec waited, but a horrible thought was forming in his mind. "Max," he said softly. "You didn't, did you? With Devon? I mean, I know you were in heat and all, and you might not have been able to help yourself, but did you--"

Her eyes flashed angrily, and for some reason that made Alec feel better. He'd insulted her, which meant she didn't feel guilty about anything.

"Of course nothing happened!" she said indignantly. "You think I can't control myself when I'm like that? Hey, if that was the case then you and me would've done the horizontal mambo a long time ago, pretty boy. All that time I was in love with Logan, but couldn't be with him, you didn't see me sniffin' around you even once, did you?"

"You held up admirably in the face of my manly temptation," Alec agreed. "And I'm sorry for doubting you."

Max sniffed loudly, her nose in the air. But then she looked back at him, and Alec's heart started to beat faster again.

"Nothing happened," Max said. "But ... it almost did. Devon's nice, Alec. He's a good guy who's so fucked up by Manticore he doesn't know how to think for himself any more. I wanted to help him, and we ..."

"We what?" Alec said, his voice no longer as lighthearted as it had been, but taking on an edge.

"We kissed," Max said, getting it all out in the open. "And he touched me--"

"He what!"

"But I told him no, Alec. And that's all that happened." She leaned down and put her lips lightly on her man's. "I admit I wanted him, Alec," she murmured against his beard stubbled cheek. "But I needed you. I love you."

"The head doc here says I can travel later today," Alec said coolly, changing the subject. He was trying to not let it get to him, but the thought of Devon "touching" Max made his blood boil with jealousy and he couldn't wait to get back to Terminal City where there was gonna be a whoopin'.

She saw it in his eyes. "Alec," she warned.

"Shut up," he said -- the words she usually admonished him with. "Just ... shut the fuck up about it."

Max looked away, and he knew she was crying, but he didn't stop her when she stood and left the room.

*****

The erotically dressed, dark-haired young woman stood just outside the perimeter fence of Terminal City watching the comings and goings of the transgenics. She'd been waiting there, by the corner of the Artworks building, since early morning, but she hadn't seen the one person she was looking for.

However, the watcher was patient -- infinitely so. She knew her objective would eventually show up, and when she did it would be time to move.

THE END