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Artwork courtesy of Valjean & |
By Valjean
ARCHIVE: No
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Artwork courtesy of Valjean & |
*****
“Dean,” Sam asked as the he, Max, and his brother tightened their seatbelts while the big cargo jet rolled down the runway, “didn’t you have to fly on planes when you were back at Manticore?”
“Sure,” Dean said, shrugging as he tried to keep his features composed.
“But you’re afraid of flying.”
“Yeah, but I’m more afraid of bein’ shot in the head,” the X5 said wryly as Max regarded the two brothers, an odd expression on her face.
“You mean you’d have gotten on that plane in Pittsburg a lot more readily if I’d held a gun on you?” Sam joked.
“What happened in Pittsburgh?” Max asked.
“Nothin’ we couldn’t take care of,” Dean grumped while he nervously watched the tarmac fall beneath them as the big jet soarred into the air.
“I never knew you were afraid of flying,” Max persisted, obviously fascinated by this chink in her Smart Alec’s armor.
“It’s no big deal,” Dean said uneasily. “I’m here now, aren’t I? Mole had just better take good care of my car while we’re gone.” He looked sharply at Max. “You don’t think he’d drive it, do you? He better not or I’ll kill him.”
“Why?” she asked sweetly. “You don’t mind if he uses your bike.”
“The Impala’s different,” Dean said roughly. “It’s family history ... belonged to Dad.”
“Your dad,” Max said thoughtfully as she settled back in the seat, the leather of her black jacket creaking. Crossing denim clad legs she regarded the other X5 closely. “You have no idea how much I envy you, do you?” she added softly. “Having a chance to really know your family ... your mother and father and brother ...” Her eyes went to Sam who was studying his hands. “I’d give anything to have met my real mother.”
“Your mother wasn’t a surrogate?” Sam asked. “Dean here was apparently a special case. Our father had military connections at Manticore so he got to more-or-less keep his own kid. But I thought a lot of the other transgenic embryos were implanted in host mothers, not their donor ones.”
“I was told my mom was my mom,” Max said simply, looking away out the window at the cloud studded sky. “That she wanted to keep me, but I was taken from her. Then ... she disappeared ... sent to a mental institution. Lydecker once told me he knew where she was, but his information didn’t pan out.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, obviously meaning it.
“Yeah, and my mom got burned to death by a demon,” Dean said, his voice clipped. “Right in front of me, no less. In other words, Maxie, we’ve all got our own sob stories.” He cocked his head. “Are those violins I hear?”
“Stop it,” Sam said quietly. “Just because you’re so cynical doesn’t mean Max has to be.”
“Aw, shut up,” Dean grumbled, settling back in the plane seat, crossing his arms, and closing his eyes. “Wake me when we’re landing.”
“That won’t be for eight hours,” Sam pointed out.
But his brother -- obviously uncomfortable with the whole conversation (as well as the flight) -- didn’t answer.
*****
“You know, I hate South Africa,” Dean said as they disembarked from the plane in the early pre-dawn hours.
“Why?” Sam asked.
“Because they have a supersoldier program of their own that makes what Manticore was doin’ look like an act of kindness,” Max supplied before Dean could answer. “We all hate them ... the South African scientists and military who created the ‘Reds.’
“Reds?” Sam said.
“They used human prisoners as guinea pigs,” Dean explained as the three made their way toward the hanger, duffel bags of equipment in hand. “Supercharged them with some kind of spinal cord implant that gave them inhuman strength ... stronger than a transgenic’s ... but at a price. They could only live about a year before burnin’ out. To beef up their program and extend the lifespan of their boys the Reds were real anxious to get their hands on some X5 breeding stock. They almost snagged Max once.” Behind them the big jet’s engines began to idle more loudly and he glanced back.
“Don’t worry,” Max said, noticing the look in her companion’s eyes. “We’ve got a flight home already arranged for later tonight.
“Super,” Dean said, his handsome face twisting in a grimace as he realized that meant another long stint in the air. “I suppose it was too much to hope for that you’d booked us a nice cruise.”
“And you think Logan’s now working with these Reds?” Sam said, ignoring his brother.
“Undoubtedly,” Max replied, hefting her duffel bag on one shoulder as they entered the building. “There should be more equipment waiting for us here,” she said. “Room number fourteen.”
“Wait, wait,” Sam said, taking hold of her arm and bringing Max to a stop. Dean halted too, watching his younger brother. “Do you think it’s wise having two X5s -- a breeding pair no less -- just waltz right into a Red protected facility? Isn’t that like handing them just what they want? I mean, the two of you -- in the flesh -- are probably more valuable to them than any information Logan could sell.”
Dean made a wry face, dismissing Sam’s worries with a wave of his hand. “Ah, the Red boys probably already have a couple of X5s in custody to play mad scientist with. After all, it’s not like Manticore could protect us any more after it went down. Although,” he added, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Lydecker did say that South Africa was still in the market for an X5 ... in competition in the bidding with the Chinese for me as a matter of fact.” He shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter anyway since I don’t intend to get caught.”
“Alec’s right,” Max agreed. “We can’t think about our own safety. This is a military mission, straight up. We have our mark, our plan, our contingency plan, and an egress.”
“What’s the contingency plan?” Dean asked. “I never heard about any contingency plan.”
“Well,” Max admitted. “Dix and Luke didn’t really get around to completing it, but they’ve got an idea that might work if we get into trouble.”
“Might work?” Dean said, one eyebrow rising.
“Don’t worry,” Max snapped. “Just do as you’re told and this will be easy money.”
“What money?” Dean grumbled. “There’s never any money when I do these things for you.”
“Let’s just say you’ll be amply rewarded,” she said simply, her meaning clear as Sam grinned.
“Oh,” Dean said, his smirk lascivious this time. “In that case I’m all in.” He glanced at his brother. “But what’s there for Sammy? And before you offer, Max, I’m not into threesomes.”
“Since when?” Sam said under his breath.
Dean shot a “shut up” look at the younger man who closed his mouth.
“Sam’s helping because he’s a gentleman,” Max said primly. “He doesn’t need a reward.”
“Which makes me greedy?” Dean groused as they arrived at a door marked “14.”
“More like mercenary,” Max huffed as she used a key to unlock the panel. “But that’s all right,” she shot back over her shoulder. “I love you anyway.”
“She loves me,” Dean mouthed to Sam, a self-satisfied look on his face as he followed his fearless leader into the dark interior of the storage chamber.
Sam just shook his head.
Inside they found one item -- a metal trunk with a combination lock that Max quickly opened. Tugging up the lid, all three then stood looking down, their eyes wide and mouths open in something akin to awe. “Where the hell did Dix get the money to buy equipment like this?” Dean asked, shaking his head in wonder as he picked up a set of dermal transceivers that would have cost $20,000 on the open market.
“Don’t ask,” Max said quietly.
“You been playin’ Robin Hood again, sister?” the X5 asked. “As in robbin’ the rich to give to the transgenic cause?”
“Let’s just say there are some really pissed off drug dealers in San Francisco and L.A.,” Max replied.
“I’m hurt,” Dean said carefully. “That you’d go out and have so much fun without me.”
“I didn’t need you,” Max said simply. She looked up at him, her brown eyes veiled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, me and Brac have been doing pretty well on our own for the past few years. I mean, it’s not like you’re around much.”
“Okay, kiddies,” Sam said quickly, intervening before Dean could respond to that not-so-veiled criticism. “Let’s save the lover’s quarrel for later. Right now we’ve got a mission, right?”
“Right,” Max said, looking back down at the equipment.
“Right,” Dean agreed, tossing down the transceiver he'd been holding in a manner way too rough for its delicacy. “You know, it’s not like I have a choice in stayin’ away,” he had to add.
“Leave it, Dean,” Sam said, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “She knows. She didn’t mean it that way.”
“She didn’t?”
“She didn’t?” Max echoed.
“So you want to end up gutted and burned to death?” Dean said roughly. “’Cause that’s what happens to women I love ... we love.” The last was said with a quick look at Sam who’s eyes had clouded. “I’m dangerous to have around, sister. Hell, you’re takin’ your life into your hands even havin’ me on this job with you, although I doubt my demon is much worse than Logan.”
“Logan’s not evil,” Max said softly. “He’s just ... hurt.”
Dean threw up his hands. “And here we go! Max, we’ve had this conversation so many times I bet it goes on somewhere even when we’re not around. I love Logan,” he mimicked her voice. “He’s so misunderstood. I betrayed him with you. I had another man’s kid. He has a right to be hurt. I don’t blame him for what he’s done. Well get this, Max. Logan’s not your lover any more. Hell, he’s not even your friend. In fact, he’s doin’ all he can to destroy you and our people, usin’ his Eyes Only influence to get the government against us and to help us be hunted down like animals. Now, he’s sellin’ us -- and I do mean literally us as in our genetics -- to foreign nationals. Logan’s not the man you used to know, Max. He’s not the guy you fell in love with. He’s the enemy! And it’s about time you admitted that. In fact, until you do, I’m not goin’ one step further with this so-called mission ‘cause I’m not trustin’ you with my life if I think you might choose him over me.”
San hadn’t said a word during his brother’s tirade. However, he had stepped closer to Dean, his allegiance obvious. In this, the two Winchester boys were in agreement.
“I would never let anything happen to you, Alec,” Max said softly. “And I do love you, it’s just that ...”
“You love him too,” Dean said with a huge sigh and once again throwing his hands up in the air. “Come on, Sam. We’re outta here.”
With an apologetic look at Max, Sam turned to follow his brother.
“You can’t hold my love hostage!” Max shouted after him. “You can’t control my heart. We have a son together, Alec. And if anything ever happened to you a big part of me would die. But ... you can’t make my life complete all by yourself. Logan’s in my heart too, even if he has changed. No one’s all evil or all good, Alec. You, of all people, know about shades of grey.
Dean spun around. “So,” he said, his tone icy. “Answer me this, Max. If it came down to my life or Logan’s, which of us would you choose to live?”
“You,” she said without hesitation.
“Why?”
“Because I love you the most. And because even though Logan dying would leave that hole in my heart, it wouldn’t be nearly as big of a hole as the one left there if something ever happened to you. You’re my lover, Alec. And my son’s sire.”
“Am I?” Dean said, his voice less strident. “Your lover? Your only lover?”
Sam held his breath, watching the two X5s warily.
“The only one that matters,” Max said simply. “And can you say any better about yourself?”
Dean thought about the waitress he’d fucked two weeks earlier and looked away.
“I thought so,” Max said quietly. “Now, since neither one of us is eactly what you’d call the perfect prom date, can we get on with this mission? Oh, and to answer your question again and more, yes, Alec, if I have to I’ll kill Logan myself to save either you or Sam. Satisfied?”
“I am,” Sam said softly.
Dean stared at her for a very long moment, then nodded. “Let’s get this shit job over with so we can go home,” he muttered. “Before Mole drives my car.”
*****
Sam threw a fit about being told to stay outside the office building.
“We need someone to watch the perimeter,” Max lied.
“What you mean is that you’re worried I won’t be able to keep up with you guys inside,” Sam clarified. “After all, it’s not like I’m a real supersoldier or anything, just a failed attempt at one.”
“Hey!” Dean said. “That’s enough! Sam, this was always a two-man job. I let you come along ‘cause I knew you’d do nothin’ but worry if you stayed behind. Now do as you’re told or I’ll--”
“What?” Sam said. “Send me back to the plane?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact I will,” Dean said, planting hands on hips which -- considering he was armed to the teeth and wearing a black nylon commando suit complete with Kevlar vest (courtesy of Dix’s magic supply chest) -- made him look about ten degrees of dangerous. Sam, however, wasn’t impressed.
“I wanna help.”
“Then help by keeping watch for us,” Max said softly, putting a hand on the younger man’s arm. “You’ll hear everything that’s going on over our links,” she added, touching the transceiver behind her ear. “It will be real helpful if we know if the cops are on the way, or the military for that matter. There could be silent alarms inside Dix didn’t spot. Knowing Logan, he’s set up all kinds of little surprises to catch intruders of the X5 kind.”
“Besides,” Dean added, looking upwards. “Do you really wanna scale the side of that building, little brother?”
“You’re going in through the roof?” Sam said.
“That’s the plan,” Max replied. “Fifteen stories high and a long way to the ground.”
“I didn’t know you could climb like that,” Sam said to Dean.
“Well I can,” the X5 said as he adjusted the nylon strapping around his waist. “But that doesn’t mean I enjoy it.” He smiled. “In spite of that whole part cat thing I have goin’ on.”
“All right,” Sam conceded reluctantly. “I’ll keep watch for you guys. But you’d better get back here by the rendezvous time, or else have a real good reason for bein’ delayed or I’m comin’ in after you.”
Max threw the young man one last smile, then turned to join her more silent partner, and together the two X5s made their way to the back of the Johannesberg office complex where Logan Cale had his base of operations.
*****
“What if Logan’s here?” Dean said after they’d scaled the back side of the building and were sitting crouched in front of the roof vent Dix had targeted as their means of ingress. Max, who was concentrating on unscrewing the fasteners, thew him a look.
“We’ll deal with it,” she said simply.
“Does that mean I can kill him?”
She scowled.
“Oh, come on, Max. It’s not like I haven’t almost before. Hell, if I’d followed Lydecker’s orders we wouldn’t even be here right now. The data base would be safe at home and our collective transgenic butts not in this big old sling.”
“Do you need my permission -- to kill Logan?”
“Yeah,” Dean said without hesitation. “I do. Because if I didn’t it would have happened a long time ago.”
“You hate him that much?”
Dean nodded silently. “And besides,” he said out loud, “he’s a huge danger to all of us.” The male X5 held up one hand. “Not to retread our old argument. Let’s just say that if the guy draws down on me -- or you -- he’s toast. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Max said, the word nearly inaudible. The metal plate she’d been working on came free in her hands. Checking the interior of the vent they could both see the deactivated alarm nodes. Dix and his computer hacking skills had done them well. But then again, this was only the South African business company’s security. Logan’s own brand of protection was still up ahead.
Making their way down to the twelfth floor wasn’t difficult once they were inside. After all, Johannesberg Exports wasn’t exactly the most high security building in the city. Logan’s office loomed ahead in the dimly lit hallway, the name “Cale Enterprises” emblazoned on the door in dark blue stencil along with a painted on pair of eyes.
“At least he’d not using a cute synonym like ‘Single Peepers’ or some such thing this time,” Dean snorted. He touched the transceiver behind his ear. “You with us, Sam?”
“I’m here,” the small voice sounded inside Dean’s skull. “All’s clear.”
“Same here,” Dean said as he warily watched Max remove her gloves and dial the combination on the door lock. He wondered where she’d gotten the numbers, almost asked, then bit his tongue. Not here. Not now.
Cautiously, Max opened the door while Dean checked up and down the hall for the guards who weren’t due to make their rounds again for another 15 minutes. Then he slipped into the room after her. At first, he thought they were alone. After all, it was well past midnight South African time. However, his nose caught a waft of scent on the air and he lifted his head. Then he saw her, seated in a comfortable chair in front of a computer console, her blonde head bent in concentration. He and Max had been quiet, but not that quiet. She had to know they were here. But then why wasn’t she turning around? Instinctively, Dean’s hand went to the Glock pistol on his belt.
Max looked disapprovingly down at the sidearm -- her old fear of guns obvious -- and mouthed the word “Wait.”
Dean complied -- not because Max was in charge, but because he really didn’t want to have to kill anyone -- not unless he absolutely had to.
“Asha?” Max said.
Asha Barlow turned around in the chair, a funny expression on her face. She didn’t seem surprised to see Max. However, her eyebrows rose when she saw X5-494. “Alec,” she breathed. “I didn’t ...” The smile broadened. “Long time no see. You been avoiding me?”
Dean returned the smile. “Better for you that way,” he chided her softly. “I meant it when I said you didn’t wanna get involved with a guy like me. But looks like that didn’t keep you from runnin’ with the bad boys.”
“Dean?” Sam’s voice chirped in Dean’s ear. “Who are you talking to?”
“Shut up,” Dean said.
Asha’s eyebrows rose even more.
“Not you,” he clarified. “My brother.”
“Your brother?”
“Long story.”
“Which we don’t have time to go into right now,” Max interrupted, obviously peeved at the way Asha was acting. “You know what we’re here for,” she said. “Logan’s got something that belongs to us and we want it back.”
“The data base,” Asha said, nodding knowingly. “You’re right. He has it. And you’re also right that he shouldn’t.” She picked up a disc from off the desk top. “Here,” she said, holding it out. “I’d have brought it to you myself but Logan watches me too closely. There’s no way I could have made it to the U.S. I had to have you come and get it.”
Dean’s eyes flickered around the room, the hair on the back of his neck rising. Something wasn’t right here.
“So, you’re Dix’s secret informant?” Max said. “The one who arranged the equipment and the codes?”
Asha nodded. “I couldn’t just have you waltz in here through the front door,” she said. “Logan would have been suspicious if the disc vanished without some sign of a break-in. But at least I’ve saved you the trouble of cracking his high-tech safe.”
“And took all the fun out of our job,” Dean said dryly. “Max, something’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said firmly. “Asha’s helping us. It all makes sense now.”
“No,” Dean said. “It doesn’t. Care to ask the lady why she’s on the side of a bunch of Freaks?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Asha said simply, still holding out the disc. Max reached for it.
“Don’t touch it!” Dean said sharply. “It’s a trap.”
“You’re crazy!” Max said, taking hold of the disc case with her hand.
“No,” Asha said quietly. “He’s not. It is a trap, Max. And you just fell into it.”
“What are you talking about?” Max said, not understanding.
“You’ve just been infected with a retrovirus,” Asha explained. “It’s on the case -- harmless to humans but deadly to transgenics. You see, Logan’s learned a lot more than you thought from that database, including how to target an X5’s weak points.”
Max dropped the case on the floor, her face paling.
“And the cure?” Dean said, leveling the pistol at Asha’s head. “Give it up, little girl, or I blow your brains out.”
“You can’t kill me, Alec,” Asha said, smiling sweetly. “It’s just not in you to pull the trigger on a pretty woman. It’s your greatest weakness, just like your file in the database says. Besides,” she added. “If you kill me you’ll never know what we’ve done to Max or how to try and help her.”
“Max?” Dean tried.
“I feel fine,” his partner said, her full lips set in a grim line. “But if it’s a virus it could be slow acting.” She glanced at him. “Not to mention catching.”
“Oh don’t worry about Alec,” Asha said. “This virus was actually targeted specifically at X5-452. We honestly thought 494 was dead -- up until now. I’m afraid we’ll have to take care of Alec in a more traditional way.”
There was the sound of a gun being cocked somewhere behind him, and the X5 slowly turned to see Logan Cale standing in the doorway of an inner room, a semi-automatic trained on him. “I didn’t want this to get messy,” Logan said, his blue eyes pale and fanatical behind the lenses of his glasses. “Max was supposed to come alone. That’s the way the trap was planned. We didn’t expect a ghost to be with her. Put the gun down, Alec.”
“So let me be clear on this,” Dean said, talking to buy time as he complied and gently lay the pistol on the floor at his feet. “I mean, if you’re gonna kill me I can at least ask a couple of questions first, right?”
“Ask,” Logan said, his lip curling up in a snarl. “But make it quick. I really do intend to put you down for good this time.”
“This virus you’ve given Max, it’s fatal?”
“One hundred percent.”
“How fast?”
“It targets her immune system and takes awhile to work. Let’s just say her death might be prolonged. It also won’t be pretty. But she will die, and no one can help her.” He smiled apologetically. “There’s no cure either,” he said. “So don’t think you can break in somewhere and steal one. I’m not like Manticore.”
“Logan,” Max breathed, her own eyes going from one man to the other. “Please, don’t kill Alec. What happened was my fault, not his.”
“You have a son together, Max!” Logan spat, his eyes blazing with a strange flickering light. “I’d say that was plenty his fault.” His finger tightened on the trigger, and Dean prepared to move. He might not make it -- be fast enough -- but he had to try because he’d be damned if he’d just stand here and let Logan Cale shoot him down in cold blood.
“Logan!” a voice shouted from the hall doorway.
Cale glanced toward the newcomer, his mouth open in astonishment even as something very dark and brilliant surfaced from deep within his eyes. To his credit, the younger Winchester brother didn’t hesitate at all. He expertly brought the .45 automatic he was carrying to bear on his target and pulled the trigger -- the first time in his life he’d actually shot another human being. Grabbing his chest, Logan collapsed backwards, his gun falling from limp fingers as a filthy gutteral curse escaped his lips in a voice not his own. Asha let out a little scream and pulled open the desk drawer, her hands going for her own weapon, but Max was too quick. The X5 was on top of the other woman in a blur, her fist knocking the blonde unconscious before Dean could even pick up his own gun.
“Let’s get out of here!” Sam shouted, his voice shakey as he looked down at Logan lying in a pool of blood on the floor. “Did you get the disc?”
Dean’s eyes collided with Max’s. She glanced over at the badly injured Logan Cale, obviously fighting the urge to go to the man. Old habits die hard ... Him or me, Max? Dean’s look demanded. Her mouth set in a grim line and her eyes filled with pain, Max took a deep shuddering breath, turned away from the man she'd once loved more than life itself, and moved to her mate’s side -- her choice made. The computer disc was still lying on the floor. With Max’s hand enclosed in his, the X5 wasn't sure what to do. Neither transgenic was inclined to touch the thing. “Leave it,” Dean said said as Sam bent to pick it up.
“It probably can’t infect me,” Sam protested. “And if this is the disc--”
“It’s probably a fake,” Dean pointed out. “And we can’t take any chances on it infecting anyone else. I know Asha said it would just be Max, but--”
Sam nodded, agreeing.
His eyes worried, Dean looked at Max.
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Maybe it won’t do anything to me. But I’ll go see Dr. Carr right away when we get back.”
“What about her?” Sam asked, looking at Asha.
Dean’s hand tightened on the grip of his gun, but again Max intervened. “Leave her ... leave them both. I don’t want their blood on my hands.” She eyed Logan’s wound that might or might not be fatal. “Or at least not any more of it.”
“That’s like leavin’ the Devil in his playground,” Dean pointed out. “Max, if we don’t finish this they’ll just try’n hurt us again.”
“I know,” Max said. “But ... I just can’t. I can’t be the one responsible for killing these people.”
Sam, from the sympathetic look in his eyes, understood, and Dean almost did. “All right,” Dean said roughly. “Mission failure. Let’s jet.”
They’d reached the ceiling hatch that led to the ventilation system Sam had just so painfully climbed through when Dean suddenly said, “Give me a minute.”
“Where are you going?” Sam asked sharply.
“That disc,” he said quickly. “We should have at least destroyed it, just in case it was the real deal.”
“Hurry up,” Max said, agreeing.
With a nod, Dean ran back down the corridor to Cale Enterprises. Stepping through the door, he first ground his boot heel down on the damning lethal computer disc, cracking it into a dozen pieces. Then -- with a quick look over his shoulder to make sure Sam or Max hadn’t followed -- he turned to where the the wounded and unconscious Logan Cale should have been lying, only to see nothing but a blood spot on the floor -- the man himself gone.
“Put the gun down,” Asha’s voice came from behind him, a deja vu moment.
Dean, wondering where the hell Cale had disappeared to, played along. “Fine,” he said, putting the Glock on the floor once more, and raising his hands in surrender. “I was just gonna put the guy outta his misery.”
“That’s not funny, Alec,” Asha said tightly.
“Where the hell is he?”
“You don't want to know,” she said, her voice odd and slightly strangled. “Believe me, you don’t want to know.”
Dean turned, looked at her, gauged the distance between them ... He almost made it in time to stop her ... but not quite.
*****
Max and Sam both heard the gunshot.
“Damn it!” Max cursed. “The idiot!”
They found Dean kneeling over Asha’s still form, the small neat bullet hole in her temple at odds with the blown off back of her skull. Pieces of brain and blood were splattered in a Pollock-like pattern all over the wall and the floor.
At first, they thought the worst, but then Sam spotted Dean’s Glock on the floor many feet away, and saw how the automatic was still clutched in Asha’s hand.
“She killed herself?” Max breathed. “Why? Because Logan’s dead?”
“He’s not dead,” Dean said thickly as he rose, knowing there was nothing he could now do to help Asha Barlow. She’d made that decision herself. “But I don't know where he is.” He eyed Max. “We can call for help from the van if you want.”
Max shook her head no, her eyes still riveted on the beautiful blonde girl with her ruined skull lying in a pool of blood at her feet. “Why?” she asked again.
“Because she knows ... knew ... something,” Sam said, his insight, as always, more than most. His eyes rose to meet Dean’s. “Something bad’s going to happen and she didn’t want to live to see it.”
“Bad?” Dean said. “What bad? You mean Max maybe gettin’ that virus? Which, by the way, I still won’t believe until Doc Carr says so.”
“I think that was only part of it,” Sam said, shaking his head. “And I have a feeling when we find out the rest, it’s gonna be too late.”
*****
“When was the last time the two of you were intimate?” Sam Carr asked Max, although his eyes were on Dean.
The two X5s looked at one another. “Not this trip,” Dean said, regret evident in his voice. “At least not yet.”
The doctor looked down at the paperwork in his hand and sighed heavily.
“Why? Does Max have somethin’ that’s catching?
“I don’t know,” Carr said. “But I don’t want to take any chances.”
“Asha said the virus was targeted specifically for me,” Max said, swallowing hard even as her hand sought out her mate’s. Dean took hold of her fingers and squeezed them hard.
“Don’t touch her!” the doctor snapped.
Dean didn’t let go. “I’m not afraid,” the X5 said levelly.
“Dean ...” Sam broke in. “If the doctor says you shouldn’t touch, then don’t. I don’t know of any other faith healers at the moment and it’s not like we have health insurance.”
“I don’t care about me,” Dean said, voice low and his jaw working. “What did Logan give her? And how do we fix it?”
“Max’s blood is unique by itself,” Dr. Carr said, scowling at the test results in his hand. “But something is definitely showing up in her immune system. Her white count is way too high, like she’s fighting an infection. I don’t think I’ve actually found the virus yet, but I’m sure seeing the results of what it’s doing.” He looked up at Max. “If we don’t stop whatever this is, I’m afraid it’s going to get worse. And I also don’t think we should risk Dean getting infected as well. Like AIDS, this is likely transmissable via intercourse or other intimate contact.”
Dean looked unimpressed.
“What about Brac?” Sam suddenly said from his corner of the room where he was seated on a metal stool. “Could the baby catch it from Max?”
Sam Carr’s frown was answer enough.
“Brac’s with O.C. and Joshua up in Canada,” Max said carefully.
“Then he hasn’t been exposed,” the doctor said with a sigh of relief.
“You saying I shouldn’t be with my son?” Max said, her voice dismayed.
“No, you shouldn’t,” Dr. Carr said bluntly. “Max, I’m sorry. But quite frankly, I think you should be in quarantine, or at the very least away from your own kind.”
“So I can die alone?” Max said bitterly.
“I’ll see to it that you have the best of medical care,” the doctor said. “We’ll keep it from the authorities. I don’t know how, but we’ll manage. I’ll say you’re a relative of mine from another country, that you came here for treatment and--”
“No,” Dean said. “Max stays with me. I agree, she probably shouldn’t be with Brac right now, but she’s not goin’ through this alone.”
“Hey!” Max snapped. “I’m sitting right here, and I’ll do the deciding!”
But Sam was thinking. “Do we know if Logan is alive?”
“Dix read a police report from Johannesberg that he was admitted to a local hospital in critical condition,” Dean replied, his own voice surprisingly emotionless. A ghost of a grin. “Your aim was off a little bit, brother. Although, I'd still like to know how he got out of that building when he was hurt so bad.”
“Actually, I’m glad I didn’t kill the man,” Sam said honestly. “I’ve never done that before -- killed a human being.”
“There are all kinds of evil beings, Sammy,” Dean said softly. “Just ‘cause Logan’s human doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have died last night.”
“But he didn’t,” Sam said. “The point being Logan is the one person who knows what’s in that virus Asha infected Max with. He’s the one with the answers.”
“He’s in a coma,” Dean said dryly. “Besides, he wouldn’t help even if he was awake. He obviously wants her dead. Hell, if he’d known I was still alive he’d have mixed up a little bug for me too.”
“Then who else knows what’s in that data base?” Sam asked. “Who else could help? Certainly there are some Manticore scientists still around in the world who would recognize this virus.”
Dean looked knowingly at Max. Sam was right. “He’d have that info,” he said quietly.
“The Devil?” Max said.
“Hey, better the Devil you know than the Devil you don’t,” Dean smirked.
“You mean Lydecker?” Sam guessed, his face as grim as the others now. “The guy who has more reason than anyone else on earth to probably want my brother dead or pinned screaming to a surgical table.”
“Deck’s not vindictive,” Dean said matter-of-factly. “He's practical. Dead will do it just fine for him.”
“Where do we find him?” Sam asked.
Max shrugged. “He usually finds us.”
“Well,” Sam sighed. “Time to put up the bat signal.”
Neither of the X5s could disagree.
*****
“Doc Carr would have a fit,” Max whispered in Dean’s ear as he kisssed his way down her throat to her raisin hard nipple.
“I don’t give a damn about the doc,” the X5 said honestly as his lips covered hers. “Logan’s not gonna take you away from me again.” he murmurred into her mouth.
They made love quickly ... urgently ... prolonging the pleasure of their joined bodies until Sam’s polite knocking on the hotel door brought them back to reality.
“Hey guys,” Sam said through the panel. “It’s 3 a.m. The bars are closed. Do you expect me to wander the streets all night. I’d sleep in the car, man, but it’s freezing out here.”
Dean kissed Max hard one last time, slid out of her, wrapped a blanket around his waist and padded to the door. “Wouldn’t want you to freeze your tail, brother,” he said with a grin as he let Sam in the door. Sam stared at Max who was sitting up in the bed with a sheet held demurely over her breasts. “Eyes front, soldier!” Dean ordered.
Embarrassed, Sam nodded at Max and quickly headed for the bathroom while Dean locked the door and returned to the warmth of his lady’s side.
“Alec,” Max said as they listened to the water running in the bathroom where Sam was apparently brushing his teeth. “I can’t stay with you. I’m going to get sick ... real sick ... and that will put you and Sam in danger.”
“Don’t worry,” Dean said. “I’ve got a plan. And it doesn’t even involve Lydecker -- not that we can find the man.”
“What plan?”
The X5 smiled in the dark, arms behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling and Max rested her head on his chest, her long dark hair falling across his ribs and tickling his skin in an erotic way. “A plan that’s gonna get you well.” He glanced down at her, his green eyes glowing slightly in the dark like a cat’s. “I’ve got resources you know,” he added huskily. “Resources Logan and Lydecker never even imagined.”
Max shivered slightly at his words, looked upwards toward that dark ceiling the man in her bed seemed to be contemplating, and wondered what the hell Alec was talking about.
But she didn’t ask. Later, however, she wished she had.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
