Welcome

[Max Guevara]

Alec was going to kill her. . .She had sent him a text message earlier in the afternoon changing the meeting place and time. Which allowed her to reach the woods that held so many bad memories first. As much as Alec might not want to come along he was still going to kill her for getting this close to Manticore--whether resurrected or not--without him. In his own quiet way he was annoyingly overprotective and it had just gotten worse ever since their secret had been exposed nationally. But. . .she had to do this part alone. These woods held enough bad memories to haunt her for a lifetime and being back in them, the echoes of voices from the past. . .She moved quickly, having sent Alec her coordinates already. It hadn't been that long. Some things you never forget and the soldier mindset, the training, would never go away. Coordinates were something that Alec could understand and find better than if you handed him a map marked with a big red X.

This was the last place she wanted to be. Max stopped and leaned against a tree trunk, taking in a deep breath of the night air. It was eleven at night rather than eight. . .Max decided later would be better. And now, dressed in dark blue jeans, a black leather racing jacket and black tank top with her own biking gloves on her fingers she all but blended into the shadows. She didn't want to be here. She was scared to death to leave the woodline and find that Manticore had been brought back, that they had been bold enough to rebuild in the same location that they had lost everything. Would they be that ballsy? Would they really have rebuilt right there over the old Manticore? But if they were back. . .Max halfway hoped they had. It sure the hell would make finding them easier then if she had to search the entire country. . .or world.

It was a false hope although one she clung to desperately that Manticore was still dead and gone, that the rumors were just fearful mouths speaking up when they should remain silent. But Max would not put it past Manticore to come back with a bang, badder than ever and ready for war. Because certainly that's what it was. War. With them, if they were back, and with the humans that wanted them dead. . .just for being different. It wasn't their damn fault that they had been created in labs. It was their fault and yet they pointed fingers at Max and her people as though they had chosen to be born the way they were. . .She almost hated humans. Alright, she did, with a few notable exceptions.

She had been so damned distracted she didn't even hear Alec approaching with the stealth of a panther in its natural habitat and the sudden heartbeat that reached her ears--too close-- had her jumping back nearly into his arms. Dammit. . .She had let herself get unfocused and she clenched her teeth, prayed that he would just bitch her out for coming out here alone rather than give her shit for getting freaked out.

[Alec McDowell]

Alec had gotten the text from Max and almost danced a jig where he stood. Thank God she was pushing back the rendezvous by three hours. Hell yeah, that gave him enough time after work to hustle some pool with Sketchy. And maybe have a drink. But only one, just so Max wouldn't bust his ass for drinking. And he knew exactly where the coordinates she had given him were. It was the usual meeting spot. Honestly, he was pretty sure he could find that place blindfolded. Okay, that was an over exaggeration.

He knew Manticore was the exact place he and Max did not want to be. But for some reason, that's where they were going. He made sure he dressed in dark colors before finally heading out to meet Max at eleven. He could blow her off, and not show up.... but Max knew exactly where to find him. If he wasn't at Jam Pony, he was at Crash; if he wasn't at Crash, he was at home; if he wasn't at home, he was at Jam Pony. Damn him for having such a predictable life...

He parked his bike off the road next to Max's and walked into the woods. He didn't have to walk long before his eagle eyes spotted her form in the dark. "I spy with my little eye..." he muttered to himself. He walked out to meet her, taking her by suprise. "Whoa, easy Tigeress... I'm not gonna attack you." His attempt at letting her know it was alright if she spaced out. Hell, he did it all the time.

[Max Guevara]

She was almost surprised that he had shown up but there was no doubt in her mind that it was him as his voice sounded near her ear. She smiled slightly then let the expression slip away. Max wouldn't have been shocked if he had blown her off to play pool with Sketchy. . .except deep down she knew that Alec wouldn't do that. He would say he would and come close but mostly he knew what his responsibilities were and this had to be done. They had to know the truth, right? Even if it meant walking into the proverbial mouth of the beast. And for Max, these woods were about as close as she could get to that. So much had happened in them. . .She shook the thoughts away. Now was not the time to get caught up in the past although that was a tall order.

"Good thing cuz I'd hate to have to kick your ass if you tried," she muttered. "Have you been drinking? Dammit, Alec. . .Nevermind. Come on, let's get this over with. I hate this place. . ."

And that was about as close to a confession of fear as she was going to make at the moment. She grabbed his arm and pulled him along beside her, her eyes narrowing in the dark, vision honing. Her boots made not even a crackle of sound against the ground as they walked but. . .someone else did. Max froze just as the beam of a flashlight swept on. She cursed inwardly and threw both herself and Alec to the ground. They even managed to land without a sound and Max was suddenly very, very glad that she was much smaller than Alec. . .or else she might have hurt him. By landing on him. Oh this was just. . .She didn't dare move off him from where she had landed on top of his body because now the flashlight was searching the area where they had just been, which was right above them, above the lip of the ditch.

"This sucks. . ." she muttered.

[Alec McDowell]

Damn... she had busted him for drinking. "Hey, I only had one beer and one shot of tequila the whole night and that was around 8:30. Sketchy, however, is gonna be in tough shape tomorrow. He was so hammered OC drove him home." It was true. While X5s could hold their liquor, Alec still favored the idea of getting drunk. In fact, when they were done with this, he was going to head back to Crash. Tomorrow was Saturday, and Alec had actually gotten that day off.

He nodded when Max mentioned hating the woods. "Yeah, I know what you mean... Still, every time I'm here, I think of that poem..." This was sure to bring a look of shock across Max's face. He had actually sat down and read a poem. Stopping By Wood On a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. Granted it was only four stanzas long, it stuck out to him. He had read it once and memorized it instantly.

He opened him mouth to quote the line he had in mind, but the ground was all too suddenly meeting his back. "What the-!" He shut up when he saw the beam of light. He heard the sound of boots on the ground. Clearly not Manticore-trained footfalls. He was going to go with human. He looked at Max and whispered, "Ya know, if you wanted top, all you had to do was say so."

[Max Guevara]

As many missions as she had been on with Alec she should have been used to living by the rule "what can go wrong, will go wrong" but it still shocked her the new level of crap she had to go to when she was with him. The incident in the Blowfish Tavern stuck out in her mind the most but there was also being stuck in a closet with him for two hours. . .the list just went on and on. But being stuck on top of him in a ditch with lights sweeping the area almost took the cake. She could feel his heart beating against her own chest as her cheek rested against his shoulder, feel his body heat leaking up into her own body slowly the longer that they lay there.

She listened hard. Manticore's soldiers wouldn't have made a sound sneaking up on them and yet she didn't think the flashlights were just idiot campers out to investigate. . .she and Alec hadn't made any noise and whoever was holding the flashlights weren't making any noise with their voices, either. Her brow furrowed slightly as she ran through the possibilities. Police, park rangers, hunters. . .None of those were good things and it was better to just stay put until they decided to pass. Alec's smartass remark had her smacking his shoulder and raising her head, her lips inches from his face as she glared at him.

"Shut up Alec!" she hissed. "Go back to quoting your ridiculous poem. . .which, by the way, I can't believe you read. You've got less brain cells most of the time than an amoeba."

[Alec McDowell]

He had to admit, he was comfortable with Max on top of him, a little turned on, even, but he kept his heartrate steady. He watched the beam of light cross over the ditch. Those lights had to be from Park Rangers. Manticore wouldn't be that careless. He listened carefully, hearing the boots crunch again. They sounded like they were moving further away. He smirked as she hit his shoulder. He knew that was coming.

"Fine. You want me to prove I know it?" He face was serious. Damnit, he knew this poem, and he was going to prove that he knew it. His voice was still a whisper as he started.

"Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."

He gave her a defiant look. "See. Told ya. You give me so little credit sometimes..." He started to mock her, raising his voice to a falsetto. "'Shut up, Alec, you've never read a poem in your life...' Bullshit, I haven't."

[Max Guevara]

Being this close to him for such an extended amount of time. . .Max had to work at keeping her heartrate steady and the flush from her face as she became steadily more aware of the solid muscles beneath her, the heated skin beneath black clothing. She was well aware of the fact that Alec was quite a looker--and a ladies' man--but she'd never been subjected to this kind of proximity with him for this long before. Being pulled into his lap at the Blowfish Tavern so long ago had been bad enough but this. . .she was almost glad when he started spouting out poetry as insane as it was.

But the poem was beautiful and she was a little bit weirded out by the fact that he was reciting poetry to her on the ground in the woods while she was on top of him. Granted, it was just to prove his point but still. . .it was just a little bit odd. Her eyes moved up to the lip of the ditch and she could no longer see the flashlight beams although at that point she wasn't particularly inclined to move off him right away. But. . .stupid Park Rangers. They had to go and make everything all complicated. She sat up, still on top of him and now straddling his waist for the time being.

"Alright, you got me there. . .lo and behold he does have a few brain cells. . .if you start quoting Shakespeare I'm taking you to get your head checked."

She patted his chest then stood to her feet, reaching a hand down to offer him a hand up, not that he needed it. He was an Alpha Male, which technically made him faster, stronger and tougher than she was. Except she had to wonder about that considering she had no so-called "junk DNA". And as she stood she realized part of the reason why she hadn't wanted to get up with sudden and startling clarity. . .it had been safe on the ground. Safe where Manticore, if it existed again, couldn't find her because for all his faults she knew that Alec would not let them snatch her right out of his arms. She pushed those thoughts down and turned to face him, her fears almost leaving her lips but she quelled them.

"We should. . .we should probably go in the opposite direction as the tree-huggers so we don't end up in the same spot we were just in. . ." she said, swallowing hard.

[Alec McDowell]

He had to admit, he didn't mind Max straddling his waist. Now he really had to stay calm. His heartrate started to increase, but he fought to keep it normal. "I only know one Shakespeare line. From Julius Caeser." And he wasn't about to quote that. Alec was a bit relieved when she finally got off him. Anymore time and things could have gotten a little complicated. Complicated as in Hey, Alec, is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

He took her hand and pulled himself up. He nodded when she told him the plan of action. "Lead the way, oh fearless leader." He knew she was scared. Actually scared. If Manticore was out there again, there was no way Alec was going to let them have Max. He was expendable, he would let them have him if it meant her getting away. Getting out.

He scanned the dark as he followed her. These woods held so many bad memories. Memories that would never fade.

[Max Guevara]

She nodded to his comment with a half-assed eyeroll before she turned to move through the woods, nearly wanting to reach a hand back to take his own. Sometimes she wished the barricades they had in place were not there, that she could readily admit to him how damned terrified she was but. . .there was just something between them that didn't allow that willingly. From day one he had drove her crazy and then he had snuck in beneath her skin, gotten to her and made her like him, respect him, love him as one of her own, as a friend. And then as time wore on she had noticed that he was attractive, an Alpha Male, and now things were just. . .complicated. He played the tough and smartass act, always with a cocky grin, and she played the fearless leader and badass angle. She knew that both could see right through but somewhere along the way they had buried the right to be real without good reason.

"So what the hell do you think we should do if we find the rumors are true? Blow Manticore to hell again with bazookas and tanks we don't have? This'll be real war, Alec. And we've never been so damn exposed. . ."

She moved through the woods in a half crouch, her hands down at her sides held loose and ready as she drifted through the trees. So many ghosts in this place that she knew would always haunt her. . .she wondered for a moment what was in this place that haunted Alec because certainly his memories of Manticore were not lollipops and candycanes. But they had a mission so she dismissed the thought only moments after it had formed.

[Alec McDowell]

Alec sighed a little when she asked him what they were going to do if Manticore was back in action. In all honesty, he hadn't thought about that yet. Didn't want to think about it yet. He wasn't a plan ahead kind of guy and he made shit up as he went along. "I dunno, Max... I mean we could try to take it out again, but since there's a possibility they've rebuilt it, I don't think that'll work." There had to be some way to finally get rid of Manticore, since abviously, fire didn't work last time. This was getting rediculous.

He scanned the dark, looking for any clue, but mostly it was quiet. Almost too quiet. Whatever animals had inhabited the woods were gone. "Hey... you hear anything?" he asked, inquiring as to whether she had picked up on the lack of animals as well. He remembered once when he, Max, OC, and Sketchy had gone camping. That was one experience he didn't want to relive but the sounds of the frogs and the crickets actually helped him sleep. But now... he heard nothing. "Where are all the animals?"

[Max Guevara]

Max made her way further into the woods and she was able to tell that they were getting close to where Manticore had been at one time before she had blown it up. She remembered that day as though it were yesterday. . .And she remembered the days before it. The thing that came to her mind the most when she thought of the time she had spent back at Manticore was Alec. He had waltzed into her cell and declared that they were supposed to be breeding partners, although when she had refused he had left it at that. He didn't have to. He was an Alpha Male and since was, therefore, stronger than her he could have easily forced himself on her. He hadn't though and had even gone a step farther to save her from Renfro by declaring that they had successfully copulated.

"I don't think it will work either, Alec. . .I think we're officially screwed if they're back with a bang. . ."

She froze upon hearing his words. She had been to lost in thought to realize that he was right and now that she stopped, her back against his front, she came to the conclusion that he was right. There should have been something, anything. . .but there was nothing. No birds, no crickets, no rustling noises in the bushes. . .It was unnerving, really, and she suddenly wasn't too inclined to keep moving forward. She could feel Alec's heartbeat against her back and even being that close to him again didn't make her want to move another step forward.

"Far be it from me to admit to a weakness but. . .I'm officially freaked out, Alec. This can't be good."

[Alec McDowell]

Alec stood with her, listening to... well, nothing really. His heart was beating a little faster than normal, just because the lack of noice unnerved him. That was one thing Manticore could never fix. His nervousness at the lack of noise. He could be as silent as he wanted on a mission, but if he was by himself, he always had music or the television was on. That was part of the reason why his electric bill was so high.

"Look, maybe we should just split. No animals in the vicinity has to be some indication that Manticore is here..." Or maybe it wasn't Manticore... maybe it was something just as bad... he sighed and looked behind them. Nothing but trees. Damnit. As much as he wanted to find out what the hell was going on, he also just wanted to go back home. Maybe watch a DVD, have a few drinks by himself. Anything had to be better than being out here in the cold

[Max Guevara]

As much as Max didn't want to she managed to move a few steps away from Alec's chest. She pretended to dislike him most of the time when in all reality he sometimes--like now--managed to make her feel safer than she should have. It was all she could do not to grab his hand and hold on for dear life at the moment and she knew that he could plainly hear her racing heartbeat. Okay. So Manticore scared the hell out of her. That wasn't a big secret, at least not from him. The rest of the genetically empowered might not know that their fearless leader would rather hide under the blankets than face that hellhole again but with Alec. . .she didn't have to hide her true feelings on the subject.

She was sorely tempted to take him up on his suggestion and turn around and run. . .except she knew that they couldn't. She took a few deep breaths and steeled her nerves, trying to slide back into the fearless leader mindset that seemed to be eluding her at the moment. She could do this. . .What was so hard about seeing a building that may or may not be there? How was it so damned hard to just take a few steps and break the treeline, just to see? But she didn't want to. A part of her didn't want to know that all their worst fears could be confirmed. . .a part of her didn't want to know that she'd have to go back to Terminal City and start planning. That every effort she'd made at a normal life was about to be destroyed completely and utterly.

"We can't," she said, and her voice was soft and quiet, not something that he was used to at all. "We have to know. . .for all our sakes. C'mon, Alec. Just. . .stay with me, alright? Hate to say it, but I need ya right now."

She had gone and lost her damn mind admitting something like that to him but the mood and the fear that she knew they both felt. . .her hand reached back behind her almost of its own accord, waiting to see if he would take it, if he would walk and fight beside her or not. She didn't turn to look at him because then the temporary spell might be broken but she did wait, her hand outstretched toward him, her heartbeat slowing down with each passing second.

[Alec McDowell]

He nodded, knowing they wanted to dispell the rumors as soon as they could. But what would they do if Manticore had gone phoenix on them and risen from the ashes? He knew they would eventually figure it out, but how far would Manticore go? Would they pull them back in? Would they come after the escapees? Every scenario filled his head, and he didn't like it.

He looked up at Max when she reached out her hand. He didn't say anything, but took her hand in his. He knew that it made her feel safe, and all he wanted to do was keep her safe. Manticore could have him, they could try to break him (and he knew eventually they would) but as long as they didn't get Maxie... That was all he wanted.

[Max Guevara]

It seemed like she waited there forever when in all reality it had only been a few seconds. His hand touched her own, enfolded her smaller hand into his and she was surprised at how instantly she felt better. She tightened her grip on his hand and moved again, this time keeping him close behind her as she slid through the woods without making a single sound against the fallen leaves and branches. Each step made her want to turn around and run but Alec right behind her, his hand in her own, gave her strength that she wouldn't have possessed on her own. This had to be done. . .it had to be.

Moments of silence passed by and that was alright. She didn't need to talk and she was sure that he didn't either, although Alec silent for any length of time was usually cause to worry but not this time. Through the woods. . .most definately miles to go before they slept. . .Max stopped as soon as they broke the woodline and crested a small rise, her hand tightening even further in his own as she dropped into a crouch and pulled him down with her. The fence. . .the same fence that she had jumped while Alec had distracted the guards in what seemed like a lifetime ago. . .She held her breath then looked past the fence to the building. . .and the people. . .the shadows moving and the shouted voices. . .even at this late hour she could see them moving. Guards with automatic rifles walking the fence line. . .She didn't want to hone her vision. She knew.

Manticore was back.

Her hand came up, gripped Alec's shoulder as she leaned into him, feeling like she was going to fall over without his support. It was all going to fall to pieces now. . .they would hunt them down and drag them back. . .she felt sick, like she might not be able to stand, like she might just fall over if her companion and second in command let go.

"Alec. . ." she said, and that was all.

I will be gone until Sunday night at the latest luv. . .just wanted to let you know since I forgot to tell you on YIM. . .see ya Sunday! --huggles--