A Dark Angel Fan fiction

A walk on the other side

Jessica Strand

 

 

~*~

I heard he sang a good song,

I heard he had a style,

and so I came to see him

and listen for a while.

And there he was, this young boy,

a stranger to my eyes.

            ~ Fugees, “Killing me softly”

 

~*~

 

Music filled the air of Crash, almost dimming the shouts and laughter of the bar’s patrons. 

Almost. 

Alec winced discreetly when Sketchy yelled in his ear to be heard over the blare. 

Sketchy meant well, he was just a little too exuberant in his praise.  “Dude, you so kicked that guy’s ass!”

  The smirk that slid across Alec’s lips was pleased.  “I did, didn’t I?”  He turned looking for his next opponent.  He pointed at a man standing nearby.  “Wanna play pool?”

The man’s voice was gruff, “I’ve seen you play. No thanks.” He shook his head, leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

Alec shrugged, puckering his lips gently as he surveyed his fellow customers. “Someone has to want to play me.”  He looked over at Max and raised his eyebrow.

“No way,” she waved her hands around in the air and glared at him, still angry about something that had happened earlier that day.

He was trying to remember what it was even as he opened his mouth to speak, “C’mon, Maxie.  You win and you get fifty bucks…what could be wrong with that?”

“Having to come into close contact with you,” she bit out before turning back to Original Cindy, indicating that she should finish the story that Alec had interrupted.

“Someone play me here,” he turned to ask Logan, a glass of beer raised to his lips, when a female voice, soft and musical, rang out behind him.

“I’ll play you.”

Max’s brown eyes shifted over to see a woman with a halo of golden hair streaked with electric blue. A smile tugged at full red lips, a hand rested indolently on her hip, and eyes blue as lightening, danced. 

The sound of breaking glass punctured the air.

 Whipping her head around she saw Alec standing there with his mouth hanging open. His green eyes had gone wide, and his hand remained raised in the air as though it had been holding something - just moments before.  When she looked down, Max saw that had indeed been the case as Alec’s beer was slowly spreading across the floor making tiny rivers around the shards of glass.

He took a step forward and then stopped, as if he were looking at a ghost, and didn’t know what to do next. 

The woman’s smile shook slightly as she let her hand drop from her hip. “Miss me?”

 He opened his mouth to speak but the music of the club faded away to be replaced by the music of another club.

 

~*~

 

494 watched as she made her way through the club, ignoring the frequent glances directed at her, and then in a swish of hips she was standing before him, gold hair gleaming even in the smokey dim light.  Full red lips stretched into a seductive smile, promising things he had only dreamed about, blue eyes sparkled.  She opened her mouth and purred, “I’m-”

 

~*~

 

“Jondy,” Alec said in an awed whisper, ignoring the way Max suddenly stood straighter and watched them.  He took a shaky breath and blinked as a smile that he had missed a thousand times on cold nights lit her face.  His chest squeezed tight as she took a step towards him.  “What-”

 

~*~

 

“-are you doing here?”  She asked playfully, after he had stumbled over his own name, or more appropriately, the name on the driver’s license in his wallet.   The name Gabriel hadn’t seemed all that special until it had rolled off her tongue. 

494, Gabriel, smirked as best he could, “making friends.”  Biting her lip, Jondy looked around them curiously before turning those eyes on him once again.

“So where are they?”

“Who?”

“You’re new friends.” 

His smile turned shy, as he was careful not to meet her eyes.  “I’m afraid I’m not very good at it.” 

The grin that lit her face made his breath catch. “Then I’ll make you some.”

 

~*~

 

“I had heard…things,” she was saying, “about stuff getting blown up and I thought I might be able to find you.”

“You came looking for me?” Alec had to take a deep breath as his chest swelled with sudden emotion.

“Yeah, I had to know if you’d gotten out…I wanted to see you.”  She shrugged elegantly and raised a hand as though she was going to touch his cheek before letting it drop.  “You gonna introduce me?” she asked, nodding her head towards the group around him.

He smiled. “First, I’m Alec,” he held his hand out with a wink.

“Pleased to meet you,” she shook the offered hand without losing a beat.

He turned to point, “these-”

 

~*~

 

“-are my friends,” the girl said as she pulled him by the hand around and through groups of people until she came to a stop in front of a group of teenagers.  She pointed at a girl with short cropped brown hair and brown eyes, “that’s Brianna.”  The hand shifted to a red head whose lap Brianna was currently occupying; “her boy toy is Jeff.”  Brianna stuck her tongue out and Jeff smiled happily.  “Try not to mind the groping.”

“I’ll do my best,” 494 laughed and was momentarily shocked at how easily it had flown from his lips.

“Tess,” Jondy went on a little more sharply as she pointed to a redhead girl sipping at a beer on the other side of the table, “is Jeff’s sister.”  She cleared her throat loudly and waited for Tess to look up and wave.  494 nodded slowly and looked at Jondy expectantly, enjoying the new experience of meeting people outside of Manticore.  She saw his eager look and grinned, and nodded her head to two blondes in the corner talking in low hushed voices, “Mitchell, Mitchy if you want him to be in a huff for two days, and Abigail, Abby if you don’t want her in a huff for two days.” 

The two looked up at him to smile, “Hi,” he said, shifting on his feet. She turned to look behind her and nodded.

“And that’s Eric.”  494 turned to meet dark blue eyes framed by cream skin and shaggy blonde hair.   He had the urge to shake his head sadly even as the part of him that took care of missions smiled in triumph.  He had accomplished his mission statement without even trying.  He looked down at the hand outstretched to him and then up at the smiling face, he returned the expression and shook the hand of the man he was going to have to kill.

 

~*~

 

“Sketchy, careful, he’ll try and hit on you,” he pointed at the lanky brunette and tried not to bristle when his friend tried to put on a pimp smile. One, that seemed a direct imitation of his own.  As usual, it was just lacking in the usual effect. 

Jondy just smiled back and turned to Alec to go on.

 “Original Cindy,” his finger moved, “she’ll probably try to hit on you too.” The two women smiled at each other after Cindy shot him a death glare.

“He be tryin’ to mess wit’ Original Cindy’s flava,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“That’s not unusual for him,” Jondy simpered at him, and bit her lip gently.  “At least that used to be the case.”

 He put on his best smirk.

“I don’t try to mess with anyone’s ‘flava,’ it just kinda happens that way.”  He wiggled his eyebrows; “I’m just irresistible.”

“Your confidence level has gone up, that’s for sure.”

 

~*~

 

They were all sitting in an apartment two weeks after they met.   The sounds of a TV made soft background music to their conversations.  Jondy stretched out on the couch her feet resting in 494’s, Gabriel’s, lap and her head lying on the armrest as she tossed a pillow at Eric’s head. 

“He has to admit it!” He yelled, batting away the projectile.

“Gabriel is shy, he doesn’t do that whole dating scene thing,” Jondy laughed when she looked over at 494.  “She was hitting on you heavily, though,” she had an almost imperceptible pout on her full lips before she smiled again.

“Ha! That’s an understatement!”  Jeff called from the kitchen as he and Brianna came out carrying drinks for everyone.  “When you say ‘hitting on’ what you really meant to say was ‘throwing herself’ right?”

“My mistake,” Jondy laughed with a roll of her eyes.  494, Gabriel, chuckled and shook his head.

“She was just desperate for a date.”  Tess gave a bark of laughter from her perch on the armrest of the easy chair next to Mitch.

“Ever notice that when you step into a room half of the girls in it suddenly become desperate for a date?”

“Not really,” he could feel heat rise in a flush and suddenly wanted to dance around like a crazy man.  Friends; he had friends that were picking on him, and laughing with him.  It was an entirely new experience; one that he had to keep reminding himself was only temporary. 

“I can’t exactly say I blame them,” Abby joked from the floor.  She lay spread eagle on the living room rug watching as the fan spun around quietly.

“This -“

 

~*~

 

“-is Max,” he pointed and then looked down at Jondy.  “I believe that the two of you already know each other.”  One thin black eyebrow rose slowly as electric blue eyes met chocolate brown. 

“It’s been a long time,” Max said, lifting her eyebrow in response.

“’Bout eleven years,” Jondy grinned and nodded towards Alec.  “He been giving you trouble?”

“Since the first day we met.” 

Jondy smiled as she looked over at Alec.  “I taught you well.”

“I was never the same after I met you,” he agreed heartily, almost laughing at the way Max was staring back and forth between them.

“So how exactly do you two know each other?”

 The smile Jondy gave her was sad, even as her eyes flitted over to where Alec shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.  “I was looking for entertainment, we made friends, and then he saved my life.” 

Green eyes snapped up to stare at her. 

“He saved your life?”

“After I almost killed her,” he growled.

“Why are you huffy?” Jondy crossed her arms over her ample chest.  “Hmm?”

“I just don’t like you distorting the facts.”

“I didn’t distort them. I just didn’t mention the unimportant parts.” She shrugged elegantly and tried not to laugh at the look of exasperation he shot her.

“The unimportant parts?  I’m pretty sure that’s the most important part.”

She just shook her head and touched his cheek gently with soft fingers. “No, Alec. It isn’t.”

“How-”

 

~*~

 

“-can you be so sure?” Gabriel asked, his green eyes darting up to meet eyes the color of lightening bolts.

“Because I’m damn good that’s how,” she answered with a grin.  She threw a lock of gold over her shoulder impatiently, “just trust me, will ya?”

“Oh, right, I’m just supposed to trust you?  You want to see if you can hack into a bank, divert funds to some bank account picked at random and then put it all back two days later.  Yeah, I should trust you that we won’t get caught.”

“Fine!  Trust us,” she indicated herself and Eric with an impatient flick of her wrist.

“How is he any better?”  His eyebrow rose slowly.

“Didntcha know?   Eric’s a certifiable genius.”  She nodded towards him with a grin; “the boy puts us all to shame.”  Eric barked with laughter, never looking away from his computer screen where he was typing furiously.

“Don’t listen to her.  That girl ain’t just a pretty face.”

Gabriel lifted his eyebrow again in her direction; she held her hands up in protest.

“He lies!  I’m just a pretty face, there’s nothing between my ears but air.”

“Don’t believe her!”

“I’m a natural blonde!”

“You got into an argument with me over whether the packs in Ghostbusters was a viable theory.”

“I also got into a fight with Tess on whether ‘Cocopuffs’ was better than ‘Countchocula!’”  She stomped her foot with a huff.

“And I joined in.”

“Hey!” Gabriel held his hands up in the air with a smirk, “I gotta admit that I’ve been wonderin’ about you myself, Jond.’”

“Nothin’ to wonder ‘bout,” she walked over to Eric and peered over his shoulder, pointing silently at a code he had missed.  

“For some reason I doubt that.”

“Whatever,” she shrugged and pursed her lips, “I got things I gotta do today,” she ruffled Eric’s hair before doing the same to Gabriel, lingering next to him long enough to give him a soft smile.

“Give my love to your brother for me,” Eric called to her disappearing back, she just waved over her shoulder and was gone.

“I didn’t know she had a brother,” Gabriel mused.

“Yeah, I’ve only actually met him once, he comes by every two months or so and she disappears until he’s goes…wherever he goes.”

“She doesn’t actually talk about her family any.”

“Neither do you,” Eric pointed out with a smile, dark blue eyes turning on him for a second.  “I don’t think they’re actually blood relations, she’s been a foster for most of her life…”

“Foster?”

“Yeah, she went from foster home to foster home.  They don’t look that much a like except for blond hair and blue eyes, he’s stockier kinda like a Rotweiller…has about the same temperament too.”   Eric smiled and shook his head sadly.  “I get a feeling that’s why she doesn’t like anyone knowing how smart she it.”

“Him acting like a Rotweiller?”

“No, her being a foster…she really is smart.  I use her for a soundin’ board when I can’t figure something out…if I’m a certifiable genius then she’s a veritable one.”  Gabriel was staring at his hands for a minute before he looked over at the other man,

“What theories does she help you on?”

 

~*~

 

He couldn’t get enough of her laugh. During the long, cold nights at Manticore, he had remembered it -- clutched it to himself like a ward against the cold.  The memory hadn’t done it justice, he thought to himself, as it’s source stood vibrant and alive in front of him once more.

Jondy threw her head back as she laughed, her body seeming to give into the sound whole-heartily.   She looked at him with twinkling eyes and he couldn’t help himself, he had to touch her. To feel the soft skin that he had only been able to remember for three years now. 

He reached out and brushed away a strand of gold and blue hair from her face, his knuckles brushing her cheek gently.  The laughter fled from her face but a soft smile remained in its place as he cupped her cheek gently.  He pulled her away from the rest of the group without a glance and she followed readily.

 “Dance-”

 

~*~

 

“-with me.” His voice was so low he thought for a moment that she didn’t hear him, until she looked up from where she was sitting, sorting through her collection of CD’s.  She cocked her head slightly to the side, listening to the soft strains of music playing through the air of the empty apartment, empty except for them.

She looked over at him, shifting from foot to foot, and held a hand in the air to be helped up.  He took it and lifted her gently to her feet, not moving back so that they stood facing each other with less than an inch of air between them.  They stood together in the middle of the room, not moving, for a good minute.

She made the first move to slip her arms around his neck.  He pulled her in closer until their bodies were flush against each other.  Gabriel let his head rest on top of hers as she laid her own on his chest, the soft rhythm of his heart beating a counter rhythm to the song.

“I’ve never danced with anyone before,” he whispered and felt as her body tensed for a second then relaxed as she shifted her head against his chest. 

She looked up at him and smiled. “Then it’s about time.”

 

~*~

 

“I missed you,” Alec whispered as she swayed against him, trying to talk over the memories.

She looked up at him with a sly grin. “I figured you would.”

“Am I that predictable?”

Her eyes moved across his face.  “No. It was more of a hopeful figurin’ than anything else.”

“Did you miss me?”  He couldn’t prevent a nervous swallow as he looked anywhere other than at her. 

Jondy touched his cheek and pulled his face down to look at her. “Would I be here if I didn’t?”

“I just…”

“Want to hear it?” She raised one delicate eyebrow and waited for his nod.  “Yes, I missed you.”

 He pulled her in closer and buried his face in the blonde mass of her hair. “You-”

 

~*~

 

“-smell like wildflowers,” he whispered against her hair.  He couldn’t figure out why he was whispering, he just felt that it was right.  As though if he lifted his voice this would all blow away.

He shouldn't be there, he knew he should be making nice with Eric.  He should be making plans on how to get the data off his computers, how he’s going to take care of his mission.  He should not be there, dancing, with this woman in his arms.

Gabriel, 494, he corrected himself bitterly, couldn’t seem to let go of her.  He had known when he had accepted her invitation to come over that he wasn’t supposed to, but she had looked so sweet standing there with a grin lighting her face just before she took a flying leap at him. He had explained it away to himself at the time as looking suspicious if he didn’t go, but he knew well enough that that wasn’t what he was thinking about.

He tightened his arms around her slender waist, desperately trying to drown out the thoughts by the touch of her.

 

~*~

 

“Report, 494,” the balding man barked, his small beady brown eyes scanned the length of 494’s body before rising to meet his eyes. 

“I have been accepted into the target’s circle of peers, sir,” something in his chest tightened painfully even as he kept his eyes forward and his face expressionless.

“Have you managed to get a hold of any of his files?”

“No, sir, he’s very protective of his computer, sir.  Only two people are allowed on it, sir, and it’s a small apartment.”

“Two people?”  494 had to fight the clenching of his jaw when he realized what he had said.  The beady eyes sparkled.

“Mr. Prince and one of his friends.”

“Which friend?”

“Ms. Cosgrove, sir.”

“Ms. Cosgrove?”  He held his hand out and waited for a small folder full of papers to appear in his hand.  494 struggled to look uninterested and unaffected by the admission of Jondy’s involvement

“We have very little information on this woman…not even a photograph.

  His eyes snapped up from a page in the folder.  “Why is she allowed on?”

494's mind whirled before he decided what he would do. “I believe, sir, that she likes to play games.”

“Games?”

“Yes, sir, games…I believe she prefers Tetris.”

“He keeps all his scientific theories on that computer and he allows her to play on it?”

“I don’t think she has any interest in his scientific theories.” 494 held his breath and waited to see if his superior believed his lie.

“Is there a way you can use her to get at Mr. Prince’s files?”

“I can try sir, but Mr. Prince rarely leaves us alone in his apartment.”  494 finally looked at him.  “I believe the best bet would be to break in.  It might be a few weeks before the chance presents itself though.”  He hesitated before going on, “Mr. Prince rarely leaves the apartment without the company of one of his friends…he’s taken to inviting me.”

“Understood,” the man stared at 494 for a long time until some decision had been made. 

“Everything we know about Mr. Prince from before we sent you out indicates that he would never willingly work for us, here at Manticore.”  He looked back down at the folder, “I believe we should make sure that no one else can get a hold of him.”

“Sir?”

“We want to see what he has on that computer before you do anything, but he must be eliminated before anyone else can use him…that’s what you’re for.   We want this to be quiet, something that will seem natural.  Can you handle that, 494?”

“Yes, sir.”

 

 

~*~

 

Alec watched as she lifted the glass of amber liquid to her lips, her nose crinkling gently at the strong smell, before tipping her head back and taking the full shot down.  He smirked when she shook her head in disgust.

“Question?” He raised an eyebrow slowly

“Answer.”

“You don’t like alcohol, right?”

“Blue car…sorry, they don’t line up.” 

“Jondy,” he growled, his green eyes narrowing.

“Sorry!  No, I don’t.”

 Alec smiled as he bit his lip in thought. “So then why are you drinking it?” 

She shrugged, the smooth skin stretching over sinewy muscles, rising and falling as she turned to him. “Sometimes I just wanna.”  She crinkled her nose again.  “You get enough it gets kind of tingly.”

“So… you’re looking for tingles?” he asked with a laugh, as his eyebrow rose suggestively.

“Most of the time,” she brought a fist down with a soft thud and a laugh.

 

~*~

 

494 cursed under his breath as the window closed behind him with a thud. He grimaced as he opened it back up and reached for the bar Eric always kept lying there and propped it open.   He carefully slipped on black leather as he made his way to the computer.

He had no trouble accessing the password-protected files; having seen it countless times from what Eric thought was a safe distance.  He couldn’t help letting out a low whistle as he tried to make sense of the jumble of folders that were suddenly taking up the screen.   He clicked on a random file named “badfrog,’ a name that, in relation to the others, wasn’t that strange.

The screen was covered with theorems and equations, numbers and random letters equaling more random signs. It took 494 a minute to realize what he was looking at sitting before him was Manticore’s dream come true.  It was a way to send in an assassin and never have anything traced back to them, no one would even suspect.  This was a way to engineer a virus and target it to someone’s specific gene code.  Somewhat crude since Eric had no real way to test the theory but perfectly viable. 

Taking a deep breath 494 closed the file out and got ready to download the entire hard drive onto his disk when his eyes moved [of their own accord-I would take it out] to a picture framed above the computer.  Jondy's eyes smiled back at him.

Gabriel shook his head with a curse as the rest of the picture came into focus.   All of them looking as though they knew they could freeze their happiness forever, even him.

Gabriel was shaking when he pushed the file transfer.  He had to remind himself how to breathe.  In through the nose, out through the mouth.

The blue bar moved across the screen slowly, more slowly then a computer as advanced as this had any right to.  He was still trying to inhale when the file dinged it one hundred percent warning.  He ejected the disc, sliding it into his palm and glaring at it for a moment before placing it into its holder and pocketing it.

With one last glance at the picture he was heading for the window.  Putting the bar in its customary place he stepped out onto the fire escape and let the glass down slowly.  It clicked shut as the front door opened and Eric and Jondy walked in, smiling and shaking their heads.

He moved to the side and crouched down, straining to pick up the soft voices.  “Please, guys like that don’t fall for girls like me,” Gabriel, 494, felt his stomach drop as she let out a bitter laugh.

“Are you blind or do you practice stupidity?” Eric threw an arm around her shoulder and led her to the couch.”

“Yeah, I’m blind.  I don’t see what the heck you’re talking about.”

“Jondy, Jondy, Jondy…you poor child, the boy is head over heels.”

“You’re high.”

“Ask him.”

“Fine!  I will,” she puffed out her chest with a grin before she started to leave.  She stopped in front of the door and glanced back at him.  “Aren’t you going to stop me?”

“Get-“

 

~*~

 

“-out of here?”  Alec asked with a raised brow.

Jondy looked at him for a second before nodding her head. “The rain is full here,” she commented with a smile.

“Full?”

“ ’But the rain is/ Full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh/ Upon the glass and listen for reply,’ ” she said simply and touched his arm as she slid from the barstool.

“What’s that from?”  he asked as he followed her through the crowd, waving a hand at his group of friends as they left.

“Just-”

 

~*~

 

“-a poem,” she said with a shrug.

“I wanna see it,” Gabriel said with a smile as he leaned over her shoulder, only to have the book clasped to her chest.  She hunched down on the sofa away from him.

“No!” She drew her lips together in a tight line and glared at him, fighting a smile.

“Petulant child, give it to me,” he made a grab for the book and found Jondy standing and using the sofa as a shield.

“I said ‘no.’” Her bottom lip jutted out.  He jumped over the sofa in one fluid motion. 

Letting out an ‘eep’ her blue eyes went wide and she turned to flee.

“Oh no you don’t,” he grabbed her around the waist, his arms a perfect fit around her slender body, and pulled her against his chest.  His lips brushed her ear gently, “give it up.”

“Never!” she struggled to get away, lifting her feet and letting her full body weight drag him down, the book still held just out of his reach.  He smirked down at her.

“Have it your way, then.”  He decided to employ mercenary tactics, tickling.  She let out a screech and reflexively brought her arms down in an attempt to protect her midriff.  Gabriel made another grab for the book, finally having it in his clutches only to find her still clinging to it.

Too caught up in the sound of her laughter, he didn’t realize he was straining with all his muscles to drag the book out of the slender woman’s grasp.  “Give-“

 

~*~

 

“-them to me!”  Alec cried and pulled at the keys in Jondy’s hand.

“No!”

“I wanna drive!” He batted insanely long, thick lashes at her, and made his eyes go puppy-dog wide.

“It’s my bike,” she whined, lowering the keys to stomp her foot.

“Aha! I-”

 

~*~

 

“-got it!” He cried and held the book up in triumph, ignoring how heavily he was breathing.

“Give it back,” she made a jump for the book but he held her off with a hand so he could read.

“’I have gone marking the atlas of your body/ with crosses of fire. /  My mouth went across: a spider, trying to hide. / In you, behind you, timid, driven by thirst.’”  He looked down at Jondy and lifted an eyebrow.  “What are you reading?  Porn poetry?”

“Gabe!  Give me my book back.”

“Ha!” He cleared his throat to go on, “’Stories to tell you on the shore of evening, / sad and gentle doll, so that you should not be sad. /  A swan, a tree, something far away and happy. /  The season of grapes, the ripe and fruitful season,’” he cocked his head and his brow drew together.  “’The ripe and fruitful season’?”

“Summer or spring.  I don’t know.  Now give it!”  She made another pass, her fingers just brushing the edge of a page as he pulled at away from her.

“I’m not done yet…I’m broadening my mind here. Now, where was I?”  He bit his lip thoughtfully, holding her at arm’s length.  “’I who lived in a harbor from which I loved you. /  The solitude crossed with dream and with silence. / Penned up between the sea and sadness. / Soundless, delirious, between two motionless gondoliers.’  How sweet.  ‘Between the lips and the voice something goes dying. /  Something with the wings of a bird, somethi-“

Too intent on the poem he didn’t see the way Jondy’s face suddenly hardened and she threw herself at him.  Not at the book, the tactic had already proven itself futile, but at Gabriel.  One second he was talking in over-cultured tones and the next he wasn’t sure if he remembered exactly how to breathe.  With soft lips pressed against his and a lean body flush with his own he couldn’t remember what he had been doing seconds earlier.  His arms dropped to cradle her and she was gone. 

“Ha! So there!” Jondy pranced away with the book in her hand.

 

~*~

 

Alec slipped the key into his lock with a smile on his face.

“Stop smiling,” Jondy snapped, trying to look unhappy.

“Hey, I got to drive your bike. I have reason to be happy.”

 She cleared her throat and lifted and eyebrow. “You almost crashed it three times!” 

Alec turned to her with a smirk as his door swung open. “That’s because you almost made me crash it three times, vixen.”  He entered the apartment and turned back to watch as she shifted on the balls of her feet.

 

~*~

 

The silence of the apartment was cut by a soft knock on the door.  For an agonizing heartbeat Gabriel was terrified that it was Manticore coming to check up on him.  It was four a.m., who else could it be?  Squaring his shoulders he opened the front door to find Jondy standing there shifting on the balls of her feet as he stood staring at her, wrapping his mind around the image that appeared before him. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she looked at her hands.  “If I’m not welcome I’ll just go.”  She started to turn to walk away when his hand shot out and grabbed her by the arm.  He looked almost panicked when she glanced back at him.

“You’re welcome.”  He gave her a shaky smile, “come on in.  I wasn’t sleeping anyway.”

She gave him a smile and allowed him to pull her inside, her arm brushed his chest and he realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt.  He was about to go get one when she stopped in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped around herself as she slowly turned.

“You need to decorate,” she told him dryly.

“I wouldn’t know what to do with the place.” 

Jondy just nodded slowly and it struck him that she looked so lost just standing there staring at his sorry excuse for an apartment.  Fragile and small were the words that flitted through his mind as she shifted from foot to foot, looking at him with wide, almost frightened eyes.   “Why are you here, Jond?”

“I-I told you, I don’t sleep much…I always have to find something to do.  I go crazy if I just sit around and I couldn’t just sit there and stare at my ceiling for one more second cause I was close to breakin’ stuff.”  Her words came out in a rush and she wouldn’t meet his eyes.  “I mean, do you know what it’s like to stare at the ceiling willing yourself to go to sleep and make the thoughts stop?”  She looked at him then and he realized she was waiting for an answer.  He nodded.  “I do it every night, and I didn’t…I didn’t want to do it alone,” her voice trailed off in a whisper.

”Jond…”

“I’m not asking anything except for some company.”  She shrugged, “come on, man, I don’t want to be there by myself anymore…and I trust you.”

Gabriel froze, every muscle in his body going still as she watched him.  For a full minute he didn’t even breathe and then movement was restored. “You shouldn’t,” he choked out.

“Yes, I should,” she smiled slightly, then swallowed.  “Can I just stay here tonight?  You don’t…I’m not asking to even sleep in the same bed, I just don’t wanna be alone.”  He looked into her eyes, weighing her words, ‘I trust you,’ she had said.  She trusted him.  He took a hesitant step towards her and then reached out to cup her cheek. 

“This is going to end with both of us hurt.”

“I know,” she whispered, “but I just want to feel you.”  She nuzzled at his hand and looked at him with fragile eyes.  “Can you blame me?”

He didn’t answer as he pulled her body against his, small hands slid around his waist to rest on his bare back, burning into his skin.  His thumb moved over her cheek as he looked down into eyes that seemed endless.  Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and he couldn’t control himself any longer.  He bent down and captured her lips, claiming them for his own.  His hands doing the same with the rest of her body.

 

~*~

 

Jondy was fire against him. 

Her hands slid up his back to tangle in his hair, pulling him closer, if such a thing was possible.

Alec’s hands slid under her shirt and touched the bare skin of her stomach reverently.  He pulled the shirt over her head slowly, pulling away to watch the blonde and blue cascade of hair fall around her shoulders and brush the waist of her jeans.

 

~*~

 

He ran his hand through the silken strands, taking a lock in his fingers, and gently rubbed it against his cheek, savoring each new sensation.  He tugged her hair gently, bringing her back to him.  Her tongue slid against his lips and he gave her entrance, moaning at the feel and taste of her.

With outstretched fingers, he slid his hands down the smooth skin of her stomach as his lips trailed kisses along her neck.  He reached for her bra and let out a low sigh when first one strap and then the other fell from her shoulders.  He kissed each newly bared shoulder gently before he pulled his body far enough away for the bra to fall to the floor at their feet. 

 

~*~

 

Alec felt the tug of small hands on the waistband of his jeans and let her pull him further into his apartment. He stroked the outside of each breast, cupping one in his hand as his other snaked around her back and pulled her closer to him. 

She took his bottom lip between her teeth and raked them across the delicate skin.  She pulled away and smiled as he leaned farther to capture her lips again, an unhappy groan rising from deep in his throat. She nuzzled at his chin, wanting him to raise it so that she could reach his neck.  Jondy traced his collarbone slowly with her tongue and lips, her nails leaving faint red lines down his back.

 

~*~

 

“Beautiful,” he whispered against her throat, his breath catching when her bare breasts pushed against his chest.  She used him for support as she toed off her shoes.   They left a trail of her clothes behind as they made their way into his bedroom. 

Gabriel fumbled awkwardly with the buttons of her pants, growling in frustration as they didn’t just yield to him.  She chuckled low in her throat and touched his cheek gently with the tips of her fingers.  She brushed her lips against his, the barest whisper of skin on skin.

Running her fingers under his chin she pulled him up and, scratching his sides gently until her hands stopped at the button of his pants.  She looked up at him through her lashes as she pulled the jeans down his legs, his boxers soon following.  

Pressing a kiss to the inside of his thigh, and nipping the sensitive skin she started to stand, sliding her body up his.  Standing once again infront of him she smiled wickedly as she put her hands against his chest and pushed.  With a gasp he landed on his bed, not quite remembering when they made it to his room. 

He pushed himself up so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed with Jondy standing between his legs.  He kissed her stomach and wrapped his arms around her waist, stopping for a second to breathe her in and rest his forehead against her.  Feeling her arms slide along his shoulders to hold him to her, he let out a sigh that almost sounded like a sob.   

Turning so that his chin rested against her stomach, he dropped a kiss between her breasts and looked up at her.  In the darkness he could see her perfectly, the hour glass figure leading to the graceful curve of shoulders and neck, the milky skin gleaming in what was left of the moonlight.  He knew that all she could probably make out was his out line but as he looked up at her their eyes met and hers sparkled down at him. 

He watched with curiosity as she lifted a hand and placed it against his forehead.  Fingers that felt like the barest whisper of satin moved over his skin, over his brow, down his jaw line, down the bridge of his nose; he closed his eyes and they moved over the tips of his eyelashes.  He almost jumped when her fingers touched the edge of his lips and traced the cupid’s bow; he kissed them even as they moved over his bottom lip and over his chin and down his neck.

 

~*~

 

Alec opened his eyes again as his hands moved over her back before finally making their way to her front. He gently kissed an erect nipple, before taking it into his mouth and sucking on it gently, as his hands moved to remove her jeans.

 She arched her back, pressing herself into him, as her pants made a puddle on the floor.  Pressing kisses along her breast he made the slow agonizing descent to her bellybutton.  Outlining the circle with his tongue, he pulled her panties down her legs, letting his hands roam over the muscles of her thighs and calves.  

 

~*~

 

Her fingers fisted in his hair, pulling his descending mouth away from her and up to her lips as she bent over him.  With fluid grace, he pulled her up onto his lap so she straddled him.  He stood erect at her entrance and felt as she held herself back. 

A growl caused his chest to vibrate against hers as he pulled her down against him.  He could feel as the tip of him slowly entered her, and he couldn’t breath as she pulled away. 

“Tell me that you want me here…like this,” she panted, her eyes rolling as he moved farther into her.

“I want you here,” he swallowed. “God, I want you.”  He kissed her lips again, sucking on her bottom lip, as his hands pulled her down again. His eyes rolled back in his head as she encased him, her ragged breathing loud in his ears as he felt her breasts strain against him.

 They sat there for what seemed an eternity as stars flashed behind their eyes and then she moved.

 

~*~

 

Her inner walls flexed around him as he dragged in precious air.  She moved against him and he laced his hands in her hair pulling her lips down to his.

 He lay down on his back, bringing her down with him, her moan music to his ears as he pushed deeper.  His nails dug into her, hips guiding her movements and he rolled them so his weight pushed her down into the bed.

He lifted clear, pulling almost completely out of her, unable to prevent the smile that formed when she wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to pull him back down.  He bit his lip as he looked down at her. “Beautiful,” he repeated.

“Look who’s talkin,’” she reached up to pull his lips down to hers.  Her entire body exploding with electricity as he sunk back into her. 

 

~*~

 

Gabriel couldn’t breath, couldn’t think as she moved beneath him, her body becoming a writhing mass of nerves, her cries doing things to his body that he had never thought possible before.

Jondy moaned his name into his ear, as he moved inside of her. Her hands trailed over his back, and down to his hips to push him closer, her nails digging into him. Her hips moved up against him, trying to take him deeper, and she moaned as he started to move a little faster. 

He pumped in and out of her and the world was tinged with light that hadn’t been there earlier. She arched as far into him as her body would allow and for the briefest of seconds they couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended.  And then he felt it, as her walls clenched around him and she yelled his name, he couldn't keep himself from going over the edge.

Part sobbing, part screaming, he emptied into her in a hot torrent, his body nothing but sensation, as they came together as one entity.  He lay there on top of her trying to remember the simple steps of breathing.  He buried his face in the crook of her neck and felt as she planted kisses along his shoulder gently. 

He rolled so they faced each other, his lips still pressed against her neck as he whispered, “I don’t want to lose you.”

Her only answer was a quiet “shh,” as she ran her hands through his hair and wrapped a leg over his.  They lay there and he felt it as her body slowly slipped away, one muscle relaxing at a time and stroked the bare skin of her arm gently.

“I don’t want to lose you.”

 

~*~

 

She lay against him, a warm weight by his side, as her chest rose and fell with each sleeping breath.  He brushed a hand against her cheek and let out a soft sigh when she nuzzled against it, like a cat, too tired to wake but aware of his presence none the less. 

A smile curled her lips gently as his hand skimmed down her neck, over her bare shoulder, and down her arm to lightly grasp her hand. He brought it to his lips, kissing it gently and rubbed it against his cheek, before laying it back against the bed.

His body wanted to fall asleep beside her, exhausted from the previous workout, but he was afraid. 

Afraid that when he awoke, she would be gone. Her presence no more than a dream or apparition, too insubstantial to survive the light of day.  If that was to be the case, he wanted to soak her in -- to feed on her warmth like a vampire.  To sustain himself on the scent of flowers, the feel of silk, and the belief that she forgave him what he had had to do.

 

~*~

 

When Gabriel walked into Jondy’s apartment with Eric right behind him Tess, Jeff, and Brianna were already there.  They waved their helloes as they sat around the coffee table; cards lay out in front of them.  He started to take off his jacket then thought better of it.  “Why’s it so cold in here?”

Eric laughed and shot him a grin; “Jondy’s bound and determined to get drunk.”

“Huh?”

“Sloshed,” Jeff piped up.

“Fershnookered,” Brianna added.

“Pissed,” Tess finished with a smile.

“Caught that part,” Gabriel said dryly.  “I wanted to know what the cold had to do with her getting drunk.”

“Oh, that part,” Eric waved a hand in the air as though it was nothing.  “She has a theory...”

“A theory?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow slowly at the other man.

“A conjecture if you will.  Ya see, she’s got this amazing metabolism that makes it almost impossible for her to be one of the happily inebriated.”

“So she’s trying to slow it down by making it freezing in here?”

“Exactly.  It might actually work too.”

“I hope so,” Jondy said as she came out of the kitchen carrying an armload of bottles.  “Otherwise I’ll be the only one left sober…again.”

“I’ll keep you company then,” Gabriel said with a laugh.  She turned to him and her eyes sparkled.  His throat and chest tightened and he fought the urge to cry under the warmth of that gaze.  It took everything he had not to turn and run from the apartment filled with friends.  

Jondy dropped the drinks on the table with a soft clatter of glass and grimaced, “oops, I forgot to get you two beers,” she looked up at Eric and Gabriel biting her lip.

Gabriel hesitated for a minute before waving a hand in the air, “that’s cool, I’ll go get ‘em.”  He directed a shaky smile at Eric and Jondy as he walked into the kitchen.  With a sigh he ran a hand through his hair and opened the refrigerator, he got out two bottles of beer and popped the tops off.   Dragging in a breath he stared down at the cold steam rising out of the top and closed his eyes.   Reaching a hand into a pocket of his cargoes he brought out a small vile, no bigger than his pinky finger and uncorked it.  

“Just do it,” he muttered under his breath looking from the bottle to the vile and biting his lip. 

“Finding everything all right, Gabe?”  Jondy called in a sing song voice.

“Yeah, I was just debating whether I should get glasses.”  Jondy stuck her head into the kitchen with a raised eyebrow and a smirk; Gabriel had to turn to keep the vile out of her sight.

“Um…hard decision?”

“Yeah, you know how it is,” he shrugged, “do I go for the purity of right out of the bottle or do I act all civilized and put it in a glass?”

She blinked several times; “you’re debating civility when you’re with this group of people?”

He let out a laugh and sighed, “you’re right, what was I thinking?”  She shrugged elegantly and turned to go back out into the living room.   The vile was corked and put away in a heartbeat.  “Jondy?”

She turned back and made her eyes go wide, “hmm?”

He swallowed, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips, “come here for a sec?”

“What you can’t figure out how to carry them?”  She asked making her mouth into a small ‘o’ but sauntered over to him anyway.  “Yes?”

He touched her cheek gently, barely touching the skin underneath his fingertips.  Slowly he slid his hand to cup her face and pulled her towards him, “I-“ he just shook his head before leaning in and kissing her.

The first brush of his lips was soft, hesitant, almost non-existent and he pulled away, licking his lips softly, “what’s wrong?” she breathed, her eyes straying from his eyes to his lips and back again.

“Nothing,” he shrugged, “I just…” This kiss was harder, his lips capturing hers, in desperate need of reassurance that she wasn’t going to be lost to him; here, tonight. He was afraid that, somehow, she would know what he had been about to do before she came in.   He knew though that it wouldn’t be long before he was forced to loose her, before Manticore came to take him away.  He slid his hands into her hair and dragged her closer, hoping to somehow make the memory of her so deep that not even re-indoctrination could take it away. 

Light hands slid up his thighs and then nails bit gently into his back, and skin touched skin.  He was sure that he was going to loose it, as the feel of her took over everything else, drowning out even the distant voices from the living room.  Her tongue skimmed across his lower lip and with a low moan deep in his throat he opened his mouth and let her in.   

He felt her lips stretch into a smile against his own, and he pulled away.  Gabriele swallowed slowly and looked down at her, as he caressed the soft buttermilk skin.  It was a struggle to return her smile, but with another quick kiss she took his hand and led him into the living room with one of the beers in her hand.

 

~*~

 

“What happened, 494?” came the hiss from behind him.  494 turned to face his superior, careful not to betray anything.

“Sir, there were complications, sir.”

“What sort of complications?”  One eyebrow rose as he stared him down.  494’s mind whirled.

“I poisoned his drink as planned, but he wouldn’t drink it…one of his friends started to.”  He took a long breath to steady himself, making it look like nothing more then a momentary pause.  “I had to maintain the mission by putting it off, sir.”

“Very well…”

“Not quite,” came a husky voice.  494 had to restrain himself from turning.

“Lydecker.”

“Sandoval,” the voice said again.  “I have a couple questions for him,” he nodded to 494.

“Why are you coming in on this?”

“There’s a rumor that one of my kid’s is involved.”

“Sir?” 494 couldn’t stop the one word escaping and he looking into the hard blue eyes with a grimace.

“Do you know about the ’09 escapees, 494?” Lydecker asked quietly.

“I know there were twelve and I know their designations, sir.”

“Did you know their names?”

“No, sir,” he didn’t like where this was going, he averted his eyes and wore a blank face.

“Their names were Zack, Syl, Krit, Max, Tinga, Ben, Brin, Zane, Cassi, Rich, Nila, and another named Jondy.” 494’s eyes snapped to Lydecker and he felt his stomach drop threw the floor like a ton of bricks pushed out a four story window.  The old man’s lips quirked in a sick parody of a smile.  “In your report there is talk of a woman named Jondy Cosgrove.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Describe her.”

“Sir?” 

“What are her physical attributes?”

“Blond, blue-eyed, about 5’6, and approximately one hundred and thirty-seven pounds, sir.”

“Beautiful?”  494 blinked several times, of course she beautiful.  “Is she physically appealing.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I want you to find out if the rumors are true, and if they are…”

“He still has a mission,” Sandoval cut in.

“Which he will take care of, but my kids are more important.”

“This isn’t one of your kids,” Sandoval seethed point at 494.  “He follows my orders.  He will take care of Mr. Prince and then 210 comes next.”  Lydecker took a step towards Sandoval.

“She’s worth millions.”

“And Mr. Prince could cost us millions if someone else were to find him.  You aren’t going to cost this mission on a hunch.”

This is more then a hunch,” he ground out and 494, Gabriel, was afraid.  “Jondy isn’t a normal name….”

“But not unheard of, and if she’s as smart as any X5 she would have changed it by now…”

“They’re sentimental about them, she wouldn’t have.”

“It’s a hunch, Mr. Prince stays the priority.  Your ‘kid’ will be secondary.”

“I’m tellin you…”

“I have my orders, and 494 has his.”

“Renfro.”

“Yes, sir.”  Sandoval smiled then as he turned to 494, “dismissed.”

 

~*~

 

She shuffled the deck of cards quickly without thought and he watched her hands.   How had he not seen it before?  The effortless grace, the way she held herself as though no one in the world could touch her.  Everything about her screamed X5 and he’d been too blind to see it.  All he had to do now was see the barcode that he knew would stand in stark relief against her pale white skin.

And when he lifted that hair away, what would happen then?  Did he deny all training and let her go?  If he brought her in he could let Eric live.  They would forget him in the uproar of taking back in the first ever escapee: he could slip away and Jondy would be at Manticore.  With him.

Eric would live and Jondy would be with him, he would have to sneak around to meet with her but he could.  He’d already proven it ridiculously easy to convince the guards to let him slip by. 

Jondy was rolling her eyes in Eric’s direction still moving the cards and the prospect of keeping her was becoming more and more appealing.   He could keep her; he would never have to fear loosing her.  Everyday he’d see that face, she would never be far away, even if he wouldn’t be able to talk to her whenever he wanted to.  He’d see her face, her eyes, her hair…and that’s when it happened.  She threw her head back and laughed.  Her whole body was thrown into the action as her voice twisted through the air like a ribbon on the breeze.

He would never hear that, he’d have her but she would never laugh.

Could he do that?  Could he be the one to lock that laugh away?  Gabriel swallowed and closed his eyes against that thought. 

His other option was to kill Eric and have Jondy slip away; she could hide, she’d done it for years she could do it again, no problem.  He’d have part of the job done.  Gabriel could convince them she wasn’t the Jondy they wanted and it would be done.  Sandoval had made it clear, Eric was the priority, he’d forget about Jondy.

Who was he trying to kid?  Eric was a dead man no matter what Gabriel did.  He didn’t know how to hide.  He’d be caught and killed there was nothing Gabriel could do about that, and if he let him go Manticore would send another assassin after him.  One that might not go for a quick and painless death.

What if he let both of them go?  Was there a way he could do that, letting them both avoid death or something worse then death?   Jondy could protect them, she could teach him how to blend in and when they didn’t she could teach him how to run.  The thought was tempting but he knew it wouldn’t work, Manticore was going to need at least one of them.  He needed one to throw off suspicion from the other.

            He’s already said it, Eric was already dead.  “I’m gonna get us some more beer,” he said quietly and stood up.

“All right,” she smiled at him, her lips tight as she watched his face, somehow knowing his thoughts were dark.  He trailed a hand along the table up the arm of her chair and stopped right behind her, slipping it into her hair.  He bent down brushing the strands away from her neck gently.  Dropping a kiss on her shoulder he moved slowly so that his lips touched the black lines on the nape of her neck and she stiffened.  It took everything he had not to linger on the barcode and shifted to nibble on her ear until he felt her shoulders relaxed under his hands.

“You two should get a room,” Eric said, arranging his cards with a smirk.

“Maybe you should leave,” she laughed as she brushed a hand against Gabriel’s cheek before he moved away.  “We might need the whole place.”

“Kinky…but no, this is my apartment, remember?”

“Vaguely.”

Gabriel, 494, slipped into the kitchen with a sigh, their voices following him.  The vial was in his hand even before he pulled out the bottles of beer.  Turning everything off 494 opened all three beers and then the small benign looking vial.  Tipping the soft white powder into one of the bottles he let himself think the one errant thought that Eric wouldn’t suffer.  There were worse things then just falling asleep.

He picked the bottle up and swished the amber liquid inside gently, his eyes sliding slowly to the kitchen window.  Swirling fog was rolling in stealing silently between buildings and masking streetlights, like ghosts reclaiming the city.   Running a hand through his hair he turned, took up the last two bottles, holding them in his left hand while keeping the drugged one in his right, and returned to the living room. 

He couldn’t stop the soft hiss as he sucked air through his clenched teeth when he put the right bottle down infront of Eric, who smiled up at him and nodded.  “Thanks, man.”

“Don’t mention it,” he cleared his throat as he put Jondy’s bottle infront of her and took a long swig of his own.  Something in the pit of his stomach clenched so tightly he thought he was going to throw up as he watched Eric lift the beer to his own lips.

“Eric!” Jondy yelled suddenly.  The bottle dropped a little, safely away from his lips.

“What?”

“Your beer looks better than mine,” she pouted and eyed the dark brown glass.

“They’re the same, it looks just like yours!”  Gabriel had trouble breathing as he looked between them.

“That’s not true, yours is prettier.”  Eric started to take a drink, “trade ya?”

“No,” he brought it to his lips again.

“Please?”

“Jondy…” Eric started but Gabriel jumped in.

“Just drink your own beer, would ya?”  He laughed and shook his head over at her.  Her smile turned seductive.

“Trade ya?”  She bit her lip gently, and batted her eyelashes up at him.

“Fine,” he could handle that.  “Spoiled brat,” he added as he switched their bottles.

“Hmph.” 

Eric was laughing at them both as he took a sip, Gabriel took a deep breath and watched as he took another.  When the beer was finished Gabriel had half an hour to take Jondy home, explain the situation and send her on her way, she didn’t need to ever find out what had happened to her friend. 

“Hey, you know what I was thinking?” Jondy piped in with a bright twinkle in her eyes.

“Pray tell, what murderous plan have you hatched now?” Eric asked looking down at his cards with a lift of an eyebrow.  Jondy’s mouth fell open and she lifted a hand to her chest delicately, doing her best who-me-look.

“Let’s have a sleep over!”   Gabriele opened his mouth to protest but Eric was already talking.

“Yeah!  That sounds like fun…have a tent and a couple hundred mosquitoes and I’m a kid again.”

“A tent and mosquitoes?” Jondy asked, her eyebrows pulling together.

“Yeah, me and my friends camped out in each others back yards.”  He looked over at Gabriele.  “Didn’t you ever do that with your friends.”

“Oh yeah,” he nodded, “I camped out.”  He decided to leave out the times they were forced to stay out in sub-arctic weather and were rarely given tents when they did this.

“Yeah, well, I had a sad deprived childhood,” Jondy was laughing but trying to look depressed.  “I must make up for it now and have a sleep over.”

“I wanna go though,” Gabriele laughed and put on a pouty face.

“Too bad!” Jondy smacked his shoulder.

“Aww, stay, man!”

Gabriele yawned and stretched, “it’s been a really long day, I don’t know if I can hold out much longer.”

“Don’t give me that crap, you need sleep about as much as I do,” Jondy put her feet up on the table to illustrate just how much she wasn’t going to leave.

Gabriele was trying desperately to figure out a way to convince her to leave.  “I was…uh…hoping you and I could go back to my place…” he started and Jondy gave him a quick kiss.

“I know what you were hoping,” she grinned, “and I have no objections doing just that, but tonight I want to stay here and play.”  

“I just…” She put a hand on his cheek.

“It’ll be fun, Eric managed to get some marshmallows today and there’s some chocolate, we can make impromptu s’mores.”

“I just—” don’t want you to watch your friend die.  Gabriele took a deep breath and forced himself to smile, he knew Jondy well enough to know she wasn’t going to leave no matter what he tried.  So change of plans…hope to any god there might be that she understands.

 

~*~

 

Jondy groaned in her sleep softly and mumbled. Alec strained to hear the words but was rewarded with an unintelligible garble.  Her head thrashed on the pillow and he reached out a hand to smooth her hair away from her forehead.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as she sighed and quieted.  He wondered idly what it was that bothered her sleep.  Did she see in her head the same thing that he did?   Was she remembering the half-hour before the world came tumbling down? 

 

~*~

 

Jondy was staring off into space, not paying any attention as Eric placed a hand on Gabriel’s arm, “you’ve been a good friend.”

Gabriele swallowed hard, fighting back tears and refusing to meet the other man’s eyes.  “No I haven’t.”

Eric gave his shoulder a soft squeeze, “sure you have.”  Gabriele finally met his eyes and the breath went out of him.  He stared into the dark blue eyes of a dying man who knew.  He knew what was coming and why.  “You were learning, you did good.”

“I’m so sorry,” Gabriele choked out, finally catching Jondy’s attention.  She turned her eyes to them slowly and blinked, trying to understand the tears swelling in his eyes.

“It’s ok, man,” Eric started, his head dipping down.  “I forgive you,” he mumbled as his hand fell from Gabriel’s arm.  It seemed an eternity as he watched Eric’s eyelids fluttered, his eyes rolled, and the world was suddenly in real time as he slumped forward so that his forehead fell tot he table with a dull thunk.

Jondy gasped softly her eyes wide as she reached a hand out slowly to shake the shoulder that had been so straight just and hour earlier.  “Eric?”  Her voice wavered sounding so small in the echoing silence of the apartment.  She swallowed looking painfully utterly lost.  Her eyes lifted slowly, oh so slowly up to Gabriel’s face and blinked.  “W-what did you do?”

“Jond’— I…” The cold that settled in to the hollow’s of her face stole his breath away.

Her voice went hard and gravely as she stood in one slinky movement.  “What did you do?”

“I didn’t—”

“I heard you say you were sorry.  What did you do?!”

“What I had to,” he stood, mirroring her hunched shoulders and predatory stance.

“We took you in, and we were your friends.”  One dark stroke of an eyebrow rose elegantly, “you had to kill Eric?”  Her eyes narrowed, the color of the sun through the depths of the ocean, the promise of warmth and air that you can never reach in time.  “Who?”

Gabriele swallowed slowly.  “Manticore.”  He had expected yelling, her face to crumple with betrayal, possibly even her lunging across the table to do him bodily harm.  He hadn’t expected the hard wooden table to be hurled through the air right at him, and because of it his reaction time was slow.

It caught his upper thigh as he leapt from its path, the sudden numbness of his lower leg telling that she’d glanced a nerve.  He rolled on the ground ignoring the way his knee wanted to buckle when he came to his feet.

“I’m not going back there,” she informed him very calmly, something as sharp as a razor’s edge glinting behind her eyes.  He opened his mouth to tell her that hadn’t been the plan when she used the table to launch herself into the air and her boot connected with his chin.   The force of the blow spun him around and as he turned to face her again a fist was already swinging toward his nose; he turned it just in time to have it graze his cheek.  He blocked another punch and twisted his hand to catch her wrist.

“I have more training,” he tugged and she was cuddled against his chest. “I’m gonna win this fight,” he ground out as she struggled, a snarl rising unbidden from his throat.

She smiled, baring fangs and then silence filled his ears, a dull rush of wind and he was flying.  Flying backwards chest concave and hands reaching, reaching for something unattainable; even if you knew how to fly.  He heard the breaking glass long before he felt it; clothes and skin giving way to something better, sharper.  The pain didn’t even start until he was rolling over the shards of a mirror and onto his knees ready to dodge the next blow.

He didn’t even know what she had done to toss him through the air like that; she’d been too fast and not half as concerned with his well being as he had been with hers.   He blinked up at her trying to figure out which way she would lung next.  Sharp cheeks had gone pale making her look like delicate porcelain, despite the pain in his back protesting otherwise.  Full lush lips pressed together, too full for the pale skin.  The thought struck him that she looked carved out of ice and kissed by fire even as he sprang at her.

He body slammed her, his arms going around her shoulders as they both went to the floor.  She let out an ‘oof’ into his ear as the air left her lungs.  They rolled and Jondy sat on top of him straddling his waist, he watched in almost slow motion as she brought a fist down into his face.  His ears were ringing and he only had time to open his eyes when the next blow came.  Baring his teeth he bucked and rode her until he was on top.  She started to twist her body under him getting ready to throw him off.   He let his body go heavy on top of her using both leverage and strength to keep her on the floor. 

“I had to!” Gabriel cried dropping his forehead to her shoulder.

Suddenly Jondy stopped struggling; almost making him fall just from the lack of resistance.  “Why?” she choked out.  He wanted to look at her, to lift his head from her shoulder but he couldn’t look into her eyes after what he did.  “Why?” she said louder.

“I had to…they gave me a mission, but I swear I never…I hadn’t meant,” he took a steadying breath and lifted his head.  “I never planned on you, I promise.  I followed the mission and when I reported in I kept you out of it…as much as I could.  I was ordered to download the files on Eric’s computer and then kill him.”  Gabriel swallowed when her eyes hardened.  “I started to and then stopped, I was willing to take Psy-ops again over killing him when Lydecker showed up.”

“’Deck?”  The look in her eyes had shifted to pure terror and she started to struggle again as he strained to hold her down.

“He told me who he thought you were.  Sandoval was clear that Eric was the priority.  I had a choice…”

“Take me in dead or alive?!” she spit out.

Gabriel gritted his teeth, “ let Eric go and have someone else kill him and take you in or kill Eric and use the completed mission to draw attention away from your escape.”   The entire apartment went silent and still except for the hard breathing of both transgenics.

“What?”

“Eric was dead no matter what I did, he was too much of a threat for them to let him go for someone else to pick him up…they weren’t sure of you, you can get away and disappear before…”

Turning her head slowly she looked to where Eric’s body lay sprawled out on the floor, he followed her line of sight.  With his eyes closed he looked like he might have just fallen asleep, and Gabriel had to fight the urge to get up and arrange him so he’d be more comfortable when he woke up.   Jondy shook softly beneath him and he turned back to watch as tears traced the high cheekbones to disappear into her hair.

“Jond’, I’m so…” he lifted a hand to brush away the tears when she used his lack of balance against him and hefted him off her to his back.  He watched her with weary eyes as she moved slowly to her hands and knees and crawled to Eric.  Gabriel flinched when her hand came down on a shard of glass but if she felt the pain it didn’t show.  She pulled the limp body into her lap, tears tracing new trails.  Holding back sobs that racked her body she brushed blond hair from his face gently, almost mother-like in her care.  She placed a kiss on each of his closed eyes and laid her forehead against his. 

“Jond’, please believe me, I’m—”

“Don’t,’ she said softly but it sounded like a gunshot in the heavy silence of the apartment.  “Please don’t.”

 

~*~

She was gone.

The thought hit him as he climbed into the black SUV that had come to pick him up outside Eric’s apartment.  A bruise was just fading from his eye as Sandoval stared angrily from the passenger seat.

494 wasn’t in trouble, the girl had simply beaten him, he had tried to detain her but she had fought like a cornered animal and managed to get away.  That she was an X5 was no longer in doubt, who else would have been able to beat him?  Sandoval, however, was chin deep for not taking the proper precautions to capture the rouge transgenic after being warned.  He no longer had the privilege of commanding the X5s; he was now Lydecker’s underling.

494 turned to stare out the window, keeping his face expressionless and away from the building where his friend was lying.  He lifted his eyes and froze when he saw the flash of a round face peering down from the rooftops, gold hair glinting in the rising sun, the backdrop of the sky the exact same color of the eyes he couldn’t quite see and then she was gone.

 

~*~

 

Alec buried his face in the crook of Jondy’s neck and held back a sob.  He felt the warm pressure of her hands against his back.  “I’m…I—”

“Shh,” she whispered as she cupped the back of his head and ran gentle hands through his hair.  “I know, love, I know.”