Nevermind
by Jonty
Chapter 4
“Is Alec okay?” Max asked quietly, her face falling.
“Move.” One of the nurses shoved her out of the way and started to treat the injured soldier.
“Tell me,” Max demanded, her voice hardening. She would get an answer. They would give her an answer.
The soldier turned to look at her. “He’s elite, but three bullets?”
Max felt sick. Surely he was okay. This was Alec. He was arrogant, annoying, tended to screw up a lot, but he was always okay. She shook her head, quickly re-evaluating her last description of him.
Outside another van pulled up, and Max moved outside, pushing through several nurses to get there. She caught sight of Biggs kneeling beside a stretcher on the ground, and ran across to join him.
“Alec?” She knelt on the ground, needing to touch him, but unsure of where it was safe to do so. His shirt had been ripped open, and a temporary bandage applied to his stomach. His right arm, the closest to her, was secured in a sling. Apparently there was another bullet somewhere, they had said three, but she couldn’t see it in the darkness.
Max settled for resting her hand on his leg.
Biggs looked up as Max approached them, then returned his attention to his boss. Alec showed no sign of even being aware that Max was there, but he had to have been. There was no way the guy could not feel the pressure on his thigh from Max’s hand. He was hyped up. Biggs could see it in his eyes that adrenaline was still running through his body.
He forced himself to concentrate on what Alec was saying. Detail after detail about the mission, the programming that had been inserted into the computer system at Denfield, the access codes that would be required to set their program in motion, all the details that Biggs would need to know.
Alec spoke with an intensity that Max had never heard in his voice before. He barely seemed to take a breath as he rattled off sequences that she had no clue about. She listened, trying to understand.
Alec stopped talking, midway through an access sequence.
“Alec?” Biggs glanced at his friend.
Alec raised a hand as if to say to hold on a minute. He started to cough, his whole body shaking as he fought for breath.
Biggs glanced over at Max as he put a hand on Alec’s shoulder. And waited.
A few seconds later, Alec stopped coughing. He took a deep breath, and resumed talking. Biggs nodded to show that he understood, but left his hand on Alec’s shoulder.
When he was finished talking, he rested his head back on the ground, and closed his eyes.
“Thank you, Sir,” Biggs spoke formally, standing up. “Take it easy, man.” Quieter.
“Tell me what happens,” Alec groaned, his voice rasping.
“Yeah, of course.” Biggs left, staring at Max as he did. He shook his head slightly.
“Alec?” Max spoke gently.
He turned slowly to look at her, opening his eyes slowly. “Guess I screwed up, huh?” he muttered, trying to smile.
“No,” she whispered, tightening her grip on his thigh as she looked closely at him. His face was pale, blood running down the side of his face. His eyes were wide, and she recognised the first signs of shock. “Sounds to me like you succeeded.” She touched his face gently, stroking his hair.
“The others?” he asked, fighting not to move closer to her, to turn his head against her hand.
“They’re fine.”
“Alec.” A man knelt on the other side of him. “Thought I told you to avoid guys carrying large guns.”
“Yeah, but they were between me and the objective.”
“Find an alternative route.” The doctor moved the bandage from Alec’s shoulder. He pressed down lightly on the wound.
“That sounds too much like work.” Alec’s voice deepened as he fought not to cry out from the pain.
“Bullet’s still inside. Okay, can you stand up?” Alec looked at him and shrugged his uninjured shoulder. He sat up slowly, gasping.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Max asked, moving to help support him.
The doctor looked at her for a second, then shrugged. Did this girl understand anything about Alec at all?
“Fine,” he said, pretending he hadn’t heard her speak. “Head inside. I need to check on Graham, then I’ll come in and remove that bullet, maybe siphon some blood back into you. Then you can head back out and play hero again.”
Alec nodded, trying to stand. The doctor offered him an arm, but he ignored it, struggling to his feet under his own power.
>>>>>
30 minutes later…
Biggs strolled into the hospital, a grin on his face. Things were looking good. The mission was a success, for the most part thanks to Alec coming through big time. Two of the injured soldiers had already been released from the hospital, and the others were all getting favourable reports.
He caught sight of Max, standing by the entrance to the hospital, staring out a window. “Learnt yet? He asked her as he walked past her into the room.
Max just stared at him.
>>>
“Alec,” Biggs greeted him as he entered the room. “What’s the verdict? They given up on you yet?”
Alec grinned to see his friend. “Tell me.”
“Well, little Max is outside, crying her eyes out over you.” Biggs shrugged, trying to hide a grin.
“Whatever, man. The mission.”
“Is that all you care about?” Biggs’ tone was joking, but he really wanted to know the answer. He remembered Alec’s comment from earlier, about giving up on Max. He knew that in some way, Alec was right, but he still knew there was something else to Max. Alec’s initial reaction to Max was correct. It had to be, because his friend, like it or not, was in love with this girl. Completely.
“The mission was a success, the program is up and running.”
“Excellent. Good job.”
“So, can we go back to talking about Max now?” Biggs smirked.
“I’m tired.”
“Alec.” Biggs hid a smile as he stared at his friend.
“Later, okay? I’ll go through another firefight if you want, but I can’t handle Max right now.”
“Fair enough, but I am going to tell Max about the mission.”
“Why?” Alec glared at his friend.
“Mostly? To piss you off. Also, because she deserves to know why we locked her up for the night.”
“I hate you.”
“You’ll thank me one day, though.”
Biggs walked out before Alec had time to do something, like crawl out of his bed and beat him to death with a pair of crutches, or something.
“Come with me,” he commented to Max as he walked past her.
Max looked confused, but followed him. Biggs led him to a room guarded by three X5s. He nodded towards a window.
A young girl, maybe 5 years old, sat in the middle of a room, staring at a stuffed teddy bear.
Max glared at Biggs. “What is going on?”
“Meet the next generation. X9-310”
Max stared. “I didn’t know they were creating more.”
“Yeah, in a different facility. They sent this girl on a mission, believe it or not. Then, she escaped. Some of us found her, and brought her here.”
“What’s the point in showing me this?”
“This was the mission. We were setting up a satellite link to another group of transgenics who are located closer to the base she was housed at, passing on information so they could go in and free them.”
Max stared at him, then at the little girl, then back to Biggs.
“We’re building something here, Max. Something big. There are groups of transgenics all over America, we’re coming together, helping each other out.” Biggs grinned. “Tell me that ain’t worth getting shot for.”
Max looked at him for a long time, then turned and walked away.
>>>>>
A nurse blocked her entrance. “He’s sleeping. Come back later.”
“I need to talk to him. It’s important.”
“Tomorrow.” The nurse shrugged.
Max sighed. “Fine. Can you give him a message for me?”
“I guess, what is it?”
“Tell him, I understand.”
“And he’ll understand that?”
Max nodded. “I hope so.”
Inside the room Alec grinned and nodded to himself. About time.