Chapter I:
"I know, I know for sure, that life is beautiful around the world." Alec took a sharp curve at a dangerous speed, his mouth curving as the tires screamed in protest. It wasn't particularly warm; the temperature was quickly dropping as the sun dipped behind the horizon. Still, there was nothing better that whipping through the trees with the top down, having nowhere to go but wherever he wanted too. It was an unbelievable feeling, something beyond description. For the first time in his life, he had no one to report to but himself.
His voice blended in with the tune on the radio, something turn of the century. He didn't know what it was, and the lyrics made no sense to him, but his voice blended easily and the words came as simply to him as someone who'd actually heard the song before. " I know, I know its you. You say hello and then I say I do." He was glad that he was alone. It wasn't that he was a bad singer, it fact his voice was melodic and blended well. It was just the fact that if anyone actually witnessed him singing, it would totally ruin the whole smart-ass solider deal he had going.
When he'd still been at Manticore, one of the few things he could genuinely enjoy without any of that pesky guilt sneaking up on him was flying. The powers that be wanted their killing machines to be well rounded, so they'd all been trained to fly. Before he'd been taken up that first time, he'd been scared mindless. He was fifteen and about to embarrass himself and his training by throwing up all over himself during take off. He'll never forget that moment when his stomach settled and he'd taken the controls. It probably wasn't pure testosterone that made him drive like a maniac. He figured he knew himself well enough to recognize that the doing eighty on a windy road with the top down was as close to he was going to get to the rush of jumping out of a plane and still keep his feet on the ground.
"Mother Russia, do not suffer, I know you're strong enough." Alec sang, dropping one hand off the steering wheel drum his hang his arm outside the door. Without even realizing it, his fingers began the tap lightly. It was nice having freedom. He wanted to be alone, he hopped into his car, and he went off to be alone. He wanted to be around people, he hopped back into his car, and he went off to be with people. Tonight, he wanted people.
As the song faded into commercials, he reached down to fiddle with the station. That's what would ultimately cause him every problem he'd encounter over the next two weeks.
He took his eyes off the road for not more than half a second to change to radio station. He rounded the curve automatically, barely looking at what he thought to be an empty road.
When he did glance up, he had only a second to react. If it had been a norm, the biker would have surely been his new hood ornament. He slammed on the brake, cutting the wheel to the left. He skidded, the back end of the convertible fishtailing wildly. He didn't quite know how, it really wasn't physically possible, but by the time the car had come to a complete stop, there was a black-leather-clad female lying across the hood of his car. The way he'd hit her, she should have fallen sideways and onto the road.
Why the hell was he mentally applying the laws of inertia to what just happened when he had someone laying across his car? Someone with a very nice a**.
She had her back to him, but he understood later that he should have recognized her. It might have been he was worried about his car getting dented, or it might have been pure shock that he'd hit someone without it being premeditated. He should have recognized the bike, he should have recognized the hair, and he should have recognized the body. But he did recognize the voice.
"You son of a b**ch!" Max shouted as she rolled over to glare at him through the windshield.
Alec was embarrassed to say that for all of two seconds, he was worried about her. Maybe that was just embarrassment that he'd checked out her a**. But he quickly got over it, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms behind his head. "Fancy running into you hear, Max." He said easily, as if they were having a chat over drinks rather than shortly after hitting her with his car. Now that it was Max, he could safely say that it was probably more likely that she hit *him* instead.
Max pushed her self off the hood, sliding down and back onto her feet easily. "You idiot. You almost killed me!" She said, rubbing her shoulder.
Alec grinned and snapped his fingers. "Damn. If I would have known it was you, I would have tried harder not to miss." He said, opening his car door and stepping out casually. Bypassing Max, he walked to the front of the car, studying it objectively.
"What the hell are you doing?" Max continued to rage, brushing her windblown hair off of her face.
"I'm checking my car for dents." He said distractedly. With his hands on his hips, he rounded the corner, crouching down to run his hand over the dent in the front fender.
"You're...What!? You hit *me* and your worried about your car?" Max raged, walking around the car to drag her bike off of the ground where it had fallen.
"You're obviously fine." Alec said with a slightly defensive shrug. "If not, you wouldn't be here to bi**h at me right now."
"You are an idiot." Max muttered, beginning to push her bike away from the car.
Alec grinned at her back, happy for the darkness that kept him from getting his a** kicked to next week. The smile that light his features melted into a dark frown when he noticed the limp. "Stop." He ordered. Whether it be instinct or training that had her stopping in her tracks, he didn't know, but it only lasted a minute. In half a second, he'd caught up to her, and was grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. "Why are you limping?" He asked tactlessly.
"Well, I don't know, lets think about what I did today. I went to work, went to hang out with some friends, had some dinner, got hit by a car...Could've been anything." She snapped sarcastically.
"Go get in the car." Ben ordered.
"Go get f**ked." Max suggested in a sugary sweet tone that, despite the circumstances, had a smile tugging at his lips.
"That was the plan, but you've managed to get your ass busted, I'm taking you home."
"No, you're going to go to hell, and I'm going to go home." Max yanked her arm free.
Alec grabbed her arm and studied her face. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, her skin drawn and pasty. "You look like hell." He said shortly.
Max narrowed her eyes. "Can you hear my heart go pitter-patter?"
"I'd ask if you wanted to talk about it, but I don't want to hear the sob story, so just get in the car so I can get this over with." There was that pesky guilt thing again. When Max didn't budge, he glared at her. "I'm not letting you drive home if you are hurt." He stated.
Though he should have known better, he was taken completely off-guard when Max plowed a fist into his stomach. Max, as usual, didn't pull her punch. He managed to hold back all but one strangled gasp as she sauntered off. "G'night, Alec." She said sweetly as she swung a leg over her bike.
Alec stood in the middle of the road for several minutes after the roar of the bike's engine disappeared. He blamed the bruise he was bound to get on himself completely. Every time he offered her help, or tried to help by getting the hell out of her way. If he'd just stop talking to her, then he wouldn't get the crap beaten out of him every time. With a shrug, he climbed into his car, and drove off, right hand on the steering wheel, one hand rubbing his sore abs.