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tamingthemuseTitle: Vested Interest
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
meredevachon
Fandom: Dark Angel
Characters: Alec McDowell (X5-494) with mentions of Max & Joshua
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1482
Disclaimer: Dark Angel, its characters and situations do not belong to me. This is all in fun and for love of the characters.
A/N: This takes place post-series. Many thanks toshippyflo who said it had been too long since I’d written DA.
Summary: One of Alec’s heists doesn’t turn up exactly what he expected.
~*~*~
The siege of Terminal City had been over for almost a month. An uneasy truce between ordinaries and transgenics had been forged, and for now at least, it was holding. More transgenics showed up everyday, looking for safety among their own kind. TC was going to be home for awhile, and more bodies meant a need for more space. They also needed more equipment: generators, computers, refrigerators, etc. And they needed food.
Some of what they needed they were able to scrounge from the abandoned buildings inside the fence. Some of it they couldn’t, and that meant they had to trade for it or buy it. So the search teams going out each day weren’t looking just for which buildings were in good enough shape to house the new residents, but also anything of value.
Many of the X-5s, and a few X-6s, got jobs outside the fence. A few went so far as to market their more unique skills for those who might have need of someone with exceptional talents. Others were more discreet, choosing not to reveal their true nature unless they had to. Years of training in keeping that one secret above all others weren’t going to be overcome in just a couple of weeks.
Normal even took a few on at Jam Pony, on two conditions. One, that Max never come back to work for him. She was more than happy to oblige. And two, that Alec show the new folks the ropes, one week of one-on-one on-the-job training for each transgenic hired. Again, Max was more than happy to meet that condition. Alec, on the other hand, was less than pleased. So he found ways to make Normal’s fawning and occasional ogling worth his while.
All of the X-5s working on the “Outside” were instructed to keep a low profile and not to do anything that might jeopardize the current peace. Alec chose – and he probably wasn’t the only one – to interpret that as Don’t get caught. He decided if he had to be going on rounds for Jam Pony, he might as well take a look around the places he went. If he just happened to see something that could be of use to the residents of Terminal City, and if that something just happened to be less protected than it should have been, then he would just happen to acquire that something. All for the greater good, you understand.
He didn’t tell anyone where the crate of medical supplies came from, and no one asked. They didn’t really need to, and this way everyone could pretend they didn’t know. When they needed money to pay the butcher – Manticore used lots of predator DNA in their codes, and it took protein to keep their bodies running optimally – Alec handed it over without a word. Their community, their family needed things, and Alec was one of the ones who made sure they got what they needed.
That was how he ended up rummaging through a floor safe in some huge house in Sector 10. Word on the street suggested the guy who owned the place had made a killing importing car parts and fresh food and the like – in other words, things people had to have and couldn’t get any other way – and jacking up the prices, after the world went to hell. Alec thought relieving the guy of some of his ill-gotten gains was the least he could do.
Only he didn’t find the wads of cash he was expecting. There was some, yeah, something in the fifty to seventy thousand dollar range, but this guy was supposed to be worth millions… plural. What he did find was a large cardboard box that took up most of the safe’s cubic yard interior. Several layers of packing tape ran from end to end of every seam, but there were no other markings on the box. Alec flipped open his pocket knife and with a surgeon’s precision – or an assassin’s – slit the tape along the top so he could open the box.
Inside were hundreds of clear plastic sleeves, each containing brightly colored paper. Alec pulled out the contents of one sleeve, and examined it more carefully. It took him a minute as he had never actually seen one before, but a long forgotten Manticore training session came back to him and he was pretty sure he knew what he held in his hands. It was a comic book. As far as he knew, none had been printed in the U.S. since the Pulse, and the dates on these were way before that. Far enough before that they were probably collector’s items even then. Maybe this guy was worth millions after all.
Alec looked just enough to know that he wasn’t grabbing a couple of comics and then a bunch of blank pages underneath, then shoved as many as he could into his satchel. A roll of packing tape sat on the corner of the room’s desk, and he grabbed it as well. He taped the box back up – it wasn’t like one extra layer was going to show – and made sure everything in the safe was just as he had found it. Just a bit lighter is all.
Comic books weren’t his usual thing, and on his way back to Terminal City Alec started thinking of who he knew who could fence them. Not Dave, he was strictly precious metals and gems. Not Julie. He smiled at the memory of long red curls and even longer legs. She dealt in high-end electronics most of the time. One of Max’ guys knew where to off-load some weird Star something movie, maybe he would know. But that would mean telling Max what he wanted to get rid of, and Alec wasn’t sure he was ready to do that just yet. He decided to hold onto the things until he could try to find either a buyer or a fence on his own. He was more than capable of doing that… without any help from Max.
When Alec got back to the rooms he had claimed for himself at TC, he sat down to get a better look at his haul. The only way to make sure a fence didn’t cheat you was to know what you had, and so far he didn’t. Once bright inks had faded and the paper had yellowed, but not as much as one would expect. Somebody had taken care of these things. The dates on the covers ranged from the mid-nineteen sixties to the early nineteen eighties.
As he flipped through one of the books, he skimmed the story. It was something about a guy who fought crime while dressed like some kind of bat. Alec rolled his eyes and shuffled through until he found something different. This one had brighter colors and a lot more characters. In fact, some of the characters were fairly bright colors. Blue seemed the most common. Other than the too-true-to-be-real colors, it didn’t look too different from what he might see walking around TC any given day. He looked back at the cover - The Uncanny X-Men. He shrugged and set it aside to read more carefully later. Besides, he told himself, Joshua might get a kick out of it.
The next title he found, he couldn’t help but smile at the character on the cover. A very well-endowed brunette in a super skimpy red, white, and blue costume. Suddenly he started thinking about Halloween, still a couple of months away, and how he could convince the rest of the leaders of Terminal City that a costume party was just the thing for morale. After that, it wouldn’t take much to trick Max into letting him pick her costume. Sure, he’d probably be wearing bruises for days afterwards, but it would be worth it to see Miss High and Mighty in that get-up. Alec couldn’t help the smile on his face as he set the Wonder Woman books in a separate pile. Those he would keep for himself.
He had just reached for the next in the stack when his phone rang shrilly.
“Yeah.”
“Hey, Alec,” Max’ voice on the other end of the line made Alec grin again at what he was plotting, “We got a couple of new arrivals. Think you could show ‘em around a little? Get ‘em settled in someplace? Maybe a bite to eat? I’d ask Joshua, but he’s in the middle of some secret project with Mule, and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“Sure thing, Maxie. Just gimme fifteen to kiss her good-bye and shove her out the door.” He clicked his tongue suggestively and hung up on Max’ bellow. Sometimes getting her riled was the best part of Alec’s day, and no matter what else he accomplished or acquired, it didn’t feel complete until he had driven Max Guevera to distraction.
fin
Author:
meredevachonFandom: Dark Angel
Characters: Alec McDowell (X5-494) with mentions of Max & Joshua
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1482
Disclaimer: Dark Angel, its characters and situations do not belong to me. This is all in fun and for love of the characters.
A/N: This takes place post-series. Many thanks to
shippyflo who said it had been too long since I’d written DA.Summary: One of Alec’s heists doesn’t turn up exactly what he expected.
The siege of Terminal City had been over for almost a month. An uneasy truce between ordinaries and transgenics had been forged, and for now at least, it was holding. More transgenics showed up everyday, looking for safety among their own kind. TC was going to be home for awhile, and more bodies meant a need for more space. They also needed more equipment: generators, computers, refrigerators, etc. And they needed food.
Some of what they needed they were able to scrounge from the abandoned buildings inside the fence. Some of it they couldn’t, and that meant they had to trade for it or buy it. So the search teams going out each day weren’t looking just for which buildings were in good enough shape to house the new residents, but also anything of value.
Many of the X-5s, and a few X-6s, got jobs outside the fence. A few went so far as to market their more unique skills for those who might have need of someone with exceptional talents. Others were more discreet, choosing not to reveal their true nature unless they had to. Years of training in keeping that one secret above all others weren’t going to be overcome in just a couple of weeks.
Normal even took a few on at Jam Pony, on two conditions. One, that Max never come back to work for him. She was more than happy to oblige. And two, that Alec show the new folks the ropes, one week of one-on-one on-the-job training for each transgenic hired. Again, Max was more than happy to meet that condition. Alec, on the other hand, was less than pleased. So he found ways to make Normal’s fawning and occasional ogling worth his while.
All of the X-5s working on the “Outside” were instructed to keep a low profile and not to do anything that might jeopardize the current peace. Alec chose – and he probably wasn’t the only one – to interpret that as Don’t get caught. He decided if he had to be going on rounds for Jam Pony, he might as well take a look around the places he went. If he just happened to see something that could be of use to the residents of Terminal City, and if that something just happened to be less protected than it should have been, then he would just happen to acquire that something. All for the greater good, you understand.
He didn’t tell anyone where the crate of medical supplies came from, and no one asked. They didn’t really need to, and this way everyone could pretend they didn’t know. When they needed money to pay the butcher – Manticore used lots of predator DNA in their codes, and it took protein to keep their bodies running optimally – Alec handed it over without a word. Their community, their family needed things, and Alec was one of the ones who made sure they got what they needed.
That was how he ended up rummaging through a floor safe in some huge house in Sector 10. Word on the street suggested the guy who owned the place had made a killing importing car parts and fresh food and the like – in other words, things people had to have and couldn’t get any other way – and jacking up the prices, after the world went to hell. Alec thought relieving the guy of some of his ill-gotten gains was the least he could do.
Only he didn’t find the wads of cash he was expecting. There was some, yeah, something in the fifty to seventy thousand dollar range, but this guy was supposed to be worth millions… plural. What he did find was a large cardboard box that took up most of the safe’s cubic yard interior. Several layers of packing tape ran from end to end of every seam, but there were no other markings on the box. Alec flipped open his pocket knife and with a surgeon’s precision – or an assassin’s – slit the tape along the top so he could open the box.
Inside were hundreds of clear plastic sleeves, each containing brightly colored paper. Alec pulled out the contents of one sleeve, and examined it more carefully. It took him a minute as he had never actually seen one before, but a long forgotten Manticore training session came back to him and he was pretty sure he knew what he held in his hands. It was a comic book. As far as he knew, none had been printed in the U.S. since the Pulse, and the dates on these were way before that. Far enough before that they were probably collector’s items even then. Maybe this guy was worth millions after all.
Alec looked just enough to know that he wasn’t grabbing a couple of comics and then a bunch of blank pages underneath, then shoved as many as he could into his satchel. A roll of packing tape sat on the corner of the room’s desk, and he grabbed it as well. He taped the box back up – it wasn’t like one extra layer was going to show – and made sure everything in the safe was just as he had found it. Just a bit lighter is all.
Comic books weren’t his usual thing, and on his way back to Terminal City Alec started thinking of who he knew who could fence them. Not Dave, he was strictly precious metals and gems. Not Julie. He smiled at the memory of long red curls and even longer legs. She dealt in high-end electronics most of the time. One of Max’ guys knew where to off-load some weird Star something movie, maybe he would know. But that would mean telling Max what he wanted to get rid of, and Alec wasn’t sure he was ready to do that just yet. He decided to hold onto the things until he could try to find either a buyer or a fence on his own. He was more than capable of doing that… without any help from Max.
When Alec got back to the rooms he had claimed for himself at TC, he sat down to get a better look at his haul. The only way to make sure a fence didn’t cheat you was to know what you had, and so far he didn’t. Once bright inks had faded and the paper had yellowed, but not as much as one would expect. Somebody had taken care of these things. The dates on the covers ranged from the mid-nineteen sixties to the early nineteen eighties.
As he flipped through one of the books, he skimmed the story. It was something about a guy who fought crime while dressed like some kind of bat. Alec rolled his eyes and shuffled through until he found something different. This one had brighter colors and a lot more characters. In fact, some of the characters were fairly bright colors. Blue seemed the most common. Other than the too-true-to-be-real colors, it didn’t look too different from what he might see walking around TC any given day. He looked back at the cover - The Uncanny X-Men. He shrugged and set it aside to read more carefully later. Besides, he told himself, Joshua might get a kick out of it.
The next title he found, he couldn’t help but smile at the character on the cover. A very well-endowed brunette in a super skimpy red, white, and blue costume. Suddenly he started thinking about Halloween, still a couple of months away, and how he could convince the rest of the leaders of Terminal City that a costume party was just the thing for morale. After that, it wouldn’t take much to trick Max into letting him pick her costume. Sure, he’d probably be wearing bruises for days afterwards, but it would be worth it to see Miss High and Mighty in that get-up. Alec couldn’t help the smile on his face as he set the Wonder Woman books in a separate pile. Those he would keep for himself.
He had just reached for the next in the stack when his phone rang shrilly.
“Yeah.”
“Hey, Alec,” Max’ voice on the other end of the line made Alec grin again at what he was plotting, “We got a couple of new arrivals. Think you could show ‘em around a little? Get ‘em settled in someplace? Maybe a bite to eat? I’d ask Joshua, but he’s in the middle of some secret project with Mule, and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“Sure thing, Maxie. Just gimme fifteen to kiss her good-bye and shove her out the door.” He clicked his tongue suggestively and hung up on Max’ bellow. Sometimes getting her riled was the best part of Alec’s day, and no matter what else he accomplished or acquired, it didn’t feel complete until he had driven Max Guevera to distraction.
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 10:45 am (UTC)Oh, how I love Robinhood in all his many guises. And of course the first comic book he would look at once back in his room would be Batman. *g In an odd way, this puts me in mind of Xavier... you could do a whole series on Alec's 'aquiring' what the residents of TC need just to survive. (Hey, it's only a thought!)
Great piece.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 05:19 pm (UTC)Me too (as you well know), and this is a lovely guise, indeed *points to icon*
this puts me in mind of Xavier
You know, a lot of people could read this comment after this story and think you meant Professor Xavier, not Xavier Male. It would be appropriate, after all.
Thank you for the feedback, sweetie! It was fun to write something outside what I've been doing recently.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 11:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 05:23 pm (UTC)DA is one of those shows I don't write in often anymore, but it's still fun to play in.
And I'm always glad when someone who doesn't know the source material can read and enjoy one of my fics anyway.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 03:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 05:26 pm (UTC)Getting a laugh is always good. Max & Alec always had an interesting relationship, and teasing & taunting was at the heart of it in canon. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
(btw, that's Alec and Max in my icon, if you were curious)