Work Text:
Back on Track
"You wanna do what?"
"We need the money, Max." Zack stated seriously.
He was sitting in a swivel chair by the desk, his back to the computer as he faced the other two transgenics.
Max was striding furiously up and down the small room, constantly pushing back a strand of hair that insisted on falling over her eyes every two seconds.
Alec was sprawled on the couch by the wall - Zack had naturally chosen the director's room to install his 'operation'- alternately glancing at each member of the oddest pair of 'siblings' he'd ever met. His eyes changing from speculative to appreciative every time they went from the sturdy, brooding blond, to the spicy brunette.
She looked absolutely delicious in her gray shorts and gray tee-shirt. Her hair was bound in a ponytail and her white sports' shoes kept her from making any noise as she continued her pacing. Yessir! Training definitely had its perks, he thought as his eyes roamed down her endless legs.
They'd just come back from stretching out after their daily ten mile run. Zack hadn't been with them. After the first couple of times they'd done this routine, Zack had declared they took too long to stretch and he had better things to do. Max had just looked at him strangely, but had shrugged it off as one of Zack's weird 'things'. Alec hadn't been fooled at all. He knew it was the sight of Max in those sexy gray garments rather than other chores what was driving Zack away. And he appreciated the gesture. The sparring sessions that followed had become far less brutal after that.
"Well, can't you just hack into some accounts and get the money from them?" Max said waving her hands.
"Excuse me?" Alec asked, a surprised expression on his chiseled features. "Are you implying your brother should steal the money? I am shocked!"
"Shut up!" Both oh'niners growled simultaneously, making Alec snicker. Sometimes they did seem related.
"Yes, I could. But with the kind of money we need it's bound to be noticed. And if I do it in a way they won't notice, it might take too long." Zack explained, clearly running thin in the patience department, "This way, no one will give a damn."
"Yes, but how do you plan to make sure?" She asked defiantly and then frowned when Zack looked at Alec. "You are not planning on using him for that, are you?"
Alec decided it was time to intervene in the conversation. "Cute as I would look in the outfit," he said wriggling his eyebrows, "I think I have a few modifications to make to this master plan."
Max readjusted her top for the hundredth time, trying to keep her breasts from popping out, as they were systematically threatening to do.
It was, of course, Alec's fault. All right, so maybe he hadn't picked out the outfit, but if he just hadn't been going on about what a prude she was all the way from Gillette, she would have picked something a little more sensible. Revealing, yes -that was part of the character's description -, but sensible. Instead, she was wearing a golden strap that was tied at the front, in a tight, smart looking knot. She wore matching golden sandals; and tight white very short shorts with a golden belt completed her outfit. She knew her clothes contrasted well against her dark skin as did the blonde wig. She looked hot and sexy. And she couldn't have been more uncomfortable.
Naturally, she was doing her damnedest not to let him see that. She shot another glance his way and had to resist the urge to groan. He was wearing well fitting -very well fitting-, dark green pants; a loud red shirt with wide sleeves that seemed to float to his wrists, where they were fastened with gold cuff links; a black, unbuttoned vest, black cowboy boots; what looked like a hundred, but could be no more than five gold chains around his neck; and some kind of black skin hat. He looked completely ridiculous and yet at the same time, unbelievably adorable.
He was being his most charming self, all smiles and yo's and wassup's. He kept moving his arms around, the golden rings in his hands flashing as they reflected the sunlight. His accent screamed New York.
She watched him greet some tug in a blue suit that had seen better days and then lower his voice as he leaned closer to the guy, patting his shoulder. His hazel eyes darting around to check the surroundings, a hand covering his mouth to hide whatever he was saying from any indiscreet camera that might be around. He blended in with about one third of the people around.
Of course, it was the ultimate role for him. A hustler, coming and going, always making deals. Just by looking at him, you knew he was up to something that was probably not exactly legal. It was the very definition of 'Alec'. He looked completely in his element.
Then again, he had also fit perfectly as the know it all student in college, or the rich suave business man at that party, or the jaded soldier at boot camp... The guy was an expert at fitting in.
He snapped his fingers, bringing her out of her reverie. The rude gesture wasn't meant for her, however. A huge, blond, dark clad figure seemed to materialize out of nowhere to stand beside Alec. He deftly passed something to Alec's waiting hand. It was a smooth movement, but she knew it had also been for show. Had they really wanted to sneak something around, she wouldn't have noticed, not unless she had been looking for it, and only because of her enhanced vision. They'd been practicing on the way from Wyoming and they were impressive. Of course, so was she.
She observed Alec slipping the envelope into blue-suit's pocket, and then, blue-suit's jerky movements of the head in affirmation. By his eagerness and demeanor anyone could guess he owed a large amount of money, and that he was hoping this little loan would be the one that would save him.
The whole previous exchange had been for show. Alec could just as easily have had the money himself, but it served a couple of purposes. It made Zack's presence noted, which was what people expected to see: 'the muscle'. It also gave people the impression that Alec was to be disregarded in that aspect. Never hurt to be underestimated.
And if they underestimated Alec, they completely ignored her. Which was just fine by Max.
"Yo, Rick-kay!" Someone yelled behind Max's back.
"'ssup, man?" Alec answered, his bright smile in place. Ricky was the name they had settled on for Alec to use, when he decided he'd be the 'bookie' rather than the jockey Zack wanted him to be. Zack had challenged him to impersonate such a colorful character, which had lead to an impressive demonstration of tacky-ness, brass-ness, slick-ness and just plain insufferable cocky-ness that had made his usual smart-aleck-y self look kind of tame. Max had commented that, after seeing this persona, she really should have gone for Dick. After that, Rick or Ricky had seemed like the obvious choice, even when Zack had no idea what they'd been talking about.
"Howd'ya feel 'bout numba Five?" The tall, dark-haired, Italian guy approaching them asked.
"Dunno, Vitto. Three's lokin' pretty damn good right now."
"But what about th..- Hell-oh!" Vitto interrupted himself as he caught sight of Max. He gave her the lewdest once-over she had gotten in years. Actually, the lewdest one she had gotten in years, before coming here. The clothes she had bought ensured her a collection of vulgar, lascivious and downright obscene stares. "Mamma mia!" Vitto continued.
She lowered her eyelashes and smiled vacantly. Even faked a blush and giggled. She would have puked, were it not for one little detail. It was completely unnoticeable and Alec was too much of a pro to ever let anything show, but... he was jealous. She wasn't even sure how she knew, because he sure as hell wasn't letting it on. But she knew. And he was.
So she put up with all the idiots, and she even smiled back. She could just 'sense' his torment.
Alec smiled "She's somethin', ain't she?"
"Oh, yeah!" Vitto nodded vigorously. "You wouldn't by any chance be the sharin' kind, would ya?"
That got a chuckle out of Alec. "'Course not! This baby's only mine!" He then lowered his voice, and whispered "Well, I would, you know? But she...she thinks she loves me and whatnot. So I kinda pretend I do too, so she don't go busting my chops." He winked.
Vitto smiled in response, a knowing look in his eyes. Max had to resist the urge to gag. Seriously, she didn't know how much more of this she could take. For the hundredth time she wished this could be over with soon. Real soon.
"Shit!" Alec exclaimed suddenly. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT."
At Zack's curious expression he made a waving gesture and into the phone he said softly, "No, no, it's okay, not to worry. Just take it easy, okay? Yeah. No problem. See ya." He closed the flap of his cell phone and ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath in the process.
Ideas were running wildly in his mind. This was exactly why he hadn't cared for the plan in the first place. A lot of it depended on someone else; someone outside of the core team. That was never good. The conversation he'd just had on the phone was the evidence of that.
"What's wrong? Your guy bailing on you?" Zack asked, looking at him with an unwavering gaze. Alec groaned internally, he was sure 'big bro' was gonna blame this one on him. Oh, sure, he was not going to actually say it, but he hated the condescending looks. And sure, it had been Alec's idea, but only because Zack had been adamant about coming here. It had been the best he'd been able to come up with on short notice; and it had been a hell of a lot better than anything Zack had suggested. No matter what he said, Alec was too big to pass for a jockey. Because, yeah, that had been the brilliant plan.
It had only made sense to bring 720 in on it. The guy was short, skinny and had been in Alec's unit. He'd been great at infiltration and, like most of them, had been trained to deal with horses. Just another thing Manticore had thought of to fill their days. 'Cause the Lords knew that all of the killing exercises, the combat sims, the training and sparring and the lessons were not enough. Oh, no! They had to plan their recreational activities as well. Just like fencing, horseback riding, swimming, archery, racing, among others, had been their 'fun' activities. All supervised by Manticore instructors, of course. Not that they minded. It had been fun.
So yeah, bringing 720 in on the deal had been rather reasonable. Except the guy had fallen into a fit of seizures. Really! He could have waited for a better time! He mentally chastised himself for that thought. Like it was poor 720's fault. But what the hell was he supposed to do now?
He interrupted his train of thought as Max entered the room. Impossible not to notice, since she was wearing another one of those almost non-existent outfits of hers. For once, he did not mind Zack's eyes following her as she moved; at least they were not probing into his brain while he tried to figure out where he was going to get another transgenic small and light enough to pass for a jockey and...
As Zack looked back at him, a smirk was firmly planted on Alec's face. The blond frowned. "Well, yes." Alec answered Zack's previous question - in reality, less than five seconds had passed since it was made. "Unfortunately, he just had a bout of seizures."
He saw a flicker of sympathy in Zack's eyes and sighed. It was when he did stuff like that that Alec found it very hard not to respect Max's brother. If there was one thing he was serious about - well, more serious - it was the well being of his unit. So he understood Alec's concern for his own.
"Does he have enough Trytophan?" Zack was asking.
"Yeah, he'll be all right." Alec nodded, "But naturally, he's out of this."
"Naturally! Poor guy!" Max made a sympathetic face. "So what are we going to do now?" Not like they could get just anyone to replace Alec's friend. Even if they could find someone they could trust - which she highly doubted-, how would they be able to make sure everything worked according to plan? They definitely needed a transgenic for the task. They were all accomplished horse back riders, part of the training. Max wondered why she had forgotten all the cool things they used to do as kids. Of course, the bad things had exceeded the good... She shook her head.
But anyway, they needed someone now, or they would have to reschedule everything. And the next big race wasn't for three months. They couldn't risk staying here, so they'd have to go back and then try it again another time. Actually, they'd be better off trying to find another way to get the money and...
Why the hell was Alec smiling so brightly? She frowned. He was looking at Zack and beaming confidently. Not good.
After a few minutes of staring each other down, both men simultaneously turned their heads to look at her.
Max's eyes opened as big as saucers. "Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no." She shook her head.
"Well, she is kinda tall for this, but she probably doesn't weight too much..." Zack eyed her speculatively.
"I said no!" Max cut over him.
"Oh, she doesn't weight much at all." Alec nodded, as if she hadn't spoken, "And she is very graceful, the horse won't even know she's there."
"Hello? I am still here! And I am saying no way!"
"Yes, you will do it. There is no other choice." Zack replied giving her his best 'commander' stare.
Yeah, right, like that was going to work. They were no longer at Manticore. Well... technically they were living there. But not at at Manticore. She shook her head to clear the irrelevant thought. "Well, too bad, 'cause I am just not doin' it."
"What's up, Maxie? You afraid you won't be able to handle the pressure?" Alec asked sweetly, tongue in cheek. Ha! The nerve of the guy! She was not going to cave. No matter what cute, sweet faces he made at her. "Maybe you're scared of horses?"
"Yeah, right!" she snorted.
"Well... I do remember her not liking the riding sessions that much..." Zack said, suddenly not glaring at her anymore. Great! Now they were ganging up on her. Did they think she didn't know what they were up to?
"She didn't?" Alec.
"Nope." Zack.
"I see." Alec, sighing.
"Yeah..." Zack, nodding sadly. "I think it was because of that time..."
"Oh?" Alec, raising an eyebrow.
Max looked at Zack warily. What was he talking about?
"Yeah, we were on the Eastern slope. She was riding this beautiful spotted gelding. The ride was a little steep, but we were not going that fast. At least, not faster than usual. Suddenly, she just...fell."
Max glared at him. "I was like three years old!" She protested.
"Four and a half." Zack replied.
"Whatever." She huffed.
"Exactly." He agreed, making Max almost hit the roof. "Thing is, after that, she was never the same around horses."
Max's mouth fell open. How dare he?
"Ah, I see. Yes, I understand." Alec nodded with sympathy. "It is completely normal, Max. No one blames you."
"There is nothing not to blame me for!" She exclaimed, causing both Alec and Zack to raise their eyebrows at her. Okay, yeah, so it hadn't been the happiest choice of phrasing... "You know what I mean! Why don't you tell him the rest? Why don't you tell him how I got right back on? And how I then beat everyone else on every one of the exercises? And how I always won all the races? And how I ..?" she stopped suddenly and mentally cursed them. And herself. She knew the next words before she heard them.
"You're right. So you shouldn't have any problem doing this, right?" Zack said matter-of-factly.
Max groaned. She had known, known, what they were doing; and she still hadn't been able to stop herself.
Alec saw her pouting face and came closer to give her a little hug and a kiss on the nose. She halfheartedly pushed him away, her hands instinctively caressing his chest muscles. He smiled and for a second there, she forgot what they'd been talking about.
Horses! Right.
"But your friend was already signed as the jockey." She tried weakly.
"Yes, so... you'll have to be him." Alec smiled brightly as he said it.
"Excuse me?"
"Well... yeah. We'll have to use something to bind your... upper body tightly. And some loose pants and shirts, and you'll do fine."
"Jockeys wear those little hats anyway, so you can hide your hair."Zack added. Neither of them considered her cutting her hair, and she briefly thought about doing it just to be contrary.
She sulked instead. "Fine! But what about my cover? Won't people notice I'm gone? I've been kinda glued to your side."
She noticed Zack's eyes turning inquiringly towards Alec, after a curt nod of approval at her.
"Well, they would...unless... I have a new lady friend. They'll just shrug it off as 'fresh meat' and all that." Alec replied readily.
"Hold it right there, mister! Who exactly would this new 'lady friend' be?"
"Why? Jealous?" he wriggled his eyebrows at her.
"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes at him. But damn right she was! Hopefully, she'd managed to keep it out of her voice, though. It was just that the thought of someone else kissing him, putting her arms around him... it was just... And even if it was just pretend... She knew what it felt like to kiss him. She knew whoever this chick was, was going to want some more and... She stopped herself, knowing it was futile. "The reason I am asking is she has to be someone we can trust completely. "
Zack nodded at her words. So did Alec.
She frowned. "So, what? You gonna tell us you just happen to have one of the girls in your unit also in the neighborhood?" she asked skeptically. Please say no! The thought of another X5 caressing him was...unbearable.
"Actually..." he smiled, and then chuckled at her sharp intake of breath "... no." Max let out the air slowly. "Better than that." He finished with that devilish smile of his.
And he refused to say another word about it.
Zack watched Max throw a hissy fit. And man, was she good at it!
The platinum-blonde hair was bouncing up and down as she gestured irately in Alec's - or rather Ricky's - direction, calling him every name in the book... and some that weren't!
Anyone in a five mile radius could hear her accusations of him being with other women, of him lying to her, of him being a cheating son of a...
She was a beauty in all her rage.
And Alec was watching her with an amused detachment that only seemed to fuel her fury.
They were both doing a wonderful job.
Of course, they had a lot of material to draw from. According to what he'd been able to witness when they were not being all disgustingly sweet and all over one another, and what he'd been able to find out - and Logan had had a lot of hidden cameras in that apartment- they'd always been fighting.
Plus, there was also the fact that, try as she might to hide it, Max was jittery as hell about this woman Alec was about to bring into the mix. And Alec's amusement was, therefore, not fake at all.
"Well, babe, ya know there's plenty o' Ricky to go 'round." Alec was saying right then.
Max gaped at him open-mouthed, before lunging herself at him in a frenzy of fists. Alec just took them on his arms, not showing any signs of pain. Max's diatribe had just picked up strength when another female voice came from Zack's left.
"Get your filthy claws off my man!"
Heads all around turned to look at the beautiful owner of that arrogant voice. The crowd craned their necks in anticipation. Alec, who'd been prepared for it, just made the 'oops' face one would expect in the situation. Max's jaw fell literally open, her fist suspended midair. Zack knew the shock in her face was not fake at all.
Zack himself had a hard time keeping his serious bodyguard face. He had to hand it to 494. He had outdone himself this time.
Max finally recovered and looked back at Alec accusingly. "Who the hell is this?" she demanded, her chin raised, a disgusted pucker on her full lips as she said the last word.
"This is the one's gonna kick yo' ass." The other woman said, her ghetto pouring out of her.
Max just gave her a dismissive glance and turned back towards Alec for an answer.
"Now, ladies, please..." he said, raising his hands in front of him.
"I only see one lady here." Max interrupted him.
"Do ya? Where is she? 'Cause, honey, you ain't one, and I sure as hell ain't one either." She said, managing to eat Alec with her eyes in a way that made everyone around get a little uncomfortable. Then, just as abruptly, she turned her head around until her eyes found Zack's. "You, Blondie, should I do the honors or will ya move that cute lil' ass o'yours and remove this white trash from my presence?"
Zack resisted his uncharacteristic urge to smile and remained impassive, his arms loose at his sides. Only his eyes drifted towards his 'boss'. Only when Alec made a reluctant nod did Zack approach Max and bluntly ordered: "Let's go, ma'am."
When the woman continued to ignore him, he did not repeat the command. He simply put an arm around her slim waist, effectively trapping both her arms in the process, and lifted her off her feet. She squeaked in protest and started kicking. But there was no way a fluffy little thing like her would cause a big guy like himself any kind of trouble. Or so everyone Zack passed along his way out thought. If only they knew! Of course, she would never be able to beat him, he was a better fighter, able to keep his head cool, he practiced more, and he knew more. But she'd put one hell of a fight, if she wanted to.
He was still able to distinguish the sexy purr the dark skinned beauty made across the room as she put her arms around Alec, before he and Max were out of there. She was one hell of an actress too.
Original Cindy glanced out the hotel's window at the yellowish structure visible in the distance. The painting was faded and downright missing in places. Only a remnant of the early years of the twenty first century. No one had apparently bothered with a new coating of painting for the famous Santa Anita racetrack.
The place had opened for the first time on a 25th of December, it had held the first $100.000 race, and had been home to Seabiscuit, part of whose bronze statue, sculpted by Ted Wheeler, was still recognizable in the Paddock Gardens. It was home to the equestrian events of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. And it had undergone major renovations around the year 2000.
All of this Cindy had gotten out of Alec. As opposed to what he did whenever somebody else was around, when OC asked him something, he usually answered squarely. And he always had the answers. She had wanted to ask him more, but Max had come into the room and heard part of his answer, and Alec had reverted to his careless pose and said he'd seen it all in a pre-pulse movie, of course. Yeah, right.
But she let it be. Because whenever Max was around and he was not playing dumb, he was being a show off. And boy, was he good at that too. Much as Cindy loved him, the guy was insufferable when he wanted to be.
Of course, he had good reasons to be so conceited. Whatever he was, he was one smart cookie. Not that Cindy'd ever tell him.
But one just had to consider the present situation. Her being here in Arcadia, California.
She'd received the phone call late on the evening previous to her arrival here.
"I don't have a lot of time, but I need you to get to the corner of Jefferson and 9th, Harbor View Park, in Sector 1. A guy named David will be waiting for you there. Pack sexy. Once you get here, you'll be Max's replacement as my mistress. I need it to be big. Think you can do that for me, please? I'll explain later."
Naturally she'd been on her way fifteen minutes after that, her Jam Pony credentials ensuring her smooth passage through all sector controls. Once on the airstrip, a blond, middle-aged man who introduced himself as the pilot greeted her. He seated her beside him on this huge black helicopter. When Cindy asked him why he was doing this, who was paying for it, he'd shrugged and said simply "Alec called saying he needed a favor" and started chatting about the weather.
So now here she was, in an ordinary hotel room, a relatively short distance away from the track. She was not sure why they were doing this. But, frankly, she didn't care. All that mattered was that whatever the scam was, it was an excuse for her to see her Boo and Alec. Good enough for Cindy.
She laughed out loud as she recalled Max's face upon seeing her.
That Alec was one sneaky SOB. Zack had said it himself when they all got together. Not only had Alec solved their predicament in a way that left no loose ends, but he'd managed to find the one person they all knew they could trust and Max would not get crazy with jealousy over. Simply brilliant.
And OC was having fun. She had not quite realized just how much she missed her transgenic friends.
She was enjoying batting lady-bugs away from Alec's side. Well, except for that sculpted redhead that suggested a threesome. She'd been mighty tempted that time. But she'd refused. No fiery red head was worth having a mad brunette super soldier after her.
Speaking of Max, she looked completely ridiculous in her jockey outfit: white pants, red T-shirt with a white collar, red and white cap and a matching jacket. She was taller than most of the other jockeys, but she was so quiet and unobtrusive, no one paid much attention to her.
Tomorrow was the big night. Thousands of people had arrived over the course of the day. More would continue to.
This was going to be fun!
The murmur of the large crowd was almost deafening. Masses of people continued to emerge through the different entryways and stairs. It looked as if the concrete walls were going to explode, as if there was no way the structure was going to be able to handle the astonishing amount of people. But of course, it would. There was plenty of room for more. The Box Seat accommodations, with four to eight seats each, had not been filled yet. But of course, these days, that meant eight to twelve people were crammed into them.
The only place that vaguely resembled the 'good old days' was the Turf Club. The Turf Terrace and the Americana Club had their doors open, tables waiting for the rich - or the wannabes - to sit around them and be charged ridiculous amounts of money for what they still dared to call 'fine dining'. Much as he hated doing it, Alec had to admit Logan's cooking had been better.
As he walked past the Chandelier room, he had to suppress a snort at the attire of the people inside it. The Dress Code was still mandatory in all areas of the Turf Club. It was completely ridiculous to watch the children dressed in suits. It was ludicrous to have them here, for that matter. But parents needed to show them off. To what end, Alec would not be able to say. As he looked to his right, though, he could not resist the smile that lit his face.
Cindy was walking beside him. The dress code stated: 'Dress or suit; skirt or slacks with a matching jacket or tailored blazer is preferred'. And abiding by it, she was wearing a skirt with a matching jacket all right. The fact that they were extremely short and outrageously tight respectively was a matter of interpretation. The guy at the entrance had been too busy glancing down the cleavage, which she was purposefully displaying, to be able to try any kind of refusal of entry. She was attracting everyone's attention. As if being the only African American Alec had seen inside the Club so far was not enough.
But that was good. Alec wanted everyone to see her, so the lustful looks of the men and the derisive ones from the women were more than welcomed.
Not that he was not causing the raise of the occasional eyebrow himself. He was not part of the 'regular crowd'. Sure, he was wearing a suit. Nice polished shoes, even a white shirt and a tie. But his movements betrayed him as a low life. He was too obviously itchy to get out of there. It was obvious he was just here to show off in front of his mistress.
And he would continue to reinforce that image. After a few more rounds around the halls, he left Cindy in the Turf Terrace and made his out, heading for the John Henry Room. The Dress Code here was less strict. He sauntered into the room with the cocky confidence that was expected of him. He gave a quick glance around, his eyes only sweeping past the different TV sets broadcasting live races as well as other major sporting events. Had someone asked him he would have been able to recite what each set was showing, and who was winning in each of the games/races/matches displayed. But no one did. Not that he would have answered anyway.
He made a show of finally locating Zack - he knew where he'd be even before entering: in the far corner, back against the wall, with a clear view of the entrance and the door to the back - and then walked towards him. Zack glared at him. The bodyguard mad at the boss that had gone somewhere without him.
"Oh, come on, old man! I'm 'ere now! I'm a'ight, see?" Alec said. Noisily. Naturally, everyone turned to look at him. Some people greeted him. He shook hands in passing, smiled a lot, made appropriate faces, winks and gestures. He headed directly to the wagering sector, that's what he was here for, after all.
He confidently strode towards the booth and taking out a big wad of crispy dollar notes, set them loudly on the polished wood, smiling at the man behind the bulletproof glass. Everyone in here was supposed to be a gentleman, but the glass was bulletproof nevertheless.
Alec confidently bet half the money on the favorite. The other half, he divided between three of the other horses. A simple matter of statistics. There were over thirty races - not all of them here, but in other places around the world.
If you always bet on three horses for each one of them, you had to win. And if you played with the knowledge of previous races results, especially of other days - which he did - you could do a pretty good inference of the distribution of the probabilistic variables. Of course, there was always the chance of losing. But that was okay. If he won them all, it'd look too suspicious.
After he got his tickets, he sauntered back to where Zack was standing and dropped into a nearby chair. He made a signal for one of the men in the white jackets and ordered a beer, on the rocks. The fact that it was still before noon didn't seem to raise any reaction from the serving man. And why should it? Everyone else in the room was drinking. And stronger beverages, at that. Alec just didn't think Ricky would go for anything but beer. Whisky, Rum... too sophisticated for him.
He settled more comfortably, and started watching a Soccer game on one of the TVs. The scene was set. Now all he had to do was make sure he kept in character until the afternoon.
He laughed. Like that was a big deal.
Cindy looked around and smiled. She uncrossed her legs and crossed them again, making sure everyone noticed. She didn't need to make sure her skirt rode up her legs as she did so, because... well, there wasn't that much 'up' for it to go.
She'd just lost an outrageous amount of money on one of the previous races. But she wasn't worried. First, because it was not her money. Second, Alec had told her which horses to bet on in each race. So far, they'd all come in last, or second to last.
She sipped from the straw and leaned back in the luxurious chair, looking out the window at the racetrack. Some horses were on it with the jockeys walking them, familiarizing them once again with the path. She managed to distinguish Max in her red and white apparel. Her horse looked kind of sad beside the others. It was a beautiful horse, no doubt about it. But it was not as majestic as some of the others. And based on the trial and classification runs, it was pretty much an average horse.
Not that Cindy knew much about horses, particularly, race horses. But it did not seem to be able to do anything spectacular. It was just like the others.
Of course, there was the fact that Max was riding it. So Cindy was sure she had not put all her abilities on the line yet. Max was probably saving it all for the real thing, the final race.
Max patted her horse's neck and whispered in her ears. She had just finished brushing her dark brown hair, which now shone brightly.
Max glanced flittingly at the other horses in the stalls. Sure, they were big, good horses. But they were no match for her. Her as in Max. Laila was good. But it was Max that was going to make her win this race.
She noticed that she was starting to sound too cocky, even in her own head. She smiled. Well, she could see the point of being confident... when one had reason to be. She knew she was going to win, so why bother with false modesty? She completely understood how Alec felt most of the time. Not that she'd ever tell him that.
"You and me, girl. We are gonna leave 'em all open-mouthed." She whispered in the mare's ear.
The horses were being walked to the track. They all looked beautiful, proud, tall, fit. The jockeys riding them seemed like slim, willowy dwarfs on top of them.
His eyes followed Max as she gracefully moved on top of her horse.
He had been away from her for too long. Necessary, given the situation. But damn, the way she was moving on that horse... He was beginning to respond to it.
His eyes narrowed as he watched the curve of her buttocks raise and fall, her slender legs wrapped tightly around the horse, the raising and falling of her chest - sure, she had some sort of contraption around her breasts to keep them from showing, but he knew what was underneath it.
The arch of her neck reflected the sun, and Alec's fingers twitched to run smoothly along it.
In his mind, they trailed to her shoulders and back up. His thumbs caressed the outer line of her ears. He leaned forward. He could feel her hair stroking his cheeks as it tumbled down after he removed her cap; smell the unique scent that was she.
Max's hand went to her neck to rub it. At least that was what it would look like to anyone else. But he could see that her fingers barely touched the skin. It was just a slight brush, much like the one he had been just imagining.
His enhanced sight focused on her soft lips. He ran his tongue over his own. Tasting her. Feeling her softness, her heat. Just as he was opening his mouth, her lips parted. He kissed her. His tongue running over her teeth, entwining with hers.
His eyes wandered down to her shoulders. His mind stroking them, massaging them. She rolled them.
Shit. He was beginning to imagine things. Of course, she had not arched her back when he thought of running his knuckles down her spine. And he had definitely not felt her hands on his hair when she patted the mare. It was just his imagination.
But what a nice image. And... there was nothing wrong with indulging in a bit of fantasy, right? He smiled as he mentally nibbled her left ear. He closed his eyes and let the feeling of her soft body pressed against his invade him. Now, if he just..-
"Will you stop that?!"
Zack's grumble jerked him out of his daydream.
He cleared his throat. "Huh?"
Zack glared at him. "You are disgusting."
"What?" When the blond man continued to glower, he swallowed. Surely he hadn't .. Oh! Zack meant him. Max was not really reacting to what he was thinking, of course. It was just in Alec's mind.
"You'll blow your cover if you continue to do that." Zack said seriously.
Alec sobered.
Cover. Right. He had a job to do.
Nothing weird had just happened. Zack had just said that to rile Alec. Because he wanted Alec focused on the job, and not on his little sister.
He stood up and went to the booth. As he had all day, he put half of his money on the favorite, a huge Arabian named Star. Terrible lack of imagination but, hey, the horse could run. He divided the rest of his money into two other horses. After all his winnings today, he could afford to make it two instead of three. Besides, he already knew how it was going to turn out.
He snickered as he heard the other people placing their bets. He had been systematically winning all day long. He had accumulated a small fortune already.
And the rest of the people around the club had taken notice. Now they all waited for him to make his bet before making their own. Of course, this diminished the winnings for them all, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter. Was okay, in fact. He guessed he'd made a lot of people richer this day.
As he walked back to his place in the corner, he smiled.
Max settled herself more comfortably on Laila's back. The saddle was a nuisance, but not overly so. Besides, it was not the saddle that was causing her discomfort. Oh no.
Okay, so they hadn't been together, not even near each other for a few days. But this was absurd.
She had felt him. She had sensed his lips on hers, his fingers lingering on her neck, caressing her back, his breath, his teeth on her ear. She'd had to focus really hard not to fall off her horse.
Naturally, she knew he wasn't really touching her. It was just her yearning that made her feel like that. But, if it was just her, why had it suddenly stopped? Why had she felt as if he suddenly moved away?
She shook her head. Of course she did not have such a strong connection with him. She was in love with him, true. But he was not in love with her. She rolled her eyes at herself. What did that have to do with anything? Even if he were... if he felt that way towards her, what she was imagining wasn't possible.
The wooden latch of the starting gate closed behind Laila, making Max remember where she was. She had a race ahead of her. A lot was riding on its outcome. She didn't have time to indulge in some romantic nonsense.
She stroked her horse's side affectionately.
"It's almost time, my friend. We're gonna make some history together today."
A neigh was all she got from the quadruped below her. She smiled, readying herself for the bell.
Zack watched the horses stampede out at the sound of the klaxon.
His eyes immediately focused on Max in the middle of the pack of horses. Star had already taken the lead, followed closely by number three.
He followed Max's movements. Damn, how anyone would think she was a man was beyond him. Well, that was not entirely true. If he looked at it completely objectively, he knew she had changed her movements, the way she held herself. She was even wearing glasses and a mustache. No one would deem her particularly macho, but not feminine either.
He guessed it had to do with the fact that it was Max. He'd always been aware of Max. And the little... whatever it had been ... before had not made things any easier. He had felt the temperature rising just by being beside Alec. But when he had looked out that window... it had been the same with Max. She was actually responding. Somehow, they had seemed... connected. The thought did not even bear contemplating. He refused to believe it had been anything more than a coincidence. It was one thing to know Alec was… she was... they were… But to think they had a bond like that...
He shook his head and followed the progress of the race.
It was going just as expected.
Good.
Cindy was having a hard time pretending she was no more interested in this race than she'd been in the previous ones.
She was sitting at another table. She had just bet an outrageous amount of money. It really was. Alec had stopped by earlier and made a great show of throwing away money for her to entertain herself. And she had done just that.
To the outrage and amusement of the man collecting the bets, she had bet all the money, on the second to last favorite. When the little guy asked her if she was sure, she had just shrugged and said: "Not my money. I win, he takes it and buys me stuff. I lose.. I'll just 'ave to be creative tonite, know what I mean?"
He had smiled knowingly. Not like the woman behind her, who had shot her a shocked glance. "Right, 'cause you bought them clothes yourself, huh?" had been Cindy's answer to that look. She chuckled just remembering.
But the bottom line was, here she was, watching the race. Making eager noises - which she didn't have to fake - as she followed the progress. Much as they tried to ignore her, she knew all the fancy old women in the room were avidly following her every gesture.
She clapped her hands in excitement when Max's horse neared the one before it, only to be completely deflated when it fell back again. Cindy watched Max lean against the horse's neck and pat it behind its ear. She seemed to be whispering something to it. Cindy had heard that the best horsemen - or horsewomen - were the ones that talked to their horses.
And it had to be true, 'cause suddenly, Max's horse surged forward. It was almost as if the other horses had suddenly reduced their speed. Quite impressive.
Cindy was totally caught up now in it now. "Go, girl!" she shouted.
She ignored the looks around her.
This was great.
Alec frowned. Just like everyone else in the room, he was completely engrossed in the race taking place just outside.
With the crowd, he watched Max's horse take on an incredible burst of speed. Like the rest of the room, he stared at the other horses, shaking their heads and rearing back, as if the surprise of the cream colored mare rushing past them had broken their mindless concentration.
"Oh, shit, no!" He exclaimed, pushing to the end of his seat, his frown deepening, hand hitting the table. "Aw. Crap."
He was putting on quite the show, if he did say so himself.
Zack, serious as always, gave Alec a mental nod.
He hated to admit it, it was against his planner's mind, but the truth was the X5's performance was giving the whole thing a trace of verisimilitude that no amount of careful planning could have added. He was simply that good.
He turned his eyes back to the track, where Max's horse had taken the lead by at least two full lengths. The rest of the horses were running full speed now, having recovered from their apparent shock. But with the advantage she had, a horsewoman such as Max would never allow anything to jeopardize her win.
He followed her as she made the last turn and sprinted to the finish line. The horse sprang those final feet so beautifully and gracefully it was hard to believe it was a race, and not an exhibition horse. He had a hard time containing his proud smile.
That was his Max.
She slowed to a stop and proudly patted her horse's ears, ruffling its hair.
Zack's eyes wandered briefly and met Alec's. In them, he saw the spark of pride that must be mirroring his own.
Oh, yeah, she was definitely something.
Max bowed her head in a jerky movement she hoped looked masculine as she accepted the flowers. Her left hand went to her pocket and back in a millisecond. No one noticed.
A busty blonde came up to her with a ribbon and smiled invitingly at her. Max mentally rolled her eyes at her and turned to the man in the elegant suit that was handing her a cheque for a hundred thousand dollars. She muttered a husky Thank you in the voice she had adopted as that of the jockey she was playing. Since there was no way she could pass her voice off as that of a guy, she had decided to give him a sore throat. Made things a whole lot easier.
She posed for the cameras, making sure her cap was very low on her head, and that it was shadowing as much of her face as possible.
Once the pictures were over with, she glanced at the cheque in her hands. She could imagine only one other person feeling more exultant than herself right now.
"Holy Shit! Holy mother of the Lord of the ... I ... this is not... Holy Shit!"
The litany of exclamations of the sort had not stopped since approximately 20 seconds after the race had finished.
The disapproving looks it had elicited at first had turned into looks of curiosity when it didn't stop, and bemusement when she started dancing around the room and kissing random women in passing.
Suddenly, she stopped moving, and still open-mouthed sat down in a plush settee, breathing heavily.
Oh, yeah, this was good! She could get used to the rush, she now understood what addicted gamblers felt.
She was tempted to rush to the man with the bets, but she remained seated and tried to calm herself. She had to wait for Alec. He would not take long.
"Yo, woman, get your ass over 'ere!" He shouted, having barely trespassed the door.
"'ssup, sugar?" She purred back, walking sexily towards him.
"Not in the mood, babe." He answered gruffly. "We gotta go."
She smiled sensually. "I think we wanna stay for a little bit longer."
"I said, not in the mood." He said through gritted teeth.
"Well, I think I can get you in the mood." She answered throatily, plastering herself to his side.
"No offense, babe, but it'd take a dozen of you and a lot of drinking to get me there today."
"How 'bout just one of me... and this little ticket?" She waved the little two by three inches paper.
Alec barely glanced at it, but then did a double take. His eyes went from the paper to her grinning face and then back.
"How much?" he asked.
"All of it."
"How much was all of it?" He asked more carefully.
When she showed him the ticket, he whistled and a slow smile spread on his lips. It shone so brightly that Cindy could hear the collective intake of breath even through her own fuddled mind. The boy had no right, no right at all, to have a smile like that. No one did.
She didn't even resist him when he kissed her. And man, what a kiss. For a moment there she almost forgot he was not of the female gender. Almost. She playfully pushed him away, but gave him a warning look. He smiled sheepishly but acknowledged her reprimand.
He still kept his sensuous smile in place as he wrapped his arm around her and said: "Babe, let's go collect."
"So, Maxie, back to being a female, huh? How does it feel?" Alec teased her, as she shook her long dark hair freely, letting it rest on the bare shoulders her spaghetti-strapped top was showing off.
She was about to glare at him, but instead tilted her head to the side, took a deep breath, making her breasts brush against his side, batted her eyelashes and whispered huskily. "I don't know. You tell me."
She bit her lip not to laugh as she watched his eyes darken. Oh, yeah. That was the reaction she wanted. Of course, when his gaze went to her lips and her own heart started doing little summersaults inside her chest she kind of forgot what she'd found so amusing. She inched closer to him, her eyes locked into the beautiful hazel of his.
His lips touched hers briefly. And then came back. Only this time, they lingered, tasting her, savoring her, devouring her.
"Wonderful." He said not really leaving her mouth, "It feels just amazingly fantastic."
She smiled into his mouth and kissed him again, her right hand running up his back. The vibrations of the helicopter were giving them a sense of being out of reality, in their own bubble outside the world.
Which was burst in the next second by a rude voice saying: "Can you guys not wait for a couple of hours?"
"Actually... " Alec started to say.
"Let me rephrase. WAIT for a couple of hours." Zack growled.
"And we should because...?" Alec asked staring at him.
Zack stared back angrily.
"Well, if you don't stop that right now, I am gonna tell Davie 'ere to turn this chopper 'round and get me to Seattle."
Max immediately tore herself from Alec. Much as she loved him and longed to touch him, she was not gonna miss out on having OC visiting them for a week. Davie, Alec's pilot friend and former EO contact had to fly to the East coast and wouldn't be going back to Seattle 'til the end of the following week, so they'd figured Cindy might as well spend a few days with them.
Of course, Davie would leave them in Helena, and they would drive the rest of the way. No sense in the guy knowing their location. They did trust him, but just as much as they'd trust any human, with the exception of Cindy. And even she would go to the facility blindfolded.
They had collected Cindy's money and transferred it to a Swiss bank account, from which it had vanished into a selected number of other accounts. But the important part, the first step, had been totally legalized by the US Gambling Regulation Association. All they needed to ensure no questions were asked.
"So, honey, nice race! You and that lil' horse o' yours kick some serious butt!"
"Well, yeah, we did." Max smiled smugly. When she noticed Alec's and Zack's raised eyebrows, she put her chin up defiantly: "What? It was my ultrasonic noise which made the other horses go crazy, and it was my horse's earplugs that I put in her ears that prevented Laila from reacting the same way."
Cindy's mouth fell open but then she burst out laughing when she saw Zack and Alec shaking their heads amused. "Never a dull moment around you guys, huh?"
Max grinned back.
Nope.
There wasn't.