Exosquad: Rifts - Part 1, Chapter 3


	Chapter 3 "Okay, let's see if I've got this right." Alec paced the warehouse floor as he spoke. "You took it upon yourself to armor up and take out three suspected terrorists." "Suspected terrorists?" replied Ellen. "Your standing next to the bomb." "I don't know how people do things where you're from. But here, people get a fair trial. We don't play judge, jury, and executioner!" yelled Alec. "Of all the ungrateful..." started Ellen. "Shut up, Wright!!!! Just shut up!!!" Ellen closed her mouth and leaned against a cargo crate. Alec walked up to her now full duffel and picked it up. "Hey, what are you doing with that?" asked Ellen. "I'm locking it up. No weapons, no more adventures. Look around you, Wright." Alec motioned to the destroyed hanger they were in, "Was all this necessary?" "Yes." Ellen's gaze hardened. Alec didn't seem to notice. "You could have taken them alive." "They were armed." replied Ellen. "Were they now?" Alec looked down at the corpse of their leader, his weapon lay twenty feet away. He looked back to Ellen, "The only good Elt, is a dead Elt." was the only response he got. Alec's face reddened slightly, "You still don't get it, do you? Ellen Wright is dead. You are supposed to be maintaining a low profile, not advertising to the world that you're here!" Alec paused to calm himself. Ellen took the opportunity to protest. "What I get, is that I saved your butt tonight and you're just ticked that I made the play while you were still trying to figure out what was going on!" Alec's face turned a bright red, "You put my ass in a sling over this fiasco!!!" Alec held up a short range comm unit, which was the size of an old fashion telephone. "Do you know who I got a message from just a few minutes ago?" Ellen shook her head. "Agent Alvarez." responded Alec. "Should that mean something to me?" asked Ellen. "Agent Alvarez was the undercover H.I.A. operative that was dealing with the six Eltorians that you made into hamburger today. You just blew a sting that took two years to set up!! To say Alvarez is upset, is an understatement!" Ellen looked confused, "But he gave them a bomb..." "He sold them the components to a bomb," corrected Alec, "With the exception of the fusion core, which is the heart of the bomb. It was really a tracking device. It looked like a core and would register on any scanner as a core. But when our 'friends' detonated their 'bomb' it would do nothing but fizzle." Alec put the comm unit down, "Another member of Alvarez's team was supposed to arrange for them to get off-planet sometime in the near future. They also had men all around this facility waiting for the signal to move in. In short, they had everything set to catch them red handed." Ellen shrugged her shoulders, "So you would have caught them and killed them, I just sped up the process." Alec grabbed her roughly by the arm, "Do you think these guys are an isolated group?! They're part of something bigger. They were our only link to find out what. And then you came along; to save a bunch of people from a bomb that wouldn't have worked, and blew them all away!" Ellen opened her mouth to say something then closed it again. She clearly didn't know what to say. Alec let her go. "You could have at least left the leader alive." muttered Alec. "I - I didn't know." whispered Ellen. * * * "Officer on Deck!" yelled Dirk. Kaz quickly said, "At ease." And positioned himself in front of his squad. "We got new orders from Admiral Jamison." "Finally, something spiritually fulfilling to do." noted Remes. Kaz smiled, "Approximately an two hours ago, six terrorists were killed while attempting to plant a type II fusion bomb in a residential area on earth. Exofleet has reported H.I.A. activity in the area but they aren't talking." "When do they ever?" added Remes. "They do tend to be known for their 'cloak and dagger' style of doing things. Anyway, Exofleet doesn't like to be kept in the dark, especially where military grade hardware is involved. So Able Squad and Charlie Five are being sent to secure the area and conduct an official investigation." "Ah, intrigue and innuendo are the order of the day. Not what I was hoping for, but its better than nothing - ouch!" Remes jumped out of line and grabbed his shin. Next to where he was previously standing, Sue Worthington was trying not to smile. "Well assuming no one else has anything to say, we land in 14 hours. We're one person light with Shanita in the sick bay, but I don't expect we'll see combat so that shouldn't be a problem. Dismissed." Kaz wandered over to his frame, as did many of the others. They had boarded the Vigilance an hour ago, a testament to how fast Exofleet Intelligence worked. Kaz had no idea what awaited him on earth and didn't much care. It was a welcome change from the usual business of exofleet, which consisted of endless drills and patrols. He sat atop his exofighter and watched the exchange between Remes and Worthington. Remes, a Venetian by birth, had a mouth that he rarely kept shut. Sue was from Mars and made it her mission in life to do the impossible: Get Stan Remes to control his mouth. Somewhere along the way, Stan developed feelings for Sue. Eventually, Sue found she had similar feelings for Stan. And so began one of the more unusual relationships Kaz had seen. "Dammit Sue! Why do you always do that!" "It shuts you up." said Sue flatly. Stan was kneeling as he rubbed his shin. "You could at least use the right leg, you know how much the left one hurts." Sue's features softened, "Sorry. Its just I always used to use the left leg until..." Sue trailed off, unwilling to finish her own sentence. She didn't need to. Stan knew what she was talking about. Sue had lost her real left leg, below the knee, at the final battle of the Eltorian War. She used a bionic replacement now and sometimes forgot it was there. As Stan became aware whenever she kicked him. Metal on flesh could be quite painful, as Stan could attest. It was difficult for Sue to get used to bionic prosthesis. The phantom pains she experienced were quite acute. Not to mention the fact she kept changing legs. "It was like she was picking out shoes." That's how Stan had described it. But for all his wise cracks he had been there for her. Helping her with her physical therapy, watching over her, listening to her problems and concerns. Stan got to his feet. Sue hugged him and gave him a kiss. "What was that for?" asked Stan. "For being you, Stan. For being you." * * * Jared Mathison busied himself in one of the hangers of the exocrusier Vigilience. He always enjoyed tinkering with his comm gear. As a result, he could often be found near it during his free time. Jared had been the communications officer for Jumptroop Charlie Five for a few years now. Most new members of the squad often humored him because he was a necessary component to the squad. They never really thought of him as fighter, just their link to support forces. Jared understood why they saw him that way, he always went into battle packing less firepower. As phallic as it sounded to Jared, the bigger the gun you carried, the more respect you got. Unlike most other exoarmor, Jared's had only handheld weapons for offensive power. He carried a self-loading grenade launcher in one hand and a repeater blaster in the other. The rest of his armor consisted of the usual thrusters for maneuvering, plus the 90 pounds of communications equipment built into his backpack. The entire comm package was a stripped down and micronized version of those found in an e-frame. Hard wired into the armor's mainframe, and controlled by the cyberlink found in all jumptroop helmets, Jared could get in touch with a ship in orbit from planet-side with literally nothing but a thought. "You know you spend too much time with that thing." Jared looked up from his work to see a man in a blue jumptrooper uniform. He had brown eyes and long dark brown hair which he kept in a pony tail. "Hey Pellegrino." said Jared. "You, my friend, need to relax." "This is relaxing." answered Jared. He tossed a soddening iron into his tool box and retrieved a screwdriver. "That's what Colleen used to say too." "She did?" Jared looked up from the panel he was replacing. He seemed somewhat interested. "Well, no. But unlike you, she knew how to have fun." "Oh, she won you money too?" It had been a long standing practice in most jump platoons that members prove themselves to their comrades by engaging in arm-wrestling contests. Charlie five had proven to be no exception. Charlie Five's newest commander, Lt. Longfeather, had long been the reining champion of the squad. Though no one was stupid enough to challenge him, a crowd quickly formed whenever any other squad members decided to go at it. Pellegrino quickly realized there was monetary advancement to be made in this territory. As a result, he often placed, and won, bets on such match ups. Some claimed Pellegrino's winnings were more the result of dumb luck than anything else. Pellegrino, on the other hand, didn't care what they thought as long as they took the bet. As Charlie Five's lead rifleman, he had always been able to spot talent in his troops. And so, he zeroed in on Jared Mathison. By his own admission, Pellegrino had called Jared 'the perfect underdog'. Unlike the newer squad members, Longfeather and Pellegrino knew that Jared could more than pull his weight in fight. Pellegrino had a hunch that the determination and effort he displayed under fire would translate well into the arm wrestling arena. To Pellegrino's delight, and his debtors regret, his hunch proved accurate. "No, but you sure have!" Jared finished tightening a screw, looked up at Pellegrino again, then started on the next one. "You really are shameless, you know." "That's the way the rich tend to be. Come on, Atkinson is convinced he can take you. I got 4 to 1 odds." Jared finished with another screw and moved on to the next. "So that means if you put 25 credits down for me to win, and I do, that gives you...oh...about 100 credits in winnings." "Hey, he's smart and strong." quipped Pellegrino. Jared finished with his equipment and set it aside. "Not so fast. I have needs." Pellegrino's eyes narrowed, "What kind of needs?" "Motivational. My heart really isn't in this like it used to be. The thrill of winning respect just isn't enough anymore." Pellegrino seemed to do some arithmetic in his head. "20% of the haul." "75" "35" "65" "50 percent, final offer." "Done." Jared got to his feet, clearly happy with himself. He and Pellegrino headed for the mess hall. "I would have settled for 40." commented Jared. Pellegrino smiled, "I would have gone as high as 60." Jared laughed and wondered if Vince Pellegrino had missed his calling in life. * * * Planet to planet flights often provided personnel with time on their hands. For a change, Kaz thought he would spend his alone in his quarters. He had checked his personal data bank for any new messages, cleaned up a bit, and made a trip to the showers down the hall. Which meant, that inside of an hour, he was bored. With nothing better to do, he rummaged through his belongings until he came upon a certain leather bound book. He opened it and thumbed through it. His scrapbook was something he choose not to share with anybody, save one. It had grown considerably since then. There were pictures of family, friends, and little mementos, like some confetti from the ceremony that marked his graduation from Exofleet Academy. He paused at a picture of his first squad. There were eight figures clustered about a large two legged e-frame, much like Worthington's. Kaz picked himself out, standing next to his commanding officer, J.T. Marsh. Kaz's mischievous expression marked him as the shot-nosed hotshot he had once been. J.T. looked to be every bit the great leader he would become. On the other side of J.T. stood the blue skinned Neosapian, Marsala. He looked as if he were trying to understand the purpose of taking such a picture. Kaz remembered him always trying to figure out something which humans just naturally seemed to understand. Off to the side, behind Kaz, stood Sargent Rita Torres. She stood at attention with her hands behind her back. The pose suited her perfectly, as she thought the sun rose and set on military discipline. To the left of Torres, leaning against one of the legs of the exoframe, was her antitheses. Everything that Rita Torres held sacred, Wolf Bronski blatantly defied, and suffered the consequences. To the left of Wolf was Alec DeLeon. He stood with his hands on his hips. He had a sly look about him that suggested he knew more than he was telling, which was usually the case, as he was the intelligence officer. Off to the side was Maggie Weston. She stood apart from the rest of the squad, with arms folded across her chest. She looked shyly at the camera. Kaz remembered how she was back then, all business, no personality. At first Kaz thought she was just being like Torres, always on duty. Then he realized that for all her ability in dealing with machines, people eluded her. But more time with the squad eventually helped her get over her shyness. The last person in the picture sat in the open cockpit of the exoframe, her legs dangling over the side. She had a big smile on her face. In many ways, she seemed more innocent than Kaz. But Nara Burns - now Nara Sterling - quickly proved that her non-threatening exterior hid a very real 'rough and tumble' soldier. Those were the days. thought Kaz. He looked at the next picture. The second incarnation of Able Squad. Nara was in charge then, J.T. got kicked upstairs. Her image seemed different somehow in that picture. Her profile seemed to demand more respect. Despite the smile she displayed, she looked harder and less innocent. Alec, Maggie, and Torres appeared in the picture as well, not looking all that different from before. Marsala and Wolf had left the group by then. Thrax, Worthington, Remes, and Sterling had joined. Kaz remembered the day the picture was taken. Weston had just awakened from her coma. Shanita was there. But as she wasn't a member of the squad yet, she opted not to be in the picture. J.T. had some place to be, which didn't matter because he wasn't technically in the squad anymore. Kaz looked at himself in the picture, standing next to Nara. He had just become a Lieutenant and returned to the squad. Thrax, in contrast to Marsala, seemed to to enjoy getting his picture taken and posed with his hands on his hips. He was flexing his large pectoral muscles. Worthington was giving a sidelong glance at Remes, who was shrugging. Kaz marveled at how the photograph seemed to capture the very essence of their relationship. Sterling sat apart from the rest. Kaz remembered that it had not been that long since they found out the truth about him. The truth being that he was really half Eltorian and had been hiding out in the terran military. The Eltorian Military, which he previously served, wanted him dead. He had been pursuing Nara at that time, albeit quite unsuccessfully. Which most likely explained why he chose a position in the picture that kept him away from her. There was another member of the squad that Kaz never had the opportunity to meet, Mack Erikson. He had been killed prior to the taking of the picture. Remes and Worthington spoke of him now and again. From what they said, he was a good friend and a fine officer. The next picture was of the current roster. So much seemed to have changed between pictures. "I don't think I miss anything more than the good old days." As if in response to that statement, Kaz's eyes landed on the next picture. He had a woman in his arms. They both smiled happily at the camera. She was the one great love of his life and the only person he ever let see the book he now held. It was one of his many secrets she took to her grave. Kaz ran his fingers over her image, "I miss you, Ellen." * * * "I don't believe it." Atkinson stared across the table at Mathison. His jaw hung open, emphasizing his disbelief. To look at him, Atkinson was a better match for Longfeather than Jared. Yet somehow, Jared had pulled off yet another impressive victory. Jared smiled shyly, "Oh well, better luck next time." He spun on his heel, gave a nod to Pellegrino and headed for the door to the mess. Pellegrino followed him out. In the hallway Jared turned on him expectantly. "So how did we do?" "Well since you threw in with me for 100 that brought the wager up to 200 credits." Vince smiled. "That brought the winnings up to 600 credits." Vince pulled a small pouch from his pocket, "Here's your 300, as promised." Jared grabbed the pouch and pulled it open. Vince looked offended. "What? You don't trust me?" "Of course I do. I am just concerned that you may have given me too much. Counting was never your strong suit." Jared winked at Vince as he counted of the triangular credit chips. "Good answer." responded Vince. A few minutes passed as Jared continued the count. When Jared finished he closed the pouch and slipped it into one of his vest pockets. "So we're good." "We're good." replied Jared with a nod of the head. Vince put an arm around Jared. "Sooo, any plans on how your going to spend that money?" "Yup." was the only reply Vince got. He removed his arm and followed Jared. They walked on for a bit until Vince's curiosity got the better of him. "So, what?" "We're going to earth." It took a minute for Vince to understand the implications of the statement. "Rita." Jared nodded. "With some flowers and a night on the town." Vince elbowed him in the ribs, "And maybe something else later on, eh?" "I won't push for that, but should it happen, well who am I to refuse? I take it you see that as preferable to losing most of it in your next poker game?" Vince was taken aback a little. "I am shocked and appalled...am I really that transparent?" "Just a little." said Jared with a smirk. * * * Ellen hesitantly approached Alec. He was watching the cleanup of the warehouse, his back to her. "Uh, DeLeon?" Alec turned around, his expression motioning her to speak. "Just a question, a minor concern really. When you send me home, you will give me my gear back, right?" Ellen cringed back as she said the words, expecting another blow up. It never came. "Of course we will. As a general rule we would never send a soldier into a hostile area without the proper equipment. That rule applies to you as well." "So what now?" asked Ellen. "Now, we get into the hovercar out front and see about making that appointment." The ride had proven remarkably quiet. Alec drove and Ellen sat in the passenger's seat to his right. Ellen had spent most of her time looking out the window. She was probably wasn't used to the idea of seeing earth in tact. After about fifteen minutes, she felt comfortable enough to talk again. "So what's up with you and Weston?" Alec's momentary gaze could have melted the armor plating off an e-frame. "Hey, I'm just trying to make conversation here." Ellen crossed her arms and looked out the window again. Alec took in a breath and released it slowly. "We're having trouble with our relationship." Ellen thought about making a smart ass remark, but decided against it. "You or her?" Alec shot a questioning glance at her. "What?" "Are you causing these problems, or is it her?" "It's kind of both of us." Ellen looked at him evenly, "It either is or it isn't, 'kind of' don't cut it." Alec signaled and made a left turn, then returned to the question. "Well, why don't you tell me. She gets transferred all around the homeworlds and I'm forced to transfer to different branches of the H.I.A. so we can stay together. My superiors don't like it, and come to think of it, neither do I. I want to settle down in one area, preferably on Earth. So tell me, who's to blame?" Ellen's reply was instantaneous, "You are." "What!?" Alec momentarily lost control of the hover car and veered into oncoming traffic. He quickly jerked the wheel back in the opposite direction and straightened out. A number of other hover cars beeped their disapproval of his driving. Ellen was ready to comment on the maneuver but opted to answer the question instead. "You heard me. It's your fault. You don't like being moved around, then don't move." "Its not that simple." replied Alec. "Yes it is. If you and Weston really do love each other, you will both try to find a way to make it work. But you're too scared to find out, so you keep moving and getting frustrated. Then when you get home, you take it all out on her, the person you say is causing all the problems." "That's not it at all." said Alec. "Really?" replied Ellen, "Then is there something you're not telling me?" Alec looked uncomfortable for a minute. "Well, yeah, I'm not exactly human anymore." "Yeah I know, human mind in a modified neomega body." The hover car once again veered off its intended path of travel, but not as severely as it had the time before. "And you were a pilot!?" exclaimed Ellen. Alec ignored the comment. "How did you know that?" "I didn't, well not for sure anyway. Its just that it was the case for the Alec DeLeon I knew, so I figured it had to be the same for you." "Oh." was all Alec said. "So how is your condition a problem?" "I don't need to sleep and chances are I'm going to outlive her by at least 50 years." "Nothing." replied Ellen. She quickly braced herself for another control failure, thankfully it never came. "Explain why that's nothing." demanded Alec. "You don't sleep, sure that's a little irritating but definitely not impossible to work around. Read a book or something while she's out. So chances are you will live longer than her, what are the chances you get run over by a hoverbus tomorrow? Or more likely, the chances you get into a fatal hover car accident?" "I see your point." said Alec. "If you do, then you must realize that this relationship of yours is in jeopardy because of problems you yourself made. It looks to me, you just don't want this relationship bad enough." "That's not true!!" Alec's outburst didn't catch Ellen off guard, most likely because the hover car stayed on course. Alec brought the hovercar around and into a parking garage. The sign in front read, "Visitor Parking: University of Chicago". "If it's not true, then what's the problem?" Alec brought the car to rest in a space and shut it down. "You wouldn't understand." "Try me." answered Ellen. "Some other time, we're here. Let's go." * * * "I'm sorry Agent DeLeon, but Professor Sterling left for the day." The receptionist was busy getting ready to leave as well. "You told him I was coming to see him right?" The receptionist gave him an empty smile. "Of course I did. He waited two hours after your scheduled appointment for your arrival. You have to understand that his time is valuable and that he can't wait around forever to consult with the H.I.A." Alec signed in frustration. "Did he leave any kind of message for me, a number or address to reach him at, perhaps?" The receptionist gathered the remainder of the files she had been working with and placed them in a filed cabinet behind her desk. She thumbed a code into a keypad on the side. A metallic click was heard as the cabinet locked. She tapped her cheek thoughtfully for a second before replying. "Oh yes, he said to tell you that he will meet you at the same time tomorrow." Alec shrugged his shoulders, "What am I supposed to do until tomorrow?" The receptionist slipped on her coat and herded them to the door of the office. "Not my problem." Alec looked at her helplessly, "You mean you can't give me the address he's staying at?" "Is this an emergency?" "Well, no, not technically..." She ushered him into the hallway where Ellen was waiting. "I'm sorry, but its against policy to give out that kind of information. If it was an emergency, then that's different, but it isn't, so goodbye." She locked the door to the office. "Okay, it is an emergency, now give me his address!" She eyed him, "Do you really expect me to believe that?" "Yeah." said Alec. She simply rolled her eyes, waved him off, and trotted down the hallway. "Goodbye Agent DeLeon." "You are just a smoothie with the ladies aren't you?" Alec looked as if he was about to throttle Ellen. "Don't start." he hissed. "Hey, we're not in a hovercar so I figure I'm safe." Ellen smirked at him, it reeked of her disapproval for how he handled the situation. "Shut. Up." replied Alec. He was finding it hard to control his temper. If Ellen noticed she didn't care. "No. The Alec DeLeon I know wouldn't let some secretary push him around like that. He would be talking with this Sterling guy right now." "I'm not him!" yelled Alec. "You're damn right you're not! Ever since I got here you've bumbled your way through getting me home. I've watched you, you're indecisive when it comes to making decisions. You spend too much time thinking instead of doing. Where I'm from, that gets you killed!" Alec's faced flushed red. He stood face to face with her. "Don't talk to me about going soft! I've fought and sacrificed more than you ever will! And my 'indecisiveness' only seems that way because I think BEFORE I act, unlike you. Who, I might add, blew an important H.I.A. undercover op!" The remark struck a raw nerve in Ellen and she held nothing back. "At least I act! I don't hide from my problems and hope they somehow resolve themselves on their own!" "What!?" demanded Alec. "You know what I'm talking about! Weston! You're not even man enough to face her! You just hide behind you're job!" Alec looked as if he was ready to burst a blood vessel. "You have no idea what you're talking about!!!" "I don't, huh? When's the last time you sleeped with her?" Alec didn't say anything, he was to livid to speak. "You can't even tell me, can you? Dammit, it probably doesn't even work!" Alec's right hand became a blur. Ellen never saw it coming as he slapped her across the face. She staggered back a bit, her hand on her cheek. A look of disbelief played across her face. Alec stared at his hand a moment, almost as if it had betrayed him. He looked at Ellen and deepened his breathing, trying to calm down. They stood there for a few quiet moments, just staring. Alec opened his mouth to say something and Ellen rushed him. She slammed him against the wall, pressing against him with her right arm while the left grabbed a lock of hair and pulled his head back. Alec's mouth sprang open and he soon found it filled. Ellen's tongue dove to the back of his throat as her lips came to meet his. Alec stood dumbfounded for what seemed like 30 seconds. He started to reciprocate when he suddenly remembered Maggie and caught himself. He pushed on her shoulders to get her to move away. Suddenly an immense pain shot through him. His knees buckled and he doubled over on the floor, unable to make a sound. He simply lay there with both hands covering his groin, the area that Ellen introduced to her knee at high velocity. She stalked away from him. "Now we're even." The time Alec needed to recover gave him time to think. After running through all available options on how to proceed, he sat himself up and considered those most promising. Obviously, he would need to procure lodging for the night. But he was at a loss for how to deal with Ellen. Things got out of control, saying things they should not have. In a way, he expected something unexpected to happen. Slapping her definitely fell under that category. It surprised Alec as much as it had Ellen. He had never hit anyone, let alone a woman, outside the bounds of self defense. The only thing that topped his action was her reaction. Alec never considered kissing an offensive weapon, but somehow she made it one. He stood and straightened his tie. Her subsequent attack seemed coincidental, as if she suddenly remembered he wronged her. If she was out to hurt him back, a fully trained Jumptrooper could have found more efficient, and painful, ways to do it. There was a piece of the bigger picture that Alec was missing. Suddenly, it occurred to him. It was as if something exploded in his mind destroying the mental block that kept him from putting it all together. Yes! That has to be it! He ran down the hall looking for a public phone. He needed proof before he confronted Ellen. It took a good thirty minutes to get what he needed. The clerk on duty back on Mars needed to check his security clearance before he called up the data tapes and told Alec what he needed to know. He found Ellen waiting at the hovercar. She sat on the hood of the blue hover car, staring at nothing. She sat there quietly and unmoving as Alec approached. He sat next to her on the hood and turned his gaze to her. "We'll have to get some lodging for the night." Ellen nodded and said nothing. Alec rubbed his palms together for a second before speaking again. "I'm sorry I struck you." "That must have been hard." commented Ellen. Her voice was soft and almost soothing. "I'm sorry I hit you too." She stuck her hand out, Alec shook it. Ellen went back to staring, the direction didn't seem to matter, as long as she didn't look at Alec. "Alec DeLeon was your lover, not just your C.O." Ellen's head spun towards him. "Wasn't he?" Ellen didn't say anything. Her gaze fell to her hands where she fiddled with her fingers nervously. "In case you were wondering, it was something in the story you told me that gave it away. You said you entered the H.I.A. building, but couldn't get by the security station. But why would you want to? According to what you said, you didn't know where I was yet. You said you checked one of the terminals in the lobby to find me then sent for me through the security station. I called the clerk on duty. According to the log tapes he accessed for me, you walked into the building and immediately to the station. You knew I was there because you already checked. You accessed one of the public terminals outside the building - somewhere near where you arrived - and did a planet-wide search for me. You probably felt stupid when you found out you were less than a block away. That's why you found me, isn't it? Your world became chaos and you wanted the person closest to you to straighten it out. And so you came to me, full of all these expectations of how I should handle the problem and how I should feel towards you. But then you found me involved with someone else, Maggie. That's why you never left the subject alone, you wanted to know about her because in your mind she was the other woman. And the fact I was with someone else ate away at you. But you didn't want me to find out. So you kept it all inside until you hit your breaking point back at that office." Ellen finally looked up from her hands. "I guess all that thinking is good for something after all." Alec smiled lightly at her, she seemed to appreciate the gesture. "Yeah, you were right. You - Alec - was my lover. And I did fell stupid when I found out you were a block away." Alec rested his hand on her shoulder. "Look, I know it must be hard for you. But you need to remember that I'm not him and he's still out there somewhere waiting for you to come back." "Yeah, I know. Its just you're so close to being him, its easy to forget." "That's not what you said before." Ellen forced a smile onto her face. "I lied. I wanted to hurt you like I thought you hurt me. I don't exactly know why I kis - uh, did what I did back there. I just sort of acted on instinct. Granted, it was the wrong one based on the situation." Alec hoped off the hood. "Already forgotten. Now, let's find a hotel." Ellen nodded and hopped down. Alec unlocked the hovercar and they both got in. Ellen gave him a quick glance. "One room or two?" Alec fumbled with the keys a bit then started the hovercar. "I think we'll go with two." Ellen winked at him. "Just checking."
	On to Chapter 4