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Dark Obsession	By : jracklesfan77 Category: 1 through F > Dark Angel Views: 4878 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Chapter
Thirteen
____________________________________
Am
I alive or am I dead?

Something snapped inside my head

What's gone wrong with society

I've lost all reality
~Snapped,
by Phunk Junkeez
____________________________________

Zack didn't
think he could stand another minute. It had been a long day spent trudging
around under belting, angry skies. His skin was damp and he was
chilled to the bone. There had been numerous trips to every corner of
the city, courtesy of his boss. Normally, he did his runs with Alec or Max,
sometimes both, and occasionally with Original Cindy. But
today he'd been stuck with Sketchy, and while the two got along famously
outside of work, Zack wasn't keen on his colleague's work ethic.

Sketchy delivered his
packages but took his time. He also liked to break and shoot the breeze with buddies from his biking group. Zack hated wasting time and
he had nothing in common with the Ordinaries Sketchy hung out with. But Zack considered himself a
good friend, and sat quietly on the sidelines counting the minutes and trying
to keep his cool while his idiot friend stretched the time and cut back on
runs.

"Come on, buddy! Normal said he'd make me employee of the
month if I finished all my runs today!" the shaggy blond had
whined when Zack had protested yet another stop-off. And
of course, we couldn't let that happen, could we? Zack snorted to himself.
The only positive facet to going along with Sketchy�s annoying little pit stops
was the chance to take shelter from the seemingly endless onslaught of rain.

It was close to nightfall
and he hadn't laid eyes on Alec or Max since
breakfast. His thoughts wandered to his brief visit to the house earlier that
day. He always marveled at the wonder of having a
home and sharing it with his family. The fact that they had fallen into a
normal routine, bantering and bickering like real siblings, messy bedrooms,
fighting for the shower, stealing each other's food...all things that were
standard to most familial relationships and living arrangements and things he
had never dreamed they would truly ever have.

Escaping Manticore had
been a risk, but one he'd been willing to take if it
meant saving his brothers and sisters from more harm at the hands of the
monsters who had made their lives living hell. Losing Jack had been the last
straw and while he'd wavered just moments prior to
vaulting out the windows with his unit, watching as Eva took a bullet to the
heart and went down before his eyes, he knew it was their only chance at a
future free from servitude. Never again would he allow anyone to harm his
family. It was something he'd vowed at the tender age
of eleven and one he held to still today.

Like Max, he thought
often of the rest of their unit, especially those he rarely saw or had yet to
find. But unlike Max, he thought of them all almost
daily. It was his job. He was the C.O. of the group, the eldest, and
therefore the one rightly responsible for their wellbeing. Not a day went by
that he didn't worry about them, wonder how they were,
what they were doing, how they'd matured and grown.

Zack eyed Sketchy's
latest attempt at a maneuver, and snickered quietly
when the blond fell flat on his ass, bike twisting and
landing atop him. He hoped they were able to be as carefree as that; to laugh, joke and generally enjoy their lives. He knew
they were being careful, and his trips to various states revealed that they
seemed well adjusted and happy. However, it hurt to think about how the family he�d always looked out for and protected no longer needed
him. Zack felt a twinge of sadness upon realizing that he no longer knew them, either. He pursed his lips,
brow furrowing in dismay. Come to think of it, he
barely knew the people living in his own house.

Max was the easiest to
read. Even with her mask, her body language gave away more than words ever
could. She thought she was so subtle, clever at hiding her feelings, but he
knew better, he'd always known. It was part of what
made him the perfect C.O.

Zack had meant it when he'd told her that Manticore did a good job on her. She was
beautiful, graceful, powerful and intelligent and she didn't
take shit from anyone. She had also managed to fit into a society that he could
never truly adapt to, but neither did he really wish to fit in. Zack had
accepted from the start that his role in this world was to look out for the
others and that meant not setting down roots anywhere. Even so, he knew that
wherever Max was he would feel at home, and that suited him just fine.

Alec was a bit of a
mystery to him. Not having been part of his unit, the things he knew of 494
were mostly hearsay, but having seen the guy in action,
even Zack had to agree that he could more than take care of himself. He was
loyal and caring, sarcastic and funny, and he was protective of and devoted to
Max. Zack couldn't have asked for a better partner for
his little sister.

Sometimes, though, he
sensed a tension between Alec and Ben. He wasn't sure
what it was exactly, but it was as if there was an unspoken tug-of-war going on
between the two that went further than sibling rivalry. He couldn't
even be certain that either one realized it existed, but he found himself
questioning whether or not Ben did. Ben, after all, was the more
sensitive one.

He'd be lying to himself if he said he
hadn't noticed the looks Ben had been giving Max lately, either. He wouldn't say they were inappropriate, but they weren't quite
normal, either. Since the night of Ben's nightmare, Zack had sensed a desperation in the quiet Transgenic that hadn't been
present before.

Fingering the scrap of
cardboard in his pocket, Zack withdrew the item in question and examined it.
Rubbing his thumb over the angry gouges marring the surface, he shuddered
inwardly. How angry must Ben have been to try and
erase the image of an icon he'd held on to intensely for most of his life? Was
his desperation; were his searching looks and strange intensity a plea or
desire for something other than faith to hold on to?

He'd told Ben just a short while ago
that he knew what it was to want someone to love and care about, to be loved and
cared for. An uneasy feeling settled upon him as he considered the possibility
that Ben-

His cell phone rang and
startled him from his musings. The display indicated that it was Alec. He
answered quickly.

"Man, I'm dying. Normal sent me
to Sector 12 twice today. That's over the bridge, man.
On a bike. In the rain. Twice!" Alec rambled agitatedly before he could utter a
word of greeting. "I'm tired, I'm wet and I'm hungry. Let's eat."

"Nice to hear from
you, too, Alec," Zack chuckled good-naturedly.

"Sorry if I'm less
than happy right now. I'm waterlogged and miserable. I
hate rain."

"You and Max
both," he agreed. "Speaking of Max..."

"I still haven't
heard from her," Alec interjected grouchily.

Zack smirked, hearing the
whine in his voice, and couldn't resist teasing,
"Separation anxiety?" He snickered when Alec grumbled, "Shut
up."

"I'm ready to call
it a day, too. Sketchy's driving me crazy."

Alec laughed at that.
"Oh, so you're bored. Poor Zackie, can't stand doing nothing. Goes against the genetic code,
huh?"

Zack scowled at the jab
but ignored it. "I'm gonna drop my signatures
off and head over to Logan's. Grab a bite and meet me
there?"

"Wait, I thought he
was supposed to call?" Alec wondered aloud.

"Yeah, but he
didn't, and when I called him, there was no answer. I don't
want to wait on this any longer. Meet me there in thirty."

"Hey! That won't
give me enough-"

Click.

"...time," Alec
muttered.
____________________________________
Max always relished the
feel of crisp, cool wind at her face and the hum and thrum of a motor between
her thighs. Something about flying down open roads on her baby made her feel
alive and free.

Although, at the moment, she was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable.
At first she'd thought he was holding her tight around
the waist because of the speed. Ben wasn't like Alec
or Zack; he didn't seem to enjoy racing or the risk and danger that gave the
adrenaline rush that they craved to a frenzy.

No, she didn't think that was it at all. Maybe the murders were
getting to him more than he let on. When he'd come to
her at the house, he'd seemed unaffected, something that didn't really fit his
profile when she thought about it. So it had to be the murders, she decided. He
was leaning into her far too close for it to be anything other than fear.

Ben was enjoying the ride
immensely. It wasn't often that he got the chance to
be so close to Max, to touch her so intimately without fear of reprisal. He
inhaled deeply and let the scent of berries and - Is that peaches? Ah, her
body scrub - permeate his senses. He pressed into her further, his chest
and stomach molding to the curve of her back as she
leaned over the handlebars of the motorcycle. He felt her jacket and shirt ride
up a bit in the back and knew it revealed some of that silky skin. He quickly
brought his hands from around her stomach to rest above her hips, excitement
jolting through him as his fingertips met the exposed flesh of her sides.

Ben knew that if he
shifted just an inch or two closer, Max would finally become aware of exactly
the way she affected him. His groin ached, his cock straining against his
pants. What he wouldn't give to rub against her ass.
Her current position was perfect; all he had to do was just slide up a bit and
between... and if he ran his hands up her sides just that little bit more, he
knew they would find the soft underside of her full breasts.

But he couldn't. As much as he wanted
to could, he wouldn't. He had to stop that train of
thought or he'd burst in his pants. The engine purring
between his legs, his hands on her skin, her scent, everything was beginning to
overwhelm him. He had to bring himself under control. He needed to make her see
and understand, and then, maybe then she would see just how much he had changed
and what he was willing to do to be worthy of her. And
in order to do that, he had to keep his head in the game.

They were nearing the
woods and Max slowed a bit.

"Which way?"
she asked loudly over the dull roar of the engine.

"About half a mile
up on the left," he directed, pulling back reluctantly.

Max exhaled quietly in
relief when his hands loosened their hold on her skin. She
felt awkward with the way her brother had been touching her. Something
about his caresses, and they were caresses, she noted belatedly and with
a little unease, was unsettling. The sooner we get this over with and meet
up with Alec and Zack, the better.

Pulling off to the side
of the road, she slowed to a halt and killed the engine. The two climbed off
the bike and Max wheeled it into the brush to hide it from view.

"Where to?" she
inquired, looking around at the expanse of forest and feeling a bit
apprehensive at being alone with Ben out in the middle of nowhere. She couldn't explain the disconcerting and creepy feeling that
something was off, but tried to shake the notion. Ben had brought her here to
stay a step ahead of the police. The boys would be along shortly and they would
determine the next step and go from there.

Nothing at all to
worry about, she
tried to reassure herself. It's just Ben.
____________________________________
Alec was finishing off a
sub with one hand while he steered through traffic with the other. The ringing
of his phone surprised him and he dropped the sandwich and swore as it
fell to the ground.

"Damn it!" he
cursed the mystery caller and the loss of his dinner. Pulling his phone out of
his pocket and flipping it open, he snapped in irritation, "You owe me
dinner."

"Alec?"
Zack's voice sounded hollow and distant and Alec immediately sensed that
something was terribly wrong.

"Zack? What's
up, bro? What's wrong?"

"The place is
trashed. Get over here, fast, and make sure you're not seen."

"On my way,"
Alec replied, disconnecting the call.

Alec made good time,
weaving expertly through the crowded streets of the city. He took the access
road to the back of Fogel Towers and parked his bike. Easing he way through the service hatch in the basement, he
ascended to the penthouse and quietly entered Logan's apartment. Padding to the
living room he, stopped cold. The scene that met his
eyes was unexpected, even given the warning from Zack.

"Shit, dude, what
happened in here?" he asked, looking at the wrecked study. "Where's
all the...?" he gestured in question, walking around the room and
surveying the damage.

Zack nodded towards the
hallway. "Bathtub. A smoldering
mess of melted plastic, scorched metal and wet ash.
Looks like a rush job, but pretty thorough."

"Clues?" Alec queried from across the room
where he was crouched before the couch.

"Haven't
really had a chance. When I got here, that pile
of crap was still burning. I tried to salvage the hard
drives but they were fried. There're a couple discs and
things that might prove-" Zack stopped when he noticed that Alec was no
longer paying him any attention. "What, what is it?"

"Didn't you notice
the trail on the floor, Zack? Leads to the couch?" he pointed at the
specks of blood and larger splotches that painted the tiles in dull, brick red.

"Hey, I was trying
to put out a fire, Detective."

Alec scowled.
"You're an X5, man." He shook his head and turned back to the object
that previously held his attention.

He patted the fabric of
the couch, muttering to himself, and then swiped a finger over the surface and
raised it up to study it. "Take a look. Dried blood on
the floor but this? Damp. I'd estimate a few hours old."

Zack looked thoughtful in
addition to feeling concerned for the cyber hacker. "Assault and
kidnapping?" he surmised.

Alec shrugged.
"Guy's got a lot of enemies. Maybe someone got
hacked off with Eyes Only. Would explain the trashed computer
equipment." He continued to search for further clues while Zack
sifted through some discarded papers that had been knocked
to the floor.

"Maybe," was
Zack's noncommittal reply.

Alec stilled when he came
to the opposite end of the sofa and noticed something odd. Wedging his head and
shoulder between the couch and a slightly raised bookshelf, he extracted a torn
manila envelope from underneath, noting the edge of a photograph peeking from
the upper corner. "Or maybe not," he commented, backing out of the
small space and waving the envelope in the air.

Zack quickly made his way over
to Alec's side while the latter removed the photo from the sleeve and gasped.

"Oh fuck," he
whispered in a quiet, trembling voice..

"Is that...?" Zack
asked in disbelieving shock

They looked at each other in
abject horror.
____________________________________
They'd walked quite a ways into the forest together in silence. Max's
preoccupation with the newest development kept her from noticing Ben's quiet
contemplation of herself. She was
too wrapped up in considering the reasons behind the murders.

Zack had suggested that perhaps
Manticore had been trying to draw the rogues out into the open and that they
were using the murders to scare them into tripping up. But
so far none of the victims had proven to be Transgenics. That left another
possibility wide open; one that Max was reluctant to consider.

Could another Transgenic
be responsible for the killings? That was the question they'd
all asked themselves but never voiced aloud. It just didn't
fit; what Transgenic on the outside would risk exposing him or herself to the
authorities? And even if it was a matter of sloppy
work and just a failure to cover their tracks, a Transgenic would know better
than to keep at it. They would lay low until the heat was off.

Unless the
Transgenic was mentally unstable. The sudden thought made her shudder. Max
really didn't want to relocate again. This was her
home now, and she had friends, a job, a routine that
she enjoyed. She didn't want to have to uproot herself
like she'd done so many times before settling in Seattle. And she knew that if they picked up and moved again, it was
likely that Zack would take off, another thing she didn't want to see happen.
Alec may have become her world, but Zack was her family and had been
long before Alec was in the picture. She
didn't want to pick up and start over all on account
of a psycho Transgenic

Meanwhile, Ben walked alongside
Max in silence, matching her stride for stride. He took in her profile and
smiled. Even with her lips in a tight-lined frown, her brow pinched as if deep
in thought, she was beautiful. The crown of her head reached his chin, and he
could imagine enfolding her in his arms and tucking her underneath it.

They were a perfect fit in so
many ways. As partners in training and in the field,
and later, on a level of understanding he had never found with another, and
doubted Max ever would, either. She might be with Alec, but Ben knew he would
always know her better.

Another reason you should be mine, Maxie, he decided
firmly. He narrowed his eyes and sucked in a breath when she bit her lower lip.
He wanted to reach out and touch her, pull her close and comfort her, but he couldn't. Not yet.

Ben believed that Max was the
only one who could ever truly understand why he'd done
what he did. And she was the only one he could trust
to share the details of his sordid adolescence with. The others might look at
him in disgust but would most definitely pity him and he hated pity. Alec would
see him as a weak carbon copy of himself. Zack would be gruff and distant. Oh,
he would care, alright, but he would brush it off and
tell him to buck up and move on. No sympathy there. However,
while Max might pity him, she wouldn't treat him like
a broken toy, she would remind him he was a strong man. She would know, as she
always had in the past, how to make him feel worthy again.

Ben knew he had to release his
demons in order to be worthy of her. She might balk and freak out a bit, but
eventually she would accept and understand, because of all the others in
his family, she had been there with him; been in the same frame of mind
the day of that training exercise. She, too, had that thirst for blood, whether
she chose to believe it or not.

In addition, she'd
been the only one not to laugh at his trust in the Blue Lady. She had
questioned it, true, like the others, but she'd never
made fun of his passion and fervor.

Max will understand, he reassured himself, moving a bit closer to her as they approached the
clearing.

"This is it, Maxie,"
he said quietly, pointing ahead to a wide-open space dotted with small patches
of brush surrounding a large, slanted stone slab. A body could
be seen, spread out upon the surface, limbs twisted unnaturally.
"He's up there."

Max swallowed, finding the
action difficult. She didn't really want to see the
victim's broken and bloody corpse, but she knew she had to face this. She
flinched when Ben's palm rested flat against her lower back and pushed her
gently forward.

Moving slowly but steadily, the
pair approached the slab. Max noted the set-up, almost as if the body were laid out on an altar like a ritual sacrifice of some
kind. She held her breath and leaned in to get a better look at the victim. Her
eyes fell on the black markings at the back of his neck and did a double take.
Then the victim's features registered and her heart stopped her her chest.

Gasping, she whirled around and
stumbled back, putting some much needed space between her and Ben.

Voice shaky with shock and more
than a little fear, she stuttered," Y-you?"

Ben's face was passive though
inwardly cringing at her obvious fright.

"Yes," he replied
calmly, waiting for her reaction.

Her eyes had seen, her mind was
processing but her heart refused to accept what she'd
observed firsthand. However, Ben's admission of quilt and lack of visible regret
set off new waves of shock and terror.

How could she have missed it?
How had any of them missed the signs that Ben, their quiet, reserved,
gentle brother was hiding a secret so dark and horrific beneath the surface? Were they so wrapped up in their own loves and lives not to
have noticed? Or was it that Ben was just that good at
keeping secrets?

But above all, Max wanted to
know why he would stoop to this; murdering innocents without care or caution,
brutally taking their lives and desecrating their bodies like a wild animal.

She was determined to face him,
and schooled her features so they wouldn't reflect her
inner turmoil.

"Why, Ben?"

"You know why,
Maxie," he replied earnestly, his eyes pleading with her to remember.

"I know why?" she
echoed hollowly. "How would I know what motivated you to become a monster?"

"No," he growled, shaking
his head.

"Yes, Ben! There's no excuse for murder! You're no better than the Nomlies you always feared!"

Max knew she'd
gone too far with that accusation when Ben's face hardened and his eyes glittered
with rage.

"A Nomlie?"
he hissed, stalking towards her, backing her against the stone.

* * *
A/N: I was going to finish
this as one long final chapter, but when I hit 3750 words I figured it was safe
to stop here. The next chapter will finally bring the end of this story. I'm already halfway through it, and expect to have it out
next week some time, if all goes well. Your comments fuel my
fire and push me to get this out faster, so please - PLEASE - share your
thoughts! ~Shay.
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Dark Obsession