Enemies

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or anything affiliated with it.

Author's Note: This is my little attempt to stray away from the "haha" stuff and get to some more serious stuff. All constructive comments (good and bad) are welcome. This part's a little long but I couldn't bear to split it up.

<> Denotes thought

Big humongous thanks to Sassafraz and Arwen for beta'ing so well. Thanks guys! You have no idea how indispensable you are. What would I do without you guys? Also a 'unique' thank you to Laura, because of all her sweet little emails asking me when I was gonna have this sucker done, I finally hauled my ass over to the computer and started typing. Shows what a little coaxing will get out of me ;-)

A side note for Guardian Angel: (Geez, this better not become a regular thing *snicker*) Monica, whether you know it or not, my writing has 'evolved' somewhat and it's partly because of *your* writing. I read your stuff and see how things get done 'the right way' and I take note. Then I try to not screw up in my own story. So thanks. You're the best. *big hug*

And as always, this story is dedicated to Rach L. because she's just awesome, and without her, this story probably wouldn't be in existence. (Hehe...yup, it's all your fault Rachel.)

*****
Enemies - part 2

*****
"Ready to go?" Logan asked Max. He noticed that she seemed tensed. However, her nervousness wasn't entirely due to his proposition earlier. He followed her gaze over to an isolated man in the far corner.

"Hold on, I have to do a few things first." Without waiting for a reply, she left his side and headed towards the corner of the room. Logan looked at the man again and pretended to not see the dark glower that he was receiving. He didn't know who the man was or why he seemed to know Katherine. Not wanting to spy on them, Logan decided to busy himself by getting Katherine's coat. Glancing one last time at the blond stranger, Logan turned around and left.

Max walked over swiftly to Zack with a calm, collected expression on her face. Her posture emitted an unyielding nonchalance. She didn't want him to know that she was extremely wary of what was about to happen in their meeting. But Zack *would* understand if she simply explained it to him. Elkins was their only link to the chip. Zack had to understand, because it's no big deal. It's not like she actually *felt* anything for that weasel. Ha! This was getting ridiculous. The fact that she was even *considering* having feeling for him was just laughable!

Squaring her shoulders she prepared herself for Zack's predictable accusations. "Hey." She said flatly.

Zack simply stared at her hard. "We're not supposed to make contact with each other."

Max didn't even flinch. "I just thought that you should know--"

"Know that you're about to blow this thing by going off with some rich airhead?" He was definitely not happy with her. His eyes had been on her the whole evening and hadn't liked what he'd seen. Max had *never* derailed from any of there assignments before. What was so special about *that* guy?

Max glared at him. Her fists were clenched at her side. "I'm not 'blowing' this thing."

Zack crossed his arms and looked at her skeptically. "Could've fooled me."

"He has the chip. Carson sold it to him." she replied evenly.

Oh. So what? Did she have to get so cozy with the guy? "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Yeah, it's suppose to make you feel nice and cozy, like chicken soup."

"Be serious."

"Fine."

"I don't condone your behavior tonight."

Ah, always straight to the point. Very tactful, Zack. "And what behavior would that be?"

"Being awfully friendly weren't you? What the hell is rich boy supposed to think?" Zack's head tilted to the side like it always did when he was irritated.

"Oh, so that's why you're acting like a jerk." Max didn't get upset. She maintained her cool exterior. "Damn it Zack, I thought you would be used to it by now, you never seemed to have a problem before. I do this every time we have an assignment like this. Remember? Charm the old geezer and grab the objective, does that ring a bell?"

But that guy's not an old geezer. Zack felt threatened. He saw how Max looked at the guy and he certainly looked back at her. That expression on her face was one that he had never seen before. She never looked at Zack that way and that made him even more upset that she would look at a stranger like that. "I have a bad feeling about him."

"Of course you do, he's horny and he thinks he's gonna get some." She looked at him closely to see if any of her words were registering in that thick head of his. "Don't even tell me that you're worried about my safety, look who you're talking to. I could kill that guy on the spot, one handed, blind folded, without even breaking a sweat."

"I know you can, I wasn't referring to that."

"Then what? What are you worried about? I can take care of myself, Zack."

"I know."

"Then what's the problem?" She placed her hands on her hips, impatiently waiting for his answer.

"Are you going to sleep with him?"

Max shook her head in disbelief. "Always straight to the point, huh?"

"Well?"

"None of your business." Her voice was harsh and cold.

"It is my business, I don't want the assignment to be compromised because you feel the need to have a good time."

"Let me put it this way, have I ever slept with anyone who didn't know my real name?" She hissed at him. It was unbelievable that he would even consider such an absurd idea. "You of all people should know that I don't mix business with pleasure. Why do you think this guy would be different?"

"I don't know." Zack knew he was losing the argument to her. "But shouldn't we talk to Jones before you do something?" He felt like he was frantically grasping for reasons, but all the goods ones are either not there, or they were slipping out of his hands.

"When have we ever consulted him before the assignment was over? Besides, it's near impossible to get in contact with him at this time." The look she gave him made him frown in displeasure. "Just get over it, Zack."

The tall blond knew when he was defeated, although granted, it wasn't often. With an exasperated sigh, he conceded. "Fine, get back as soon as possible, with the chip."

"How stupid do you think I am?"

"I don't think you're stupid."

His reply was downhearted and he broke eye contact with her to stare at his shoes. Watching his dejected face, she mentally groaned and reached out to slap his shoulder good-naturedly. "Hey, I'll be fine. If that weasel lays a hand on me, that hand won't be attached to its owner for very long." She smiled reassuringly at him.

Zack returned her grin, albeit halfheartedly. "Okay."

Max was satisfied; it looked like they finally reached some of understanding. "We've talked too long, I better get going."

Zack only grunted in reply.

Max left him to sulk by himself as she searched out Elkins. He wasn't in the various crowds. She scanned the vast hall with her eyes but still saw no signs of him. <Just who's supposed to be in control here?>

"Looking for me?" She could feel his warm teasing breath on her shoulder. She didn't know whether to hug him or hit him.

Opting for the latter, she smacked his arm. "There's something called personal space."

Logan winced a little as he rubbed his shoulder. "Got quite an arm there."

"Thanks. Are we going yet?"

Logan hesitated. "Are you sure you want to go?"

She simply sighed, *loudly*. "Why wouldn't I want to go?"

Logan shrugged and wrung his hands nervously. He didn't know exactly know how to make his words come out right without offending her. Well, he probably was going to make her mad anyways, if not then, definitely later. "That guy in the corner."

"What about him?" Max's voice lowered considerably.

"Aren't you with him?" His face resembled one of a small puppy that didn't want to get kicked anymore.

"No. What made you think that?" Despite his cute expression, she didn't soften hers.

"He seemed...I don't know, but it looked like he wanted to kill me."

Max had to smile and shake her head. Yup, that's big ol' protective Zack. "Don't worry about him."

"Shouldn't I though? Don't want to be stepping in on his territory."

"Territory?" She repeated dangerously.

Logan mentally slapped himself. That was definitely the wrong thing to say. "I just meant that, *maybe*, you're his girl?" He finished off meekly and was rewarded with her eyes peering intensely back at him.

"His girl?"

<Shit, wrong again.> "Uh, I just meant that...in a certain way...that doesn't get you mad at me?" Logan was afraid that she might actually hit him again, not that it actually *hurt*.

Max got tired of his helpless excuses and took pity on him. "I know what you meant. Forget it. Let's just go."

He breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Sounds good to me."

*****

They both sat in silence during the cab ride. The silence continued as they made their way to his room.

Logan fumbled with the keys, muttering incoherent words under his breath as he struggled to open the door.

"Need help with that?" He could hear her unimpressed tone behind him.

"Nope, I'm good."

"Oh, I see. You don't think that a simple 'possession' such as myself can possibly open such a tricky door. Especially when 'big manly Chris Elkins' couldn't do it himself." Oh, so she was still sore about that.

Logan froze. He didn't like the sound of that. Turning around and giving what he hoped was a dazzling smile, he quickly handed her the keys and bowed. "The lady can do *anything* stupid Elkins *can't* do. And the things he *can* manage to do, she does a million times better."

"You're a real hoot, Chris." Max snatched the key ring from his hand and pushed him out of the way.

"You're welcome." Logan mumbled as he watched her shove the key into the hole. With a flick of her wrist, the door flung open and she walked in.

'Wow.' Logan mouthed to himself. He followed her and closed the door behind him.

"Nice place." Max examined the hotel room quickly. She tried to deduce where the chip could possibly be.

"Thanks." After seeing that she didn't reply he continued, "You want something to drink?"

"No, don't feel like drinking." She sauntered over to the bed and sat down.

Logan gulped. "That's all right."

Max stared back at him sharply. "Did I say that it wasn't?"

He cringed inwardly. He was sick of the game that they were playing. But *if* they had to play it, he wanted the ball back in his court. "No, you didn't." He agreed, "but since when do I have to consult with you before I say something? There's something called freedom of speech." He smiled her in the way that made her infuriated.

Max raised an eyebrow. That was a challenge. "You don't have to consult anyone. Like you said, there's something called freedom of speech, so why do you care so much about what I say? Am I not saying the right thing, Chris?" She countered.

"I don't know. I must be crazy, and please, don't twist my words around and find some offensive underlying meaning in them."

"Such as...?"

"Don't ask me, you're the one doing it."

"Doing what?" She cocked her head to the side as she questioned him.

He ran his hand agitatedly through his hair and sat down in a nearby chair. "Stop that. You're making me crazy."

"Really? How am I doing that?"

"By making me confused and...and...y-you're..." He broke off with an annoyed groan. "You're making me stutter!"

"Am I? What? Mr. Articulate can't stand having someone rattle his super cool nerves of steel?"

Logan widened his eyes in aggravation. "Can I ask you a question?" He didn't wait for her approval. "Do your friends like you cagey? And yes, I *did* just call you cagey."

Max took a moment to think about his question. Unbeknownst to him, it struck a nerve. She didn't really have friends. She had co-workers. Zack was the closest person to her, but he wasn't what she considered a friend, he was a brother figure. "That's none of your business."

Logan watched as the walls came up around her again. It had something to do with his question. He watched as she played with a piece of lint on his bed cover. "I'm sorry, you're right."

Her head jolted up, she didn't think that he would apologize. She had expected him to continue questioning her and goading her. "It's okay." She shrugged it off. It was not a big deal. So what if she didn't have any friends? It had nothing to do with him.

Logan wondered what happened to her that made her so guarded. Not only did she seem so cold sometimes, she looked sad. He wondered if he had ever actually seen her really smile, a true, unreserved smile. He started to play with the idea, what would her features look like graced with a beautiful smile? One thing he knew, if she smiled, everything that was wonderful about her would be enhanced at least ten times.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard her speak up. "My brother." She avoided his eyes.

Logan's mouth faltered. "Uh...excuse me?"

"That guy at the party, he's my brother. Sort of."

"Oh." He knew she was still debating with herself. She was wondering why she blurted that out. To him. "What do you mean 'sort of'?"

"We were adopted by the same person. We grew up together. I think of him as my brother."

Logan softened his expression considerably. "It must be nice to know that he cares about you enough to look as if he'd kill me if I did something to you."

"Yeah, it is." Max had a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Can I ask you something, Katherine?"

Max peered back at him, unsure of what he had up his sleeve. Wasn't it enough that she gave away very private information to a person that she didn't totally trust? She didn't know why she told him that. Maybe part of the reason was that she didn't want him to guess that Zack was her partner, that he was helping her get the chip. But that wasn't the whole reason, and that scared her. What was so different about this guy? She had been in many other lavish hotel rooms with many other strange men and she never felt inclined to give away details about herself.

Except the other men started groping at her before they had even entered the room. Elkins was different. He hasn't laid one finger on her since the party. She stared back at him. He leaned over towards her and his elbows were resting on his knees. "Sure, but I can't promise you that I'll answer."

"If you do, will you answer truthfully?" His earnest face met her gaze.

Max figured that if she felt like lying, she would just not answer him. "Yeah."

"Why did you agree to come back to my room?"

Max broke away from his deep blues eyes and stared at the floor. "I don't know. A lot of reasons I suppose."

"The chip being one of them?"

"No." She stared up at him, her gaze on him was unwavering.

"Are you lying?"

"I promised you the truth, didn't I? You still don't believe me? Fine." She hunched her shoulders over; she was tired of his accusations.

Even if the are true.

"Who the hell cares anyway?" It was muttered while she was still pitying herself on her lack of confidants. But he took it as a question directed at him.

"I do."

"Yeah, you only care about that damn chip of yours." Her upset face tilted towards the carpeted floor again.

"Katherine..."

"Shut up, Chris."

"Please look at me."

Keeping her eyes on the floor, she took a few breaths before answering. "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth would be nice."

"Well, there is no 'truth' Chris. I've told you already, I came up here for a lot of different reasons. I have no idea what the hell you are talking about. Why do you keep insisting that I want some 'chip' of yours?" She didn't know why, but she hated herself for lying to him.

Logan slid out of his chair and kneeled on the floor in front on her. Grasping her chin lightly, he tilted it up so that he could see the cloudy expression in her eyes. "Honest?"

She practiced this many times. Lying to strangers that she'd just met, but somehow, with him it was harder. "Yeah."

"Thank you." Logan felt immediate relief. He believed her.

Noticing how close they were for the first time, he leaned over and closed the distance between them. Taking a moment to see her parted lips anticipating his kiss, he smiled and pressed his mouth softly to hers.

She held on to him tightly, she didn't want him to suddenly back away and apologize profusely for invading her space. She *wanted* him to invade her personal space. He showed no signs of stopping. Max wanted to believe that he didn't bring her up to his room to sleep with her, that he brought her up to question her privately about the chip. There shouldn't be a doubt in her mind; she wanted to think that he had no ulterior motives to begin with. Max heard him moan as she opened her mouth to give him better access.

He tasted sweet. His kisses were gentle, not possessive like the other men. He took his time and took things at her pace. Max felt him reach up and brush her hair away from her face. A jolt of electricity flowed through her at that innocent contact.

Max ran her hands over his shoulders before grasping at the lapels on his tux. She unsuccessful tried to tug it off him. He pulled away from her at that moment to catch his breath and to help her with his jacket. Max saw that his eyes were clouded with desire for her. She never saw that expression on any man before. Usually, they were just excited with the desire to be *with* her.

Max reached up, grasped his hair, and yanked him down back to where her lips were waiting for him. She felt his arm encircle her waist. Whimpering a little when his lips left hers and started to trail butterfly kisses down her collarbone, she rubbed the back of his neck and dragged him onto the bed. She closed her eyes tightly as he reached a particularly tender spot behind her ear. Already losing all rational thoughts, she barely registered that she was sprawled out on his bed with their bodies tangled together; enjoying the attention that he was giving her. Already knowing that she would *definitely* regret her decision in the light of day, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and concentrated on the present moment.

She gasped as his head traveled from her ear down to her neck. He paused there to lay a hot kiss and continued his way down until he was at the top of her dress. He grazed her chest just above the fabric with his bottom lip. Max shivered at the contact.

"You like that?"

Between shaky breaths, Max managed to reply. "You even had to ask?"

She was conscious of the fact that every inched of his body was pressed up against her. *Every* inch. Gasping for breath, she moved her lips away from his mouth and nibbled on the hollow of his neck. He responded by releasing a soft moan.

Logan felt a slender pair of hands snake up his chest and started unbuttoning his shirt. Of everything that could have happened, he never thought that it would be *this*. As the last button of his shirt was undone, she pulled it off his shoulders and threw it on the floor. She stopped her actions for a moment and took the time to observe his naked chest.

<It's not fair for him to look *that* good.>

Logan chuckled as he saw the look of approval she gave him. "You're not so bad yourself." He whispered it into her ear. "In fact, you're beautiful."

When her hands caressed his bare back, he was almost sent into oblivion. Determined to not lose all control yet, he made sure that there were at least a few inches between his body and hers. His arms trembled, not because of his weight that he was supporting, but because she was so close and affecting him too much with her swollen lips and tousled hair.

Max groaned when she felt him lift himself off of her and opened her eyes to see him hovering over her, his arms clenched at either side of her. "What are you doing?" She asked him softly. She missed his touch. She want him, *badly*.

His face contorted in uncertainty. "I just didn't know if I was overstepping my boundaries."

She laughed, which only made him more worried. Max couldn't believe it, she had practically stripped him down herself and he was wondering if *he* had overstepped any boundaries? She took off his glasses and gently laid them on the nightstand so that she could stare back at his gorgeous eyes without any obstruction. "I'll tell you when you've crossed the line." With that she wrapped her arms around his neck and twisted her body so that she was the one on top.

Logan tenderly ran his hand down her back and up again. He could feel her breath quickening on his neck. She was so soft and looked so beautiful staring back at him. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone else in his life. That's scared him to death because he had only met her a few hours ago. Kissing her cheek softly, he reached for the zipper on the back of her dress. Finding it, he unzipped the gown and trailed a finger down her back.

She groaned into his shoulder and lightly nipped his skin with her teeth. Her hands traveled down his chest, past his waist, and her nimble fingers undid the button and grasped the zipper of his pants.

Logan immediate froze. An alarm went off in his head. He suddenly pulled back and jumped off the bed. He didn't do *this*. He wasn't the type to have one-night stands. There was no way to build anything with her because for one thing, she didn't know his real name. Even if she did, there was no way that she could ever fully accepted what he did for a living. He watched her confused, and even slightly hurt expression. "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?" Max asked helplessly.

"I don't do this." He gestured nervously at the rumpled clothes on the floor.

"Me neither." Max admitted quietly. She contemplated their situation. It confused her to no end.

It was not fair.

It was just so *easy* for him to stop.

He had the control.

He always had it.

As if he was reading her mind, he reassured her. "It wasn't easy. God, it was the furthest thing from easy." He flushed a little as she stared at the evidence. "I'm sorry."

"You said that already. Just what are you sorry for?"

"For taking advantage of you."

She shook her head solemnly. "Chris, I want you. Here and now. Whatever happens tomorrow, I won't hold it against you. Let's just have tonight."

Max reached out and held both of his hands. They both moved back onto the bed. Rolling them both onto their sides, he gauged her expression as he caressed her hip through the loosened fabric of her dress. "Are you sure?" His eyes conveyed genuine sincerity.

Max stared back at the man in front of her in awe. Max wanted to believe him; she wanted to not be just another notch on his bedpost.

"Katherine?" Max looked at him sadly; she wanted him to call her by her real name. Him addressing her as her alias didn't seem right. Max mentally shook herself and pushed all of the dangerous thoughts away.

"I'm sure." She pulled him to her tightly and kissed him with all the passion that she could muster. She knew she would regret it later, but she didn't care then.

*****

When Max woke up to the sound of a shrill ringing, she noticed a weight on top of her and that she was in a strange bed. Naked. After a few moments of panic, she remembered everything that happened the night before. She slept with a man that she hardly knew. She felt a natural urge to get upset and to kick and scream at the slumbering figure next to her. But then she saw the peaceful expression on his face and refrained from waking him up.

Laying there in silence, she waited for the phone to stop ringing, but it was incessant. Not wanting Chris to wake up, she rolled over and grabbed the receiver. Her voice was all ready to announce to the caller that she wasn't Chris Elkins when a bright tone vibrated through the receiver.

"Hiya 'Chris'." The male voice on the other end laughed. "Can't talk long, but I thought I'd give you a ring. Seems you were right about the 'weather'. Sure took ya long enough to pick up the phone. So what does the girl look like this time? Is she hot?"

The voice on the other end didn't wait for a reply. "Of course she is, they all are! Anyways, you should get some sleep. Meet me later, 'kay?"

Max breathed heavily and grunted into the receiver. The man simply laughed and told 'Chris' to not "over-exert" himself. Max clenched her hand around the phone as the other end hung up.

She couldn't believe it.

Everything came flooding back to her about the night before, from the intenseness to the tenderness afterwards. She remembered how he softly held her and how she fell asleep from exhaustion with a warm feeling encompassing her. She hated that feeling. That feeling signified the loss of a part of her. It was amazing how much clearer things were in the light of day. Hindsight is always 20/20.

She tried to roll off the bed. Max grimaced when she felt his arms tighten around her in protest as she gently pried them off. She hurriedly pulled on her wrinkled dress and gathered her shoes.

She had to leave.

She had to go and never look back.

Remembering why she as even there in the first place, Max quickly searched the usual places that people hid things. She looked under the bed and behind various things but couldn't find a trace of it. She was sure that Elkins had kept it with him because only an idiot would let it out of their sight when traveling alone.

Almost giving up, her gaze fell onto a black rectangular object. She silently rushed over to the laptop sitting on a nearby table. She grabbed her purse and nervously took out a screwdriver. Turning the computer over, she quickly removed the outer covering and looked for the chip.

Sure enough, there it was, hidden in the midst of neatly colored wires. She had to admit that it was a good place to put it. Almost no one could tell the difference between the M3 chip and the circuitry of the computer. She gingerly picked up the small piece and laid it in a tiny protective case that she had brought with her. She concealed it by putting it in her bra. She wanted the chip with her at all times.

As Max put the laptop back together, she mentally yelled at herself for losing control. Everything was so much clearer in daylight. She remembered every single excruciating detail. He manipulated her so well and she didn't even object.

She wasn't carefully not to make any noise lest it wake him up.

She recalled how he jumped out of bed and professed that he didn't do 'one night stands'.

That liar.

<God, Max. You let him fuck you. He had his slimy hands all over you and you didn't object one bit.>

She cringed in disgust as she remembered her small plea. 'I want you, here and now.'

Swallowing the huge lump in her throat, Max quickly placed the laptop in its original position.

Her anger was quickly replaced by a gnawing unhappiness.

<I'm taking his precious chip. Payback's certainly a cruel bitch.>

She shook her head and slid her feet into her shoes.

<God, I was so messed up that I actually thought that weasel didn't have an ulterior motive. Of course he did. Bastard.>

She couldn't believe that she didn't see it. His words were too smooth, as if he had practiced them over and over with tons of different women.

She rose and collected her things. After taking one last glance at him from the doorway, she turned around and left, determined to get Chris Elkins out of her life forever. He wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth her losing her head. He *used* her. Why start feeling anything now?

<Shit, I'm not supposed to get emotional. I wasn't made that way.>

She walked away and didn't look back.

*****
End part 2