Going Nowhere Fast [Closed, Max/Alejandra]

Blurred early-2000s music escaped with a tinfoil crackle from a set of battered headphones hanging around a tanned neck. American national; tinted glasses, bleached blonde messy hair. Ridged face, with a disgruntled and messy look sitting upon it. A few nicks and scratches from run-ins in Cairo and Hamburg; with both present members of the team - or prisoners - and Typhon members. A sigh escaped from Maxim Jensen's mouth, and smoke trailed upwards from a wayward cigarette poised in his hand, not to mention the bag of groceries in the other. Including Jasmine's damn popsicles, melted as he presumed they'd be. Part of him wanted to bring her back purple slush inside a cardboard box.

"Two-faced, I feel you crawling under my skin..." The gentle, off-tone muttering came as the blonde's body rippled with vibrations, his foot tapping against the pavement to the vigorous drum beat. It was a simple enough grocery run. And now, he was standing outside the store, a nondescript box in the less-wealthy part of town with peeling white paint and a faded sign that had been in the family for generations, run by a Portuguese mother and her three twenty-something sons. He'd made idle talk with all four of them at separate junctures; it was a nice place with a homely feel, not too busy, and not much chance of Max getting recognised.

At the moment, he was wearing vaguely tourist-esque clothes. A short-sleeve buttoned-up shirt, Hawaiian-print shorts, and a pair of sandals that felt deliberately uncomfortable. They had been Panic's choice. The pair of them had gone over attire again and again. Nothing to draw attention. He never carried ID on him; never a wallet, just money in a bunch or roll. If someone raised suspicion at this, he just said that he'd left his wallet "back in Ohio". Never that it had been stolen. Police inquiries into anything Gaia could be tied into were VERY bad news for them. They'd been in Portugal for eighteen months, and it was the only permanent fixture they had. Even Hamburg was difficult to stay in for extensive periods of time, and getting to and from the place was difficult. Though, Pi, the technopath, was going to hopefully make travel issues non-existent.

"Hard to fiiiiind, how to feeeeeel..." Unaware of how much of a moron he seemed, scowling at all the judgmental middle-aged men and women who walked past, Max continued to take drags of his cigarette until it was finished, finally stubbing out the butt underneath his heel until it was nothing but pressed sponge, a smoke burst, a spattering of embers, and the faint, grimy imprint of the word MARLBORO printed against the butt's white-paper edge, gently singed.

Then he pulled out the pack once more, and lit up another one. If he hadn't, then the rest of that day would have gone very differently...

Alejandra disliked traveling... a lot. She was content to stay on her little island in the ocean but she didn't always have that chance. The Rochas were a lovely couple for letting her stay with them, but they were getting on in years. So when they asked for her to travel to Lisbon to get something, she wasn't going to refuse. Tia Rocha's sister lived in Lisbon and had a small store. Tia Rocha had asked her to go to Lisbon to get some spices. Her sister had a knack for spice mixes and every year, Tia Rocha received a package of the spices. This year, however, Tia Rocha had said she needed more than usual and a package would not do. She had a few young sons as well, which is half the reason Alejandra suspected she was being sent. Tia Rocha wanted to see her happy and happy meant love, at least to Tia.

She had chosen to go by boat to Lisbon in the morning. The city looked gorgeous and she almost wished she could be a tourist. But that was awfully risky and the fear out-weighed her curiosity. She had a ticket for the ferry back in the afternoon, so there was no time. Alejandra did get almost lost once but it was easy enough to find the small store. She went around back, like she was told and entered the store room. She had spent a few minutes chatting with Tia's sister, which was very nice. Luckily for Alejandra, only one son was in the shop that day and he was busy at the front of the shop. She got the brown bag full of spices and sweet bread, shying away from the offers for lunch. She was ready to go back to her mountains and hills. She left the shop in a hurry, turning from the alley to the street. Everything would've been find if she hadn't been cut short by the body of a stranger who had stopped just outside the alley.

She stepped back quickly, stammering. “Oh I-... I'm sorry! I didn't see you.” She side-stepped to make sure she hadn't hurt the person in any way. Her eyes widened slightly as the blonde's face came into view and with it a spark of recognition. HIM. Alpha. Her desire to make sure he was okay vanished and she instead turned quickly to make her getaway.

Thump. The cigarette dropped from his grip and spiralled into a puddle on the floor, extinguishing with a hiss. “Oh I-... I'm sorry! I didn't see you.” Max muttered a curse under his breath, before Alejandra's words registered with him. Huh... she was hot. Actually, beyond that... almost astoundingly so. Not wanting to make a big thing of it, and still a mite dazed, having only just woken up, he shrugged, and put on a brave face, pulling out another cigarette, as of yet blissfully ignorant of the fact that he'd just unwittingly bumped into another of his siblings.

"It's no problem," His Portuguese was fairly fluent, but the accent still hung in the air pensively. Cocking his head, realisation hit him fairly swiftly. "Do I... know you from somewhere?" Alas, recognition had rifled through him in a surge; but he hadn't pinned where he knew her from, not least of all that she was infact one of his would-be kin. The native Portuguese - or, at least, he presumed native - was a strong enough point for Max to just presume he'd happened upon her before on the street.

Max kicked himself mentally. It was a shame that his clairvoyance didn't allow him to look deeper into old memories and work in reverse; if it did so, then he would've at least been able to pin down exactly where he knew that face from. It was familiar; but not prominent enough in the forefront of his mind, just yet. "A store, or somewhere?" He kept speaking, blissfully unaware of how creepy he was coming on. He was too tired to care, really. With another fluid series of movements, he propped another cigarette back up between his lips and lit it up in a moment's notice. However, as he did so, true realisation surged through his face. His eyes widened. A finger of accusal lowered barely inches from her face.

"AH!" Maxim Jensen exclaimed, perhaps a touch too loudly. "I'VE GOT IT!" The silence between that last phrase and the next would be uncomfortable for Alejandra, to say the least. "The sandal shop on the outskirts! I remember, now!" Proudly, he jerked a thumb towards his chest. "I never forget a face." Oh, Max... if only he'd used his clairvoyance, such confusion and such a fiasco could have been avoided...

“It's no problem.” Good, she was glad it wasn't a problem! She wanted to leave, like... now! “Do I... know you from somewhere?” Alejandra froze and turned slowly to half-face him. She was really, really hoping that he had no idea who she was. Her heart was beating faster and faster as he begin to work things out in his mind. “A store, or somewhere.” Alejandra was ready to turn and run again when his finger pointed out her face, eyes wide with recognition. “AH! I'VE GOT IT!” Oh, to be invisible! Alejandra winced as he opened his mouth again. She was waiting for that horrible Greek letter to cross his lips. “The sandal shop on the outskirts! I remember, now!”

Alejandra couldn't really help it. She stared at him, a look of dumb shock on her features. She noticed that Alpha looked rather pleased with himself. “I never forget a face.” Uh, apparently you did. But that was good news for Alejandra. She managed to shake off the shocked look, making her expression neutral again. How should she respond? She could agree with his statement, but then if he started bringing up something she knew nothing about, she'd be caught in a lie. And that wouldn't end very well. But she couldn't risk saying “no” either, because what if he continued to explore his memories to determine where he knew her from. Alejandra was in a serious bind. She opted for the truth and a quick getaway.

“Oh, I'm afraid not. Must be confusing me with someone else. Sorry again!” She turned quickly and made off down the street again. Oh, please! Let him move on down the street... in the opposite direction!

“Oh, I'm afraid not. Must be confusing me with someone else. Sorry again!” Max's eyes narrowed as turned to shoot back down the street. That... wasn't right. She seemed... flustered. Eager to leave his proximity. He slipped his cigarettes back into his pocket, the lighter, too, and took a long drag, before taking it from his mouth, exhaling the smoke, and shutting his eyes for just a split-second to utilise his power, looking into a future.

She is one of your kin. Hazel eyes widened. The cigarette once more slipped from Max's grasp and slammed against the floor as damning revelation hit Max's centres of cognitive thought. Once more, he lapsed into clairvoyance, and visualised himself skimming back over a dossier with the Portuguese girl's unclear name beneath a bold-printed Greek letter. She is Iota. Max froze but for a moment; then with a snarl, he bolted into a run.

His eyes narrowed as he did his best to break after her, slaloming about the few people still left on the streets. Narrowing eyes flicked up to the back of the girl as he watched her hurriedly make her way down. He was closing up; and before long, despite it feeling like they'd spent eons in motion with him simply tailgating, the primal growl thrumming at the base of his throat faded and Max stopped dead in his tracks. He looked to Alejandra.

The streets had all but cleared; this side of the pavement, at least. They were as alone as they could be in Lisbon; and that's when grit and dirt ground underneath the blonde's boots and he sighed, before calling out a single word, clear as it possibly could be over Lisbon's cacophony; the symphony of cash register trays, the churning drumroll of factories, the rhapsodic sirens of far-off police cars and ambulances wailing... it came first as a statement but evolved quickly into a shout; an accusation. Knowing revelation had dawned upon him.

"Iota."

She thought she was in the clear. There was nothing but silence behind her as she moved down the street. Then she heard footsteps in her direction... fast ones. She let out a curse and picked up speed. She would love to have just leapt into the sky and disappeared, but there was no such luck. She wouldn't risk exposing herself to Typhon. She feared them more than she feared the man chasing her. She moved steadily through the streets, trying to stay in dense areas. She needed to get to the harbor and get onto her ferry. She wanted to just disappear. She should have never agreed to go to Lisbon! She was so lost in berating herself that she didn't realize she had deterred away from the majority. The street was practically empty, though most of the people moved on their merry ways. She kept running, but stopped short as Max's word reached her ears.

“Iota.”

She was frozen. That word... that name had become a distant memory. Some days, she could almost forget what had happened to her... what she had become. She thought that she could just become a normal young woman, who just happened to be able to fly. Not really that big of a deal, right? But the sorry reality had come crashing back with that tiny word. Four letters could never do so much damage. She turned slowly to face him, where he stood less than half a block up the street. Her expression was tired, her eyes fearful. Her voice was quiet, but it carried across the way. “Can't you just forget you ever saw me?”

“Can't you just forget you ever saw me?” Max paused for a moment. The sorrow, the fear, the misfortune epitomised upon her face was as real as he'd ever seen in anyone. Truly, this girl just wanted to be left alone to her own devices, and leave Gaia and Typhon to fight amongst themselves as she remained in hiding. However, as Max well knew, things weren't ever that simple. They couldn't be. And now she'd be offered an ultimatum. First, his hands went to his back, for his baseball bat; only to snatch and grasp at thin air. It wasn't there. Shutting his eyes, wincing, and muttering curse words under his breath in a variety of languages, he exhaled slowly and centred his vision on Alejandra once more.

"No." He said defiantly, switching back to Portuguese and approaching her once more. It was as if silence itself had descended upon the streets as rainclouds drew ever closer to the sun, lurching forwards with every waking hour, to blot it out and descend Lisbon in dreary grey darkness. "And it's not for some selfish want. Or some selfless goal. It's not because you should fight for your freedom." He was unarmed; and the pistols weren't an option here. They were Typhon-only.

"It's because of something that in the back of your mind, you know just as well as I do." Clap. Clap. With every step he took towards her, his boots slapped against the pavement with damning finality resounding through the air between them. Clap. Clap. "I'm no expert hunter." Shutting his eyes once more, Max went for the usual, tapping back into his power and trying to brush over the document, seeing if he could dig up anything about her, anything to help establish some form of link; but the visions were hazy, and closed before he could ascertain anything in detail, a long tendril of pain spiking through the inside of his head. She is Iota. No cigar. His mind revealed that same fact once more, despite sarcastic mutterings, a hand gingerly brushing to the back of his cranium, covered with clumps of blonde hair. Oh well. At least it was confirmation.

This was Max's usual routine; although with more vigour and tolerance than usual. By this point, he'd usually pulled out some form of weapon. But he had no alternative here; conversation was the only tool in his arsenal. Plus; she was pretty. He didn't want her to resent him for having to use force; she was too dainty to be beaten or broken. "If I can find you, Iota..." He didn't know her name; he almost winced as he addressed her as the dogs of Typhon would. "Then they can, too." Both of them knew just who "they" were. It needed no further emphasis, no further reinforcement.

For a moment, he was surprised that she'd slipped out of radar range and become insignificant; but he could commend her for that later. Gingerly, he extended a hand towards her, with a smile on his face. This was the charismatic side of Max. The side of Max that made it all better; that entertained those hopes and dreams. The tiny fragment of him within which lied the latent ability to lead fairly and rule the Children for what they actually were. Not tools. Not weapons. Not disposable assets. People.

"You know who I am, obviously. Alpha." The other hand, he raised to scratch his head. "But everyone calls me Max."

“No.” He seemed... angry. Or maybe it was frustrated. She wasn't sure, but she didn't really like the way he was walking towards her. "And it's not for some selfish want. Or some selfless goal. It's not because you should fight for your freedom." She almost wanted to retort that she was free. She had been living quite successfully on her own all this time. No one had found her and it seemed like no one was even searching for her. She thought for a time that she had been presumed dead by Typhon. Which, frankly, was quite all right by her. Heaven knows that Alpha would not have found her today had it not been for... what? Fate? Destiny? Misfortune? She really had no idea.

"It's because of something that in the back of your mind, you know just as well as I do." No, she did not want to delve back there. She had chosen to ignore that fact. Maybe it was denial, but in this case she was quite content in her denial. "I'm no expert hunter. If I can find you, Iota... then they can, too." She closed her eyes briefly, a cold chill streaking down her spine. She knew who he was referring to. Typhon. The name and fear that would often haunt her in the darkest reaches of the night. It was something she refused to acknowledge in the daytime... she almost felt that saying the name or even thinking it, could draw them closer. Her denial was a painful loop... a dreaded existence. She attempted to live in her peaceful bliss, but the fear of being found gnawed at her when her defenses were down. She opened her eyes and looked at Alpha. He had been the one who had led them out of Typhon's facility. Technically, he was the reason that Alejandra had been able to run in the first place. She was grateful to him, sure. But at the same time... now he wanted her to... well, she wasn't exactly sure what he wanted her to do. But somehow she doubted he was going to let her waltz back to her secret existence.

He was coming towards her again, but his stance became from friendly rather than hostile. He extended his hand with a smile. "You know who I am, obviously. Alpha.But everyone calls me Max." She hesitated a moment before extending her own hand, shaking his lightly. “Alejandra.” She removed her hand and stepped back one pace to allow herself some breathing space. She still felt slightly overwhelmed. “What are you doing in Lisbon?”

“What are you doing in Lisbon?” Max arched an eyebrow and lit up another cigarette, for the third, and hopefully final time. Propping it upon his lips, he took a long draw and exhaled, lowering it and sighing. Rubbing the knuckles of his free hands against his cheek and remarking with a gentle raise of his eyebrows at the apparent length of his stubble, he looked back to Alejandra and spoke.

"Gaia's base is on the outskirts," Raising the hand with the cigarette and pointing over to the northeast, he managed to muster a slight smile as he propped the stick back up against his lips and inhaled, tendrils of off-white smoke slowly rising from his mouth as he continued. "I come in on a regular basis, supplies, food, and stuff like that," His expression slowly eased up and became calmer. For a moment, he forgot he was talking to a member of the Children, and simply treated her as another unwitting civilian. The streets slowly re-flooded with people, bustling through on their ways to respective destinations. Their being alone had quickly been shattered.

He let the cigarette prop itself up on his lips and sighed. "If you were going to run, you would have already." His eyes narrowed, and slowly - slowly - he made his advance, stepping forwards and extending his hands, putting as best a smile on his face as he could. "There are phones at the estate. I'll let you call anyone you need to," He gestured to the bag in her hand. There was no way she was shopping for one.

Max hoped to God she'd make this easy. "You'll be as safe as you are now. That much I can promise you. We'll help with the power." A gentle tone of remorse spilled out onto his voice. "Don't make this difficult, Alejandra."