TITLE: A NORMAL DAY
AUTHOR: SARGE
E-MAIL: SARGE2525@HOTMAIL.COM
SUMMARY: MAX GETS HIT BY A CAR AT WORK. WHAT WILL ZACH AND LOGAN DO WITH HER IN A COMA?
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DARK ANGEL. JAMES CAMRON, CHARLES EGLEE AND FOX DO OWN DARK ANGEL. I CLAIM NO OWNERSHIP.
AUTHORS NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE BLAH BLAH WOLF WOLF SO PLEASE JUST GO ABOUT AS IF THE WONDERFUL EP NEVER HAPPENED. SORRY.
Max arrived at the Jam Pony office thinking about her latest run-in with Lydecker and his former employees. It wasn't like they had almost caught her or anything; it was much more likely that she had almost caught them. She had been bait in a trap, but unfortunately the trap hadn't worked. Zach had been less than thrilled about the way things had gone down. To Max's surprise, he had decided to stick around for a while afterwards to take care of a few problems that they were having.
"Max, so nice of you to show up for work today," Normal told her as she walked past the counter. "Can you believe that once upon a time people used to get fired for not showing up on time?"
"I'm only five minutes late," Max told him. "Besides, you can't fire me. You need me too much. Herbal and I are the only people you have who will do fifth district runs since last month."
"I can't help it that gang activity in the Fifth got Heather shot," Normal told her. "Personally, I think you and Herbal are crazy for still running it. It's an all-out gang war down there. Not a day goes by now when people don't die."
"I don't suppose then that it ever occurred to you to stop trying to send us into that war zone, did it?" Max asked.
"If we don't deliver packages," Normal said dryly, "what would I need you people for?"
"Ah, profit margins," Max shook her head. "Now do you have a run for me, or do I just get to stand around and be lectured?"
"Run this to Cedar and 5th," Normal told her as he handed her a small package. "Pip pip."
"Right," Max said as she jumped on her bike. "I think I know what I'm doing, Normal."
"Everyone will be taking their lunch here today," Normal called after her. "We have an employee meeting. If you want to remain an employee, I suggest showing up and pretending you're interested."
Max biked out of the office and was already hitting fairly good speed by the time she reached the end of the driveway. Everything would have been fine if hadn't been for Sketchy coming at her head-on. Max tried to spin her bike to avoid him. This maneuver resulted in first hitting an oncoming car and then getting up close and personal with the pavement. The blur of asphalt was the last thing she remembered before the blackness swallowed her.
**************************************************************************************
"That car must have hit her pretty hard," Logan said as he looked down at Max. "She shouldn't be like this."
"At least I was keeping an eye on her today," Zach said. "You're right though. This shouldn't have happened if just a car hit her. It's not normal. We heal faster than this."
"Why was she even at work? She was in a major fight yesterday. She should have at least been resting or something."
"We're soldiers. We stay moving," Zach snapped. "And we're going to have major problems if she stays like this much longer. Lydecker is already looking for her. What do you think he's going to do once he finds her, especially if he finds her like this?"
"He won't find her here. He has no reason to even look here," Logan reminded him patiently. 'I guess all we can do is wait for her to wake up."
"Are we sure this is even because she hit the car?" a third voice piped up suddenly. This one was female. "I mean, what about her pills? Could she have run out?"
"No. She had a full bottle this morning," Zach said. "I saw her; she took two. That isn't the reason that she's like this."
"I don't understand why you think Max shouldn't be like this after being hit by a car," the woman objected. "She shouldn't even be here on the couch. She should be in the hospital where doctors can figure out what is wrong with her. Max wouldn't like this."
"If Max goes to the hospital I assure you she wouldn't like that either," Zach snarled. "Why are you even here anyway?"
"I'm her roommate; otherwise known as Kendra, her friend. Logan thought that I would want to watch out for Max. We like Max. We're the one's that should be asking who the hell are you? The guy driving the car?"
"Trust me, I'm important to Max," he answered. "She knows me. Ask Logan. Max wouldn't be happy if I just up and left."
"I would be," Logan muttered as he wheeled over to the sink. "Maybe she needs a new washcloth."
"Neither of you has any clue what you're doing, do you?" Zach asked. "This was a mistake. I should have just gotten her the hell out of Seattle. That way she'd be out of danger."
"The hell you'll just take her out of Seattle," Logan snapped. "That would get her killed."
"I meant when she wakes up," Zach told him. "Besides, maybe when she wakes up she'll have some common sense in her head again."
"Maybe when she wakes up she'll remember that not everything can be controlled by one person, and tell you where to get off, control freak," Kendra replied. "Leave Max alone. I don't know who you are to her, but she doesn't leave unless she wants to."
"You're going to get her killed," Zach told them. "Someday she'll see it. I only hope it won't be too late."
"Is that the line you use before you leave her?" Logan asked. "Bling is on his way with a med kit. He'll know if she's in a coma or not."
"Don't you think it's about time you got her to a real doctor?" Kendra interrupted. "She doesn't need a PT with a med kit; she needs a hospital."
"We can't take her to one," Zach told Kendra. "Now get over it. If you're going to yell a lot, get lost. She's not waking up and that's upsetting enough. I'm not giving her back to Lydecker. She's not like Brin."
"Gene convention Lydecker? She hooked up with him?" Kendra asked in surprise. "I can't believe it. She thought he was slime."
"He is slime." Logan told her. "And Max did not 'hook up' with him, but he is after her. He wants to know what happened to the kid. To a whole bunch of kids. He thinks she's involved."
"She's not, is she?" Kendra asked. "Oh, why can't Max stay out of trouble?"
"It's not her nature," Zach said. "Bling should be here by now."
As Zach said this the door opened and Bling walked in carrying a medical bag. He didn't look happy when he saw Max lying on the couch and the frown on Logan's face. He looked even less happy when he saw Zach.
"So are you going to tell me what happened or do I have to work in the dark because it's too dangerous for me to know the truth?" Bling asked Logan.
"She was hit by a car going about 35 miles per hour," Kendra answered before either Logan or Zach could get defensive. "That was hours ago and she still hasn't woken up."
"Why isn't she at a hospital?" Bling asked. Then he paused as if remembering who he was talking about. "Never mind. I do have to question the judgement of having HIM here though."
"She's mine to take care of," Zach told Bling. "If she had listened to me this wouldn't have happened to her."
"You'll have to excuse him. I think that's the guilt complex talking," Logan told Bling. "Just tell us what's wrong with her."
"What? Being hit by the car wasn't enough for you?" Bling asked him. "She may have a concussion."
"That should have healed by now," Zach muttered. "We should have had Lydecker make a list of everything that was wrong with us. That way we'd be better informed. Being surprised by Brin's condition was bad enough."
"Chill, hot shot," Bling ordered as he took her pulse. "It's just that she's in a deep sleep. She's healing. I don't know what Lydecker did to you hyped-up army brats, but it sure puts modern medicine to shame."
"That's just it. I got hit by a car a few weeks ago. Did you see this happening to me? No. Something else has to be wrong," Zach told Bling. "She should have woken up by now."
"He said chill," Kendra said as she knelt by Max. "Max hasn't slept in weeks. It could be that catching up with her too."
"We aren't supposed to sleep," Zach snarled. "We're designed not to sleep."
"You know, I have no idea what you've been going on about, but I'm starting to think that you're a crazy person," Kendra told Zach. "Max is 19 years old and I assure you that all 19-year-olds sleep. What's the deal with you people? And what's with you and the military?"
"Max and Zach are special," Logan explained. "Like that boy at the conference. They have talents. I believe Max tried to explain it to you and Cindy once, but you laughed at her." As he spoke he was receiving a glare from Zach that made him very glad that Lydecker hadn't put laser beams in their eyes.
"That's why she needs the pills, isn't it?" Kendra asked. "She said it was medical condition. Why would they make them dependent on pills?"
"They didn't. It was a mistake. One that they would love to change if they could get their hands on us," Zach told her. "They know Max is here in Seattle. It's not safe for her anymore."
Logan knew that Zach was upset with him. He also knew that if it weren't for Zach's desire to stay in Max's good graces, the boy would be plotting Kendra's death already. Logan was certain that Zach would do anything to keep himself and the others safe, and he was already pissed at Max for not listening to his reasoning. Logan personally thought that Zach's logic only made sense if you were Zach. Max seemed to think that it made slightly more sense than that, but for some reason she didn't want to leave. Oh well. Logan wasn't broken up about Max not leaving. He liked having Max here with him, and not with Zach.
"I think she'll wake up soon," Bling announced. "Don't everybody jump on her at once though. She may be a little confused. It looks like she knocked her head pretty good."
**************************************************************************************
Max fought her way out of the blackness that she was in. She didn't understand why it was so dark. The last thing she remembered was something about her bicycle. Her bicycle and a car. Not a good combination, she thought.
"Max? Max can you hear me?" a male voice asked as she opened her eyes.
"Yeah," Max said. She blinked at the sudden light shining in her eyes. She looked up at the man who had been talking to her and then around the rest of the room. Two other guys and a girl were sitting nearby.
"How do you feel?" one of them asked as he reached for her wrist and began to take her pulse.
"I'm fine," Max said, pulling her wrist away from him. "Sorry to bother you people."
"You had us worried," the girl said. Max looked back at her defensively while rubbing her head.
"Why? Were you the one driving the car that hit me?" Max asked her. Though even as she said it the girl became more familiar and she doubted it. The others were still a mystery.
"Don't be silly," the girl told her. "I don't even have a car and I certainly would never have hit you."
"Okay, so if you weren't the one driving the car, and I didn't like hit you when I fell, then what concern is it of yours? Who the hell are all you people?"
* * *
End Part One