When Angels Fall
Part 1
"You know I should come over here for every meal." She scooped a forkful of
food in her mouth. "This stuff actually tastes good." She took another bite and
closed her eyes as she savored it. He watched this and smiled then turned his
attention back to his plate. The money he shelled out for their little dinners was
well worth it in his mind.
"I did some background research into food processing plants a year ago..." He
started.
"Un uh." She said cutting him off. "I don't even want to know." She said in a no
nonsense Original Cindy kind of way.
"Your not even the least bit curious." He asked.
"The whole of Seattle hasn't dropped dead of some mad dog or bunny or cow
disease so I figure I have no need to fear. What doesn't kill us makes us
stronger right?" She said smiling
"Right." He said smiling back. He never could really argue with her. "So how do
you like your bunny?" He said with one of his handsome trapping stares.
"Mmm. Tastes like chicken." She stabbed the last piece on her plate and stuck it
in her mouth. "So what's Logan's new crusade...or do you just feed all of your
help so well." She said as she cleared the plates and carried them towards the
kitchen.
"Well you know me, I like to please." He missed her smile but it was there
nonetheless. "I had hoped that you could help me with a little recon. He
wheeled himself into the computer room and began pulling blue prints up on his
computer.
"So where is this?" She asked when she was directly behind him, he jumped a
little not hearing her arrive in the room.
"Would it be against your training to make noise when you walk, at least while
you're here that is?" He said teasingly. She leaned over towards the screen
placing a hand on the back of his chair.
"It's not my fault you don't have super powers." She smiled at him then went
back to studying the blue print. "What's that?" She said pointing a large mass of
lines. He took his eyes off her and looked to where she was pointing.
"That's what were after. This company is supposedly under contract with the
government to develop a machine that would change behavioral patterns."
"Mind control." She said simply.
"Yes." He said looking at her with mock impatience.
"Sorry." She said not really apologetically and only glancing at him for a second.
"So how did they convince whoever to give them the funding."
"The project is being undertaken with the pretense that it could cure crime by
changing peoples desires away from it. This.." He said and he began typing. A
screen popped up with a gray hair man. Max easily memorized his face. "is
doctor Miller. He runs the project. I want you to break in and hack his
computer." Max frowned.
"Why don't you do it from here."
"The computers in the lab are only on a local network. There is no outside line.
Not even an old fashion telephone line."
"The bad guys never have to play fair do they." He only answered that with a
look. "What?" She asked innocently. "So when's this going down."
"Tomorrow night." He typed in a few more commands and the printer began to
warm up. "I'm printing out the security schematics." Max stood up and stretched
a little. Logan turned around and gave her a scrutinizing glance.
"Max are you alright you seen a little...well tired." He asked very concerned.
"Even superheroes need sleep every once and a while." She responded smiling
sweetly at him
"So you'll get back to me?" He said watching her very closely.
"Yeah" She replied, smirking back at him suspiciously.
"Are you sure you'll make it home alright? I can call you a cab."
"The knight and shining armor bit might work with the widows small children and
lost animals but I'm a big girl." She said smiling as she took the schematics from
his printer.
"I know."
"I'll see ya Logan"
"Night Max." She disappeared beyond the divider wall and in a few seconds he
heard the door open and closed. He sighed.
His penthouse had an empty feeling about it but he was getting use to it. It
always had this feeling after she left. It was almost as if she carried this
wonderful light around with her and without it his world seemed darker. He sat
in contemplation for a moment and then rolled into his room and got ready for
bed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 2
"Wow look at you. All stealthy and spy like." Max said as she got in the
passenger side of his Aztec. Logan was wearing his black leather jacket with a
black shirt underneath and with ear piece/microphone sticking out of his left ear.
" I try." He said as he pulled out into traffic. Max was wearing her cat burglar
black leather outfit.
"So where do you get all this equipment?" she said, picking up a palm top off
the dashboard and examining the screen.
"Government auctions and places like that." She frowned at him and put the
palmtop back on the dashboard almost like it was diseased.
"Isn't that a little risky?"
"Most of the Government isn't like Lydecker. If you pay in cash they don't care
who you are and what you'll do with it." He pulled a box out of his inside jacket
pocket and handed it to her. She opened it and pulled out a headset.
"Just what I always wanted," she said with mock enthusiasm as she pulled out
an ear piece identical to his. He grinned at her for the second that driving would
allow.
"There probably won't even be any hacking but I wasn't sure how up to date
you are. There have been a few upgrades in computer security since you were
at Manicore. I just wasn't sure," he said apologetically, glancing at her as much
as her could with the traffic.
"I think I can handle it but the back up is always good," she said uncertainly.
She had the training to handle this mission fine but she wanted Logan to have a
more active role. Bling would be so proud of her. Logan saw through her words
and despite her good intentions he felt his self-pity surge a little.
"The disk on the dash," he said gesturing with his head. "Should handle all
security and copying." She picked it up and tucked it in her inside pocket. "Do
you have entrance planned?"
"I though you were handling that." He gave her a startled look only to see that
she was smiling at him. "I was just playing with ya." He looked back at the road
then at her and sighed little happy sigh. "You're almost as bad as normal."
"Really that bad," he said smiling.
"I said almost," she answered to small consolation. He laughed quietly and looked
back at the road as they drove in a comfortable silence.
When Angels Fall
Part 3
Max climbed the building almost at a run and landing on the roof. She turned
back to the Aztec and blew a kiss back to Logan who she knew was watching
through binoculars. He smiled and put them down as she disappeared over the
side. "Good luck, Max," he said to himself.
She reached the ventilation opening and ducked down to look at the sensors.
The schematics had said that sensors were linked to the edges of the grate so
she pulled out the little bag of goodies Logan had given her and took out a
pocket sized laser knife. "Logan, you sure know how to spoil a girl," she said
quietly into her headset. She began to cut out a superhero sized hole in the
grating.
"Are you in," he asked.
"Almost," she said happily. He could hear it in her voice and smiled to himself.
She was trained to do this kind of thing and fate put her in his company. He
wondered sometimes if Max existed to fix the corruption or the other way
around. His philosophizing was interrupted by her exclamation of triumph.
"I'm in. I'm going dark but I'll leave the line open just incase the National Guard
comes storming in."
"Gotcha."
"What no 10-4." she quipped as she removed the cut out grate and dropped
into the shaft. She crawled for about 500 feet when she came to an
intersection. She placed a little disk on the wall to her left and turned right. She
left a little trail of disks as she went. They all linked up and formed a cookie
crumb path when you put on a special pair of glasses Logan provided. It was a
potentially bad idea but the more of Logan's toys she used this trip the better
she felt.
She reached her final destination and peered down through the vent. It looked
like any executive's office; desk, computer, picture of wife and kids. "If only they
knew what daddy did," she thought to herself. The security specs didn't say
anything about the vent door having a sensor so she simply popped it open and
lowered in on it?s hinges. She took out a super suction cup and set it a few feet
away from the vent. She clipped on the climbing rope and lowered herself out of
the small opening. It wouldn't make for a quick escape if she needed it but it
was still the best option. She landed silently and quickly cat walked over to the
computer. She pulled the CD case out of her pocket. She placed the disk in the
drive and opened and entered a run command. She watched as the program
opened and began to fight against one security block after another. She smiled
with pride in Logan as his program kicked serious ass.
"Max. You need to get out of there." Logan stated hurriedly. The file began to
copy.
"I can't yet it's not done." Max said. She look worriedly at the screen trying to
urge it on with her thoughts. "Give me the details," she asked Logan.
"Uh three green military hummers pulled up. The commander is ordering his men
around the building. It looks like there are 35 of them." She looked down at the
file just as if finished. She grabbed the disk out of the drive and ran to the wall.
She grabbed the rope and ran up. She pushed off the wall and slid the grate
feet first. She curved her body as she slid through and as she hit the opposite
vent wall and was already crawling.
"Logan." She whispered into her headset. "I'm in the vent and coming back."
Suddenly she was thrown against the wall and her stomach felt like it was on
fire. She felt her body adjust and the pain dull. She opened her eyes and saw
light streaming through a tiny hole in the vent across from her. She pushed off
the wall and continued down the passage way as best she could. They couldn't
follow her, the vent was too small for any of their goons, but she had to get out
as fast as she could.
"Max are you okay? I heard you whimper." He sat in his van SUV going nuts
because all he could do was watch the little blip that was her move on the
screen.
"Is that the best word you could think of. It's not very superhero like," She
joked weakly as she struggled on.
"Are you okay?" He asked desperately. She felt herself begin to get dizzy and
the vent started to focus in and out. She weakly pulled out Logan's special
glasses and tried to follow the red light trail.
"I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes. Man is Lydecker ugly."
"Just get back here safe and sound." He looked at his palm top and watched
her progression through the vents.
"Why what are you going to do if I don't? Kick my a**?"
"Something like that." He said trying to hide his concern.
When Angels Fall
Part 4
She reached the exit before any commandos and did her best to run across the
roof.
"Logan pull up next to the building," she commanded into her head phones.
"I'm on it." She watched as the Aztec zoomed in from the side street. She
waited till it was directly under her then jumped off the roof.
Logan watched in horror as Max landed on his car, not with her usual grace but
with a thump. She lifted her head and said through her headset "I'm okay just
drive." She put her head back down as he took off. He drove for a few blocks as
fast as he thought safe. He was so scarred she would fall off each time he
turned. After a few blocks he saw the blood she was losing about to go up the
wind shield and he lost it. He pulled into an alley and stopped, not caring how
short a distance they had gone.
They most incredible sense of relief flooded him as she lifted her self off the
hood with her arms and slid off the car. She walked hunched over to the
passenger side and got in. He wanted to unlatch his seat belt and hold her and
tell her how scarred he had been but she needed to get to a doctor. As he
backed out of the alley he pulled out his cell phone and dialed.
"Bling...No, Max is hurt...Gun Shot...Thanks." He hung up and looked over at Max.
Her eyes were starting to close. "Max stay with me." She responded with a
moan. In her mind she was back at Manticore during the escape. The cold
nipped at her feet as she ran towards the perimeter. She ducked behind a tree
and looked back just as one of her siblings was shot behind her. "Max." She
came back to the present to the feel of Logan touching the side of her face.
"We're almost there. Stay with me." He ordered trying to keep himself calm. She
felt the car stop and she looked up to see Logan open the door and lift her into
his arms, although it was actually Bling.
"Logan don't let go, you promised." She mumbled. But there was no answer as
she blacked out because Logan was still back at the Aztec getting into his wheel
chair, trying to keep that promise.
When Angels Fall
Part 5
Logan wheeled into his apartment just as Bling was laying Max down on his
exercise table. It was covered in sheets and towels and everything smelled
slightly of disinfectant. He wheeled up to he and took her hand carefully.
"I won't let you leave me again Max." Logan said to her in a deep gently voice.
Bling put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically.
"Logan the doctor is here. We should to wait in the other room." He said in a
timid voice.
"No." He said unwaveringly. "I need to stay here with her." He paused for a
second and remembered the dream he had with her at the hospital. "I
promised." He added. Bling looked at the doctor hopefully and the doctor
nodded back.
During that night, as the doctor worked, Logan didn't take his eyes off of Max's
face. He was so lost in his concern for her that he barely noticed as the doctor
finished and walked out to talk to Bling.
"The bullet didn't hit anything major but she had lost a lot of blood. I'd
recommend a transfusion but without going to the hospital I don't know how it
would be possible." Bling nodded understandingly to him. "We should know
how she's doing by morning. You should check her vitals every ten to fifteen
minutes. If anything at all seems wrong don't hesitate to call me."
"Thank you Doctor." Bling said as he walked him to the door. Bling returned to
the operating room to find Logan asleep. His head lying on his folded arms on
the pad, Max's fingers still entwined in his.
Max saw a soft blue light flash then flicker away. She saw another light and
then another and pretty soon her darkness was filled with a blinding light. She
looked away as the light overwhelmed her and she saw the fuzzy blue city line
of Seattle appear in the distance. The light suddenly faded and became soft
gray moon light. She found herself standing on the space needle and she closed
her eyes as a warm breeze blew past her, causing her white dress to flow. Soft
music began to play in the background as Logan walked up behind her and put
his arms around her. He snuggled his head up against hers and sighed silently.
She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.
"Logan?" She asked curiously.
"Mmm?" He responded.
"Logan look at the city." He opened his eyes and looked at the now clear city. A
smile crept on his face as he saw the city as it was suppose to be, how it was
when he was growing up.
"This is how the city use to look, before the pulse." He said nostalgically. As Max
spoke again her voice seemed to fade and echo.
"I've never seen it this way before."
"Are you alright?" he said looking down at her.
"Yeah, just a little dizzy." Logan turned her in his arms she he could see her
face.
"Do you want me to call the doctor?" He asked concerned as he caressed the
side of her face.
"No." She said more clearly and peacefully as she smiled at him.
"Are you sure?" He asked while watching her face for the truth.
"Yeah." She said still smiling. He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer.
Part 6
Logan awoke early that morning to noises in the kitchen. He leaned back and
stretched his arms out. He didn't want to leave her side but nature was
screaming his name. When he returned he found a plate of scrambled eggs and
toast on the nearby table. He took it gratefully.
"Logan." Max whispered. Logan head snapped around towards her.
"Max! your awake." He putting the plate back down and moved closer. "How
are you feeling?"
"Like I was shot in the stomach and fell three stories onto a moving car."
"That good huh." He said sarcastically with a serious expression on his face. He
reached up and stroked her hair with his fingers. "Max I was so afraid I would
lose you before I got the chance to tell you how much you mean to me."
"Logan you don't have to." She said interrupting him.
"But I want to Max. You haven't been here long but already," he paused for a
second and looked down to collect his thoughts. "Max I'm in love with you." As
Logan finished, he looked up find her eyes closed and her head fallen back to
the side. "Max?" he asked in disbelief. He listened for her even breathing and
then sighed with his disappointment and whispered, "So close." He watched
her for a moment and then wheeled off to his computer. He was shaken inside
and was fully ready to lose himself in work.
Max opened her sad eyes and watched him leave the room. As he disappeared
a lone tear slid down her cheek. She wanted to call out to him tell him she heard
his confession but something stopped her. The same barrier had always
stopped her, an invisible wall that kept her from getting too close so she could
always move on.
Part 7
Clarification: There are different kinds of fevers. One is the where you radiate
body heat so quickly that to others you feel like your burning up but you're
actually freezing. Oh and fevers are a side effect of infections on stuff like bullet
wounds.
-----------------------------------------
Max woke up in the darkness not realizing she had fallen asleep. She lifted the
sheet that was covering her and peered down at her abdomen. She was
wrapped in fresh gauze. She knew it hurt but her advanced chemistry blocked
the pain. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around for Bling or
Logan.
Max held the sheet to her body as she lowered her legs off the table. She felt
so weak and her healthy stomach muscles were shaking with effort. She felt
something touching her arm and she looked down to find an IV in it. She pulled
it out and lowered herself to the floor. She walked in a daze through the
apartment door and into the elevator.
Logan awoke with a start. He didn't know what it was but something was
wrong. He got into his wheelchair as fast as he could and glided into where Max
use to be.
"Bling!" Logan yelled. A tired looking Bling entered from the living room.
"Logan what is?.Oh my God Max!"
"She couldn't have gone far. Even superheroes are slowed by injury." Logan
went for the elevator while Bling went back for his shoes. A few moments later
they met just outside of the building. Without speaking they split up and began
searching.
As Max walked down the street she grew weaker and weaker. Her fever grew
worse until she was losing so much body heat she was shivering and everything
around here was blury. "Logan?" she whispered. She was back at Manticore
walking through the snow. "Logan where are you?" She said in a worried voice.
As she walked the snow got deeper and deeper.
Logan turned the corner and saw her stumbling down the road. He pulled out
his cell phone and called Bling with their location.
"Max!" Logan called as soon as he was close to her. She turned and to her
shock saw Lydecker standing there pointing a gun at her.
"No." She cried desperately trying to get away. She turned and tried to run but
she was stuck in the snow. She fell onto her knees and struggled to at least
crawl away but she was too tired. She rolled over on her back and watched
Lydecker progress towards her.
"Max." Logan called again. She was looking right at him but didn't seem to see
him. "Max it's me. Logan." She looked at him confused.
"Logan?" In her eyes Lydecker's form disappeared and was replaced by Logan.
"Logan you have to go! Lydecker's here somewhere he'll get you too." Max
looked desperately around her. She was still back in the winter woods.
"It's okay he's not here. Your fever is making you delusional?" He said softly trying to calm her down.
"But I saw him," she whimpered, still searching the area with her eyes.
"Max can you get up?" He asked helplessly. She weakly pushed herself up and
staggered the few steps into his now outstretched arms. She curled up against
him as best she could. She shivered violently as he held her tightly trying to
keep her warm.
"I was looking for you." She shivered out. "I need to tell you something." She
looked up at him with her big brown eyes. He though of how much she looked
like a little lost puppy. He stopped her mouth with his finger.
"Save you strength Max. We have all the time in the world." She reached up
with a weak hand, pulled his head down to her, and placed a gentle shaky kiss
in his lips.
"No time." She said pausing to control her shivers. "like now." She kissed him
again a little strong than the last time then curled up against him. She fell
asleep and remained so while Bling arrived in the Aztec and took them back.
When Angels Fall
Part 8 the epilogue
Max walks down Logan's street and you can hear her voice over.
"The world seems a little more colorful today and everyone's smiling at me.
That's probably because I have a permagrin slapped on my face. I can't help it, I
stepped outside smiling and it froze like that. I'm only supposed to walk around
the block and back, Bling's orders. 'Start slowly', he says and 'don't out do your
self'. I took my bike out a week ago but Logan doesn't need to know that. This
is supposedly my first time outside alone in two weeks, since I took my little trip
with Mr. Fever. He wants to protect me and for once, I can say I kinda like it. He
doesn't need to know that either. So much for Zach's rule of not getting
attached? Max turned and entered the Lobby of Logan's building and took the
elevator up. She ran into Bling as he was leaving the apartment.
"Hey Max how did it go?"
"I'm tired," she shrugged.
"That's good." He replied. "You heal fast."
"It must be in the genes." She grinned knowingly. "See ya later." She said
sweetly, walking off towards the penthouse.
"Oh Max." She turned back around to face him. "I went down to the parking
ramp to check on your bike this morning. I noticed it was running low on gas."
He said in his mysterious way. "I'll get that filled up for you tomorrow." She
smiled mischievously and nodded to him.
"Thanks Bling." He nodded and continued on to the elevator.
Max walked through the apartment to Logan?s computer room. She stood in the
door way for a moment and watched him. He was always so intense in his work.
She walked across the room and draped her arms around his shoulders.
"So how was your walk?" he asked as he was closing down what he was
working on. She waited for him to look at her before answering.
"It was good." She leaned in and kissed him. "This is better." She said after she
pulled back. He stared at her lovingly for a moment.
"I got a movie to watch tonight." He said breaking the silence.
"Which one?" She said curiously. They usually didn't watch movies.
"Charlie's Angels," she rolled her eyes at him and stood up.
"Come on Charlie. You get the movie ready while I make the popcorn." She
made for the kitchen while he went for the living room. "So how did you get
microwave popcorn?" She said as she sat down next to him on the couch.
"It's easy if you know the right people." He responded nonchalantly. She lay her
head in his lap as the movie started and he absentmindedly stroked her hair.
Max's voice over starts again. "Yep that's me...constantly on the move...never
gets attached. Just don't tell Logan that."
"Hey are you hogging all the popcorn?" she grinned. He smiled at her then held
out the bowl down to her level. She took the bowl from him and set it on the
table. She grin, sat up and looked into his eyes. He started to say something
but she silenced him with her finger and then with a kiss. "Movies are
overrated." she thought to herself.
Part 1
"You know I should come over here for every meal." She scooped a forkful of
food in her mouth. "This stuff actually tastes good." She took another bite and
closed her eyes as she savored it. He watched this and smiled then turned his
attention back to his plate. The money he shelled out for their little dinners was
well worth it in his mind.
"I did some background research into food processing plants a year ago..." He
started.
"Un uh." She said cutting him off. "I don't even want to know." She said in a no
nonsense Original Cindy kind of way.
"Your not even the least bit curious." He asked.
"The whole of Seattle hasn't dropped dead of some mad dog or bunny or cow
disease so I figure I have no need to fear. What doesn't kill us makes us
stronger right?" She said smiling
"Right." He said smiling back. He never could really argue with her. "So how do
you like your bunny?" He said with one of his handsome trapping stares.
"Mmm. Tastes like chicken." She stabbed the last piece on her plate and stuck it
in her mouth. "So what's Logan's new crusade...or do you just feed all of your
help so well." She said as she cleared the plates and carried them towards the
kitchen.
"Well you know me, I like to please." He missed her smile but it was there
nonetheless. "I had hoped that you could help me with a little recon. He
wheeled himself into the computer room and began pulling blue prints up on his
computer.
"So where is this?" She asked when she was directly behind him, he jumped a
little not hearing her arrive in the room.
"Would it be against your training to make noise when you walk, at least while
you're here that is?" He said teasingly. She leaned over towards the screen
placing a hand on the back of his chair.
"It's not my fault you don't have super powers." She smiled at him then went
back to studying the blue print. "What's that?" She said pointing a large mass of
lines. He took his eyes off her and looked to where she was pointing.
"That's what were after. This company is supposedly under contract with the
government to develop a machine that would change behavioral patterns."
"Mind control." She said simply.
"Yes." He said looking at her with mock impatience.
"Sorry." She said not really apologetically and only glancing at him for a second.
"So how did they convince whoever to give them the funding."
"The project is being undertaken with the pretense that it could cure crime by
changing peoples desires away from it. This.." He said and he began typing. A
screen popped up with a gray hair man. Max easily memorized his face. "is
doctor Miller. He runs the project. I want you to break in and hack his
computer." Max frowned.
"Why don't you do it from here."
"The computers in the lab are only on a local network. There is no outside line.
Not even an old fashion telephone line."
"The bad guys never have to play fair do they." He only answered that with a
look. "What?" She asked innocently. "So when's this going down."
"Tomorrow night." He typed in a few more commands and the printer began to
warm up. "I'm printing out the security schematics." Max stood up and stretched
a little. Logan turned around and gave her a scrutinizing glance.
"Max are you alright you seen a little...well tired." He asked very concerned.
"Even superheroes need sleep every once and a while." She responded smiling
sweetly at him
"So you'll get back to me?" He said watching her very closely.
"Yeah" She replied, smirking back at him suspiciously.
"Are you sure you'll make it home alright? I can call you a cab."
"The knight and shining armor bit might work with the widows small children and
lost animals but I'm a big girl." She said smiling as she took the schematics from
his printer.
"I know."
"I'll see ya Logan"
"Night Max." She disappeared beyond the divider wall and in a few seconds he
heard the door open and closed. He sighed.
His penthouse had an empty feeling about it but he was getting use to it. It
always had this feeling after she left. It was almost as if she carried this
wonderful light around with her and without it his world seemed darker. He sat
in contemplation for a moment and then rolled into his room and got ready for
bed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 2
"Wow look at you. All stealthy and spy like." Max said as she got in the
passenger side of his Aztec. Logan was wearing his black leather jacket with a
black shirt underneath and with ear piece/microphone sticking out of his left ear.
" I try." He said as he pulled out into traffic. Max was wearing her cat burglar
black leather outfit.
"So where do you get all this equipment?" she said, picking up a palm top off
the dashboard and examining the screen.
"Government auctions and places like that." She frowned at him and put the
palmtop back on the dashboard almost like it was diseased.
"Isn't that a little risky?"
"Most of the Government isn't like Lydecker. If you pay in cash they don't care
who you are and what you'll do with it." He pulled a box out of his inside jacket
pocket and handed it to her. She opened it and pulled out a headset.
"Just what I always wanted," she said with mock enthusiasm as she pulled out
an ear piece identical to his. He grinned at her for the second that driving would
allow.
"There probably won't even be any hacking but I wasn't sure how up to date
you are. There have been a few upgrades in computer security since you were
at Manicore. I just wasn't sure," he said apologetically, glancing at her as much
as her could with the traffic.
"I think I can handle it but the back up is always good," she said uncertainly.
She had the training to handle this mission fine but she wanted Logan to have a
more active role. Bling would be so proud of her. Logan saw through her words
and despite her good intentions he felt his self-pity surge a little.
"The disk on the dash," he said gesturing with his head. "Should handle all
security and copying." She picked it up and tucked it in her inside pocket. "Do
you have entrance planned?"
"I though you were handling that." He gave her a startled look only to see that
she was smiling at him. "I was just playing with ya." He looked back at the road
then at her and sighed little happy sigh. "You're almost as bad as normal."
"Really that bad," he said smiling.
"I said almost," she answered to small consolation. He laughed quietly and looked
back at the road as they drove in a comfortable silence.
When Angels Fall
Part 3
Max climbed the building almost at a run and landing on the roof. She turned
back to the Aztec and blew a kiss back to Logan who she knew was watching
through binoculars. He smiled and put them down as she disappeared over the
side. "Good luck, Max," he said to himself.
She reached the ventilation opening and ducked down to look at the sensors.
The schematics had said that sensors were linked to the edges of the grate so
she pulled out the little bag of goodies Logan had given her and took out a
pocket sized laser knife. "Logan, you sure know how to spoil a girl," she said
quietly into her headset. She began to cut out a superhero sized hole in the
grating.
"Are you in," he asked.
"Almost," she said happily. He could hear it in her voice and smiled to himself.
She was trained to do this kind of thing and fate put her in his company. He
wondered sometimes if Max existed to fix the corruption or the other way
around. His philosophizing was interrupted by her exclamation of triumph.
"I'm in. I'm going dark but I'll leave the line open just incase the National Guard
comes storming in."
"Gotcha."
"What no 10-4." she quipped as she removed the cut out grate and dropped
into the shaft. She crawled for about 500 feet when she came to an
intersection. She placed a little disk on the wall to her left and turned right. She
left a little trail of disks as she went. They all linked up and formed a cookie
crumb path when you put on a special pair of glasses Logan provided. It was a
potentially bad idea but the more of Logan's toys she used this trip the better
she felt.
She reached her final destination and peered down through the vent. It looked
like any executive's office; desk, computer, picture of wife and kids. "If only they
knew what daddy did," she thought to herself. The security specs didn't say
anything about the vent door having a sensor so she simply popped it open and
lowered in on it?s hinges. She took out a super suction cup and set it a few feet
away from the vent. She clipped on the climbing rope and lowered herself out of
the small opening. It wouldn't make for a quick escape if she needed it but it
was still the best option. She landed silently and quickly cat walked over to the
computer. She pulled the CD case out of her pocket. She placed the disk in the
drive and opened and entered a run command. She watched as the program
opened and began to fight against one security block after another. She smiled
with pride in Logan as his program kicked serious ass.
"Max. You need to get out of there." Logan stated hurriedly. The file began to
copy.
"I can't yet it's not done." Max said. She look worriedly at the screen trying to
urge it on with her thoughts. "Give me the details," she asked Logan.
"Uh three green military hummers pulled up. The commander is ordering his men
around the building. It looks like there are 35 of them." She looked down at the
file just as if finished. She grabbed the disk out of the drive and ran to the wall.
She grabbed the rope and ran up. She pushed off the wall and slid the grate
feet first. She curved her body as she slid through and as she hit the opposite
vent wall and was already crawling.
"Logan." She whispered into her headset. "I'm in the vent and coming back."
Suddenly she was thrown against the wall and her stomach felt like it was on
fire. She felt her body adjust and the pain dull. She opened her eyes and saw
light streaming through a tiny hole in the vent across from her. She pushed off
the wall and continued down the passage way as best she could. They couldn't
follow her, the vent was too small for any of their goons, but she had to get out
as fast as she could.
"Max are you okay? I heard you whimper." He sat in his van SUV going nuts
because all he could do was watch the little blip that was her move on the
screen.
"Is that the best word you could think of. It's not very superhero like," She
joked weakly as she struggled on.
"Are you okay?" He asked desperately. She felt herself begin to get dizzy and
the vent started to focus in and out. She weakly pulled out Logan's special
glasses and tried to follow the red light trail.
"I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes. Man is Lydecker ugly."
"Just get back here safe and sound." He looked at his palm top and watched
her progression through the vents.
"Why what are you going to do if I don't? Kick my a**?"
"Something like that." He said trying to hide his concern.
When Angels Fall
Part 4
She reached the exit before any commandos and did her best to run across the
roof.
"Logan pull up next to the building," she commanded into her head phones.
"I'm on it." She watched as the Aztec zoomed in from the side street. She
waited till it was directly under her then jumped off the roof.
Logan watched in horror as Max landed on his car, not with her usual grace but
with a thump. She lifted her head and said through her headset "I'm okay just
drive." She put her head back down as he took off. He drove for a few blocks as
fast as he thought safe. He was so scarred she would fall off each time he
turned. After a few blocks he saw the blood she was losing about to go up the
wind shield and he lost it. He pulled into an alley and stopped, not caring how
short a distance they had gone.
They most incredible sense of relief flooded him as she lifted her self off the
hood with her arms and slid off the car. She walked hunched over to the
passenger side and got in. He wanted to unlatch his seat belt and hold her and
tell her how scarred he had been but she needed to get to a doctor. As he
backed out of the alley he pulled out his cell phone and dialed.
"Bling...No, Max is hurt...Gun Shot...Thanks." He hung up and looked over at Max.
Her eyes were starting to close. "Max stay with me." She responded with a
moan. In her mind she was back at Manticore during the escape. The cold
nipped at her feet as she ran towards the perimeter. She ducked behind a tree
and looked back just as one of her siblings was shot behind her. "Max." She
came back to the present to the feel of Logan touching the side of her face.
"We're almost there. Stay with me." He ordered trying to keep himself calm. She
felt the car stop and she looked up to see Logan open the door and lift her into
his arms, although it was actually Bling.
"Logan don't let go, you promised." She mumbled. But there was no answer as
she blacked out because Logan was still back at the Aztec getting into his wheel
chair, trying to keep that promise.
When Angels Fall
Part 5
Logan wheeled into his apartment just as Bling was laying Max down on his
exercise table. It was covered in sheets and towels and everything smelled
slightly of disinfectant. He wheeled up to he and took her hand carefully.
"I won't let you leave me again Max." Logan said to her in a deep gently voice.
Bling put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically.
"Logan the doctor is here. We should to wait in the other room." He said in a
timid voice.
"No." He said unwaveringly. "I need to stay here with her." He paused for a
second and remembered the dream he had with her at the hospital. "I
promised." He added. Bling looked at the doctor hopefully and the doctor
nodded back.
During that night, as the doctor worked, Logan didn't take his eyes off of Max's
face. He was so lost in his concern for her that he barely noticed as the doctor
finished and walked out to talk to Bling.
"The bullet didn't hit anything major but she had lost a lot of blood. I'd
recommend a transfusion but without going to the hospital I don't know how it
would be possible." Bling nodded understandingly to him. "We should know
how she's doing by morning. You should check her vitals every ten to fifteen
minutes. If anything at all seems wrong don't hesitate to call me."
"Thank you Doctor." Bling said as he walked him to the door. Bling returned to
the operating room to find Logan asleep. His head lying on his folded arms on
the pad, Max's fingers still entwined in his.
Max saw a soft blue light flash then flicker away. She saw another light and
then another and pretty soon her darkness was filled with a blinding light. She
looked away as the light overwhelmed her and she saw the fuzzy blue city line
of Seattle appear in the distance. The light suddenly faded and became soft
gray moon light. She found herself standing on the space needle and she closed
her eyes as a warm breeze blew past her, causing her white dress to flow. Soft
music began to play in the background as Logan walked up behind her and put
his arms around her. He snuggled his head up against hers and sighed silently.
She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.
"Logan?" She asked curiously.
"Mmm?" He responded.
"Logan look at the city." He opened his eyes and looked at the now clear city. A
smile crept on his face as he saw the city as it was suppose to be, how it was
when he was growing up.
"This is how the city use to look, before the pulse." He said nostalgically. As Max
spoke again her voice seemed to fade and echo.
"I've never seen it this way before."
"Are you alright?" he said looking down at her.
"Yeah, just a little dizzy." Logan turned her in his arms she he could see her
face.
"Do you want me to call the doctor?" He asked concerned as he caressed the
side of her face.
"No." She said more clearly and peacefully as she smiled at him.
"Are you sure?" He asked while watching her face for the truth.
"Yeah." She said still smiling. He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer.
Part 6
Logan awoke early that morning to noises in the kitchen. He leaned back and
stretched his arms out. He didn't want to leave her side but nature was
screaming his name. When he returned he found a plate of scrambled eggs and
toast on the nearby table. He took it gratefully.
"Logan." Max whispered. Logan head snapped around towards her.
"Max! your awake." He putting the plate back down and moved closer. "How
are you feeling?"
"Like I was shot in the stomach and fell three stories onto a moving car."
"That good huh." He said sarcastically with a serious expression on his face. He
reached up and stroked her hair with his fingers. "Max I was so afraid I would
lose you before I got the chance to tell you how much you mean to me."
"Logan you don't have to." She said interrupting him.
"But I want to Max. You haven't been here long but already," he paused for a
second and looked down to collect his thoughts. "Max I'm in love with you." As
Logan finished, he looked up find her eyes closed and her head fallen back to
the side. "Max?" he asked in disbelief. He listened for her even breathing and
then sighed with his disappointment and whispered, "So close." He watched
her for a moment and then wheeled off to his computer. He was shaken inside
and was fully ready to lose himself in work.
Max opened her sad eyes and watched him leave the room. As he disappeared
a lone tear slid down her cheek. She wanted to call out to him tell him she heard
his confession but something stopped her. The same barrier had always
stopped her, an invisible wall that kept her from getting too close so she could
always move on.
Part 7
Clarification: There are different kinds of fevers. One is the where you radiate
body heat so quickly that to others you feel like your burning up but you're
actually freezing. Oh and fevers are a side effect of infections on stuff like bullet
wounds.
-----------------------------------------
Max woke up in the darkness not realizing she had fallen asleep. She lifted the
sheet that was covering her and peered down at her abdomen. She was
wrapped in fresh gauze. She knew it hurt but her advanced chemistry blocked
the pain. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around for Bling or
Logan.
Max held the sheet to her body as she lowered her legs off the table. She felt
so weak and her healthy stomach muscles were shaking with effort. She felt
something touching her arm and she looked down to find an IV in it. She pulled
it out and lowered herself to the floor. She walked in a daze through the
apartment door and into the elevator.
Logan awoke with a start. He didn't know what it was but something was
wrong. He got into his wheelchair as fast as he could and glided into where Max
use to be.
"Bling!" Logan yelled. A tired looking Bling entered from the living room.
"Logan what is?.Oh my God Max!"
"She couldn't have gone far. Even superheroes are slowed by injury." Logan
went for the elevator while Bling went back for his shoes. A few moments later
they met just outside of the building. Without speaking they split up and began
searching.
As Max walked down the street she grew weaker and weaker. Her fever grew
worse until she was losing so much body heat she was shivering and everything
around here was blury. "Logan?" she whispered. She was back at Manticore
walking through the snow. "Logan where are you?" She said in a worried voice.
As she walked the snow got deeper and deeper.
Logan turned the corner and saw her stumbling down the road. He pulled out
his cell phone and called Bling with their location.
"Max!" Logan called as soon as he was close to her. She turned and to her
shock saw Lydecker standing there pointing a gun at her.
"No." She cried desperately trying to get away. She turned and tried to run but
she was stuck in the snow. She fell onto her knees and struggled to at least
crawl away but she was too tired. She rolled over on her back and watched
Lydecker progress towards her.
"Max." Logan called again. She was looking right at him but didn't seem to see
him. "Max it's me. Logan." She looked at him confused.
"Logan?" In her eyes Lydecker's form disappeared and was replaced by Logan.
"Logan you have to go! Lydecker's here somewhere he'll get you too." Max
looked desperately around her. She was still back in the winter woods.
"It's okay he's not here. Your fever is making you delusional?" He said softly trying to calm her down.
"But I saw him," she whimpered, still searching the area with her eyes.
"Max can you get up?" He asked helplessly. She weakly pushed herself up and
staggered the few steps into his now outstretched arms. She curled up against
him as best she could. She shivered violently as he held her tightly trying to
keep her warm.
"I was looking for you." She shivered out. "I need to tell you something." She
looked up at him with her big brown eyes. He though of how much she looked
like a little lost puppy. He stopped her mouth with his finger.
"Save you strength Max. We have all the time in the world." She reached up
with a weak hand, pulled his head down to her, and placed a gentle shaky kiss
in his lips.
"No time." She said pausing to control her shivers. "like now." She kissed him
again a little strong than the last time then curled up against him. She fell
asleep and remained so while Bling arrived in the Aztec and took them back.
When Angels Fall
Part 8 the epilogue
Max walks down Logan's street and you can hear her voice over.
"The world seems a little more colorful today and everyone's smiling at me.
That's probably because I have a permagrin slapped on my face. I can't help it, I
stepped outside smiling and it froze like that. I'm only supposed to walk around
the block and back, Bling's orders. 'Start slowly', he says and 'don't out do your
self'. I took my bike out a week ago but Logan doesn't need to know that. This
is supposedly my first time outside alone in two weeks, since I took my little trip
with Mr. Fever. He wants to protect me and for once, I can say I kinda like it. He
doesn't need to know that either. So much for Zach's rule of not getting
attached? Max turned and entered the Lobby of Logan's building and took the
elevator up. She ran into Bling as he was leaving the apartment.
"Hey Max how did it go?"
"I'm tired," she shrugged.
"That's good." He replied. "You heal fast."
"It must be in the genes." She grinned knowingly. "See ya later." She said
sweetly, walking off towards the penthouse.
"Oh Max." She turned back around to face him. "I went down to the parking
ramp to check on your bike this morning. I noticed it was running low on gas."
He said in his mysterious way. "I'll get that filled up for you tomorrow." She
smiled mischievously and nodded to him.
"Thanks Bling." He nodded and continued on to the elevator.
Max walked through the apartment to Logan?s computer room. She stood in the
door way for a moment and watched him. He was always so intense in his work.
She walked across the room and draped her arms around his shoulders.
"So how was your walk?" he asked as he was closing down what he was
working on. She waited for him to look at her before answering.
"It was good." She leaned in and kissed him. "This is better." She said after she
pulled back. He stared at her lovingly for a moment.
"I got a movie to watch tonight." He said breaking the silence.
"Which one?" She said curiously. They usually didn't watch movies.
"Charlie's Angels," she rolled her eyes at him and stood up.
"Come on Charlie. You get the movie ready while I make the popcorn." She
made for the kitchen while he went for the living room. "So how did you get
microwave popcorn?" She said as she sat down next to him on the couch.
"It's easy if you know the right people." He responded nonchalantly. She lay her
head in his lap as the movie started and he absentmindedly stroked her hair.
Max's voice over starts again. "Yep that's me...constantly on the move...never
gets attached. Just don't tell Logan that."
"Hey are you hogging all the popcorn?" she grinned. He smiled at her then held
out the bowl down to her level. She took the bowl from him and set it on the
table. She grin, sat up and looked into his eyes. He started to say something
but she silenced him with her finger and then with a kiss. "Movies are
overrated." she thought to herself.