Beyond Seattle 1

Beyond Seattle (1/?)

Summary: A second escape at Manticore sends Max elsewhere. Not for people who don't know the show, it could be confusing.
Rating: PG-13, for some cursing
Spoilers: C.R.E.A.M., 411 on the DL, and Cold Comfort
Disclaimer: I don't own Max Guevara, Logan Cale, Donald Lydecker, Normal, Kendra, Original Cindy, Sketchy, Herbal, Zack, Jam Pony or anything affiliated with Dark Angel. And I don't own the Ninja (even though I wish I did). I'm not making money off this, so you can't sue me for using stuff that belongs to James Cameron and Chris Eglee, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, blah, blah, blah. (I do own Siri.)

This is my first FanFic, so read and review!

Max looked out off the space needle, into the darkness of Seattle. She tried to imagine what the city might have looked like, from this height, before the pulse. In fact, she thought, I wonder what Gillette looks like now, after the pulse. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't really remember Gillette before the pulse- after all, Manticore probably wasn't the greatest example of the Wyoming city. And Zack's instructions had been to split up and get away. Keep moving on enemy territory. What he had instructed was basically Manticore in a nutshell. And that was still how he talked. Like a soldier. So Max had never really seen Gillette.
She was snapped out of her memories by a gust of cold wind. Standing up, she went back down to her motorcycle that sat parked below. She was about to get on when she heard a faint beeping. Lifting the seat off the Ninja, Max pulled out her pager. Logan. What the heck is Logan doing paging me at..........1:57 A.M.? Finding the nearest pay phone, she called Logan, the legendary "Eyes Only" cable hacker.
"So, what's up at 2:00 in the morning?"
"Sorry. I figured you wouldn't mind. I thought you didn't sleep."
"No big dealio. I don't. Usually. Not tonight anyway. I slept last week. Why waste time tonight? Anyway..........You sleep, so it must be important."
"Breaking news. All of maybe four people know about it. That's what makes it breaking."
"Who four?"
"Just get over here."
The Ninja puttered in the cold night air before it started. Max was at Logan's apartment before he realized he had hung up the phone.
"Logan?!"
"In here."
"I should have known. Always in your office." Max sauntered into the room. "So I repeat- who four?"
"Lydecker, a couple of his men, and me."
"Ah. So its breaking news I actually care about." Logan was facing the computer, and he could almost see the smirk on her face as she said that.
"Yes, you might find it interesting. There was an escape attempt at Manticore, about an hour ago."
"Attempt?" Max tried to hide the concern in her voice, but failed.
"Well, for the most part. Seven tried to get out. Four were recaptured. Two were killed. One made it past the perimeter." Max was silent, and Logan turned from the computer to see if she was still there. To his surprise, she was smiling. "Max, the chances that it-"
"HE OR SHE," Max broke in, glaring.
"Sorry. Chances are that he or she will get caught right outside the perimeter. Don't get your hopes up."
"That's not it Logan. They know. Lydecker said 'Know your enemy.' and they do. I didn't think there was hope for any of them that were in that hell for 18 or 19 years of their lives. They know they're in danger. So to speak. They know Lydecker isn't their friend. And that means there's hope."
"You," Logan responded, turning around, "have a look on your face that says 'Logan, I'm gonna do something about it!' I don't like that look. Its never meant anything good."
"And it never will, Logan. Not as long as you're the one defining good. Now about the one that passed the perimeter."
"What makes you so sure I know anything about it?"
"HE OR SHE, Logan. I am a she. They are all hes and shes. Lydecker made us into machines. I'm not taking that crap form you too. You are Logan Cale, cyber-journalist and cable hacker. That's what makes me so sure."
"Okay, so maybe I don know something. Lydecker's got pictures up. Saying she's a cold-blooded killer. Probably so that people who see her won't get too close to his 19 years of hard work. And so that they won't know what- who- she really is."
"One, after 19 years at Manticore, she might be a cold-blooded killer. Two, so you know she's a she?"
"Yes, I know she's a she. I was hoping if I used 'it' you would think I didn't know anything about her. And if she 'knows her enemy' like you said, she shouldn't be a random, cold-blooded killer."
"Point taken. So lets see it."
"What?"
"The pictures! I think you need some sleep."
"Pictures. Right." Logan looked like he was ready to fall asleep at the keyboard.
He brought up the pictures. There was some information, a front view, a side view, and a back view, clearly showing the designer label that every product of Manticore sported.
"Well," Max began pointing to the barcode, "that proves she's one of us. Haircut shows a recent escape. Oh my god." Max gasped and turned away.
"Wha..."
"Siri," Max whispered mostly to herself. "Unless Lydecker posted a random picture. No, this is recent...."
"Watch this." He clicked on the barcode, and a series of numbers appeared. "That help?"
"Siri." Logan could tell Max was holding back tears, which were a rare event.
"Did you know her?"
"I never knew if..... Siri was partially blind. A flaw, like the seizures. She hid it all those years. Then it was accuracy in shooting. Lydecker found out, and they took her away a few days before our escape. We thought she was dead. Otherwise we would have waited.
"Zack was my protector and hero, but even more so to Siri. He was her eyes. That's why we left just then. He couldn't handle it, the pain, the waiting, so he said 'Let's go. Get out of here.' Zack was always dramatic, 'No hope' sorta thing, but I kept thinking 'One more day Zack.' When I got out, I fully realized what happened. And I realized he was right. I guess that's where I picked up the 'No hope for any of them.' But there is, and I need to help her."
"Not yet, Max. There's gonna be guards all over the state of Wyoming."
"No, that's the mistake they made last time. There's gonna be guards all over northern Wyoming and Montana. She knows to go east, into South Dakota."
"And she'll reach there in what? Two months? They'll catch you both."
"Logan, do you remember when I broke into you apartment that first time? And I jumped through that window over there?" she said, making a general "elsewhere" motion with her hand.
"Yeah, so?"
"And you saw how fast I ran?"
"Yes. What does this have to do with Siri?"
"She was in training ten years longer than I was. She can run pretty damn fast. One day into South Dakota, at the most. And I'll be there to get her started."
"He's smarter than you think Max. He'll get Siri- and you."
"I'm smarter than you think, Logan. She's smarter than you think. And we're both stronger than Lydecker."
"Fine. You know what Zack would say if he were here. I see I can't change your mind." Logan had an "It's 3:00 in the morning and I give up" look on his face. "You don't sleep. I do."
"I thought you were the one that told Zack he couldn't control what I do."
"I'm not in the state of mind to remember. However, you can't go into this unarmed."
"I DON'T DO GUNS!"
"I know, Max. But it might benefit you. I still don't understand why you might shy from guns. But I have what you need."
"You have never seen guns. You have never shot guns. You have never been threatened by guns.
"When Manticore made superhumans they made super-guns. there is no record of those guns. Civilians have never seen or heard of those guns. And you should be happy." And with that comment, Max left the apartment and rode off into the night.