Disclaimer: James Cameron, Charles Eglee and Fox own Dark Angel. Not me. I won't receive any money to play with their characters.

A/N: Thanks for all your very appreciated comments.

Note: I'm so embarrassed to have posted the last paragraph of the chapter 1 last week. Not only because I hadn't fixed my English yet, but also because chapter 1 must had finished with Max saying "Me" and Bling stunned glance following her.

Lydecker's Perfidy

Chapter 2: Strange Reps

" These two have managed another fight out of my reach! Why did she tell me he's frightened, no, she said: scared…?!" Standing in the elevator on its way up to the penthouse, Bling juggled with the thought of staying away of their battle, but once he had entered and found his friend in front of the window, lost in his too expected brooding mood, he couldn't pretend to be able to do it anymore. He firmly closed the door behind him, took a deep breath and went straight up toward Logan.

When Bling crossed the office door, on his way toward Logan, his eyes caught the pictures on the desk. At first, it seemed to be some new cases Eyes-Only was working on, until he noticed the big yellow envelope lying under the pictures and he stopped. Grabbing the stack of pictures, he flipped them one by one. In his mind, while each pieces of information slid into their place, the puzzle was solved. This was the envelope Lydecker had let at the appointment's place. This was the mail he had handed over to Logan – himself -. Now, at least, Bling knew why Logan was where he was and why he was there: he was pondering about it.

Logan was lost in his thoughts, trying to analyze, weight up and reason all events, each time he had met Max since the last day. His eyes never left the small Ninja, who had barely stopped at the red light, on his way to the sector 5. Eventhough he felt Bling's presence, seated on the arm of the couch beside him, Logan stays still and keep glaring threw the window. It was only when he heard a short inspiration from Bling than he spun around to face his therapist.

"Hey! Give me a second, I'll meet you soon in the training room." He said sweetly before wheeled toward his room.

Bling expressed his surprise with a loud snort, amazed by the brand new way that Logan had found to keep his denial behavior, and he frowned at the idea that he was using his therapy to avoid a talk. Someday, he will have to teach him that this wasn't an issue. "Why not now?" was his next thought, and it took barely a second before Bling realize that it was a time as good as another. " Okay then, here we are Logan, you start on top and be sure I'll keep account of this." was his last thought as he went toward the exercise room and wait for his charge.

Logan's evasive eyes, when he came in, comforted him with his decision; if he had doubted for a second that Logan's sudden enthusiasm for his reps wasn't for what he thought, Bling saw in this behavior that he was absolutely right.

And Bling did it. If he usually gently followed his patient's rhythm, today was completely different. Today he needed to put Logan out of his reassuringly boundaries without give him time to think. And Logan quickly understood that something strange was coming up. Bling started the reps like he always did, but faster then ever and with an all-new and totally unexpected… "Babbling? What the hell?" thought a perturbed Logan. And that marked the first round won by Bling. "one-one" Bling mentally asserted noticing Logan's expression.

First part of the session seemed to have been fast-forwarded, while Logan was doing his best to follow Bling's instructions, almost barely intelligible through his flood of words.

"I was 18 years old when I decided to join the army. It was my best attempt to do something good for the society… Please, lift your arm until your elbow is haft-way from your shoulder… I had notice the strange glance of Grand-Ma, but didn't understood why she was so... how could I say… perplexed? Yes, perplexed… Don't bond in this way, you could hurt your tendon and you won't be able to joint the basketball practice tomorrow … We were about 50 to join the rank this day. But at the end, we were scarcely 9. You should increase the weight, it will make you faster, take this one. The training was out of reach for a lot of them…

As Logan didn't grab the weight that his therapist was holding in front of him, until Bling gently led his attention on it, the therapist managed to hide a smile: "Two-one" he added promptly

Still trying not to miss any indications, Logan frowned as he began to understand what Bling was saying "What are you on about Bling? The story of your life?" Logan was stunned. He had expected his friend would to ask him about why he was in front of the window, but he couldn't really make any logical link with this uninterrupted speech.

"There was so many things to learn, you know: standard field technique, closed combat, war's tactics, weapons and equipment, all the science of warfare… Okay for this, start with your left arm now and I will take care of your right leg… It took almost four years before they recognized we were ready for our first mission. I will always remember this first affectation…."

Bling started to stretch Logan's leg, one hand on his knee and the other circling his ankle. When he lifted a bit rapidly than his accustomed speed, it was enough to destabilized him. Logan's attention was still focused with bending is arm and his loose grasp on the table was insufficient to keep him straight. If his therapist hadn't already lowered his leg, and quickly held his shoulder in attempt to stabilize him, he would have fall down the table.

Both of them froze at this thought.

For Bling, it was the thought of, maybe, reaching the limits he had fixed himself long time ago. He felt ashamed of his carelessness due to his will to reach his goal. He didn't know if he should go on.

For Logan, at first, it was the thought of what could have happen if he had added another injury on his already broken body. But his ongoing habit to avoid all thoughts about his injury rewarded him one more time. Now totally focused on Bling's expression, he could see his hesitation. and was able to pierce the mystery around this strangest session. His brain computed the chronology of events and Logan conclude the evidence: Bling had seen Max when she left. "They must have spoken." decided Logan, and this convinced him that Bling was about to lecture him one again. "Go ahead, I'm ready" was his inner response.

When Bling managed to glance at his face, still wrapped in his concerns, he almost choked when he saw a thin glimpse of amusement on Logan's face, and he couldn't help thinking his freind would always find some ways to bemuse him.

If the second part of this special session had continued like it had started, while Logan was still rushed by his therapist and had to suffer Bling's old memories, something had nevertheless changed… Bling was aware that if he couldn't quite seize precisely what had caused this change, but he definitively felt it, at a point he didn't know if his score could rise anymore.

So, when they had ended Logan's reps and when Bling had reminded him that he mustn't forget to drink water, the therapist wasn't really surprised that his friend wheeled, there and then, toward the bathroom as he casually threw over his shoulder:

"You will remind me to ask for the score later?"

Bling left the penthouse just wishing that it was, at least, a tie.