AN - This is not my best work (sort of Dynasty meets Dark Angel), but it
does set up the next chapter, which I hope to post soon (if all goes
well). Thanks for the good reviews!
Chapter 4
Two days later an orderly informed Logan in a hushed whisper that Dr. Mitchell had been found dead in his office, apparently of a heart attack. Logan believed the 'apparent' more than the 'heart attack' - he was sure this was part of White's 'arrangements to be made'. While Logan was neither surprised nor saddened by the news, his sense of justice would have preferred that the doctor stood trial for what Logan was sure he did to the Manticore children during his time there. Logan was also sure that White was also erasing all files relating to Logan's surgery and treatment by Dr. Mitchell.
In reality, Ames White was doing more than that - he was preparing to lose Logan in the system. He requested permission from different officers to bring his prisoner to their facilities the first day, and on receiving permission, then informed them that another agency had priority over the case and they would not be arriving. Therefore, no one would be looking for Logan or wondering where he was at. By the third day, White was ready to remove Logan from the Texas base - where they were going depended on who was asking.
The orderly tossed a stack of clothing on Logan's bed and told him to get dressed and ready to go. Logan complied without arguing (something he had never done with Dr, Mitchell), even though he disliked the military fatigue pants, jacket and T-shirt he was given. At least he was not given army boots - his own shoes had been returned to him. Early in the afternoon he was wheeled down the hallway to the door and escorted to a waiting car. White and two other men were waiting in the car, and they set off. Logan was disappointed when the car stopped at a private airstrip about an hour later - he had been hoping they would travel by car so he could find a way to slip away on the trip.
White handed Logan an aluminum cane and the group walked over to a Lear jet.
"This plane belongs to the conclave," White explained, "They loaned it to me to bring you back. To spare you a long trip in your delicate condition."
Logan smiled gently and commented that his family used to have a plane like this one before fuel became so hard to get. White hated him even more. The men boarded and one of the two others climbed into the cockpit and took off. For the most part White and the others ignored Logan for the duration of the flight, which suited Logan fine. He reflected that he aluminum cane pretty well summed up how his enemies viewed him now - damaged enough to need a crutch, but too dangerous for a wooden cane.
"Where are we going, anyway?" Logan finally asked.
White saw no reason not to tell him. "Finnean, in Utah. It's our hometown. We have many towns, and live in all parts of this country - and many others, but Finnean is sort of our capital city," White smiled with amusement, "And it's where you will meet and marry your wife. You don't even need a fortune teller to know that, Cale -isn't that neat?" Logan ignored the sarcasm and went back to looking out the window.
The plane touched down at another small airstrip several hours later, where a van was waiting to take them into the town. It was remarkably tidy, seemingly untouched by the pulse that had ravaged the rest of the nation. Logan felt like he had stepped a few decades back in time looking at the neat lawns and well maintained homes of the town. He saw clean, well- stocked stores, offices, and a medical building. Neatly dressed, clean-cut people moved around the streets and sidewalks unhurriedly and uniformed police stopped to chat with the townsfolk without drawing their guns. Logan thought about what it must take to keep things the way they were in this town - bribery, extortion, smuggling, intimidation and a healthy dose of repression for starters he guessed. It looked good, but in this world nothing good came cheap.
The van pulled up at a large house near the edge of town and as the men got out the door opened and two women came out the front door to greet them. Logan carefully walked around the back of the van leaning heavily on his cane and saw White standing still, his face frozen in shock. Logan looked up at the house curiously. A handsome, if rather mannish-looking older woman was frowning at White while a younger and much lovelier woman was looking back at White with a look of concern on her face. Logan understood in a flash what was happening and a feeling of unholy glee swept through him - he was barely able to keep his face neutral as the younger woman shifted her gaze to him, looking him over appraisingly.
"Fenes'tol, Mrs. Moorehead," White said, "This is Cale. I wasn't expecting to see Gina here. I thought she was still in New York."
"It is time for Gina to do her duty to us all - don't forget that, White." Mrs. Moorehead turned to Logan and studied him head to toe. Logan felt like a cut of meat in a gourmet restaurant - he almost expected one of them to start prodding him for freshness. "Mr. Cale, I am glad to finally meet you. I do not think you will regret your decision to join us. Let me introduce Gina Howarth, the woman you will marry in ten days time."
Logan pulled himself up straighter and brought out his most charming smile; for the first time in years he was grateful for all the business parties and meetings he had been forced to attend until he moved out on his own. "It is very nice to see you too, ma'am - it sure beats the alternative," he said with a slight bow, guessing that this was a woman of power in the cult.
He turned to the younger woman and looked her over with the same deliberation she had given him, and had to admit she was extremely beautiful. Gina was somewhere around five and a half feet tall, about half a head shorter than Logan, with dark reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes, a straight nose and flawless skin. She was not truly thin, but had pleasing curves displayed by the well-tailored white silk blouse and camel colored wool trousers she wore. If Logan had any reservations about her appearance, it was with her mouth - her lips were pursed together in a straight line, showing cool self-control, rather than warmth, or even embarrassment or shyness.
"Miss Howarth, you defy all expectations," he said, stepping forward as Gina walked towards him.
"All things considered, you can call me Gina," she said, "We only have nine days for a traditional courtship, so we may as well start out on a first name basis." She was pleasantly surprised by Logan - the dossier on him had his basic background, a few articles he had written, and some pictures of him in his wheelchair. She had been expecting a geekish invalid, not a tall, well- built, and very handsome man. "You defy my expectations, too."
"Let's go inside," ordered Mrs. Moorehead, "I am sure Mr. Cale would like to sit down, and we have a lot to discuss. Ames, please come with me. Gina, take Mr. Cale to the living room." As White brushed past Logan and headed into the house, Logan could see White's hands were clenched into fists and a seed of an idea started to form in his head. Logan fought down the urge to dance up the stairs and concentrated on walking up them with overly cautious, shaking steps and making conspicuous use of the cane.
Mrs. Moorehead led White into the study and shut the door. "I didn't tell you that Gina had been chosen for Cale because I knew you would oppose it, and perhaps even try to sabotage the match, or worse," the priestess launched immediately into the attack, "If I could have I would have sent someone else to approach Cale and bring him here. Your job is done now, Ames. I know how you feel towards Gina, but this marriage will happen, so back off now. Let Gina handle Cale, and when Cale has outlived his usefulness, you two can get back together again."
"I understand.,' White said, "This is quite a shock, what with me being led to believe that Gina was still in New York." White rubbed his hand through his hair and checked out his appearance in an ornate mirror. "I won't interfere with the wedding, I promise, but I reserve the right to remain friends with Gina - she may need me when it comes to handling Cale."
"Why?"
"Cale has a way of making people underestimate him," White struggled for the words to explain his concerns without sounding ridiculous, "But I think he knows far more than he lets on - he listens, he watches, and he learns. I told you - he works for Eyes Only, and Eyes Only brought down Cale Industries probably on information that Logan Cale provided. Two questions there: how did Cale find out about the killer hoverdrones, and why did he tell Eyes Only? You think he can be controlled by threats to his family, but maybe he is not that fond of his family."
"He is helping his cousin regain control of the corporation, perhaps for his own gain but it suits our needs," Mrs. Moorehead looked at White seriously for a moment," I am not dismissing your concerns, Ames, we will all watch him carefully, but you do need to back down here." White nodded with resignation and the two joined the others in the living room.
Logan was drinking iced tea and chatting casually with Gina and comparing her to all the women his Aunt Margo used to set him up with - beautiful, intelligent, well connected ice princesses totally hung up on money and social standing. He found it ironic that he now had to thank his aunt for forcing him to go on all those horrible dates, because of that he now knew how to recognize and handle this type of woman. Mrs. Moorehead and White entered the living room and seated themselves.
"Mr. Cale, we need to clarify this situation, make sure we each understand what to expect from the other. And what the consequences of not living up to them may be for you," said the older woman, "You will return to Seattle with Gina after your marriage and continue to work with your cousin to regain control of Cale Industries. When you win the lawsuit, and here you will have our help, you will take your place with Bennett Cale as a president of the company."
Nothing of what she said in laying out the terms of the deal came as a surprise to Logan, he had figured all of that out days ago - their wanting him in Seattle made all the details very easy to see. "You seem labor under the delusion that I am a business man," Logan objected, "I'm not. I'm a journalist - a writer. In fact, I disappointed my own family many times over with that fact."
"You will join your family's business, Cale, but you can leave the business decisions to Gina and just rubber-stamp her orders. Later you can let her take over completely and you can go back to writing your little stories, if it makes you happy," Mrs. Moorehead said firmly.
'Little stores' - how often had Logan heard that from his father and uncle? Logan managed to keep his expression neutral, but Mrs. Moorehead thought she saw a glint of anger in his blue eyes. She looked again and Logan's eyes showed nothing but mild resignation, so she decided she must have just seen a reflection on his glasses.
"We will have dinner now," said Mrs. Moorehead, "Then Mr. Cale should go to his room and rest. We have much to do before the wedding, and we don't want you to become ill again." She rose and began to lead the group to the dining room, then paused. "By the way, Cale, on the advice of Ames I have had every phone and computer removed from this house. He told us you were a hacker and very good with electronic devices. I don't think you will find anything more complicated than the TV set here, and there is no cable here. Our cell phones as well as the staffs will be locked up when not in use also. I am telling you this up front so you don't get any ideas." Logan was disappointed, but once again not surprised.
The next day Gina announced at breakfast that she would take Logan shopping to buy him clothes. At the stores Logan quickly began to feel like a Ken- doll as Gina had him try on dozens of shirts, shoes and pairs of pants. It was pointless to try and argue with Gina that he didn't care for the clothes she was choosing - tailored slacks, jackets and shirts (some in silk) that were all far more her style than his, Gina just pointed out when he protested her choices that they had a position in society to uphold and he needed to dress the part.. Logan finally pleaded exhaustion and sat down while she decided which items to buy, but before they left the store Gina insisted that Logan wear some of his new clothes and tossed out the fatigues and T-shirt he had worn. Before they went home Gina took Logan to lunch at a small cafe. The restaurant was fairly quiet at that time of day and Logan had no problem spotting the man who was watching him - he had seen him in the store browsing the racks while Gina shopped and no man ever took that long to shop for his own clothes. Logan leaned closer to Gina and started to flirt mildly with her. Gina was startled, but pleased and responded cautiously. When they finished lunch Logan stood and pulled Gina's chair out for her as she stood, kissing her lightly on the cheek as she rose.
"What was that for?" she asked.
"As you said, we only have nine days for courtship," he replied, "so a kiss on the first date should not be considered out of line." Gina looked at him suspiciously, but Logan just smiled charmingly and followed her to the car.
The couple returned to Mrs. Moorehead's home and handed the packages over to the butler to take care of (she had a butler, cook and housekeeper on the premises) and settled down on the back porch to relax. They spoke little except for generalities, giving Logan had a depressing view of the future - if things got that far. Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed a figure in a dark suit and edged his chair closer to Gina's, leaning nearer so their shoulders were nearly touching. She looked up at him inquiringly and he reached over and smoothed a lock of her hair back out of her face.
"How sweet. Gina, may I speak to you in private, please?" Ames White said coldly. Gina stood and preceded White back into the house. Logan waited for a few moments, then headed inside himself. As he went towards the stairs to go to his room he heard White's voice raised in frustration coming from the study. Logan paused to listen.
"You really think he is so besotted with your beauty he's forgotten everything else? Gina, you're supposed to be a smart girl and here you are letting this guy paw at you and pull the wool over your eyes. I heard about the scene at the restaurant too!"
"I thought your men were there to keep Logan from trying to escape, not spy on us for you," said Gina angrily, "Get over it, Ames, I will marry Logan and have a child with him - like you and your wife did. I didn't get mad at you for playing your part with her, did I? So what if he finds me attractive? It just makes everything easier for us all."
Logan continued on up the stairs, quite pleased with himself. He glanced down from the top of the stairs and saw White glaring up at him. In the door of the living room another man was also watching him. Logan reflected that something would have to be done about all the surveillance.
"Cale - you may not be Eyes Only, but you'd still better watch your step," White snarled at him, "Oh, didn't you catch the latest Eyes Only broadcast? That's right - no cable here. You might not have been interested anyway, it wasn't about you; he talked about a slave labor ring near Yakima. Stupid of me to ever consider that you might have been Eyes Only - a guy like you would never have the guts."
"I'm flattered that you did. Thanks, Ames - you really made my day." Logan went to his room thinking that White had made his day in many ways. Nice to know his friends had picked up where he left off with Eyes Only - must be Sebastian and the S1W, no one else would have the resources. But had Sebastian told Asha his secret?
*************************************
Actually, Logan would have been surprised to know that it was actually Alec who did the Eyes Only broadcast. He and Krit had played a hand of poker for the right to record the sound using a voice synthesizer Sebastian set up and a video from a previous broadcast. Krit would get to do the next one. The X5's were staving off boredom by doing legwork for some cases that Logan had been working on, as well as gathering equipment and supplies so they could be ready to leave the moment Sebastian had a location on Logan. Alec was truly enjoying working with the other X5's - as the one who had spent almost all his life in Manticore, he had missed the company of his own kind. Finally Max got a page from Sebastian to come over after work. The four biked over as quickly as they could.
"What's the news, Sebastian? Did you find him? Is he okay?" Max asked eagerly.
"Not exactly, Max. More like I didn't find him - anywhere he was supposed to go," Sebastian replied.
"Explain please, for those of us who can't follow convoluted logic."
"I found at least five requests to move a prisoner matching Logan's description and status to various facilities, each request then followed by a message saying that one of the other places had priority over him and he would not be going to their facility. Understand?" Sebastian looked at Max and the others expectantly.
"Classic. Absolutely textbook," Syl nodded, "That is how you lose something in the bureaucracy. So where does that leave us now? Do you have any leads at all?"
"Just one - more of a guess really. It's more of the timing that raises flags." Sebastian seemed hesitant to speak.
"C'mon already - do we have to play twenty questions or are you gonna spill it?" Alec demanded impatiently.
"White put in for time off shortly after he arrested Logan, time to begin immediately I mean. He is on leave now. I find this almost incomprehensible, to arrest an important prisoner, then go on vacation." The X5's nodded agreement.
"So you think he took Logan to Disneyland?" asked Max facetiously.
"Not if the contact number he left is genuine. Remember that town you said you might burn down later?"
"Okay guys, put arson on your to-do list for this week and pack your matches." Max stood up and grabbed her jacket, "Not to mention your most conservative clothes - we're going to Utah."
"You may want to include something bigger than matches - Finnean isn't just a one stoplight town. I prepared a file for you with everything I could find, Max - maps, political histories, ownership records of the major buildings and such - these should give you a good feel for the place. I also got you passes all the way to Utah." Sebastian smiled at her look of surprise and gratitude.
"Thanks, Sebastian - Logan himself couldn't have done a better job." She kissed him on the cheek. "We leave first thing in the morning and we'll be back with him just as soon as possible."
"Please be careful - all of you. Logan wouldn't want anyone to get themselves killed for him," Sebastian said earnestly.
"Hey, don't worry," Krit said cheerfully, "It's what we were designed for!"
Chapter 4
Two days later an orderly informed Logan in a hushed whisper that Dr. Mitchell had been found dead in his office, apparently of a heart attack. Logan believed the 'apparent' more than the 'heart attack' - he was sure this was part of White's 'arrangements to be made'. While Logan was neither surprised nor saddened by the news, his sense of justice would have preferred that the doctor stood trial for what Logan was sure he did to the Manticore children during his time there. Logan was also sure that White was also erasing all files relating to Logan's surgery and treatment by Dr. Mitchell.
In reality, Ames White was doing more than that - he was preparing to lose Logan in the system. He requested permission from different officers to bring his prisoner to their facilities the first day, and on receiving permission, then informed them that another agency had priority over the case and they would not be arriving. Therefore, no one would be looking for Logan or wondering where he was at. By the third day, White was ready to remove Logan from the Texas base - where they were going depended on who was asking.
The orderly tossed a stack of clothing on Logan's bed and told him to get dressed and ready to go. Logan complied without arguing (something he had never done with Dr, Mitchell), even though he disliked the military fatigue pants, jacket and T-shirt he was given. At least he was not given army boots - his own shoes had been returned to him. Early in the afternoon he was wheeled down the hallway to the door and escorted to a waiting car. White and two other men were waiting in the car, and they set off. Logan was disappointed when the car stopped at a private airstrip about an hour later - he had been hoping they would travel by car so he could find a way to slip away on the trip.
White handed Logan an aluminum cane and the group walked over to a Lear jet.
"This plane belongs to the conclave," White explained, "They loaned it to me to bring you back. To spare you a long trip in your delicate condition."
Logan smiled gently and commented that his family used to have a plane like this one before fuel became so hard to get. White hated him even more. The men boarded and one of the two others climbed into the cockpit and took off. For the most part White and the others ignored Logan for the duration of the flight, which suited Logan fine. He reflected that he aluminum cane pretty well summed up how his enemies viewed him now - damaged enough to need a crutch, but too dangerous for a wooden cane.
"Where are we going, anyway?" Logan finally asked.
White saw no reason not to tell him. "Finnean, in Utah. It's our hometown. We have many towns, and live in all parts of this country - and many others, but Finnean is sort of our capital city," White smiled with amusement, "And it's where you will meet and marry your wife. You don't even need a fortune teller to know that, Cale -isn't that neat?" Logan ignored the sarcasm and went back to looking out the window.
The plane touched down at another small airstrip several hours later, where a van was waiting to take them into the town. It was remarkably tidy, seemingly untouched by the pulse that had ravaged the rest of the nation. Logan felt like he had stepped a few decades back in time looking at the neat lawns and well maintained homes of the town. He saw clean, well- stocked stores, offices, and a medical building. Neatly dressed, clean-cut people moved around the streets and sidewalks unhurriedly and uniformed police stopped to chat with the townsfolk without drawing their guns. Logan thought about what it must take to keep things the way they were in this town - bribery, extortion, smuggling, intimidation and a healthy dose of repression for starters he guessed. It looked good, but in this world nothing good came cheap.
The van pulled up at a large house near the edge of town and as the men got out the door opened and two women came out the front door to greet them. Logan carefully walked around the back of the van leaning heavily on his cane and saw White standing still, his face frozen in shock. Logan looked up at the house curiously. A handsome, if rather mannish-looking older woman was frowning at White while a younger and much lovelier woman was looking back at White with a look of concern on her face. Logan understood in a flash what was happening and a feeling of unholy glee swept through him - he was barely able to keep his face neutral as the younger woman shifted her gaze to him, looking him over appraisingly.
"Fenes'tol, Mrs. Moorehead," White said, "This is Cale. I wasn't expecting to see Gina here. I thought she was still in New York."
"It is time for Gina to do her duty to us all - don't forget that, White." Mrs. Moorehead turned to Logan and studied him head to toe. Logan felt like a cut of meat in a gourmet restaurant - he almost expected one of them to start prodding him for freshness. "Mr. Cale, I am glad to finally meet you. I do not think you will regret your decision to join us. Let me introduce Gina Howarth, the woman you will marry in ten days time."
Logan pulled himself up straighter and brought out his most charming smile; for the first time in years he was grateful for all the business parties and meetings he had been forced to attend until he moved out on his own. "It is very nice to see you too, ma'am - it sure beats the alternative," he said with a slight bow, guessing that this was a woman of power in the cult.
He turned to the younger woman and looked her over with the same deliberation she had given him, and had to admit she was extremely beautiful. Gina was somewhere around five and a half feet tall, about half a head shorter than Logan, with dark reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes, a straight nose and flawless skin. She was not truly thin, but had pleasing curves displayed by the well-tailored white silk blouse and camel colored wool trousers she wore. If Logan had any reservations about her appearance, it was with her mouth - her lips were pursed together in a straight line, showing cool self-control, rather than warmth, or even embarrassment or shyness.
"Miss Howarth, you defy all expectations," he said, stepping forward as Gina walked towards him.
"All things considered, you can call me Gina," she said, "We only have nine days for a traditional courtship, so we may as well start out on a first name basis." She was pleasantly surprised by Logan - the dossier on him had his basic background, a few articles he had written, and some pictures of him in his wheelchair. She had been expecting a geekish invalid, not a tall, well- built, and very handsome man. "You defy my expectations, too."
"Let's go inside," ordered Mrs. Moorehead, "I am sure Mr. Cale would like to sit down, and we have a lot to discuss. Ames, please come with me. Gina, take Mr. Cale to the living room." As White brushed past Logan and headed into the house, Logan could see White's hands were clenched into fists and a seed of an idea started to form in his head. Logan fought down the urge to dance up the stairs and concentrated on walking up them with overly cautious, shaking steps and making conspicuous use of the cane.
Mrs. Moorehead led White into the study and shut the door. "I didn't tell you that Gina had been chosen for Cale because I knew you would oppose it, and perhaps even try to sabotage the match, or worse," the priestess launched immediately into the attack, "If I could have I would have sent someone else to approach Cale and bring him here. Your job is done now, Ames. I know how you feel towards Gina, but this marriage will happen, so back off now. Let Gina handle Cale, and when Cale has outlived his usefulness, you two can get back together again."
"I understand.,' White said, "This is quite a shock, what with me being led to believe that Gina was still in New York." White rubbed his hand through his hair and checked out his appearance in an ornate mirror. "I won't interfere with the wedding, I promise, but I reserve the right to remain friends with Gina - she may need me when it comes to handling Cale."
"Why?"
"Cale has a way of making people underestimate him," White struggled for the words to explain his concerns without sounding ridiculous, "But I think he knows far more than he lets on - he listens, he watches, and he learns. I told you - he works for Eyes Only, and Eyes Only brought down Cale Industries probably on information that Logan Cale provided. Two questions there: how did Cale find out about the killer hoverdrones, and why did he tell Eyes Only? You think he can be controlled by threats to his family, but maybe he is not that fond of his family."
"He is helping his cousin regain control of the corporation, perhaps for his own gain but it suits our needs," Mrs. Moorehead looked at White seriously for a moment," I am not dismissing your concerns, Ames, we will all watch him carefully, but you do need to back down here." White nodded with resignation and the two joined the others in the living room.
Logan was drinking iced tea and chatting casually with Gina and comparing her to all the women his Aunt Margo used to set him up with - beautiful, intelligent, well connected ice princesses totally hung up on money and social standing. He found it ironic that he now had to thank his aunt for forcing him to go on all those horrible dates, because of that he now knew how to recognize and handle this type of woman. Mrs. Moorehead and White entered the living room and seated themselves.
"Mr. Cale, we need to clarify this situation, make sure we each understand what to expect from the other. And what the consequences of not living up to them may be for you," said the older woman, "You will return to Seattle with Gina after your marriage and continue to work with your cousin to regain control of Cale Industries. When you win the lawsuit, and here you will have our help, you will take your place with Bennett Cale as a president of the company."
Nothing of what she said in laying out the terms of the deal came as a surprise to Logan, he had figured all of that out days ago - their wanting him in Seattle made all the details very easy to see. "You seem labor under the delusion that I am a business man," Logan objected, "I'm not. I'm a journalist - a writer. In fact, I disappointed my own family many times over with that fact."
"You will join your family's business, Cale, but you can leave the business decisions to Gina and just rubber-stamp her orders. Later you can let her take over completely and you can go back to writing your little stories, if it makes you happy," Mrs. Moorehead said firmly.
'Little stores' - how often had Logan heard that from his father and uncle? Logan managed to keep his expression neutral, but Mrs. Moorehead thought she saw a glint of anger in his blue eyes. She looked again and Logan's eyes showed nothing but mild resignation, so she decided she must have just seen a reflection on his glasses.
"We will have dinner now," said Mrs. Moorehead, "Then Mr. Cale should go to his room and rest. We have much to do before the wedding, and we don't want you to become ill again." She rose and began to lead the group to the dining room, then paused. "By the way, Cale, on the advice of Ames I have had every phone and computer removed from this house. He told us you were a hacker and very good with electronic devices. I don't think you will find anything more complicated than the TV set here, and there is no cable here. Our cell phones as well as the staffs will be locked up when not in use also. I am telling you this up front so you don't get any ideas." Logan was disappointed, but once again not surprised.
The next day Gina announced at breakfast that she would take Logan shopping to buy him clothes. At the stores Logan quickly began to feel like a Ken- doll as Gina had him try on dozens of shirts, shoes and pairs of pants. It was pointless to try and argue with Gina that he didn't care for the clothes she was choosing - tailored slacks, jackets and shirts (some in silk) that were all far more her style than his, Gina just pointed out when he protested her choices that they had a position in society to uphold and he needed to dress the part.. Logan finally pleaded exhaustion and sat down while she decided which items to buy, but before they left the store Gina insisted that Logan wear some of his new clothes and tossed out the fatigues and T-shirt he had worn. Before they went home Gina took Logan to lunch at a small cafe. The restaurant was fairly quiet at that time of day and Logan had no problem spotting the man who was watching him - he had seen him in the store browsing the racks while Gina shopped and no man ever took that long to shop for his own clothes. Logan leaned closer to Gina and started to flirt mildly with her. Gina was startled, but pleased and responded cautiously. When they finished lunch Logan stood and pulled Gina's chair out for her as she stood, kissing her lightly on the cheek as she rose.
"What was that for?" she asked.
"As you said, we only have nine days for courtship," he replied, "so a kiss on the first date should not be considered out of line." Gina looked at him suspiciously, but Logan just smiled charmingly and followed her to the car.
The couple returned to Mrs. Moorehead's home and handed the packages over to the butler to take care of (she had a butler, cook and housekeeper on the premises) and settled down on the back porch to relax. They spoke little except for generalities, giving Logan had a depressing view of the future - if things got that far. Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed a figure in a dark suit and edged his chair closer to Gina's, leaning nearer so their shoulders were nearly touching. She looked up at him inquiringly and he reached over and smoothed a lock of her hair back out of her face.
"How sweet. Gina, may I speak to you in private, please?" Ames White said coldly. Gina stood and preceded White back into the house. Logan waited for a few moments, then headed inside himself. As he went towards the stairs to go to his room he heard White's voice raised in frustration coming from the study. Logan paused to listen.
"You really think he is so besotted with your beauty he's forgotten everything else? Gina, you're supposed to be a smart girl and here you are letting this guy paw at you and pull the wool over your eyes. I heard about the scene at the restaurant too!"
"I thought your men were there to keep Logan from trying to escape, not spy on us for you," said Gina angrily, "Get over it, Ames, I will marry Logan and have a child with him - like you and your wife did. I didn't get mad at you for playing your part with her, did I? So what if he finds me attractive? It just makes everything easier for us all."
Logan continued on up the stairs, quite pleased with himself. He glanced down from the top of the stairs and saw White glaring up at him. In the door of the living room another man was also watching him. Logan reflected that something would have to be done about all the surveillance.
"Cale - you may not be Eyes Only, but you'd still better watch your step," White snarled at him, "Oh, didn't you catch the latest Eyes Only broadcast? That's right - no cable here. You might not have been interested anyway, it wasn't about you; he talked about a slave labor ring near Yakima. Stupid of me to ever consider that you might have been Eyes Only - a guy like you would never have the guts."
"I'm flattered that you did. Thanks, Ames - you really made my day." Logan went to his room thinking that White had made his day in many ways. Nice to know his friends had picked up where he left off with Eyes Only - must be Sebastian and the S1W, no one else would have the resources. But had Sebastian told Asha his secret?
*************************************
Actually, Logan would have been surprised to know that it was actually Alec who did the Eyes Only broadcast. He and Krit had played a hand of poker for the right to record the sound using a voice synthesizer Sebastian set up and a video from a previous broadcast. Krit would get to do the next one. The X5's were staving off boredom by doing legwork for some cases that Logan had been working on, as well as gathering equipment and supplies so they could be ready to leave the moment Sebastian had a location on Logan. Alec was truly enjoying working with the other X5's - as the one who had spent almost all his life in Manticore, he had missed the company of his own kind. Finally Max got a page from Sebastian to come over after work. The four biked over as quickly as they could.
"What's the news, Sebastian? Did you find him? Is he okay?" Max asked eagerly.
"Not exactly, Max. More like I didn't find him - anywhere he was supposed to go," Sebastian replied.
"Explain please, for those of us who can't follow convoluted logic."
"I found at least five requests to move a prisoner matching Logan's description and status to various facilities, each request then followed by a message saying that one of the other places had priority over him and he would not be going to their facility. Understand?" Sebastian looked at Max and the others expectantly.
"Classic. Absolutely textbook," Syl nodded, "That is how you lose something in the bureaucracy. So where does that leave us now? Do you have any leads at all?"
"Just one - more of a guess really. It's more of the timing that raises flags." Sebastian seemed hesitant to speak.
"C'mon already - do we have to play twenty questions or are you gonna spill it?" Alec demanded impatiently.
"White put in for time off shortly after he arrested Logan, time to begin immediately I mean. He is on leave now. I find this almost incomprehensible, to arrest an important prisoner, then go on vacation." The X5's nodded agreement.
"So you think he took Logan to Disneyland?" asked Max facetiously.
"Not if the contact number he left is genuine. Remember that town you said you might burn down later?"
"Okay guys, put arson on your to-do list for this week and pack your matches." Max stood up and grabbed her jacket, "Not to mention your most conservative clothes - we're going to Utah."
"You may want to include something bigger than matches - Finnean isn't just a one stoplight town. I prepared a file for you with everything I could find, Max - maps, political histories, ownership records of the major buildings and such - these should give you a good feel for the place. I also got you passes all the way to Utah." Sebastian smiled at her look of surprise and gratitude.
"Thanks, Sebastian - Logan himself couldn't have done a better job." She kissed him on the cheek. "We leave first thing in the morning and we'll be back with him just as soon as possible."
"Please be careful - all of you. Logan wouldn't want anyone to get themselves killed for him," Sebastian said earnestly.
"Hey, don't worry," Krit said cheerfully, "It's what we were designed for!"