A/N: Haven't updated in ages, so I hope you haven't forgotten my story. Got a few updates and an ending just on the horizon. Hang in there with me, Mari and everyone else!
Fogle Towers
Logan's mind raced. He ran through a quick mental checklist, but he knew he hadn't messed with the security system. Besides, he had seen Max quietly check on the alarm just before she had left. There was no way someone could have gotten in without him knowing it. Unless that someone had climbed down that ladder from upstairs.
"Who the hell is this guy? I can't believe he's back for more," Logan kicked himself for not taking Max's warning more seriously.
Logan reached up to turn off the stove light, plunging the apartment into inky darkness again. As quickly as he dared, he slid off the counter and back into his chair. The penthouse was silent except for the pop and sizzle of the pan on the stove.
Then, he heard it again. The scrape of wood and the sound of someone moving around in the front hallway closet.
Keeping his eyes in the direction of the front hallway, he reached back towards the stove. He turned up the heat under the pan and the crackling grew louder. He couldn't see anyone, but he had to assume that if the intruder was coming from the hall, he would probably come directly to the kitchen to find out where all the noise was coming from. Logan edged away from the hallway, toward the living room, trying to circle back to his office where he knew his gun lay in the desk drawer.
The seconds ticked by as Logan inched his way toward the office and the gun.
The hallway was silent. Perhaps the man had made his way towards the bedrooms. The thought of a stranger looking through his personal things irritated him especially. Who did this guy think he was anyway?
Logan pushed slowly past the dining table, his wheels almost silent on the polished floor. He felt painfully exposed, expecting the invader to come around the corner at any second. The faint light from the monitor in his office made the glass panel walls glow. It didn't look like there was any movement in the office. Not waiting for the man to appear, Logan crossed the last few feet of floor quickly now. The office was empty. As quietly as he could, he opened the drawer and reached for the gun.
"What do you think you're doing?" an icy voice spoke from behind Logan's back. A shadow fell across the desk in front of him.
"Hey, hero," the man sneered, "I'm talking to you. I'm just passing through, you know. So if you want to live another day, I suggest you get those hands up and let me tie you up."
Logan froze with one hand on the edge of the partly open drawer and one hand on a wheel, his back still facing the man.
"I saw your little helper leave, so you're here all by yourself. You've got a lot of high-end equipment in here. You a peeping Tom? Shooting a little triple-X black-market video up here in your little fancy penthouse? Is that what you were you doing up in annex yesterday?" the man's voice sneered.
"In Mrs. Moreno's apartment? Yeah, we were shooting a Christmas special," Logan answered. "I was looking out for a neighbor," he continued. "What about you?"
The man ignored Logan's question. "You didn't find anything up there after I left, did you? If you want to get out of this without a bullet hole in you, I'll give you this one chance to hand it over. The man narrowed his eyes and cocked the gun, still aiming it at Logan.
"I don't know. What were you looking for? Was it bigger than a breadbox?" Logan cast his eyes over the items on his desk. A couple of discs lay next to one of the monitors. From his angle, he could just see the edge of his gun inside the partly open drawer. He could almost touch it.
The man stepped closer to Logan until Logan could hear his rough breathing only a few feet away. "You have no idea what I'm talking about. Anyway, it doesn't really matter. You and your little helper saw me the other day. That's what my boss calls a "loose end" and he really doesn't like loose ends." The man took a few more steps toward Logan, until he stood directly behind him.
Logan glanced back at his captor now. His clean shaven face seemed at odds with his dirty clothing and torn shoes. Whoever he was, the Pulse hadn't treated him much better than anyone else in the city. The man's gray eyes caught Logan's.
"What are you looking at?" the man sneered. He gestured with the gun toward Logan's feet. "'Least I know you haven't been climbing any ladders lately. Or maybe you sent your little girlfriend upstairs to snoop around. She better watch out if she doesn't want to get hurt."
The man circled around the desk to face Logan. Logan still sat motionless, gazing steadily back. Logan let his eyes flick momentarily down toward the table. The man's eyes narrowed and he cast them down over the stacks of electronic equipment on the desk. His eyes fell on the disks lying in front of Logan.
"It's here somewhere, "the man grabbed at the disks, "You've already found it.
Logan reached one hand toward the disk and pushed forward with the other hand.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting shriek filled the apartment as the sound of the fire alarm erupted.
Logan plunged his hand into the drawer after the gun.
"Hey, what the hell?" The man leaned against the desk, toward Logan, starting to bring his own gun back up.
Logan closed his hand around the gun, still in the drawer. Releasing the safety, he fired two shots through the back of the drawer and the desk. With a cry, the man jerked and stumbled back. His eyes wide with astonishment, he raised his own gun. Logan pulled his gun out of the drawer and fired again. Two shots rang out. The man fell back and lay still.
The screams of the fire alarm filled the penthouse. Smoke hung in a thick cloud near the ceiling and kept streaming in from the direction of the kitchen. Ducking his head, as if that might help him to avoid breathing in the smoke, Logan made his way back to the kitchen. Thick black smoke still poured from the burning pan on the stove. Logan shut off the stove and dumped the pot into the sink, sending up another burst of smoke and steam.
Hooking the gun with his fingertips, he wheeled cautiously toward the front hall closet. He could see the ladder hanging down through the half-open door. Just as he was moving forward, he saw the ladder start to shake and move as though someone was coming down it.
