Disclaimer: James Patterson owns Maximum Ride. I own this plot.

Chapter 35

Date: Tuesday April 9th

Location: Carroway house

With the trial being right around the corner things were starting to speed up. Jessica had informed me that we'd be leaving for New York on Friday the twelfth so I had a few days in the city to acclimate and go over my testimony before the trial started. The Flock was less than thrilled by the idea of me being away from them and I was likewise unhappy that Fang and Ella would be going to Washington D.C. for Fangs finals without me there to help protect them. And I was also less than thrilled by the fact that Nudge would be left here alone. Well, not wholly alone. Iggy's parents had agreed to allow her to stay with them for the weekend, although they were unaware of their relationship status to date. The status of which Nudge had informed me was boyfriend and girlfriend.

We were all, however, resigned to the inevitable and were just trying to make the last few days of peace last.

Foolishly.

I'd suggested going to see a movie. I did, after all, owe Angel and Gazzy one after running out on our last movie day. A debt Angel was constantly looking to collect. So the Flock had come to an agreement. It seemed simple enough.

Nudge and I had met Fang and Ella at their house after school so they could give us a ride to the theater. We were planning on spending the night here anyway—Nudge didn't have work for a few days and it would make it easier to drive to school if I just crashed here. Iggy was meeting us there with Gazzy and Angel.

"Has anyone seen my hoop earrings with the small hearts?" Ella asked as she rushed down the stairs. "The ones Mom gave me for Christmas."

Fang and I shook our heads.

"You mean the ones you lent me last week?" Nudge asked.

"Oh! Yeah, I guess I did. Are you wearing them?" she asked, craning her neck to see if Nudges ears were adorned with said earrings.

"Nope," she said, "they're at home. Why? Do you need them now?"

"Well Mom was asking me where they were earlier…" Ella trailed off.

"Can they wait until tomorrow?" Fang asked. "Iggy's on his way to the theater with the kids already."

"Well I need them for tomorrow," Ella said. "I'm getting my senior pictures taken right after school and mom wants me to wear them."

"We have a little while until the movie," I said, playing mediator. "Why don't we just swing by the apartment and grab them beforehand? As long as you're quick," I added.

"I know exactly where I left them," Nudge said confidently.

"Alright then, let's just hurry," Fang agreed.

The ride back to my apartment was quick. Ella and Nudge sat chattering happily about accessories in the back seat as we drove.

"I have a really cute scarf that you could borrow for your pictures," Nudge was saying. "It would match your pink top perfectly. And I have this necklace that would look so good with the pattern on your black jacket…"

By the time we'd gotten to the apartment Nudge had convinced Ella to come up and see if she wanted to utilize any of her accessories.

"Just be quick!" I called as they ran up the stairs, keys jingling in Nudges grip as they went.

Without their chatter the car was extremely quiet. It wasn't unusual, Fang and I didn't need to fill every minute with mindless conversation.

So I was a bit surprised when he broke the peace.

"Max," he said hesitantly. "We haven't talked about—"

I cut him off, knowing exactly where he was going with it. We hadn't spoken about what had happened Saturday night. I hadn't thought it was necessary.

"What is there to talk about?" I asked. "We did it, we were safe, we both had fun, and I still love you."

He met my eyes, amusement leaking in with the concern. He found it funny that I got straight to the point.

"Yes but I didn't exactly feel right about rushing out so quickly afterwards…"

"You had to. Nudge came home and that was one conversation I could stand to avoid." The last thing I had wanted to endure during my peaceful high that night was the deluge of questions that would have come about if Nudge had found us together in bed. "Don't worry about me Fang. I made a decision and I'm happy I did. I don't regret anything. Am I supposed to? Do you?" I asked, uncertainty flooding me in a rush of burning shame. Did he regret what we had done? Did he wish we hadn't? He'd seemed as happy as I was that night.

"No!" he said quickly and a bit loudly. "I don't regret anything we did. I wouldn't take it back for anything; I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"Women have been losing their virginity for thousands and thousands of years, Fang. I can handle it," I said dryly.

"But none of them were you," he said. "You are the one I care about."

I rolled my eyes. "That's sweet, and I really appreciate your concern but can we stop talking about this before Ella and Nudge come barging in and asking questions of their own?"

"Fair enough. Where are they anyway?" he wondered aloud.

"Besides taking the necessary ten minutes needed to unlock my door?" I asked sarcastically. It was his turn to roll his eyes. "They're probably going through every accessory and article of clothing in the apartment. Give them a few more minutes."

He nodded calmly and we drifted back into our peaceful silence, if only for a moment. I took the opportunity to lean back against the headrest and close my eyes.

"You know," he said, breaking the silence once again. "The finals only take two days to finish up. I'll be done by Friday."

"Yeah? That's good." I said, not opening my eyes.

"And your trial will probably take longer, right?"

"Jessica said it would take at least four days to present everything, call all of the witnesses, and get through the lawyers bickering. Then there is the jury's decision. It could be pretty much instantaneous or they could debate for weeks. I'm required to be in the city at all times, ready to be called to the stand. Why?"

"Well, what if I came to New York to support you?"

"What?" I screeched, my eyes flying open as I rocketed up in my seat. "Why would you do that?"

He raised an eyebrow at my reaction. "To support my girlfriend."

"And what would we say to Jessica?" I demanded. "That it's just a coincidence that my boyfriend shows up at the trial I'm witnessing? She'd kill me for telling you!"

"What could she honestly do at that point?" he demanded. "You'd be there, you'd be alive, and you'd give your testimony against Garret. The point of not telling anyone you're in Witness Protection is to keep you safe. You'd be there safe so what would stand in the way?"

"It's a bad idea Fang. As much as I'd like to have you there it's just not a good idea."

"I don't want to leave you there alone," he said, his eyes flashing with apprehension.

"I'll have Jessica," I reminded him.

"Yeah," he scoffed. "You had her and how many guards last time you were there and you still almost got killed. I don't want to risk losing you."

"You won't," I said, my tone considerably softer. "I can take care of myself, especially with the extra lessons you've been giving me. Plus, by then it will be too late for them to benefit by my death. I'm scheduled to testify on the second day of the trial. By the time you got there I will have already done the main part of my job."

He sighed. "How is it that you're always able to combat everything I try to do for you?"

"Because I'm just that good," I said. "Besides, it really isn't a good idea, trust me. But thank you for offering, it was very nice of you." I leaned forward and kissed his cheek sweetly. "Under other circumstances I would have loved to have you to myself in New York for a few nights."

He smirked. "Then one day we'll have to do that. You can show me the New York that you know."

"Definitely," I agreed, closing the small space between us and pressing our lips together.

"If you change your mind I'll always be here for you, Max. I'm never leaving you," he whispered against my lips. I felt my heart rate increase at his words. I knew they were true. For the past several years nothing had been stable in my life. I'd become so accustomed to change that I never expected anything to stay the same. But I knew that that was changing too. Fang would always be there for me. And I'd always be there for him.

"I know," I whispered in return.

"Mmmm, we should stop," I mumbled against his lips a few moments later.

"Why?" he complained, our lips still touching.

"Because my apartment isn't empty right now and if we keep going like this I'm going to need some place to take you. Besides, we have a time limit."

He groaned and pulled back. "A time limit that we are not doing well sticking to at all," he said, glancing at the clock. We'd been waiting for the girls for over ten minutes now. "Why are they taking so long?"

"Because it's Nudge and Ella," I sighed, opening the car door. I stepped out of the cool air conditioned car and into the dry spring heat of Arizona. "I'll go get them."

"Hurry back!" he called as I shut the door and headed for the stairs.

I took the stairs two at a time and arrived at my apartment door moments later. I realized that I'd left my keys in the car with Fang but as I turned the knob it opened.

Nudge hadn't locked the door behind her.

Weird. If she'd been planning on staying long she knew she was supposed to lock up. I flung the door open and called out as I entered.

"Nudge, Ella! What the hell is taking you two so long? We said be quick, not take your sweet time!"

The apartment was dark, the shades drawn and the lights off.

"Girls this isn't funny," I called when I got no reply. "Get out of the bedroom and come on!"

I heard a noise then. A thump followed by muffled voices.

I reached for the light switch by the door and flipped the main light on. The living room was empty and so was the kitchen as far as I could see from over the breakfast counter. I walked around the partition, looking into the kitchen.

And froze.

Nudge and Ella sat on the floor of the kitchen, duct tape over their mouths and in the arms of two men in ski masks. But I saw their eyes. Their extremely familiar eyes. I knew what the faces behind the masks looked like.

I'd studied their pictures a hundred times.

Kevin Huitt and Michael Ridley gripped my friends arms tightly behind their backs as they forced them to stay seated on the ground.

I felt my breath leave my body in a rush; my lungs deflating and refusing to expand again. Dark spots danced in my vision as I struggled for breath, panic shooting through every inch of my body. My eyes were locked on the scene before me, trying to find some way, any way, to get my terrified friends out of danger. I didn't see a way. There was no way that I could take the two of them down without Ella or Nudge getting hurt. Hell, there was probably no way that I could take the two of them down period. I may be a street fighter who knew how to take on men twice my size, but these two men were professional. Quick. Efficient. Deadly.

There was only one way to get them out of this.

"Let them go," I said, my voice sounding weak as I struggled to get enough air to fuel my words. "They haven't done anything wrong."

Nudge and Ella were trying to speak from behind their taped lips. I couldn't tell what they were saying but their eyes were wide and frightened. The black dots floating in my vision were quickly turning red as my panic turned to anger. Absolute raging fury. I wanted to fight, to hit these men, to rip their heads off for hurting my friends like this.

The men made no move to release my friends.

"I said let them go," my voice became stronger, fueled with the rage I was feeling rush through my body.

Nudge and Ella were making louder protests now.

I took a step towards them.

And froze as I felt the cool hard barrel of a gun pressed firmly between my shoulder blades.

Oh shit! What's going to happen next? I'm soooooo sorry for the long wait everyone! I've been completely swamped with school lately and this is the first break I've had since I posted my last chapter. I promise I won't take this long again! Promise! So tell me, what do you think of this chapter? What will happen next? Will Fang come looking for Max? We're at 726 reviews right now. Do you think we can make it to 756? Come on! I'm sure that there are 30 of you out there who could easily fill out some reviews with death threats, ranting, anger at my cliffhanger, etc! I'd love to know your thoughts! The next chapter is one that you've all been waiting for: The Confrontation!

Review and let me know your thoughts!

Peace!