Chapter Three
Despite Max's promise to herself, that she was going to try to keep Logan out of her affairs here—to try and have their relationship platonic—she found she had nowhere else to go, with some of the questions Vada had brought to light.
So, when morning came, Max found herself powering up her Ninja and driving over to Fogle Towers before Logan and Bling were even fully awake, probably.
When Max broke into the apartment—…she really probably should have done something about doing this all the time, but this was her and Logan's tradition at this point, and who was she to break tradition?—she noticed that Logan and Bling were doing sets.
Logan was trying with all his might to push his legs up into Bling's hands, and was working up quite the sweat, but it was still to no avail.
And if Max had ever hated herself before, it was nothing like how she felt now. But she made sure not to show it, of course.
"Logan, that's enough," Bling was telling Logan, as Bling tried to push his torso away from him and get him to stop for the day.
But Logan kept a grip on Bling's shirt and kept himself near him, working. "No, Bling. Five more. I swear I can do it."
"Logan, no. If I've said it once, I've said it twice, slow and steady wins the race."
"Bling-" Logan said sharply now; and there was the pissy quality to his voice, that Max knew so well. She almost smiled.
And deciding to save Bling, when she herself often wasn't saved when it came from this attitude from Logan, Max decided to finally let it be known that she was there.
"Knock-knock," she said with a smirk on her face, while she knocked on the wall behind Logan's computer, that he nailed all his important documents onto.
Max honestly had no idea why she could be this happy in seeing these two, when just a night ago, she'd realized Vada had been a plant, Manticore had Jondy, and Zack had left her,
Max didn't know, but that was why she had to be careful with Logan, didn't she? It didn't pay to get too close to anyone. Max knew that all too well from how she got burnt with Darren. She tried to lie to herself now, that it was mostly Bling she was thrilled to see, but she knew that that wasn't true.
"Max!" Logan exclaimed, like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Max!" Bling said excitedly. "Good to see you! Are you here to see Logan? Do you want me to clear out?"
Originally, Max had been thinking that. But since Bling knew everything about her that Logan did, and was pretty sharp, she figured that she could use his advice, as well.
Plus, if he was here, hopefully it would keep her and Logan from making goo-goo eyes at each other, like she didn't want them to.
"I'm glad to see you're alright, Max," Logan spoke softly to Max now, with something in his eyes, as he seemed to wake up enough now, to better remember their conversations from yesterday.
And Max knew now, that in some other life… she easily would have let herself fall for Logan Cale. But she had long ago stopped letting herself be soft. And that was some of the issue here.
"I found Vada," Max told the two men now, sitting on the couch in Logan's living room. And she didn't want to look at either of them, and have them see her face, when she had to tell them that she'd fallen into a trap. But since Max was a strong little soldier girl, she showed no weakness and looked them both in the eye as she explained her failings. "And she was a mole, essentially. She was going to have Lydecker and his men close ranks on us and take Zack and I both to Manticore.
"I convinced her not to do this, for the daughter she has on the outside. But… Vada told me that Lydecker recently got Jondy. And Logan, Bling, I want to go in and get her, before they brainwash her. Before it's too late."
And maybe… maybe it would be okay if she and Logan never became anything, Max thought. Because the way that he and Bling were sharing a look, she wanted to believe that maybe they could find something—if it came down to it—and Logan could be happy that way.
"That's rough, Max," Bling spoke up, after only a minute… which was a god sent, really, because Max thought that she was drowning in her feelings here. "And I may be a physical therapist… but I also know the importance of emotional therapy. And I understand from your upbringing why you were taught to keep things in. But if you need anything, know that Logan and I are here for you. Okay?"
"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Bling." And Max acted like she was going to hug Bling… but she really didn't mean this. She also didn't feel any of the things that she said there. She was too fucked up to. But she knew that Bling would call her out on it, if she didn't at least act like she was giving it all some thought. So, she had acted.
Thankfully, Logan cut off Max's humiliation by clearing his throat. And she held herself back mid-motion.
"Max… if you really want to try a jailbreak, I can try to get some Eyes Only informants down for it. We're few and far between, but I know they would hate the idea of Manticore, if I blow them out of the water. And it would be better than you, Zack, and Vada, maybe, trying to go it alone."
And here, Max had to smile… and lean in and kiss Logan on the cheek, despite how much she'd been holding herself back before.
And Max thought she might have seen a certain look on Bling's face then, but fortunately, he didn't say anything.
"Max, what-" Logan started, the moment she'd pulled away from him.
But Max was already interrupting him. "I appreciate the thought, Logan. And you and yours helping me would for sure be better than just the three of us doing things, they could probably help even against the genetically engineered killing machines, for a time... but I still think we'd still all die. And Lydecker taught me to think of better odds than that. So, I'm not acting until I do"
And finally knowing the truth of how she felt, that Logan had unearthed from her, Max blurred away, and hated herself every moment that she was running.
…
Thankfully, Max had gotten up in enough time, where she didn't have to go to work yet, and could swing by her crib for some poor coffee imitation with Kendra and Vada—and check in and make sure Vada hadn't bounced, or killed Kendra, or called Lydecker on her ass—before she had to sell her soul to Normal for most of the day.
And when Max spilled back in, the last thing she expected to see was Kendra and her sister making out in the kitchen, but that was exactly what her eyes were met with.
For a second, she thought about trying to sneak back outside to try and give the girls their privacy—because they clearly needed it, as they crashed into every nearby item on the counter trying to get to Kendra's room; where, oh where, had Vada's feline grace gone?—but in thinking that this may have been a ploy on Vada's part to try and get information out of Kendra about Max, Max decided she had to break up the little love fest.
First her and Logan's, and now Kendra's and Vada's. Wherever Cupid was right now, Max had no doubt he must have hated her ass.
"Kendra?" asked, going back out the door and coming back in, to give the impression that she was just now seeing all of this. "Oh. Sorry, guys! My bad. Here I was, coming to see if maybe you'd prefer if I got Vada to stay at OC's, Kendra, but clearly that isn't the case!" And as she said the last, Max very sweetly and awkwardly got into a thing of cherry icing that was on their little table (one of the only commodities she'd been able to find during the Pulse), and it was delicious. Though Max sort of hated having to get into it now, to try and sell this all, but she would take it.
And damn, if she wasn't a good actress. She clearly had Kendra eating out of the palm of her hand, as she now pulled away from Vada, blushing.
Vada, however, didn't seem as convinced. And she looked at Max with a raised eyebrow. Max couldn't really blame her for it, she supposed. They had been taught the same things, when it came to "besting the enemy."
Later, Max would actually have to ask Vada if it was possible for the female X series to be bi or lesbian. She'd thought not, since their damn hormones made them want to mate with a male—especially when they were in heat—but maybe it was a thing. And perhaps Vada had found the way. That would certainly be nice to tell Max's sisters, if she ever got to see more of them again…
"Max… I'm sorry that you had to walk in on that!" Kendra exploded now, speaking a mile a minute, with her hands flying every which way. "But damn if your sister here isn't swoon worthy. I was just telling her about some bastard said I'm too fat to be wearing crop tops. And then Vada wisely pointed out how wrong that is—one, because I'm beautiful—and secondly, because guys are always shirtless, when they don't even have the best bodies. And then she started telling me how the standard of beauty people have to live up to is too high, anyway, which is all too true. And then she started reading me poetry, to ease my wounded heart… and here we are."
Max laughed at that, easily being able to understand how Kendra might fall for Vada in that situation, then. She'd always thought that Kendra was straighter than a ruler. But, hey. If she'd been wrong about that, then clearly, she was the one at fault.
The only thing worrying Max here, was that she feared that Vada was being less than sincere. She wanted to believe her sister had told her the truth of it all last night… but Max wouldn't be alive today if she trusted anyone.
"I think that's a lovely story," Max rued, making sure to nod at each one of her girls now.
Though she wondered if Vada noticed that she'd used the word "story", as if that it could have been a fabrication. Knowing her, probably. They wouldn't have been the top of the X5 class, if she didn't. And her violet eyes definitely seemed far-away, in thought.
"I can definitely get why you two would fall for each other. I wish you guys the best. And if you both want this to be your love nest for a while, I can clear out, actually. I'm sure OC wouldn't mind me rooming with her for a little bit."
"Can you, Max?" Kendra piped up then, grinning. And the lovely blonde looked so in love, that it was hard to say no to her. This kind of person deserved the world, and could actually have it, and Max wished that fate would actually be kind to her, unlike it was to Max. "I don't want to be a bad roomie here… but you know what? I'm starting to think that OC had the right of it. Maybe the problem for me was men all along. And this would be the key time for me to find that out."
Max patted Kendra on the shoulder once, before getting into her cherry icing once more—God, she loved cherry flavored things—and she had to resist the urge to purr like the cat that had gotten the cream. "If you want time to figure out your sexuality, Ken. I can more than oblige by leaving… But I also know my sister can be a little intense," Max whispered the last into Kendra's ear now, being careful not to look Vada's way, so she might now hear her. But she was sure that Vada heard all of this, anyway, with their super hearing. "If she does anything to break your heart, let me know and I'll kick her ass for you."
"Will do, Max! You're the best!" Kendra sang. And Max was just about to make it out of her apartment door then (the icing in hand), when Kendra stopped her with, "Oh! And be sure to tell Logan that, since I'm on vacation, I'll let him tutor my Japanese class a few times, like he wanted to!"
"…I'll do that, Ken!" Max promised her. Even though that was the last thing Max wanted to do, because she was trying to stay away from all things Logan right now.
And Max was nearly out the door again, when Vada gently grabbed her arm. "So, have you decided what we're doing about Jondy?"
And all of the wind left Max's sails like a snap of fingers. And if she'd been a lesser woman, she would have been crying right now. Because she hated the idea that she was leaving her little sister to Psy-Ops and Lydecker right now.
"We have to get more soldiers, then we'll come up with a battle plan," Max assured Vada.
"…Do you think waiting is wise, Max?" Vada challenged, moving a long piece of hair behind her ear as she did, and looking so lovely while doing so.
…Manticore didn't let you have long hair, of course, at least not while training. Eventually, when they sent you out into the world, they would, if you wanted it. And even though Vada had nearly been overcome, she had still kept her desire for long hair and that part of herself.
Since Jondy had always favored short hair… could that be a sign that she would be more easily overcome? Or was this just a stupid thought that Max was having right now, that had nothing to do with anything?
"You know that Lydecker almost had me. So, if we wait too long with Jondy, do you think her mind-"
"We'll do as I say, Vada, because I have rank over you, and that's that!"
What Max didn't say, of course, was that really, she was a stinking coward and trying to protect her own freedom.
She left for work without another word.
…
"You're never gonna believe this, Boo," Original Cindy told Max the moment she strolled into work, jumping to Max's side, and linking their arms together. "Normal is thinkin' about sellin' the place to some Mr. Sivapathasundaram, or somethin'."
Max choked on her saliva, as she nearly died laughing at that. And Cindy had to hold her up by her arm, as she began falling over, laughing hysterically.
Normal was not pleased by that, of course, as he'd seen the whole thing and was yelling at Max the moment she showed what a "delinquent she was."
"I'll have you know that that's exactly why I'm selling this popsicle stand!" he told her, looking her dead in the eye. "You kids need a reality check! Mr. Sivapathasundaram is going to make Jam Pony run the way it should! He'll make it a proper place of business! And then you'll all see how lucky you are to work here, or how lucky you were to have me!" Normal barked.
"When Hell freezes over!" Sketchy coughed into his arm. And Max was about to say "bless you!" to him, but since she was clearly on thin ice with Normal, she figured she'd better not. Then again… maybe she still would. She was having that kind of day, where she thought she needed to do that kind of thing to make herself feel better.
And if the Blue Lady, God, Fate, or whatever had decided to hate her, then they could decide to hate someone else today, too, like Normal. She would happily rain on his parade.
"And, as always, you're rolling into work late, I see! What's the excuse this time, missy? Actually, you know what? I don't want to know. Just get to work! Bip-bip-bip! These packages aren't going to deliver themselves!"
Max rolled her eyes, and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at Normal while he walked back to his desk. But she knew she really would be out of a job if she did that.
Max walked to her locker with Original Cindy, to put her lunch away, and also so she, Sketchy, and Herbal (who had just joined them. And it looked like Sky might have been coming out of the woodwork, too) could carry on their conversation about Mr. Sivapathasundaram in peace.
"So, what? Is this guy your typical Republican, Capitalist, nose to the grindstone kind of male?" Max asked, already having nightmares of Jam Pony turning out to be even more like Manticore, and not knowing what she would do if that turned out to be the case.
"Seems abou' true, mah sista," Herbal piped up, putting a comforting hand on Max's shoulder, and she put a hand atop his, too, knowing that he needed to feel better right now, as well. "We must look to the Almighty in er houa a need. This wasa place wher' anyone could geta job. What'll we do if thay take that away?"
"We're not gonna let them, Herbal, that's what!" Sketchy chimed in now, coming in to put an arm around Herbal's shoulders… which Max appreciated, because it seemed like the man really needed that. But what she didn't appreciate, was that the idiot had brought his bike in with him, and was now nearly crushing her and Cindy's legs as he moved closer to Herbal.
"Sketchy, watch it!" Max bellowed.
"Yeah, seriously fool," Original Cindy agreed, pulling Max closer to her—where there was less of the bike—for her safety; bless the girl, Max thought. "I know you don' have all the beauty that home girl and I got. But that don't mean you gotta take us out 'cause youse jealous."
Finally waking up to the mess he was making, as if he was coming out of a fog, Sketchy got his bicycle out of the way with a quick, "Oh! Sorry, guys!"
"Thank you!" Max praised him then, slapping him on the back one good time.
And then Sky continued the conversation the men had been having. "But you guys are right. We gotta find a way to keep him out. We can't have him ruining slackers here's dreams everywhere!"
"Although… now that I think about it- I have a thought. If he is your typical Republican, Capitalist, nose to the grindstone male… I wonder if he might help me with something…" Max whispered, an insane thought coming into her head now. "Sketchy, do you have his phone number? I assume you guys were going to try and come up with some crazy prank to keep him away, or whatever?"
"Yeah, chica," Sketchy acknowledged, handing Max the paper he'd clearly snatched while Normal wasn't looking. Quite possibly when he'd been chewing out Max before. "Why? You got a better plan?"
"…I maybe do. But you'll never hear it."
"What's that mean?" Sketchy asked, clearly baffled.
But Max had already ran away (at normal speed) to make a phone call on a burner cell. She'd picked it up when dreaming that if her siblings came back into her life, they would, of course, want her to contact them with a number that couldn't be traced. She hadn't thought that when she finally found some of them again, it would be like this… but she was glad now that she did have the phone.
The phone rang six times, and Max was starting to get impatient, when someone finally picked up on the other end. "Hello. This is Mr. Sivapathasundaram. Who is this?"
"…Someone who won't tell you their name yet. Maybe not even ever. But if you really want to get on the ground floor of something… how about working with Eyes Only, and helping him taking down some serious baddies doing human experimentation?"