Family 8

FAMILY (8)

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters 'cept Logan's family... so ask me if you want to use them in a story. The rest of the characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee and the writers at FOX

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After dinner, we headed out to the Crash. Max, Zach and her friends were already there.

"Hey y'all." I smile at Max.

"Well look who finally showed up." Max teased.

"Hey girl." Cindy greeted me. It's weird but I really like Max's friends and they seem to like me, another oddity. But I guess it is a good way for them to get the goods on Logan.

"Do you want to get a beer?" Max asked me, but didn't quite wait for me to respond before asking Logan, "What do you want?"

"I can get it."

"No, my treat. What do you want?"

"A beer is fine."

"Okay." Max started to walk to the bar, but then realized that I was not following and proceeded to drag me with her. I looked back at Logan with a jokingly helpless look.

"I guess we're going to the bar." I call out. Cindy laughs and I find out why as soon as we get to the bar.

"I thought you weren't coming." Max had obviously been waiting for us.

"We were five minutes late, chill."

"I know but I thought that he might still be mad."

"No, I took care of that. Besides it was more moody than mad. He had a doctor's appointment today and he was all bummed out because of that."

"He had a doctor's appointment?" Max almost sounded hurt when she asked this.

"It was no big deal." I tried to say it my most soothing voice.

"What did he say?"

"They still are baffled about his brief ability to walk and about how he is able to make as much progress as he has so far. But the moodiness came in when they told him that he needed to be patient and allow his body to recover at its own speed."

"And he wants to go fast."

"Exactly." The bartender gave us our beers but instead of going back we stood at the bar for awhile. "So Logan told me that you are thinking of leaving?"

"He told you."

"Yeah." I knew that she was going to be annoyed by this comment and the fact that I even knew anything about it in the first place, but I have never been one to shy away from conflict.

"I've been thinking about it."

"Why?" I wasn't expecting a straight answer, but simply wanted to watch her eyes as she made up an excuse.

"There are some complications, which make it hard for me to stay here. I really don't want to leave."

"Then don't."

"It's a long story."

"Maybe you can tell it to me sometime." Yeah, that was a definite I really don't want to leave but I think that maybe I should, but I don't want to. Which means that if I can convince her not to or better yet if Logan can convince her not too, than it will make it easier for her to say no to Zach.

"Maybe." She smiled and we headed back to the table.

Logan looked a bit helpless without us there. We both sat next to him and Cindy sat next to me and Zach next to Max. All in all, it was a nice evening. Cindy and Max made me tell them some stories about Logan and I forced some Max stories out of them. But the evening was broken up slightly, when three fairly large guys came up to the table and asked for me.

"Your Sol Vargas's wife, right?" One of the men asked in a very shady way.

"Yeah and..." I answer with a bit more attitude than I should of, but they interrupted and that is rude.

"Your husband cost us a lot of money." The same goon said.

"Sorry."

"He broke up a drug deal and made me look bad in front of my clients. I don't like to look bad in front of clients, its bad for business."

I get up knowing where this going. I can feel everyone tense up at the table. I quickly glance at Logan who is glaring at the men. Max and Zach both look like they might just pounce at any second. "Look, we were having drinks here and I don't like being interrupted." God, I love when I sound all tough, mentally I giggle. "So obviously you have something with my husband and not me."

"But your here."

"Okay, is that how you are going to play it? Then why don't we take this outside." The thing that only the people behind me know is that I have pulled out my gun from pant leg when I had stood up.

"I don't think so." The guy answered smugly looking back at his other companions.

I take this opportunity to pull the gun out and point it directly at his crouch. Close enough that only he and I know about the gun. "You didn't hear me, I don't like to be interrupted. If my husband cost you money, then I am sure that money was dirty and you should have lost it. So why don't you and your friends make a quiet exit and I will forget that this ever happened." The guy gives me an 'I don't believe you could pull that trigger, little lady' look and I add. "See my friend over there. He's in that chair because of a gun, but you want the difference between you and him. His shooter was a bad shot and he's still alive. I, however, am an excellent shot and if I pull this trigger you won't be so lucky. But then again I could always leave you a vegetable, which also has it's positive aspects." I smile sweetly at this bastard, who now is looking terrified. "So I am going to offer you one more time to quietly exit this bar before I decide how good of a shot I feel like being tonight." I smile and pull the gun slightly away and the three run out of the bar. I hear a loud sigh from everyone at the table. I quickly hide my gun again and sit down.

There is silence for a moment, until Logan breaks it. "Did you forget to load the gun?" He asks half mockingly.

I put on my best valley girl accent and reply, "God I knew there something I forgot to do today, load my gun." With that everyone cracks up and I get a lot of 'Damn girl,' but the interesting response was from Zach who just nodded approvingly. I wonder if it just clicked in his brain about who I was. I notice that Max is looking at me differently also. I wonder if those guys just blew my cover. But time passes and everyone seems to forget that little moment of drama.

Max, Logan, Zach and I all walk out together. It actually has surprised me about how much I actually enjoyed the evening. Give Zach a few beers and he is actually quite tolerable. I smile to myself as I follow them out. The smile breaks when I feel a piece of cold steel against my throat.

"I don't like to be embarrassed." The goon from earlier whispers in my ear.

Zach turns around and sees them. I eye him not to come and he nods. The blade starts to cut my skin and that's when I lose it. I flip him over onto his back. Another guy starts to go for Logan and Max, I lunge at him throwing him into a wall. The third guy comes and I kick him in the face, taking him out for a while. The first guy gets up and comes at me again from behind. I hear Zach yell, "Behind!" and I know what he is talking about. I kick the guy forcing him against the brick wall and then start to bang his head against the bricks. I have now completely lost any trace of humanity that I have, I am a soldier who has been attacked. The guy starts to make a break for it. I stop by grabbing on to his head, I wrap my arms around him for a good grip and then I snap his neck. I watch him fall like a limp doll. The other two guys run and I am not quite sure why, but then I see Zack next to me in fight mode. He watches me for a moment as I stare at the body. I vaguely hear Logan call for me. But I am too much on instinct mode now. I crouch done next to the body and look for his wallet, I pull out all of his money. I then hit him in the chest a couple of times. I see Zach opening up a trash bin, we both then drag the body into the bin and close the top. I hear the sirens in the distance and turn to look at a stunned Max and Logan.

"We got to get out of here." Is all I can say. Nobody says a thing. The whole ride home is silent. I think we are all still in shock over what just happened. Logan has never seen me be aggressive and Max just figured out who I am. Me, I am soaked in that guys blood, as well as a little bit of my own from his blade. I can't believe that I just killed a guy and then methodically went to cover it up. The interesting thing was how I knew exactly what to do, make it look like a robbery. I didn't worry about fingerprints because Manticore made sure that ours were untraceable. There would be no DNA evidence because I didn't let them touch me. The only problem that I had were the two guys who ran away, but I have a feeling that after seeing this girl single handily kill their friend, that they won't be much of a problem.

In the elevator, we all stand in silence. I can feel Logan staring at me, he wants to know if I am all right, but I can't face him. I just brutally and consciously killed a man and Logan watched it all. I feel ashamed and hurt, this was a part of me that I never wanted him to know. The doors open and we all file out. I'm the last one in the door and a wave of nausea comes over me. I then hear a familiar voice coming from deeper inside the apartment.

"Took you guys long enough." I know that voice, where do I know it from. "What happened?" The tone went from excited to extremely concerned and then it hit me, Sol. Sol was coming tonight, I had forgotten all about it. And now he's here, I feel his eyes staring at me. I can't read his emotions through the cloud of my own. He starts to walk towards me and suddenly I know that he is about to hug me. No question about the bruises on my cheek or the blood in my hair or on my shirt, he simply wants to hold me and let me know that I am safe. All I can see is him and I can't hear the fight between everyone that is about to occur. Its like I am underwater, drowning. The closer Sol gets the greater my instinct becomes to run. I walk around his arms and pull out the money from my pocket, handing it to Zach.

"When you run." I simply say and he nods. Then the nausea hits as everyone stares at me. I run into the bathroom and lock the door. I can feel the shakes coming and go from my tryptophine. I see my reflection in the mirror first and it horrifies me. I don't see the normal sweet face that I have gotten used to, instead I see the face that horrifies me in my nightmares. My hair is all messed up and I have a bruise forming on my left cheek. The blood is dried on my neck from where the guy cut me. I have his dried blood all over my shirt. I reach over to the pill bottle, shaking slightly. I notice my hands are covered in blood, I turn on the sink to wash the blood off. But it's not working. Words start entering my head....

Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to don't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?--Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.
The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?--
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o'
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with
this starting.
Here's the smell of the blood still: all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh!
Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so
pale.--I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he
cannot come out on's grave.
To bed, to bed! there's knocking at the gate:
come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What's
done cannot be undone.--To bed, to bed, to bed!

Where is that from? ... Shakespeare, I know. .... MacBeth, it's MacBeth. The queen is going nuts after having the blood of the king on her hands. Why did those words turn up now. I hear a knocking on the bathroom door. I can tell that Sol is leaning against it trying to hear what I am doing. I look at myself in the mirror. "What's done can not be undone." I chant to myself as I scrub at my hands under the burning water and I stare at my reflection. "Fuck!!" I finally scream and with one quick action I bring my fist to the mirror and break it. The sound causes Sol to break through the door. I look up at him with tears in my eyes. He has his protector look on his face. My stomach twists again. He starts to look at my hands which are all cut from the mirror. I jerk away at the touch.

"No." I simply say and walk out. In the living room, both Max and Zach are on opposite sides of the window staring out. Logan is watching in a corner. Everyone turns to look at me.

Zach is the first one to break, "You okay?" He asks.

"Fine." I answer coldly. I am soldier, why wouldn't I be okay. I was made to kill, why is this such a shock to me.

"Anna...." Logan's voice almost brings me to tears, "are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" I growl. "I just killed a man. Isn't that what I am supposed to do?" I stare at him trying to be as cold as I can, but his eyes never allow me to be cold. I feel the shakes start again and everyone starts to lunge towards me. Sol attempts to wrap his arms around me. But I break away with one giant, "Fuck!!" As my body involuntarily shakes, I look up at Max. She is looking at me, like it's the first time she has every seen me. She starts to walk towards me. I back against the wall and start to cower. My body starts shaking more violently and I slide down the wall. Max calmly approaches and sits down next to me. She wraps her arms around, my body goes towards her. She now holds me, soothing my shaking body.

She whispers to Logan, "Get me some...." she doesn't even have to finish. I hear him roll off. Max is wiping my brow, telling me that everything is going to be okay. Why am I letting myself fall apart in her arms? Why am I letting her see the walls that have suddenly come crashing down? I don't even let Logan and Sol see this part of me, why her? The answer is simple and I know it, because she is Max and she knows.