Time frame: Directly following Part 5, same time frame as Part 6.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, etc. etc.
Dangerous Games 7: Delivery
Straightening up, Max walked away with a swing in her stride. Reaching the door, she turned back to Logan with an unholy grin. "See you later."
Still smiling, Max got herself into the elevator, out of the building, and back to her own apartment with no recollection of the trip. She was relieved to find Kendra gone when she arrived.
//Hope she spent the night with Mr. Multiples. Or Mr. Anybody. It'll save me from one of her "little girl talks" if she doesn't know I never came home.//
Max changed, grabbed her bike, and made it to JamPony in record time. She walked through the door just in time to hear Normal yelling. "Where the fire-" "Hate to interrupt, Normal," Max said sweetly, "But don't we have work to do?" Normal looked at her for a moment.
"Well, look who's Little Miss Sunshine this morning. I don't know what you're up to, and frankly I don't care." He tossed her a package. "Take this to 1298 Chapel, and let's see if a little work will bring back those dark clouds we're used to." Max grabbed the box and headed for her locker.
//I'm in bad shape if even Normal can see something's up. Gotta get my mind back on the business at hand. Even if there are more interesting things to think about.//
Max walked right past Original Cindy without seeing her. Tossing a few things into her locker and slamming the door, she turned to find Cindy staring at her, hands on her hips. "I believe I said "Hey, Boo," at least three times in the past sixty seconds. And last I checked, Original Cindy had not lost her mind or her voice."
"Sorry," Max said. "Must have spaced there for a second."
Cindy just looked at her. "I hate to say this, but Normal is right. Something's up with you. So spill."
//Wonder what kinda bull she's gonna feed me this time.//
"Spill what?" Max asked innocently.
Cindy raised her eyebrows. "Whatever it is you lookin' all happy about."
"I guess I just slept really well," Max said. "I've got to go, all right? Work, packages, bip bip bip and all that." She grabbed her bike and headed towards the entrance.
Cindy followed her. "Fine. I can take the hint. You run off with your package. But you can only play your pretend game 'round me for so long."
//"Sleep," my @ss. That girl's gettin' some. And I'm not. Damn.//
Max just shrugged and headed out the door. She got through her first delivery and managed to pick up a few more runs in the field. Anything to avoid returning to the office. She wondered why she was so reluctant to discuss the night before with Cindy.
//Guess I don't want to try explaining what I don't understand yet. Wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Not that I'm complaining.//
Logan had surprised her. In more ways than one. That "I love you," now, that was a shocker. She wasn't sure yet how she felt about that one yet.
//Give it up, Max. You liked it. You might not be ready to deal with it yet, but admit you're pretty damn happy about it.//
Right. No problem. So he loved her. No big dealio. Life would continue on its regular course. More or less. They'd proven that at breakfast, hadn't they?
//So why am I jumping every time my beeper goes off?//
With a few creative coffee breaks and mythical traffic jams, Max made it through the rest of the afternoon before heading back to JamPony. Cindy was waiting.
"You thought you escaped me but you did not," she said. "I am waiting and I will continue to wait. So you might as well give up the info."
"Can't a girl be happy without getting all this static?" Max asked.
"No static," Cindy answered. "Just, please, tell me it wasn't Gilligan."
Max laughed. "I can honestly say that my mood has nothing to do with Gilligan."
//Thank God.//
Max's pager beeped. She checked the number as she turned it off. Logan. Cindy narrowed her eyes. "There it is again."
"There what is?" Max asked.
"That look," Cindy replied, exasperated. "That look. The look I would have if the lickety chick would ever give it up. But since you don't swing that way, I'm guessing it was a boy in your bed last night. Whatever boy just hit your beeper."
Max shook her head. "There was no one in my bed last night."
"So fine, you were in his bed," Cindy retorted. "You don't play that game with Original Cindy, she knows all the tricks. Let me guess. You and moneybags got busy last night, didn't you? And I don't mean countin' his cash."
Max headed for the phone. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
//Just because I'm calling him right back, doesn't mean anything. It could be important. Someone's probably getting kidnapped or blown up or something.//
Max dialed the phone, aware that Cindy was right behind her. She ducked her head, trying to keep the phone out of reach. "Hey, it's me."
//It's probably not good for me to get so excited just hearing his voice.//
Cindy had had enough. She reached around Max and grabbed the phone from her hand. "Who's this?"
"Logan. Who's this?"
"Original Cindy. Just checkin' out a hunch. I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled business now." She turned to Max and handed her the phone. "Just makin' sure you wound up in the right bed this time. You did all right, boo."
//I was startin' to wonder if he had it in him, but it looks like my baby girl finally got him to give it up.//
Max got back on the phone, perversely happy about Cindy's approval.
//I'm behaving like a......girl. Stop it, Max.//
"What's up?" she asked.
"You said to page you if I needed you to bring anything," Logan said. "And I do. Need you to bring something, I mean."
"I'm on it," she replied. "Need me to pick something up for you? Where, when, what?"
"It's a little more complicated than that," Logan answered. He gave Max a quick rundown of the situation. "Once you've got the disc he'll exchange it for the package I need. You can bring it with you when you come by tonight."
"Got it," Max said. "You need me to do a break-in, steal a disc, and exchange it for some package you desperately need right away. Standard Eyes Only stuff."
//So why am I so disappointed?//
"This actually has nothing to do with work." Logan nerved himself. "It's a personal favor. And I would appreciate it if you could help me out." Max was stunned.
//Logan Cale is asking me to do him a favor. Him. Not the widows, small children, and lost animals.//
She recovered herself. "I can handle that. Shouldn't even be more than a half hour late. You mind explaining what I'm picking up and why you need it so badly?"
Logan exhaled. "It's kind of a long story."
"I've got time," Max countered.
"Later, OK?" he said. "Let's see if it even works out, and then I'll explain."
//If it works out, it would be more like "demonstrate."//
"So I'm guessing it's not a loaf of bread?" Max asked.
"Not exactly," Logan answered. "Bread I can handle on my own. This I can't. So Max?"
"Yeah?"
He thought for a second. "I know this is the usual stuff for you, but, um, be careful, please?"
Max took a breath. "OK."
//He's actually admitting to being worried about me. Never thought I'd see the day.//
Max hung up the phone and stuck her pager in her pocket. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she smiled.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, etc. etc.
Dangerous Games 7: Delivery
Straightening up, Max walked away with a swing in her stride. Reaching the door, she turned back to Logan with an unholy grin. "See you later."
Still smiling, Max got herself into the elevator, out of the building, and back to her own apartment with no recollection of the trip. She was relieved to find Kendra gone when she arrived.
//Hope she spent the night with Mr. Multiples. Or Mr. Anybody. It'll save me from one of her "little girl talks" if she doesn't know I never came home.//
Max changed, grabbed her bike, and made it to JamPony in record time. She walked through the door just in time to hear Normal yelling. "Where the fire-" "Hate to interrupt, Normal," Max said sweetly, "But don't we have work to do?" Normal looked at her for a moment.
"Well, look who's Little Miss Sunshine this morning. I don't know what you're up to, and frankly I don't care." He tossed her a package. "Take this to 1298 Chapel, and let's see if a little work will bring back those dark clouds we're used to." Max grabbed the box and headed for her locker.
//I'm in bad shape if even Normal can see something's up. Gotta get my mind back on the business at hand. Even if there are more interesting things to think about.//
Max walked right past Original Cindy without seeing her. Tossing a few things into her locker and slamming the door, she turned to find Cindy staring at her, hands on her hips. "I believe I said "Hey, Boo," at least three times in the past sixty seconds. And last I checked, Original Cindy had not lost her mind or her voice."
"Sorry," Max said. "Must have spaced there for a second."
Cindy just looked at her. "I hate to say this, but Normal is right. Something's up with you. So spill."
//Wonder what kinda bull she's gonna feed me this time.//
"Spill what?" Max asked innocently.
Cindy raised her eyebrows. "Whatever it is you lookin' all happy about."
"I guess I just slept really well," Max said. "I've got to go, all right? Work, packages, bip bip bip and all that." She grabbed her bike and headed towards the entrance.
Cindy followed her. "Fine. I can take the hint. You run off with your package. But you can only play your pretend game 'round me for so long."
//"Sleep," my @ss. That girl's gettin' some. And I'm not. Damn.//
Max just shrugged and headed out the door. She got through her first delivery and managed to pick up a few more runs in the field. Anything to avoid returning to the office. She wondered why she was so reluctant to discuss the night before with Cindy.
//Guess I don't want to try explaining what I don't understand yet. Wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Not that I'm complaining.//
Logan had surprised her. In more ways than one. That "I love you," now, that was a shocker. She wasn't sure yet how she felt about that one yet.
//Give it up, Max. You liked it. You might not be ready to deal with it yet, but admit you're pretty damn happy about it.//
Right. No problem. So he loved her. No big dealio. Life would continue on its regular course. More or less. They'd proven that at breakfast, hadn't they?
//So why am I jumping every time my beeper goes off?//
With a few creative coffee breaks and mythical traffic jams, Max made it through the rest of the afternoon before heading back to JamPony. Cindy was waiting.
"You thought you escaped me but you did not," she said. "I am waiting and I will continue to wait. So you might as well give up the info."
"Can't a girl be happy without getting all this static?" Max asked.
"No static," Cindy answered. "Just, please, tell me it wasn't Gilligan."
Max laughed. "I can honestly say that my mood has nothing to do with Gilligan."
//Thank God.//
Max's pager beeped. She checked the number as she turned it off. Logan. Cindy narrowed her eyes. "There it is again."
"There what is?" Max asked.
"That look," Cindy replied, exasperated. "That look. The look I would have if the lickety chick would ever give it up. But since you don't swing that way, I'm guessing it was a boy in your bed last night. Whatever boy just hit your beeper."
Max shook her head. "There was no one in my bed last night."
"So fine, you were in his bed," Cindy retorted. "You don't play that game with Original Cindy, she knows all the tricks. Let me guess. You and moneybags got busy last night, didn't you? And I don't mean countin' his cash."
Max headed for the phone. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
//Just because I'm calling him right back, doesn't mean anything. It could be important. Someone's probably getting kidnapped or blown up or something.//
Max dialed the phone, aware that Cindy was right behind her. She ducked her head, trying to keep the phone out of reach. "Hey, it's me."
//It's probably not good for me to get so excited just hearing his voice.//
Cindy had had enough. She reached around Max and grabbed the phone from her hand. "Who's this?"
"Logan. Who's this?"
"Original Cindy. Just checkin' out a hunch. I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled business now." She turned to Max and handed her the phone. "Just makin' sure you wound up in the right bed this time. You did all right, boo."
//I was startin' to wonder if he had it in him, but it looks like my baby girl finally got him to give it up.//
Max got back on the phone, perversely happy about Cindy's approval.
//I'm behaving like a......girl. Stop it, Max.//
"What's up?" she asked.
"You said to page you if I needed you to bring anything," Logan said. "And I do. Need you to bring something, I mean."
"I'm on it," she replied. "Need me to pick something up for you? Where, when, what?"
"It's a little more complicated than that," Logan answered. He gave Max a quick rundown of the situation. "Once you've got the disc he'll exchange it for the package I need. You can bring it with you when you come by tonight."
"Got it," Max said. "You need me to do a break-in, steal a disc, and exchange it for some package you desperately need right away. Standard Eyes Only stuff."
//So why am I so disappointed?//
"This actually has nothing to do with work." Logan nerved himself. "It's a personal favor. And I would appreciate it if you could help me out." Max was stunned.
//Logan Cale is asking me to do him a favor. Him. Not the widows, small children, and lost animals.//
She recovered herself. "I can handle that. Shouldn't even be more than a half hour late. You mind explaining what I'm picking up and why you need it so badly?"
Logan exhaled. "It's kind of a long story."
"I've got time," Max countered.
"Later, OK?" he said. "Let's see if it even works out, and then I'll explain."
//If it works out, it would be more like "demonstrate."//
"So I'm guessing it's not a loaf of bread?" Max asked.
"Not exactly," Logan answered. "Bread I can handle on my own. This I can't. So Max?"
"Yeah?"
He thought for a second. "I know this is the usual stuff for you, but, um, be careful, please?"
Max took a breath. "OK."
//He's actually admitting to being worried about me. Never thought I'd see the day.//
Max hung up the phone and stuck her pager in her pocket. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she smiled.